Announcements:

JOIN US IN JULY AT THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF PEACE CONFERENCE

Hi Friends,

I am happy to announce our Florida Regional Department of Peace Conference will take place July 18th through the 20th near Orlando. Being part of the planning committee has been a wonderful experience for me and I can assure you this a Department of Peace gathering you don't want to miss. Space is limited so please register now. I've attached the registration form to this announcement for you. Ask a friend to join you and please forward this email to anyone you think would be interested in attending.

See you there!!!

p.s. Members of the Florida Student Peace Alliance will also be attending.

Ana Campos
State Coordinator (South Florida Region)
US Department of Peace and Nonviolence Movement
Phone: (954) 793-3279 Email: ACampos_2001@yahoo.com
National Website: www.ThePeaceAlliance.org


JOIN US AT THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF PEACE CONFERENCE
FLORIDA REGIONAL DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND NONVIOLENCE CONFERENCE

Floridians for a Cabinet Level U.S.Department of Peace and Nonviolence
(Federal Bill HR-808)

VISIT: www.ThePeaceAlliance.org
REGISTER HERE: http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/483/148/#florida
EMAIL: karenys@gmail.com


Dates: July 18-20, 2008

Vacation Village Resort http://www.floridavacationvillage.com/location.html

10301 U.S. Hwy.27
Clermont, FL 34711


Featuring: Lynn McMullen
U.S. Department of Peace National Campaign Consultant
You are invited to join people from all over Florida who are gathering together to share, vision and implement a Florida State Strategy for the passing of legislation for a U.S. Cabinet Level Department of Peace.

This legislation continues to gain traction in the House of Representatives and just recently Congressman Robert Wexler from Florida signed on to the bill due to the efforts of our south Florida team. We are continuing to increase our presence and visibility in Florida and hope to have a group in each of the twenty-five Congressional Districts. Come and be a part of this historic moment for peace and nonviolence on the planet.

The gathering will take place in beautiful Central Florida on Lake Louisa over 3 days. Department of Peace and Student Peace Alliance groups from Tallahassee, Gainesville, Naples, Hernando, Winterhaven, South Florida and the Keys will be in attendance. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence movement, attend a variety of workshops, connect with other Florida groups and be inspired.

BEGINS 7:30 PM – FRIDAY EVENING AND ENDS AT 2:00 PM ON SUNDAY
You will discover:
How to communicate your vision for peace to your Congressperson, family and friends.

The process of getting a bill through Congress
How to create awareness and build coalitions to gain support for the DOP bill.

How to respond to objections and Frequently Asked Questions.

How to live the principles of the bill itself.

A like-minded community sharing mission, purpose and action.

SLIDING SCALE COST: $100 - $150 PER PERSON INCLUDES PROGRAM AND LODGING. Your payment at the higher end helps those that can only afford to pay at the lower end.

Financial Assistance Available If Needed
Fee Includes Program and Lodging for Entire Weekend
Space is Limited! $50 Deposit reserves your space.

See you there!!

Posted on 6/15/08 by Florida Campaign for a US Department of Peace and Nonviolence (HR-808)

Be Very Careful in St. Augustine/St. Johns County

St. Johns County Sheriff, David Shoar, recently gave out these t-shirts at an event billed as a discussion on homeless veterans. While no one has explained what the local sheriff's office considers "supporting the troops," the sniper image on the front would suggest that it doesn't have a lot to do with peace and justice. Some in this community have expressed concerns that the sheriff is advocating the killing of those who disagree with his political views. (The same paranoid people who thought the government was lying about WMDs in Iraq.)

In addition, on May 17th, Sgt. Michelle Perry, St. Augustine PD (and daughter of Sheriff Shoar's predecessor), told members of St. Augustine People for Peace and Justice that she will issue citations to any motorist who "honks for peace."

You have been warned.

Impressions of the Bolivarian Revolution

http://www.flaction.org/uploads/docs/venezuelareportb.pdf is my impression of the situation in Venezuela and the aspirations of the Venezuelan people. It's an impression gathered from reading everything I could get my hands on in the three-month period between December 2007 and February 2008, and a three-week visit to the country in January and February, during which I discussed Venezuelan affairs with people day in and day out.

What weight to give to my impressions? I speak fluent Spanish and have traveled extensively in Central and South America. The parts of my CV that lend credibility to my impressions are experience as an American Friends Service Committee observer in Honduran refugee camps in 1982; two years documenting human rights violations in Guatemala and Mexico (Chiapas); working in development in Nicaragua during the Sandinista Revolution between 1983 and 1990; and two years working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Philippines.

See the article at:
http://www.flaction.org/uploads/docs/venezuelareportb.pdf

Good reading!
Jo McIntire (jomcintire@bellsouth.net

St. Pete for Peace 2007 Slideshow

Check out the St. Pete for Peace 2007 in Review slideshow on YouTube (shown in two parts):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzX7xmt1Uc4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_s2xTGmBMk&feature=related

Immokalee Workers Slide Show

Go to the CIW site now to see the new slideshow by clicking on the link below:

http://www.ciw-online.org/news.html

Debunk This...

For several months now, Burger King and the Florida tomato growers' lobby have joined forces to "debunk the myth" of farmworker poverty, in their effort to fight back against workers demanding a raise in the picking piece rate.

The piece rate -- defined as the price paid to pickers for every 32-lb bucket of tomatoes they pick -- has remained effectively stagnant for nearly thirty years. In 1980, the going piece rate was 40 cents per bucket. Today, twenty eight years later, workers are paid an average of only 45 cents per bucket.

We are happy to be able to share with you an incredible new gallery of photos from Immokalee's fields by a young photographer out of Gainesville, Scott Robertson.

The pictures were taken in December of 2007. They capture work and life as a tomato picker in Immokalee as it is today: Looking for work before dawn, picking for 10 to 12 hours a day under Florida's relentless sun, and returning after a long day to the one-room cinder block apartments and broken-down trailers that are home during Immokalee's 8-9 month-long season.

Burger King and Florida's tomato growers say farmworker poverty is a "myth." The US Department of Labor says farmworkers are "a labor force in significant economic distress," suffering "low wages (and) sub-poverty annual earnings."

What's myth and what's reality? We hope these pictures can help you decide for yourself.

Thanks - Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Florida For Peace Focus on Nelson

Sponsored by: CodePINK (Tallahassee Chapter)
Date(s): 2007-09-01 through 2007-10-30
Description: PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

Dear Florida Peacemakers,
The "Focus On Nelson" campaign is producing amazing results thanks to Florida For Peace members who continue to push and prod our senior senator into voting for the end of the war in Iraq.

Florida For Peace members traveled from north, south, east, west and central Florida to meet with Senator Nelson in Kissimmee on Tuesday, August 7, 2007.

Eleven members shared concerns about his support of the war in Iraq, funding torture, terrorism, Iraqi civilian atrocities, our 1st and 4th amendment rights, support for our troops and their families, Florida's financial deficits, homeless and veteran issues, his responsibilities to his Florida constituents who want to end the war, permanent bases in Iraq and his voting record on all of these issues.

We challenged the senator to form a group of 67 senators who would stand as a solid block to the Bush administration. He actually gave us the name of other senators who might come to our way of thinking.

There was a curt discussion on his recent vote on the FISA bill (S. 1927) which gives six months additional power to the White House and Attorney Alberto Gonzales. This after Senator Nelson just sent a vote of no confidence to the Attorney General. Too much political double speak.

Your help is still desperately needed. The postcard campaign action, Phase III of Focus On Nelson, hasn't ended yet. There is plenty of time to download cards and get them signed. We will begin sending them into his offices in September 1, 2007.

Please go to www.codepinkalert.org/focusonnelson to connect directly the Focus On Nelson campaign page and click on the download button.

Everyone loves signing the cards. I have a few hundred printed and will gladly send you a stack - NO CHARGE. Contact me at codepinktally(at)yahoo.com

Please, join the Florida For Peace yahoo group below. Phase IV of Focus On Nelson begins on September 1, 2007. Helps us demand that Senator Nelson vote to bring the troops home from Iraq.

Thank you for all you do.
Peace, Always Lydia Vickers
More Information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaForPeace