CodePINK Austin assembled a ‘wedding party’ for a Valentine’s week action. We walked through a busy shopping district with heart shaped signs related to the drone bombings of weddings. Here is an excerpt of the flyer we passed out: 

“On December 12, 2013, a U.S. drone struck a wedding party in Yemen. An estimated 17 people were killed and many others wounded. A Yemeni journalist said of the strike, "You cannot imagine how angry people are. They turned the wedding festival into a funeral.” Locals stood over a row of corpses with a sign that stated "America spills blood.”

This scene has become all too common as the war on terror has turned into a war on weddings. Targeting large gatherings of people in order to kill a few suspected militants has become a tactic of war, and one which the UN is investigating as a war crime.“

Protest Against Iran Sanctions

Report on the protest of Senator Gillibrand and Schumer’s support of S.1881, legislation which would torpedo Iran negotiations - organized by Women Against War with many other participants

Thank you to everyone who came yesterday to the Iran sanctions bill protest at the Federal Building. And thanks to all those who spoke – with passion and with eloquence — those who’d prepared presentations before and everyone who joined in.  It was great to have 30 of us there – from many different groups. I know our event stirred a spirited and educating discussion on the Move-On list which is great, too.

Schumer and Gillibrand’s office directors definitely got the message that there are multiple and good reasons we oppose their co-sponsorship of S 1881. At a similar New York City meeting with Gillibrand staff, the senator was described as in “a listening mode” on the issue – hopefully as a good sign. As is the meeting Obama had last night with democratic senators at which he pushed hard for giving the negotiations time to proceed.

The next month is a critical period to stop this legislation. Please keep the pressure on with letters to our senators!

Maud Easter, 12 Laurel Drive, Delmar, NY 12054, easter@nycap.rr.com; www.WomenAgainstWar.org

Peace Now Interview of Local Peace Activist

Peace Nowis a regular television program produced by Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace.  It is aired on several local public access TV channels.  You might enjoy watching a recent program in which Trudy Quaif interviews Connie Houde.  You can see the program by clicking on this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnrPcvTLKU0

Connie Houde is a photojournalist and Capital Region peace activist. In this interview, she discusses her trips to Afghanistan and Africa. She describes the conditions in Afghanistan and Africa and the results of war and industrialization. Her photos tell the story of the people and their vanishing cultures. She captures the spirit, and shared humanity, of people that she photographers.

Upper Hudson Peace Action, 33 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12210 463-5907, info@peaceact.net

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CODEPINK Portland and State of Maine were in action December 30, 2013 outside the office of Senator Susan Collins. Besides staging a die-in we delivered a petition with more than 300 signatures asking Sen. Collins to reverse her stand on keeping secret the number of civilians killed by drones.
News coverage:
Bangor Daily News story includes video of us going inside Collins’ office where her staff received CP petition. Activists play dead in Portland, urge Susan Collins to support disclosure of civilian drone deaths

Posted: 12/03/13, 10:08 AM EST |

Pat Beetle: 89, is a Castleton woman who has focused on peace activism for years, recently received the 2013 Woman of Peace Award from Women Against War, a Capital District-based organization. She was cited for creating “Grannies for Peace,” which unites grandparents to work for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for adequate services for veterans, and for an end to gun violence.

1 What three figures in history do you admire the most — and why?: John Woolman, an 18th-century Quaker, [made] several trips south by horse and on foot to persuade Quaker plantation owners to free their slaves. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke and acted bravely for the civil rights of African Americans, against the war in Vietnam and for economic opportunity for all, especially lifting up the poor. Eleanor Roosevelt was the “eyes and ears” of her husband during the Depression and the war, reporting to him how people really lived.

2 What led you to focus your attention on peace activism?: As a Quaker, I believe in the message of our Peace Testimony against war and violence, and tried to find ways to put that into action, first with a group called Mediation Matters; as a facilitator with the Alternative to Violence Program, which does workshops in prisons and the community; and through action against nuclear weapons, starting in the early 1980s. That concern continues with Peace Action and my work with Women against War and Grannies for Peace.

3 Why should people care what happens in countries halfway around the globe?: The West has been exploiting their natural resources, their land, in some cases their people for centuries. The colonial powers had no compunction about carving up Africa as they chose. This has led to many of the problems that exist today. We have responsibility for our part.

4 How can ordinary people have an impact on peace?: A They can live nonviolent lives and pray for peace. They can join church bodies or peace and justice organizations. They can contact their Congress people and the President, write letters to the editor, and keep learning about the issues through books, lectures, TV and social media.

5 What skills do senior citizens possess to influence society?: They have a long history of experiences and witness to unfolding events of their lifetime. They care about their families and their futures, their grandchildren and those of future generations. They may have connections through work and church social networks that they can energize on causes. They vote. They may have more free time. They sometimes inspire others by hanging on to their beliefs and acting on them.

— James Breig

 

 

Rally at the end of the Maine #Drone Peace Walk in Augusta, State House (Capitol building) Hall of Flags. I’m wearing CODEPINK’s new DRONE-FREE ZONE t-shirt as I share Malala Yousefzai’s words to President Obama:

“Drone strikes are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts.”

Buy a shirt for yourself or someone you love here: https://codepink.myshopify.com/products/pink-drone-free-zone-tee

CODEPINK Chico, CA

CODEPINK Chico protests U.S. military action on Syria.

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CODEPINK State of Maine on the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge in Skowhegan Sep 9 to say: No War on #Syria

CODEPINK Maine protests 35 year sentence for Chelsea Manning, whistleblower

Mark Roman, 65, of Solon, stands on the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge in downtown Skowhegan with a picture of Bradley Manning on Wednesday. Roman and four other individuals stood on the bridge with signs to protest the Court Martial of former army enlisted man, Bradley Manning, for leaking documents to Wikileaks. Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

Mark Roman, 65, of Solon, stands on the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge in downtown Skowhegan with a picture of Bradley Manning on Wednesday. Roman and four other individuals stood on the bridge with signs to protest the Court Martial of former army enlisted man, Bradley Manning, for leaking documents to Wikileaks.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

Waterville Morning Sentinel, August 22, 2013 

Skowhegan demonstrators protest against 35-year sentence for Bradley Manning

By Jesse Scardina jscardina@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

SKOWHEGAN — A group of protesters took to the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge in Skowhegan to show support for Bradley Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday for a bevy of charges, including six counts of violating the Espionage Act.

“To me, espionage means stealing or infiltrating plans,” said Lisa Savage, one of the protestors and a member of Code Pink, a woman-initiated grass-roots peace and social justice movement. “Manning only leaked information that would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. He simply leaked information on what happened.”

The group of a half-dozen or so stood on the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge for about an hour, holding up signs and wearing pro-Manning clothing, soliciting honks from passing vehicles. Roughly a dozen drivers responded to the protesters.

Manning was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison for providing more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks, which helped expose American military and diplomatic activities throughout the world. Manning was found guilty in July of six counts of violating the Espionage Act, but wasn’t guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious of crimes Manning was charged with.

Savage, donning a pink wig and wearing a shirt with Manning’s face and the phrase “35 years for telling the truth,” said that the point of the protest is to keep this issue at the forefront of peoples’ minds.

“We want to continue to raise awareness about this issue,” Savage said, adding that a group of protesters meet every Sunday at the bridge to protest the ongoing Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “About 1,000 people see us in an hour on Sundays, and I figure rush hour on a Wednesday is similar.”

Protesting alongside Savage was Skowhegan resident Brian Pulling, who said he has initiated conversation with Maine’s elected officials in hopes of meeting with them about the prosecution of Manning and the ongoing issues involving the National Security Agency and Edward Snowden, who leaked massive amounts of NSA documents to the media and has been granted political asylum in Russia.

“I think these are the most important issues in the United States and the most important to our own national security,” Pulling said. “People have a right to privacy. It doesn’t matter if it’s the 1700s or 2013.

Manning’s sentence of 35 years is the longest in American history for espionage-related crimes. He will be eligible for parole in seven years.

Manning, who served in the the Army as a private first class, was dishonorably discharged and reduced in rank to private, the lowest rank in the military.

Among the materials Manning gave to WikiLeaks was a video taken during a helicopter attack in 2007 in Baghdad, where civilians and two Reuters journalists were killed. He obtained the material from a classified computer network to which he had access as a low-level Army intelligence analyst, according to The New York Times.

Jesse Scardina — 861-9239
jscardina@mainetoday.com

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Skowhegan-demonstrators-protest-against-35-year-sentence-for-Bradley-Manning.html