Upcoming WIRN Webinar - DEC. 1st "Truthkillers: Corporate Media and the MIC"
Upcoming WIRN Webinar - DEC. 1st "Truthkillers: Corporate Media and the MIC"
The first casualty of war, and militarism, is the truth. And the corporate mainstream media works diligently hand-in-glove with the US military-industrial complex to make this happen. Through its unquestioning repetition of government propaganda, its lies of omission, and its ratings-hungry war mongering, the media have become an essential part of the information war so endemic to US imperialism.
This webinar will describe this deadly relationship and how it has evolved to the point where virtually no dissent, no call for peace, no real understanding of declared adversaries is allowed. From Operation Mockingbird to CIA Director William Casey’s famous quote (“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false”), the control of the US public’s perceptions of its government’s role in the world has been long in the making.
Now that we are on the brink of nuclear armageddon as a result of the US/NATO pursuit of continuous war against Russia and soon, it appears, with China, it has never been more important to see through the lies fed to us from the corporate media. This webinar is a step in that direction.
Reject Raytheon AVL develops Principles for Land Use and Economic Development
Principles for Local Land Use and Economic Development
- Commit to just, equitable, and sustainable development that prioritizes the needs of communities of color and other historically marginalized and disenfranchised people
- Mitigate the climate emergency
- Protect the Earth by exceeding the state environmental protections regarding water, air, and soil quality and maintaining green spaces
- Oppose recruitment and investment in war or fossil fuel corporations
- Invest public money equitably in local and regional businesses, not multi-national corporations
- Generate jobs with a living wage that guarantee workers’ right to organize
- Focus on essential community needs, such as deeply affordable housing, health care, education, social services, infrastructure, renewable energy
- Hold new industries accountable to the community by requiring contributions to essential community needs in exchange for tax incentives
- Make no secret deals - Engage the public in meaningful and transparent decision making from the very beginning of the economic development process
Melody Shank Speaks at Global Zero Congressional Event
On June 28th, Reject Raytheon AVL member, Melody Shank, was a panelist at a Congressional Staff Briefing held by Global Zero. The event was held to share the results of a just-published report, The Real Cost of ICBMs: US Economic Development Beyond Defense Spending, about the need to move away from Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) as part of the US military strategy and how to convert the economies of the local communities where ICBM silos are located. Melody spoke about the difficulty of engaging in local economic development and industry recruitment processes as illustrated in the case of Pratt & Whitney coming to Asheville. You can read her comments at the link below.
Global Peace Wave
On June 25th, Reject Raytheon AVL was one of many peace organizations around the world that created a sustained global peace wave around the earth. Groups across the world held Zoom peace rallies to highlight our need to stop further militarization and to focus on cooperation to end the wars that are ravaging lands and people. In Asheville we held an hour long vigil at the UnVance Monument and spoke of our hopes for a war-free world for our 15-minute on-line rally.
We Have a Song!
Tom Neilson, peace and social justice advocate, has been writing songs for over 50 years. He wrote this song for our action here in Asheville, just this spring! It will appear on his next album. Check out his many other songs on SoundClick.
https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14440140
MountainX Op Ed: "Just Say No to Raytheon Technologies"
https://mountainx.com/opinion/just-say-no-to-raytheon-technologies/