Italians Advance Czech Hunger Strike

Say No to Star Wars
Sunday, June 22, 11am to ...
Piazza Navona, Roma, Italia
Dear peace activists,
This Sunday, June 22, there will be a one-day global hunger strike to protest the proposed U.S. military base in the Czech Republic, and what is seen as the first step in creation of the U.S. Missile Defense System in Europe, aka the new Star Wars. The Missile Defense System is destined to antagonize Russia (and other countries suspicious of U.S. motives) and ultimately create a dangerous new arms race. Its only beneficiaries will be defense contractors such as Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, as well as European weapons manufacturers. In February 2007, under the Prodi government, Italy secretly signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. to participate in the program.
In Rome, Italian activists of Mondo senza guerre are supporting the struggle in the Czech Republic, where there is tremendous opposition to the new base, with an all day event in Piazza Navona, starting at 11am. They'll make use of everything they can -- from street theatre to flyers -- to inform Italians and tourists of the dangers of this multi-billion dollar program described as "a solution that technically does not work being applied to a problem that does not actually exist."
They will be collecting signatures for a petition against the new base, with the aim of reaching the goal of 200,000 signatures before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Prague on July 10 to sign an agreement between the U.S. and the Czech Republic. Over 120,000 signatures have already been collected (http://petice.nenasili.cz/?lang=en). [see post of June 9, 2008, International Hunger Strike to Stop US Space Shield]
USC4P&J fully supports this initiative, and we plan to show our solidarity and lend a hand by joining them in the afternoon, from 4:30 on. Please do try to join us, even if only for a short while, and if only to add your name to the signatories of this important petition, in person!
Please note: You don´t have to participate in the hunger strike to take part in the activities! However, if you would like to join the hunger strike, you can sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/5mvqyn

**Join us on June 22, 4:30pm to say NO to Star Wars!

For more information, contact us at: info@peaceandjustice.it
For more information on the Missile Defense System, see:
US Pushes Pie-in-the-Sky Missile Defense in Europe
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=10593
US taps Lithuania as alternative to Poland for missile shield plan
http://tinyurl.com/5jygs7
Priceless propaganda video from the US Missile Defense Agency
http://tinyurl.com/3ova44 [too weird & too long to watch at work, but if you have 30 minutes, it’s probably worth watching – with friends, not alone – your brains might explode!]
Anna, Gene, Maria, Maria Chiara and Stephanie
---U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome
info@peaceandjustice.it
http://www.peaceandjustice.it

We Are All Guilty of Loving Vicenza

These folks have been very supportive of our drive to impeach the criminals in the White House, so now it's our turn to help. Just cut & paste the italian phrase into your message so your support can be included:

Siamo Tutti Colpevoli Di Amare Vicenza

Four members of the No Dal Molin movement against the new U.S. military base in Vicenza were recently served "avvisi di garanzia" (legal notification that they are under investigation in a criminal proceeding) for having occupied the office of the Prefect in January.
This weekend, 200 volunteers in over 30 stands set up around the city and province of Vicenza will collect signatures in support of these activists and the movement, with the slogan, "We are all guilty of loving Vicenza."
You can sign the petition via email by sending your first and last name, street address, city/country and postal code along with the statement "sottoscrivo la petizione in sostegno delle donne e degli uomini raggiunti da avvisi di garanzia." The text of the petition is as follows (Italian version at: http://www.nodalmolin.it/notizie/notizie_78.html):
"On December 2, 2006, February 17, 2007 and December 15, 2007, tens of thousands from Vicenza marched against the new U.S. base at Dal Molin; three mass demonstrations to say NO to the new base and to assert our right to decide our own future. Our opposition, however, is not merely symbolic in nature: we intend to stop the militarization of Vicenza. And to reach this goal, in recent months, we have occupied the Basilica Palladiana, cut cables leading to the new base, planted 150 trees inside Dal Molin and blocked the entrance during the initial phase of construction. As further demonstration of our determination, on January 16, 2008, we occupied the Prefect´s office in Vicenza.
If it is a crime to dream of a better world and to defend Vicenza, then I, too, am guilty; although I may not have been present at all the initiatives, I support goals and the methods used: defending our land, our cities and the future for our children is a right."
See also final version of the Florence solidarity statement on our web site: http://www.peaceandjustice.it/letter-authorities.php#florence
(in Italian, if you would like to volunteer to translate this to English, it would be a welcome contribution)
Anna, Gene, Maria, Maria Chiara and Stephanie
U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome
http://www.peaceandjustice.it/

Three Days of Solidarity In Italia!

Terrific coverage of this demo, including background info and news of the spread of activism to Germany, the Czech Republic and other places in Europe that are occupied by our military. I emphasis text in bold:
Italians Block Construction
of U.S. Base
By David Swanson
The people of the northern Italian city of Vicenza, with help from activists around Italy, the rest of Europe, and even in the United States, are continuing to block the proposed construction of a new U.S. military base on their soil. When a company laid underground fiber-optic cables at the site of the proposed base, activists fill a junction box with cement. When another company tried to begin the work of removing World War II era U.S. bombs from the site, activists camped out in the cold for three days and nights while allies in Florence and a small town near Naples conducted simultaneous protests in front of the company's offices. The company backed off and has suspended the work. And a small town outside Vicenza has now refused to allow the United States to construct a residential village for troops.
[…] Saturday, December 15th, 2007, was predicted to be the coldest day Vicenza had seen. It snowed lightly in the morning.... But as the march proceeded ... it became clear that, without any advertising, and with negative or nonexistent media coverage, over 80,000 people had turned out in this conservative city with no university and no protest tradition. And there was no counter-protest whatsoever.
At the end of the march, the crowd poured into a piazza to hear speeches from playwright Dario Fo, Catholic priest Don Gallo, event organizer Cinzia Bottene, American Code Pink activist Desiree Fairooz (famous around the globe for holding blood-colored hands up to Condoleezza Rice) and others. Desiree was wonderful despite being moved to tears by the thought of whose fault it was that Italians and others around the world must hold these protests.
[…] citizens maintain a 24-7 presence on the edge of the site in their "permanent" fort, consisting of large white tents and trailers. The tents have heat, electricity, light, a sound system, a kitchen, and a store selling every possible article with the anti-base label "No Dal Molin." A trailer has a radio station. There are not, however, places for large numbers of activists from out of town to sleep. So, in addition to hosting guests in homes, the No Dal Molin movement, in preparation for Saturday's march seized an abandoned Italian military barracks. Activists then contacted the police offering to pay the utility bills for three days and give the place a major cleaning. The police left them alone.
[…] Citizens of the Czech Republic learned that a base was being planned in their area. The absurd U.S. line is that this base is needed to protect against attacks from North Korea and Iran. But, in a public vote, 99 percent of residents of the area opposed the construction of a base. A group of town mayors in the area formed an alliance to speak out against the base. It has not been built.
[…] When I asked Cinzia what she would do if they chose to build the base in Romania, she replied "We'll go train the Romanians."
[…] ONE THING YOU CAN DO:
One of the biggest local backers and profiteers of the proposed base at Dal Molin also profits when anyone buys a bottle of wine with the name Zonin on it. Don't buy any! You can find a list of brands not to buy at http://www.nodalmolin.it/
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/29388

No Basi USA In Italia!

United States Citizens for Peace & Justice is very active in promoting peace, supporting the grass roots movements to get US out of Italy, promote nuclear disarmament, basically all the good work we need to support. Anyone passing by might want to take time to join this demonstration. Italians, by and large want to be free of US intervention, and most have memories of games the CIA played during post-war elections. This could be the start of something very big.
Dear peace activists,
On Saturday, December 15 at 7am the USC4P&J Peace Bus takes off: destination Vicenza and the international demonstration against the new U.S. military base at Dal Molin! Seats are going fast. Reserve yours now:
http://webmaila.juno.com/webmail/new/8?folder=Inbox&msgNum=0000NLk0:0017MjL1000015uE&block=1&msgNature=all&msgStatus=all&count=1197183399&content=central. Cost E. 25-30. We will stay overnight and arrive back in Rome Sunday afternoon. The folks in Vicenza will do their best to provide accommodations; please let us know as soon as possible.
The aggressive policies of the U.S., which have been the focus of our group since the beginning, would not be possible without the logistical support provided by the network of U.S. military bases on foreign soil. Let's join the people of Vicenza in their determination to stop the construction of the new base at Dal Molin and throw a wrench into the gears of the war machine.
See the fantastic video ad produced by the Presidio Permanente No Dal Molin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2jrdTanHz4
Desiree Fairooz, the CodePink activist who confronted Condoleezza Rice with "blood" on her hands, will be there as well as David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and impeachment activist extraordinaire. Representatives of movements throughout Europe, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Hungary, will also be there. And Eve Tetaz is coming. She´s a 76-year-old activist from Washington DC who´s been arrested 9 times this year! She´s coming to Europe in order to stay out of trouble, but still plans to make good use of her time!
We´re also expecting others from the U.S. citizens groups in France and Germany.
Join us! Our voice is especially important here. And if we don´t stand up to the U.S. military in our free and democratic countries, how can we expect the oppressed peoples of the world to do so?
See our web site for more information on the 3-day mobilization: http://www.peaceandjustice.it/vicenza-dec-15.php
For any questions, contact us at: http://webmaila.juno.com/webmail/new/8?folder=Inbox&msgNum=0000NLk0:0017MjL1000015uE&block=1&msgNature=all&msgStatus=all&count=1197183399&content=central

NO War, NO Bases

APPEAL for European mobilization

From Vicenza to the rest of Europe

December 14-16, 2007

3 days of European mobilization in Vicenza

See below an appeal from the Presidio permanente No Dal Molin, the movement against a new U.S. military base in Vicenza, Italy. U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome has endorsed this demonstration.
For more than a year, the men and women of the city of Vicenza have been fighting against the construction of a gargantuan new US military structure which we do not want built either here or anywhere else. Our battle has brought together people from diverse political and cultural backgrounds with their own unique modes of expression and history. The roots of this struggle arise from the need to defend our homes, a determined NO to all war which is only a source of tragedy and hardship, and a call for peace. The politicians throughout this episode have tried to impose a choice to which the majority of locals remain strongly opposed. Both the left and the right have decided to go over the heads of the voters.
[…] For information, please write to mailto:international@nodalmoli.itor info@nodalmolin.it
http://www.peaceandjustice.it/vicenza-dec-15.php