December 2003
January 2004

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Pieces

EVENTS

Faces of Iraq: A Traveling Exhibition (photographs), 1/9-2/6; Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St, Cambridge MA; opening reception 1/15, 5:30 pm; co-sponsored by Education for Peace in Iraq & the American Friends Service Committee, the exhibit includes 55 color & black & white photos by various photographers & is put together with the hope of educating the public about the humanity & diversity of the Iraqi people; "Voices of Iraq" program 2/3, 5:30-9 pm (www.adcma.org/events)

Freedom Forum Series; Wednesday evenings, 7:15-9:15 pm; St. John's United Methodist Church, Watertown; 1/14 "The US, Democracy, & Self-determination in the Middle East" with Prof. Stephen Shalom; 2/11 "Selling War with Lies & Half-truths: The Government & Media Connection" with Danny Schechter

Discover Roxbury Winter Tours; 1/17, "Roxbury's History: Colonial Times" with Byron Rushing, state representative & noted historian on Roxbury & the African American community in Boston; 2/7, "Roxbury's History: Immigration & African American Migration" with Byron Rushing; 3/6, "Eating in Roxbury" with Candelaria Silva; tours meet at Dillaway Thomas House, 183 Roxbury St, Roxbury, with pickup available at 9 am from Newton & 9:30 am at Back Bay; tours run from 10 am-2 pm; www.discoverroxbury.org; pre-register at 781/861-8893

Racial Justice: Speak Truth to Power (lecture series on video), 2/27, 3/26, 4/30; gather at 6 for pizza dinner ($3-5 requested), & at 6:45 view a video from the Pendle Hill 2002-2003 speaker series, followed by discussion & worship-sharing; videotaped speakers include Frank Wu, Deborah Saunders, Ed Nakawatase, & Jim Lawson; child care on request; sponsored by Friends for Racial Justice, c/o Friends Meeting at Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA 02138; 617/876-6883

Spirit of Resistance: An Evening with Pete Seeger, 1/23, 7 pm; Cochrane Chapel at Phillips Academy, Andover MA; local musicians will also perform; sponsored by the People's Music Network for Songs of Freedom & Struggle, c/o Underhill, 1150 Berme Rd, Kerhonkson, NY 12446; www.peoplesmusic.org

Arsenal of Hypocrisy: The Space Program & the Military-Industrial Complex (video screening), 1/29, 8 pm; 38 Cameron St, Cambridge MA; in this 60-minute film, Bruce Gagnon, Noam Chomsky, & Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell discuss the dangers of moving the arms race into space; screening will be followed by discussion with Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space; co-sponsored by American Friends Service Committee; for more information, 617/492-4091; info@38cameron.com

GATHERINGS

Racism & War Workshop, 1/17 & 3/6; Cambridge MA; activities & discussions will focus on leading our heads & hearts to a deeper understanding of the issues & to insights about what we can do to make a difference; workshop leaders Ed Rodman & Baltazar Pinguel; please plan to attend both days of the workshop; co-sponsored by Friends Meeting at Cambridge & the American Friends Service Committee; to register, send check for $10-50 (sliding scale), payable to Friends Meeting at Cambridge, to FORJ Workshop, FMC, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA 02138; for more information contact Byron Parrish, 617/731-2550; bnparrish@rcn.com

People's Music Network for Songs of Freedom & Struggle Winter Gathering, 1/24-25; Lawrence Senior Ctr., Lawrence MA; workshops, plenary, & more; with Pete Seeger, Ben Tousley, Charlie King; for people who love to sing, play music, or just listen; for more info, call M.K. Small, 978/474-0606; www.peoplesmusic.org

"What Would Gandhi Do?" 2/6-8; Woolman Hill Conference Center, Deerfield MA; Together, we'll consider how to interweave active resistance to the erosion of civil liberties, non-cooperation with the US government's empire-building, & positive steps toward building new social, political & economic structures; with Joanne Sheehan & John Humphries; To register, contact Woolman Hill at 413/774-3431; www.woolmanhill.org

New England Latin American Solidarity Organizing Conference, 2/21-22; Northeastern University School of Law, 400 Huntington Ave, Boston MA; "Global Economics, Neo-liberalism & American Military/Economic Policy," "Immigrants' & Workers' Rights," "Building an Alternative to Corporate Globalization," & "Ways to Take Action & Continue the Struggles of Solidarity"; workshops, speakers, panel discussions, training sessions; sponsored by the Latin American Action Coalition, c/o American Friends Service Committee, 2161 Mass. Ave, Cambridge MA 02140; contact Mario Davila, 617/661-6130; mdavila@afsc.org

Changing Maine Annual Gathering: From Class Roots to Grassroots, 1/24, 8:30 am-4 pm; Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 209 Eastern Ave, Augusta ME; for grassroots activists & organizers undoing classism in activist groups; contact ROSC, POB 776, Monroe ME 04951; 207/674-2358

Three Minutes to Midnight: Nuclear Policy Research Institute's Symposium on the Impending Threat of Nuclear War, 1/25-27; Washington DC; join scientists, policy-makers, journalists, & military & medical experts from around the world for 3 days of analysis, insight, & strategy; to register or to receive the astonishing list of presenters, contact NPRI, 1925 K St NW #210, Washington DC 20006; 202/822-9800; info@nuclearpolicy.org

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-profit Industrial Complex, 4/30-5/1; UC Santa Barbara; Social justice organizations within the US largely operate on the 501(c)3 non-profit model; this conference will address the impact of this trend on social justice movements, including anti-violence organizing; presented by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, c/o Andrea Smith, Program in American Culture, 3700 Haven Hall, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 48109; www.incite-national.org

OPPORTUNITIES

American Friends Service Committee seeks Director of Development Operations, based in the national office in Philadelphia; letter & resume by 2/6; for job description or to apply contact Willa Streater, Human Resources Dept., AFSC, 1501 Cherry St, Philadelphia PA 19102-1479; 215/241-7000

Political Research Associates seeks Executive Director; PRA is a 23-year-old research center that analyzes & publishes on the Right & other oppressive & authoritarian forces; letter & resume by 3/1/04 to Dr. Loretta Williams/PRA Search, Myers Center at Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston MA 02115; lorewill@myerscenter.org; for more information contact PRA at 617/666-5300; www.publiceye.org

Men's Resource Center of Southern Maine seeks men for its "Male Peace Project," doing facilitation of peer-led anger management groups for men, & for other community awareness projects opposing male violence; MRC, 25 Middle St, Portland ME 04101; 207/773-9724 x4

Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, a 6- to 9-month program that provides college graduates the opportunity to work in Washington, DC, with a public interest organization focusing on arms control & international security issues; the fellowship provides a stipend, health insurance, & travel costs to Washington; deadline 2/1 for the fall 2004 fellowship; both US citizens & foreign nationals residing in the US are eligible to apply; to learn more, visit www.scoville.org

Dorothy Marchus Senesh Fellowship for Third World Women in Peace & Development Studies; the International Peace Research Association Foundation invites nominations by 1/15 of Third World women who do graduate work in the areas of interest to IPRA; award is $5000 for school expenses each year for 2 years; for more information contact IPRAF c/o Ian Harris, Dept. of Educational Policy & Community Studies, U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, POB 413, Milwaukee WI 53201;

Training for Change offers a unique blend of experiential learning & trainings for trainers; 2/13-14 (Philadelphia) "Class Matters" with George Lakey & Judith Jones - Class influences everything, including our activism!; 4/13-18 "How to Do Transformational Work" with George Lakey - learn to use the emotions that arise for participants in a training to move the group toward its learning goals; 3/19-21 (Oakland) & 5/28-30 (Philadelphia) "Training for Social Action Trainers" with Judith Jones & Matt Guynn

Horizons Initiative seeks volunteers to interact & play with children living in family homeless & domestic violence shelters in Greater Boston; a commitment of 2 hours/wk for 6 months is required; daytime & evening hours available; Horizons Initiative, 90 Cushing Ave, Dorchester MA 02125; 617/286-1900; www.horizonsinitiative.org

Laptops for Human Rights is a campaign to support human rights organizations & observers in 3 places where our tax dollars are used in particularly harmful ways: Colombia, southern Mexico, & occupied Palestine. We hope to shed more light on the destructive role of US foreign policy in these places, while serving human rights activists with technology. We need volunteers who can help prepare equipment for shipment, & people who can spread the campaign in their communities; TecsChange (Technology for Social Change), 83 Highland St, Roxbury MA 02119

Ecology, Spirituality, & War: A Delegation to Colombia, 3/10-21; Witness for Peace invites you to Colombia to examine the human, ecological, economic, & spiritual impacts of war & repression & to investigate the US's role in Colombia's civil war; application available on-line at www.witnessforpeace.org

CAMPAIGNS

Support Oakhurst Dairy, a Maine farm being sued by Monsanto; the legal defense campaign supports the public's right to know about the foods they eat, opposes the long-term effects of Monsanto's rBGH chemicals fed to many cows, & aids small dairies in their fight for economic survival; Maine Citizen Leadership Fund, 207/780-8657

RESOURCES

On-line Legal Assistance Center includes Consumer's Guide to Legal Help on the Internet, directories of pro bono attorneys in the US & abroad, a Guide to Alternative Dispute Resolution Links, & much more; sponsored by the Humanitarian Resource Institute; www.humanitarian.net/law/assistance

The Women's Center of Cambridge, MA offers a variety of support groups, classes, & activities; current programs include "Grand Moms," for women raising a second generation of children, "Healing & Art" for trauma survivors, a 4-week coming-out discussion group for women of all ages, parenting support groups, "Women Maximizing Abilities Now" for women with disabilities, a cooking & nutrition workshop for battered & formerly battered women, & much more; child care & children's programming offered; wheelchair accessible; 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge MA 02139; 617/354-8807

Storytelling Programs & Workshops; Jay Goldspinner tells stories at libraries, festivals, jails, faith & community gatherings, & more; storytelling programs include "Peace & Struggle," "Strong Women/Goddesses," "Stories of Sufis, Wiccans, Quakers, Jews," tales from Africa, the Middle East, Japan, Ireland, New England; workshops include "Telling Stories to Save our Lives" & "WomanStories"; Jay Goldspinner, 125 Chapman St, Greenfield MA 01301; 413/773-8033; rootworm@crocker.com

Insurgent Collective Action & Civil War in El Salvador, Elisabeth Jean Wood; $23 pb; Wood's account of insurgent collective action in El Salvador is based on oral histories gathered from peasants who supported the insurgency & those who did not, as well as on interviews with military commanders from both sides. She explains how widespread support among rural people for the leftist insurgency during the civil war in El Salvador challenges conventional interpretations of collective action. Those who supplied tortillas, information, & other aid to guerrillas took mortal risks & yet stood to gain no more than those who did not; Cambridge University Press, 40 W. 20th St, New York NY 10011

Two New Novels by Mike Palacek: Twins, set in Minneapolis/St. Paul, follows two twin brothers, one a revolutionary priest, the other the warden of the local federal penitentiary (available from Badger Books, POB 192, Oregon WI 53575; 800/928-2372); The Truth, though fiction, tells the truth about the administration of George W. Bush - follow letter carrier Pete Penny on his daily route & discover what you really already know (available from Writers Publishing Cooperative, www.essentialbooks.com); Mike Palacek, an Iowa author, is a former federal prisoner for peace.

The Obstruction of Peace: The United States, Israel, & the Palestinians, Naseer H. Aruri; In this fully revised & updated version of his highly acclaimed book, Aruri (Emeritus Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst) dismantles the many myths about the failed Middle East "peace process"; South End Press, 7 Brookline Street #1, Cambridge, MA 02139-4146; 617/547-4002; www.southendpress.org

International Studies Curriculum Resources for Grades 9-12 from the Choices Program of the Watson Institute at Brown University; teacher sets & student texts available in US history, world history & area studies, & global studies; fall 2003 catalogue available from Choices Program, Dept. 35, Watson Institute, Brown University, Box 1948, Providence RI 02912

Housmans Peace Diary & World Peace Directory 2004 includes listings for almost 2000 peace & human rights activities & organizations; $12 including postage; proceeds support War Resisters International; http://wri-irg.org/shop/shop-uk.htm

Soldiers of Peace: Civil War Pacifism & the Postwar Radical Peace Movement, Thomas F. Curran; $45 hb; 200 pp; no. 22 in the series "The North's Civil War" from Fordham University Press, University Box L, 2546 Belmont Ave, Bronx NY 10458; www.fordhampress.com

Toward Nuclear Abolition: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement 1971 to the Present, Lawrence S. Wittner; $32.95 pb; 657 pp; volume 3 of "The Struggle Against the Bomb" series from Stanford University Press, 1450 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto CA 94304-1124; www.sup.org

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