Mideast Just Peace

Build Bridges Not Bombs!
Peace Gathering Labor Day at Mackinac Bridge

Northern Michigan peace proponents will again make their voices heard at the annual Mackinac Labor Day Bridge Walk.

Northern Michigan People for Peace, Mideast:JustPeace and Straits Area Concerned Citizens for Peace & Justice are urging peace advocates throughout the state to join them at the bridge this Labor Day in calling for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq and the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Peace advocates, dressed in black, will stand at the south end of the bridge

8 a.m.–Noon, Monday, Sept. 3.

Last year 200 of us marched across the bridge wearing black shirts calling on the Governor to “Bring the Guard Home!”  Many bridge walkers encouraged us, including the Governor, but this illegal and immoral war rages on, so we’ll continue to speak out until our troops are brought home. Thousands of American soldiers, including 141 from Michigan, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, have been killed. It’s way past time to stop this madness.

Join Us at the Mackinac Bridge!
Bring the Troops Home Now!
Impeach Bush! Impeach Cheney!

Please dress in black and bring a sign or banner

For more information, contact:

Stephen Brede, Northern Michigan People for Peace,
231.348.5499, greatlakescanoe@sbcglobal.net

Ellis Boal, Northern Michigan People for Peace
231.547.2626, EllisBoal@voyager.net

Marian Kromkowski, Mideast:JustPeace
231.271.5600, mkrom@centurytel.net

Karen Martin, Straits Area Concerned Citizens for Peace & Justice
877.828.6871, plantmam@racc2000.com

MidEast:JustPeace 2007 Film Series Continues

Monday, August 13, 2007 at 7PM at the Traverse Area District Library

WAR MADE EASY How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death A Film Narrated by Sean Penn/Featuring Norman Solomon
War Made Easy exposes a 50-year pattern of government deception and media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after another. With special attention to parallels between the Vietnam war and the war in Iraq and using remarkable archival footage of official distortion and exaggeration from LBJ to George W. Bush, War Made Easy reveals how the American news media have uncritically disseminated the pro-war messages of successive presidential administrations.
Free/Donations Welcome 72 minute film/Discussion to follow

Read and Relate to Realities of the Middle East

Reading gives us a unique window on the world. With this in mind and time for summer reading ahead, MidEast: JustPeace announces a series of discussions using books on Middle East topics. We begin with Jimmy Carter’s best-selling book Palestine Peace or Apartheid on September 10. . This book presents historical and political background on countries of the area, along with the former president’s analysis of the ongoing struggle between Palestine and Israel. Written in a factual but popular style, Carter also puts forth his ideas for resolution of the struggle.

The October 1 selection, Men in the Sun—a novel by acclaimed Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani—explores the meaning of home through the experiences of three men of different generations. The third selection, for November 5, a first-person account called Sharon and My Mother-in-Law, is a witty but prescient book by a young wife and mother. In diary form, Suad Amiry, an architect and writer, tells us about day-to-day life in the Occupied Territories.

All books are available at Horizon Books at a 10% discount; if you are also a member of Horizon’s own book-buying club, you will 2 discount. Books are also available second-hand at reasonable prices online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Discussions will all be held at 7 p.m. on September 10, October 1 and November 5. Location to be announced soon. Coffee will be available. For information call 231-228-7115 or 231-271-5600.

Details on the three books:

September 10, 7 p.m.:
Palestine Peace or Apartheid by Jimmy Carter.
October 1, 7 p.m.
Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani.
November 5, 7 p.m.:
Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries by Suad Amiry. London: Granta Books, 2005, 194 pages.

TONIGHT: Traverse Area Progressive Lawyers Forum Friday June 15 at 5PM/ Open to All
“Defending Our Constitutional Rights”
On Friday June 15, 2007 at 5:30 PM civil rights attorneys Bill Goodman Cynthia Heenan and Buck Davis will report on how the National Lawyers Guild and the Center for Constitutional Rights have responded to the Bush Administration’s attacks on our constitutional rights. All three are active members of the National Lawyers Guild. Bill Goodman is the past executive director of New York based Center for Constitutional Rights. All three currently practice law in Detroit. The event will be held at the Traverse City law firm of Thompson, O’Neil and Vanderveen at 309 E. Front St.

The lawyers will discuss lawsuits challenging the denial of habeas corpus to Guantanamo prisoners and the legality of NSA wiretapping as well as the role of legal observers at political demonstrations. They also will report on recent Impeachment Town Hall meetings in Detroit and provide an update from a significant voting rights case in Berrien County. The event is sponsored by the Traverse Area Progressive Lawyers, is free and open to the public. Refreshments and social time starting at 5:00 PM. Come and learn how you can get involved.

Join the Traverse Area Peace & Justice Community on Saturdays 11AM to Noon Meet at Chamber of Commerce at Cass and Grandview in Traverse City From there we will walk to the Parkway and stand for a one hour anti-war presence. It is important to show our public opposition to the War on Iraq. Be a part of this growing anti-war sentiment in our area.

This weekend also marks that 40th year of the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Let’s have a local contingent standing in solidarity with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation’s demonstration in DC. End the Occupation Now!

Bring Signs/Banners. We will also have the No More $$$ For War and Bring Our Troops Home Now signs available. Posters for Demonstration can be found at www.TraversePeaceAlerts.org

Need another reason to drink Higher Grounds coffee instead of Starbucks?

You might be more inclined after you read how “Every latte and macchiato you drink at Starbucks is a contribution to the close alliance between the United States and Israel,” in a spoof letter written by Andrew Winkler at ZioPedia. He wrote the letter using past quotes by Starbukcs chairman Howard Schultz.

The Struggle over Iraqi Oil Eyes Eternally on the Prize By Michael Schwartz

In the piece below, Tomdispatch regular Michael Schwartz follows the oil slicks deep into the Gulf of Catastrophe in Iraq. He offers a sweeping view of the role oil, the prize of prizes in Iraq, has played in Bush administration considerations and what role the new oil law is likely to play in that country’s future.

Traverse City Graduate Speaks on Israel’s Military Diplomacy and Its Effects on Civil Liberties in the United States

On Monday June 4, 2007 at 7:00 PM MidEast:Just Peace will host 1995 Traverse City high school graduate Jimmy Johnson a the Traverse Area District Library. For the past three years Johnson has worked as a researcher for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) in Jerusalem. His work there included documenting human rights abuses, organizing and practicing civil disobedience and guiding governmental and civil society groups from all over the world in political tours of East Jerusalem and environs. He is the co-author of an upcoming book on Israel’s arms industry. Johnson will speak on the impact of military diplomacy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how this distant conflict affects civil liberties in the United States.

The event is free. Discussion will follow the presentation.
Synopsis of Topics to be covered:

1 )Israel’s Military Diplomacy: The diplomatic shield of the arms trade

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is destabilizing at a regional level in one of the key geo-political regions in the world. It resonates with Muslims all over the world as one of the last “colonial invasions” of the Muslim world. Negative political developments in the conflict directly linked to spikes in energy prices. Yet Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem & Gaza continues unabated. With such a high cost to the world, how does Israel get away with it?

One of the main reasons is Israel’s military industry and experience. The diplomatic effects of the arms trade and military relationships are an undiscussed secret in world politics. The development, production and transfer of military techniques and technologies warp civilian diplomacy worldwide. As the fourth largest arms exporter in the world in 2006 (on any given year between 3-6), Israel plays an international role disproportionate to its size and resources. All of the main arms exporters reap similar benefits and several also have conflicts they need to shield from international pressure (US -UK/Iraq, Russia/Chechnya). The presentation/discussion will talk about military diplomacy and how it warps civilian diplomacy using Israel as a model.

2) Civil liberties in the US and the Conflict in the Middle East

How do the perpetuation of distant conflicts affect civil liberties at home and create tools of war? Israeli police and intelligence services train their colleagues all over the world. The Israeli military similarly provide technical expertise to a variety of armies, going so far as to build a model Arab town in the Negev to train US forces going into Iraq. Israeli monitoring and surveillance technology is in place on the London Underground, Stockholm’s Public Buses, and countless other destination across the globe. Each of these developments has a plausible security aspect, and an equally strong use against civil liberties and human rights. The only reason Israel can export such technology is due its extensive experience in monitoring and controlling the Palestinians. Just as new tools of control and warfare are being developed by US & UK forces in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will continue to work as a laboratory for security systems and techniques of control.

On Monday May 7, 2007 at 6:30 PM MidEast:Just Peace will host high school exchange students from the Middle East at the Traverse Area District Library. Students from Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan and Bangladesh will describe both their home countries and the impressions of the United States they have formed from their first school year here in this country. A question and answer period will follow.

The students are studying in the United States and attend Traverse Area high school through the ASSE International Student Exchange Program. This is the 4th year the ASSE program has hosted students from the Middle East. Olave Russell will also be on hand on May 4th to answer questions about hosting an exchange student for the 2007-2008 school year. Students are matched with qualified single individuals, married couples with/without children and retired young-at-heart hosts for a semester, a year or as welcoming families for temporary placements. Olave Russell can be reached at 231-947-2974

The event is free. Light refreshments will be served.