WILPF BUSINESS MEETING
May 9, Thursday, 7PM, at Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N. Van Ness. This meeting is open to all members.
WOMEN IN BLACK
May 1, first Wednesday of each month at noon at Fresno County Courthouse; come on the month in which your birthday falls! Wear black, bring a sign if you wish, and stand in silence for peace.)
STIR IT UP – WILPF – ON KFCF 88.1 FM (LISTENER-SUPPORTED FREE SPEECH RADIO FOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA)
May 22, 3PM (4th Wednesday of each month). Jean Hays does outstanding interviews on subjects involving WILPF interests and activities. Let Jean know if you have ideas for a program. Listen!
Also on KFCF 88.1: WILPF member Dr. Jean Kennedy, Keeping It Real 9PM every Tuesday
RAGING GRANNIES
Meetings on selected Mondays at 7PM. Call Ellie at 229-9807 for details.
Save the Date!
The Fourth Great WILPF Yard Sale is coming up Saturday, May 18. Location will be same as last year: Front Yard of Patty Bennett, 512 E. Harvard. We are counting on your donations. Proceeds from the sale benefit WILPF’s great programs. Do some spring cleaning and help WILPF at the same time. Details will be sent on the WILPF listserve soon.
Spotlight on Middle East Committee; The Almond Tree
Maureen Walsh chairs the Middle East Committee, which cooperates with the Women in Hebron Cooperative, founded by Nawal Slemiah and her sister, including 120 women. Their products are available from Maureen and are beautiful; the beauty comes through clearly in spite of harsh conditions of life under military occupation. WILPF also partners with Middle East Children’s Alliance in the Gaza Water Project, which builds water purification systems for schools. Maureen’s involvement in the issues from the point of view of people, not politics, and her personal experiences in occupied Palestine give her an informed viewpoint for her book review below.
Fresno WILPF recently received the book, The Almond Tree, as a gift from Jewish-American author Michelle Cohen Corasanti. Having spent seven years living in Israel as a young woman, Corasanti felt moved to give voice to her memories as well as to come to terms with what she experienced during her time in Israel/Palestine.
The novel spans six decades in the life of Ichmad Hamed, a Palestinian from a small rural village. Set against the backdrop of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Corasanti allows us to step into the shoes of the Palestinians and one family’s struggle to survive despite the violence surrounding them. The novel humanizes the conflict allowing us a personal view into both sides of the issue. Ultimately, The Almond Tree is a testament to the enduring human spirit and our desire for reconciliation and peace.
Free Speech Costs Money; KFCF Needs Your Help Now
There are only two independent sources of news and culture in the Central Valley. You’re reading one of them. The other comes to you daily over the airwaves at 88.1 on the FM dial. KFCF, free speech radio for central California, brings you the news, Democracy Now, WILPF’s own radio show with Jean Hays, and so many other local and other programs that if I listed them all, it would take up the whole space available. Through the News Stringer project, KFCF also provides information about the Central Valley—the struggle for Jesse Morrow Mountain, as a recent example—for the Bay Area and Los Angeles through the KPFA/KPFK evening news.
KFCF is affiliated with KPFA, but is not part of the Pacifica Network. It is locally owned and operated by the Fresno Free College Foundation. Pacifica’s problems affect KFCF because most of KFCF’s fundraising comes from the “marathon” on-air fundraisers and is thus channeled through KPFA. KFCF needs help now from its listeners, supporters, and members, help that is direct and not funneled through Berkeley. Please consider how valuable it is for all of us to have a local, daily, independent, non-corporate, non-government news and culture source. Send a contribution to:
KFCF
P.O. Box 4364
Fresno CA 93744
Or contribute online at www.kfcf.org/.
Kyla Mitchell in Uganda
WILPF member Kyla Mitchell is back in northern Uganda to work with the resilient and beautiful Acholi people. Prior to leaving, she gave several presentations around town to show pictures and share the life-enriching stories from her first trip to Uganda. Here’s some great resources she shared during her presentations: http://aidafrica.net, http://travelingwithrhona.blogspot.com and http://underanambersky.blogspot.com. If you’re interested in getting involved and possibly seeing the amazing beauty of Uganda, contact her at kyla.noelle@gmail.com. Kyla’s blog can be found at www.bornawayfromhome.blogspot.com.
Thanks!
Thanks to our wonderful WILPF interns—Alex Williams and Rosie Funes—as well as Bev Fitzpatrick, Ann Carruthers, Patty Bennett, Eric Parsons, Nancy Waidtlow, Elaine Rucker and Ellie Bluestein for handing out postcards indicating that about 50% of the Pentagon budget goes to the military, not defense, at the Griffith Post Office on tax day. The cards were addressed to the president and/or our representatives and asked people to list their budget preferences. Many people took them, and we had good discussions.
