Geist Road and University Avenue, today, Saturday, April 16, 2022, 1:00 – 2:00 pm

We will meet again this afternoon to demonstrate for peace in Ukraine. Intersection of Geist Road and University Avenue, Saturday, April 16 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm

War is a terrible thing and my heart goes out to all the Russians and Ukrainians killed and wounded, and their loved ones, and all those who have already lost homes and livelihoods. Government pronouncements and the media provide a steady stream of denunciations of Russia’s invasion. Certainly the invasion should be condemned, but we should also acknowledge that the U.S. and NATO played a large role in escalating tensions. We have backed Russia into a corner and have failed for decades to give any credence to Russia’s legitimate security concerns.

In the midst of all the propaganda from both sides I think we can agree that the solution to violence is never more violence. Every war ends in a political solution. We should strive toward that solution and try to leave out the war part as much as we can.

STOP THE WAR IN UKRAINE!
Russian Troops Out! / No NATO Expansion!
Real Diplomacy, not Killer Sanctions!
Remove US Nuclear Weapons from Europe!
Cease Fire/Neutrality for Ukraine!

Below are links to a small part of the barrage of news and analysis that has arrived over the last few days.

Ukraine on Fire

A documentary by Oliver Stone on the 2014 Maidan coup

Video and discussion, via Zoom at 7:00 pm on Friday, March 25. We will watch Oliver Stone’s “Ukraine on Fire.” This documentary provides details and historical background for the 2014 Maidan revolution in Ukraine orchestrated by the U.S. Department of State and the CIA. It includes interviews with the deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich, Vladimir Putin, and many other players. It also includes some amazing (and amazingly violent) footage from events of the time. It provides critical insights helpful toward understanding the situation in Ukraine today. There are rumors that this video may get removed from YouTube because it is controversial in today’s political climate. If this happens then we will show instead “The Nun, the Priests, and the Bomb” about the protest at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the site where Uranium is concentrated for use in atomic bombs. This 2017 documentary by Helen Young is an excellent history of the tragedy of nuclear bombs and the activism against them.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81934292585?pwd=K1RHZU5sREJGTTF4V0ZmZ0FYV24vQT09

Meeting ID: 819 3429 2585
Passcode: 278799

The Alaska Peace Center monthly meeting will take place at 7 pm on Thursday, March 3.

The link to join the meeting is:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82408901547?pwd=WjZLZ2FMRGZXaWFibjJSdGNUY2xtUT09

This link will be used for all monthly meetings this winter (first Thursday of each month) through May 2022.

More Zoom specifics: Meeting ID: 824 0890 1547, Passcode: 492648

All welcome!

Demonstration to End the War in Ukraine

1:00 in the afternoon on both days this coming weekend (March 5 & 6). If you can only come one day come Sunday! Intersection of Geist Road and University Avenue. Bring a sign if you can, but mostly bring yourself! Dress warmly!!

A lot has changed in the past week now that Russia has actually invaded Ukraine. War is a terrible thing and my heart goes out to all the Russians and Ukrainians killed and wounded, and their loved ones, and all those who have already lost homes and livelihoods. Government pronouncements and the media provide a steady stream of denunciations of Russia’s invasion. Certainly the invasion should be condemned, but we should also acknowledge that the U.S. and NATO played a large role in escalating tensions. We have backed Russia into a corner and have failed for decades to give any credence to Russia’s legitimate security concerns. We have manipulated the internal politics of Ukraine and fomented the 2014 coup that installed a government hostile to Russia.

Sunday (March 6) has been declared a global day of action to end the war in Ukraine. People all over this country and the whole world will be out in force that day. We will stand in solidarity with the 2,000 or more Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg that have been protesting for peace and are threatened with arrest for doing so. We need to make sure that the U.S. stands back and makes genuine concessions so that negotiations for a meaningful long-term solution can be found. Since we’ve been demonstrating on Saturdays all along I propose that we demonstrate both days this weekend. Sunday will be the big one so if you can only come one day, try for Sunday. We will have a presence there both days. March 5 and 6, 1:00 to 2:00 at the intersection of Geist Road and University Avenue.

Suggested themes:

• Russian Troops Out! / No NATO Expansion!
• Real Diplomacy, not Killer Sanctions!
• Remove US Nuclear Weapons from Europe!
• No war with Russia
• No more weapons to Ukraine and the European Union
• Obey international laws and the UN Charter
• Resolve the current conflict within the United Nations Security Council
• Restore the Minsk Agreements
• De-escalate the threat of a nuclear war