Another Grim Milestone -- 3,000 Deaths Too Many

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
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Please forward widely!

Dear friend of United for Peace and Justice,

As of today, more than 2,990 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.
(http://icasualties.org/oif/)

By the time you read this, the death toll may have reached 3,000. We must bear
witness to this tragic milestone, even though many people are already beginning
their celebrations of the new year. And when we do take action on this occasion, we
must remind others that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, women and men have
also died in this outrageous war and occupation. Our call to end this war and to
bring all the troops home now must be heard in every corner of the country! The
killing must stop.

Here are some things you can do:

* Make a public statement on the 3,000th U.S. death with a vigil or other
public event in your community. Under the slogan, "Not One More Death, Not One
More Dollar" (http://www.afsc.org/3000), the American Friends Service Committee,
which sits on UFPJ's National Steering Committee, is coordinating events all
around the country the day after the 3,000th death occurs. If you cannot
organize something that quickly, then do your activity anytime in the next
several days -- the message will still be relevant. More than 150 events have
already been listed and they welcome more listings. Click here for resources and
event ideas: http://afsc.org/3000/resources.htm

* Ask people to wear black armbands or pin-on ribbons. The black (for
mourning) background with the number 3,000 in white, could be a powerful
statement of sorrow and of protest in the days after that grim milestone is
reached. Click here to see a sample of what this can look like:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3475 The idea is to not only wear a
ribbon and/or armband yourself but to distribute these in large quantities to as
many people as possible -- in shopping districts, on campuses, in front of
government buildings, at busy mass transit stops, wherever there are people in
motion. Many will be moved to have an armband or ribbon pinned on them. As they
go about their daily routines, they will bear witness to the anger more and more
people feel. This kind of easy-to-do activity can help bring new people into
motion. Often, that small first step -- voting in a local referendum around the
war, signing a postcard to a member of Congress, or wearing a black ribbon --
will help people think about what else they can do to help end the occupation.

* The Bring Them Home Now! campaign (http://bringthemhomenow.org/) has made
postcards, black for mourning, to serve as a blunt reminder of this grim
milestone and to demand that our Senators and Representatives work to end the
occupation and stop funding it! To reserve these cards for use in organizing
against the war, email BTHN! now (contactbthn [at] gmail.com). The unit cost of rush
printing and shipping 10,000 cards will come to a little over 10 cents a card.
Please donate this cost (or more) to the BTHN! campaign
(https://www.donate.net/ds/basket.asp?dept_id=590) so they can keep going, and
if you can't yourself make use of the cards, consider making a donation so they
can be used by others. (Note: Local groups can print out or photocopy labels
with the addresses of elected officials from your area to make the cards easier
to use.) Fill every Congressional mailbox with these cards. Let them and their
staff know that the way to support the troops is to Bring Them Home.

* Flood your local radio talk shows with calls and write letters to the
editor. The mainstream media might give major coverage to the 3,000 U.S. death
and our voices should be heard. Be sure to always talk about the hundreds of
thousands of Iraqis killed in this outrageous war. (Click here to find contact
information for your local media outlets:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/)

* And, when possible, be sure to let folks know that we are taking our
mourning to Washington on Saturday, Jan. 27th, for a massive march for peace. On
Monday, January 29th, we will be meeting with members of Congress to make sure
they get the message. Click here for flyers to download and distribute:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3437


Peace,


Leslie Cagan
National Coordinator
UFPJ

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Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today --
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/donate

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email