[HCCN] Fwd: They're fighting for peace: Veterans head to Portland for convention

[Judith Robbins]

[FOR ANYONE WHO CAN TAKE A DAY OR MORE TO ATTEND THE CONVENTION IN  
PORTLAND, IT PROMISES TO BE WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.
See the convention schedule at http://www.vfpmaine.org/convention% 
20schedule.asp    -- JR]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Global Network" <globalnet at mindspring.com>
> Date: August 24, 2010 7:42:10 AM EDT
>
>
> August 24, 2010
> Portland Press Herald
> They're fighting for peace: Veterans head to Portland for convention
>
> Veterans for Peace, founded in Maine 25 years ago, will attract  
> people from all over the U.S.
>
> By Dennis Hoeydhoey at mainetoday.com
> Staff Writer
>
>
> PORTLAND — A national peace organization whose members include  
> veterans from all the major wars is returning to its roots here in  
> Maine.
>
> Starting Wednesday, Portland will host the 25th anniversary  
> convention of Veterans for Peace.
>
> The organization was founded in Maine in 1985.
>
> More than 300 veterans from across the United States have already  
> registered to participate in the convention at the Holiday Inn by  
> the Bay Hotel and Convention Center on Spring Street.
>
> The gathering starts Wednesday and will end Sunday morning with a  
> peace march and rally through downtown Portland.
>
> "It seemed logical to bring the convention home to Maine for its  
> 25th anniversary," said Michael Uhl, a South Bristol resident and  
> Vietnam War veteran who serves on the group's national board.
>
> Uhl said the convention will feature several guests, from musician  
> Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary fame and Iraq war veteran  
> Geoff Millard, to U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., Chairman of the  
> House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee, and U.S. Rep.  
> Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, a member of the House Armed Services  
> Committee.
>
> While most of the convention events are closed to the public, there  
> will be an open meeting at First Parish Meeting House on Congress  
> Street Thursday night, at which guest speakers will talk about the  
> costs of waging war.
>
> "It (the convention) is not for everyone. We're not going to get a  
> whole lot of people from the Tea Party," Uhl said.
>
> Mike Ferner, who serves as president of National Veterans for Peace  
> in St. Louis, Mo., said the theme of the Portland convention will  
> be "Lifting the Fog of War."
>
> "Lifting the fog of war is an artistic way of saying, lets expose  
> the real costs of war. It has become a central theme of our work,"  
> Ferner said.
>
> Participants will share their war experiences and listen to some of  
> the more compelling stories.
>
> Maja Kazazic will be featured during the opening ceremony Thursday  
> morning. A Bosnian War refugee whose legs were shattered in 1993 by  
> a mortar shell that landed in her courtyard, Kazazic was relocated  
> to Maryland through the Veterans for Peace "Children of War Rescue  
> Project."
>
> Since then, she has taught herself English, gone to college, and  
> established a successful web development company.
>
> The convention will also offer poetry readings by war veterans,  
> films, and workshops.
>
> Bruce Gagnon of Bath is organizing Sunday's peace march and rally  
> at Post Office Square.
>
> A Vietnam War-era veteran, Gagnon said protesters -- the public is  
> invited to participate -- will gather at 9 a.m. at the Holiday Inn,  
> march through the Old Port, and stage an hour-long rally at Post  
> Office Square on Market and Exchange streets.
>
> "It will be very spirited," Gagnon said.
>
> "We are spending more than $7 billion a month on the war in  
> Afghanistan. If we can end the war and bring that money home, there  
> could be a whole new world out there with a real chance for  
> economic recovery," he said.
>
> Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:  
> dhoey at pressherald.com
>
>
> Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
> PO Box 652
> Brunswick, ME 04011
> (207) 443-9502
> globalnet at mindspring.com
> www.space4peace.org
> http://space4peace.blogspot.com/  (blog)

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