Greater Philadelphia area Action:

 

You are invited to join the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ACLU of PA for its Annual Chapter Meeting.

      Secrecy, Surveillance and Security: A status report on civil liberties in the post-Bush era      featuring keynote speaker Vic Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of PA

 

      Tuesday, March 16 at 6:15 p.m.

      Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19107

Free & open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information contact us at aclupa@aclupa.org or (215) 592-1513 x122.

 

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From: Jewish Voice for Peace <info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org>
An Evening with JVP in Philadelphia


Dispirited?  Enraged?
Wanna do something affirmative about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
 

AN EVENING TO CONNECT

Thursday, March 25th
7-9 pm
547 W. Sedgwick St.
Mt. Airy, Philadelphia

                              

  • Join other Philly area Jews with Soup and Salad and a potluck dessert!
  • Hear how Philly Jews are already engaged in a wide variety of groups and campaigns.
  • Get excited about Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) campaigns to raise brave marginalized voices in the U.S. and organize principled dissent against injustice in the Middle East.
  • Meet JVP Executive Director and Jewish Peace News editor Rebecca Vilkomerson, who will discuss the state of organizing for justice in Palestine/Israel.
  • Hear about JVP's edgy, successful blogs - Muzzlewatch and The Only Democracy- from blogger Jesse Bacon.
  • Share the pleasure of fellow Jews with common cause.

We'd like you to bring your checkbook to support JVP's current campaigns for divestment from TIAA-CREF, in support of the Goldstone report, toward freeing Israeli war resisters the Shministim, and Palestinian anti-Occupation resisters includingAbdallah Abu Rahmah from Bil'in.

Your hosts:  Jesse Bacon, David Basior, Rebecca Subar, and Marlena Santoyo


Please RSVP by March 19th:
Rebecca@ApproachingConflict.com

Jewish Voice for Peace members work together for peace, social justice, equality, human rights, respect for international law, and a U.S. foreign policy based on these ideals.  JVP opposes anti-Jewish bigotry, anti-Muslim racism, and anti-Arab oppression.  JVP takes brave stands and gives loud, principled support to fellow activists in the U.S. and Israel/Palestine who resist the status quo; seek an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem; seek security and self-determination for Palestinians and Israelis; work for a just solution for Palestinian refugees based on principles established in international law; seek to end violence against civilians; and work for peace and justice for all peoples of the Middle East.  For more, visit www.jvp.org

 

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March 18, Community College of Philadelphia, B'Tselem's Director of US Communications

Reconciliation and Human Rights- Citizen Activism in Israel/Palestine

 

  A discussion with Mitchell Plitnick, Director of US Communications

for B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

and  Illit Rosenblum of the Coalition of Women for Peace

Thursday March 18, 2009, 12:30 PM

Community College of Philadelphia

1700 Spring Garden Street, Room BG-10

      Contact the Washington DC B'Tselem office: mitchell@btselem.org

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The Waiting Room:   From: Women's Medical Fund [mailto:judy@womensmedicalfund.org]

 

Please join us for a performance of The Waiting Room, an original play written by Megan Smith, Bryn Mawr College senior and WMF phone counselor. The Waiting Room tells the story of five women, each faced with an unwanted pregnancy and unable to afford an abortion.

      The Waiting Room will be performed on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 at 8:00 pm on the Bryn Mawr College campus in Goodhart Hall (in the Katharine Hepburn Teaching Theater). Click for a map.

 

Tickets are $5; all proceeds and donations will benefit Women's Medical Fund.

Saturday night's performance will be followed by a Q & A session and a reception. Students have planned a raffle to raise additional funds.

      Directors: Luisana Taveras '11, Megan Smith '10, Playwright: Megan Smith '10

Producer/House Manager: Sam Haun '10, Scenic Designer/Technical Director: Di Wang '10

Stage Manager: Sarah Theobald '12, Cast: Nikki Lopez '10, Halima Freudberg '12, Augusta Irele '10, Fabiola Decius '10, Helen Kunda '12, Sarah Fischer '13, Isabel Holmes '12

      This event is made possible by Bryn Mawr College Special Events Fund, The Dean's Office, and the Bryn Mawr College Women's Center.

___________________________________

 

Help us get out of Iraq and Afghanistan

 

      Northwest Greens has chartered a bus for Saturday, March 20, to take us to the National Peace Rally at the White House, www.march20.org. This rally is most important because it will let President Obama know that people like us are against his continuing occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

      Participating in civil wars in two foreign countries has been terribly expensive – in dollars and in lives. The occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has cost us nearly a trillion dollars, http://www.costofwar.com/. As of today’s count, 5,386 U.S. service members have died in those civil wars (504 of them under Obama’s command) www.icasualties.org. The Pentagon no longer keeps tab of civilian casualties (fear of trials for war crimes, perhaps), but the estimates are in excess of one million dead.

      Also, you should take a moment now to reserve space on our bus, which will leave at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 20, from in front of the Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive in West Mount Airy. All you have to do is send your check or money order for $30/seat (round trip) to “Northwest Greens,” P.O. Box 44353, Philadelphia, PA 19144-7353.

      If you are not able to attend the National Peace March, your donation will allow us to offer a discount to someone less fortunate. Thank you for your help in ending two wars.

Peace, Chris Robinson, 215-843-4256

Northwest Greens, P. O. Box 44353, Philadelphia, PA 19144-7353

______________________________________________________________

 

 

LaSalle University Hosts: Dr. Hanan Ashrawi: Peace in the Middle East:

                                          A just peace or just any peace?

      When: Thursday, March 25, 2010, Time: 12:30PM-2:00PM

      Where: The Dan Rodden Theater (In the UNION Building)

            LaSalle's location is: 1900 W. Olney Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19141

Hanan Ashrawi,PH.D. will discuss her distinguished work for Palestinian national rights. Ashrawi was official spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace process during the 1991 Madrid peace conference. Ashrawi is the recipient of the 2005 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation, the 2003 Sydney Peace Prize and the 2002 Olof Palme Prize.

_____________

 

 

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom invites you to a PARTY WITH A PURPOSE

 

  The Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), a registered non-profit working to improve the lives of children in the Middle East, has launched the MAIA project to bring clean water to the Children of Palestine.  MECA provided the funds to build a water purification and desalinization system for the school.  Each unit can provide pure drinking water for 2,000 students and staff.  The MAIA Project's goal is to provide water purification and desalinization units at 20 Gazan elementary schools, kindergartens and nursery schools.

                         STEP OUT TO BRING CLEAN WATER TO THE CHILDREN OF GAZA

                                   SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2010. 5:30 - 7:30

                        The Fairmount Water  Works Interpretive Center

                                      640 Water Works Drive. Philadelphia, Pa. 19130

     

  * Exhibits, speakers, photographs, videos, wine, hors d'oeuvres, music, and Raffle*

 Tickets: Students, $5.00; Adults, $20.00, Reservations or more information, contact Doryloder@verizon.net or 215-438-5323 or come and pay at the door!

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National and International Action:

 

       cnl@fcnl.org>




Friends Committee on National Legislation

A Quaker Lobby in the Public Interest

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Coming to Washington March 20-21?

The weekend of March 20-21, progressive movements are converging on Washington DC. Ecumenical Advocacy Days, FCNL's lobby weekend, and several demonstrations will be happening.

If you’re coming to Washington, here are some ideas of how you can be part of FCNL's presence at these events.


  • Bring your War Is Not the Answer sign. If you don't have one, you can print one here.

 

 

  • Help us collect signatures on our petition opposing the U.S. escalation of the Afghanistan war. Print petitions here.

 

  • Join us March 21 and 22 for our spring lobby weekend. You'll get training on how to lobby and have the chance to try out your new skills on a real lobby visit. Find out more and register or contact Matt Southworth.

 

Thank you, and we hope to see you the weekend of March 20! If you have questions please just reply to this email.

Sincerely,

Alicia McBride
Director for Communications

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© 2010 Friends Committee on National Legislation | 245 2nd Street NE Washington, DC 20002 | 800-630-1330. Powered by ARCOS.

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Be a Peace of the Action, David Swanson

 

Sixty-five congress members, including 60 Democrats and 5 Republicans, voted to end the occupation of Afghanistan on Wednesday. But 356 congress members, including 189 Democrats and 167 Republicans voted to keep the war going.  This creates a better opportunity than you might think.  But we have a lot of work to do, and it is the work of rebellion and resistance.  We can take a moral stand now, or we can doom our children and the world to suffering.  There are no other choices, and waiting for others to lead us is not a moral option.

Be part of Peace of the Action: http://peaceoftheaction.org

 

During the week of March 13-21, we will have regularly scheduled non-violence training, teach-ins and outreach during the day and in the evenings, we will be having: "dining with a dose of reality."

Our special programs:

 

Monday, march 15: Kevin Zeese (national director of voters for peace) and Dr. Margaret Flowers (single-payer activist) speak about the importance of always linking the u.s. war economy to the collapse of the rest of the economy and how we need to end the wars to have positive social programs here at home.

 

Tuesday, march 16: ex-CIA agent, Ray Mcgovern, talks about the importance of keeping Rachel Corrie’s dream alive on the anniversary of her murder while trying to protect palestinian’s homes from destruction.

 

Wednesday, march 17: David Swanson (after downing street) and Debra Sweet (national director of world can’t wait) speak about the importance of holding u.s. war criminals accountable–from the top down. Entertainment by Banjer Dan.

 

Thursday, march 18: Cindy Sheehan speaks about the importance of ramping up the anti-war movement to perform courageous and committed acts of civil resistance.

 

Friday, march 19: some of us will be leaving camp to go down to Charlottesville, Va to protest war criminal, john yoo, who is speaking at university of virginia (from: 1pm to 6pm) and we will be making signs and getting ready for the march on dc sponsored by answer.

 

Saturday, march 20: march on dc—meet at camp at 10am and we will be going together to the white house for the march—after the march, our friend, cynthia mckinney, will be visiting us at camp.

 

Sunday, march 21: pota day off: on our “day off” we will be protesting at the aipac (american-israel public affairs committee) convention at the dc convention center from 8am to about 8pm. War criminals, Tony Blair and Benjamin Netanyahu will be speaking at the conference.

 

Monday, march 22: our actions begin (stealth–info will be given at camp).

 

Online Video Chat With Michael Moore on March 16

The 30 minute session will be on Tuesday, March 16th at 3:00 pm EST at Brave New Films site:

      http://bravenewfilms.org/michaelmoore

The session will be available for everyone to watch and participate by live chatting questions to Michael. Brave New Films’ Robert Greenwald will be fielding the questions you send.  You can also start today by submitting your questions in advance:

http://bravenewfilms.org/michaelmoore

And, that’s not all!  Only on the Brave New Films site can you get a special $5 off coupon on your retail purchase of the ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ DVD or Blue Ray. The coupon is available now for you to print directly from the site:

      http://bravenewfilms.org/capitalismdvd

 ##

Support Justice and Peace:

Please help us inform you of activities in your town by logging in at

http://afterdowningstreet.org

Click on "My account", on "Edit", on "Personal Information," type in your state and zip code.

      Please FORWARD this message to everyone you know who doesn't think we should have one set of laws for us and another for those we put in powerful positions.

      If you receive this from a friend, you can subscribe by registering at

http://afterdowningstreet.org/user/register

___________________________________________

 

 

Action Alert: PBS to Replace Moyers, NOW with Newsweek Editor?

 

PBS is reportedly in final talks with Newsweek editor Jon Meacham to be co-host of its forthcoming Need to Know program (New York Times, 3/9/10<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7zfCC5ak806KRpbox9RGyu4S2%2F1dRiZp>). Meacham's consideration for a show that would replace hard-hitting independent programs Now and the Bill Moyers Journal sends a clear and troubling message about PBS's priorities (Extra! Update, 6/05<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ymL%2Bk8i1ZVEkSmVJ7crcQu4S2%2F1dRiZp>).

 

Meacham is a fixture on commercial pundit shows in addition to his Newsweek duties. In these venues, he is a consummate purveyor of middle-of-the-road conventional wisdom with a conservative slant. After the 2008 election, Meacham (10/27/08<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gVf0%2BNvXzMTuVIenQ7avanTyxiHN1CHs>) authored an article on America as a "center-right nation"--a conclusion based on dubious historical analogies (Sarah Palin is a kind of Thomas Jefferson) and cherry-picking national election results, casting aside evidence that would undermine the conclusion (FAIR Blog, 10/19/08<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Dx56JoHslU6JtaxKbEDqc%2B4S2%2F1dRiZp>).

      Of course, some sources get more than their share "charity, dignity and respect," as when Meacham remarked about interviewing Rev. Billy Graham (Imus in the Morning, 6/27/05): "It was amazing. I went in and I realized this is what God probably was going to look like. The white hair, the blue eyes, he'll have a Southern accent, that's the way it should be, I think."

 

While Now and Bill Moyers Journal are notable for holding politicians feet to the fire, Meacham uses much more generous standards.

 

ACTION: Please write to PBS and tell them that choosing Jon Meacham to host Need to Know would mean that public television still needs to find suitable replacements for the hard-hitting, independent journalism of Now and Bill Moyers Journal.

CONTACT:  Michael Getler, PBS Ombud

Web Form: http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/feedback.html<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=KVSR%2Fm3BU%2FBDsA%2FLE3aRCO4S2%2F1dRiZp>

      Please post copies of your letters in the comments section on the FAIR Blog<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=rG5wfs%2BI183%2BgC91tvXTL%2B4S2%2F1dRiZp>.

____________

 

 

CATA - The Farmworkers' Support Committee. March 21st!

 Immigration Reform March in Washington D.C.!

 

"Organizing for the Immigration Reform March in D.C. on Sunday March 21st! Anyone want to come? Buses leaving from Bridgeton, NJ and Kennett Square, PA. Also, you can make a donation to support the trip on our website!"

      To reply to this message, follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox%2Freadmessage.php&t=1240205082055&mid=2009761G2d1f52f1G46b1b04G0&n_m=marlsan%40cavtel.net

 

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Reflection on Jerusalem and American Responsibility, Rabbi Brian Walt [rabbibrianwalt@gmail.com]

My latest blog post:

http://rabbibrian.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/how-do-you-deal-with-it-you-pay-for-it/

 

I invite your responses on the blog site and also invite you to subscribe to the blog.

All the Best,  Brian

Phone January to May 2010: In Israel: 02 648-1492 , 052-751-5081

From the U.S.: (617) 553-4915 (local call from U.S. no extra charges)

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Great short video of young women's anti-recruiting mural in NY

 

Several young students creatively express their feelings against military recruiters in their Brooklyn school and community.

      Many of the young artists wanted to address the issue of military recruiting, and targeting youth in low-income areas. Utilizing a visual style inspired by war-time propaganda posters from around the world, the mural portrays three strong young women in classic military poses, armed not with violent weapons but with tools of creation and education. Banners that read, We Are Not Government Issued, and Arm Yourself with the Knowledge to Think for Yourself stream along the wall.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFqL6XhPLsQ&feature=youtube_gdata

       www.groundswellmural.org

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Phyllis Bennis & Amy Goodman on Ending the US War in Afghanistan

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/23/phyllis_bennis_on_ending_the_us

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Gay Marriage Is Legal in U.S. Capital,, Ian Urbina, New York Times, March 3, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/us/04marriage.html?hpw