The National Defense Authorization Act 2012 (NDAA), passed by the Senate and House and now on its way to the White House includes detention provisions that allow for indefinite military detention of anyone, including U.S. citizens, without charges, court review, or a trial and make it more difficult to close the prison at Guatanamo Bay.

The President needs to hear from us to have the courage to say "No!" to this alarming legislation.
CALL AND EMAIL PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY and urge him to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

EMAIL: With the help of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, it takes less than 1 minute.  Just click here to send your email now!  

Call 202-456-1111, and simply say, "I urge President Obama to veto the National Defense Authorization Act.  We must not pass legislation allowing indefinite detention and making it more difficult to close Guatanamo."

Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice is working with the Muslim Peace Coalition,  Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC), National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Center for Victims of Torture, and American Muslim Voice to raise awareness of this issue.

Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan, a collection of six-foot panels created by artists and students to help us imagine the experience of Afghan civilians, will be on exhibit in Palo Alto September 26-October 8. Marking 10 years of war in Afghanistan, the full exhibit will be publically displayed:

Saturday, October 8, 10am-2pm
Palo Alto City Hall King Plaza

The war in Afghanistan is now the longest war in U.S. history, yet for many of us it has been rendered largely invisible.  October 7 marks 10 years since the U.S. invasion of this country.  Windows and Mirrors helps us reflect on the impact of the war on the civilians - children, women and men - caught in the crossfire.

"We are present in every shot fired, every missle launched, and every bomb dropped.  But this is not our only option.  We also can be present in acts of diplomacy and reconciliation, community reconstruction and peaceful partnership.  The choice is ours." (American Friends Service Committee)

The exhibit, collected by American Friends Service Committee and hosted locally by MVPJ, will be divided between several venues for viewing until October 6.  Read further to find out where!  All 25 panels will be displayed on Saturday October 8 at Palo Alto City Hall King Plaza, 10am-2pm.  There will be a simple service with prayers and songs for peace at 12Noon.

The Soviet Union is gone. The nuclear weapons aren't. Some say that reducing our nuclear arsenal is too risky. But how risky is the status quo? The answer is - nobody knows! Congress can call for a scientific assessment. Ask them to do it. Ask them today!

Many spiritual communities are hosting memorial events to mark this day. Below is a listing of a few local programs. Resources from diverse faith perspectives are posted at the end of this article.

From Fear to Friendship: To honor 9/11 victims, their families and first responders
Sunday, September 11, 4:30-8:30pm
Muslim Community Association, 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, 95054 
The program will include dinner and discussion, children's event and candle-lighting.  Speakers include the Rev. James Lawson, Imam Alaeddin Elbakri, Supervisor Dave Cortese, and others.  Presented by American Muslim Voice, Muslim Community Association, and the Northern California Islamic Council.  Free.  RSVP required to info@norcalcouncil.org.  Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice is pleased to be a cosponsor.  Click here for more information.

9/11: Mark the Moment and Make a Promise for Peace
Sunday, September 11, 5pm
Chapel of Trinity Episcopal Church, 330 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park
Everyone of every age is invited to this simple service of remembrance, reconciliation and promise.  The liturgy will come from a movement to pray for peace especially within the household of Abraham, Hagar and Sarah (the ancestors of Judaism, Christinity and Islam).  We will conclude our time by gathering around the Peace Pole and making a promise to love and respect one another and together build a path to peace.

Don't miss BUDRUS

Sunday, August 7, 6:30pm
Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church
728 Fremont Ave., Sunnyvale

Screened at the SF Jewish Film Festival, BUDRUS is an award winning documentary about a Palestinian community organizer who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction by Israel's Separation Barrier.  Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter launches a women's contingent that quickly moves to the front lines.

Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring yet little-known movement in the Occupied Palestinaian Territories that is still gaining ground today.  In an action-filled film chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus sines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat.

Mark the 66th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Forgotten Bomb:  Everything Depends on Remembering
Wednesday, August 3, 6:30pm
The Fellowship of Humanity, 390 27th Street, Oakland
Potluck at 6:30pm, film screening at 7:30pm followed by Q&A with Forgotten Bomb director, Stuart Overbey

From Hiroshima to Fukushima to Livermore:
Confronting the Two-Headed Dragon of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power
Saturday, August 6, 6-9am
Livermore Lab*
Gather at Bill Payne Park, Vasco Rd. and Patterson Pass Rd. in Livermore.  Expect fantastic vegetarian food, music, renowed speakers and more.  (*Livermore is one of the two labs responsible for designing every warhead in the US nuclear arsenal.)

Mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq - a war that continues in its destructive violence on the ground, as well as in the physical, emotional, moral and spiritual suffering inflicted on the Iraqi people, U.S. military personnel, and families of fallen soldiers.  According to Iraq Body Count, there were 4,036 Iraqi civilian deaths by violence in 2010. Also in 2010, sixty U.S. military were killed in Iraq.  For the second year in a row, the U.S. military has lost more troops to suicide than it has to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Coalition deaths in Afghanistan for 2010 were 711. The war goes on...

Camilo Mejia, the first U.S. veteran of the Iraq war to publicly refuse further service, will speak in Palo Alto on Sunday, March 20, 4pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Road.  The panel responding to Mejia will include:
Karen Meredith - Gold Star Mother whose son 1Lt. Ken Ballard was killed while serving in Iraq;
Ben Daniel - Presbyterian minister and writer of faith-based social and political commentary; and
Paul George - director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center.

"I was afraid of waking up one morning to realize my humanity had abandoned me. ... By putting my weapon down, I chose to reassert myself as a human being. ... Refusing and resisting this war was my moral duty."  -- Camilo Mejia

Sunday, March 20, 4pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Main Hall
505 E. Charleston Ave., Palo Alto

Click "read more" to learn more about Camilo Mejia, see how to order his book, and download flyers.