Iran

By xofferson, DocuDharma

I had promised to report on the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation held June 28-29 in Cleveland, but delayed it to await an official summary of the actions taken there. Unless you were in the room almost all of the time for the debate and votes, it was impossible to know exactly what decisions the 400-plus participants made. And I confess to spending a good chunk of time "networking" and kibitzing in the halls.

Now the organizers have produced their summary and evaluation, which you can read it its entirety here.

By Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK/Global Exchange

Stop a War with Iran! Stop House Res. 362 and Senate Res. 580!

Please join us for a week of activities on Capitol Hill related to Iran.

Neville Chamberlain on Appeasement (1939)

By Alix Bryan

Greeting friends, I hope there is joy in your lives. If you get the chance, I would love to hear from you. If you want to be removed from this, let me know. There won't be many more of these updates....

By Karen Dolan, AlterNet

Foreign Policy Disaster Redux: Raise fears about a Middle East country. Tie that four-letter-word country to the potential for mushroom clouds over Tel Aviv and Texas. Convince the U.S. public that this country's ties to terrorists, its fanatical Islamist faith and its megalomaniacal leader with a scary-sounding name add up to the end of western civilization. Conclusion: Iran must be stopped, no option off the table.

The saber rattling increases, despite the December 2007 National Intelligence Estimate concluding that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons capability, nor has it a viable nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Agency Director, Mohammed ElBaradei, says unilateral military action by the United States or Israel would "turn the region into a fireball" and propel Iran toward developing a nuclear weapon. He has said he would resign his post in protest should such an attack be carried out. Yet, the Pentagon has confirmed that Israel recently launched a "rehearsal" attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Congress is currently considering a resolution (HR 362) that could justify imposing a naval blockade on Iran, constituting, in effect, an act of war against that country.

Submitted to the U.S. Conference of Mayors by the Honorable Mayor Bob Kiss of Burlington, VT, for consideration at the Miami Meeting on June 20-24, 2008

A RESOLUTION OPPOSING MILITARY INTERVENTION IN IRAN

WHEREAS, the WHEREAS: The President and members of his administration have alleged that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States, U.S. troops in the Middle East and U.S. allies, and

By David Swanson

One of the best outlines I've seen of a post-Bush-Cheney foreign policy that makes sense and could make us all more safe, more free, and more prosperous can be found in a short new book called "Re-Engage: America and the World After Bush," by Helena Cobban. Like Thomas Jefferson and most people with useful ideas for the world, Cobban lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, where we work together on the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. She also writes for the Christian Science Monitor and works in Washington, D.C., for the Friends Committee on National Legislation. That's Friends as in Quakers. Her website is http://justworldnews.org

Tonight, May 28th, from 8-9 p.m. ET, I'll have the pleasure of interviewing Helena Cobban, with your help. Go to: http://thepeoplespeakradio.net to learn more. Go to http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/listen-live to listen live. You'll find instructions there to enter a paltalk chat room where you can post questions. You can also phone in and ask your questions on the air. Call in tollfree from anywhere in the United States or Canada at 888-228-4494 or anywhere else in the world at 877-489-6350. Following the show, the audio file will be posted at http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/audio/2008 and you can find there now the recordings of numerous shows with amazing guests, including Cindy Sheehan, Lincoln Chafee, Brad Friedman, Shirin Ebadi, Phil Donahue, Mark Crispin Miller, William Odom, etc.

By David Swanson

Have you ever met one of those remaining 15 or 20 percent of Americans who have the kool-aid IV in their arms, and they ask you "Well, what would you DO then?" meaning "If you're so opposed to recklessly wasting our grandchildren's money slaughtering innocent people around the world, what exactly would you do instead? What would you do to make sure we bombed the evil people who need bombing, other than bombing them?" The question also takes a more directly answerable form when someone asks "Why are you so negative, criticizing our Commander in Chief all the time? What will you do when you don't have Bush and Cheney around to attack anymore?"

Sheehan to speak at Omni
By Erika Howsare, Cville Weekly

Peace activist Cindy Sheehan will speak in Charlottesville on May 22. She was in town almost exactly two years ago, speaking against the war in Iraq and about the death of her son there, and stopped here again last July for a rally in support of the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

At that last appearance, Sheehan was talking about running for Congress in California's Eighth District if the incumbent there, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, didn't join her in calling for impeachment. Well, Pelosi didn't, and Sheehan is indeed running. Having made her reputation by camping in front of President Bush's Texas ranch in summer 2005, Sheehan has evidently lost none of her instinct for frying big fish.

For $50, get your picture taken with Cindy Sheehan at the Omni on May 22. No hat required.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi to Answer Your Questions Online
By David Swanson

Shirin Ebadi (Persian: شیرین عبادی - Širin Ebâdi) is an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of the Children's Rights Support Association in Iran. On October 10, 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's and children's rights. She is the first Iranian, the first Shia and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize. She is currently visiting the United States, and is focusing her energies on opening lines of communication and preventing war between the United States and Iran.

Here's a chance to ask Ebadi questions about Iran and the United States that are on your mind. I'll be interviewing her live, and she'll be taking your questions, between 3 and 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 1, 2008.

Go to http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/listen-live to listen live. You'll find instructions there to enter a paltalk chat room where you can post questions. We will not be taking questions by telephone during this interview. Following the show, the audio file will be posted at http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/audio/2008

By David Swanson

On Friday outside the gates of Stratcom, the strategic command center outside of Omaha, Nebraska, that controls U.S. nuclear weapons and military space technology and from which the next war of aggression will be run, a group of activists gathered from all over the world. A number of people gave speeches in the freezing bone-chilling wind and snow. This was mine:

By R.K. Ramazani, Charlottesville Daily Progress

Any candidate, Democratic or Republican, who wins the presidential elections will face a great challenge of understanding Iran.

The propaganda machine does not help, and actually beclouds, our understanding of Iran. It depicts Iran as an irrational country that threatens world peace, that aims to hit the American homeland with missiles, that threatens to destroy Israel, that works to build nuclear weapons, and that aspires to dominate the oil-rich Middle East. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says publicly that she does not understand Iran, and there is no guarantee that a future secretary of state will either.

Photos here.

In the first event of a nation-wide campaign, TrueMajority members joined with local peace groups PeaceSurge and Hampton Roads Veterans For Peace to deliver over 1600 petitions to Sen. John Warner's Norfolk, Virginia office. The media was there (we'll post the coverage as it comes in), and you can bet that Sen. Warner is feeling the heat applied today by many passionate activists and one eye-popping, war opposing machine.

Remarks at American University Teach-In on March 22, 2008
By David Swanson

Robert Dreyfuss's presentation that I now have to follow was tremendous and I learned a lot, but I disagree with his pessimism. I am fond of the saying "Let's save our pessimism for better times." It's a choice to be a pessimist, and it is a wrong one, always.

By David Swanson

The TrueMajority.org "IranMobile", a Dr. Strangelovian thermonuclear missle/bomb that rises for launch 20 feet in the air with George W. Bush astride, came to Charlottesville, Va., as part of the http://www.NotAnotherWar.org campaign to stop an impending war on Iran. Lights, smoke, music, audio were part of the presentation. Members of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice collected petition signatures and handed out flyers from http://dontattackiran.org The mayor of Charlottesville Dave Norris came by and spoke in support of stopping any attack on Iran.

Local Code Pink activists and allies:

Mayor Dave Norris with True Majority's IranMobile Master Aaron Rubin:

Bombs Away!

By David Swanson

In a wide-ranging hour-long discussion on live radio, General William Odom said he sees two useful things Congress can do: cease funding the occupation of Iraq, and impeach Bush and Cheney.

The TrueMajority.org "IranMobile", a Dr. Strangelovian thermonuclear missle/bomb that rises for launch 20 feet in the air with George W. Bush astride, is coming to Charlottesville, Va., as part of the NotAnotherWar.org campaign to stop an impending war on Iran. Lights, smoke, music, audio are part of the presentation. Citizen activists will provide written materials and encourage discussion of the U.S. policy of aggressive war that was born 5 years ago this week.

Please come out and join us!

WHEN: Friday, March 21st

WHERE: In the parking lot between Water Street and South Street downtown beginning at 4 p.m.

WHY: The American public elected a Congress to end one war in 2006, and -- far from ending it -- our government is threatening to launch another war, this time against Iran. The current issue of U.S. News and World Report includes an article with the headline "Six Signs the U.S. May Be Headed for War in Iran." The illegal occupation of Iraq is entering its sixth year.

More information about the IranMobile is available at http://notanotherwar.org

More about the threat of an attack on Iran is available at http://dontattackiran.org

The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice (CCPJ), which is assisting in this event, is at http://charlottesvillepeace.org

By David Swanson

Imagine yourself sitting down transfixed and watching video footage of U.S. bombs hitting Iran. You see children ripped limb from limb, mothers screaming and wailing, people panicked, tortured, traumatized, and killed. Imagine asking yourself at that point: What was I doing these past many months that I thought was more important than preventing this?

Now ask yourself today: What am I doing that is more important than ending the ongoing hell of the U.S. occupation of Iraq?

In 2008 many of us understand that our nation - and even the entire planet - are in a state of crisis. The deep longing for positive, lasting change is the bedrock upon which this conference is based. How do we fix our country and our world? And how can we form one mass movement to address the crisis?

In Radford, Virginia on May 22-25, thousands of activists, academics, journalists, poets, musicians and policymakers will converge at the 2008 "Building a New World" Conference. If you want to participate in building a new world, sign up now. Hotel and dorm rooms are limited.

Learn more about First WPA Summit 2008.

Register now.

Cindy Sheehan, William Blum, Kathy Kelly, Mike Whitney, Alice Lovelace, David Swanson, Gareth Porter, Medea Benjamin, Farid Bitar, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Robert Jensen, Kevin Zeese, Antonia Juhasz, Father Roy Bourgeois and many more leaders and luminaries will join thousands of people from across the country and from other lands as well, for a conference to lay the foundations for building a new world now.

Read Dave's blog where he describes Dennis Kucinich asking him if he would be willing to do this.

Click for audio of interview with Eve Tetaz and Mark Goldstone

On the 3rd Friday of every month, since September, people around the country have been taking antiwar action in their own communities, workplaces, schools and other locations as part of the Iraq Moratorium. United for Peace and Justice urges you to join the building momentum on Friday, November 16th.