Category Archives: Peace

Fashion, Holiday, Nonviolence, Occupy Wall Street, Peace, Shopping, Social Justice, Video

Black Friday: Buy Nothing! Demand Peace! Support striking Wal-Mart workers!

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Occupy Long Island: Buy Nothing Day sign
Occupy Black Friday

Black Friday for some people means lining up for bargains at the doors of big corporations. Though, people who want our country to be more sustainable, and less dependent on war money,  have often asked people to “Buy Nothing” on the day after Thanksgiving.

This year, there are several ways to celebrate the empowerment that is Buy-Nothing-Day:

-Make sure you do not buy anything on Friday, November 23, 2012

-On all the other shopping days leading to Christmas and Chanukah…shop local, union, Fair Trade, organic, natural, and/or sustainably when possible. [See our Peace Couple website for Kind Shopping ideas.]

-Join Occupy Wall Street in your area, as they protest at Walmart, in support of striking Walmart workers.

An anti-Black Friday shopping video at Youtube: here and below.

An excellent (archival) speech by Reverend Billy about Black Friday, Consumerism, and Buy Nothing Day: here.

An example of a local  Occupy  Black Friday Demo at Walmart:   Continue reading Black Friday: Buy Nothing! Demand Peace! Support striking Wal-Mart workers! →

antiwar, Nonviolence, Peace, Royal Book of the Week, Social Justice

Oliver Stone discusses Pacifist Presidential Candidate Henry Wallace on DN!

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Oliver Stone's Secret History of AmericaDemocracy Now! aired a  report on how “Academy Award-winning Oliver Stone has teamed up with historian Peter Kuznick to produce a 10-part Showtime series called “Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States.'”  They have also produced a book of the same name.

The series centers on the effect that the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan had on the history of the US.  In questioning whether it was necessary to drop the A-bomb, Stone and Kuznick explore the different path the United States almost took if the pacifist Henry Wallace had remained as  Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s Vice President and had won 1944 Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.  In the interview, Stone discusses the success of the progressive policies of Wallace as FDR’s Secretary of Agriculture prior to becoming his second Vice President:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO-Y8wNwbuA&t=8m13s]   Continue reading Oliver Stone discusses Pacifist Presidential Candidate Henry Wallace on DN! →

antiwar, PAXi, Peace

Peace and the Election: Quick Reflections

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Peace is our focus here at Peace Couple. So, we like to think about how various events affect our Peace Index.

With elections happening in the USA today, we have been wondering about the effect the campaigns, the focus on national priorities, and the energy of election season might have on the DPCIUS (Daily Peace Culture Index for the United States). Continue reading Peace and the Election: Quick Reflections →

antiwar, Music, Peace

Friday, Nov 2nd: Long Island peace community meets for music and pre-election networking

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(Canceled due to Hurricane Sandy aftermath. Next Coffeehouse in December)

PeaceSmiths November 2012 Coffeehouse will feature:
The door at PeaceSmiths

  • Musician: George Mann
  • Singer/Songwriter: Rorie Kelly
  • A tribute to Miriam Goodman and…
  • Your favorite campaign lit and discussion

PeaceSmiths Coffeehouse
Friday, November 2, 2012
8pm-11pm Continue reading Friday, Nov 2nd: Long Island peace community meets for music and pre-election networking →

antiwar, Nonviolence, PAXi, Peace

Peace News: Key indicator for PAXi peace index makes huge jump on 10/13/2012

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Surprise! There should be a big jump in the Daily Peace Index today!

(Update: The PAXi Peace Index number for today, Oct. 13, 2012 is, in fact, “754”. A new high, and a giant leap from yesterday!)

One of the key indicators is a search for “peace” at Google News.

Today, the Google News number is over 60 million! Compare that to the past few days: 10/10 was 4,020,000; 10/11 was 3,790,000; 10/12 was 4,040,000. Also, the highest day yet for the PAXi/Daily Peace Index was on September 11, 2012. On that day, the Google New/peace figure was 20,100,000 and PAXi came out to 337. When we do the figures later today, we will probably have that beat! (Come back to the front page this evening to check on today’s PAXi number!)

In searching for causes of the jump, I reviewed what the top Google News stories about peace were this morning. I think the main story pushing this jump is the Nobel Peace Prize being given to the EU/European Union. Though, I was also happy to see a third party candidate shaking up the peace discourse: On the first page of the Google News results, Roseanne Barr for President on the “Peace and Freedom Party” line shows up!

Google News Peace: A PAXi Daily Peace Index indicator
Above: A Google News search for “peace” on the morning of October 13, 2012
antiwar, Nonviolence, PAXi, Peace

Peace Index climbs on September 11th

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Peace is difficult to quantify. Though, we have been trying to measure it somewhat with our PAXi Index, the Daily Peace Culture Index for the United States.

PAXi began on July 15th. The PAXi for that day was 131, the lowest PAXi has been in its two month history. In the last few weeks, PAXI has hovered at the 140’s and 150’s. The highest number so far has been 158. Until today…

Today, on the anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, PAXi has jumped up to 337. Continue reading Peace Index climbs on September 11th →

antiwar, Nonviolence, PAXi, Peace

US Daily Peace Index reaches new high on 8/29/2012

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The PAXi — The Daily Peace Culture Index of the United States — recently achieved the 150 level for the first time. PAXi was 150 on August 8th. And, today, Wednesday, August 29, 2012, DPCIUS/PAXi reached another new high of 153.

In trying to uncover why PAXi is so high on certain days, there is some guesswork involved. Though, we can also search the same indicators that got us to the PAXi score, and see what some of the stories and/or content is about.

So, here are some goings on in the universe of peace and nonviolence, which may have led to today’s impressive amount of discussion about peace, nonviolence, and antiwar sentiment: Continue reading US Daily Peace Index reaches new high on 8/29/2012 →