Human and Civil Rights week on U of I campus

Bake Sale to Support UN Aid to Typhoon Survivors in the Philippines  WHEN:  Thursday, January 31, 11am-2pm WHERE:  Old Capital Mall cafeteria seating area,  Iowa City    On January 25, the United Nations called on the world to increase support for post typhoon humanitarian efforts in the Philippines.  This Thursday, the University of Iowa United Nations Association will do its part by hosting a bake sale in support of these efforts.  The sale will be at the Old Capital Mall in downtown Iowa City.  Please stop by to indulge in baked sweets and to support this critical humanitarian effort!     Screening of One Day on Earth     WHEN:  Friday, February 1, 4pm-6pm WHERE:  Bijou Theatre, University of Iowa Memorial Union,  Iowa City  Human Rights Awareness Week at the University of Iowa will culminate with a community screening of the One Day on Earth documentary.  Supported by the United Nations and agencies like UNICEF, this is the first documentary in recorded history to show footage from every country on the planet.  All footage shown is from the same 24 hour period.  To view the theatrical trailer, please click here.  This program is hosted by the University of Iowa United Nations Association and participating partners in Human Rights Awareness Week.

Perspectives on US Drone Warfare: Afghanistan and Pakistan

Leah Bolger, National President of Veterans for Peace
Wednesday, Jan 23, 7 pm
St. Mary's Social Hall, 302 E. Jefferson St.,
Iowa City

Leah Bolger retired after 20 years in the US Navy with rank of Commander.  She will address the subject of Drone Warfare.  She recently returned from Pakistan after visiting with families of drone victims.  Dan Tallon who served in the National Guard in Afghanistan will also speak.

Reporting Aggression

Harry Fear’s World Talking TourFriday, January 18th
6 to 8 pm
Iowa City Public Library
Meeting Room A
Contact: Yaser (319) 333-5231
Recently, Harry Fear - British documentary filmmaker, journalist, activist, and human rights advocate - gained personal renown on the Internet with live reports delivered during the November 2012 Israeli incursion into the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Now that a ceasefire has been reached, he has embarked on a world-wide talking tour to share his knowledge about the human, social, political, and economic impact of the current situation from his own firsthand perspective. 

More information can be found about Harry Fear (warning­some graphic content) at:www.tumblr.com/tagged/harry%20fear

This event - free and open to the public - is sponsored by Sabeel Iowa, and is cosponsored by People for Justice in Palestine and local concerned citizens.

Peace and Justice Newsletters

Checkout some of our Peace and Justice Newsletters!

Winter 2012
Summer 2012
Winter 2011

January 11 meeting

Thanks to all who attended the brief but fun meeting in DM along with the Legislative Conference for Iowa State EA.   Thanks, also, to those who renewed their membership.

We also agreed to support the February Peace Party at the Iowa Children's Museum in Iowa City on February 7.  Thank you to all who continue to share peaceful methods locally and state wide.  In Iowa City, we will continue our "peace watch" on Fridays from 4:30 to 5PM at the Old Capitol location.  This is being sponsored by "Peace Iowa" of which I am a Board member representing YOU.  I personally hope that teaching peace becomes a curriculum for Iowa and the nation.

Thanks, again, Nancy

Gun Control plan

More than 925,000 people have signed the Demand A Plan petition to end gun violence. Please forward this message to your family and friends to help reach our goal of one million signers before the one-month anniversary of the Newtown tragedy. Ask them to sign the petition here: http://www.demandaplan.org/SandyHook

Monday is the one-month anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

Twenty innocent children and six brave adults lost their lives, and the tragedy sparked a real debate about gun violence in this country -- at least for now.

Newspaper headlines and TV news anchors are reporting that our number one              priority -- fixing the criminal background check system -- is at the top of the president's agenda. That's a huge victory, and it's thanks to supporters like you.

Unfortunately, our elected leaders can have short memories. Conventional wisdom in Washington, DC says that if the legislative process drags on long enough, the urgency will fade and Congress won’t have to act.

We can’t let them forget Newtown. And we can’t wait for the next tragedy to fix our broken gun laws.

Will you ask your friends and family to join a million fellow Americans and Demand A Plan to end gun violence? Here’s how:

• Forward this email to everyone you know and ask them to sign the petition: http://DemandAPlan.org/SandyHook 
• Share the Demand A Plan petition on Facebook 
• Tweet about Demand A Plan on Twitter

It’s time for Congress to act. More than 835 mayors from across the country have come together to support common sense solutions to end gun violence.

Requiring criminal background checks for all guns sales. Taking assault weapons and high capacity magazines off our streets. And establishing harsh penalties for illegal gun trafficking.

These solutions are within the reach of our leaders in Washington. They just need your support to make it happen.

For the families of Newtown and the 33 Americans who are murdered with guns every day, please spread the word.

Thank you,

Mark Glaze
Mayors Against Illegal Guns 

December 15, what can be said.

In memory of Paul Mann, PandJ activist, how long can this go on?  Canada has gun control and healthcare for all.  Is this not a responsibility of government?  Nancy

Dear MoveOn member,

Today we are all witness to an unspeakable tragedy.

Five years ago, my daughter Emily was in French class at Virginia Tech when a gunman opened fire, killing her teacher and 11 of her friends and classmates. Emily was shot twice in the back of the head, but survived. We can't let this continue. 

Now is the time for neighbors to comfort one another, keep the victims of the Connecticut tragedy in our hearts, and call for a plan to end gun violence. I personally will be demanding a plan to end gun violence—condolences are not enough. By coming together and lifting our voices, we can help prevent this from ever happening again. 

Tomorrow at 5 p.m., I'm hosting a candlelight vigil in my neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. I hope others around the country will join me and make this a national moment of mourning, reflection, and resolve to act.  

Can you host a vigil in your community tomorrow evening, Saturday, December 15, around 5 p.m., to remember the victims and call for a plan?

Yes, I can host a candlelight vigil. 

A local school or a neighborhood park—places that should be safe for our children—are good locations for your vigil. You can bring family and friends, and MoveOn staff will help recruit other members who are seeking a quiet place to gather in community—parents, grandparents, teachers, children, neighbors. 

Today, President Obama's press secretary said that "Now is not [the] time" to act to prevent gun violence. Mr. President, today IS the day to talk about the deadly toll of gun violence on American families, communities, and especially, our kids. I personally am demanding a plan from the President so no more children will experience this kind of tragedy. 

Please—join me and host a candlelight vigil in your neighborhood tomorrow.

Sign up to host a vigil by clicking here.

Thank you,

Lori Haas, mother of a Virginia Tech survivor 

Peace Exchange Bulletin

Issue 89

Published by Tom Hayden, The Peace Exchange Bulletin is a reader-supported journal, critically following the Pentagon's Long War in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, as well as the failed U.S. wars on drugs and gangs, and U.S. military responses to nationalism and poverty around the world. Obama Reviewing Afghanistan Options  Military commanders are pushing President Obama to keep a maximum number of American troops through the coming Afghanistan "fighting season," maximizing their combat role before the December 2014 date for ending offensive operations. There currently are 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan at an unfunded cost of at least $65-70 billion. To retain those numbers from spring through autumn 2013 - the span of the fighting season -  would continue present cost levels, not to mention the toll on troops becoming the last to die or suffer wounds as the American war winds down.       Continue reading...  The Long War Reaches Mali  Despite its withdrawals of our combat troops, the US has ensnared itself in a self-perpetuating Long War now spreading to Mali. North Africa currently is the "central focus" in the War on Terror, according to Bloomberg. (July 31) Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is "strengthening its hold in Northern Mali," and from there increasing its recruiting in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and is perhaps the best armed and financed Qaeda "franchise" in the world, according to Gen. Carter Ham. (New York Times, December 3, 2012) The State Department says that northern Mali is a "safe haven for AQIM and other extremist groups who may prove increasingly effective at targeting Western interests or aligning themselves with those who do so," according to official government testimony before a House subcommittee last June 29. No evidence was presented, however, that the insurgents have the capacity or interest in targeting the West from sanctuaries in Mali any time soon.     Continue reading...  Republicans on the Political Cliff President Obama and the Democrats have the political advantage as the crisis of the fiscal cliff approaches. It is the Republicans who are edging towards a political cliff if they appear to be impossibly recalcitrant in the public mind.  Obama does not have a voter mandate to drive the government over the cliff, as some like Paul Krugman and Robert Borosage suggest (they say it will not be so bad, just deepen a slight recession). But the president can achieve certain key goals. Continue reading...

Dec 10, Human Rights Day.

Encouraging the spread of Peace and Justice, I now also serve on the UNA Iowa Board.  I will be one of the speakers on Monday.  Nancy

International Human Rights Day 

      

WHEN:  December 10, 12:30pm-1:10pm     

WHERE:  At the steps of the Old Capitol in the Pentacrest, Iowa City

Please join students, community members, and representatives from area non-profit organizations for a public reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  As we read certain articles, examples of accompanying local human rights outreach will be briefly shared.   Free wallet sized copies of the UDHR will be available.     

  

  

  

  

Iowa Shares Benefit Concert

     

When:  December 14. 8:00pm

Where:  Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington Street,  Iowa City

  

On the evening of Friday, December 14, please join Local Foods Connection at the Englert Theatre for the woodsy country blues and soulful sounds of Tallgrass. Concert proceeds will go to Iowa Shares, benefiting many local non-profits including Local Foods Connection and the Englert.  Seating will be on the Englert's stage in a special intimate setting, but tickets are limited.  Follow the link below to purchase:

 

http://www.englert.org/event_details.php?id=837 

 

Iowa Shares is a statewide coalition of social change, environmental, and cultural nonprofit organizations raising funds through workplace giving. Iowa Shares members give direct services and create progressive, long-lasting resources for our children and communities.  Iowa UNA is a non-profit member of Iowa Shares.  

Help needed for tax bill!

TELL CONGRESS TO PASS THE MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT NOW
As Congress continues to debate complex issues around the looming “fiscal cliff,” they can, and should, act immediately on one quick, easy step to help working families – extending tax cuts for the middle class.  Middle class tax cuts are set to expire in a few weeks.   If Congress fails to act before the end of the year, a typical middle-class family of four will see its tax would protect 98 percent of American families making less than $250,000 a year and 97 percent of small businesses from paying higher taxes next year. 

President Obama has called on Congress to act immediately to extend the middle class tax cuts.   And, the Senate already passed a bill to do so earlier this year.  But, the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Boehner (R-OH), has refused to act on this important legislation, choosing to hold middle class families hostage while fighting to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent in the nation. 

In addition to extending tax cuts for the middle class, Congress must also act quickly to stop the impending across-the-board cuts scheduled to go into effect on January 2.  If these cuts go into effect, more than nine million students will lose critical education services, and nearly 80,000 education jobs could be lost.   This week, NEA members joined other union members in a joint lobbying day, meeting directly with Members of Congress.  Their message:  education has already taken a hit and children have already done more than their share toward deficit reduction.  Any deficit reduction deal must be balanced, and that means finally asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share.  Read more. 

Take Action Today:

• E-mail Congress and tell them to act immediately to extend tax cuts for the middle class.
• Take the “Kids Not Cuts” pledge today-- to speak up for America’s kids and working families, and to make sure Congress makes the right choices. Already took the pledge?  Share it with at least five friends and ask them to join the fight to stand up for America’s kids and working families.
• Join union members across the country in our December 5 National Call-in Day:  Call our new Educator Connector Line –1-866-293-7278.  You will hear brief talking points and will then be asked to enter your zip code to be connected to your elected officials. 
• Share your story.  Tell us how “fiscal cliff” budget cuts would affect your students, you, your schools and your school colleagues. Make sure Congress hears your voice and knows you will hold them accountable.  Read some of the stories already submitted by educators.
• Find the latest news on the current debates on our “Kids Not Cuts” pageon the Education Votes website. 

CHEERS AND JEERS

Cheers to: Representative Tom Cole (R-OK), who this week urged his Republican colleagues to move forward on extending tax cuts for the middle class before the end of the year.

Representative Pat Meehan (R-PA), who indicated that he would not be held to a pledge not to raise taxes even on the wealthy, saying “The most important pledge is the one I make to my constituents when I'm sworn in…I'm going to do the very best I can to avoid the fiscal cliff and keep our economy strong." 

Representative Bob Dold (R-OH), who stated his support for acting quickly to extend tax cuts for the middle class, saying, “Let’s make sure we aren’t raising the taxes on the vast majority first.”

President Obama, who in another speech this week reiterated his calls for a middle class tax cut, saying “if both parties agree we should not raise taxes on middle-class families, let’s begin our work with where we agree. The Senate has already passed a bill that keeps income taxes from going up on middle-class families.  Democrats in the House are ready to vote for that same bill today.  And if we can get a few House Republicans to agree as well, I’ll sign this bill as soon as Congress sends it my way.  I've got to repeat, I've got a pen. I'm ready to sign it.”

Jeers to:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who this week continued his call for extending tax cuts for the wealthy and for more spending cuts, while refusing to move an extension of middle class tax cuts. 

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who made comments this week indicating she might support a deficit reduction deal that includes more spending cuts, saying “The details of the package are less important than the fact that we can reach a compromise and would be $4 trillion in long-term debt reduction. That means everybody's going to hurt a little and everyone is not going to get their way."

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who at his Excellence in Action Summit this week took aim at teachers’ unions, saying, “We have a system to reward teachers that’s based on an industrialized, unionized model that is completely inappropriate for the 21st century.”  Bush also reiterated his support for private school vouchers and for “parent trigger” laws.