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Frieda Gardner, W A M M
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Women Central to Achieving Peace
This fall marked the third anniversary of the UN Security Council’s passage of Resolution 1325, which stresses the crucial importance of women to the achievement of peace and social justice. Many non-governmental organizations plan practical applications of the resolution’s powerful rhetoric (Women’s Review of Books, Feb. 2004). For example, see www.peacewomen.org, created by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom to share information among women peace activists around the world, and www.womenwarpeace.org, created by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to share news about the impact of war on women and ideas for peace-building.
Soldier Seeks CO Status
Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, 28, who had refused to return to duty in Iraq, surrendered himself to military authorities in March with the intention of seeking conscientious objector status. The Associated Press quoted Mejia, who said, “I went to Iraq and was an instrument of violence and now I have decided to become an instrument of peace.”
Paul Robeson Honored
At last the U. S. Postal Service has issued a stamp in honor of Paul Robeson, the remarkable vocal artist, actor, and activist who was targeted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the late 1940s.
Critical Noise
According to the Minneapolis StarTribune (March 11, 2004), the Pentagon is hearing a “clamor”—from Congress, from citizens—for an accurate account of the cost of the war in Iraq.
Scientists Challenge Bush Administration
The Union of Concerned Scientists, in a 37-page report signed by 60 prestigious scientists, accuses the Bush Administration of “suppressing, distorting, and undermining the integrity of scientific analyses in policy-making,” especially when trying to provide justification for the Iraq war and for changes in environmental policy (StarTribune, Feb. 19, 2004).
Senate Committee Shrinks Defense Budget
The Senate Budget Committee knocked seven billion dollars from George W. Bush’s $421 billion projected defense budget. Alas, few senators think this very modest cut will survive a vote of the whole Senate.
McEconomics
George W. Bush’s proposal to rename low-wage service occupations like fast-food hamburger flipping as forms of “manufacturing” in order to make our economy seem more prosperous has met with widespread ridicule. |
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© 2004 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete April 2004 Index - click here
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