Peace News invites local and national peace groups in Wales, Scotland and England to join us in celebrating “Unarmed Forces Day” on 27 June, when the Ministry of Defence intends to celebrate “Armed Forces Day” (with a service and a fly-past at Chatham Docks, and parades in other towns and cities). “Unarmed Forces Day” will have two main messages.
Celebrate nonviolence!
Our first message is that we want to celebrate people who have used and are using nonviolent means to seek…
My last column was in praise of our dear departed peace poet and friend, Adrian Mitchell. Happily, this time, I’m celebrating the lasting creativity and indefatigable spirit of the American poet, novelist, publisher, and painter, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Ferl was – unbelievably because he seems to me forever young – 90 on 24 March and his continuing presence is a blessing on us all.
Back in 1952, Peter Martin opened a paperback bookstore in San Francisco and named it after a Charlie…
The British press has been marking the 25th anniversary of the start of the miners’ strike of 1984-5, a shattering event for many of us who lived through it. The strike was one of the major events of postwar British history, marking a turning point for owners and managers, supported by the state, in exerting their authority over working people.
The strike was ignited by a government programme of pit closures aimed at breaking the power of the National Union of Mineworkers, and thereby…
When are we going to wake up? When is the war in Afghanistan going to become a burning issue in this country? When is it going to become a burning issue for the British peace movement?
As we approach the eighth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan, we see a welcome, if belated and timid, awakening of concern about the war in mainstream circles in both Britain and the US. What about the peace movement? If we are honest with ourselves, neither the traditional peace movement nor…
Because it takes so many years to actually get anywhere, even in the council election, I’ve found there’s more focus on building a campaign than actually becoming a part of the “party machine”.
I’ve never felt the sort of necessary dedication needed to actually get elected for office. I’m not really a party animal.
I’ve been surprised by how much more time people spend talking about tactics than they do talking about policy.
I think so many people who stand for office…
e began our last editorial with these words: “The Israeli assault on Gaza has left many of us angry and sick at heart.” Our last front cover depicted the horrible wounds of a Gazan teenager. The photograph was taken by a Totnes peace activist (in Gaza with the International Solidarity Movement), who wrote our front page story, and sent us the accompanying image. This picture left some readers feeling angry and sick.
One letter from an experienced activist said: “I did not need the…
“Think global; act local” is a very good principle but it is scary when you have no choice but to do so. Here in East London we are being forced to think globally. Some Peace News readers know the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in Custom House because it is the venue for the DSEi arms fair, which boasts that it is the biggest in the world. East London Against the Arms Fair has frequent protests at ExCeL, calling for cancellation of this and all arms fairs.
Any arms fair arguably…
The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (CADU) was launched in 1999 to focus specifically on trying to achieve a global ban on the manufacture, testing, and use of depleted uranium weapons.
They fight for recognition by the Ministry of Defence that these weapons are connected with serious illnesses, and aim to put pressure on governments to take responsibility for environmental decontamination in areas where DU has been used. They also have a strong interest in identifying the extent…
Guilt is the feeling that “I can’t do enough”. That as much as you try to go to all the meetings you can, do all the bits and pieces you can, you never feel you’re doing enough.
I also think sometimes when you find yourself getting to burnout, then a big part of not being able to recognise what’s happening is the feeling that “I can’t stop because if I stop, it won’t get done”.
That is, we think we’re very, very important, and of course what we do is important, but there has…
Founded in 2008, Workers’ Climate Action (WCA) is a direct action and solidarity network made up of socialists, anarchists and other class struggle activists involved in both the environmental and labour movements.
We must move our economy away from fossil fuels – but in a “Just Transition”: the costs of changes in employment and economic activity should fall on those who can afford it, not on those who can’t. WCA stands for a worker-led just transition to a low-carbon economy and…
The Free Gaza Movement was formed in 2008 by a coalition of Palestine solidarity activists and organisations, including various Christian, Jewish, and Muslim groups. Their mission is to break the siege of Gaza, raise international awareness of the devastating effects of the Israeli-imposed closure, and pressure the international community to review its support of the Israeli government.
The Free Gaza Movement has broken the siege five times in dramatic and highly publicised boat…
Activism and boredom? I just wouldn’t connect the two things. Honestly, they are just two unrelated things in my mind.
Activist, male, 40, Milton Keynes
The most boring thing I’ve ever done in connection with activism was making boring phone calls. Making hundreds of phone calls trying to mobilise people to come to an event, using exactly the same words to each person.
Going on big rallies with the same speeches and the same people over and over again (and it…
The Israel assault on Gaza has left many of us angry and sick at heart. The glaring injustice of the conflict is reflected in the wildly disproportionate casualty figures. The government of Israel says it was motivated by fear of Palestinian rockets and mortars.
From November 2001 to November 2008, precisely 23 people were killed inside Israel by Qassam rockets (15) and by mortars (8) fired from Gaza (not all by Hamas), according to the pro-Israeli-government group The Israel…
When our friend Adrian died on 20 December 2008 a miracle occurred; the word PACIFIST appeared in newspaper headlines and on radio news programmes. How he loved this despised, forgotten word and how his work proudly championed and broadcast it. One way or another it informed most of what he wrote. And what he wrote made him Albion’s greatest living poet. His passing leaves an achingly painful void: personally, collectively, privately, publicly, politically, nationally, internationally.…
Back in September eight short video films were shown in Stroud to mark World Peace Day. Collectively the films tried to answer this question: what does it take to build peace? The screening of the films was followed by a discussion with some of the film makers on the subject “Can Art promote a culture of peace?” Heady stuff and around 30 people attended and took part. I attended too and found each of the eight films powerful in their various ways. The film that most touched me, however, was…
