Two bloody milestones in Afghanistan

According to iCasualties.org, the number of US troops who have died as a result of the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan now stands at 1,007.

At the same time, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has announced that 2009 was the deadliest year in Afghanistan for non-combatants. More than 2,400 unarmed people were killed in the conflict last year, a 14% increase over 2008. Of course, this doesn't count the tens of thousands of wounded and displaced, or the despair felt by Afghans under a corrupt and incompetent government and foreign occupying army. What the UNAMA figures do offer is undeniable evidence that the war is not coming to conclusion, but escalation.

Take action to end the war in Afghanistan!

-- Sign the petition to Senator Amy Klobuchar --

-- Join Women in Black for an anti-war vigil on Wednesday, March 3, 12 noon at the corner of Lake & Superior in Duluth. Men are welcome, please wear black.--

Neither number reflects the true horror of war, nor the suffering of the families left behind. Numbers can't gauge the loss of heart and talent that each of the dead brought with them to their graves. It could be said that reducing people to a number is part of the problem. It's the generals and politicians, after all, who calculate their war strategies based on projections of "acceptable losses."

Yet this number also begs a moment of pause, and forces a nation to ask itself: was it worth it? And how many more? The 1,000th US death in Iraq marked a turning point for media coverage of the war, a national recognition that we had immersed ourselves in quagmire, and a revitalization of the anti-war movement. Today the US population, still firmly anti-war, seems to have accepted this permanent state of conflict, and these grim figures have come and gone with only shallow ripples of discontent.

What happens next is up to us. After what seems like a post-election period of hibernation, the anti-war movement is waking up. Just look at the calendar of events this week: we're taking to the streets and churches and campuses; fundraising and educating and agitating. And we need you!

Week of Palestine Solidarity Events

A series of public events are planned for the first week of March at Duluth/Superior campuses to raise public awareness about human rights violations in historic Palestine and call for an end to U.S. support for Israel and for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. This includes a call for the State of Minnesota to divest itself of Israel bonds.

The events are being held in conjunction with the sixth annual Israel Apartheid Week, which takes place worldwide March 1-7, 2010. The local events are:

* Wednesday, March 3, 3 p.m., University of Wisconsin-Superior Old Main Room 310: Eyewitness Report from Egypt and Palestine: presentation by Sylvia Schwartz.

* Wednesday, March 3, 5 p.m., University of Minnesota-Duluth Montague Room 70: Eyewitness Reports from Egypt and Palestine: presentations by Bret Thiele, Mayra Gomez and Sylvia Schwartz.

* Thursday, March 4, 12:30 p.m., Lake Superior College Room E2046: Eyewitness Reports from Egypt and Palestine: presentations by Bret Thiele, Mayra Gomez and Sylvia Schwartz.

* Thursday, March 4, 5 p.m., College of St. Scholastica Intercultural Center: Film, followed by a Panel Discussion with Bret Thiele, Mayra Gomez, and Sylvia Schwartz. Palestinian food provided by CSS Amnesty International.

The events are sponsored by the Twin Ports Break the Bonds Coalition, College of St. Scholastica Amnesty International, and UMD Students for Peace. For more information, contact Bob Kosuth, (218) 724-4800, rkosuth@hotmail.com.

Speaker Bios:

Bret Thiele is the Litigation Coordinator for the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, an international human-rights NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland. He has traveled to Palestine numerous times, and lives in Duluth.

Mayra Gomez the Coordinator of the Women and Housing Rights Programme with the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and board member of Amnesty International USA. She has traveled to Palestine numerous times, and lives in Duluth.

Sylvia Schwartz is a member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and recently participated in the Gaza Freedom March, an attempt to break the blockade of Gaza from the Egyptian border. She lives in St. Paul.

Background:

The September, 2009 United Nations report on the recent Gaza Conflict, commonly known as the Goldstone Report, accused both Hamas and Israel of war crimes during the three-week war, in which 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Israel has been roundly condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International for the disproportionate use of violence and repression against Palestinians and the continued Israeli blockade which denies food, medicine and rebuilding materials to the people of Gaza.

Life for Palestinians living both in Israel and the Occupied Territories has been likened to that of South African blacks under Apartheid. In response, Palestinian Civil Society groups and their supporters have called for an international campaign of Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, similar to the grassroots efforts that helped end South African Apartheid regime. The aim of Israel Apartheid Week is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build the growing global BDS movement.

In Memory of Bertha Kurki

by Rick Kurki

Bertha was born the youngest of nine children to Finnish immigrant parents, Heikki and Sanna Maatta, who homesteaded in rural northern Wisconsin.

Bertha's father worked as a dry-driller in the mines of Utah and Michigan's Upper Penisula until he became debilitated by miner's silicosis caused by continued exposure to ore dust, which was common to the negligent working conditions of the time.

After leaving the mining trade, her father built a small farm near Marengo, Wisconsin. Like many Finnish immigrants her parents became involved in the cooperative movement and the Finnish Worker's Hall. Her father and uncle organized a mutual fire insurance company which is still in operation today.

In her youth, Bertha was active in the Worker's Hall participating in plays, dances, and in language and educational programs. The halls were cultural centers for those who felt that their concerns about the economic inequities and exploitation under capitalism were not addressed by the church or in the mainstream culture. The halls hosted political speakers, musical programs, drama productions, athletic events and weekend dances.

Bertha met Alex Kurki while performing in a play together at the local hall. They were married in September 1939. Both Bertha and Alex shared a vision and a commitment to social, political and economic justice. Throughout their lives they involved themselves in a number of political organizations that championed the causes of working class people, the civil rights movement and the need for nuclear and military de-escalation.

As a young mother and housewife Bertha also worked as a secretary and mailer for the Finnish language newspaper Tyomies Eteenpain in Superior, Wisconsin. She worked there for three different periods totaling 15 years and retired as a copy-editor and typesetter in 1989. After retirement she served as the President of the Tyomies Board of Directors for 10 years. In the late 1940's Bertha joined the University of Wisconsin Extension Homemakers and remained a member for over 60 years holding local, county and district offices. Her first active role in partisan politics came in 1948, when she ran for lieutenant-governor on the Progressive Party ticket which represented the hope for maintaining and furthering the goals of the New Deal.

In the atmosphere of paranoia and hysteria that characterized the McCarthy period of the 1950's Bertha and her family (like many others) were subject to suspicion, harassment and even FBI surveillance. In the face of this hostility and political intolerance, Bertha remained true to her ideals and continued to work for positive and peaceful social change.

Her personal kindness and courage were mirrored in her actions and commitments throughout her life. In her later years she participated in a number of activist groups including Stop Project Elf and Grandmother's for Peace. Her compassion and caring were very evident in how she lived her life and in the welcoming and friendly spirit with which she met the world. She passed away on October 14, 2009. She will be sorrowfully missed.

Nukewatch benefit with Rachael Kilgour

Report on the Feb. 17 Picket at Congressman Obey's Office

On Wednesday, February 17, a group of about 20 concerned citizens gathered in front of Congressman Dave Obey's office in Superior. The protesters came from Trego, Shell Lake, Spooner, Hayward, Duluth and Superior, and half a dozen came from the University of WI-Superior. After holding signs along Tower Ave. from noon to 1pm, the group went up to Obey's office, and left a letter, signed by the whole group, expressing their opposition to the ongoing funding of the two wars.

The picket was part of a national campaign to protest in front of Congressional offices on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. It's main sponsors were Peace North and the Progressive Democrats of America. The next picket will be on the 3rd Wednesday of March, same time and place.

Where Have All the Billions Gone?

By Bob Kosuth

The public is justifiably angry about the hundreds and hundreds of billions of tax payer dollars that have gone to bail out the big bankers. Compared to them, honest working people got very little in the way of stimulus dollars to create jobs. Few Americans, however, pay attention to the $700 billion that was recently passed by President Obama and the Congress for current wars and other military spending. More important, this kind of money is being spent every year. That's nearly $2 billion per day and that's a lot of money. Do the math. If your full-time job was to spend $10,000 per day, it would take you 274 years to spend a billion dollars. The military machine does it in a single day, every day.

We often hear that no price is too high to pay for "national defense" but if the US spent this kind of cash to create jobs and improve the livelihood of people at home and abroad, we'd be better off here and we'd have far fewer enemies and lots more friends. Someone might say that a military career is a great opportunity, especially for minorities. Well, I remember when my plane full of draftees took off from Chicago to Fort Polk LA in 1971. It was largely full of inner city Blacks and they were on that plane not because they were particularly patriotic but because like me they had no other options.

Unfortunately, elections don't change much when it comes to military spending and war making. That's something we've learned in the past year. Bush is gone but we still have Bush's wars. The Northland Anti-War Coalition is still around too. Check us out at northlandantiwar.blogspot.com and look at our ad in this issue. Please join us to stop these wars and build a better democracy.

This article above was submitted to the Hillsider newspaper. Be sure to pick up the March issue of the Hillsider to see the NAWC ad inside!

Tell Senator Klobuchar: Troops Out of Afghanistan!

The Minnesota Peace Project has launched a petition drive calling on US Senator Amy Klobuchar to support troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Sign the petition:
minnesotapeaceproject.org/petition/2

The Minnesota Peace Project was formed last year as a way to coordinate statewide lobbying efforts against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and on other critical foreign policy issues. MPP has been pretty effective so far - bringing two reluctant Senators on board a bill to ban cluster munitions; and convincing Oberstar, McCollum and Ellison to sign a ground-breaking letter to Obama condemning the blockade of Gaza.

NAWC has officially endorsed the MPP. We're still looking for one or a couple people to coordinate MPP efforts in the 8th district. If you're interested in helping with this effort, please contact Joel at 218-340-4356.

Gaza in Plain Language

Oct. 25 Trial Date for RNC 8 -- and New Video!

In 2007, a parody video urging people to protest the 2008 Republican National Convention prompted a massive undercover investigation by local police and federal agents on a group of Twin Cities-based organizers: the ironically-named RNC Welcoming Committee. The investigation culminated in armed raids of activist homes and meeting spaces; hysterical press conferences about curtain rods, cans of paint and other "weapons" uncovered during the raids; and the arrest of eight alleged ringleaders of a "criminal anarchist" plot. The eight were initially charged with conspiracy to commit riot in furtherance of terrorism. They aren't accused of committing any violence, nor did they make it to the protests. It appears their crime was to organize food, housing and communications for the thousands of people who converged on St Paul to resist the truly violent policies of the corporate and political elite.

How to respond to this prosecutorial lunacy? Make another parody, of course!



The case was slammed by the Duluth Central Labor Body and Duluth DFL, among others, as a "politically-motivated prosecution" and threat to civil liberties. In response, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner dropped the terrorism enhancement, but added another felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property. If convicted, Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald each face years in prison.

A full year and a half after the raids, the RNC 8 have finally been given a trial date of October 25. Please mark your calendars and consider traveling to St Paul to show your support! If the state is successful at prosecuting the RNC 8, any one of us who struggles for justice and peace could be next. For more about the case and to donate to the RNC 8 legal defense, visit rnc8.org.