“I Want Some TARP”

A song for our times:

A Hilarious Parody of the government bail out and the 700 Billion dollar Tarp bailout stimulus by Bill Zucker. Go to www.billzucker.com and Amazon or itunes to download song...To become a Tarphead, pickup Tarphead gear (tees, hats, bumper, sticker buttons etc) download MP3s and watch the video. Please share this video with anyone you think would appreciate it or needs to laugh during these crazy times....

A Place to Visit for 'PEACE' while in DC for Inauguration

While those of you attending the Inauguration may be staying over for a few days, either before or after, you may find this a restful and enlightening venue to stop in and visit.

1/1-31 Georgetown: The Peace Mural, the unbelievable 2,000 paintings exhibition of art on war, peace, and torture that the Vietnamese-American artist Huong has on display in a 10,000 square foot gallery on M Street in Georgetown: Peace Mural Foundation

About the Artist HUONG: A young journalist at the time of the Vietnam War, Huong climbed aboard one of the last refugee boats before the fall of Saigon, wearing only one shoe and carrying her infant son in arms. She first settled in Alaska where she swapped her pen for a brush in an effort to”paint out” the passions within her. Eventually she launched an art career that has captured the attention of art audiences and critics internationally. Not unlike Picasso’s own war protest painting Guernica, Huong’s paintings collectively form a body of work addressing the global issues of war and peace. Through hundreds of painted canvases, the Peace Mural is a symbol of Huong’s determination to purge our culture from the ways of war and to advance an emerging culture of peace.

An inspiring video introduction about the artist Huong, her Peace Mural, and the mission of the Peace Mural Foundation, Inc. (6 min)


And

Vietnamese Artist Huong Strives for Peace


Here are a few links to view some of her work right now:

The War Pieces

The Peace Pieces

Let's Think Peace

The Flag at War

For much more information and directions etc. visit The Peace Mural Comes to Washington
A Time for Change ... A Time for Peace … The Time is Now

For abit more information you might want to read this Washington Post article In Images of War, a Plea for Peace
Artist Lost Father, Brother Before Fleeing Vietnam in a Small Boat in 1975

"Peace is simple," said the Vietnamese-born artist known as Huong.

Gliding through gallery rooms in Georgetown, where thousands of her paintings are on exhibit, Huong, a onetime war refugee, swept an arm toward one wall, then another.

"Very simple. . . . See?"

Here, on two floors, is her vision of peace, shaped by personal pain and expressed vividly on canvass, her style influenced by cubism.

There you will also find a slide show of Huong and her work.

Some Other Events This Coming Weekend:

Friday, Jan. 9: Warmonger's Wake

Saturday, Jan. 10: PeaceBuilders Reception, National Peace Foundation

Sunday, Jan. 11: Nonviolent PeaceForce DC Chapter Organizing Meeting

Sunday, Jan. 11: Seven Years of Guantanamo, with Hector Aristizibal

As everyone knows there will be much more going on both prior to and into the days after this Historic, on so many levels, Inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Let us Hope a New Page is turning on the real direction of this Country, not of what we like to think and say we are But Become Those Words and Actions, not only for us but for the World!

As Leaders Lead By Example, our examples have been the Negative, especially extreme negatives against even our own Laws, those Examples we've followed are how we're perceived now and have been these long seven years and will be into the near future!

Here's hoping we can rapidly change those tragic examples and lead as we should, it's up to us for those to come!

Camp Hope 2009

If you're in or near Chicago, or traveling to this coming week, and you didn't know about or might have heard about, Pay A Visit to Camp Hope 2009

Down the street from Barrack Obama's home on Chicago's south side: CAMP HOPE 2009

Sub-freezing temperatures and a brisk wind did not darken the day in Drexel Park for the kick off of Camp Hope, an 18-day vigil just down the street from Barrack Obama's home on Chicago's south side, yesterday.

Organized by a coalition of social justice, religious and peace organizations from the Chicago area, Camp Hope's goal is to remind President-elect Obama of the progressive themes he sounded in his campaign and urge him to follow through with policy changes when he takes office later this month. { Read more }

Location

Every day from New Year’s to Dr. Martin Luther King Day, whatever winter has in store for us, we will set up at the intersection of East Hyde Park Boulevard and South Drexel Avenue, Chicago.

On most days, our presence in Hyde Park will be from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with an emphasis on the periods from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM and from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM. Please see the calendar for the schedule of community forums, films, other special events endorsed by Camp Hope and for variations to the regular daily presence in Hyde Park.

Participating Organizations

We recognize that other groups will also be organizing campaigns intended to communicate with the general public about crucial issues in advance of President-elect Obama's inauguration. We vigorously uphold the right to free speech. As we exercise our right to free speech, we further recognize our responsibility to clarify this coalition's commitment to nonviolence. This commitment challenges us to strive for nonviolence in our lifestyles and personal interactions, and to reject any and all reliance on threat, force and weapons in resolving disputes, be they domestic or international.

Voices for Creative Nonviolence,
Justice and Peace Shares,
Pax Christi Springfield,
AFSC Chicago, Illinois Great Lakes Regional Office,
8th Day Center for Justice,
Kairos, Chicago,
North Suburban Peace Initiative,
North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice,
Hyde Parkers for Peace and Justice,
Peace Action Sub-committee- First Unitarian Church of Chicago,
Veterans For Peace,
Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ,
Midwest Pacifist Center,
Northside Action For Justice,
Eco-Justice Collaborative,
Chicago Area CodePINK,
CODEPINK - NW Indiana,
DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice,
Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice,
Catholic Action Network for Social Justice (St. Louis),
Pax at St. Louis University,
Near West Citizens for Peace and Justice,
South Siders for Peace,
Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition,
Social Justice Committee of University Church,
Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice,
New Life Midwifery Services,
Movimiento 10 de Marzo,
West Suburban Faith-based PEACE Coalition,
Fellowship of Reconciliation, Chicago Area Chapter,
Informed Energy Decisions,
Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization,
Nuclear Energy Information Service,
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization,
Illinois Solar Energy Association,
Blacks in Green,
Oxfam International,
Christian Peacemaker Teams,
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space,
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom,
St. Liborius Peace and Justice,
Generations For Peace,
Logan Square Neighbors for Justice and Peace,
Casa Maria Catholic Worker - Milwaukeem
Peninsula Peace and Justice- Maine

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Below are the events starting with tomorrow 1-5-09, the previous days and writeups you can find at the site:

Schedule & Events

Jan 5 2009 3:00pm - 9:00pm Vigil, Walk and Screening - "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

Jan 7 2009 6:30pm - 8:30pm Evening discussion on withdrawal of troops from Iraq

Jan 8 2009 7:00pm - 8:30pm "Abandoning War: A Peoples' Agenda" featuring Col. Ann Wright, Michael McPhearson,and Stephen Kinzer

Jan 9 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm Premiere Showing of "War on the Family"

Jan 10 2009 7:00pm - 8:30pm Myths and Realities about U.S. War in Afghanistan -A Presentation by Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid

Jan 11 2009 11:30am - 1:00pm Screening & Discussion - "Taxi to the Dark Side"

Jan 11 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm Witness Against Torture Forum: From Guantanamo to the Streets of Chicago

Jan 12 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm Economic Justice Forum

Jan 14 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm An Evening With Ali Abunimah

Jan 15 2009 6:30pm - 8:30pm Immigration Reform and Workers Rights

Jan 16 2009 7:00pm - 8:30pm Blackwater Worldwide In Illinois and Beyond: The Dangers of Outsourcing Our Security

Jan 17 2009 10:00am - 12:00pm Eco-Justice Collaborative- Morning Presentation and Walk to Vigil Site

Jan 17 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm Political Satirist Dave Lippman and the Singing C.I.A. Agent formerly known as George Shrub

Jan 18 2009 8:00am - 6:00pm Closing of Camp Hope with Candlelight Vigil- Sending off of Caravan to DC

Jan 18 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm Nature of Racism Lecture Discussion: Neo-Racism and the Myth of a Post-Racial US American Empire

Jan 19 2009 8:00am - 6:00pm Vigil at the Federal Building to celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday

Visit The Site: Camp hope 2009 for much more information!