DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An announcement from World Beyond War

Join World BEYOND War for our annual global conference in Toronto on September 21 and 22, 2018, at OCAD University (Ontario College of Art and Design University), 100 McCaul St, Toronto, ON M5T 1W1, Canada.

At #NoWar2018 we will explore how the rule of law has been used both to restrain war and to legitimize it — and how we can re-design systems to abolish the institution of war and uphold human and ecological justice.

Video for the conference

The conference will take place on Friday September 21 (5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., doors open at 4:00 p.m.) and Saturday September 22. (9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., doors open at 8:00 a.m.).

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE:

Thursday, September 20, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the Lambert Lounge, on the first floor of the main building at OCAD University: Inside Iran: Exclusive Book Talk with CODEPINK Co-Founder Medea Benjamin. RSVP.

Friday, September 21, 1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m. Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW)’s Annual General Meeting at 519 Church St, Room 301 in Toronto. Open to the public.

AFTER THE CONFERENCE:

Sunday, September 23 at 10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. “Inspirational Women Brunch: Shaping Peace Through Feminism” hosted by Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW), with special guests Medea Benjamin and Ray Acheson at Metro Hall, Room 308, 55 John Street, Toronto. Join #WomenShapingPeace for brunch to talk peace over pancakes and learn how you can take action to make our feminist vision of peace a reality. Purchase tickets here.

Sunday, September 23, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Blue Scarf Peace Walk. Meet at Grange Park on Beverly St. just south of Dundas St. W. Get a PDF flyer. Buy some blue scarves.

List of confirmed speakers

Conference Schedule:

September 21, 2018, International Day of Peace

4:00 p.m. Doors open for checking in (and picking up boxed dinners), tabling, meeting and greeting.

5:00 p.m. Welcome by Leah Bolger, Peter Jones; and Iehnhotonkwas Bonnie Jane Maracle providing land recognition. Brief reports from World BEYOND War chapters around the world. In Butterfield Park.

5:45 p.m. Opening remarks by Christine Ahn and Ravyn Wngz. Moderator: David Swanson. In Butterfield Park.

7:00 p.m. Music of Tom Neilson and Lynn Waldron. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

7:45 p.m. — 9:15 p.m. Plenary: Using the Rule of Law Against War with Gail Davidson, Daniel Turp, and Ray Acheson. Moderator: Kevin Zeese. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

September 22, 2018, Saturday

8:00 a.m. Doors open for tabling, light breakfast fare.

9:00 a.m. Plenary: Canadian Weapons, Wars, and Indigenous Rights with Tamara Lorincz, William Geimer, and Lee Maracle. Moderator: Lyn Adamson. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

10:15 a.m. Break.

10:30 a.m. Plenary: Global Governance: Actual and Potential with Kent Shifferd, James Ranney, and Branka Marijan. Moderator: Tony Jenkins. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

11:45 a.m. Break.

12:00 p.m. Lunch. Boxed lunches provided. Optional small-group discussions:

Intersectionality: A brainstorm session on “fusion organizing”: how to connect the dots and foster collaboration between the anti-war movement and the movements for ecological, economic, racial, and social justice. Facilitator: Greta Zarro. In Butterfield Park.
Creative Activism: Brainstorming ideas for creative, nonviolent action. Facilitator: Medea Benjamin. In Atrium.

Popcorn & a Movie: “The World Is My Country.” Broadway actor Garry Davis, desperate to stop a war, pulls off an act of political comedy so gutsy and eye-opening that it sparks a huge movement for World Citizenship — and legalizing peace! Martin Sheen calls this lost piece of history a “roadmap to a better future.” It’s a fun and entertaining outreach tool to draw new people into WBW. Q & A with the filmmakers – Melanie Bennett and Arthur Kangis. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

How the Internet Changes Activism: It’s a new world for those of us who want to change it. Facebook, Twitter, email, cryptocurrency and Internet privacy are some of the hot topics we’ll talk about in an open dialogue led by two maintainers of the World BEYOND War website and social media channels. Facilitators: Donnal Walter, Marc Eliot Stein. In Room 187.
Ideas collected by facilitators will be shared through WBW website.

Upgrading the Kellogg-Briand Pact with Kent Shifferd and David Swanson.

This workshop will cover a brief history of the Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 treaty to end war, its current status, what has and has not been accomplished, and what we can do to make it more effective including bringing a new treaty to the UN General Assembly. Room 230.

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The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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1:30 p.m. Workshops:

Disrupting the Business Models of War with Peter Jones, OCAD University and Stephen Sillett.

This workshop looks at long-term strategies for facilitating a transition to new public policy and industry models that might replace war-making as a core function of Western governments.

We’ll consider how the business of the military and the industrial complex are entwined in a long-standing business model of publicly funded international violence that requires a constant flow of new enemies and targets served to the public payers. Large group and small group sessions will design and propose alternatives to the post-war, state-industrial business model which has become extremely expensive and yields poor return on public investment. Room 506.

Departments and Other National Infrastructures for Peace – A Way Forward with Saul Arbess and Anne Creter.

This workshop will present the movement for departments of peace (DoP) and progress made to date, with four countries having DoPs and others with proposed legislation, highlighting Canada and the U.S. The conversation will be broadened by consideration of other national infrastructures for peace(I4P) and a UN resolution calling for I4Ps in all member states, to counteract the military infrastructures for war and violence and to provide a legal framework for conflict resolution by peaceful means at home and abroad. Room 542.

War Tax Resistance: Legality, Practicality, Value with Doug Hewitt-White.

There are active Peace Tax Fund campaigns worldwide. Tax resistance to paying for the military began in Canada over 200 years ago. Legislation has been proposed here in Canada and several other countries. Yet legally redirecting the military portion of our taxes to support peace programs is not yet sanctioned. This workshop will examine and discuss the legal basis for conscientious objection to military service and taxation. Is there a fundamental human right at stake? How practical is tax resistance? How effective is military tax redirection at advancing the cause of peace? Is it an important and valuable strategy? Room 556.

Citizen Action Using the Law with Daniel Turp, and Gail Davidson.

This session will provide participants with an understanding of how individuals and groups can initiate legal actions under domestic and international law to oppose war and associated illegalities of torture and arms sales. We will discuss civil disobedience, the use of universal jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court, Citizens’ Tribunals, the United Nations treaty monitoring bodies, available remedies, and issues of standing in Canadian courts. We’ll evaluate lessons learned from past examples of such initiatives in Canada and around the world. Room 544.

World Peace through World Citizenship and the Global Rule of Law with David Gallup.

What do you think are the most important questions of the 21st century to achieve a sustainable, just and peaceful world? Come prepared with ideas to discuss. This workshop will explore holistic alternatives to the divisive politics of nationalism. We will contemplate how to create spaces (social, legal, political, governmental, and ethical) where humans can interact peacefully and sustainably with each other and the earth. We will examine how world citizenship and world law provide a better alternative to national citizenship and national law. This session will end with a discussion about how world peace, as well as human and environmental sustainability, depend upon the advancement of common world law. Room 554.

2:45 p.m. Break.

3:00 p.m. Workshops:

Organizing 101: Strategy, Intersectionality, and Millennials with Greta Zarro.
In this session, we will discuss the nuts and bolts of grassroots organizing, with a focus on campaign development. We’ll identify effective strategies & tactics for engaging community members and influencing decision-makers. We’ll also look more broadly at movement-building from the perspective of “fusion” organizing and youth activism. Room 506.

Divestment from War Profiteers with Medea Benjamin.

Weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and many others have been making a killing on killing by profiting from the death and destruction that their products cause. Enough is enough! In this workshop, learn about and engage with CODEPINK’s Divest from the War Machine campaign. This divestment campaign calls for a radical reimagination of American priorities. Revoking the power of those who profit most from war-making is the first step in transforming our nation and ending the spread of violence, oppression, and death at home and abroad. We will strategize how to best bring the Divest campaign into your community. Room 230.

“Push Pins” Holding Up The Map of Empire: U.S. Military Bases Around the World with Leah Bolger.

How many foreign military bases does the U.S. have? 100? 300? The answer is over 800! Why does it have so many? We’ll talk about the role that these bases play in U.S. foreign policy, and their effect on global relations, as well as efforts to close them down. Room 544.
Organizing Locally to Block National Support for a War with Shreesh Juyal and Rose Dyson.
In 2003, Prof. Juyal collaborated with 88 cities’ community groups and organized mass rallies which successfully persuaded the Government of Canada to not take part in the Iraq War. The belligerent pressure of the United States on its NATO ally Canada did not succeed. This workshop will strategize and plan for application of a similar model in Canada and other nations around the world to resist current and future wars, bases, and war preparations. Room 556.

Peoples’ Tribunals with Tom Kerns.

Peoples’ tribunals provide a powerful platform for championing human rights. As a tactic in the activist toolbox, peoples’ tribunals can help increase States’ and non-state actors’ recognition of and respect for human rights, and help reduce the likelihood of war. This session will look at examples of peoples’ tribunals around the world in the past several decades. It will also more fully describe the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal Session on Human Rights, Fracking, and Climate Change. Room 554.

Learning Peace in Schools with Tony Jenkins.

This workshop will analyze the contradictory ways in which children are being taught to embrace both war and peace in the schools. We’ll examine the increasingly bellicose content of textbooks and various military programs in the nation’s schools, while looking at exciting developments in teaching peace and nonviolent conflict resolution. Room 542.
4:15 p.m. Break.

4:30 p.m. Reports Back from Workshops, Discussion of Plans. Moderator: Marc Eliot Stein. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

5:45 p.m. Break.

6:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. Energizing the War Abolition Movement in Canada and Globally with Kevin Zeese, Yves Engler, and Azeezah Kanji. Moderator: Greta Zarro. In Main Auditorium (Room 190).

Registration

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An article by David Swanson, World Beyond War

A few days after an over-hyped white supremacist rally in Washington, D.C., was massively outnumbered by people opposed to racism, and one day after 187 organizations (more than that now) publicly committed to turning out people to counter Donald Trump’s planned weapons parade with a parade for peace in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, and less than a day after the U.S. military said the weapons parade would now cost $92 million (which in fairness is a legitimate rounding up from the earlier estimate of $12 million according to the rules of Pentagon math), the parade of death and war profiteering that was threatened for November 10th in Washington, D.C., has been canceled, or (as these things are always announced) “postponed.”

Far from assuming no danger of the Trumparade actually being resurrected, organizers of the peace parade are planning to move forward as planned with a celebration of both Armistice Day and the prevention of the disastrous scheme to roll a giant middle finger to the world down Pennsylvania Avenue in the form of the weapons of mass destruction built by some of the top contributors to U.S. election campaigns, dealers of instruments of death to dictatorships around the world, and prospective members of the nascent Space Force.

Events are being planned for the weekend of Armistice Day in Washington, D.C., and around the world. The plan is to . . .

Celebrate No Trump Military Parade in Washington on November 10!

Celebrate Armistice Day and Peace Everywhere on November 11!

Sign up for any event on the world map here, or add a new one.

The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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If you can be in Washington, D.C., to celebrate preventing the Trump military parade, also sign up here.

Also, join in the Women’s March on the Pentagon on October 21-22.

Come to a free peace concert in Washington D.C., November 9, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. planned by Code Pink.

We’ll also be part of Catharsis on the Mall, November 10-12, in Washington, D.C.

Note also that the Kennedy Center in DC is opening a show about the WWI Christmas Truces on the evening of November 10.

Veterans For Peace is planning a silent march to all the monuments in Washington, D.C., on November 11.

November 11, 2018, is Armistice Day 100, a century since World War I was ended at a scheduled moment (11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918). For decades in the United States, as elsewhere, Armistice Day was a holiday of peace, of sad remembrance and joyful ending of war, of a commitment to preventing war in the future. The holiday’s name was changed in the United States during the U.S. war in Korea to “Veterans Day,” a largely pro-war holiday on which some U.S. cities forbid Veterans For Peace groups from marching in their parades. Trump had planned for this year a super-pro-war weapons parade — a Trumparade — for Washington D.C. on Saturday November 10th, the day before Armistice Day.

Our goal (now partially met) was to get the weapons parade (until recently planned for November 10th) canceled but to carry through with our own peaceful Armistice Day celebration in Washington, D.C., and everywhere else on earth. If the Trumparade had not been canceled, our goal was to be bigger and make a more impressive showing for peace and friendship than the weapons parade made for war and hatred and profiteering greed.

We need your help planning Armistice Day / Remembrance Day events everywhere on earth, and adding our presence to those already scheduled. If you can start an event or a contingent to participate in a larger event, we can help you. The first step is: please enter it into our system so that it shows up on our map for people to find.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Ploughshares

On May 1st, 1952, two thousand Marines waited in the Nevada desert for the detonation of an atomic bomb. Crouched in foxholes just two miles from ground zero without protective equipment, they were instructed to keep their heads down. “The bottom of my foxhole turned a brilliant, bright white I’ve never seen except in chemistry classes,” Bud Johns remembers, adding, “We were told to stay down until that light changed, and then immediately leave the foxholes and double time with full packs and rifles toward ground zero.” The explosion to which these Marines were exposed was the 19 kiloton Shot DOG, the fourth of a series of eight atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission as part of Operation TUMBLER-SNAPPER. According to a government fact sheet, “Tactical maneuvers were designed both to train troops and to test military tactics.”

Photo: Bud and Fran Johns

“When we got to ground zero,” Bud said. “where they had built a mock village with houses, sheep and goats, there was nothing but ashes. That made me a pacifist.”

Asked about his exposure to radiation, Bud shared, “We were guinea pigs. We wore badges to record how radioactive we were. We were lucky in our test because the wind disbursed the mushroom cloud and its radioactivity. The next test dropped a radioactive hotspot near St. George, Utah, where it killed farm animals. The hotspot remained, and years later when they were filming The Conqueror many of the cast and crew ended up dying of an identical cancer. Nobody paid much attention until John Wayne died.”

“The tests were widely publicized, so we weren’t sworn to secrecy afterwards,” Bud explained, “but we never talked about it.” Looking at a photo of Shot DOG that appeared in newspapers at the time, Bud noted he might be among the Marines pictured in front of a giant mushroom cloud. When results of US nuclear tests were declassified, Bud learned that his radiation exposure fell within acceptable AEC standards.

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Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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Completing his Marine service in 1953, Bud returned to his home state of Michigan where he renewed a career in journalism as a political reporter for the Flint Journal. Having worked his way through Albion College, Bud came to San Francisco in 1956 as a newspaper bureau chief.

Not long after arriving in San Francisco, Bud met Sally Lilienthal. Sally was horrified to learn of Bud’s experience. “I’ve never shared my story publicly, only individually, and I told Sallie I wanted no part of anything like that ever again. I became involved with Ploughshares Fund as soon as Sally started it,” Bud said. Bud and Fran Johns were married in 1992. Having dated while Fran attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and Bud was in the Marines, they were reintroduced after 40 years by family. According to Bud, “When Fran first came to San Francisco, I brought her to a party and introduced her to Sally with, ‘I want you to meet a great lady.'” Fran, a life-long writer who has written extensively in the fields of death and dying and reproductive justice, added, “So, I married into Ploughshares.”

Reflecting on Bud’s experience, Fran said, “Every time I hear about a test, I have to wonder what human participation they had that we’ll never hear about. When you look at the fallout on the soldiers and the film crew, you get an idea of how related we all are. We can’t just think that if North Korea drops a bomb somewhere the effects will only impact that place.”

“And the bombs are so much more powerful now than the bomb I saw,” Bud added. “It’s like comparing the M1 rifle I carried to an AR15.”

Commenting on his decades-long annual support of Ploughshares Fund, and his decision to include Ploughshares Fund in his will, Bud said, “The work it does is important, and it’s a battle that doesn’t have the support it should. You have to chip away at it, and that’s what Ploughshares Fund does. I’m probably the only member of Ploughshares who has seen an A-bomb blast. Politicians often think in terms of a war machine. A lot more of them would be pacifists if they had experienced the foxhole and seen the results at ground zero.”

Fran expressed her hope that people will see how Ploughshares Fund works to, “stop us from going down this horrendous path we’re on.” She said, “Other than voting, the individual doesn’t have the power to stop this, so supporting Ploughshares Fund is one little way for people to help stop the planet from self-destructing,” Ploughshares Fund is honored to list Bud and Fran Johns as members of the Nuclear-Free Legacy Society. For more information about the Nuclear-Free Legacy Society, or about ways to support Ploughshares Fund through your will or trust, contact Elizabeth Warner at 415-668-2244 or ewarner@ploughshares.org.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)
 

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

An article by Irene Kai

I am honored to be telling my story as a peace builder, and an immigrant in the United States of America. I met my partner David Wick in 1999. He worked with Avon Mattison and Joanie (Misrack) Ciardelli since 1980 on the foundation of Pathways To Peace (PTP) which became a United Nations NGO. Pathways To Peace then developed Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and works with the U.N. Centre for Human Rights, U.N. Centre for Human Settlements, UNESCO, UNICEF and other Agencies. It is also an official Peace Messenger of the United Nations.

World Peace Flame Monument, Snowdonia Mountain Lodge, Wales

I arrived in New York’s Chinatown from Hong Kong in 1965 at the age of fifteen, not knowing how to speak English. I learned quickly that for me to survive, I had to learn the language, get educated and assimilate into the American culture. In the process, I learned to be a keen observer of both cultures. I soon recognized and retained what serves me. From the Chinese, I work hard, fiercely adhere to devotion, discipline and humility, from the American, I am creative and daring to forge new paths. I am a quick learner, I apply what I learned into practices, therefore, I created my own culture.

David introduced me to Avon Mattison not long after we met. I joined PTP as a director and assisted in various projects and created the Culture of Peace Initiative logo which is seen on this CPI newsletter and a print of this image hangs in the United Nations.

On September 21, 2015, the International Day of Peace, David and I launched the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ashlandcpc.org) which was based on the years of experience working with PTP and the United Nations. This was a unique opportunity to organize on the ground, in a dynamic and creative community and a small city, the principles, practices and insights of what a Culture of Peace can be.

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How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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A week before the launch of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, I traveled to the UK for an art exhibit created by Banksy with my daughter. We decided to visit Wales since we had rented a car. Deep in the Snowdonia Mountains, I needed to turn my car around to go back to town and I turned into an outlet behind the mountain and I was stunned to see a glass monument with a flame near the top with the words “World Peace Flame” etched on the glass. I gazed at the flame in awe. The flame ignited the sacred flame in my heart and I knew instantly, peace starts with me – I am the flame.

In 1999, seven sacred flames from five continents were joined in Wales to become the World Peace Flame. The Asian flame was lit from the eternal flame at Gandhi’s memorial. My deep desire to bring the World Peace Flame to Ashland, Oregon, USA is to share the inspiration with each person to take responsibility to practice peace. There is only one other World Peace Flame in the United States, it is in the Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King. Peace is not just a concept or to help some other causes in faraway places. It is a daily practice. I experienced and learned about tremendous anger in communities in our country and in the world. Anger is an expression of deep passion; the same fierce passion also was expressed by Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King for peace. It is a choice.

My family is from China, immigrants to the United States. Many of us are immigrants in this country. I am proud to be an American. I am not defined by the US national politics. I traveled to many countries and experienced many cultures and America is the only country that offers freedom and the opportunity for a girl from New York Chinatown, who did not speak English, to have a vision and then through hard work and determination is bringing the World Peace Flame to the United States. The World Peace Flame is being lit on the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2018 in Ashland, Oregon.

There is only one race in this country and in the world – the Human Race. We have different history and habits, but we share the same humanity. We put the stake in the ground, we light the World Peace Flame along with the sacred flame in our hearts. We declare that we are defined by our desire and action to bring peace to ourselves and to the world. We unite with our hearts to protect and care for each other, our children, our community, our country and our planet. We choose Peace.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)