Network for Peace

Global Day of Action on Military Spending. The UK's military budget is £33 billion a year, yet 56,000 nurses are expected to lose their jobs as cuts are implemented across the public sector. On 17 April, take action in solidarity with peace protesters around the world to say This is NOT OK. Contact outreach@caat.org.uk to let us know you'd like to take part.

London CAAT are meeting to make our plans for 2012 so if you only come to one meeting this is the one! We meet at 6.30pm in the Central station pub on Wharfdale Road (see link for a map). http://tinyurl.com/6zdwkgw

Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station, Somerset. Mark the passing of a year of nuclear disaster at Fukushima in Japan with a mass surround of Hinkley on the 10th of March, which will become a 24hr blockade, ending on the 11th March.

D D Guttenplan (“American Radical: The Life and Times of I F Stone”) explores the life and work of one of the 20th centuries’ great radical journalists.

Become a rebel clown! Facilitated by Trŵper Tŵp & Capten Cyboli of CIRCA .To cover venue hire and train fare for recruiting sergeants a suggested contribution is £15-£40 depending on pocket. Booking and a small deposit are essential. The training is physical (but not strenuous) so do wear loose, comfortable clothing. Participants are requested to bring food to share.

Peace walk, 7.45pm, from Westminster Cathedral to the London Peace Pagoda followed by the Floating Lantern Ceremony at sunset.

27th Annual Celebration of the London Peace Pagoda. There will be Interfaith prayers for peace, messages and speeches, devotional music and dance. The programme will be followed by an offering of tea and light refreshments, ending by 5pm.
All welcome.

National Justice & Peace Networking Day, 10.30 – 4.00pm: opportunities for networking with justice and peace activists from around the country. Speakers: Pat Gaffney and Rosemary Read: ‘Building a Culture of Peace: a year long opportunity building on the World Peace Day message 2012 – Educating young people in justice and peace.’

With Alex Walker, Tymon Dogg, Alex Thomas, £3, redeemable against any purchase. Spoken word and music performance of Louis Aragon’s 1924 surrealist classic prose-poem, driven by themes of drug-induced transcendental exploration.

The Gandhi Foundation warmly invite you to the Multifaith Celebration 2012. There will be contributions from representatives of several faith communities on the theme of Faith and the Environment. All Welcome - Refreshments provided.

Art Not Oil, Liberate Tate, Platform presents: ‘Culture Beyond Oil'
Campaign groups ‘Platform’, ‘Art Not Oil’ and ‘Liberate Tate’ have recently released a hundred-page arts publication exploring the murky relationship between big oil and big art. For more than 20 years, BP has been sponsoring Tate galleries, and every major cultural institution in London has recently taken money from Shell or BP.

£3, redeemable against any purchase.

Join us for a literary commemoration, 3 Years since the end of the 3 week Israeli assault on Gaza in December 2008/January 2009 and to reflect on the ongoing violence and siege against Palestinians living in Gaza. Featuring: Reading of “Love Letter to Gaza” http://calderbookshop.com/pagegaza.html Ahmed Masoud, Palestinian author from Gaza, Winner of the 2011 Muslim Writer of the Year Award. Baroness Jenny Tonge. Selma Dabbagh, British Palestinian writer of fiction based in London. Selma’s first novel, Out of It just published by Bloomsbury. Andy Slaughter MP. And many more.

Speaker Dr David Nally. Today, an estimated 10 million people are facing starvation across a vast swathe of Africa including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, and in some areas a child is dying every 6 minutes. Yet hunger is not a natural disaster; it is a human-induced problem that demands political solutions. Fewer than 170 years ago, a similarly terrible famine occurred within the British Isles, then an integral part of the United Kingdom and thus a constituent of the most economically advanced region in the world.

Speaker Dr Douglas Parr, Chief Scientist at Greenpeace. Europe and UK face challenges in delivering for the needs of its citizens in a secure and sustainable way. This talk will explore the challenges facing the UK as part of a European energy system and the routes that we can take to deliver on all fronts. Dr Douglas Parr is Chief Scientist and Policy Director at Greenpeace UK.

Speaker Tony Wood. The March 2012 elections in Russia seem likely to return Vladimir Putin to power for a third presidential term, despite rising levels of discontent and the ruling party’s dwindling popularity. What is the nature of the system over which Putin has presided, and how has it dealt with the challenges facing this vast multi-ethnic state in the wake of the traumas of the 1990s and in face of the global downturn since 2008? Tony Wood is Deputy Editor of the New Left Review, contributes regularly to Le Monde Diplomatique, and has written extensively about Russia.

Speaker Dr Adam Hanieh. In the wake of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, in partnership with the Gulf Arab States, have rushed to offer loans and investment packages to the new transitional regimes. The possible conditionalities attached to these aid packages have provoked widespread concern from the region’s political movements, and need to be seen in the context of ongoing struggles to achieve the social and economic demands that underpinned the uprisings. Dr.

Build a radical movement for the future by building a living community today! This year’s Camp will be near Shrewsbury and the theme is Making Nonviolent Revolution. There will be a whole-day workshop co-facilitated by renowned US activist George Lakey.

Book at: http://peacenews.info/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=4

A slide talk by photojournalist Guy Smallman, recently returned from Afghanistan, with ex-soldier Ben Griffin. Also screening Guy's film Fifteen Million Afghans.

Holy Innocents service beginning at 11.00 am. The service will include music and song from these regions and also some pieces from the Iona Community. All group singers would be most welcome - there will be a practice session at 10.30. This will be followed after lunch at 2.00 by a 30-minute witness at the Innocent Victims' Memorial outside Westminster Abbey. These events are being organised by the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship for the Network of Christian Peace Organisations.

Special Open Table at The Well. In October Fr Colin Griffiths visited Japan and the area devastated by the tsunami. Join us for supper and a talk about his experience. Cost: donation towards the work of the Red Cross in Japan. To reserve a place at Open Table, ring 01908 242190 or email bookings@thewellatwillen.org.uk giving at least 24 hours notice if food is required. All welcome.