Woodstock on the Niagara; Assistant needed; Happy Labor Day!
716-332-3904 8/29/19 wnypeace.org
Dear
Friends,
First, another announcement: The WNY Peace Center is looking to hire an
Assistant. If you are interested, please see the posting at the end of this
email.
We are excited to enjoy the special Woodstock on the Niagara this Labor *Sunday*, 2pm to 6pm and/or
thereabouts, at Roger & June’s, 1515 West River Road, Grand Island 14072.
There’ll be music – including 2-4pm Doug Yeomans & Friends
NY Woodstock Band; and 4-6pm Sol y Sombra Latin Jazz. This potluck outdoor
party is not to be missed! See more below in listings.
The Latin American Solidarity Committee will also meet at the Woodstock on the
Niagara celebration, 4pm.
We do also want to give you a heads up on bad but unsurprising news: the Court
denied the Kings Bay Plowshares’ (KBP) motion to dismiss, so the case will go
to trial in Georgia on Oct 21. The brave and beloved truth-tellers are facing
25 years for symbolic resistance to the nuclear madness/reign of terror. We
were blessed to interview Clare Grady, one of the KBP, in this past Monday’s
Talking Peace radio show. Look for that on our website soon.
This week we’ll interview Kurt Schneiderman on Labor Day and the new Catch-22
Subversive Theatre production. Tune in 1-3pm, at 91.3FM, streaming on line at
wbny.buffalostate.edu.
Don’t forget the Environmental Justice Taskforce session Sept 5, 6-7:30pm
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.
#Unite! #OneLove
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Events this week:
Woodstock
on the Niagara (@June & Roger’s)
September 1 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
At June License & Roger Cook’s place, 1515 West River Road, Grand Island, NY 14072. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. Potluck and outdoor party including music (2-4pm, Doug Yeomans & Friends NY Woodstock Band; 4-6pm, Sol y Sombra Latin Jazz). Enjoy the new West River Trail across the road, boats at the river’s edge, bicycling, badminton, lots of gardens and greenery, ponds, spots to sit and chat, great food (potluck; we’ll have a grill with corn and one for other items), great people to meet & greet (often “people’s music” in the back yard), memories of Woodstock!
Catch-22 (Subversive Theatre)
September 6-28, every Thurs, Fri, Sat @ 7:30 pm
Subversive Theatre unapologetically presents CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller September 6th – 28th (and we at the WNY Peace Cente are proud to sponsor this superb version of a truly compelling piece). At Subversive’s home venue, the Manny Fried Playhouse at 255 Great Arrow Avenue on the third floor of North Buffalo’s historic Great Arrow Building. (Kicking-off Subversive’s 17th season of radical theatre, part of Curtain Up 2019.)
A deadly serious comedy of explosive proportions, CATCH-22 is an anti-war, anti-authority, anti-stupidity masterpiece. This stage adaptation of Joseph Heller’s incendiary 1961 Novel was crafted by Heller himself back in 1971, but couldn’t be needed more in Trump’s America. With its bizarre blend of farce, wry jibes, and Keystone Cops silliness amidst a whirlwind of death, destruction, and betrayal, this smirkingly ironic World War II tale offers audiences a beautiful way to laugh and cry at the evils of our world all at once.
This rendition is sponsored by the Western New York Peace Center and is directed by Subversive Theatre’s Founder and Artistic Director Kurt Schneiderman*. Up and coming young star Connor Maxwell heads up the cast as the Kafka-esque anti-hero “Yossarian” opposite Jack Agugliaro* as “the Chaplain”, Jacob Chester Sauer* as “Major Major”, Lawrence Rowswell* as “Doc Daneeka”, John Kehoe as “Colonel Cathcart”, and Leon Copeland, Jr* as “Milo Minderbinder.” The ensemble also features J. Tim Raymond*, Mikyla Fisher, Shakora Purks, Jessie Miller, Bryan Figueroa*, Andrew Zuccari, Leonardo LiPomi, and Michael Mottern*.
CATCH-22 runs September 6th – 28th with performances Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm. Tickets are $30 general admission or $25 for students, seniors, and Subversive Theatre members. As always, admission for all Thursday shows is pay-what-you-can. Purchase tickets online at www.subversivetheatre.org or call 716-462-5549. Where else but at… SUBVERSIVE THEATRE: where DISSENT takes center stage!
Jefferson Ave Arts Festival
Sat, Sept 7 @10am-6pm
On Jefferson between E Utica & E Ferry. Enjoy visual arts, crafts, live
music, vendors, and youth activities. Last but not least, please come find us
tabling – we might even have a new lawn membership sign you might want! Anyway,
don’t miss this great community gathering!
Rahama Fundraiser w Imama Z Shakir
Sept 7, 5pm
At Classics V Banquet Hall, Imam Zaid Shakir is co-founder of Zaytuna College, professor
of law, theology, political science, among other subjects. Presaile tickets $55
(adults) and $35 (students). Come support Rahama’s transitional housing program
and other supportive services for survivors of domestic violence.
Environmental Justice Taskforce Mtg
Thurs, Sept 5 @ 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,
“bomb trains,” and what we can do to stop them, more. All are
welcome!!
REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS in the One Struggle, One Vision, One Love:
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 Labor Day: Kurt Schneiderman, Subversive Theatre.
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.
Interfaith Peace Network, 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 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: Little Africa Culture Club, 356 S. Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY. African Drumming Sundays, 12-2pm, Peace and Love Jam session (in honor of Ismail Johnson) Wednesdays, 8pm.
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.
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WNY Peace Center
Assistant Job Description
The WNY Peace Center seeks a highly organized person who is passionate about peace and social justice issues to serve as an assistant working for our mission of “Peace Through Justice at Home and Abroad.”
The WNY Peace Center is a non profit, member driven organization
founded in 1956. Our nine taskforces focus on particular issue areas and we
stress the interconnectedness of our issues, Uniting in the Struggle and
Movement-Building. We provide many opportunities to learn about, reflect, and
act constructively to address issues of concern to our membership. As a force
for progressive change, the WNY Peace Center serves as an incubator for new
ideas and the promotion of activism.
The Assistant Position is for approximately 15 hours/week including nights and weekend flexibility
for events at $15/hour.
Candidates should be detail oriented, have great verbal and written communication skills, computer skills (QuickBooks
knowledge is a plus), and a cooperative spirit.
Experience in the non-profit sector
and/or community organizing is prefered.
Candidates would be working closely with
the Executive Director and Office Manager/Coordinator.
Expectations:
- Working cooperatively and communicating with staff, board, taskforces, membership, allies and the general public;
- Assist in media and publicity outreach, including press releases, media advisories and follow-up;
- Assist in planning and promoting the WNY Peace Center’s Annual Dinner and other fundraising events throughout the year including membership appeals and grant writing;
- Participate in designing, publicizing and implementing strategic campaigns;
- Assist in planning, publicizing and executing meetings, speakers, fundraisers, rallies and other events;
- Assist in outreach and work with other peace and justice organizations in WNY and nationally;
- Assisting the Office Manager (answering phones; fielding requests; helping with mailings, office publications etc.)
- Stay current on relevant legislation, grants, social issues and potential services;
- Assisting in other ways as needed and feasible.
Please send your resume and a cover letter to victoryross9@gmail.com by Sept 6. Thanks!
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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
LASC
Peace Coffeehouse: Mayan Guatemala, past & present
September 23 @ 7:00 pm
At Canisius College Science Bldg Lounge, cnr Main @Jefferson. Speaker Marilyn Anderson, with an update on the complex picture of Guatemala today: past conflicts, refugees and mass migration, the environmental situation,and the changing role of Mayan peoples and their traditional belief system. With photographs and pictures form her many years of work there
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! Joint Meetings with Veterans For Peace #128, are 3rd Wednesdays of the month, 5-6:30pm at At Isaías González-Soto Branch Library (formerly Niagara Branch Library, 280 Porter Ave, Buffalo 14201).
(Future
dates unless otherwise stated: 8/21, 9/18, 10/16, 11/20, 12/18.)
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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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#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.