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September 10, 2009
According to a recent study from the Congressional Research Service, there's one U.S. industry that seems to be immune from the global recession. While the global arms trade shrank in 2008 from the 2007 total of $59B to $55B, the U.S. share of the weapons bazaar actually increased from $25B to $38B - more than two thirds of the entire world's arms trade, and over ten times more than the second-place arms dealer, Italy, which spent a mere $3.7B. Who's buying the weapons? Overwhelmingly, the developing nations, who purchase 76% of the worldwide arms trade and 78% of the US share. One might ask, however, what kind of "development" is this, when the countries most eager to spend on weapons often have a repressed or even starving population? Why should our country's most thriving industry be the export of weaponry - including landmines and cluster munitions? How does this do anything but escalate resolvable conflicts into more bloody violence? Who is gaining anything here, beyond the CEO's of the arms companies? Every dollar spent on weapons is a dollar withheld from rebuilding a green economy, from education, from healthcare, and from the humanitarian aid that does more to create global respect for the US than anything else. Of course you already know this. That's why you continue to speak out. In your five minutes for peace this week, read the NY Times article and accompanying charts. Then contact Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. Ask them to read the original CRS report, “Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations,” which was delivered to Congressional desks just after the Summer Recess ended. Remind them that last October, the U.S. and President Robert Mugabwe's Zimbabwe united against the rest of the world to cast the only "No" votes against the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. Ask them to speak out against U.S. opposition to the treaty. Talk about what can be done on this issue with your friends and associates. Students, for example, can find out how much their university invests in arms dealers, and pressure them to divest. Thanks for all you do.
Alexandra Pomar and John Bostrom
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Wednesday September 16, 7:15 p.m.
UPPER WEST SIDE. St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 263 West 86th St. (between Broadway & West End Ave - half a block from #1 subway) HOW DO WE END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN? With David Wildman, Global Board of Ministries of the United Methodist Church, recently returned from his 4th trip to Afghanistan. 
Yesterday's New York Times headline: "U.S. Buildup: a Necessity?" Yet another article questioning continued
troop buildup in Afghanistan! 57% of the people in this country do not support continuing this war.
How can we expand that majority as we did with the Iraq war in order to convince Congress and President
Obama to take action to end the war in Afghanistan?Join us to ask all the questions you need answered so that you can help to grow the grassroots movement against war in Afghanistan. Get all the information and resources to organize a house party as part of UFPJ's National Day of Action on Oct. 7 , the anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. Click here for information on hosting a "Peace for Afghanistan House Party". This event is a fundraiser for NYC United for Peace and Justice. We are asking for $10 at the door. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Tuesday, Sept. 15 & Tuesday, Sept. 22, 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. GREENWICH VILLAGE.IRT performance space, 154 Christopher Street, Suite 3B INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE CELEBRATION WITH SCREENINGS AND STAGED READINGS. Co-hosted by the New York Peace Film Festival and Interborough Repertory Theater. Admission is free. On Sept. 15, a screening of the documentary film "Nijuuhibaku(" Double Hibaku) will kick off the series. Last March, Mr. Tsutomu Yamaguchi became the first person officially certified by the government as a double A-bomb victim, a “double Hibakusha.” The film, in Japanese with English subtitles, features Mr. Yamaguchi and others who experienced the atomic bombings of both Hirroshima and Nagasaki and survived both. Following the hour long documentary film, short poems by Mr. Yamaguchi (Tanka, a specific Japanese poetic form) will be read. Then, on Sept. 22, a staged reading of “Atomic Field,” a play by Kenneth Robbins directed by Sonoko Kawahara, will be performed in Japanese. Dying of lung cancer, the main character served during and post WWII, evoking memories of the war and nuclear testing during the 1950’s. There is no English translation for this reading. Due to the limited seating, reservations are strongly recommended and can be made at: nypeacefilmfestival@gmail.com or by calling 212-592-3311. September 16 – October 11 
MIDTOWN. Signature Theatre’s Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd StreetWORLD PREMIERE OF “MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN” BY RUSSELL DAVIS. Presented by Epic Theatre Ensemble. Directed by Will Pomerantz. Featuring Roxanna Hope, Arian Moayed, Tony Award Winner Michele Pawk, Epic co-founder James Wallert. Mahida’s Extra Key To Heaven is a poetic and haunting love story about crossing human and political borders in this time of unyielding violence. It begins when a young American painter visiting his mother on an island in the Northwest encounters a frightened Iranian college student abandoned by her brother and waiting alone for a ferry that will never come. It ends in a way that is horrific, beautiful, and unforgettable. ALL PERFORMANCES will be followed by a POST-SHOW DISCUSSION. For discount tickets call 212-352-3101 and 866-811-4111. Saturday, September 19, 5:00 p.m. CENTRAL PARK. Bandshell, enter at 72nd Street and 5th Avenue VIGIL FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE With Rev. Susana Bastarrica. Produced by the United Nations. Thursday, September, 24, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. BROOKLYN. Brooklyn Friends Meeting House, 110 Schermerhorn Street, at Boerum Place, Brooklyn CRISIS IN DARFUR, SUDAN: CONTRASTING RESPONSES. Why did this conflict start? What’s happening now? Is it genocide? Is it Arab vs. black African? Who are the Janjaweed? Who can help? Two scholars – Two views. Mahmood Mamdani, Phd, is a Professor of Government and Anthropology at Columbia University. Originally from Uganda, he has researched and written extensively on the crisis, including his most recent book “Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror.” Ali B. Ali-Dinar, PhD, is the Outreach Director for the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He is from El Fasher in Darfur and is the grandson of the last Sulton of Darfur. He is the founder of “Darfur Information Center” and the Darfur Alert Coalition. Sponsored by Brooklyn for Peace (Darfur/Africa Committee), and the Peace & Social Action Committee of the Brooklyn Religious Society of Friends. Admission is free, donations appreciated. For questions, call 718-624-5921 or email darfur@brooklynpeace.org. Wednesday, September 30. 8:00 p.m. (7:30 p.m. refreshments) GREAT NECK. Great Neck Library, Bayview Ave. & Grist Mill Rd.
RETHINKING AFGHANISTAN: HOW CAN WE END THE WAR?with David Wildman, Executive Director. Human Rghts & Racial Justice, General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. Come for a discussion with David Wildman on exit strategies and how the war is affecting communities in Afghanistan as well as well as in America. Watch segments of the film "Rethinking Afghanistan" and join in deciding what we can do as the administration plans its next moves in the eight year war. David Wildman has been to Afghanistan four times since 2004, most recently in May of 2009. He has written and talked extensively on the subject. For info & directions: 516-487-378 
Wednesday, October 7, 7:00 p.m.UNION SQUARE EAST Friends Meeting House, 14 Rutherford Place, between 15th and 16th Streets, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. AN EVENING WITH CHRIS HEDGES Join CHRIS HEDGES, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and The Triumph of Spectacle” (Nation Books), as he charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate America that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion. Audience questions will be taken, and following the event there will be a book signing. Free of charge. First come, first seated. Doors open at 6.30 p.m. For more information please go to www.nationbooks.org or call 212-822-0269. Sunday, October 11, 12 noon – 2:00 p.m. HUDSON RIVER. Depart from Bateaux New York, Pier 62, West 23rd Street at 12th St. FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION FIRST PEACE BANQUET AND BOAT CRUISE. Three annual FOR Peace Prizes will be awarded during the luncheon banquet. The recipients include an extraordinary network of Iraqis using nonviolence in the midst of war and occupation, and two outstanding individuals working on the front lines for peace and social justice. (A fourth prize, the Youth & Militarism Resistance Award will be presented later this year.) FOR's 2009 honorees are La’Onf, Cynthia Brown and Frances Pratt. Our keynote speaker is Rev. Michael Lapsley, the Director of the Institute for the Healing of Memories in Cape Town, South Africa. Thursday, October 23, through Saturday, October 24. CHELSEA. SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street. SVA'S "VISIONS OF WAR" CONFERENCE: PLAY, FILMS, PANELS The Humanities and Sciences Program at the School of Visual Arts is presenting a four-day conference, "Visions of War: the arts represent conflict" at the Algonquin Hotel from Thursday October 21 through Saturday October 23. Part of the conference this year are the following events, free and open to the public, held at the brand new SVA Theatre: 
Thursday, October 23, 7:00 p.m.PLAY: THE WARRIOR by Jack Gilhooley, with Talk Back session The Warrior is a play about a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and two tours in Iraq, the damage her absence has done to her family, and to her mental health. After the performance there will be a Talk Back session which includes questions from the audience and answers. Preview for The Warrior. Friday, October 24, 7:00 p.m. PANEL DISCUSSION Sponsored by Stephen Frailey, Chair, BFA Photography. More information to come. Saturday, October 23, 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. FILM SERIES: AFTER THE WARS Film series hosted by Reeves Lehamna, Chair, Film Video and Animation Department. More information to come. Saturday, October 23, 6:30 8:30 p.m. PANEL: THE SCARS OF WAR: HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS. Moderated by screenwriter/playwright/Vietnam combat veteran David Berry, a member of the SVA Film Department faculty. Panelists include film artists/combat veterans (screenwriters and directors), a psychologist with over three decades of experience treating Vietnam veterans, and a retired Army Colonel who has become a major spokesperson for those demanding official recognition and treatment of female victims of violence in the military. Sunday, November 8, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. UPPER EAST SIDE. Hunter College/CUNY, 68th Street at Lexington Avenue END US MILITARIZATION OF THE PACIFIC The Granny Peace Brigade’s Fourth Teach-in will focus on U. S. military bases in Japan/Okinawa, the Philippines and South Korea, and their deplorable effects on the host countries’ populace and the environment. The event will be free and open to the public. Details on program and speakers will be forthcoming. For more details, please see www.grannypeacebrigade.org/.  Saturday, Sept. 12, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. BINGHAMTON. CyberCafe West, Upstairs meeting room, 176 Main Street INFORMATION AND PLANNING SESSION ON THE WORLD MARCH FOR PEACE AND NONVIOLENCE. This is a call to all upstate NY Peace and Justice groups and allies to come to a planning meeting. Broome County Peace Action is participating in this 3 month campaign, and wants to work with other groups. David Andersson, the NYS coordinator for the World March, will be with us to show some short videos, and offer details. Lets brainstorm and coordinate our efforts. Wednesday, September 16, 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. BUFFALO. La Dolce Vita:1472 Hertel Ave. DINE OUT FOR PEACE 10% of all sales that evening go to the WNY Peace Center Thursday, September 17, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. ROCHESTER. First Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Rd RETHINK AFGHANISTAN! - A documentary from Brave New Films Screening and discussion with DOUG NOBLE of Peace Action and Education and Rochester Against War. Join us to consider one of the major policy initiatives of the Obama presidency. Why are we in Afghanistan? What’s the US military mission? Can the war defeat terrorism? Has the war liberated Afghan women? Are we destabilizing Pakistan? Monday, September 21 BUFFALO. UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE EVENTS 1:00 p.m. 17 Norton Hall, University at Buffalo North Campus University at Buffalo Undergraduate Programs Presents Pinwheels for Peace. Keynote: Elea Mihou Fox of the WNY Peace Center 4:30 pm. on the Steps of City Hall, Downtown Buffalo WNY Peace Center Presents the 10 Year Campaign Kick-Off: 2020 Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament & Mayors for Peace. Join the Committee to organize for 2020 nuclear disarmament. Email Martinbuffalo@gmail.com for more info. 5:00 -7:00 p.m. on Niagara Square, Downtown Buffalo Buffalo for Africa in Partnership with Canisius College Presents Rally for Peace. Vigil with speakers and performances against genocide and promoting peace in Africa. For more info visit www.Buffaloforafrica.org. 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Avenue Latin American Solidarity Committee of the WNYPC Presents September Coffeehouse: HONDURAS. Visit www.lascwny.org for event updates . Saturday, September 19, 2009, 10:00 a.m. BUFFALO. Social Hall in the Student Union at Buffalo State College INDIGENOUS WOMEN’S INIATIVE ANNUAL LUNCH BANQUET:GREAT LAW OF PEACE $30 individual tickets, table of 6 for $150; to reserve a seat call 716/332-6988 Sunday, September 20th, 1:00 p.m. (Lunch), 1:30 p.m. (Meeting) GENESEO. Omega Restaurant, 4182 Lakeville Rd (Route 20A) GENESEE VALLEY CITIZENS FOR PEACE MONTHLY MEETING [Note: no regular August meeting.] GVCP member Victoria Farmer will lead a discussion on India and Pakistan and their outlook for a peaceful future. Wednesday, September 30, 7:00 p.m. PLEASANTVILLE. Lienhard Lecture Hall, Pace University, 861 Bedford Road REPORT BACK FROM GAZA Four members of a recent delegation to the Gaza Strip, including Felice Gelman, Ceil Lavan, Daniel Strum and Tom Suarez, are coming to speak to the Pace Community about conditions on the ground and prospects for peace. They will share short video clips of people that they met in Gaza. Palestinian artist, Lailati Nar, will attend the evening with a display of her artwork. Please RSVP to info@wespac.org. Friday & Saturday, October 9 & 10 AMHERST. Daemen College, Main Street. 6TH ANNUAL "WORLD ON YOUR PLATE" FOOD FORUM Visit www.worldonyourplate.org to register and see updates. Thursday, October 9, 6:00 p.m., Host Committee Reception; 7:00 p.m., Lecture PURCHASE. Reid Castle, Manhattanville College MEMORIAL LECTURE ON THE DEATH PENALTY The Annual Henry Schwarzschild Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Lower Hudson Valley Civil Liberties Union and the Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action. Guest speaker: Thomas Cahill, author of “A Saint on Death Row - the Story of Dominique Green.” This book was published this spring and was introduced by Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a public launch event at Riverside Church. Dominique Green was executed in Texas in 2004 at the age of 30, after spending 12 years on death row. The book raises many questions about the trial and tells the story of his family background and his 12 years of efforts to defend himself once he was placed on death row. For more information about the lecture, call (914) 997-7479. 
Thursday, October 22 - Saturday, October 24ROCKLAND. Rockland Community College PRESENTATION OF THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT. TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal), a local HIV/AIDS advocacy and support organization, is bringing The AIDS Memorial Quilt to Rockland Community College. This will be the largest display of The AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Northeast in the past eleven years. We are looking to notify as many people as possible about the quilt’s arrival so that individuals can request panels, dedicate panels, and view the quilt. If your organization is interested in sponsoring a panel of The AIDS Memorial Quilt please contact Robert Maher at RMaher@touch-ny.org or call us at 845-268-8023 for more information.  Many local peace groups hold regular events, vigils, "Honk for Peace" actions, etc. See our list: www.panys.org/ongoing.htm  Monday, October 5 WASHINGTON DC MARCH OF THE DEAD, A CALL TO ACTION October 2009 marks the beginning of the ninth year of war and occupation in Afghanistan. A coalition is forming to demand an immediate end to atrocities committed by our government. On October 5, 2009, we will bring our demands to the White House: An immediate withdrawal of ALL U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as an immediate end to the illegal expansion of war into Pakistan. Accountability for those who have committed war crimes, torture, and other illegal acts, both past and present. An end to U.S. complicity in aiding the Israeli governments’ occupation of Palestine. We ask that you join in the developing coalition to plan the events of the day, and consider adding your organization as an endorser. In August there will be coalition meetings held in New York City and Washington D.C. If you would like to attend these meetings, endorse the day of action, or get more information, please call Laurie Arbeiter 917 915-6115, Sarah Wellington 201 446-2984 and/or write to wewillnotbesilent@gmail.com Thursday, Oct. 15, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. WASHINGTON DC. National Press Club, 529 14th Street. 33RD ANNUAL LETELIER-MOFFITT HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS. The 2009 Domestic Award will go to Domestic Workers United, a grassroots organization of Caribbean, Latina and African nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers working together to end exploitation and injustice against vulnerable workers in New York. The International Award will go to La Mesa Nacional Frente a la Mineria Metalica, which has struggled against huge odds to press El Salvador to become the first country in the world to ban gold mining – their efforts will help preserve the environment and rural communities. Going out of state? Check UFPJ's national Events Calendar: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php. |
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