Bits & Peaces
Full Article:
BOSTON AREA EVENTS
Stand for Security, Continuing Dr. Martin Luther King's Legacy, 4/4, 8 am. Security guards are unionizing. Hear success stories from Los Angeles, plans for future organizing in Boston. SEIU, 26 West St., Boston, MA. RSVP to Jeremy Shenk, 617/878-7520, jshenk@seiu615.org.
Boston Skillshare, 4/5-6, 11am-6pm, MIT Stata Center. brings people together to share practical skills, from bike mechanics to yoga, bostonskillshare@riseup.net, www.bostonskillshare.org. $3-$10 sliding scale donation.
Abu Ghraib Detainee Interview Project, 2/15 -5/4. Art exhibit by Daniel Heyman, who created the works while attending the interviews of 20 former detainees by human rights lawyers. DePaul University Museum, Chicago, www.museums.depaul.edu, www.danielheyman.com.
Reading by Jane Collins, 5/4, 1-3 pm, author of For Love of a Soldier: Interviews with Military Families Taking Action Against the Iraq War, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Cambridge Friends co-sponsor a book party at the Friends Meeting House, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA 02138. Refreshments served. Free.
GATHERINGS
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GATHERINGS
StratCom: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, 4/11-13; Omaha, NE; annual space organizing conference of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space; rally, workshops, & speakers including Joanne Sheehan, Bruce Gagnon, Bal Pinguel, & many more; Global Network, PO Box 652, Brunswick ME 04011; 207/443-9502; www.space4peace.org.
Celebrate ADAPT's 25th Anniversary, 4/26-5/2, Washington, DC. The Community Choice Act would remove barriers preventing people with disabilities from living in the community with real support instead of being locked away in nursing homes and other institutions. Fun Run for Disability Rights, 4/27. Grassroots Actions 4/28-30. 25th Anniversary Dinner, Exhibition and Show, 5/1. ADAPT, 201 S Cherokee, Denver, CO, 80223, 512/442-0252, infa@adapt.org,
National Conference for Media Reform, 6/6-8; Minneapolis MN; join activists, media makers, educators, journalists, policymakers & concerned citizens in calling for real & lasting changes to our nation's media system; with Amy Goodman, Dan Rather, Bill Moyers, Van Jones, & Naomi Klein, & many others; sponsored by Free Press, 501 Third St NW #875, Washington DC 20001; 202/265-1490; www.freepress.net.
The Way That Leads To Peace, 7/14-19, A conference for everyone who longs
for the spirituality, inspiration, skills, knowledge, and community to support
a life of peace rooted in justice. John Abbott College, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue,
Quebec, Canada. Keynote address by Jim Loney, a member of Christian Peacemaker
Teams who, along with three others, was held hostage in Iraq. Presented by: Baptist
Peace Fellowship of North America, 4800 Wedgewood Dr., Charlotte, NC 28210, 704/521-6051,
ledayne@bpfna.org, www.bpfna.org.
CAMPAIGNS
National Bottle Recycling Bill, MA Rep. Markey introduced the Bottle
Recycling Climate Protection Act of 2007 to create a 5¢ deposit on every
beverage container sold in the country. The bill is intended to lower greenhouse
gas emissions by boosting the recycling rate of frequently wasted beverage containers.
As of 3/20, the bill has only 11 co-sponsors. Maybe your Rep. will sgn-on. Campaign
by the Container Recylcing Institute, www.container-recycling.org. More info,
and learn how to promote state bottle recycling bills, at www.bottlebill.org.
OPPORTUNITIES
Community Organizer, The Center For Health, Environment, and Justice is seeking a full-time experienced community/coalition organizer to help develop and implement a strategy for community engagement and leadership to win justice for communities across the state of Florida. Email cover letter and resume to sfranklin@chej.org with the subject "Community Organizer," or mail Sharon Franklin, CHEJ, PO B 6806, Falls Church, VA 22040-6806. www.chej.org.
Boston Anti-Racist Rapid Response Team, a network of volunteers who are willing to participate in antiracist actions in the Boston area and who will inform and encourage others to join them. First two campaigns: stop housing evictions, and help reverse the disparate impact of high-stakes testing. To join call 617/523-0555 or email janet@communitychangeinc.org. Community Change, Inc., www.communitychangeinc.org.
Daniel Singer Prize Essay Contest. The 2008 prize of $5000 for the best
essay, of 5,000 words, exploring the question:
"What recent event or political process that you have participated in, witnessed
or studied has given you inspiration and confidence that 'a better world
is possible?' and why do you think the fight for a better world will succeed?" Essays
in English, Spanish or French. Email or mail entries by 8/30 to: The Daniel Singer
Millennium Prize Foundation, POB 2371, El Cerrito, CA 94530, danielsingerfdn@gmail.com,
www.danielsinger.org.
RESOURCES
War Resisters League's Pie Chart. Perfect for leafleting on 4/15. 54% of US gov't spending goes to war. Order from www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm.
WAND's Great American Pie Campaign materials. Series of bookmarks on military spending, abolishing nuclear weapons, investing in people, national debt, and women at the table, with the theme, "Let's Cook Up a New Pie!" Workshops on these themes to be offered in 17 states in 2008, 404/371-1165, field@wand.org, www.wand.org.
America's Child: A Woman's Journey through the Radical Sixties by Susan Sherman, 239 pp; $15.00 pb. Sherman is a lesbian anti-racist feminist poet. Grace Paley said, "...[T]he portraits are so vivid. This chronicle reads like an adventure story told with modesty and feeling." Published by Curbstone Press, 2007.
Victory for Us is to See You Suffer: In the West Bank with the Palestinians and the Israelis by Philip C. Winslow. 224 pp. $24.95 hb. Winslow coordinated humanitarian aid in the West Bank for the UN from 2001-2004. Adam Hochschild wrote, "Winslow is a gentle guide to an ungentle landscape. ...Americans who care about forging a lasting peace in the Middle East should read this book...." Published by Beacon Press, 2007.
