Peace Vigil on April 12, from 10 to 11:30 AM: for Tax Day

Please join us on Saturday, April 12, from 10 to 11:30 AM on the Walpole Common at the corner of Main and West Streets, bringing attention to how our U.S. tax dollars are used. April 15 is right around the corner, the day our Federal tax returns are due. We will be holding a  40 foot “Budget Banner”. The banner is comprised of multiple colored segments, graphically illustrating the federal government’s discretionary budget, including military, education, health and human services, housing, justice, labor, and environment. The length of each segment is proportional to the size of that program’s budget, clearly showing how much is spent for each. Discretionary spending accounts for  $1.15 trillion of the proposed 2014 budget. The banner gives visual significance to the large amount the US spends on Pentagon programs and the military. Our country spends more on the military than the next 13 biggest military spenders in the world, combined. The banner also illustrates how tiny are the portions going to social services, programs that are important to each one of us. The Ryan budget proposal particularly targets these social services for devastating cuts. We need the Budget for All that supports social services and the needs of people.

Talk by Dr. Bacevich on his book 'Breach of Trust' on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library

Dr. Andrew Bacevich will talk about his book ‘Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country’ on  Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library. In his book, Dr. Bacevich makes a  blistering critique of a gulf that exists between America’s soldiers and the society that sends them off to war. He traces the origins of that separation to the Vietnam era and explores its pernicious implications: a nation with an abiding appetite for war waged at enormous expense by a standing army demonstrably unable to achieve victory. Among the collateral casualties is the core democratic principle that responsibility for defending the country should rest with its citizens.  Should Americans refuse to shoulder this responsibility, Bacevich warns, we face the prospect of endless war, waged by a “foreign legion” of professionals and contractor-mercenaries, and societal bankruptcy—moral as well as fiscal.

Andrew J. Bacevich is Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he received his PhD from Princeton University. Dr. Bacevich is the author of several books, including ‘Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War’ and ‘The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.’  His essays, reviews, and op-eds have appeared in publications of The Wilson Quarterly , Foreign Affair, the New York Times and the Boston Globe.

Dr. Bacevich’s talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group. It will be held in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.

Dr. Gareth Porter will talk about his book, 'Manufactured Crisis', on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 7:00 PM at the Walpole Public Library

Please join us for the talk by Dr. Gareth Porter:

Award-winning investigative journalist Dr. Gareth Porter will talk about his book, ‘Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare’, on Wednesday, March 26, 2014  at 7:00 PM at the Walpole Public Library. ‘Manufactured Crisis’ provides unique and timely background to the ongoing diplomacy around Iran's nuclear technology program. In this book, Porter offers a well documented critique of the official 'western' account of what the Iranian government has been doing, and why.  Current negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 over the final status nuclear agreement make the book particularly timely.    

Gareth Porter is an historian, author, investigative journalist, and policy analyst on U.S. foreign and military policy. Porter received his master’s degree in International Politics from the University of Chicago and his PhD in South-East Asian Studies from Cornell University. He has taught international studies at the City College of New York and American University, and he was the first Academic Director for Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Washington Semester program at American University.

Sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group, Porter’s talk will be held in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.

Next talk:

Dr. Andrew Bacevich  will talk on his book ‘Breach of Trust:  How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country’ on April 8, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library.

Peace Group Talks: NSA talk on Wednesday, November 13, Global Warming on Monday, November 18

Climate Reality: Global Warming

The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring a talk by David Flannery on ‘Climate Reality: Global Warming’ on Monday, November 18th at 7:00 PM at the Walpole Public Library. In the last few years, there has been an increase in both the frequency and intensity of extreme weather-related events:  super storms, floods, severe droughts and wildfires.  Connecting the dots between these occurrences around the globe establishes the linkage to climate change.  Science, based on objective facts, sheds light on the impacts of climate change to date and what is expected to occur in the near-term if we stay on our current path.  David will review the drivers of climate change and, most importantly, discuss the solutions at-hand that will put us on a path towards a long-term sustainable climate.  Matters of equity, justice and morality will be addressed as they relate meaningfully to the current climate crisis.

David Flannery  is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps , a group of 3,000 dedicated volunteers around the globe who are personally trained by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore to educate the public about climate change. David graduated from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management (Natural Resource Economics Concentration) and from the Yale School of Management with an MBA (Strategy Concentration). He is currently head of CarbonLeaf Consulting where he develops focused, fact-based business plans for clean technology companies in several markets, including: advanced materials, conservation & efficiency, energy technology, resource recovery, sustainable agriculture, and water purification.

The talk will be in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.

Reminder that the talk by Kade Crockford, on ‘NSA Spying: A Threat to our Democratic Freedoms' is on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 7:30 PM  at the Walpole Library

NSA Spying: Threat to our Democratic Freedoms

The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring a talk on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at 7:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library by Kade Crockford on ‘NSA Spying: A Threat to our Democratic Freedoms.’ The ongoing revelations by whistleblowers show the massive scale of the spying and surveillance activities of the NSA and other government agencies.  Kade will speak about the range of spying and surveillance activities that have been revealed to date and why these are a threat to privacy and democratic freedoms.

Kade Crockford is Principle Investigator and Manager of the Technology for Liberty Project at the ACLU of Massachusetts. Her work at the ACLU includes mobilizing an integrated advocacy team comprised of litigators, lobbyists, educators, and field organizers to develop and implement strategies for fighting the growing surveillance state in Massachusetts and nationwide. Kade developed and maintains the website privacysos.org, and has spoken out on privacy issues on local and national media outlets, including CBS radio, Fox News, and WBUR.

 

The talk will be in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.

Walpole Peace and Justice Group Peace Vigil, Saturday, November 2, 2011, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is holding a vigil on Saturday, November 2, 2013, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the corner of Main St. and West St. in Walpole to speak out for funding our communities and reducing military spending and for ending  NSA spying and surveillance.  Please  join us if you can as we make statements on these important issues. The vigil is across from the Walpole Co-operative and Bank of America offices.

Walpole Nonprofit Networking Fair

Look for the Walpole Peace and Justice Group at the Walpole Nonprofit Networking Fair, September 7, 2013 from 10:00 am —1:00 pm at the Walpole Public Library. The fair is being sponsored by the Junior Woman's Club of Walpole and is an opportunity to find out about the Peace Group and other non-profit groups in Walpole.