Shut down the war machine!
I was just made aware of a campaign calling for a day to shut down the war machine, and I want to let every else know about it (if they didn't already).
There is a website set up at www.shutdownthewarmachine.com explaining it all.
There's an open letter on that website which I'll post below:
To the people of the United States:
A recent study by the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health found that an astonishing 655,000 Iraqis have been killed since the illegal invasion of their country by the U.S. and its allies in 2003. On top of this, 3,201 soldiers from the invading countries have died.
Around 8,000 civilians have been murdered in Afghanistan since that country was invaded.
The continuance of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threats of new wars being waged against Iran, Syria and North Korea rely on a U.S.-based “war machine,” made up of the industries that produce weapons, vehicles, and machinery used for war, the transportation networks that move them, and vast funding from the U.S. government, among other things.
The greatest part of the annual U.S. budget – some 49% – goes to this “machine,” paying for current and past military endeavors.
Each year, close to $500 billion dollars is spent on the U.S. military. Each month, $6 billion dollars is spent on the continued occupation of Iraq alone.
But this machine cannot function without its most important part – the people who, often unknowingly, keep it going, such as the workers who design and construct the weapons and machinery, the workers who load and unload them onto trucks, the truck drivers and ship and train engineers who transport them, the workers who fund the process through the taxes they pay, the families who raise the children who become soldiers, the educators who teach those children the basic skills they need in life – all working people, who collectively keep the economy afloat through our labor.
We are calling for the formation of a coalition of workers and organizations that can successfully build for a day to “Shut Down the War Machine!”.
We’ll fight to make this day one in which working people refuse to go to work, students refuse to go to school, and everyone refuses to shop.
Although pickets and demonstrations may be a part of this day, the last few years have shown us that they alone aren’t enough. We need to cooperate to get this call out to people in every single part of the U.S., from cab drivers in New York to farm workers in California. It will take a serious and dedicated effort, but this is something that needs to be done. Collectively, we have the ability to literally shut down the war machine, by simply refusing to contribute to it in any way.
Needless to say, the effects of such an event would be monumental.
We propose that this day be Monday, March 19, 2007.
We urge all interested individuals (including workers, union officials and representatives, artists, musicians, undocumented workers, “housewives” and the unemployed), and organizations to contact us immediately to add their name to the list of signatories of this letter.
Yours for justice,
The Committee for the Creation of a Coalition for a Day to Shut Down the War Machine
The Free People’s Movement
7Wounds - Recording Artist
Sun Rise Above - Recording Artist
Young Soldiers For Change
C. Harris - DC Retail Workers For Justice
Revolutionary Youth
C. Alazar - New York Retail Workers For Justice
The Cuba Truth Project
B. Dean Sr - Township Supervisor (Washington Township, Pennsylvania)
Oaxaca Defense Committee (New York)
K. Bautista - Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 101*
1877 Workers’ Party
Transit Venus - Recording Artists
Workers' Historical Society
Democratic Rights Defense Organization
Michael Parenti, Ph.D. - Author
* organization listed for identification only
So what are you waiting for? Get over to the website right now and fight out what you can do! Shut Down The War Machine!
There is a website set up at www.shutdownthewarmachine.com explaining it all.
There's an open letter on that website which I'll post below:
To the people of the United States:
A recent study by the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health found that an astonishing 655,000 Iraqis have been killed since the illegal invasion of their country by the U.S. and its allies in 2003. On top of this, 3,201 soldiers from the invading countries have died.
Around 8,000 civilians have been murdered in Afghanistan since that country was invaded.
The continuance of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threats of new wars being waged against Iran, Syria and North Korea rely on a U.S.-based “war machine,” made up of the industries that produce weapons, vehicles, and machinery used for war, the transportation networks that move them, and vast funding from the U.S. government, among other things.
The greatest part of the annual U.S. budget – some 49% – goes to this “machine,” paying for current and past military endeavors.
Each year, close to $500 billion dollars is spent on the U.S. military. Each month, $6 billion dollars is spent on the continued occupation of Iraq alone.
But this machine cannot function without its most important part – the people who, often unknowingly, keep it going, such as the workers who design and construct the weapons and machinery, the workers who load and unload them onto trucks, the truck drivers and ship and train engineers who transport them, the workers who fund the process through the taxes they pay, the families who raise the children who become soldiers, the educators who teach those children the basic skills they need in life – all working people, who collectively keep the economy afloat through our labor.
We are calling for the formation of a coalition of workers and organizations that can successfully build for a day to “Shut Down the War Machine!”.
We’ll fight to make this day one in which working people refuse to go to work, students refuse to go to school, and everyone refuses to shop.
Although pickets and demonstrations may be a part of this day, the last few years have shown us that they alone aren’t enough. We need to cooperate to get this call out to people in every single part of the U.S., from cab drivers in New York to farm workers in California. It will take a serious and dedicated effort, but this is something that needs to be done. Collectively, we have the ability to literally shut down the war machine, by simply refusing to contribute to it in any way.
Needless to say, the effects of such an event would be monumental.
We propose that this day be Monday, March 19, 2007.
We urge all interested individuals (including workers, union officials and representatives, artists, musicians, undocumented workers, “housewives” and the unemployed), and organizations to contact us immediately to add their name to the list of signatories of this letter.
Yours for justice,
The Committee for the Creation of a Coalition for a Day to Shut Down the War Machine
The Free People’s Movement
7Wounds - Recording Artist
Sun Rise Above - Recording Artist
Young Soldiers For Change
C. Harris - DC Retail Workers For Justice
Revolutionary Youth
C. Alazar - New York Retail Workers For Justice
The Cuba Truth Project
B. Dean Sr - Township Supervisor (Washington Township, Pennsylvania)
Oaxaca Defense Committee (New York)
K. Bautista - Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 101*
1877 Workers’ Party
Transit Venus - Recording Artists
Workers' Historical Society
Democratic Rights Defense Organization
Michael Parenti, Ph.D. - Author
* organization listed for identification only
So what are you waiting for? Get over to the website right now and fight out what you can do! Shut Down The War Machine!
Labels: afghanistan, anti-war, demonstrate, iraq, protest, strike, war
