[KWPeace-groups] Fasting against fighter jets + 15 upcoming events & 5 actions

Sun Apr 11 15:25:28 EDT 2021

Hello KW Peace,

I hope you are all well. It's been a long time. 

I'm fasting this weekend with Canadians across the country to let the Trudeau government know we don't want it to buy 88 new fighter jets at a life-cycle cost of $77 billion. You can find out more here: https://nofighterjets.ca/fast/ and follow on Twitter: @nofighterjets *Please lend your support by contacting your MP to say you don't want new fighter jets, you want the government to invest in affordable housing, climate action, health care, education, public transit, mental health care etc...

Please find below a list of 15 upcoming events related to peace, women, disarmament and climate. Plus a list of 5 action items. Scroll down, mark your calendars and take action! Feel free to pass along. 

Have a great weekend. In solidarity for peace, earth and justice,
Tamara Lorincz

READ: "Trudeau should not be buying costly new carbon-intensive warplanes"
By Bianca Mugyenyi, April 8, Rabble: https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/views-expressed/2021/04/trudeau-should-not-be-buying-costly-new-carbon-intensive 

NEW SURVEY! READ: Poll: 74% of Canadians support joining the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: https://www.icanw.org/poll_74_of_canadians_support_joining_the_un_treaty_on_the_prohibition_of_nuclear_weapons 

EVENTS:
(1) 
FAST AGAINST FIGHTER JETS
Saturday, April 10 & Sunday, April 11
We invite you to join Canadians across the country to oppose the federal government's plan to buy 88 new fighter jets for a cost of $77. Please take action:

1) Fast, meditate, pray, light a candle
On Saturday or Sunday or over the next two weeks, take one of these actions to express your opposition to the new fighter jets. Take a photo and share it with us at mailto:nofighterjets at gmail.com so we can compile and share them. Feel free to include a line (or a few) about how you are participating or why you oppose the fighter jet purchase. 

2) Join a public vigil 
In-person (socially distanced) events will take place in Vancouver, Langley, and Halifax. See details here (scroll down past the registration form).

And here are two online events all are welcome to join:
10:00 - 11:30am EDT, this Saturday April 10 - Interfaith gathering for prayer and letter writing: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84417580507?pwd=UmY0NzI1UURhUVZ3MFJGdHJDMUtNQT09#success 

7:00 - 8:00pm EDT, Saturday April 10 - Candlelit vigil with live music and speakers to honour victims of Canadian fighter jets and demand plans to purchase 88 new jets be cancelled. Register here to reserve a spot and get zoom access. Spread the word! Join the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/955298365208830 

3) Contact your Member of Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Tell them that you do NOT want your tax dollars spent to buy fighter jets and that you are fasting today. Call the PM at: 613-992-4211 (you can leave a voice message) or email him: mailto:pm at pm.gc.ca (and cc us at mailto:nofighterjets at gmail.com) or use this online tool and edit the message accordingly. Find your local MP by postal code here. Remember to CC us at mailto:nofighterjets at gmail.com  so we can follow up.

4) Share your message and photo on social media
Remember to use the hashtag #NoNewFighterJets so we can amplify it, and to tag your MP. 

5) Debrief with us and support a two-week faster
On Monday April 12 at 7pm EDT we will be debriefing and sharing our experiences as well as providing collective support to Brendan Martin as he continues his longer fast. 
Join the debrief on Zoom at 7pm EDT on Monday April 12 by clicking this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7029671334?pwd=Nm9HakZMenJMalZ3ZVNkLzRrcXdqQT09 
Meeting ID: 702 967 1334 Password: 4D.Ev^

Or phone in at whichever Canadian number is best for you:
(647) 374-4685   (647) 558-0588  (778) 907-2071
(438) 809-7799   (587) 328-1099
And enter:  Meeting ID: 702 967 1334    Password: 701111

(2)
GLOBAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST MILITARY SPENDING APRIL 10-MAY 7
"Defund the Military, Defend People & the Planet"
Worldwide Hosted by the International Peace Bureau
https://demilitarize.org/media_news/gdams-appeal-reduce-military-spending-defend-people-and-the-planet/

(3)
US/CANADA HANDS OFF VENEZUELA MONTHLY VIRTUAL PICKET ACTION!
Apr 9, 2021 04:00 PM in Vancouver
Featuring Speakers:
JIMMY GUDIÑO - City Councilor of the Caracas Libertador Municipality and member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
ARNOLD AUGUST - author, lecturer, and journalist based in Montreal. His current journalistic and speaker focus: U.S.-Cuba-Venezuela-Bolivia and Canada: The Geopolitics. Arnold is also a fellow at the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.
CLAUDIA CHAUFAN - professor at York University, Toronto, Canada. Born and raised in Argentina, she has a long career of national and international teaching, writing and activism.
+ Greetings from Venezuela Solidarity Groups Across Canada
> Chaired by ALISON BODINE, the Coordinator of the Fire This Time Movement for Social Justice Venezuela Solidarity Campaign & author of "Revolution & Counter-Revolution in Venezuela" (Battle of Ideas Press, 2018)
> This online picket action in solidarity with Venezuela has been called by many Venezuela solidarity organizations and individuals across Canada. Everyone is encouraged to make protest signs, display banners, or wear t-shirts in solidarity with Venezuela. These can be displayed in a group photo at the end of the online picket!
For more information contact: mailto:info at nosanctions.org
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z9qosGQGSjeFxB82mTbxwQ

(4)
ENVIRONMENTAL RACISIM IN CANADA
April 11, 2021 at 7pm - 8:30pm ET
>From toxic landfills in Nova Scotia to pipelines in BC, unhealthy policies and pollution are putting Canadian lives at risk. Join us as we cover breaking topics including environmental racism, whistleblowing and Indigenous rights-and be inspired to take action now.
https://act.cape.ca/environmental_racism_in_canada?recruiter_id=20899

(5)
IS RUSSIA TRULY OUR ENEMY? SHOULD WE RISK NUCLEAR WAR?
April 12 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST
Sponsored by New Hampshire Peace Action
Bruce Gagnon has been to Russia and Ukraine several times in the last couple of years including leading a delegation of 25 on a study tour of Russia in 2019. The purpose of the tour was to listen, learn, and stand against the constant demonization of Russia by the media across the west. The idea was to build people-to-people bridges between our nations rather than an escalating arms race which could bring us WW III. 
During the WW II Nazi invasion of the former Soviet Union 27 million citizens lost their lives from the fascist attacks and occupation. The memory of that war is deep in the consciousness of the Russian people to this day.
Bruce is the Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space which he co-founded in 1992. A few of his many projects and honors: State Coordinator of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice, writer featured by Project Censored twice, 2006 recipient of the Dr. Benjamin Spock Peacemaker Award, current host of a public access TV show called This Issue running in 17 Maine communities and is featured by artist Robert Shetterly in his collection of portraits and quotes entitled Americans Who Tell the Truth. He is an active member of Veterans for Peace.
About NHPA's bi-weekly Zoom Peace & Justice Conversation Series: 2020's upheavals brought us to a new moment of reckoning and possibility. How do we want to live in the world? What do we value? How can we make the changes we've been yearning for? NH Peace Action has been engaged in working for change for decades. We'd like to bring you into these conversations about issues and options for the future. Join us!
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/peace-justice-conversations-is-russia-truly-our-enemy-tickets-140309616841?aff=erellivmlt 

(6)
CLIMATE CRISIS Q&A
Do you have questions concerning the climate crisis? 
Pose them to climate scientist Professor Danny Harvey on Wednesday April 14 at 7-8pm EDT.
Join us at 7 using this Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86366320385?pwd=WlJKVnJ1eGN4TDNqaUxxak1Yd1hGZz09 

(7)
WEBINAR: SUING THE GOVERNMENT FOR CLIMATE INACTION
Apr 14, 2021 01:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
What can you do when the government won't act on climate?  Or worse, cancels green projects?
You could turn to the Constitution's guarantee of "life, liberty and security of the person."
That's how seven young Ontario activists are suing the Ford Government.  It's the first such lawsuit in Canada!
"I look forward to seeing the premier in court," plaintiff Alex Neufeldt said in a statement. "My fellow applicants and I understand that our future is at stake and we're not backing down from this fight."
We'll have Alex and the group's Ecojustice lawyer Danielle Gallant on next week!
They will be joined by environmental lawyer Dianne Saxe.  Saxe is known mainly as the outspoken Environment Commissioner who lost her job when Ford cancelled this crucial watchdog position.
Taking government to court is just one way of trying to get real action on the climate crisis.
We'll examine other similar cases.  And find out how effective the legal route is!
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n3eP0HziQH6bXBn8MEaSxA 

(8)
THREATS OF WAR: BRITAIN'S NEW GLOBAL ROLE - CONFERENCE
Start: Saturday, April 17, 2021 . 2:00 PM . Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna (GMT+01:00)
Host Contact Info: mailto:office at stopwar.org.uk
There's just over a week until our Threats of War conference where we'll be joined by a great range of guests to discuss the perilous future of Britain's war machine. With the government recently setting out its expansive foreign policy objectives in the Integrated Security Review we know that more war is on the cards. 
Next month, the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will embark on its first operational deployment to the Pacific equipped with a number of US Marine Corps fighter jets. This is a sign of things to come - Britain carrying the US's warmongering ambitions at huge expense to the taxpayer. 
Meanwhile, Britain continues to bomb Iraq 18 years on from the beginning of that catastrophe and the UK enabled starvation of Yemen worsens every day. 
 We'll be tackling all this and what we can do about it next Saturday with Jeremy Corbyn, Lowkey, Tariq Ali, Lindsey German, Kate Hudson, Professor Paul Rogers and more. Sign up below.
Register: https://actionnetwork.org/events/threats-of-war-britains-new-global-role?source=direct_link&&link_id=1&can_id=08297aacfa6299b1025e006dffcf983d&email_referrer=email_1137471&email_subject=join-lowkey-tariq-ali-jeremy-corbyn-and-more-at-our-threats-of-war-conference

(9)
BLUE SCARF EARTH DAY RALLY "PROTECT OUR PLANET & INDIGENOUS COMUNITIES"
Friday, April 23, 2021 . 7:00 PM . Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
Host Contact Info: mailto:canada at worldbeyondwar.org 
Come learn about the Blue Scarf peace movement, the Indigenous struggle against the militarization of their lands, and the campaign to stop the Canadian government from buying new fighter jets.
This event will feature brief presentations by the authors of two new books: "Nutaui's Cap" by Bob Bartel and "I Keep the Land Alive" by Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue. "Nutaui's Cap" is a children's book about the NATO fighter jet training in Labrador from the 1980s and how it adversely affected the Innu people and how they resisted this military activity in their territory. "Nitinikiau Innusi: I Keep the Land Alive" is based Penashue's personal from her diaries of how she led the Innu campaign against NATO low-level flying and bomb testing on Innu land over two decades. Penashue and many Innu people were arrested and imprisoned for protesting and occupying the Goose Bay runways and they also travelled across Canada and Europe to raise awareness about their struggle to protect their land. 
Authors Bob Bartel and Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue (invited) will do a reading from their books and discuss the long, courageous struggle by the Innu people against the Canadian Air Force and NATO fighter jet testing in their territory.
We will also hear briefly from Tamara Lorincz, co-founder No New Fighter Jets Coalition and member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, who will talk about the campaign to stop Canada from buying 88 new fighter jets for $77 billion and how you can help cancel this costly, carbon-intensive procurement. 
At the end, we welcome you to stay to experience an energizing and motivational live DJ Performance brought to you by SheCycle and DJ Kiish.
Co-sponsored by the Basilian Centre for Peace and Justice, Pax Christi Toronto, World BEYOND War, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, SheCycle, Camp Micah, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Development and Peace Toronto, and KAIROS.
To purchase a copy of "Nutaui's Cap", please go to: https://www.goodminds.com/nutaui%E2%80%99s-cap-text-bob-bartel-and-illustrations-mary-ann-penashue-hardcover-ed 
To purchase a copy of "I Keep the Land", please go to: https://www.goodminds.com/nitinikiau-innusii-keep-land-alive

(10)
WEBINAR: CANADA'S FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY: RHETORIC OR REALITY?
Apr 29, 2021 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) / 9:00 AM PT
The Canadian government will soon release its Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) after months of consultation. But what will it include and what policies are needed to make the rhetoric of feminism a reality? This webinar, organized by WILPF Canada, will present an overview of how the FFP process has evolved, including recent consultations; what the key principles of feminist foreign policy are; and take a critical look at existing foreign policy. The webinar will also be an opportunity to hear from WILPF Sweden about what has, and what has not, worked well in the context of Sweden's FFP.
Please join us in this 90-minute webinar that also marks the 106th anniversary of the founding of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Speakers include: Allison Pytlak (WILPF International), Gabriella Irsten (WILPF Sweden), Bianca Mugyenyi (Canadian Foreign Policy Institute) and Tamara Lorincz (PhD Candidate, Balsillie School of International Affairs).  Moderated by Dr. Noga Gayle of WILPF Canada.
Organized by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) - Canada.
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcuCrqzojHt1ZDYjyE3Ejka9G46JqnCYk
More info: https://wilpfvancouver.ca/ 

(11)
MILITARISM & CLIMATE CHANGE: DISASTER IN PROGRESS
Start: Thursday, April 29, 2021 . 7:00 PM . Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
Science for Peace & World Beyond War
Host Contact Info: mailto:canada at worldbeyondwar.org
Register: https://actionnetwork.org/events/militarism-climate-change-disaster-in-progress

(12)
NUCLEAR RISK-REDUCTION AND DISARMAMENT: IS IT TIME FOR NO-FIRST-USE POLICIES IN THE USA AND GLOBALLY?
29 April 2021 17h15 - 18h30
Washington DC (EDT) 11:15am, London 4:15pm, Paris/Berlin: 5:15pm, Moscow 6:15pm. 
'No-first-use' is a policy that can be adopted by a nuclear armed (or allied) state to never initiate a nuclear exchange by being the first to use nuclear weapons. China and India have declared such policies. The Soviet Union/Russia had such a policy from 1982 to 1993. There are emerging political opportunities for the adoption of no-first-use policies by others - particularly the United States and its allies (NATO/Japan/South Korea and Australia). This webinar, Nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament: Is it time for no-first-use policies in the USA and globally?, will explore whether such policies reduce the risk of a nuclear war and pave the way for multilateral nuclear disarmament, how such policies can be operationalised, what new initiatives are advancing such policies, and political forces and security arguments supporting or preventing their adoption.
Chair: Marc Finaud, (France/Switzerland), Head of Arms Proliferation at Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Speakers: 
.        Mr Thomas Countryman (USA), Chair of the Arms Control Association Board of Directors, Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation
.        Mr Andrey Baklitskiy (Russia), Senior Research Fellow, Center for Advanced American Studies, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry
.        General Bernard Norlain (France), Former Air Defence Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force. Vice-President of Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire
.        Lord Hannay of Chiswick (UK), Chair, All Party Group on Global Security and Non-proliferation
.        Commander Robert Forsyth (UK), Former Nuclear Submarine Commanding Officer, Royal Navy
.        Ms Uta Zapf (Germany/NATO/OSCE), Former Chair of the Bundestag Subcommittee on Disarmament and Arms Control
.        Ms Yasmeen Silva (USA), Partnerships Manager, Beyond the Bomb.
Register now: https://gcsp.force.com/GCSPCommunity/s/app-registration?productId=01t5p00000Bk4dr

(13)
FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: "THE BERRIGANS: DEVOUT AND DANGEROUS"
Tuesday, May 4th at 6:30 pm Central. 
More info and to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inaugural-berrigan-mcalister-award-tickets-147618327391 

(14)
WEBINAR: "FROM WEAPONS FAIRS TO WAR ZONES: UNRAVELING THE WAR MACHINE"
#NOWAR2021 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: JUNE 4-6, 2021. Register now!
https://nowar2021.worldbeyondwar.org/ 

(15)
SECOND INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU WORLD PEACE CONGRESS 
Barcelona this October 15-17. 
Check out this promotional video with Dr. Noam Chomsky: https://youtu.be/yfMSOOKghd8   
Please share on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/IPBWPC/videos/254257923059145  
And Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPBWPC2021/status/1380074463102963719
More info: https://www.ipb2021.barcelona/ 

ACTIONS:
(1)
SIGN: GLOBAL APPEAL TO REDUCE MILITARY SPENDING, DEFEND PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
Please join us demanding governments around the world to reduce their military expenditures! 
Sign: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/appeal-reduce-military-spending-defend-people-and-the-planet 
The world spent $1.92 trillion on the military in 2019, a 3.6% increase over the previous year and the highest figure since the end of the Cold War. Our governments' ever-growing military capacities, in the name of national security, have proved themselves completely useless to defend people from the COVID-19 pandemic, nor can they keep us safe in the face of other global emergencies such as climate change. In addition, as the victims of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere can testify, militarism makes conflicts worse rather than resolving them. Current levels of military spending not only fail to provide true security, but they actually stand in the way of just and comprehensive solutions to the problems urgently demanding our attention. 
We therefore demand that governments across the globe drastically reduce their military expenditures, especially those accounting for the largest shares of the world's total spending, and reallocate the freed-up resources to human and common security-oriented sectors, notably for confronting the coronavirus pandemic and the eco-social collapse we are now facing.
Join the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) from April 10 to May 17. To find out more visit our website. You can also read this Appeal in Spanish and French.

(2)
SIGN: END SANCTIONS AGAINST VENEZUELA
Please send a letter to Members of Parliament calling on the Canadian government to end sanctions against Venezuela
https://www.commonfrontiers.ca/endsanctionsagainstvenezuela/

(3)
SIGN: END THE SAUDI ARMS DEAL
Use your voice to demand that the Canadian government immediately cancel its arms deal with Saudi Arabia, one of the warring parties in Yemen.
Sign the petition here: https://www.oxfam.ca/campaign/end-the-saudi-arms-deal/

(4)
SIGN: DEMAND AFGHAN WOMEN PEACE BUILDERS ARE INCLUDED IN AFGHAN PEACE PROCESS
As the Afghan Peace process inches forward with a meeting in Turkey scheduled for mid-April, an inclusive and just process remains as important as ever. The inclusion of women will inform the substance of the meeting, give legitimacy to the process, and increase the chance of peace. 
This open letter calls on Friends of Afghanistan and Champions of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda to take concrete action to ensure the systematic presence of the Afghan women peacebuilders in the upcoming Turkey meeting and beyond.
Letter in English & Farsi:  https://icanpeacework.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Open-Letter-to-Friends-of-Afghanistan_ENGLISH.pdf
We hope you will consider signing on to the letter - which builds on other statements and letters that are circulating - by Sunday, April 11, 2021. (Sign on form)
SIGN: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=AItXUZ5EcUygPUkaXB6VftgacJLSxVlHqBKq2kT-OsBUNktINktWWVkxSlk2TDg2VTZLNEFCMlRIMC4u&utm_source=ICAN%2BContacts&utm_campaign=20857fb119-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_10_19_01_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2b8d8886e6-20857fb119-196096562

(5)
PRE-ORDER THE BOOK: "BANNING THE BOMB, SMASHING THE PATRIARCHY"
In case you missed it, watch the webinar "NATO & the Patriarchy" with WILPF Reaching Critical Will's director Ray Acheson: https://www.no-to-nato.org/2021/03/nato-and-the-patriarchy-video-with-ray-acheson/ 
Based on her chapter: "Peace Perspectives on NATO 2030": https://natowatch.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/peace_research_perspectives_on_nato_2030.pdf 

*Pre-order Ray Acheson's new book "Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy" https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781786614896/Banning-the-Bomb-Smashing-the-Patriarchy  and use the pre-order discount code is RLFANDF30. 
*We will be having a book launch with Ray in Canada in May 2021. Stay tuned!