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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:#333399;font-weight:
bold'>Dear Friends,<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:#333399;font-weight:
bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:#333399;font-weight:
bold'>Please join us for one of these important community gatherings. Rudy
Perkins is just back from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region></st1:place>
and has a lot to tell us. The consequences of war on <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> would be
so devastating-let’s find out what we can do to prevent this disaster from
happening.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#993300"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#993300;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=blue face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:blue;font-weight:
bold'>Long-time peace activist, attorney, and co-founder of <a
href="http://www.swingthevote.us/">Swing the Vote</a>, Rudy Perkins will
present a slide show and talk about his recent two week interfaith
“citizen diplomacy” delegation to Iran. The tour is </span></font></b><b><font
color=navy face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:navy;font-weight:bold'>organized</span></font></b><b><font color=blue
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:blue;
font-weight:bold'> by grassroots community groups SAGE and the <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Pioneer</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType>
Coalition to Prevent War on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></font></b><b><font
color=navy face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:navy;font-weight:bold'> and is co-sponsored by multiple Valley peace and
justice organizations.</span></font></b><b><font color=blue face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:blue;font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color=blue
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:blue;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333333"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333333;font-weight:bold'>Thursday June 26<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333333"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333333;font-weight:bold'>7 PM in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Amherst</st1:place></st1:City>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333333"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333333;font-weight:bold'>Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333333"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333333;font-weight:bold'>Spring Street, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Amherst</st1:place></st1:City>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=navy face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:navy;font-weight:
bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 color=teal
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:teal;font-weight:bold'>Friday, June 27<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 color=teal
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:teal;font-weight:bold'>7 PM in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Northampton</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 color=teal
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:teal;font-weight:bold'>Lyman Hall, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">First</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Churches</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>,
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street
w:st="on"><b><font size=3 color=teal face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:teal;font-weight:
bold'>Main Street</span></font></b></st1:Street><b><font color=teal
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:teal;
font-weight:bold'>, <st1:City w:st="on">Northampton</st1:City></span></font></b></st1:address><b><font
color=teal face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:teal;font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=teal face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:teal;font-weight:
bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b><font size=3 face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";font-weight:bold'> Both
events are free, open to the public, and handicap accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333399"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333399;font-weight:bold'>The delegation was organized by the interfaith
organization Fellowship of Reconciliation and was headed by a member of the
Fellowship and Rabbi Lynn Gottleib. They visited the cities of <st1:City
w:st="on">Tehran</st1:City>, Esfahan, <st1:City w:st="on">Shiraz</st1:City>,
and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Qom</st1:place></st1:City>. With
the group, Mr. Perkins met with Iran’s former deputy foreign minister,
the current and the incoming Jewish members of the Iranian parliament and other
Jewish leaders in Iran, leaders of the Armenian Christian community there, the
head of the Center for Inter-religious Dialogue in Tehran, and department heads
at the Center for Religious Studies in Qom. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:14.4pt'><b><font size=3 color=navy
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:navy;font-weight:bold'>As Rudy says</span></font></b><b><font
color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333399;font-weight:bold'>, “The fact such high-ranking Iranians would
meet with ordinary Americans shows how important these citizen delegations are
and that Iranians are eager for dialogue.” He criticizes the Bush
administration for resisting calls for greater dialogue between the <st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333399"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333399;font-weight:bold'>The presentation on June 26 and 27 will include
a brief history of U.S.-Iranian relations, and will discuss some of the issues
which have caused tension between the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
and Iranian governments, and what can be done to improve relations between our
two countries and prevent a widening of the war in the <st1:place w:st="on">Persian
Gulf</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:#333399;font-weight:
bold'>Perkins laments what he calls “the drumbeat for war against <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region>,” that he claims is “growing
dangerously loud” in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>.
He hopes that direct conversations between Americans and Iranians might help
reduce this “war fever.” “The American people do not favor
our government launching another ill-conceived war in the <st1:place w:st="on">Persian
Gulf</st1:place>. If we have to try to open a dialogue between our
countries ourselves to help stop that war, then that is what we’ll have
to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333399"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333399;font-weight:bold'>FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: </span></font></b><b><font
color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333399;font-weight:bold'><a href="http://www.westernmassafsc.org/"><font
color="#333399"><span style='color:#333399'>American Friends Service Committee</span></font></a>,
(413) 584-8975 or <a href="mailto:afsc@crocker.com"><font color="#333399"><span
style='color:#333399'>afsc@crocker.com</span></font></a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=3 color="#333399"
face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";
color:#333399;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color="#333399" face="Lucida Bright"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:#333399;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
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style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright";color:#333399;font-weight:
bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
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