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Berkeley Councilmember Wozniak Tries to Block Dept of Peace Resolution - But Fails!
Jonathan Wornick, the lone commissioner opposed to the resolution and appointed by Councilmember Woznia, said at the May meeting, “We have a Department of Peace. It’s called the State Department.” Wozniak tried to have the resolution sent back to the P&J Commission instead of having council vote on the issue, but his motion to do that failed and the Council ultimately passed it. “It is somewhat historic for a resolution to be passed by council after failing to get approved by a City Commission.’ said Moore. “Some council members expressed their dismay that such an apple pie issue, especially for a city like Berkeley, didn’t get P&J.approval.”
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June, 29, 2005
Berkeley Passes Resolution in Support of US Department of Peace
A resolution for the City of Berkeley supporting a Cabinet-level Department of Peace (DOP) was passed last night by Berkeley City Council “This was the first resolution to be introduced in support of the DOP in our area,” according to Alan Moore of the East Bay Department of Peace Campaign, a San Francisco Bay Area group working for the bill’s passage. Moore is also the director of Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace, a locally based international group of musicians, artists authors and activists that is supporting the legislation.
Even though it was first introduced to Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission over two months ago, it failed to pass at their June 6th meeting, when six voted yes, one voted no with three abstentions. It needed eight votes to pass.
Jonathan Wornick, the lone commissioner opposed to the resolution and appointed by Councilmember Woznia, said at the May meeting, “We have a Department of Peace. It’s called the State Department.”
Wozniak tried to have the resolution sent back to the P&J Commission instead of having council vote on the issue, but his motion to do that failed and the Council ultimately passed it. He accused the group of trying to bypass due process and unwilling to negotiate with P&J. How can we negotiate with P&J when his appointee told the Commission that, “We should stop this initiative ‘here and now? That doesn’t seem like someone that is willing to negotiate the merits of our resolution when he is attacking its very principle. Moore added.
Council Member Gordon Wozniak
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/council8/
“It is somewhat historic for a resolution to be passed by council after failing to get approved by a City Commission.’ said Moore. “Some council members expressed their dismay that such an apple pie issue, especially for a city like Berkeley, didn’t get P&J.approval.”
That is why we had to go before Berkeley City Council last night,” said Moore. “In the interim, it was endorsed by Oakland City Council last Tuesday, June 21, so Berkeley has now become the second Bay Area city to endorse the legislation so far.” Moore added.
“This is a department whose time has come,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland,. “A vital component of strengthening the campaign for the Department of Peace is for local groups to work to build local and regional support for this objective. The Bay Area, and Berkeley in particular, have historically been at the forefront of the peace and justice movement, and the creation of the U.S.
Department of Peace will give our local peace organizations the support of a Cabinet-level federal agency.”
“There really is no department within our government that looks at alternatives to war,” said Lee, dismissing the diplomacy that is the State Department’s reason for being.
Lee said the proposal is more than a symbolic gesture against the war in Iraq. She said more voters oppose the war the longer it goes on, and when those voters begin to call their representatives in larger numbers, the bill will gain more support.
In a letter to the group, Diane Feinstein said, “The Department of Peace is a concept that deserves much attention and I assure you that I will examine this proposal further. I applaud the efforts of your organization to promote and uphold the principles of peace within our state, our country, and the world abroad.”
Nancy Pelosi said, “HR 1673, sponsored by Representative Dennis Kucinich, would have established a Department of Peace to be headed by a Secretary of Peace appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The Department would have been dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace. It would have also been charged with to promoting justice and democratic principles to expand human rights and with developing policies that promote international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict. The 108th Congress adjourned without taking action on this legislation.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, said the Department of Peace is the best idea she has heard since she came to Washington in 1993. “I believe that we as human beings are going to self-destruct if we do not find another way,” Woolsey said. She also is planning to reintroduce legislation calling on the United States to scrap its entire nuclear arsenal.
She said her stand is popular among her Marin County constituents. “It says to the naysayers, oh my goodness, there are people that expect their representatives to not toe the line, ”Woolsey said.
Kucinich, D-Ohio, was a presidential candidate in the last election, who first introduced the legislation in July 2001. “This is the moment when we need to ask whether war is inevitable or not,” Kucinich said, noting the presence of U.S. troops in the streets of Baghdad and the warnings by senior American officials to Iran and Syria.
“Congressman Dennis Kucinich endorsed our plans to produce concerts and events in support of this effort even before the legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 11, 2001,” said Moore.
“Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace has the potential to be an extremely vibrant advocate for World Change,” said Kucinich in a letter to the group.
The group held their third concert in support of the legislation in San Francisco at StudioZ on December 19th, 2004. “The Peace Alliance, the legislation’s prime advocate, is now working to bring together a coalition of San Francisco Bay area groups and individuals to actively support such a move,” said Moore.
The legislation will be reintroduced to Congress for the third time this September and a drive is under way to get cities to endorse the legislation across the country. The 2001 legislation died in committee and was not given a hearing in the Republican-controlled House.
With so much of Washington and the nation focused on war, four dozen anti-war Democrats, including 12 Californians, have already endorsed the legislation.
The other California Democrats sponsoring the legislation are: Rep. Sam Farr of Carmel, Rep. Bob Filner and Susan Davis of San Diego, Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, Rep. George Miller of Martinez, Rep. Hilda Solis of El Monte, Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark of Fremont, Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles and Rep. Diane Watson of Los Angeles and Linda Sanchez of Lakewood.
It is important that cities, organizations, and individuals mobilize to support the legislation as the bill has no Republican sponsors and little prospect of advancing. Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, chairman of the Rules Committee, said Congress just created a new Cabinet department for homeland security and is unlikely to add another agency.
The Campaign will soon be introducing other resolutions for cities to adopt in our area. People can get involved by visiting the Peace Alliance website at:
http://www.dopcampaign.org
Alan Moore
East Bay Department of Peace Campaign
Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace
415-424-7238
PO Box 1511, Vallejo, Ca 94590
Wednesday, June, 29, 2005
Berkeley Passes Resolution in Support of US Department of Peace
A resolution for the City of Berkeley supporting a Cabinet-level Department of Peace (DOP) was passed last night by Berkeley City Council “This was the first resolution to be introduced in support of the DOP in our area,” according to Alan Moore of the East Bay Department of Peace Campaign, a San Francisco Bay Area group working for the bill’s passage. Moore is also the director of Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace, a locally based international group of musicians, artists authors and activists that is supporting the legislation.
Even though it was first introduced to Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission over two months ago, it failed to pass at their June 6th meeting, when six voted yes, one voted no with three abstentions. It needed eight votes to pass.
Jonathan Wornick, the lone commissioner opposed to the resolution and appointed by Councilmember Woznia, said at the May meeting, “We have a Department of Peace. It’s called the State Department.”
Wozniak tried to have the resolution sent back to the P&J Commission instead of having council vote on the issue, but his motion to do that failed and the Council ultimately passed it. He accused the group of trying to bypass due process and unwilling to negotiate with P&J. How can we negotiate with P&J when his appointee told the Commission that, “We should stop this initiative ‘here and now? That doesn’t seem like someone that is willing to negotiate the merits of our resolution when he is attacking its very principle. Moore added.
Council Member Gordon Wozniak
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/council8/
“It is somewhat historic for a resolution to be passed by council after failing to get approved by a City Commission.’ said Moore. “Some council members expressed their dismay that such an apple pie issue, especially for a city like Berkeley, didn’t get P&J.approval.”
That is why we had to go before Berkeley City Council last night,” said Moore. “In the interim, it was endorsed by Oakland City Council last Tuesday, June 21, so Berkeley has now become the second Bay Area city to endorse the legislation so far.” Moore added.
“This is a department whose time has come,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland,. “A vital component of strengthening the campaign for the Department of Peace is for local groups to work to build local and regional support for this objective. The Bay Area, and Berkeley in particular, have historically been at the forefront of the peace and justice movement, and the creation of the U.S.
Department of Peace will give our local peace organizations the support of a Cabinet-level federal agency.”
“There really is no department within our government that looks at alternatives to war,” said Lee, dismissing the diplomacy that is the State Department’s reason for being.
Lee said the proposal is more than a symbolic gesture against the war in Iraq. She said more voters oppose the war the longer it goes on, and when those voters begin to call their representatives in larger numbers, the bill will gain more support.
In a letter to the group, Diane Feinstein said, “The Department of Peace is a concept that deserves much attention and I assure you that I will examine this proposal further. I applaud the efforts of your organization to promote and uphold the principles of peace within our state, our country, and the world abroad.”
Nancy Pelosi said, “HR 1673, sponsored by Representative Dennis Kucinich, would have established a Department of Peace to be headed by a Secretary of Peace appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The Department would have been dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace. It would have also been charged with to promoting justice and democratic principles to expand human rights and with developing policies that promote international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict. The 108th Congress adjourned without taking action on this legislation.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, said the Department of Peace is the best idea she has heard since she came to Washington in 1993. “I believe that we as human beings are going to self-destruct if we do not find another way,” Woolsey said. She also is planning to reintroduce legislation calling on the United States to scrap its entire nuclear arsenal.
She said her stand is popular among her Marin County constituents. “It says to the naysayers, oh my goodness, there are people that expect their representatives to not toe the line, ”Woolsey said.
Kucinich, D-Ohio, was a presidential candidate in the last election, who first introduced the legislation in July 2001. “This is the moment when we need to ask whether war is inevitable or not,” Kucinich said, noting the presence of U.S. troops in the streets of Baghdad and the warnings by senior American officials to Iran and Syria.
“Congressman Dennis Kucinich endorsed our plans to produce concerts and events in support of this effort even before the legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 11, 2001,” said Moore.
“Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace has the potential to be an extremely vibrant advocate for World Change,” said Kucinich in a letter to the group.
The group held their third concert in support of the legislation in San Francisco at StudioZ on December 19th, 2004. “The Peace Alliance, the legislation’s prime advocate, is now working to bring together a coalition of San Francisco Bay area groups and individuals to actively support such a move,” said Moore.
The legislation will be reintroduced to Congress for the third time this September and a drive is under way to get cities to endorse the legislation across the country. The 2001 legislation died in committee and was not given a hearing in the Republican-controlled House.
With so much of Washington and the nation focused on war, four dozen anti-war Democrats, including 12 Californians, have already endorsed the legislation.
The other California Democrats sponsoring the legislation are: Rep. Sam Farr of Carmel, Rep. Bob Filner and Susan Davis of San Diego, Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, Rep. George Miller of Martinez, Rep. Hilda Solis of El Monte, Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark of Fremont, Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles and Rep. Diane Watson of Los Angeles and Linda Sanchez of Lakewood.
It is important that cities, organizations, and individuals mobilize to support the legislation as the bill has no Republican sponsors and little prospect of advancing. Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, chairman of the Rules Committee, said Congress just created a new Cabinet department for homeland security and is unlikely to add another agency.
The Campaign will soon be introducing other resolutions for cities to adopt in our area. People can get involved by visiting the Peace Alliance website at:
http://www.dopcampaign.org
Alan Moore
East Bay Department of Peace Campaign
Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace
415-424-7238
PO Box 1511, Vallejo, Ca 94590
For more information:
http://www.dopcampaign.org
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Ms.
Mon, Aug 1, 2005 1:47PM
liberals that support this are suckers
Thu, Jun 30, 2005 1:33PM
once again
Thu, Jun 30, 2005 7:24AM
Does anybody believe ...?
Thu, Jun 30, 2005 1:30AM
thank u liberals
Thu, Jun 30, 2005 12:09AM
photo set to 500px width
Wed, Jun 29, 2005 12:12PM
Resize it
Wed, Jun 29, 2005 11:57AM
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