[wolfe@wolves.private: [lowell@optonline.net: [CUUPs Cafe] UU Service Committee Anti-War Efforts]]
Wolfe Woodbury
To: Lowell McFarland <low...@optonline.net>
From: Lowell McFarland <low...@optonline.net>
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:08:24 -0400
Subject: [CUUPs Cafe] UU Service Committee Anti-War Efforts
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
689 Massachusetts Avenue • Cambridge, MA 02139 [USA]• 617-868-6600 •
www.uusc.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2008
CONTACT: Dick Campbell, 617-301-4370
Eric Grignol, 617-990-7867
NEWS Advisory
National human rights organization brings anti-war campaign to Fort
Lauderdale religious convention
A faith-based nonprofit organization hopes to inspire attendees at the
annual convention of a major religious denomination to make ending the war
in Iraq their major focus for the rest of the 2008 political year.
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), an international human
rights organization based in Cambridge, Mass., will be hosting a series of
training sessions and workshops at the General Assembly of the Unitarian
Universalist Association to be held from Wednesday, June 24 to Sunday, June
29, at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
"In this vitally important election year, we are using this opportunity in
Fort Lauderdale to educate and train activists," said UUSC President Charlie
Clements.
"We are asking the question, The Cost of Iraq:
Who pays the price?
While the burdens may be uneven, we are all bearing the burdens of this war
- the military, their families, their communities.
"The war is being financed at the cost of adequate health care for all,
crumbling infrastructure of public works, underfunded public schools, and
the total failure the federal government to meet even the most basic needs
of hundreds of thousands of survivors of the devastating Gulf Coast
hurricanes of August 2005.
"This November will be a referendum on the war in Iraq."
Activist training sessions
• The first activist training seeks to educate and mobilize activism around
voter registration, get-out-the-vote, and other electoral issues during the
upcoming presidential and congressional campaigns.
It will be held on Wednesday, June 25, near the Convention Center in the
Panorama Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, 2301 S.E. 17th St., Fort
Lauderdale, from noon to 4 p.m.
A featured speaker will be Camilo Mejía, of Miami, the first combat veteran
to publicly refuse to return to Iraq and who now heads the Iraq Veterans
Against the War.
He was court martialed, spent nine months in a military prison, and
discharged.
Other speakers include UUSC President Charlie Clements, UUA President Rev.
William Sinkford, and Tom Andrews, former congressman from Maine and now
national director of the Win Without War Coalition, based in Washington,
D.C.
• The second activist training, which is intended primarily for youth and
young adults but is open to all ages, will bring together national activists
and local groups to train participants in "counter-recruitment" events in
schools and community centers.
It will be held Saturday, June 28, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at
Convention Center Rooms 113-114.
Camilo Mejía will be a featured speaker at this training session, as well as
David Meieran of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a long-time social activist on
AIDS, anti-war, and police violence issues.
(Note to editors: The main speakers at all of our activities at General
Assembly are available for interviews before and after the convention.
For assistance in arranging interviews or photos, contact Dick Campbell in
Cambridge at 617-301-4370, dcam...@uusc.org, or Eric Grignol in Fort
Lauderdale after June 24, 2008, at 617-990-7867, egri...@uusc.org. )
Other workshops related to ending the Iraq war include:
-- "Who pays the Price for the Iraq War," Friday, June 27, 11 a.m.-12:15
p.m., Convention Center, Grand Floridian B, moderated by Tom Andrews, former
congressman from Maine. Other speakers include Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, of Denver,
Colorado, an Iraqi native and a leading anti-war activist; Nancy Lessin of
Boston, a founder of Military Families Speak Out; and Linsay Burnett, of
Nashville, Tennessee.
-- "Collateral Damage: Families Devastated by the Iraq War," Friday, June
27, 3:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m., Convention Center, Grand Floridian A, moderated by
William Schulz, former UUA president and executive director of Amnesty
International U.S. Other speakers include Iraqi native Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, and
Andy Shallal, an Iraqi-American artist, peace activist, and restaurateur in
Washington, D.C.
-- "Join Patriots and Veterans Saying "No to War!", Saturday, June 28, 5
p.m.-6:15 p.m., Convention Center, Grand Floridian G. Speakers include
Camilo Mejía, Linsay Burnett, and Wayne Smith, manager of UUSC's Civil
Liberties Program and a former combat medic during the Vietnam War.
For more information about UUSC and its position on the war in Iraq, please
visit http://www.uusc.org/iraq . For more information about UUSC's General
Assembly events, visit www.uusc.org/ga
------------------------------------------
Lowell McFarland <low...@optonline.net>
------------------------------------
----- End forwarded message -----
--
soc.religion.unitarian-univ is a moderated newsgroup. Please mail messages to
u...@iecc.com, and see http://sruu.iecc.com for the FAQ and posting policy.