#veterans-for-peace — Public Fediverse posts

American Veterans Challenge Militarism and Rising Authoritarianism.

Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | (Source: PopularResistance.org) | May 17, 2026

[Editor’s note: Clare Bayard has organized in anti-militarist movements for almost 30 years, connecting domestic work for racial and economic justice with international movements against war and colonialism. Clare comes from a family of several generations of military veterans and co-coordinates the National Network to Dismantle the Military-Industrial Complex. Please share this article far and wide, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]

***

From ICE To Iran, Veterans Are Challenging US Militarism

• By Clare Bayard, Waging Nonviolence.

• May 15, 2026
• Strategize!

Above photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images Entertainment.

Antiwar veterans are leveraging their unique credibility to oppose the war in Iran, stop ICE and support active duty resisters.

One hundred fifty people holding tulips stand in formation on the marble floor of the Cannon House Office Building, until Capitol Police arrest over a third of them and remove them in cuffs.

Maybe you saw an image of these veterans with their flowers — the red tulips that are an Iranian national symbol honoring martyrs. Perhaps you saw a photo of a disabled veteran’s wrists being handcuffed while leaning on a cane. You may have caught a video where a mother or a partner of a deployed soldier spoke about wanting their loved one back from this unconscionable war.

When 66 protesters from a coalition of veteran and military family organizations were arrested on April 20, these images went viral worldwide. This attests to not only the specific weight given to veterans who speak out against wars, but also the deep hunger to see any kind of tangible action against the United States and Israel’s profoundly unpopular war with Iran.

One of those arrested was Katie Chorbak, president of 50501 Veterans, which organizes more than 2,000 members into policy fights, nonviolent direct action and sustained advocacy. Chorbak, a fifth-generation combat veteran, chose to bring her concerns directly to lawmakers out of the belief that veterans have a “responsibility to speak plainly” when the country is moving toward war without transparency or congressional debate.

“Veterans showing up in that space matters because we understand the realities of war beyond headlines and talking points,” Chorbak said.

Despite decades of demonization of Iran by U.S. politicians, amplified by mainstream media, Trump’s war on Iran was met with immediate disfavor in March (a Reuters poll found that only 27 percent of voters approved of the initial strikes). Still, there has been little substantive resistance in Congress and relative quiet in the streets of cities that saw record-breaking protests against President George W. Bush’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s.

Yet, over these last 20 years, veterans never stopped organizing against U.S. wars and militarism. The organizers of the April 20 action — About Face Veterans Against War, Veterans for Peace, 50501 Veterans, the Center on Conscience and War, Military Families Speak Out and others — are building antiwar veteran and service member leadership, offering a vision of how we could end this country’s marriage to reckless, crushing militarism.

Where did this come from?

GI resistance is the tradition, dating back to the Revolutionary War, of American soldiers choosing to stand on their conscience and withdraw their consent to carry out the orders of commanding officers. The spectrum of resistance has encompassed the Vietnam War era’s more visible draft dodging and widespread disobedience in the ranks, and the quiet, mostly unseen refusal of soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars to execute civilians, load their guns, carry out missions, report for duty or even to deploy.

Now, military resistance to the war on Iran is beginning to take publicly visible forms. Hundreds of complaints were filed by troops in every branch of the military when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a Christian nationalist, directed his commanders to inform their units that the Iran War is a holy war anointed by Jesus. And in the theater of war, service members whose labor enables the war machine can always find ways to clog the gears (sometimes literally). Rumors abounded of sailors clogging toilets and starting a fire on the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, which had to retreat for repairs in March.

Public acts of refusal are vital to building a movement. Many soldiers can’t imagine refusing orders or deployment until they see someone else doing it. But courage is contagious, and an opportunity to join a collective action can offer the necessary bridge to take that risk.

Antiwar groups offer two core ingredients to transform spontaneous individual acts of refusal into a movement: visibility and access to support. Kelly Dougherty, who co-founded About Face in 2004 after returning from a year in Iraq in the Army National Guard, now serves as the counseling director for the Center on Conscience and War, or CCW, supporting service members seeking separation from the military, information about their rights or conscientious objector status. Dougherty says that while the Iran War has prompted a recent surge in calls to CCW’s hotline, “most service members I speak to have been questioning the system of war and whether or not they can morally participate in it for months or years.”

About Face has carried the banner of supporting GI resistance since its founding by Iraq War veterans with the support of seasoned organizers from Veterans for Peace. The group launched a Right to Refuse campaign after the 2024 election to bring renewed attention to the long tradition of refusal of illegal and immoral orders. To get the word out, Right to Refuse uses visibility efforts, direct actions, social media, on-the-ground outreach and word of mouth. An encrypted support form allows for anonymous inquiries. The campaign works in tandem with the GI Rights Hotline, which has fielded calls from active duty questioners and emerging conscientious objectors since 1994.

As mainstream media conglomerates continue to shift rightward, so grows the importance of direct actions that alert soldiers to their options, as well as pressuring elected officials.  This is why the CCW chose to have its executive director Mike Prysner risk arrest in the April 20 action. “Most people in the military aren’t familiar with their right to seek discharge as a conscientious objector,” Dougherty said. “We wanted to let service members know that if they are experiencing a moral crisis because they cannot, in good conscience, participate in war, that they can file for conscientious objector status and there is an organization that will support them every step of the way.”

GI resistance has power because war requires obedient soldiers. But active duty service members’ opportunities to make direct impacts are shrinking as war becomes increasingly outsourced and automated. Remote-controlled weaponry is taking over from real humans (often referred to as “boots on the ground,” underlining the nature of using youngsters as cannon fodder). Perhaps the most concerning trajectory is the trend of replacing decision makers with AI that can deploy and direct weaponry, as seen with Israel pioneering a shocking rate of mass death in Gaza with their Lavender and Where’s Daddy programs. These trends make the launch of this war on Iran a critically important window for supporting GI resistance before complete control over mass killing is in the hands of the ruling class and their machines.

Work stoppage or interference by active duty military can slow or impair the war machine, but this alone may not end the war on Iran. There are more ways in which antiwar service members and veterans can leverage their social position not only as workers, but as symbols. Their voices on military matters have weight both with elected officials and the general public. They have the platform to challenge the myths of morality, necessity and infallibility in which the warhawks wrap their armies and wars. As they increase the unreliability of the armed forces, they can also decrease public confidence in how the troops are being used. Both resistance and public opposition are key toward ending not only a specific war, but tearing up the blank checks for endless wars at home and abroad.

Veterans rising to meet the moment

Founded as Iraq Veterans Against the War, About Face has expanded from opposing the war on Iraq to a deeper critique of militarism, as new members joined over the years who had participated in many different facets of the so-called Global War on Terror. Its opposition to the war on Iran is part of a broader recent effort to challenge the U.S.-Israeli wars for regional dominance, resource control and global positioning.

After Oct. 7, 2023, About Face welcomed hundreds of new members who were moved to organize with other veterans in solidarity with Palestine. To harness that energy, they immediately formed Veterans for Ceasefire, whose first of many direct actions was a sit-in on Nov. 9, 2023 in Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office. Eight members participated in the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla.

In addition to challenging U.S. aggression overseas, veterans have also become important voices for demilitarization of the homefront. In the summer of 2020, when troops were turned against U.S. civilians in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police, About Face reached out to National Guard members, encouraging them “Stand Down for Black Lives” by refusing mobilization against racial justice protesters.

Challenging militarism at home — and connecting it to wars abroad — has become even more crucial in a time of rising authoritarianism. “Right to Refuse was definitely created with Project 2025 in mind and what was promised in that document about domestic use of the military to enforce their authoritarian agenda,” said Matt Howard, interim national organizing director of About Face.

Sure enough, ICE surges in 2025 saw the use of military forces to quell civil dissent and carry out race-based purges. The National Guard occupied cities, while the Department of Defense offered bases, staging areas and logistical support for mass detentions. Anti-ICE resistance also faced the kind of intensified surveillance and data collection tested in the killing fields of U.S.-Israeli wars abroad.

Tapping into the organic dissent in the ranks is a particular gift of the Right to Refuse campaign. Billboards facing the main gates of North Carolina’s biggest military installations appeared in September 2025 announcing a website titled NotWhatYouSignedUpFor.org (a joint visibility campaign of Win Without War and About Face). When thousands of active duty Airborne troops (a cold-weather division from Alaska) and military police were placed on standby for Department of Homeland Security support, including a 500-person brigade from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a billboard at the main gate greeted them with, “Did you go Airborne just to pull security for ICE?” Marines entering Camp Lejeune saw “Not what you signed up for? You have options.”

In U.S. cities experiencing paramilitary occupation from DHS forces, U.S. military veterans found opportunities to demilitarize the skills they brought home and apply them to justice, protection and liberation. A delegation of  About Face members traveled to Minneapolis in February to join local members and other community organizations in building a grassroots response to the escalation of ICE violence.

Additionally, About Face’s Monitoring and Analysis of Military and Border Operations, or MAMBO, project uses open source intelligence gathering to analyze and map domestic deployments of military and DHS forces, offering usable reports to community groups. Some members of About Face and its close partner Veterans For Peace provide security for local actions and community events, and train and mentor emerging movement security practitioners, both civilian and veteran. This is a radical revisioning of what security can be when seen through a lens of demilitarization — neighbors keeping each other safe.

Alongside the DHS and National Guard occupation of U.S. cities, the impacts of the war economy and continued cuts to social spending have provided many opportunities for action. Last Veterans’ Day, About Face organized a Vets Say No War on Our Cities march in major cities including those dealing with ICE occupation like Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Washington, D.C. and Memphis. The message they shared was: “We will not allow attacks on our neighbors, or military occupation of our cities and deadly cuts on vital services to be normalized.”

On March 19, the 23rd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, About Face coordinated national visits to senators to push for a repeal of the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force that opened the door to the “forever wars,” and for a vote against further supplemental military spending. A couple days later, members joined the Nuestra América relief convoy to Cuba, bringing supplies and challenging Trump’s saber-rattling.

About Face has also been incubating Veterans Against Fascism, a politically diverse coalition of vets united behind the call for No ICE, No War, No Cuts. “Fascism is everywhere, spread throughout the entire government. We have a responsibility to make it grind to a halt,” explained Joseph Funk, a member of About Face and leader in Veterans Against Fascism. “That means we have to defeat it anywhere it wants to exercise its power. That might look like opposing war and international violence, and that might look like standing against federal goons hunting children. It will probably look like a lot of things in the future.”

Winning public opinion

The Trump regime is not attempting to manufacture approval or even consent for its wars, but they are fighting on the narrative and cultural fronts. Nonpartisan organizations like About Face, which has challenged U.S.-led wars under every administration for the last 20 years and is not scared of calling out Democratic leaders, are laying a critical foundation. Those of us who remember Obama’s presidential victory on a platform of ending Bush’s wars, and the subsequent abdication of the forces who might have pushed him to follow through, know we need an antimilitarist movement bigger than opposition to Trump’s caricatured shock and awe.

“Despite the fact that both parties have had a shitty track record on war and militarism, in the last 10 years MAGA has claimed to be the true antiwar standard-bearer,” Howard said. “We are in a moment where the betrayal of Trump’s base is really clear. They thought they voted in a peace time president and are finding out it was another empty talking point. For movements who have been committed to an antiwar politic, no matter who was in office, there is an opportunity to use our credibility to undermine authoritarianism and contest for people who are waking up.”

The good news: There is leadership and vision. Antiwar veterans are increasing their ranks, building collective power in campaigns and coalitions, and taking strategic aim at multiple pillars of the war machine.

“Veterans can help focus public energy into concrete demands,” said Katie Chorbak, from 50501 Veterans. “If opposition is going to be effective, it has to be organized, informed and sustained. Veterans can help anchor that effort. What is needed right now is seriousness, discipline and sustained engagement. Change rarely happens because people are upset for a week. It happens when people stay organized long enough to matter.”

Reckless Words Lead to Stupid Wars.

Article republished by Jerry Alatalo (Source: MiddleEastMonitor.com)

April 9, 2026

[Editor’s note: Jasim Al-Azzawi worked for several media organisations, including MBC, Abu Dhabi TV, and Aljazeera English as a news anchor, program presenter, and Executive Producer. He covered significant conflicts, interviewed world leaders, and taught media courses.]

***

When Words Become Weapons

Obscenity is not noise. It is policy stripped of disguise.

US President Donald Trump (L) meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) as he arrives in Riyadh, for the first leg of his three-country Middle East tour in Saudi Arabia on May 13, 2025. [Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Court – Anadolu Agency]

• by Jasim Al-Azzawi

On Easter morning, April 5, 2026, the President of the United States reached, not for diplomacy, but for the obscenity. His message to Iran, broadcast to the world in the language of a street brawl, read like a threat scrawled on a prison wall:

“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.”

The timing was grotesque. The phrasing is worse. The closing—“Praise be to Allah”—is a mockery draped in borrowed piety. It was not merely undignified. It was incendiary. Nine days earlier, before an audience of global investors, he turned his fire on an ally. Speaking of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he boasted:

“He didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass… but now he has to be nice to me.”

Two insults. One aimed at a rival, one at a partner. Both delivered by the same man, in the same tone. Both heard across a region where memory is long, humiliation is not abstract, and dignity is currency. This is how wars begin—not always with bombs, but with words that make bombs inevitable.

The Price of Humiliation

In the Arab world, honor is not ornamental. It is structural. Strip it publicly from a leader, and you do not embarrass a man but destroy a relationship. Trump did not defend Mohammed bin Salman. He exposed him. At a Saudi-sponsored event. In front of Saudi investors. The message was unmistakable: you are not a partner. You are a subordinate.

Riyadh said nothing. It could not afford to. The strategic dependence on Washington, particularly in the shadow of Iran, demands silence and patience. But silence, in such contexts, is not acquiescence. It is a wound deferred. Humiliation accumulates. Quietly. Patiently. And when it is repaid, it is rarely done politely.

The timing was grotesque. The phrasing is worse. The closing—“Praise be to Allah”—is a mockery draped in borrowed piety. It was not merely undignified. It was incendiary. Nine days earlier, before an audience of global investors, he turned his fire on an ally. Speaking of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he boasted:“He didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass… but now he has to be nice to me.”

At the same time, the Easter tirade against Iran did something equally reckless. It fused insult with threat, vulgarity with religious mockery. It handed Tehran exactly what it needed: proof, broadcast in the president’s own voice, that the United States speaks not as a state, but as a provocateur. No regime could script it better.

Western politicians lie, millions die: The architecture of manufactured consent

The Severed Ear

History has seen this before. In 1731, a Spanish officer boarded a British ship in the Caribbean and, finding no contraband, cut off the ear of its captain, Robert Jenkins. He reportedly handed it back with a warning: tell your king the same will happen to him.

Seven years later, Jenkins stood before Parliament and produced the ear. The outrage was immediate, visceral, and politically useful. War followed. It lasted nearly a decade. Thousands died. Nothing was resolved. It entered history with a name soaked in absurdity and blood: the War of Jenkins’ Ear.

The lesson is brutal in its simplicity. Insults, real or amplified, can be weaponized. Once unleashed, they escape the control of those who invoked them. Leaders may posture. Populations do not. They demand retaliation. Walpole, the British prime minister, understood the war was unnecessary. He warned against it. He was ignored. Every era believes it is wiser than the last. Every era repeats the same mistake.

The Manufactured Insult

If Jenkins’ ear was accidental, the Ems Dispatch was deliberate. In 1870, Otto von Bismarck edited a diplomatic telegram to make a routine exchange appear as a calculated insult. France, cornered by public outrage, declared war. The result was catastrophic: the collapse of the French Empire and a grievance that festered into the soil of the First World War. Bismarck understood the power of humiliation. He used it as a scalpel.

Riyadh said nothing. It could not afford to. The strategic dependence on Washington, particularly in the shadow of Iran, demands silence and patience. But silence, in such contexts, is not acquiescence. It is a wound deferred. Humiliation accumulates. Quietly. Patiently. And when it is repaid, it is rarely done politely.

The threat posed by Trump’s message stems from its ambiguity rather than its accuracy.  There is no evidence of design, no strategic objective discernible behind the insults. It is not a scalpel. It is a hammer swung blindly in a room full of glass. And yet the consequences may be no less severe.

The Burden of Repair

Wars built on insult do not end cleanly. They linger and fester. They poison future negotiations. They become the vocabulary of grievance.

Saudi Arabia is not a peripheral state. It is central to global energy markets, to Gulf security, and to the fragile architecture holding the region together. To publicly demean its leadership is to weaken that architecture from within.

Iran, meanwhile, is a nation already spurred by its leadership to see the United States as an aggressor. When the American president uses profanity, threats, and religious mockery in the same breath, he does not intimidate. He confirms and enrages.

Each word strengthens hardliners. Each insult narrows the space for diplomacy. Each outburst raises the political cost, on both sides, of ever sitting at the same table again. And yet, one day, they will have to sit across from each other eyeball to eyeball.

The world on the brink of the stone age: When Trump’s threat goes beyond Iran

The Quiet Men Who Clean the Mess

Wars are not ended by those who ignite them. They are ended by those who must clean up after them: diplomats, the intermediaries, the negotiators in anonymous rooms in Oman, Geneva, or Islamabad. They work in silence, repairing what was broken loudly. They must reconstruct trust where there is none. Translate rage into language. Turn humiliation into compromise. Each vulgar phrase uttered by a leader becomes an obstacle they must dismantle, word by word. History does not remember their names. It remembers the wars.  But without them, there would be no end to any of them.

Saudi Arabia is not a peripheral state. It is central to global energy markets, to Gulf security, and to the fragile architecture holding the region together. To publicly demean its leadership is to weaken that architecture from within.

The Inevitable Reckoning

A severed ear triggered a war that lasted nine years. A doctored telegram reshaped Europe for generations. Now, in 2026, we are told that obscenity is harmless. That is the style of insults. That this is merely how power speaks. It is not. It is how power collapses into impulse.      The question is no longer whether words matter. They do. They always have. The question is what we will call the war that follows and whether anyone, somewhere in Washington, still understands the cost of speaking before thinking. Because history, unlike politicians, keeps a precise record. And it is never kind to those who confuse noise for strength.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

@indivisibleteam I’ll be there. Look for the #VeteransForPeace flag

@gwaldby I’ll be there. Look for my #VeteransForPeace flag

[4/5] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January30 - #Maine


JAN 30, Fri 3:30-4:30PM (every Wed & Fri) – #PortlandME
Deering Ave I-295 Overpass, Portland, Maine
VISIBILITY BRIDGE BRIGADE – Join a group of like-minded activists as we engage in protest with our fellow citizens in Portland! Part of the Visibility Brigade Movement, we seek to draw attention to the unconstitutional and dangerous behavior of the Trump Administration. Just before Deering Oaks & Hadlock Field. Bring signs, banners, flags for drivers to see.
FMI/Ground Rules/RSVP: www.dirigobrigade.org


JAN 30, Fri 5:00PM – #BangorME
In front of the Federal Building, 202 Harlow St, Bangor, Maine
NURSES AGAINST VIOLENCE
Please join us for a candlelight vigil for Alex Pretti, RN and for all others harmed by ICE.
Alex was murdered by federal immigration agents while protecting a community member during lawful observation of ICE activities. Nurses stand for care, compassion, and advocacy for all community members. We cannot stand by and allow ICE to continue terrorizing and killing our neighbors.
Friday, Jan 30 5PM, in front Federal Bldg, Bangor

JAN 30, Fri 5-5:45PM (& every Fri) – #CamdenME
Camden Village Green, Elm & Chestnut St, Camden, Maine
Camden Standout for Gaza! Stand with your neighbors to say no! to genocide and man made starvation of children in Gaza. We stand to support humanitarian aid to Gaza and to oppose US weapons support for Israel. FMI: www.mvprights.org/events

JAN 30, Fri 5-5:30PM (& every Fri) – #PortlandME
Congress Square, High & Congress Sts (across from PMA) – Portland, Maine
WOMEN IN BLACK VIGIL
A world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and violence, these weekly protests typically attract a diverse group of folks.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/828747/

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #GazaGenocide #JusticeForRenee #JusticeForAlexPretti #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

[3/5] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January30 - #Maine


JAN 30, Fri 2:30PM – #SacoME
General Dynamics, 291 North St, Saco, Maine
GENERAL DYNAMICS PROTEST – Join us in Saco for our weekly rally to call attention to the fact that #GeneralDynamics in Saco builds components for the bombs being dropped on #Gaza. This plant makes guidance systems for the MK-80 series warheads that have been dropped on hospitals, schools, residential buildings and refugee camps from Gaza to Lebanon. www.mvprights.org/events


JAN 30, Fri 3:00PM – #PortlandME
Monument Square, 456 Congress St, Portland, Maine

STAND WITH MINNESOTA ICE OUT!

PORTLAND SHUT IT DOWN
No work.
No school.
No shopping.

ICE OUT!
Service Industry Strike all day & gathering on Monument Square – 3PM.

Portland on strike in solidarity with Minnesota & #NationalStrike


JAN 30, Fri 3-3:30PM (& every Fri) – #BrunswickME
156 Maine St. Opposite Walgreens, Brunswick, Maine

VIGIL FOR PEACE – We stand together to bear witness for deeply held beliefs in justice of all kinds and to offer a source of public education not available in mainstream media.
FMI: peaceworksbrunswickme.org/action.html


JAN 30, Fri 3-4:30 (& every Fri) – #FreeportME
Desert Rd/Exit 20 AND Mallett Dr/Exit 22 Overpasses, Freeport, Maine

#FreeportRushHourBrigade – We are providing physical messaging in the real world to connect with and activate voters to demonstrate that resistance is possible. This is in coordination with Indivisible groups up and down the Rte 295 corridor.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/819262/

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #GazaGenocide #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

[2/5] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January30 - #Maine


JAN 30, Fri 11:30-1:00PM (M-F) – #BelfastME
Sidewalk at Main & Church Streets, Belfast, Maine
STAND UP FOR GOOD

BELFAST ANTI-ICE STAND
Join a coalition for Justice for ALL
Daily: Monday-Friday, 11:30-12:30/1:00

Signs and Friends Welcome!
Stand TOGETHER for GOOD


JAN 30, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #CalaisME
Corner of North St & Main St, Calais, Maine
Stand Up Downeast Maine – Join in our weekly protest, one block from the border crossing to Canada, for this lively & international atmosphere.


JAN 30, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #FarmingtonME
Post Office, 196 Main St, Farmington, Maine
PEACE & PROTEST VIGIL - Farmington and surrounding area activists gather at noon ON the Sidewalks in front of the post office with peace vigil signs and protest messages to advocate for peace and protect democracy. Started 21 yrs ago as a Women in Black Vigil, this is now a community event and includes #VeteransForPeace, Western Mtns Third Act, and Indivisible.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/879624/


JAN 30, Fri 12:30-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #AugustaME
Lithgow Library, 45 Winthrop St, Augusta, Maine

WOMEN IN BLACK PEACE VIGIL – Every Friday the Augusta area Women in Black hold a peace vigil in front of the Lithgow Library. Held continuously since 2002.

JAN 30, Fri 1:00PM (& every Fri) – #HoultonME
#PeacePole, Monument Park, Houlton, Maine
Weekly Stand Out for Peace – www.mvprights.org/events

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #GazaGenocide #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

We don’t think this Monterey County resident is out of touch with distressing circumstances in our nation, including surreal actions by the Commander in Chief. In fact, this local is a U.S. military veteran (unlike the C of C, ironically) and a member of Veterans for Peace.

Yet even when news is troubling, whenever we see him, he wears a bright smile. We feel sure he keeps his spirits up—regardless of the day’s news or the day’s weather— by doing lots of pedaling! Whenever we see him, as again today, he’s on his bicycle.

#endorphins #uplifting #cycling #biking #BikeTooter #BikeCommuter #BikeMontereyCounty #VeteransForPeace #USA #veterans #CommanderInChief #BadNews #resist

[4/4] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January23 - #Maine

JAN 23, Fri 5-5:45PM (& every Fri) – #CamdenME
Camden Village Green, Elm & Chestnut St, Camden, Maine
Camden Standout for Gaza! Stand with your neighbors to say no! to genocide and man made starvation of children in Gaza. We stand to support humanitarian aid to Gaza and to oppose US weapons support for Israel. FMI: www.mvprights.org/events

JAN 23, Fri 5-5:30PM (& every Fri) – #PortlandME
Congress Square, High & Congress Sts (across from PMA) – Portland, Maine
WOMEN IN BLACK VIGIL
A world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and violence, these weekly protests typically attract a diverse group of folks.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/828747/

#ORGANIZE #RESIST #OPPOSE
#NonViolenceIsPower
#EveryEffortCounts

MAINE ICE WATCH HOTLINE: 207-544-9989

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #GazaGenocide #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

[3/4] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January23 - #Maine

Pg 3/4 Submit events to: [email protected]

JAN 23, Fri 3-3:30PM (& every Fri) – #BrunswickME
156 Maine St. Opposite Walgreens, Brunswick, Maine
VIGIL FOR PEACE – We stand together to bear witness for deeply held beliefs in justice of all kinds and to offer a source of public education not available in mainstream media.
FMI: peaceworksbrunswickme.org/action.html

JAN 23, Fri 3-4:30 (& every Fri) – #FreeportME
Desert Rd/Exit 20 AND Mallett Dr/Exit 22 Overpasses, Freeport, Maine
FREEPORT RUSH HOUR BRIGADE – We are providing physical messaging in the real world to connect with and activate voters to demonstrate that resistance is possible. This is in coordination with Indivisible groups up and down the Rte 295 corridor.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/819262/

JAN 23, Fri 3:30-4:30PM (every Wed & Fri) – #PortlandME
Deering Ave I-295 Overpass, Portland, Maine
VISIBILITY BRIDGE BRIGADE – Join a group of like-minded activists as we engage in protest with our fellow citizens in Portland! Part of the Visibility Brigade Movement, we seek to draw attention to the unconstitutional and dangerous behavior of the Trump Administration. Just before Deering Oaks & Hadlock Field. Bring signs, banners, flags for drivers to see. FMI/Ground Rules/RSVP: www.dirigobrigade.org

JAN 23, Fri 4-7:00PM – #BelfastME
28 Spring St, Belfast, Maine
WALDO COUNTY FOR GRAHAM! Volunteer Celebration
We helped defeat Question 1 in November! We gathered 600 signatures in four days! And we're just getting started. Join us to celebrate, hear what comes next, and eat, drink, and be merry! Bring a friend, bring some nibbles, and bring cash or check to support the #BelfastSoupKitchen. FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/889363/

MAINE ICE WATCH HOTLINE: 207-544-9989

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #GazaGenocide #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

[2/4] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January23 - #Maine

JAN 23, Fri 12-1:00PM – #MachiasME
16 O'Brien Ave, Triangle bottom of College Hill, Machias, Maine
ICE OUT FOR GOOD – ME-MN Solidarity Day of Action
Wednesday, January 7th, an American citizen was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This killing is part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence, impunity, and abuse carried out by federal immigration enforcement agencies against members of our communities. FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/890462/

JAN 23, Fri 12-1:00PM – #PresqueIsleME
Aroostook River Bridge, US-1, Presque Isle, Maine
ICE OUT FOR GOOD – ME-MN Solidarity Day of Action
Wednesday, January 7th, an American citizen was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This killing is part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence, impunity, and abuse carried out by federal immigration enforcement agencies against members of our communities. FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/890672/

JAN 23, Fri 12:30-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #AugustaME
Lithgow Library, 45 Winthrop St, Augusta, Maine
WOMEN IN BLACK PEACE VIGIL – Every Friday the Augusta area Women in Black hold a peace vigil in front of the Lithgow Library. Held continuously since 2002.

JAN 23, Fri 1:00PM (& every Fri) – #HoultonME
Peace Pole, Monument Park, Houlton, Maine
Weekly Stand Out for Peace – www.mvprights.org/events

JAN 23, Fri 2:30PM – #SacoME
General Dynamics, 291 North St, Saco, Maine
GENERAL DYNAMICS PROTEST – Join us in Saco for our weekly rally to call attention to the fact that General Dynamics in Saco builds components for the bombs being dropped on Gaza. This plant makes guidance systems for the MK-80 series warheads that have been dropped on hospitals, schools, residential buildings and refugee camps from Gaza to Lebanon. www.mvprights.org/events

MAINE ICE WATCH HOTLINE: 207-544-9989

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #GazaGenocide #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

[1/4] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January23 - #Maine

JAN 23, Fri 11:30-1:00PM (M-F) – #BelfastME
Sidewalk at Main & Church Streets, Belfast, Maine
STAND UP FOR GOOD
BELFAST ANTI-ICE STAND
Join a coalition for Justice for ALL
Daily: Monday-Friday, 11:30-12:30/1:00
Signs and Friends Welcome!
Stand TOGETHER for GOOD

JAN 23, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #CalaisME
Corner of North St & Main St, Calais, Maine
Stand Up Downeast Maine – Join in our weekly protest, one block from the border crossing to Canada, for this lively & international atmosphere.
Stand Up Downeast Network.

JAN 23, Fri 12-1:00PM – #FarmingtonME
Main Street, Farmington, Maine
ICE OUT FOR GOOD – Maine-Minnesota Solidarity Day of Action
Wednesday, January 7th, an American citizen was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This killing is part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence, impunity, and abuse carried out by federal immigration enforcement agencies against members of our communities. FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/889734/

JAN 23, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #FarmingtonME
Post Office, 196 Main St, Farmington, Maine
PEACE & PROTEST VIGIL - Farmington and surrounding area activists gather at noon ON the Sidewalks in front of the post office with peace vigil signs and protest messages to advocate for peace and protect democracy. Started 21 yrs ago as a Women in Black Vigil, this is now a community event and includes Veterans for Peace, Western Mtns Third Act, and Indivisible.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/879624/

MAINE ICE WATCH HOTLINE: 207-544-9989

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood #WomenInBlackVigil #VeteransForPeace

@wood5y The U.S. and allies should have agreements to share facilities such as airfields, but no reason to have permanent bases all around the world with housing, schools, nightclubs, and supermarkets to support hundreds of thousands of Americans. You know why-some people are making a lot of money. Mainly well connected contractors and arms merchants. #VeteransForPeace #VFP

[1/3] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January16 - #Maine

JAN 16, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #CalaisME
Corner of North St & Main St
#StandUpDowneastMaine – Join in our weekly protest, one block from the border crossing to Canada, for this lively & international atmosphere.

JAN 16, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #FarmingtonME
Post Office, 196 Main St
PEACE & PROTEST VIGIL - Farmington and surrounding area activists gather at noon ON the Sidewalks in front of the post office with peace vigil signs and protest messages to advocate for #peace and protect democracy. Started 21 yrs ago as a #WomenInBlack Vigil, this is now a community event and includes #VeteransForPeace, Western Mtns Third Act, and Indivisible.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/879624/

JAN 16, Fri 12:30-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #AugustaME
Lithgow Library, 45 Winthrop St,
WOMEN IN BLACK PEACE VIGIL – Every Friday the Augusta area Women in Black hold a peace vigil in front of the Lithgow Library. Held continuously since 2002.

JAN 16, Fri 1:00PM (& every Fri) – #HoultonME
Peace Pole, Monument Park
Weekly Stand Out for Peace – www.mvprights.org/events

JAN 16, Fri 3-3:30PM (& every Fri) – #BrunswickME
156 Maine St. Opposite Walgreens
VIGIL FOR PEACE – We stand together to bear witness for deeply held beliefs in justice of all kinds and to offer a source of public education not available in mainstream media.
FMI: peaceworksbrunswickme.org/action.html

JAN 16, Fri 4-5:00PM – #WERU 89.9 FM
Listen from anywhere
DEMOCRACY FORUM – CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE #BILLIONAIRE ECONOMICS?
We'll talk about how wealth and income inequality undermine democracy. Does extreme income inequality lead to right wing #authoritarianism? How does that work? Is that playing out in the U.S. right now? In Maine?

Special guests: Garrett Martin, President & CEO, Maine Center for Economic Policy. Susan Stokes, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, and author of The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies. FMI: www.democracymaine.org/civicrm-event/2256

JAN 16, Fri 5-5:30PM (& every Fri) – #PortlandME
Congress Square, High & Congress Sts (across from PMA)
WOMEN IN BLACK VIGIL
A world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and violence, these weekly protests typically attract a diverse group of folks.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/828747/

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #JusticeForRenee
#ICEOutForGood #MVPRights #GazaGenocide

[1/4] #PineTreeActivism Events for #January9

JAN 9, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #CalaisME
Corner of North St & Main St
#StandUpDowneastMaine – Join in our weekly protest, one block from the border crossing to Canada, for this lively & international atmosphere.

JAN 9, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #FarmingtonME
Post Office, 196 Main St.
PEACE & PROTEST VIGIL - Farmington and surrounding area activists gather at noon ON the Sidewalks in front of the post office with peace vigil signs and protest messages to advocate for peace and protect democracy. Started 21 yrs ago as a Women in Black Vigil, this is now a community event and includes #VeteransForPeace, #WesternMountainsThirdAct, and #Indivisible.
FMI: mobilize.us/mobilize/event/879624/

JAN 9, Fri 1-2:00PM (2nd Fri every month) – #FarmingtonME
Old South Church, 235 Main St.
#ThirdActMaine Western Hub – Monthly Meeting – Our seasoned generation holds unparalleled power to enact real change. Using our life experiences, skills, and resources, we unite to tackle the unfinished work of our lifetimes and ensure a safe and stable planet for generations to come.
We meet the 2nd Friday of each month at 1pm at the Old South Church. Enter by the rear door from the small parking lot on the north side. FMI: thirdact.org/maine/

JAN 9, Fri 12:30-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #AugustaME
Lithgow Library, 45 Winthrop St.
#WomenInBlackPeaceVigil – Every Friday the Augusta area Women in Black hold a peace vigil in front of the Lithgow Library. Held continuously since 2002.

JAN 9, Fri 1:00PM (& every Fri) – #HoultonME
#PeacePole, Monument Park
Weekly Stand Out for Peace – www.mvprights.org/events

Source:
https://bsky.app/profile/pinetreeactivism.org/post/3mbyljz7qas2h

#MaineEvents #MaineResists
#ResistICE #NoWar #StopICETerror #MayDay #ICEOut #NoWarForOil #JusticeForRenee #ICEOutForGood

ICE Is Functioning Like an Occupying Army. I Know Because I Served in One.

https://murica.website/2025/11/ice-is-functioning-like-an-occupying-army-i-know-because-i-served-in-one/

Coast Guard Veterans Condemn CG Transport Flights for Immigration and Customs Enforcement

https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2025/09/05/coast-guard-veterans-condemn-cg-transport-flights-immigratio

#veteransforpeace #veterans #USCG #abolishice #deportation #fascism

The WA state chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) put out a statement on Zahid's abduction by ICE.

They note that he is a US veteran who uses a wheelchair. He's lived here legally for 20 years. His wife ran for political office last year. Zahid is an active anti-war activist and is a member of Veterans for Peace.

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-wa-calls-on-federal-authorities-to-release-muslim-veteran-taken-into-ice-custody-at-citizenship-interview/

#CAIR #PNW #Olympia #Veterans #VeteransForPeace #Zahid #ICE #FuckICE #ChingaLaMigra #Muslim #pakistan

For over 600 days, the Israeli flag flew over #BroomeCounty Jail — a violation of #NewYork state law. #VeteransForPeace stepped in, threatening legal action, and within six days, Sheriff Fred Akshar took it down.

The flag’s presence was a symbol of support for #Israel’s ongoing assault on #Gaza and part of Akshar’s broader pattern of aligning with Trump-era, anti-immigrant policies. Now the Sheriff owes an apology for using county property to push a political agenda.

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/veterans-force-ny-county-sheriff-to-take-down-israeli-flag/

@realTuckFrumper No surprise. Just as Trump destroys everything he touches, he will break the military as well. #JoyMetzler #VeteransForPeace #VFP

https://truthout.org/articles/calls-to-gi-hotlines-rise-as-service-members-consider-defying-trumps-orders/

#trump #fascism #militarism #possecomitatus #giresistance #sirnosir #veterans #veteransforpeace

@indivisibleteam I’m there! With my comrades from #VeteransForPeace #VFP

@BrianJopek #VeteransForPeace #VFP

60 arrested on eve of Army parade as veterans protest militarism

Sixty demonstrators, part of a veterans protest against militarism, were arrested at the Supreme Court on Friday night and will be charged with unlawful demonstration and crossing a police line, Capitol police said. Some will also be charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest, police said.
#VeteransForPeace #NoPoliceMilitarism
https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/protests-live-updates-marines-duty-los-angeles-1/?id=122809047

@rbreich See you in the street #June14 #Jun14th #VeteransForPeace #VFP

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/6/5/fast_for_gaza_un?autostart=true

Very proud to see my old client Lt. Joy Metzler be on #DemocracyNow, along with #KathyKelly (a hero of mine for more than 20 years --- her speaking at the old Cornerstone Festival circa 2001 was a major nudge in my life towards law school and peace activism) and Mike Ferner of #VeteransForPeace.

#Peace #Gaza #Palestine #ShalomSalaam #CeasefireNow

US Veterans Fast Against Israel’s Starvation of Gaza
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/05/30/us-veterans-fast-against-israels-starvation-of-gaza/
Fasters are demanding full humanitarian aid to Gaza under U.N. authority and an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, Marjorie Cohn reports. By Marjorie Cohn Truthout As the death toll of Palestinians continues to rise and more than a…
#Politics #Commentary #CrimesAgainstHumanity #Gaza #Israel #Palestine #UnitedNations #AaronBushnell #CindyMccain #GazaHumanitarianFoundation(ghf) #GazaSiege #Hamas #InstituteForPublicAccuracy #JakeWood #KathyKelly #MarjorieCohn #RonFeiner #StarvationInGaza #U.n.WorldFoodProgramme #UnSecretaryGeneralAntónioGuterres #UnitedNationsReliefAndWorksAgencyForPalestineRefugeesInTheNearEast(unrwa) #UnrwaCommissionerGeneralPhilippeLazzarini #VeteransForPeace #WorldBeyondWar

[3/8] #PineTreeActivism Calendar

MAINE RESISTANCE EVENTS
MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2025
=====================
EVERY EFFORT COUNTS!

#Resist the #BudgetBill & #SAVEMEDICAID
FLOOD the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

REPOST & SHARE!
Updated Mon, May 26, 6:45AM

MAY 28, Wed 7-8:00PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
#Indivisible Greater Portland Virtual Happy Hour – Tired of endless doomscrolling? Looking to connect and relax with like-minded people from the community? Join us every other Wednesday evening at 7pm for virtual happy hour! https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/793608/

THUR MAY 29

MAY 29, Thur 12-1:00PM (& every Thur)– #BrunswickME
143 Maine St, in front of Tontine Mall
Vigil for Peace – weekly stand-out to call for permanent ceasefire in #Gaza.
#PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/

MAY 29, Thur 3:00PM (2nd & 4th Thursdays) – #RocklandME
Main St & Park St
Weekly Stand Out – held by the people of the Rockland area

MAY 29, Thur 4-5:00PM (& every Thur) – #BentonME / #FairfieldME
Fairfield-Benton Bridge over the Kennebec, Fairfield
STOP the COUP – Save Democracy! – Plenty of municipal parking on both sides of the bridge
NOTE: Gather on the BENTON side to start. When the People Rise, Tyrants Fall! www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/787603/

MAY 29, Thur 4-5:00PM (& every Thur)– #FarmingtonME
Farmington Post Office, 196 Main St
Stand-Out for #Palestine – weekly stand-out held by the people of Farmington https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/

MAY 29, Thur 4-5:00PM (& every Thur)– #KennebunkME
Rt 1 & Fletcher St, front of Kennebunk Library
Weekly Stand Out To Speak Against Government Actions designed to benefit the powerful. Hosted by Democrats of Kennebunks & Arundel, one of the most active Democratic memberships in Maine.

MAY 29, Thur 4-6:00PM (& every Thursday) – #SacoME
Rt 1 & Cascade Rd
Weekly Stand Out to Protect Justice & Defend Democracy

FRI MAY 30

MAY 30, Fri 12-1:00PM (& every Fri) – #FarmingtonME
Out front of Post Office, 196 Main St
Weekly Visibility Day to advocate for peace and protect democracy. Started 21 years ago as a Women in Black Vigil, this is now a community event and includes #VeteransForPeace.

@AIF_Massachusetts

#Maine #MEPolitics
#MaineResists #MaineEvents #FreePalestine #BadDOGE
#ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #USPol

@bruno_j_navarro Fortunately for me they didn’t draft anyone born in 1954. What a terrifying day. What disastrous U.S. involvement. Doesn’t appear that U.S. policy makers learned a thing. Defense contractors and arms merchants really made out. Just like they always do. #VeteransForPeace #VFP