Sunday, April 24, 2016

David Swanson - War is a Lie: What Your Tax Dollars Buy


 
David Swanson spoke at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, NY on April 24, 2016 as part of a tour for his book War Is a Lie.

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015 and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Listen to the 58 minute podcast on iTunes.

From the Organizers:

Swanson will speak about and take questions on a variety of approaches to resisting, reducing and eliminating war, from counter-recruitment in schools, ending the draft, and conscientious objection, to lobbying, protesting, and dramatically disrupting the machinery of war. He will focus, however, on the process of educating people to recognize false justifications for war and to reject them.

Swanson argues that, while the prevention of a U.S. bombing campaign in Syria in 2013 and the upholding of a nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015 left much to be desired, they also provide grounds for encouragement, and were built on the public understanding of the lies about Iraq that had been promoted in 2002-2003. Swanson argues for a different understanding of current U.S. wars in Western Asia from that most often promoted on television. Frightening beheading videos, he suggests, were intended to draw the United States into war, and succeeded only because the U.S. public is not yet sufficiently resistant to such manipulation.

Author David Swanson was invited by the UUSO Social Action Committee.

This event was funded by a grant from the New York State Convention of Universalists.

Co-sponsors:

Schoharie County Peacemakers
SUNY Oneonta Social Justice Society
SUNY Oneonta Africana and Latino Studies Club
 

Friday, April 22, 2016

Die-In at the UN: The Climate Mobilization Protests the Paris Agreement Signing


 
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY; April 22, 2016

As 171 nations gathered Friday morning to sign the Paris Agreement, and most environmental organizations hailed this as an “historic” achievement, The Climate Mobilization staged a die-in, collapse scenario outside the United Nations to demonstrate the truth of this agreement: it puts us on a path to a 3.5°C temperature rise and the collapse of global civilization.

Instead of the “carbon gradualism” of the Paris agreement, protesters demanded a WWII-scale climate mobilization to rapidly eliminate emissions and draw excess greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere.

For more information see The Climate Mobilization.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Dr. Jonathan Latham - GMO Hazards to Health and Ecosystems


Central United Methodist Church, Endicott, NY; April 19, 2016

How Dangerous are GMO Crops to Your Health and to the Environment?

British Scientist Dr. Jonathan Latham talks about the new and old research into the hazards of GMOs and the lack of regulatory supervision in the United States.
 
Dr. Latham is with the Bioscience Research Project.

Read the paper to which Dr. Latham referred:
Transformation-induced Mutations in Transgenic Plants

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Multifaith Anti-Drone Conference - Session 5


Regional Grassroots Coordination and Mobilization

Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY; April 8 -9, 2016

Featuring:

Nick Mottern of KnowDrones.com
Joe Lombardo of United National Anti-War Coalition
Brian Trautman of Veterans For Peace
Barbara Kidney & Andrew Dalton of Drone Alert Hudson Valley
Multifaith Prayer by Rasoul Noviri

Multifaith Anti-Drone Conference - Session 4


Multifaith Perspectives on Drones, Islamophobia & Movement Building

Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY; April 8 -9, 2016

Featuring :

Muhammed Malik of Muslims for Ferguson
Rabbi Michael Feinberg of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Imam Hamin Rashadah, of the Masjid Al-Ikhlas Mosque in Newburgh, NY
Aaron Stauffer, of Religions for Peace
Irene Siegel, of Jewish Voice for Peace

Download the audio at the a-Infos Radio Project.

Multifaith Anti-Drone Conference - Session 3

 
Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY; April 8 -9, 2016

Medea Benjamin - Drone Warfare: It's a Matter of Faith

Download the audio at the a-Infos Radio Project.

Multifaith Anti-Drone Conference - Session 2

 
Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY; April 8 -9, 2016

Arun Kundnani - Violence Always Comes Home: Terrorism, Empire and Islamophobia

Arun Kundnani is Adjunct Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University.

Download the audio at the a-Infos Radio Project.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Multifaith Anti-Drone Conference - Session 1

Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY; April 8 -9, 2016

This discussion followed a screening of the 2014 documentary "Drone," and features whistleblower Christopher Aaron, Kambale Musavuli (Friends of the Congo), and ex-CIA officer Ray McGovern.

From the Organizers:

Hosted by the Community of Living Traditions - a multifaith intentional community dedicated to social justice — this working conference will link anti-war organizing with the struggle to decolonize our faith traditions from racism, Islamophobia and empire. It will be an interactive, working conference that will follow up on the work done at the Interfaith Conference on Drone Warfare held at Princeton Seminary in January 2015, including building on the Interfaith Letter on Drone Warfare which was sent to President Barak Obama and the U.S. Congress.

Conference Sponsors:

Peace Action Education Fund
Interfaith Drone Network
KnowDrones
Community of Living Traditions

Endorsed by:

Code Pink, Veterans For Peace, Muslim Peace Fellowship, Westchester Coalition Against Islamophobia, Standing Together Against Racism and Islamophobia, WESPAC, United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC), Muslims for Ferguson, Middle East Crisis Response, Veterans For Peace


Download the audio at the a-Infos Radio Project.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Rally for the Hudson Valley - Stop the AIM Pipeline!


 
Peekskill, NY; April 3, 2016

From the Organizers:

The rally will focus on the AIM pipeline, and other pipelines in our region and beyond.

Speakers will include:

Hudson Riverkeeper - Paul Gallay
Delaware Riverkeeper - Maya van Rossum
Earth Guardians - Rachel Marco-Havens & Aidan Ferris
Nuclear Expert - Paul Blanch
Protect Orange County - Pramilla Malick
Resist AIM - Courtney Williams
New York State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef
Food and Water Watch – Barbara Hough
Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina
Community Climate Initiative – Lisa Moir
SAPE Co-Founders and Affiliates