Alaska Peace Center Committed to nonviolent conflict resolution, working for peace within ourselves, our community, and our world

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.

Patrick Lawrence, “Putin Speaks”
https://consortiumnews.com/2021/12/28/patrick-lawrence-putin-speaks/

Robert Scheer/Oliver Stone dialogue “Oliver Stone: American Exceptionalism Is on Deadly Display in Ukraine”
https://scheerpost.com/2022/02/11/oliver-stone-american-exceptionalism-is-on-deadly-display-in-ukraine/

Moon of Alabama, “Disarming Ukraine – Day Nine – Europe Increases Its Own Losses.” I feel too outraged and frightened about what is now happening in our societies to write about it. I thus continue to quote others at some length.
https://popularresistance.org/disarming-ukraine-day-9-europe-increases-its-own-losses/

Michael Brenner, “Another Casualty of the Ukraine Conflict: The Truth.” 5 March 2022. Civilian casualties in Ukraine are relatively few. Despite the strenuous efforts to find then, actual numbers appear to be in the order of 300-400. For good reasons, Russian forces are calculatingly avoiding attacks on urban centers; after all, 40% of the population is Russian and concentrated in the regions where the fighting is taking place. Moreover, Moscow has no interest in subjugating the country to its rule. In comparison, the Ukrainian army has been shelling the city centers of Lugansk and Donetsk, producing casualties estimated by a UN agency at more than 1,300 (3 or 4 times what objective observers estimate on the Ukrainian government’s side of the battle lines). Also. the water system has been destroyed. Yet, these facts are unreported and unnoticed in the total absence of media presence in an area they have erased from their reportorial map.
https://scheerpost.com/2022/03/05/another-casualty-of-the-ukraine-conflict-the-truth/

Chris Hedges, “Worthy and Unworthy Victims.” Dividing the world into worthy and unworthy victims is a tactic used to justify our crimes and demonize our enemies. Conflicts will not be solved until all nations abide by international law and all victims are deemed worthy.
https://scheerpost.com/2022/03/07/chris-hedges-worthy-and-unworthy-victims/

Los Alamos Study Group, “A Proposed Solution to the Ukraine War.” An end to the invasion and war in Ukraine can only be guaranteed if Russia’s security is itself guaranteed. Security is largely indivisible. Security for one state requires security for others.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/07/a-proposed-solution-to-the-ukraine-war/

Scott Ritter, “Pity the Nation.” Fact-based arguments Scott Ritter made challenging the case for war against Iraq were effectively silenced. Today he sees the same template in play towards anyone challenging the dogma of “Putinism.”] [Ferlinghetti poem and photo]
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/07/pity-the-nation/

Watch: Mearsheimer and McGovern on Ukraine [and Jack Matlock and Ted Postol]. Prof. John Mearsheimer and ex-C.I.A. Russia specialist Ray McGovern discuss the Ukraine conflict and U.S. policy towards Moscow, presented by the Committee for the Republic in Washington. Tags: Jack Matlock John J. Mearsheimer Ray McGovern Ted Postol. [Quite long, very eye-opening! At least watch the Mearsheimer (who speaks first) part if you possibly can. All these people have spent years studying Russia, often from inside it.]
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/06/watch-mearsheimer-and-mcgovern-on-ukraine/

Joe Lauria, “On a Knife’s Edge in Ukraine.” The settlement of the Ukraine war or its escalation to a NATO-Russia conflict with all that entails comes down to how far Ukraine will go to get the Western alliance involved in its war.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/11/on-a-knifes-edge-in-ukraine/

Joseph Gerson, “The World is Plunging into a Dangerous New Cold War 2.0.”
https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/opinion/5130-the-world-is-plunging-into-a-dangerous-new-cold-war-2-0

Vijay Prashad, “You Are Also a Victim of War.” Though precipitated by concerns aroused by the Ukraine war, this article is more about nuclear weapons and the extreme importance of getting rid of them. Vijay spends some time considering Nuclear-weapon-free zones. “García Robles spoke with the prestige afforded to Mexico for its leadership in passing the Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1967. This treaty created the first NWFZ, which included 33 of the 35 countries of the American hemisphere; only Canada and the United States remained outside the zone. Four other NWFZs have been created since the Treaty of Tlatelolco: in the South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga, 1985), in Southeast Asia (Treaty of Bangkok, 1995), on the African continent (Treaty of Pelindaba, 1996), and in Central Asia (Treaty of Semipalatinsk, 2006). Together, these five NWFZs include 113 countries, comprising 60 percent of the member states of the United Nations and every country on the African continent.” This is a great idea! Let’s make one in the Arctic!
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/10/you-are-also-a-victim-of-war-like-us/

Glenn Greenwald, “Victoria Nuland: Ukraine Has “Biological Research Facilities,” Worried Russia May Seize Them.” The neocon’s confession sheds critical light on the U.S. role in Ukraine, and raises vital questions about these labs that deserve answers.
https://scheerpost.com/2022/03/11/victoria-nuland-ukraine-has-biological-research-facilities-worried-russia-may-seize-them%EF%BF%BC/

www.justworldeducational.org: “Ukraine Crisis: Building a Just and Peaceful World, Session 3.” Panel with host Helen, Medea Benjamin, Richard Falk, and Marjorie Cohn. Excellent discussion about international law (Marjorie and Richard) and the ironies of going to peace protests where many participants are advocating an increase of military action (Medea). A good discussion of what we are actually trying to advocate for, and what a reasonable approach would be going forward to achieve a lasting peace in Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kgPJ6dCtdA

A couple of other “Moon of Alabama” posts are well worth reading:
“Disarming Ukraine Day 15: A Curious Hospital Bombing And ‘No-Fly Zone’ Pressure”
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/03/disarming-ukraine-day-15-a-curious-hospital-bombing-and-no-fly-zone-pressure.html
and
“Challenge-Response – How Russia Is Countering ‘Western’ Moves Against It”
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/03/challenge-response-how-russia-is-countering-western-moves-against-it.html