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April 2010
JFP 4/30: 63 Back McGovern; NATO says combat for years
Just Foreign Policy News
April 30, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal. (H.R.5015/ S.3197)
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get on a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
New House co-sponsors: Twenty-five new House co-sponsors were listed today, including Donna Edwards and Keith Ellison, bringing the total to 63.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR05015:@@@P
Be the Media: Raise the Profile of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Bill
Write a letter to your local newspaper, urging support for the McGovern bill and a timeline for U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/mcgovern-lte
Atrocities in Afghanistan: A Troubling Timetable
Kathy Kelly and Dan Pearson provide a list of events showing a pattern: U.S./NATO officials first distribute misleading information about victims of an attack and later acknowledge that the victims were unarmed civilians.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/30-10
Summary:
Specter v. Sestak: Who's the Real Democrat on Afghanistan?
Yesterday, an organization that lobbies on peace issues asked me to contribute money in the upcoming Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary between Senator Arlen Specter and his challenger, Representative Joe Sestak. I'm ready to donate. But first I need a key piece of information: which candidate will act to end the war in Afghanistan?
Both candidates are currently serving in Congress, so we can compare their records. Last year, Senator Specter strongly opposed sending more troops to Afghanistan, while Representative Sestak strongly supported sending more troops.
But now the troops are on their way, and the key question facing Members of Congress right now on the Afghanistan war is this: who supports establishing a timetable for military withdrawal from Afghanistan?
Whichever one comes out first saying that they support a timetable for withdrawal, that candidate will get my donation. Perhaps the candidates will address this in tomorrow's debate.
But even if the issue is not addressed during tomorrow's debate, there is a straightforward means to test which is the Afghanistan peace candidate: who will be the first to co-sponsor the Feingold-McGovern bill, which would require the President to establish a timetable for military withdrawal from Afghanistan?
The support of either one would give this effort a major boost.
McGovern's House bill, H.R. 5015, currently has 63 co-sponsors, but not a single one of them is from the great state of Pennsylvania. Yet there are 6 co-sponsors from neighboring New York, three co-sponsors from New Jersey, one from Maryland, and two from Ohio. Representative Sestak would be a great addition to this list.
JFP 4/29: Baldwin Backs McGovern; US kills relative of Afghan lawmaker, sparking protests
Just Foreign Policy News
April 29, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
Be the Media: Raise the Profile of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Bill
Write a letter to your local newspaper, urging support for the McGovern bill and a timeline for U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/mcgovern-lte
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal. (H.R.5015/ S.3197)
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get on a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
New House co-sponsors: Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2]; Olver, John [MA-1], Napolitano, Grace [CA-38]. Current House co-sponsors, according to Thomas: 38.
Amnesty International USA Urgent Action: Journalists at Risk in Honduras
Six journalists have been shot dead in the last eight weeks, and numerous others have received death threats. No one has been held to account and no action taken to support and protect journalists.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa09410.pdf
Summary:
U.S./Top News
JFP 4/27: Schakowsky Backs McGovern; Obama Faces Decision on Taliban Talks
Just Foreign Policy News
April 27, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal. (H.R.5015/ S.3197)
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get on a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
New House co-sponsors: Ed Pastor [AZ-4]; Steve Rothman [NJ-9]; Jan Schakowsky [IL-9]. Current House co-sponsors, according to Thomas: 35.
A Year of War Would Pay for Local Jobs Bill
If McGovern's bill shortens the war in Afghanistan by a year, that would pay the two-year cost of the Local Jobs for America Act.
http://www.truthout.org/robert-naiman-a-year-war-would-pay-local-jobs-bill58848
Mondoweiss: UC divestment spreads - UC San Diego to vote on bill tomorrow
The resolution calls for the UC system to stop investing in companies such as General Electric and United Technologies, which supporters of the resolution claim promote violence by providing technology - such as helicopters and aircraft engines - to warring countries around the world. Senior Leena Barakat - who helped draft the resolution - said the UCSD version was altered to ensure that it condemned human-rights violations as a whole, and not specifically actions taken by the state of Israel.
JFP 4/26: 90K Rally Against Okinawa Base; Nation Backs McGovern Bill
Just Foreign Policy News
April 26, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
Reuters video: Japanese protest U.S. base
Japanese protesters in Tokyo demonstrate against the relocation of a U.S. military base on the island of Okinawa.
http://jp.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=77378494&videoChannel=-9993
Video: Bill Maher Challenges "Tea Parties" To Oppose the War
Cut the national debt? Maher proposes reducing military spending so that the U.S. only spends as much on the military as the next 8 countries combined, instead of the next 15 countries combined. "…and you know what America's big stupid boat is? It's our empire. We have an empire. We have half a million of our troops in other people's countries all over the world…"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/24/bill-maher-to-tea-baggers_n_550430.html
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal.
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get on a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
Summary:
U.S./Top News
JFP 4/23: Frank Backs McGovern; a War Year Would Pay for Local Jobs Bill
Just Foreign Policy News
April 23, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
$33 Billion for War, How Could I Spend Thee on Local Jobs?
If McGovern's bill shortens the war in Afghanistan by a year, that would pay the two-year cost of the Local Jobs for America Act.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/33-billion-for-war-how-co_b_549890.html
Rallies Sunday Against the Okinawa Base
In DC, San Francisco, Hawaii - and all over Japan.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113284008691890
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal.
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get on a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
New co-sponsors as of 4/23: Frank; Holt; Visclosky.
Previous co-sponsors in the House: Capuano; Conyers; DeFazio; Delahunt; Duncan; Farr; Harman; Hirono; Johnson, Timothy; Jones, Walter; Kucinich; Lee, Barbara; Lujan, Ben Ray; Moran, James; Nadler; Pingree; Schrader; Serrano; Slaughter; Welch; Woolsey; Michaud; Filner; Oberstar; Moore, Gwen; Grijalva; Honda; Costello; Grayson.
Current total: 32
Current co-sponsors in the Senate: none. [!]
A Year of War Would Pay for Local Jobs Bill
Sometime between now and Memorial Day, the House is expected to consider $33 billion more for war in Afghanistan. This "war supplemental" is largely intended to plug the hole in Afghanistan war spending for the current fiscal year caused by the ongoing addition of 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, whose purpose is largely to conduct a military offensive in Kandahar that 94% of the people there say they don't want, preferring peace negotiations with the Taliban instead.
Of course, by itself the number $33 billion is totally meaningless. To make it meaningful, we need to compare it to something - what else could we do with $33 billion?
A recent missive from the AFL-CIO gives a compelling answer: we could use $33 billion to put America back to work:
If the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812) becomes law, it will create or save more than 675,000 local community jobs and more than 250,000 education jobs, according to the latest estimates from the House Education and Labor Committee.
According to the House Education and Labor Committee, the bill includes $75 billion over two years for local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off because of tight budgets. The bill also includes $24 billion, already approved by the House in December, to help states support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters.
JFP 4/22: Grayson Backs McGovern on Withdrawal; NATO Recants on Civilian Deaths
Just Foreign Policy News
April 22, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal.
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get on a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
New co-sponsors as of 4/22: Costello; Grayson.
Previous co-sponsors in the House: Capuano; Conyers; DeFazio; Delahunt; Duncan; Farr; Harman; Hirono; Johnson, Timothy; Jones, Walter; Kucinich; Lee, Barbara; Lujan, Ben Ray; Moran, James; Nadler; Pingree; Schrader; Serrano; Slaughter; Welch; Woolsey; Michaud; Filner; Oberstar; Moore, Gwen; Grijalva; Honda.
Current total: 29
Current co-sponsors in the Senate: none. [!]
Rethink Afghanistan: "Don't Let Them Get Away With Murder"
Rethink Afghanistan interviews a survivor of the Feb. 12 Gardez US Special Forces night raid massacre and calls for a UN investigation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxx1qgWGQ4
Summary:
U.S./Top News
Rep. Michael Honda Backs Afghanistan Military Withdrawal Timetable
On Tuesday, Rep. Michael Honda signed his name to legislation put forward by Sen. Russ Feingold, Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Walter Jones that would require the President to establish a timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
This is potentially a bellwether event, because Rep. Honda - together with Rep. Grijalva, who also signed his name to the McGovern bill on Tuesday - has been a leader on Afghanistan in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including chairing the CPC Afghanistan task force. Rep. Honda has been very critical of the war, but he has not been an automatic supporter of anti-war legislative initiatives.
If the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" in Washington gets onto the McGovern bill in the next few weeks, the political space to be a "liberal" in Washington who supports an open-ended military commitment in Afghanistan will have largely evaporated when the House considers $33 billion more for war in Afghanistan between now and Memorial Day. Progressives in the House may be able to extract from the leadership a vote on a timetable for withdrawal when the House considers the war supplemental.
JFP 4/21: Honda, Grijalva Back McGovern's Afghan Withdrawal Timetable
Just Foreign Policy News
April 21, 2010
Support the work of Just Foreign Policy:
Please donate what you can to support our work.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
Urge Congress to End the War in Afghanistan
Urge your representatives to support the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill for a timetable for military withdrawal.
If we can get 100 co-sponsors in the House in the next few weeks, we may able to get a vote on a withdrawal timetable when the House considers the supplemental.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
New co-sponsors as of 4/21: Michaud; Filner; Oberstar; Moore, Gwen; Grijalva; Honda.
Previous co-sponsors in the House: Capuano; Conyers; DeFazio; Delahunt; Duncan; Farr; Harman; Hirono; Johnson, Timothy; Jones, Walter; Kucinich; Lee, Barbara; Lujan, Ben Ray; Moran, James; Nadler; Pingree; Schrader; Serrano; Slaughter; Welch; Woolsey.
Current total: 27
Current co-sponsors in the Senate: none. [!]
Highlights of the House Afghanistan Debate
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/video/housedebate
IJDH: Help Haitian Women Fight Against Rape
The Institute for Justice And Democracy in Haiti calls on the UN to step up its efforts to establish security for women in the camps.
http://www.change.org/haitijustice/petitions/view/help_haitian_women_fight_against_rape
Summary:
U.S./Top News