VFP-111 Co-Sponsors 13th International Day of Peace
Join us on Wednesday, September 21, for this year's commemoration.
Doors open at 6 pm at the Majestic located at 1027 North Forest
Street.
Please arrive at 6 p.m. for the info fair and music by Jazz for
Justice. Local organizations, including chapter volunteers, with be
tabling.
Please note a big change in the lineup for IDP: Nikkita "KO" Oliver,
creative, educator, teaching artist, anti-racist organizer, activist,
attorney based in Seattle, is going to be this year's keynote speaker!
The WPJC program begins at 6:30 p.m. sharp with speeches and the
presentation of the Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award.
Entry is free and all are welcome. ASL interpretation and childcare
will be provided. Space is wheelchair accessible, with a ramp at
the main entrance on N. Forest.
Veterans For Peace Statement in Support of Colin Kaepernick
Recently Colin Kaepernick has been in the national news for refusing to stand during the singing of the United States national anthem before the start of National Football League preseason games. His choice to remain seated or kneeling is to protest police misconduct and violence faced by Black people and other people of color. He has been maligned, accused of being unpatriotic and disrespecting active duty service members and veterans.
Veterans For Peace supports every person’s right to freedom of speech. To serve in the U.S. armed forces, our military veteran members were required to take a pledge to defend the Constitution of the United States. One of the most closely held rights recognized in the Bill of Rights is the free exercise of speech.
Veterans For Peace also recognizes that just as Kaepernick has the right to stand or not stand for the national anthem, people have the right to criticize the way he has chosen to express himself. But to question his patriotism and use smear tactics to quiet him is in direct contradiction to the spirit of the right to freedom of expression. His act of protest is a political act to register his discontent with the actions of his government. It is a nonviolent act that demands positive change for a better future for all of us. It is exactly the kind of speech the First Amendment was designed to protect and as veterans we applaud his use of his rights for the cause of equality and justice; rights and ideals that we are told we served to defend.
Veterans For Peace is a diverse organization with members who have varying perspectives about what to do during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. However, all are disappointed in the U.S. government’s disregard for the wellbeing and safety of people here at home and abroad. Police shootings of unarmed people are the deadliest outcome of U.S. domestic policies. But the indifference and unjust nature of many laws, policies and national social attitudes are reflected in the nation’s failure to meet basic human needs and treatment of the marginalized and most vulnerable. Immigrants are demonized. Members of the LGBTQ and Muslim communities are under fear of physical harm and face persecution. Native Americans continue to fight for their land and self-determination. People go hungry, find themselves homeless or in poor housing. Millions remain jobless, and without access to quality education and mental and physical healthcare. Yet the wealthy of our nation grow richer and candidates fall over each other to pledge to increase spending for militarization of the police, war and preparation for war. On the international stage the U.S. continues an endless war policy that has killed hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent civilians and displaced millions more. Our nation continues drone warfare that has killed hundreds to thousands of noncombatants caught in the crossfire of failed and immoral war policies. Many of those killed are children.
Veterans For Peace supports Kaepernick’s right to freedom of expression. We applaud his choice to exercise that right and call on others with high visibility to speak out and take action in various ways for peace and justice and demand a fair and just national response to address these and many other critical issues faced by people both here in the U.S. and abroad.
Veterans For Peace Statement in Support of Colin Kaepernick
Recently Colin Kaepernick has been in the national news for refusing to stand during the singing of the United States national anthem before the start of National Football League preseason games. His choice to remain seated or kneeling is to protest police misconduct and violence faced by Black people and other people of color. He has been maligned, accused of being unpatriotic and disrespecting active duty service members and veterans.
Veterans For Peace supports every person’s right to freedom of speech. To serve in the U.S. armed forces, our military veteran members were required to take a pledge to defend the Constitution of the United States. One of the most closely held rights recognized in the Bill of Rights is the free exercise of speech.
Veterans For Peace also recognizes that just as Kaepernick has the right to stand or not stand for the national anthem, people have the right to criticize the way he has chosen to express himself. But to question his patriotism and use smear tactics to quiet him is in direct contradiction to the spirit of the right to freedom of expression. His act of protest is a political act to register his discontent with the actions of his government. It is a nonviolent act that demands positive change for a better future for all of us. It is exactly the kind of speech the First Amendment was designed to protect and as veterans we applaud his use of his rights for the cause of equality and justice; rights and ideals that we are told we served to defend.
Veterans For Peace is a diverse organization with members who have varying perspectives about what to do during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. However, all are disappointed in the U.S. government’s disregard for the wellbeing and safety of people here at home and abroad. Police shootings of unarmed people are the deadliest outcome of U.S. domestic policies. But the indifference and unjust nature of many laws, policies and national social attitudes are reflected in the nation’s failure to meet basic human needs and treatment of the marginalized and most vulnerable. Immigrants are demonized. Members of the LGBTQ and Muslim communities are under fear of physical harm and face persecution. Native Americans continue to fight for their land and self-determination. People go hungry, find themselves homeless or in poor housing. Millions remain jobless, and without access to quality education and mental and physical healthcare. Yet the wealthy of our nation grow richer and candidates fall over each other to pledge to increase spending for militarization of the police, war and preparation for war. On the international stage the U.S. continues an endless war policy that has killed hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent civilians and displaced millions more. Our nation continues drone warfare that has killed hundreds to thousands of noncombatants caught in the crossfire of failed and immoral war policies. Many of those killed are children.
Veterans For Peace supports Kaepernick’s right to freedom of expression. We applaud his choice to exercise that right and call on others with high visibility to speak out and take action in various ways for peace and justice and demand a fair and just national response to address these and many other critical issues faced by people both here in the U.S. and abroad.
VFP-111 Monthly Chapter Meeting
WHEN: Friday, September 16, 6:00pm
WHERE: Bellingham Food Co-Op Connections Building
405 E. Holly St, Room 103
WHEN: Friday, September 16, 6:00pm
WHERE: Bellingham Food Co-Op Connections Building
405 E. Holly St, Room 103
Exclusive: Emails Reveal Navy's Intent to Break Law, Threatening Endangered Wildlife
Monday, 09 May 2016 00:00 By Dahr Jamail, Truthout | Report
Monday, 09 May 2016 00:00 By Dahr Jamail, Truthout | Report
A marbled murrelet, one of the species threatened by the US Navy's jet noise. (Photo: US Department of Agriculture; Edited: LW / TO)
When it comes to getting its way with war-gaming in the Pacific Northwest, nobody is better at the concept of "distributed lethality" than the US Navy. In 2015, the Navy introduced this concept "that promised to add more fire power to all manner of Navy vessels and operate them in a way that would spread thin enemy defenses." The Navy seems determined to move forward with planned military activities like increasing jet dogfighting, electromagnetic warfare training and other actions, regardless of how many animals it kills. Internal emails show how the Navy has been working to manipulate the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) biologists into bending the law, then proceeded to break the law, whilst the consultations between the two entities are ongoing.
An anonymous Navy source leaked several internal emails to Truthout that reveal how the Navy is trying to redefine "harm" to wildlife, in a way that would allow the Navy a potentially far greater rate of "takes" to marbled murrelets and other endangered and/or threatened species. A "take" is defined by the Endangered Species Act as to "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect" any threatened or endangered species. Marbled murrelets are secretive diving seabirds that nest in old-growth forests, which makes them vulnerable to both jet noise and sonar.
The emails show that while the Navy is aware that exceeding authorized levels of harm to species is illegal, it is nevertheless going to great lengths to move forward with its actions -- regardless of their toll on wildlife.
"There's been no coverage on endangered and threatened species the FWS manages, on all of that activity, for who knows how long."
The emails, from August and September 2015, reveal in detail how Navy personnel from the Pacific Northwest to the Pentagon pressured an apparently overwhelmed and cash-strapped FWS to complete its biological opinion (BO) in ways that would benefit the Navy. A BO is a legal document from the FWS that is required in order for the Navy to obtain the permits it needs under the Endangered Species Act, while conducting exercises and war games. As of publication of this article, the BO, covering marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls, bull trout and other species, is not complete.
A series of email threads outlines the Navy's concern about the FWS not adhering to Navy deadlines, and its intent to influence an overdue draft BO for the final environmental impact statement on its Northwest Training and Testing Range, which covers an area spanning from Northern California to southeast Alaska. "We also discussed how we might help FWS in completing their BO," read an email from August 2015, showing how the Navy aimed to cross the line and influence the permitting process for their own activities, "and most specifically agreed to help them write the Proposed Action part of the BO."
The emails show the Navy's impatience with an anticipated delay in the process required for it to be permitted to pursue training that would most certainly result in deaths of large numbers of animals, including endangered and threatened species. In November 2015, after the emails, the Navy received a permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for take of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions. The total number of takes for marine mammals only in Pacific Northwest waters, not including the Gulf of Alaska, is more than 1.2 million. For the Gulf of Alaska: 2.1 million, and for Hawaii-Southern California: 9.4 million.
Read complete article on Truthout
An anonymous Navy source leaked several internal emails to Truthout that reveal how the Navy is trying to redefine "harm" to wildlife, in a way that would allow the Navy a potentially far greater rate of "takes" to marbled murrelets and other endangered and/or threatened species. A "take" is defined by the Endangered Species Act as to "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect" any threatened or endangered species. Marbled murrelets are secretive diving seabirds that nest in old-growth forests, which makes them vulnerable to both jet noise and sonar.
The emails show that while the Navy is aware that exceeding authorized levels of harm to species is illegal, it is nevertheless going to great lengths to move forward with its actions -- regardless of their toll on wildlife.
"There's been no coverage on endangered and threatened species the FWS manages, on all of that activity, for who knows how long."
The emails, from August and September 2015, reveal in detail how Navy personnel from the Pacific Northwest to the Pentagon pressured an apparently overwhelmed and cash-strapped FWS to complete its biological opinion (BO) in ways that would benefit the Navy. A BO is a legal document from the FWS that is required in order for the Navy to obtain the permits it needs under the Endangered Species Act, while conducting exercises and war games. As of publication of this article, the BO, covering marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls, bull trout and other species, is not complete.
A series of email threads outlines the Navy's concern about the FWS not adhering to Navy deadlines, and its intent to influence an overdue draft BO for the final environmental impact statement on its Northwest Training and Testing Range, which covers an area spanning from Northern California to southeast Alaska. "We also discussed how we might help FWS in completing their BO," read an email from August 2015, showing how the Navy aimed to cross the line and influence the permitting process for their own activities, "and most specifically agreed to help them write the Proposed Action part of the BO."
The emails show the Navy's impatience with an anticipated delay in the process required for it to be permitted to pursue training that would most certainly result in deaths of large numbers of animals, including endangered and threatened species. In November 2015, after the emails, the Navy received a permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for take of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions. The total number of takes for marine mammals only in Pacific Northwest waters, not including the Gulf of Alaska, is more than 1.2 million. For the Gulf of Alaska: 2.1 million, and for Hawaii-Southern California: 9.4 million.
Read complete article on Truthout
Repeal the 2001 AUMF, Congress' Blank Check to Wage War
Dear Representative Larsen...
Friends,
We are asking individuals, organizations and congregations to sign on to this letter to Congressperson Rick Larsen. Simply add your name to the form below. If your have the permission of the organization you belong to, please include it. Our intention is to hand deliver this letter to Representative Larsen in our next FCNL Legislative Advocacy Team meeting.
Best,
Janet Marino
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
*With great thanks to the author of the letter, Ginny Herrick.
-----------------------------------------------
Dear Representative Larsen,
We, the undersigned, urge you to take a leadership role in creating sunset legislation for the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force. As you noted in your September 2014 open letter to President Obama, the 2001 AUMF – passed after the September 11 Al-Qaeda attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon – is badly outdated and has been exercised by successive administrations far beyond Congressional intent. Moreover, the use of military force is a blunt instrument that fouls America's international reputation and is less effective against terrorism than more peaceful policies.
The RAND Corporation's 2008 report, “How Terrorist Groups End,” studied 648 such groups that existed between 1968 and 2006. Their results are important for shaping U.S. strategies regarding Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State. Most ended because either they joined the political process (43 percent) or local police and intelligence agencies arrested or killed leaders (40 percent). Only 7 percent ended as a result of military intervention.
“The use of substantial U.S. military power against terrorist groups also runs a significant risk of turning the local population against the government by killing civilians,” the report points out.
In the years of endless, fruitless war since 9/11, Americans have tested the limits of military force to combat terrorism. Sending U.S. troops to achieve ends better suited to local police and intelligence or to diplomacy, is a betrayal of our men and women in uniform. Corruption by military contractors and the difficulty of policing them shows that our military is fighting unwinnable wars under untenable circumstances.
We urge you, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, to propose the repeal of the 2001 AUMF with no more than a 12-month sunset, allowing time to create a comprehensive political strategy. Instead of calling on U.S. troops to sacrifice life and limb to the failed policies of warfare, we must have the courage to pivot to peace.
Signed,
Janet Marino
Virginia Herrick
Lynne Lohr
Gene Marx
Allen Stockbridge
Micki Jackson
Jamie K. Donaldson
James E. Hansen
Margaret L Kriger
Kerry Johnson
Carolyn DeSilva
Judith Green
Stephanie Trasoff
Lucinda Pfeiffer-Hoyt
Victoria Marx
Keith Fredrikson
Dan Hanks
Neah Monteiro
Junga Subedar
Edward Alexander
Linda Newton
Richard Newton
Terrye Rubens-Sheets
Kathleen Keegahn
George Keegahn
Patricia Rathbun
Mark F. Herrick
David Hopkinson
Katherine Finks
John Hatten
Wendy Courtmanche
Jeanine Hart-Horner
Stephanie Manzo
Mary Ann Percy
Joanne Cowan
Karen Steen
Nanette Macy
Judy Hopkinson
Lorina Hall
Patricia King
J. Kaye Faulkner
Kira Derhgawer
Sandra Gottschalk
Don Duffy, Jr.
Deborah Lee
Stan Parker
Alice Robb
James F. Cool
Hue Beattie
Jack Miller
Martina Boyd
Richard Brummett
Bill Distler
Michael Jacobsen
Tara Reynolds
Organizations:
Veterans For Peace Chapter 111
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
Whatcom Civil Rights Project
To add your name or organization to this letter go to the link in the introduction above.
Dear Representative Larsen...
Friends,
We are asking individuals, organizations and congregations to sign on to this letter to Congressperson Rick Larsen. Simply add your name to the form below. If your have the permission of the organization you belong to, please include it. Our intention is to hand deliver this letter to Representative Larsen in our next FCNL Legislative Advocacy Team meeting.
Best,
Janet Marino
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
*With great thanks to the author of the letter, Ginny Herrick.
-----------------------------------------------
Dear Representative Larsen,
We, the undersigned, urge you to take a leadership role in creating sunset legislation for the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force. As you noted in your September 2014 open letter to President Obama, the 2001 AUMF – passed after the September 11 Al-Qaeda attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon – is badly outdated and has been exercised by successive administrations far beyond Congressional intent. Moreover, the use of military force is a blunt instrument that fouls America's international reputation and is less effective against terrorism than more peaceful policies.
The RAND Corporation's 2008 report, “How Terrorist Groups End,” studied 648 such groups that existed between 1968 and 2006. Their results are important for shaping U.S. strategies regarding Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State. Most ended because either they joined the political process (43 percent) or local police and intelligence agencies arrested or killed leaders (40 percent). Only 7 percent ended as a result of military intervention.
“The use of substantial U.S. military power against terrorist groups also runs a significant risk of turning the local population against the government by killing civilians,” the report points out.
In the years of endless, fruitless war since 9/11, Americans have tested the limits of military force to combat terrorism. Sending U.S. troops to achieve ends better suited to local police and intelligence or to diplomacy, is a betrayal of our men and women in uniform. Corruption by military contractors and the difficulty of policing them shows that our military is fighting unwinnable wars under untenable circumstances.
We urge you, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, to propose the repeal of the 2001 AUMF with no more than a 12-month sunset, allowing time to create a comprehensive political strategy. Instead of calling on U.S. troops to sacrifice life and limb to the failed policies of warfare, we must have the courage to pivot to peace.
Signed,
Janet Marino
Virginia Herrick
Lynne Lohr
Gene Marx
Allen Stockbridge
Micki Jackson
Jamie K. Donaldson
James E. Hansen
Margaret L Kriger
Kerry Johnson
Carolyn DeSilva
Judith Green
Stephanie Trasoff
Lucinda Pfeiffer-Hoyt
Victoria Marx
Keith Fredrikson
Dan Hanks
Neah Monteiro
Junga Subedar
Edward Alexander
Linda Newton
Richard Newton
Terrye Rubens-Sheets
Kathleen Keegahn
George Keegahn
Patricia Rathbun
Mark F. Herrick
David Hopkinson
Katherine Finks
John Hatten
Wendy Courtmanche
Jeanine Hart-Horner
Stephanie Manzo
Mary Ann Percy
Joanne Cowan
Karen Steen
Nanette Macy
Judy Hopkinson
Lorina Hall
Patricia King
J. Kaye Faulkner
Kira Derhgawer
Sandra Gottschalk
Don Duffy, Jr.
Deborah Lee
Stan Parker
Alice Robb
James F. Cool
Hue Beattie
Jack Miller
Martina Boyd
Richard Brummett
Bill Distler
Michael Jacobsen
Tara Reynolds
Organizations:
Veterans For Peace Chapter 111
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
Whatcom Civil Rights Project
To add your name or organization to this letter go to the link in the introduction above.
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Waging Peace
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