Thursday 31 March 2011

SAY “ENOUGH!” TO WARS

Please forward widely.
See details below.




With two wars nearing complete unpopularity, President Obama has decided to throw Americans into a third war.

The U.S. has implemented a "no-fly-zone," which already involves attacks on ground vehicles and ground installations. 120 cruise missiles have been fired. France and the United Kingdom have stepped in as arbiters of the fate of Libyans.

Although the African Union opposes military intervention, the former colonial powers have continued supporting and destroying governments as they please.

The "Harper Government," as the Government of Canada is now termed, has obediently followed suit, and sent six warplanes to Libya.

As Canadian fighter jets strike targets in Libya, we will be mobilizing for the April 8 Day of Action against all the wars that the Anglo-American alliance supports: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, and now Libya.

At a time when a majority of Americans believed that the U.S. had no need to involve itself in Libya, and when 63% of Americans opposed the Afghan war, the powers-that-be chose the eighth anniversary of the war on Iraq (March 19) to open a new front.

We don't want a new war. We don't want any war. It's time to end the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, and now Libya! Come out on April 8 to show your disapproval and protest the Canadian fighter jets now involved in all-out military escalation.

You can download a copy of this leaflet with 2 flyers per page here:
http://www.hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/Events/April%208%20flyer.pdf



April 9 in TorontoJoin the anti-war rally and the Ontario Federation of Labour's Day of Action in solidarity with workers and unions who are under attack! The event takes place on Saturday, April 9.  Hamilton & District Labour Council buses to Toronto on April 9 will be boarding around 9:30 am in the parking lot of the Centre Mall across from the Labour Council office (1130 Barton East) near Ottawa Street North. Passengers should reserve soon at 905-547-2944. There is no charge for the return trip.

The buses will arrive in Toronto in time for the anti-war protest at noon across from the US Consulate. The anti-war protest, in turn, will march the few hundred metres from University Avenue to Toronto City Hall to join the Ontario Federation of Labour rally at 1 pm.

ENDORSEMENTS:
Hamilton&District Labour Council
Arab Women's League
CUPE Local 3906
McMaster Green Party Student Association
ADFW Federal Green Party Association
Zeitgeist Movement
Palestinian Association of Hamilton
Students Resisting War and Occupation (McMaster)
Hamilton Haiti Action Committee
To endorse this event, please e-mail hcsw@cogeco.ca

FURTHER INFO: Call Ken at 905-383-7693.
And check our own Coalition alternative media! Unusual Sources (CFMU-FM 93.3 on Wednesdays from 5 to 6 pm) interviewed Stephen Gowans on March 16:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=726427&songID=10419970

as well as Phil Taylor (of the Taylor-Report at CIUT 89.5 FM on Mondays from 5 to 6 pm) on March 2:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10347093

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=201505259873198
Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War
www.hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca

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Our letter in the Hamilton Spectator:
 
Mon Mar 21 2011

Is Libya worse than other absolute monarchies of region?

Re: Libya tries to outflank no-fly zone (March 19)
Some people have short memories. In the buildup to the Iraq war, we were told lies about Saddam Hussein’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction and al-Qaeda connections. The invasion was supposedly justified to protect civilians from a brutal dictator. The war turned out fine for the oil cartels. They purchased the Iraqi national oilfields for peanuts. For the Iraqi people, it has been a disaster.
Now we are told a no-fly zone — a virtual declaration of war — is necessary to protect Libyan civilians from Moammar Gadhafi, described as a brutal dictator. But a no-fly zone has not been suggested for Bahrain, where a pro-U.S. absolute monarch attacks civilians with help from Saudi Arabia, also an absolute monarchy. Where was the no-fly zone to protect Palestinians in Gaza when Israel killed 1,500 unarmed civilians in 2008?
Libya is a sovereign country. No country has the right under international law to intervene in another country’s domestic affairs unless attacked. Could the selective use of a no-fly zone over Libya have something to do with former colonial powers like Italy, France, England and Spain wanting a piece of Libyan oil?
And how would most Canadians feel if rebels arose in part of our country in revolt against Ottawa and called for a third country to establish a no-fly zone over Canada?
Let the “Harper government of Canada” bring its F-18s home and keep its hands off Libya.


David Rennie, Hamilton Coalition Against The War
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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