==================================== WNY Peace Center's Weekly News January 25, 2012 ==================================== Petitions to Sign 1. The Clean Air Coalition asks: Secure Air Monitors in Tonawanda and Buffalo's West Side. Sign the petition at: http://tinyurl.com/75uj25g 2. Stop the Upcoming War with Iran. Sign the United National Antiwar Coalition petition: http://nepajac.org/UNAC_email_iran.html 3. Close Gitmo! The Center for Constitutional Rights asks you to sign this time-sensitive peitition: http://ccrjustice.org/closegitmo If they get 25,000 signatures within 8 days, the White House promises to make a statement about closing our gulag at Gitmo. More info: http://ccrjustice.org/ 4. Petition to release human rights workers and to stop torture of prisoners in India. http://www.aidindia.org/main/ ==================================== Phone Calls to Make: A note from Rita Yelda, WNY Drilling Defense: The national movement against fracking needs Obama's attention. We cannot allow him to move forward with fracking for natural gas. We must demonstrate our power by flooding the White House with thousands of calls on Friday. When you dial 888-925-7006, you'll hear a message and then be connected to the White House Comment Line. Simply tell the volunteer on the line that President Obama must protect his constituents and walk away from fracking for shale gas. Please note, the White House Comment Line is only open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm EST. --------------------- Added Note: Obama wants to hydrofrack New York State: Obama says "We are the Saudi Arabia of oil -- or Saudi Arabia of natural gas. We’ve just got to develop it, and if we do effectively, then we’re going to create jobs and it’s going to power trucks that are cleaner and cheaper and factories that are cleaner and cheaper. " ---President Obama, Jan 26, 2012. Remarks at Buckley Air Force Base Aurora, Colorado http://tinyurl.com/7utnutw ========================================== Saturday at Occupy Buffalo, Niagara Square, Buffalo NY. 1. General Assembly Saturday Jan. 28 Noon at Occupy Buffalo Let the voice of the 99% be heard! 2. Justice Dialogue 4 PM Saturday, Jan. 28 at the geodome ================================================== Sunday January 29 Jan 29, Syracuse - Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars will meet 11-5 pm at ArtRage in Syracuse, NY, to discuss future actions. If you are interested in carpooling for this all-day trip, please call Vicki at 884-0582. ================================================== Sunday, January 29 Riverside - Salem UCC/DC Event 3449 West River Road, Grand Island, New York All at 4 PM Sundays. Potluck follows each event. Agnes Williams from indigenous Women's Initiatives has talked to us about the history of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN DRIP), and we know that we understand only a bit of it so far. We have agreed to read sections of the UN Declaration aloud to each other this Sunday so that we might have a greater awareness of it. As we work to encourage the U.S. finally to sign the Declaration (of the 4 countries which originally refused to sign, the US remains the only non-signatory), as well as to encourage others to become aware of the existence, importance, history & processes of the Declaration. And later.... Sunday, Jan 29: Agnes Williams Radio show at 6 am on WJYE 96.1 FM and 6:30 am on WBUF 92.9 FM. You are invited to listen to Spencer Guthier, Allegany Territory Menominee/Oneida and Christina Smith-Kawksi, Cattaraugus Territory Tuscarora/Seneca talking with Agnes Williams, Coordinator of the Indigenous Women's Initiatives, =============================================== Monday, January 30 Prisoners Are People Too Meeting from 6:30 to 8:30pm, at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street in Buffalo We will have an opportunity to examine what is being done to address the above concerns. Come out to learn more about Buffalo’s Veterans’ Treatment Court, the first such court in the nation, which was created by the Honorable Judge Robert T. Russell, Jr. in 2008. Find out what services are offered as an alternative to incarceration, during incarceration, and following incarceration. The documentary film being screened this month is “When I Came Home,” a film about homeless veterans in America who face a failing system while struggling to survive. The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng are the sponsors of this program. For further information, contact Karima Amin, 716-834-8438 or karima@prisonersare ========================================= Tuesday, January 31 Crisis! A film series about the financial calamity that has reshaped our lives. Using classic and contemporary films and expert commentators, our goal is to engage both Buffalo State and the broader community in discussion about the current global economic crisis. Each film will be introduced, and each showing will be followed by a panel discussion. The panelists will include experts from both Buffalo State’s faculty and from the community as well. Audiences can expect a broad spectrum of views, because we aim to stimulate lively discussion and debate! Refreshments will be served. Moderators: Dr. Ted Schmidt, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Finance Dr. Albert Michaels, Professor, Department of History Bruce Fisher, Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies Film: Citizen Kane Starting 7 PM at Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo NY (at Buffalo State College) More than a century ago, a new center of power emerged on the American scene – the media empire. Wars have been started, political careers have been launched and dashed, and economic policies have been shaped by the power of the media. Our film series starts with a provocative question: when manipulators control information, what happens to the economy? Orson Welles directed, produced and co-wrote this film classic, as well as playing the title role in this drama loosely based on the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. ========================================== Wednesday, February 1 VIGIL AT THE ERIE COUNTY HOLDING CENTER, Corner of Church St and Delaware Ave. Erie County Prisoner Rights Coalition continues its weekly protests against prisoner abuse at the Holding Center. Signs are available at the vigil. If the vigil ends early due to inclement weather, you will find the coalition at 14 Allen St. (near Main St.) until 7:00pm. They have been vigiling since August 2009. Sponsored by Prisoners are People Two and the WNY Peace Center's Prisoners Rights Coalition Task Force ======================================= Saturday, Feb 4 No US War On Iran Niagara Square at 3 PM Sponsors: Buffalo IAC, WNY Peace Center and Occupy Buffalo GATHER AT OCCUPY BUFFALO, NIAGARA SQUARE NO WAR! NO SANCTIONS! NO INTERVENTION! NO ASSASSINATIONS! This demonstration is in coordination with a national call for emergency protests, around the country and around the world, on February 4 in response to the mounting threats of U.S. military intervention-- again. BE THERE!! Preliminary list of local endorsers: Buffalo/WNY International Action Center, Occupy Buffalo, Santiago Masferrer, WNY Drilling Defense, WNY Peace Center To add your organization, please email iacbuffalo@peoplesmail.net/ ==================== Sunday, February 5: Stop the G8/NATO Agenda for War and Poverty...and Implement One for Justice and Equality Burning Books 420 Connecticut Street, Buffalo NY 2 PM Hey everyone, The Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda is organizing protests at the NATO and G8 meetings being held in Chicago in May 19-21 2012. I am planning to organize a bus to go the their for possibly 2 days or just one with your help hopefully! Come to help organize this bus, we will have a meeting on sunday the 5th of Febuary. If you can not make it and are interested please email, we will have more planning meetings and enough organizing to go around. We will stand to stop the G8/NATO agenda of War and Poverty and implement one with Justice and Equality. ---Nate Burning Books is open between 11am and 7pm, Wednesdays through Sundays. Or call them at (716) 881-0791 =========================== Sunday February 19, a mass to commemorate the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the tragic murders of Buffalo's Rev. Joseph Bissonette and Msgr. David P. Herlihy will be held at St. Joseph University Church, 3269 Main Street at 11:30 AM. Come sing, pray, and celebrate the lives of these men and let us reaffirm in each other their spirit of peace and justice. A reception will follow. All are cordially invited. ================= Second Thursday of each month 12-3 pm INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S INITIATIVES (IWI) TALKING CIRCLE @ Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo. More Information Contact Agnes Williams, Seneca 716-332-6988. Please bring organic Snacks to share ++++ Every 2nd & 4th Sunday of each month 12pm WNY DRILLING DEFENSE (formerly FRACK ACTION BUFFALO) Meetings open to all. Use door off of parking lot on Lafayette Ave. More info: