May 2005

Editorial material in Peacework is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License unless copyright is otherwise specified.

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

Pieces

Dances of Universal Peace, 1st & 3rd Fridays each month, 7:30pm; join in simple, joyous, & meditative circle dances to honor spiritual traditions of the world; Cambridge Friends Meeting, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA; call 617/776-5767 or 617/491-8694

Imagining a World With Nonviolent Peaceforces Instead of Armies, 5/21; Day-long visioning workshop led by Elise Boulding; sponsored by AFSC, VFP Chapter 9, the Peace Abbey, & Greater Boston UJP; contact Sherry, 508/366-8576, peaceculture@att.net

Set the Captives Free! Conference & Concert, 5/21, 11am-7pm; $20; Strand Theater, Dorchester, MA; Jericho Boston celebrates Afrikan Liberation Day. A day of conscious hip hop, performance art, & political workshops featuring Dead Prez, Queen Godis, Pam Africa, Lynne Stewart, Michael Tariff Warren & others; Jericho Boston, POB 1057, Jamaica Plain MA 02130; 617/650-9619; www.jerichoboston.org; jericho_boston@yahoo.com

Interfaith Service of Healing and Recovery, 5/24, 7-8pm, Blessed Mother Teresa Church, 800 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA; Service will include prayers from the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, & Muslim faiths, music, silent reflection, & personal stories. Free, refreshments will be served; Sara Pflantzer, 617/318-0271, spflantzer@rosiesplace.org

Soupstock! Food Not Bombs 25th Anniversary, 5/28; FNB, with chapters nationwide & internationally is dedicated to nonviolence, is volunteer-run with no formal leaders, & strives to include everyone in its decision making process. Each group makes fresh hot vegetarian meals & serves them in city parks to anyone without restriction. For a celebration near you, go to www.foodnotbombs.net or call 800/884-1136

Nonviolence, Ethical Vegetarianism, & the World's Religions, 6/12, 3pm; Veggie Planet Restaurant/Club Passim, Harvard Square, 47 Palmer St, Cambridge MA; Rynn Berry speaks about vegetarianism as an ethical life practice & the crucial role nonviolence & vegetarianism have played in the development of influential historical sects as well as contemporary faiths; hosted by the Boston chapter of EarthSave; 617/824-4225; www.boston.earthsave.org

Interfaith Worker Justice National Conference, 5/22-24, North Park University, Chicago IL; join activists, organizers, clergy, & seminarians to become more effective in organizing to improve wages, working conditions, & benefits for workers; IWJ, 1020 W Bryn Mawr, 4 fl, Chicago, IL 60660; www.interfaithworkerjustice.org; Rose Anne Everson at 773/728-8400x43 or raeverson@nicwj.org

Radfest 2005/Midwest Social Forum, 6/3-5; Williams Bay WI; annual gathering for progressives & activists with strategy sessions in racial justice, building democracy, peace & global justice, youth & community organizing; Havens Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 8221 Social Science, 1180 Observatory Dr, Madison WI 53706; www.radfest.org

National Youth Action Movement Youth Summit, 6/3-5; Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington DC 20001; Conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, & questioning youth & their allies; Keynote speaker: Maya Marcel Keyes; www.nyacyouth.org, summit@nyacyouth.org, 202/319-7596 xt 11.

International Association of Democratic Lawyers XVI Congress, 6/7-11, Paris, France; Law & Lawyers in the Service of the People for Peace, Justice, & Development; International Headquarters, Rue Brialmont 21,1210 Brussels, Belgium; www.iadllaw.org

GrassRoots Organizing Workshop (GROW); 6/16-19; intensive workshops on youth & anti-poverty organizing & other grassroots organizing workshops; World Fellowship Center, near Conway NH; for more information contact Larry Dansinger, 207/525-7776; invert@acadia.net; http://openvoices.com/grow

Biodemocracy 2005: Reclaim the Commons, 6/18-21, Philadelphia PA; Challenge the corporate crime, poisons for profit, & flagrant lies of the biotechnology industry during their annual convention, with a creative uprising for truth, life, & justice; to be involved, contact Philadelphia Resistance Against Genetic Engineering at phillyrage@riseup.net; or Nathaniel from the Student Environmental Action Coalition, 215/222 4711; www.biodev.org

XV International Poetry Festival of Medellin, 6/24-7/2; One of the biggest international poetry festivals in the world; expresses the struggle of the Colombian people for freedom of expression and for a fair and lasting peace; Featured poets include Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka, Breyten Breytenbach, Ernesto Cardenal, Alejandra Castro, Shuntaro Tanikawa, Ibrahim Nasrallah, Rita Dove, and Sam Hamill; 150,000 people are expected; http://ensatina.epm.net.co/VIIfestivalpoesia/html/englis

Help Increase the Peace Program, 6/27-7/1, Washington DC; 7/18-22, Pasadena CA; builds nonviolent relationships with conflict resolution & communication skills through games & role plays. Youth are empowered to practice leadership skills & engage with issues of social & economic justice. Katherine Liss, P.O. Box 73008, Washington DC 20056;202/299-1052; kliss@afsc.org; www.afsc.org/hipp.htm

G8 Summit Protest, 7/6-8, Gleneagles, Scotland; The Peoples' Global Action (PGA) Conference in Europe calls for a global day of action on 7/6 - opening day of the G8 Summit; a call for people to converge in Scotland to disrupt the conference, & for actions to occur simultaneously worldwide. PGA, c/o Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), 377 Bank St, Ottawa Ontario, Canada; www.agp.org; agpweb@lists.riseup.net

Twin Oaks Communities Conference; 8/19-21, Louisa, VA; a networking & learning opportunity for anyone interested or involved in co-operative or communal lifestyles; explore topics like group decision-making, intentional relationships & sustainable living; Twin Oaks Community, 138 Twin Oaks Rd, Louisa VA 23093; 540/894-5126; http://twinoaks.org/conference; conference@twinoaks.org

Counting the Cost, Stopping the War, a nation-wide protest to illuminate the costs of the Iraq War; 5/15; sign up & receive a number to symbolize one of the people who has died in Iraq. The goal is to raise one million dollars, with all proceeds going to relief work in Iraq & continued anti-war efforts. Visit www.CountingTheCost.org to register; CTC, c/o Women's International League for Peace & Freedom1213 Race St, Philadelphia PA 19107; 215/563-7110; annie@countingthecost.org

Suspend US "Security" Assistance to Nepal, a campaign against the King's February, 2005 coup and repressive imprisonment of hundreds of politicians, student leaders, journalists, and human rights activists. Human rights violations by the government and maoist rebels continue. Soldiers have killed approximately 10,000 Nepalese in the last ten years. Amnesty International, www.amnestyusa.org/countries/nepal/index.do

MassEquality Celebrates Equal Marriage Month, the 1-year anniversary of marriage equality in Massachusetts is 5/17; a web-based petition will be launched calling on the Legislature to preserve equal marriage rights; www.MassEquality.org, 1 Beacon St, #1125, Boston MA 02108; 617/878-2300; info@MassEquality.org

Wake up Weyerhaeuser! US forestry giant claims to be an environmental leader, but remains North America's top logger & distributor of products from old growth & endangered forests. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) calls on Weyerhaeuser to stop trafficking in old growth products. Join the campaign & protect the forests; RAN, 21 Pine Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco CA 94104; 415/398 4404; www.ran.org; rainforest@ran.org

Regional Bookkeeper, AFSC, Baltimore, MD; send letter & resume to Dotty McDonnell, Administrative Coordinator, by 5/20. AFSC, 4806 York Rd, Baltimore MD 21212; Dmcdonnell@afsc.org; 410/323-7200x12; fax 410/323-7292

Jail Ministry Coordinator position available; Jail Ministry is a 29 year old grassroots organization, spiritually motivated, providing day-to-day advocacy for inmates in the Syracuse Justice Center jail; send resume to Jail Ministry, c/o the Personnel Committee, 208 Slocum Ave, Syracuse NY 13204

Save Darfur Coalition seeks interns to work in Washington DC; Save Darfur Coalition, 1000 Connecticut Ave NW, #802, Washington DC 20036; www.savedarfur.org; interested applicants should write to interns@savedarfur.org

Boston Mobilization seeks summer interns for the following: student & community organizing, media & publicity, web master, Youth Empowerment Project; please send resume & cover letter to Boston Mobilization, 971 Commonwealth Ave, #20, Boston MA 02214; 617/782-2313; eve.lyman@bostonmobilization.org; www.bostonmobilization.org

The World Fellowship Center in New Hampshire offers educational programs, recreational opportunities & the sharing of progressive values in a multicultural, international, interracial, intergenerational community; to learn more about summer programs, World Fellowship Center, POB 2280, Conway NH 03818; 603/447-2280; worldf@worldfellowship.org; www.worldfellowship.org

Popular Economics Summer Institute, 7/31-8/6; Amherst College, Amherst, MA; Learn how the economy works & gain tools to make your activism more effective at this weeklong training which focuses on how economic systems impact our lives & work every day. Center for Popular Economics, POB 785, Amherst MA 01004; 413-545-0743; www.populareconomics.org

Nonviolence Facilitator Training, 8/17-21, Kirkridge Retreat Center, Bangor, PA; if you are committed to nonviolence as a way of life & have a passion for justice, peace & reconciliation, then come to this training sponsored by Fellowship of Reconciliation, 521 N. Broadway, Nyack NY10960; 845/358-4601; www.forusa.org; for@forusa.org

Updated Guide to the No Child Left Behind Act's Military Recruitment Provision, now available for free, www.rcnv.org/counterrecruit/optout; provides tangible options for protecting students' privacy & demilitarizing high schools nationwide

Iraq Office Occupation Video available; $10; account of 5-hour occupation of Rep. Tom Allen's office in Portland, ME to protest the Iraq war. For copies send name & address to Patricia Wheeler, POB 326, Deer Isle ME 04627; wheelpl@prexar.com

Stop Funding the Iraq War, Tom Hayden's keynote address to the Western Regional Forum in Phoenix now available on DVD; available from Progressive Democrats of America, 12510 W. Bird Lane Litchfield Park AZ 85340; 877/368-9221; contact sherry@pdamerica.orgfor a copy

Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison, Kathy Kelly; $17.99; three-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee's gripping account of her time in Iraq, from the first Gulf War through the misery of 12 years of sanctions and dictatorship to the US invasion, written from her prison cell after facing a federal sentence for protesting at the School of Americas. She recounts in detail the conditions in US prisons, where young mothers are sealed away in the name of a merciless war on drugs; available from CounterPunch, POB 228, Petrolia CA 95558; 800/840-3683; www.counterpunch.org

Defending Justice: a resource for activists, Palak Shah, ed; 275pp, $10pb, $20 hb; analyzes & critiques the origin, ideology & tactics of the criminal justice system. Topics include: women & reproductive rights, faith & religion, victims' rights, war on terrorism, & youth; Political Research Associates, 1310 Broadway, Suite 201, Somerville MA 02144; order at 617/666-5300; www.publiceye.org; pra@publiceye.org

Unsafe Abortion: A Neglected Crisis in Women's Health, a new video from Ipas; Focuses on the nearly 70,000 women who die each year worldwide because of governmental restrictions and bans on safe, legal abortion; Seven-minute video stresses that sexual and reproductive rights for women need to be a public health priority and a human rights imperative; Available free; www.ipas.org/english/publications/abortion.asp, US chapter: PO Box 5027, Chapel Hill NC, 27516, 919.967.7052, ipas@ipas.org.

No-sweat clothing collection launched by U2's Bono; Edun (nude spelled backwards) is made from eco-friendly materials & made in family-run factories in South America & Africa with fair-labor practices; the line offers people the opportunity to be socially conscious & rock star trendy; http://edun.ie

100% union-made high-top sneakers available from No Sweat, looks like Converse All-Stars, but not owned by Nike! Check out www.nosweatapparel.com for additional threads you can proudly wear & find at stores near you! No Sweat Apparel, 14 B Felton St, Waltham MA 02453; 877/992-7827

Previous Article    Next Article