Protest aims to shut down Army Center

A dozen demonstrators vowed to keep protesting until the closing of what they called an immoral operation.

Protester chants to close the Army Experience Center rang through the entertainment corridor of Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.

"We remember Dr. King. Close the A-E-C."

"For peace - Close the A-E-C."

"For justice - Close the A-E-C," chanted about a dozen local peace group members, as they paid homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his passion for peace while calling for the closure of what they termed an "immoral" operation. [more]

All In a Day's Work (an interview with Bob Moore) (Town Topics) Wednesday, June 24, 2009, I’m the son of a navy officer. My dad fought in World War II and the Korean War. I was about 12 at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I was full of bravado. I thought, “hey, let’s blow ‘em off the face of the earth.” Of course there are millions of human beings living in Cuba; how could you say something so cavalier? But I was twelve years old. I was a hawk on Vietnam as well.

I liked building things, so when I got to college I majored in engineering. My very first semester, I was going to the student center where Dow Chemical was recruiting and of course, they were the makers of napalm. There were protesters outside showing pictures of children who were burned by napalm, and I said, “Wait a minute — this isn’t what the good guys are supposed to be doing.” That really got me thinking, and led me to the journey I’ve been on since I was 18 years old. ... [more]

 

Survivors Mark Anniversary of Hiroshima, Nagasaki (Times of Trenton) Thursday August 6, 2009, PRINCETON TOWNSHIP - Katsuyuki Nigahisa was playing in the school yard when he saw a mushroom-shaped cloud rising from the direction of Hiroshima. The 10-year-old didn't know what to make of the strange, huge cloud in the sky. It wasn't until the next day, when a neighbor arrived from Hiroshima covered in burns and soot, that Nigahisa's family learned of the catastrophic event described in Japanese as the "Pkia don" -- the flash and boom.

When he and his family set out for Hiroshima to find out if their relatives were safe, they saw a vision of complete devastation along the way: mangled remains of buildings, miles of burnt ruins, a dead cart horse lying with his belly up facing the scorching sun, but no bodies, because they had been cremated. For three days, they searched for their relatives and finally found them, all badly injured, their homes destroyed. They didn't realize during the tearful reunion that within a year, a grandmother and a cousin would die from the aftereffects of radiation. Sixty-four years later, the sorrows of a childhood shadowed by the dropping of the atomic bomb remain in the hearts of those who were there. Some, like Nigahisa, have taken that sadness and channeled it into helping other victims and pushing for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Nigahisa was one of two atomic bomb survivors, known as Hibakusha, who shared their stories last night at the commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 65 people attended the annual event at the Institute for Advanced Study, sponsored by the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action and the Fellowship In Prayer. ... [more]

Minister Urges Unity (Times of Trenton) Friday, July 3, 2009, PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Religious communities across the country need to join together to stop gun violence and should recruit young people in their cause, a Philadelphia minister told area peace activists yesterday. . . .More than 50 people attended the event to kick off the Fourth of July holiday weekend, relaxing with a picnic and peace songs before the awards presentation that focused on gun violence and peace in Iran.

"Peace is indeed patriotic," said the Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the coalition. "It's the most patriotic thing we can do." Moore used the occasion to remind attendees about the power people have in a democracy to unite and organize for change. Recalling the peace movement's victory in the effort to halt the repeal of the assault weapons ban in New Jersey, he said, ""We are powerful. We have power for peace, power for preventing violence." ... [more]

Sheehan Brings Activism to Bucks (Bucks County Courier Tmies)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 -- The anti-war crusader said she'll continue to speak against U.S. policies despite the new administration. Cindy Sheehan's methods have evolved since she first took her anti-war message to the streets. The California-based activist said this week she doesn't put much stock in peace marches and petitions anymore. She encourages people instead to shift the country's balance of power by supporting independent media sources, growing food at home and discouraging people from enlisting in the military. That was some of the advice she gave a crowd gathered Monday at the BuxMont Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Warrington, Sheehan's latest stop to promote her new electronic book, "Myth America." ... [more]

Activist: Peace Effort Losing Steam (Times of Trenton)
Monday, June 22, 2009 -- The woman best known for holding a vigil in front of George W. Bush's Texas ranch to protest the war in Iraq encouraged area activists yesterday to continue their efforts in the struggle to promote peace. Gold Star mother Cindy Shee han addressed about 50 people at the Unitarian Universalist Congre gation of Princeton yesterday as part of a weekend of talks organized by the Delaware Valley Veterans for America and sponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action and the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War." . . . [more]

Forward March: Three Faiths Walk in Pursuit of Peace (New Jersey Jewish News)
Monday, June 8, 2009 -- "Carrying a banner decorated with stars of David, crosses, and crescents, nearly 100 Jews, Christians, and Muslims marched together in Trenton during the Tri-Faith Walk on Sunday, May 31. Cosponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action and Fellowship in Prayer, the 3.7-mile walk was the second of three events inspired by Rep. Rush Holt’s (D-Dist.12) statewide initiative to promote religious understanding and appreciation of diversity." . . . [more]

 

Shortchanging Voters (The New York Times, Editorial)
Saturday, January 5, 2009 -- More than three years have gone by since the New Jersey Legislature required the state to install modern voting machines that provide printouts of each vote -- the paper trail that experts regard as essential to far and accurate elections. The machines are still nowhere in sight.

Deadlines have been imposed and proved meaningless. The latest dealine was New Year's Day, which of course has passed. Technically, the state is in violation of its own law, but nobody seems to care. Gov. Jon Corzine has said he will do something . . . (Read the rest.)

 

Votes that count (Trenton Times, Editorial)
Tuesday, December 23 -- The New Jersey Senate did the state's voters a big favor last week when 21 of them voted against a pilot project to equip some voting machines with printers. But wait. Isn't the proverbial paper trail exactly what voting- reform advocates have been after since the Florida 2000 hanging chad debacle? A verifi able receipt system is, in fact, what reformers have pushed for, but the pilot project proposal in the Senate last week was a clunker from the start.. . . (Read the rest.)

Looking at new and expensive ways to fix NJ's voting system (Gannet News Service -- Asbury Park Press, Bergen Record, Star Ledger)
Sunday, December 21, 2008-- Now certain to miss a year-end deadline to have voting machines that produce a paper trail, state officials are mapping out alternate ways to fix New Jersey's voting system that could include replacing touch-screen machines with optical scanners. . . . (Read the rest.)

A vote for optical scan (Trenton Times, Editorial)
Monday, December 15, 2008 -- Today, the state Legislature is expected to consider a bill to remove the requirement that voting machines produce voter-verified paper records by Jan. 1, 2009, and to replace that re quirement with a pilot program for adding printers to a few of New Jersey's voting machines.If the results of that pilot program prove acceptable, the rest of the state's electronic voting machines will be retrofitted, . . . (Read the rest.)