[KWPeace-groups] Update from Tamara: Online Teach-In No War With Iran on Jan 11, Global Day of Protest Rally at 2pm Jan 25 + Can we meet on Jan 15 or Jan 16?

[Tamara Lorincz]

Hello everyone!

We have confirmation for KW Peace, WR Nonviolence and the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace to co-sponsor the Global Day of Protest - No War With Iran, Peace With Iran on Saturday, January 25 at 2pm at the Waterloo Public Square. I have heard from the Iranian-Canadian people that 2pm is the best time for them. I also mentioned this event at the Amnesty International monthly meeting yesterday and they will come out to the rally. I will make a Facebook post. I will also say that KW Peace is endorsing the action: https://www.answercoalition.org/emergency_demonstrations_announced_step_back_from_the_brink_no_war_with_iran 

It was suggested that we have a rally this Saturday and every Saturday until January 25. However, this Saturday the forecast is for a lot of freezing rain mixed with snow, so I don't feel comfortable encouraging people to come outside for a rally that day (https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/weather/ontario/waterloo?no_alert_redirect=2020-1-8&no_alert_redirect=2020-1-8). There is an online Teach-In that people can tune into organized by the ANSWER Coalition on Saturday afternoon that people can participate in: https://www.answercoalition.org/sat_jan_11_teach_in What do you think? 

I would like to organize an evening planning meeting for the Jan 25 rally  - is anyone available Wednesday Jan 15 or Thursday Jan 16?

You can immediately take action to say "No War with Iran, Peace With Iran, Troops Out of Iraq":

1.	Contact the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne
Telephone: 613-995-4895
Fax: 613-996-6883
Email: mailto:Francois-Philippe.Champagne at parl.gc.ca

Please tell him you do not want war against Iran. Canadian troops should respect the people of Iraq and get out of their country. You want de-escalation and diplomacy to resolve the conflict and reduce the tensions between the US and Iran. 

2.	Contact the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Telephone: 613-992-4211 (phone and leave a message)
Email: pm at pm.gc.ca and justin.trudeau at parl.gc.ca

Please tell him you do not want war against Iran. Canadian troops should respect the people of Iraq and get out of their country. You want de-escalation and diplomacy to resolve the conflict and reduce the tensions between the US and Iran. 

3.	Watch the Teach-In “No War With Iran” organized online for January 11 by journalists and peace activists through ANSWER Coalition: https://www.answercoalition.org/sat_jan_11_teach_in 

4.	Join the Global Day of Protest – No War Against Iran and stand for peace in a city near you. 
https://www.answercoalition.org/iran-jan-25 

Thank you,

Tamara



UPCOMING EVENT:
On Monday, Jan. 20 from 7-8:30 pm there is a free public film screening “MLK: A Call to Conscience”
Room 142, Balsillie School of International Affairs, 67 Erb St.
This free public screening is to mark Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. The documentary, “A Call to Conscience,”

gives greater insight into Dr. King’s civil rights and anti-war views and deconstructs his most important but least known speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence”. This powerful film puts Dr. King’s legacy into a contemporary context, particularly in light of the new Poor People’s Campaign, the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing wars in the Middle East. The film includes rare archival footage and interviews with pre-eminent King scholar Dr. Clayborne Carson, academic Dr. Cornel West, African-American historian Dr. Vincent Harding, & Institute for Policy Studies fellow Phyllis Bennis. The screening will be followed by a discussion, led by Tamara Lorincz, about nonviolent resistance, social justice and peace activism in this current era of the climate emergency and the Trump presidency. Copies of Dr. King’s speech will be made available.
Co-hosted by the BSIA Conflict & Security Research Cluster, PACS-CAN and KW Peace.
More info: https://www.balsillieschool.ca/event/film-screening-mlk-a-call-to-conscience/