Is Syrian War Off Because of Code Pink?

2014-02-14T20:11:58.856Z

As the Obama administration made the case for war, Code Pink staged a round the clock Peace Insurrection outside of Congress. As announced on the Code Pink w...

Randall Robinson on Nelson Mandela, and the Success of the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement (BDS) in overthrowing the South African apartheid regime

2013-12-06T17:50:23.199Z

from the rush transcript of the interview:
RANDALL ROBINSON: "5,000 Americans who came to the embassy over the following years—year to be arrested. And of course that helped to propel through the Congress the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. So, it—and then American investments in South Africa began to tumble. And, of course, that, combined with the internal pressures in the country, produced the circumstances in the government there, the readiness to negotiate and to ultimately release Nelson Mandela. ... [The divestment movement] made every difference. There was no inclination in government to change policy. There was in place a policy that the Republican government called "constructive engagement," meaning that, in effect, that we were on South Africa’s side and that sanctions would be the wrong thing, even though the ANC was asking us to do all that we could to put in place sanctions, because they knew, and we knew, that unless the government of South Africa felt the steel of some penalty for what they were doing, nothing would ever change. But once the loans began to disappear and the corporate investors began to disappear and the income and the size of the South African economy began to shrink, because of these efforts and because of these civil disobedience efforts across the United States, it made all the difference in the world.

And so, then we saw passed in 1986 in October the Comprehensive Act, with a Republican Senate overriding the veto of Ronald Reagan. It was the only time in the 20th century that an American president had suffered an override for a foreign policy measure, an override of a veto. So, it was historic. And it happened because of the leadership in the Congress working with us, the leadership of Senator Ted Kennedy, the leadership of Bill Gray in the House, the Congressional Black Caucus and many others—Richard Lugar, a Republican leader. Lowell Weicker, a Republican from Connecticut, became the first American member of the United States Senate to be arrested in an act of civil disobedience."

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/6/randall_robinson_on_nelson_mandela_us

No War With Syria Rally - Tulsa, Oklahoma - August 31, 2013

2013-09-09T16:12:10.619Z

No War With Syria Rally - Tulsa, Oklahoma - August 31, 2013

Rep. Alan Grayson on Syria: Congress Should Reject "War Mongering" and Focus on Problems at Home 1/2

2013-09-05T21:27:46.013Z

"The Washington Post whip count as of this morning, there are 19 members of Congress in favor of this resolution and 174 against. And the reasons are simple: It’s not our responsibility, it’s not going to do any good, it’s expensive, and it’s dangerous. And those arguments are winning the day among House members, both Democrat and Republican. The margin among Democrats right now in the House is four-to-one against. The margin among Republicans is over 10-to-one against."

from the rush transcript, interview on DemocracyNow! 5th Sept 2013:
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/5/rep_alan_grayson_on_syria_congress

All Videos Tagged Congress (Tulsa Peace Fellowship) - Tulsa Peace Fellowship

Is Syrian War Off Because of Code Pink?

Randall Robinson on Nelson Mandela, and the Success of the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement (BDS) in overthrowing the South African apartheid regime

No War With Syria Rally - Tulsa, Oklahoma - August 31, 2013

Rep. Alan Grayson on Syria: Congress Should Reject "War Mongering" and Focus on Problems at Home 1/2