The Bill of Rights, The 99%, and The Thin Blue Line:

A discussion about the intersection of free speech and the police at Occupy Wall Street and beyond

Monday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Hofstra University Law School, Koppelman Hall Room 308

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Bring on the Sanctions; Send in the Clowns Nuclear Iran

by ROBERT FISK

Turning round a story is one of the most difficult tasks in journalism – and rarely more so than in the case of Iran. Iran, the dark revolutionary Islamist menace. Shia Iran, protector and manipulator of World Terror, of Syria and Lebanon and Hamas and Hezbollah. Ahmadinejad, the Mad Caliph. And, of course, Nuclear Iran, preparing to destroy Israel in a mushroom cloud of anti-Semitic hatred, ready to close the Strait of Hormuz – the moment the West’s (or Israel’s) forces attack.
Given the nature of the theocratic regime, the repulsive suppression of its post-election opponents in 2009, not to mention its massive pools of oil, every attempt to inject common sense into the story also has to carry a medical health warning: no, of course Iran is not a nice place. But …

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Hanford: America's Nuclear Nightmare

By Peter Eisler, USA Today
25 January 12

Charlottesville, Va., City Council Passes Resolution Opposing War on Iran

By David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/content/charlottesville-va-city-council-passes-resolution-opposing-war-iran
The City Council of Charlottesville, Virginia, home of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and the University of Virginia, passed on Tuesday evening, January 17, 2012, a resolution believed to be a first in the country, opposing the launching of a war on Iran, as well as calling for an end to current ground and drone wars engaged in by the United States and urging Congress and the President of the United States to significantly reduce military spending. Below is the text of the resolution, followed by an account of how it came to be. As other towns and cities have been inquiring about how they can do the same, this may prove helpful..

Coalition on Human Needs
Register Today for Upcoming Webinar: Deficits, Domestic Programs and Pentagon Spending
Thursday, October 27 3:00PM EST

By Thanksgiving, a Congressional deficit reduction panel is charged with saving more than $1 trillion over the next decade. There is growing bipartisan support for getting some of the savings from the military. Of course, Pentagon leaders and Hill supporters are trying to draw a protective line in the sand around military spending. But the choices are stark: if ineffective Pentagon spending is protected, the threats deepen for health care, education, nutrition aid, and much more.

Deficits, Domestic Programs and Pentagon Spending will introduce you to Pentagon budget basics, with experts showing you hundreds of billions of dollars in military savings that can be made without risk to U.S. security. To defend services people need, we need to know about and work towards a better set of options. Register here

This webinar is part of the budget education work of the SAVE for All campaign (Strengthening America's Values and Economy for All).

Presenters:
Lawrence Korb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is also a senior advisor to the Center for Defense Information, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and served as Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Reagan administration.

Laura Peterson is a Senior Policy Analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS). She heads TCS' national security program, which includes oversight of the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and State Department budgets.

Chris Hellman is a Senior Research Analyst for National Priorities Project. At NPP, he specializes in military spending and the local impact of overall federal spending and revenue priorities.

Moderator:
Ruth Flower is the Associate Executive Secretary for Legislative Program at Friends Committee on National Legislation. As FCNL’s legislative director, Ruth lobbies on the federal budget, military spending, immigration, civil rights, religious freedom and other domestic issues.

REGISTER Today!

Hofstra Vigil 10th Anniversary of Afghan War Anand Gopal, Speaker

SILENCE THE DRUMS OF WAR VIGILS AT CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES
TO MARK 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF AFGHAN WAR On OCTOBER 7TH

Long Island groups will hold Vigils at LI congressional office to mark the 10th Anniversary of the War in Afghanistan on Friday, October 7th. As constituents, as Long Islanders, as global citizens they will call on their representatives to SILENCE THE DRUMS OF WAR. In addition, peacemakers will be leafleting at LIRR stations during Friday morning’s rush hour and later at supermarkets calling for an end to the Afghan War.

“We call on our LI congressional representatives and our NY Senators to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our soldiers home. We call on them to heed the demands of the majority of Americans who want to see this war end as quickly as possible and our troops brought home,” says Margaret Melkonian, LI Alliance Executive Director. “We call on Congress and the President to silence the drums of war and to sound the trumpets of peace.”

The bombing of Afghan villages, on October 7th was the beginning of the Afghan War. At the same time, it launched the United States policy of the Global War on Terror. Since the war began in 2001, tens of thousands of Afghan people have been killed or wounded. 1,777 US soldiers have been killed and 13,700 have been wounded. The cost of Afghan War has been $460 Billion so far. Including the war in Iraq , the two wars have cost more than $1.2 TRILLION. Nassau and Suffolk taxpayers have paid $25 Billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .
Recently, 70 members of the House, including four Republicans, called on the supercommittee to find even more in military savings by ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan altogether. By cutting funding for those wars and winding down the American troop presence there, the lawmakers said the supercommittee could achieve $1.8 trillion in savings over the next decade. "Exorbitant spending on failed wars that have killed thousands of Americans must not be exempt from budgetary scrutiny," they wrote. "Before we ask American families to pitch in more, let's bring our troops home — and, in the process, our tax dollars home."
“We call on Congress to end these wars and redirect war dollars to create jobs, provide healthcare, take care of returning veterans, fund education, restore the environment and rebuild our LI communities.
Only by ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can the United States confront the real problems of unemployment, poverty and inequity. Only when we stop funding war will we have the resources to invest in the next generation and to deal with the existential threat of global climate change. “The path forward is clear. The choice for 21st America is: Endless War or Permanent Peace. We choose peace,” says Melkonian. “The time is now.”

AFGHANWAR
IS OVER!

WHEN WE STOP PAYING FOR WAR!

10 YEARS OF WAR IN AFGHANISTAN (2001-2011)
1,757 US SOLDIERS KILLED
13,700 US SOLIDERS WOUNDED
TENS OF THOUSANDS AFGHANS KILLED AND WOUNDED
COST TO US $460 BILLION

ONLY YOU CAN STOP THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

OCTOBER 7TH MARKS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AFGHAN WAR

WAR IS OVER!

ONLY YOU CAN STOP THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND TWO SENATORS AND TELL THEM:

END THE WAR IN AFGANISTAN.
BRING ALL OUR SOLDIERS HOME.
FUND WITHDRAWAL AND VETERANS’ HEALTHCARE.
USE WAR DOLLARS TO CREATE JOBS.
PUT AMERICA BACK TO WORK AND
REBUILD INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

CD1 Tim Bishop: 631-696-6500
CD2 Steve Israel: 631-951-2210
CD3 Peter King: 516-541-4225
CD4 Carolyn McCarthy: 516-739-3008
CD5: Gary Ackerman: 718-423-2154
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: 202-224-4451 or 631-249-2825
Senator Charles Schumer: 202-224-6542 or 631-753-0978
CAPITOL HILL SWITCHBOARD: 202-224-3121
TOLL FREE: 1-866-261-4755

WAR IS OVER WHEN TAXPAYERS STOP PAYING FOR IT AND WHEN CONGRESS VOTES TO STOP FUNDING IT. Work to change our national priorities away from the destruction of wars and wasteful military spending. Contact the LI Alliance at 516-741-4360.

WANT TO DO MORE? Volunteer. Distribute Fliers.
Ask local candidates how and when they will end the war in Afghanistan and bring war dollars home to create jobs on Long Island.

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WAR or JOBS?

WHERE’S OUR MONEY? GONE TO WAR.
Since 2001, taxpayers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties have paid $25 Billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. American taxpayers have paid more than $1.2 Trillion (www.nationalpriorities.org).

It’s time to end the war in Afghanistan.

It’s time to withdraw all our US troops from Iraq.

BRING OUR TAX DOLLARS HOME TO LONG ISLAND.

15 Million Americans are unemployed.
Millions more underemployed.
We have a job crisis!
Creating jobs is the solution to the debt problem.

Put money in the pockets of workers!

The Military Budget is now $672 Billion a year –more than the next 14 countries combined. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said it well: “We are spending literally hundreds of billions of dollars for weapons that don’t work against enemies that don’t exist.”

INVEST 5 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME. Here's what you can do:
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND TWO SENATORS AND TELL THEM TO USE WAR DOLLARS TO CREATE JOBS ON LONG ISLAND:

CUT THE MILITARY BUDGET BY AT LEAST 25%;
MOVE THE MONEY FROM THE PENTAGON BACK TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS;
REBUILD INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR COMMUNITIES;
INVEST IN OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AND ENSURE

ADEQUATE HEALTHCARE FOR ALL.

JOIN THE LI MOVE THE MONEY CAMPAIGN.Help to change our national spending priorities away from the destruction of wars and wasteful military spending. Contact the LI Alliance at 516-741-4360
for speakers on the military budget, war and the economy.

WANT TO DO MORE? Volunteer. Distribute Fliers. Plan meetings for your community, school and religious groups.

There are at least three ways to think about the economic costs of these wars: what has been spent already, what could or must be spent in the future, and the comparative economic effects of spending money on war instead of something else.

Spending to Date:

Obligations for Future Spending

Opportunity Costs of War Spending

BARBARA LEE ON THE PRESIDENT’S AFGHANISTAN ANNOUNCEMENT: PLAN FALLS FAR SHORT OF THE SIGNIFICANT AND SIZEABLE REDUCTION THAT OUR WAR-WEARY NATION EXPECTED

Lee Calls for Swifter, Steeper Reduction in Troop Levels; Reaffirms Commitment to End Funding for Combat Operations in Afghanistan

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) released the following statement this evening in response to the President’s announcement regarding U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan:

“I was disappointed in the President’s announcement this evening that only 10,000 troops will be removed from Afghanistan by the end of this year and only 33,000 troops will be removed by September of 2012. Almost three out of four Americans want to bring our troops home from Afghanistan, and this is far from the sizeable and significant reduction that the American people were expecting.......................

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Tomgram: Jonathan Schell, The War on the Word "War"
[Absolute Last Chance for TomDispatch Readers: In 24 hours, your opportunity to get a personalized, signed copy of Adam Hochschild’s bestsellingT o End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918, in return for a $100 contribution to this website will be over. Visit our donation page now or be doomed on Wednesday night. After that, donations to TomDispatch will, of course, still be warmly welcomed and, for $75, a signed copy of my book, The American Way of War, will continue to be available. But you’ll have missed a genuine treat. Tom]

Nobody seems to have noticed, but in the nearly two and a half years of the Obama administration at least three commonplace phrases of the George W. Bush era have slipped into oblivion: “regime change,” “shock and awe,” and “imperial presidency.” The war in Libya should remind us of just how appropriate they remain. ........

Memorial Day is a sacred occasion dedicated by our nation to mourn the loss of American soldiers killed in wars. In that spirit, Long Island peace groups will gather at Jones Beach to reflect upon the consequences of war, to re-commit ourselves to ending war and to bringing all soldiers safely home to their loved ones.
Park at Parking field 4. Walk through tunnel and go right toward the Needle.
(Parking fee is $10)
9:00-10:15a.m. Gathering and Reading of the Names at the Needle
10:15-11:15 Procession along the board walk
11:15-noon Presence at recruiting stations
Organized by Pax Christi LI and endorsed by LI peace groups.
Email: PaxChristi.LongIsland@verizon.net

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Will Cutting Military Spending
Make Us Less Secure or More Secure?

A publication of the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
516-741-4360; longislandpeace@gmail.com www.longislandpeace.org

QUESTION: Will cutting military spending undermine our nation’s security?
ANSWER: Here’s what high-ranking military officers and conservative political analysts have to say (just Google if you don’t believe us!):
“Spiritual force, multiplied by economic force, multiplied by military force is roughly equal to security.”—President Dwight D. Eisenhower

“I think the biggest threat we have to our national security is our debt."—
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Conservatives need to hearken back to our Eisenhower heritage, and develop a defense leadership that understands military power is fundamentally premised on the solvency of the American government and the vibrancy of the U.S. economy.” – Kori Schake, Director for Defense Strategy and Requirements on the National Security Council.

“And until I see another hostile country in the world that poses a military threat in Europe, the Middle East and Asia at the same time, I'm thinking that current defense spending should be lower than Cold War levels by a fair amount."-- Daniel Drezner, Professor of International Politics at Tufts University and Senior Editor at The National Interest,

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To hear the mainstream media tell it, America confronts a choice: Republican plans for cutting domestic spending or President Obama's plans for cutting domestic spending. That's what they want us to think.
You'd never know from the mainstream media that 80 Members of Congress have put forward an alternative to cuts in spending on domestic needs: the People's Budget, advanced by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

The People's Budget would cut military spending and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Will you help us get around the mainstream media by sharing this information with your friends and family?
You can share this information by simply forwarding this email. You can also click the links below and share them on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media.
Here is the link for the People's Budget:
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70&sectiontree=5,70
Here is a piece by Colombia University economist Jeffrey Sachs about the People's Budget:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-peoples-budget_b_846573.html
And here is a piece by JFP's Robert Naiman on why Jeffrey Sachs' endorsement of the People's Budget is so important and has such potential to influence the budget debate. Embedded in the article is a video interview with Jeffrey Sachs on Democracy Now:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/can-jeff-sachs-get-us-out_b_847995.html
Thank you for helping us to get this information out. And thank you for all you do to help promote a just foreign policy.
Kate Gould, Sarah Burns, Chelsea Mozen, Megan Iorio and Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
Please support our work.
Your donations allows us to continue to promote opportunities for Americans to advocate for a just foreign policy.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html

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JOIN THE LI MOVE THE MONEY CAMPAIGN.

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Please support work of LI Alliance. Thank you.

In the News

NEW PRIORITIES] Call Congress today - cut war spending, not us!

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