CITIZEN RESISTANCE IN CZECH REPUBLIC INSPIRES US

We heard this morning that the Democrats in the U.S. Congress had cut a deal with the Republicans to give Bush another $162 billion for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. On top of that billions more will be appropriated for Star Wars "research and development" for the 2009 budget. The military industrial complex has taken control of the Congress.

The citizen resistance in the Czech Republic, and now sweeping across Europe and beyond, is a model that should inform and inspire people - particularly those of us living in the belly of the beast, in the good ole USA. We should end our illusions that some shining knight on a white horse (a new president) will ride in and rescue us from this military dictatorship that we now live under. In fact our rescue will only come from our own non-violent resistance.

One heartening example is the growing list of people who will be fasting to Stop Star Wars on June 22. We deeply appreciate all those who have committed to join the hunger strike that day. Please remember that we want you to do more than just fast. We need you to sign the Czech citizens petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/ and to write a letter to your local newspaper explaining the issue. We ask you to share this email with your personal list so that we can spread the message far and wide. Thanks for your support.

List to date

Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Bittiandra Muddappa Aiyyappa (Mumbai, India)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nancy Anderson (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Pat Arrowsmith (London, England)
Nancy Bartasavich (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Jean Basinger (Des Moines, Iowa)
John Baugher (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)
Patricia Crawford Berg (Staten Island, New York)
Joan Saks Berman (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Pat Birnie (Tucson, Arizona)
Benay Blend (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Rev. Bill Bliss (Bath, Maine)
Amaury Blondet (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)
Grace Braley (Portland, Maine)
Ivan Braun (New York, New York)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
Kelli Brew (Gainesville, Florida)
Anna Maria Caldara (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Maxine Caron (Byron Bay, Australia)
Sue Chase (Batesville, Virginia)
Aman Chauhan (India)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Barbara Clancy (Stow, Massachusetts)
Lorna Clark (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
William Coop (Brunswick, Maine)
Jeremy Corbyn, MP (London, England)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Nacyra Leila Gómez-Cruz (Veradera, Cuba)
Paul Cunningham (South Portland, Maine)
Hugh Curran (Surry, Maine)
Dave S. Cutler (Acton, Massachusetts)
Bob Dale (Brunswick, Maine)
Gail Daneker (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Robert Daniels II (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Larry Dansinger (Monroe, Maine)
Lynn DeFilippo (Nome, Alaska)
Katy Delau (Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada)
Christine DeTroy (Brunswick, Maine)
Mary Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Mike Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Chris Dove (Whitby, England)
Rev. Denis J. Dunn (Porter, Maine)
Aurel Duta (Bucharest, Romania)
MacGregor Eddy (Salinas, California)
Marjorie Swann Edwin (Santa Cruz, California)
Dan Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Lynn Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Corazon Valdez-Fabros (Manila, Philippines)
Dr Mrunalini Fadnavis (Nagpur, India)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Jackie Fearnley (Goathland, England)
Yoriko Freed (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Stacey Fritz (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Lee Gagnon (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Sudhir Gandotra (India)
Joseph Gerson (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Anne Gibbons (New York, New York)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Arlyne Goodwin (Naples, Florida)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Olympia, Washington)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Kevin Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Maggie Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Luke Hansen (Chicago, Illinois)
Amy Harlib (New York, New York)
Faith Harmony (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Kate Harris (Belfast, Maine)
Alanna Hartzok (Fayetteville, Pennsylvania)
Dorothy Hassfeld (Brunswick, Maine)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Suzanne Hedrick (Nobleboro, Maine)
Jenny Heinz (New York, New York)
Joann Henderson (Florence Oregon)
Stuart Henderson (Florence Oregon)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Amanda Hoag (Bath, Maine)
Mair Honan (Portland, Maine)
Jackie Hudson, OP (Bremerton, Washington)
Kate Hudson (London, England)
Connie Jenkins (Orono, Maine)
Molly Johnson (San Miguel, California)
Sally Jones (Staten Island, New York)
Carla Josephson (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Sr. Mary Jude Jun, OSU (St. Louis, Missouri)
Egbert Kankeleit (Darmstadt, Germany)
Nona Keel (Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada)
Ian Keith (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Natalie Kempner (Woolwich, Maine)
Bruce Kent (London, England)
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Judy Kugler (Marietta, Georgia)
Dr. Dharmendra Kumar (India)
Dr. R. C. Kushwaha (India)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Larry Landry (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Joanne Landy (New York, New York)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Louise Legun (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Debbie Leighton (West Bath, Maine)
Mary Dennis Lentsch (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Dave Lewit (Boston, Massachusetts)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Suzanne Linton (White Bear Lake, Minnesota)
Gawain Little (Oxford, England)
Marie-Noel Lombard (Paris, France)
Matt Loosigian (Brunswick, Maine)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Harry Loumeau (Tucson, Arizona)
Lew Lubka (Fargo, North Dakota)
Carla L. Rael-Luhman (Portales, New Mexico)
Eric Lynn (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Mahila Mahavidyalaya (Nagpur, India)
Deb Marshall (Little Dear Isle, Maine)
Rev. Sergio Samuel Arce-Martínez (Veradera, Cuba)
Helyne May (Windham, Maine)
Natasha Mayers (Whitefield, Maine)
Ed McCartan (Brunswick, Maine)
Geralyn McDowell (Troy, New York)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Jane McKears (Birmingham, England)
Gloria McMillan (Tucson, Arizona)
Bernie Meyer (Olympia, Washington)
Karl Meyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
Carol Miller (Ojo Sarco, New Mexico)
John Miller (Blue Hill, Maine)
Peter Mitchell (Rochester, New York)
Damien Moran (Warsaw, Poland)
Ariana Mortello – 13 years old (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)
Ellen Murphy (Bellingham, Washington)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Laurie Shade-Neff (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
Doctress Neutopia (Tucson, Arizona)
Agneta Norberg (Stockholm, Sweden)
Nancy O’Byrne (St. Augustine, Florida)
Nancy Oden (Jonesboro, Maine)
Rev. Gerald Oleson (Bangor, Maine)
Jon Olsen (Jefferson, Maine)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nana Paldi (Fairbanks, Alaska)
James Palmer (Stetson, Maine)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Terrence E. Paupp (San Diego, California)
Vincent Pawlowski (Tucson, Arizona)
Jewel Payne (Davis, California)
Lindis Percy (Harrogate, England)
Ricardo Peres (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Ilze Petersons (Orono, Maine)
Magda Philips (Whitby, England)
Tina Phillips (Brunswick, Maine)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Peter Pollard (York, England)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Robert Rabin (Vieques, Puerto Rico)
Robert Randall (Brunswick, Georgia)
Susan Ravitz (Easton, Pennsylvania)
Phyllis Reames (Portland, Maine)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
Dennis Redmond (New York, New York)
Lilly Rendt (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Carla Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Megan Rice (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Linda Richards (Corvallis, Oregon)
Emily Ricketts (Tucson, Arizona)
Tim Rinne (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Bill Rixon (Freeport, Maine)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Peter Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Chris Rooney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Jane Sanford (Belfast, Maine)
Deb Sawyer (Portland, Maine)
Nicole Scott (Shoreline, Washington)
Barbara Calvert Seifred (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Stan Serafin (Corrales, New Mexico)
Dr. Rajesh Sharma (India)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Ymani Simmons (Leicester, North Carolina)
Ms. Samm Simpson (Dunedin, Florida)
Father River Sims (San Francisco, California)
Robert M. Smith (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Cathy Stanton (Melbourne, Florida)
Janie Stein (Salina, Kansas)
Melissa D. Stewart (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Dr. Pawan Sudhir (India)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
Wayne Sumstine (Tucson, Arizona)
Silvia Swinden (London, England)
Arun Thankur (India)
Don Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Sally-Alice Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Cynthia Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
John Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
Don Timmerman (Park Falls, Wisconsin)
Fran Truitt (Blue Hill, Maine)
Steve Tumolo (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Meredith Tupper (Springfield, Virginia)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
Eric Verlo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Karen Wainberg (Bath, Maine)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Dave Webb (Leeds, England)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Mark Welsch (Omaha, Nebraska)
Jeanne Wheeler (Oahu, Hawaii)
Pat Wheeler (Deer Isle, Maine)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Keith K. Williams (Windham, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)
Peter Woodruff (Arrowsic, Maine)
Dr. Yogender Yadav (India)
Jerry Zawada, OFM (Las Vegas, Nevada)
John Zokovitch (Gainesville, Florida)
Laurie Zolas (Bronx, New York)