If you are the parent or guardian of an 11th- or 12th-grader enrolled in public school, please read on. If you know a parent (or student) that can use this info, please pass it on.

According to the No Child Left Behind Act, your school must release your child’s contact information on demand to military recruiters. But if you act now, you can stop these recruiters from invading the privacy of your home by trying to convince your child to join the military. To say “no” to the school’s release of your child’s information, you must inform the school in writing of your desires no later than Sept. 20.

There is a simple form that should have been provided with your child’s enrollment materials; if not, it should still be available at the school.

If you have problems getting this form from your school, or if you need help with what to write to opt out, call the Oklahoma Center for Conscience at 405.445.0115.

Print and sign this generic form if you do not have a form available in your enrollment packet: http://snipr.com/mil-opt-out

Manning, an Oklahoma native, faces 52 years in prison for exposing war crimes

What: Solidarity March in Support of Bradley Manning
When: Thursday, August 12, 8pm
Where: Corner of NE 16th and Lincoln to Oklahoma State Capitol

This Thursday, August 12, Oklahomans will show support for and solidarity with Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of leaking documents about the Afghanistan War, with a march at dusk near the state capitol. The Army intelligence analyst, originally from Cresent, Oklahoma, is being held in the brig at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia.

The action is being organized locally by the Oklahoma Center for Conscience, with support from the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

Private First Class Bradley Manning, a 22-year-old intelligence analyst stationed in Iraq, stands accused of disclosing a classified video depicting American troops in Iraq shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in 2007. Eleven people were killed, including two Reuters employees, and two children were critically injured. No charges have been filed against the soldiers who did the killing.

News sources have also speculated about Manning’s involvement in the leak of over 90,000 secret documents (collectively known as the Afghanistan “war logs”) made public by WikiLeaks, a website that publishes leaked material anonymously.

James M. Branum, an attorney that works with OCC on military law cases, calls the Pentagon’s treatment of Manning “extreme” and designed to set up the case “as an example of the punishment waiting for others who would consider exposing violations of military regs and international law.”

“We are saying that exposing war crimes is not a crime,” he said.

The whistleblower behind the Vietnam era’s Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has called Mr. Manning a hero.  ”I admire the courage of Bradley Manning for sacrificing himself to make the public aware of the futility of the war in Afghanistan,” says Ellsberg.

“Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime,” says former Marine Corporal Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist, a group teaming up with the Bradley Manning Support Network to raise funds for Manning’s defense.

More info:

http://www.bradleymanning.org/

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/blogcategory/64/122/

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/search/node/Bradley%20Manning

Bradley Manning march press release

We’re very excited about this change in our schedule: We are going to have monthly meetings for some hands-on activities that serve to help end war, promote and enhance GI Rights, counter military recruitment and engage other peace work. The meeting will be on the third Sunday of June and July at 3 pm at Joy Mennonite Church. We’ll see how that time works out and may change later to meet the schedules of participants.

Some of the things we’ll be doing, and ask you to help us with, are:

• letter-writing
• poster/banner making
• literature prep (folding, stapling, and the like)
• newsletter production
• website posts and Facebook sharing
• library management (books, videos)

We’ll play some of our great peace-themed DVDs, or some music. There will be refreshments, laughter, camaraderie, probably a moderate level of mayhem and undoubtedly some fun. If you have any questions or ideas for these meetings, please let us know. Please join us if you can and share this info with others.