_beebop_

_un_

_anyone interested in Middle East Peace should read this_

last week i wrote about "encounter point" which was screened here in pittsburgh.... another event which was hosted last week by the middle east peace forum of pittsburgh ,during the anniversary week for the six day war which occured 40 years ago, was a talk and discussion with the two key writers of the geneva initiative.... daniel levy (israeli negotiator), and ghaith al-omari (palestinian negotiator)... both have been involved as aides to their respective government leaders and met while acting as official negotiators for the taba (oslo II) accords... the geneva initiative is a guiding light to what i see as a possible pathway to a peaceful solution... although it isn't 100% appealing to either side it presents a realistic view of what needs to happen for peace to be achieved... hearing both daniel and ghaith speak i was blown away by their knowledge and practical peace perspectives... i left feeling that there is still great hope for peace if two leaders like these can continue to push their respective peoples to see the end "which has always been known"... and begin moving, as soon as possible, towards a two-state solution... for more information about the geneva initiative ... go to the MEPFP website to view streaming video of the talk (trust me it is worth your time) ....

_encountering peace_

yesterday i had the privilege of being involved in bringing the film "encounter point" and its director julia bacha to pittsburgh for a screening. encounter point documents the lives of a few palestinian and israeli people who are working with what resources they have to create a grassroots non-violent movement towards peace. i was blown away by the commitment these individuals have to work through pain and hardship to remain committed to a non-violent goal. this movie really gave me hope that people can make a difference in this world. i highly recommend checking out the encounter point website and either seeing it at a screening or renting it when it comes out on dvd june 26th. i don't think you will be disappointed even if you don't find the middle east issue stimulating it has impact on many other situations in the world.

i also have to say how much i enjoyed meeting the director julia bacha. a 2003 graduate from columbia university this is the second film she worked on, the first being the acclaimed control room. her humanistic approach to life and directing is very evident, definitely stay aware of any movies that come out with her name on them.

_adventure_

__________________art of war__________________

the graph below is one i created for the town hall meeting... click here for two more about the war and its effect on human services

part of the work i have been doing has been to help prepare a "town hall meeting on the cost of the iraq war at home"... this has taken a lot of energy and time to put together... gaining the endorsment of over 30 organizations from around pittsburgh, securing a venue, and helping to contact speakers and representatives to attend the meeting... after all said and done the event happened and was amazing... i have never really been involved in a political "meeting" of sorts... we attempted to get all the western pa legislators to attend but again due to politics had only Congressman Doyle there to speak and had aide's from casey, specter, and murphy's offices.... as much as i lost respect for the others for not coming rep. doyle gained a ton of respect in my book... he is a person who stands behind what he believes and was the only pa representative democrat or republican to vote against the recent "blank check" which the democrats handed president bush... i know that he not only gained respect from me but also from many of the 250+ people who attended... it does still amaze me though for everything good he does everything is politics and it makes me sad to think that peoples lives are worse because of all the money we are spending for this illegal war... i hope the representatives finally learn they need to stop just playing "the game" and finally stand up for something..

_justice department or dense rocks.... you decide_

i am a fan of both the colbert report and daily show but i have to say this clip was extra amusing. jon stewart takes a look at the testimony of the justice department and specifically monica goodling. sometimes i just don't understand our society or how we even continue to function.... check out the daily show clip

_a second grad_

_signs of times_
i have been mostly posting photography on the blog lately because i feel that it really speaks more words than i can but i was just blown away by a news story which i read today. i am not sure what is more troublesome... the fact that there is a law and therefore a man is being charged for "stealing" something which is free or the fact that there are social service members who are that bored that they need to spend the time researching to then get a warrant to go charge this guy and finally that the cafe just doesn't drop the charges. is there nothing out there in the world that is more important to go after ... i mean honestly if that police officer really needs something to go after, try to track down the people online who really use the internet to break the law and not just check their email.... ARREST OF WIFI STEALER ARTICLE

_randomness_

_perspective_

_mel's grad_

_a day_

_nostalgia_

_nostalgia at the zoo_

_right_

bush speaks at st.vincents college graduation....
people come to say how they feel

_bicicleta_

_grad fun_
click for album

_war no more_

click on the picture to view entire album
images from march 24 peace rally in pittsburgh pa: protesting against the start of the fifth year of the iraq war

::love reflection::

click for album

::amazing::

"i've got soul but i'm not a soldier"...this video really made an impact on me this week...not just the message of it but it for some reason just was quite moving

::dc_::

so many know about my trip to washington dc and subsequent demonstration, but i thought i would write a little bit. guantanamo, the prison and torture camp, which was opened five years ago as of january 11 was being protested in many places around the world. in dc there was a large demonstration which was arranged on the 11th and a group of us from the pittsburgh peace community left at 3:30 am to participate. upon arriving we were greeted by a few hundred scattered people milling around the upper senate park. after hearing an annoucement a few minutes after arriving we moved forward to pick up our outfits.

interruption: a little background on the demonstration. in 2004 the us supreme court ruled that the prisoners were entitled to habeas corpus and the federal courts were there to hear the cases of the illegally detained prisoners. the courts however have never stood by this ruling. so in this demonstration 300 odd people were dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods to be in solidarity with the 300 odd prisoners in guantanamo. this large group stood in formation in front of the supreme court and then marched in prison line to the federal court building, representing the desired path of the cases which should have occured. then at the federal court building a smaller group, each person representing a real prisoner, would try to gain access to the court building and present their respective case.

continued from first paragraph: after picking up and putting on the outfits the group began moving towards the supreme court. it was an experience especially wearing the black hoods which allowed limiting breathing and vision. even though i am not chlostrophobic it was hard not to feel very helpless and confined as your breath caused the air inside the hood to be very hot and moist. it is amazing what we as humans can do to other humans. the rest of the demonstration seemed to make an impact on those who saw it. and although the group didn't gain access to the courthouse it seemed that the demonstration achieved its goal. i myself was extremely interested to observe how people interacted in the environment and how groups such as the police interacted. everyone was trying to do what they felt was correct and necessary. i tried to document this scene and the entire demonstration in picture form. if you click on the image you will be taken to a gallery.

::panel event flyer::

check out some of the work i have been doing, for the album click on the picture

::3000postgazette::

well the vigil did get some decent press in pittsburgh and had a nice write up in the post-gazette (main paper here in the city). If you would be interested in reading the article click on the linked post-gazette. I did get referenced ...first time in the papers here in the great city of pittsburgh!

::3000::

what can you picture which is "3000"...for me it is the 3000 lights which were strung around the steps of the church...it is the 3000 names which i printed on 188 pages of previously white paper... whatever you think of 3000 of anything is overwhelming, but especially when it is 3000 human beings...this is what we were mourning last night when we held a vigil in pittsburgh remembering the 3000 US soldiers lost in this sensless iraq war.... the pictures can speak for themselves... (picture takes you to an album)