This billboard went up a few days ago, 4 miles east of I-95 on Hwy 70 in Johnston County, NC. The Johnston Co. Airport is home to Aero Contractors, notorious torture taxis that delivered “suspects” to Guantánamo and other black sites.
Transition to Civilian Life Survey to Identify Tools for Vets
Dear Veteran:
I am conducting an on-line survey designed to collect data regarding the transition to civilian life, and identify tools that may better assist future Veterans in this transition. I am conducting this survey as part of a program requirement for a Master’s of Science degree from Saint Joseph’s University and under advisement from professors in the Organization Development and Leadership Department
The survey consists of 13 multiple-choice questions and should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
Your participation in the survey is completely voluntary. Please note that at no point will your name or e-mail be linked to your responses, making your participation completely confidential and anonymous.
I have identified you as a Veteran or leader in the Veteran’s Community, which is why I am soliciting your participation. I would also sincerely appreciate your willingness to forward this email and survey to other Veterans.
Survey responses are requested by January 28, 2013.
Click here to participate: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZQWFLSB
Not Just the NSA, Local Police Could Be Spying on You too.
By now, it’s well known that the National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting troves of data about law-abiding Americans. But the NSA is not alone: a series of new reports show that state and local police have been busy collecting data on our daily activities as well.
READ ARTICLE: http://www.alternet.org/it-aint-just-nsa-your-local-cops-could-be-spying-you?paging=off
An Open letter to the American People about a Project to Accurately Commemorate the American War in Viet Nam
We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of key moments in the American war in Viet Nam. As peace and justice activists, we believe it is crucial that the realities of the war be faced squarely. President Obama has announced his plan for a 13-year-long commemoration funded by Congress at $65 million, featuring a full panoply of Orwellian forgetfulness and faux-patriotism. On May 25, 2012, President Obama proclaimed: “As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect with solemn reverence upon the valor of a generation that served with honor. We pay tribute to the more than 3 million servicemen and women who left their families to serve bravely, a world away from everything they knew and everyone they loved … fighting heroically to protect the ideals we hold dear as Americans. Through more than a decade of combat, over air, land, and sea, these proud Americans upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces.”
Global Network 22nd Annual Conference
March 14-16, 2014
Santa Barbara, California
The 2014 Global Network space organizing conference will be held near Vandenberg AFB, California on March 14-16. We will meet at the La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Santa Barbara. On Friday, March 14 we’ll organize a 4:00 pm vigil at the front gate of Vandenberg and on the evening of March 15 we will hold a public event at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara.
Speakers at the March 15 event will include: David Krieger (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation), Dave Webb (Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament-UK & Global Network board convener), Dennis Apel (Guadalupe Catholic Worker House), Christine Hong (Korea Policy Institute and UC Santa Cruz), Andrew Lichterman (Western States Legal Foundation), and Mary Beth Sullivan (social worker & peace conversion activist). Music will be provided by singer/songwriters Tom Neilson and Holly Gwinn Graham.
We will have limited sleeping space (dormitory style) available at the La Casa de Maria Retreat center so reservations will be necessary. (Other hotel information will be available if you would prefer those arrangements.) We will provide meals for those staying at the conference center. A sliding scale charge will run from $50-$150 (pay what you can best afford.)
There will be no charge for the Saturday, March 15 public event that will be held at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara.
More Information: http://www.space4peace.org/actions/gnconf_2014.htm
VA pension scam is going around.
You would probably never fall for a scam like this but pass the word as this VA pension scam is going around. This is from VVA National:
BE AWARE
Be cautious if someone offers to move your assets around for you to qualify for VA pension. This type of scam is often directed toward Veterans and family members who do not actually qualify for VA pension. You could be required to repay these benefits to the government.
Examples of possible pension poaching scams:
• Organizations that cold call Veterans, charge money for assisting with a VA pension claim, and take credit card information from Veterans over the telephone
• People who charge as much as $6,000 upfront to represent claimants before VA, with a percentage of any eventual back payment from VA as a portion of the ultimate fee
For more information about VA pension eligibility requirements—which include special monthly pension benefits—go to www.benefits.va.gov/pension or call 1-800-827-1000.
interview with author of “War No More” David Swanson
On Monday December 16th 2013 I did an interview with author of
“War No More” David Swanson this was just before he was to speak at a Laughing Horse Bookstore before a crowded room of Portland Oregon folks all eager to hear David make the argument for the abolition of war.
The interview is in two parts and is raw video as I am not able to edit.
MVI 3121 Interview with Author David Swanson Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeDystGNEdk
MVI 3122 Interview with Author David Swanson Part II