OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #206, DECEMBER 4, 2024.

 

OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #206, DECEMBER 4, 2024.   Compiled by Dick Bennett

 

FOUR ACTIONS (=HOPE) FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

"Peacebuilding Next to Russia": Finnish perspectives webinar.
UN DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION ON A CULTURE OF PEACE.
Back from the Brink.  “Bringing Communities Together.” 
Public Citizen’s campaign to overturn Supreme Court’s decision to give presidents  
      complete immunity for any “official” act.

Dear Dick,
Join us on Saturday, December 14 for an online panel on "Peacebuilding Next to Russia" to hear from Finnish perspectives on peace.
Finland and Russia not only share a 1,340-kilometer (833 miles) border, but also a long history. There have been many conflicts and disagreements, many of which have been resolved without violence and war. Now, as tensions build, it is important to hear from advocates for peace, nonviolent resolution to conflicts, and ways to reduce the tension. 

 

 

Register here to join us online on December 14 for "Peacebuilding Next to Russia"!

 

When: Saturday, December 14 at 9:00am PT / 11:00am CT / 12:00pm ET / 7:00pm Finland
How to join: Register here for the Zoom link!  
The panel will feature a range of perspectives on issues relating to peace and anti-militarism from the Finnish context:   Claus Montonen, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) – ICAN and nuclear disarmament    Ulla Klötzer, Women for Peace, Finland – International Statement from the Peace Conference in St. Petersburg    Liisa Taskinen, Peace WG of CP of Finland and European Left - Defense Cooperation Agreement between Finland and the U.S.    Ahti Tolvanen, Friends Society (Quakers) of Finland - Pacifism, Alternatives to War, and 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Conference in 2025    Anna Gartagani from Justice Not Arms / Sumud – End Arms Trade with Israel    TBA Speaker from Lapland (Northern Finland) – Foreign Militarism and the Impact on a Pristine Environment and Indigenous People

This event is sponsored by: Illinois for a World BEYOND War; Friends Society (Quakers) of Finland; Women for Peace, Finland; and World BEYOND War.  

 

Greta Zarro, Organizing Director, World BEYOND War, greta@worldbeyondwar.org

 

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UN DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION ON A CULTURE OF PEACE   decade@decade-culture-of-peace.org  12-1-24

Dear Friends,
I have posted my blog for December: 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UN
DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION ON A CULTURE OF PEACE
Twenty-five years ago, in September 1999, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, which many have compared to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the most important resolutions in its history. 
You will find it at https://decade-culture-of-peace.org/blog/?p=1813

This month's CPNN bulletin is entitled "A TALE OF TWO SUMMITS ." You may
find at https://cpnn-world.org/new/?p=36071 . . . .  [hopeful resistance to the rich nations, very short, don’t miss  --D]
Thank you for your interest in the culture of peace.
David Adams

Sean Meyer.   “Bringing Communities Together: Living Into Our Tagline at Back From the Brink. “    Nov 20, 2024 .

. . .Back from the Brink’s tagline is “Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.” Indeed, that one phrase succinctly captures the essence and identity of this campaign. Two nights ago, we held our monthly Local Organizing Meetup where the spirit of community was alive and well. We broke into small groups and created space for folks to share and learn from each other — and bolster our collective spirits for the important work ahead.  A whole bunch of new folks showed up! It was especially poignant to have Hideko Tamura, who survived the Hiroshima bombings as a 10 year old, join us and talk about her efforts to share her story and cultivate peace. She is the author of One Sunny Day: A Child’s Memory of Hiroshima.

So many Back from the Brink folks around the country are showing us what “bringing communities together” means in practice. . . .

Let’s take good care of each other and build community as we continue to do this vital work. Please reach out to us at info@preventnuclearwar.org if you feel called to join our campaign.

 

Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert.  Editorial.   “No Kings: A Campaign to Protect Our Democracy.”  Public Citizen News (Sept.-Oct., 2024).
On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated one of the founding premises of American democracy: The idea that no one, not even the President, is above the law.

The Court’s 6-3 decision in Trump v. United States effectively gives presidents complete immunity for any “official” act—no matter how brazenly corrupt the motivation behind that act nor how catastrophic its consequences.   The decision gives all future presidents the kind of near-absolute power our country fought a revolution to end. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her scathing dissent, Trump v. United States will have “disastrous consequences for the Presidency and for our democracy.”

And that’s why Public Citizen has launched a campaign to overturn this travesty of a decision with a constitutional amendment. (Because the Supreme Court based its ruling on purportedly constitutional grounds, rather than through interpreting a law, Congress can only overturn it with a constitutional amendment.). . . .  MORE https://www.citizen.org/news/no-kings-a-campaign-to-protect-our-democracy/       --Dick

 

END OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #206, DECEMBER 4, 2024.