*IMMEDIATE CHANGE* Back to Monday Meetings

Chicago World Can't Wait meets Mondays at 6:30PM at:
Nesh Mediterranean Grill, 734 W. Fullerton Pkwy, Chicago 60614
just east of Halsted and the Fullerton stop on the Brown-Red line


Sign the Call

YOUR GOVERNMENT, on the basis of outrageous lies, is waging a murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq, with other countries in their sights.
(more...)

From the Seattle Chapter: put our Call to the test


Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter

Click here.

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News from the Chicago Chapter
 

In a recent national newsletter from World Can't Wait, we announced that we can not afford to wait for those in power to bring the Gulf oil disaster to an end, and that we need to go down there and start affecting change ourselves.

So World Can't Wait has joined a coalition of scientists, environmental activists, local fishing people of the Gulf, Cindy Sheehan, Larry Everest, and many others, to form the Emergency Committee to Stop The Gulf Oil Disaster. Click here to sign the mission statement, and watch the video that BP doesn't want anyone to see.

Also, if you feel you have energy and/or skills (students?...) to contribute to this effort, please click here for more information.

PROTEST BP'S DISASTER IN THE GULF!

WHEN: TUESDAY, JULY 6, 4:30PM

WHERE: TRIBUNE TOWER

WHO: Chicago Committee on the Gulf Crisis

Not only is BP destroying the Gulf, but it's transporting dirty tar sands for refining on the shores of Lake Michigan as well. What happened? How did BP shift from being the "cleaner" of the energy companies, to *this*?

It's time we start asking the hard questions and demanding real answers:

  • Why were federal regulations ignored? And who in government allowed this?
  • People died on that rig. BP and the regulators knew regulations were ignored. Why aren't people in jail for this?
  • Will those people who lose their livelihood in the Gulf be fully compensated for a lifetime of loss?

Join us to show your outrage at the lack of federal regulation and corporate responsibility that allowed this tragedy to happen! Let's open a discussion about the local issues of this disaster raises, from the pollution of coal fired power plants in Pilsen and environmental racism, to the tar sands brought to the shores of Lake Michigan, to organizing around the Clean Power Ordinance. We invite everyone to come and voice your concerns and share ideas for action.

We demand:

  • Begin aggressive and full enforcement of government regulations on all energy companies
  • Stop all off-shore drilling until we know it is safe
  • Hold fully acountable all those who damage our environment
  • Stop piping or shipping of tar sands into, through, or near the Great Lakes - 20% of the Planet's surface fresh water, and drinking supply of tens of millions of people!
  • Immediate and full compensation for all parties affected by the Gulf leak - we will not tolerate another Katrina response!

Organized by the Chicago Committee on the Gulf Crisis; for more info, contact chicago.savethegulf.committee@gmail.com

 

"We beat our Mother and now she will bleed until we can't breath.

BP may have struck the blow, but I sat silent in my apartment below."

 


If not you, who?
The war-profiteering forces we are fighting have the most powerful and well-funded corporations in the world supporting them.
The anti-war movement is funded by us.
Please consider helping fund the movement.
Any amount would be a tremendous help.

World Can't Wait - National: http://www.worldcantwait.org 866.973.4463
Chicago Chapter: chicago@worldcantwait.org 773-227-2453 chicagoworldcantwait.org
Meeting on Mondays at 6:30pm.
Meeting venue is Nesh Cafe at 734 W. Fullerton, Chicago IL 60614
It's on the north side Fullerton, three blocks east of the Fullerton Red line stop.

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... and keep a look-out for reports back from Chicago visits from We Are Not Your Soldiers!!!

Chicago WANYS has been busy lately with classes and afterschool centers all over the city. Keep your eyes peeled for a report back and testimonials from the students!


JUNE IS THE MONTH to reconnect, revitalize, and resist! If you're tired, we have four events below to heal your soul, feed your mind, and empower your heart. Keep struggling against the crimes of our government, our world can't wait!

TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS

WHEN: Saturday, June 19th, 9am-9pm

WHERE: Marquette Park, Chicago, IL

COST: FREE! (*donations strongly suggested*)

20,000 people. 200 vendors.

100 artists. 4 stages.

1 day.

Join the World Can't Wait at Iman's annual outdoor festival, Takin' It To The Streets 2010!

Takin' It to the Streets is a Muslim-led festival where artistic expression, spirituality and urban creativity inspire social change. Takin' It to the Streets bridges today's cultural divides by connecting diverse racial, ethnic, and religious communities through a dynamic festival. The festival will enrich cross-cultural community building not only in Chicago, but around the world. Featured artists include Grammy winner Mos Def, Brother Ali, Tinarwein (Mali), Chabab al Anadalous (Morocco). Find the World Can't Wait at our booth where we will have flyers, an art activity and our new We Are Not Your Soldiers t-shirts for sale!

U.S SOCIAL FORUM

WHEN: June 22-26

WHERE: Cobo Hall, Washington Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226

Join us at the US Social Forum! In these days of unending oil leaks, illegal occupations and assaults on education (just to name a few problems!), it is so critical that those of us determined to resist and build a better world share, listen, and support each other! This forum is a wonderful chance to build with activists and grassroots organizations from all over the country.

"It is not a conference but it is a space to come up with the peoples' solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is the next most important step in our struggle to build a powerful, multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational, diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this country and changes history." - ussf2010.com

Don't miss Elaine Bower of the World Can't Wait steering committee speaking at the People's Movement Assembly Against the Wars and Occupations organized by the National AssemblyOn Thursday, 06/24/2010 - 1:00pm to 5:00pm. Click here for more information.

And check out our workshops:

We Are Not Your Soldiers - Bringing Reality and Resistance into Classrooms with Anti-War Veterans: Wednesday, 06/23/2010 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Standing Up for Women's Right to Abortion in 2010: Wednesday, 06/23/2010 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Would you like to volunteer with World Can't Wait at the forum? Please contact us at chicago@worldcantwait.org or 773-227-2453.

Transportation: The USSF website has references for transportation. Also, bus tickets are available at http://us.megabus.com/. By car the trip is only about 4.5 hours each way!

If not you, who? The murderous, pro-war interests we are battling dominate us as a people because of the massive wealth and power they wield. It's up to us to fund the anti-war movement. Anything you can afford would be a huge help.

Chicago Chapter, The World Can't Wait!

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j31a

"We are not your soldiers,
Though we march mechanically,
Strangle sand cities into surrendering with
Suffocating bullet shells
Creating inescapable hells in the passageways
Of our permanent post traumatic minds"

- LaLa Bolander

Have you invited the We Are Not Your Soldiers Tour to your class, church or center?
Don't sleep --- Across the country teachers, students and parents are calling for a stop to the increasing recruitment in schools and communities.
The We Are Not Your Soldiers tour brings a war vet and an activist into classrooms to open up discussion on the wars and dig into the truth about military service.
On TV and the internet we are bombarded with glamorized images of what war is and what it means to be a soldier.
On the streets and in schools recruiters prey on those youth with less opportunity, lying about fully paid for college tuition.
About $24,000 is spent per EACH recruit while public schools suffer from lack of funds.
Our youth and our communities deserve the truth!
Tour includes facilitated discussion about the facts about the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and on-the-ground testimony.
It ties the illegal wars to military recruitment at home with emphasis on who gets targeted for recruitment and why.
Finally, it challenges youth to say "We Are Not Your Soldiers!" and organize to resist recruitment in their neighborhoods and in their schools.

In the last several months presentations have been on-going in Chicago, Cleveland and Columbus. Just last week members of the tour visited California , stopping in San Leandro , Los Angeles and Santa Barbara and presented to 200 over students!
Check out the latest report at: "We Are NOT your Soldiers!" Get hooked up on WANYS Tour!
In June the Chicago tour will do another series locally at high schools and community centers.
Please contact us at chicago@worldcantwait.org or 773-227-2453 if you would like to get involved or to schedule a stop on the tour!

WE ARE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

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Join Us at National Premier of "Drugs and Death in Bagram"

Film documents a Father's Struggle to Expose US Military Cover-up of Soldier Son's Death in Afghanistan

"Drugs and Death in Bagram," a new documentary film about a father's quest for the truth about his soldier son's death in Afghanistan, will premier in the United States in Chicago on:
Thursday, May 27 at 6:30PM
--- with a second showing scheduled for:
Saturday, May 29 at 6:00PM

Both screenings will be held at DePaul University in the Schmitt Academic Center (SAC) located at:
2320 North Kenmore Avenue, #154.
The screening is free and open to the public.

The film documents six years of tireless struggle by Chicago immigrant Juan Torres as he seeks to learn the truth about his son's death in Afghanistan in 2004. Juan dared to challenge the United States military to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his only son John, and in the process uncovered an extensive military cover-up and a preventable death.

The Torres case also serves as a cautionary tale for young people who are considering enlisting for the United States' "good war" in Afghanistan. The fallout for families can be devastating. "My American Dream is over," said Juan Torres, after discovering the truth behind the death of his son.

:More about the film at: "Drugs and Death at Bagram"

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Seize BP!
National Day of Action
Wed, May 12 - Protest in Chicago
World Can't Wait - Chicago Chapter supports this Action 

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What each of us can do

The response to the Seize BP campaign has been tremendous. In the first day alone, thousands of people have signed the petition supporting the seizure of BP's assets to provide comprehensive compensation and relief for all affected people and for cleaning up the environment. Let's get tens of thousands to sign the petition in the coming days.

As we predicted, BP executives are now hedging and refusing to commit to pay for all damages caused by their reckless and criminal action.

It’s time to take to the streets and demand the immediate seizure of BP’s assets. In cities and towns around the country, people will take to the streets on Wednesday, May 12 at BP offices and other locations around the country.

See below for Chicago demonstration that has already been scheduled. A regularly updated list is available at www.SeizeBP.org. If there isn’t an event taking place in your city or town, organize one and fill out our Event Listing Form so we can help spread the word.

ILLINOIS

Chicago, IL
Wednesday, May 12 at 5:30 pm
BP Offices in Chicago
Corner of Michigan & Randolph
For More Info contact Answer at: 773-463-0311, answer@chicagoanswer.net

If you are organizing a demonstration, please visit our Downloads Page for flyers, petitions and signs.

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WCW CHICAGO CHAPTER MARCHES IN 20,000 STRONG MAY DAY RALLY

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News from the Chicago Chapter
 

War Veterans & Resisters Are Calling ALL of Us:

"All Out to March 20th National March in Washington, DC!

Watch this powerful video, spread the link, and come to Washington on March 20 to tell the world, these wars are NOT being fought in OUR name, no matter who is president!

Matthis Chiroux, Iraq war vet, being arrested for protesting outside West Point when President Obama announced his escalation of the war in Afghanistan, December 2009.

A few questions . . .

1.) Are you tired of endless, imperialist wars fought in your name?

2.) Do you live in Chicago?

3.) Do you like fun?

If you answered "Yes!" to any of the above questions, then you NEED to be at 

What: "SPRING UP! Against War" Fundraising PARTY

When: Friday, March 5th 9pm to ???

Where: ACME, 1741 N. Western Ave

So here's the deal with this event. Two days after the anti-war march in Chicago on March 18 (more about that below), there is going to be another enormous national anti-war march on the White House in Washington on March 20. This is the seventh anniversary of the invasion of Iraq! Thousands of people travelling from all over the country will converge on Washington to express our collective disgust with Obama's wars all over the Middle East. World Can't Wait knows several people, including students and unemployed, who can and very much want to go but can't cover the cost of the ticket to get them there and back.

That is the purpose of this event. We are sending activists to Washington to represent everyone in Chicago who is sick to death of these murderous wars being carried out in their names. And you can buy your ticket to come to DC at the party too! Not only will this be for a really great, relevant cause that we know you care about, this will also be a bumpin' party. There will be art, food and drink (feel free to contribute to the potluck), and DJ Intercourse will be rocking booties all night. You are probably going to go out next Friday anyway, just make it to this party. We promise it will be a killer time, and you'll be sending people to Washington to represent all of us in Chicago.

THERE IS SIMPLY NOTHING NOT AWESOME ABOUT THIS PARTY. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN TOWN, YOU NEED TO BE THERE!

also. . .

MARCH 18TH ANTI-WAR MARCH ON MICHIGAN AVE., CHICAGO

The City has granted a parade permit for the anti-war march on the evening of Thursday, March 18th, beginning at 5:30 PM with a short rally at Federal Plaza (Adams & Dearborn) then going up Dearborn to Monroe, Monroe to Michigan, Michigan to Oak, and Oak and Dearborn over to Bughouse Square (Washington Sq Park, by the Newberry Library).

A broad coalition of groups and organizations will be participating. Join the World Can't Wait contingent to protest wars and occupations.

and. . .

MARCH 20TH NATIONAL ANTI-WAR MARCH IN WASHINGTON D.C.

Activists from hundreds of anti-war organizations from all over the country will be converging on Washington D.C. on the weekend of the 20th to march on the White House. Although it may difficult for many to attend, everyone is encouraged to join with the thousands of other people who are demanding an immediate end to these wars.

If not you, who?
The war-profiteering forces we are fighting against are funded by the most powerful and well-funded corporations in the world. The anti-war movement is funded by us. Please consider helping fund the movement. Any amount would be a tremendous help.
World Can't Wait - National: http://www.worldcantwait.org 866.973.4463
Chicago Chapter: chicago@worldcantwait.org 773-227-2453 chicagoworldcantwait.org
Meeting on Mondays at 6:30PM.
Meeting venue is Nesh Cafe at 734 W. Fullerton, Chicago IL 60614
It's on the north side Fullerton, three blocks east of the Fullerton Red line stop.

You are receiving this email because [[Email]] is subscribed to this email announcement list.
If you would like to unsubscribe click here.

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News from the Chicago Chapter
 

Murders at Guantanamo: Journalist, Scott Horton, Exposes Truth about 2006 "Suicides"

 Three men were tortured to death during interrogations by an unknown agency in a secretive block of Guantanamo prison. The three men were then made to look as if they took their own lives. These murders are still being covered up.

Click here to read a terrific, in-depth article on Scott Horton's work by World Can't Wait contributor, Andy Worthington.



Film Screening: Rethink Afghanistan

and discussion with:

H. Candace Gorman (her schedule permitting), human rights lawyer, representing two Guantanamo detainees

and other invited speakers

Cost: FREE!

Date: Saturday, February 6th

Time: 1:30pm - 5pm

Location: Near North Library Branch310 W. Division St. Chicago, IL 60610

Transportation: #70 Division, 2 blocks west of Clark/Division Red Line

At a time when the country faces a damaged reputation abroad and an economic catastrophe at home, expanding the war in Afghanistan only expands an illegitimate and immoral war with all the death and destruction that entails.

As a special engagement, the Chicago chapter of World Can't Wait is presenting the documentary film Rethink Afghanistan by Robert Greenwald. The film will be shown in its entirety (segments of the film have been available for viewing online at the above link).

Rethink Afghanistan focuses on the human and financial cost of combat to challenge the notion that Afghanistan is the "good war".  Instead, Greewald argues that troop escalation threatens to entrench America in a unwinnable, unwanted war that only further empowers the resurgent Taliban. Other award-winning films directed by Robert Greenwald include: Iraq For Sale, The War Profiteers; Wal-Mart, The High Cost of Low Price; and Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism; and more.

The film will be followed by discussion with H. Candace Gorman (her schedule permitting), Chicago Human Rights Lawyer, as well as other invited speakers. Ms. Gorman is currently handling habeas corpus petitions for 2 Guantanamo detainees and has visited her clients at the prison more than a dozen times. She has spoken on "Obama's Guantanamo: What Has and Has Not Happened Since Obama Took Office".

SAVE THE DATE . . .

MARCH 18TH ANTI-WAR ON MICHIGAN AVE., CHICAGO

The City has granted a parade permit for the anti-war march on the evening of Thursday, March 18th, beginning at 6:30 PM going up Dearborn to Monroe, Monroe to Michigan, Michigan to Oak, and Oak and Dearborn over to Bughouse Square (Washington Sq Park, by the Newberry Library).

A broad coalition of groups and organizations will be participating. Join the World Can't Wait contingent to protest wars and occupations.

If not you, who?
The war-profiteering forces we are fighting against are funded by the most powerful and well-funded corporations in the world. The anti-war movement is funded by us. Please consider helping fund the movement. Any amount would be a tremendous help.

World Can't Wait - National: http://www.worldcantwait.org 866.973.4463
Chicago Chapter: chicago@worldcantwait.org 773-227-2453 chicagoworldcantwait.org
Meeting on Mondays at 6:30pm.
Meeting venue is Nesh Cafe at 734 W. Fullerton, Chicago IL 60614
It's on the north side Fullerton, three blocks east of the Fullerton Red line stop.

You are receiving this email because [[Email]] is subscribed to this email announcement list.
If you would like to unsubscribe click here.

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Pervasive Censorship in The Information Age: Scripting the National Narrative

Unconvinced?

How serious is it?

What can we do?

How do we do it?

From the famous to the not-so-famous, nationwide and right in the Chicago Area (Marc Falkoff at McHenry College, Sunsara Taylor at the Ethical Humanist Society, two recent examples), scheduled speeches are cancelled, grants are withdrawn, articles are not accepted, venues are not available - voices are muted or silenced. A new McCarthyism, or bigger than Big Brother? What are the stakes for the future?

Join us for a lively uncensored discussion with Bill Ayers, Marc Falkoff, and Sunsara Taylor, who while unable to attend, has been invited to provide a statement.

7 pm on January 20 at the BooCoo Cafe, 1823 Church Street Evanston

Bill Ayers is Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholsar at the Universy of Illinois at Chicago (UIC); his most recent book, with Bernadine Dohrn, is Race Course: Against White Supremacy.

Marc Falkoff teaches law at Northern Illinois University School of Law, represents 16 Guantanamo detainees, and edited Poems from Guantanamo.

Sunsara Taylor writes for Revolution newspaper and is a member of the World Can't Wait national advisory board.

 

Guantanamo Bay Detention Center: 8 Years Too Long!


On January 11, 2002 the Bush Administration opened the doors of Guantanamo Detention Center in Cuba in an attempt to circumvent the Constitution and Geneva Conventions which both uphold the right of habeas corpus. They had kidnapped and rendered men and even some male children in the so-called "War on Terror" from all over the globe.
 
Many of those detained were turned over by war lords, tribal enemies, or vengeful neighbors to collect the financial reward promised by the U.S. to anyone with information on alleged terrorists. They were not, as many believe, captured on the battle field. 700 men taken from their lives and their families were denied the right to see or speak to the evidence being used to detain them. And in many cases, the "evidence" gathered on them was coerced through the use of torture. Many of them were released after years of detention without ever having been charged with the crime of terrorism.

200 men remain at Guantanamo. The Obama administration is now making a flimsy attempt to appease world public opinion. By closing Guantanamo, it hoped that America's reputation as a nation that champions human rights could be restored. However, as this so-called "War on Terror" is escalated in Afghanistan, Obama's promise to close Guantanamo on January 22 will be broken. Instead he and his administration vow to continue moving toward opening a "more than super max" prison in a portion of the Thomson Correctional Facility in Thomson, IL.
 
The Obama administration has confirmed that several dozen of these men will continue to be held indefinitely. The rest will be given military tribunals, and evidence obtained through torture can still be used against them. Why? Because despite Obama's amendments to the original Military Commisions Act and his denunciation of water boarding, he has never repudiated many of the inhumane techniques that the likes of Bush lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee deemed acceptable in the infamous torture memos.
 
People of conscience in this country must not remain silent. We must not let this stand!
 
Join World Can't Wait on Friday, Jan. 22 to demand:
Shut down Guantanamo - No More Guantanamos ANYWHERE!
We will meet at the Tribune Tower, 435 N. Michingan Ave, @ 4 pm
 
World Can't wait is also co-sponsoring a screening of the film Taxi to the Darkside at 2 pm, Sat. Jan 31, at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, organized by the Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice.
 
This past Sunday was the 8th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo, and in celebration many of us from Chicago World Can't Wait braved the cold and read poetry from the prisoners while others donned orange jumpsuits, Blackwater, and CIA uniforms and performed street theater depicting the violence around the downtown area. Even though it was cold, it was important that we were out and our message found many listeners who were disgusted as well. Here are some pictures of some of us in action.

If you missed the last time we screened this film, worry not. If you have not seen this documentary yet or are unclear about the illegality or immorality of our war in Afghanistan, YOU NEED TO SEE THIS.
 
SAVE THE DATE!!!
Saturday, Feb 6th @ 2 pm, at the Near North Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 310 W. Division St., Chicago.
 
If not you, who?
The war-profiteering forces we are fighting against are funded by the most powerful and well-funded corporations in the world. The anti-war movement is funded by us. Please consider helping fund the movement. Any amount would be a tremendous help.

World Can't Wait - National: http://www.worldcantwait.org 866.973.4463
Chicago Chapter: chicago@worldcantwait.org 773-227-2453 chicagoworldcantwait.org
Meeting on Mondays at 6:30pm.
Meeting venue is Nesh Cafe at 734 W. Fullerton, Chicago IL 60614
It's on the north side Fullerton, three blocks east of the Fullerton Red line stop.

You are receiving this email because [[Email]] is subscribed to this email announcement list.
If you would like to unsubscribe click here.

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THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS:

We Are Not Your Soldiers

At the recent Curriculum Fair in Pilsen sponsored by the organization Teachers For Justice, World Can't Wait's counter-recruitment group We Are Not Your Soldiers made many contacts with area high school teachers, and will be busy this spring making stops in Chicago high schools to spread the truth to youth about our illegal wars and recruitment lies. Keep an eye out for reports back.

Anniversaries. . .

Also, January 11 is the 8th anniversary of the opening of the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, and January 22 is Obama's MISSED SELF-IMPOSED DEADLINE TO CLOSE THE PRISON. To commemorate these anniversaries, World Can't Wait is currently orgranizing demonstrations to protest the prison's continued operation and flagrant violation of human rights. SAVE THESE DATES IN YOUR CALENDAR!


REPORT FROM . . .

Film Screening of "Rethink Afghanistan" and Discussion with H. Candace Gorman, Lawyer for Two Guantanamo Bay Detainees, and Anthony Wagner, Iraq War Veteran.

On Saturday, December 12, Chicago World Can't Wait hosted a screening of Robert Greenwald's documentary Rethink Afghanistan - a hard-hitting film that focuses on the human and financial costs of combat in the Middle East to challenge the notion that Afghanistan is "the good war." The screening was held at the Sulzer Regional Library on Chicago's north side.  The room was filled with people from the neighborhood as well as activists. During the screening, the room was hushed. The film contains unforgettable images of the suffering and casualties that have resulted from U.S. bombing in Afghanistan - hopeless children in bombed out villages without shoes, burn victims, broken bodies. Greenwald's film dissects the administration's justifications for this war while forcefully arguing that troop escalation threatens to entrench America in an unwinnable, unwanted war that only empowers the resurgent Taliban.

After the film, Candace Gorman talked about her experiences as legal counsel for two Guantanamo Bay detainees and shared her concerns regarding human rights abuses at U.S. prisons in Afghanistan. She explained how difficult it was to meet and talk with the detainees that she represents. Sadly, they are still in detention, without charges or trial. Anthony Wagner talked about his experiences as an Iraq War veteran and the difficulties veterans face with post traumatic stress syndrome and getting treatment. The audience asked Candace Gorman and Anthony Wagner many questions. Almost the entire crowd stayed for the discussion long after the film had ended. Most people didn't leave until the library closed. Clearly, this event was very engaging. Chicago World Can't Wait is planning to host more screenings of Rethink Afghanistan in other neighborhoods in the Chicago area.

Please, let us know if you would like us to help set up a screening in your area!

If not you, who?HAPPY NEW YEAR: DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!!

With news coming out everday of the Obama administration's failures to do anything to halt our wars, restore human rights, or maintain international law, the anti-war movement is more badly needed than ever, and it's up to us to fund it.

Plus, very few things are sweeter than taking money you would otherwise pay our government, and sticking to The Man by using that money to fight the lies and death our government carries out in our names.

HOLIDAY WISHLIST UPDATE: Many of the organizers for World Can't Wait in Chicago rely on the internet for most of the work we do. However, some of us do not have computers. If you have an old laptop/desktop laying around that isn't getting any use, we PROMISE we can put it to use. We could even come pick it up from you!

If you would like to help out, please call (773) 227-2453. Thanks!

Chicago Chapter, The World Can't Wait!

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  • ***NOTE: NEW MONDAY MEETING LOCATION AT Bourgeois Pig Cafe (see side bar to right)
  • NO SURGE IN AFGHANISTAN PROTEST
  • STOP PLANS TO BAN ABORTION
  • RETHINKING AFGHANISTAN: as Afghanis fighting for their National Liberation


Protest the Democrats' Abortion Ban.

What You Can Do to Protest the Stupak Amendment? Join Us at the Thompson Center, Randolph & Clark, 11:30 - 1 pm, Tuesday Dec. 2. We are proud to endorse  the STOP STUPAK action launched by the Illinois Choice Action Team - join us to stop the most dangerous threat to women's freedom in decades.

Why should anti-abortion fanatics in Congress - Democrats or Republicans - be allowed to set the terms for women's lives?
One house of Congress passed health care "reform" including the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that extends the federal ban on abortion to millions more women. Even women paying for private insurance plans with their own money will not be able to buy abortion coverage.

Theocrats who believe they are on a mission from God, who advocate the subjugation of women, and who think gay people should burn in hell won't back down without a fight. Now the Senate is debating health care reform. This abortion ban cannot stand!

We need to set our own terms with widespread resistance and visible protest. Send this email to everyone you know who believes women must have the right to determine their own future, including if and when to have children. Come out this Wednesday in Chicago and around the country this week.

World Can't Wait and NOW, the National Organization for Women, are calling for a national action in Washington, DC, on Dec. 2 from 11:30 to 1 pm. Spread the word, out into the streets for women's freedom!

No Surge In Afghanistan! 

Obama has said he's going to "finish the job" in Afghanistan and is poised to send tens of thousands more troops there. But "you don't end a war by sending more troops!" says Matthis Ciroux, Iraq war vet who refused to redeploy. Hear his comments and presentations by Debra Sweet, Mac Bica, and Andy Zee last Saturday at the World Can't Wait national conference in New York =>here.


Is this our war? Will we be complicit in our silence? Or will you join us in Chicago and around the country to say NO! The richest country in the world is destroying one of the poorest--not in our name! This war was wrong when Bush launched it, and it is wrong when Obama expands it, now including Blackwater's secret actions in Pakistan

This Friday, November 27, Chicago World Can't Wait will be protesting at State and Randolph, starting at noon. Join us for street theater, and bring your own signs. Thousands will be out who have never heard the truth about this illegitimate and immoral war for empire.

Here in Chicago, we have joined with dozens of other groups to call for a major protest at Federal Plaza, Adams & Dearborn, Chicago, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 5 pm. Join us there or organize your own wherever you are. Just be sure to let everyone know by posting your plans here.

As Debra Sweet, national director of WCW, has said, "No, these protests will not change the government's plans. They know the majority of people is now against the occupation of Afghanistan, and they are trying to change that by bullying their way through an illegitimate occupation.  The purpose of our protests is to reach the people! We must be visible, and send a message world-wide that there are people living in this country who say -- NO, not in our name!"

Send Us an E-mail => Chicago Chapter, The World Can't Wait!

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  • RETHINKING AFGHANISTAN: as Afghanis fighting for their National Liberation
  • ___________________________________________
    Robert Baer: What We're Up Against In Afghanistan Is A "War Of National Resistance" -Huffington Post

    In the latest video from the Brave New Foundation's "Rethink Afghanistan" project, former CIA agent Robert Bear says that what the U.S. faces when it comes to the Afghan insurgency isn't terrorism, but a war of national resistance. "The people that want their country liberated from the West have nothing to do with Al Qaeda," Baer says. "They simply want us gone because we're foreigners, and they're rallying behind the Taliban because the Taliban are experienced, effective fighters." Because these insurgents see the U.S. as a colonial force, Baer says, they are unlikely to ever rally around the Afghan national army the U.S. is looking to establish. "This is an occupying force," explains Matthew Hoh, a former U.S. official in Afghanistan who resigned last month over the war. "The Afghan National Army is led by Tajiks and Uzbeks and urban Pashtuns, and it is occupying the rural Pashtun South." This is why the U.S. should ask itself, Hoh says, "do we want to support one side in a civil war?"

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    • ***NOTE: NEW MONDAY MEETING LOCATION AT Bourgeois Pig Cafe (see side bar to right)
    • Emergency Protest on Day after Obama Announces HIS 34,000 Troop Afghan escalation

    Escalation of Death in Afghanistan?

    The U.S. war in Afghanistan is over 8 years old and a certified disaster for Afghani civilians and Western troops alike. Ignoring the an anti-war majority in the United States that elected him, Obama is now about to authorize an Afghan deployment of tens of thousands more troops and will be urging already reluctant allies to do the same. Besides causing more death and destruction, this surge will only reinforce Afghanis' legitimate hatred of the decades of foreign domination that their country has endured. Billions will once again be sucked into the military budget vortex, instead of healthcare, jobs, education and housing both for the rebuilding of Afghanistan and the U.S. economy.

    Instead of CHANGE, Obama has further escalated the record military spending of the previous administration. Like another foreign occupation about a half century ago in Vietnam, a corrupt local government awash in the drugs trade will do the bidding not of its own people, but of a foreign government thousands of miles away.

    We call on all Chicago area people to join in an
    Emergency Response Protest on DEC 2ND at 5PM.
    following President Obama's Dec. 1ST announcement of HIS troop surge into Afghanistan, with our demands:
    Bring all the troops home now! ----- Funding for human needs, not war!

    At 5 PM on Wed. DEC. 2ND
    Emergency Protest
    Federal Plaza
    Corner of Dearborn and Adams Streets, Chicago

    Another Follow-up Protest will also be held at:
    12 NOON on Saturday Dec 5TH
    Also at Federal Plaza - Corner of Dearborn and Adams Streets, Chicago

    Please join the Facebook event group to receive immediate notice of the impending actions: "HERE"

    Currently the following organizations have endorsed this call: Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice Chicago Area CodePINK Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism Chicago Committee to Bring the Troops Home Now Chicago Democratic Socialists of America Chicago World Can't Wait Gay Liberation Network International Socialist Organization Logan Square Neighbors for Justice and Peace Neighbors for Peace News and Letters Committees North Shore Coalition for Justice, Peace and the Environment Peace Pledge Southsiders for Peace Tikkun Community-Chicago Chapter If your community, religious, labor or political organization would like to be listed as a signer of this call, please email CCAWR@aol.com

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    Help Us Bring the Truth about Recruitment to School!

    Activists with the Chicago chapter of The World Can't Wait have been speaking in high school classes, at a Chicago college, and a youth after-school program, bringing the truth about ongoing wars and recruitment that is systematically kept from these young people, the ones who will be top candidates for the next troop escalation in Afghanistan. We work with Iraq war vets and use moving episodes from This is Where We Take Our Stand, edited segments of the Winter Soldier hearings held by Iraq Veterans Against the War.

    Teachers, counselors, youth organizers: Please take a moment to read this letter "To Socially Conscious Educators," and send us your ideas about working together to prevent more young people from enlisting for war crimes and mobilize a new generation to stop these wars and occupations.

    Join the movement on Facebook too!


    Escalation of Death in Afghanistan?

    On Monday, September 21, the Washington Post carried a front-page story based on a leaked report by General Stanley McChrystal arguing for even greater troop increases in Afghanistan, on top of the more than 20,000 additional troops already authorized this summer by the Obama administration. We aren't crystal ball gazers but all signals point to significant US troop increases ahead. Will the Democratic-controlled Congress stand in the way? Hardly. Read "McChrystal Report Leaked to Advance Escalation of Afghan War" by Kenneth J. Theisen to see why.

    And if you've wondered whether withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan would endanger the lives of women there, consider Lina Thorne's piece,

    "US War, Occupation Deepen the Bitter Oppression of Afghanistan's Women: This Must End!

    We don't know when Gen. McChrystal will submit his request, or how the debates in the Pentagon and Congress will be resolved. But we do know that no significant faction in power is arguing to end the war. It's on us to organize to end this war and the other wars and occupations of the "war of terror." Until a mass movement of resistance is built, the death and destruction will continue for the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other nations.






    Tuesday, October 6, 2009: Protest on the 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan - No Escalation! End Wars,  Occupations and Torture for Empire Now!

    On Monday, October 5, a mass protest and non-violent civil resistance action is planned in Washington, DC at the US House offices and the White House to mark the US occupation of Afghanistan, which began that week in 2001.

    HERE in Chicago, we will be rallying on October 6, 4 pm to 6 pm, at the Thompson Center, Randolph & CLARK, in the Loop.  We are reaching out to high school and college students, organizing a movement of resistance to military recruitment, that will culminate in a rally and outpouring of protest and opposition to continuing wars, occupations and torture on October 6th. If you voted for Obama, a debate over massive troop escalation OR even more drone attacks on civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan is surely not the "change" you wanted. Now is the time to join and build this movement. National and local resources are available. Write us with your thoughts on the continuing, and expanding, war in Afghanistan and your ideas for October 6.

    Click Here=> Eight Years of war in Afghanistan for what? to download a two fliers (NON-FUZZY) per page PDF file to print, post, and hand out.

    Click Here=> Same War - We Are NOT Your Soldiers for another two fliers per page PDF file to print, post, and hand out.


    Chicago WCW also endorses these other protests against wars and occupation on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the initial US attack on Afghanistan:

    Details and Flier for: SAT., OCT. 3RD 1PM HYDE PARK, MARCH NEAR OBAMA HOME , Chicago.

    DETAILS for: WED., OCT. 7TH 5PM at Water Tower Park, North Michigan Ave, CHICAGO A.N.S.W.E.R. -Act Now to End War & Racism ,

    We welcome these additional opportunities to protest and build resistance, whatever your schedule!



    "No Common Ground with Christian Fascists - LGBT Rights NOW!"


    If not you, who?World Can't Wait proudly endorses the LGBT Equality March on Washington D.C. on October 10/11. We support the just demand for marriage equality for gay and lesbian partners and repeal of the "Defense of Marriage Act."  We further support the right to adopt children and an end to work place discrimination; strengthening hate crime legislation; and demand an end to ripping families apart due to ICE's (Immigration Control & Enforcement) refusal to recognize gay couples. Buses are being organized from Chicago leaving Saturday Oct 10 and returning early morning October 12, and tickets are available here. Young people active with the World Can't Wait want to be part of this national outpouring but they need your help to get to Washington, DC. Please donate whatever you can to make this happen--and thank you!

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    You're a Hero Too!

    Several activists with the Chicago chapter of The World Can't Wait were part of the national mobilization that successfully defended Dr. LeRoy Carhart's Abortion & Contraception Clinic of Nebraska in Bellevue, Nebraska, on August 28 & 29 - because many of you showed your support by contributing to our expenses!

    We were a Columbia College videographer, two young people currently unemployed (like millions of others), the only legal observer at the clinic for the protests, and others. Our transportation expenses topped $1000. We relied on you to understand the importance of defending Dr. Carhart right now,  and you came through. Now please consider enrolling to make a monthly contribution of whatever amount you can spare to ensure that all the critical work of the World Can't Wait can continue.


    Clinic defenders, Bellevue, NE, Aug 2009

    Report Back from Nebraska!

     Come hear from women and men who participated in the defense of Dr. LeRoy Carhart's clinic against Operation (Anti-Woman, Kill Doctors) Rescue report back on the successful national mobilization. Dr. Leroy Carhart, an outspoken advocate for women's rights, has been targeted because he continues to provide late-abortion services, stepping up to fill the great need left by the murder of Dr. Tiller in Wichita, KS, on May 31. For more on the significance of this national mobilization, please read the report by Lina Thorne of Chicago WCW and the letter from Debra Sweet, our national director.

    Reports will be presented by members of the Chicago chapter of the World Can't Wait, supporters of Revolution newspaper; video reportage by Heather Ault, artist, activist, and graduate student at the School of Art and Design, Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Kevin Gosztola, Columbia College film students; and analysis from Nik Stein, National Lawyers Guild legal observer at the August 28/29 protests.

    Join us to analyze the situation at this juncture, to strategize about where we go from here to build a larger movement and reframe the abortion debate. Our victory in keeping Dr. Carhart's clinic open last month must be one of many more!

    We are meeting at I Space Gallery, 230 W. Superior (2nd floor), Chicago, after the
    2 pm Artist Talk & Book Release with Suzann Gage. This California-based nurse practitioner and holistic health professional discusses her influential medical illustrations from the book, New Views of a Woman's Body (Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers, 1981).

    I Space Gallery is hosting EveryBody!: Visual resistance in feminist health movements, 1969-2009 from September 11-October 10, 2009. Everybody! Explores how feelings, theories, and actions are shaped into the creation of a place where all bodies are celebrated and health care is a human right.


    See You at Fighting Bob Fest this Saturday!

    The most progressive event in Wisconsin every year is Fighting Bob Fest near Madison, Wisconsin. Fighting Bob Fest has grown every year and is probably the largest annual political festival in the United States. Members of Chicago World Can't Wait will be taking a road trip to Fighting Bob Fest this Saturday,  Sept. 12, held at the Sauk County Fairgrounds in Barbaboo, WI  (www.fightingbobfest.org). Come visit us at our World Can't Wait table to connect with others and spread the word about the protest on Oct. 6 and We Are Not Your Soldiers movement.

    Highlights this year will include speeches by JEREMY SCAHILL, author of the international best-seller "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" and frequent contributor to The Nation magazine, and GREG PALAST, author of the bestsellers "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" and "Armed Madhouse" and reporter for BBC-TV.

    If not you, who?


    Save the date: October 6, 2009, the 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan

    The Obama administration rode in on a wave of disgust with the Bush regime and now the Democrats control Congress...and there is no real change! Instead, the war in Afghanistan is expanding, drones attack Pakistan, and the troops are shifted, not withdrawn, in Iraq. Politics as usual will not reverse this disastrous course. A new report by David Goodman in Mother Jones magazine, A Few Good Kids?, reveals how the military spies on our children and spends $24,000 to recruit each new soldier to fight these expanding wars!

    On Monday, October 5, a mass protest and non-violent civil resistance action is planned in Washington, DC at the US House offices and the White House to mark the US occupation of Afghanistan, which began that week in 2001.

    HERE in Chicago, we will be mobilizing for October 6, the EIGHTH anniversary of the start of the US war on Afghanistan, with a special focus on building resistance to military recruitment in our schools. We have reserved a permit for Federal Plaza at 4pm on Tuesday, Oct. 6th.

    CALLING ALL STUDENTS, TEACHERS & FRIENDS: If you are a student, a teacher or know students and teachers who, like you, will want to open students' eyes to the truth of this "war OF terror," please contact us with your ideas and suggestions. Email us at chicago@worldcantwait.org today.


    "No Common Ground with Christian Fascists - LGBT Rights NOW!"


    World Can't Wait proudly endorses the LGBT Equality March on Washington D.C. on October 10/11. We support the just demand for marriage equality for gay and lesbian partners and repeal of the "Defense of Marriage Act."  We further support the right to adopt children and an end to work place discrimination; strengthening hate crime legislation; and demand an end to ripping families apart due to ICE's (Immigration Control & Enforcement) refusal to recognize gay couples. Be there!

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    Come to Nebraska or help others get there!
    Save the date: October 6, 2009, the 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan
    View from Guantanamo: A Conversation with Andy Worthington

    GET ON THE BUS!

    There will be at least one bus traveling from Chicago to Nebraska to bring people to the clinic beseiged by anti-women, anti-gay Christian right-wingers who, as Dr. Carhart said, "want to put me out of business or kill me, one of the two."

    Be there to protect this heroic doctor and stand up for women everywhere. Plans as of today are to leave Chicago Thursday night, arrive in Nebraska Friday morning on Aug. 28th, and leave Saturday night, returning to Chicago very early on Sunday morning Aug. 29th.

    Get your ticket now! Email us at chicago@worldcantwait.org, call us at 773-227-2453, paypal us the money here, or email the Dupage Co. NOW president, Michelle Fadeley at glitterspark37@yahoo.com to pay in person.
    Contact us asap if you want to go and need a sponsor for the ticket.

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    Come to Nebraska or help others get there!

    Dr. George Tiller's Wichita clinic, which cared for tens of thousands of women over thirty-six years, was closed a week after he was assassinated on May 31, shot in the head at close range. One of his colleagues, Dr. Leroy Carhart, an outspoken advocate for women's rights, has asserted that he will care for Dr. Tiller's patients and continue the provision of late-abortion services, stepping forward to fill the great need left by Tiller's absence. He had worked at Dr. Tiller's clinic, as well as his own clinic in Bellevue, Nebraska. In 1991, his home and barn were burned tDr. Leroy Carharto the ground in an arson claimed by anti-abortion activists.  This spurred Dr. Carhart to devote more of his practice to providing abortions, and to challenge laws restricting abortion access.? ?This brave stance on the part of this 67 yr. old doctor was Operation Rescue's cue to turn all attention to him as their next "target #1." To that end, they have announced their "visit" to Dr. Carhart's clinic the weekend of August 28 and 29 for "rescue outreach" and a "rally for victory," with the aim of closing down his clinic also. They have years of practice conducting this "rescue" outside Dr. Tiller's clinic, using giant grotesque images of gore to harass patients, throngs of hysterical zombies throwing themselves in front of cars, and "counseling" women entering the parking lot by screaming at them, lying about what kind of help they would offer, and doing all this in the name of a hateful brand of Christianity.

    Read about Dr. Carhart in Newsweek. View the local news coverage of the developing situation here, where the Bellevue, Nebraska police are reported to say "they couldn't promise Carhart would be safe once he leaves" (the clinic).

    "Either this killing will succeed in creating a climate where abortion providers cannot do their work and no one else joins them in that work, or it will be answered by growing numbers of people waking up, coming off the sidelines, defending our doctors and our clinics, and reversing the whole dynamic that has led to this situation where not only abortion, but birth control too, is imperiled."

    In that spirit, we are mobilizing to go to Nebraska to defend Dr. Carhart and stand up for women's lives at a crucial moment. Even though abortion, one of the most common medical procedures done in the US (over 45 million women have had abortions) is still legal, if we don't stand up for the doctors who provide this health care, we won't actually have this most basic right to decide whether, when, or if we are to be mothers.

    Operation Rescue is extremely well-funded; whereas we are not. If you cannot join us in Nebraska at the end of the month, please donate to those who can. A contribution of $100 is enough to sponsor one more person standing between the vicious misogynists traveling from around the Midwest and Dr. Carhart, who bravely intends to keep his clinic open that Saturday. Your donation will make a very concrete difference in whether or not women's lives will be further endangered by this hate-filled movement.

    If not you, who?You can donate
    specifically towards this bus online at chicagoworldcantwait.org

    or by contacting Michelle Fadeley, Dupage Co. NOW President, and organizer of the Chicagoland area bus traveling to Nebraska at glitterspark37@yahoo.com.


    Save the date: October 6, 2009, the 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan

    The Obama administration rode in on a wave of disgust with the Bush regime and now the Democrats control Congress...and there is no real change! Instead, the war in Afghanistan is expanding, drones attack Pakistan, and the troops are shifted, not withdrawn, in Iraq. Politics as usual will not reverse this disastrous course. Join the debate at

    www.worldcantwait.org and take it to the streets on Oct 5 and 6.

    On Monday, October 5, a mass protest and non-violent civil resistance action is planned in Washington, DC at the US House offices and the White House to mark the US occupation of Afghanistan, which began that week in 2001. The period culminates with Saturday October 17th regional and local actions against the wars. October 17 is the 40th anniversary of the famous Iraq Moratorium in 1969 that Daniel Ellsberg referred to as so huge that it forced Richard Nixon to shelve plans to nuke Vietnam.

    HERE in Chicago, we will be mobilizing for October 6, the EIGHTH anniversary of the start of the US war on Afghanistan, with a special focus on building resistance to military recruitment in our schools. We already have reserved a permit for Federal Plaza at 4pm on Tuesday, October 6th.

    CALLING ALL STUDENTS, TEACHERS & FRIENDS: If you are a student, a teacher or know students and teachers who, like you, will want to open students' eyes to the truth of this "war OF terror," please contact us with your ideas and suggestions. Email us at chicago@worldcantwait.org today.


    View from Guantanamo: A Conversation with Andy Worthington

     On August 9, World Can't Wait activists across the country were privileged to be in on an hour long conversation with Andy Worthington, author of the Guantanamo Files and numerous articles exposing the abuse and torture of those the U.S. has designated "enemy combatants" and beyond the reach of any law. The conversation ranged from the origins of systematic torture at the very beginnings of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, to the significance of the continued denial of habeas corpus rights to the prisoners caught in the U.S. dragnet, to the ways in which the Obama administration is continuing, with slight modification, the policies of the Bush Regime towards the Geneva Convention and the treatment of prisoners snared in its war of terror.

    Listen here to the conversation with Andy (starting about 3 1/2 minutes into recording).

     

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    We Won Bughouse Square Debate!
    Recruiting for resistance, not war
    Save the dates: Oct. 5TH and 6TH

    First Prize for Abortion Rights Debaters at 2009 Bughouse Square!

    This year's Bughouse Square debates lived up to their history of passionate debate over issues that matter.  Lina Thorne, Chicago Chapter of the World Can't Wait and one of 45 million women in this country who have had abortions, and Mars Caulton, poetry slam escapee and reliable troublemaker against the system, took the soapbox to argue for "Abortion on Demand & Without Apology" and won first prize! They drew a big crowd and the loudest, most vicious hecklers of the day, who didn't succeed in pulling them off message. In accepting first prize, Mars thanked the hecklers for reminding us of what we're up against and Lina called on everyone to speak out at what may be a turning point for women's right to abortion. This was an inspiring example for all of us to follow!

    Watch the video of Lina here and Mars here

    We Are Not Your Soldiers at Warped Tour


    We took our message of "We Are Not Your Soldiers" to thousands of young people when Vans Warped tour came through the Chicago area last weekend. Welcome to all of you reading this who signed up there, many still in high school and prime targets of the Pentagon's 9 billion dollar recruitment efforts! Now become part of this movement. Hook up with us on Facebook, become a fan of We Are Not Your Soldiers, and give a whole new meaning to getting ready for the new school year! 


    8 Years & Escalating - War in Afghanistan

    Save the dates: Monday, Oct 5 and Tuesday, Oct 6

    The Obama administration rode in on a wave of disgust with the Bush regime and now the Democrats control Congress...and there is no real change! Instead, the war in Afghanistan is expanding, drones attack Pakistan, and the troops are shifted, not withdrawn, in Iraq. Politics as usual will not reverse this disastrous course. Join the debate at www.worldcantwait.org and take it to the streets on Oct 5 and 6.

    On Monday, October 5, a mass protest and non-violent civil resistance action is planned in Washington, DC at the US House offices and the White House to mark the US occupation of Afghanistan, which began that week in 2001. The period culminates with Saturday October 17th regional and local actions against the wars. October 17 is the 40th anniversary of the famous Iraq Moratorium in 1969 that Daniel Ellsberg referred to as so huge that it forced Richard Nixon to shelve plans to nuke Vietnam.

    HERE in Chicago, we will be mobilizing for October 6, the EIGHTH anniversary of the start of the US war on Afghanistan, with a special focus on building resistance to military recruitment in our schools.

    CALLING ALL STUDENTS, TEACHERS & FRIENDS: If you are a student, a teacher or know students and teachers who, like you, will want to open students' eyes to the truth of this "war OF terror," please contact us with your ideas and suggestions. Email us at chicago@worldcantwait.org today.


    Come join Chicago World Can't Wait, 8th Day Center for Justice and others to protest Chicago's Air and Water Show.
    Join the 17th annual, nonviolent protest of Chicago's Air and Water Show on Saturday and Sunday,  August 15 & 16 at North Ave Beach. Don't just curse this massive show of military overkill - join us! We will be there from 9am-4pm each day, but come for any period of time you are able to do so. We will be at the EAST end of the pedestrian bridge which crosses Lake Shore Drive about 2 blocks north of North Ave. We hold signs and banners - bring your own too! - and distribute leaflets that tell another side of the armed forces, the side of the story that army recruiters do not mention.

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    Who is the "Pro-Life" Action League?
    And what are they doing on July 11th in Niles and Evanston?

    PLAL is a violence-inciting band of Christian fascist thugs that, for decades now, has been at the core of the anti-abortion movement .
    Based right here in Chicago, they spend each summer demonizing abortion seekers and providers, as they spread their culture of shame and misogyny through what they call the "Face the Truth" tour.
    Numbering 30-50 zealots at a time, for weeks they will line major streets throughout the area, carrying giant enlargements of gruesome bloody images and pictures of Jesus to spread their message that women are nothing more than incubators.

    These people are growing more emboldened in their attacks and actions as they celebrate the results of Dr. George Tiller's recent assassination, which has even further restricted the available options for women with life threatening medical needs. Religious fanatics cannot be allowed to block the free and legal choices others, and must not be allowed to enforce their views on any of us who reject their narrow religious ideas!

    Take a look at their website and their list of plans . They must not go unopposed!

    Join us Saturday July 11th to counter-protest at each of their stops.
    Contact us about arranging transportation at here or 773-227-2453.

    This is what PLAL has announced for their plans on July 11th:

    9:00-10:30 Niles
    Touhy Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue
    11:30-1:00 Evanston
    Davis Street and Ridge Avenue
    3:00-4:30 Lincolnwood
    McCormick Boulevard and Touhy Avenue

    Save the date: July 18th when we will be opposing their mobilization against the new Planned Parenthood clinic in Aurora.

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    WCW Chicago Marches with Gay Liberation Network in Gay Pride Parade

    The Chicago Chapter of World Can't Wait joined the Gay Liberation Network contingent at the annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with our unique message calling out those murderous Christian Fascist fanatics who would deny women's right to abortion, and who seek to demonize gay people. Although police barricades prevented people from joining in as they have in past years, our message was well received all along the route, drawing hoots, high fives and applause from 10,000s of people. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    TORTURE: Facts, Fiction, and the need for Justice - June 6th

    Leonard Goodman is a Chicago criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at DePaul University Law School. He has the distinction of having won major criminal cases on behalf of clients at courts at every level of both the federal and state judicial systems, including victories in the United States Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has received public service awards from the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University for his representation of the defense of the wrongly accused and convicted (2000) and from the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago for his representation of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station (2008).

    Li Onesto is the author of Dispatches From the People's War in Nepal (Pluto Press/Insight Press, 2005) and a writer for Revolution newspaper, which published her series, "Torture Techniques at Guantanamo: 'Communist Inspired,' or ...Developed, Refined and Exported by the USA?" in 2008.

    Frank Summers, Ph.D., ABPP is a supervising and training analyst at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. A faculty member of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and four other psychoanalytic institutes, he is the author of three books: Object relations theories and psychopathology: A comprehensive text (1994), Transcending the self (1999), and Self creation: Psychoanalytic therapy and the art of the possible (2005). A member of the Editorial Board of Psychoanalytic Psychology, he maintains a private practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapry in Chicago, Illinois. Currently, Dr. Summers is president of Psychoanalysts for Social Responsibility and has worked for the past five years to prohibit psychologists from participating in detention centers.

    View-Save-Print-Post and E-Mail the .PDF Flyer for this Event!
    In COLOR: Open & Save the PDF Flyer
    In B & W: Open & Save the PDF Flyer

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    Out of Sight; Out of View; Too Political for Major U.S. Art Museums

    A Mom, a Vet, and a High School Student -

    on opposing military recruitment, protesting escalating wars: creating resistance in the age of Obama

    Sunday, May 3RD at 1:00PM
    Roosevelt University
    430 S. Michigan Ave.

    Cindy Sheehan

    Following the death of her son Casey in Iraq, Cindy Sheehan's public persistence in demanding the truth from Bush in the summer of 2005 inspired tens of thousands to speak out and resist.
    Tireless, fearless, audacious "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan has now written a new book called Myth America: 10 Greatest Myths of the Robber Class and the Case for Revolution!
    Available at http://cindysheehanssoapbox.com

    Mike Mlekowski
    Marine artilleryman who served during the initial invasion of Iraq:
    "The initial invasion of Iraq was the beginning of my involvement in the anti-war movement, although I didn't realize it then. Upon calling off the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I realized that everything we had fought for and sacrificed was for a lie.

    Three years later I would join Iraq Veterans Against the War and ever since then have grown to believe that almost all wars are based on lies and deception."

    Matt Sezer
    Senior in high school and filmmaker, Matt speaks both as an active resister and a member of the generation who is being called on now to join the US military to become the 40,000 additional troops that Barack Obama has pledged to enlist.

    View-Save-Print-Post and E-Mail the .PDF Flyer for this Event!
    In COLOR: Open & Save the PDF Flyer
    In B & W: Open & Save the PDF Flyer

    Contact: World Can't Wait - Chicago Chapter chicago@worldcantwait.org.
    By phone at: 773-227-2453

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    THE HOLY NAME SIX SPOKE FOR US - NOW THEY NEED OUR HELP!

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    A year ago on Easter Sunday...

    On Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, six young people disrupted mass at the Holy Name Cathedral to protest the sixth year of the Iraq war. As Cardinal George started his homily, six well-dressed young people in the congregation stood up. One loudly said, "The sixth commandment says, 'thou shall not kill.'" George stopped speaking as all eyes turned to the protesters. "Yet more than a million Iraqis have been killed since the invasion of Iraq," said a second protester.

    The six were immediately removed from the church, arrested, and held for felony charges of battery and destruction of property. They were released after a few days, having raised a $30,000 bond, and faced up to 5 years in prison.

    Since then, the group, which became known as The Holy Name Six, reports:
    "...because of the effectiveness of our action in getting publicity, we were slammed pretty hard in court. Although we intended no damage to the church's carpet, we were charged under a felony law meant to punish people who try to burn churches. The sentence incurred 3-5 years in prison. We ended up playing it safe and pleading to a misdemeanor charge (attempted defacement of property). Part of the plea was that we had to pay restitution to the church before we would be sentenced. We didn't think we would be able to afford it, but an amazing couple from the CPT that had been going to all our court dates fronted us the money. We still owe them $12,000 which we are paying off slowly."

    In the aftermath of the action, as these protesters were vilified in the press and threatened with years in prison, World Can't Wait initiated a petition in their defense which read: "Three days into the sixth year of the occupation of Iraq, six young people challenged the continuation of business as usual at a time of war crimes during Easter Mass at the most prominent Catholic church in Chicago. This unjust occupation is illegal and criminal, and their call to stop it was correct and moral."

    Speaking to the press after their sentencing, exposing that they had been denied food and beaten by guards while being held at Cook County jail last year, one of the protesters stated,
    "If any of this helps to end the war, then that was like nothing."

    These unrepentant resisters deserve our support!
    Go to their blog for video and reports on the situation, and to donate to the restitution fund at: http://holyname6.blogspot.com.
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    REPORT ON MARCH 14TH RALLY IN PILSEN -- END THE OCCUPATIONS NOW!

    Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine! -- Stop the Attacks on Immigrants!

    It was a warm, crisp and clear day for the Pilsen rally and being outside with fellow peace and immigrant rights activists felt like the best place to be.

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    As we marked the 6TH anniversary of the attack on Iraq, and entering the 8th year with the US in a state of war with the world, we see a whole planet still threatened by continuation of the policies that emerged after George Bush invaded Afghanistan, and then Iraq, saying the "war on terror" justified torture, domestic spying, and even suggested possible nuclear first strikes anywhere! Over these eight long years, by the actions of the U.S. and its Israeli partner-in-crime, we have seen the countries of Syria, Somalia and Pakistan attacked, thousands of civilians in Lebanon and Gaza killed (with support & approval from Washington), and Iran surrounded by US troops illegally occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, in 2009, Bush has left office, but the "war on terror" continues.

    With Obama's administration still retaining many of the "tools" of this war, including "extraordinary" rendition (to torture people in other countries), escalating use of drone strikes in Pakistan; often killing whole families with these remote controlled machines that terrorize thousands, and now a "surge" of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan, the civilians of these countries find themselves caught in a deadly and self-perpetuating cycle of terror, both from the Islamic fundamentalists fighting against the US, and the much greater terror of US aggression directed at civilians. What we can clearly see, after 7 full years of abject failure, death and destruction, is that this cycle can only be stopped when the people of those countries, combined with the actions of people in this country, together refuse to strengthen either side, and instead confront the certain fact that there is no "good" war on terror, and these are in fact, wars for empire.

    The same empire that forces people to migrate from countries decimated by the economic pressures of domination and exploitation, now thirsts for the blood of the children of immigrants and of other oppressed people, who are being recruited to join the military and become part of expanding the war machine. On top of all this, recruiters now lie to high school students, saying that it's okay to join the military now; since, with President Obama, the "wars are already over."

    Thanks to all who joined with us in continuing to act in a way that is so visible and powerful it can be seen all over the world, especially in the countries that have been targets of this aggression.

    THE WORLD CAN'T 'WAIT AND SEE' WHILE WAR CONTINUES!

    No more wars for empire!

    Your participation helped to make this another powerful day of protest and resistance that is so urgently needed.
    Contact us today and get involved: chicago@worldcantwait.org.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    MARCH ON THE PENTAGON! Washington, DC

    Saturday March 21ST
    Visit the website for a wrap up summary of this event: Go to: http://www.pentagonmarch.org.
    VEIW THE ACTIONS TAKEN FOR FOR COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL OF U.S. MILITARY FORCES & MERCENARIES FROM IRAQ!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Chicago Speaks Out Against an Attack on Iran
    Support the City Council Resolution
    You Make the Difference!

    Update: The next opportunity to pass the resolution is at the City Council meeting on July 30th. Call your alderman before then and email us at chicago@worldcantwait.org how he/she will be voting. Plan to attend the meeting at City Hall at 10 a.m., Wednesday July 30th.

    Will you be silent as your government steps up its pressure and war preparations against Iran - a Third World country half-way around the world? Bush: "all options are on the table."

    Will you listen passively as all the candidates repeat Bush's lies and threats?

    McCain -
    "Bomb, bomb, bomb --- bomb,bomb Iran"
    Clinton -
    "we would be able to totally obliterate them"
    Obama -
    "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Everything."

    -- more --

    WCW Chicago June 26 - Fire John Yoo

    WCW Chicago January 31

    January 31st Report from Chicago:
    "We Won't Live in a Torture State"

    In driving snow and 12 below wind chill about 65 people converged on the State of Illinois Building Plaza at 12 noon. Vets for Peace and Code Pink from Indiana were the first to arrive followed by students from DePaul University, Columbia College, and Mother McCauley High School, who marched in chanting and agitating. Students from the Chicago School of Psychology, Loyola University, Northeastern University, and University of Illinois at Chicago also were present. (more...)

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    In the News

    The Clock is Ticking for A US Attack on Iran - Dave Lindorff, 04/26/2008 (more...)


    Bush Admits to Knowledge of Torture Authorization by Top Advisers - 4/12/2008.

    In a stunning admission to ABC news Friday night, President Bush declared that he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details of the CIA's use of torture. Bush reportedly told ABC, "I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." Bush also defended the use of waterboarding. (more...)


    G.W. Bush Is a Criminal, Like His Dad - Robert Parry, January 31, 2008

    Everybody in the room knew what the unspoken reality was, but nobody dared say it: George W. Bush authorized torture, which is a crime under U.S. and international law. (more...)


    There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency. (more...)

    - Looking at America, The New York Times, December 31, 2007

    In times such as these, the American people must speak up and make their sentiments known, acting independently as THE PEOPLE. Let us not go down in history as infamously standing silent in the face of grave crimes the way the "Good Germans" allowed the Nazis to carry out their atrocities.

    Wear orange - a ribbon, wristband, bandana, and so on - daily. Its wearing is a sign of solidarity with those our government imprisons and tortures. Its wearing means that you stand against torture and tyranny. The time for private grumbling is over. The time for speaking out and acting is here. (full comment here ...)

    - Comment by Dr. Dennis Loo, Los Angeles (Highlighted by NYTimes editors)