Working for Peace on Earth and Peace with Earth since 1952

Promoting Enduring Peace
Promoting Enduring Peace
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Programs
  • Resources
  • Gandhi Peace Award
  • Donate
  • Jigsaws
  • Press Releases
  • More
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Programs
    • Resources
    • Gandhi Peace Award
    • Donate
    • Jigsaws
    • Press Releases

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Programs
  • Resources
  • Gandhi Peace Award
  • Donate
  • Jigsaws
  • Press Releases

The Greatest nuclear threat right now


Russia is occupying Europe's largest nuclear power plant, in southern Ukraine.  In the words of Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency the situation there "is completely out of control" and "Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated.” 


Russian President Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons to get his way in Ukraine


We say,

  • Putin, get your soldiers and weapons out of Ukraine Nuclear Plants
  • Russia, US, Pledge NOT to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, no matter what
  • Russia out of Ukraine
  • Remember Hiroshima, Never Again


Watch Democracy Now 8/4/2022

PUtin, Biden, No Nukes in Ukraine

Petition Launched by Former Hiroshima Mayor

"As a former mayor of Hiroshima, Japan, I call for President Vladimir Putin and the world leaders to immediately declare the disuse of nuclear weapons in this conflict!

I also call for Prime Minister Kishida, who is from Hiroshima, to take a stand and attend the United Nations Security Council meeting to convey the cry of the Hibakusha!"


This is no joke.  The media are talking about the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons with only one-third the power of the Hiroshima bomb.

  

As of 3/16 some 91,000 people have signed.  Click here to see whole petition.

The Bill is Not What it Seems

Calls for Protests Across the U.S. on Tues. August 2

  • It guarantees more drilling on Federal land
  • It forces the government to stop opposing pipelines
  • It includes billions in subsidies for fossil fuel industry schemes like carbon capture 
  • It ignores calls for climate justice
  • Read what Gandhi Peace Award winner Tom BK Goldtooth and other frontline community leaders say about the deal by clicking here
  • You can't just make electric-run equipment popular.  You have to reduce the burning of fuel, ration it and gradually stop its use.
  • You also have to cut back sharply on meat-raising.  It's a major cause of global warming gases.  Plus we need to rewild much of the land that's used for meat-raising to take carbon out of the air.

Memorial for Shireen Abu Akleh

Memorial Service


For Palestinian-American Journalist  Shireen Abu Akleh

 

 New Milford Green 


 Sat. May 21, 2022  


Meet on sidewalk in front of Post Office 


 Just before 11:00 a.m.  


We will have a solemn event on the Green  


Holding Placards 


With some remarks  


Please wear black if you can


sponsor: Middle East Crisis Committee


New website Justice for Shireen

Details about Sat. May 14 Zoom Event at 1 P.m.

Only on Zoom

                          Protest the Kidnapping of the Alabbasi Family 

                          and American Psychotherapist KamAlmaz


The Alabbasi family was taken by Assad forces 9 years ago [See below].  Dr. Majd KamAlmaz is an American psychotherapist taken at a checkpoint in Syria in 2017.  all efforts to free them or even account for them have failed.


Hear 


Naila Alabassi - a physician and sister of Rania Alabbasi.

Qutaiba Idlbi - Syria Fellow at the International Center for Transitional Justice  

Maryam KamAlmaz - daughter of Texas Syrian-American psychiatrist  (taken at a Syrian checkpoint in 2017) 


Saturday, May 14, 2022 

1 p.m. 


Register for the event here:

https://tinyurl.com/PEPeventMay14    


Facebook Event Invite your friends

Disappeared for 9 years

Everyone you see in the picture on the right was kidnapped by Assad forces on March 9, 2013.  The mother depicted, Rania Alabbasi, was a dentist and Syria's most famous chess champion.  In addition to the 8 people shown here the secretary of Ms. Alabbasi was also taken.


Nothing has been heard about any of these 9 people since they were taken.


Click here to watch a 3/7/22 interview with Hassan Alabbasi, Rania's brother who is in Ottawa.


Ask your local media or Congress to raise this issue.


Write to producers@democracynow.org and ask DN! to cover the story.

Details about Thurs. April 28 Forum

7 p.m. Eastern

Here's the link to register


Speakers:


Alex Kuzma - Chief Development Officer for the Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation and has been a spokesperson for the Ukrainian-American community in Connecticut.  See his talk at the April 1 march by clicking here


Nidal Betare - a Palestinian refugee, was born and raised in Syria's Yarmouk camp and lived there until December 2011. He is now based in Washington, D.C., where he works as a senior programs manager at People Demand Change  He’s written several important articles on the Syrian uprising and  its cruel repression.


He wrote "The Assad Dynasty Was Hatched at My Grandfather’s Home. They Later Destroyed it" 

 New Lines Magazine   and


The Palestinian political class has become a heavy burden on the people - The Washington Post 


 and his most important article  "Yarmouk Refugee Camp and the Syrian Uprising" | Journal of Palestine Studies 


Moderated by Stanley Heller, PEP Administrator


ample time for Q. and A.


link for archive of articles about Ukraine and Russia


link for archive of articles about Syria


  

Here's the link to register

Friday April 1

Meet on the New Haven Green on the corner of Church and Elm St.


Facebook event


More details coming

    Over 900k Russians sign petition against war

    from Joe Gerson of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security


    Friends,  


    Following is the non-personal content of a note that I received from my friend Oleg Bodrov in St. Petersburg. I think you'll find it interesting, and most will find it inspiring. You will also note that Putin has put his nuclear weapons on a higher state of alert and the crisis has led Japan's prime minister to raise the possibility of inviting the U.S. to again base nuclear weapons in his country. 


    FYI: The petition against the War in Ukraine was signed by about 900.000 Russian citizens.  "The Russian authorities have made it more difficult to further sign this document via the Internet from Russia. Thus, the increase in the number of signatures has become slower. But I think by tomorrow evening the number of signatories of the document will be 1 million. 


     I am very concerned that the fighting is taking place on the territory of Ukraine, where 15 nuclear reactors continue to operate. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant with unloaded nuclear fuel is not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. It is surrounded by Russian tanks. According to information from the Ukrainian nuclear city of Slavutich, shift personnel who must replace their colleagues at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant cannot travel by train to this nuclear power plant. That is, the regular operation of this NPP has been disrupted! This poses a great danger not only for Ukrainians, but also for Europe. 


    I think we need to make a special statement about this.  And finally, it is possible that the Russian authorities will block communications with Russian citizens from other countries."  Oleg Bodrov - Chairman of the Public Council of the South Coast of the Gulf of Finland, Interregional Environmental Movement of the Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg. Website: http://decommission.ru/english/ 

    Lamont and Maric. No Deals with Israel. Rally Feb 24

     A number of groups have joined to condemn Governor Ned Lamont’s trip to Israel and are planning a protest on Thursday, Feb. 24 on the day he returns from that country. It will start at 1 p.m. outside the Old State House (5 Market St.) and continue in front of UConn’s Hartford branch on 10 Prospect Street.  


    Co-sponsoring groups are: Jewish Voice for Peace (New Haven), Middle East Crisis Committee, Tree of Life Education Fund, Poetic Release UConn, Middle Eastern Students Association UConn, African Student Association UConn, Black Muslim Association UConn, American Muslims for Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine CT, Students for Justice in Palestine UConn, Muslim Student Association UConn Storrs, Muslim Student Association UConn Hartford, Arab Student Association UConn, Promoting Enduring Peace, Doctors Without Borders UConn, Socialist Resurgence 


     Stanley Heller of the Middle East Crisis Committee said, “CT Governor Ned Lamont is in Israel making business deals.   He evidently doesn't care one bit about the recent Amnesty International report finding Israel guilty of the international crime of apartheid.  Apartheid has been considered an international crime for decades. Israel’s wretched and systematic mistreatment of Palestinians is well-known and because of that it should be beyond the pale for business dealings.  Lamont says, ‘Israel is a perfect fit because they are the leading innovators in life sciences, and biotech and the defense industry’.  We say their ‘innovations’ in defense and security are based on trying out weapons on Palestinians whether by bombing them or through draconian spying on all aspects of Palestinian life.”  


    Along with Governor Lamont on the trip is interim President of the University of Connecticut Dr. Radenka Maric.  A number of student groups at UConn are opposed to her presence on the delegation.  Speaking on behalf of the UConn Students for Justice in Palestine, its president Lena Maarouf said, "UConn claim to want an innovative ecosystem yet continues to prove that Palestinian rights are not on their agenda. We support the rally to tell UConn that we want no part in their newest venture into an apartheid state responsible for the murder of thousands of Palestinians. We will not be silenced. " 


    Speaking on behalf of the UConn Muslim Student Association Hartford Jenna Rabah said, "Days ago in the heart of our campus, Governor Lamont and our new interim President, Radenka Maric, proudly boasted about their trip to Israel this week to attract Israeli startups to come to Connecticut. They stood proudly to talk about a country that is ethnically cleansing our people as we speak. A state that’s detaining children without convictions, a state that’s mercilessly demolishing entire residential buildings, a state that robs Palestinians of the right to access clean water and healthcare. This brutalitarian regime even steals peoples' intrinsic rights to movement. We approve of this rally as a way to protest UConn’s contribution to ethnic cleansing and the annexation of Palestine." 


     Issues with Connecticut investments in Israel have surfaced before.  Groups have been unhappy with the investment of pension fund money in Israeli stocks, bonds and currency.  Last June (2021) the Connecticut Treasurer’s Office reported it held $85 million in those assets. 

    March and Rally for the Climate Tues. Feb 8

     The March will be led by drummers with stops at Eversource (CT's largest utility), Travelers (the worst insurer for climate in the world), DEEP, and finishing at the State Capitol where the Governor and legislators will be kicking off the legislative session. 

    Masks will be required for this event and all related Covid safety protocols will be in place.  


    Sponsors: Acadia Center, Blue Earth Compost, Collaborative Center for Justice​, Congress of Community Colleges (4Cs),​ Connecticut Chapter Sierra, Club, Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Connecticut Clean Water Action , Connecticut Climate Crisis Mobilization (C3M), CT Coalition for Environmental & Economic Justice​, CSEA SEIU Lcl 2001, Democracy4All, Drinking Liberally Meriden, Drinking Liberally Windsor, Eastern Connecticut Green Action, Efficiency for All, Indivisible West Hartford, National Association of Social Workers, No More Dirty Power in Killingly,  Recovery4All Coalition, Save the Sound, Sunrise Movement Connecticut, UAW Region9A, Unitarian Universalist Society East 

    After the Fall of The U.S. created Neo-Liberal Afghanistan

    Time to Rethink

    Back in the days right after 9/11 a number of us went to demonstrations with signs saying "Stern Justice, but No War".  We argued Bin Laden and his gang could be pursued and destroyed without invasion of Afghanistan.  Our message was drowned out by the anger and war fever.  Bush and the Republicans and Democrats united to conquer Afghanistan and to reorganize it as an ally government.  It would be a shining example of neoliberalism and supposed democracy.  For 20 years the fiction was maintained that this plan was working.  Not any more.  Perhaps now people will understand there was an alternative in 2001 and more importantly there was an alternative to the whole Western strategy of conquest and domination.


      

    The events in Afghanistan are a catastrophe, proof of the total failure of militarist strategy outlined in the “The New American Century (1997)” and other visions of U.S. empire.


    We need to take long look at US involvement in Afghanistan, well before 9/11, all the way back to Carter and Brzezinski arming of mujahedeen


    There was a alternative back in 2011, stern justice, but not war. Recall that in the end Bin Laden was killed by a special force, not in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan.


    There was an alternative after the U.S. invaded in October 2001 and defeated the Taliban main forces. See this segment on Democracy Now from August 20.


    Tasks for Today


    For all its terrible bombings from Afghanistan to Palestine to northern Syria, the US has a moral obligation to take in hundreds of thousands of refugees. (It did just that after Vietnam.)


    The U.S. should take in the women and children and the poor, not just the people who collaborated with the U.S. war machine.


    It’s time to close up many US bases abroad, to stop the ability of U.S. militarists to meddle and attack foreign countries.


    In 1933 Congress had a special commission to investigate the influence of weapons makers and high finance on the U.S. entry into the Great War (World War I). There should be a Congressional investigation now  to document: a) How the military-industrial complex pushes for war  b)How the corporate media glamorizes war and gives soapboxes to retired military figures c) How billions in weapons the U.S. military handed over to the Taliban in Afghanistan


    A fine archive of articles about Afghanistan can be found on "The Struggle" site by clicking here that will include this statement by RAWA, the revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.


    Click here for an article about Jawad, an Afghan refugee to the United States and his difficult experiences.


    The vigil for mubarak Soulemane

    Two Elected Officials Spoke

    State representative Robyn Porter and member of the City Council of Hamden, Justin Farmer denounced the killing of black youth.  The first speaker was Mubarak's sister, Mariyann.


    See video of the Rally on June 27


    On June 26 on the Black Lives Matter Instagram channel over 26,000 watched Mariyann Soulemane speak about her brother and his shooting (1/15/20) after he was entirely surrounded by CT Trooper and West Haven police cars.  There have been no indictments, no firings and no reports.


    Come to the vigil that takes place 3 days after Mubarak would have been 21 years old at the corner of Campbell Avenue and Hall Sts. in West Haven.  (820 Campbell Avenue)  More about the case:  WestHavenCall.com


     

    Sponsors:  Justice for Mubarak, Black Lives Matter (national), Promoting Enduring Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace (New Haven), Black Alliance for Just Immigration, West Haven Black Coalition, Justice for Jayson, Justice for Steven Barrier, Democratic Socialists of America AfroSocialists & Socialist of Color Caucus

    Are we on a path to nuclear war with China?

    Listen to Daniel Ellsberg

     Daniel Ellsberg was given our Gandhi Peace Award in 1976 for his bravery in issuing the Pentagon Papers.  In 2107 he wrote  The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner in which he told of his years in the nuclear war making department of the Kennedy Administration. There he learned that the strategy of our military for any war with the Soviet Union was to launch a full military strike with expected hundreds of millions dead.


    He leaked a document this year (2021) that showed that in the '50's the U.S. military wanted to use nuclear weapons to defend Quemoy and Matsu, two "rocks" off the coast of Taiwan.


    The event will be moderated by Joseph Gerson,    president of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security , and a peacenews columnist.


    Click here for link to register for the Mass Peace Action program

      


    Demonstrations for Palestinians

      Protest Israeli Police Inaction

      Weeks Go By, No One Arrested

      It was a brazen attack on April 7, 2021.  A masked man attacked 2011 Gandhi Peace Award winner Rabbi Arik Ascherman with a stick.  Ascherman was in a private Palestinian field belonging to shepherds.  He was trying to foil the newest settler tactic, "guard and secure".  Settlers bring their flocks to Palestinian fields.  If Palestinians object they are driven off.  Eventually the claim is that this is the settler's land.  See the video of the attack here.


      See our April 27 press release here.  Send a complaint to the Israeli Ministry of Public Security.  Their email is  applications@mops.gov.il  Please BCC us a copy at office@pepeace.org  You could simply write, "I've seen the video of the latest attack on Rabbi Ascherman that happened on April 7.  Why have there been no arrests?  What is the state of the investigation?  If the suspects had been Palestinians would the weeks drag on without any reports?"


      Read NYT columnist Nick Kristof's tribute to Ascherman in 2010.

      Example Memes

        You Can Use These Pictures for Your memes

        Copyright © 2019 Promoting Enduring Peace - All Rights Reserved.   202-573-7322       office.pepeace@gmail.com

        Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder