March, 19 2010, 11:51am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Medea
Benjamin, CODEPINK Cofounder, 415 235-6517 (available for interviews)
Dana Balicki, Campaign Manager, 202 422-8624
Rae Abileah, CODEPINK Local Groups Coordinator, 415-994-1723
Women Mark Iraq War's Seventh Anniversary with Vibrant Visuals & Community Event
Joining a Nation-Wide Call to Repair the War-Torn Economy & Redirect Our Resources to Education & Healthcare
WASHINGTON
On
the anniversary of seven years of war in Iraq, CODEPINK women in
Washington, D.C. and across America will honor this tragic anniversary
with a march in the nation's capitol and a special "Women Say No To War:
Building Peace in War Zones Around the World" event with award-winning
author of the Vagina Monologues Eve Ensler, award-winning journalist Amy
Goodman, Immigration activist Pramila Jayapal, Congresswoman Donna
Edwards and more at Busboys & Poets, owned by Iraqi-American, DC
entrepreneur Andy Shallal. CODEPINK women will join the many
demonstrations occurring across the country, connecting the failing U.S.
economy with continued military spending and the largest Pentagon
budget in history.
WHAT: CODEPINK Women for Peace march on the 7th anniversary of
the Iraq War followed by an evening celebrating women peacemakers Eve
Ensler, Amy Goodman and more. The march in DC is in conjunction with
events nationwide organized around the 7th anniversary of the Iraq
invasion, additionally calling for an end to the occupation of
Afghanistan.
WHEN: March 20, march starts 12pm and "Women Say No To War:
Building Peace in War Zones Around the World" event starts at 7pm (event
is free and open to the community)
WHERE: March & Rally--CODEPINK to gather at St. Johns Church
on H & 16th Sts NW, Evening
Event--Busboys & Poets 1025 5th NW (@ K St NW)
"As the hope of a new administration leading us towards peace has faded,
it is clear that only way we will bring our troops home is to organize
the silent majority opposed to the needless wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan", states Medea Benjamin cofounder of Global Exchange and
CODEPINK. "On the 7th anniversary of the Iraq war, we are determined to
bring the voices of Main Street to the halls of power to say: Stop
funding the warfare state and redirect our resources to life-affirming
activities".
March 20th marks six years of war in Iraq, over 8 years of war in
Afghanistan, thousands of troops dead, between 100,000 and 1million
Iraqi and Afghan civilians dead. At home Americans are suffering from
joblessness while being asked by the Obama Administration to endure a
domestic spending freeze and the largest Pentagon spending budget to
date. With these anniversary actions, communities are demanding an end
to a war-torn economy and a refocus on our economic and social
priorities here at home.
From Daytona Beach, FL to Troy, MI, cities across the country activists
and concerned citizens will rally and march on Saturday, March 20, in
opposition to the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and
calling for soldiers and desperately needed funds to return to the US.
Mass marches are planned in DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and
Chicago. For a full listing of actions please see www.codepinkalert.org/calendar
and https://pjep.org/announcements/?id=961.
Founded in the lead up to the Iraq War in 2003, CODEPINK Women for Peace
has become a vibrant, creative voice in the peace movement, an outlet
especially for women in the United States and worldwide.
CODEPINK Cofounders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans are available for
interview/comment. Please contact Dana Balicki for more info--(202)
422-8624, Dana@codepinkalert.org
CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.
(818) 275-7232LATEST NEWS
Amid Spying Fight, House Passes Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act
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Apr 17, 2024
While applauding the U.S. House of Representatives' bipartisan passage of a bill to ensure that "law enforcement and intelligence agencies can't do an end-run around the Constitution by buying information from data brokers" on Wednesday, privacy advocates highlighted that Congress is trying to extend and expand a long-abused government spying program.
The House voted 219-199 for Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA), which won support from 96 Democrats and 123 Republicans, including the lead sponsor, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). Named for the constitutional amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, H.R. 4639 would close what campaigners call the data broker loophole.
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Wednesday's vote followed the House sending the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act to the Senate. H.R. 7888 would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for warrantless spying on noncitizens abroad but also sweeps up Americans' data.
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Noting those decisions on the FISA reauthorization legislation, Ruddock stressed that "today's vote is a victory but follows a recent loss and ongoing threat as that Section 702 bill moves to the Senate this week too."
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Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU, similarly said Wednesday that "the bipartisan passage of this bill is a flashing warning sign to the government that if it wants our data, it must get a warrant."
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While claiming that President Joe Biden backs "Palestinian aspirations for statehood," one of the cables asserts that "it remains the U.S. view that the most expeditious path toward a political horizon for the Palestinian people is in the context of a normalization agreement between Israel and its neighbors."
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"We wanted the U.S. to provide a substantive alternative to U.N. recognition. They didn't," one unnamed Palestinian official toldAxios on Wednesday. "We believe full membership in the U.N. for Palestine is way overdue. We have waited more than 12 years since our initial request."
As The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw noted:
Since 2011, the U.N. Security Council has rejected the Palestinian Authority's request for full member status. On April 2, the Palestinian Observer Mission to the U.N. requested that the council once again take up consideration of its membership application. According to the first State Department cable, U.N. meetings since the beginning of April suggest that Algeria, China, Guyana, Mozambique, Russia, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, and Malta support granting Palestine full membership to the U.N. It also says that France, Japan, and Korea are undecided, while the United Kingdom will likely abstain from a vote.
Along with the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom are permanent members of the UNSC, so they also have veto power.
Ahead of Thursday's planned vote, Spain has been doing its own lobbying in Europe to build greater support for Palestinian statehood. At a joint Tuesday press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said the question is "when, not if, but when is the best moment to recognize Palestine."
Belgium—which is seeking economic sanctions against Israel in response to its genocidal war on Gaza—is expected to join Spain's push for Palestinian statehood after the country's European Union presidency expires in June.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who has also claimed to support a so-called "two-state solution"—has alternately boasted about thwarting Palestinian statehood.
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