Category: Peace

Tamara Lorincz writes:

Hello and Happy New Year KW Peace!

I wanted to share with you 9 upcoming events, 2 take action alerts and a few resources below. Please scroll down feel free to share.

Also, at the end of this message is a link to a revealing interview that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did with the New York Times on January 2^nd. I transcribed some of the interview. He admits that the US “quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine” from September to December 2021. Blinken admits to provocation and to the US refusing to engage in diplomacy though Russia offered two draft treaties to negotiate in December 2021. Blinken also explains Washington’s decision to continue to supply weapons to Israel though Gaza is “decimated” (essentially to use Israel as a proxy to attack other countries in the region) and he admits there have been many private and public complaints in his department for what the US is doing supporting & arming Israel. See the link below.

With solidarity and hope for peace and justice in 2025,

Tamara

1. WEBINAR: “They Shoot Children in the Head”: A US Surgeon Reports What He Saw in Gaza

   Tomorrow, January 8, 7:00pm EST – online

   Organized by Massachusetts Peace Action

   Register: https://secure.everyaction.com/egafyaVDckyf3FiSAykFCw2

   Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is a trauma surgeon who has volunteered in conflict zones around the world. The weeks in March – April 2024 he spent at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza were like nothing else he had ever witnessed: patients universally in extreme physical and psychiatric distress, the rampant dehydration and malnutrition, the total lack of medical equipment and supplies, the squalid conditions. In particular, he was haunted by something he saw again and again: children shot in the head.

   Since returning, Dr. Sidhwa has been telling the world what he witnessed. His account along with those of 64 other healthcare workers appeared in the widely publicized New York Times opinion piece, “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza“ in October. His message is clear: the U.S. must enforce American laws and stop supplying weapons to Israel. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is a surgeon at San Joaquin General Hospital in Stockton, California. He has worked in conflict zones worldwide, including  in Palestine, Ukraine, Haiti, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso.

2. WEBINAR: U.S. Foreign Policy

   Thursday, January 9, at 5:00pm Pacific / 8:00pm Eastern

   Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dsYVj3XITxSlynm1hQjcGg#/registration

   We will examine the role of American militarism in fostering a less safe, less just, and less democratic world. Experts will explore critical issues such as resistance to U.S. foreign policy, the intersections between militarism at home and abroad, the true cost of exorbitant military spending, the existential threat of nuclear weapons, and more.

   We will be joined by David Vine, author of Base Nation, Island of Shame, and The United States of War; Christian Appy, Director of the Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy and author of American Reckoning; Sonali Kolhatkar, journalist and author of Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice and co-author of Bleeding Afghanistan; Emma Claire Foley, Defuse Nuclear War leader and RootsAction nuclear specialist; David Swanson, Executive Director of World BEYOND War, Campaign Coordinator at RootsAction, and author of War is a Lie.

3. WEBINAR: RESIST NATO – EUROPE

   Date: Saturday, 11 January 2025

   Time: 19:00 CET (1:00pm EST)

   Organized by RESIST NATO – EUROPE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIucuGtrjgsG9aQjEoEPeULnkktYMzUGWCx#/registration

   On Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 19:00 CET (1:00pm EST), RESIST NATO – EUROPE will hold an online event: Resist US-NATO Aggression, Bases, and the Militarization of Europe! Uphold Peoples’ Rights and Liberation!

   NATO operates as a US-led military alliance central to imperialist wars and occupations that have caused the deaths and displacement of millions worldwide. NATO’s strategy of expansionism, as demonstrated by its proxy involvement in Ukraine, intensifies conflicts and interimperialist rivalries while advancing U.S. geopolitical interests at the expense of global peace. NATO’s collaboration with non-member states through programs like the Mediterranean Dialogue, Partnership for Peace, and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative extends its militaristic agenda. These partnerships, including those with the Israeli government, further enable systemic violence, such as Israel’s human rights abuses and ongoing genocide in Palestine. By prioritizing militarization and increased military spending, NATO undermines global stability, exacerbates inequalities, and diverts resources away from vital public services.

   This event will focus on organizing collective actions leading up to the NATO Summit in The Hague on June 24–25, 2025. It will also serve as a platform to discuss NATO’s role in fueling imperialist wars, expanding militarization, and undermining democratic rights. The discussions will explore pathways to support the right of peoples and nations to resist imperialist aggression, establish self-determination, and uphold their sovereignty.

   More info: https://vrede.be/nl/kalender/resist-nato-europe

4. WEBINAR SERIES: GAZA IN CONTEXT: The Colonial History that Shaped the Modern Middle East

   4-part online series. Sundays, Jan 5, 12, 26, and Feb 2, 2025, all at 3:00pm

   GAZA IN CONTEXT: The Colonial History that Shaped the Modern Middle East

   Sun January 12 @ 3:00pm – 4:30pm EST

   Register: https://masspeaceaction.org/event/gaza-in-context-the-colonial-history-that-shaped-the-modern-middle-east/2025-01-12/

   January 12 – MANDATES AND REPRESSION IN PALESTINE AND BEYOND: The failure of the British colonial attempt to shape Palestine in conformance with the Balfour Declaration; Palestinian resistance and the first proposals for partition; Zionist terror; British, French colonialism in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

   January 26 – ISRAELI INDEPENDENCE AND “NAKBA”: The UN proposed partition of Palestine, Israeli declaration of independence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from 1947 to the present; Arab and Palestinian resistance.

   February 2 – LOOKING IN THE MIRROR: How the U.S. has shaped the contemporary Middle East from before the Cold War to the present. Indigenous nationalism and its opponents. Addressing the domestic colonial and imperial background to US support for Israel and its destabilizing interference in the region.

   Speaker: Jeff Klein is a veteran anti-war activist, retired machinist and local trade-union president, who for 8 years until 2023 taught a course on “The US in the Middle East” at the UMass Boston Lifelong Learning Institute.  He is a board member of Massachusetts Peace Action and a member of its Gaza Israel Mideast peace campaign’s steering committee.

   Since 2004 Jeff has traveled almost every year to Palestine/Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East, and has many close friends among veteran activists in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.  He has also worked in Nicaragua and for the exiled African National Congress in Zambia.  Check out his weekly presentations on “Genocide in Gaza” and read his articles on the Middle East.

   Register to attend any or all of the four sessions.

5. WEBINAR: The Tragedy of the Ukraine War: Compromise or Collapse?

   Thu January 16 @ 7:00pm – 8:00pm EST

   Online Event register: https://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-tragedy-of-the-ukraine-war-compromise-or-collapse/

   With speaker: Nicolai N. Petro, Professor of Political Science at University of Rhode Island. Author of “The Tragedy of Ukraine: What Classical Greek Tragedy Can Teach Us About Conflict Resolution” (2023).

6. WEBINAR: The Scientists Who Alerted us to the Dangers of Radiation

   Canadian book launch and webinar with authors: Dr. Ian Fairlie and Cindy Folkers

   Thur. Jan. 16, Noon – 1:00pm EST

   This book reveals that the harmful effects of radiation exposure – especially from the nuclear sector and especially to children – are more pervasive and worse than thought. These have been known for decades but suppressed by politically-motivated censorship and overt disparagement/persecution. Anyone who ever wondered about radiation or its close relative, radioactivity, should read the book and attend this webinar. It’s timely because the feds and several provincial governments are pushing hard for more public exposures to radiation via nuclear power. It explains radiation in easy-to-grasp language which clarifies its dangers and risks. Both authors will present on the webinar.

   Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XxiHwXW4S_evHMrJSzmVlA

7. WEBINAR: ‘European Nukes- Time to Go!’

   Jan 25, 2025 1:00pm New York (EST), 6:00pm London (GMT), 7:d00pm Central European time (CET)

   You are invited to join our webinar: European Nukes – Time To Go! This informative discussion will be held on Jan 25th. This webinar is addressing the growing NATO presence in Europe and the imposition of nuclear weapons in NATO countries. Moderated by Kate Hudson, CND, and Pippa Bartolotti, UNAC and GWUAN

   Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cXYxq0RhSmaM0TBey5BGnA

   Speakers include:

   Opening remarks: Ann Wright – Veterans for Peace, US

   • UK: Angie Zelter – Lakenheath Alliance for Peace
   • France: Ben Cramer – Peace researcher, close to Pugwash/France and TNI. Former Greenpeace disarmament campaigner
   • Germany: Angelika Clausen – IPPNW
   • Italy: Patrizia Sterpetti – WILPF Italy
   • Belgium: Naomi Zoka – Pax Christi Vlaanderen
   • Netherlands: Guido van Leemput – Vredespolitiek
   • Marta Durin –  Nuclear expert, coordinator of the Young WILPF network
   • Ulla Klötzer – Women for Peace Finland and GWUAN

   On behalf of Global Women United for Peace against NATO

   www.womenagainstnato.org

8. WEBINAR: Book Launch: Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada,

   by Gregory P.  Marchildon

   Online & in-person  |  January 22, 2025 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm

   Location: In-person: Boardroom and Library, 315 Bloor St. West, Toronto, M5S 0A7 & Online via Zoom

   https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/book-launch-tommy-douglas-and-quest-medicare-canada-gregory-p-marchildon

9. WEBINAR: “Autonomous Armageddon: Nuclear Weapons and AI”

   Join us for a critical webinar on Sunday, January 26, at 9:00am EST / 2:00pm GMT, “Autonomous Armageddon: Nuclear Weapons and AI”, to explore the alarming dangers posed by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear weapons systems. Register now: http://ippnw.org/ai

10. If you know people in the Windsor, ON area, journalist & lawyer Dimitri Lascaris and I are giving a talk “War, Peace & Propaganda: What the West Should Learn from the War in Ukraine and the Genocide in Gaza” on Weds. Jan 15, 6:00pm – 8:00pm, Location: University of Windsor School of Law Moot Court, 401 Sunset Avenue, corner of California Ave. and University Ave. https://forms.gle/5ieD7hfYuobPNc2h6 (if you have contacts in the area, please let them know!)
11. If you are in Toronto area, there’s a “People’s March to the US Consulate” to the wars, protect human rights etc. at noon on Saturday, January 18:
    
    https://www.labourcouncil.ca/people_s_march_toronto_fighting_for_a_better_world
    (if you have contacts in the area, please let people know!)

TAKE ACTION

1. SIGN OPEN LETTER: End Canada’s military mission assisting Israeli occupation

   https://actionnetwork.org/letters/end-canadas-military-mission-assisting-israeli-occupation

2. SIGN OPEN LETTER: Protect Palestinian Children Now.

   https://actionnetwork.org/letters/save-palestinian-childrens-lives-protect-palestinian-children-now

RESOURCES

1. STATEMENT: UN experts horrified at blatant disregard for health rights in Gaza following deadly raid on Kamal Adwan hospital, January 2, 2025: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/un-experts-horrified-blatant-disregard-health-rights-gaza-following-deadly
2. ARTICLE: By Tamara Lorincz “Greenwashing NATO: Canada hosts the alliance’s new Centre of Excellence for Climate and Security”: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/greenwashing-nato
3. ARTICLE: By Yves Engler “Mr. Trudeau, tell France to show Haiti the indemnity money”

   https://yvesengler.com/2025/01/06/mr-trudeau-tell-france-to-show-haiti-the-indemnity-money/

   *What France, the US and Canada did to Haiti… it’s a tragedy and a crime.

4. BLINKEN INTERVIEW WITH THE NEW YORK TIMES

   Transcript excerpt

   11:39 NYT Question: “You made two early strategic decisions on Ukraine. The first was to restrict Ukraine’s use of American weapons within Russia. The second was to support Ukraine’s military offensive without a parallel diplomatic track to try to end the conflict. How do you look back on those decisions now?”

   12:00 Blinken: “If you look at the trajectory of the conflict, because we saw it coming, we were able to make sure that not only were we prepared and our allies and partners were prepared, but Ukraine was prepared. We made sure that that well before the Russian aggression happened starting in September, the Russian aggression happened in February, starting in September then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves, things like stingers and javelins, that they could use that were instrumental in preventing Russia from taking Kyiv and from rolling over the country erasing it off the map and pushing the Russians back.”

   (The US is admitting it provoked the war and refused to engage in diplomacy)

   33:08 NYT Question: “The war is still being prosecuted. Hamas is no longer deemed a threat in the way that it was and the population has been completely decimated. So, I’m curious, why still provide these weapons to Israel?”

   33:20 Blinken: “As I have said from Day 1, first of all, we have been and will remain fundamentally committed to Israel’s defence. And unfortunately, it faces adversaries and enemies from all directions and that means the support that the U.S. provides over many administrations, Republican and Democrat, over many years that support is vital to make sure that Israel is able to defend itself… And in turn, that means we aren’t going to have an even wider, broader conflict that results in more death and destruction. So, it’s been vital to maintain that.”

   (The US is using Israel as a proxy for a wider war in the Middle East/West Asia)

   Question: I do want to ask you about your own standing in the Department that you lead. Because you have had a series of very public defections over the conduct at the State Department over Gaza. The latest to speak out is Mike Casey, who was the state department’s deputy political counselor on Gaza and resigned in July. He recently talked to the Guardian about his tenure. He claimed that the State Department frequently rolled over for Israel. No one would read his reports on civilian casualties. He said that he and his colleagues used to joke that they could attach cash to the reports and still they would fall on deaf ears. That’s very dark. How do you respond to that?

   Blinken: “I have inordinate respect for the people in the Department who have had different views…”

   (He talks about the dissent cables within the Department. See links to Mike Casey below.)

   Question: Do you worry, Secretary Blinken, that perhaps you have been presiding over what the world will see as a genocide?

   Blinken: “No.“

   ---

   The Guardian: ‘Tired of writing about dead kids’: why a US state department worker resigned over Israel-Gaza policy Mike Casey, one of only two people explicitly focused on Gaza, left over inaction and doing ‘what the Israelis want’: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/18/state-department-employee-resigns-israel-gaza

   Former U.S. State Dept official who resigned over Gaza Mike Casey on Democracy Now!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHmjzHLif68

   We know from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine that violations of the Minsk agreement escalated from January 2022 from the US-backed Ukrainian security forces shooting and shelling the ethnic Russian minority in the Donbass until Russia invaded on Feb. 24, 2022, there was provocation. Two wrongs don’t make a right but we need a truth & reconciliation process along with negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. See: https://www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine-closed (see daily logs of ceasefire violations in January and February 2022)