Amnesty International's Eastern/Central Pennsylvania State Meeting is next weekend! Join your fellow Amnesty members for a day of improving your knowledge and skills to work on human rights.

Saturday, March 10, 2007
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
University of Pennsylvania
Houston Hall, Student Union building (grey brick building, 34th & Spruce Streets)

The day will include nine workshops to choose from, general sessions full of great information on AIUSA and human rights issues, and opportunities to network with fellow members. Lunch is provided. Whether you've been with Amnesty for years or only a few months, there will be something for everyone.

Please register online by Monday, March 5 if you plan to attend... this will allow AI to better prepare materials, food and facilities.

Click here for detailed schedule, directions, and online registration.

Anyone interested in lobbying against U.S.-sponsored torture and for the restoration of the civil liberties and protections abandoned by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is invited to join in a discussion of lobbying strategies.

Jay O'Hara of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) will be discussing lobbying against torture and other post-9/11 civil liberties violations.

Monday, March 5th at 7:00pm
Goshen Monthly Meeting
814 North Chester Road (southeast corner of Paoli Pike and Rt. 352)
West Chester, PA

Amnesty International members and supporters are invited to join in a bus caravan to New York City for the Save Darfur demonstration on September 17. Time is short - please register by September 12 if you wish to take one of the buses.

Two buses are available from our area:

FROM PHILADELPHIA: This bus is contracted by the Darfur Alert Coalition and will have a lot of Darfuri expatriates aboard. Pickup-dropoff is at Max Myers Playground, at Bustleton and Hellerman, a block above Roosevelt Boulevard. Departure is 10 a.m. sharp, return at about 8 p.m. This is the Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood where a lot of Darfuris live. This trip will give Americans a nice chance to sit and talk to Darfuris. Cost is $25. Send checks, payable to Darfur Alert Coalition, to: Jim Remsen, 13 Penarth Rd., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19004.

FROM MAIN LINE: Beth Am Israel synagogue is partnering with Main Line Reform Temple to organize a bus that is serving any and all interested people, from synagogues, churches, schools, solo residents, etc. Departure is 10 a.m. from the Main Line Reform Temple parking lot in Wynnewood, with return scheduled for 8 p.m. To reserve a seat, call the synagogue office at 610-649-7800, and send a $25 check, payable to Main Line Reform Temple, to: Main Line Reform Temple, 410 Montgomery Ave., Wynnewood Pa. 19096.

Many thanks to Jim Remsen for the invitation and the information!

Join Amnesty International, the ACLU and other concerned organizations and individuals for a Rally to Defend the Constitution on National Constitution Day, Sunday, September 17, at 2:30 pm at Independence Mall, 5th & Market Streets, Philadelphia.

Featured speakers:

• John Dean, former White House counsel and author of Worse than Watergate:
  The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush

• Michael Coard, host of The Radio Courtroom on WHAT 1340 AM
  
• Angel Ortiz, former Philadelphia City Councilman and a lead sponsor of the Philadelphia anti-PATRIOT Act Resolution
  
• Readings of translated poetry written by Guantanamo Bay detainees
  
• Puppets from Spiral Q Puppet Theater

The Stop Violence against Women (SVAW) campaign and the Philadelphia OUTfront campaign for Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgender (LGBT) Human Rights and will hold a joint-orientation meeting at the Friends Center at 1501 Cherry Street in the Rufus Jones Room on Sunday, September 24 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Attend this meeting to help make a difference with ongoing campaigns and to contribute your perspectives on what SVAW and OUTfront should initiate in the Philadelphia area. The meeting will begin with a general introduction to Amnesty International, followed by two breakout sessions (you can ultimately join either or both groups). It will conclude with a general reception.

On October 7, 2006, buses will be leaving from communities throughout Pennsylvania to converge in Harrisburg for a rally calling for a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The event will take place on the steps of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and will feature speakers from murder victim family members, community organizations and more.

The death penalty is an unfair system that claims innocent lives. Over 120 people have been released from death row due to wrongful convictions and over 95% of death row inmates were unable to afford their own attorney. It is time for a humane justice system in Pennsylvania!

Visit this link for more information on how to Get on the Bus and make your voice heard.

Amnesty International Group 342 will be holding an information table at the Delaware County Peace Festival this Saturday, May 13. Please stop by our table and take action on behalf of a Guantanamo detainee who has reportedly been tortured.

The annual Peace Festival, sponsored by the Peace Center of Delaware County, will be held on the beautiful one acre grounds of the Springfield Friends Meeting House; 1001 Old Sproul Road in Springfield, Delaware County; from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. John Flynn will perform a kids' concert at 2:00 p.m. and the main stage concert will start at 3:00 p.m.

In case of rainy weather, the event will be held indoors at the Swarthmore Friends Meeting House, 12 Whittier Place, in Swarthmore. Festival goers can check the Peace Center Web site at www.delcopeacecenter.org or call 610-328-2424 for up to date information on the day of the event.

This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to our members.

18 April 2006 - 8:00 am – 9:30 am
White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Come hear from two activists from opposite sides of the world how U.S. farm policy is undermining development around the globe and how local groups are advocating for change.

Reservations are required: Please RSVP by Monday 215-386-9224.

This presentation will be led by Senegalese Agronomist Dr. Thiendou Niang, who is currently the director of the Agricultural Policy Expertise Network in Dakar, Senegal. Since 2002, Dr. Niang has coordinated studies on agricultural policies and the effects of global subsidies, as well as the linkages between poverty reduction strategies and agricultural policies. Also speaking will be local expert John Weidman, Deputy Executive Director of The Food Trust. Together they will explore the implications of US agricultural policy on both developing countries and rural America, as well as the international and local efforts to bring about policy change. The program will take place at the White Dog Café, a café that combines local cuisine and social activism. Price per person is $12 (students and seniors $10) and includes a full breakfast with locally and humanely raised ingredients and fair exchange coffee. Tax and gratuity are included.

Pieces of East
Concert to Benefit Amnesty International
Saturday, April 22, 7:30 pm
Unitarian Fellowship of West Chester
501 S. High St., West Chester
$10 at the door, $8 for students
Google Map
Fellowship website

About Pieces of East:

Drawing from American Folk and Indian classical cultures, Pieces of East’s unique Folk/Pop songs have earned them fans from around the world, won them several prestigious Austin Music Awards, and ignited radio stations all over the country. Pieces of East’s groundbreaking debut album, "Shadow Box", was produced by legendary producer Mark Hallman (Carole King, Ani DiFranco) and received both popular support and critical acclaim.

David Lynch of Austin’s most popular weekly, the Austin Chronicle, hails Pieces of East as "a veritable supergroup" while Madalyn Sklar, president of grassroots music community, Go Girls Music says, "Pieces of East delivers the best groove/pop I’ve ever heard."

For more information about the group, visit www.piecesofeast.com