52nd Annual Dinner Keynote: Medea Benjamin! (& lots more ….)
716-332-3904 8/21/19 wnypeace.org
Dear Friends,
First, a big announcement: **Medea Benjamin**! will be our keynote speaker at our 52nd Annual Dinner, Friday, Nov 8th at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. Medea is co-director and co-founder of Code Pink, a fantastic wonderfully active and creative women-led Peace & Justice organization.
You can already buy tickets on our website at wnypeace.org by selecting the banner heading that leads to the event page. Also check out one of her (typical) creative interventions to speak truth to power at TheRealNews/Medea . And go to CodePink.org to see the many great campaigns Medea is advancing. Plenty more to follow!!
Happy Global Day of Listening! The Afghan Peace Volunteers had their call earlier today. We encourage you to go on their website OurJourneyToSmile.com to read their essays, watch their video stories, and receive their inspiring witness and dedication to nonviolence in the face of extreme violence in a war zone.
Their next call will be Sept 21, the UN-declared International Day of Peace. We will have celebrated that the previous day with the Buffalo Youth Climate Strike.
So please put the Youth Climate Strike/Int’l Day of Peace Celebration for Sept 20th, 2-5pm at Niagara Square on your calendar(s), and let us know if you have a group that would like to cosponsor. It is being organized by the Buffalo Youth Climate Strike and WNY Peace Center.
Also tonight, we’ll gather at 280 Porter, the Isaías González-Soto Branch Library (formerly Niagara Branch), for a Resist Militarism! Taskforce Meeting. Please join us as we work on Sept. 20/ Int’l Day of Peace; as well as plan to recognize the atrocious 18-year AUMF – Authorization for the Use of Military Force – which has been used to enabled US military adventurism since Sept. 14, 2001.
Please note that Clare Grady, one of the
Kings Bay Plowshares, will be our special guest on the Talking Peace with the
WNY Peace Center radio show on Monday, Aug 26, 1-3pm, WBNY 91.3FM, streaming
on-line at wbny.buffalostate.edu. Don’t miss this courageous and compassionate
woman!
You can still sign the petition for human rights atrocities in Kashmir at http://chng.it/wM9vpdRSYz
Please go to our website (wnypeace.org) calendar for more listings (this
weekend ICE off our Buses; Elmwood Festival; the Eid Carnival), campaigns in
the website posts, and info on our facebook page.
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, and yes Love.
Events this week:
ECHC Vigil
August 21 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
At the Erie Co Holding Center, (50 Delaware;
between Church & Eagle). Come out to protest the 26 lives lost in the
custody of Sheriff Howard’s administration; to stand vigil with Monica Lynch
for her brother Connell Burrell who just died after being at the ECHC; to draw
attention to the dire need for dramatic change; at the Holding Center and in
the Sheriff’s Dept. A weekly vigil of the WNY
Peace Center. Please brings signs.
Resist Militarism! Taskforce Mtg
August 21 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
At Isaías González-Soto Branch Library (formerly Niagara Branch Library, 280 Porter Ave, Buffalo 14201). Come plan upcoming events and campaigns, including (1) a walk on Sept 14 to remember and work against the AUMF – Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which has been used to allow US military interventions all over the globe since 2001; (2) the Youth Climate Strike/#UniteTheStruggles/Int’l Day of Peace, all Friday Sept 20, 2-5pm at Niagara Square; and more.
ICE Off Our Buses
August 23 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
At The Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center, Buffalo NY 14203; located on the southeast corner of North Division and Ellicott Streets in Downtown Buffalo. Greyhound collaborates with ICE, DHS, and CBP, allowing their agents to board buses and interrogate passengers without a warrant, subjecting them to unnecessary delays and detainment. Buses are for Transportation, not Deportation. Organized by Int’l Workers Solidarity Network – Buffalo.
Elmwood Ave Festival of the Arts
August 24&25 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm Sat; to 5pm Sun
Come join us – tabling on Elmwood at spot #38 – ie, right by the Unitarian Universalist Church, in front of M&T Bank, half a block north/up from W Ferry (almost opposite Breckinridge). We plan to celebrate the Festival and Community! See you there!
Eid Carnival
August 25 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
At MLK Park (Best @Fillmore, Poolside/by splashpad; Buffalo 14211). WNYMuslims is having its 4th annual Eid Carnival to celebrate the Eid al Adha festivities, and are expecting the attendance of about 1000+ people. All are welcome! There’ll be following activities: — free food — ice cream — henna tattooing — music — Bounce houses — games
Talking Peace w/ WNYPC on WBNY 91.3FM
August 26 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Radio Show
on 91.3FM, WBNY. Mondays, 1-3pm. Go to wbny.buffalostate.edu to hear streaming
online. Special Guest Clare Grady, one of the seven Kings Bay Plowshares! On
their action, US and other nuclear powers and nuclear weapons, resisting militarism.
Vicki Ross hosting. Call-in show.
We shall overcome #Unitethestruggles #Loveislove #PowerWITH-NOTPowerOver
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More listings on calendar and in previous email posts.
To subscribe, go to http://wnypeace.org/wp/weekly-news-sign-up/ or write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “subscribe” in subject line.
To unsubscribe, write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “unsubscribe” in subject line. (Sorry for occasional delays!)
Please submit possible listings for consideration to weeklynews@wnypeace.org.
The time is now, and we are the people we’ve been waiting for.
And remember to tune in: DEMOCRACY NOW! IS NOW BEING BROADCASTMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu. disasterous
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Below are
– more event listings (see also calendar & facebook page);
– Taskforce items and campaigns; and
– regularly scheduled events – all in that order.
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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
* ECONOMIC
JUSTICE
The WNY PPC meets 2nd Mondays, 6pm at Raqs Solidarity, 322 Amherst St., Buffalo, NY.
Upcoming Events:
Visit us on facebook to stay up to date on events. https://www.facebook.com/wnypoorpeoplescmpgn
The Poor
People’s Campaign confronts the four evils of poverty, racism, militarism, and
ecological devastation, as well as the distorted moral narrative of this
country. Stay tuned to the Poor People’s Campaign online:
www.poorpeoplescampaign.org and on facebook (locally, statewide and
nationally): Poor People’s Campaign WNY, NYS Poor People’s Campaign, Poor
People’s Campaign.
* EDUCATION
& HUMAN RIGHTS
New York
State’s Dignity for All Students Act (aka DASA or The Dignity Act) seeks to
provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe
and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting,
harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school
function. More information at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/dignityact/
BOE Meetings
Board of Education meetings begin at 5:30 pm and are held in room 801 at City Hall, unless a venue change is previously announced. These sessions are open to the public. A schedule of upcoming board of education meetings can be found at https://www.buffaloschools.org/Page/85931.
More information on Buffalo Public Schools can be found at https://www.buffaloschools.org.
*
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
No Nuclear Waste over the Peace Bridge
Join us
every Friday from 2 PM to 3 PM at the corner of Busti Ave and Vermont St. in
Buffalo NY. Vigil against the shipment of high level LIQUID radioactive spent
fuel from Chalk River Ontario to Aiken South Carolina. If any of it spills out,
it will be next to impossible to clean.
Buffalo Youth Climate Strike
Weekly protest Fridays 2-3pm in Niagara Square (across from Buffalo City Hall).
Come join the youth to stand up for people and the planet before it’s too late.
As Greta Thunberg said, “Act like your house is on fire, because it is!”
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Action Alert re Stone Dam Road Pipeline: go to wnypeace.org/environmental-justice/
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– NAPL/Northern Access Pipeline (proposed to take fracked gas from PA through WNY) is looming again, as the fossil-fuel-profiteers never give up!! However, si, se puede! SeeNorthern Access Pipeline Information for more info.
* IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE JUSTICE
Vigil for Victims of ICE Terror – Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE
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Vive la Casa, shelter for people awaiting documents and/or sanctuary, still desperately needs personal hygiene products and of course, CASH. The recent large influx of refugees has put the facility under real stress. Please give generously.
jrchc.org/vive
(Checks to Jericho Road/VIVE) 50 Wyoming St., Buffalo, NY 14211, 892-4354.
* LATIN AMERICAN SOLIDARITY
Latin American Solidarity Committee website: http://www.lascwny.org/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/LASC-wny/143873822377380/
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Vigil for Victims of ICE Terror Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE
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Other Latin American Solidarity news:
Invest in
the children of farmworkers! A donor has agreed to match gifts given through
Rural and Migrant Ministry board members through the end of the year. Contact
the Rural and Migrant Ministry for more details. www.ruralmigrantministry.org.
Venezuela Sanctions Petition
After the attempted assassination of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, your help is requested. Please sign the petition to end US and Canadian sanctions: https://afgj.salsalabs.org/campaigntoendusandcanadasanctionsagainstvenezuela/index.html.
The
civilians and general populations are the ones to pay for this kind of foreign
policy. The US government needs to stop penalizing the common people and
destabilizing other countries. Please sign and share. Many thanks to Shontae
Cannon-Buckley for her work on this issue!
–
Cuba—IFCO/Irma Relief (same address) Phone: 212-926-5757. Please give
generously – the situations continue to be terrible for many!!
-Chenalhó, Chiapas—Humanitarian crisis
If you would like to help, go to weaving-for-justice.org
* PRISONERS’
RIGHTS
Wednesdays 4-5:30pm protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware
& Church). All are welcome. Please bring signs. Special vigil with sister
Monica Lynch this Wednesday.
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Please join us in promoting the H.A.L.T. Solitary Confinement campaign. Please call your State Senators and ask them to cosponsor and vote for the bills S. 4784. (You can also thank the representatives who passed it in the Assembly!)
Other Ways you can help:
– Sign the petition to support the HALT Solitary Confinement Act: https://goo.gl/HLwqbK
– Encourage your organization to endorse the HALT Solitary Confinement Act: https://goo.gl/forms/FM2F6DZAcPZp1co32
* RACIAL
JUSTICE
Monthly meetings announced on our website calendar. Stay tuned.
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THE CARIOL HORNE WHISTLEBLOWER FUND – The Western New York Peace Center has created a fund for the purpose of supporting police officers who face reprisals from their department from choosing to strictly uphold their oath to protect and serve the community. gofundme.com/cariol-horne-whistleblower-fund. The Peace Center has named this fund after Cariol Horne who saved the life of a citizen, but was fired just prior to earning her 20-year pension. Our goal is to encourage good police officers in following their moral conscience if and when it conflicts with the infamous blue wall of silence.
We are glad that Mayor Brown has made marijuana arrests the lowest law enforcement priority, so people are no longer being arrested for small amounts of marijuana! Thank you, Mayor Brown!! This will go a long way to improving racial justice!
Each Police District has a Chief and Community Police Meeting. We encourage people to go to them and communicate freely on issues of concern. See wnypeace.org calendar for listings,
and/or call your District and ask when & where the next Chief and Community Police Meeting will be held.
* RESIST MILITARISM!
Resist Militarism! Meetings are 3rd Wednesdays of the month, 5-6:30pm at Niagara Porter Library (at the corner of Niagara & Porter Sts);
(Future
dates unless otherwise stated: 8/21, 9/18, 10/16, 11/20, 12/18.)
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India has now outdone itself in human rights atrocities in
Kashmir! Please sign the petition http://chng.it/wM9vpdRSYz
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Stand Up for Global Peace
The world is facing a 25-year peak in violent conflict. It is the main cause of human suffering today – trapping millions of civilians in conflict and uprooting 66 million people from their homes. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, violence containment costs the world $14.3 trillion each year. There must be another way.
Over the past two years, a coalition of peacebuilding, humanitarian, and faith-based organizations have drafted a bill that would address the root causes of violence and fragility. The resulting legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate as the Global Fragility Act (H.R. 1580/S.727). This bill would require the U.S. government – in collaboration with civil society – to develop a 10 year strategy to enhance stability and to reduce violence and fragility around the world.
We know that too much foreign assistance and Pentagon spending is spent on treating the symptoms of violence instead of its causes. By passing this law, the U.S. will be able to more effectively prevent violence around the world and reduce its enormous cost on families.
Today, hundreds of faith advocates will lift up the Global Fragility Act as part of their lobby day ask for the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days. It is important for YOU to add your voice as well. Together, we CAN build a more Just and Peaceful World for All! Take action today to support the Global Fragility Act of 2019! https://p2a.co/Mc4rH0c
For more information: Global Fragility Act
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Know about the King’s Bay Plowshares? 7 courageous and compassionate Catholic Workers who went to largest submarine base in the world Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary’s, Georgia on April 4th, 2018. They went to make real the prophet Isaiah’s command to “beat swords into plowshares”. Read their story athttps://www.kingsbayplowshares7.org/. Also https://www.facebook.com/Kingsbayplowshares/.
Donate, help
us organize on their behalf, and agitate and pray for their acquittal. They
face very serious charges of up to a decade of prison time, just for reminding
our government of the illegal and foolhardy nature of our nuclear weaponry.
Also please hear Clare Grady, one of the Kings Bay Plowshares, on our weekly radio
show Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center, 91.3FM see above and/or below.
Please call our Senators and Congresspersons to urge them to make sure that the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes the amendments passed by the House to . . .
repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
prohibit military force in or against Iran.
support an end to the Korean War.
prohibit support to and participation in the war on Yemen.
prohibit the sale of air-to-ground munitions, used in the conflict in Yemen, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
prohibit funds from the Special Defense Acquisition Fund to aid Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates if such assistance could be used to conduct or continue hostilities in Yemen.
prohibit funding the transfer of weapons to Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates under the emergency authority of the Arms Export Control Act.
prohibit funding for missiles noncompliant with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
support extending the New START Treaty, and prohibit the use of funds to withdraw from New START.
require that the U.S. military provide Congress with the cost and the national security benefits of every foreign military base or foreign military operation.
require the EPA to designate all PFAS (chemicals with which military bases poison ground water) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
require the EPA to revise the list of toxic pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include PFAS.
prohibit DoD funding to house any foreign nationals who are in the custody of and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
study potential cost savings with respect to the nuclear security enterprise and force structure.
study cost increases for the W80-4 nuclear warhead life extension program and prevent $185 million from being obligated or expended until the study is completed.
prohibit the use of funds for an exhibition or parade of military forces and hardware.
prohibit the use of funds from being obligated or expended at properties owned by the President or that bear his name.
amend the current statutory prohibition on members of Congress contracting with the federal government to include the President, Vice President, and any Cabinet member.
codify a Department of Defense policy to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System service members who are prohibited from purchasing firearms.
If you’d prefer to send an email to your senators, please do so.
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REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS in the One Movement, One Struggle:
Riverside-Salem UCC/DC – Progressive program followed by potluck. Sundays, 4-7pm. Environmental Cottage, 3449 West River Road, Grand Island. All are welcome.
Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center Radio Show on 91.3FM, WBNY. Mondays, 1-3pm. Call-in show! Go to wbny.buffalostate.edu. Special guest on Aug 26, Clare Grady, Kings Bay Plowshares peace activist & Truth-teller.
Buffalo Nekanesakt. Indigenous support group/allies. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 6:30-8pm. At Burning Books, 420 Connecticut Ave. All are welcome!! Reading group for the Great Law of Peace meets on the last Tuesday of the month.
Prisoners’ Rights Taskforce – Wednesdays 4-5:30pm protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). All are welcome. Please bring signs.
Resist Militarism! Taskforce – regular monthly planning meeting third Weds of the month, at Niagara Porter Library, 5-6:30pm. Including update re Speaking Verse to Power (Infringement Festival event Aug 2, 4-5pm at El Museo, ), and more.
Interfaith Peace Network, August 8 (ltd summer sched), 9:15am at 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo NY 14209 entrance and parking round back.) Breakfast potluck, planning/publicizing, & discussion.
Vigil for
Victims of ICE Terror – Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of (@250)
Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not
stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE #CLOSETHECAMPS
#NeverAgainIsNow
Buffalo Youth Climate Strike – all are welcome 2-3pm at Niagara Square for a
youth-led rally to stand up for People and the Planet, and radical change to
mitigate and avert climate catastrophe. Bring signs! See you there!
Environmental Justice Taskforce – Vigil to Protest the Shipments of VERY Dangerous Radioactive Liquid from Canada coming over the Peace Bridge. Fridays 2-3pm, Front Park at Vermont & Busti, Buffalo. Signs welcome and also usually available.
Stop The Violence Coalition – 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month; 6pm, United Way Building, Delaware and Summer Sts.
Women In Black – Nonviolence vigil, Bidwell and Elmwood. Saturdays, Noon-1pm. Signs also available. (and you don’t need to be a woman or dress in black)
Of note: West African Drumming Sundays, 12-2pm, Little Africa Culture Club, 356 S. Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY.
#Unitethestruggles #Loveislove #PowerWITH-NOTPowerOver
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More listings on calendar and in previous email posts.
To subscribe, write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “subscribe” in subject line.
To unsubscribe, write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “unsubscribe” in subject line. (Sorry for occasional delays!)
Please submit possible listings for consideration to weeklynews@wnypeace.org.
The time is now, and we are the people we’ve been waiting for.
And remember to tune in: DEMOCRACY NOW! IS NOW BEING BROADCASTMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu.
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Si, se puede! We shall overcome. #UnitetheStruggles
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, and yes Love.