ICPJE brings Cockburn as keynote speaker

Last weekend we participated in the annual meeting of the Illinois Coalition for Peace, Justice and the Environment, and for the opening keynote address, listened to Alexander Cockburn speak on sad state of the American left with Obama as president. I generally agree with him on his analysis of liberal capitulation to Obama's rightwing corporate agenda.

Rebuilding the anti-war movement

Renegades for Peace, a student group at Illinois Wesleyan, and the Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice (BNCPJ) hosted a panel forum on different perspectives against the current wars and occupations. The event was a huge success, bringing at least 30 people to discuss their opposition to the Afghanistan war, including a contingent from Peoria. The discussion was particularly interesting in that the participants were from both the left and right, all who converged on their opposition to American military interventions.

Prior to the event we had our monthly picketing against the wars and occupations. BNCPJ converges every first Thursday of the month at 5:30 pm, in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, downtown on Main Street.

Demand an end to war for X-mas

Who would Jesus bomb? "Peace on Earth" is an end to imperialist wars.

BNCPJ events

As we await Obama's decision on whether or not to escalate in Afghanistan, I thought I'd post our local anti-war group's actions in the upcoming year. I'm only guessing, but I think we'll need to build a much bigger anti-war movement.

All out for Oct. 17th!

Anti-war actions are scheduled in cities across the country this Saturday the 17th, organized by the National Assembly to End War and Occupation. Here in Bloomington-Normal, we're supporting the action in Peoria, leaving at 11 AM from the Center for the Performing Arts on East Street.

Three anti-war events tomorrow in Bloomington-Normal

At our last Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice meeting, we noticed that there are 3 conflicting anti-war event happening in town this Wednesday (10/7/09), marking the 8th anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. Wow, that's a lot of activity for a town this size! Check out the three events at the BNCPJ website. I still haven't made up my mind if I'll attend the student vigil at Wesleyan or the ACLU talk on Guantanamo.

Hope is in the streets

These great pictures of the Pittsburg G20 protests, taken by photographer Jon Pratt, uplifted my spirits. On not so positive of a note, Cindy Sheehan comments on her blog on the authoritarian police presence in Pittsburg.

For an overview, here is the New York Times coverage.

National day of action against the Iraq and Afpak wars

Organized by the National Assembly Against the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Oct. 17th is the next day of protest against what is now Obama's war. This time around, actions will be local and regional across the country. Here in Bloomington-Normal, we're going to organize a caravan to support the Peoria Oct. 17 protest, and invite other peace groups in Central IL to attend as well.

Excellent anti-war interviews on DN!

In the latest Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman interviews a number of Iraq War veterans speaking out against war and occupation. I've linked to one of the interviews, but they are all excellent.

BNCPJ protesting the Afpak and Iraq occupations

Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice (BNCPJ) at the monthly anti-war rally at the Bloomington Post Office, May 19, 2009.