For the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, the largest human peace sign in the world was performed in Lucena, Philippines, by 12,000 students of the QUEZON NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL on October 7th, 2009.

"A FEW years ago, I accepted a Golden Globe award by barking out an expletive. One imagines President Obama did the same when he heard about his Nobel, and not out of excitement"........ see link below for the rest of the story

Two Questions for Obama

Tonight, President Barack Obama will lay out his priorities for the nation in his first address to Congress. The president has a lot on his plate right now. One of the key questions for him is how to make good on his promises to end the killing in Afghanistan and initiate a new U.S. diplomatic initiative with Iran.

As you listen to the president's speech tonight, we hope you'll pay particular attention to how he answers two key questions.

When will the United States begin talking with Iran?
Iran's cooperation is essential to peace in Iraq, to stabilizing Afghanistan, to helping advance Israeli-Palestinian peace, and to rebuilding nuclear nonproliferation. The president has pledged to open diplomatic talks with Iran. The news that Iran is close to opening its first nuclear power plant makes the need for talks all the more urgent.

How will the United States help bring peace to Afghanistan?
Expanding the U.S. war isn't the answer. Instead, our government should expand U.S. diplomatic reach (including talks with the Taliban), invest in that country's long-term development, and provide aid for Afghan refugees, who with Iraqi refugees make up half the world's refugee population.

Take Action

Listen to the speech or read the text. Then write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in response. We've provided a sample letter that focuses on the two questions above.

To increase the chances that your letter will be published, you should submit it tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.

Background

FCNL calls for diplomacy with Iran

FCNL calls for New Strategy toward Afghanistan

We would like to thank you again for signing onto our statement on Afghanistan. Your names lend important credibility to our efforts.

We are planning to release the statement on Tuesday, February 17th. We will post it on our website as well as distribute a formal press release to media outlets. Following the statement's release, we will continue to reach out to public figures, including elected officials, retired military and diplomatic personnel, and intellectuals, and encourage them to sign the statement as well.