December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 December 1, 1891 December 1, 1948 Following the civil war in 1948, Costa Rican president Pepe Figueres constitutionally abolished the army and the Constitution prohibits presidential re-election. Money not spent on a military allows for one of the highest literacy rates in the continent, ninety-four percent. read about Costa Rica’s progressive values and attitudes December 1, 1955 Mrs. Parks had not been the first to defy the Jim Crow law but her arrest sparked the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott, organized by a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. The Montgomery bus company couldn’t survive without the revenue from its black passengers who, for the next year, created car pools and other means to avoid using the city busses. The boycott was successful and Mrs. Parks became known as the "mother of the civil rights movement." read more about Rosa Parks

December 1, 1959 Representatives of 12 countries, including the United States, signed a treaty in Washington setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity. President Eisenhower, in a statement, said the treaty and its guarantees "constitute a significant advance toward the goal of a peaceful world with justice." read more December 1, 1966 Comedian Dick Gregory was convicted in Olympia, Washington for his participation in a Nisqually Native American fishing rights protest. read more December 2, 1914 Karl Liebknecht was the only member of German Parliament to vote against war with France and Britain. read more Karl Liebnecht December 2, 1942 Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born Nobel Prize-winning physicist, directed and controlled the first self-sustaining fission reaction in his laboratory beneath the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. The result of this experiment made the atomic bomb possible and ushered in the nuclear age. Upon successful completion of the experiment, a coded message was transmitted to President Roosevelt: "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world." December 2, 1954 The U.S. Senate voted 65 to 22 to censure Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute." The condemnation, with all the Democrats and about half the Republicans voting against him, and was related to McCarthy's controversial, abusive and indiscriminate investigation of suspected communists in the U.S. government, military, and civilian society. The House of Representatives and many states continued their own investigations. read more December 2, 1961 Following a year of severely strained relations between the United States and Cuba, Cuban leader Fidel Castro openly declared that he is a Marxist-Leninist. Fidel Castro December 2, 1964 Thousands in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement gathered on the steps of Sproul Hall, the administration building at the University of California campus to protest four students being disciplined for distributing political literature. Joan Baez performed. The next day, police arrested 773 who began a sit-in at Sproul Hall. 10,000 more students then went on strike and shut down the school. The Free Speech Movement had began in October, when three thousand students surrounded a police car for 36 hours. Inside the car was a civil rights worker who had been arrested for distributing political literature on the UC-Berkeley campus. What was the Free Speech Movement? Jack Weinberg in police car. December 2, 1977 Biko's funeral A demonstration erupted outside a South African court after a magistrate ruled that security police were to be exonerated in the death of black consciousness leader Steve Biko, who died while in their custody. His funeral had been attended by more than 15,000 mourners, not including the thousands who were turned away by the police. Steve Biko read about Steve Biko December 2, 1980 Two Maryknoll nuns, one Ursuline nun and a lay missionary were raped, murdered, buried outside San Salvador, and unearthed shortly thereafter. U.S.-trained and -supported Salvadoran national guardsmen, widely known to act as death squads, were suspected. read more

American Nuns Maura Clarke, Ita Ford and Dorothy Kazel - killed in El Salvador in 1980. The Reagan administration, taking office seven weeks later, and relying in part on the Salvadoran military to rid Central America of communism, denied the National Guard’s involvement. General Alexander Haig, the president’s secretary of state, suggested the nuns provoked the incident, running a roadblock in Marxist jeeps, and were shot trying to flee. The FBI and CIA report this is a total fabrication and five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.

December 3, 1965 An all-white jury in Alabama convicted three Ku Klux Klansmen for the murder of white civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo. Viola Liuzzo The mother of five from Detroit was shot and killed while driving a young black activist, Leroy Moton, back to the town of Selma following a protest march to the state capital in Montgomery earlier in the year. It was later learned that one of the Klansmen in the car, Gary Thomas Rowe, was an FBI informant. read more Klansmen Collie Wilkins, Eugene Thomas and William Eaton at their trial December 3, 1969 Protesters destroyed files at eight New York draft boards in protest of the Vietnam War. December 3, 1984 In the early morning hours, one of the worst industrial disasters in history began when American-owned Union Carbide’s pesticide plant located near the densely populated city of Bhopal in central India leaked a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate into the air. Bhopal survivors still demanding justice 2004 Estimates of the fatalities vary widely, but of the approximately one million people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 were killed immediately, at least another 8,000 within a short time, and hundreds of thousands were injured, many still suffering today.

The U.S. blocked extradition of Union Carbide officials facing criminal prosecution in India. Union Carbide has since been purchased by Dow Chemical which continues to refuse responsibility for the incident or its victims, and has yet to clean up the site. read more December 3, since 1992 The International Day of Disabled Persons was declared by the United Nations. “The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons ... aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities ....” 2006 Theme: “E-Accessibility December 3, 1997 An international treaty banning land mines was signed by 122 countries. It comprehensively prohibits the use, production, trade or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. Buried landmines kill about 15,000 people every year worldwide. The dangerous and time-consuming process of removal will take centuries at the current rate of landmine clearance. The United States and approximately forty other countries have yet to sign the treaty, and fifteen countries continue to produce land mines. The Pentagon requested $1.3 billion for research on and production of two new landmine systems—Spider and Intelligent Munitions System—between fiscal years 2005 and 2011 but Congress has resisted funding the programs under pressure from nearly 500 U.S.-based organizations opposing the weapons. Read more about the treaty: Recent U.S. policy on land mines: December 4, 1833 The American Anti-Slavery Society was formed by Arthur Tappan in Philadelphia. He and his brother Lewis were active abolitionists throughout their lives, including providing legal defense for the Africans who mutinied on the slave ship Amistad. read more Arthur Tappan December 4, 1916 Five members of a woman's suffragist group unrolled a banner from the visitor's gallery during President Wilson's annual message (state of the union) to Congress, asking, "Mr. President, What will you do for woman suffrage?" There was no mention of the issue in his speech. December 4, 1967 National draft card turn-in. December 4, 1968 264 were arrested at a military induction center in New York City during War Resisters League civil disobedience action. December 4, 1969 President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew, and 40 U.S. governors embarked on a fact-finding mission to discover the causes of the generation gap. They viewed films of "simulated acid trips" and listened to hours of "anti-establishment rock music." President Richard Nixon Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew December 4, 1970 Cesar Chavez was sentenced to 20 days in jail for refusing to call off United Farm Workers’ consumer boycott of lettuce. read more Lettuce & Grape boycott poster December 4, 1980 United Nations agreed to establish the University of Peace and a short wave radio station, Radio Peace International, in Costa Rica. Listen to Radio for Peace International December 5, 1955 Five days after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, the African-American community of Montgomery, Alabama, launched their boycott of the city's bus system. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed to coordinate the boycott with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., elected as its president. Out of Montgomery’s 50,000 black residents, 30,000-40,000 participated. The boycott lasted (54 weeks) until the buses were integrated. read more December 5, 1955 The American Federation of Labor, which had historically focused on organizing craft unions, merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, an organization of industrial unions, to form the AFL-CIO with a membership of nearly 15 million. George Meany was elected its first president. read more December 5, 1957 New York City became the first city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing (Fair Housing Practices Law). December 5, 1967 1,000 anti-war protesters tried to close a New York City military induction center. 585 were arrested including poet Allen Ginsberg and Dr. Benjamin Spock. Simultaneous demonstrations occurred in Madison, Wisconsin, Manchester, New Hampshire, Cincinnati, Ohio, and New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Benjamin Spock Allen Ginsberg December 5, 1980 The United Nations adopted the charter for the University for Peace, Costa Rica. read more The monument sculpted by Cuban artist Thelvia Marín in 1987, is the world's largest peace monument. December 5, 2002 At the 100th birthday celebration for Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina), Senate Republican leader Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) praised Thurmond's Dixiecrat Party 1948 presidential campaign (official slogan: “Segregation Forever!”). President George W. Bush with Sen. Lott and Sen. Thurmond “I want to say this about my state. When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of him. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either.” The reaction to this sentiment led to Lott's resignation as Senate majority leader. December 6, 1865 Georgia provided the final vote needed for the 13th Amendment to become part of the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery. slave auction “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” read more first vote Two days before, Mississippi’s legislature had voted to reject ratification. December 6, 1978 The voters of Spain approved a new constitution in a popular referendum by nearly 8-1. It proclaimed Spain to be a parliamentary monarchy and guaranteed its citizens equality before the law and a full range of individual liberties, including religious freedom. While recognizing the autonomy of the regions, it stressed the indivisibility of the Spanish state. read more December 6, 1998

In Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president. As a socialist reformer, Chavez’s policies have given land to the landless and, using Venezuela’s oil revenues, increased investment in housing and infrastructure. read more

December 7, 1964 A leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, Mario Savio, was arrested. One-third of the 27,000 students at the University of California campus, along with faculty, were on strike protesting to preserve their first amendment right to distribute political literature and organize on campus. A faculty resolution passed 824-115, supporting the rapidly growing Free Speech Movement. more on Mario Savio "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and you've got to make it stop." - Mario Savio December 7, 1993 Four Plowshares activists were arrested for disarming an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. read more The arrested: Phil Berrigan, John Dear, Lynn Fredriksson, and Bruce Friedrich December 8, 1886 The American Federation of Labor was founded at a convention of union leaders in Columbus, Ohio. read more December 8, 1941 Jeanette Rankin (R-Montana), the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1916, cast the only vote against U.S. entry into WWII. She had also voted against the U.S. entering WWI. read more December 8, 1953 U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower addressed the United Nations General Assembly, proposing the creation of a new U.N. atomic energy agency which would receive contributions of uranium from the United States, the USSR, and other countries "principally concerned," and would put this material to peaceful use.

The speech, known later as Atoms for Peace, included: “My country wants to be constructive, not destructive. It wants agreement, not wars, among nations. It wants itself to live in freedom, and in the confidence that the people of every other nation enjoy equally the right of choosing their own way of life.” December 8, 1987 U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the first treaty to reduce the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers. The Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty eliminated and banned all ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 300-3,400 miles (500-5,500 kilometers). By May 1991, all intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, launchers, and related support had been eliminated. December 8, 1988 Intermediate Nuclear Force vehicle On the first anniversary of the INF (Intermediate Nuclear Force) Treaty, twelve Dutch peace activists, calling themselves "INF Ploughshares," cut through fences to enter the Woensdrecht Air Force base in The Netherlands. They made their way to cruise missile bunkers where they hammered on the missiles, carrying out the first disarmament action in Holland. read more December 9, 1949 U.S. Representative John Parnell Thomas, former chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was sentenced to 6 to 18 months in federal prison for "padding" Congressional payrolls and using the money himself. John Parnell Thomas December 9, 1961 Members of the National Committee of 100, a movement of non-violent resistance to nuclear war and to the manufacture and use of all weapons of mass extermination, joined with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and held demonstrations at various U.S. air and nuclear bases in Britain.

Members of the Committee of 100, including Bertrand Russell, considered civil disobedience a legitimate means in their struggle. The CND avoided all illegal activities. the CND is still active today Bertrand Russell and the "Committee of 100" at an earlier action in 1961. December 9, 1990 Solidarity trade union founder and leader Lech Walesa won Poland's presidential runoff election in a 3-1 landslide. He thus became the first directly elected Polish leader. read more Lech Walesa December 10, 1948 The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."

After 1950 the anniversary of the declaration has been known as Human Rights Day. Read the Declaration of Human Rights Resolution 25 December 10, 1950 Detroit-born U.N. diplomat Ralph J. Bunche became the first Black American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was in recognition of his peace mediation during the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. read more From his acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway.

“There are some in the world who are prematurely resigned to the inevitability of war. Among them are the advocates of the so-called "preventive war," who, in their resignation to war, wish merely to select their own time for initiating it. To suggest that war can prevent war is a base play on words and a despicable form of warmongering. The objective of any who sincerely believe in peace clearly must be to exhaust every honourable recourse in the effort to save the peace. The world has had ample evidence that war begets only conditions which beget further war.” December 10, 1961 Chief Albert Luthuli, President-General of the banned African National Congress, appealed for racial equality in racially separatist apartheid South Africa after accepting the Nobel peace prize for 1960 in Oslo, Norway. Mr. Luthuli said he considered the award "a recognition of the sacrifices made by the peoples of all races [in South Africa], particularly the African people who have endured and suffered so much for so long.”

“It may well be that South Africa's social system is a monument to racialism and race oppression, but its people are the living testimony to the unconquerable spirit of mankind. Down the years, against seemingly overwhelming odds, they have sought the goal of fuller life and liberty, striving with incredible determination and fortitude for the right to live as men - free men.” Albert Luthuli December 10, 1964 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

From his speech in Oslo: “After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that [civil rights] movement is profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time -- the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.

Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts.” Read the speech: December 10, 1997 Julia Butterfly Hill, age 23, climbed "Luna," a 1,000-year-old California redwood, to protect it from loggers. read more Julia Butterfly atop Luna December 10, 2003 Iranian democracy activist Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, accepted the award in Oslo, Norway "for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children." read more Shirin Ebadi December 11, 1946 The General Assembly of the United Nations voted to establish the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to provide relief and support to children living in countries devastated by World War II. UNICEF history December 11, 1961 Two U.S. Army air cavalry helicopter companies arrived in Vietnam, including 33 Shawnee H-2lC helicopters and 425 ground and flight crewmen. They were to be used to airlift South Vietnamese Army troops into combat, the first direct military combat involvement of U.S. military personnel. President Kennedy had sent them to bolster the U.S. advisors in the country since the 1950s, and the failing of the Government of Vietnam’s armed forces to resist the Viet Cong insurgency movement and the Republic of [North] Vietnam. Shawnee helicopter December 11, 1972 New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk (Labour Party) announced withdrawal of his country’s troops from Vietnam and a phase-out of his country’s draft just three days after taking office. Prime Minister Norman Kirk Anti-War demo Parliament Buildings in Wellington, 1969 3,890 New Zealand military personnel had served there, suffering 37 dead and 187 wounded. This gave rise to a large and vocal anti-war movement. The anti-war movement in New Zealand today December 11, 1984 More than twenty thousand women turned out for an anti-nuclear demonstration at Greenham Common Air Base in England, where U.S. cruise missiles were deployed. Some tried to rip down the fence surrounding the base. a Greenham Peace Camp scrapbook Poster of Broken Missile taped to the fence of Greenham Common by a protester, 1982 . Greenham Women December 11, 1992 The three major U.S. television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) agreed on joint standards to limit entertainment violence by the start of the following season. read more about TV violence & children December 11, 1994 In the largest Russian military offensive since its 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks crossed the border into the Muslim republic of Chechnya. Just two weeks before, a Russian covert operation to undermine the government in Grozny, the capital, had been foiled and Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechnya’s first elected president, had threatened to have the perpetrators executed. The Chechens had declared their independence from the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprised of Russia and most of the countries previously part of the Soviet Union. Chechnya had been a Russian colony since 1859, and in 1943 Josef Stalin had deported the population en masse, their return to their homeland not allowed until 1957. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who ordered the invasion, would not deal with Dudaev, and had raised him to the rank of chief enemy, ignoring Chechen-Russian history. December 12, 1870 Joseph H. Rainey (R-South Carolina) took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first black Member of Congress. read more December 12, 1916 Dr. Ben Reitman was arrested in Cleveland for organizing volunteers to distribute birth control information at an Emma Goldman lecture on birth control. He was sentenced to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine plus court costs. read more Dr. Ben Reitman December 12, 1947 The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor over its failure to organize workers in the mass production industries such as textiles, automobiles, steel and rubber. December 12, 1969 The Philippine Civic Action Group, a 1,350-man contingent from the Army of the Philippines, left South Vietnam. The contingent was part of the Free World Military Forces, an effort by President Lyndon B. Johnson to enlist allies for the United States and South Vietnam, similar to President George Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing,” the multi-national force in Iraq. read more December 12, 1983 Seventy people were arrested in Boston outside a hotel where a "New Trends in Missiles" trade conference was being held. Inside the hotel, over 1,000 cockroaches were released to symbolize the likely survivors of nuclear war. December 12, 1986 Plowshares activists disarmed a Pershing missile launcher in West Germany. In a statement of intent the four said, "With awareness of our responsibility we understand that we are the ones who make the arms race possible by not trying to stop it." read more From a pershing plowshares action 1984 December 13, 1917 Denmark, which was not involved in World War I, recognized the right to conscientious objection to military service. Norway had done so in 1900, Sweden in 1920. The Netherlands went so far as to write it into their constitution in 1922, and Finland enacted it in 1931. read more European Bureau for Conscientious Objection December 13, 1942

Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels recorded in his journal his contempt for the Italians' treatment of Jews in Italian-occupied territories. "The Italians are extremely lax in their treatment of Jews. They protect Italian Jews both in Tunis and in occupied France and won't permit their being drafted for work or compelled to wear the Star of David."

December 13, 1981

Poland's new military leaders issued a decree of martial law today, drastically restricting civil rights and suspending the operations of the Solidarinosc (Solidarity) trade union. The union's activists reacted with an appeal for an immediate general strike to protest. read more

December 13, 1982

At the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament, the two resolutions for a nuclear freeze (a verifiable end to all testing, production and deployment of nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union and the United States) passed 119-17 and 122-16. The socialist and developing countries voted solidly for a freeze, while the U.S. and NATO were those who voted against it. December 13, 2001

In Belgium, 80,000 labor and anti-globalization activists began several days of protests at a European Union summit conference in Brussels.

Despite a massive police presence and unlike other similar meetings, events remained peaceful.

read more December 13, 2001 President George W. Bush served formal notice that the United States was withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia (then the Soviet Union). “I have concluded the ABM treaty hinders our government's ability to develop ways to protect our people from future terrorist or rogue state missile attacks.” - President Bush December 14, 1917 U.S. peace activist and suffragist Kate Richards O'Hare was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for a speech denouncing World War I Occupying a neighboring jail cell was Emma Goldman, the well-known anarchist organizer, feminist, writer and anti-war critic imprisoned for obstructing the draft. O'Hare was one of a number of prisoners Eugene Debs cited in his "Canton Speech" for which he in turn was imprisoned. read the speech Kate Richards O'Hare December 14, 1961 In a public exchange of letters with South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, U.S. President John F. Kennedy formally announced the United States would increase aid to South Vietnam, including the expansion of the U.S. troop commitment. Kennedy, concerned with recent advances made by the communist insurgency movement in South Vietnam, wrote: "We shall promptly increase our assistance to your defense effort." read the letter President Ngo Dinh Diem President Kennedy and Secretary of Defense McNamara December 14, 1980 At Yoko Ono's request, at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time, John Lennon fans around the world mourned him with 10 minutes of silent prayer. In New York over 100,000 people converged in Central Park in tribute, and in Liverpool, his hometown, a crowd of 30,000 gathered outside of St. George's Hall on Lime Street. John Lennon's legacy December 14, 1994 After eight years, the United States finally agreed to honor New Zealand's ban on nuclear weapons in its territory. U.S. Navy ships armed with nuclear weapons no longer visited New Zealand’s ports. read more December 15, 1791 The Bill of Rights became law when Virginia ratified the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights Defense Committee December 15, 1930 Albert Einstein, 1930 Albert Einstein urged militant pacifism and the creation of an international war resistance fund. Einstein made his famous statement in New York that if two percent of those called for military service were to refuse to fight, and were to urge peaceful means of settling international conflicts, then governments would become powerless since they could not imprison that many people. He struggled against compulsory military service and urged international protection of conscientious objectors. He concluded that peace, freedom for individuals, and security for societies depended on disarmament; otherwise, "slavery of the individual and the annihilation of civilization threaten us." Einstein on Peace and World Government December 15, 1946 Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh sent a note to French Premier Leon Blum congratulating him for his selection as French Premier and asking for peace talks. France had exercised colonial power over the Vietnamese as part of French Indochina, formed in October 1887 from the provinces of Annam, Tonkin, Cochin China, and the Kingdom of Cambodia; Laos was added in 1893. Vietnamese nationalists, however, had demanded independence for the three provinces at the end of World War II. December 15, 1973

The American Psychiatric Association reversed its long-standing position and declared that homosexuality is not a mental illness and

"...deplores all public and private discrimination in such areas as employment, housing, public accommodation..." Read the APA postion statement December 15, 2000 The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was shut down 14 years after becoming the site of the world's worst nuclear accident ever. Nearly nine tons of radioactive material – dozens of times as much as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs – were released in the explosion. The radioactive fallout affected 23% of Belarus, with 4.8% of Ukrainian territory and 0.5% of Russia. The Belarussian government spends 30% of its annual budget dealing with the aftermath of Chernobyl. Take a tour through the affected region: December 16, 1942 Heinrich Himmler, head of the Gestapo, made public an order that Gypsies and those of mixed Gypsy blood be put on "the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps." Himmler was determined to prosecute Nazi racial policies, which dictated the elimination from Germany and German-controlled territories of all races deemed "inferior," as well as "asocial" types, (hardcore criminals, homosexuals, Communists, Slavs, Catholic priests). Gypsies fell into both categories according to Nazi ideology and had been executed widely both in Poland and the Soviet Union. The order of November 15 was merely a more comprehensive program, as it included the deportation to Auschwitz of Gypsies already in labor camps.

The Porajmos (also Porrajmos) — literally Devouring — is a term coined by the Roma (Gypsy) people to describe attempts by the Nazi regime to exterminate most of the Roma peoples of Europe. read more Gypsy arrivals to the Belzec death camp. December 16, 1950 President Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight "Communist imperialism." following major Chinese intervention in the Korean War, launching a counter-offensive against United States, United Nations and South Korean troops. The U.S. under General Douglas MacArthur had attacked the North Korean Army at Inchon three months earlier, liberating Seoul, destroying three divisions and forcing a retreat by the North Korean People’s Army. North Korean Leader Kim Il Sung (second from L) with the Korean-Chinese joint military command December 17, 1982 The U.N. passed a series of 4 resolutions attacking apartheid in South Africa: To organize an international conference of trade unions on sanctions against South Africa (approved 129 to 2); To encourage various international actions against South Africa (126 to 2); Support of sanctions and other measures against South Africa including international sporting events (139 to 1); Cessation of further foreign investments and loans for South Africa (138 to 1). The U.S. was the only country to have voted against all 4 resolutions (joined only by the United Kingdom on two). December 17, 1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a radical Roman Catholic priest and opponent of the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier, was elected president in the first free election in Haiti's history. He was overthrown in 1991 in a military coup led by led by Brigadier-General Raoul Cedra. Read what happened next December 18, 1999 Julia Butterfly Hill descended from her tiny platform 180 feet up in a giant Redwood tree named "Luna," after perching in it for 738 days to protect it from loggers. Julia Butterfly Hill in the Ecology Hall of Fame movie The Tree Woman "The question is not 'Can you make a difference?' You already do make a difference. It's just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make during your life on this planet." – Julia Butterfly Hill December 19, 1940 Fire fighting. CPS 30, Walhalla, Michigan (Brethren) Civilian Public Service camps were established for conscientious objectors. They served without weapons December 19, 1962 Juan Bosch was elected President of the Dominican Republic in the first free elections in 38 years. He was overthrown by a U.S.-backed coup in September, 1963. read more December 20, 1946 Ho Chi Minh, Paris 1946 Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh, the group struggling to expel French colonial rule from Vietnam issues the following statement: "All the Vietnamese must stand up to fight the French colonials to save the fatherland. Those who have rifles will use their rifles; those who have swords will use their swords; those who have no swords will use spades, hoes, or sticks. Everyone must endeavor to oppose the colonialists and save his country. Even if we have to endure hardship in the resistance war, with the determination to make sacrifices, victory will surely be ours." The first Indochina War had begun. Ho Chi Minh and the U.S. "Declaration of Independence" December 20, 1960 North Vietnam announced the formation of the National Front for the Liberation of the South and designed to replicate the success of the Viet Minh, the umbrella nationalist organization that successfully liberated Vietnam from French colonial rule. Ho Chi Minh biography National Front for Liberation flag December 20, 1990 Kansas reservist Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn refused orders to serve in the Gulf War and is later sentenced to prison. The Kansas medical board withdrew her her hospital privileges. "The issue was not whether I belonged in the military but whether the military belonged in the Middle East waging war. I did not want to focus on the personal decision. I was trying to focus on the decision for which each and every American would have to be responsible." What if they gave a war and nobody came? December 20, 1999

The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples of the opposite sex. read more December 21, 1919 Amid a strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers, the "Red Scare" is launched with the deportation of Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman, and some 250 other radicals. They were deported to Russia aboard the S. S. Buford ("The Soviet Ark") from the "Land of the Free." J. Edgar Hoover, heading the Justice Department's General Intelligence Division, advanced his career by implementing to the fullest extent possible the government's plan to deport all foreign-born radicals. Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman also organized against World War I read more about Emma & Alex S.S. Buford December 21, 1969 Seven hundred supporters visited jailed Vietnam War resisters at Allenwood Federal Penitentiary, Pennsylvania. December 21, 1989 Vice President Dan Quayle sends out 30,000 Christmas cards with the word beacon misspelled"beakon."

"May our nation continue to be the beakon of hope to the world."

-- The Quayles' 1989 Christmas card. more Quayle quotes December 22, 1943 A 135 day strike by 23 conscientious objectors (COs) ended dining hall segregation at Danbury Federal Penitentiary, Connecticut. The number of conscientious objectors had increased from 15 in early 1941 to 200 by the time of the strike. December 22, 1982 Congress passed the Boland Amendment (411-0) which prohibited covert efforts by the President to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. December 23, 1944 General Dwight Eisenhower endorsed the finding of a court-martial in the case of Eddie Slovik, who was tried for desertion, and authorized his execution, the first such sentence against a U.S. Army soldier since the Civil War, and the only man so punished during World War II. Slovik made no secret of his unwillingness to enter combat, but his pleas to be reassigned to noncombat status were rejected. Eisenhower ordered that Slovik's execution be carried out to avoid further desertions in the late stages of the war. read more

Eddie Slovik December 23, 1961 James Davis of Livingston, Tennessee, was killed by the Viet Cong, and becomes the first of some 55,000 U.S. soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. Lyndon Johnson later referred to him as “the first American to fall in defense of our freedom in Vietnam.”

Over two million Vietnamese would die before the end of the war. James Davis anti war demo chant "Lyndon Johnson told the nation

Have no fear of escalation

I am trying everyone to please

Though it isn’t really war

We’re sending fifty thousand more To help save Vietnam from Vietnamese"

December 24, 1865 Months after the fall of the Confederacy and the end of slavery, several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tennessee called the Ku Klux Klan. Its first priority, it declared in its creed, was "to protect the weak, the innocent, and the defenseless from the indignities, wrongs, and outrages of the lawless, the violent, and the brutal." Three Ku Klux Klan members, September 1871. December 24, 1924 Costa Rica withdrew from The League of Nations to protest U.S. Monroe Doctrine which stated U.S. is “big daddy” of North and South America. read more December 24, 1992 President George Herbert Walker Bush pardoned six people in the Iran-Contra case, among them former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger and Robert McFarlane, former national security advisor. read more about this and other presidential pardons Iran-Contra Boys Otto Reich /Elliott Abrams /John Poindexter/Edwin Meese

George H.W. Bush/Casper Weinberger/Oliver North/Robert McFarlane December 25, 1914 German officer in the trenches with British soldier Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in WWI ceased firing their guns and artillery, and began to sing Christmas carols. At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no man's land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first the Allied soldiers suspected it to be a trick, but they too soon climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the German soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings; the Christmas Truce lasted several days. read more German and British soldiers fraternize December 26, 1966 The first Kwanzaa was celebrated in Los Angeles, California. Kwanzaa is a non-religious day African-American holiday focusing on family, community, and culture. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza", which means "first fruits" in Swahili. The celebrations is expressed through song, dance, drum, storytelling, poetry and the lighting of candles in a Kinara all followed by a large traditional meal. The holiday is observed for seven days, each representing a different principle: a Kwanzaa Kinara read more • Umoja (oo-MO-jah) Unity

• Kujichagulia (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah) Self-Determination

• Ujima (oo-GEE-mah) Collective Work and Responsibility

• Ujamaa (oo-JAH-mah) Cooperative economics

• Nia (NEE-yah) Purpose

• Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah) Creativity

• Imani (ee-MAH-nee) Faith December 26, 1971 Two dozen Vietnam Veterans Against the War "liberate" the Statue of Liberty with a sit-in to protest resumed bombings in Vietnam. Also, they flew an inverted U.S. flag from the crown as a signal of distress. December 26, 1992 Women In Black began campaign against rape during war, Belgrade, Serbia. read more Women in Black is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. Women in Black home December 27, 1914 The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), an inter-religious peace group, is founded in Cambridge, Great Britain. read more “The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is an international spiritually-based movement composed of people who commit themselves to active nonviolence as a way of life and as a means of transformation - personal, social, economic and political." "Your goal is, in my opinion, the only reasonable one and to make it prevail is of vital importance."

--Albert Einstein, in a letter to the FOR December 27, 1971 Vietnam Veterans Against the War staged a peace protest at historic Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia. December 28, 1973

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956, is published in the original Russian version in Paris. The book is a first hand account of brutal and repressive conditions in the Soviet Union. It was published in the United States a few months later. read more about the Soviet gulags December 28, 1968 Anti-draft conference launched "Don't Register" campaign, Australia. December 28, 1996 Three arrested at Capitol Hill Post Office in Seattle for refusing to leave after attempting to mail humanitarian supplies to Iraq in defiance of U.S.-led embargo. read more about sanctions against Iraq December 29, 1890 The U.S. Army killed approximately 400 Oglala Sioux at Wounded Knee, in the new state of South Dakota. The 7th Cavalry (Custer's old command) fired their artillery amidst women, children, and fleeing men. The Wounded Knee Massacre was the final major military battle in the genocide against Native Americans. 18 soldiers received Congressional Medals of Honor for their "bravery." The wounded and dying were taken to a makeshift hospital in the Pine Ridge Episcopal Church. Ironically, above the pulpit hung a Christmas banner which read: Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men. read more December 30, 1936 The United Automobile Workers sat down at General Motors in Flint, Michigan. General Motors had refused to recognize the union so the workers adopted a tactic developed by French workers. Instead of picketing outside a factory only to be ignored or forcibly cleared away, the sit-down strike enabled workers to halt production and seize the plant "from the inside." Finally, on February 11, 1937, GM acknowledged the UAW as its employee's official "bargaining agent," sending ripples throughout the industry, as other auto makers gradually accepted the legitimacy of the union. It was an inspiration to workers in other industries to organize themselves. More about sitdown strikes above: Workers sit down at GM below: Supporters pass in food to sitdown strikers December 30, 1971 Daniel Ellsberg was indicted by a federal grand jury for releasing Pentagon Papers to news media. The papers were part of a 7,000-page, top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States’ political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971 and described air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions taken by U.S. Marines well before the American public was told that such actions had already occurred.

These charges were later dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct in May, 1973. December 31, 1970 The U.S. Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which in 1964 authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. military involvement in Vietnam in response to an attack on U.S. forces that was later revealed to be ficticious. read what really happened December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 visit another month Jan • Feb • March • April • May • June • July • Aug • Sept • Oct • Nov • Dec Please support this newsletter visit peacebuttons.info (since October 2001) Click To Browse And Order The Following Peace Products Buttons • Magnets • Postcards • Pencils • Signs • Shirts

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