Jonathan Hutto, active duty U.S. Navy Seaman, will speak out against the Iraq War on Sunday January 20 at 3:00 pm at the Erie Art Museum Annex, 30 East 5th St., Erie, PA.  (entrance on 5th Street, just east of Glassgrowers Gallery).  The event is free and open to the public.   

Jonathan Hutto, 29, is currently assigned to the Norfolk based aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.  He and other active duty military launched the Appeal for Redress providing a way for member of the armed services to urge their congressional representatives to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq through the group's website,  http://appealforresdress.org/.

The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple.  It is patriotic and respectful in tone:  "As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq.  Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price.  It is time for U.S. troops to come home."

Hutto's book, Anti-war Soldier, will be released next month.  His presentation is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday events in Erie and is sponsored by Erie Peace Initiative (http://www.eriepeaceinitiative.org) along with several other peace and justice groups.  For information, contact Anne McCarthy, OSB (814)460-5522, annemccosb@yahoo.com or Bob Johnson (814)864-8818, Papashouseerie@aol.com.

On Monday November 12, CPJ will hold a vigil for peace from 4:30 to 5:30 pm at the corner of Millard Fillmore Drive and Central Avenue (across from Rite Aid).  All are invited to join in this stand for peace.

On Sunday November 11 from 6:00 to 9:30 pm, the Western New York Peace Center will hold its annual dinner and concert, celebrating 40 years of peace-making and change. The gala will be held at the Buffalo/Niagara Convention Center.

For more info, email elea@wnypeace.org, call (716)894-2013, or fax (716)894-8705.

Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA will host "Good People Gather," a three day event focusing on the environment, social justice, and peace, from Friday October 12 to Sunday October 14.   All presentations are free and open to the public.

For details about speakers and activities, go to http://www.mercyhurst.edu/news/press_releases/detail.php?id=1151.

The Rural Ministry 10K Hunger Walk will be Sunday October 7, starting at 1:00 pm from St. John's United Church of Christ in Dunkirk.  (The church is on 733 Central Ave., but its parking lot is in the rear on Eagle Street.)   75% of proceeds go to Rural Ministry food programs; 25% go to Habitat for Humanity.  Contact Joan or Rodney Houck at 673-9258 for sponsor collection sheets or to sign up to be a walker or pledger.

There will be a CROP Walk starting at the Gazebo in Silver Creek on Sunday October 14 at 1:00 pm.   This will benefit hunger programs in the area and beyond.   Call 672-2048 to be directed to further information.

Interfaith leaders around the country have called on all Americans to join in fasting from dawn to dusk on Monday October 8 to call for an end to the Iraq War.  See http://interfaithfast.org/ for more information.

Veterans For Peace will hold a Veterans-Armistice Day Parade on Sunday November 11, 2007 in Meadville, Pennsylvania (northwestern PA).  This is the first time a chapter of VFP is the sponsor of such a parade and is Meadville's first such parade.  The parade will honor veterans and celebrate the end of WWI, the war that was to end all wars.  The guest speaker is Jonathan Hutto, an active duty Navy service member who is the co-founder of the Appeal for Redress, a petition calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq.  It is being signed and sent to Congress by active duty armed service members.  Donations made payable to Veterans For Peace would be welcome. 

For more information and to send donations, contact:

In solidarity with the major demonstration for peace occurring in Washington DC this week, a stand for peace will take place at the Barker Commons gazebo in Fredonia on Saturday September 29 at 1:00 pm, to last approximately one hour.   The group will meet at the gazebo, followed by a march around the park - bring signs and a strong voice.
 
(This demonstration has been endorsed by Troops Out Now Coalition, Code Pink, Green Party USA, Arts fro Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, amoung many other groups and individuals)
 

 

As part of SUNY Fredonia’s Faculty in Residence program, Dr. Gregory Bynum  of the School of Education will present "An Interactive History of Nonviolent Thought and Action for Social Justice" on Wednesday September 26 at 7:00 pm in the Williams Center G-140 at SUNY Fredonia. 

Participants will be invited to examine, reflect on, and discuss selected moments in the history of nonviolent thought and action for social justice, including the abolitionist, nonviolent resistance of Henry David Thoreau and education reform advocate Ella Baker, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Marla Ruzicka, an American who brought medical care and other assistance to Iraqis harmed in the current Iraq War.  This program will emphasize relationships between ideas and practice.

All are welcome to attend and participate in this dynamic workshop.   Refreshments will be provided.
 

The film, "The Ground Truth," will be shown on Friday September 28 at 6:30 pm in the Fireplace Room at the Prendergast Library, 509 Cherry St., Jamestown.   The film deals with the war in Iraq and the challenges veterans face when they return home.  It is rated R for disturbing violent content and language.

JCC faculty member Dr. James E. Miller will lead a discussion.  He will be accompanied by Ray Hall who has moderated previous library discussions about the Middle East. 

For more information about the film, go to http://www.thegroundtruth.net.   The library's Reference Desk can be reached at 484-7135, ext. 225.

As in past years, CPJ will have an information booth at the Fredonia Farm Festival, August 24-25 in downtown Fredonia's Barker Common.   Material regarding the genocide in Darfur and other topics will be on hand.  Fair trade coffee will be available for purchase.

Music, scripture, and a message about peace will be offered at a Peace Service to be held at St. John's United Church of Christ, 2871 East Chruch St., Eden, NY, on Sunday May 20 at 6:00 pm.  All are welcome.  Call 992-9143 for more information. 

The Western New York Peace Center announces is 26th Annual Fr. A. Joseph Bissonette Latin American Dinner to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Latin American.  The event will take place Wednesday April 18 at 6:00 pm, at Canisius High School, 1180 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.   The speaker this year is Fr. John Dear, SJ, former director of the  Fellowship of Reconciliation and author of more than 20 books on nonviolence, theology and spirituality. 

Standard tickets are $12 per person or $20 per couple, and patron tickets are $17 per person or $30 per couple.  All payment will be accepted at the door.   For more info, call at 894-2013.

Palestinian-American Ali Abunimah will give a lecture on Thursday April 19 at 7:30 pm at the Natural Sciences Complex 225, UB North Campus.  Mr. Abunimah is the co-founder of the website, Electronic Intifada, and is the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse (Metropolitan, 2006). He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago, where he is a researcher in social policy. He comments frequently on the Palestine-Israel conflict for public radio and television, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and the BBC. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Ha’aretz, and Lebanon’s Daily Star. 

The event is sponsored by the WNY Peace Center; UB Progressive Alliance; the Muslim Students Association; the Graduate School of Education’s Center for Comparative and Global Studies in Education; the GSA for International Research, Education and Activism; UB Antiwar Action; Professor Bruce Jackson, Samuel P. Capen Chair of American Culture; Professor Othman Shibly; and Joanna Tinker.

Campus maps, directions and parking info can be found at <http://www.buffalo.edu/buildings/

Professor James E. Miller, an adjunct history faculty member at Jamestown Community College, will deliver a talk and lead a discussion on the topic “Countdown to War in Iran: What Does History Teach Us?” on Wednesday April 18 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in Room 202 on the third floor of McEwen Hall, SUNY Fredonia.  All are welcome

Among the topics to be discussed are: the current political and economic status of Iran; the building of the modern state of Iran from the Safavid and Qajar Dynasties through the 1906 Constitution, the Pahlavi Dynasty, the overthrow of the Shah and the 1979 Islamic Revolution; the taking of American hostages; the Iran-Iraq war; the arms for cash deal; Iran’s nuclear program; and the signs and consequences of an American war with Iran.

The question of whether or not a new war in the Middle East with Iran can be prevented will be given special consideration. There will be ample time for questions and answers.  Besides teaching a course on the history of the modern Middle East at JCC, Miller is also a retired industrial and labor relations professor from Cornell University who has family from the Middle East.

On Monday March 26 at 10:30 am, James Meredith, the first African-American to gain admission to the University of Mississippi and civil rights activist, will speak at the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 E. Fourth St. in Jamestown.  Call 483-7748 or visit http://www.roberthjackson.org for more information.

The Chautauqua League of Women Voters will present a discussion regarding blogs and their effect on traditional print media and voters.  This will be held Monday April 16 from 2:30 to 4:00 pm at SUNY Fredonia, William Center, room S104.  The event, ""Blogs, Wikis, and Newsfeeds: The Internet and Other Media," is free of charge and open to all.  See

A presentation and discussion, "Countdown to the War in Iran: What Does History Teach Us" will take place Friday March 23 from 6:30 o 8:30 pm at the Fireplace Room of the Prendergast Library, 509 Cherry St., Jamestown.   James E. Miller, an adjunct history professor at JCC will discuss Iran's history, current political and economic status, nuclear program; the Iran-Iraq War; the arms for cash deal; and the consequences of a possible American war with Iran.  All are invited to attend.   

From March 26-29, SUNY Fredonia's Amnesty International chapter, Political Science Association, and College Democrats will present a variety of events to raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur.  Throughout the week, a table will be set up in the Williams Center with information, as well as wristbands and t-shirts for sale to benefit Doctors Without Borders.

Monday March 26 - An all day demonstration in the Williams Center with 400 balloons representing the 400,000 deaths. 

At 5:00 pm, at the peace pole (between Mason Hall and the Williams Center), there will be a balloon release (of those 400 balloons) and President Hefner will speak. 

At 7:00 pm,  Darfur Diaries will be screened in the multipurpose room in the Williams Center with a short discussion following. 

Tuesday March 27 -  8:00 pm Open Mic Night in the cafe in the William's Center

Wednesday March 28 - 7:00 pm panel discussion featuring several professors from different departments across campus in McEwen G24.

Thursday March 29 - 10:00 pm-2:00 am "Make Some Noise For Darfur"  Jamnesty at BJ's bar in Fredonia featuring Ghost of a Stranger, The Scarlet Ending, and Phantasm.  It's $3 for under 21 and free for over.  All the proceeds and part of the profit at the bar go to Doctors Without Borders.

All are invited to attend these events.  

The American Association of University Women presents Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, who will speak on "Global Peace Iniative for Women" at the Carnahan Theater, Jamestown Community College in Jamestown, on Wednesday February 21 at 7:30 pm.  The public is invited and there is no charge.

For more information about Dr. Campbell, see http://religion.ciweb.org/campbell.html.