The Veterans For Peace annual convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, August 22-26 at the Intercontinental Hotel, is going to be nothing short of awesome!

This year’s theme is Reclaim Armistice Day ― End All Wars! Hosts are Twin Cities Chapter 27, who for years has been one of the strongest chapters ringing the bells to “Reclaim Armistice Day.” Global peace workshops around current issues will feature Ann Wright, David Swanson, Phyllis Bennis, Marjorie Kahn, Ellen Barfield, Medea Benjamin and Aida Touma-Sliman, a well-known Palestinian journalist and member of the Israeli Knesset, as well as many other knowledgeable presenters on global issues and activist strategies. A number of important,  informative workshops are also available for veterans and their supporters. In addition there is an art exhibit, a Poetry Soiree, an opportunity for a boat ride on the Mississippi, and a banquet featuring a talk by Christine Ahn,  international coordinator of Women Cross DMZ and policy analyst on North Korea.

Here is a sampling of the plenaries and just a few of the many workshops:

• Plenaries
  • Indigenous People and the Doctrine of Discovery
  • Palestine, Yemen and Iran: U.S. Wars in the Middle East
  • Veterans For Peace, the United Nations and Realizing World Peace
• Workshops
  • A Nuclear Free World Is Possible – Steve McKeown and Marie Braun
  • Free Speech in War Time – Mike Madden, Roger Cuthbertson and Jordan Kushner
  • Working in Coalition Grassroots Outreach (Middle East Emphasis) – Mary Neznek
  • Making Peace Possible. Lasting Legacy of War: Reconciliation between Nations  and People − Susan Schnall and panel
  • Building a Media Strategy
  • Building Bridges, Making Peace Possible − Rachel Cunningham

Go to VeteransForPeace.org for program details and registration or for questions call the Chapter 27 office: 612-821-9141.  One and two-day registration options are available for all to take advantage of this great opportunity to attend the workshops and plenaries. Walk-in registration will be available at the conference all days.

Click this link for more information on Facebook,

In addition to a program of  excellent plenaries and workshops, Veterans for Peace is sponsoring two free events.

TWO FREE EVENTS: The public is invited:

Click this link for more information about the free events on Facebook.

POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN: A National Call for Moral Revival

⇔ Intersecting Perspectives ⇔

When poor people take action together they will do so with a
freedom and power that will be a new and unsettling force. 
                                                  —Martin Luther King Jr., 1967

Friday, August 24, 2018     7:00 to 9:30 pm
Central Presbyterian Church, 500 Cedar Street, St. Paul MN 55101
(Light rail stop)

The Poor People’s Campaign Minnesota and Veterans for Peace invite you to Intersecting Perspectives, a free public event. PPC’s powerful 40-day campaign has united tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty and inequality, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism, and the nation’s distorted morality. Please join us as we hear from people most impacted by these issues.

Moderated by Michael McPhearson, Veterans for Peace executive director, speakers include Monique Cullers-Doty, Black Lives Matter; Austin Berger, Students Demand Action Minnesota, working for gun control; Rose Whipple, Youth Climate intervener, Honor the Earth; and Rev. Daniel Romero, advocate for immigrant rights. Distinguished Native poet Thomas LaBlanc, Tatanka Ohitika, (Strong Buffalo) will read, accompanied by celebrated cellist Jacqueline Ultan.

Inspiring music by Twin City musicians extraordinaire: Uplifting singing artist and healer Jayanthi Kyle; diverse and dynamic vocalist Tonia Hughes; and singer-songwriter and troubadour Larry Long, who has made his life work the celebration of everyday heroes.

Veterans for Peace Convention

⇔ Closing Ceremony and March ⇔

Sunday, August 26, 2018     9:30 am
InterContinental Hotel, 11 E. Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul MN

All are welcome to join the closing plenary and march, a commemoration of the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact for world peace 90 years ago. A free and open to the public event, we will walk a few blocks from the InterContinental Hotel to the Landmark Center on 75 W 5th St. where we will have talks and ceremony in remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I and the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Kellogg Briand Pact for peace worldwide on August 27, 1928. Author, blogger and activist David Swanson and local peace activists from VFP and from Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) will participate in the commemoration. Please join us!

For more information about these events, contact VeteransForPeace.org or contact Barry Riesch at bwrvpf@gmail.com or call 612-821-9141.

◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊  ◊  ◊

Like many other independent news and media sites, Rise Up Times has noticed a decline in the number of people looking at articles due to censorship by Google, Facebook, and other internet corporations. Independent journalism has become the last bastion in seeking and telling the truth as government and corporate lies are promoted by the mainstream corporate media. In the name of democratic rights for all, please support us now and share articles widely. The people, Yes!

Sue Ann Martinson, Editor, Rise Up Times

◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊   ◊  ◊  ◊

The contents of Rise Up Times do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor. Rise Up Times republishes stories from a number of other independent news sources.  Articles are chosen for republication based on the interest of our readers.