Peace Vigil and Talk on Israel/Palestine

Vigil on Saturday

We will hold the vigil tomorrow, May 2, 2009 from 10:00 to 11:00 AM on the Walpole Commons to protest the Afghanistan war. We will stand across from the Walpole Cooperative Bank unless there are political supporters, in which case we will move up to Common-West Streets.

Talk on the Israeli and Palestinian Conflict: The Root Causes on Sunday

On Sunday, May 3, from 11:30 to 1:00 there will be a talk on the Israeli and Palestinian Conflict: The Root Causes, to be held at the United Church in Walpole. You are welcome to attend. A light lunch will be served.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians appears to be intractable. Violence continues; both civilian populations are suffering; a political solution seems impossible. The major powers have been ineffective in their efforts to follow through with the so-called “peace process.”

Come and join the Outreach Committee of United Church for a presentation and discussion on Israel and Palestine on Sunday, May 3, 11:30 in the library/ parlor. We will start with a 40 minute presentation by Philip Czachorowski giving a brief history of Israel and Palestine, focusing on the root causes of the conflict and dispelling the many myths that have grown up over the years. While the media covers the current issues and fighting, it tends to ignore the root causes. A solution to the conflict requires a resolution of the underlying issues, like land ownership. Although the issues appear complex they are really fairly simple. The talk will be followed by an open discussion.

Award Winning Documentary, FLOW, at Walpole Library on Tuesday, May 5, at 7:00 PM

Please join us on Tuesday, May 5, at the Walpole Public Library at 7:00 PM for a screening of FLOW, “For the Love of Water”, the award winning documentary about the world water crisis and the impact of water privatization on developing countries. It will be presented by the Rev. Bob McKetchnie and will be followed by a short talk.

FLOW is Irena Salina's documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. Of the 6 billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question "can anyone really own water?"

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.

On December 10th, 2008 FLOW was invited to screen at the United Nations as part of the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights

Rev. Bob McKetchnie is the minister at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Medfield. He became interested in the topic of water privatization as a result of visiting Mexico last year while on sabbatical. He went to visit Mexico with a Natick non-profit known as "Project Stretch: Dentistry Reaching Out To Children", for the purpose of helping facilitate dentistry services to the poor. Clean water was a major concern and it opened his eyes to similar problems around the world.

Save Our Library - Thurs Mar 19 09 at 7:30 at the Walpole Library

Please join us at a meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 7:30 at the Walpole Library to plan how we can save our library. The town is proposing a 36% budget cut that will cripple library services. Jerry Romelczyk, Library Director, and Paul Cesary, Chairman of the Library Trustees, will be present to answer questions regarding the impact of the proposed cuts.

The town is facing a financial crisis and all town departments are having their budgets cut. However, the proposed cut in the library budget is far beyond its fair share and would devastate our library services. A cut of this magnitude would result in a drastic reduction of hours and programs. The budget for purchasing new books and materials would be slashed. The library would lose state certification and annual state aid and would almost certainly have interlibrary loan privileges suspended.

With the financial crisis our library is seeing increased demand for borrowing materials and services. Please join us as we seek ways to keep this essential town service funded at a reasonable level.

Please invite anyone who may be interested.

Multitown Peace Vigil Sat Mar 14 09

Please join us for a peace vigil sponsored by the Metrowest Peace Action on the Natick Common at the intersection of Routes 27 and 135 on Saturday, March 14, at 12:00 noon. The vigil is calling for a speedy withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, remembrance of the 6 year anniversary of the Iraq war, a cut in the military budget, and respect for Palestinian/Israeli human rights.

The Metrowest Peace Action is a newly formed group consisting of members from various peace groups from towns in the metrowest area including Maynard, Westborough, Framingham, Natick, Holliston, Sherborn, Millis, Walpole, and Norfolk. Having members from the area Peace Groups join together for a vigil will give our statement more impact.

National Priorities: What Does Real Homeland Security Look Like?

Please join us for a talk by Dr. Barb Chalfonte on “National Priorities: What Does Real Homeland Security Look Like?” at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, November 18, at 7:00 PM. Dr. Chalfonte, a Senior Research Associate at the National Priorities Project, will consider what it really means to be secure at home as a nation. From the perspective of our current federal budget, homeland security primarily means military defense, but what about food, energy, jobs, health care, and housing security? Dr. Chalfonte will look at the role of the federal government in meeting those security needs. She will also talk about tradeoffs between excessive military spending on war and fossil fuel access versus social needs spending. You may be surprised to hear how much the U.S. spends on defense compared to all other developed countries of the world. Dr. Chalfonte will also examine the impact of federal budget priorities on towns like Walpole and discuss how individuals can advocate to make those budget priorities reflect their own.

The National Priorities Project, NPP, is a research organization that analyzes and clarifies federal data so that people can understand and influence how their tax dollars are spent. Located in Northampton, MA, since 1983, NPP focuses on the impact of federal spending and other policies at the national, state, congressional district and local levels.

Dr. Chalfonte has a background in science and technology research as well as in organizing for social and economic justice. Prior to joining the NPP, she worked at Bell Communications Research and was on the faculty of Mt. Holyoke College. Dr. Chalfonte has written and lectured on how people understand and remember information and how to design technology to support that understanding. She has also worked on several political campaigns and served on the boards of political action committees. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and a B.A. from Williams College.

People should note that the talk starts at 7:00 PM, which is earlier than the usual time for talks sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group.

Bacevich Dedication Sat Nov 8 10AM

The Dedication of the Bacevich Memorial on the Walpole Common will take place tomorrow, Saturday, November 8th at 10 AM. The public is invited. Dr. Bacevich will speak. Come if you can.

Updates:

Soldier honored at Walpole fountain rededication
Evangelical foreign policy is over

The Costs of War, Violence, and Denial

Claude Anshin Thomas, the author of the best selling book “At Hell's Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace,” will speak at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 7:30 PM. In this talk Claude recounts his dramatic coming-of-age story and spiritual odyssey from combat soldier to Zen Buddhist monk and advocate of nonviolence. He offers profound insight into ways we can end suffering and violence in our own lives and in our world. His struggle to deal with the trauma of Vietnam and to find personal peace and spiritual insight is a prism through which to view America over the last thirty years – our difficulty in coming to terms with the legacy of Vietnam, our spiritual hunger, and our need to come to terms with our massive power and our use of violence.

“Everyone has their Vietnam,” Claude writes, “everyone has experienced trauma and everyone, if they want, can find healing and peace through looking deeply at the nature of their suffering. War is a collective expression of individual suffering.” The seeds of war and violence are planted early and often, and it is only through our actions and insights personally that we can hope to end war globally. What is startling in these days of the “war on terrorism” is that we rarely hear from the soldiers themselves. As a highly decorated helicopter crew chief who was wounded in battle and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart, Claude speaks with an authenticity and an honesty that is extremely compelling to a wide audience. He can speak with direct experience about the realities of war, about what we are sending young men and women to do, and about the effect that making war has on all of us.

Claude Anshin Thomas went to Vietnam at the age of eighteen, where he received numerous medals, including twenty-seven Air Medals, a Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. Today he is a monk in the Soto Zen tradition and an active speaker and Zen teacher, traveling the world speaking about war and teaching meditation. He also leads peace pilgrimages through war-torn and war-scarred places around the world. Claude is the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes peace and non-violence. The talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group and is open to the public.