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Memorial Day RAGA newsletter, by Vladislav Krasnov

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues!

For Memorial Day on May 29, 2017, I got a shorter than usual newsletter. Our Russian friends must know that Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the USA for remembering those who died while serving in the US armed forces. Observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day is to remember those who died while serving, while Veterans Day honors all U.S. military veterans.

As a member of Veterans for Peace (VFP), I think that the best way to honor those fallen in the service to their country is to conduct such foreign policy that minimizes and, hopefully, reduced to nil, human sacrifices on both sides. We should strive to achieve our national security by not threatening, humiliating and bombing our opponents but by pacifying them with our readiness for a negotiated compromise. It is my duty to forward the BELOW announcements of various peace promoting events.

In my book, Russia Beyond Communism: A Chronicle of National Rebirth (https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Beyond-Communism-Chronicle-Contemporary/dp/0813383617), written and published BEFORE the collapse of the USSR, I predicted that the best future was to abandon Communist ideology and return instead to the traditional roots of Russian culture, including Russian Orthodox Christianity. In fact, my book was dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of Russia's baptism in the year of 988. Since the August 1991 coup, Russia has been indeed returning, gradually and tentatively, to its traditional Christian roots. If before 1991 Soviet soldiers were forbidden to wear crucifix or any other religious symbol, now Russian generals, politicians, and Vladimir Putin like to stress that Russia's basic ethical value system is close to that the US and European Union.

On May 25, President Putin gave a Speech at a ceremony consecrating the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs.  Symbolically the Church is near the Lubyanka Square with its Lubyanka Building notorious for Soviet secret police persecution of all believers as well as dissidents.  That's what he said:

This ceremony consecrating the new church at the Sretensky Monastery is an important and significant event not only for Orthodox believers, but for our society as a whole. This is because this church is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, and to the new martyrs, in other words, to the memory of those who suffered during the years of anti-religious persecution and who died during this time of repression. At the same time, it embodies the spirit of reconciliation.

It is deeply symbolic that this new church is opening on the year, which marks the 100th anniversary of the February and October revolutions (of 1917) that were the departure point for many of the serious trials our country had gone through during the twentieth century.

The consecration was tied to the 10th anniversary of the establishment of unity between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Overseas, of which I was a long time member, and which was founded by the so called "White Russians" who avoided Soviet persecution by escaping overseas. For me personally, the event indeed embodies the spirit of reconciliation. 

One of my American associates send a number of links which mix together what is in common between the US and Russia

Grave of a Tsarist Russian Navy sailor in a Union cemetery decorated with St. George's ribbon 

Russia sent naval ships to #US during #CivilWar, prevented foreign interference. #WeRemember 🇷🇺sailor Nikolay Demidov, d.1864 #MemorialDay


JOHNNY CASH GOSPEL COLLECTION #17.

Johnny's stirring live rendition of the great hymn, here set to authentic recreated Civil War footage.



"God, Save the Tsar" was the national anthem of the Russian Empire from 1833 till 1917. It was written by Alexey Lvov (music) and Vasiliy Zhukovskiy (text), at the order of Nikolay I, and first titled "A Prayer of the Russian Nation". Kuban Cossack Chorus is one of the leading Folkloric ensembles in Russia. Visit us! http://russia-insider.com/en


From: UNAC<unacpeace@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, May 20, 2017 at 8:59 PM
Subject: [unac] UNAC Conference, NATO, Ukraine and more
To: unac@lists.riseup.net



 

The UNAC conference is approaching fast

June 16-18, 2017
Greater Richmond Convention Center
403 North 3rd Street, Richmond, VA 23219


              Have you registered yet?  Register here:  

                                    http://www.unacconference2017.org/p/registration_7.html

                                                       UNAC's founding conference in 2010


This will be the place where the antiwar and social justice movement will come together this spring to discuss, map strategy and organize for the coming period.  Antiwar leaders from across the country and across the world will be in attendance including: Ajamu Baraka, Medea Benjamin, Glen Ford, Bernadette Ellorin, Bruce Gagnon, Lawrence Hamm, Jaribu Hill, Jonathan W. Hutto, Sr, Margaret Kimberley, Ray McGovern, David Swanson, Ann Wright, Kevin Zeese and many more.  For a more complete list of participants, please go to http://www.unacconference2017.org/p/blog-page_4.html.

See the conference web site:  http://www.unacconference2017.org
Join and share the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1208020632638814/
To see a report on UNAC's last conference, please go here:
http://nepajac.org/UNAC_052015.html

 

UNAC to Protest NATO in Brussels
May 24 - 25

 


UNAC Sponsored anti-NATO demonstration in Chicago, 2012

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be holding a Summit in Brussels on May 24 – 25.  Donald Trump will be attending.   UNAC will be sending a representative to speak at the anti-NATO and anti-Trump actions that will be attended by people from many countries coming to protest the military aggression of NATO and Trump. [read more]

If you will be in Brussels for the protests, please let us know at UNACpeace@gmail.com

 

Veterans On the March • Memorial Day in D.C.

Stop Endless War • Build for Peace!

May 29 and 30, 2017  Washington DC

For more information: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/stop-endless-war-build-peace-memorial-day-dc/

See the video: https://youtu.be/SNDTgecHp3k

​To join the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1709862185979408/

 

The Growth of Fascism in Ukraine

 

UNAC has received documentation on the growth of the fascist movement in Ukraine,  including in the U.S. supported government of Ukraine.  Below is a video followed by a 36 page PDF file on various actions of the fascist movement in that country.

https://youtu.be/APR5E4d3GKQ

http://nepajac.org/ukraine%20evidence.pdf (this file may load slowly)

Please also see the web site of the Odessa Solidarity campaign, which UNAC initiated: www.odessasolidaritycampaign.org.

Join UNAC at the Left Forum

UNAC will be hosting a panel at the Left Forum in New York City on June 2 - 4.

Our panel is called "Democrats & Republicans: The twin parties of Imperialist War."  The panelists include:
                Abayomi Azikwe - UNAC Administrative Cmty & Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice.
                Ajamu Baraka - Black Alliance for Peace and former Green Party VP candidate
                Margaret Kimberley - UNAC AC and Black Agenda Report
                Jeff Mackler - UNAC AC and Socialist Action

We have also helped organize a panel hosted by the Hands  Off Syria Coalition, of which UNAC is a member.  The panel is called  "No to US Intervention in Syria - Keeping the antiwar movement focused on US Wars."  The panelists include:
                Bahman Azad - U.S. Peace Council
                Judy Bello - UNAC AC, Syria Solidarity, Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars
                 Sara Flounders - UNAC AC, International Action Center

                Tarak Kauf - Veterans for Peace
                    
Please join us.
The Left Forum schedule will be posted soon on their web site at: https://www.leftforum.org/
               
               





Please contribute to UNAC:  https://www.unacpeace.org/donate.html

If your organization would like to join the UNAC coalition, please click here: https://www.unacpeace.org/join.html

To unsubscribe from this list, please send an email to UNAC-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

https://www.leftforum.org/

 

Well, I can hardly resist adding to the above "Leftist" anti-war messages a well reasoned article from the conservative RIGHT. One-time Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has a bucket of cold shower for those who are indulging in russophobic hysteria about President Trump revealing US secrets to Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. By the way, President Putin, in jest, on Russian TV publicly upbraided Lavrov for the "failure" to share with him the American "secret".

By Patrick J. Buchanan/ Who is the real threat to the national security?
President Trump has the authority to declassify security secrets. And in sharing that intel with the Russians, who have had airliners taken down by bombs, he was trying to restore a relationship.
   On fighting Islamist terror, we and the Russians agree.
   Five years ago, Russia alerted us that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had become a violent radical Islamist. That was a year and a half before Tsarnaev carried out the Boston Marathon bombing.


Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 

Peace and Justice to the World.

 миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:

"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."