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News :: Iraq : Peace |
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*URBANA TOWN HALL MEETING* |
Current rating: 0 |
by Kruse/Wahlfeldt
Email: jandurl (nospam) insightbb.com (verified) |
22 Feb 2006
Modified: 09:37:25 PM |
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
If you missed the Urbana TOWN HALL Meeting held on 2/21/06 you might want to tune in to Channel 6 UPTV on any of the dates listed below and watch a rerun of this AWARE Sponsored event. *******Standing Room Only, a crowd of nearly 70 people!
AWARE sponsored the TOWN HALL meeting to request an Urbana City Council Resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. Military from Iraq.
This is local Television at its best.
2/24...... 8:00 AM
2/25..... 11 PM
2/26..... 11 AM
3/3........ 8 AM
3/4......... 11 PM
3/5......... 3 PM |
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TOWN HALL MEETING
Tuesday, February 21, 7:00 P.M.
Urbana City Council Chambers
400 South Vine Street
*********************************************************************************************
The citizens of Urbana are invited to hear and discuss the merits of a City Council Resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
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Panelists:
Danielle Chynoweth β Cities of Progress: A National Initiative
Mort Brussel β Economic and Social Impact on Urbana and the U of I
Heidi Weatherford β Moral/Religious Aspects of War & Occupation
Charlie Smyth β Why the City Should Address this Issue
Bushra Radeef & Mohammad Al-Hetti β A Local Muslim Perspective
*********************************************************************************************
Comments and questions from the public are welcome.
(Hosted and Sponsored by A.W.A.R.E)
Community Resolution to End the U.S. Occupation of Iraq
WHEREAS this City Council passed a resolution opposing war in Iraq prior to the U.S invasion in 2003;
WHEREAS the United States government misled its citizens and the world at large with false and distorted intelligence on the existence of weapons of mass destruction, on connections between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, and on levels of support among the Iraqi people for a U.S. invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein;
WHEREAS the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq have killed and maimed untold thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens as well as American, Iraqi, and other coalition troops and have extensively destroyed infrastructure upon which daily life in Iraq depends (especially power, water, sewer, and transportation systems, but also homes, hospitals, police stations, schools, and religious buildings);
WHEREAS the U.S. occupation of Iraq has failed to establish basic civil order and security for the citizens of Iraq and has failed to reconstruct critically damaged infrastructure;
WHEREAS the U.S. occupation has incited violent responses by national insurgents and foreign terrorists and created a situation in which innocent Iraqi citizens are being killed, incarcerated, and maimed in escalating numbers by all parties involved in the conflict;
WHEREAS continued occupation has been seen to further increase levels of destruction, disorder, and resistance;
WHEREAS many families living in Urbana have relatives, friends and/or colleagues in Iraq who are being subjected to the above conditions daily, whether as Iraqi citizens, members of the U.S. military, business people contracting to provide needed goods and services, or volunteers seeking to provide humane relief;
WHEREAS the billions of dollars being spent on the war could be put to constructive social and economic
uses in both this country and abroad;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT United States troops shall be withdrawn from Iraq starting immediately and proceeding as fast as practically feasible, with responsibility for maintaining civil order and security being assumed by a freely determined government of the Iraqi people uninhibited by U.S. interference and aided with whatever international support such a government can obtain;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT after withdrawal, the United States government shall provide extensive financial aid to Iraq to support both peacekeeping efforts and the reconstruction of its war ravaged infrastructure; and finally
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT a copy of this resolution shall be sent to Illinois Senators Richard Durbin and Barack Obama, and United States Representative Timothy Johnson. |
Related stories on this site:
TOWN HALL MEETING
National, State and Local Levels: Cost of Iraq War Rises for Taxpayers
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This work is in the public domain |
Comments
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*Urbana Town Hall Meeting* |
by Kruse/Wahlfeldt
jandurl (nospam) insightbb.com (verified) |
Current rating: 0
22 Feb 2006
Modified: 09:56:37 PM |
 |  |  |
Town Hall Meeting was held on 2/21/06.
A.W.A.R.E. hopes to have this resolution passed by the Urbana City Council on March 20, 2006, the third Anniversary of the U.S. led invasion and occupation of Iraq! |
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Re: *URBANA TOWN HALL MEETING* |
by Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
23 Feb 2006
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Great job, folks! Excellent speakers, excellent comments afterward. A majority of Council members were there, so let's hope they 'll vote the right way.
(We should remind them how they should vote.) |
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Starting with Our Cities, We will Take Back our Country |
by Danielle Chynoweth
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Feb 2006
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What follows is my contribution as a panelist at the townhall. Enjoy - Danielle
BRING OUR TROOPS HOME TOWNHALL SPEECH
Danielle Chynoweth
2.21.05
Thanks to AWARE for putting this on, and for persisting. It is hard to be an ignored majority.
Starting with our cities, we will take back our country.
On the scale of a city, we can generate alternatives with which city residents can have direct - rather than mediated - experiences. And here in our city, we can see directly the consequences our policies have on one another. This circumvents the media black out we experience from living in an age where less than ten media conglomerates own most of the tools of public story telling.
It is on the scale of the city that democracy is still possible. Here, going door-to-door to gather votes in the handfuls still beats the strategy of trying to buy elections. This is a, unfortunately, a radical notion.
In 2003, cities including Urbana, spoke in opposition to the mobilization for war against Iraq. Congress abdicated their responsibility to have the all important discussion and decision about whether or not to wage a war. So cities like Urbana had townhall meetings to fill the silence and passed a formal resolution.
Urbana was represented in the Cities for Peace delegation joining the million + person protests in New York City shortly before the war. We also met with alderpersons in NYC, victim city of 9-11, urging them to pass a resolution to oppose the war - and they did. Chicago, L.A., Atlanta and 160 other cities voted for resolutions against the invasion.
Urbana's resolution was discussed on the floor of Britain's House of Lords. A diary detailing the process of passing the our resolution was published in a Swiss newspaper with a circulation of 200,000. We are part of a global community with global conversations and consequences.
People who say this isn't a local issue, have their blinders on. My friends and neighbors have lost loved ones. Our cities have seen significant cuts in revenues as $320 billion - that is $320,000,000,000 of our dollars that could have gone to housing, education, and healthcare - has been diverted to war.
Still the President persisted in launching the invasion despite our overwhelming opposition. But the Cities for Peace initiative launched an infrastructure that aims to knit together progressive initiatives across the country. Cities for Peace has become Cities for Progress (see www.citiesforprogress.org).
We - this coalition of progressive city council members and state representatives - are at the beginning of organizing a national Cities for Progress agenda. This agenda includes the current call for resolutions to end the war and bring the troops home.
I have submitted my suggestions to the group including:
- Civilian Oversight of the Police.
We should have this oversight board in place by the summer.
- Affordable housing that uses 20% of standard energy consumption.
Urbana is working on an entire new neighborhood, close to downtown that would serve as a model in affordability and energy efficiency. Site plans are underway as we speak.
- Free, open access to the internet as a basic tool of literacy.
Urbana is developing an inexpensive downtown wireless infrastructure as a testbed for further city deployment. We will be the first open access, open architecture municipal mesh network.
- Public art programming that funds artists.
- Zero waste
Berekeley has pledged to have zero waste by 2020. Council goals call for the reuse of construction waste and the instigation of commercial recycling. I would like to see us follow in Berkeley's footsteps.
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Also see the News Gazette article:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2006/02/22/city_stand_sought/ |
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Re: *URBANA TOWN HALL MEETING* |
by Benjamin Steinberg
pixies_14 (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
23 Mar 2006
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I am originally from Melvin, IL but spent a lot of my time in Champaign. To many people in the area I am known as Ben, but in my current job I am Cpl Steinberg. I am a United States Marine and everytime I see any statements opposing the war it saddens me.
Whether the troops who are over in Iraq right now agree or oppose the war they are still there. Whether they are fighting for an unknown cause or for your freedom they are there. And whether or not you think it is right for them to be there or not, the least you can do is show your support to keep their morale up.
Day in and day out they are put through hardships many of you will never know but you are still quick to be nay sayers instead of giving them hope. The biggest thing a troop can have is knowing their family and friends are there for them. And even though you may think you are doing them good by trying to get them back, you are actually killing their spirit, dropping their guard, and quite possibly making them doubt their alliance (or at least their government). In our job, confindence in your leadership is of the upmost importance. And any doubt can lead to death, whether it be their own or a fellow service member.
Many who oppose the war are older and remember back to Vietnam. In those days if someone would have spoken out about the government or the war, what would have happened? Would it have been taken so lightly like it is now, or in such a manner that we doubt the guidance of our president? I firmly believe that those people would have been outcast.
I have voluntarily signed a contract saying that I will protect my country and their way of life, their rights, even if it means giving up my own.
Don't be so quick to forget 9/11 and the anger every American felt. Remember, whether we are fighting for revenge or to stop a potential threat, we are ultimately fighting for your protection, for your right to be nay sayers. Show some respect and support your troops.
The cost of victory may be high, but the outcome of surrender is far greater. |
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Re: *URBANA TOWN HALL MEETING* |
by 60's protestor
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
23 Mar 2006
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Ben,
I'm going to accept at face value the things you said in describing yourself. What concerns me is that, if you are a soldier, you are so woefully uninformed about the history of country you are protecting. Please spend some time reading about Vietnam, protest against the war, and the degree to which protestors were able to shift the course of the war. Lyndon Johnson was brought down by protest. |
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