Flyer for Thanksgiving Day vigil - 2009

MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

We ask President Obama to heed President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words.

We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed. Among these are:

• The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
  
  
• The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
  
  
• The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
  
  
• The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
  
  
• The right of every family to a decent home;
  
  
• The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
  
  
• The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
  
  
• The right to a good education.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

VETERAN’S DAY – A POEM

              BLOOD

I was left covered in Blood
Everyone was covered in Blood
Everyone IS covered in Blood


The Blood of WAR never washes off
We are NOW drowning in Blood
Our children are drowning in this Blood as their Mothers
  and their Fathers are dying in combat.
Children of the WORLD are drowning in this Blood as
  their parents are being killed in WAR


The Bloodsuckers thrive on everyone’s Blood
They continue to have life as long as the Blood keeps flowing,


We Must find a way TO STOP THE BLEEDING.
We Must put an end to their supply of Blood
And let it all dry up
And be like a desert

Where the only thing you hear is the Peace in the wind.

By Charlotte, a female Veteran
from the Vietnam War

Side Two of Flyer for October 22

From an On-Line Petition to the United Nations,
Organized by Iraq Solidarity UK

“Young women in Fallujah in Iraq are terrified of having children because of the increasing number of babies born grotesquely deformed, with no heads, two heads, a single eye in their foreheads, scaly bodies or missing limbs. In addition, young children in Fallujah are now experiencing hideous cancers and leukemia.

“These deformities are now well documented. Our direct contact with doctors in Fallujah report that in September 2009, Fallujah General Hospital had 170 new born babies, 24% of whom were dead within the first seven days, a staggering 75% of the dead babies were classified as deformed. This can be compared with data from the month of August in 2002 where there were 530 new born babies of whom six were dead within the first seven days and only one birth defect was reported.”

The reason for these deformities is the U.S. use of weapons containing depleted uranium and white phosphorus in Iraq. The petition continues:

"The use of certain weapons has tremendous repercussions. Iraq will become a country, if it has not already done so, where it is advisable not to have children. Other countries will watch what has happened in Iraq, and imitate the Coalition Allies' total disregard of the United Nations Charter, the Geneva and Hague Conventions, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Some countries, such as Afghanistan, will also come to experience the very long term damage to the environment, measured in billions of years, and the devastating effect of depleted uranium and white phosphorous munitions.”

The petition has a list of requests for the United Nations General Assembly including:

- To acknowledge that there is a serious problem regarding the unprecedented number of birth defects and cancer cases in Iraq, specifically in Fallujah, Basra, Baghdad and Al - Najaf.

- To implement the cleaning up of toxic materials used by the occupying forces including Depleted Uranium, and White Phosphorus.

Please read the complete petition and sign to show your support:
www.petitiononline.com/hdcif/petition.html

Flyer for October 22, 2009

Side One of the Flyer does not change weekly.  You can see it here.

Seattle Women in Black - 8th Anniversary Vigil

Women in Black standing at Westlake have become a silent witness to the many changes in attitude towards wars and destruction all over the world. When we first started standing together in September 2001 we were reviled by some, called Jezebels and agents of Al Qaeda, yelled at and told to go home. Now we are accepted and often thanked. We are not agents of any political party or religion. We stand for justice and an end to human suffering wherever it occurs.

We will continue our silent vigil until the day peace, justice and humanity are restored to the world.

Peace, Salaam, Shalom

Welcome

The Seattle Women in Black blog allows WIB members and friends to post messages, including the weekly flyers handed out at our Thursday vigil at Westlake.

If you want to join us, you are welcome any Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. at Westlake Park in Seattle. If you need more information, please send a note to seattlewomeninblack@speakeasy.net.