18 Aug 2017
Education, environment, Events, Families of Veterans, For Veterans, Health, News Permalink

Meet and Eat with the Crew of the Historic Golden Rule Peace Boat in Oxnard!

August 18, 2017

Join us for a musical welcome, potluck, and presentation:
With Special Guests Captain Ron and Dr. Robert Dodge

Tuesday August 29, 2017, 5 pm
Peninsula Park – 3231 Peninsula Rd., Oxnard

The non-profit organization, Veterans for Peace, has recovered and restored the original peace boat, the Golden Rule, that set sail in 1958 to stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere, and which inspired many peace makers and peace ships that followed. The restored VFP Golden Rule is voyaging once more to show that a nuclear peace is possible.
Planned are a musical welcome by Captain Ron, potluck, presentation and free boat tours. Dr. Robert Dodge of Physicians for Social Responsibility will speak.

Come to the marina for a tour and get your picture taken
on the Golden Rule.
August 29: 2pm to 4pm, August 30: 1pm-3pm, Channel Islands Harbor

Sponsored by Veterans For Peace Chapter 112
For more information email vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com or call Helen Jaccard, 206-992-6364
The Golden Rule is a National Project of Veterans For Peace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
VFPGoldenRuleProject.org
Facebook: Golden Rule Peace Boat

Download Flyer .pdf

18 Aug 2017
Events, For Veterans, Golden Rule, Veterans For Peace Permalink

The Golden Rule Has Set Sail Once Again!

August 18, 2017

The Veterans For Peace Golden Rule peace boat has set sail again!

We were able to complete repairs to her rudder and resume our 2017 voyage to Ban Nuclear Weapons.  Chuck DeWitt and Don Mathes worked nonstop to construct a new rudder and get the Golden Rule back on her journey. We are now on our way to Santa Cruz for our next educational events.

The cost of manufacturing and installing the new rudder was approximately $3,000. With your help, we will continue to take the best care possible of this historic wooden vessel. Given the current political climate and heightened threat of nuclear war, the Golden Rule’s mission is more important than ever before. Please Help Us Complete Our Voyage!

Please consider donating so the Golden Rule will be able to continue sailing for a world free of nuclear weapons. You are the wind in her sails.

Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project
vfpgoldenruleproject.org

18 Aug 2017
Education, environment, For Veterans Permalink

Farm training program for veterans BEGINS SEP 5

August 18, 2017

Here’s a program beginning Sept 5 for 12 weeks teaching sustainable farm business management. It’s run by two veterans who operate a family farm. We want to fill up this class so that it’s offered next year as well. The program is GI Bill eligible.
Please spread the word!
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/06/09/this-combat-vet-wants-inspire-new-generation-farmers.html

18 Aug 2017
environment, For Veterans, Health Permalink

Open Burns sickening the military and the poor

August 18, 2017

Open burns are how the military gets rid of its garbage, even its poisonous garbage.  It’s been sickening soldiers for years.  As with so many service-related illnesses these develop slowly and the VA has just now acknowledged that it is culpable for the cancers, breathing problems and other disabling conditions.  Now the open burns have been taking place in US residential neighborhoods sickening the residents, most of whom are poor and minorities AND MOST LIKELY TO LOSE HEALTH CARE IF THE REPUBLICANS HAVE THEIR WAY!

ProPublica has the latest:
http://www.propublica.org/article/military-pollution-open-burns-radford-virginia

Mother Jones sounded the alarm years ago when it was just affecting soldiers
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/toxic-fire-pits-iraq-afghanistan-us-military/

01 Aug 2017
Events, News Permalink

Annual Veterans For Peace Convention

August 1, 2017

Veterans For Peace is excited to be coming to Chicago for their 32nd Annual Convention, August 9-13th.
Located at the beautiful and historic Palmer House, veterans and allies will gather to discuss “Education Not Militarization”.

Registration begins on Wednesday, August 9th and ends on August 13th with a benefit concert by Jackson Browne.  The week will be filled with amazing workshops, discussions, community and music.
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/2017-annual-convention/

 

Speakers: http://www.veteransforpeace.org/2017-annual-convention/speakers/
Registration: http://www.veteransforpeace.org/2017-annual-convention/registration/
FACEBOOK PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/events/1512690828792339/

WORKSHOPS
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/2017-annual-convention/workshops/
• Agent Orange/Unexploded Ordinance-What We Left Behind in Vietnam
• War Resistance and Social Justice WWI and Today 
• Challenges and Solutions to Veteran Homelessness 
• The United Nations Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
• Strategic Planning for Peace and Justice: How Can VFP Make a Difference?
• Pathways to Peace: Abolishing the U.S. Torture Program
• VA Healthcare –
• KNOW War NO war -The Point of View from Japanese Veteran
• Fundraising
• Missing Class: Veterans as First Generation College Students
• Dialogue for Peace: An Introduction of Peace Modalities through Film
• Whose Story? Using a Major Media Event to Encourage Critical Thinking and Introduce Different Perspectives on War and Peace
• Compassion It
• GI Rights and Resistance in the era of Trump
• Warrior Writer Writing Workshop
• Ways to Talk About Peace and the Socrates Cafe
• The Vet, Their Family and the Truth about Joining the Military
• Veterans for “The Climate Mobilization”
• IVAW-Iraq Veterans Against the War
• Understanding Our Human Needs and Healing War Trauma, Racial Trauma, and Childhood Trauma
• VFP Palestine/Israel Delegation
• For The Larger Purpose Of World Peace
• Standing Rock – The Struggle for Self Determination and the Protection of Life.
• Education Not Militarization: The Nuts and Bolts of Pursuing Policy Changes to Counter Recruitment and Demilitarize Schools
• Korean War: The Past and Future
• Education Not Militarization: Educating Students and Countering Military Recruitment Inside the Schools
• Having Served in U.S. Military, Immigrants Fight Deportation Orders
• Overview of Reflections of Vietnam Educational Program
• National Office
• End War Now–Ask Me How!

 

 

22 Jun 2017
Families of Veterans, Legislation Permalink

It is wrong to deport those who served this country

June 22, 2017

Veterans Visa and Protection Act
http://grijalva.house.gov/news-and-press-releases/grijalva-reintroduces-veterans-visa-and-protection-act/

ABOUT THE BILL
—From Congressman Raúl Grijalva

It is shameful that our country has turned our back on these men and women who put their lives on the line.  A few weeks ago, I went to Tijuana to visit deported U.S. veterans. Many of them still have family back in the U.S. and are currently struggling to support themselves back in Mexico.

It is shameful that our country has turned our back on these men and women who put their lives on the line, which is why I have introduced legislation to allow them to return.
The government should not deport those who have served this country, and any veterans who have been deported should be allowed to return.

This legislation would establish a visa program that allows deported veterans who meet certain requirements to return to the U.S. as lawful permanent residents. Those who are eligible would be able to go through the existing naturalization process for military members, and they’d be granted access to their military and veteran benefits.

This bill would also halt the deportation of any veterans who are currently facing removal proceedings. The only circumstance in which a veteran should be deported is if he or she has been convicted of a violent criminal offense.

After sacrificing so much to ensure our own freedom and protection, we owe it to these brave individuals to ensure they are not subject to deportation and allow those who have been deported to return.

Please encourage your Representatives to support my bill, the Veterans Visa &
Protection Act, if you agree that people who serve this country should not face deportation.

I’ve requested an official congressional hearing on this legislation, and it will take all of us speaking out for this issue to get the attention it deserves.
Thank you for standing with me in this effort.

Peace,
Raúl Grijalva
http://grijalva.house.gov

FULL TEXT OF BILL: http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/VeteranVisaProtectionAct.pdf

ACLU PETITION
Urge your representative to pass the Veterans Visa and Protection Act and #BringThemHome.
http://action.aclu.org/secure/stop-deporting-our-veterans

More Information: http://www.deportedveteranssupporthouse.org/legislation/

Photo: Anthony Delanoix
http://unsplash.com/@anthonydelanoix

22 Jun 2017
Golden Rule, Peace Permalink

The Golden Rule sails in California again for a nuclear-free world!

June 22, 2017

The Golden Rule will be sailing your way again this year, from Eureka on Humboldt Bay to San Diego, where she will spend the winter.

More Information: http://www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org/
We are excited about our 2017 sailing season with a focus on preventing nuclear war.           
2017 Voyage Map:  http://share.delorme.com/goldenrule   

Photo: http://www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org/

05 Jun 2017
Costs of War, News No Comments Permalink

FOW: No More Money For War!

June 5, 2017 No Comments

 Veterans For Peace Rejects President Trump’s Military Build-Up

The President plans to increase Pentagon spending by $54 billion, claiming that the U.S. military is broken and
depleted. Mr. Trump recently spoke to service members aboard the new $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier reiterating his call for more spending. Ironically the carrier is a real-life example of why more spending is not needed. U.S. military capabilities far outstrip all other nations. The carrier is an addition to a navy that  was
already unmatched by all others. With ten carriers, the U.S. has more than all other nations combined and the
carriers are larger, providing more deck space per carrier than other nations. The U.S. Navy has thousands of aircraft, making it the second largest air force in the world behind the U.S. Air Force. The U.S. already spends almost three times what any other country spends on defense and more than the next nine countries combined.
READ ARTICLE: http://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/position-statements/veterans-peace-rejects-president-trumps-military-build/

Total Cost of Wars since 2001
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/war/

07 Mar 2017
Donations, Education, Families of Veterans, For Veterans No Comments Permalink

Truth in Recruitment Appeal

March 7, 2017 No Comments

High School lunchtime display of tombstones representing 18 and 19 year olds who were killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Truth in Recruitment requests contributions to make sure military recruiters follow school administration guidelines and parental wishes, before teens make a life-changing decision.

The Santa Barbara High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance club along with Truth in Recruitment created a lunchtime display of tombstones representing 18 and 19 year olds who were killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most of these teens enlisted in the military while they were still in high school.

In some parts of our community, teens are being approached every month in our schools by professional military recruiters.

For more information about how we can protect families’ and their childrens’
privacy, visit our website at www.truthinrecruitment.org.

07 Mar 2017
Action Alerts, Events, For Veterans, Protests No Comments Permalink

25th Annual Space Organizing Conference & Protest

March 7, 2017 No Comments

April 7-9, 2017
Huntsville, Alabama

Join us for the Global Network’s  25th anniversary Space Organizing Conference and Protest at the home of Redstone Arsenal and the Space & Missile Defense Command, also known as the ‘Pentagon of the South’.

The effort by the Pentagon to develop and deploy the next generation of Star Wars weapons will increase global instability and cost hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars.  The US Space Command has long maintained its mission is to create the technologies to ‘control and dominate’ space and the Earth below – ultimately on behalf of corporate interests. This conference will allow citizens to learn more about these important issues and meet leaders from the growing international movements to Keep Space for Peace and Stop NATO expansion.

Fees
Registration for the conference will be on a sliding scale between $25-$75 (pay what you can best afford).
Lunch and supper on April 8 are included in your registration fee.
You can register online using the GN’s web site
http://www.space4peace.org/

Informational Brochure
http://www.space4peace.org/actions/GN%202017%20Conference%20Brochure.pdf