CONTENTS:

PHILLY AREA ACTION:

NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL ACTION:

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PHILLY AREA ACTION:

 

Malalai Joya Philly Events | Wednesday 30 March | Villanova University & Arch Street Meeting House

(Visa APPROVED)

 

“The US Embassy has reversed their decision to deny Malalai Joy a visa for her speaking tour.” 

      Come hear this remarkable woman and help spread the word to your lists.

 

Villanova Center for Peace and Justice

http://campusevents.villanova.edu/vuevents/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=6068&information_id=18384

Wednesday 30 March | 4-6 PM (book signing at 3 PM) Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Avenue Villanova, PA 19085 (Bartley 1011, is in a corner building across the street from free parking on the South side of Lancaster Pike.)

 

Arch Street Meeting House

Afghanistan: The Most Dangerous Place in the World to Be a Woman Wednesday 30 March | 8-9 PM Arch Street Friends Meeting, 4th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia Sponsored by the Peace & Social Concerns Committees of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting & Arch Street Friends Meeting

 

Full Tour Details: Spring 2011US National Tour for Malalai Joya

http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/?p=1201

 

Peter Lems, Program Director, Education and Advocacy for Iraq and Afghanistan American Friends Service Committee http://afghanistan101.blogspot.com/ Twitter: afghanistan101/ Facebook: AFSC Wage Peace Campaign

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BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW March & Rally in NY! Saturday, April 9 - Get on The Bus!

 

The U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan has been extravagant - extravagant in terms of lives lost and fortune lost. These two wars have cost our nation more than $1.2 trillion dollars since 2001, and more than

5,932 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan and Iraq (1,050 of them under President Obama's command).

      The Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Germantown Monthly Meeting of Friends has agreed to provide a school bus for students and other people who want to attend the New York demonstration (at a lower fare than acharter bus).

      Seats are limited -- and available on a first-come/first-served basis -- please send in your reservation today.

Charter bus reservations are $25/person - School bus reservations are $15/person. Send your check or money order today to "Northwest Greens,"

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

ALL BUSES LEAVE @ 9AM.

For more info, call 215-843-4256 or email nwgreens@yahoo.com.

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SECONDS ANNUAL INTERFAITH GREEN FAIR

 

Sunday, May 1st, 2011, 1-5 PM

Germantown Friends Meeting - 47 Coulter Street

 

LEARN HOW TO GREEN YOUR HOME, COMMUNITIES, AND WORLD VISIT VENDOR BOOTHS W/ PRODUCTS, SERVICES & PROGRAMS,

PARTICIPATE IN AN ARRAY OF WORKSHOPS, ENJOY LIVE MUSIC, MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN VALUES & ENVIRONMENT

 

PARTNERING SPONSORS

(List under development)

    The Shalom Center - Mishkan Shalom - First Presbyterian Church of Germantown - PennFuture

    Peace & Justice Ministry of St. Vincent's -  Green Jobs Philly News - Sisters of St. Joseph Earth Center

    Center for the Celebration of Creation - Summit Presbyterian Church - Germantown Mennonite Church 

    Unitarian Universalist Church of the Restoration - Weavers Way Coop

                         - A Tasty Lunch will be served -

 

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Bread & Roses town hall meeting: Hope, Change, and the Delaware Valley
Sunday, April 3 at 1:00pm
Location: First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia

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Talk on Emily Greene Balch at Swarthmore

 

The Peace Collection and Peace Studies here at Swarthmore are

co-sponsoring a talk by Dr. Kristen Gwinn, who has just published a new

biography of Emily Greene Balch (WILPF founder, 3rd US Section

president, and 2nd US woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize).  The talk will

be in McCabe Library on March 31st at 4:30 pm, with a reception to follow. 

There is a small exhibit in the front of the library on Balch

(her papers are here in the Peace Collection). 

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Volunteer on May 17th! It's the hottest Primary Election in 20 years!

 

Every four years, voters in Philadelphia choose who represents them at City Hall.

This year, there are five open seats on City Council, as long-serving incumbents elect not to stand for re-election.  The DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) scandal is heating up, and Philadelphia’s finances will be strained by significant cuts in state and federal budgets.

Voters will have their say in the biggest change in City Council in over 20 years!

Join us.  You’ll be part of democracy in action, non-partisan style.

      Sign up today at http://www.seventy.org/volunteer.

Better yet, volunteer with a friend or two. We’ll pair you up.

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Books Wanted by "Books Through Bars" for Prisoners

 

Books Through Bars sends books to prisoners in response to their requests. 

This is a free service to all people in prison. The following kinds of books are always needed.

Donations, including for shipping will can be considered tax deductible.

-Dictionaries, especially English, Spanish-English and legal

-Almanacs, not-too-dated reference books including medical

-GED and basic skill building: math, grammar, vocabulary, science

-Criminal law, legal research and writing, post conviction remedies,

Jail House lawyer material (especially in paperback)

-African American, Native American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican

studies, including fiction

-Vocational and trade (carpentry, auto repair, plumbing, etc.)

-How to books, especially drawing and painting

-Yoga, meditation, martial arts

-Novels in Spanish, Spanish texts

-Science fiction, thrillers, mysteries, horror, & westerns

 

We do NOT need the following:

Hardback fiction, out of date reference, old textbooks

Books can be dropped Tuesday from 7:30-10 pm & the first and third Saturday of the month from

11am to 3pm at the A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave. You are welcome to stay and pack also.

Tel: 215-727-8170/ c215-870-5701

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Announcing Spring Studio Classes at Spiral Q!

Folks have been asking, and we've been listening!
Spiral Q is excited to announce the launch of our spring workshops, including Art Clubs for kids and Studio Workshops for the grown and almost grown. -  From printmaking to puppetry, mache masks to trash fashion—Sign up now!
Visit our website to find out more and register for classes today!
Plus special morning and afternoon sessions for families during the Philadelphia School District Spring Break.
Spiral Q is looking for volunteer teaching assistants.  E-mail Liza at lizago@spiralq.org if you're interested in this exciting opportunity.

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REGISTER NOW FOR PHS TREE TENDERS® TRAINING!
Pre-registration is required - Fee: $25
Register online at www.pennhort.net/treetenders
Join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in learning how to plant and care for neighborhood trees by becoming a "Tree Tender" this spring.

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Save the Date for the HOTTEST Pro-Choice Event in Town!

One more way that you can show your support and STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD!

 

Join us Saturday, April 16th for our 4th annual prom event! This

year's event is masquerade themed and is sure to be a wonderful time, as always.

      Just confirmed! The ladies of "Chlamydia dell'Arte: A Sex Ed Burlesque" will grace us with a performance, and stay on hand to serve up drinks, including beer donated by Yards Brewery! Come enjoy delicious food, wine & beer, fantastic raffle items and of course great pro-choice company!

Tickets are $25.00 in advance and $35.00 at the door.

      Each ticket includes two complimentary drink tickets. After the use of  complimentary drink tickets, additional drink tickets can be purchased at $3 for beer and $4 for wine.

CLICK here to purchase tickets

http://www.ppaction.org/site/R?i=5FeC6ne5Lj1DFJKmDMX8Cw..

            Please note, this is a 21+ event.

For more information, contact externalaffairs@ppsp.org or call 215-351-5571.

http://www.ppaction.org/site/R?i=u8PqFCuZOvQtadjZ9gnMLQ..

 

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NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL ACTION:

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10 Nonviolent Options in Libya - Carne Ross | March 8, 2011

 

Editor’s Note: The article below was originally posted at Carne Ross’s blog [1]. For another perspective, read Robert Dreyfuss’s “Obama Administration Right on Libya, So Far [2].”

 

1. Establishment of an escrow account for Libyan oil revenues: this would require further UNSC chapter VII authorization. At present, it appears that all oil revenues, including from oil produced from rebel-held areas, flows to the Libyan government. All payments should instead be paid into a UN-run escrow account, the proceeds of which would be released as soon as a representative government is established in Libya. While the account is in operation, proceeds might in the interim be used for humanitarian purposes in rebel-held areas or to aid refugees. This would be a short-term measure to exert maximum pressure on the regime. My suspicion is that governments are not discussing this for fear of the effect on oil prices (this is uppermost in US debate in particular). To deal with this problem, Saudi Arabia should be asked to make very public commitments to increase its daily production to cover any shortfall of Libyan production.

      2. Listing all Libyan personnel involved in repression for sanction under SCR 1970. Paras 22-23 of this resolution encourage states to nominate individuals to whom the asset freeze and travel ban would apply. At the moment, the list is very short and comprises only prominent regime members. The UN or Security Council members should make public this encouragement to Libyans on the ground to nominate members of the security forces. Why not publish an e-mail address for such nominations or set up a wiki for Libyans to compile evidence? I realise the potential downsides of this, but the point would primarily be to act as a deterrent. There is also nothing to stop individual states declaring that those named under paras 22-23 will be subject to these measures in perpetuity. For a start, why not nominate all Libyan diplomats who have not defected for these sanctions? Why not take the names of all senior Libyan army officers and stick them on the list too?

      3. Seek public declarations from all commercial companies that they will not do business with the Qadaffi regime. The admirable folks in the Genocide Intervention Network [3] have already begun campaigning for this and have secured several such commitments. I see no reason why governments, such as the US and UK, should not demand such commitments of companies based in their respective countries. Naming and shaming has considerable effect on the recalcitrant.

      4. Immediately position monitoring units on all borders and a naval blockade to ensure that the military embargo under UNSCR 1970 is enforced, and that regime members under ICC investigation or subject to paras 22-23 of UNSCR 1970 do not escape. This could be implemented now, and does not in my view require further Security Council authority.

      5. An air blockade to the same effect might also be considered. This should of course exclude all evacuation and humanitarian flights, but the aim is to increase the isolation of the regime. Flights should by contrast be permitted to rebel-held areas. Such measures were imposed on Qadaffi under the earlier sanctions regime over Lockerbie. He didn’t like it.

      6. Electronic jamming of all regime communications; interference with Internet communications, Stuxnet-like attacks on regime IT infrastructure. I hope the US and others are already trying to do this. If not, they should be.

      7. Provide immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance in rebel-held areas.

      8. Set up publicly accessible websites using satellite and other reconnaissance data to inform anti-Qadaffi forces of the disposition of regime military and irregular units. Or get the data to them more covertly using encrypted satphones etc. (thanks @racionalisimo [4] for that one)

      9. Consider making the Libyan currency non-convertible (thanks to @stream47 [5] for this idea). I’m no expert on this, so list this for consideration only. Another idea is to impose Swift banking sanctions to freeze all financial transactions beyond the assets freeze imposed in SCR1970. The problem with assets freezes is that it’s too easy these days for individuals/regimes to hide money. Tracking these monies is a major forensic effort, and can take time.

      10. Establish representations in the rebel-held areas, to offer political support, facilitate communication with anti-Qadaffi forces and coordinate aid disbursement (thanks to Richard Beeston at the New York Times for this one).

These are only ten ideas. I am sure there are others. I am grateful to various friends on Twitter [6] for their suggestions. Please keep them coming.

===   Source URL: http://www.thenation.com/article/159084/10-non-violent-options-libya

      http://www.carneross.com/blog/2011/03/04/libya-ten-non-violent-options

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Intern with Jewish Voice for Peace

 

Are you looking for a way to contribute to effective campaigns to end the Israeli occupation, while gaining experience in the daily workings of a growing, dynamic social change organization?
Intern with Jewish Voice for Peace!

JVP is looking for a few good interns to do a mix of grassroots organizing, administrative tasks, &  research and writing. Internships for Summer 2011 and the 2011-2012 academic year are available beginning immediately. Interns would ideally work out of either our Oakland, Seattle or NYC offices, or can potentially work remotely from their homes, wherever they live. 
Interns must have:
- Strong alignment with JVP mission and guidelines- Strong written and communication skills
- Basic computer skills and regular access to a computer with internet access
- Willingness to pitch-in and work collaboratively
- Ability to work independently  - Experience in Israel and/or Palestine a plus

The internships are unpaid and require a minimum of a 10 hour/week commitment. To begin the application process, complete this form by April 15, 2011.  Please contact Rabbi Alissa Wise at alissa@jvp.org with any questions.
Rabbi Alissa Wise, National Organizer, Jewish Voice for Peace
1611 Telegraph Ave., Suite 550, Oakland, California 94612 USA
ph: 510-465-1777 x 304 | cell: 267 357 4314  | fx: 510 465 1616

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Tribute to Milton Rogovin,the Peoples' Photographer

 

Sunday April 3rd, 2-5 p.m., at Wall Street, 1435 N. 52nd street (between Media & Master, 2nd floor) 19131. Special guests Sonia Sanchez & Carlos Trujillo, Chilean Poet.  Rogovin died in January at the age of 101. Visit www.miltonrogovin.com r.s.v.p. 215-6354043.

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[HumanRights] New blog on popular resistance- Mazin Qumsiye, PhD

 

After being active in sending messages via the internet for nearly 20 years

I finally started a more formal web blog (in Arabic and English) that

focuses on my main interest for the past two decades: Popular Resistance.

It is at

http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com.

My blog today covers the rapidly escalating situations in the Arab world (including the shocking massacre in

Libya where I spent two months traveling in throughout the country.  Tears

came to my eyes as I recalled the hospitality of the Libyan people. I also

discuss briefly the reality in Palestine (and yes the revolution will come

here too).  In the blog are also some actions happening in Palestine in the

next few days, video of the ongoing ethnic cleansing, news, and another key

action call to help open the Rafah crossing (you can help even from the comfort of your home).

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Tell the Department of Justice it's time to do its job: Break Up Monsanto!

 

Click on the link below to automatically add your name to the letter calling for the DOJ to protect our democracy and break up Monsanto!

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/357?akid=303.73462.zSXXCN&t=9

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Attention: Volunteers Needed

 

IYMP is embarking on a project to create an online magazine that publishes real life stories in Palestine.

But right now we are looking for volunteers who have skills at their disposal.

We are looking for:

1. Graphic Designer (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Firework etc)

2. Content Editor (Adobe Indesign)

3. Webmaster (Maintaining the website and SEO optimisation)

If you are interested, send us a message

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=152829771400561

or to Mohammad Rafi

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1522998231

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I bet you're wondering what the heck "fracking" is. That's a good question.

 

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a controversial drilling technique used by the oil and gas industry that has injected millions of tons of highly toxic chemical fluids into the ground to break apart shale and release natural gas. Scientists believe these chemicals are poisoning America's drinking water.

 

But they'll need our help to win. Join us in calling on Congress to pass the FRAC Act now. FREE Call: 877-210-5351

 

Representatives Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, and Maurice Hinchey have introduced the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act in the U.S. House while Senators Bob Casey and Chuck Schumer have introduced the companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

                              Join the campaign at www.StopFrackingNow.com today.

                              Jim Dean, Chair, Democracy for America

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*Action: Lee bill for military withdrawal from Afghanistan


H.R.780 stipulates that funds for operations of U.S. forces in Afghanistan will be spent only for providing safe and orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Check to see if your Rep. has co-sponsored; ask them to co-sponsor if they haven't.
You can view the cosponsors here
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR00780:@@@P
You can ask your Rep. to co-sponsor here:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/hr780
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U.S. Catholic Bishops Major Force Behind War on Women

                  Statement of NOW President Terry O'Neill, Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116

 

The collusion of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has led to an open declaration of war on the women of this country. The bishops have long sought to enshrine into law those policies of the Catholic Church that subordinate women. And they don't care how badly women get hurt in the process.

In the last election, the bishops helped to elect legislators that would do their bidding, which includes enacting dangerous and discriminatory bills denying women safe, accessible and affordable abortion care and family planning, even encouraging hospitals to let women die in the name of 'life.'

A recent poll shows abortion 'barely registers' among voter priorities, and yet Speaker Boehner has declared barring federal funding for abortion care a 'highest priority' -- responding not to the call of his constituents but to the demands of the bishops. And it turns out abortion isn't the only target, as evidenced by their stunningly dangerous efforts that, if enacted, can and will result in the preventable deaths of women:

o The proposed continuing resolution passed by the House to temporarily keep the government functioning would zero out Title X family planning, which has never covered abortion care. Should this gain traction in the Senate, millions of women, the vast majority of whom have incomes of less than $11,000 per year, will lose access to pap smears, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and contraception. It is a public health nightmare -- but a dream-come-true for the Catholic bishops.

      o HR 358, which many are calling the 'Let the Women Die Act' not only brings back Rep. Joe Pitts' (R-Pa.) rejected Stupak-Pitts proposition from health care reform, but also encourages providers to refuse training, performance and even referral of abortion care. This bill gives our government's 'blessing' to any emergency room that would let a pregnant woman die rather than perform an abortion procedure that could save her life.

      o HR 3, also known as 'Stupak on Steroids,' would enshrine the Hyde Amendment into law and expand it to impose tax penalties on millions of families and businesses whose private insurance covers abortion care, thereby expanding the scope of Internal Revenue Service audits to the area between women's legs. In testifying in favor of this bill in committee, a representative from the Catholic bishops proudly supported revoking abortion rights even in cases of rape. You read that right -- and isn't that rich, coming from the very men who have consistently protected sexually abusive priests?

      o And HR 217, which NOW has dubbed the 'Public Health Nightmare Act,' would permanently eliminate Title X family planning services, leaving millions of women and men stranded without essential services like birth control, cancer screenings and screenings for HIV/AIDS and STDs.

Pro-life? Hardly.

      Not only are these assaults on women's rights at odds with generally accepted medical practice and flatly unethical, there is little doubt that they will kill women.The National Organization for Women is fighting back against these efforts in coalition with our allies and women's health advocates across the country. We also renew our demand that the federal government require the all-male and violently anti-woman U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops follow the same lobbying and disclosure requirements that currently apply to everyone else.

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From: s-intl [s-intl@shinfujin.gr.jp] /  Subject: appeal from Shinfujn

 

Dear our friends in the U.S. peace community,

 

This is Emiko HIRANO, international section head of the New Japan Women's

Association (Shinfujin).

 

Thank you very much for solidarity, compassion and support you have been

extending to us, in this most difficult time in our postwar history. You

keep reminding us that we are not alone in enduring and recovering from the

unprecedented tragedy.

 

President Barack Obama said in his statement on Thursday, "We will stand

with the people of Japan as they contain this crisis, recover from this

hardship, and rebuild their great nation." We are grateful that the

president of our ally is ready to do whatever it can to help us out of this tragedy.

 

The New Japan Women's Association calls on our sisters and brothers, friends

of the U.S. peace and just movement to ask your president to return the

money he receives from the Japanese government, that is our taxpayers'

money, to cover the 75 percent of the cost of the U.S. military stationing

in Japan. We have over 130 U.S. military bases and facilities with about

40,000 personnel. The expenses for the maintaining the U.S. military in our

country is called "sympathy budget," (host nation support in your media)

because it covers far beyond the Japan's obligation under the Security

Treaty; it includes the salaries of the Japanese employees working in the

bases, as well as heating, electricity and water, and even dry-cleaning

charges of military families. In 2010, the expenses totaled nearly 190

billion yen (about $1.6 billion), and Japan covers 50 percent of all the

cost of U.S. military stationed around the world.

 

With the unprecedented scale of damage in Tohoku region, well-known for its

fishery and agricultural products, and the possible radiation contamination,

we need money for the rescue work and for assisting the people who barely

survived to recover. In the long run, Japan will need more and more money

not only for the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas but also for

recovering from the economic and human losses we are facing as a whole

nation. We cannot afford sustaining U.S. military bases and daily life of

the military families any more while we need money to help our fellow people

living in sorrow, grief and fear to get back to their normal life as soon as

possible, although life will not be the same as it used to be.

 

Please tell your president to show his support by saying that he kindly

declines to receive the "sympathy budget." Please tell your congresswomen,

congressmen and senators to present a resolution to this end.

 

Here in Japan, the New Japan Women's Association, urges the Japanese

government to stop spending the Japanese people money for maintaining the

U.S. military and to reallocate the budget for human need, with immediate

focus on the assistance to the Tohoku population. We believe this will lead

to the drastic cut in military spending to make our world safer for all and

more sustainable.

 

HIRANO Emiko

International Section Head / New Japan Women's Association

5-10-20, Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-0002 JAPAN

Phone: +81-3-3814-9141,  Fax: +81-3-3814-9441, E-mail: s-intl@shinfujin.gr.jp / hiraemi@concerto.plala.or.jp

URL:    http://www.shinfujin.gr.jp

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Cheri Honkala: Once an Outlaw, Now an Enforcer?   By Randy LoBasso.

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/Cheri-Honkala-Once-an-Outlaw-Now-an-Enforcer.html
It's hard to imagine a 48-year-old woman who’s been arrested more than 200 times becoming Philadelphia’s new sheriff. Disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer are just a few of the charges Cheri Honkala’s faced while promoting welfare rights. But that’s what Philly’s most infamous embodiment of grass-roots guerilla protestdom, plans to do. And while Honkala’s outlaw days may be through, her law enforcement years may be just beginning.