Events

MOUTHFUL, An Open Mic for Open Minds, 11/9 & every 2nd Friday, 7:15 pm signup, 7:30 pm start; turn the mic over to your original writing in any genre - and munch on tasty noshes while you chat informally about writing and whatever else comes to mind. Come to read or come to listen: our goal is to build a community of writers and readers that supports women and their allies. $5 donation requested. Center for New Words, 7 Temple Street, Cambridge, 02139, 617.876.5310

Life After Death Row, 11/16, 5:30-7pm, featuring: Ronald Keine, exonerated former death row prisoner; Professor Michael Avery, lawyer for the Chelsea 4, & lawyer Stephen Hrones. Sponsored by SULS NLG, BLSA, ACLU, & more; Large Moot Court Room, #425, Suffolk University Law School, anthony.naro@suffolk.edu [5]

Tag Sale, 11/16, 5:30-8 pm & 11/17, 9:30 am-2 pm; Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle Street nr. Harvard Square), Cambridge MA; high-quality kitchenware, clothing, jewelry; proceeds benefit the AFSC's Material Assistance Program which serves people transitioning out of homelessness; donations welcome thru 11/6; 617/661-6130

Transforming Discipline: Building School Community through Restorative Practices; 11/28-30, Sheraton Hotel, 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland, ME, A comprehensive look at Restorative Justice in K-12 schools to introduce educators to restorative practices in school discipline and school climate change. Restorative rather than punitive approaches deal more effectively with student mis-behavior by encouraging students to take responsibility for their actions and find ways to "make things right" with those they have harmed. Spon-sored by the University of Maine Peace Studies Program, Maine Law & Civics Education at the University of Maine School of Law, and The Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast. Info: Barb Blazej, UM Peace Studies Program, 207/581-2625, Barbara.Blazej@umit.maine.edu [6]; registration: 207/780-5951, conferences@usm.maine.edu [7], www.mainelaw.usm.maine.edu/mlce [8]

Close the School of the Americas, 11/16-18; Fort Benning, GA; thousands will converge for demonstrations, vigils, workshops, & nonviolent direct action to close SOA/WHINSEC (a US-based training center for Latin American military elites, many of whom have gone on to perpetrate violent repression in their home countries); to learn more visit SOA Watch at www.soaw.org [9]

opportunities

Fellowship of Reconciliation Trainings; Campaign Skills Training at the School of the Americas Watch, 11/16, Ft. Benning, GA, info: Susana Pimiento, 415/495-6334, susana@forpeace.net [10], Peacemaker Training Institute for Youth and Young Adults, 1/3-10/08, Bangor, PA, Info: Maryrose Dolezal, 651/210-4465, pti@forusa.org [11]

Peacewriting Annual International Writing Awards, encourages writing in opposition to war and in support of nonviolent peacemaking and peace-makers. Seeks book-length manuscripts about the causes, consequences, and solutions to violence and war, and about the ideas and practices of nonviolent peacemaking and the lives of nonviolent peacemakers. Sponsored by The Peace And Justice Studies Association and the Omni Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology. Three Prizes: $500 for best non-fiction manuscript; $500 for best imagi-native work; $500 for best of the above for young people. Manuscript must be postmarked by December 1 of each year. Awards will be announced by May 1 of the following year. PeaceWriting, 2582 Jimmie Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72703-3420, 501/442-4600, jbennet@uark.edu [12]. For rules and info on past winners, see www.omnicenter.org/index.htm [13]

Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream (workshop), 12/7-9; Pendle Hill Conference Center, Wallingford PA; ourgoal is to bring forth an enviornmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on Earth; we will look at the state of our fragile planet, how we got to this situation, & why there is hoe for a Great turning; with Andrew Brazington & Hollister Knowlton; for more info or to register visit www.pendlehill.org [14]

Spirit in Action's Leadership Program, 1/16-20/08; Wallingford, PA, Pendle Hill Conference Center. Build relationships and co-create community with a diverse group of people who value: movement building, working in a heart- centered way, healing from our divisions, collective visioning for a positive future, and action for deep and lasting change. Take the tools back to your organization or lead a Circle of Change in your community. Follow-up leadership support through telephone conference calls. Info: Pamela Freeman, 215-844-7566, pfree12334@aol.net [15], www.pendlehill.org [16]

campaigns

86 Days to "86" Guantánamo; 86 days separate two infamous dates: October 17 marked the first anniversary of the Military Commissions Act & January 11 marks the anniversary of the first detainee held at Guantánamo Bay. Both dates represent: torture, indefinite detention, guilty until proven innocent. Amnesty International is calling on activists across the country to stand in solidarity against torture: to call for the closure of the detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay, & the end of torture in the name of "security." To receive back-ground material & resources for coor-dinated action, visit www.amnestyusa.org [17].

Pass the Military Conscientious Objector's Act; Virtual Lobby packet available from the Center on Con-science and War. Current law excludes selec-tive objectors, is time-consuming, implies a claimant might be crazy for claiming CO, puts the burden of proof entirely on the claimant, and is not codified in a statute. Also avail-able: fact sheet on how the current DREAM act tilts toward militarizing immigrants. CCW, 202/483-2220, www.centeronconscience.org [18]

resources

A Guide to Mediation: Enabling Peace Processes in Violent Conflicts; Provides practical guidance and support to professionals engaged in mediated peace processes. Includes: the elements of mediated processes, typical difficulties and dilemmas, and core values and operational principles. "Peace talks - like all negotiations - involve making difficult decisions about the substance of talks, the process and venue of talks and the relationships around the table. Mediators can help get this right," says Martin Griffiths, Director of the HD Centre. Published by, and available for download for free from, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 114 rue de lausanne, Geneva, Geneva 1202, Switzerland, www.hdcentre.org [19].

Long Shadows: Veterans' Paths to Peace, David Giffey, ed.; $19.95 pb; 19 interviews discussing paths from military involvement to peace activism. Includes veterans from the Spanish Civil War, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Yom Kippur War, the Cold War, Afghan-istan, and the Iraq war. "Anti-war feeling among veterans has not been given the attention it deserves, and this volume is an attempt to correct that imbalance." - Howard Zinn. Atwood Publishing, Madison, WI, www.atwoodpublishing.com [20]