Ivan's Place
In honor of the greatest moralist who never lived
Copyright © 2004 by Bill Becker

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Peacefire II — Celebrating America's Potential for Peace

The South Valley Peace Center is a great peace and justice group based in Visalia, California. On April 29, 2006, SVPC joined with peace groups across the nation in a day of protest and celebration called by Moveon.org.

The photographs below are organized by category.

Setting up on Visalia's Garden Street Plaza. Looking north.

Photo by Dave Adalian.

Peace is patriotic.    Dorothy and Bill Osak help SVPC director Kim Loeb set up.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

SVPC Director Kim Loeb welcomes participants and explains the goals of the South Valley Peace Center. An unidentified man holds up the concrete block wall in the background. Photo by Dave Adalian.

Photo by Dave Adalian.

Photo by Dave Adalian.

Merrily Davies and Richard Pieart (off-camera) host the letter-writing table.     Photo by Dave Adalian.

Dan Yaseen, Camille Russell, and an unidentified woman staff the Peace Fresno table. Peace Fresno is the outfit the Fresno County Sheriff suspected of planning to unleash weapons of mass distruction throughout the San Joaquin Valley, so he infiltrated the group with an undercover deputy. Peace Fresno members tell the story in Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

Here an artist from Visalia's College Of The Sequoias Artworks throws a pot.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

Mark Koenig and Greg Seastrom at the table of the ALTERNATIVES TO VIOLENCE PROJECT, Visalia Chapter. Bob Marshall holds the banner against a breeze.

"AVP is a non-profit organization of volunteers offering experiential workshops that empower individuals to liberate themselves from the burden of violence. Our fundamental belief is that there is a power for peace and good in everyone, and this power has the ability to transform our relationships. AVP builds on respect and caring for ones self and extends that into concentric circles of community."

Three unidentified teens solicit help for the needy.    Photo by Bill Becker.

The South Valley Peace Center Booth itself. Lots here for the peace and justice junkie.    Photo by Bill Becker.

Mark Stout and Laura Fultz sell unlimited solar energy. The more solar energy and other alternative sources we use, the less excuse the military-industrial complex will have to send our young men and women to kill and die for overseas oil.     Photo by Bill Becker.

Jovita Harrah and Paul Harman at the Pax Christi St. Marys Visalia table. Part of a nationwide network of Catholic communities of "prayer, study, action," PCSMV meets the first Wednesday of the month at the St. Mary's Parish Hall in Visalia.     Photo by Bill Becker.

Debbie Speer and her friend from KFCF invite visitors to tune into alternative radio. I apologize for the poor light balance.    Photo by Bill Becker.

"For 40 years, AFSC's Farm Labor Program (Proyecto Campesino) has supported farmworkers throughout the San Joaquin Valley in their quest for humane working conditions, safer housing, affordable health care, and the recognition due them as working members of society. In the wake of recent anti-immigrant scapegoating, Proyecto Campesino has defended the rights of immigrant workers and their families, countering negative public perceptions with accurate information."

Bill Decker (in the hat), of Health Care for All, plugs California State Senator Sheila Keuhl's SB 840 - The California Health Insurance Reliability Act. SB840, and similar state measures across the country, are gaining traction, so expect massive opposition from the insurance agencies that siphon off so many of the dollars that could go for actual health care.     Photo by Dave Adalian.

The t-shirts below speak for themselves.
   Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Dave Adalian.

The corporate executive's ultimate nightmare: a child who might grow to adulthood with a healthy distaste for the military-industrial complex.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

Photo by Dave Adalian.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Photo by Bill Becker.

Nadia McCaffrey was today's featured speaker. Nadia lost her son Patrick in Iraq on June 22 2004, in an ambush near near Balad, Iraq.

"From the moment of Patrick's death, my life has been dedicated to Peace and Justice. I have been speaking against the corruption, the immorality and evil of this war of greed, taking the lifes of so many. I am working to bring our troops and our national guardsmen home. Working to halt the killing of innocents civilians and children of Iraq. I am working to expose the truth"

Photo by Bill Becker.

Dan Yaseen tells us about the March, 2006 meeting of the 6th World Social Forum in Karachi, capital of his native Pakistan.
   Photo by Bill Becker.

Buddy Jones of the African Drum Ensemble talks about the legacy of racism.   Photo by Bill Becker.

The Kaweah River Drum Circle welcomes visitors.   Photo by Dave Adalian.

Bill Balsley from KVLP, Visalia Low-Power Radio 101.5 FM, add to the harmony of the drums.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

Becky Wells, Family and Friends perform.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

South Valley Peace Center's own Uncle Bill Warner sings one of his own Swiftian satires on the current insanity in the White House.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

The band Richfield plays.    Photo by Bill Becker.

Keio Ogawa and Buddy Jones.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

The Green Machine.    Photo by Dave Adalian.

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Page updated May 31, 2006