Thursday, August 18, 2005

AFSC - Period Ended 8/18/2005

To Translate this page, please copy the URL above and paste it at: http://translate.google.com/translate_t

AFSC/Youth/Militarism//Forming a conscience/Kansas City Star/Kansas City/MO/USA/3-Aug-05/... Laura Partridge, the youth and militarism program director at the American Friends Service Committee in Kansas City, leads local workshops on issues ...

AFSC/WW II/Nuclear Non-proliferation/CNY lights candles for Hiroshima/Syracuse Post Standard/Syracuse/NY/USA/7-Aug-05/... vigil was one of several events organized by the Syracuse Peace Council, Peace Action of Central New York, American Friends Service Committee, Pax Christi and ...

AFSC/WW II/Nuclear Non-proliferation/Activists pray for peace on anniversary/Dayton Daily News/Dayton/OH/USA/7-Aug-05/Members of the September 11 Coalition, the American Friends Service Committee, Dayton Peace Action and Pledge of Resistance gave speeches amplified by a ...

AFSC/Workcamp/Civil Rights//Fellowship for Jewish Learning hires Rabbi Schechter/Connecticut Jewish Ledger/Stamford/CT/USA/18-Aug-05/… Prior to his work in Atlantic City, Schechter served the Temple Oheb Shalom in Baltimore, Md. He became active in the Civil Rights Movement there, and was arrested for his participation in an interracial protest with Roman Catholics, Protestants and members of the Jewish Clergy. Before his start in the Civil Rights Movement, the rabbi was a member of the U.S. Air Force, Strategic Air Command from 1960 to 1962.

He was educated at the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College, where he was elected president of the Student Association. He worked summers as a camp counselor at the Christian Herald Children's Home in Nyack, N.Y., a program for economically challenged New York City youth. While in Cincinnati, Schechter lived and worked at The Children's Home, a residential care facility, and at the Findlay Street Neighborhood House, a church sponsored inner city interracial center. He also was director of Camp Joy, a church and community sponsored interracial summer camp, and directed the Weekend Workcamp Program for the American Friends Service Committee in Ohio and Indiana.
Schechter moved to Stamford in July 2000 with his wife Rabbi Liz Rolle, manager at Knit Together, a yarn store in Stamford. Together they have four children: Rabbi Sarah, Noa, Aviva and Tal.

Rabbi Schechter's installation will take place on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m., at the Friends Meeting House, 572 Roxbury Rd (at the corner of Roxbury and Westover Roads).

The Fellowship for Jewish learning is an intimate, unaffiliated, liberal congregation formed in 1973 as a "synagogue without walls". The Fellowship offers Shabbat services, Hebrew school classes, suppers, study groups and lectures at the Friends Meeting House. High Holiday services are held at the Westover School, 412 Stillwater Road. ...

AFSC/War/WW II/Nuclear Non-proliferation/Events to recall use of A-bomb/Syracuse Post Standard/Syracuse/NY/USA/5-Aug-05/... Peace Action of Central New York, Citizens Awareness Network, American Friends Service Committee and Pax Christi also are sponsoring the events. ...

AFSC/War/WW II/Nuclear Non-proliferation/Mayors demand nukes' abolition/The Republican/Boston/MA/USA/5-Aug-05/... Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the event coincided with similar observances in Japan, according to Jo Comerford, a member of the group. ...

AFSC/War/WW II/Nuclear Non-proliferation/Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Worst terror attacks in history/San Francisco Bay View/San Francisco/CA/USA/5-Aug-05/... 3, 2005. To mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, the American Friends Service Committee will be hosting a Candlelight Vigil on Tuesday, Aug. ...

AFSC/War/WW II/Nuclear Non-proliferation/Bombing anniversary to be marked at vigils/North Adams Transcript/North Adams/MA/USA/3-Aug-05/... Mayor John Barrett III is scheduled to appear at Northampton City Hall on Thursday, according to a press release from the American Friends Service Committee. ...

AFSC/War/Iraq/Boots/Green St. garage future debated/Ithaca Journal/Ithaca/NY/USA/5-Aug-05/…In an 8-1 vote, the Council also endorsed the message of an anti-war art exhibit called Eyes Wide Open that will be on display in Ithaca Oct. 6-9.

Alderman Michael Taylor, D-4th Ward, voted against the resolution because he disagreed with a tenet of the American Friends Service Committee, the organization bringing the exhibit to Ithaca.

The committee believes the human cost of war is never justified, according to local chapter member Wilma Brown.

That's not always true, Taylor said.

“There are wars that are justifiable,” he said, although he said he doesn't feel the Iraq war is one of them. ...

AFSC/War/Iraq/Counter-Recruiting/Parent-trap snares recruiters/Pittsburgh Post Gazette/Pittsburgh/PA/USA/11-Aug-05/... Demonstrators disrupted Army Reserve recruiters at Carnegie Mellon University in April, and the local chapter of the American Friends Service Committee plans a ...

AFSC/War/Iraq/Protest/Local vigils back anti-war stand/The Republican/Pittlsfield/MA/USA/18-Aug-05/... and we're going to stay," said vigil organizer Jo Comerford, regional director of the Western Massachusetts American Friends Service Committee, referring to ...

AFSC/War/Iraq//Washington Post Pulls Support for Pentagon Rally/New Standard/Syracuse/NY/USA/17-Aug-05/.. Late Monday night, Post officials informed the Pentagon that they were withdrawing support for the event and would instead donate money to a Pentagon-run memorial fund, the news service said.

According to information posted to a website set up for the event, the procession is to begin at the Pentagon and end at the National Mall, where it will be immediately followed by a performance by country-western star Clint Black. Participants are required to register with the Pentagon at least two days prior to the event.

Several anti-war groups putting together a three-day-protest beginning on September 24 had heavily criticized the Post for sponsoring the Pentagon’s event, the paper reported last Friday. The American Friends Service Committee posted the email addresses of the paper’s publisher and top two editors and urged people to contact them to express their disappointment in the decision to support the event.

In addition to citing the apparent conflict of interest in a news outlet providing free advertising space to an institution it covers regularly, groups pushing for the paper to pull its sponsorship said the event was highly politicized, pointing to the inclusion of Black’s free concert at the end as evidence.

Black’s song "Iraq and Roll" has drawn heavy criticism from some for its war-mongering theme and lyrics. ...

AFSC/War/Iraq//'Wash Post' Guild Leaders Want Paper Out Of Sept. 11 'Freedom Walk .../Editor & Publisher/New York/NY/USA/15-Aug-05/…NEW YORK Newspaper Guild leaders at The Washington Post on Monday afternoon called on the newspaper to withdraw its sponsorship of a controversial Sept. 11 memorial walk organized by the Department of Defense. The event has drawn opposition from several groups for its alleged pro-war tilt.

"Basically, the guild is calling for the Post to reconsider and drop sponsorship," said Rick Weiss, a Post reporter and co-chair of the Washington Post unit of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Local 32035. "As a matter of maintaining its appearance of neutrality on polarizing issues of policy."

Weiss said eight members of the local's leadership committee met Monday and unanimously passed a resolution asking the paper to drop its support of the event. He said the resolution would be delivered to Post Publisher Bo Jones as soon as possible.

The unit represents more than 1,400 Post employees.

The resolution reads, in part, "Post news employees are subject to disciplinary action for participating in political activities that may be perceived as revelatory of personal opinions or bias. The Washington Post itself should be held to the same high standard. Moreover, arguments that the Freedom Walk is anything other than a political activity -- and indeed, a political activity in support of the war in Iraq -- should be put to rest by the prominent participation of country music star Clint Black, best known of late for his war-glorifying song 'Iraq and I Roll.'

"The Guild supports The Post's stated intention of honoring the nation's veterans, including those who have served in Iraq," the resolution continues. "But the Post undermines this goal by lending its support to a political event that links the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to the war in Iraq -- a link that The Post, in its reporting, has shown to be false.

"If The Post wants to encourage greater respect for veterans among its employees, it should consider giving those employees something that the Guild has repeatedly sought in bargaining: A day off on November 11, Veterans Day, to honor the patriots who have served our nation."

In a related move, Post media writer Howard Kurtz noted his opposition to the Post sponsorship in an online chat with readers today. "I wish The Washington Post were not co-sponsoring this event. It is an operation by the Pentagon -- a place that we devote substantial resources to covering -- and therefore subject to all kinds of interpretations," he said in response to a reader question. "It is not the same, in my view, as the corporate side of The Post handing out awards to the best teachers or other kinds of nonpartisan civic activities."

Jones did not return calls seeking comment on the resolution Monday, but told E&P on Friday that he would remove the Post as a sponsor of the "Freedom Walk" if the event turned out to be "partisan. "

The march, which also is receiving sponsorship help from two Washington D.C. radio stations and a television station, has drawn opposition from some anti-war groups that contend it amounts to a pro-war demonstration. Others have specifically pointed to the Post's involvement, claiming that the newspaper should not be part of a potentially political walk.

Country singer Clint Black, who has written a pro-war song, is listed as the star attraction for the Walk.

Groups such as United for Peace and Justice and American Friends Service Committee have come out not only against the walk, but against the Post's part in it. AFSC has even placed a form letter of protest on its Web site to be e-mailed to the Post, along with e-mail addresses for Jones, Executive Editor Leonard Downie, Jr. and Managing Editor Phil Bennett. "The Washington Post has no place sponsoring an event that clearly smacks of propaganda," the form letter states.

Jones said the paper is not donating money to the event, but is providing free advertising space for public service messages promoting the walk.

Post spokesman Eric Grant also did not return calls for comment Monday, but said last week that "the walk was never presented to us as a rally to support the war and we would be very disappointed if it took that approach." ...

AFSC/War/Disabilities//Peace Initiative, library host presentation on rebuilding war .../Dunn County News/Green Bay/WI/USA/14-Aug-05/… International development specialist, Wendy A. Batson has extensive knowledge and experience in planning and managing innovative programs in war-affected countries. Batson has worked with a number of major voluntary organizations and the United Nations in the areas of general program development, donor mobilization, assessment, monitoring and evaluation in developing economies with specific program experience in research and analysis on refugee repatriation.

Most recently, Batson was appointed United States Country Representative for Handicap International-France. As such, she is responsible for serving as liaison to governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in all aspects of assistance to war victims and other persons with disabilities living in post-conflict or low income countries.

In 2004, Batson organized a special workshop in Paris, France bringing together rehabilitation professionals with field experience from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central America to review assistance programs for war wounded and other persons with disabilities living in landmine-affected countries.

From 1996 to 2004, Batson served as the Director for Humanitarian Affairs, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, VVAF, in Washington, DC. In addition, Batson has worked with numerous other organizations, including the United Farm Workers of America and the American Friends Service Committee. ...

AFSC/Protext/War/Iraq/Austinites voice support for fallen soldier's mother/Austin American-Statesman/Austin/TX/USA/11-Aug-05/... 2004. The protest was organized by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that supports peace and nonviolence. "The ...

AFSC/Protest/Free Speech//Few clues about cops' spy operations/Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago/IL/USA/5-Aug-05/... The Chicago police gang-intelligence unit launched four "First Amendment" investigations in 2003, but a recently released audit does not provide any detail about the targets.

Under a federal consent decree, the department is required to report every investigation that involves a person or group's free-speech rights.

An internal audit of 2002 investigations, released last year, set off a firestorm after revealing that five protest groups were infiltrated by Chicago police officers. The groups, including the American Friends Service Committee, alleged in federal court that the city violated the consent decree by publishing the identity of the targeted groups. ...

AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Activist/Emotions still raw after forum/North County Times/Ventura/CA/USA/11-Aug-05/... groups such as Activist San Diego, representatives from the League of United Latin American Citizens, American Friends Service Committee and activists from ...

AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Voting Rights/Mayor urged to settle elections suit/Boston Globe/Boston/MA/USA/15-Aug-05/…Justice Department officials have said that, since 1976, they have not lost a voting-rights case similar to the one filed against Boston. City officials have said signing a consent decree would require admitting that discrimination took place. And since the suit does not include specific examples of voting-rights violations, city officials say, such an admission could be damaging to the city.

Other groups that signed the letter include the Chinese Progressive Association and the Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund, both Asian-American advocacy groups, the Mass English Plus Coalition, a statewide advocacy organization for limited-English speakers, and the American Friends Service Committee, which has advocated for immigrant rights. The letter is also signed by the Black Political Task Force, a plaintiff in the recent redistricting lawsuit that succeeded in having state legislative districts redrawn because of inadequate representation for minority voters. ...

AFSC/Peace Activities///A day for celebrating peace/Brunswick Times Record/Brunswick/ME/USA/8-Aug-05/... Representatives from the American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International Bath/Brunswick, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine, Peace Alliance ...

AFSC/Immigration///In his new weekly opinion column, Harold Evans considers the US .../BBC News/London/England/UK/7-Aug-05/.. It was reckoned that nobody would be desperate enough to find a way into the US through the 7,000 ft high mountains and the 50 miles of untracked waterless desert. Now hundreds of thousands risk it - Mexicans and job seekers from all over Latin America.

There is no romance in it for them. Hundreds have been dying every year in the last decade, according to - among others - the reputable American Friends Service Committee. "Now we have a death a day," I was told. ...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home