Next meeting of the WNC Peace Coalition will be on October 21, 2008 at 7 PM at Unitarian Universalist Church in Presidential candidate Barack Obama will speak at
Roadmap for Peace: We call on the next
1. Our nation should invest in peace.
Our country should invest in diplomacy, development, and conflict prevention — cost-effective ways to improve national and global security.
2. Military force should be the LAST option.
The military is not an effective relief agency. The government needs a strong civilian foreign assistance and crisis response team.
3. Give diplomacy a chance.
With a highly skilled diplomatic corps, the
4. Be a part of global peacebuilding efforts.
We must work with renewed commitment in international institutions and partners to address major global conflicts and challenges, such as nonproliferation, climate change, migration, public health, and poverty.
5. Create justice through good development and trade policies.
The nation’s interests, and the world’s, benefit from trade and development policies that alleviate poverty, treat men and women equally, and protect the environment.
Endorse the Roadmap here: http://roadmapforpeace.org/
New events and late breaking news can be listed in the comments.
EVENTS
10/01/08 to 10/30/08 WNCPSR cosponsors with Center for Diversity Education at UNCA the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Poster Exhibit in Karpen Hall, UNCA, open Mon. - Fri., 8 - 5. Scenes of the
10/04/08 to 10/12/08 Keep Space for Peace Week – an international week of local protest events to stop the weaponization of space. For more information, contact Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator for Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space at globalnet@mindspring.com. Also see their blog HERE or webpage HERE.
10/06/08 Forum with County Commissioner Candidates from 7 PM to 9 PM at
10/06/08 The World Affairs Council of Western North Carolina presents Dr. Paula Green, "Building Peace at Home and Abroad: Comments from an International Peacebuilder” at 7:30 PM at
10/07/08 Dept of Peace Campaign meets at 7 PM at the
10/07/08 Ralph Hutchinson will deliver a lecture on “Seeking True Security in the Nuclear Age” Time is 12:20 PM at Laurel Forum at UNCA. Ralph Hutchinson is the coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance in
10/09/08 to 10/13/08 Quaker Earthcare Witness Annual Meeting in
10/09/08 Wild & Scenic: Environmental Film Festival at 7 PM at
10/10/08 AB Tech Candidates Forum from Noon to 2 PM at
10/11/08 County Commissioner Candidates Breakfast at
10/11/08 National Coming Out Day
10/12/08 Films on citizen initiatives for enviro. justice; Oct. 9, 7 PM, AVL Pizza & Brew Co.,
10/13/08 Indigenous People Day
10/14/08 Grassroots Media Justice Tour at 10 AM at Firestorm Café and Books. Sponsored by Left Turn Magazine, ColorLines Magazine, Spread Magazine, Free Speech Radio News, and other radical and independent media projects from around the
10/17/08 to 10/18/08 5th Annual Gandhi King Conference on Peacemaking. This will be held at
10/17/08 to 10/19/08 Peace Works Conference at
10/18/08 Anti-war protests will be held in St. Paul/Minneapolis
10/20/08 The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a Candidates Forum for candidates for
10/21/08 Career Day at UNCA
10/21/08 Film and panel discussion led by UNCA students who are members of Amnesty International. Time is 12:20 to 1:20. Location is Laurel Forum at UNCA.
10/23/08 Sierra Club meeting to have political discussions, endorsements and more. Location is UU church in
10/27/08 WNC Chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives will meet at Jubilee (
10/31/08 The 1960’s film “Dr. Strangelove” will be shown at 9 PM at the Highsmith Student Union Grotto at UNCA.
11/17/08 Presentation on Middle East peacemaking and US Christians at All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village from 7 to 9 PM. This is organized by the NC Council of Churches.
11/17/08 WNC Chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives will meet at Jubilee (
11/21/08 to 11/23/08 Converge on
12/12/08 to 12/14/08 United for Peace & Justice will hold their National Assembly near
01/13/09 to 01/17/09 “Heeding God’s Call: A Gathering on Peace” in
January 20, 2009: Join thousands to demand "Bring the troops home now!"
01/27/09 to 02/01/09 World Social Forum will be held in
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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIONS
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The World Affairs Council of
Dr. Paula Green
Building Peace at Home and Abroad: Comments from an International Peacebuilder
Monday, October 6
7:30 p.m.
Owen Conference Center, UNCA Campus
refreshments at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Green is the Founder and Director of the
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10/17/08 Dr. Helen Caldicott will speak at 8 PM at
10/24/08 Frida Berrigan will speak at 7:30 PM at Church of the Savior
11/01/08 OREPA’s 20th Anniversary Concert for Nonviolence at 8 PM at
11/01/08 Walk for Nonviolence will start at 2:30 PM. They will walk five miles, and this is a fundraiser for various groups who support non-violence. Contact OREPA at orep@earthlink.org for sponsorship information.
More information on all these at www.stopthebombs.org.
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From Amnesty International:
The following letter was written by Troy Davis on September 22. Two hours before he was to be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of execution to consider his appeal. Their decision is expected soon.
Stop the execution of Troy Davis!
To all,
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can't even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist. So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated.
There are so many more Troy Davis'. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can't wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing, "I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!"
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
-- Troy
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From Friends Committee on National Legislation:
Success:
In June, House leaders reportedly pledged to "fast track" legislation that urged the president to initiate an international blockade on
Success: No Permanent
For the third year in a row, Congress approved the FCNL-initiated proposal to ban the
Congress Bans Cluster Bomb Exports
A one-year moratorium on cluster bomb exports was set to expire on September 30, 2008. In the waning hours of the 110th Congress, members included an extension of the ban on the export of most types of cluster bombs in a bill that will keep the government running through March 2009. While this extension is short term, it provides another clear victory for FCNL's campaign to ban cluster bombs. Congress still needs to approve legislation that would ban
Success: Congress Says No to New Nuclear Weapons
FCNL lobbying has once again helped block funding for the Bush administration's proposed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program. The final nail in the weapon's coffin came in September, when a House-Senate conference committee for the 2009 military authorization bill refused to allow any money to be spent on RRW. Earlier this year, FCNL's Quaker Nuclear Disarmament Program helped prevent funding for RRW from being included in the 2009 military spending bill. This is the second year FCNL has helped block this program. Find out more
Success: Congress Invests in Peace
The ability of the
Success: Congress Boosts Money for Poor, Students
As part of a bill to fund the government though March 2009, Congress increased funding for a program providing home heating assistance to the poor, student aid, and supplemental nutrition for poor women, infants, and children. Find out more.
Three FCNL staff members joined representatives of other
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Action Alert from the Unitarian Universalist Association
"The greatest prayer of man is not for victory but for peace." -Dag Hammarskjold
Peace and Conflict - UUs Plan to End Torture
As we close in on the elections, we realize how important it is for the future of our nation. After 8 years of the Bush/Cheney Administration it is obvious to see what we have inherited: war without end, economic turmoil, reduced standing in the world, and the withering of our human and civil rights.
In 2004, when pictures and reports of inhumane treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib were released, we dismissed it as a fluke. However, we have only found it to be the tip of the iceberg. Subhuman conditions at Guantanamo Bay Prison, excessive interrogation tactics, extraordinary rendition and transatlantic interrogation flights have all been revealed to been used by our government. The term "waterboarding" has become a household name.
We live in important times. Both of our major presidential candidates have taken strong stands against torture. And both have promised to investigate the possible use of torture by our government and its agents. We have to keep them accountable to that promise.
The National Religious Coalition Against Torture (NRCAT) is looking for UU Congregations to help in that effort. Currently, nearly 60 UU communities across the
Check out the nearly 300 US houses of worship who have taken a stand against torture at the NRCAT slideshow. If you have not yet received their "Torture Is A Moral Issue" banner, please visit nrcat.org.
NRCAT is planning two events in the next six months to make sure our government takes a stand to end the use of torture in times of war and peace.
On November 12th, NRCAT will be be encouraging all UUs to lobby their congress members at home in their districts. We want to make sure the 111th Congress begins the year by promising no more torture. In January, we will be asking our new president to sign an executive order banning the use of extreme interrogation techniques, ceasing the use of extraordinary rendition, and ending the inhumane treatment of our prisoners. We welcome you to join a conference call hosted by NRCAT, the UUA, and the UU Service Committee this Monday, October 6, at 3PM Eastern Time (12 Noon Pacific Time). There, we will be discussing future events such as the November 12th lobbying day and the January Action to End Torture. To call in, please dial 800.868.1837 code 22937881#.
To RSVP, please click here.
With Peace and Love,
Alex Winnett, UUA Program Associate for Peacemaking
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From Courage to Resist:
Becoming a conscientious objector after Iraq
Benjamin “Hart” Viges joined to defend
Jeremy Hinzman granted deportation stay!
The first
Refusing to kill vs. murder
Army Col. Ann Wright (ret.) reviews recent court martial outcomes of "unlawful killings" in
Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan
New book now available from Courage to Resist ($20 donation includes shipping) by Aaron Glantz with forward by Anthony Swofford (paperback) from Haymarket.
Write to imprisoned objector Robin Long We'll forward your message to Robin at the Miramar Naval Brig,
Send letter to robinlong [at] couragetoresist.org. If you wish to correspond directly, include your mailing address and ask Robin to add you to his approved mailing list. Also: Donate to Robin's jail support fund so that he can occasionally phone friends and family
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