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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2008)
Natural Choice Directory The Healthy Green Pages ™ Willamette Valley news BY TED TAYLOR Peace Conference Growing Hundreds expected at LCC gathering B Asian Food Market Largest Selection of Asian Groceries Seaweed, rice, noodles, frozen products, deli, snacks, drinks, sauces, spices, produce, housewares, and more. We carry groceries from Holland, India, Pakistan and Polynesia Sushi & Asian deli take-out 5 Sunrise OAK STREET 29TH AVENUE WILLAMETTE STREET Woodfi eld Station SHOPPING CENTER www.sunriseasianfood.com M-Th 9am-7pm•F 9am-8pm•Sa 9am-7pm•Su 10am-6pm 70 W. 29th Ave. Eugene • 541-343-3295 12 FEBRUARY 21, 2008 EUGENE WEEKLY uilding peace in a culture that care, education and other life-affi rming tolerates war is a long process, activities,” according to the group’s mission statement. Benjamin ran for the U.S. Senate says Stan Taylor, director of the in California in 2000 on the Green Party Lane Peace Center on the LCC campus, but ticket. he takes hope in the idea that “both peace and UPJ is a coalition of organizations that democracy are rooted in social, economic, coordinates protests and other political, spiritual and racial justice.” actions nationwide and locally. Bring all those elements together, and Wing is a longtime activist, progress is inevitable — or at least writer and editor involved possible. in racial justice issues. The new Lane Peace Center He is Chinese-American has been working for months to and noted for his work on pull together its inaugural event, a building multiracial unity. major regional Peace & Democracy The theme of the Conference Feb. 29 and March 1 at LCC. The list of speakers and workshops Medea Benjamin conference is “Fostering Peace Through Education,” and Taylor is growing, and organizers are expecting says education is the key to peace and justice. hundreds of students, teachers and activists, He says the new Peace Center on campus is along with leaders in labor, human rights, working to build a “fundamental framework religion and politics. Early registration is for peace work.” encouraged on the Peace Center’s website “A key question,” he says, “is how to (www.lanecc.edu/peacecenter). Some embrace the diversity in democracy to build events are free for LCC students while other peace — to turn our differences into strengths events have an attendance fee to cover the instead of a source of fragmentation an conference’s expenses. animosity.” Taylor says several factors are leading to The Lane Peace Center is one of only interest in this timely conference: The Iraq two such centers on community college occupation will mark its fi fth year next month; campuses across the country, the other being the number of U.S. soldiers killed is nearing in Richland, Texas. Taylor says he discovered 4,000; and the election year is mobilizing a three years ago that he and LCC President national surge for change in the White House Mary Spilde had a similar vision for a Peace and in Congress. Center on campus, and it’s “taken some time Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Global to get the ball rolling.” Exchange and CODEPINK, and Bob Wing, ew cofounder of United for Peace & Justice (UPJ), are among the keynote speakers. Wing is scheduled to talk at 7 pm Friday, Feb. 29, Upcoming Demonstrations A UPJ-sponsored mass nonviolent direct and Benjamin’s keynote talk is scheduled action in Washington, D.C. is planned for March for 2 pm Saturday, March 1. Both are also 19, with corresponding demonstrations in cities expected to participate in smaller sessions. across the country. Session leaders and panelists include On Sunday, March 16, the Take Back Our Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Leah Coakley and America coalition, a Lane County coalition of community groups, will commemorate Patrick Edelbacher, Gary Baran, Carol Melia the fi fth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and Vip Short, Mary Wood, Louis Carosio, with a community-wide call to end the war and Carmen Urbina, John Lenssen, Dan Goldrich, occupation of Iraq, and to support peace and Leah Bolger and Noah Mrowczynski, justice. The theme of the day is “On The Fifth Guadalupe Quinn, Lauren Regan, Katie Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq: Sow Seeds of Peace.” For more information, visit the CALC Heald, Peter Bergel, Mark Harris and Jessica website (www.calclane.org). Campbell. Portland is also planning a major CODEPINK is a women-initiated mobilization on Saturday, March 15, with a grassroots peace and social justice movement gathering from 11 am to 6 pm at the South Park “working to end the war in Iraq, stop new Blocks. For more information, visit its website (www.pdxpeace.org). wars, and redirect our resources into health WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
