September, 21 2015, 03:45pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Pope Arriving, Civil Disobedience Ramps up
WASHINGTON
Peace activists are planning a series of actions in Washington, D.C. and around the country coinciding with the visit of Pope Francis.
[Today, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports "Five demonstrators were arrested Monday morning at the main gate of Hancock Field while demonstrating against a weaponized drone program operating out of the base. The group, which regularly rallies against the unmanned aerial vehicles and wars in the Middle East, held signs reading 'Drones Kill Children' before members were arrested. ... The protesters said in a statement that they staged the demonstration in honor of the International Day of Peace, a UN-designated day of non-violence and ceasefire." Activists from Catholic Worker communities participated in the protests. Contact: Ellen Grady: demottgrady6 at gmail.com. There were similar protests today organized by the Nevada Desert Experience, with three arrests outside Creech Air Force Base. info at nevadadesertexperience.org; Brian Terrell [shortly in D.C.], brian at vcnv.org.]
Members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance "have been speaking out against the illegal actions of the United States government since 2003. They have organized numerous actions across the country involving nonviolent civil resistance as they call attention to the crimes of our government.
"Members of NCNR have written letters calling on both Congress and the White House to make drastic policy changes to bring about real change in ending war, poverty, the climate crisis, and systemic violence. NCNR has not received a response to either letter, so citizen activists will go to [House Ways and Means Committee chair Paul] Ryan's office and the White House to seek a meeting to discuss these urgent matters. This action is part of the week of actions called for by Campaign Nonviolence with over 325 actions around the country between September 20-27.
"Just prior to the historic visit of Pope Francis, when he will visit the White House and address Congress, we call on our government to heed his words and stop the warmongering, protect Mother Earth and end income inequality. If our elected officials fail to heed the pope's warnings, our planet will continue to suffer irreversible and deadly consequences."
Contacts: Joy First, joyfirst5 at gmail.com, Malachy Kilbride, malachykilbride at yahoo.com, Max Obuszewski, mobuszewski at verizon.net
Speakers at the Tuesday rally at Edward R. Murrow Park near the White House will include Fr. John Dear and Kathy Kelly from Voices for Creative Nonviolence who was just in Afghanistan. She states she will risk arrest Tuesday because "the Obama administration bears responsibility to educate the U.S. public about the greatest terrors we face -- the terrors of what we are doing to our own environment. Not one dime of U.S. resources should ever again go to war profiteers, war planners, and Pentagon exploits. Instead, those resources should be used to alleviate the impact of climate change and to meet human needs within the U.S. and beyond." For more details, see the group's Facebook page.
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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"This milestone for the Missourians for Constitutional Freedom campaign means that voters are one step closer to being able to use the ballot measure process to secure their rights."
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Missouri currently has one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States, but a coalition behind a potential ballot measure is hoping to change that—and on Friday, it made major progress toward expanding reproductive freedom in the state.
Ahead of a Sunday deadline, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom submitted 380,159 signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State's office, which must now certify them. The signatures were collected in just three months and are over double the number needed to get the proposed amendment on the November ballot.
"Today, we turned in boxes filled with hopes and dreams of bodily autonomy," declared Tori Schafer, an ACLU attorney and coalition spokesperson, in a statement. "Our message is simple and clear: We want to make decisions about our bodies free from political interference."
A so-called "trigger law" that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court reversedRoe v. Wade two years ago prohibits abortion care in Missouri unless the health or life of the pregnant person is at risk. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, and doctors who violate the ban could face up to 15 years behind bars.
The proposed amendment would broadly safeguard reproductive freedom in the state, protecting not only abortion care before fetal viability but also birth control, respectful birthing conditions, and miscarriage, prenatal, and postpartum care.
"Hundreds of thousands of Missourians are now having conversations about abortion and reproductive freedom; some are sharing their own abortion stories for the very first time; and all are ready to do whatever it takes to win at the ballot box this year," said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri and another coalition spokesperson. "Together, we are going to end Missouri's abortion ban."
Dr. Iman Alsaden, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Great Plains and adviser to the coalition, called Friday "a monumental day for Missouri and for my patients."
"The success of this campaign sends a clear message: Missourians trust patients to make the healthcare decisions that are best for their health and well-being," Alsaden said. "Anti-abortion politicians take note: My patients' lives are not yours to control."
Missouri is one of several states—including Arizona, Florida, and Montana—where supporters of reproductive freedom are working to pass abortion rights ballot initiatives this cycle. As the divided Congress has failed to codify Roe since the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, ballot measures have been an increasingly popular strategy.
Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which has backed various abortion rights ballot initiatives across the country over the past few years, welcomed the successful signature collection campaign in Missouri on Friday.
"Missourians today are living under an extremely cruel abortion ban, enacted by politicians who are profoundly out of touch with their voters," Hall said. "Missourians deserve better—they should be able to make their own healthcare decisions without government interference."
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The Paris-based group nominated Palestinian journalists covering Gaza for an annual award from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)—an honor they received during a ceremony on Thursday.
"Each year, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize pays tribute to the courage of journalists facing difficult and dangerous circumstances," said Audrey Azoulay, the U.N. organization's director-general. "Once again this year, the prize reminds us of the importance of collective action to ensure that journalists around the world can continue to carry out their essential work to inform and investigate."
Palestinian journalists covering Israel’s war on Gaza have been awarded UNESCO’s World Press Freedom prize. More than 100 journalists, mostly Palestinians, have been killed in the war. pic.twitter.com/uSfIKsqTyQ
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 3, 2024
Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate and vice-president of the International Federation of Journalists, accepted the prize on behalf of his colleagues in the besieged enclave.
"Journalists in Gaza have endured a sustained attack by the Israeli army of unprecedented ferocity—but have continued to do their jobs, as witnesses to the carnage around them," he said. "It is justified that they should be honored on World Press Freedom Day. What we have seen in Gaza is surely the most sustained and deadly attack on press freedom in history. This award shows that the world has not forgotten and salutes their sacrifice for information."
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“Palestinian journalists have seen what no journalist has.”
For #WorldPressFreedomDay, we spoke to Palestinian journalist Hani Aburezeq, who's been showing the world Israel’s war on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/YikPzX12a7
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 3, 2024
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