Hello, wonderful peacebuilders!

This is a quick update on news locally in our greater Southern California area -- so please take a quick look, and don't forget to go to the website to check the calendar for events, and link to the national site for news and information.


Volunteers Needed 9/20!
We need volunteers at the Roots and Shoots event! This is Jane Goodall's annual international event in conjunction with the International Day of Peace, this year being held locally in Santa Monica. It's being held Sunday, September 20, from 11 to 4 pm. Please contact Terry, at terry@lupineproductions.com if you'd like to help out at the table.

This is a very kid-friendly event, so even if you don't help out, come down and celebrate! For more information: http://www.adayofpeaceca.org


Organizational Changes
Terry Mason, who has been State Co-Coordinator in the Southern California area since January of 2006, has been recently elected to the Board of Directors of The Peace Alliance. This is exciting news, and Terry is delighted to step into a new role with the organization, planning to continue to be involved with local area activities and lobbying efforts.

Stepping into her role to be State Co-Coordinator with Tory Haslinger is Jerilyn Stapleton. Born in Chicago and raised in Southern California, Jerilyn worked in the entertainment industry for many years and became a Human Rights activist working for womens equality and to end violence against women with the National Organization for Women.  She joined the Peace Alliance's campaign to establish a DoP in 2005 after hearing Marianne Williamson speak about it in one of her seminars.   After the DC conference in 2005, she became the CDTL for District 28 (Rep. Howard Berman).  Instrumental in getting the City of West Hollywood and Los Angeles to pass a resolution in support of HR 808, she also has worked on the planning committee for the CA regional conferences in 2006 & 2008 and helped with some of the fund raisers.  She, along with Terry Mason, were successful in getting Rep. Berman to sign onto the Youth PROMISE Act.  She is very excited about becoming a State Co-coordinator, will do everything she can to advance our new plan for moving the campaign forward, and dreams of changing our present culture of violence into a culture of peace.

Congratulations to both Jerilyn and Terry!


Get Social with DoPeace.ning.com!
Are you on Facebook?

Check out the new social networking site for the Peace Alliance, at www.DoPeace.ning.com. Create a profile, make some friends, post your events, and stay in touch -- it's fun!

Go to the discussion group and review the New Strategic Plan, and give feedback! Where do you most want to be involved in the campaign for peace? There are some new and interesting approaches we're taking to create a more peace-filled world in proactive, strategic and exciting ways. Check it out!


Youth PROMISE Act is on the move!
Congressman Bobby Scott, author of the Youth PROMISE Act has this to say about the volunteers of The Peace Alliance, and the value of our support:

"One of the reasons it's easy to get co-sponsors is many people [in
congress], when I say Youth PROMISE Act, say "oh, I've heard from that from
my constituents, sign me up." And so, it looks like The Peace Alliance,
talking to thier local memebrs of congress and hopefully their U.S.
Senators, are making the fact that we are getting co- sponsors every day
much more likely. We really appreciate the support and this really
represents a profound change in attitude towards jueinille crime, it's shows
we are being serious and we are going to make intellegent investments and
use an intelligent strategy rather than continue going down the wrong path."

~ Congressman Bobby Scott, on the momentum behind Youth PROMISE Act 


New Washington DC Address and Phone Number
Check it out, and update your address book:

The Peace Alliance, The Peace Alliance Educational Institute and
The Student Peace Alliance
P.O. Box 27601
Washington, DC 20038

Phone: 202-684-2553


Dot Maver on the Creation of the Ministry of Peace in Costa Rica

"As the news of a Costa Rican Ministry for Justice and Peace continues to spread worldwide, the US campaign, over and over again, is acknowledged and looked to as an inspiration in this work of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace. There are now three on the planet: Solomon Islands, Nepal and Costa Rica. In fact, a story that will be told in Costa Rica next month is how the work in Costa Rica was inspired by The Peace Alliance Campaign for a US Department of Peace and the recognition of the need for an educational institution in the infrastructure for peace. And now, together we represent those two facets - the government department/ministry and the national peace academy.

"Gratitude for your steadfast focus on calling for a Department of Peace in the USA ... and in these challenging times, let us call on our colleagues internationally to put pressure on this US administration ... an admin that is friendly to the idea."


Fun Quiz - Test Your Knowledge About the Department of Peace

First published in the Nevada Union in late June, by Carol Ann Jones who lives in Big Oak Valley -- take a look at this Quiz, and test your own knowledge!
Try this quiz regarding some of the issues related to issues of peace in the U.S. (answers below):

1. Who said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”

a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Ronald Reagan
c) Cesar Chavez
d) John F. Kennedy

2. Who first proposed a U.S. Department of Peace?

a) Rep. Dennis Kucinich, in 2001
b) Dr. Benjamin Rush, in 1792
c) Sen. Matthew Neely of WV, 1935
d) Sen. Hubert Humphrey of MN, in 1960
e) Sen. Vance Hartke, in 1969

3. How many congressional co-sponsors are signed on to the current U.S. Department of Peace legislation?

a) 4
b) 15
c) 27
d) 71
e) 98

4. The U.S. youth homicide rate is higher than other leading industrial nations by what factor?

a) 2 times higher
b) 3 times higher
c) 5 times higher
d) 10 times higher

5. According to the World Health Organization, the cost of (non-war-related) interpersonal violence in the U.S. in 2004 was estimated at how much?

a) $30 million
b) $300 million
c) $3 billion
d) $30 billion
e) $300 billion

Answers to quiz
Some of these answers may surprise you.

1. b) Ronald Reagan.

2. b) All are true, and there have been many others over the last 200 or so years. But the first was Dr. Benjamin Rush, a member of George Washington's cabinet, who proposed in 1792 that since there was a War Office in the government, there should also be a Peace Office.

3. d) There are currently 71 from 27 states, including the sponsor, Rep. Kucinich.

4. d) 10 times higher, according to the World Health Organization “World Report on Violence and Health,” 2002.

5. e) $300 billion, according to the WHO report, “The Economic Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence”, 2004.


Look at us at the Soldiers of Peace screening promoted by Justin Bensan!
Justin is off to school in Boston at Northeastern University, but before he left, he promoted a screening of "Soldiers of Peace" -- check it out!