OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #171, APRIL 3, 2024.

 

OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #171, APRIL 3,  2024.  Compiled by Dick Bennett 

PEACEMAKERS 
Kasturba Gandhi
Code Pink
ICAN

Kasturba Gandhi: Accidental Activist

  PBS   https://www.pbs.org › show › kasturba-gandhi-accident...

Kasturba Gandhi: Accidental Activist tells the story of how she became one of the first women activists in modern history.

[In contrast to Gandhi’s nonviolence from Wounded Warriors organization: “Veterans always support other veterans.”  That’s the problem, unless they support nonviolent peacemaking, justice, and restoration of the earth, WW is only one more nail in the militarization coffin.  --D]

 

Dick, don't miss Congress dodging my questions!

Medea Benjamin,  3-24-24  [See her up front left in the last photo.]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Dear Dick,In the past six months we have personally confronted President Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi (multiple times), Secretary of Defense  Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, AIPAC lobbyists, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Foreign Relations Committee, Matt Gaetz, Brian Mast, and more – all to shame them for their complicity in the genocide in Gaza. 

Since the genocide in Gaza began, we have carried out over 50 disruptions of “business as usual.” From our co-director Danaka screaming at Biden to call for a ceasefire in Illinois, to the constant disruption of the hearings in Washington on defunding UNRWA, we want to keep doing this. (Scroll down to watch videos of our disruptions including 10 ways members of Congress dodge questions about their complicity in genocide.) We want to keep bringing your demands to the most powerful people in the belly of the beast. 

On top of our disruptions, our co-founder Medea Benjamin is in the halls of Congress every single day, leading our peace activists to demand that Members of Congress call for a ceasefire and vote NO on any new aid to Israel. Pressure works! In 6 months, 77 members of Congress joined the call for a ceasefire and 16 members of Congress have taken our pledge to vote No on any new funding to Israel. 

CODEPINK isn’t just in DC, we are also supporting efforts to support Palestine all over the world. This past weekend we partnered with Mothers Against Genocide in Ireland to disrupt St. Patrick’s Day. We are working with our local chapters to pass ceasefire resolutions, like we did in Chicago and most recently, Moorhead, Minnesota. We helped disrupt the Oscars. We marched on the Golden Gate Bridge. We are shutting down air force bases and parades. We will continue to be everywhere that Gaza is not being spoken about – the moment demands that of us. . . .

And we promise, we’ve put the money where our mouth is, too. Not only do your donations to CODEPINK support our grassroots efforts, but because of you, we were able to send $10,000 to UNRWA and even more to other aid groups in Gaza. Thank you for everything that you make possible. We couldn’t do this without you. 

 With love,
Medea, Ann, Danaka, Farida, Grace, Isra, Jasmine, Jodie, Marcy, Mark, Melissa, Michelle, Nancy, Nour, Nuvpreet, Ryan, Teri, and Tim

P.S. Watch videos of our recent disruptions: 

· 10 ways members of Congress dodge questions about their complicity in genocide.

· Co-director Danaka screaming at Biden to call for a ceasefire in Illinois.

·        Disruption of the hearings in Washington on defunding UNRWA.

 

See what ICAN achieved in 2023- Annual Report now available.

Melissa Parke, ICAN <admin@icanw.org>
Dear Dick --Once the year is in full swing, it can be easy to lose sight of how all our individual efforts are adding up towards achieving the total elimination of nuclear weapons. But it’s important to celebrate all the wins along the way. That’s why I’m proud to share ICAN's 2023 Annual Report 2023 with you today, as a moment of reflection and celebration of all this movement has achieved together.       In a year where we saw some voices return to old-time thinking on nuclear weapons, ICAN pushed back hard against that framing, calling out nuclear deterrence as a threat to global peace and security at key moments like the G7 summit in Hiroshima and the second meeting of states parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Together with our partners, governments, artists, parliamentarians, financial institutions, cities and others we worked tirelessly to promote and implement the TPNW, undermine the legitimacy of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence theory in particular, and get people all over the world involved. We hope the report gives you a clear picture of what we did and the impact we had in 2023, and makes you excited about what we’re doing in 2024.  This year as ICAN’s work continues across all of those fields, we could really use your support to make it happen. We rely on generous contributions from committed individuals like you to power our work. Will you please consider making a donation so we can continue our work to put a stop to nuclear weapons?   Donate   Thank you, Melissa Parke Executive Director, ICAN