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View Article  Hiroshima, the pictures they didn't want us to see :
Hiroshima, the pictures they didn't want us to see


By Frank Cordaro

The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed about 250.000 people and became the most dreadful slaughter of civilians in modern history. However, for many years there was a curious gap in the photographic records.

Folks;

Below is a reminder and invite to join us at Offutt AFB for out annual Aug 6-9 vigil. Avove is a link and attached are some readings that can help you start thinking about why we vigil every Aug 6-9.

peace
frank cordaro


--------------------------------

Invite to Annual Aug 6 to 9 Vigil at the gates of Offutt AFB

The DM and Omaha CW Communities invite you to join us for our annual 3 1/2 day "shake and bake" vigil at the gates of Offutt Air Force Base, in Bellevue, NE. home of the Strategic Nuclear (StratCom) and the US Military Space Commands.

Come stand, pray and do penance with us. Or come and sit, bring a blanket, or foldeable chair, water jugs, ice chest, umbrellas for the sun and rain and food to share. Just come for an hour or two and share your hope for peace as we commemorate the Anniversary of the USA atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on Aug 6 and 9, 1945. Contemplate with us the work and mission of these god-awful Offutt Commands, the challenges they pose to all life on our planet and the demonic claim it holds on the soul and spirit of our nation.

This year's vigil begins Monday Aug 6th at 8 a.m. the hour the USA dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, at the Kinney gate and main entrance of Offutt AFB. The vigil ends Thursday Aug 9th at 11 a.m., the hour the USA dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

The vigil will begin at 8 a.m. each day and last until 8 p.m. (12 hours) to Thursday Aug 9th. On Aug 9th the vigil concludes with a prayer circle and possible line crossing at 11 a.m.

Over night hospitality is available at Holy Family Parish in Omaha (1715 Izard St) starting Sunday evening Aug 5th. The church only offers floor space. Bring your own bed roll and pillow. If you need a bed, you really need to contact us before hand to insure we find one for you.

Everyone is welcome, especially those in the Omaha area! Come for an hour or for the whole three days.

Contacts:

Frank Cordaro, DMCW,
Cell Ph (515) 490 2490 , E-mail frank.cordaro@gmail.com

Jerry Ebner, Omaha CW,
Ph (402) 502 5887, E-mail omahacw@hotmail.com
View Article  Self Defense Class To Begin in Iowa City
Self Defense Class To Begin in Iowa City


By Karen Kubby

The Johnson County Coalition of People with Disabilities is trying to raise money to fund a self-defense class for 7-10 people.  Students meet twice a week for a year.  The cost is $45 per month per person, for a total of $3,780.  I am trying to help the Coalition raise a portion of these funds. Students will also be contributing to their class fees.  The instructor is Robert Woods and he is reducing his monthly fee.  The Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Iowa City is donating the space.

The class is open to the public with disabilities on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30-7:30pm at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center in the Gymnastics Room. In the beginning people associated with the Johnson County Coalition for Disabilities, Uptown Bill's, and The Evert Conner Center for Independent Living participated.

Thanks for your consideration of this request.

Karen
View Article  Eat Local and Win
Eat Local and Win


By Kurt Friese

You know I'm always harping on people to eat more local, sustainable
food. And I know, you already do.

But now, if you'll pledge to eat just 1 pound of local food each week,
you could win prizes like a new grill or a landscape makeover.

Did you know that food in the U.S. typically travels more than 1500
miles and generates five to 17 times more carbon emissions than food
grown locally?

If you pledge to eat at least one pound of local food each week – and
invite your friends to do the same – the folks at New dream will show
you the positive impact of your action and give you a shot at some
great prizes, including a $6000 eco-makeover for your yard!

Pledge to eat local today. Go to:

http://c3.newdream.org/campaigns/c3/register/78d1cb1fcdd3003b46bb2f1fa017ab53/

Simply click, or cut'n'paste into the URL field of your browser

From the Inconvenient Truth to Step It Up to the recent Live Earth
concerts, climate change is top-of-mind for millions of Americans.
People who never before considered the impact of their consumer
choices are now asking, "besides telling legislators to do their part,
what can someone like me do?"

And even those who disagree on the climate change issue can see the
benefits of eating locally - it's fresher and tastes better, and you
can shake the hand that raised the food. That's important.

Click to pledge to eat a pound of local food, and eat well at
the same time! Getting rewarded for stuff you do anyway? That's
pretty sweet.


Peace,
Kmf
View Article  Call To get Sicko in Iowa
Call To get Sicko in Iowa


By Rapid Response

Two items:
 
(1) There was an article in the IC Press-Citizen the other day that the local theatre managers had reported receiving only "a few" calls about SICKO.  Are we going to stand for having to go to Cedar Rapids to see SICKO?  Or be relegated to the last ones to see it by the time they bring it to Iowa City?   Or have to watch it online?  How ridiculous is this?  Is this Iowa City, last bastion of Iowa's liberals, Iowa's progressive activist pride and joy?  No outcry, no  nothing?
 
Let's get to work!  Please call or write and pass this on. Thanks.  Trish and Ellen
 
The Coral Ridge number is 625-2100.
The Sycamore number is 358-6773.
 
If you want to contact the folks at Marcus

I read online that there are only 11 movies showing on 22 screens in our area, yet Marcus is saying they don't have enough screen space.  
 
Petrick said Marcus, which owns or operates 500 screens in the Midwest, will focus right now on larger blockbusters such as "Transformers," "Ratatouille" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
 
"When additional prints become available and when we have play time available, we anticipate that Marcus Theatres will play 'Sicko,' just as we've played other Michael Moore films," he said.
View Article  PCCI Update
PCCI Update


by PCCI
Dear friends and colleagues,

It is with regret that I write to you today to let you know that I will be leaving my position with ICAN at the end of July. My wife Julia, son Brodie, and I will be moving to Berkeley, where my wife and I will both be pursuing graduate study.

Though I am leaving Iowa, ICAN’s commitment to the Our Common Values program is firm. In preparation for the transition, over the last several weeks Amy Logsdon – ICAN’s Political Director – and I have been working on all aspects of the Our Common Values program together, and we will continue to do so through the month of July. Amy, our Executive Director Betty Ahrens, and other ICAN staff – including a new staff member, who we are looking for right now (see below) – will continue to make Our Common Values one of ICAN’s top priorities, through the caucuses and well beyond. 

For those interested in the personal aspects of this: I will be studying Public Policy at Berkeley, and my wife will be studying Science and Environmental Reporting in their Journalism program. The opportunity for her is simply too good to pass up, as she’ll get to learn from a writer who is basically her hero, Michael Pollan. This will be a return to Berkeley for me – I was an undergraduate there – and so there are many things about the move that I am excited about.

However, four weeks before our move, I am honestly far more disappointed and regretful about leaving ICAN than I am excited about moving back to Berkeley. ICAN is doing fantastic work, on many fronts at once, and I absolutely love the pieces of it that fall to me. In particular, the work leading Our Common Values has been a simply incredible opportunity – I still find it a bit hard to believe that I found an organization looking to hire someone to do this kind of work. I fe el extremely fortunate to have found this great position and organization, and to have had the opportunity to work with all of you. I will miss our collective work on the Our Common Values program very much.
 
A job announcement has been posted on the ICAN web site: http://www.iowacan.org/about/jobs.html. Please spread the word far and wide about this opportunity to work with ICAN! If you have questions about the staff transition, or about the positions open at ICAN, please feel free to contact me or other ICAN staff.
 
In solidarity,
Program Director
Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN)
3520 Beaver Avenue
Des Moines, IA  50310
Mobile: 515.708.2364
(***Please note: if you are calling from
Des Moines, you need to dial the full 10-digit
number to get through to my cell phone.***)
 
______________
 
Volunteers needed for incoming refugees
Iowa is anticipating approximately 100 Burmese and 120 Iraqi refugees by the end of this year.
 
Volunteers needed: meeting them at the airport, moving into their new homes, finding jobs, learning American culture, etc.
 
Contact:
• Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services, 515-283-7999, refugee@dhs.state.ia.us
• Lutheran Services in Iowa, Des Moines contact: Jill Stuecker, 515-271-7418, jill.stuecker@lsiowa.org
______________________
 
Listen to the author of
“CRAZY IN AMERICA: THE HIDDEN TRAGEDY OF OUR CRIMINALIZED MENTALLY ILL”
 
MARY BETH PFEIFFER ON IOWA PUBLIC RADIO “THE EXCHANGE”
JULY 10, 2007 10-11 AM

ON KSUI (or on 90.1 or 640 am)
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
 
Author Mary Beth Pfeiffer will be holding a discussion and book signing November 30, 2007 from 3-6 PM at Urbandale Library.jlonning@dwx.com or Bethany Hempel at bghempel@mchsi.com Copies of books will not be sold at this event; you may purchase a book before the event by contacting Judy Lonning at
 
More information to follow.

This event is sponsored by Iowa CURE, Iowa Reform Consortium, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
For information please contact Bethany Hempel at 515-537-4211 or bghempel@mchsi.com.
 
_________________________________________
 
Five Activists on Trial in Des Moines and Eleven Sentenced in Cedar Rapids
For Opposing the War!
 
Jury trial begins July 9 in Polk County Courthouse
 
Since the Occupation Project began its campaign of nonviolent civil
disobedience to end the Iraq War in February, more than 320 citizens
have been arrested in communities around the country for occupying the
offices of their representatives in congress, calling them to pledge
not to pay for requests from the White House for funding the war.
On February 26, in a coordinated action, 11 activists were arrested
occupying Senator Charles Grassley's office in Cedar Rapids while
seven were arrested occupying the senator's office in Des Moines. On
Friday, July 6, the Cedar Rapids 11 will be sentenced for criminal
trespass in a Linn County courtroom and on the next Monday, July 9,
five of those arrested in Des Moines will begin a trial before a Polk
County Jury.
 
The trial in Des Moines is expected to last for 3 days with the
defense presenting its case on Tuesday, July 10. Join Occupation
Project defendants Kathleen McQuillen, Chet Guinn, Dixie Webb, Brian
Terrell and Elton Davis in the courtroom and at a solidarity rally at
Chet's firehouse on Monday evening.
 
Solidarity Rally
Monday, July 9 at 7 PM
Chet Guinn's Firehouse
1041 8th Street, Des Moines
(one block west of Downtown Holiday Inn)
Featuring defendants of Cedar Rapids and Des Moines occupations and
co-coordinator of Voices for Nonviolent Action and the Occupation
Project Jeff Leys speaking on: "Never Ending Funding  for Never Ending War"
As the White House is preparing to ask congress to approve even more
billions of dollars to fund this illegal, immoral and unjust war, the
Occupation Project in Iowa and around the nation will be planning more
nonviolent direct actions.
Contact: Brian Terrell  (515) 255-8114     <terrellcpm@yahoo.com>
 
_____________________________________
 
YOU ARE INVITED TO MAKE THE CONNECTIONS
THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2007
6:30 – 8:30pm
State Historical Museum
Atrium
(600 East Locust – street parking & garage at E. Grand and Penn.)
 
Policies defined this summer in the 2007 Farm Bill create the food and agriculture landscape of Iowa and the entire country.  All VOICES need to be heard & represented.
 
Denise O’Brien, farm organizer and 2006 candidate for Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, talks about the road map for agriculture.  What’s in the Farm Bill?  What makes effective food policy?  How do we insure the Farm Bill meets our food and agricultural needs?
 
Every year our elected officials create, evaluate and pass laws that impact every aspect of all our lives.  All VOICES need to be heard & represented.
Pam Jochum, State Representative from District 27 in Dubuque, talks about VOICE (Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections) legislation, HR 805.  How do we take big money out of politics?  Can publicly financed campaigns work?  How do we insure that legislation is evaluated according to the best interest of all Iowan’s? 
 
SPONSORS INCLUDE – Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF), The League of Women Voters, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa (PCCI), Oxfam, Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN) & Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI).
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First responders to biased, imbalanced or factually inaccurate media coverage


Iowans for Better Local TV

*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.


Air America

*How to Bring Air America Radio to Your Local Community


The Counterpoint

*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country


National

FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

*FAIR is a national media watch group that offers well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship


Media Matters for America

*Media Matters for America is an information center dedicated to monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media