SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

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The Social Responsibilities Round Table works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy.

Learn more about SRRT on the ALA website.

  • 1.  Fwd: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?

    Posted Jan 25, 2022 08:37 AM
    I think everyone should act on this. 
    Al

    Begin forwarded message:

    From: "Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK" <info@codepink.org>
    Subject: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?
    Date: January 25, 2022 at 5:01:09 AM CST
    To: Alfred Kagan <akagan@illinois.edu>

    RSVP for the EMERGENCY WEBINAR: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?


    And tell Congress not to let Biden send troops to Eastern Europe!

    Dear Alfred,

    This is URGENT! President Biden has just ordered 8,500 U.S. troops to be on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, as the dangerous escalation at the Russian/Ukrainian border intensifies. Biden is also considering sending more warships and aircraft, and has already delivered more "lethal aid" to Ukraine. The Pentagon has said that there is the possibility ofsending as many as 50,000 troops!!!

    Join an emergency webinar discussion between CODEPINK'S Medea Benjamin and retired Army Colonel Larry Wilkerson today at 4:00 PM EST. Larry Wilkerson is a professor at the College of William & Mary and was chief of staff to U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell. After ending his military career, Wilkerson publicly criticized the Iraq War and has been a vocal opponent of U.S. policies that put militarism before diplomacy. 

    RSVP FOR THE WEBINAR HERE!

    The U.S. and NATO, whose Response Force is composed of some 40,000 international troops, are exacerbating a conflict that could easily result in war between the world's two most heavily armed nuclear states – the United States and Russia.We must immediately demand that NATO, the U.S., Russia and Ukraine pursue vigorous diplomacy for a negotiated solution. There is every reason to believe that a compromise can be made with Russia, including a guarantee that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO.

    RSVP for today's webinar and send a message to your representatives in Congress, telling them to pressure Biden not to go to war with Russia over Ukraine. Tell Congress that you want negotiations, not escalation. 

    Since 2015, the Minsk II Accord has successfully prevented a new escalation of the civil war in Ukraine. But the United States and NATO have encouraged the Ukrainian government to ignore its obligations under Minsk II, and to instead reassert absolute sovereignty over the Donbas region. They have supplied powerful weapons, which Ukraine has deployed and used in Eastern Ukraine. 

    Russia has always been opposed to NATO's eastern expansion to its borders, and it is determined to stop Ukraine from entering NATO. In 2008, when Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko first applied for NATO membership, President Putin called Ukrainian membership "a direct threat" to Russia. NATO is a military alliance that should have dissolved with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. It should certainly not be expanding to include Ukraine. 

    Rather than NATO dissolving with the Warsaw Pact, as it should have done, it has violated the agreements that brought the original Cold War to an end and reunified Germany. Instead of keeping its promise not to expand eastward, it has added 11 member countries that were once either Soviet republics or members of the Warsaw Pact. 

    Now the situation is teetering on the brink of a massive war. The time to speak out is now! 

    Join the webinar on the crisis in Ukraine and tell Congress not to let Biden send troops to Eastern Europe!

    Towards peace,
    Medea and the entire CODEPINK team: Alice, Allison, Ann, Ariel, Carley, Danaka, Emily, Farida, Jodie, Justina, Kelly, Lauren, Leonardo, Madison, Marcy, Marissa, Mark, Michelle, Nancy, Olivia, Paki, Teri, Shea, and Suzie


    This email was sent to akagan@illinois.edu. To unsubscribe,  click here. 

    To update your email subscription, contact info@codepink.org.

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  • 2.  RE: Fwd: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?

    Posted Jan 26, 2022 10:00 AM
    It may be premature of me to say this, but Al, I hope that the IRTF will not propose a pro-Russia resolution. The pro-Russia position of so many leftists makes no sense to most liberals (which is how most SRRT members would describe themselves). It makes no sense to me why so many on the left are supporting a repressive right-wing authoritarian oligarchy like Russia, which is among the worst from a democratic perspective. Western democracies like the US may have problems, but they are not wrong in their stance on Russia. Taking a pro-Russia stance would be suicide for SRRT.

    Rory Litwin

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    Rory Litwin
    President
    Library Juice Academy
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  • 3.  RE: Fwd: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?

    Posted Jan 26, 2022 10:19 AM
    Rory,

    Thanks for your message. In my opinion, what we need is a diplomatic solution and the promotion of peace in the region. It is crazy to start up another cold war with Russia and/or China. We have to try to restrain the warmongers. Now that the the US has pulled out of Iraq, the weapons manufacturers are worried that profits will go down and will push more weapons sales to Ukraine and elsewhere. I don't have any intention at this time to propose anything to SRRT or ALA. And I will certainly not advance a pro-Russian position. 

    Al







  • 4.  RE: Fwd: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?

    Posted Jan 26, 2022 10:39 AM
    That's great to hear, except that the Code Pink announcement you just shared does advance a pro-Russia position. It views former Soviet countries joining NATO from the perspective of Russia, as though these countries belong under Russian influence. It talks about Minsk II as though it wasn't primarily Russian-backed forces that violated it, causing its collapse. It advocates disbanding NATO as though Russian aggression in the region is not something we should be concerned about, effectively giving these countries over to Russian control. It is understandable to want to be against "militarism," but geopolitical realities are stubborn. And here, what appears to be about stopping a military escalation comes in the context of threatened sanctions, so it has the effect of opposing sanctions without stating it. This is exactly the kind of thing that most people have trouble understanding about the left today. Coddling Russia, apologizing for Russia, appearing on RT, repeating Putin's whataboutisms word-for-word. It makes no sense.

    --
    Rory Litwin

    Pronouns: he, him, his

    P.O. Box 188784
    Sacramento, CA 95818
    Tel. (916) 905-0291 (mobile)
    Tel. (916) 917-5951 (house phone)
    Fax (916) 415-5446

    The Sacramento area is the tribal land of Nisenan people of the central valley, the Foothills and Southern Maidu people to the north, the Valley Miwok and Me-Wuk people to the east, and the Patwin, Wintun, and Wintu people to the south and west. 





  • 5.  RE: Fwd: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?

    Posted Jan 26, 2022 10:51 AM
    Well, I don't think we should get into a back and forth about what a pro-Russia position looks like. I just want to say that it was a very big mistake for NATO to expand eastward, especially after they promised that they would not do so after the unification of Germany. The situation with Ukraine is a direct result of that.

    Al







  • 6.  RE: Fwd: EMERGENCY: Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?

    Posted Jan 27, 2022 09:30 AM
    Two members of Congress, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Barbara Lee of California, issued a statement on Wednesday urging the Biden administration to double down on diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the standoff, expressing concerns that "new troop deployments . . . and a flood of hundreds of lethal weapons will only raise tensions and increase the chance of miscalculation." They also, correctly in my opinion, warn against imposing "sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions" which they argue would do more harm than good. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/01/26/there-no-military-solution-jayapal-lee-demand-diplomacy-ukraine

    -- Mark

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    Mark Hudson
    Head of Adult Programming
    Monroeville Public Library
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