On Friday night some UW-Madison students will gather in a classroom, choosing to attend a war policy debate instead of — or at least before — a keg party. It may sound more befitting the UW campus of the 1960s, but that's kind of the point. (Photo of 1960s teach-in from Wis. State Journal.) UW-Madison is hosting a "teach-in" on the war in Afghanistan this weekend, reviving a practice common during the campus' turbulent Vietnam War years.

An opinion column by WNPJ Chair Jim Draeger, Oshkosh Deputy Mayor Tony Palmeri, and Liberty Tree Foundation Executive Director Ben Manski:

For the first time in recent history, citizens of Wisconsin have the opportunity to help answer the question, "Who decides about war?" Read it here.

Cassandra Dixon, pictured, of WNPJ member group Mary House reports from Palestine:

On 15 March 2010, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article by Amira Hass which details an attack in At-Tuwani two months ago. During the attack, two squads of Israeli soldiers injured and traumatized several members of a Palestinian family. Footage of that

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, a WNPJ member group, reports:

Army officials have ordered rural neighbors of Badger Army Ammunition Plant (pictured) to suppress an environmental report by an independent consultant working with the local Restoration Advisory Board (RAB). 

WNPJ member group Voces de la Frontera kicked off their five-city "Main Street is Moving" tour, starting in Milwaukee on the way to joining tens of thousands of people in Washington, D.C. on Sunday to demand the Obama administration come through on campaign promises to enact comprehensive immigration reform and to create jobs.

Protesters in 2008 punctured a cover at the Waihopai satellite station in New Zealand. Photo: New Zealand Herald

In New Zealand, three peace activists have been found not guilty of breaking into and damaging a spy base used in the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. In April 2008, the three activists entered the Waihopai facility and deflated a plastic dome used to cover a satellite dish.

After the verdict, one of the three acquitted activists, Dominican friar Peter Murnane, said they acted to help mitigate the human suffering caused by the Iraq war.

Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said he wouldn't prosecute UW-Madison for violating state law in sheep experiments, so two animal rights groups are attempting to file the criminal charges themselves. One of the groups, Alliance for Animals, is a WNPJ member organization.

Recently, the WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has been cracking down on Wisconsin raw milk providers. Legislation to legalize the sale of raw milk and raw milk products is now before the Wisconsin General Assembly (AB 628) and the Senate (SB 434).  Legalizing raw milk will help many Wisconsin dairy farmers to stay in business since through direct sales they will earn 4-5 times as much as from the corporate controlled fluid milk market.  Last year alone farm income in WI dropped by over 50% and hundreds of dairy farmers are now on the verge of bankruptcy.
Action Step: Contact your state Representatives and urge them to support AB628 and SB434 to legalize raw milk sales.
Contact for more info: John Peck, Family Farm Defenders, 608-260-0900, familyfarmdefenders@yahoo.com

More WNPJ Action Alerts for the week of March 15 below...

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ) donated funds for a water purifier filter in a school in Iraq last December. Sami Rasouli of the Iraqi-American Reconciliation Project, MN - has a goal of installing 1,000 water purifiers in Iraqi Schools - can you help? If your group is interested in supporting a water purifier system in Najaf, Iraq - please contact: Sami Rasouli, Muslim Peacemaker Teams, Najaf, Iraq through www.reconciliationproject.org

Two Madison college professors with religious backgrounds, who have worked tirelessly to change the world -- Esther Heffernan and Joe Elder, pictured above  -- were honored for their lifetimes of activism on Oct. 3 by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ), a statewide network of 170 organizations working for social change.

Peacemakers 2009: Elaine Kinch (Racine), Jannet Arenas (Madison), Jason Moon (Milwaukee), Dartanian Lewis (Milwaukee), Don Hoffman (Wisconsin Rapids), Will Williams (Windsor), and Josh Bartz (Madison).

Peacemakers of the Year for 2009 were honored by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice at a ceremony Oct. 3rd at the Goodman Community Center in Madison, following the WNPJ's annual fall assembly.....