Sunday, December 06, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Iraq and Afghanistan: An Accounting
Dr. Andrew J. Bacevich will give a talk on “Iraq and Afghanistan: An Accounting” on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 7:30 PM. The talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group and is open to the public.
Andrew J. Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston University. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy, he received his Ph. D. in American diplomatic history from Princeton. Before joining the faculty of Boston University in 1998, he taught at West Point and at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Bacevich is the author of several books, including The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008), The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2005) and American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U. S. Diplomacy (2002). He is the editor of The Long War: A New History of U. S. National Security Policy since World War II (2007) and Imperial Tense: Problems and Prospects of American Empire (2003). His essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of scholarly and general interest publications to include The Atlantic Monthly, The Wilson Quarterly, The London Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Nation, and The New Republic. His op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times among other newspapers. Dr. Bacevich is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
The talk is being held at the United Church in Walpole in the Bradford Lewis Hall. People should park in the parking lot to the right of the church, using the driveway after the Center for Community Counseling and Education, and enter the church using the right side door.
Andrew J. Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston University. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy, he received his Ph. D. in American diplomatic history from Princeton. Before joining the faculty of Boston University in 1998, he taught at West Point and at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Bacevich is the author of several books, including The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008), The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2005) and American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U. S. Diplomacy (2002). He is the editor of The Long War: A New History of U. S. National Security Policy since World War II (2007) and Imperial Tense: Problems and Prospects of American Empire (2003). His essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of scholarly and general interest publications to include The Atlantic Monthly, The Wilson Quarterly, The London Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Nation, and The New Republic. His op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times among other newspapers. Dr. Bacevich is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
The talk is being held at the United Church in Walpole in the Bradford Lewis Hall. People should park in the parking lot to the right of the church, using the driveway after the Center for Community Counseling and Education, and enter the church using the right side door.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Violence in a Peacemaking World
Claude AnShin Thomas, the author of the best selling book “AT HELL'S GATE: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace” will speak on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 7:30 PM at the United Church in Walpole. The talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group. In this talk Claude AnShin recounts his dramatic coming-of-age story and spiritual odyssey from combat soldier to Zen Buddhist Monk, International Advocate of Nonviolence, and Author. He offers profound insight into ways we can transform suffering and violence in our own lives and therefore in our world. His struggle to deal with the trauma of his childhood and the war in 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 AnShin 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.
The public talk is being held at the United Church in Walpole in the Bradford Lewis Hall. People should park in the parking lot to the right of the church, using the driveway after the Center for Community Counseling and Education, and enter the church using the right side door.
“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 AnShin 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.
The public talk is being held at the United Church in Walpole in the Bradford Lewis Hall. People should park in the parking lot to the right of the church, using the driveway after the Center for Community Counseling and Education, and enter the church using the right side door.
Monday, August 31, 2009
A Critique of Congressional Health Reform Plans
Dr. Patricia Downs Berger, Co-Chair of Mass-Care, will speak on “A Critique of Congressional Health Reform Plans” on Tuesday, September 8th at 7:30 PM. The talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group and is open to the public. As Congress is deliberating on health care reform, the public is being bombarded with misinformation and outright lies. In this talk, Dr. Berger will explain and compare the various health reform bills being proposed and the health coverage they will provide. She will describe the current state of health coverage in the United States and the impact of the Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Law. She will also describe how a single payer plan would work, which is not being considered even though it would offer the most comprehensive coverage.
Dr. Berger is the Co-Chair of Mass-Care, an umbrella organization with more than 100 member organizations. Their mission is to “establish a single payer health care system in Massachusetts so that all residents of the Commonwealth will have access to comprehensive, quality, affordable and equitable health care.” Dr. Berger has practiced medicine in a variety of settings in Massachusetts. Having seen the inequities in the health care system first hand, she is passionate in her belief “that access to comprehensive, equitable, high quality health care is a human right and is the foundation for a healthy and compassionate society.”
The talk is being held at the United Church in Walpole in the Bradford Lewis Hall. People should park in the parking lot to the right of the church, using the driveway after the Center for Community Counseling and Education house, and enter the church using the right side door.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Metrowest Joint Peace Vigil
Please join us for a peace vigil sponsored by Metrowest Peace Action and the Walpole Peace and Justice Group on the Walpole Common, at the corner of Main Street and Common Street on Saturday, August 22, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. We are calling for more domestic spending, more diplomacy, more for human needs and not more war, not more weapons.
You are also invited to join in a lunch and Metrowest Peace Action meeting following the vigil at the United Church, from 11:00 to 1:00 PM. You should bring your own lunch but drinks and dessert will be provided. The church is at 30 Common Street, across from the Walpole Common.
The Metrowest Peace Action is a coalition of members from various peace groups from towns in the metro-west area including Maynard, Westborough, Framingham, Natick, Holliston, Sherborn, Millis, Walpole, and Norfolk.
Please join us for this important vigil; having members from the area Peace Groups join together in one place gives our statement more impact.
Speaker series:
* Dr. Berger is confirmed to speak on Tuesday, September 8 on the topic "A Critique of Congressional Health Reform Plans."
You are also invited to join in a lunch and Metrowest Peace Action meeting following the vigil at the United Church, from 11:00 to 1:00 PM. You should bring your own lunch but drinks and dessert will be provided. The church is at 30 Common Street, across from the Walpole Common.
The Metrowest Peace Action is a coalition of members from various peace groups from towns in the metro-west area including Maynard, Westborough, Framingham, Natick, Holliston, Sherborn, Millis, Walpole, and Norfolk.
Please join us for this important vigil; having members from the area Peace Groups join together in one place gives our statement more impact.
Speaker series:
* Dr. Berger is confirmed to speak on Tuesday, September 8 on the topic "A Critique of Congressional Health Reform Plans."
Friday, May 01, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
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.
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.
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