<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">"Doug Rawlings" <<a href="mailto:rawlings@vfpmaine.org">rawlings@vfpmaine.org</a>></font></div> <span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt"><br> <link href="cid:filelist.xml@01CBD4DA.18CA47E0" rel="File-List"> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.EmailStyle18 {mso-style-type:personal-reply; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana; mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana; color:maroon; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal; text-decoration:none; text-underline:none; text-decoration:none; text-line-through:none;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <div class="Section1"> <div> <div bgcolor="#ffffff"> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; color: black;">"We should not think that the destruction and suffering unleashed by war is limited to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Individuals and whole cities here at home become have become 'collateral damage.' Millions of people are thrown out of their jobs and then out of their homes. Pressures cascade onto state and local governments as the stagnant economy and frustrated voters further decrease funds for essential services. Our infrastructure isn't bombed, it just slowly rots."</span> </em></p><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: verdana; color: maroon;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/8167-civil-resistance-to-the-wars-continues.html">http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/8167-civil-resistance-to-the-wars-continues.html</a></span></p> </div> <div> <table cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%" style="width: 100%;" class="MsoNormalTable"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;"> <div> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;">Civil Resistance to the Wars Continues</span></strong></p> </div> <div> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">by Tarak Kauff and Mike Ferner</span></p> </div> </div> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span>he imperial wars rage on. <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> drones rain missiles down on innocents in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>; hundreds of children die daily in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> because of the war; contrary to what the President says, the occupation in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> continues. </p> </div> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">The devastation and misery caused by these wars has not even begun to be addressed. Rather than bringing democracy and freedom to the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>, the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> is destroying their countries — perhaps beyond repair.</span></p> </div> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">We should not think that the destruction and suffering unleashed by war is limited to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Individuals and whole cities here at home have become "collateral damage." Millions of people are thrown out of their jobs and then out of their homes. Pressures cascade onto state and local governments as the stagnant economy and frustrated voters further decrease funds for essential services. Our infrastructure isn't bombed, it just slowly rots.</span></p> </div> <div> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <div> <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 13.5pt;">O</span>n March 19, 2011, a broad coalition of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> military veterans consisting of members of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ivaw.org/">Iraq Veterans Against the War</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.answercoalition.org/march-forward/statements/on-march-19-eighth.html">March Forward!</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vvaw.org/">Vietnam Veterans Against the War</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/">Veterans For Peace </a>will gather at the White House in solidarity to demand peace. The veteran-led action will be supported by a large array of activist groups including <a target="_blank" href="http://www.answercoalition.org/national/index.html">ANSWER</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.forusa.org/">Fellowship of Reconciliation</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.codepink4peace.org/">CODEPINK</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.unitedforpeace.org/">United for Peace and Justice</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.worldcantwait.net/">World Can’t Wait</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.peace-action.org/">Peace Action</a>, and the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.warresisters.org/">War Resisters League</a>.</p> </div> </div><p><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">Veterans will also gather to support Bradley Manning, who should be venerated as a hero instead of being incarcerated under conditions amounting, literally (and legally) to torture. We call for an immediate end to the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of PFC Bradley Manning during his military confinement. Records and videos allegedly downloaded by Manning revealed horrendous war crimes committed by <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> troops in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> and the massive Iraqi civilian death toll caused by the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> invasions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">As veterans, we well understand and cherish the obligation of military personnel to refuse illegal orders and beyond that to prevent and expose war crimes. We know there is no excuse for following illegal orders. We understand the need for justice. Our demand is clear, straightforward, and undeniable. Bring to justice those who committed war crimes, not those who report them—who heroically refuse to be a part of state-inspired mayhem and murder.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">Veterans and others will gather en masse at the White House as we did on December 16, 2010, and again refuse to move. We have three clear demands for the President. End these wars and occupations. Expose the Lies. Free Bradley Manning.</span></p><p><em><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“The speeches were over. There was a mournful harmonica rendition of taps. The 500 protesters fell silent. One hundred and thirty-one men and women, many of them military veterans wearing old fatigues, formed a single, silent line. Under a heavy snowfall and to the slow beat of a drum, they walked to the White House fence. They stood there until they were arrested.”—Chris Hedges</span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“We have become a killer nation and our economy is addicted to endless war spending. The Congress and the White House have been taken over by the corporate oligarchy and they have drowned democracy.”—Bruce Gagnon</span></em></p><p><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region>’s corporate rulers understand that their power depends upon a subdued, sedated and manipulated public—a public fed lies and fantasies that can, when needed, be manipulated by fear or coercion. But as the uprisings in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Tunisia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> show us, the people can triumph over entrenched power, lies, fear, and coercion.</p><p><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">Forty-four years ago at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Riverside</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Church</st1:placetype></st1:place> in New York City Martin Luther King said, “<em><span style="font-style: italic;">Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.”</span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;">On March 19—the anniversary of the brutal invasion of Iraq, where over a million Iraqis and almost 5,000 U.S. soldiers died with thousands more grievously injured—as the occupation of Iraq and the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan continue unabated, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, March Forward! and Veterans For Peace will bring the largest ever veteran-led nonviolent public civil resistance to the White House.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"><a target="_blank" href="http://stopthesewars.org/">stopthesewars.org</a></span></p> <div><div><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div><p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Kauff </span></strong>and <strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferner</span></strong><em><span style="font-style: italic;"> are members of Veterans For Peace</span></em></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div><div> <br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div></span> <br>____________________ <br> This listserv is primarily a listing of appropriate announcements of coming events and actions, and relevant articles directed to members and interested individuals of Maine Veterans for Peace. Its content is monitored and updated by a single administrator -- Doug Rawlings, Chapter Secretary. If you have an article or event that you would like posted to this listserv, you can email him at <a href="mailto:rawlings@vfpmaine.org">rawlings@vfpmaine.org</a> for consideration. This listserv is not a running log of events and personal insights with an online audience, or a blog. If you wish to be removed from this list, please email <a href="mailto:unsubscribe@vfpmaine.org">unsubscribe@vfpmaine.org</a> </blockquote></div><br></body></html>