 Washington D.C. | Four hundred people, many clad in orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by Guantanmo's prisoners, turned out in Washington D.C. to march to the Supreme Court, demanding that the prison be shut down. Seventy five people were arrested in the protest, organized by Witness Against Torture
UPDATE: WNPJ member Joy First among those arrested at Supreme Court Read more... |
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"This is to show our rage against the fact that this black hole facility continues to exist, that there are still 275 people outside any rule of law, and to demand its immediate closure," said Amnesty's international campaigns director, Sarah Burton.
83 protests were held around the world, from Sydney, Australia to Athens, Greece. In Africa, several human rights groups staged an hour-long sit-in outside the Mauritian justice ministry in Nouakchott to demand the government do more for the release of two nationals still held in Guantanamo Bay. See a slideshow of worldwide actions here Read more here |
Vets for Peace "Memorial Mile" honors dead, calls for peace
| November 11 More than 4,300 tombstones erected in Madison's Olbrich Park presented a stark reminder of the costs of war. Speakers at the Veterans Day memorial observance, sponsored by Vets for Peace, Clarence Kailin Chapter 25 in Madison, included Vets for Peace member Rev. David Couper, former Madison police chief and a former Marine; Ray Maida, a Vietnam veteran whose son Mark was killed in Iraq; Iraq war veteran Abbie Pickett; and Vietnam War veteran and VFP member Will Williams. Read more... Video from WKOW News |
| Olympia Washington: activists stand against military shipments through Port |
November 9: Late Friday afternoon, approximately 50 members of Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OlyPMR) sat down near the main gate of the Port of Olympia in Washington State. Two tractor trailers, one carrying two Stryker combat vehicles, another filled with military cargo, were blocked from exiting the port. Police arrived on the scene and after failing to persuade the demonstrators to allow one truck through, ceded control of the entrance. The 2 trucks were forced by these circumstances to back up – returning inside the port gate. Read more... |
| Madison: 11/3: Seven arrested at East Towne Mall "Die-In" Seven Madison-area residents, surrounded by more than twenty supporters, were arrested at Madison's East Towne Mall in a "die in" to protest the war in Iraq. As two volunteers read the names of Iraq civilians and U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, the seven lay on the floor of the mall food court, each covered in a white sheet. Madison police charged each of the seven with trespassing, and levied a fine of $424. More photos here. |  Madison Police talk to die-in participant shortly before arrest After the protest, Joy First of Madison Pledge of Resistance, the protest organizer, said, " It felt surreal to be speaking out against the war in that environment with all the bright lights and commercialism all around us." Read Joy's account of the protest and arrests here Those arrested will be appearing in court in Madison on November 28. |
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As a LaCrosse City Judge Marcou found four anti-war protestors guilty of trespassing at Congressman Ron Kind’s office, eight additional protestors staged a sit-in at Congressman Kind’s office, refusing to leave until he agreed to meet privately to talk about the upcoming War Appropriations Bill. Dozens of additional supporters stood outside Kind's office. Kind later agreed to a meeting, to take place before the end of November, to discuss his votes for war funding. Read more... | As Four Anti-War Protestors are Found Guilty in La Crosse City Court, 8 additional Protestors stage Sit-in at Congressman Kind's Office  |
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ABC News: Peace marches draw tens of thousands nationwide Read more... BBC News: Thousands in US antiwar protests Read more... |  |
 | Peace Rally Is Chance For Us To Unite Against Iraq War Janet Parker, WNPJ Co-chair Read more... |
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Opt-out: Many high schoolers shun military recruiter contact With the encouragement of WNPJ member group Truth and Alternatives to Militarism in Education, more students at Madison's East High are signing "opt-out" forms to withhold their contact information from military recruiters. Under the No Child Left Behind act, schools are required to provide information about students to the military, unless students or parents sign the "opt-out" forms. "A lot of people are saying they're glad we're here," said Vicki Berenson, an East High parent staffing the TAME information table at 10th grade registration. Read more... |   WNPJ member Vicki Berenson counsels students and their families at the TAME table at East High Photo by David Sandell |
"Halliburton off Campus" protest at UW-Madison draws national news coverage Nearly 200 students marched to a UW Engineering career fair to oppose the presence of Halliburton recruiters on campus, in a protest that earned coverage from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and the Washington Post (Read here, here, here, and listen here. The protest was led by WNPJ member group UW Madison Campus Antiwar Network. Halliburton subsidiary Kellog, Brown and Root has been charged with bribing foreign officials, neglecting troops under its care, and overcharging the Army for services, a charge that resulted in an $8 million fine paid by KBR last year. KBR has since been split off from Halliburton, but CAN members say Halliburton's history of war profiteering should disqualify it from on-campus recruiting. |  Photo: Jeff Schorfheide, Badger Herald CAN members saw the protest as an important step in building a strong anti-war presence on campus. “We should go back to to our classes and dorms and talk about what we did today,” said UW graduate student Elizabeth Wrigley-Field. UW to host national CAN conference From October 19-21, UW Madison CAN will host the national Campus Antiwar Network 5th annual conference, drawing campus activists from all over the country to shape the future of the student antiwar movement. Read more... |
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Thousands Stand up for Immigrant Workers An estimated ten thousand people joined Milwaukee's Voces de la Frontera in a march to oppose the Bush administration's use of Social Security "No-Match" letters and hundreds more marched in Madison, at a rally organized by WNPJ member group Union de Trabajadores Inmigrantes. The marchers called for several important goals: Stop the firings for Social-Security no-match A new Bush administration policy will cause hundreds of thousands of workers to be under threat of losing their jobs, if the Social Security administration returns a "no-match" letter on the worker's social security number. The Social Security administration admits that hundreds of thousands of the “no match” letters will be incorrect. That means that thousands of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents will be forced to run the Social Security Administration’s bureaucratic gauntlet in order to keep their jobs. Read more... |
Stop the anti-immigrant raids
"Armed squads bursting into homes in the dead of night with shotguns and automatic weapons, terrorizing families and taking away anyone who lacks identity papers, even if they have raided the wrong house." That's how the New York Times describes the anti-immigrant raids that are occuring all over the county. Read more... Create a county ID for all Dane County residents In July, New Haven Connecticut became the first city in the U.S. to issue ID cards to residents irrespective of their immigration status. “City ID” provides a way of bringing undocumented residents out of the shadows, by making it possible for residents to open bank accounts, access city services, and identify themselves to health-care providers, schools and landlords without disclosing their immigration status. Dane County could do the same. Read more... |
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| Getting Out and Staying Out |
 | More than 9000 inmates will be released from Wisconsin prisons
next year, and about a third of inmates released wind up back in prison within three
years. WNPJ member groups Madison Area Urban
Ministry and Benedict Center are at
the leading edge of innovative programs that support returning prisoners, helping them
find work, job training and education. Read and listen to a five-part series by Wisconsin
Public Radio reporter Gil Halsted Read/listen... |
 | Candlelight Coalition brings message of peace to 'Tosa 4th of July Parade WNPJ member group Candlelight Coalition marched in the Wauwatosa 4th of July Parade, and their message of peace, displayed prominently behind two Civil-War re-enactors, was captured by WauwatosaNOW staff photographer Mary Catanese. More photos... |
Madison area vets for peace gather on Memorial Day
National Vets for Peace president speaks in Madison
 | "America sent us to war. She broke us. She does not know how to fix us. The only way you can honor us vets is not to make any more of us. " Elliot Adams, National President, Vets for Peace | Audio report: click here to listen with your Windows Media Player or Realplayer Speakers are, in order, George Martin of Peace Action Wisconsin, Esty Dinur of Madison Vets for Peace, Elliot Adams, National President of Vets for Peace, and Clarence Kailin, a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil war, and a founding member of Madison’s Vets for Peace. Music by Claire Norelle, recording by Steve Burns. |
 | Minneapolis peace activist and Iraqi American Sami Rasouli featured on Democracy Now! "We cannot justify the presence of the US troops in Iraq by saying, well, they will -- or they are doing anything good for the Iraqis to prevent such as civil war" Read more... |
 | Local Vietnam vet and Japanese professor strive to heal war wounds WNPJ Member group Winds of Peace is working to bring victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings to My Lai for the 40th anniversary memorial of the My Lai massacre Click here to listen using your Real Audio or Windows Media player... |
 |  Mr. Meyer Goes to Washington One of Madison's most determined campaigners for peace and justice, Alfred Meyer, is going to try his hand at cleaning up the mess in Washington. read more... |
 The People Have Spoken Residents of Amery, Wis. weren't paying much attention Friday as the U.S. House repudiated Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq. After all, they voted to withdraw all forces a year ago. read more... |
| Racine: Local war protesters see a rise in their numbers read more... |
| Anti-war network sits in at Sen. Kohl’s office through the night Update 4/19: Kohl's staff orders arrest of student read more... After walking out of their classes at 1 p.m. Wednesday in protest of the war in Iraq and rallying students down State Street, more than 40 members of UW-Madison’s Campus Anti-war Network staged an all-night sit-in at U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl’s, D-Wis., Madison office. The protesters insisted the senator return to Wisconsin to meet with the group and hear its demands regarding the war in Iraq. Check it out! and here... | New! Audio of protest (thanks to Lee Rayburn of Air America) - click here... Why We Occupied Senator Herb Kohl's Office -- And Why This is Just the Beginning - read more... |
 Mile Miles of Luck, Wis., arrested at the Superior office of U.S. Rep. Dave Obey | March 5: Three Arrested in Obey's Superior office read more... Action is part of the Occupation Project - a campaign of sustained civil disobedience to end the Iraq war. More than 130 peace activists arrested from Alaska to North Carolina:
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| 'Peacemakers' persist in opposing Iraq war WNPJ member groups Lakeshore Peacemakers and Pax Christi are featured in this Manitowoc Herald Times report read more... right: Lakeshore Peacemaker Ron Kossik stands along North Eighth Street in Manitowoc on Friday night. Sue Pischke/HTR |   |
| In the Majority The peace movement includes more members in unlikely places WNPJ member groups Peace Action and Candlelight Coalition are featured in this Milwaukee Shepherd Express report read more... |  |
 Doing their part for peace Joy First, Flo Evans and other peace activists are profiled in this Madison Isthmus article read more... right: Flo Evans, Judy Miner and Bill Adamski in front of Senator Kohl's office in Madison |  |
Congress votes $100 billion in war funds
House passes war funding 280-142, Kagen, Kind, Sensenbrenner, Petri and Ryan vote "yes", Baldwin, Moore, Obey vote "no"
Senate approves war funding 80-14, Kohl votes "yes", Feingold votes "no"
Complete Senate roll call here, House roll call here
Complete history of Iraq war funding votes by Wisconsin Representatives here...
WNPJ Program Coordinator Steve Burns sees cause for hope read more...