VETERANS FOR PEACE GOLDEN RULE SAILING INTO PORT JEFFERSON HARBOR, MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND What’s the Golden Rule? The Golden Rule was a small wooden sailboat that became an important symbol of the anti-war resistance movement in the United States during the 1950s and 60s. The ship gained national recognition in 1958 when a group of pacifists, led by the Quaker activist Albert Bigelow, William Huntington and others attempted to sail it into the Pacific Proving Grounds, a nuclear testing site in the Marshall Islands. The group was arrested and the ship was impounded by the U.S. Coast Guard. Despite this setback, the Golden Rule inspired a wave of anti-nuclear protests and helped to galvanize the anti-war movement in the United States. Contact: ncpeaceg@gmail.com or 631.473.0136 or southcountrypeace@outlook.com
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Kings Bay Plowshares Update 1/15
“I’m Going in there with Hope” – Patrick O’Neill
Driving through Ohio, about to begin a 14-month sentence for his part in the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 disarmament action Patrick O’Neill didn’t sound like someone about to enter federal prison within minutes. “I’m going in there with hope. There’s cause for optimism right now.”At 2 pm today, January 14, Patrick O’Neill walked into the Federal Correction Institution (FCI) Elkton, in Lisbon, OH. He has already served 7-1/2 weeks pretrial. He should be released in 11 months with good-time credit. He might also get an early release to a halfway house. This father of eight, grandfather of 2, and devoted spouse of Mary Rider may be there until November.
Patrick called Steve Dear, his good friend of 40 years, to share his thoughts on what’s ahead.“I’m ready to make some new friends, to tell you the truth. I want to start a book club reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I’m going to join or start a prayer group right away.”
“Another hopeful sign is January 22 when the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons goes into full force. We have the rule of law banning nuclear weapons. And Pope Francis has completely and totally established the church’s position that nuclear weapons are sinful. He’s basically saying what (Jesuit Father) Dick McSorley said: ‘It’s a sin to build a nuclear weapon.’ He’s not talking about deterrence and some timeline. He’s saying these things have got to go. I feel empowered by all that. We have some of the most important moral figures in the world speaking our language and now the law is on our side. I’m going to take a copy of the treaty in there with me and share it with the guys and maybe have a study session on it.” (To find out about local US actions to plug into on Jan. 22, visit the NuclearResister.org website)”I run every day. I might be running in place for a few weeks. It might be weeks before I get outside and get some sunshine. I might be in solitary (for COVID quarantine – 2 or 3 weeks). I’m not really fearful. I’m going in there with hope.”
“One of the things that makes going to prison manageable and easier for me is the support of my family and friends. Thank you to everyone who is sharing in this journey with me.”
The Festival of Hope for Patrick which was held last Sunday, January 10, is viewable on the Kings Bay Plowshares Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/Kingsbayplowshares/videos/792138228005966/ It will also be put on the KBP Youtube channel which can be accessed through the website.
Clare Grady is planning a Festival of Hope on Sunday, Feb. 7th, sometime in the afternoon, before she begins her sentence on Feb.10th. Her guests, including possible Irish Parliamentarians and First Nation Women working to stop nuclear weapons and dumping, are to be announced soon. Watch for the next update.She’s been assigned FCI Alderson, West Virginia, to begin a 12 month and 1-day sentence. She’s already served 3-1/2 months pretrial and with good-time, she may be released after 6 or 7 months. She’ll be traveling from Ithaca, NY with her family to report. Clare served 1 1/2 years at Alderson in 1984-85 for her part in the Griffiss Plowshares Action in Rome, NY with co-defendant Liz McAlister.
Carmen Trotta and Martha Hennessy began their sentences on Dec. 14. They were quarantined for first three weeks but are now settling into the prison routine. You can send our friends letters on white paper with blue or black ink but no drawings or colors. Use your full name in the return address. We are checking what else they may receive. Please check our website for any updates. You can read their prison reports at: https://kingsbayplowshares7.org/category/jail-reflections/
Carmen Trotta #22561-021
FCI Otisville
Federal Correctional Institution
Satellite Camp
PO Box 1000
Otisville, NY 10963
Martha Hennessy #22560-021
FCI Danbury
Route 37
Danbury, CT 06811
Patrick O’Neill #14924-018
FCI Elkton
Federal Correction Institution
PO Box 10
Lisbon, OH 44432
Fr. Steve Kelly is still in the process of being transported in federal custody from Georgia to Tacoma, WA to appear in court for a probation violation. He completed his 33-month sentence for the Kings Bay Plowshares action in county jails prior to sentencing. We do not have any current address for him at this time. He sent this message from jail on Dec. 9, “Let’s go back to the bedrock basics. We have the Isaiah 2:4 imperative of conversion. Let’s continue to be open for inspiration and help each other to be God’s instruments, in going from war to peace.” He also said that he feels things are moving along slowly but satisfactorily.Mark Colville is the only defendant not sentenced yet. He has already served 15 months pretrial in Camden and Glynn county jails. Mark received word from Judge Lisa Godbey Wood on Dec. 8th that she has granted him another stay of sentencing until Friday, Feb. 19 at 10 am. Mark will not waive his right to be sentenced in person before Judge Wood. Due to the pandemic, if Mark leaves Connecticut he must quarantine for 14 days upon return. Mark can’t afford that time now as he’s been the medically designated driver for his nephew Alexander, taking him 3 times a week for dialysis from New Haven to Hartford.
Liz McAlister was sentenced in June to the 17 months she had served pretrial with Mark and Fr. Steve in the two Georgia county jails. She just celebrated her 81st birthday in November. She participated in the Griffiss Plowshares action at the AFB in Rome N.Y. on Thanksgiving Day, 1983 and was sentenced to 3 years in FCI Alderson, W. Virginia. Liz is doing well despite living under 3 years of supervised probation restrictions in New London, Connecticut with her family.
To access the defendants’ powerful sentencing statements go to https://kingsbayplowshares7.org/sentencing-statements/ which is under the “Legal” tab in the menu. Biographical information can be found under the “About” tab.
Anti Nuclear Actions To Take On January 22 – The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons officially becomes international law, in force.
According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the doomsday clock is set at 100 seconds to midnight due to President Trump’s withdrawal from critical nuclear treaties leaving the world closer to the brink of nuclear destruction. President-elect Biden’s win does not provide a substantial change in this trajectory unless a massive people’s movement emerges as happened in 1982. This resulted in the reduction of the world’s nuclear stockpiles from approximately 90,000 down to 15,000. As Fr. Steve Kelly says, “Nuclear weapons will not go away by themselves!”The witness of 100 plowshares actions culminating in the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 coincides with the work to abolish nuclear weapons with people around the world. ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), Back from the Brink and Don’t Bank on the Bomb are only three of a multitude of important local, national, and global organizations working towards nuclear disarmament. On January 22nd the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will enter into force making nuclear weapons illegal, 75 years after their first use. To find out about actions happening at local military bases or Pentagon contractors in your area and to call for the US to join this treaty and become one of the nations to disarm, see the NuclearResister.org website. And check out 25 Things You Can Do:
EMAIL: kingsbayplowshares@gmail.comWEBSITE: www.kingsbayplowshares7.orgFACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/KingsbayplowsharesTWITTER:https://www.twitter.com/kingsbayplow7
PEACE ACTION NYS Rev. William Sloane Coffin Virtual Program
| William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Peacemaker Award will go to Desmond Meade,
There is only one more week to get your ticket to our annual (and now virtual) William Sloane Coffin Jr Peacemaker Awards event on Monday, October 5 at 6pm. Many thanks to all of you who have purchased your ticket. You will be receiving instructions on how to join the event! In this unprecedented election year, our 2020 Awards ceremony will be held virtually via Zoom and will focus on voter participation and voting rights. We honor and celebrate those who have fought and continue to fight tirelessly against voter suppression. Most importantly, we urge you to VOTE! — and get a PEACE of the ACTION! (Get it?) It is our great pleasure to announce that this year’s William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Peacemaker Award will go to Desmond Meade, President and Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Desmond and his team wore out several sets of tires to gather 799,000 signatures to restore voting rights to 1.4 million formerly incarcerated Americans in Florida. They succeeded and are overcoming every single obstacle that is being put in their way all the way up to Election Day and beyond. He will be introduced by professor and author Vincent Intondi. We will also be honoring the students from Manhattan College’s Peace Action chapter with the Don Shaffer Student Peacemaker Award. The entire program is being dedicated to the memory of former Rep. John R. Lewis, with a special tribute from actress and longtime activist Vinie Burrows. The event will also include a keynote speech from Sochie Nnaemeka, Director of the NY Working Families Party, as well as a performance by Bill Hartung, a presentation by Greg Palast, and artist performance by the Election Peace Collective. Peace Action New York State President Jim Anderson is the evening’s emcee.
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WE ARE ON BRINK OF WAR
WE ARE ON BRINK OF WAR WITH IRAN
IT IS TIME FOR US TO STOP THIS WAR
1. TAKE 2 MINUTES TO MAKE A CALL TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
Tell your LI rep to do all they can to prevent a U.S. war with Iran. Tell them to press for negotiations for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. CALL AGAIN&AGAIN!
LI REPRESENTATIVES:
CD1 LEE ZELDIN: 631-289-1097
CD2 PETER KING: 516-541-4225
CD3 THOMAS SUOZZI: 631-923-4100
CD4 KATHLEEN RICE: 516-739-3008
CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD: 202-224-3121
- CALL YOUR Phone List/Friends and Family.
Send them an email or text. Ask them to call their representative because we are on the brink of war and we need to tell our rep to prevent a war with Iran. It is up to us. Give them the phone number!
Let us know how it goes and the responses you get. Thank you for taking action for peace. Send us your suggestions. Join our STOPWAR GROUP. The LI Alliance has reconvened this group with other LI groups to do all we can to prevent a war with Iran.
Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives www.longislandpeace.org –
http://www.facebook.com/LIAllianceforPeacefulAlternatives
EMAIL: longislandpeace@gmail.com – (516) 741-4360
Welcome Deseri Tsepetis to the PANYS and LI Alliance TEAM
Please welcome Deseri Tsepetis to the peace community on Long Island. Deseri is a PANYS Program and LI Organizer. She will strengthen the LI Alliance’s collaboration with Peace Action New York State through action alerts and facebook posts. Please contact her if you would like her to attend any of your upcoming meetings or have her come to speak about her work with the PANYS student chapters across NYS. There are currently 27 chapters, including one at Hofstra University and one at SUNY Stonybrook.
Email: deseri.tsepetis@panys.org or 646-723-1749
Deseri Tsepetis is a recent graduate from Loyola University Maryland with a degree in Global Studies and a minor in Spanish. While at Loyola, she was heavily involved with Soccer Without Borders, a program that assists immigrants and refugees in the Baltimore area. She previously was the Peace Voter Fellow at Peace Action New York State in the summer of 2018. She looks forward to continuing her voter and community engagement work on Long Island with the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives. She is also excited to start working with student organizers across the state with PANYS. She believes the power and passion of students working for peace cannot be underestimated.
Margaret Melkonian, Executive Director
Andrea Libresco, Board President
Deseri Tsepeti, PANYS Program Associate and LI Organizer
L.I. Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
P.O. Box 301, Garden City NY 11530516-741-4360
longislandpeace@gmail.comwww.longislandpeace.orghttp://www.facebook.com/LIAllianceforPeacefulAlternatives
Peacemaking on Long Island since 1985
October 2, Gandhi Commemoration on nonviolence at Hofstra
The Institute for Peace Studies at Hofstra University invites you to join us at our Annual Gandhi Commemoration of the the International Day of Non-Violence
PATHS TO PEACE with PEOPLE and the PLANET:
Facing the Challenges of War and Global Climate Change
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 4:30-6:30 PM
Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Axinn Library
Speakers will address making peace with people and the planet:
Sister Jeanne Clark, OP, Homecoming Farm
Michael D’Innocenzo, Professor Emeritus of History
Musical Performance: Anna and Dimitryus, Hofstra Students
The International Day of Non-Violence is celebrated globally every year on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday in honor of his pioneering commitment to change through nonviolent means. This year’s event is co-sponsored by the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives. www.longislandpeace.org – www.facebook.com/LIAllianceforPeacefulAlternatives
For more information: Center for Civic Engagement, www.Hofstra.edu/cce
Prof. Linda Longmire, 516-463-5828 – Prof. Martin Melkonian, 516-463-5595
DANNY SJURSEN AT UUCSR on Wed. September 18
UUCSR Shelter Rock Forum and LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives Present
Prospects for Peace: Ending Forever Wars
with Speaker, DANIEL A. SJURSEN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock
48 Shelter Rock Rd, Manhasset, NY 11030
All Are Welcome
$5 Suggested Donation | Worship Room
Lecture, Q&A and Refreshments
RSVP: uucsr.org/sjursen
Questions? Please contact Sharyn Esposito
516.472.2960 or sesposito@uucsr.org
MAJOR DANNY SJURSEN will talk about his experiences serving in Afghanistan and
Iraq. He will discuss US wars in the 21st century and pose the question: Are veterans
finally through with US forever wars? He will share his thoughts on the prospects for
peace and how citizen mobilization will bring forever wars to an end.
MAJOR SJURSEN is a US Army strategist and former history instructor at West Point.
He served tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has written
a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers,
Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.
uucsr.org | 516.627.6560 |
74th Anniversary of HIROSHIMA, August 6 at 6:30 PEACE VIGIL in BELLPORT, South Country Peace Group
Stop the Arms Trade Cut the Arms Budget
Join South Country Peace Group’s
World Peace Vigil
A Community Dedication to Peace
on the 74th anniversary of the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 – 6:30 pm
Featuring Paul Ames: Nuclear Weapons Actions and Budget Update
Participants Share ~ Vision for Peace
Meet on the sidewalk adjacent to Woodland Cemetery, Station Road and Head of Neck Road, Bellport to join Silent Procession to Bellport Bay for program.
You may wish to wear white, the traditional Japanese color of mourning.
PROSPECTS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, Phyllis Bennis at Hofstra on February 14, 12:50-2:20
International Scene Fall Lecture Series Spring 2019
Thursday February 14, 2019 – 12:50pm-2:10pm
Prospects for Ending Conflicts in the Middle East
Speaker: Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalist Project, The Institute for Policy Studies
at Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theatre, Axinn Library
Sponsored by:Hofstra’s Departments of Economics, History and Sociology
in cooperation with The Center for Civic Engagement, Institute for Peace Studies,
Long Island Teachers for Human Rights, Honors College, The Cultural Center and the
The Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives Present:
Co-Sponsors: Peace Action Matters at Hofstra & Honors College
Series Co-Directors: Dr. Carolyn Eisenberg, Dr. Linda Longmire and Prof. Martin Melkonian
For further information:(516) 463-5595 – Free – All are Welcome
October 18th Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Hofstra University
Please join us at the October 18th Symposium on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The session begins at 12:45 p.m. at the Cultural Center Auditorium, Axinn Library. Blanche Wiesen Cook is an amazing woman and historian who will speak at 4:30 and the panel at 2:20 with Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos, Program Coordinator and Policy Specialist Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) will report on women and peace processes in Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.
HOFSTRA CULTURAL CENTER
THE INSTITUTE FOR PEACE STUDIES
and the CENTER FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
present a symposium
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Thursday, October 18, 2018
12:45-7:30 p.m.
Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater
Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. Join us as we commemorate the power of the Universal Declaration and its power of ideas to change the world as it inspires us to continue working to ensure that all people can gain freedom, equality, and dignity.
12:45-1 p.m. INTRODUCTION and WELCOME
Linda A. Longmire
Professor of Global Studies and Symposium Director, Hofstra University
1-2:10 p.m. THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING TODAY
Crystal DeBoise, Co-Executive Director, SOAR Institute
Kari Jensen, Associate Professor of Global Studies, Hofstra University
Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD, MPH, Co-Founder, HEAL Trafficking
2:30-4 p.m. PEACE IS A HUMAN RIGHT: WOMEN’S GLOBAL ACTIVISM
Blanche Wiesen Cook, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Women’s Studies
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos, Program Coordinator and Policy Specialist
Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
4:30-6 p.m. KEYNOTE BY BLANCHE WIESEN COOK*
Author and Biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt, Vols. I, II, III, who is considered the
Chief architect in the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
6:30-7:30 p.m. STUDENT PANEL/PERFORMANCE
THE IDEALS AND REALITIES OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
*Awarded the Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Symposium Scholar, Hofstra University. The award was established in 1985 in recognition
of the outstanding role of the late founder of the Hofstra Cultural Center. Dr. Astman was a humanist, a cultural comparatist, and and international scholar.
The event is FREE and open to the public. For more information, call the Hofstra Cultural Center at 516-463-5669 or visit hofstra.edu/culture; the Center for Civic Engagement and the Institute of Peace at hofstra.edu/cce. Join the #HofstraVotes
and #HofNoHate conversations on social media