"Eyes Wide Open" is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palisades, the Englewood City Council, Military Families Speak Out (Bergen County), and the Teaneck Peace and Justice Coalition.

November 17, 2007 (Saturday) - New Jersey Peace Action's 50th Annual Soup Luncheon - NJ Peace Action’s 50th Annual Soup Luncheon will be held Saturday, November 17, 2007 from 11:45 am until 4:00 pm at Columbia High School in Maplewood. Come and hear Hear Sgt. Camilo Mejia, the first Iraqi war vet to resist further service in Iraq and author of the recently published book Road from Ar Ramadi, as the keynote speaker. Camilo Mejia spent more than 7 years in the military and 8 months fighting in Iraq. On a furlough from the war, he applied for Conscientious Objector status, and was declared a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International. He was convicted of desertion by the U.S. military for refusing to return to the war in Iraq and served 9 months of a one year sentence in prison. Tickets are $25 per person before November 7th, $30 thereafter. Contact NJ Peace Action at 973-744-3263 to make ticket reservations.

November 17, 2007 (Saturday) - Veterans for Peace Dinner - Chapter 21 of Veterans for Peace invite you to a delicious buffet dinner on Saturday, November 17, from 5:00 to 9:00 pm at Vitale's Restaurant, 293 Queen Anne Road in Teaneck. Tickets are $30.00 and should be purchased in advance. Please send checks payable to: "VFP Chapter 021" to Nancy Nygard, 550 Spring Street, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Or bring money to the Wednesday vigil. Come and break bread with your neighbors and talk about how to advance the struggle for peace.

Some initiatives we support:

EVERY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON - Remember the Dead - Fight for the Living! Bring the Troops Home Now Vigils! Military Families Speak Out (Bergen County), the Teaneck Peace and Justice Coalition, and Veterans for Peace, Chapter 21, NJ sponsor a weekly vigil to bring the troops home now every Wednesday from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the National Guard Armory (corner of Teaneck Road and Liberty Road). Our demands:

• Support Our Troops - Bring them Home NOW!
• Take Care of Them When They Get Home
• NEVER, Never Send Our Loved Ones to War Based on Lies
• Tell the Bush Administration: Meet with Families of Soldiers

Tell Your Friends and Neighbors It's Time to End the War. Put A Sign in Front of Your House or in Your Window - - Purchase your lawn sign from the Teaneck Peace and Justice Coalition at the National Guard armory at Teaneck Road and Liberty Road for only $5.00. Get your union-made signs at the Wednesday vigil from 4:30–6:00 pm. Or call 201 377-5115 to make other arrangements. Support the movement, spread the word, and help build the antiwar majority into an effective force for change.

The Occupation Project - Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV) is organizing the Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign will begin the first week of February 2007 with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding. To become involved with this campaign, please contact VCNV via phone at 773-878-3815 or via email. For more information, download and read the campaign’s foundational document: The Occupation Project: A Campaign of Sustained Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Iraq War.

Mandate for Peace - The people have spoken out through the 2006 mid-term election. By voting out pro-war candidates and changing control over Congress, we have repudiated war policies and issued a mandate for new policies that promote peace and international cooperation. We insist that the newly elected Congress, in its earliest days in office, pass legislation requiring the prompt removal of all US troops from Iraq and discontinue funding for military purposes in Iraq except the safe withdrawal of all U.S. forces. The Mandate's web site includes an online petition and other resources local activists can use to press Congress to adopt a peace policy.

Voters for Peace - Stopping the war means working on several fronts: public education, street-level activism, grass-roots organization, and (yes) working through our elected officials. The Voters for Peace initiative is based on a simple yet powerful idea: if you want peace, you will pledge "not [to] vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign." Sign the pledge, get your family and friends to sign it, talk about it with everyone you know, and - most important - let your elected officials in Congress know you are committed to the pledge.

Troops Home FAST! - On July 4, CODEPINK and Gold Star Families for Peace launched an historic hunger strike called TROOPS HOME FAST, calling for the U.S. government to bring our troops home from Iraq -FAST. A core group of long-term fasters is fasting in front of the White House in Washington D.C. and the campaign has expanded (as of July 14) to almost 4,000 additional fasters. There are many ways to support this campaign. Find out how you can participate.

New Alternative Media for Our Area: Teaneck Progress Blog and City Belt - Two new online publications covering news, politics and other topics in our area are the Teaneck Progress Blog and City Belt. The stated purpose of the Teaneck Progress Blog is to "provide a venue for different members of the community to express their views, react to local events, share ideas on how to bridge the gaps that divide us and perhaps even to find common ground among the all citizens of Teaneck." City Belt, edited by Jon Whitten and Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, is "an independent, progressive newsmagazine covering North New Jersey." Weill-Greenberg is also the editor of the recently-published "10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military." Both publications welcome contributors and allow for feedback in the form of comments that can be posted to their web sites.

More sources of information on local activities are available from:

• New Jersey Peace Action - Includes an events calendar covering the northern New Jersey area
• United for Peace and Justice - New Jersey Events - Updated regularly

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