Minneapolis, MN – On April 25 Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) hosted a panel on the environmental consequences of U.S. imperialism.

The panel, held on the plaza right outside of May Day Books, took place a week after the People’s Earth Day March, and was an effort to deepen community understanding on the role of U.S. militarism in exacerbating climate change. April 25 was also Independent Bookstore Day so, in addition to the 30 people who attended, there was a steady stream of people who stopped by on their way in and out of the bookstore.

Liz McLister, representing WAMM’s Families Against Military Madness committee, opened the panel, “The United States boasts the largest military in human history, which is also the world’s largest polluter, gobbling up more petroleum than any institution on earth and emitting more greenhouse gases than some countries.”

McLister continued, “According to Brown University's Costs of War, the U.S. military drives the climate crisis in at least four ways. First by burning enormous amounts of fossil fuels. Second, through emissions-intensive military operations and installations. Third, through the destruction of soil, wetlands, forests and other natural areas that would otherwise absorb carbon. And fourth, by decimating civilian infrastructure and thereby leading to carbon-heavy reconstruction.”

Trish Knous, a member of WAMM’s Palestine Solidarity Committee and the CJC, spoke next about how U.S. imperialism has destroyed the environment in Palestine. “Today it [Gaza] is an area of flat, hard packed land and crushed cement. It is one of many villages, towns, and cities that no longer can support people's lives. When buildings are destroyed, wiring, insulation and asbestos release toxins into the air, land and water. Some of the bombs used penetrate the ground before exploding and release heavy metals such as uranium, lead and arsenic. Some of these metals decay slowly and will affect the composition of the soil and water for decades.”

The panel was closed out by Rebecca Scott from the CJC, who spoke about the environmental devastation from the current U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, “There were 14 million tons of carbon dioxide released in just the first 14 days alone.” She addressed “black rain,” the 14,000 buildings that have been demolished, and the impact of the U.S. bombing Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Panelists encouraged the attendees to protest against U.S. wars and to get involved.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Environment #WAMM #CJC

St. Paul, MN – On April 14, members of the WAMM (Women Against Military Madness) Palestine Solidarity Committee (FPC) again attended the monthly meeting of the Saint Paul Board of Water Commissioners to demand they cut the contract with Waterfall Cyber Security Systems, an Israeli tech company that oversees the city’s water infrastructure.

Waterfall is deeply implicated in the genocide in Palestine. Lior Frenkel, the CEO and founder of Waterfall fondly remembers his experience conducting “offensive” cyberwarfare for Israel, where he served in their air force. WAMM sees the Waterfall contract as a cruel insult to Palestinians and their supporters.

FPC members organized their supporters to attend the water commission meeting to point out the irony of Israel “securing” Saint Paul’s water supply while that country simultaneously forces Palestinians to search futilely for their own clean water, and to highlight how this Israeli tech company helps prop up an apartheid system.

The cut the contract with Waterfall campaign started during the summer of 2025 and for almost a year WAMM has sustained pressure campaign to get the city of Saint Paul to hire a company not complicit in genocide. WAMM has collected hundreds of names on their petition, gotten their supporters to flood the water commission lines with phone calls, and organized for the water commission meetings to be packed with protesters several times.

There are various signs that the water board is cracking. They have publicly admitted that community pressure has had an impact on their work. Released documents show that behind closed doors, they’ve complained that even on a functional level, Waterfall’s services are not all they were cracked up to be. In January they announced they would issue a request for proposals which would allow companies to submit proposals to ultimately replace Waterfall.

On April 14, the meeting room was once again filled with FPC supporters holding signs that read, “Palestinians want water too,” “Waterfall we don’t want blood in our water,” and a banner reading, “St. Paul cut the contract, we say no to Waterfall and genocide.”

After a very short meeting, Nathan Phillips, a FPC member, delivered pages of signed petitions and said, “We are giving you these petitions demanding you cut the contract with Waterfall and we ask you to be swift. And to find a new company because Israelis are slaughtering Palestinians, Iranians and Lebanese with impunity. We don’t want Waterfall in our water infrastructure.” The room erupted in chants., “Water commission you’re out of time, No more funding genocide,” and “Water commission don’t you know, Waterfall has got to go.”

Saint Paul Councilwoman Nelsie Yang then came up to the protesters and thanked them for being there and said if it wasn’t for WAMM the commission wouldn’t know about Waterfall.

Racquel Vaske, regional manager of Saint Paul Regional Water Services, was grilled with sharp questions and comments which she defensively tried to deflect. An organizer called her out as she tried to minimize the role of Waterfall as “just a piece of hardware here on campus.” But she did disclose more information on the process to replace Waterfall to the activists, said she’d find out if activists could be a part of the evaluation process, and said she would consider making it an agenda item at future board meetings.

Mary Benrud spoke for everyone when she told Vaske, “This is the absolute worst company to provide water security for me and my family.”

WAMM will continue to mobilize supporters to attend the water commission meetings and to increase momentum in their campaign to cut the contract with Waterfall.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WAMM

Minneapolis, MN – Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) hosted CODEPINK Co-founder Medea Benjamin at three events in the Twin Cities the weekend of March 28-29 to discuss her recent trip to deliver aid to Cuba, Trump’s attacks on Iran and Venezuela, as well as the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Benjamin first spoke Friday afternoon at the weekly WAMM Free Palestine rally, held at the intersections of Summit and Snelling in Saint Paul. Speaking to the crowd, Benjamin said, “I see things changing; way too slowly, agonizingly slow, certainly for the Palestinian people, certainly for the people on the West Bank who are being attacked every day by violent settlers. Certainly for the people in Lebanon, one million of whom have just been displaced, over a thousand of them killed in this recent time, since a ‘ceasefire’. And we know that in the case of Gaza, over 600 people have been killed since a supposed ceasefire. So it’s agonizingly slow, but it is changing.”

Benjamin continued, “The issue is: do you want a foreign power coming in to bomb the heck out of you, destroy your culture, and tell you who should be governing your country? No, you don’t! And that’s what the U.S. is doing in Iran, and of course we see that’s what the U.S. has just done, and tried to do, in Venezuela, that’s what they want to do in Cuba.”

Later that evening Benjamin spoke in an intimate setting of WAMM members and community members about many topics, one of which being her trips to Cuba and experiences with the Cuban people.

Benjamin stated, “The most remarkable source of income for Cubans was medical missions,” Benjamin said. “It became the number one source of income at one point. Which is just remarkable to think about, how a poor country could create so many professionals and send them all over the world to help people. And I say this with great expertise, because my life was saved by Cuban doctors.” Benjamin went on to explain that Cuban doctors in a poor region in Guinea-Bissau saved her from a horrible case of malaria.

On March 28 about 100 people gathered for WAMM’s annual meeting, themed “Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad,” featuring Benjamin alongside Layna Crandell of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump and the MN Anti-War Committee. Guests enjoyed a community meal before the talk began.

During the panel, Benjamin emphasized the ways unlimited funding for war harms us here at home. “In Minnesota, 69% of fourth graders do not read at a proficient level. Eighth grade, 72%,” she said. “And of course we know how defunded our healthcare system is, and everything else that’s good for people.” She ended by saying “It is a multipolar world. While sometimes we might feel lonely in our work here, the majority of people around the world want the same thing we do. They want to live in peace and cooperation around the world.”

The panel also featured Layna Crandell, a member of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT), who stated, “U.S. intervention has destabilized countries, supported coups to carry out regime change, and imposed deadly sanctions that strangle economies. This forces people to migrate for survival, only for them to be criminalized and targeted when they come here looking for better conditions. All the while, the aggression we see directed at our own communities relies on the same tools used to destabilize nations abroad. The brutality carried out on the periphery becomes normalized, making it easier to carry out similar repression here through the degradation of human rights, through policing, surveillance, and border control.”

After the event, many attended the No Kings protest in Saint Paul, featuring guests like Senator Bernie Sanders, Jane Fonda and Bruce Springsteen. Upwards of 200,000 people were said to be in attendance, making it the largest single protest in Minnesota history. Benjamin attended and talked with demonstrators at the event. The weekend was a large success, giving hundreds of Minnesotans opportunities to learn from Benjamin’s experiences fighting U.S. imperialism in the belly of the beast.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #WAMM #CodePink

Minneapolis, MN – 30 people gathered in 16-degree weather in the heart of Minneapolis on February 7 to call for U.S. hands off Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, after weeks and months of tension, threats of escalation, and direct attacks on these sovereign counties.

The Minnesota Peace Action Coalition organized the action as part of an International Day of Action called by the Unione Sindicale di Base (USB), a dockworkers union located in Genoa, Italy. The dockworkers union called for the day of protest to shut down the U.S. war machine.

The cold weather did not discourage the crowd in their energy as they filled the streets with chants of “We will say it every time; U.S. sanctions are a crime!” and “From Venezuela to Falasteen, stop the U.S. war machine!”

Speakers addressed the parallels between the attacks from ICE in Minnesota to Trump’s attacks on Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran.

Yossi Aharoni, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, stated, “Six months ago in a brazen act of aggression and escalation the Trump administration attacked the nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz in Iran. One month ago, the Trump administration kidnapped the sitting president of a sovereign nation, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, killing over 30 Cuban bodyguards along with dozens of Venezuelans. Two months ago in December 2025, the Trump administration began Operation Metro Surge, which can only be described as a federal occupation of the Twin Cities.”

Aharoni continued, “Both ICE and the IOF [Israeli occupation forces] rely on Palantir’s AI surveillance technology data to track and capture their victims. The bombs dropped on civilians in Gaza are made by the same companies that build the bombs that Trump and Netanyahu drop on Iran. The same 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine that Trump uses to justify attacks against Venezuela are used against Cuba; Trump believes the U.S. can treat Latin America like its own backyard! The same threats that Trump makes against Venezuela are made against Cuba.”

Allison Gunderson, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and the Women Against Military Madness, participated in a U.S. delegation to Venezuela in December and spoke about the need to stand with the people of Venezuela and President Maduro against U.S. attacks.

Gunderson stated, “It is our duty to stand with Venezuela, Cuba, Latin America and the Caribbean and demand an end to U.S. interventions, devastating sanctions, and the stealing of resources and wealth from these countries!” She continued, “We cannot allow the Trump administration to do whatever it wants, especially not waltz into any country it pleases and kidnap their democratically elected leaders, as Trump has made it clear he intends to do to Cuba next! We must demand President Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores be released and we must be ready to get in the streets to protest these sham court proceedings. We have to let it be known we say hell no to Trump's efforts to criminalize the Bolivarian revolution!”

Oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba have been cut off as a result of the U.S. attack on Caracas, Venezuela. Cuba is now facing an energy crisis; this, combined with the pre-existing embargo, will directly threaten the lives of the people.

Demonstrators held signs saying, “Hands off Venezuela” and “No war with Iran.”

Dex Davis explained why he felt the need to show up in the streets. “How can anyone build a life when a foreign power controls their access to medicine, food, fuel, electricity and education? This is the reality for people in Cuba, Venezuela and Iran.”

As Minnesotans continue to respond to the attacks by ICE in their communities, it is clear they are making connections to Trump’s attacks abroad and will keep showing up in the streets.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Venezuela #Cuba #MNAWC