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Tomorrow is the first Saturday of the month - AWARE's monthly
anti-war demonstration:<br>
<br>
2-4PM, Saturday, July 6th,<br>
corner of Main and Neil, downtown Champaign - the usual place<br>
<br>
We haven't settled on a flyer for tomorrow, but talked a bit after
the parade about things that might go in it, including Edward
Snowden's statement this week (below). Also below is a current
statement by US Labor Against the War opposing intervention in
Syria. Discussers of peace, what do we think of these? Are
there other things that we really need to include? I'll aim to
assemble something tonight, and get it copied tomorrow midday,
unless someone else wants to do either of those.<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">One week ago I left Hong Kong after it
became clear that my freedom and safety were under threat for
revealing the truth. My continued liberty has been owed to the
efforts of friends new and old, family, and others who I have
never met and probably never will. I trusted them with my life and
they returned that trust with a faith in me for which I will
always be thankful.<br>
<br>
On Thursday, President Obama declared before the world that he
would not permit any diplomatic "wheeling and dealing" over my
case. Yet now it is being reported that after promising not to do
so, the President ordered his Vice President to pressure the
leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny
my asylum petitions.<br>
<br>
This kind of deception from a world leader is not justice, and
neither is the extralegal penalty of exile. These are the old, bad
tools of political aggression. Their purpose is to frighten, not
me, but those who would come after me. For decades the United
States of America has been one of the strongest defenders of the
human right to seek asylum. Sadly, this right, laid out and voted
for by the U.S. in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, is now being rejected by the current government of
my country. The Obama administration has now adopted the strategy
of using citizenship as a weapon. Although I am convicted of
nothing, it has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me a
stateless person. Without any judicial order, the administration
now seeks to stop me exercising a basic right. A right that
belongs to everybody. The right to seek asylum.<br>
<br>
In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of
whistleblowers like me, Bradley Manning or Thomas Drake. We are
stateless, imprisoned, or powerless. No, the Obama administration
is afraid of you. It is afraid of an informed, angry public
demanding the constitutional government it was promised — and it
should be.<br>
<br>
I am unbowed in my convictions and impressed at the efforts taken
by so many.<br>
<br>
Edward Joseph Snowden</blockquote>
<br>
<div class="moz-forward-container">
<div><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 2:58 AM, Michael
Eisenscher <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:nationalcoordinator@uslaboragainstwar.org"
target="_blank">nationalcoordinator@uslaboragainstwar.org</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div align="center"><font color="#AA0000" face="impact"
size="6">The Crisis
in Syria:</font><font face="impact" size="6"> <br>
Statement by the Steering Committee of<br>
U.S. Labor Against the War <br>
</font><font face="Georgia">July 5, 2013</font></div>
<ul>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>We oppose any U.S.
military
intervention, direct or indirect, in the Syrian
conflict</i></font>
</li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>The U.S. should
focus on providing
more humanitarian assistance through established
internationally
recognized neutral institutions and organizations
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>There is no
military solution to the crisis in Syria
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>Initial steps to
arm rebels will surely create pressure for further
escalation, leading the U.S. into another quagmire
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>We call on our
government to reverse its decision to provide arms
and
other military support to the Syrian rebels
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>The Syrian crisis
is for the Syrian people to resolve by political
negotiations
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>There must be an
immediate full arms embargo applied to all
countries
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>We support
initiatives in Congress to prevent the U.S. from
becoming
embroiled in another armed conflict in the Middle
East
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>We call for using
funds now spent on the military to address
poverty,
unemployment, inequality and numerous other social
ills here at home and
abroad
</i></font></li>
<li><font face="georgia" size="4"><i>By addressing these
problems we will also increase our national
security and reduce the need to resort to
arms.</i></font></li>
<div align="center">
<font face="georgia" size="3">
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://uslaboragainstwar.org/downloads/USLAW%20Statement%20on%20the%20Crisis%20in%20Syria.final.070313.pdf"
target="_blank">
Download full statement in PDF format</a></font>
</div>
</ul>
</div>
<br>
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