Pieces

EVENTS

Critical Breakdown Breaks the Silence, 8/1, 8 pm; Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center, 85 West Newton St, South End, Boston; $10; All ages welcome; with Def Poet & Hip-Hop/Reggaeton artist La Bruja, The Foundation Movement, Letia LaRok, Project MOVE, Sofia Snow, MamaRut, Lady Enchantress, United Roots, & DJ Nomadik; $10- all ages. This event begins Peace Boston 2006, a week-long hip hop response to youth violence, with events scheduled around Boston including performances, round table discussions, and a film festival. Among the events scheduled: 8/4, Strand Theater; 543 Columbia Rd, Dorchester, a Hip Hop "Reconstruction" Youth Conference hosted by Toni Blackman; 8/5, City Hall Plaza, free concert featuring Rakim, CL Smooth, Nice & Smooth. For information, contact Erik Wissa, Urban Youth Program Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee, 2161 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140; 617-661-6130; ewissa@afsc.org

Day for Peace & Reconciliation, 9/11;Washington DC, Lincoln Memorial; Arun Gandhi, founder of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, will speak at 1:30 pm, followed by a geopolitical summit on nonviolence at Georgetown University & a gala. Other events to be held internationally by interfaith & intellectual communities. The Gandhi Institute recommends that community groups devote an hour to reflect on the history of nonviolent action. Cities already hosting events are Memphis, TN, Rochester, NY, Olympia, WA, & many others. For more information, contact the Gandhi Institute at (901) 452-2824; administrator@gandhiinstitute.org. M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, 139 Oakdale St, Memphis, TN 38112; gandhiinstitute.org

Annual Pat Farren Lecture with Marge Piercy, 11/8, 7 pm; Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA (off Brattle St., 5 mins from Harvard Square); sliding scale $50-$10 ($5 for students); reception with light refreshments at 6 pm; Marge Piercy is the author of 17 novels including bestsellers Gone to Soldiers, The Longings of Women, and the classic Woman on the Edge of Time; 17 volumes of poetry, and a critically acclaimed memoir Sleeping with Cats. Her newest book, Sex Wars, is a historical novel of gender, power, and the American Dream set in 19th-century New York City and told through the viewpoints of some of the most notorious characters in US history. Marge Piercy has been a key player in many of the major progressive political battles of our time, including the anti-Vietnam-war and women's movements, and is now an active participant in the resistance to the war in Iraq. The Pat Farren Lecture is an annual fundraising event to benefit Peacework magazine. To reserve seats, call with credit card info or mail a check to AFSC-Peacework, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617-661-6130.

GATHERINGS

Spirituality, Ecology, & Peace, 7/15; University of Maine, Orono; a 1-day conference sponsored by the UMaine Peace Studies department; keynotes by Terry Tempest Williams & Kyriacos Markides; workshops, panels, & a performance by pianist Masanobu Ikemiya; contact Ellen Woodhead, 207/581-2609; Ellen_Woodhead@umit.maine.edu

Maine Social Forum & Film Festival, 7/27-30; Bates Mill & Kennedy Park, Lewiston ME; The MSF, which encompasses the surrounding Maine bioregion, invites artists, activists, social service groups, nonprofits, grassroots organizers, community organizers, & other interested people to come to Lewiston to discuss how peace & social justice can be carried out effectively: Another Maine is Possible! The film festival will showcase intelligent films that deal with Maine-related themes (such as genetic engineering and "smart growth"), & will highlight the work of Maine activists who are using film to confront power and inspire change; for more information call 603/783-0894; www.mainesocialforum.org

OPPORTUNITIES

Peacework Magazine seeks two fall work-study interns; learn every aspect of publishing a monthly peace & justice magazine under the auspices of an internationally renowned organization; 10 hours/wk (hours & start date flexible); résumé & letter to Sara Burke, Peacework, American Friends Service Committee, 2161 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617-661-6130; sburke@afsc.org; www.peaceworkmagazine.org

Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors seeks GI Rights Coordinator to work in its Oakland, CA office; CCCO supports & promotes individual & collective resistance to war & preparations for war; letter & resume by 7/24 to hire@objector.org; CCCO, 405 14th St. #205, Oakland CA 94612; www.objector.org and www.girights.org

Woolman Hill, a Quaker conference and retreat center in Deerfield, MA, seeks an individual, couple or family to serve as hosts (full-time residence and working 20-25 weekends a year required); WH also seeks individuals to fill one or more of the following part-time duties: cleaning, maintenance, groundskeeping, cooking, office work, bookkeeping; send letter, resume, & references to WH, 107 Keets Rd, Deerfield MA 01342; 413/774-3431; info@woolmanhill.org; www.woolmanhill.org

Critical Breakdown, with IBA & Project HIP-HOP, is offering a six-week program for young folks. In addition to creating a youth written play (an urban version of Romeo & Juliet), workshops on issues of peace & justice, ongoing arts-based workshops, & outdoor open mics every Friday afternoon. Every Tuesday, 1-3 pm, guest artists will conduct Rhythmic Reflections Workshops, among them: Toni Blackman, 7/11; La Bruja, 8/1; Sofia Snow, 8/8. For information, contact, Erik Wissa, Urban Youth Program Coordinator, AFSC, 2161 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140; 617-661-6130; ewissa@afsc.org

Antioch University's Environmental Advocacy & Organizing Program has openings for Fall 2006. EAOP is a one-of-a-kind master's program for public interest advocates & grassroots organizers working on wilderness protection, public health, & sustainability (as well as peace, social justice, & the democratic control of corporations); Antioch University New England, 40 Avon St, Keene NH 03431; 603/357-3122 x298; www.antiochne.edu

RESOURCES

DMZ: A Guide to Taking Your School Back from the Military, $5 each; topics include "What is counter-recruitment?" "Organizing skills," "high school students' rights," and "The draft, conscientious objection & resistance"; includes extensive resources & contacts; order from War Resisters League, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; 212-228-0450; www.warresisters.org

Not Your Soldier; The hardworking hellraisers at the Ruckus Society are proud to unveil for you the world premier of a bombastic new Flash animation called Not Your Soldier. It's packed with mind-bending images & a hot new song from The Coup. Not Your Soldier draws powerful connections between the Vietnam War & what's going on in Iraq now. Crank up your speakers! www.notyoursoldier.org

Amnesty International 2006 Report; 2005 was a year of contradictions in which signs of hope for human rights were undermined through the deception & failed promises of powerful governments… Governments collectively & individually paralyzed international institutions & squandered public resources in pursuit of narrow security interests, sacrificed principles in the name of the 'war on terror' & turned a blind eye to massive human rights violations. As a result, the world has paid a heavy price, in terms of erosion of fundamental principles & in the enormous damage done to the lives & livelihoods of ordinary people; for more on the report, visit: web.amnesty.org/report2006/globaloverview-eng

Whose Wars? Teaching about the Iraq War & the War on Terrorism; 70 pp; $12.95 pb; a collection of articles on the Iraq war & the so-called war on terrorism to help teachers & organizers, including interactive lessons, creative teaching ideas incorporating poetry, imaginative writing, math activities, discussion & critical reading strategies. Available from Rethinking Schools, 1001 E. Keefe Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53212; 800/669-4192; www.rethinkingschools.org

CAMPAIGNS

No Nukes! No Wars! End War Profiteering! Support Indigenous Rights! Between August 6 & 9, The United for Peace and Justice Coalition calls on groups to protest at the corporate offices of Bechtel, the world's number-one nuclear profiteer, & at nuclear facilities everywhere. We must directly confront the US corporations that are perpetuating & profiting from a worldwide nuclear crisis & the war in Iraq. Plans are underway for protests at most of the major US nuclear weapons facilities, including the Livermore & Los Alamos Labs, the Oak Ridge plant in Tennessee, the Nevada Test Site, & the Pantex plant in Texas. Actions are also planned at Bechtel's Bettis Atomic Laboratory in Pennsylvania, & Bechtel corporate offices in Houston & San Francisco. See www.August6.org for a growing list of actions. For more information, contact United for Peace & Justice, 212/868-5545; www.unitedforpeace.org

Cancel Haiti's Debt; Haiti's massive debt burden of $1.4 billion is both unpayable & unjust. Much of Haiti's debt was contracted under 30 years of Duvalier regimes, notorious for their human rights abuses & opulence financed by Haiti's poor & by foreign assistance. In 2005, the Haitian government spent more than $70 million on debt payments, a significant portion of its budget ó yet less than half of the population has access to basic rights such as health care, education, & potable water. We join with Haitian civil society groups in calling on creditors, especially at the IMF, World Bank, & Inter-American Development Bank, to cancel Haiti's debt, immediately & without harmful economic conditions attached. To take action, visit the Jubilee USA Network, 222 East Capitol St NE, Washington DC 20003; 202/783-3566; www.jubileeusa.org