WILPF NEWS
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
East Bay and San Francisco Branches
Get involved! Become better informed!
Work to Advance Peace, Justice and Human Rights
OUR NEXT PLANNING MEETING WILL BE Saturday June 8th at 10-12
at the San Francisco Public Library
ONE WILPF CALLS
A good way to become involved from your home is to join our Monthly One WILPF calls on the 2nd Thursday of the month. We hope you can join us for our next call on Thursday, June 11th at 4 pm.
To register link below and you only need to pre-register once. http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/NW7UOTL6KBLOV3E
ONE WILPF Calls are posted on the website: https://wilpfus.org/story/one-wilpf-calls
so you can listen if you can’t be on the call.
ANTI-WAR LEAFLETING
Join us on Wednesdays 11:30–Noon at the Grove St. entrance to SF Main Library. Call Betty to confirm (415-931-1126)
VENEZUELA NEWS AND ACTIONS
The governments of Venezuela and Turkey have agreed to sign a Protecting Power Agreement that would allow the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC to be under the charge of the Turkish government. To be operative, however, it must be approved by the State Department.
It is in the U.S. interest to approve this agreement because then the Venezuelan government will approve a similar Protecting Power Agreement reached between the United States and Switzerland to give the Swiss government control of the US Embassy in Caracas and provide critical functions such as assisting U.S. citizens.
There are disagreements within the US government, however, with the John Bolton faction wanting to hand the Venezuela Embassy over to the representatives of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, even though they have no control inside Venezuela and would not be able to carry out any of the functions of an embassy. We must convince the more rational members of the Trump administration that approving the Protecting Power Agreement between Venezuela and Turkey is in the interest of the U.S. government and in the interest of the people of both nations.
What is WILPF-US’s position on Venezuela? According to ONE-WILPF Call coordinator Marybeth Gardam: “The WILPF US position on this all along has been NOT to defend either Maduro OR Guaido, but to insist that the US stay out of Venezuela and let Venezuelans decide their own elections and their own destiny.”
Read more about the negotiations here:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48294833
Here are three links from DemocracyNow’s coverage on KPFA of what happened:
May 16: https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/16/venezuela_accuses_us_of_violating_vienna
May 15:
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/15/despite_threats_no_electricity_anti_coup
May 1:
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/1/meet_the_activists_occupying_venezuelas_embassy
ACTION: The governments of Venezuela and Turkey have signed a Protecting Power Agreement for the Venezuelan Embassy in DC to be under the charge of the Turkish govt. Tell the @StateDept @SecPompeo they must approve the agreement. #HandsOffVenezuela https://www.codepink.org/protectingpower
HELP CONFRONT CORPORATE POWER: JOIN THE CORPORATIONS
VS DEMOCRACY ISSUE COMMITTEE
By Marybeth Gardam
Corporate power plays an increasingly dominant role in our society and our politics. Help design WILPF’s response by joining our Corporations v Democracy Issue Committee. The relaunch organizing call is coming up on Tuesday, May 28. Join us on this important call to reorganize and develop a practical strategy in preparation for the 2020 elections. The Corporations v Democracy Issue Committee meets monthly starting Tuesday, May 28th at 5:30pm PST.
Help us refocus our efforts in this important issue committee. There are so many areas of corporate abuse of power and profits-over-people. How many can we take on?
With our support, you could lead your own initiative if you have particular expertise on any of these issues:
public banking, corporate and military polluters, water quality and privatization, control of the media, food security and sustainable agriculture, healthcare, voting rights and gerrymandering ,energy justice,school to prison pipeline, corporate control of school curricula.
Your passions and experience can help shape our committee’s work plan.
SKILLS SOUGHT: Project development, and project management, planning & outreach, communications and social media, training, outreach, a basic understanding of the history of corporate theft of constitutional rights from human persons.
Email Marybeth Gardam: mbgardam@gmail.com, for more information
THE GOLDEN RULE SAILING SHIP
The Golden Rule aims to advance Veterans For Peace opposition to nuclear weapons and war, and to do so in a dramatic fashion. The original ship, which set sail in 1958 to stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere, has been restored and is sailing once more, to show that nuclear abolition is possible, and that bravery and tenacity can overcome militarism. The Golden Rule is sailing on the west coast and needs donations. The ship’s crew spreads the word about the continuing dangers of nuclear power, and the poisoning of the air, water and soil from the entire nuclear cycle, from uranium mining to the disposal of nuclear waste. To read more and to make a donation, go to: http://www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org/
NUCLEAR WEAPONS ABOLITION AND ENERGY CONVERSION ACT OF 2019
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2019, which would require the United States to sign and ratify an international agreement to disable and dismantle America’s nuclear weapons and use nuclear-free energy. WILPF DISARM issue committee co-chair Ellen Thomas gave a detailed report on this important bill on the ONE WILPF call May 9th. This bill is updated to support the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It earmarks the money used and planned for the nuclear arsenal to be used for health care, carbon-free, nuclear-free energy, environmental restoration, and to transform to a peace economy, and it dovetails with the Green New Deal. WRITE your congress person and ask them to co-sponsor this important bill.
NEW BOOK BY BEFORE ENLISTING MEMBER ROSA DEL DUCA
Rosa del Duca. peace veteran and member of our Before Enlisting group, just released her amazing book “Breaking Cadence, One Woman’s War against the War.” You can attend one of her upcoming book events:
Sunday, May 26th at 6pm at Alley Cat Books, 3036 24th Street at Mission in San Francisco, easy to get there by BART
Saturday, June 8th from 4-6pm at Flashlight Books in Walnut Creek
WILPF East Bay members, counter recruitment folks and veterans are growing their efforts to offer high school students a different perspective on military service, to get the full picture and learn their rights before enlisting, and to consider a range of exciting alternatives to military service.
EXPLORE WILPF TODAY
Local WILPF branch web pages
www.WILPFEastBay.org or www.WILPFSF.org
WILPF East Bay
P. O. Box 13083, Oakland, CA 94661
National US wilpf
WILPF US: PO Box 13075, Des Moines, IA 50310 Tel: 617-266-0999
National WILPF web site: www.wilpfus.org
International WILPF: www.wilpf.org
www.facebook.com/WILPF
PEACEWOMEN Women Peace and Security Program
REACHING CRITICAL WILL Disarmament Program