Virginia and DC events

Register Today for our 2008 Annual Activist Conference

Heating Up the Fight for Equality in VA

Five Tracks

Anti-Violence, People of Faith, Organizing & Strategy, Family & Legal Issues, Lobbying and VA Politics

Three Caucuses

People of Color, Transgender, Youth

Featuring Keynote Speaker Suzanne Pharr

Self described organizer, strategist, educator, author, and political handywoman, Suzanne Pharr has been a leader in our movement for decades. In addition to being one of the founding members of Southerners on New Ground (SONG), Pharr is the author of two books including the seminal text Homo-phobia, a Weapon of Sexism.

Click here to see our postcard advertising the conference: Front Back

When: Saturday July 12th, 10 a.m.--6 p.m. Registration opens at 9:30 a.m.

Where: VCU Student Commons. 907 Floyd Ave, Richmond, VA 23284

Registration: Sliding Scale $5-$70. Suggested registration is $35 (includes lunch). Those who cannot afford $35 may pay less. We ask that those who can afford to donate more do so in order to offset the cost of participation and ensure that financial cost will not be a barrier to anyone who would like to attend.

Childcare: Will be provided for free. Please let us know how many children you will be bringing and their ages.

Join us on August 2 in more than 50 local actions all across the country.

Get in touch with friends, co workers, community and religious groups and students.

Together we can say -

Not ANOTHER war!
Troops Out of Iraq
No War on Iran
We need health care and education NOT Endless war!

MASS MARCH IN NYC
...and 50+ Other Cities

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2

Assemble 12 p.m.
at Times Square

43rd St. & Broadway

On June 26, the Stop War on Iran Campaign issued a call for emergency actions on August 2 to stop the Bush Administration’s drive towards an attack against Iran.

In the few days since we’ve issued the call, responses have been pouring in. Already, we have heard back from activists and organizers who are planning protests, rallies, and pickets in more than 50 cities, including a major demonstration in New York City in Times Square and a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington. Actions will also be held in Los Angeles, several cities in Texas, locations throughout New England, small towns in Utah, and more. We are working on compiling a list of the growing number of local actions now, which we will have online soon.

It is urgent that we act now, and that we make every possible effort to stop a war against Iran. We know that once Wall Street and the Pentagon, initiate a war and occupation, they are determined to continue, even in the face of determined resistance and opposition. Iraq and Afghanistan have been ripped to shreds by the invasion and occupation. Millions are without potable water, electricity, functioning schools, basic health care or security. Millions more have become refugees.

The cost of endless war means growing hunger and poverty here in the U.S. It also means deteriorating schools and infrastructure and millions of people without health care.

The U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is hated by the people there. These wars have no support at home and are ruining the domestic economy. Instead of pulling out, the Bush administration is preparing for still another war—this time against Iran. This must be stopped!

We must take action now. Please consider how you can help - what you do in the next few weeks can make a difference:

Endorse the Emergency Call to Action for August 2
List your local action
Sign the Petition
Make an Emergency Donation
Tell a Friend
Sign up for updates

New York City - Los Angeles - Washington DC - Boston - Raleigh NC - Salt Lake City - and more than 50 cities

Endorse the Emergency Call to Action for August 2 at
http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008endorse.shtml

List your local action at
http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008volorgcent.shtml

Sign the Petition at http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml

Make an Emergency Donation at http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml

Tell a Friend
http://stopwaroniran.org/friend.shtml

Sign up for updates
http://stopwaroniran.org/updates.shtml

DONATE

Please help build a grassroots campaign to Stop War on Iran
http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml

Endorsers include (partial list):

Add your name to the growing list of endorsers at http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008endorse.shtml
American Iranian Friendship Committee,
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in
Iran - CASMII,
Don't Attack Iran Campaign,

Action Center for Justice, Charlotte, NC
After Downing Street,
Al-Awda NY - the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
All Peoples Congress,
Alameda Peace Network, CA
Asia Pacific Action,
Birmingham Peace Project, AL
Calcare, Oakland, CA
Coalition Against War, Racism & Poverty, Springfield MA
Cures-not-wars, NY, NY
Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, Richmond, VA
Eyes Wide Open International, Nampa, Idaho
FIST-Fight Imperialism, Stand Together,
Forever Green Fields Farm Union, Shortsville, NY
Ft Wayne Peace Action Coalition, Ft Wayne, IN
Green Party, Winston Salem, NC
Green Party of Utah - Desert Greens,
Green Party Peace Network, Maine
Harlem Tenants Council
Healthcare Not Warfare, NY
Hicksville Students Against War (hsaw), Hicksville, NY
International Action Center
Iraq Veterans Against the War, Olympia, WA
La Jews For Peace, La Habra Heights, CA
Mana Muslim Alliance In North America, Lexington, KY
Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice,
Millions for Mumia,
Neturei Karto, Spring Valley - NY,
NY Committee for Human Rights in Philippines,
People For Peace And Justice Of Utah,
People Of Faith, West Hartford, CT
People To People Tv, Santa Barbara, CA
Peoples Video Network
Pray For Peace Foundation, Mesa, AZ
Queers for Peace & Justice
Radio Free Maine, Augusta, ME
Rapja, Riverside, CA
Sound Of California, Santa Ana, CA
The New Vanguard, NY, NY
The Peoples Coup, Missoula, MT
Troops Out Now Coalition,
Vote No War Funding,
Women's Fight Back Network

We will conduct a prayer vigil event at the execution site, the Greensville Correctional Center, Jarratt, VA. Candles will be provided. Bring bug spray if desired.
DIRECTIONS: The Greensville Correctional Center is located in Greensville County, not far from the town of Jarratt in Sussex County. Jarratt is at exit 20 of Interstate 95, 55 miles south of Richmond, and 20 miles north of the North Carolina border. After taking exit 20 turn right at the end of the exit ramp, if coming from Richmond (turn left if coming from Emporia). The first stop sign is at the intersection with US 301. There are convenience stores at the intersection, which have rest facilities (there are no rest facilities for us at the prison). Turn left (south) onto 301 and go eight-tenths of a mile. Turn right on the state road 397, Ridge Road (there is a marker for Greensville Correctional Center). Cross the railroad tracks and continue into Greensville County. You’ll soon see the prison and a sign on the right for parking in the field. Park there. Check before you leave to see if sentence has been commuted. (434) 825-1860

Percy Levar Walton
At 9 p.m. on Tuesday evening, the Commonwealth of Virginia will inject a lethal substance into Percy Walton with the intention of ending his life. Percy Walton was 18 years and one month old at the time of his crime. He was sentenced to death in 1997 for the murders of an elderly white couple, Elizabeth Hendrick, aged 81, and Jesse Hendrick, aged 80, and a 33-year-old black man, Archie Moore, in Danville in November 1996.
Walton suffers from schizophrenia and his illness has gone untreated for over a decade. Over the past several years, prison personnel, including a psychiatrist, have described him as being floridly psychotic and appearing severely mentally retarded. Two independent psychiatrists state that Walton has chronic schizophrenia and does not understand that he has a death sentence. However, a June 16, 2003 hearing ruled that Walton had a reported IQ as high as 90 on previous tests, and his retardation had not been apparent before the age of 18, missing another gauge for mental retardation. Prison guards refer to Walton as “Horse”, short for “Crazy Horse,” and stay at arms length to avoid his stench (a classic symptom of schizophrenia).

Since Mr. Walton was first sentenced to death the US Supreme Court has ruled in Atkins v Virginia the execution of the mentally retarded to be prohibited as “cruel and unusual punishment.” Since that 2002 ruling approximately 50 death row inmates who suffer from mental retardation have been removed from death rows across the United States and had their sentences remanded to life in prison without parole. Five of the most recent grants of clemency to death row inmates nationally have been based on the inmate’s extreme mental illness. These commutations reflect a greater understanding of the ravages of severe schizophrenia, its biological cause, and the need for compassion and treatment rather than condemnation for sufferers.
Signs will be provided

EYEWITNESS IRAN (rescheduled)

A slide show presentation by Phil Wilayto, editor of the Richmond Defender and organizer of the 2007 People's Peace Delegation to Iran.

From July 20-30, 2007, five anti-war activists journeyed 1,750 miles through Iran, bringing a message of peace and friendship to students, workers, goat herders, teachers, soldiers, clerics and government officials.

Participate in an Alternatives to Violence Project Basic Workshop June 13 through 15. Learn new and creative ways to respond to conflict. To register, or more information, contact the Richmond Peace Education Center at 804-232-1002 or rpec@rpec.org. Prepayment of a $10 fee is required.

In 2003 a young woman was killed while attempting to block an Israeli bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian's home. The actor Alan Rickman, moved by her sacrifice, has put together a powerful play based on her writings -- a young woman activist who believed she was not doing enough. This is a rare opportunity to get inside the head of someone who was literally trying to change the world, who believed there is hope, who celebrated life and had love for a world that could be. Advance tickets $7 (Students & seniors, $5) at the Bookstack and Kronos Art Gallery, Staunton. Seating is limited.

A stunning evening of complementary journeys into Iraqi culture and American grassroots advocacy. Discover how you can act now to help Iraqis affected by violence.

WHEN: Monday, April 14th, 8:30-10:30pm
WHERE: Busboys & Poets, 14th and V Streets NW (2 blocks from the Green Line U St/Cardozo Metro Station)

IRAQ is the Cradle of Civilization. It was the birthplace of Abraham, the patriarch of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It was in Iraq that humanity first created written language, mathematics, and a code of law.

TODAY, Iraqi refugees fresh from the trauma of war are arriving in the U.S., arriving here in towns and neighborhoods across our nation. Some have had family members targeted and killed. Many face psychological and medical problems. All of them desperately need our support.

JOIN us at Busboys & Poets on Monday, April 14th, from 8:30-10:30pm, for a stunning evening of complementary journeys into Iraqi culture and American grassroots advocacy. Discover how you can act now to help Iraqis affected by violence.

Featuring
LIVE MUSIC – from the Grammy-nominated Oud Master, Rahim AlHaj
POETRY READINGS - from the works of Nazik Al-Mala'ika and Salah Niazi
PRESENTATIONS – from, among others, Sister Rihab Mousa of St. Catherine of Siena in Mosul, Iraq; Marwa Alkhairo, Iraqi-American graduate student and activist at Georgetown University; and Vu Dang, Director of the International Rescue Committee's Washington, D.C. Regional Resettlement Office.

Uganda Child Soldier Awareness Week will have a special focus on female
child soldiers and child mothers. The events are being held at JMU please
see details below.

These events will feed into the Lobby Days put on by Resolve Uganda in
Washington, DC from Feb 24th-26th. If your would like to attend visit:
http://ugandalobbyday.com/

Monday 18: Uganda Rising Film Screening (Harrison 2105, 7pm)

Tuesday 19: Commons/speaker day (Wilson Auditorium, 7 pm)
Grace Akallo - author of Girl Soldier
Betty Bigombe - peace negotiator and specialist for USIP
Michael Poffenberger - Resolve Uganda
Faith McDonnell - American activist and writer
Sarita Hartz - Founder and Director of the Zion Project

Wednesday 20: Book signing/Q&A with Girl Soldier Authors Grace Akallo and
Faith McDonnell (Taylor Hall (Taylor Down Under) , 5:30)

Friday 22: The Electric Pool Party, Benefit concert (Taylor Hall (Taylor
Down Under), 7:30)

In 2008 many of us understand that our nation - and even the entire planet - are in a state of crisis. The deep longing for positive, lasting change is the bedrock upon which this conference is based. How do we fix our country and our world? And how can we form one mass movement to address the crisis?

In Radford, Virginia on May 22-25, thousands of activists, academics, journalists, poets, musicians and policymakers will converge at the 2008 "Building a New World" Conference. If you want to participate in building a new world, sign up now. Hotel and dorm rooms are limited.

Learn more about First WPA Summit 2008.

Register now.

Cindy Sheehan, William Blum, Kathy Kelly, Mike Whitney, Alice Lovelace, David Swanson, Gareth Porter, Medea Benjamin, Farid Bitar, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Robert Jensen, Kevin Zeese, Antonia Juhasz, Father Roy Bourgeois and many more leaders and luminaries will join thousands of people from across the country and from other lands as well, for a conference to lay the foundations for building a new world now.

Major Session topics include End of Empire, The Right to Health Care, Fundamentalism, Immigrant Rights, Alternative Models to Capitalism, Economic Exploitation and The Fight for Economic Freedom, Indigenous People Speak Out, Cooperatives and Localization, Venezuela: Bolivarian Revolution, Civil Liberties / Constitutional Rights, Secession, Parallel Government, Animal Rights, Global Warming and Water Crisis, Sustainability, Academic Freedom, Control of the Media, Iraq Vets Against War, Homelessness and Survival during Economic Depression, Genocide, Politics and the Arts, Civilian Democratic Earth Federation.

Let's brainstorm together in Radford to create concrete solutions.

Sign up now for WPA Summit 2008.

Submit a Proposal TODAY!

Learn more about the Conference sponsor.

For any questions or comments, please contact Garda Ghista at:

wpaeditor@gmail.com or 859 781-4979. skype – garda.ghista

Virginia is a battleground state in the struggle for immigrant justice.
Over 100 immigration-related bills are being proposed at the Virginia
General Assembly, the vast majority of them harmful to the immigrant
community. From empowering local police to enforce federal immigration law
to denying unemployment benefits to immigrant workers these hurtful bills
must be stopped. There is even a bill pending that would prevent
immigrants from getting married.

The Virginia Immigrant Peoples Coalition invites people of all walks of
life to join us in defense of human dignity as we converge on the General
Assembly. Come to Richmond and let the legislators hear our message loud
and clear!
We have a proud history of immigration in this country.
Immigrant families make vital contributions to our life, culture and
economy.
The people of Virginia oppose this assault on the immigrant
community.

Saturday, February 9th 1:00 Festive Rally at Monroe Park followed by March
(permit pending) corner of Belvidere and Franklin Sts.

Monday, February 11th Day of Action at the Virginia General Assembly 8 am
– 12 pm, 9th and Broad Sts. (Please arrive by 8 if at all possible)
8:00 – 10:30 Issue briefing, lobby training and legislative visits
(conference room tba)
10:30 – 11:00 Press Conference
11:00 – 12:00 Pray-out at the Bell tower on the Capitol Grounds

Please let us know if you are coming and where you live so that we can
organize the legislative visits more effectively.

LIGHT IN THE DARK: FESTIVAL FOR PEACE
Dec 4 through Dec 23 Norfolk, Virginia

Join us during the darkest part of the year
to help
usher in the new light. We'll present the
regional premiere of 12 new movies that tell
stories of both hope and terror from around
the
world. Cautionary tales that show how peace
is
destroyed by fear, poverty, and ideology.
And
heroic tales of peace achieved through
conflict
resolution, cross-cultural studies, respect
for
civil and human rights, and the nurturing of
a just
and tolerant society.

Presented by Tidewater Peace Alliance,
a coalition of peace and social justice
organizations.

Films and events l held at either Naro
Cinema or Studio for the Healing Arts,
Norfolk, Virginia..
For more information, see
http://www.narocinema.com or call 625-6275.

People from all walks of life will gather in
11 sites around the country for massive
regional
demonstrations. This nationally coordinated
day of outcry against the war in Iraq was
initiated
by United for Peace and Justice, the
nation's largest grassroots antiwar
coalition. And now many
groups and organizations across the country
are working on the October 27th
mobilization. There
will be a caravan traveling from Arlington,
VA led by the Iraq Veterans Against the War
tour
bus. They will be stopping at several sites
along the way, incuding Walter Reed,
Baltimore City,
and Wilmington. They will then land in
their final destination: The Liberty Bell in
Philadelphia. Baltimore United for Peace and
Justice will be taking busses up to Philly
after
the caravan arrives;
Assemble: 10:30, Depart:11:00
Suggested Round Trip Donation: $25.00
Max Obuszewski 410-366-1637
Holly Leon 856-287-2175
holly.leon@gmail.com

http://narocinema.com

NO END IN SIGHT The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq's descent into guerilla warfare, warlord rule, criminality, and anarchy, writer/director Charles Ferguson's jaw-dropping documentary is an insider's tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness, and venality. Ferguson examines how the principal errors of U.S. policy largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today. And it asks the question: How did a group of men with little or no military experience, knowledge of the Arab world, or personal experience in Iraq come to make such flagrantly debilitating decisions? (102 mins)

Guest speaker David Swanson is the Washington Director of Democrats.com and of ImpeachPAC.org. He is co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and past Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 Presidential campaign. His website is www.davidswanson.org.

Pre-film reception at Azar's (at 20th & Colley Ave) at 5:30pm.

People will begin assembling at the White House in the late morning. There will not be an opening rally. A march will form with the front contingent of Iraq war veterans, family members of soldiers and marines and other veterans. When the march arrives at Congress, the Iraq War Veterans and family members will be the leadership of a mass die-in symbolizing the deaths of an estimated 4,000 U.S. servicemembers. There will be a permitted rally taking place simultaneously with the Die-In. All those who cannot afford to risk arrest will be able to participate in the permitted rally that will take place on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building.
---------------------------------------
Blacksburg / Roanoke / New River Valley, VA---------------
CONTACT: Rose Marie Sawdon at blacksburgbus@answercoalition.org or 540-953-0379, or Herb Beskar at 540-989-6875---------------
TRANSPORTATION DETAILS: Bus will depart Blacksburg, VA. (Oasis/Eats) parking lot, South Main St. at 6:00 am. Stops will be made at the Christiansburg Park & Ride at about 6:20 am and in Roanoke, Comfort Inn at Hollins Exit at 7:15 am. Cost is $50 per person.
--------------------------------
Richmond, VA---------------
CONTACT: Rain Burroughs - Virginians for Peace at richmondbus@answercoalition.org or 804-380-3564---------------
TRANSPORTATION DETAILS: Contact for more information.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/va

Join us for a Honk to Impeach action in front of Congressman Bobby Scott's office in Richmond, Va., this and every Friday at noon until he signs onto H Res 333: http://www.honktoimpeach.org

Friday, August 10, 2007 at noon in front of Rep. Bobby Scott's office building at the corner of E. Clay Street and N. 2nd Street.
The Jackson Center
501 N. 2nd Street Suite 401
Richmond, VA 23219-1321

If you can't make it please call or fax the Congressman's office and thank him for considering H.Res. 333 to impeach Vice President Cheney.
Phone: (804)644-4845; Fax:(804)648-6026

http://www.myspace.com/rva4peace