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On March 9, 2010, more than 30 veterans and supporters turned out in support of Assembly Bill 203, a bill to give the Wisconsin Governor the authority to review all federal orders for Wisconsin Guard troops, and to refuse any deployment order determined to be unlawful. Below is the written testimony of one of the participants, Jane Kavaloski of Dodgeville.
Reversing their earlier decision, U.S. Consular officers have now issued a visa for Dr. Wee Teck Young (left) to come to the U.S. for a multi-state speaking tour as part of the U.S.-Mexico “Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity” organized by Global Exchange. Dr. Young prefers to go by the name Hakim, a name bestowed on him after he served as a public health doctor among refugees on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the Dari language, “Hakim” means “learned one and local healer.” The visa approval comes after Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Global Exchange, and Fellowship of Reconciliation urged their members and supporters to contact the State Dept. on Hakim's behalf. Responding to the news, Hakim said, "Your support letters to me and to the U.S. Embassies in support of my U.S. visa re-application encourage me deeply in my wish and work for global peace. Your acts of love show me that without extending our hand to one another, neither simple nor difficult steps towards a better, non-violent world could be taken successfully."
Thanks to a grassroots campaign on her behalf, Afghan human rights activist and former Member of Parliament Malalai Joya has now been granted a visa by the U.S. State Department, a little over a week after her visa application was initially rejected. Joya, an outspoken critic of the war in Afghanistan, was informed by State Department officials that she would not be allowed into the U.S. for an extensive speaking tour because she “lived underground” and was “unemployed,” even though she had been granted visas 4 times over the past several years (Joya, who has spoken against the control of the Afghan government by corrupt warlords, is often forced to go into hiding in response to death threats she has received.) Although the State Department's delay caused her to miss events scheduled for New York and Washington DC, she was able to appear in Boston on March 25th in a joint appearance at Harvard with Noam Chomsky to present "The case for withdrawal from Afghanistan."
A bill proposed by a bipartisan group of state representatives would require law enforcement officials to get a search warrant before using drones for surveillance, and ban drone surveillance by private citizens in non-public places, where there is "expectation of privacy," reports the Capital Times.
Bonnie Block of the Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, a WNPJ member group, applauds the bill but wishes it would go further.
"We have militarized the police and the use of drones is just another part of that," she said. "It is very worrisome to me that they need military-style weapons for local law enforcement agencies."
The news media are calling it a victory for President Obama -- the Senate's 71-26 vote to ratify the START treaty with Russia to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world.
Call me naive, but why should that be a victory for Obama?
Why on earth should preventing a nuclear war be a partisan issue?
Why isn't this fairly small step in the direction of peace a victory for the human race?
Just asking.
WNPJ member group the Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, along with Madison Pledge of Resistance, are helping to circulate the following sign-on letter, initiated by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR), to CIA Director John Brennan regarding U.S. drone warfare.
Individuals and those representing organizations can add their names by emailing Max at mobuszewski@verizon.net
The letter will be delivered in mid-May.
"On Oct. 25, Oshkosh Corp. announced that 450 employees will find themselves without jobs in January," writes Mike Helbick of Peace Action Wisconsin in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel column.
"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the need for all-terrain, mine-resistant vehicles prompted Oshkosh Corp. to aggressively ramp up its production between 2008 and 2011. ... As the wars wind down ... now is the time for diversification and a long-term plan for good, union jobs," adds Helbick, who notes that military spending is "a very low job creator," even during wartime. (Photo: Mike Helbick at WNPJ's member assembly)
Nukewatch activist Bonnie Urfer (left), a resident of Luck, Wisconsin, is one of eight "nuclear resisters" now being held in jail in Georgia awaiting sentencing on Federal charges. Urfer was one of twelve activists who crossed over on to the federal side of the fence at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in Oak Ridge, at the conclusion of Resistance for a Nuclear Free Future, a protest against the Y-12 facility's role in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Take Action: Send your letters of support to: (note new address!) Bonnie Urfer, ID 8957- Irwin County Detention Center-132 Cotton Dr, Ocilla, GA 31774. (include your return address on the envelope) - Accounts have been set up to allow the defendants to make purchases from the prison commissary. Contributions for that purpose should be sent to Sue Ablao, Ground Zero Center For Nonviolent Action, 16159 Clear Creek Road NW, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Donations should be by check, made out to "Sue Ablao" with a note that the donation is for the use of the Y-12 protesters.
The "Dear Afghanistan" campaign aims to gather messages of peace to the people of Afghanistan from people all over the world, this New Years Day. In the words of Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers, which has helped organize the campaign, "You can let Afghan people know that their lives matter as much as yours. Assure them that the U.S. government’s war is unacceptable to you and that you are working to end it." To participate, send an email to CallAfghanistan@gmail.com to
In a surprising vote, the Senate passed by a voice vote an amendment authored by Colorado Senator Jeff Merkley (left) that requires the President to "expedite transition of responsibility for military and security operations to the government of Afghanistan and provide a plan to Congress for bringing troops home faster within 90 days of passage of the resolution." The Obama administration has previously stated a committment to "transition" the Afghanistan combat mission to Afghan forces by the end of 2014, while also planning to keep U.S. troops and bases in the country past that date. The Senate vote calls for the President to present a plan for an earlier withdrawal of U.S. forces, but does not require a set timetable. Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies described the vote as a sign that "the message of the longstanding and still rising U.S. majority — 63 percent in the most recent polls want to end the war in Afghanistan — is finally being heard in the Senate."
608-250-9240, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, 122 State Street, Suite 405A, Madison, WI 53703, Send an email to the office diane@wnpj.org.
WNPJ is a member of the Community Shares of Wisconsin.
