“Economic Justice” discussion, WCPL, 6/2

On Tuesday, June 2, at 6 PM, Waynepeace will sponsor a discussion entitled “Creating Economic Justice – Community-Based Responses to the Financial Crisis” at the Wayne County Public Library in Honesdale. The program will include a brief presentation by local writer, activist, and Waynepeace co-founder Skip Mendler.

“The financial meltdown was caused by systemic failures at national and international levels, among other things – but its effects are being felt on every Main Street and in every living room,” says Mendler. “Fortunately, we have the ability to take action in our own lives and in our communities, in ways that can affect these larger systems and help to bring about positive transformation in the entire way our society does business.”

Refreshments will be served. For more information, see www.waynepeace. org.

 

Memorial Day Parade, May 25

From Kathy Dodge:

Please spread the word widely that Waynepeace has a slot in the Memorial Day Parade. That is next Monday, May 25.
Meet at 9 AM in triangle park on Upper Main St, Honesdale. (Main St./West St./17th St.)

WE REALLY NEED A GOOD SHOWING TO GIVE PEACE & JUSTICE ITS PROPER DUE. ASK FRIENDS AND FAMILY, PLEASE.

Please wear white. If you haven’t got white, the Salvation Army is on Willow Ave.

How about just walking silently behind our Waynepeace banner flanked by the vets for peace flag and US flag? No other paraphenalia. I personally think that silence is pretty powerful.

If anyone wants to come up with a better idea, please voice it now. Thank you.

–Kathy

 

Video “Palestine is Still the Issue,” May 5 at WCPL

On Tuesday evening, May 5, Waynepeace’s Middle East Study Group will present a showing of the award-winning 2002 video “Palestine is Still the Issue.” The showing will be at the Wayne County Public Library on Main Street in Honesdale, beginning at 6 PM. Discussion will follow.

Created by journalist and filmmaker John Pilger, the film includes interviews with both Israelis and Palestinians, the families of suicide bombers and their victims. “The fate and struggle of the Palestinians,” says Pilger, “are not just critical to the overdue recognition of their basic human rights, but are also central to whether the region, and the wider world, are plunged into war. Israel is now one of the biggest military powers in the world. While nothing changes, the dangers become greater. This is a film about a nation of people, traumatized, humiliated and yet resilient. In trying to liberate less than a quarter of historic Palestine, they have had no army, no air force, and no powerful friends — and have fought back with slingshots and now with the terrorism of the suicide bombers.”

Michael J. Coffta of Bloomsburg University said the film is “highly recommended for its bold analysis of the Palestine problem…crucial viewing for those interested in challenging their assumptions.”

More information about the video can be found at www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/pisi.html. More information about Waynepeace can be found at www.waynepeace.org.

Use of Wayne County Public Library facilities by Waynepeace does not imply endorsement by WCPL of Waynepeace positions or policies.

 

March monthly meeting, 3/27

We will gather on Friday, March 27th at the Veterans Memorial in Central Park, Honesdale at 5:30 p.m. We will walk to the pavilion on Main Street to read the names of troops who have died that month as well as names of Iraqi children killed. This will be followed by a 6 p.m. supper meeting at Bean’s Roasting House & Cafe, 1139 Main St. Please join us!

 

Our Platform – for 2009 and Beyond

Unity  – without Conformity.
Diversity - without Divisiveness.

We all want a peaceful, safe, just, and healthy world for ourselves, our children and our children’s children. Waynepeace will reach across political lines and personal differences to work on these interconnected issues:

Peace – Waynepeace seeks non-violent solutions to all conflict – international, national, local, and personal. We call for an end to conflicts throughout the world, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. We call for immediate plans to bring our troops home safely. We work toward economic justice as a basic prerequisite for peace.

Support for Our Troops – We believe that sending troops to an unjust war under false pretenses with inadequate weaponry and no exit plan was dishonorable and illegal. We support our troops by holding our government responsible for its promises to these soldiers and to all veterans, for the services they need and the support they deserve for the sacrifices they have made. We support education for all draft-age adults, so that they can make informed choices about national service. We support expanding other forms of national service for young people.

Democracy – Waynepeace works to counter two serious threats to our democracy: media consolidation and manipulation, and corruption of the electoral system.

1. Media reform: People need reliable information to be good citizens in a functioning democracy. News is compromised by concentrated corporate control of the media and by a political culture that withholds and obscures information. Waynepeace holds educational events to provide alternatives to mainstream news information.
2. Election reform: Money corrupts our politicians, and unverifiable voting threatens our right to have our votes count. Waynepeace supports campaign finance reform and verifiable voting methods.

Sustainability – Waynepeace recognizes the connections among energy policy, the natural environment, and inequities in the distribution of wealth throughout the world. We promote living within our means and being careful stewards of our world for ourselves and all life to come. Waynepeace supports effective political action and education to promote sustainability.

 

April Library Event – “The Middle East: Some Facts” with Lee Scanlon, 4/7/09, 6 PM

Local resident Lee Scanlon, who lived in the Middle East for 5 years and has worked as an Arabic translator, will lead a discussion entitled “The Middle East: Some Facts” at the Wayne County Public Library on Main Street in Honesdale on Tuesday, April 7, beginning at 6 PM.

Here is Mr. Scanlon’s statement describing his presentation:

“United States foreign policy for the Middle East region, especially with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is designed to perpetuate war. It has not failed, but on the contrary, has succeeded in that aim for many years. Yet that conflict is the major obstacle both to peace in the region and to world peace. It is also by far the greatest cause of what is called ‘terrorism’ and of the consequent loss of our freedom and our civil rights. Do we not have better things to do with our time, our energy and our resources than support this habit? As a first step toward changing this situation, it is essential to understand the facts. I would like to talk about some of those facts.”

Refreshments will be served. Use of Wayne County Public Library facilities by Waynepeace does not imply any endorsement by WCPL of Waynepeace’s opinions or policies.

 

Commemoration of the Invasion of Iraq: March 19

Waynepeace invites you to come to the Hawley United Methodist Church on Thursday, March 19th, 2009, beginning at 5 PM, as we will be reading the names of all the soldiers who have died since our invasion on March 19, 2003. We will also read names of some Iraqi children who have died as a result of the conflict. The event will last as long as it needs to; we estimate that it will take us at least four hours to complete the task.

We are going to need all the moral and physical support we can get to read these names, so please allow some time to help by reading – or just listening.

 

The alternative to torture…

A note from Waynepeace supporter Sandy McFall:

[I just found out about] a book that came out recently written by Matthew Alexander (not his real name) who had to sue the government in order to publish the book. This may be why it has a misleading title – “How to Break a Terrorist” – and gives an alias author’s name. He was one of the interrogators in Iraq and he used humane methods to gain information from prisoners. He learned their culture and jokes, etc. and used this to build their trust. He was much more successful (especially with the Sunnis) than those who used the harsh torturing. …  Here’s an article about it:

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/how_to_break_a_terrorist.html

Thanks, Sandy!