Military

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and Code Pink invite Peter Schumann, director of the Bread and Puppet Theater, of Glover VT, to hand out his sourdough rye bread as part of an event in support of Bread not Bombs on Saturday, May 7th.

This is part of a nation wide movement - PeaceInUkraine - which calls for a ceasefire and a negotiated settlement in Ukraine.

Peter was born in Silesia, a region of Central Europe, now mainly in Poland. His recently deceased wife, Elka Schumann, has family in Russia.

Out of family concern, and also as a long time bread maker and peace activist, Schumann is deeply distressed with the war in Ukraine, its impact on the people, the climate, the world and bread making.

From the office of Senator Sanders:

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough this week will visit Vermont to tour some of the state’s VA medical facilities after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) invited him to see Vermont’s health care system for veterans first hand and hear directly from the veterans it serves. 

From VICII:

"Join VICII and Peter Lackowski, who has been visiting Venezuela since 2005, witnessing the effect that sanctions have had on that country and its revolution. Will sanctions continue to work for the US as they have in the past? Or will a new alignment of nations make sanctions ineffective?

As the war in Ukraine continues, the United States and its allies have put in place what they call "sanctions" against Russia. These are economically coercive measures that have become one of the principal means of exerting US power, and have caused considerable suffering among the populations of the targeted countries.

Since Venezuela has been subjected to US sanctions for several years, it is a good example to use in considering the phenomenon of sanctions. What is their purpose? How do they work? What are their effects? How can a country respond to them? Can they be overcome? What are the limitations on what can be accomplished by sanctions when they are applied to a country the size of Russia rather than a country like Venezuela? What about blowback--will sanctions on Russia end up damaging the economies of the US and its allies?"

For more information: vicii.org

On March 23, 2022 Arturo McFields, Nicaragua's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) resigned and denounced the Ortega government in Nicaragua for acting as a dictatorship, imprisoning hundreds, and effectively shutting down civil society, during a meeting at the OAS. Local writer and educator Trish O'Kane joins us to give an update on what this means and the current state of Nicaragua along with some historical context.

From Trish's website:

An environmental educator who uses action-research to promote environmental and social justice, Dr. Trish O’Kane created the “Birding to Change the World” service learning course and program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while completing her doctorate. She believes in harnessing the power of passionate, knowledgeable and energetic students to help solve community and global problems.

Before studying the natural sciences, Trish worked as a human and civil rights investigative journalist for a decade in Central America and five years in the Deep South. In Guatemala she worked for the United Nations investigating massacres perpetrated by the Guatemalan military. In Alabama, she conducted research on white supremacist groups for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Trish has also taught writing in a women's prison. Author of "Guatemala: The People, Politics and Culture," she has written for major media including The New York Times.

For more information: trishokane.org