Friday, September 9th, was a busy day. First of all, I took a vacation day from work, so that I could participate in NYC Chapter Dept of Peace first press conference. Our press conference was to be held on the steps of City Hall between 1pm and 2pm. That morning I took care of several chores/errands before going into Manhattan. Also left my weekend luggage at a friend’s office, then hopped aboard a subway bound for City Hall. At first I thought I was first one there … but then saw Kevin, Carol and Karen in City Hall park rehearsing for the press conference. As they finished rehearsing I waited for the rest of NY Dept of Peace crew to show up. Those that were able to attend were: Eileen, Hector, Gary, Joe, Janet, Ellen, Karen’s father and I. May I add that it was a sunny afternoon, a few clouds and for those of us wearing suits, a slightly sweaty day. [NYC Chapter DoP chair, Carol Hillson, wrote up a terrific commentary on the whole event. One can read up on it at September 13th posting on Duchess Blog.] We parted company around 2:15pm and I zipped up friend’s office to have a quick lunch, plus grab my luggage.
Then it was off to Penn Station and see if Marie’s Amtrak union friend’s “business card” would get me on the 4:05pm bound for DC. After finding out which track the train would be on, which is usually 10 minutes before it leaves, I made my way to the platform. I was nervous the whole time and praying it would work out okay. Finally found the head conductor and spoke with him briefly. He was wonderful and gave me ticket to board the train. Even after the Amtrak pulled out of Penn Station, I couldn’t relax until we got past Newark. Whew! I read THE PROGRESSIVE monthly magazine and also listened to my CD walkman for ride down to DC. Train arrived around 7:30pm and my good friend Nancie was waiting for me. Went to a 1950s style diner near her home in VA and caught up on news. Back at the house Tim greeted us and I was shown to the guest room on second floor. [We also discussed agenda for next day before I had to take the METRO into DC.] Then it was time to put on our swimsuits and jump into the Jacuzzi/hottub for some R&R. Damn that felt good! The following evening, after an fantastic first day at conference, I ran into troubles on the METRO heading back to VA. Well, I didn’t cause trouble, but police activity at one of the stops on my METRO line cause the upheaval. To make a long story short, what should have taken a 40 minute train ride, instead took almost two hours. Sigh!
September 10th & 11th was the 3rd Annual Dept of Peace Conference in Washington, DC. [I’ve already written my commentary and posted on Duchess Blog back on September 18th.] Here are some wonderful photos from that amazing weekend.
[Marianne Williamson at top left, at center is NYC Chapter Dept of Peace board members Kevin Fagan & Carol Hillson, at bottom left is Ambassador McDonald talking with Dot Mavers from Peace Alliance.]
[Peggy Kelsey was one of the conference photogs.] If you wish to see more terrific photos from the conference, go to: http://www.thepeacealliance.org/events/sept_conf_05.htm
A CONVERSATION WITH WALTER CRONKITE & CONGRESSMAN KUCINICH AT THE "PEACE CONFERENCE" GALA ON SEPTEMBER 12TH -- Watch the video online now ... http://www.thepeacealliance.org/events/conf/cronkite_transcript.htm
On Tuesday, September 13th, was the NYC Democratic Primary. The place [public school] where I go to vote is several blocks from my apartment and I arrived at about 8:20am. Personally, I like the older voting machines, as they are more reliable and leave a paper trail. These Diebold computerized contraptions are an incredibly bad idea, no paper trail, easy to tamper with and I firmly believe they are controlled by the right-wing fundamentalist neo-cons who don’t believe in true democracy. Later that day, after the votes were tallied, it was learned that Norman Siegel lost to that lazy, incompetent Public Advocate incumbent by 18%. Grrrrrrr
Message From Care2 Human Rights - What does Wal-Mart have against lunch?
At Wal-Mart, not only is there no such thing as a free lunch, allegedly, there's no lunch at all! Take action: http://go.care2.com/e/GAi/Bk/BhwO That's why Wal-Mart finds itself back in court - this time it's been accused of denying thousands of workers lunch breaks that are required bylaw. The case covers 116,000 former and current Wal-Mart employees in California, who are owed more than $66 million in back-pay plus interest for unpaid work during lunch. "Time theft" labor abuses are a chronic problem for Wal-Mart. In fact, the company has paid millions to settle numerous cases of this sort already, in which its employees were denied breaks required by law, forced to work off the clock, or denied overtime pay for hours worked.
As the worlds largest retailer and Americas largest private sector employer, Wal-Mart clearly has some explaining to do. But rather than address the serious issues raised in the worker discrimination lawsuit, Wal-Mart has aggressively fought the charges and attempted to keep this suit out of court for the past four years. When will Wal-Mart learn that treating workers fairly doesn't come at the expense of corporate profits? After all, workers who are treated with respect are more loyal to their employers and work harder too. That's why we must use our power as consumers to be a catalyst for change. Tell Wal-Mart's management to take immediate steps to end these alleged workplace abuses! Sign the petition: http://go.care2.com/e/GAi/Bk/BhwO
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