I have spent nearly ten years of my life speaking, writing, protesting, organizing, even singing and dancing for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I could quote statistics:
* 20% of Americans who die from suicide each year are veterans.
* More than 4,000 troops have died in these wars.
* There is documentation of more than 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq -- a country we were told we were liberating.
* The cost of these wars now totals more than $1 billion for North Dakota taxpayers alone.
These statistics are not new information. The cry for peace is not a new movement. It occurs to me this morning that I have nothing new to add. So I'll tell you what others have said.
After several canceled flights, I am finally on my way to Egypt to join my CODEPINK colleagues who are already there. We were supposed to be leading a delegation to Gaza right now, traveling through the Sinai to get to Gaza's southern border. The Rafa crossing into Gaza has been closed, our delegation is unable to leave Cairo, and we have been caught up in the breath-taking people's movement that is sweeping Egypt. CODEPINK’s Tighe Barry has been out on the streets of Cairo all week long. You can hear a compelling report from him here.
This year was marked by turmoil at home and abroad, including a deepening financial crisis that continues to leave millions jobless and homeless, as well as ongoing and expanding wars. But despite the setbacks and disappointments, here is a list of victories to be thankful for, starting with three inspirational women. By Medea Benjamin.
Women Nation-Wide Celebrate the Original Purpose of Mother’s Day: Peace--It Never Tasted So Sweet. Find and join your local CODEPINK event.
For Tax Day, CODEPINK activists attended tea party rallies in various parts of the country to survey the right-wing activists on their military spending views. After all, if tea partiers are displaying so much rage over the national debt and paying taxes, they must certainly oppose the massively bloated Pentagon budget and the various wars that the United States is waging without due cause.
Reports are trickling in that the conversation was actually civil between the two groups, with CODEPINK relatively more surprised and also more organized. That certainly beats the confrontational health care protests from last month. CODEPINK did interviews with over 50 participants in the Tea Party rally, getting their input about the cost of war and empire. We will soon be releasing the results of that survey.
WATCH THE VIDEO! February 24, 2010 Contact: Medea Benjamin, 415-235-6517 Former Blackwater Employee Threatens to Kill CODEPINK Activist in Senate Hearing Room CODEPINK calls on Congress to support the Schakowsky/Sanders ‘Stop Outsourcing Security’ Act On Wednesday, February 24, at the Senate Armed Services hearing on Blackwater, a former Blackwater employee known as Johnnie Walker threatened [...]
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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