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He and his fellow travelers mean well; and they sing nice songs (Peter, Paul and Mary were at the Lincoln Monument)...just too bad they don't really understand what they are up against and how much many of their friends, especially the 'liberal' Jews who have in the end both allowed and made possible Israeli transgressions (not to mention American ones). But Ben made sure made great ice cream; and maybe he ought to have stuck to it.<br>--------------------<br><br><br> "The people want peace; indeed, I <br> believe they want peace so badly <br> that the governments will just have<br> to step aside and let them have it."<br> - Dwight Eisenhower<br><br><br><br> ..."So this is the last gasp of an ancient way of ruling. A few men with<br> guns and wealth are being threatened by the billions of people they rule<br> over, and the people are beginning to win."<br><br>This is a sad time for all of us. President Bush is hell-bent on taking<br>the world to war despite opposition from nearly all quarters. His<br>deafness is shocking. He ignores the wishes of the United Nations <br>claiming he must because Saddam Hussein has ignored the wishes of <br>the United Nations.<br><br>Now the people of the world must prepare for a war we do not want. Our<br>first thoughts and prayers must go out to the victims of this war: the<br>soldiers sent to kill and be killed, the civilians who will be sacrificed<br>in the name of "shock and awe", the children here at home who will go<br>without a proper education or medical care so that George Bush can pay<br>for his adventure while still enriching the already rich. In the end we will<br>all be victims of his war.<br><br>Despite all the sadness, we can draw strength from our remarkable<br>successes over the last months. We are witnessing the dawning of a new<br>superpower, the power of organized, coordinated, internet people<br>worldwide. And it is challenging the old power of money and guns. The<br>peace loving people of the world have risen up in ways never before seen<br>in human history. We have just been participants in the largest anti-war<br>rallies in history, and the first large scale rallies to take place BEFORE<br>the shooting starts. Last Sunday's global candlelight vigils took place<br>in 140 countries and was organized in a matter of days by an army of<br>peacemakers.<br><br>This is what waging peace looks like, and we have never seen it before.<br>World leaders are being forced to respond to these new pressures. George<br>Bush tried to use the old tactics of money (your money) and guns to buy<br>support for his war aims, and in the end was rebuffed by Turkey and the<br>members of the UN Security Council. Almost all of the 30 countries Bush<br>claims are supporting this war are really doing little more than agreeing<br>to avert their eyes to the horror we are about to launch. Only the United <br>Kingdom is sending a large contingent of troops, and Tony Blair is<br>suffering terribly because of it.<br><br>So this is the last gasp of an ancient way of ruling. A few men with<br>guns and wealth are being threatened by the billions of people they rule<br>over, and the people are beginning to win. And in terms of failing to get<br>support from the UN, we did win - an unprecedented win. Going forward we<br>are better prepared to resist the warmongers than ever before. Our tools<br>are more advanced, our tactics smarter, our lists of supporters longer.<br><br>So what do we do now?<br><br>First, all the members of the Win Without War coalition are urging all<br>peaceloving people of the world to keep a light burning in a window. It<br>can be a candle, a lamp, Christmas lights, anything that symbolizes the<br>enduring light of hope and reason during this time of darkness.<br><br>Some of us will want to take a more direct action. The United for Peace<br>and Justice coalition has compiled a list of direct actions you can<br>engage in. While resisting this war I was arrested for the first time <br>engaging in an act of civil disobedience and I can tell you I found <br>the experience uplifting, joyous and deeply rewarding. Here is their website:<br>http://www.unitedforpeace.org>http://www.unitedforpeace.org<br><br>So don't dismay. WE are the new Superpower, the Superpower of Peace, and<br>we aren't done yet.<br><br>Stay strong,<br><br>Ben Cohen<br>President, TrueMajority<br>Co-Founder, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream<br>I am writing this email on my own and not on behalf of Ben & Jerry's,<br>which is not associated with the TrueMajority campaign.<br><br>If your friends want to to join the new Superpower they can register at<br>www.truemajority.org.<br><br><br> <b off></b>
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