In the News
WNPJ members and groups in the news
Submitted by staff on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 3:16pm
Despite the "chilly" weather, WNPJ members stay active. Click on titles to read the entire articles.
Madison-Rafah Sister City Project ambassador impressed by local youth facilities: "Every place I visited here is amazing.... But I don't like this weather," said Anees Mansour, director of the Rachel Corrie Cultural Center for Children and Youth in Rafah, while visiting Madison as the guest of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project.
Jeff Patterson, co-founder of PSR Wisconsin, dies
Submitted by staff on Sat, 01/25/2014 - 9:25am
We're very sad to hear, via member group PSR-Wisconsin, that Dr. Jeff Patterson, a warm and wise man devoted to human health, the environment, and the abolition of nuclear weapons, has passed. Below is PSR's statement on his loss.
Jeff Patterson, DO, Madison physician and professor was an indefatigable champion serving Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) Wisconsin and will be sorely missed by all who knew and worked with him. Jeff passed away on Thursday night, January 23, of a heart attack.
Dr. Patterson's first work with PSR was to establish the Madison PSR chapter. With two other founding members and students at the UW medical school, they challenged the concept of a “winnable nuclear war.” Hundreds of people joined to formalize the Madison PSR chapter in 1983. Jeff remained very active in the chapter throughout three decades, and particularly enjoyed providing direction to interested medical students and nurturing their understanding of humanitarian ethics and activism.
Articles by or about WNPJ members and groups
Submitted by staff on Wed, 01/15/2014 - 3:12pm
WNPJ member groups are active and keep turning up in the news. Click on titles to read the entire articles.
How the Washington Post distorts Colombia: In this essay, Jack Laun of the Colombia Support Network, describes United States government complicity in the use of paramilitary forces in Colombia's "dirty war" against both guerillas and noncombatants, including an attack on the Peace Community of Apartado in 2005. He also examines how U.S. policy favors the profits of huge corporations over the needs of Colombia's poor. Counterpunch, 1/15/14. See also Jack's comments in Why US policy towards Colombia lacks integrity, coherence on the Voice of Russia, American edition. The Colombia Support Network is a WNPJ member group.
News by and about WNPJ members and groups
Submitted by staff on Wed, 01/08/2014 - 2:05pmFour arti
cles to close out the old year. Click on titles to read entire articles.
Student leader loves role: Colin Bowden, president of the MATC Student Senate and a member of Madison's Community Block grant Committee was the subject of a recent "Know your Madisonian" column. Asked what he'd be doing in five years he replied "Helping improve people’s lives. That’s the major thrust no matter what it is."
Wisconsin loses a great progressive
Submitted by staff on Wed, 11/13/2013 - 4:48pm
Gene Farley dies. Gene Farley, medical activist and founder of the Linda and Gene Farley Center for Peace, Justice and Sustainabilty, died Friday, November 8 at age 86. Gene and his wife Linda, who died in 2009, were perpetual activists for health care for everybody and strongly advocated for a single-payer health care system. Both of them were physicians who practiced family medicine, often in underserved areas. Read memorial articles by Dennis Punzel of the Wisconsin State Journal, and John Nichols and Ed Garvey of the Capital Times. The Linda and Gene Farley Center for Peace, Justice and Sustailabilty is a WNPJ member group.
A few articles by and about WNPJ members
Submitted by staff on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 2:50pm
Al Gedicks and Dave Blouin wrote articles for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Lacrosse Tribune to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the grassroots victory of a diverse grassroots coalition over the controversial mine project in Crandon, Wisconsin. Both articles draw parallels to the current mining controversy over mining in the Bad River watershed. Al Gedicks is executive secretary of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, a WNPJ member group, and winner of the 2013 WNPJ lifetime achievement award.
WNPJ members in the news
Submitted by staff on Wed, 10/30/2013 - 2:25pm
Five articles about WNPJ members and groups. Click on the titles to read the whole articles.
Penzeys Spices owner weighs in on Indian mascot bill. Bill Penzey, the owner of Penzeys Spices of Wauwatosa, was upset about the proposed change in state law making it more difficult to remove racist school logos and mascots, so he sent a letters explaining his position to residents of Mukwonago, where the current controversy originated. Included with the letters were boxes of spices. "He showed people how to be good neighbors across cultural and racial line," said Barbara Munson, chair of the Indian mascot and logo task force of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association. She describes the letters as "a thoughtful, educational piece of advocacy." Jessica Vanegeren, The Capital Times, 10/23/13. Barbara Munson is co-chair of the board for WNPJ.
Activists (2 from Wis.) go on trial for demanding an end to the CIA'S killer drone program
Submitted by staff on Mon, 10/21/2013 - 11:50am
Members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR] have been active in challenging U.S. invasions and attacks of Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. Frequently NCNR members have been arrested, and then in court speak out against such U.S. policies. On May 23, 2013 members of NCNR filed a criminal complaint with the U.S. attorney’s office in Alexandria, Virginia against the CIA’s use of drone strikes to assassinate people in various countries, including Pakistan. The citizen activists never received a response.
Subsequently, NCNR gathered some 200 signatures on a letter to CIA Director John Brennan seeking a meeting to discuss ending the assassination program. Again there was no response. On June 29, 2013 six activists went to the Central Intelligence Agency hoping to arrange a meeting with CIA officials. While a CIA representative accepted the letter, he would not speak with the petitioners. So these petitioners engaged in a die-in to represent the victims of the assassination program. The police then arrested Joy First, Mt. Horeb, WI, Malachy Kilbride, Arlington, VA, Max Obuszewski, Baltimore, MD, Phil Runkel, Milwaukee, WI, Cindy Sheehan, Vacaville, CA, and Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Lexington, KY, and charged them with “enter or remain on installation without authorization.” Now they are scheduled for trial.
