Write Obama re: Nuclear Abolition
August 17, 2010     Alert #269 Images/links not showing up? View online .

Dear Peace Activists and Friends,

For the past two weeks, H.R. 6045 has been sitting in committee in the House of Representatives waiting for either a vote in favor of the bill, which would send it to a full vote on the floor of the House, or a vote against it. Should it pass a full vote of the House and the Senate and garner the signature of the President, H.R. 6045 would mandate that funds allotted for operations in Afghanistan must be used for the sole purpose of "providing for the safe and orderly" withdrawal of American Armed Forces from Afghanistan. Should this bill pass into law, it would expedite the process of ending the war. Although the Obama administration and Gen. David Petraeus have announced a July 2011 pullout date, there is yet to be a legally binding law which guarantees that this date is set in stone.

By expediting the process of withdrawal and withdrawing sooner, we will be able to cut our defense spending.

Help make sure that the war in Afghanistan ends as soon as possible and that the cost of war does not continue to rise. Write to your local congressperson and ask them to support H.R. 6045. Especially during this election year, it is vital that your congressional representatives know where you stand on such important legislation!

Peace,

Justin Lee
Peace Action New York State
info@panys.org

Featured Event
Monday, August 23. Forum: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.; Reception: 6:00 -7:30 p.m.
LENOX, MA. Founders' Theatre at Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street.
 A PANEL DISCUSSION ON ISRAEL/PALESTINE
A TWO-STATE SOLUTION: BENEFITS? ROAD BLOCKS?
Mark Rosenblum, Ph.D., Director of the Center of Jewish Studies at Queen’s College of the City University of New York, Advisor to six U.S. Presidents on the Arab-Israeli confict.
Ghaith Al-Omari, Esq., Advocacy Director, American Task Force in Palestine; Advisor to Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and to several Palestinian negotiating teams, including at the Camp David and Taba Summits. 
Letty Cottin Pogrebin (Moderator) Founding Editor, Ms. Magazine; author of 10 books, including Deborah, Golda and Me: Being Female and Jewish in America; former president of the Authors Guild.
Audience participation Q&A. Mediterranean hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine by Firefly.
Download the flier.
More information: www.shakespeare.org, www.nationinstitute.org, www.panys.org.
Tickets: $50 general admission, $10 Students at 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
Sponsored by Doris Shaffer Memorial Lecture Fund,
a project of Peace Action Fund of New York State, and The Nation Institute.
New York Metro Area and Long Island Events
Thursday, August 19, 12 noon - 4:00 p.m.
EAST HARLEM. 104th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues
 GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE AT EAST HARLEM YOUTH FAIR
Music, dancing, free food, our engaging, interactive Penny Poll, and counter-recruitment materials. Join us for good conversation and an interesting time with our young folks. Hope to see you there! For further information contact: Barbara Harris - bharris21@nyc.rr.com. In case of rain contact Joan Pleune at 718-855-2581.
Tuesday, September 21
UNITED NATIONS and around the world.
U.N. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE.
 The International Day of Peace was established by a U.N. resolution in 1981, and in 2002, September 21 was declared the permanent official worldwide date for "commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples .... as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace." The day has grown to include millions of people in all parts of the world, and each year events are organized to commemorate and celebrate this day. Events range in scale from private gatherings to public concerts and forums where hundreds of thousands of people participate. Start or join an event at the IDP web site and stay tuned for future listings here.
Thursday, September 30, 7:00 p.m.
EAST VILLAGE. Great Hall of Cooper Union, Cooper Square,
THE 2010 NUCLEAR-FREE FUTURE AWARDS
Awards to five international visionaires of a nuclear-free world:
Resistance: The African Uranium Alliance
Education: Oleg Bodrov
Solutions: Bruno Barrillot
Lifetime Achievement: Martin Sheen
Special Recognition: Henry Red Cloud
This year's awards ceremony will be accompanied by a swarm of events (music, seminars), scheduled to happen between September 27 and October 2. For more information see www.nuclear-free.com/eng/release/htm@2010.
October, 7, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
EAST VILLAGE. Colors Restaurant, 417 Lafayette Street
 THE THIRD ANNUAL WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR. PEACEMAKER AWARDS
Award Presenter: The Honorable Mayor Matthew T. Ryan Honorary 2010 Recipient: Father John Dear
Light Hors D’Oeuvres • Wine/Beer/Soda • Cash Bar
Silent Auction will take place throughout the evening.
Tickets: $75 before October 1st; $100 after October 1st. RSVP kitty@panys.org.
Upstate Events
Thursday, August 19, 7:00 p.m.
ROCHESTER. The Baha’i Center, 693 East Ave.
 CREATING THE FUTURE SERIES FOR 2010
MIKE CONNELLY: HOW MANY LIBERALS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE SOCIETY?
The series will continue on Thursday eveings as follows:
September 16th:  Liz Pixley / Dirt! The Movie
October 28th:  Mike Rudnick / Human Nutrition, Best of the best papers from 2009 as found by Michael Greger, MD.
November 18th:  Sven Warner / Transformative Learning
December 16th: TBD
Information or program suggestions: hstone@rochester.rr.com, (585) 624-3673, http://rocwiki.org/Rochester_Baha%27i%27_Community/.
Tuesday, September 14
BUFFALO. Betty's Restaurant, 370 Virginia Street.
 DINE OUT FOR UGANDA.
A fundraising dinner by Global African Village. GAV will received 10% of the proceeds from all dine-in meals eaten at Betty's that day (breakfast, lunch and dinner).  We will also be holding a raffle for a beautiful framed photograph of an African elephant, which will be on display. More info: http://www.globalafricanvillage.org/.
Saturday, September 25, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
WASSAIC. World Peace Sancturary, 26 Benton Road. Directions (pdf)
 A CALL TO PEACE
This annual event is held in the Sacred Grove under the canopy of century-old black walnut trees, surrounded by nature and other Sanctuary amenities. An invitation to friends and community members who feel a call to generate the positive and focused intentions of our Message and Prayer: "May Peace Prevail On Earth." A multitude of cultural blend! People from the surrounding areas and members from other countries attend year after year to experience this amazing event. More info: worldpeace.org/actp.html. Members of Peace Action New York are particularly invited. Please RSVP to info@worldpeace.org.
Saturday, September 25, 1:00 p.m.
BUFFALO. Room 100, Allen Hall, South Campus University at Buffalo
 SEPTEMBER MEETING, WESTERN NEW YORK PEACE CENTERk
The WNY Peace Center's Board of Directors has called the September meeting. All members are strongly encouraged to attend.
Sunday, October 17, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.
SYRACUSE. Pensabene's Casa Grande, 135 State Fair Blvd.
22nd ANNUAL PEACE AWARDS DINNER
Speaker: JOHANTHAN SCHELL, Senior Fellow at The Nation Institute, Peace and Disarmament Correspondent for The Nation magazine, Visiting Lecturer at Yale College, and author of 13 books, including The Fate of the Earth (1982), which received the Los Angeles Times book prize and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Critics Award; The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People (2003), which The NY Times called "the most impressive argument ever made that there exists a viable and desirable alternative to a continued reliance on war". and The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of the Nuclear Danger (2007), a "careful assembly of the available evidence [that] will scare the pants off most readers."
Peace Action of Central New York • 315-478-7442 • peaceactioncny.org
Ongoing Events
Many local peace groups hold regular events, vigils, "Honk for Peace" actions, etc. 
See our list: www.panys.org/ongoing.htm
Out of State and National Events
Wednesday, August 25 - Sunday, August 29
PORTLAND, MAINE. By the Bay Holiday Inn, 88 Spring Street
VETERANS FOR PEACE CONVENTION
 Join us for VFP's 25th Anniversary Convention! August 25-29, 2010 at the By the Bay Holiday Inn in Portland, ME. Lifting the Fog of War VFP 1985-2010 25 Years of Working for Peace
DATE TBD
FORT ERIE, CANADA (Just Over the Peace Bridge)
 MEET CANADIAN WAR RESISTERS
The Buffalo Veterans For Peace and the War Resister Support Campaign are sponsoring an opportunity to meet with the War Resisters and the families who went to Canada. The details are being worked out, but it is essential that people have their passports (or enhanced licenses) so you can cross the border. Please stay tuned to more information!
All Summer
NEW MEXICO and other locations.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOMB's DISARMAMENT SUMMER.
Think Outside the Bomb, the largest youth-led anti-nuclear network in the US, is organizing Disarmament Summer near Los Alamos, New Mexico, in partnership with the Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance, TEWA Women United, the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment, Products of Atzlan youth group, and the Southwest Indigenous Uranium Forum. For further information please check out www.thinkoutsidethebomb.org, call (408) 676-TOTB (8682), or email Rebecca Riley, totbchicago@gmail.com or Lisa Putkey, lisaputkey@gmail.com.
Going out of state? Check UFPJ's national Events Calendar: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php .
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