Peace TODAY and Every DAY - RALLY wherever/whenever

Woke up feeling ill but still hope to attend a #NoWarWithSyria peace event at Time Square today. We need peace not bombs in Syria. Check out a FB invitation for NYC but it contains event information for other cities' events today as well.

And remember to contact the White House Comment Line 202-456-1111 (or via 202-456-1414 if it is busy) to speak up for PEACE and a BLUE LINE for Diplomacy and Peace instead of killing more Syrians because Syrians have been killed.

No more violence leading to more violence. As Michael Franti said in his Bomb the World peace song:

We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace

Please let the President know that it takes a bigger man and country to work hard FOR PEACE.

Blessings to my NY Fellowship of Reconciliation and other peace friends and family!

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

No US Military Deaths in Iraq in August

For the first time since the Iraq invasion (March 2003), there were no reported US Military deaths in Iraq. This is good news indeed but the Yin to this Yang is what the Daily Beast noted: August was the deadliest month for US deaths in Afghanistan.

There is much to do to bring peace to our planet. Have had several contacts from people interested in New York Fellowship of Reconciliation. Time to regather. Hope your summer was reviving and that you can join us in doing more peace and justice work. If you are in the NYC area, please be in touch.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Happy Birthday, Sam

Longtime peace and justice activist Sam Oast celebrated his birthday with a return trip to Union Square and dinner at Heartland Brewery. Sam recounted memories of summers past and dear friend Betty Lou Hornick was remembered. (Sam and Betty Lou were mainstays at a Saturday peace vigil at Union Square for years!) Sam still volunteers time at a homeless shelter, gets to the Catholic Worker for various events, attends various NYC demos, is a member of a book club,

and maintains a lovely rooftop garden. Happy birthday, Sam. Glad I could join you for the day!

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Beyond War, A New Economy is Possible

Yes, there were thousands (not hundreds as AP and Reuters reported) at the United for Peace and Justice April 4th National March on Wall Street, with its commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Beyond Vietnam speech by presenting his vision of a world without poverty, war and racism through the message, "Beyond War, A New Economy is Possible". Long sentence and a long busy week but I have finally uploaded my photos of the march to Flickr and have documented some other good pictures on Flickr from the day because the corporate media did not provide much documentation.

Of particular note is Diane Green Lent's Beyond War set. And Wesley Chen had some great photos in his National March on Wall Street set. Tom Davis from Wilmington DE had some beauties in his set, also entitled, National March on Wall Street. [Be sure to check out his other stuff: wow!] Okay, it was Toronto but Jason Ainsworth documented a Toronto April 4th peace march/anti-war protest. And covering the Friday Wall Street event was a graphic arts student Hushable, who included some National March on Wall Street April 3rd pix along with some pillow fight 2009 pix in her NYC set, but directly at this tagged link.



Howard, Margaret, and Pierre

As for me, on the actual day I was happy snapping photos and happier still to meet up with fellow NYFOR member and playwright Howard Pflanzer. He introduced me to Margaret and Pierre from Baltimore and I wish I had their picture of both of us together but we have a photo of them with Howard. On the march Howard also clued me in on the Stella D'Oro cookie factory strike and boycott, so appropriate to the message of the day and there were members of their union marching. [See strike website for further info.]





NY Fellowship of Reconciliation's Kate Anne

Reaching Battery Park, we encountered Button Buddha (and Buddhist Peace Fellowship member) Ruth Klein who was having trouble displaying her wonderful buttons with the 30 mile per hour gusts of wind. My friend needed me so that is where I ended my march and it was a good place to see other marchers enter the park: thousands, not hundreds. Ah, the corporate media. But let's speak up for truth and a peace economy which values and benefits the working people of the U.S.A. (and the world) more than corporations.




Ruth Klein and button lover
We need money less for Wall Street and more for healthcare, education, and non-armament industry U.S. jobs. If there is no new war then we can shut down some of those armament plants -- and couldn't we put the employees to work doing something else that is life-giving and/or life preserving? We need a good trade policy that keeps good jobs here. Let's demand it. We did on April 4th and we must continue this righteous demand for Martin Luther King's dream for a better America and a better world, without war, poverty and racism.

Amen! And peace hugs,
Kate Anne

PS Just found another good Flickr set from April 4th, that of Michael Borkson of Boston.

MNYRCAT: End Torture, Close Gitmo

New York Fellowship of Reconciliation members joined with Amnesty International, Center for Constitutional Rights, World Can't Wait, ACLU and others in attending the Metro New York Religious Coalition Against Torture's prayer vigil to end torture and close Guantanamo, one of the January 11th events held worldwide on the sixth anniversary of the Guantanamo detention camp. As the vigil began, so did the rain, torrential at times -- but what is rain compared to waterboarding? It curtailed the length of the vigil, but didn't dampen our spirits. Check out additional photos on Flickr.com but please continue to contact Congress -- 202-224-3121 --and the White House comment line -- 202-456-1111 on this. And ask your friends to do likewise. Prayer and action together make a positive difference. Thanks!!!

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne


Center: Sam Oast and Gail Harper, with 2 CCR staff

Grannies' Teach-In: Close Gitmo, others

My weekend was full of peace and political action: a newsletter, our vigil and the Granny Peace Brigade teach-in (along with dog-sitting Munchkin and Barney Bear).

Sam Oast was on duty at our little Union Square peace vigil. He handed out a bunch of the flyers for the Grannies' event. I had my DontAttackIran.org sign [which has a new petition to sign - on my to-do list -- put it on yours] and we got plenty of attention and affirmation (Who says 52% of Americans want to attack Iran??).

Dr. Sam Oast
On Sunday, I tabled with Fellowship of Reconciliation's Fellowship magazine editor, Ethan Vesely-Flad at the Granny Peace Brigade event which stressed closing Guantanamo and all U.S. military bases on foreign soil. Vinnie Burrows moderated and Lynne Kates from the Center for Constitutional Rights gave an eye-opener (for some I am sure) on Guantanimo. She said there are now 786 prisoners there who endure 23 hours of daily isolation -- that in itself is cruel and inhumane! Talk about torture OTHER than water boarding! Elsa Rassbach from American Voices Abroad spoke about how the illegal Iraq war (and possible illegal Iran war) violate(s) the German constitution, "Only peace may come from German soil." She also said though the majority of Germans are pacifists they fear the growth of militarization. There were some other good speakers and the Raging Grannies sang.

Afterwards, Ethan and I spoke with people. There was good energy and the event was not only very informative but also well-attended: a good sign that American people want to know the facts. That said, the event let me to a post a QuickTAKE. And now doggy-duty calls me. Hope your weekend was productive and peaceful.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

How to be a Better Peacemaker

> Pay attention to events on local, national and global levels.

> Educate yourself on issues you are unfamiliar with -- and act!

> Think globally: how does something you do here affect people/places in other parts of the world?

> National ego disarmament: the U.S. is neither the cultural nor the moral superior to other countries.

> Make career choices that foster peace. Help young people with their choices.

> Give emotional and/or financial support to those who give up jobs or careers for reasons of conscience.

> Reach out to neighbors, strangers, people in need. Build community wherever possible.

> Stand on the side of the poor, disabled and victims of society.

> Work to make changes to government policy -- both domestic and foreign.

> Pray or meditate with love for those in power.

###

With thanks to the Forum of Concerned Religious Leaders -- and to Sam Oast who inspired its reprinting for our work with the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Other suggested websites: WarResisters.org, CommonDreams.org, TruthOut.org, FreePress.net and OpEdNew.com.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

PS (KA must check out how these Mac symbols read on other PCs: ☮, , and ●. It is still not a very Mac friendly web.)