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November 4, 2009
Alert #231
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Dear Peace Activists, Two weeks ago, on Face the Nation, Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel said that the U.S. wouldn't commit more troops without a "legitimate" new government in Kabul. Progressives, who'd like Obama to face down the military as Kennedy did during the Cuban missile crisis, hailed this as a step forward. But the main intent, and the main effect, seems to have been to get Karzai to allow the election runoff. Over the weekend, Karzai's challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew, saying that a transparent election was not possible. President Obama then called Karzai, recognizing him and "calling for a new chapter." Today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called Karzai "obviously ... the legitimate winner of the Afghan election." Hawks are now redoubling their calls for the military surge, claiming that the Karzai administration is the "legitimate" Afghanistan government Obama was seeking. This is nonsense. The way Karzai was "re-elected" only underlines his unwillingness to reform his government. He remains an unstable, unpopular wild card. It's Abdullah who has strengthened his position as a legitimate voice for the Afghan people. Here at home, we need to keep the focus on putting our tax dollars into constructive, useful efforts, not wasting them on an Afghanistan surge that will only cause more grief and fuel more rage. A new web site, www.noescalation.org, is now enabling activists to push Congress toward demanding an exit strategy, not an escalation, in Afghanistan. We urge you to go to this site right now, find your Senators and Congress person, and take action for peace. Thank you. Sincerely,
John Bostrom
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Saturday, November 7, 2009, Doors Open 6:00 p.m.DOWNTOWN BUFFALO. Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. WNY PEACE CENTER ANNUAL DINNER & 42ND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Keynote Speaker: KATHY KELLY "Build a Better World: Our Urgent Mandate." Silent Auction & Basket Raffle, Awards, Vegetarian Dinner & More! Buy tickets online at www.wnypeace.org. Call today to place an ad and reserve seats – 716.332.3904 
Friday, November 13, 7:45 p.m.GREENWICH VILLAGE. Angelika Film Center, 18 West Houston at Mercer THEATRICAL RELEASE: "THE MESSENGER" Q&A with OREN MOVERMAN and WOODY HARRELSON following the film. The Messenger has already won 4 awards: Grand Prize, Deauville American Film Festival; International Critics Prize, Deauville American Film Festival; Best Screenplay, Berlin Film Festival; Peace Film Award, Berlin Film Festival. Join PANYS at this event! Price: $15. RSVP anji.panys@gmail.com.  Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 6:30 p.m. MIDTOWN. CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street, Room C201-202 (Lower Level) JUSTIFYING THE AFGHANISTAN WAR: A CONVERSATION WITH TALAL ASAD, OMAR DAHBOUR, AND RICHARD MILLER Is the war in Afghanistan essentially different from the war in Iraq? Was the purported connection of al-Qaeda to 9/11 a good reason for the US to intervene? Does the nature of the Taliban affect the justifications for the conflict? Has the way the US has been fighting the war change our view of its legitimacy? A discussion with:
BROOKLYN. Borough Hall, Court St near Montague Near the fountain. We are easy to spot. GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE IN BROOKLYN: "TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN" PHONE-A-THON. Last week was so successful that we are returning to Brooklyn this week. Help someone who has never called a legislator make that first step! The message to Congress: "Stop the Wars by Stopping the Funding. We Will Hold You Accountable." Friday November 6, 8:00 p.m. DOWNTOWN NYC. Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver Street, 4th Floor. SCREENING AND DISCUSSION OF “OUTSIDE THE LAW: STORIES FROM GUANTNANAMO” With special guest Tina Foster (International Justice Network, Bagram habeas litigation) and moderator Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can’t Wait. “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” is a new documentary film telling the story of Guantánamo (and including sections on extraordinary rendition and secret prisons) with a particular focus on how the Bush administration turned its back on domestic and international laws, how prisoners were rounded up in Afghanistan and Pakistan without adequate screening (and often for bounty payments), and why some of these men may have been in Afghanistan or Pakistan for reasons unconnected with militancy or terrorism. Focusing on the stories of three particular prisoners -- Shaker Aamer, Binyam Mohamed and Omar Deghayes -- “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” provides a powerful rebuke to those who believe that Guantánamo holds “the worst of the worst.” Phone: 646-732-3261 or email conniejulian22_at_yahoo.com Saturday November 7, 4:30-6:30 p.m. TRIBECA. The Art Club, 100 Reade Street AN AFTERNOON WITH ANDY WORTHINGTON Hosted by The World Can’t Wait. Selections from “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo” and a chance to meet Andy Worthington, and to benefit the work of The World Can’t Wait in stopping the US torture state. Contact: Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can’t Wait (or phone: 866-973-4463). This event is sponsored by The World Can’t Wait and Have Art Will Travel. Sunday, November 8, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. Doors open at 1:00 for light refreshments. UPPER EAST SIDE. Hunter College/CUNY West Building, 68th Street & Lexington, 7th floor Lecture Hall GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE TEACH-IN: CLOSE U.S. MILITARY BASES IN THE PACIFIC The Granny Peace Brigade’s 4th Teach-in* focuses on the Pentagon’s presence in Japan/Okinawa, the Korean Peninsula and the Philippines. Speakers will discuss the destructive impact of U.S. military bases on the region’s environmental, economic and social development. Popular movements in host countries are protesting and resisting the U.S. military presence. We join them in that struggle. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:
Endorsers (partial list): Women and Gender Studies Program, Hunter College CUNY; Black Radical Congress; Code Pink; GABNET USA; NODUTDOL; Peace Action; Raging Grannies; Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. Free and open to the public. www.grannypeacebrigade.org/. grannypeace@mail.com November 10, 6:00 p.m. BROOKLYN. Brooklyn Law School, First Floor Student Lounge, 250 Joralemon Street between Court St and Boerum Place JOSH RUEBNER ON “U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL” Is it legal? Is it moral? Is it political? In 2007, the U.S. and Israel signed an agreement to increase U.S. military aid to Israel to $30 billion over the next ten years. Do these weapons transfers promote Israeli- Palestinian peace? Is this a good use of U.S. taxpayer dollars? Are U.S. laws compromised when Israel uses these materials in Gaza and the West Bank? Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, will present vital information helping us to address these questions. Sponsored by Brooklyn for Peace, Brooklyn Law School National Lawyers Guild and Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest. Admissions free, donations appreciated. For more information, call 718-624-5921 or email is.pales@brooklynpeace.org. November 12, 6:30 p.m. PARK SLOPE. Brooklyn Society For Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West near 2nd Street SCREENING AND DISUCCSION OF “A MAN FROM TWO HAVANAS” “A Man From Two Havanas” is an award-winning documentary by Vivien Lesnik Weisman about her family’s unexpected experience in Miami. Discussion with John McAuliff of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development about US policy towards Cuba, especially the current travel restrictions and our hopes for change. Sponsored by the Latin America Committee of Brooklyn for Peace. For questions, email latinam@brooklynpeace.org or call 718-624-5921. $5-$10 requested, no one turned away. Friday, November 13, 8:00 p.m. HEWLETT. Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, 1125 Broadway IS THE AMERICAN DREAM SUBPRIME? The Implications of the Mortgage Crisis Speaker: Prof. Peter Marcuse, Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning at Columbia University. Prof. Marcuse lives in Waterbury, Connecticut where he is on the City Planning Commission. In the past he was President of the City Planning Commission of Los Angeles. Sponsored by FIVE TOWNS FORUM. Contact: Rochelle Dorfman (516) 623-5689 Thursday, November 19, 7:30 p.m. 
MANHASSET. Unitarian Universalist Church at Shelter Rock, 48 Shelter Rock RoadMAKING NUCLEAR ABOLITION A REALITY WITH JONATHAN SCHELL The nuclear threat is greater today than at any time since the Cold War. In a new book Jonathan Schell calls the time we are living in “The Seventh Decade of Nuclear Danger.” He believes we need a global agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons. Schell calls President Obama’s commitment to seek a world without nuclear weapons an invitation to all of us to participate in history. Suggest contribution of $5. Sponsored by the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, the Shelter Rock Forum, Great Neck SANE/Peace Action, Code Oink LI, LI Veterans for Peace, Pax Christi LI and the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock. For more information call the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives at 516-741-4360. 
Thursday, November 19, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN. The Canteena, 8001 5th Avenue. INTERFAITH PEACE COALITION FUNDRAISER AT THE CANTEENA With Honored Guests Sally and David Jones. There will be music and food. Our speaker will be Hugh Bruce of Veterans for Peace. Donations Accepted. For more information contact Bay Ridge Interfaith Peace Coalition at (718) 680-2981; infaithpeace@yahoo.com. Monday, November 30, 1:00 – 9:00 p.m. BROOKLYN. Rally starts at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn, near the LIRR train stop. WORLD PEACE MARCH IN NEW YORK CITY On November 30th, the team of 25 marchers will arrive in New York from Senegal, having completed two-thirds of their journey. At 1:00 we will leave Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush for a march to Brooklyn Borough Hall. After a short event at Borough Hall, we will march over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall for a press event on the steps from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. We will end the evening with a cultural event and reception with special guests at 7:00 p.m. To join the Peace Action delegation to the event, please RSVP to Cheryl or Judith at 646-723-1749.  Wednesday, November 4th, 7:00 p.m. ROCHESTER. Downtown Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St. EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE HONDURAN COUP AND RETURN OF PRESIDENT ZELAYA Sponsored by The Rochester Committee on Latin America. Grahame Russell, a lawyer and global human rights and development activist, will give an eye-witness account of the June 28 military coup d'état in Honduras. Mr. Russell, co-director of Rights Action, flew into Honduras within 24 hours of the coup and has spent much of the time since there, observing the illegal de facto government, the huge popular resistance, the secret return of President Zelaya to the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, and the army’s violent repression of the protesters – still ongoing. The church is wheelchair-accessible and looped for the hearing impaired. The talk is free, open to the public, and sponsored by the Rochester Committee on Latin America (ROCLA). For more information, contact Bob Kaiser, ROCLA convener, 585-293-3194.
Friday, November 6th, 7:00 p.m.BINGHAMTON. First Presbyterian Church, Chenango Street (one block from County Court House) KATHY KELLY SPEAKS: THE COST OF WAR AT HOME AND ABROAD Two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Kathy Kelly, will discuss her experiences in Gaza and Pakistan and help evaluate the costs of war-making from the perspective of those who bear the brunt of suffering caused by war. Q&A. For more info contact Jack Gilroy, 748 8105. St James is the sponsor of this first night event with the cooperation of Pastor Monica Styron of First Presbyterian Church. Thursday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. WILLIAMSVILLE. 5596 Main Street 10,000 VILLAGES SHOPPING DAY 10% of proceeds TO to WNY Peace Center! Saturday, November 14, 1:00 p.m. GENESEO. Omega Restaurant, 4182 Lakeville Road (Route 20A) REGULAR GENESEE VALLEY CITIZENS FOR PEACE MEETING Sunday, November 15, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. ROCHESTER. Dryden Theatre, George Eastman House, 900 East Avenue HEALTH JUSTICE FORUM Let’s discuss how to resolve the disparities and inequities of the current health care delivery paradigm. Featuring Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) with Jeff Cohen, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting; Donna Smith, California Nurses Association; Tim Carpenter, Progressive Democrats of America; and Dr. Emily Queenan, Physicians for a National Health Program. Free and Open to the Public. For more information, contact David Nevin at (585) 338-3849 or dave@dnevin.com. Thursday, November 19, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. BUFFALO. Canisius College, Grupp Fireside Lounge, Winter Student Center, 2001 Main St. "NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION" with Dolores Huerta. Dolores Huerta is a co-founder (with Cesar Chavez) of United Farm Workers, Free and open to all. Presented by NY Justice in Action Committee of Canisius College. Saturday, November 21, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. BUFFALO. Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church, 1035 Delaware Ave. 2ND ANNUAL PEACEFAIR: FAIR TRADE, LOCAL VENDORS Entry, Food at noon, Proceeds to benefit the WNY Peace Center . Saturday, December 5, 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon GENESEO. Wegman Plaza, Route 20A GVCP’S ANNUAL DEMONSTRATION AGAINST WAR TOYS Bring peaceful toys and dress warmly.  Many local peace groups hold regular events, vigils, "Honk for Peace" actions, etc. See our list: www.panys.org/ongoing.htm  Friday, November 6, 9:00 PM (EST) check local listings here 
PBS: Bill Moyers Journal"THE GOOD SOLDIER" DOCUMENTARY ON PBS As America prepares to observe Veterans Day and President Obama weighs sending more troops to fight in Afghanistan, "Bill Moyers Journal" broadcasts a powerful documentary about the impact on soldiers of learning to kill - or be killed. "The Good Soldier" follows four veterans - one from World War II, two from Vietnam and the fourth from Iraq - as they reveal how the experiences of battle changed their lives. November 14 – 18 WASHINGTON DC. Georgetown University INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU ANNUAL CONFERENCE Rolling back militarism: a task for the global movement. This conference was co-organized with Peace Action, America’s largest grassroots peace network. Come engage in a strategic process, to examine our campaigning priorities and options, to explore new ways to challenge the militarism we see around us, and to build international connections and partnerships. The program includes a central conference and a day-seminar on military spending, plus the annual IPB Council meeting and a planning session for the NPT Review next May. It will also be the occasion for the award of the IPB’s annual Sean MacBride Peace Prize. Confirmed speakers include: Tom Hayden, David McReynolds, Phyllis Bennis, Carlos Vargas, Oskar Castro, Cora Weiss, Prof. Betty Reardon, Azza El-Kholy, Jackie Cabasso, Zia Mian, Joseph Gerson, Judith LeBlanc, Prof. Mark Lance, Emira Woods, and Frida Berrigan. For more information, contact ippn@igc.org. November 20 – 22 COLUMBUS, GA 2009 VIGIL TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS Gather with tens of thousands of other activists for the annual vigil to close the notorious School of the Americas (SOA). Each year we grow closer to seeing the school closed for good. Together we can close the SOA! On the way to Fort Benning, stop at Cincinatti, OH on November 18th, Birmingham, AL on November 19th and November 20th in Atlanta, GA. Speakers will include Martha Lucia Giraldo, Gerardo Cajamarca Alarcon, Jairo Dionisio Fuentes Epiayu, Aviva Chomsky and Ray Rodgers. For more information, see www.soaw.org. 
Dec. 27 & 29, Jan. 1. CAIRO. RAFAH CROSSING. GAZA STRIP. WASHINGTON DC. GAZA FREEDOM MARCH On the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Gaza, individuals and representatives of organizations from around the world will convene in Cairo, attempt to cross into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing on Dec. 29, and march with the residents of Gaza to the Israeli border on Jan. 1. We are working with Israeli peace groups to organize a companion demonstration on the Israeli side on the same day. Meanwhile, back at home, we will stage companion demonstrations in DC and other cities across the nation -- calling on our leaders to do the right thing and use our considerable leverage to pressure Israel and Egypt to end the siege. You can get involved by:
Going out of state? Check UFPJ's national Events Calendar: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php. |