Pax Christi Long Beach Island Chapter NY

Greetings members and supporters,

As many of you already know, VFPLI and the pece community on Long Island lost a good friend and committerd activist this past week. Vic Skolnick, co-founder of the Cinema Art Center has passed away. Vic, a film scholar and much-beloved member of both the Long Island and global film communities, leaves behind a rich legacy of love and inspiration that will continue to be felt for future generations. Our condolences go out to his long time partner Charlotte and their son Dylan.
A Memorial Tribute for Vic Skolnick will be held on Saturday, June 19th at 10:30am – 12:30pm at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave, Huntington, NY 11743. For further information call 631-423-7611 or at www.CinemaArtsCentre.org.

The World Can't Wait is sponsoring THE PEOPLE'S JOURNEY to be held at two locations this weekend.
St. Mary's Church
Friday, June 18th
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30 PM
521 W 126th St.
New York, NY 10027
 
And also
 
SATURDAY, JUNE 19TH
THE CUP CAFÉ
388 Van Duzer Street
Staten Island, NY  10304
DOORS OPEN AT 1 PM
 
JOIN SALAM TALIB, JOSH STIEBER, CONOR CURRAN & STUDENTS FROM GAZA (visiting NYC)
with people from AFGHANISTAN VIA SKYPE. Together citizens from IRAQ, students visiting from GAZA, and others from AFGHANISTAN (via skype), and VETERANS of the GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR share their experiences. For further info call Elaine Brower at 917 620 0767

VFPLI will continue our support for Pax Christi's demo against BAE, Long Island's own producer of the killer drones. Next demo will be on Saturday, July 3rd at 1 p.m. in front of BAE, Pulaski Rd. Greenlawn, as we protest BAE. For further info call Charlotte at 631-261-8590.

This Saturday and Sunday is the Clearwater Festival at Croton-on-the-Hudson, NY. If you like good music, a 60's style coming together of like minded people who seek peace and social justice, or just want to have a good time in a beautiful outdoor environment, please come. Here is the link to their website. http://www.clearwater.org/festival

Again this year VFPLI and South Country Peace Group will be tabling at the Patchogue "Live After Five" Street Fair. It is held on Mainstreet in Patchogue on every other Friday evening/night beginning July 2. If you would like to help us manning the table, please contact Karen at <rksrc2001@yahoo.com>

Please keep August 6th available to join us as we march with South Country Peace Group in the annual Hiroshima memorial in Bellport. More info will be forthcoming.

VFP National has informed me that the membership of many of our members have lapsed. I know these are hard economic times, but if you can manage it, National would appreciate your renewal.

I hope you will find some opportunity in this beautiful time of the year to join us at one of our upcoming events.

In peace,

Mac

--
Camillo "Mac" Bica, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Veterans For Peace, Long Island
P.O. Box 3
Commack, NY 11725
631.987.3338
http://www.vfpli.com

"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell."
—William Tecumseh Sherman

Veterans for PEACE LI LINK

VETERAN'S MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Conscientious Objection

[Our apologies for any duplicate emails.] Dear Joseph,   Soldier Arrested for Allegedly Leaking "Collateral Murder" video to Wikileaks Back in April, Wikileaks released the notorious "Collateral Murder" video depicting a U.S. helicopter attack resulting in the killing of 11 un-armed Iraqi civilians, including 2 Reuters employees.  Last week, the military arrested Bradley Manning, a 22 yr-old Army intelligence analyst, who they allege took credit for leaking the video to Wikileaks.  Details of the case are reported here on Wired.com.  A Christian Science Monitor article on the case questions whether Manning's arrest is part of a stepped up effort by the Obama administration to crack down on whistle-blowers. Iraq Veterans Against the War's Summer of Action IVAW is on the move this summer in preparation for our fall campaign for a GI and Veterans Bill of Rights.  If you are in Chicago, Detroit, or Austin, please join us! June 16-18: IVAW leaders from across the country will come together for a National Strategy Retreat in Chicago to map out our fall campaign for a GI and Veterans' Bill of Rights.  We will work with our friends from Civilian Soldier Alliance, a newly formed national network of civilian organizers who are committed to supporting our GI and Veteran resistance movement. June 22-26: From Chicago, we will travel to the U.S. Social Forum (USSF) in Detroit, where we will build a tent city, camping out with our friends in Veterans For Peace.  The USSF provides a space where diverse groups can come together to share ideas and create peoples' solutions to the economic and ecological crisis our planet faces.  IVAW will paticipate in three separate workshops at USSF: 1) GI Resistance Workshop - Iraq and Afghanistan War Resisters will testify about their struggle and the value of resisting militarism, and discuss what support is needed to build the GI resistance movement. 2) Building a Military Resistance Movement: Veterans, Service Members & Allies Organizing Together - This workshop, lead by IVAW and Civilian-Soldier Alliance will be an intro training on supporting war resisters and being a strong and accountable ally to veterans and service members organizing for change. 3) Veterans and Military Families: Impact of the Wars; Impact on Movements - An exploration of how veterans and military families use their unique voices and perspectives to end wars and promote peace and social change (co-presented with Veterans For Peace and Military Families Speak Out). July 8-11: IVAW's National Convention will take place in Austin, Texas and features a GI outreach concert in Killeen, near Fort Hood.  We expect over 150 members ad allies to attend.  If you are an ally in the Austin area and want to attend IVAW's convention, contact Mohan Kanungo at mohankanungo@ivaw.org. Sept 6-8: Over Labor Day weekend, IVAW will host its first women veterans retreat in Pittsburgh, PA.  This retreat will provide space for IVAW women to share their military experiences, develop their own leadership, and create strategies to center the experience of women soldiers and Afghan and Iraqi women in IVAW's organizing work.  To sponsor a woman veteran to attend this retreat, make a donation here.       Thank you for your continued support, and hope to see you this summer! Iraq Veterans Against the War

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Dear members and supporters,

It has been a busy month and VFPLI has been active working for an end to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and the wars in Pakistan and Yemen. Most recently, our members have participated in the March on Washington, the demonstration against the BAE, and I had the privilege of speaking at the Riverside Church during the Truth Commission Hearings on Conscience in War. We continue to work closely with our allied peace organizations here on Long Island, and we hope to see increase membership and involvement in the warm months ahead. How about spreading the word about VFPLI and coming out to join us at one of the future events listed below. You'll feel better for it I'm sure.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK. A documentary film version of the late Howard Zinn’s book
WHEN: Saturday, April 24, at 7:30pm
WHERE: the South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation
228 South Ocean Avenue, Freeport
Co-Sponsored by the Long Island School of the Americas Watch
Flyer attached.

VFPLI will be participating an the event to thank Vic and Char from the Cinema Arts Centre for all they have done to support peace groups on Long Island (our initial meeting was held at the CAC). All are encouraged to attend, Sunday, April 25, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, at CAC, pot luck brunch will be served, $10 donation suggested; For further info, contact Sheila.

The International Conference for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just, and Sustainable World will be held on Friday, April 30 from 6:00 pm and Saturday, May 1 from 10:00 am, at the Riverside Church, NYC; Registration is $30. VFP is an endorsing organization of the conference. A registration form as well as a list of the workshops is attached.

On Sunday, May 2, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm- a rally and demonstration demanding Nuclear Disarmament and an End to the Occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and the wars in Yemem, Pakistan, etc., will be held at Times Square followed by a march to UN, and a Music Festival at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (info at www.peaceandjusticenow.org)
2:00 pm- Rally at Times Square (assemble 1:30 pm 7th Avenue, south of 41st Street)
3:30 pm- 4:00 pm- March to United Nations
4:00-6:00 pm- Peace and Music Festival at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza

Veterans for Peace Long Island Benefit Concert will be held on Saturday, May 22 at 7PM  Lulu’s Village Pub, Port Jefferson. George Mann, the VFPLI Band and a few other groups yet to be named will perform. More information to follow.

Our next meeting will be held in a couple of weeks. Further information will be forthcoming.

Thanks for your support and interest in VFPLI and I hope to see you soon at one of the events listed above.

In peace,

Mac

--
Camillo "Mac" Bica,Ph.D.
Coordinator
Veterans For Peace, Long Island
P.O. Box 3
Commack, NY 11725
631.987.3338
http://www.vfpli.com

"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell."
—William Tecumseh Sherman

Untitled Document

Dear Joseph, President Obama's announcement that he is sending 35,000 more troops to Afghanistan before Christmas came as no surprise to us here at Iraq Veterans Against the War.  Most of these troops have already served two, three, or more tours in Afghanistan or Iraq.  Please think of these men and women over the holidays and re-commit yourself to working to end these wars in the New Year. As long as troops are forced to continue multiple deployments for brutal and unjust wars, GI resistance will continue.  Two Stories of GI Resistance Ryan Jackson hails from our Savannah, GA chapter.  He joined the U.S. Army and served in South Korea until 2007.  After reading the words of visionaries like Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi, Ryan decided he could no longer serve in good conscience.  He Spent 100 days in a Charleston, SC brig after going AWOL for his beliefs.  See Ryan tell his story here: Ryan Jackson Part 1 Ryan Jackson Part 2 Marc Hall is a father serving on active duty at Ft. Stewart, GA.  He's already completed 1 tour of duty in Iraq and is set to deploy again in another week.  Marc's military contract ends this February, but he has been Stop-Lossed for his unit's up-coming deployment back to Iraq.   Marc is also a hip-hop artist and recently recorded an angry song entitled "Stop Loss" as an artistic outlet for his frustrations about his situation.  He explains on his website, "I am a political artist.  I rap about real issues in life in hopes to recover a solution."   You can listen to Marc's song by clicking here. (Be aware that the song contains explicit lyrics.) News of the song reached Marc's chain of command at Ft. Stewart which claims that the song's lyrics amount to the "communication of a threat."  The Army placed Marc in jail last Friday charging him with an Article 134.  We believe that Marc's right to freedom of speech is being violated.  Later tonight, IVAW Field Organizer, Jason Hurd, will visit Marc in jail and get more details of his story. We will keep you updated on Marc's case in the coming days and weeks.  But here's how you can help Marc today: Call the jail at 912-876-6411 to demand an end to his illegal confinement. Send letters of protest to: CPT Cross, Commander, B 2-7 INF BN, Fort Stewart, GA  31314. Your Financial Support As soldiers of conscience, Iraq Veterans Against the War has continued the fight to resist the ongoing occupations, heal our veterans, and work for reparations for Iraq and Afghanistan. Our determination has not wavered, and our membership continues to grow.  Like our members, you have refused to turn a blind eye to the war policies of the new administration.  Together we can hold them accountable. Please make an end-of-year gift today by clicking here. Your support makes our work possible. Thank you! Jose, Aaron, Chantelle, Jason, Selena, Joe, Mohan, Amadee, and Bryan Iraq Veterans Against the War Staff

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CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION~JONES BEACH MAY 26, 2007

 

 

 

 

VETERANS SPEAKER & ADVOCACY BUREAU:  LI Veterans For Peace Chapter 138 has created a speakers bureau with the intention of holding classroom presentations as well as assemblies in our local high schools and colleges. If you are a teacher or know of one who might be interested in this, please call 631-875-8647 or email rksrc@optonline.net . For a copy of the letter being sent out to schools,