#RememberIndia; Kathy Kelly coming; 3 Saturday events; more

Written by Victoria Ross on July 17, 2018. Posted in Recent Activities, Resist Militarism!, Talking Peace News, Urgent Appeal

716-332-3904 716-931-3520 7/17/18

Dear Friends,

The Commission of Corrections Medical Review Board has deemed that India Cummings tragic death 2 ½ years ago from 17 days in the Erie County Holding Center was homicide due to extreme medical neglect. We hope Scott LaPoint, the Monroe County pathologist who deemed her cause of death “undetermined” has the courage to restate that based on the investigation done. Please join us on Wednesdays at 4-5pm outside the Erie County Holding Center, at Delaware & Church, to vigil and protest (bring signs, please). No more deaths – uphold human rights and reverence for life!

Also tomorrow, don’t miss the Resist Militarism! Taskforce Meeting, joint with Veterans For Peace #128. We’ll be preparing for Focus on Yemen, including a session with – yes – Kathy Kelly, Co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, renown peace activist and Nobel Prize Nominee (July 30, 7pm at Burning Books).

On Saturday, July 21, you can
– catch the Global Days of Listening (7:30am-10:30am livestreaming) with the Afghan Peace Volunteers (go to globaldaysoflistening.org/)
– Celebrate/Honor Iris Alexander at 11am at Bidwell & Elmwood. We’ll celebrate the installation of a bench honoring Iris right by her beloved Women In Black (to be followed by same). Light refreshments; music – and all – welcome! Iris was a local legend – let’s remember and inspire each other with her example!
– If you missed the Stars under Stars fundraising events of our Latin American Solidarity Committee – come out this or next Saturday at 7:30pm for discussion, networking, information, and inspiration. This week focuses on Guatemala, and will be at Terry and Mary Bisson’s, 372 Voorhees Ave. (El Norte). BYO lawn chair and any refreshments you’d like, too!

Many thanks to the some 150 people or so who came out – including especially Food for All, Ismail & Co, WNY Resistance Revivial Chorus, and cosponsors – to the Celebration For Change!: a Poor People’s Campaign Event. We will #UnitetheStruggles more and more as we work and partner in the Poor People’s Campaign: a National Call for Moral Revival! Next meeting August 1, 6pm, 1199 SEIU, 2421 Main St, Suite 100, Buffalo. #PowertothePollsMany Thanks, Peace, Solidarity, and yes Love. Go to wnypeace.org to see our calendar for more details and events! aswell as the rest of this post. And remember to tune in: DEMOCRACY NOW! IS NOW BEING BROADCASTMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio orstreaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu orhttp://tunein.com/radio/WBNY-913-s27549/. #UniteTheStruggles #PowerWITH-NOTPowerOver #LoveisLoveBUF

Below are
– more event listings (see also calendar & facebook page);
– Taskforce items and campaigns; and
– regularly scheduled events – all in that order.
And be sure to go to wnypeace.org/calendar for more event listings – there’s plenty more and additions are frequent! …..

No hate, no fear as we are #StillResisting. #UnitetheStruggles !
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, and yes Love. #loveisloveBUF <3

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EVENT LISTINGS

Resist Militarism! Taskforce/Vets For Peace #128 Mtg

July 18 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

At Niagara Porter Public Library. Join us for planning our Infringement Festival entry re Voices from Yemen (events Sat July 28, 11am-noon Bidwell & Elmwood; and Mon July 30, 7pm Burning Books); Armistice Day celebration; Fly Kites Not Drones; and much more!

Community Solar

July 19 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Crane Library, Elmwood & Highland. If you are a homeowner with a shaded roof, if you are a renter who has zero control of your landlord’s rooftop, if your roof is maxed out on solar PV, but you now purchased an electric vehicle and need more solar PV, there is good news. Come find out all about is.

Celebrating/Honoring Iris Alexander

July 21 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

At Bidwell/Elmwood: Celebrating Legacy and Memorial Bench Installation honoring beloved Iris Alexander, WNY Peace Center Member and longtime peace and justice activist, stalwart Woman In Black. We will have a brunch at the bench at 11am to celebrate its installation. Please help to spread the word. Food and beverages. Musical instruments and singing welcome. Thanks

LASC fundraiser: 3 Saturdays in July

July 14 ; 21, and 28 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

LASC fundraisers for three successive Saturdays in July at local homes!

Honoring the memory of Father Joseph Bissonette, a strong fighter for a just U.S. policy towards Latin America, and we’ll be encouraging you to donate to the funds that LASC channels to organizations aiding people in need in Latin American countries.

Three weeks of opportunities to hang out with people who share your interests in a friends back yards with informal discussion and information on LASC projects; and you can stay for an educational film, with strong echoes in and relevance to contemporary issues.

July 14 at home of Gigi Hetzner, 67 Lancaster Ave. (Strawberry and Chocolate)

July 21 at home of Terry & Mary Bisson, 372 Voorhees Ave. (El Norte)

July 28 at home of Maxine Insera, 74 Wellington Rd. (Missing)

Bring a lawn chair if you can. Some basic snacks and drinks will be available, but bring your own contributions if you can.

Riverside Salem – Norma Jacobs, Cayuga

July 22 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

At RS Environmental Sanctuary/Cottage, 3449 West River Road, Grand Island, NY 14072. Special gathering with Norma Jacobs, Wolf Clan of Cayuga Nation, 4-6 p.m. (+ potluck). All welcome. Norma has lived at the Six Nations Reserve, Oshwekan, Ontario, Canada all her life. She is a mother of 6, three sons and three daughters; 23 grandchildren.

The Radical King Book Club Meeting

July 25 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

At WNYPC/NRC Bldg, 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209 (entrance & pkg round back behind bldg). Join The Radical King Book Club Meeting to discuss the book The Radical King by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Author), Cornel West (Editor)

Racial Justice Taskforce Meeting

July 29 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Please join us at the WNY Peace Center (NRC Bldg, 1272 Delaware Ave; entrance & pkg round back of bldg) to work on: racism and harassment in Kenmore Public Schools; attending Community Police District meetings (5 districts, monthly); petition to name new police headquarters for Officer Edward Obertean (killed working to stop the KKK almost 100 years ago!); our Better Policing Campaign; and ___ your suggestion here ____.

Focus on Yemen – with Kathy Kelly

July 30 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Infringement Festival. At Burning Books, 420 Connecticut St, Buffalo. Not a moment to waste to learn more and do more to stop the terrible humanitarian disaster in Yemen. Hearing Kathy Kelly on this outrageous situation, with her wealth of knowledge and experience on war and occupation, will inspire and inform

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TASKFORCES

EDUCATION & HUMAN RIGHTS TASKFORCE

CAMP PEACEPRINTS 2018, “The Language of Peace”

M-F July 16 – July 27 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

The eleventh annual Camp Peaceprints, brought to you by the Interfaith Peace Network, the SSJ Sister Karen Klimczak Center for Nonviolence, and the WNY Peace Center, is going on now. The Camp, for youth ages 8 to 13, provides exposure to a diverse community while introducing and exploring communication, social justice issues, peaceful conflict resolution – and did we say swimming (4x), field trips (2x), and learning signing? At St. Mary’s School for the Deaf, 2253 Main St.

Camp is pretty full, but we might be able to squeeze in one or two more campers. Call 716-931-3520 to check. Registration is $125 per week (discount $240 for the two-week period), with sliding scale and scholarships available. For registration forms and further info, please go to sisterkarencenter.org or click here–> CPP18+Registration+and+Consent (3).

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TASKFORCE

Community Solar

July 19 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

No Nuclear Waste over the Peace Bridge

July 20 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

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.

Action Alert re Stone Dam Road Pipeline: go to wnypeace.org/environmental-justice/

GENDER JUSTICE TASKFORCE

If you believe that discrimination against all women should be eliminated, please support enacting the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the city of Buffalo. Follow this link for more information: https://cities4cedaw-buffalo.org/ and contact your district’s councilperson to urge them to support this ordinance too.
Darius G. Pridgen- Ellicott District- 716-851-4980
Christopher P. Scanlon- South District- 716-851-5169
David A. Rivera- Niagara District- 716-851-5125
Joel P. Feroleto- Delaware District- 716-851-5155
Richard A. Fontana- Lovejoy District- 716-851- 5151
David A. Franczyk- Fillmore District- 716-851-4138
Joseph Golombek, Jr.- North District- 716-851-5116
Ulysees O. Wingo, Sr.- Masten District- 716-851-5145
Rasheed Wyatt- University District- 716-851-5165
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IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE JUSTICE TASKFORCE

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Calls are still needed to your NYS Assembly Members to ask them to support NYS ASSEMBLY Bill #4050. IF SEAN RYAN IS YOUR ASSEMBLYPERSON, PLEASE CALL HIM! 716-885-9630! ALSO CO CLERK MICKEY KEARNS (716) 858-8785.

The GreenLight NY program restores access to drivers’ licenses to all community members, to avoid abusive immigration enforcement. For more info, please come out to above mentioned event, or go to
https://www.facebook.com/GreenLightNY/; Green Light Petition

Vive la Casa, shelter for people awaiting documents and/or sanctuary, still desperately needs personal hygiene products and of course, CASH.
jrchc.org/vive
(Checks to Jericho Road/VIVE) 50 Wyoming St., Buffalo, NY 14211, 892-4354.

LATIN AMERICAN SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE (LASC)

LASC fundraiser: 3 Saturdays in July

July 14 ; 21, and 28 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

LASC fundraisers for three successive Saturdays in July at local homes!

July 14 at home of Gigi Hetzner, 67 Lancaster Ave. (Strawberry and Chocolate)

July 21 at home of Terry & Mary Bisson, 372 Voorhees Ave. (El Norte)

July 28 at home of Maxine Insera, 74 Wellington Rd. (Missing)

Bring a lawn chair if you can. Some basic snacks and drinks will be available, but bring your own contributions if you can.

Stand with Sen. Sanders: Rebuild Puerto Rico
The situation is still dire in Puerto Rico. Please go to the link below to see what you can do to Stand with Puerto Rico (and Sen Sanders).

https://act.credoaction.com/sign/sanders_puerto_rico?t=8&akid=26241%2E8770573%2Evra5l7

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As you know, people desperately need our help because of the continuing devastation caused by “natural” disasters (read fossil-fuel-burning-generated Climate Catastrophe) as well as other factors. You can contribute as follows:
Puerto Rico—Go to hispanicheritagewny.org for a full report on ways to help.
We also recommend:

Mutual Aid Community Soup Kitchens Paypal address: cdpecpr@gmail.com run by Giovanni Roberto, friend of MaryAnne Grady Flores (UpstateDroneAction.org and Puerto Rico activist].

The Mariafund.org is another fund governed by many grassroots community groups.
Cuba—Alliance for Global Justice/Irma Relief, 418 W. 145th St.. New York, NY 10031 (for tax deductible). Not tax deductible, IFCO/Irma Relief (same address) Phone: 212-926-5757 Please give generously – the situations continue to be terrible for many!!

Chenalhó, Chiapas—Humanitarian crisis
This article in the National Catholic reporter gives a brief overview of the situation.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/enough-deaths-mexican-clergy-reiterate-chiapas-crisis

If you would like to help, go to weaving-for-justice.org

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PRISONER’S RIGHTS TASKFORCE

We are glad that the Commission of Corrections Medical Review Board deemed India Cummings tragic death a homicide due to medical neglect. See more at buffalonews.ny.

Wednesdays 4-5pm protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). All are welcome. Please bring signs.

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 TASKFORCE

Racial Justice Taskforce Meeting

July 29 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_wall_of_silence
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Join the #BuffaloLLEP movement. It’s easy.

Join the hundreds of Buffalonians who make up the #BuffaloLLEP movement, asking Mayor Byron Brown to make low-level marijuana arrests Buffalo’s lowest level enforcement priority (LLEP).
People across the U.S. recognize what a destructive failure the 40-year “war on drugs” has been. In Buffalo, the news hasn’t sunken in yet, though, as those living in communities of color & low-income areas are still disproportionately targeted by law enforcement for marijuana arrests. Join the #BuffaloLLEP movement to stop these unfair & harmful enforcement tactics!
Learn more.
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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! TASKFORCE

Resist Militarism! Taskforce/Vets For Peace #128 Mtg

July 18 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

At Niagara Porter Public Library. Join us for planning our Infringement Festival entry re Voices from Yemen (events Sat July 28, 11am-noon Bidwell & Elmwood; and Mon July 30, 7pm Burning Books); Armistice Day celebration; Fly Kites Not Drones; and much more!

Focus on Yemen – with Kathy Kelly

July 30 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

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 at https://www.kingsbayplowshares7.org/ . 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.

Please call your Senators and Congresspersons to urge them to vote in favor and cosponsor if possible Senator Markey’s Bill # 200 and House Bill, Rep Lieu # 669, to Restrict First Strike with Nuclear Weapons.

If you’d prefer to send an email to your senators, you can do so here.

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Our tax dollars are funding massive civilian casualties and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The U.S. military is providing midair refueling to warplanes, sharing intelligence for targeting assistance, and selling U.S. bombs to the aggressors. U.S.-supported airstrikes target schools, hospitals, and water and sanitation infrastructure. As a result, millions of Yemeni people are on the brink of starvation and are facing the fastest-growing cholera crisis ever documented.

Every day that the war on Yemen continues, America is complicit in aiding war crimes. Call your U.S. Senators today at 1-833-786-7927 and urge them to stop fueling war on Yemen!

Please let us know if you’d like to be involved with our Infringement Festival activities which will be focused on Yemen. We’d love to have your help. Please call Russell Brown 716-570-5200 or email Marie Schuster mariemschuster@gmail.com.

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REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS in the One Movement, One Struggle

Riverside-Salem UCC/DC Sunday. Progressive program followed by potluck. Sundays, 4-7pm. Environmental Cottage, 3449 West River Road, Grand Island. Special Guest Norma Jacobs!! Norma Jacobs, Wolf Clan of Cayuga Nation, has lived at the Six Nations Reserve, Oshwekan, Ontario, Canada all her life. She is a mother of 6, three sons and three daughters; 23 grandchildren; and 4 great grandchildren. Norma has lived and studied Haudenausaunee culture and delivers workshops throughout Canada and the USA. Currently she tours with the 13 Grandmothers sharing her skills and knowledge. All are Welcome!

Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center Radio Show on 91.3FM, WBNY. Mondays, 1-4pm. Call-in show! Go to wbny.buffalostate.edu or http://tunein.com/radio/WBNY-913-s27549/. Special host Jim Anderson with significant guests. Also call-ins including ____ your name here____.

Buffalo Supports Standing Rock Water Protectors/Nekanesakt. Indigenous support group/allies. 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, 6:30-8pm. At Burning Books, 420 CT Ave. All are welcome!!

Prisoners’ Rights Taskforce. Wednesdays 4-5pm protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). All are welcome. Please bring signs.

Interfaith Peace Network
On hiatus in July. Next meeting 9am, Thurs, Aug 2, at NRC, 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo NY 14209 (entrance and parking round back).

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. Sign welcome and also usually available.

Fridays – 1st and 3rd of the month; 6pm: Stop The Violence Coalition,
United Way Building, Delaware and Summer Sts. NO MTG on 7/15.

Saturdays, Noon-1pm: Women In Black. Nonviolence vigil, Bidwell and Elmwood. Signs also available. (and you don’t need to be a woman or dress in black 😉 Special gathering starting at 11am to honor and celebrate Iris Alexander.

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More listings on website (wnypeace.org) and in previous email posts.
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(Sorry for occasional delays!)

Please submit possible listings for consideration to weeklynews@wnypeace.org.
Many thanks, peace, solidarity, and yes – Love. We shall overcome!!