Supporters and Friends,

Even though 50-80 marchers have been let into Gaza, including two students from the Oregon contingent, the Gaza Freedom March has decided to reject Egypt's offer and continue protesting until they get everyone into Gaza to participate in this march and break the siege! 450 French Delegates continue to sit in in front of the French Embassy and Holocaust Survivor Hedy Epstein continues her hunger strike and protests have been called for Thursday inside the West Bank with a demand to ending the siege!

Contact your representatives below!  read more »

Commemorate the Second Anniversary of the
Devastating Del Monte workplace raid

“It was early one morning
Happily, off to work I went
Together with las compañeras we worked happily
When all of a sudden we heard MIGRA!
So we all ran, ran one way and then the next
Without knowing that we were being detained
And taken to Tacoma.”

(Poem by Zaida Villatoro, member of CSAM and detained in the Tacoma detention center, Washington)

The Committee for Solidarity and Mutual Support (CSAM), together with the Immigrant Pro-Rights Coalition and the Oregon New Sanctuary Movement in Portland, cordially invite you to join us in our effort to NOT forget the tragedy that took place on June 12th, 2007, in which we were among the 160 people that were detained during an immigration raid in the Del Monte Produce Plant.

On May 12, 2009, the Institute for Policy Studies brought voices from the frontlines of the economic crisis to Capitol Hill for a briefing with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Testifiers included workers and leaders from Jobs with Justice, Right to the City, Grassroots Global Justice, National Day Laborers Organizing Network and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. These groups have formed a new network called the Inter-Alliance Dialogue. It was their first joint event.

Share this video and raise up the voices that really matter!

60th NATO Anniversary Celebrations in Europeto Draw Massive Protests

from: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space 

2009 is the 60th anniversary of NATO and the US-led alliance is planning big celebrations in Europe to promote their expanded global role as an extension of US foreign and military policy. In 1999, seeking to justify its existence after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, NATO acknowledged that it was seeking to orient itself according to a new fundamental strategic concept. From a narrow military defense alliance it was to become a broad-based alliance for the protection of the vital resource needs (oil/natural gas/etc) of its member states. Besides being mired in Afghanistan today, NATO is now expanding eastward as a tool in the aggressive US program to surround resource rich Russia. There are even discussions now within NATO to take the alliance into the Asian-Pacific to help the US militarily surround China.

From April 3-5, 40 heads of state and government leaders, including President Obama, will come to Strasbourg, France and Baden-Baden, Germany for 60th anniversary events. In response to these events activists from throughout Europe are planning protests in Strasbourg during the period of April 1-5. In order to plan these events 500 activists from 19 countries met at Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg, on February 14-15.

The No to War - No to NATO coalition issued a statement after their meeting that reads in part: "60 years are more than enough – this is the consensus uniting the participants of the peace, anti-globalization movements, leftist parties and organizations, Trade Unions, and student initiatives. They stand against the war policy of NATO, against today's wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East, against the intervention strategy and reinforce their claim to 'No to NATO'. They refuse to accept the EU linked with NATO and ask for a drastic reduction of military spending: we do not want to pay for your crisis , nor for your wars."

NATO of course is responding by trying to keep the protests away from Strasbourg. They have arranged for the city government to outlaw protests. In response No to NATO says, "We want to express our rejection of this kind of politics and want to give the citizens of Strasbourg and the social movements the opportunity to publicize their rejection without any obstacles. These are the demands for the prefecture which turned down the proposal of the NATO Preparatory Committee to demonstrate against NATO in the inner city of Strasbourg on 4th of April. The implementation of the NATO Summit will turn Strasbourg into a fortress; this is not acceptable for its own citizens and for the thousands of peaceful demonstrators form all parts of the world.

"Extraordinary security parameters will be enacted: the establishment of a red zone, the labeling of the citizens, the establishment of an all-encompassing new video surveillance system. For us this staging of heads of states in the city centre of Strasbourg – a closed off city – and its inhabitants who will be unable to have a normal daily life, having no freedom of movement, is unbearable and makes it impossible for us to unveil NATO's real face. Whereas the citizens will pay for the summit and the glorified presentation of NATO their dissenting opinion is to be marginalized."

For activists back here in the US it should be reassuring and exciting for us to see so much effort being organized to shut down the US empire. But we have to do our part as well. We can start by calling for the closing of US bases and for major cuts by Congress in the Pentagon's bloated budget. None of us have to do this on our own. When we work together as a globalized movement we can really begin to make progress.

These are the kinds of issues that will be featured at the upcoming Security Without Empire: National Organizing Conference on Foreign Military Bases that will be held at American University in Washington DC on February 27-March 2. The Global Network will be one of 20 peace groups sponsoring this important event. Key peace movement activists from around the US and all over the world will be attending and presenting. A protest vigil at the Pentagon will kick off the weekend beginning at 4:00 pm on February 27. For registration information see the conference web site at: www.projectonmilitarybases.org 

Mercy Corps and our Global Citizen Corps initiative are excited to announce that the 2009-2010 Global Citizen Corps Leadership program is now open and accepting applicants!

The Global Citizen Corps Leadership program is a national network of high school student leaders who educate and mobilize their schools and communities to fight global poverty. Every year, Mercy Corps selects 200 Leaders to gain the knowledge and skills to become effective anti-poverty experts through in-person and online trainings. Throughout the year, Global Citizen Corps Leaders organize Global Action Days to inform and inspire their classmates to take action on poverty and related issues like hunger, HIV/AIDS, climate change and access to education.

If you know high school students who are ready to stand at the forefront of the fight for a better world, you can help spread the word and build the movement.  read more »

Coordinating Committee candidates needed!

We have elections for the new Coordinating Committee coming up, and YOU should consider running! No special skills or experience are needed.

Here are the details from Janet Dietz, our Elections Coordinator:

We are currently taking nominations for three at-large positions for the PDX Peace Coordinating Committee. The coordinating committee meets as needed to ensure the functioning of the coalition in the direction approved by the general member group meetings. These at-large members, together with representatives from each action group, meet to plan agendas for the General Meeting, to administer PDX Peace funds, facilitate communication between action groups and task forces, and do other administrative work as needed. The committee usually meets about once a month, sometimes more frequently while planning the big rally, etc. PDX Peace will hold elections at the beginning of the September General Meeting. Nominations will be accepted until August 18th, 2008.

You can nominate yourself, or someone else can nominate you. Please send a note to elections@pdxpeace.org, including a two or three sentence statement about how you think your participation, or that of the nominee, will enhance our goals.