The Golden Rule is a project of Veterans for Peace that promotes a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.
hat tip to Phil Fransen for many of pictures on this web post.
Tag Archives: peace
Afghan People and the Afghan Papers
Part of the reason for this web post is that the Wisconsin Veterans Museum recently did a program on the Afghan Papers. Wisconsin Veterans Museum – Every Veteran is a Story (wisvetsmuseum.com)
“The Afghanistan Papers are filled with over 300 people detailing the systematic failure of the 
military to take any responsibility and blaming the “corruption” of the Afghanistan government, all the while revealing the massive corruption and lies that the U.S. is perpetuating. While military commanders bemoaned Afghan leaders enriching themselves off American tax dollars, those self same commanders were climbing government ranks, earning promotions for promoting endless war.”
Veterans Demand Accountability for Afghanistan Papers
“When the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan kicked into high gear, the U.S. started evacuating at-risk Afghans to the United States on parole, giving them only temporary protections with no pathway to citizenship. Countless others got left behind. A large coalition of Afghan Americans, immigration advocates, and veterans got together to start pushing Congress for legislation that would give Afghans lasting protections and a pathway to citizenship, as well as hold the Biden administration accountable to ensure other vulnerable and at-risk Afghans could find their way to safety in the U.S. This type of large-scale adjustment of status would match historic precedent, as the U.S. has done this previously for Cambodian, Vietnamese, Cuban and Iraqi Kurds.
On August 11th, the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) got a bipartisan introduction in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is our hope to ensure passage as Congress reconvenes from its summer recess and find enough support to receive 60 votes in the Senate and a simple majority vote in the House.
The United States made a promise. Now, it must live up to its word. But we need your help to ensure we hold our elected officials accountable.
https://www.weareafghans.org/afghan-adjustment-act
In Solidarity,
Arash Azizzada
Afghan American Community Organizer
& Co-Director of Afghans For A Better Tomorrow
Call to unfreeze aid to Afghanistan – WORT-FM 89.9 (wortfm.org)
“A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.
The documents were generated by a federal project examining the root failures of the longest armed conflict in U.S. history. They include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials.
The U.S. government tried to shield the identities of the vast majority of those interviewed for the project and conceal nearly all of their remarks. The Post won release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act after a three-year legal battle.
In the interviews, more than 400 insiders offered unrestrained criticism of what went wrong in Afghanistan and how the United States became mired in nearly two decades of warfare.
With a bluntness rarely expressed in public, the interviews lay bare pent-up complaints, frustrations and confessions, along with second-guessing and backbiting…”
“The papers were brought back into discussion after the 2021 Summer Offensive of the Taliban and the fall of Kabul. Debates around the efficiency of U.S. state-building efforts were brought into question, with contrast in what the U.S. forces originally revealed and thought versus what actually occurred. U.S. officials and leaders such as President Joe Biden were heavily criticised for their actions during the withdraw and the public narrative that was being told throughout August and September of 2021…”
Symposium: Was withdrawing from Afghanistan the right thing to do? – Responsible Statecraft
Symposium: Was withdrawing from Afghanistan the right thing to do? Responsible Statecraft asked more than 20 Afghan and American scholars, journalists, veterans & advocates.
Lanterns for Peace 2022
We joined Wisconsin Physicians for Social Responsibility for this family friendly event to commemorate the lives lost in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings 77 years ago and make sure that such nuclear attacks never again take place. We remember the past, so that we can envision and work for a peaceful, just and nuclear-free future.
Open to public at 6:30pm for people to create lanterns
Program starts at 7:30pm
Lanterns start going out at dusk approximately 7:45-8:00pm
The event will be open to the public to attend at Tenney Park outside of the John Wall Family Pavilion and (weather & temperature depending) the entire event will be held outdoors. You are welcome to mail in your lantern if you cannot be in attendance. Please wear a mask if you are unvaccinated and maintain social distancing.
More information >> https://psr-wisconsin.org/lanterns-for-peace
2022 Event Sponsors:
– The Friends Meeting of Madison
– Interfaith Peace Working Group (IPWG)
– Linda and Gene Farley Center for Peace, Justice & Sustainability
– Madison Raging Grannies
– Madison Veterans for Peace
– Madison Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF)
– Nukewatch
– PC Foundation
– Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin
– United Nations Association of Dane County
– Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars
– Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice
*PS: PSR WI has reused the styrofoam bases, candles and skewer sticks for the lanterns for at least 6 years. PSR WI removes all the materials from the Tenney Park Lagoon and we leave no trace.
Lanterns for Peace — PSR Wisconsin (psr-wisconsin.org)
“I wanted to thank you once again for supporting Lanterns for Peace 2022! I am feeling uplifted and inspired to continue our work for a better world after the event.
Follow this link for photos and a few videos.
You are free to download any of them and use as you wish > https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1agPWdb-JrHgnRkyHZt_ylJGrm196Cvrt?usp=sharing
Thanks again
Hannah
—
Guided by the values and expertise of medicine & public health, Physicians for Social Responsibility works to protect human life from the gravest threats to health and human survival.
More Info related to Nuclear Madness
- Nuclear Weapons Disarmament and Divestment in Madison, Wisconsin — PSR Wisconsin (psr-wisconsin.org)
- F-35’s & Truax Air Field — PSR Wisconsin (psr-wisconsin.org)
- Why Is There More Media Talk About Using Nuclear Weapons Than About Banning Them? – FAIR
- Peace Activists Say No to Nukes on Hiroshima Day – WORT-FM 89.9 (wortfm.org)
- Lanterns for Peace honor victims 77 years after nuclear bombings in Japan | News | wkow.com
Madison Peace Walks ~ July 15
The weather forecast shows the showers will end this afternoon, and we’ll have clear weather this evening! Hope you’ll join us for a talk and a walk.
War is never the answer. We walk weekly to call for a ceasefire and diplomatic negotiations to end the war.
Peace Walks for Ukraine and the World
Special guest Peng Her this Friday
Friday July 15, at 7:00 pm – We are delighted to welcome Peng Her, CEO of the Hmong Institute and candidate for Lt Governor. He will speak about war and nonviolence from his personal experience and commitments.
Place: Yahara Place Park, where the Yahara meets Lake Monona. Map. We’ll gather on the grass. Bring a chair or a blanket if you would like.
We’ll start with a moment of silence and then a song. Peng will speak and take questions. Then we will walk our usual route north along the Yahara River, into the sunset. We’ll stop at E Washington Avenue with signs and banners to greet drivers, walkers and bikers from about 8:00 – 8:15. Then on to Tenney Park, for a closing circle there near the Locks at about 8:30. Sunset will be at 8:35.
Join us for all or part
Details for our walks each week are posted here.
Do you know the dynamic international peace group World Beyond War? You can sign their Peace Pledge here.
Drop us a line at [email protected]
Join our google group to get invitations to the Peace Walks here.