Afghanistan Alert
- "Happy Talk" on the Afghanistan War?The Seminal: But By All Means, Continue the Happy Talk on the Afghanistan War: "By a variety of measures, U.S. military policies in the Afghanistan war are failing." "You probably haven’t heard much about this, in part because of the justified media focus on Haiti, but a confluence of very bad indicators point to failure even by the military […]
- Obama's War (PBS Frontline)Obama's War (PBS Frontline) Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan. FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria, through interviews with the top U.S. commanders on the ground, embeds with U.S. forces, and fresh reporting from Washington, they examine U.S. counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and […]
- The Risks Of A Remote-Controlled WarJane Mayer: The Risks Of A Remote-Controlled War : NPRJane Mayer, a political journalist based in Washington, D.C., is a staff writer for The New Yorker, where she covers politics for the weekly magazine. In the October 26 issue, Mayer examines the ethics and controversies surrounding the CIA's covert drone program, in which remotely controlled, unmanne […]
Bombs of Foreign Wars Explode At Home
“The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1967.
“I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted,” King said. “I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam.”
Taxpayers in Westchester County, New York will pay $5.9 billion for total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
- 1,079,469 People with Health Care for One Year OR
- 10,958,988 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
- 112,975 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
- 89,145 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR
- 955,207 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
- 1,094,114 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5350 OR
- 33,274 Affordable Housing Units OR
- 2,045,487 Children with Health Care for One Year OR
- 666,915 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
- 67,798 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
- 87,973 Port Container Inspectors for One year
Taxpayers in New York State will pay $82.1 billion for total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
- 15,138,866 People with Health Care for One Year OR
- 153,692,779 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
- 1,584,400 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
- 1,250,207 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR
- 13,396,167 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
- 15,344,245 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5350 OR
- 466,652 Affordable Housing Units OR
- 28,686,646 Children with Health Care for One Year OR
- 9,353,049 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
- 950,823 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
- 1,233,766 Port Container Inspectors for One year
Source: www.NationalPriorities.org
TUES, 12/1, 5:30 PM >> Protest Afghanistan Escalation at West Point
Protest Near West Point on Tuesday Dec. 1 as Obama Announces a Wider Afghan war
As President Obama announces his plans to escalate the Afghan war in a speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Hudson Valley peace movement will be conducting a nearby protest against his decision to send additional American troops to the battlefield.
The antiwar action will start at the Main St. park in the town of Highland Falls in Orange County, which is adjacent to the grounds of the Military Academy. People will begin gathering at 5:30 p.m. for a rally at 6:30 p.m. featuring several speakers. After about a half hour, participants will join a quarter-mile candlelight march to the gates of West Point, then return to the park. �
This demonstration is a rain or shine event. Bring candles or a flashlight. It is sponsored by Orange County Democratic Alliance, WESPAC, Peace Action of New York State, World Can’t Wait, Peace and Social Progress Now, and the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter.
The organizers are urging activists from throughout the region to take part in this important event. The world will be watching Obama’s speech that evening and it is important to show that representatives of the majority of the American people who oppose the Afghan war are making their views known.
For information about the rally contact Bennett Weiss at (845) 569-8662, benweiss [at ] aol.com, and Nick Mottern (914) 806-6179, nickmottern [at] earthlink.net. Carpooling from Westchester County in being coordinated by WESPAC, (914) 449-6514. Contact the Activist Newsletter, jacdon [at] earthlink.net, for information about possible car pools from Ulster and Dutchess counties.
Highland Falls is about 32 miles south of New Paltz and 16 miles south of Newburgh. Driving from the north, Rt. 9W is your best bet. There are two entrances to the town from 9W. The first one is where Rt. 218 cuts into Highland Falls and it will take you into Main St. in 1.1 miles. The second, about mile and a half further south on 9W connects directly with Main St. (Rt. 218) and you go north a mile or so. If you are coming from Albany, its quicker to take the Thruway to exit 17 Newburgh, and switch to 9W south.)
12/5 SAT > Fair Trade Festival & Crafts Fair in White Plains
Click Here for flyer
Margaret Eberle Fair Trade Festival
Saturday, December 5, 10 – 5
Asbury Hall of Memorial United Methodist Church
250 Bryant Avenue
White Plains, NY
Admission is $2-5, also includes entrance to WESPAC’s Social Forum followup meeting, taking place upstairs from 9:00 to 3:00 PM in the church’s Sanctuary.
Fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate/Siwok crafts from Argentina/Handmade crafts from Africa/Handmade jewelry and toys from Mexico and elsewhere/Locally-made all-natural soaps/Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan clothing and textiles, and much, much more!
For more information, visit www.memorial4all.org or call (914) 949-2146
Volunteers are welcome — for more info, click here
iCasualties News
- Reuters- 4 Police, 3 Civilians Killed in Suicide Attack in N. Afghanistan September 5, 2010A bomb blast, caused by explosives planted in a motorbike, killed four Afghan policemen and three civilians in northern Kunduz province on Saturday, provincial governor Mohammad Omar said. Several others were wounded, Omar said. […]
- dawn- Six insurgents killed in Afghanistan clash September 5, 2010A Taliban commander was captured and six insurgents killed in a raid on a militant hideout in northern Afghanistan, Nato said Saturday. […]
- WaPo- U.S. to temper stance on Afghan corruption September 5, 2010U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan are developing a strategy that would tolerate some corruption in the country but target the most corrosive abuses by more tightly regulating U.S. contracting procedures, according to senior defense officials. […]
- DoD- Marine Casualty Identified September 5, 2010Lance Cpl. Joshua T. Twigg, 21, of Indiana, Pa., died Sept. 2 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. […]
- VOA- US Doctors Work With Afghans to Improve Country's Medical Care September 5, 2010Nine years after the war in Afghanistan began, the government and its coalition allies are preparing for the day it will end. Part of that preparation is ensuring that Afghanistan's medical community will be able to care for the population. U.S. Air Force personnel are working at the Kandahar Regional Military ... […]