West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice

WHCPJ Peace Vigil: every Saturday at noon at the Veteran’s Memorial, West Hartford Center

 

 

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Pax Educare website

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Flyers, Petitions, Brochures
Photos
Photos - Cindy Sheehan Vigil August 12th

Write a Letter to Your Legislator

Click this link to VIEW VIDEO FOOTAGE OF RECENT PEACE and JUSTICE events


Connecticut and Massachusetts Town's Cost of Iraq War (See the Flyer showing that West Hartford's cost is currently $108 Million)

 


 

 

 

Television Review | 'Gasland':  The Costs of Natural Gas, Including Flaming Water
By MIKE HALE
A documentary on HBO examines the consequences of extracting energy from shale, including in the Susquehanna Valley ...

Tuesday, May 3rd at 7 pm

St James's Episcopal Church West Hartford 
19 Walden Street
West Hartford, CT 06107-1822

Speaker after film showing with Q&A
Free Showing  Donations accepted, 
Refreshments served

"The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown." GASLAND will be broadcast on HBO through 2012. To host a public screening in your community please click here. The DVD will be on sale in December 2010

For more information about the film, click => here
or call
Janet Conley at (860) 424-7113


movie logo graphic

Movie Night
with moderated post-film discussion

Tuesday, January 11, 2011
7:00 PM
St James Episcopal Church
1019 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Free to the public * Light refreshments available
Donations encouraged

For more information: (860) 216-6882

To Download a flyer, click => here

Synopsis

Waiting for Mercy tells the story of an FBI sting operation that took place in Albany, New York during the winter, spring and summer of 2004. The operation was designed to entrap Yassin Aref, 37 (a refugee from Kurdistan in northern Iraq) and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, 51, a United States citizen and an immigrant from Bangladesh. 

The Albany Counter-Terrorism Task force, the Justice Department, local police, and IRS agents organized the entrapment scheme, which was planned to portray these 2 men as "potential terrorists" who knowingly participated in a (fictitious) plot to send a shoulder fired missile to New York to attack the Pakistani Ambassador. In 2006, the men were sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and recently lost an appeal of the case in Manhattan.

Waiting for Mercy (81 min.; 2009) was recently selected as best documentary at the Ballston Spa Film Festival.

www.waitingformercy.com


WHCPJ Movie Night:
BUDRUS

Join us at the Real Art Ways 
"Opening Night Screening" 
followed by Post-film discussion

Friday, December 17, 2010, 7 PM
Real Art Ways
56 Arbor Street, Hartford

Visit www.realartways.org

 or all 860.232.1006 or Call for Showtimes.

For the Real Art Ways website, click => here

For a flyer, click => here

" Opening Night Screening" & Discussion in Partnership With:
West Hartford Citizens for Peace And Justice,
We Refuse to Be Enemies 
Israel/Palestine Peace, 
Education and Action Group of Northeast Connecticut


AN AFTERNOON OF REFLECTIONS ON ISLAM:
READINGS FROM THE QUR'AN

GUIDED BY MEMBERS OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY

ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ITS RELEVANCE
TO OUR VALUES, MUTUAL SECURITY
& CIVIL LIBERTIES

with
ANDREW SCHNEIDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU CT
& RABIA CHAUDRY ESQ., PRESIDENT-ELECT, MUSLIM COALITION OF CT

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21st, 3 to 6 pm
Doors open at 2:30 pm; Program begins promptly at 3 pm

WEST HARTFORD TOWN HALL
50 MAIN STREET, WEST HARTFORD

For Info: 860.216.6882 or 860-232-0248

For a flyer, click => here


In Memoriam: Flo Woodiel 

Dear Friends,

Flo Woodiel, the President of West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice, has passed away. 

At 11:00 AM, Saturday, October 9, Veterans Memorial Corner Farmington Avenue and Main Street, West Hartford Center friends and acquaintances came to honor her life and work.  

This location was chosen because it was the site of the weekly peace vigil where she was a stalwart presence. 

Donations in memory of Flo can be West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice the organization and isues Flo worked so hard for.  

Checks can be made payable to "WHCPJ" and mailed:

       WHCPJ
       c/o Mike Winterfield
       555 Mountain Road
       West Hartford, CT 06117 

 

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice is a grassroots not-for-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to raising awareness, promoting public dialogue, and working for positive change on peace, justice and democracy issues. For more information, contact us at whcpj@yahoo. com.

The following is from the Courant.

Florence Woodiel, Peace Activist, Dies
By AMANDA FALCONE, afalcone@courant.com 

WEST HARTFORD ­ ­ 
Florence Woodiel, a widely known peace activist and political figure in town, died Wednesday. She was 73.

Born in Shanghai to American parents, Woodiel came to the U.S. in 1941 when she was 4. While growing up in Tennessee, she was active in the civil rights movement. Her first "sit-in" protest was at a Woolworth's lunch counter, where the company refused to serve African Americans.

Woodiel opposed the Vietnam War and more recently helped organize weekly demonstrations in West Hartford Center against the war in Iraq. She was chairwoman of West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice and a past member of the state's Children's Trust Fund.

Woodiel also served on the Democratic town committee. She ran unsuccessfully for the town council in 1997.

Mayor Scott Slifka described Woodiel as dignified, sweet and passionate.

"She lived her beliefs," he said.

"She was an interesting person, with an interesting background who did interesting things," said a friend, Carole Goldberg of West Hartford.

Woodiel was a former research assistant and lab technician at the University of Connecticut Health Center. She leaves two children, Paul Woodiel of New Jersey and Anna Bliss of Georgia; two brothers, Francis Nance of New Jersey and Walter Nance of Virginia; and four grandchildren.

Movie Night: REBUILDING HOPE  

a documentary about South Sudan

When:  Tuesday Sept 7,  2010   7pm, doors open at 6pm

Where:  St James Church 1019 Farmington Av. W. Hartford

Cost:   Free, light refreshments will be available

  

VERY SPECIAL GUEST!

 GABRIEL BOL DENG

  (featured in the film) will join us

and will lead discussion following the film

 

Rebuilding Hope
USA, 2009
78 minutes
Directed by Jen Marlowe

Synopsis:

As small children, Gabriel Bol Deng, Koor Garang and Garang Mayuol fled their villages in South Sudan due to civil war. They became a part of a group of thousands of other boys with a similar story, nicknamed “The Lost Boys” upon resettlement in the USA in 2001.

In May 2007, Gabriel Bol, Koor, and Garang, now in their twenties, embarked on a journey back to Sudan to discover whether their homes and families had survived, what the current situation is in South Sudan, and how they can help their community rebuild after devastating civil war.

Along the way, the young men assessed the hopes, dreams and fears of the Southern Sudanese people nearly three years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. They explored the connections between the conflict in South Sudan to the conflict in Darfur, probing the larger questions of identity and ethnicity in Sudan.

Rebuilding Hope is a powerful record of Gabriel Bol, Koor and Garang’s quest to find surviving family-members and rediscover and contribute to their homeland; it also sheds light on what the future holds for South Sudan in its precarious struggle for peace, development and stability.
 

We hope you can join us

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice        
Increasing Community Awareness
                     

 Donations are accepted and appreciated

WHCPJ meetings

ANNOUNCING......Movie Night coming September 2010 

==> CLICK FOR MOVIE FLYER

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice is a grassroots not-for-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to raising awareness, promoting public dialogue, and working for positive change on peace, justice and democracy issues.  Members live in West Hartford, Newington , Glastonbury , Bloomfield , Southington , Simsbury , and many other towns in the Hartford area.  Anyone interested in helping carry out this mission is invited to contact WHCPJ at whcpj@yahoo. com.

  

Recent peace and justice events:

Event: Celebrate West Hartford returns June 12-13
Date for WHCPJ booth: Saturday, June 12, 2010

The 24th annual Celebrate! West Hartford festival returns to the grounds around Town Hall the weekend of June 12-13. There will be plenty of food, fun, live music, arts and crafts and more for people of all ages. Admission is free. Festival hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 12-6 p.m. Sunday. 

West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice

will have a booth this year on SATURDAY June the 12th.Please look at the Celebrate map and find where we are. We will be talking about “Bringing our War $$$ Home!”  and writing letters to our congress-people to ask them to support Obama’s efforts to reduce Nuclear Weapons.   Join us!


When:      Tuesday, May 4, 2010    7PM, doors open at 6PM

Film: The Shape of Water, an award winning documentary

Narrated by:   Susan Sarandon

Introduction by:   Edwidge Danticat

Directed by:   first time film-maker Kum-Kum Bhavnani

      More details at  http://www.theshapeofwatermovie.com/aboutfilm.html

 Cost:          Free, light refreshments will be available

   Where:  St James Episcopal Church, 1019 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Creating intimate portraits of Khady, Oraiza, Gila and Bilkisan, The Shape of Water drives the dusty roads of Senegalese villages, and the energetic streets of Dakar, walks into Brazil’s Amazonian rainforest, stands on a busy corner in Jerusalem and takes a train ride into the Himalayan foothills.The women are opposing military occupation, tapping for rubber to protect the rain forest, opposing female genital mutilation, protesting dams that threaten to drown their homes and villages and safeguarding the biodiversity of the planet.

These themes of the film – new traditions, peace, the environment, social justice – are revealed through the personal stories of the five women. In so doing The Shape of Water pays tribute to women around the world who are creating social justice, laying bare the tensions and contradictions that ground their commitment.

 Women are making a difference---one person at a time---one group at a time


Peace Rally May 2 NYC. Carpool to New Haven for Bruce Martin Memorial Peace Train 9:00 AM from

Conard HS parking lot.      Contact: www.stepfour.com/peacetrain

 

Waging Peace on the New Haven Green April 25, 1:00-5:00 p.m.


~~~ Forum: Friday April 16, 2010 - 7pm with Bruce Gagnon ~~~

YOU ARE INVITED!
 
WHAT:  WHCPJ TOWN FORUM
 
WHEN:  FRIDAY, APRIL 16
TIME:  7:00 PM
 
GUEST SPEAKER: BRUCE GAGNON
     •  Activist & Peace Advocate
 
     •  Co-Founder & Coordinator of the Global
        Network Against Weapons & Nuclear
         Power in Space
 
PRESENTATION: 
BRING OUR WAR $$$ HOME
 
A discussion will follow.
 
 
WHERE: St. James Episcopal Church   
              1018 Farmington, West Hartford, CT

MOVIE NIGHT: BURNING THE FUTURE

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM

How much is cheap energy costing the people of Appalachia and our environment?

 

  A documentary about Maria Gunnoe, the people of Appalachia, and coal mining

  David Novack, Writer, Producer, Director

  89 minutes, 2008

 

When:  Tuesday, March 2, 2010   7:00pm, doors open at 6:00pm

Where: St. James Episcopal Church

               1018 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford

Cost:      Free.  Light refreshments will be available

Click here for DOWNLOADABLE FLYER

 Please share it with others. Thank you!

  

  “This compelling and timely film burns

   through the ‘clean coal' rhetoric of industry

   front groups, showing the harsh truth of the

   coal story...” - SIERRA CLUB / Bruce Nille

 

•  36% of US global warming emissions comes

    from approximately 501coal-burning power

    plants…more than the emissions from

    377 million cars.


•  Every eleven and one-half days, the explosive  

    equivalent of the Hiroshima atomic bomb is

    unleashed upon the mountains of southern

    West  Virginia and eastern Kentucky - for coal.

Director and Producer:  Sut Jhally

Official Selection: One World Berlin Film Festival 2008

     PSBT Inter’natl Film Festival & Forum 2008.

 On the Anniversary of the Gaza Conflict, WHCP&J is presenting a film we first previewed  in 2004. We are presenting it again because of the timely nature of the subject matter. We are pleased to be joined in  co-sponsorship with

 We Refuse to Be Enemies , a non-partisan group that seeks to promote dialogue and understanding of the serious conflict in the Middle East.

 

"Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land is the best, least biased presentation we have  of all the issues involved. A must-see documentary."
- Chalmers Johnson | Author, Sorrows of Empire

 

When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing... You can't defend yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land. That's not defense. Call it what you like, it's not defense.” - Noam Chomsky


West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice presents December 9, 2009 forum

A Just, Durable and Equitable Peace in Israel /Palestine?

with guest speaker Ambassador Warren Clark

Who: Ambassador Warren Clark
What: Forum, "A Just, Durable and Equitable Peace in Israel/ Palestine?"
When: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 7:00 pm, doors open at 6:00
Where: St James Episcopal Church, 1018 Farmington Avenue, W. Hartford

Moderated discussion to follow the lecture.

Free  to the Public
 



Ambassador Clark is Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a coalition of 23 national churches that advocates in support of a comprehensive peace to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before his retirement he was the Ambassador to Gabon. He was a foreign service officer in the Department of State serving in the Middle East, Europe, Canada, Africa and the United Nations, representing the US on Middle East and African issues in the UN Security Council . Recently, in 2005 Ambassador Clark received a degree in theological studies from Virginia Theological Seminary, having earlier received a B.A. from Williams College and graduate degrees from Harvard, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities. He speaks French and Eastern Arabic.  .  Coffee and hot cider. For more information, contact: 860-232-5529.

NOTE: Ambassador Clark will also be meeting with faculty, students and the
general public at CCSU at 5:00 PM on December 8 and at 1:30 PM on
December 9 at the University of Hartford. Invitations to a reception at
5:00 PM on Dec 9th to meet Ambassador Clark preceding the forum will be
issued on request. $50 suggested donation to CMEP. Call: 232- 8993.
 


WHCPJ Movie Night:   Rethink Afghanistan

When: Tuesday Nov. 3, 2009, 7pm, doors open 6:00pm

Where: ST JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1018 Farmington Avenue West Hartford , CT

Free to the Public

Light refreshments available

Director, Robert Greenwald

Producer, James Miller

Discussion following the film led by Jeff Bartos, activist and veteran,

US Army Medical Corps deployed in Iraq 2005-2006

 

From Brave New Films:

“After eight years of US military engagement in Afghanistan, violence and instability still prevail. The military approach to Afghanistan is not succeeding. Further application of American military force will not bring stability to the country or security to our own.With over 90% of US funding in Afghanistan directed toward military purposes, non-military strategic options are not being pursued.The US can play a more constructive role by engaging civil society than by waging war.

Congress should begin and  debate on alternatives to a failed military-based approach to bringing peace and security to the region, starting with Congressional hearings.”

Further info: Bravenewfilms.org


CEO Grassroots Update

 Citizens for Economic Opportunity (CEO) sponsoring a “Town Hall with Wendell Potter

on Monday, November 2 at the UConn West Hartford Campus

Please join as Potter explains how he went from former spokesperson for one of the largest health insurance companies to a whistleblower who now advocates strongly for health insurance reform

There will be a lot of time for Q & A.

For a printable flyer, click => here

After a 20-year career as a corporate public relations executive, Wendell Potter left his job last year as the head of communications for CIGNA – one of the nation’s largest health insurers – to speak out for the need for a fundamental overhaul of the American health care system.  He now works at the Center for Media and Democracy as a Senior Fellow on Health Care.  Potter has testified before U.S Congressional Committees and appeared on numerous talk shows to tell the public of the tactics insurers use to dump sick policyholders and how the industry funnels millions of dollars into big PR firms that provide talking points to conservative talk show hosts, business groups and politicians.

 

Center for Media and Democracy – Staff Bio: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/bios.php/Wendell_Potter

CNN – Commentary: How insurance firms drive debate: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/potter.health.insurance/

 

Town Hall with Wendell Potter – Event Information

v   Date: Monday, Nov. 2

v   Time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

v   Location: UConn West Hartford Campus, Library Auditorium1798 Asylum Ave, West Hartford, CT

v   Parking: Please park in the Visitors’ parking lot located on Trout Brook Drive – Click here for a map of the campus

 

RSVP to Karen Schuessler at kschuessler@c-e-o.net or 860-674-0143, x144.

 Please pass this along to your own networks!

David C. Dal Zin, MSW

CEO - Citizens for Economic Opportunity

111 South Road

Farmington, CT 06032

 

Office: (860) 674-0143, x110

Cell: (860) 550-3113

Email: ddalzin@c-e-o.net

www.c-e-o.net


The "Why We Refuse" Tour

National tour of two Israeli women will speak about their experiences as conscientious objectors in the Israeli army. 

Maya Wind and Netta Mishly are part of an Israeli group called Shministim,  Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinian Territories.

 

Event #1 Saturday, October 3 at 7:30 (Quaker) Meeting House,    

            57 Hunting Lodge Rd, Storrs

Event #2:   Tuesday, October 6 at 4:30 CCSU, Vance Academic Building, Room #105       Stanley St. New Britain,

Event #3:  Tuesday, October 6 at 7:30

               Wesleyan, Shanklin  Room  #107

               237 Church St. Middletown

www.WhyWeRefuse.org


CCSU peace-activist student detained at G20 protest:

Keep Jeff Bartos Free!    

Defend Free Speech!

Support the IVAW!  (IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR)

Jeff Bartos, a Central Connecticut State University student and former Army medic who co-founded the Connecticut chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, was one of the nearly 200 people arrested or detained during the G20 summit Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh.  

Bartos will also be one of the plaintiffs in the class-action suit the ACLU plans to bring against Pittsburgh and its police department.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/09/28/news/doc4ac16a68df24c953911776.txt

 As many have heard, CT Students Against the War member, CT Iraq Veterans Against the War treasurer and former Army Sgt. Jeff Bartos was arrested last week at G20 protests while attending to the medical needs of a reporter that had been teargassed by police. After hearing of this arrest, the antiwar movement managed to flood the Allegheny County Jail with enough phone calls to engineer his release. Jeff will return to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to plead 'not guilty' to charges of disorderly conduct and failure to disperse.

Several CT-SAW members will be accompanying Jeff back down to Pittsburgh for his court date. Until then, however, we need to make sure we put enough pressure on the Pittsburgh court system that they will have no other choice but to hear our demands. CT-SAW is calling for a 36hr call-in campaign to the city offices below to demand all charges against Jeff and all other G20 protesters be dropped. In addition, we are encouraging all supporters of civil liberties in the Pittsburgh area to rally in front of the court house Wednesday morning before and during Jeff's 8am hearing.  We also encourage all to attend the national united marches on October 17, demanding an end to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations.

The police brutality used last week against protesters, bystanders, students, reporters, medics and veterans is unacceptable. We call for everyone to join in solidarity for those prosecuted for standing against the G20 and its policies.

Connecticut students stand side by side with all the victims of the G20, from those who have been terrorized by their economic policies to those who have been attacked by their police protectors.

  In solidarity,

CT Students Against the War

 

Pittsburgh Municipal Court

Municipal Courts Building, First Floor

660 First Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Open 8:30am-4:30pm

 

GUANTANAMO: EXCESS OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE?

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

WHCPJ FORUM
You are welcome to print our flyer and share it with others and/or distribute it to help
with the publicity.  For a printable flyer, click => here
 
 
TIME:  7:00 PM
 
PLACE:  WEST HARTFORD TOWN HALL
 
OUR GUEST SPEAKER:  J. WELLS DIXON,
        Attorney representing prisoners at Guantanamo.
        Mr. Dixon is originally from West Hartford; attended WH schools!

 

 

Mr. Dixon has been with the Center for Constitutional Rights since 2006.

He works on the Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative representing

prisoners from Algeria , Libya , Saudi Arabia , Somalia & Yemen as well as

the Uighurs.  Wells is part of the legal team currently "challenging

the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 in the

United States Supreme Court."

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice is a grassroots not-for-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to raising awareness, promoting public dialogue, and working for positive change on peace, justice and democracy issues.  Members live in West Hartford, Newington , Glastonbury , Bloomfield , Southington , Simsbury , and many other towns in the Hartford area.  Anyone interested in helping carry out this mission is invited to contact WHCPJ at whcpj@yahoo.com.


Movie night: FLOW: For the Love of Water

Irina Salina’s award winning documentary

Tuesday September 1, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.

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

“CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?”

 

WHERE:  St. James Episcopal Church

1019 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Free Admission, Free Parking in lot behind church or on street

Light refreshments

            
 Doors open at 6:00 p.m.   Meet friends and chat!

Moderated discussion to follow

 

             Film at 7:00 p.m.  
 
COST:  This is a FREE community awareness film.

Shown as part of WHCPJ's community education and awareness program

Contact:  Flo: 232-8993

Further details:  wwwflowthefilm.com 


BRIGHT STAR VISION

WHAT:   Free Beadmaking Class
            beautifully hand-painted Ghanaian glass beads 
            for creating a necklace, bracelet, earrings, or anklet. 
 
WHEN:   Saturday, July 18, any time between 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm. Experts will be available.
 
 
WHERE:  ArtSpace Gallery, 555 Asylum Street, in Hartford
 
 
WHY:  Proceeds from the event will benefit a library and other school projects in Ghana
 

"Come to ArtSpace Gallery, 555 Asylum Street in Hartford, on Saturday, July 18, any time between 2:00 and 8:00 pm and choose from a wide variety of beautifully hand-painted Ghanaian glass beads to make your own necklace, bracelet, earrings, or anklet.  Experts will be available to help if needed. If you like what you make, you can purchase it - if not, you can leave it behind for sale.  We will be displaying everything for purchase at MAC 650 Art Gallery in Middletown, CT from August 7 to 28.  Proceeds from these events go to a library and other school projects in Ghana.

--Marla Ludwig

FOR MORE INFO: www.brightstarvision.org

TUESDAY JULY 7, 2009

7:00 p.m.

WHCPJ sponsors another Movie Night

TRACES OF THE TRADE: STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH

     

 Here's a myth Traces of the Trade exposes:

The South is to blame for slavery."     

       -- Geoff Edgers, Boston Globe

 

Producer/Director Katrina Browne tells the

story of her forefathers, "the largest slave-trading

family in U.S. history"… & they were from the North.

"The family transported more than ten thousand enslaved

Africans to America & amassed a fortune. James DeWolf

became a U.S. Senator & was reportedly the second richest 

man in the U.S. " From banks to insurance to shares in slave

ships, the slave trade was actually a "cornerstone of Northern life."

   

WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US FOR THIS IMPORTANT

FILM ABOUT A LITTLE KNOWN CHAPTER IN AMERICA'S

DARK HISTORY OF SLAVERY THAT MUST BE REVEALED

BEFORE OUR NATION CAN TRULY BE HEALED. 

 

WHERE:  St. James Episcopal Church

1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Free Admission, Free Parking in lot behind church or on street

            
 Doors open at 6:00 p.m.   Meet friends and chat!
             Film at 7:00 p.m.  
 
COST:  This is a FREE community awareness film.

Shown as part of WHCPJ's community education and awareness program

Contact:  Flo: 232-8993

More Details can be found at: http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/constantine_press.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


TUESDAY MAY 5, 2009

7:00 p.m.

WHCPJ sponsors another Movie Night  

Film: Constantine’s Sword<<===Click here for flyer.  Please copy and distribute widely.

Oren Jacoby, director, Oscar-nominated documentarian  

James Carroll, author, National Book Award winner, Boston Globe columnist

Readers of the Boston Globe are familiar with the thoughtful, reflective and often moving essays written by James Carroll.  He has written several books including “Constantine’s Sword” which has been made into an enlightening documentary about how one wing of Christianity came to justify wars by invoking God. At its heart the film is a detective story, as Carroll journeys both into his own past, coming to terms with his father’s role as a 3-star general in the USAF and into the wider world of church-sanctioned violence.

Mr. Carroll says:   “ I entered the seminary in the early 1960’s during the height of nuclear dread. The existential crisis sparked by the dangers of nuclear war was reflected in my case, by the determination  “to give myself to the things that last”. I entered the priesthood. The upheavals of politics and religion of the 1960’s made me who I am. I left the priesthood in 1974 after 5 years as Catholic chaplain at Boston University. I remain a practicing Catholic and a committed anti-war activist. As a writer, religion and war define the center of my work”

WHERE:  St. James Episcopal Church

1019 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Free Admission, Free Parking in lot behind church or on street

            
 Doors open at 6:00 p.m.   Meet friends and chat!
             Film at 7:00 p.m.  
 
COST:  This is a FREE community awareness film.

Light refreshments will be available

Moderated Discussion to follow the film

Contact:  Flo: 232-8993

More Details can be found at: http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/constantine_press.html


DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA GREATER HARTFORD

presents NED LAMONT

OBAMA'S FIRST HUNDRED DAYS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CONNECTICUT

Click for flyer.  Please copy and distribute widely.

Jim Dean,, DFA N National Chair will join Ned and discuss DFA's focus on health care reform 

Thursday May 7, 2009 7 p.m.

United Church of Christ Meeting Room

 140 Flagg Road, West Hartford, CT 06110

directions http://www.flaggroaducc.com/directions.html

Contact Gloria Jasieniecki, Organizer 860-573-9271  Email glorjas@aol.com


We Refuse To Be Enemies

Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Coalition for Peace presents

Sunday April 26, 2009 from 4:00 - 8:00pm

Hartford Seminary

77 Sherman St., Hartford, CT

Click peace dove for flyer.  Please copy and distribute widely.

The Billboard from Bethlehem (the enemy gets a face)

 a film by Bruce Barrett

featuring the Combatants for Peace and children from Israel and Palestine

Film Description: The owner of an American billboard company engages Israeli soldiers and Palestinian resistance fighters (the Combatants for Peace) forming the backbone of interviews, historical footage, and stories of personal transformation. Together, they create a giant peace mural in the West Bank of Palestine. Featuring powerful music, poignant interviews with Israeli and Palestinian fighters, a brief history of the conflict, children having fun, and a vision for peace in the Holy Land, the film climaxes when 100 Israeli and Palestinian children paint a giant billboard that visits a mosque, a synagogue, and a church, before being posted on a busy American highway.

more about the film

Mr. Barrett will facilitate a discussion following the showing

Pot Luck Dinner,  $5 suggested donation

 To RSVP or for information- (860) 229-0705 or 832-2419


TUESDAY MARCH 3, 2009

7:00 p.m.

 WHCPJ sponsors another Movie Night  

          A memoir of a woman's childhood growing up in a repressive Iranian society.
          The film shows how the human spirit carries on "through the laughter and tears in the face of absurdity."
          It was an Oscar Nomination in 2008 for the Best Animated Feature.    PG-13.
 
          Featuring the voices of:  Catherine Deneuve, her daughter Ciara Mastroianni, Sean Penn,
          Gina Rowlands, Iggy Pop.
        "Visually breathtaking. "   Ana Hornady, Washington Post
        "Brilliant, charming, and very funny."   Empire
        "Dark and compelling and beautiful; truly one of a kind."  Movie City News
 
WHERE:  St. James Episcopal Church

1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Free Admission, Free Parking in lot behind church or on street

            
 Doors open at 6:00 p.m.   Meet friends and chat!
             Film at 7:00 p.m.   Reflections & comments after the film
 
COST:  This is a FREE community awareness film.

TUESDAY Jan. 6, 2009

7:00 p.m.

 WHCPJ sponsors another Movie Night  

In Debt We Trust 

at St. James Episcopal Church

1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Doors Open at 6 p.m., film and discussion at 7 p.m.

Free Admission, Free Parking in lot behind church or on street

Director /producer Danny Schechter, our special guest, will lead a discussion following the film and update us on the latest on the financial crisis. 

<<==Click Danny for bio


Video clips of  interview with Danny Schechter  -  Amy Goodman with Democracy Now - The Nation

      
Click on the Crime Scene above for Part 1    (2:16  minutes)

<<===Click on the Foreclosure sign for Part 2   (8 minutes)
 

<<== Click here to read more about Danny Schechter


Sunday, December 7th, 2008
March and Rally
2:00 pm
Hartford, State Capitol Building

 Spread the Word! - Need Money? End the War!

For more information
contact Marissa at 860-218-0566 or e-mail marissablaszko@gmail.com

The Ad Hoc Connecticut December 7th Mobilization Committee

No War on Iran! No War on Pakistan!
End US Support to all Wars and Occupations!
Money for Housing! For Jobs! For Education! For Pensions! Not for War!

After more than five years the war in Iraq roars on with roughly one third of Iraq's 26 million people killed, wounded or displaced; more than 4,000 US soldiers dead, hundreds of thousands suffering severe physical and psychological wounds, and trillions of dollars going up in smoke. Instead of withdrawing forces, US policy makers are expanding combat in Afghanistan and into Pakistan, ordering assaults in Syria and threatening to Invade Iran. They Continue to support Israel's brutal occupation of Palestinians that repeatedly turns into regional war - most recently in the summer of 2006. With a full blown economic crisis bringing skyrocketing home foreclosures, rising unemployment, loan freezes, and collapsing pensions, war funds are needed at home now more than ever!

Join activists from across Connecticut as part of a week of nationally coordinated actions to demand that our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters be brought home now!


Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.

WHCPJ is a proud co-sponsor of a very special evening on Immigration.

Documentary Theatre:
 DE NOVO - Part 1: Lil' Silent


 Charter Oak Cultural Center
 21 Charter Oak Avenue
 Hartford, CT 06106
 860.249.1207
 www.charteroakcenter.org

This new documentary play, crafted entirely from immigration court transcripts, letters and extensive interviews conducted by New York's Houses on the Moon Theater Company, tells the compelling true story of Edgar and other undocumented youth, many thousands of whom make the harrowing journey across the border and through the U.S. system of justice each year. The play is performed by bilingual actors in English and partly in Spanish. Performance to be followed by a discussion with the creative team and immigration experts. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 seniors, Charter Oak & Let*s Go! Members, $5 students. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The Charter Oak Cultural Center is a rare and wonderful place.  Built in 1876, the state's first synagogue has always been a symbol of the sacred struggle for the freedom of religious and cultural expression.  Restored by a group of Hartford-area residents, Charter Oak Cultural Center is now a non-profit arts resource for the exploration of the world's cultures, especially those strongly represented in the Hartford region.


 

Hartford's 2008 
Veterans Day Parade
Veterans For Peace (VFP) Contingent

Sunday, November 2- Hartford, CT

Peace Activists Are Welcome To March With VFP
(as part of the VFP Supportive Auxiliary)


Veterans For Peace Banner leads the contingent followed by the "Bring the Troops Home Now"


Veterans
For
Peace


The VFP contingent nears the Soldiers and Sailors Monument with the "Iraq Memorial Wall" on Wheels

Support the Troops! Bring Them Home Now!   Sunday, November 2th
Arrive 11:30a.m. - Noon
Downtown Hartford (Meet at the intersection of Buckingham St. & Hudson St.)


Background
For the last several years, the Veterans for Peace, their family, and friends were met with clapping and cheers as they participated in the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 parades. Despite official attempts to prevent the anti-war contingent from participating in the parade following the 2003 Iraq Invasion, the contingent has become an integral part of the parade for the last several years.  last marched with a strong showing of comrades each year. Come out this year to march and show your support for the troops! Demand an end to the occupation of Iraq!
Protocol
If you will attend, please understand that we are guests of the Veterans for Peace. Please respect that we are asked not to engage in any confrontation with hecklers, not to perform chants, and to avoid signage that is extreme or disrespectful of any military personnel.
The United States Constitution
However with that said, the Veterans For Peace position is that all veterans that have served in the Armed Forces of the United States have sworn to uphold the United States Constitution.  As such, the Constitutional right of all marchers to speak truthfully and respectfully to the satisfaction of their own conscience will be upheld.  Speak your own message of truth and conviction .... and avoid any shortcuts / shorthand that includes the name of a candidate for elected office ( For example a "Lamont" sign is not as much a message of "truth and conviction" as something like "Support the Troops ... Demand the Truth").
 

However, Important Reminder
Veterans for Peace, Inc. is a 501.3c non-profit, tax-exempt educational organization. As such we cannot endorse any political party or particular candidates. As individuals, we can support any thing we want but can't speak for VFP concerning candidates. We can .... and do ... absolutely take strong stands on political issues. Map and Direction
Map & directions to the location, and expected street closings, are provided here: http://www.ctvetera nsdayparade. org/directions. shtml
Parking
Parking- Veterans for Peace has been provided a pass to the Orange parking area. You can attempt to park there - somewhere near the Bushnell on Capitol Avenue - but they may require some form of ID. I'd suggest coming around 11:30a to find street parking on Church Street or Trumbull Street.
 


NEW ENGLAND'S LARGEST VETERANS DAY PARADE KICKS OFF CALL FOR MARCHERS "With hundreds of Connecticut- based troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan this year, the 2008 parade promises to be more memorable than ever.
The Connecticut Veterans Day Parade is attended by 25,000 to 40,000 spectators, includes 40 Veterans groups, 25 bands, and over 3,500 marchers from 96 units representing 49 towns. It also features inductees from the CT Veterans Hall of Fame (http://www.ct. gov/ctva/ ). This is the largest Veterans Day Parade in New England, and one of the largest in the country.
The parade includes a Moment of Silence, with a tolling of the Center Church bell, a stirring rendition of the national anthem by a Gospel Quartet from Hopewell Baptist Church, and an A-10 flyover. It is a sight to remember!"
 

Official State of Connecticut website for the 2008 Veteran's Day Parade click => here `


PEACE CONTINGENT IN THE West Hartford Park Road Parade

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Assemble by 9:30 AM
West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice parade meeting location:  check link below for updates

DIVISION LINE UP #06-07 AS OF 09/30/08
Please check in with your division Conductor who will be wearing a Park Road Parade T-Shirt,
carrying a clipboard and standing on corner of your division's street.

PLEASE NOTE: Political signs (Electoral), brochures, giveaways of any kind are not allowed. Tasteful presentations are the backbone of our parade.

For more information click => here

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

WHCPJ presents Town Hall Forum

THE BIG LIE:  IS IRAN NEXT?

WEST HARTFORD TOWN HALL 
50 South Main St.
West Hartford, CT
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Doors Open: 6 p.m.

Program: 7 p.m.
Special Guest Speakers:

Janis Karpinski, Former Commander Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq
Scott Ritter, Former Chief UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq (happily returning  for his 3rd appearance in West Hartford!)
- author of multiple publications including

Waging Peace: The Art of War for the Antiwar Movement (2007)

Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change (2006)

Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein (2005);

Frontier Justice: Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Bushwhacking of America (2003)  War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know [with W.R. Pitt] (2002)

 

Scott Ritter speaks out

Various informational tables will be on site.
Their books, bumper stickers & buttons will be available

For a flyer, click => here


HOPE OUT LOUD 7
Be part of the Seventh Annual Hope Out Loud Peace & Music Festival
Sunday, Sept 14th, 2008      1-5 pm - Bushnell Park 
FREE! FREE!
Picnic ... Poetry ... Music ... Speakers ...
Kids activities ... Fun ... and ... More..
Spend the afternoon. Bring a picnic. It’s a concert, rally, playground, remembrance, a day of inspiration for renewal and commitment.
For more information call (860)523-4823 
Hope Out Loud is a sober event.

For a Flyer, click => here

For Sponsorship Information, click => here
For "How to Help" Click =>  here 

Hope Out Loud Rain Information

The rain site for HOL 7 is Union Square Great Hall on Union Place off Asylum Street access from the Southeast corner of Bushnell Park. 

Look for Hot Tomatoes restaurant, an in-kind sponsor of Hope Out Loud, on that corner for a landmark and turn in off Asylum Street onto Union Place which runs one way and Union Place Gallery will be on the left. Interstate 84 has an Asylum Street exit in both directions – turn East on Asylum Street and turn left onto Union Place after the 2nd overpass.

Up to information date regarding the Festival’s location will be available by calling (860) 523-4823.

Hope Out Loud Peace & Music Festival: Sponsored in part by

The Connecticut Coalition for Peace & Justice (CCPJ)
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty
Supported in part by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the City of Hartford

 


 

WHCPJ Movie Night!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Film: IRAN Is Not The Problem

Visit this link to read about this film:

http://www.iranisnottheproblem.org/

Doors Open: 6 p.m.

Film: 7 p.m.

St. James Episcopal Church, 1018 Farmington Ave , WH

Free Admission, Free Parking in lot behind church or on street

Light Refreshments provided

CONTACT: 
Flo -                   or write whcpj@yahoo.com

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice, 
a grassroots, not for profit, 501c3 organization dedicated to raising awareness, promoting public dialogue and working for positive change on peace, justice and democracy issues.  Members live in West Hartford, Newington , Glastonbury , Bloomfield , Southington , Simsbury , and many other towns in the Hartford area. Anyone interested in helping carry out this mission are invited to contact WHCPJ at whcpj@yahoo.com.


WHCPJ MOVIE NIGHT for

the true story of bereaved Palestinian and Israeli world citizens joining together against all odds to promote hope, reconciliation and peace:

ENCOUNTER POINT

on TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2008

Dedicated to our friend Sam Goldberger, whose life was devoted to peace and reaching across religions & cultures

What critics are saying

movie review: New York Times

Rates 100% on RT film evaluation web site

Location: St. James Episcopal Church

1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

Doors Open at 6 p.m.

Greater Hartford Soul Stirring
Community Activist Chorus at 6:30 p.m.
will sing five songs, among them PEACE SALAAM SHALOM - and for
Sam:  May the Work that I've Begun Speak for Me

Film at 7 p.m.

Come early for light refreshments and conversation

Admission is free and open to the public

Parking is free.  Entrance to parish hall and parking lot are behind the church; plenty of on street parking also available. (An alternative entrance to the parking lot is at 19 Walden Street.)

Come early and write a letter to a legislator

Discussion after film

For more information:  www.westhartfordpeace.org or whcpj@yahoo.com  


To date, over 100 prisoners have died under suspicious circumstances while in U.S. custody during the "war on terror."

 

WEST HARTFORD CITIZENS for PEACE & JUSTICE INVITES YOU

 to OPENING NIGHT at REAL ART WAYS

for the HARTFORD PREMIERE of the 2007 ACADEMY AWARD WINNER  for

BEST DOCUMENTARY

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE

on FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2008 at 5:30 & 7:30 p.m.

Opened in NYC and LA on January 18, 2008

 

Click here for preview

What critics are saying at dvdtalk.com

Roger Ebert - Chicago Sun-Times

In the blogosphere - blogcritics.org

JOIN US FOR DISCUSSION and Q&A with one of the film’s producers, DON GLASCOFF who will be in attendance following the 7:30 p.m. screening ONLY ON OPENING NIGHT.

Taxi to the Dark Side is the definitive exploration of the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities, and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process.


WHCPJ Movie Night

Tues. March 4, 2008

NO END IN SIGHT

Click here for preview and reviews

NY times movie review by A. O Scott

location: St. James Episcopal Church

1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

next to The Bridge Family Center; parking on street or in lot behind Church; entrance in rear off parking lot  

Doors Open at 6 p.m.  Film at 7 p.m.

Discussion before and after film

Actions-to-go


Connecticut Opposes the War

invites YOU to a

Statewide Conference

Saturday * April 12 * 2008

Wesleyan University 

to end the

$500,000,000,000+ War in Iraq

Connecticut Taxpayers have paid $11.1 billion

 for the Iraq War through 2007. 

 Students from (list in formation):  Trumbull High School, Glastonbury High School, E.O. Smith High School, Capitol Community College, Manchester Community College, Naugatuck Valley Community College Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University, Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University, Trinity College, University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University

For Information contact Dan:   860-233-2132 or

203-231-4007 or ccag.uconn@yahoo.com


Tues. JANUARY 22, 2008

 Showing:  HOWARD ZINN’S

 You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train

Click here for brief video clip of HOWARD ZINN at Oct. 27, 2007 Boston anti-war mobilization

Click here for an excerpt from the film  &  more

Howard Zinn is a well-known American historian, political scientist, social critic, activist, and author of bestseller A People's History of the United States.  Since the 1960s, he has been active in the Civil Rights and anti-war movements in the United States.

The author of some 20 books, Zinn is currently Professor Emeritus in the Political Science Department at Boston University.


SUNDAY NOV. 4, 2007

VETERANS for PEACE encourage all peace activists to join the VFP Contingent marching for peace in the 2007 VETERAN'S DAY PARADE in Hartford, CT

Arrive 11:30 a.m. - Noon
Downtown Hartford

(Meet at the intersection of Buckingham St. & Hudson St.)

PEACE IS PATRIOTIC


THURSDAY Nov. 15, 2007

7:00 p.m.

Doors Open at 6 p.m., film and discussion at 7 p.m.

 WHCPJ sponsors another Movie Night  

at St. James Episcopal Church

1028 Farmington Ave, West Hartford

next to The Bridge Family Center; parking on street or in lot behind Church; entrance in rear off parking lot  

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice, in conjunction with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee Present -

A Short Film and A Discussion ~  FBI Unbound:  How National Security Letters Violate Our Privacy.

Special guest, Ben Grosscup, an organizer with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee will lead a discussion following the film.

In this newly released 26-minute film, former Department of Justice officials Lisa Graves and Bruce Fein share their views on how the expanded, unchecked power threatens Americans' privacy and diverts resources from genuine threats. George Christian of Library Connection gives his unique perspective as a National Security Letter (NSL) recipient who challenged the letter he received and the accompanying, permanent gag order. Christian and three of his colleagues are the only people, out of thousands of NSL recipients, who can legally talk about that experience.

On Nov. 15th, 2007, come learn the seven things every American should know about the National Security Letters.

For more information about the film, visit   www.fbiunbound. org.

For information about Bill of Rights Defense Committee, visit www.bordc.org

Doors Open at 6 p.m., film and discussion at 7 p.m.

Come early for light refreshments and conversation.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Parking is free; entrance to parish hall and the parking lot are behind the church; plenty of on street parking also available. (An alternative entrance to the parking lot is at 19 Walden Street).

contact: * www.westhartfordpeace.org * whcpj@yahoo.com  for  more information

 

West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice (WHCPJ) is a 501c3, charitable organization headquartered in West Hartford, whose supporters and volunteers live throughout the state of Connecticut .

The mission of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) is to promote, organize, and support a diverse, effective, national grassroots movement to restore and protect civil rights and liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Since 2001, it has helped hundreds of communities across the country participate in an ongoing national debate about civil liberties and anti-terrorism legislation that threaten liberties. Eight state legislatures and more than 400 municipalities have used BORDC's strategies and resources to enact resolutions upholding their residents' constitutional rights.

 

*Please spread the MOVIE NIGHT news far and wide!! Bring friends and family!
Sunday - October 21, 2007

2 – 5 p.m.  - The Case for Impeachment:

“The Grave Implications of Bush's Executive Orders"

 

St. James Church, 1018 Farmington Avenue , West Hartford , CT
 
Special Guest David Lindorf, Author of The Case for Impeachment

and Bill Moyers Journal on Impeachment

Free parking on street and in rear of church; entrance to hall is off the parking lot.
Accessible to people with special mobility needs.

Click here for further information


OCTOBER 6, 2007

PARK ROAD PARADE
Join the CT Peace Marching Contingent at the Park Road Parade in West Hartford on Saturday,
October 6, 2007
EVERYONE INVITED.  Parade starts at 10:30 a.m. rain or shine; begins at South Highland and Park Road; PEACE CONTINGENT to line up on south side of Park Rd. near Ringgold St. close to Dunkin Donuts a block or so west of Prospect Ave.  Our division-position is #2-11 & #2-12 for

WHCPJ (West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice) float and CCPJ (Connecticut Coalition for Peace and Justice) ….

Peace marchers will meet at 9:30 a.m.

 

We will have a “float” --- thanks to John Calendrillo and his royal blue pick up truck; it will be decorated for the event. This parade is a family friendly and a non-political event; only signs about peace, no war, bring troops home, and other signs with positive, non political, and non partisan messages will be welcome.
 

OCT 9TH, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)

TOWN HALL FORUM:

 THE ROLE OF DISSENT

Ann Wright

Retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel, former Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassies for the US Foreign Service

CO-AUTHOR of  Dissent: Voices of Conscience

and

one of three U.S. diplomats who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war

 

Biography for Mary A. (Ann) Wright

Ann Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service on March 19, 2003, while serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Mongolia.  She resigned due to her disagreement with the Bush administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq without the authorization of the UN Security Council, the lack of effort in resolving the Israel-Palestinian situation, the lack of policy on North Korea and unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties in the United States.

            Ms. Wright joined the Foreign Service in 1987 and served as Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia and briefly in Afghanistan.  She received the State Department’s Award for Heroism for her actions during the evacuation of 2500 persons from the civil war in Sierra Leone, the largest evacuation since the evacuation of Saigon in 1974.

Ms. Wright was on the first State Department team to go to Kabul, Afghanistan.  She helped reopen the US Embassy in Kabul in December, 2001 and worked in Afghanistan for five months, serving in the last month as Deputy Chief of Mission (Deputy Ambassador).

Ms. Wright’s other overseas assignments include Somalia with both the US mission and as chief of the Justice Division (reconstituting the Somali police, judicial and prison systems) of the United Nations Mission to Somalia (UNOSOM). She also served in US Embassies in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, Micronesia and Nicaragua.

            Before entering the Foreign Service, she served in the Army and has a combined regular Army/Army Reserve service time of 29 years.  She served primarily in special operations units and attained the rank of colonel.  While on military duty in 1982 and 1983 in Grenada, she was on the US Army’s International Law team and participated in civil reconstruction work following the US “rescue” mission.  Colonel Wright is airborne qualified.

Ms. Wright has Master’s and Law Degrees from the University of Arkansas and a Master’s Degree in National Security Affairs from the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.  Ms. Wright has been featured in articles in the Washington Post magazine, Government Executive magazine, Foreign Service Journal, Ms magazine and has been interviewed by radio and TV networks.  In 2003, she participated in the documentary film             “ Uncovered: The Truth About the Iraq War” and in June, 2005 provided oral and written testimony to the US Congressional hearing on the importance of the Downing Street memos.

In August, 2005 Ms. Wright spent 26 days in the ditches at Camp Casey, Crawford, Texas with Cindy Sheehan putting pressure on President Bush to answer the question of why the war on Iraq is a “noble” cause.  She was a speaker on one of three buses that left Crawford traveling though the eastern United States that met in Washington, DC for the September 24-26 anti-war weekend. Ms. Wright was arrested on September 27, 2005  with 372 others for demonstrating without a permit in a peaceful, non-violent end-the-war protest in front of the White House. She was also arrested on October 26 in front of the White House during the commemoration of the deaths of 2000 US service members and over 100,000 Iraqis.  She was also arrested on November 23, 2005 in Crawford, TX to challenge a restrictive ordinance that prohibited use of the ditches for camping; and July 11, 2006 challenging the nomination of one of the Bush administration’s architects of torture, DOD General Counsel, William Haynes, for a life-long appointment as a judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.  Most recently she was arrested on July 23, 2007 inside the office of US Congressman John Conyers for his refusal to consider hearings for the possible impeachment of President George Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney for the war of aggression on Iraq and other criminal acts.

Ms. Wright traveled to Amman, Jordan in August, 2006 to talk with Iraqi parliamentarians about their peace plan.  She participated in the Close Guantanamo delegation that traveled to Cuba in January 2007 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of prisoners held in Guantanamo.

Ms. Wright lives in Honolulu, Hawaii.  She writes on current US foreign policy and speaks to university classes and civic groups in the United States and internationally.

She is the co-author of  “Dissent: Voices of Conscience,” that will be published by Koa Books in October, 2007.


 

Weekly Vigils
There is a weekly vigil that the West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice actively participates in:

Every Saturday at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm at the corner of Main Street and Farmington Avenue.

Weekly Meeting

The WHCPJ weekly members meeting is held on Tuesday at 7:30 PM at the Friends Meeting House (144 South Quaker Lane [between Farmington Ave and Boulevard, West Hartford, CT 06119)


About WHCPJ

WHCPJ members came together in opposition to the war on Iraq. Quickly organizing many group meetings to raise awareness of the impending invasion of Iraq and the USA PATRIOT ACT, hundreds of citizens from West Hartford and throughout the state wrote letters, made phone calls to legislators, and demonstrated locally and in New York and Washington DC voicing intense opposition to the knee jerk reactions of this administration to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001.

WHCPJ’s members represent a diverse group of parents, teachers, blue collar workers, laborers, professionals, business owners, high-school and college students. Our members DO NOT have to live in West Hartford to attend, contribute time and/or talent to our events. We welcome all who are concerned about current U.S. domestic and foreign policies that contribute to unjust wars and anti-democratic practices here and around the world.

After working hard to organize as many CT residents as possible to become a viable grassroots group, WHCPJ became incorporated on May 5, 2005 with the invaluable help of the Pro-Bono Initiative out of the UCONN Law School. Thanks to that agency helping helping non-profits get started, we are now pursuing 501c 3 status and look forward to being a tax-exempt organization!

WHCPJ sponsors forums on various topics related to issues revolving around peace, justice, and democratic principles. These forums are typically held at the West Hartford Town Hall or Webster Hall in the main branch of WH Public Library, 20 South Main Street. Click on the WHCPJ Forums to see a list of past and upcoming forums.

In June, 2003, WHCPJ sponsored a forum on The USA PATRIOT ACT. Our then Mayor, Jonathan Harris moderated our first and very successful event Town Hall. Our next forum on Media and Democracy was held in October at University of Hartford a panel that included professor at UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN Robert Jensen, local business columnist Dan Haar of the Hartford Courant, and author of Into the Buzzsaw, Kristina Borjesson. A forum on the Current Iraq War and Occupation was held in February and another on the 9/11 and U.S. foreign policy were held at West Hartford Town Hall in June, 2004.

You can e-mail us at whcpj@yahoo.com for more information.

Thanks
WHCPJ Steering Committee