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WNY Peace Center’s
Weekly News
February 1, 2011
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Monday, February 21st , 7 P.M. Bolivia: Hope at a Crossroads. Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo NY. Vickey Kaiser will speak on the hopes and experiences of the Bolivian people in the first years of their new political empowerment. Vickey is the US Coordinator of the Bolivian Quaker Education Fund.
Sponsored by the Latin American Solidarity Committee, a taskforce of the WNY Peace Center.
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Saturday, February 26th , Annual Meeting, Western New York Peace Center. Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Ave. Buffalo NY. Time: TBA (sometime in the afternoon). Elections to the Coordinating Board of Directors will be held. All members of the Peace Center are encouraged to attend.
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Tuesday, April 12th , The 30th Annual Father Joseph A. Bissonette Latin America Event, with Cecilia Zarate. Wickes Center, Daemen college, 4380 Main Street, Williamsville, NY. Social and refreshments (wine & cheese) at 6:30 PM. Speaker at 7:45 PM. Fare trade and NGO information tables.
Cecilia co-founded the Colombia Support Network in 1988 when she became aware of a list circulating in Colombia that targeted some of her dear friends for the Death Squads. Since then she has been working to change U.S. policy towards Colombia towards fostering respect for human rights, a shift from militarization to nurturing civil society, and a just end to the conflict. She will share with us her experiences working to divert aid from Colombia’s military to more productive uses, helping to link communities in the U.S. with Peace Communities in Colombia and guiding delegations to Colombia to meet with those searching for peace with justice/
Tickets: $15/person; $30+/person (includes LASC membership). Please make checks payable to Riverside Salem UCC & DC/PEF. On the memo line, put: LASC Humanitarian. LA event, Riverside Salem UCC, Box. Grand Island, NY 14072
Reservations: Call the Western NY Peace Center: 716-332-3904, and leave a message.
More info: lascwny.org
Sponsored by: The Father A. Joseph Bissonette Memorial Foundation , The Latin American Solidarity Committee of the WNY Peace Center & The Riverside Salem Peace Education Fund
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Allies in Peace and Social Justice Announce…
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Thursday, February 3rd ,Georgia Prison Strike: Call to Action! 4:30 P.M., Meet at Erie County Holding Center, Church St & Delaware Ave., Buffalo NY. for a short discussion of the Georgia strike and its relevance to Erie County prison issues.
Then march to Channel 7 News and Channel 2 News in a demand for more adequate coverage on one of the country’s largest prison strikes.
This event is to raise awareness, make a statement of awareness and to keep up the energy of the movement because it is far from over even though the strike has since ceased.
The prisoners in Georgia are striking for the following reasons: better access to adequate health care, nutritional meals, legal materials and self-development programs, the end to cruel and unusual punishments, access to families, just parole decisions, and adequate wages for work.
More info: Contact with any questions about the rally and how you can support!
Sponsored by Buffalo IAC and Prisoners are People Two
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January 13th – February 5th , Subversive Theater presents: I Am A Man, by Oyamo. Opening on the weekend of Martin Luther King Day, this play takes us back to Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 for the Sanitation Workers Strike that transformed the Civil Rights Movement and the assassination that shook the world. Directed by Annette Daniels-Taylor. Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 P.M. The Manny Fried Playhouse, 225 Great Arrow Dr. Buffalo NY. Tickets $10. On Thursdays “pay what you can”. Group rates available.
More info: www.subversivetheater.org, or call 716.408.0499
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Wednesday February 9, 2011 An Evening with Death Row Exoneree Juan Melendez of Witness to Innocence at 7:00 P.M. in Grupp Fireside Lounge. Juan Melendez will share his story of serving nearly 18 years on death row in Florida for a crime he did not commit, then host a question and answer session.
Witness to Innocence is the nation's only organization composed of, by and for exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones: http://witnesstoinnocence.org/
Sponsored by JUSTICE, Justice in Action, Criminal Justice Department, Sociology Department and Amnesty International.
For more information, contact TJ Rogers at .
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Monday, February 7th , Let Them Stay! Meet a U.S. War Resistor Family Living in Niagara. 5 P.M., David S. Howes Theatre, Brock University, St. Catherine’s, Ontario Canada. There will be a short film followed by speakers: Ashlea Brockway, whose husband refused to return to fight in Iraq; Michelle Robidoux, War Resistors Support Campaign; and Bruce Beyer, Buffalo’s famous Vietnam War resistor.
Sponsored by the Department of Geography, Women’s Studies, Centre for Labor Studies, MA in Social Justice and Equity Studies.
More info:
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Saturday, February 12th . Jean Dickson and Friends. 8 – 11 P.M., Café Allegro, 1394 Hertel Ave. Buffalo NY. Jean and Friends sing sans electronic devices, so there’s nothing but air between their beautiful vocal cords and your waxy ear drums. They usually play the second Saturday of the month at Café Allegro. Enjoy great music and food.
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Saturday, February 26th . Peace Action New York State Annual Meeting, Memorial United Methodist Church in White Plains, NY (250 Bryant Avenue). The day-long event will begin with a business meeting and breakfast at 9:00 am, followed by a welcome from the Westchester MLK Institute for Nonviolence - the Institute has worked with No War Westchester and PANYS to secure the great venue where we will be meeting! Then workshops, followed by lunch and speaker Judith LeBlanc, and an afternoon session of workshops and speaker Professor Marty Melkonian, Professor of Economics at Hofstra University. This year’s theme is: “Follow the Money”
This important meeting conflicts with another important meeting on the same day: the Annual Meeting of the WNY Peace Center. Nevertheless, if you are interested in attending PANYS’ Annual Meeting, WNY Peace Center board member Wayne Alt can help with travel money. It would be good to have someone from the WNY Peace Center community to attend this event. Email Wayne at: for more info.
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Monday, February 28th . Islam: Religion of Peace, 7 P.M. – 8:30 P.M., at First Presbyterian Church, 100 Church Street, Youngstown, NY. Hassan Shibly give a presentation. All are welcome.
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Saturday, March 19 – Tuesday, March 22nd , Spring Lobby Weekend. Join Peace Action for a weekend of actions, training, and lobbying in Washington, DC to mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. We'll be lobbying around the war in Afghanistan from a variety of strategic angles. Join us! More info soon.
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Saturday, March 26. Stop Violence, Inc. 3rd the Banquet Annual Awards. 6 P.M. -10 P.M. at The New Golden Nugget, located at 2046 Fillmore Avenue, Buffalo, New York.
Our theme “From the Home to the Village” speaks to those who embody the African Proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” We want to honor those who see the difficulties that our children face and as a solution, take on the additional responsibility of being role models, mentors and life-changers.
In addition to a keynote address by Pastor Darius G. Pridgen of True Bethel Church, the event will also include dinner, a silent auction, raffles and door prizes. Donations for this celebration is $45 per person and $450 per table. Sponsorship packages are available for those who are interested in addition to advertisements for the souvenir journal.
For ticket and event information, please contact Stephanie Peete, Banquet Chairwoman at (716) 861-8006 or .
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Fracking the World
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Saturday & Sunday, February 5th & 6th . Natural Gas Event Flyering Help Request. Help with flyering in rural areas neighboring East Aurora, NY. Folks will meet at the home of Sarah Buckley in East Aurora at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. both days. Car-pools are available for transportation challenged folks. We will meet at: 12680 Route 78, East Aurora, NY 14052. Call 716-713-7780 if interested in helping out. Thanks.
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End Endless War
D’Youville College LGBT Students Need Your Support
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Tuesday, February 8th , Buffalo and WNY Organizers Meeting. 7 P.M., Buffalo IAC Office, 367 Delaware Ave, Buffalo NY.
The United National Antiwar Committee is calling for bi-coastal Bring the Troops Home rallies and marches on April 9th. This will be a meeting to share ideas, discuss and PLAN WHAT WE IN WNY WANT TO DO for April 9th . Please come and take part in the meeting.
Sponsored by Buffalo IAC.
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Saturday, April 9th . Bring the Troops Home Now! March and rally in New York City and San Francisco. Save this date. Time and exact place TBA.
Bring US troops home now; end U.S. military aid to Israel; end U.S. support of Israel’s occupation and siege of Palestine; end FBI raids on antiwar, social justice, and solidarity activists; end prosecutions that ravage Muslim communities; end police terror in Black and Latino communities, end all efforts to punish Wikileakers, end all torture, rendition, secret trials, drone bombings and death squads; end all housing foreclosures.
Spend trillions for jobs, education, social services, quality single-payer healthcare for all, for conversion to sustainable and planet-saving energy systems, public transportation and reparations to the victims of U.S. terror at home and abroad.
Sponsored by United National Antiwar Committee and an infinite number of peace and social justice organizations… More info: www.UNACpeace.org
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April 8th – April 10th , Education and Strategy Conference on US Militarism, Washington D.C. Pre-Register at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/727/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=5704
Sponsored by the Latin America Solidarity Coalition, and the School of the America’s Watch Days of Action.
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Support D’Youville College LGBT Students
I am writing to ask for support for a fundraising event for the D' Youville College Alliance Club. They would like to send some student club members to the Northeastern LGBT Conference at SUNY Binghamton, which will be held between April 8th-10th.Not only will this allow these students to more fully realize that they are not alone, it will also give them a chance to participate directly in the debates and discussions that pertain to the challenges faced by the LGBT community. Given the critical need to discuss LGBT issues in our current cultural climate and the paucity of funding available to students at institutions like D'Youville. I urge you to consider the following fundraising event to be held in Buffalo, NY.
A fundraising event will be at Voelker's Bowling Center (complete with full bar) on 686 Amherst (Northwest corner of Elmwood and Amherst) on Sunday, March 13, from 1-4pm. Sponsorship can be done two ways. You can either pledge a flat amount such as $20 or $30 or you can pledge a cent amount per pin such as 3 cents per pin. Any form of support, including just coming out to have fun while we bowl is greatly appreciated. All funds raised will be applied to conference fees, travel expenses, and accommodations for the D'Youville College students. All are welcome.
----Mike Hurst
More info: Mike Hurst 716-884-3840; email:
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RECURRING EVENTS
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Stories from the Niagara Frontier, Thursdays, Noon – 1 P.M., February 3rd – March 24th . A series of lunchtime screenings and conversations about local social change initiatives at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo NY. Lectures are free, and all are welcome.
Sponsored by Squeeky Wheel and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
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Visit EL BUEN AMIGO, 114 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo NY 14201. Fair trade products from Central and South America. Learn Spanish, too. Space available for events. Tel: 716-885-6343; http://elbuenamigo.org
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VIGIL AT THE ERIE COUNTY HOLDING CENTER, each Wednesday at 5 P.M. – 6 P.M. Corner of Church St and Delaware Ave. Erie County Prisoner Rights Coalition continues its weekly protests against prisoner abuse at the Holding Center. Signs are available at the vigil. If the vigil ends early due to inclement weather, you will find the coalition at 14 Allen St. (near Main St.) until 7:00pm.
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WOMEN IN BLACK SILENT VIGIL AGAINSTWAR
Every Saturday Afternoon, 12-1 P.M. regardless of weather.
Corner of Elmwood & Bidwell Parkway, Buffalo NY.
Witnessing weekly since October 2001….
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INDIGENOUS WOMEN’S INITIATIVES (IWI) TALKING CIRCLE
2nd Thursday of each month, 12-3 P.M. IWI Office @ Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo. More Information Contact Agnes Williams, Seneca 716-332-6988. Please bring Organic Snacks to share
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FRACK ACTION BUFFALO, 12 P.M. meeting at Lafayette Presbyterian, 875 Elmwood Ave Buffalo. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. Meetings open to all. Use door off of parking lot on Lafayette Ave.
More info: http://groups.google.com/group/frackactionbuffalo/web/events.
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Anti-Wars/Stop the Drones Outreach. Tuesday, March 1st , 4:45-5:30 P.M. at Hancock Air National Guard Base, Mattydale NY (Syracuse).
During winter, this demonstration will be held on the first Tuesday of each month. So put on your heavy coat and join us to make public our beliefs! Contact Ed or Ann for details, (315) 478-4571
Sponsored by the Syracuse Peace Council. More info: http://www.peacecouncil.net/
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Sunday, Vigil for Peace. 12 Noon – 1 P.M. Corner of East Avenue and Goodman St. Rochester NY. Sponsor: Peace Action and Education, Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace (www.gvcp.org). Every Sunday.