|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY!
Hosted by
Arkansas Women's Action for New Directions (WAND)
Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum (AIMM)
U.S.S. RAZORBACK SUBMARINE
RIVERFRONT PARK - NORTH LITTLE ROCK
July 4, 2009 at 7:00 pm
(gates open at 6:30 pm)
Bring your friends and neighbors
A great view of the fireworks
Free parking
Cash bar open at 7 pm Picnic supper at 7:30 pm
Listen and dance to the Damn Bullets
* * * * * * *
You're Invited!
Tickets $25 each
Make checks payable to AIMM and send to:
1701 Pickering Lane, Little Rock, AR 72211
or call 217-0109 for more information
donations tax deductible to the extent allowed by law
* * * * * * * * *
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Movie Mondays!
This summer, STAND (Students Taking Action for New Directions) will be having a movie series in the Little Rock Central High School Library. STAND introduces highschool and college-aged women to WAND's (Women's Action for New Directions) issues and network of activists, organizations and women legislators.
The schedule is:
June 29: "Born into Brothels"
July 6: "Osama"
July 27: "Persepolis"
There's free admission, but bring your own lunch. The movies will start at noon, with a hearty discussion after the movie.
For more information, call Celeste Archer at 501-753-8905.
|
|
Y  es! We celebrated Mo ther's Day at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in 2009. We honored Rep. Kathy Webb and Nan Orrock, State Senator from Georgia was our Keynote Speaker.
|
|
|
The global arms madness continues.
A new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(one of my favorite think tanks) confirms that worldwide military
expenditure is again on the up and up, with spending having increased
by 4 percent in 2008.
“All regions and subregions have seen significant increases since
1999, except for Western and Central Europe,” says the report (available at www.sipri.org).
The United States loomed large over all other countries, with a
whopping $607 billion swallowed up by the military in 2008, nearly 10
percent more than the previous year. And SIPRI is being very
conservative here, because the total U.S. expenditure was roughly $1
trillion when you add military-related costs that are not in the
Pentagon budget. (See my column)
|
|
Read more...
|
| |
|
"SWEET JUSTICE"
Wednesday evenings this summer are going to look a bit different for 2nd Baptist Church. In June and July we're having a 'Sweet Justice' series. We're focusing on 7 different topics and different experts will come in to present on each topic. At the end of the presentation we're going to have dessert (thus 'Sweet Justice' )and a time for questions/advocacy. We've actually created a video about the series at: http://vimeo.com/3952569. Events start at 5:45 pm. We are located at 8th and Cumberland in downtown Little Rock.
Here are the topics (In order, starting June 3rd and running for 7 weeks):
Wed. June 3rd: Hunger
Wed. June 10th: Sustainability
Wed. June 17th: Human Trafficking
Wed. June 24th: Racism and I630
July 1st: Millennium Development Goals
July 8th: Consistent Pro-Life Ethic
July 15th: Homelessness in the Rock
|
|
The national WAND Board adopted the following statement:
WAND
Position on U.S. Involvement in Afghanistan
May 2009
Short
and Long Term Action Steps for U.S. Involvement in
Afghanistan
Women’s Action for New Directions will only
support additional military forces if the following
action steps and principles are implemented.
1.
Dramatically reallocate funding with a more balanced
division among efforts that would:
-
Ensure
security, especially for the 65% majority who are
women and girls;
-
Rebuild
a civil society which respects civil rights, provides
for health and welfare, and supports democratic
institutions through diplomatic and development
surges;
-
Prohibit
and penalize corruption at all levels.
2. Stop drone airstrikes and all bombing.
3.
Devise a military exit plan with timelines, which
fulfills the guiding principles listed below.
4.
Limit use of additional American forces to providing
security for innocent residents of Afghanistan.
Guiding Principles for U.S. Involvement in
Afghanistan
-
Respect
the right of the citizens of Afghanistan to live
in a country that provides physical safety, life's
necessities, and opportunities for education and
employment for all, especially women and girls.
-
Respect the citizens of Afghanistan - listen, consult
and collaborate.
-
Respond
multilaterally and not unilaterally.
-
Exercise military restraint so that no more innocent
lives are lost.
-
Carefully deliberate our ongoing involvement without
plunging into deeper destruction of Afghan society.
-
Examine, research and honestly evaluate our own
mistakes.
|
| |
|
|
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” - Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
|
|
WAND has speakers available to make presentations on the military budget to organizations who are looking for programs in the late summer and fall. If you belong to a Sunday School class, PTA or other group, let them know we are available! Email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
for more details.
|
|
The bipartisan consensus on U.S. military spending
Global Security has taken the Fiscal Year 2008 U.S. budget and prepared a new chart illustrating the most significant and under-discussed political fact in the United States, one that substantially affects every other issue:
  
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
