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  • 4 Groups’ Commemoration Activities for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 2025

    Four events in the area to note – please scroll for details.

    1) Kingston to Host 15th Annual Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace Commemorating Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Nuclear Disaster Victims

    On Sunday, August 3, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Kingston Point Beach will once again come alive with dance, music, remembrance, and activism as the city hosts the 15th Annual Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace. The free event honors the victims of nuclear disasters on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and marks other significant anniversaries, including the 15th year since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown and the 39th since the Chernobyl disaster.
    Founded in 2011 by Kingston residents Youko Yamamoto, a designer and chef, and Kazuma Oshita, a metal sculptor, Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace brings together the community to support a global, multicultural effort toward a nuclear-free future. This year’s theme underscores the urgent need to reduce radioactive waste and heat pollution from nuclear power generation.
    Should there be extreme heat or rain, the event will be held at the Andy Murphy Midtown Center at 467 Broadway, Kingston.
    What is Bon-Odori?
    The event is rooted in the Japanese summer tradition of Bon-odori, a folk dance held during Obon, when families honor the spirits of their ancestors. Communities across Japan gather to dance around a raised platform called a *yagura*, accompanied by live music and taiko drums. The dance is simple and inclusive, making it a joyful collective ritual of remembrance and connection.
    2025 Program Highlights
    This year’s program begins at the “Japan Stop” information booth and features a wide range of local performers, including:
    • The Vanaver Caravan
    • DrumSong Orchestra
    • Uptown Lodown
    • The Spirit of Thunderheart
    Special guest speaker Tinya Seeger will share stories about her parents, Pete and Toshi Seeger. A memorial for Bill Vanaver, the late founder of the Vanaver Caravan, will follow.
    Nuclear disarmament activists Dr. Diane Swords and Dr. Larry Wittner of Peace Action New York State and Back From The Brink will speak on ending the Nuclear Age. Additional performances include sumi ink brush art by Barbara Bash and Youko Yamamoto, an aikido demonstration by Kingston Aikido, and peace songs by Stephen Johnson with Nu Bossa** and Robert Albrecht with Free Range.
    Family favorites like Suikawari (the Japanese game of busting a watermelon) will be back, along with Taiko drumming by Stuart Paton of Burlington Taiko and Bon-Odori dance led by Kevin Suzuki and Minbuza, the dance company of the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York.
    Peace, Culture, and Sustainability
    The venue will be divided into three areas—pavilion, grass field, and beach—featuring performances, workshops, and booths promoting sustainable practices, wellness, peace, and international culture. Vendors include the Climate Smart Tiffin Project, Mohonk Consultations, Jorei by Shumei, Peace Education Center, Veterans for Peace, Hudson Valley Peace Park, and others. A raffle will feature gift donations from local businesses such as Adams Fairacres Farms, Bluecashew, Tanma Ramen, and Rough Draft.
    Closing Ceremony
    The evening will close with a Heart Sutra chant led by **Youko Yamamoto** and **Yuzan Toyoda**, a Jodo-shinshu Buddhist monk, followed by a spiral walk for peace led by internationally renowned Buddhist nun **Jun-san Yasuda**, carrying the Flame of Hiroshima brought from Quebec.
    A Call to Action
    As the war in Ukraine continues and global nuclear tensions rise, the event calls on communities to take action. With nearly 10,000 nuclear warheads worldwide and 440 nuclear reactors generating radioactive waste and heat, organizers stress the urgent need to abolish nuclear weapons and transition to nonviolent, sustainable energy.
    This year’s Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace is made possible with the support of the City of Kingston and the Radio Kingston Community Tech Team.
    For more information, visit: bonodori.org
    ——————————————————————————
    2) Reading of John Hersey’s “Hiroshima” 

    Saturday, August 6, 11:00AM

    Townsend Park, Albany, NY

    (Henry Johnson Blvd. & Central Ave.)

    (Hiroshima, Japan, 1945)

    The event is free and open to the public and the public is encouraged to join in the reading.  Those interested in reading can sign up to participate when they arrive.  Please bring folding chairs. Rain site: Social Justice Center.

    On August 6, 1945 the United States of America used the atomic bomb for the first time to destroy the city of Hiroshima, Japan; on August 9, the U.S. used the atomic bomb again on Nagasaki, Japan.  Over 200,000 people died immediately in the two bombings and over a hundred thousand more died in the following decades as a result of the effects of the radiation.  

    Hiroshima by John Hersey tells the story of the bombing on August 6, 1945 by following the story of six of the survivors.  The book version has been in print since 1946.  

    Co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel FoundationTom Paine Chapter Veterans for Peace, Upper Hudson Peace Action. For more information contact Dan Wilcox, 518-482-0262, dwlcx46@gmail.com

    =====================================================
    3) Upper Hudson Peace Action Alert
     
    Commemorating 80 Years Since Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
     
    Date: August 9, 2025
    Time:  11 AM
    Place: Lions Park at 3439 Rosendale Road, Niskayuna, NY 
    Sponsored by: Upper Hudson Peace Action & Women Against War
     
    Please join us in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only time such weapons have been used. Today’s volatile world calls us to note the terrible scale and repercussions of these events and advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
     
    We will gather at 11 am at Lions Park, Rosendale Rd., Niskayuna, probably near the old railroad station and small memory garden, which are not far from the entrance. The Mohawk River runs parallel to the park.
     
    The program is intended to be concise, focused, and serious, beginning with short remarks about the event and anniversary, and including brief poetry and music. 
     
    Next, a short silent walk on the bike path with our themed props and signs will take place. If there is a large group, we may need to break into sections, so that others using the bike path can get around us. Some people may opt to forgo the walk and sit with signs, etc. by the park entrance where there are picnic tables, or by the gazebo. 
     
    Further details: 
    • The park has a small Little Blue Library exchange, so it’s a great opportunity to leave books on a peace theme there.
    • We need to carefully follow the bike path rules, such as keeping to the right and not stopping and standing still on the bike path. 
    • Please try to dress in white, the Japanese color of mourning
     
    Contact for questions and comments: Elaine at elaineklein@hotmail.com
     
    On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” https://www.history.com/articles/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
     
     
     
     
     

    4)
     

    Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

    The peace walk will take place August 3-9, 2025.

    The program at the Peace Pagoda is August 9.
    (see details below)
  • 27th Annual Kateri Peace Conference

    The 27th annual Kateri Peace Conference

    Friday, August 22 & Saturday, August 23, 2025

    Palestine and Israel

    Tragedy, Trauma, Truth & Compassion

    SAVE THE DATE

    ALL ARE INVITED

    The 27th annual KATERI PEACE CONFERENCE will be held in Fonda, NY on August 22nd and 23rd. This year’s conference will focus on the nightmare which is the Palestinian/Israeli conflict with the intent of generating increased compassion, understanding, and life-affirming action.

    The conference will begin at 5:30 PM on Friday with a pot luck followed by a Tapestry of Word and Song reflecting voices from the conflict presented by area theater artists from the Creative Action Unlimited Social Justice Artist’s Collective, accompanied by flautist Eric Marczak, beginning at 7:00 PM. 

    Saturday we are fortunate to have – sharing information, insight, and inspiration:

    PHYLLIS BENNIS, Jewish scholar/activist from The Institute for Policy Studies in DC.  Her latest book: UNDERSTANDING PALESTINE and ISRAEL has been described as offering “readers the most comprehensive, lucid and reliably informed and evidence-based guide available” to the conflict.

    SANA WAZWAZ, Palestinian-American writer and organizer and chapter lead for the American Muslims for Palestine, Minnesota. Sana is currently the Program and Administrative Assistant at New Arab American Theater Works.

    KATHY MANLEY who is the Legal Director of the Coalition for Civil Freedoms and the Vice-President of the Capital Region Council of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Kathy was a recent participant in the blocked international Global March to Gaza.

    Doors will open at 8:00 AM for registration and a light breakfast on Saturday; the program of speakers, workshops, and discussion will begin at 9:00 and run through 3:30.

    As always, lunch will be provided on Saturday. An admission offering of $20 to $40 is suggested. Scholarships are available. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

    FULL CONFERENCE information regarding the day’s schedule, speakers’ bios, and registration details will soon be available on the conference web site: 

    kateripeaceconference.org

    Saint Kateri National Shrine and Historic Site 

    3636 NY-5, Fonda, NY 12068, USA

    Saint Kateri National Shrine and Historic Site 3636 NY-5, Fonda, NY 12068, USA 

  • Larry Wittner’s comments at the annual dinner November 2024

    My name is Larry Wittner and, starting with my participation in a peace demonstration in the fall of 1961, I have been active in the peace movement — arrested twice, tear-gassed numerous times, and elected to local, state, and national peace movement boards. I’m also a former Professor of History at SUNY/Albany and a historian of the peace movement.
    Today, I’m sorry to report that the result of the recent U.S. elections is more horrible than you might think. Given the two factors that are most likely to destroy the human race – nuclear war and climate collapse – the takeover of the U.S. government by Donald Trump and his crew of rightwing fanatics, combined with the authoritarian, murderous regimes already in power in countries like Russia, India, China, Iran, North Korea, and Israel, probably spells doom for the world.
    Now please note that I have said “probably.” I do believe there’s a possibility of avoiding this catastrophe – although it’s not a very likely one. And I think the peace movement can play an important role in increasing the chances of human survival.
    The main threat to human survival comes from the behavior of the major military powers. Some people in the peace movement seem to believe that only the United States – or mostly the United States – is responsible for the murderous conflicts among nations. But this is a rather warped view of events, for the United States is a very recent arrival in human history, and for thousands of years before that there were plenty of wars. And, I believe that, if the United States miraculously disappeared tomorrow, there would still be plenty of wars!
    If we look beyond the devil theory of history and think systemically, what we find is that most wars (and the weapons that accompany them over time – from spears to nuclear missiles) grow out of the conflicts among nations. Within nations, when conflicts inevitably erupt, there are laws, as well as police, courts, and governments, that play a major role in resolving these conflicts.
    On the global level, however, there exists a situation approaching international anarchy. Although we do have the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court, they are relatively powerless when major crises occur. They issue laudable statements, while the most powerful nations frequently ignore them and go on their merry, marauding way.
    Thus, for example, the Russian government is currently continuing its massive military invasion of Ukraine and proceeding to annex its territory, while ignoring the demands of the UN and the International Court of Justice to end Russia’s aggression and withdraw from Ukraine. And, similarly, the Israeli government ignores the demands of these world organizations to end its brutal war upon and occupation of Palestine.
    From the overwhelming votes in the UN General Assembly to condemn the Russian and Israeli invasions, we can see what the vast majority of the world’s nations want done in these terrible situations. But, alas, there is no implementation of their call for national independence and peace.
    Where does this leave the peace movement? The peace movement has been effective, at times, in stirring up grassroots public protest against great power military aggression and the nuclear arms race. Even so, if it is to head off the doomsday scenario that now confronts us – or the slaughter occurring right now in Ukraine and Palestine – it desperately needs the existence of effective global governance. Or, to put things differently, the movement needs a stronger United Nations – strong enough to resolve conflicts among nations and, thereby, maintain international peace and security.
    The task of strengthening global governance is difficult, but not impossible. There are ways to limit the use of the veto in the UN Security Council, to transfer security issues to the General Assembly (where there is majority rule and no veto), and to increase the jurisdiction of international judicial bodies. It’s also necessary and possible to provide the UN with an independent source of income to fund an expanded range of activities. It’s time – indeed, long past time – that the citizens of the world threw their weight behind these and other UN reform measures.
    So I’m suggesting that the peace movement – without abandoning its important role in building grassroots activism – also back efforts to transform the United Nations into a government for the world. With such a government, we – the citizens of the world — have a better chance to restrain outlaw nations and avert the catastrophes that now loom before us.

  • Tom Ellis’ comments at the annual dinner November 2024

    Introductory comments
    With the Trump victory, we will have to devote considerable attention to preserving what remains of the federal separation of powers and the checks and balances.
    Our national government is a mess and the US is rushing toward fascism. Today, the United States is much more of a billionaires club than a republic. We have allowed corporations to become far too powerful and individual people to accumulate wealth without limits: tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars. We would benefit from a constitutional amendment eliminating corporate constitutional rights, other than freedom of the press. We, as a nation, should confiscate the billionaires’ wealth and limit personal wealth to $100 million or less.
    We should fully publicly finance election campaigns. We need to break out of the two-party straitjacket.
    We need to change how we vote. Instant runoff elections and open primaries tend to hurt extremist candidates, as Sarah Palen experienced two years ago. Thus changing how we vote may help stabilize the nation.
    We should recognize that we need a peace party in the United States, and the Democrats are not it.
    We need to develop effective methods of persuading people that peace, diplomacy and disarmament are preferable to war, brinkmanship and war preparations. We will have to build larger coalitions with: (1) immigrant and refugee communities; (2) LGBTQ groups, especially trans, many of whom are extremely scared right now; (3) reproductive rights activists; (4) poor people; and (5) people of color. We will need to be extremely vigilant next year to lock any effort to transform the United States as Germany was in 1933.
    The United States, Russia, and Ukraine
    I do not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I favor an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine with no forward soldier and weapons movements or armaments deliveries from abroad, negotiations to end the war, and the replacement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a continent-wide security arrangement that includes Russia.
    I doubt Russia will depart Crimea while NATO exists. The US should make certain that no US-supplied weapons are used in Russia because doing so might spark a nuclear war.
    Establishing warm and friendly US-Russia relations lays the groundwork for agreements and treaties that reduce military spending, advance nuclear disarmament and peace, and stabilize the climate and biodiversity.
    The United Nations
    We should advocate for restructuring the Security Council by enlarging it to include every nation with fifty million or more people and to end the ability of any nation to veto resolutions. This would empower the Security Council to threaten and impose political sanctions on warring nations, and hopefully prevent and quickly end wars.
    Wars and war preparations
    The primary reason the United States and Israel do not want peace is because both nations wish to permanently maintain their enormous armaments manufacturing infrastructures. Both nations are vast laboratories of weapons research and development; both are eager for opportunities to battle-test their newest killing techniques and technologies.
    Making a genuine, warm, loving peace with the world would eliminate the need for enormous military establishments in Israel and the United States. Without peace between nations, we have no hope of making peace with the environment.
    We should also recognize that solving planetary environmental health problems requires serious, sustained international cooperation that can not occur simultaneously with multiple major wars and massive armaments manufacturing.
    Related goals we should advocate for include ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, enlarge nuclear weapons free zones, and enact much stronger gun safety laws in the United States.
    One issue we may be able to win is to advocate for decommissioning the 400 aged long-range, land-based Minuteman III ICBMs, and canceling its replacement, the Sentinel ICBM.
    The United States, Israel, and Palestine
    The US should end the special relationship and establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel, similar to what the US has with Costa Rica. No more unwavering support, no more financing, arming. and enabling ethnic cleansings, targeted assassinations, and genocide.
    The United States should declare its independence from Israel and vicious Zionism, end weapons sales and gifts to Israel, and lead international efforts to impose political sanctions on Israel until it fully complies with the recent UNGA resolution ordering Israel to vacate all the territories conquered in the 1967 war.
    I would strongly oppose imposing economic sanctions on Israel or any other nation such that Israelis would starve to death, as Israel, with US help, is now inflicting on Gaza Strip Palestinians.
    Economic Sanctions
    The United States should end its economic sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and many other nations, and offer to establish diplomatic relations with every nation.
    Thank you

  • Susan DuBois’ comments at the annual dinner November 2024

    I didn’t have a written version of the presentation I did as part of the panel discussion at the November 10, 2024 Peace Action event, but here’s a summary of what I said, from my notes and recollection of the question-and-answer part of the meeting. The title of the panel discussion was “Which way forward for the peace movement?”
    I introduced myself as being one of the three co-chairs of Ukraine Solidarity Capital District (USCD) but said that I would be speaking as an individual because it was likely I’d be talking about things on which USCD hasn’t taken a position or things that are my individual experiences and opinions.
    Here’s the mission statement of USCD: “Through our words and actions, the members of Ukraine Solidarity Capital District stand for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity, and its right as a sovereign and democratic state to pursue whatever national goals it thinks best. We condemn the Russian aggression, invasion, and occupation and demand that the Russian Federation immediately stop its war on Ukraine and completely withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.”
    Ukraine Solidarity Capital District was started in late 2022 by persons who have been involved for a long time in the peace movement and/or the left but who were dismayed by the positions being taken by some major peace groups about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The positions of these groups would have led to Ukraine essentially surrendering and being overtaken by Russia. Since then, USCD has expanded to include members from a variety of political backgrounds.
    We have been trying to focus attention on the Ukrainians, rather than just looking at geopolitics from a U.S.-centric perspective.
    As the participants at the Peace Action meeting were aware, there have been conflicts within the peace movement about Ukraine both at the national level and locally. For basically all of our lives (and this was in the context of both the audience and the panel largely being members of the Baby Boom generation) the peace movement was about opposing wars started by the United States and opposing U.S. aggression. This included the war in Vietnam, the wars in Central America in the 1980s, the Gulf War and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
    In opposing these wars and other U.S. military interventions, there was more or less unified opposition to U.S. policy from people who had become involved in the peace movement for different reasons and often for more than one reason. These reasons included religious or ethical pacifism, support for non-violence as the primary and preferred means of resolving conflicts, humanitarian reasons involving prevention of suffering and oppression, personal connections with the countries being invaded (particularly in the case of the Central American wars), support for international law, leftist politics of various kinds including some that are authoritarian, and campist views that divide the world into the U.S. imperialist camp and an anti-imperialist camp.
    With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the peace movement is dealing with an aggressive war and invasion started by another country, specifically Russia. The current Russian Federation is pursuing Russia’s historic imperialism against Ukraine that goes back to the tsars and then Stalin. A war in which Russia, rather than the U.S., is the imperialist invader poses an unfamiliar situation for the U.S. peace movement, one in which the varying motivations of U.S. peace activists have led them in various conflicting directions.
    When confronted with a situation that doesn’t fit the past patterns, it can be difficult to change gears. Familiar approaches and familiar rhetoric might no longer be useful or accurate. Information sources that one relied on in the past might no longer be reliable. I find this to be particularly so with information from campist groups that see the U.S. as a uniquely destructive force and that are also hand-in-glove with the Russian or Chinese governments.
    It is particularly troubling that the geopolitical view that sees the war in Ukraine only as a proxy war between NATO and Russia leaves out the people most directly affected, namely the Ukrainians. This view portrays the Ukrainians, to the extent that it mentions them, as pawns of the West or as hapless victims or as Nazis, rather than as a capable country fighting for its survival against its historic imperial master.
    The Ukrainians have been showing in the most concrete ways possible that they do not want to be under Russian domination. In some ways, the Ukrainians’ struggle reminds me of that of the Nicaraguans in the 1980s, against the U.S.-supported Contras. Few peace activists in the 1980s insisted that the Nicaraguans should resist imperialism solely by non-violent civil disobedience and negotiation, without fighting.
    Ukraine is a diverse country, in terms of politics, religion, nationality and regional history.
    It has far-right groups, as do the United States and many other countries, although the far-right in Ukraine has much less influence in the Ukrainian government than the far-right has (and will soon have) in the U.S. government.
    Ukraine also has leftist and labor groups. Leftists in the U.S. could probably learn a lot, to our advantage, by observing and interacting with the Ukrainian left. The Ukrainian labor, gay rights, feminist, and democratic socialist activists are dealing simultaneously with resisting the Russian invasion of their country and with contesting neoliberal economic policies of the Ukrainian government and socially conservative traditions. In the U.S., we are dealing with a far less intense version of this, resisting Trump and his Project 2025 while simultaneously contesting the neoliberal policies pushed by most Democrats. Peace activists and the left in the U.S. can also support initiatives of the Ukrainian labor movement.
    [At the Peace Action event, I made available a flier with book titles, web links and other information about Ukraine and particularly the Ukrainian left, a copy of which is attached with the present document.]
    What are the implications for the peace movement if Russia were to win its war? A Russian victory would be a blow against nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament efforts. In 1994, under an agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union when the USSR broke up, in return for assurances from Russia, the U.S. and the United Kingdom that they would respect Ukraine’s independence and its territorial integrity within its 1991 borders. Russia has blatantly violated this formal agreement. What other country would want to give up, or refrain from getting, nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances on paper, if Russia succeeds in defeating Ukraine?
    A Russian victory against Ukraine would also strengthen what’s called the “red-brown alliance” between some far right and far-left forces, essentially making fascism ascendant. The affinity among Putin, Trump and Orban, plus far-right parties in other European countries, is part of this picture. The “multi-polar world” sought by Russia is a reversion to a 19th or early 20th century balance of empires, with the small and medium-sized countries dominated by the few imperialist countries. I think we should be trying to figure out how to bring about a “non-polar”world, in which the small and medium-sized countries can successfully resist domination – – not an easy project but an important one.
    The panel discussion is titled “Which way forward for the peace movement?” I think that peace activists need to oppose aggression consistently, whether the aggression is being done by the U.S., by Russia, or by some other country. Some pro-Ukraine leftists in the U.S. are using the slogan “From Ukraine to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”
    We also need to re flect on our reasons for being peace activists and think about how those apply in particular situations. We may come to different conclusions than others with whom we have worked in the past, or take different approaches even if we agree on a lot of things.
    We need to question our assumptions, particularly in situations that are unlike ones we have dealt with in the past or where the circumstances have changed. In the past year, I have had to revisit some long-term assumptions I had about Israel. 
    I also recommend looking for multiple sources of information about any particular issue, and looking at the motivations and affiliations of these information sources. The perspectives of the people most affected should carry particular weight, and those people might have a variety of perspectives. We should be seeking out the most factually-sound information we can get.
    There are multiple ways to support the Ukrainians, some of which are consistent with pacifism including conflict resolution efforts that could be helpful for post-war Ukraine, or support of Russian anti-war activists large numbers of whom are in exile or in prison. There are also multiple ways of resisting the injustices and violence that Trump might inflict in this country. And there are conflicts in many countries that do not have visibility in the U.S.

  • Maureen Aumand’s comments (first recipient of the Pat Beetle Peace Award) from November 2024 Annual Dinner

    We are pleased that our presenters, and first recipient of the Pat Beetle Peace Award, provided copies of their comments. Here is what Maureen Aumond said:

    “Our work is bigger than party politics. Genocide in Gaza, destruction in Ukraine/Russia, the threats of nuclear war and climate catastrophe, and the violence that comes home in the form of poverty, racism, and exploitation are realities we all face. If the past week (or year) has left you feeling drained, or tempted to give up – don’t.”
    Of course how not to give up and how to most effectively think, organize and act as advocates for policies that hold sacred universally – a peaceful planet where human rights, well being, and sustainable existence are givens—-under the now elected Trump government is the question of the moment.
    In thinking about this, these last few days, I have come to the conclusion that there are two different directions at which we need to focus our analysis.
    The first requires a deep dive into the question of why support was so widespread and overwhelming for a convicted ,misogynist felon, who obviously knows and understands or cares about little beyond the piecemeal, scrambled word salad of his own vengeful brain and ambition. Even a glance at the county by county results of the presidential election shows how we bleed red across the nation( except in the tiny east coast bubble we happen to live in.) Of course the pundits are full of post mortem. There are a few analysis that strike me as particularly salient for anti war, anti militarism efforts.
    People are afraid; this fear is easily manipulated ; this fear makes self interest prevail; this fear induces anger and rage / a good number of our fellow citizens don’t ’t know history or geography and thus are deprived of context for this historical moment with which to choose; people trapped within the confines of a consumer , “ entertaining ourselves to death “ culture (compounded by the exigencies of daily life) are distracted ; people assume war is inevitable and the ever increasing obscenity of US war spending is thus seen as necessary; the population is moving away from an international vision of the US in the world to one of closed border, nationalism/ our two party system trivializes and marginalize options for genuine choice….
    the echo chamber which in Chomsky’s words serves to help” manufacture consent” has moved from the most times elite controlled main stream media which once created its own kind of echo chamber albeit with a tacit commitment to fact checking and some form of reality based “truth” into the hands of the wild west world of social media, which has no reigns as it algorithmically shares and feeds and re-shares whatever stokes people’s fears, rage and the self interest engendered by those fears as a basis for legitimizing a candidate who in reality is such a danger / this echo chamber of social media also recognizes that fear …Made more understandable by the rapid social and technology driven changes of the past 75 years… works to create anger and names the enemies … immigrants… diversity… etc , the proverbial THEY as well as a mythical deep state which needs to be disrupted and destroyed… democracy, human rights be damned…. Let Elan Musk… the boy genius decide!
    Who in the world is that silly / freaky Jill Stein anyway!
    In this context how do we who are eager to define the true embedded, bi partisan deep state which is the military/industrial/congressional ….complex actually get large numbers of people who are angry, self interested, made afraid, misinformed, overwhelmed and manipulated to open their ears, minds and hearts and see the true enemy which embedded in our nation’s tropism toward militarism and war and which robs and endangers them in real and profound ways??
    How do we reach and talk to people where they are at: about peace and justice in clarifying ways is essentially the question?
    Of course that brings us to us: the “ peace movement”.
    How do we speak to one another, align with one another, analyze and strategize locally, nationally, globally more realistically and effectively together. The election results this week … as well as the polls throughput the election cycle …do not indicate that issues which we are so clear in ourselves such as the militarism which rules, the raging wars ( though polls indicate that Gaza may be something of an exception and an inroad to an answer) the rumbling threat of nuclear war, even the destruction of long standing democratic , foundational principles and practice or the obvious inroads of climate catastrophe do not come near the top of the lists of people’s concerns.
    For the sake of argument and the simplification of my own thinking in preparation for these few short minutes, I have made a list of what we might have to do to break through the stultifying, soul destructive echo chamber which has apparently blinded and cudgeled the country.
    Bear with me while I share my list:
    Silence: right now swimming in the sea of words that pummel us, we may need to give ourselves time first for quiet and reflection… I am tempted to propose that we organize a retreat first for ourselves, perhaps guided by the question: WHY DO WE CARE ANYWAY
    Study and Semantics: It seems to me that we need to continue to deepen our activism by developing a discerning, thoughtful practice of reading perhaps together the best experts and deepest thinkers on the imperative issues which confront us. And then begin to study how to translate into understandable, heart born vocabulary, a vocabulary which is not self reflective, jargon filled , pedantic, ideological, doctrinaire and thus alienating but which engages fellow citizens. So often it feels that we speak in ways which sound academic, angry, alienating. I believe that our communication of the issues needs to be born of deep intellectual understanding but spring ultimately from the heart of our concern
    Spotlight: i don’t know about you but I find myself tired of talking about the guy whose last name begin with T. I believe it might be more productive for me anyway to escape from the reductionism which focuses on the person and try to deepen my understanding and resulting conversations on the issues which threaten.
    SOLIDARITY and Strategy Are there better, more thoughtful, more cooperative , more mutually aware and better coordinated ways that we can organize and act locally, nationally, globally.
    I know this is an old question but it seems important to revisit in the face of that red map.
    Are there new strategies; are there hierarchies of strategies?
    Do we hold precious our own silos which keep us alienated one from another and therefore less focused and effective. Are there hierarchies of issues we should consider? In educational theory, there is an idea called : “assured readiness first learning “ which says that in order to understand a mire complex thing you need to understand the simpler more foundational fact, detail, idea which underpins it first.
    Sympathy: i think it is important that we revisit often why we care. We live vulnerable and interdependent on this small blue dot in a vast universe at this unique moment in time. What has to drive us is loving concern and care for our fellow planetary riders …why care at all without that.
    I think that’s as we over and over again contemplate our continued way forward, this realization and heartfelt understanding is what should focus our holy rage at those forces which threaten us all and guide our actions and outreach as activists
    A holy rage that calls us to build a bulwark against hate and ignorance and injustice , a wall of strong bonds of compassion and love.”

  • Resisting Nuclear Annihilation: Dangers and Actions

    Please join Back from the Brink, Nuclear Free World Committee of the Syracuse Peace Council, Peace Action of New York State, Students for Nuclear Disarmament, and Upper Hudson Peace Action present a free Zoom webinar: Resisting Nuclear Annihilation: Dangers and Actions on Wednesday, January 22nd at 7pm EST.

    We are pleased to feature four knowledgeable speakers who will speak about the topics outlined below. Please register to attend this free Zoom discussion.

    Speakers:

     David Cortright: “Nuclear Weapons Dangers Today” David Cortright is the former executive director of SANE, was actively involved in the nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s, has written or edited more than 20 books, and is currently a visiting scholar at Cornell University (https://einaudi.cornell.edu/discover/people/david-cortright). 

    Diane Swords: “The ‘Back from the Brink’ Campaign” Diane Swords is a long time anti-nuclear activist organizing public education, legislative and divestment campaigns nationally with Back from the Brink (preventnuclearwar.org); and with Peace Action of New York State, and Syracuse Peace Council. 

    Larry Wittner: “The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” Larry Wittner is Professor of History Emeritus at SUNY/Albany, a former president of the Peace History Society, and the author of Confronting the Bomb and many other works on nuclear disarmament issues (www.lawrenceswittner.com). 

    Rishi Gurudevan: “Organizing Students for Nuclear Disarmament” Rishi Gurudevan is the founder of Students for Nuclear Disarmament, a national non-partisan 501(c)(3) dedicated to raising awareness among “Gen-Z” about nuclear war, and a senior at Phillips Exeter Academy.

    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: bit.ly/WRNADA
  • People’s March January 18, 2025

    March in Hudson on January 18th starting at noon. Assembly location:

    7th Street Park – Hudson, NY
    701 Warren Street
    Hudson, NY

    More details: https://map.peoplesmarch.com/events/the-people-s-march-city-of-hudson

     

  • What is the way forward for the peace movement?

    Join us for Upper Hudson Peace Action’s Annual Gathering! Sunday, November 10, 2024
    4pm to 6pm at
    St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church,10 N. Main Avenue, Albany [map]

    Featuring
    • A panel presentation on the topic “Which way forward for the peace movement?” with
    Maureen Aumand, Susan DuBois, Tom Ellis, Charlie Mandracchia & Larry Wittner
    • Presentation of the first Pat Beetle Peace Award to Maureen Aumand
    • Desserts, coffee, and tea provided by UHPA
     
    Save the date. Invite your friends.
    Use the Facebook event page.

    Schedule
    Doors open at 3:45pm.
    Awards ceremony begins promptly at 4:15pm.
    Panel discussion will begin at 4:30pm
    Suggested donation: $20 per person
    This donation includes annual Upper Hudson Peace Action membership dues.
    This event is free for all students.
    This is a zero waste event and we welcome volunteers to set-up or break-down.
    No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
     
    About the Speakers
    Maureen Baillargeon Aumand is a member of Women Against War, Grannies for Peace, and the co-organizer of the annual Kateri Peace Conference.
     
    Susan DuBois has been involved in the local peace and justice community for many years and is a co-chair of Ukraine Solidarity Capital District.
     
    Tom Ellis is a long-time member of both the Palestinian Rights Committee and Upper Hudson Peace Action.
     
    Charlie Mandracchia is a political science PhD student at the University at Albany, committed peace activist, and former campus organizer at Siena College for Peace Action of New York State.
     
    Larry Wittner, a peace and social justice activist since 1961, currently serves as a board member of the Peace Action Fund of New York State and of the Citizens for Global Solutions Education Fund.

     

     
  • Local Hiroshima/ Nagasaki 2024 ceremonies

    Reading of John Hersey’s Hiroshima 
    Tuesday, August 6, 11:00AM
    Townsend Park, Albany, NY
    (Henry Johnson Blvd. & Central Ave.)
     
    The event is free and open to the public and the public is encouraged to join in the reading.  Those interested in reading can sign up to participate when they arrive.  Please bring folding chairs. Rain site: Social Justice Center.

    On August 6, 1945 the United States of America used the atomic bomb for the first time to destroy the city of Hiroshima, Japan; on August 9, the U.S. used the atomic bomb again on Nagasaki, Japan. Over 200,000 people died immediately in the two bombings and over a hundred thousand more died in the following decades as a result of the effects of the radiation.  

    Hiroshima by John Hersey tells the story of the bombing on August 6, 1945 by following the story of six of the survivors.  The book version has been in print since 1946.  

    Co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation, Tom Paine Chapter Veterans for Peace, Upper Hudson Peace Action. For more information contact Dan Wilcox, 518-482-0262; dwlcx46@gmail.com
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    From our friends in peace at the Grafton Peace Pagoda:

    Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Walk & 79th Commemoration Ceremony
    Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Walk: No More War – August 6-10, 2024
    • Tuesday, August 6 – Hiroshima Day – 2:00 PM Chickopee, MA City Hall to Springfield City Hall for Peace Vigil and Gathering
    • Wednesday August 7 – 9:00 AM Amherst City Hall to North Hampton MA L3Harris Company (War technology company)
    • Thursday August 8 – 9:00 AM Saratoga Springs to West Milton Kesselring Training Facility (Nuclear Submarine Training Center)
    • Friday August 9 Nagasaki Day – 7:00AM Vigil at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and walk to NYS Capitol for Nagasaki Peace Vigil at noon
    • Saturday August 10 – 6:30PM Grafton Town Square walk to Grafton Peace Pagoda for Lantern Ceremony at 8:00PM

    For Peace Walk details please contact Grafton Peace Pagoda, Nipponzan Myohoji (Japanese Buddhist order) call 518-658-9301, 8:00am-5:00pm. During Peace Walk contact Rose (201) 956-5702

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    Hiroshima Nagasaki Day
    Saturday, August 10, 2024 – 79th Commemoration Ceremony
    Remembering those lost to nuclear war

    Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

    6:30pm walk from Grafton Town Square to Grafton Peace Pagoda
    8:00pm Program of Peace in front of the Peace Pagoda

    • Lantern Ceremony
    • Interfaith Prayer
    • Musical Offerings

    Ceremony rain or shine. Remember that it’s always cooler in Grafton and there are sometimes mosquitos so bring what you need for comfort. For more information contact the Grafton Peace Pagoda at 518-658-9301 (between 8:00am-5:00pm).

    87 Crandall Rd., Grafton, NY 1213