[Peace] demonstration tomorrow, Sat, 2-4pm - No, we really don't need a war with Iran, and Yes, US workers do need unemployment benefits

[Stuart Levy]

Winter it may be, but the wars and threat of more go on, so ...

please join AWARE for *any part of* our monthly anti-war demonstration

    2-4PM, Saturday, January 4th
    corner of Main and Neil, downtown Champaign

Two present causes -

A bipartisan move in Congress - led, among others, by our own Senator 
Kirk - is pushing a bill that would undermine the Obama Administration's 
negotiations with Iran.   The negotiations, if successful, would agree 
on monitoring and limiting Iran's nuclear development in exchange for 
some relief of sanctions.   AIPAC, and their allies in Congress, are 
seeking to torpedo the negotiations - see e.g. M. J. Rosenberg's review 
of the bill, S. 1881, here:

http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2013/12/19/another-aipac-bill-designed-to-get-us-into-a-war-with-iran/

Many groups have been speaking out against the bill, including Iraq 
Veterans Against the War/Vietnam Veterans Against the War (who just 
demonstrated outside Sen. Kirk's Chicago office this week); Just Foreign 
Policy <http://justforeignpolicy.org/>; as well as liberal pro-Israel 
groups such as Americans for Peace Now and J Street.

The Senate reconvenes next week.

It's important that our Senators know that pursuing this bill means 
promoting war with Iran, and that that is something the American people 
do not want.


Rather than promoting war, we should promote people.    As a late 
Christmas present, millions of unemployed in the US found that the 
extension of unemployment insurance had been allowed by Congress to 
expire.    Some (including our Rep. Davis) say that offering 
unemployment insurance makes it too easy for people to stay 
unemployed.    We could better say that our economic recovery remains 
mediocre, at best, that too many of the jobs that are created are poor 
compared with those which were lost, and that there are still many more 
job seekers than there are jobs for them.   We need unemployment 
insurance, along with the whole suite of programs for social improvement 
that our predecessors have fought for and so must we.

If you come by this Saturday, bundle up - it'll be a bit milder but very 
windy.   In any case, whatever you do, speak out for peace!
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