WNY Peace Center

01/30/2023

The WNY community grieves with beloved Marsha McWilson and family, suffering the loss of son Jaylan, murdered in broad daylight right in front of their house.

Hundreds came out tonight for an anti-violence rally at True Bethel Niagara Falls. We’ve got to make the changes needed…. Plenty of inspiration this evening towards that - so much , , and in the house!!

Wake is tomorrow (Monday) 5pm at St John’s AME, 917 Garden Ave, NF; Tues 1/31 10:30 am viewing, 12pm service at Zion Dominion Global Ministries, 895 N Forest Rd, Williamsville.

01/28/2023

Proud to be a sponsor for this special MLK event- tickets are still available... WGRZ - Channel 2, Buffalo

01/28/2023

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation's Divide

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation's Divide

2018 John F. Morgan Sr. Distinguished Faculty LectureCarol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American StudiesApril 9, 2018

01/28/2023

"The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, is an international memorial day on January 27th that commemorates the victims of the Holocaust. January 27th was chosen to commemorate the date when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945.

The day remembers the killing of six million Jews, two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population, and millions of others by the N**i regime and its collaborators. It was designated by United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 on November 1st, 2005. The resolution came after a special session was held earlier that year on January 24th to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the N**i concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust.

Many countries have instituted their own Holocaust memorial days. Some, such as the UK's Holocaust Memorial Day, also fall on January 27th, while others, such as Israel's Yom HaShoah, are observed at other times of the year."

Watch the UN Holocaust Memorial Ceremony 2023 here: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1j/k1jjl8fwc5

01/25/2023

Please note our updated office hours for February (beginning 2/6): By appointment, Mondays and Wednesdays 2-5 PM.

Questions? 716-332-3904 or [email protected]

01/25/2023

Thank you to everyone who came out to our 2023 Annual Meeting and Open House on Sunday (whether in person or on Zoom)! We hope you enjoyed learning about our exciting plans for the new year and seeing our beautiful new space at the NRC Carriage House.

Please keep an eye on our website/FB events and sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on all of our 2023 activities!

01/25/2023

Enhance your home and nurture nature! Time to order tree and shrub seedlings through this great program.

01/25/2023

In just three days:

Monterey Park: 11 dead & 9 wounded at a Lunar New Year celebration
Baton Rouge: 12 wounded at a nightclub
Des Moines: 2 students dead & 1 teacher wounded at a youth outreach center
Half Moon Bay: 7 dead & 1 wounded at two separate plant nurseries
Oakland: 1 dead & 7 wounded at a gas station

And these are just the shootings that have made headlines. Every day, more than 110 people are shot and killed and more than 200 are shot and wounded.

WE DON’T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS.

01/25/2023

The minute hand on the Doomsday Clock has been reset by the Bulletin of atomic scientists to 90 seconds until midnight, which is the closest it has ever been, largely but not exclusively due to the war in Ukraine and Russian nuclear threats.
The nine nuclear-armed states and others who support nuclear weapons have knowingly put us in great danger at this point; it is not an accident.

The Clock announcement this year must be met with immediate action to prevent nuclear war, not the usual hand wringing, resignation, and excuses. ICAN has a plan for ridding the world of nuclear weapons in four steps: prohibition, stigmatization, negotiation and elimination. Read more about it here: https://www.icanw.org/doomsday_clock_no_more_excuses_the_plan

01/23/2023

Don’t miss the below important event!! .

🗣 We're hungry for change.
♻️ We're hungry for a just transition where all workers have access to sustainable, long term careers.
❌ Reckless sulfide mining can't deliver those, because it never has.

👉 Click the link to RSVP! https://buff.ly/3XmRI6O

Join Winona LaDuke and others in this roundtable discussion reimagining what life would be like beyond harmful and unnecessary mining projects coming to Minnesota.

👏 You don't want to miss this! RSVP now! https://buff.ly/3XmRI6O

01/22/2023

Letter Asks President Biden to Sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons - World BEYOND War

Letter Asks President Biden to Sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons - World BEYOND War

Dear President Biden, We, the undersigned, call on you to immediately sign, on behalf of the United States, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), also known as the “Nuclear Ban Treaty.”

01/22/2023

Photos from International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)'s post

01/22/2023

Timeline photos

📢 Join us for our 3rd annual virtual film festival!

This year’s “Celebrating Stories of ” explores the power of nonviolent action.

Grab your ticket today, 1 ticket gets you access to all 3 films & panel discussions! https://buff.ly/3iBcHnr

01/22/2023

How Israeli Apartheid Destroyed My Hometown

https://youtu.be/aEdGcej-6D0

Segregated streets. Settler violence. Military harassment. This happens all over the occupied West Bank, but perhaps nowhere are these scenes more concentrat...

01/22/2023

Timeline photos

2023 FIRE Immersion Facilitators - Applications Welcome!

This summer, for the 9th year, a team of passionate and committed farmers will come together with participants from all over the region and country who are seeking to amplify the land-based skills needed to reclaim leadership as growers and food justice organizers in their communities. Soul Fire Farm is accepting applications for guest facilitators for the 2023 FIRE Season. Immersion 1 runs August 6 - 11, and Immersion 2 runs August 20 - 25.

FIRE (Farming In Relationship to Earth) is designed for aspiring, beginning, and intermediate growers of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx heritage to gain basic skills in regenerative farming in a culturally relevant, supportive, and joyful environment.

The position involves co-leading a team for each "hands on the land block," leading or co-leading 3-4 workshops or classes, in addition to set up, clean up, and maintenance of the space and tools. A complete list of the responsibilities and commitments are linked here. The compensation is $2,000 plus 3 meals a day and tent accommodations.

FIRE Alumni are welcome and encouraged to apply!
If you are interested please send your resume and a one paragraph letter of interest to [email protected] by February 12. Thank you!

01/22/2023

10 people killed in mass shooting near Los Angeles after Lunar New Year celebrations

10 people killed in mass shooting near Los Angeles after Lunar New Year celebrations

Police and fire units could be seen swarming the area in video posted to social media.

01/22/2023

Wishing you a peaceful and happy from the ! 🐰💙

01/22/2023

Along with today being our 2023 Annual Meeting, did you know that 1/22 is the anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)?

The , or the Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It was adopted on July 7th, 2017; opened for signature on September 20th, 2017; and entered into force on January 22nd, 2021.

You can learn more about the TPNW at un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/tpnw

01/22/2023

So grateful to Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, Allah, James Ponzo II, and the generations of BIPOC and co-conspirators fighting for freedom and humanity!!!

01/21/2023

Siamak Dehghanpour's Interview with Dr. Cornel West on "Non-Violent Movements: From America to Iran"

You’ll want to hear Dr. Cornel West below!!! Thanks so very much, as always for your inspiration, and , dear Brother Cornel!!!

Siamak Dehghanpour's Interview with Dr. Cornel West on "Non-Violent Movements: From America to Iran"January 19, 2023Dr. West is the former Professor of the P...

01/21/2023

Very disturbing content of a recent local encounter with Police. Join us and Fair Fines + Fees Coalition - Buffalo in finding a better way!!!

And hope to see you at WNYPC Annual Meeting & Open House tomorrow!! 🙏🏽🌹💙

01/20/2023

Atlanta Police Kill Forest Defender at Protest Encampment Near Proposed “Cop City” Training Center

Atlanta Police Kill Forest Defender at Protest Encampment Near Proposed “Cop City” Training Center

We get an update on calls for an independent investigation into the Atlanta police killing of an activist during a violent raid Wednesday on a proposed $90 million training facility in a public forest, known by opponents to the facility as “Cop City.” Law enforcement officers — including a SWA...

01/20/2023

Via our friends at : " lies the work of accountability for its crimes, care for its survivors, and reparations for the suffering that the men and their families have endured."

How you can help:
🕊️ Read the stories of some of the men who are detained in Profiles: Faces of Guantánamo http://ow.ly/xo2O50Mwlkv
🕊️ Send this e-mail through Amnesty International to President Biden http://ow.ly/6Ycz50Mwlkx
🕊️ Sign the National Religious Campaign Against Torture petition and access educational and prayer resources for your community http://ow.ly/iUac50MwleQ
🕊️ Share the letter to Biden from more than 150 organizations calling for Guantánamo's closure http://ow.ly/CjP550Mwlf9
🕊️ Watch the short film, "Still Here", by the Center for Victims of Torture http://ow.ly/TjAH50Mwlku
🕊️ Read the op-ed by Amnesty International's Daphne Eviatar, Twenty-One Years On, US Detention at Guantánamo Bay Remains Unconscionable http://ow.ly/mcUt50Mwlkz
🕊️ Read the op-ed by Dr. Maha Hilal, Closing Guantánamo: Its victims deserve human dignity, not demonisation http://ow.ly/3BR050Mwlf7
🕊️ Read the book by Muslim Counterpublics Lab's Dr. Maha Hilal, Innocent Until Proven Muslim: Islamophobia, the War on Terror, and the Muslim Experience Since 9/11 http://ow.ly/WwwA50MwlkB
🕊️ Learn about how you can support Guantánamo survivors http://ow.ly/T7oL50Mwlky
🕊️ Donate for Ramadan gift packages to the men still imprisoned at Guantanamo http://ow.ly/q01F50MwlkA

01/20/2023

The 2023 Annual Meeting & Open House is now just a few days away, and you don't want to miss it!

THIS SUNDAY, 1/22 AT NOON, come learn about our exciting plans for the year, share your voice, and see our new space (the Carriage House at NRC)!

Please join us for another year of promoting at home & abroad!

Become a Member here: https://wnypeace.org/wp/about/membership

01/20/2023

is collecting damage data from those who were impacted by the of 2022. This data will be used to report back to the city of and .

Click the link below for the 211 WNY Disaster Damage Reporting Form mentioned during this week's taping of Radio with .

❄️ http://ow.ly/b92x50MvMX6

Learn more at 211wny.org

01/20/2023

"After 10 months of fighting, it does not appear the Russia-Ukraine war will end any time soon. That conflict has begun to impact US-Russian nuclear arms control efforts—first by raising mistrust between Washington and Moscow to levels not seen since the height of the Cold War.

In late 2022, Moscow postponed a planned meeting of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty’s implementing body, the Bilateral Consultative Commission, and the bilateral dialogue on broader strategic stability issues hangs in limbo. Even when—hopefully not if—the dialogue resumes, the consequences of the war will make achievement of US goals on arms control more difficult, particularly as regards limiting Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons.

[...] The United States and Russia have an interest in nuclear risk reduction and in constraining their competition in nuclear arms. It was clear already in 2021 that non-strategic nuclear weapons and long-range conventional strike weapons would pose difficult issues in US-Russian discussions on strategic stability, nuclear weapons, and related questions, especially considering the mistrust between Washington and Moscow. That mistrust has only deepened over the past year, and the underperformance of Russian conventional forces in Ukraine, including by their precision-guided, conventional strike systems, will make stability discussions and any resulting negotiations even more difficult and time-consuming."

Read more: http://ow.ly/M6on50MvNea



Image credit: Kazem Bokaei’s entry to the UN Poster for Peace competition (© UNODA unposterforpeace.org)

01/20/2023

Communities Not Cages is a statewide campaign building the power of people and families impacted by mass incarceration to overhaul New York’s racist and draconian sentencing laws.

Join them in Albany on January 24th, 2023 for the first advocacy day of the legislative session. They'll have a press conference, rally, and meetings with dozens of lawmakers. The'll also provide free transportation and food from across the state.

Details and RSVP here: https://secure.everyaction.com/i81N95wsnUuD7fz4AsfZcA2

Justice

01/20/2023

"Gov. Kathy Hochul’s embattled nominee to become New York State’s top judge was rejected on Wednesday, an unprecedented repudiation that underscored a deep division among Democrats on the direction of the state’s judicial system.

After a combative hourslong hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 against the nomination of Justice Hector D. LaSalle, whose nomination was strongly opposed by progressives who saw him as too conservative.

The committee’s rejection — the first time that New York lawmakers have voted against a governor’s choice for chief judge — laid bare how vulnerable Ms. Hochul, a Buffalo-area Democrat, may be to a challenge from her own party. All 10 senators who voted against the judge were Democrats; two Democrats voted in favor of Justice LaSalle, while one Democrat and all six Republicans on the committee voted in favor 'without recommendation.'

The rejection does not necessarily mean that the LaSalle saga is over. The governor has not ruled out taking legal action to force a vote on Justice LaSalle’s nomination on the full Senate floor, raising the specter of a constitutional showdown.

The fight over the chief judge nomination, usually a noncontentious ordeal, has become the most consequential political challenge of Ms. Hochul’s first full term after being elected in November. The quarrel has set her against more progressive Democrats in the State Senate, testing her relationship with lawmakers as she begins to push her recently unveiled policy agenda in Albany."

Read more: http://ow.ly/QooX50MvN2x

01/19/2023

Via our friends at Group: "Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed legislation that places a two-year moratorium on new permits for proof of work mining in New York that rely on carbon-based fuel to power their activities.

This new law recognizes that Proof of Work cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) are extremely energy intensive and reopening of fossil fuel power plants to mine for crypto 24/7, 365 days a year need to be evaluated against the state's climate mandates.

Our next Environmental Series guest is Robert M. Restaino, the Mayor of the City of . His city has experience in regulating the two major Bitcoin mining operators in the city, including a moratorium in his city this year as zoning regulations on this new form of business were reviewed. Please join us as he explains the changes the city took in its regulations and what the state may learn from the moratorium in the City of Niagara Falls."

🌱 WHEN: Wednesday January 25th, 2023 at 6:30 pm
🌱 WHERE: Join us virtually - register here: http://ow.ly/JBU950MuBTj (Once registered, you will receive the Zoom invitation immediately and a reminder 30 minutes before the presentation.)

If you have any questions, email [email protected]

niagarasierraclub.org

01/19/2023

Joshua Frank's is an urgent look at the dark side of nuclear power. Hanford Nuclear Reservation, once the United States' largest plutonium production site, is now designated the most toxic place in America. We can't afford inaction: an accident at Hanford could make Chernobyl pale.

Joshua will be joined by peace activist Frida Berrigan and reporter Indigo Olivier for a discussion on nuclear proliferation and the antiwar movement. Frida's recent article, "The End of the World is Back: Why We Need a New Generation of Nuclear Abolitionists" calls on us to join the fight for nuclear disarmament. The world as we know it is at stake.

For Joshua's book, Atomic Days: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1940-atomic-days

Register to receive a link to the video conference on the day of the event. This event will also be recorded and live captioning will be provided. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/no-winners-in-nuclear-war-nuclear-power-the-military-industrial-complex-tickets-514167407557

This event is sponsored by Haymarket Books and In These Times.

01/19/2023

"U.S. peace activists are calling for the United States to play an active role in de-escalating the - war, given the nuclear threat and the war’s immense human toll. The tactics range from brokering a ceasefire to bringing both sides to the negotiating table to address grievances, including the ways the United States has encouraged the expansion of NATO since the end of the Cold War.

If the world can make it back from this brink, then perhaps a silver lining to this devastating, 21st-century war might be a new urgency behind the work for nuclear disarmament. The public has been reminded of the vast U.S. and Russian stockpiles of more than 4,000 nuclear warheads each, of which a total of more than 3,000 are actively deployed. To avoid finding ourselves here again, we need ."

Read more: https://inthesetimes.com/article/nuclear-abolitionism