Dear fellow TuneInTurnOnHelpOut peeps,

United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is an organization which gets a lot of support from us around here. For many reasons. One of its principles, Bill Dobbs, had a good hand in turning me on to what activism was really all about. I had some opportunity to watch him in action during an organized Free Trade protest event that lasted days and days a few years back and the man was just tireless. Absolutely persistent, relentless, and committed to the goal of helping to get the word out to the mass media and to the world at large about the potential dangers and pitfalls of Free Trade. I learned much from watching him work. It taught me a lot about what it means to be “an activist.”

Since that time, I have been a UFPJ member and supporter when i could be, and at the very least always try to get the word out on what they are up to. Because what they are up to is always about “us” — their main concern is helping us even during times when we may not be aware of a potential problem yet. Such as right this very minute congress is about to vote on another bill to give the “white house” more money to continue to illegally occupy another country. Now this is some tricky stuff of course. Because Iraq really is no longer another country since we took it over. It now essentially belongs to us if we’re all going to just be honest here. And yes there is also the fact that if we leave, though what the US White House Administration did was illegal and immoral and grossly barbaric, we take the risk of this new Nation falling into the hands of some who may not have our best interest at heart. This argument may be where I and UFPJ differ. I am against the invasion of Iraq. Read the statement above again. But I also understand that we just blew a hole in that part of the world the size of, well, a small country, and we don’t want to leave a gaping wound for just anyone to come and fix up. This poses a huge security risk for us and other EU nations. Unfortunately it was us who started this war, and now we are going to have to be the ones who resolve things over there until the job is done.

But at the same time, I recognize that UFPJ has been very supportive of this group of Iraq Veterans Against the War — these are the actual soldiers who have been serving over there on our behalf. If you go to YouTube, you can spend a good number of hours watching them speak right into the camera about what it is like over there. I highly recomened it. Both veterans still there, and veterans now home. Both veterans for the invasion and veterans against it. It is a good idea to get THEIR side of the story since after all they are the ones over their risking their lives, getting killed, and getting hurt, injured, deformed, and maimed for life. (more…)

Dear friends,

Burma has been devastated by a cyclone–and by the military junta’s failure to help its people cope. Help raise relief funds for distribution by Burma’s monks networks:

In the wake of a massive cyclone, at least 22,000 Burmese are dead. More than 40,000 are missing. A million are homeless.

But what’s happening in Burma is not just a natural disaster–it’s also a catastrophe of bad leadership.

Burma’s brutal and corrupt military junta failed to warn the people, failed to evacuate any areas, and suppressed freedom of communication so that Burmese people didn’t know the storm was coming when the rest of the world did. Now the government is failing to respond to the disaster and obstructing international aid organizations.

Humanitarian relief is urgently needed, but Burma’s government could easily delay, divert or misuse any aid. Today the International Burmese Monks Organization, including many leaders of the democracy protests last fall, launched a new effort to provide relief through Burma’s powerful grass roots network of monasteries–the most trusted institutions in the country and currently the only source of housing and support in many devastated communities. Click below to help the Burmese people with a donation and see a video appeal to Avaaz from a leader of the monks:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/6.php?cl=86576834

Giving to the monks is a smart, fast way to get aid directly to Burma’s people. Governments and international aid organizations are important, but face cahllenges–they may not be allowed into Burma, or they may be forced to provide aid according to the junta’s rules. And most will have to spend large amounts of money just setting up operations in the country. The monks are already on the front lines of the aid effort–housing, feeding, and supporting the victims of the cyclone since the day it struck. The International Burmese Monks Organization will send money directly to each monastery through their own networks, bypassing regime controls.

Last year, more than 800,000 of us around the world stood with the Burmese people as they rose up against the military dictatorship. The government lost no time then in dispatching its armies to ruthlessly crush the nonviolent democracy movement–but now, as tens of thousands die, the junta’s response is slow and threatens to divert precious aid into the corrupt regime’s pockets.

The monks are unlikely to receive aid from governments or large humanitarian organizations, but they have a stronger presence and trust among the Burmese people than both. If we all chip in a little bit, we can help them to make a big difference.

Click here to donate:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/6.php?cl=86576834

With hope,

Ricken, Ben, Graziela, Paul, Iain, Veronique, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team

PS: Here are some links to more information:

For more information about Avaaz’s work to support the Burmese people, click here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_report_back/
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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means “voice” in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.