It's 110 degrees in Las Vegas and our swamp coolers are doing the best they can, but it's still warm in the office. At least our "Francis and Clare" complex has some trees that help a little.

This e-blast is going to feature one main item plus a few teasers and event announcements. More details will be forthcoming a bit later in July when we issue the next full Desert Voices.

Until then, I hope some of you will respond to the appeal we're issuing for donations in support of the first Ediger Memorial Interfaith Celebration of Active Nonviolence, an idea that Peter and I brought to the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada last Autumn, and that we're very excited to bring to fruition on September 23.

We're also very thrilled to have Medea Benjamin join us for the start of the August Desert Witness as well as our own Louis Vitale throughout. Simultaneously, NDE's Megan Rice has been spurring the Occupy movement to Occupy the Nuclear Weapons Complex in August, so we're tieing in locally and nationally with that inspiring movement also.

More in July, but just to review some of where NDE has been since March, when last we wrote, see Spring's Things below.

Finally, I am duty-bound to end with one more appeal for financial support. Most of NDE's income is donated during the holidays and Spring's Sacred Peace Walk. Now is the dry time of year, but our program work continues. Cash flow is tight. Whether it's earmarked for the Celebration of Active Nonviolence or for general use, I promise we'll treat it as a precious gift and put it to good use. Become a "Friend of the Desert" by pledging to donate three or more times per year. Thanks, read on, and see you again soon.

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September 23, 3:00-8:30 pm

The Islamic Society of Nevada
4730 East Desert Inn Road
Las Vegas, NV 89121

Organized by the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service and
Nevada Desert Experience.

Vibrant movements for dignity and social justice are emerging in faith communities throughout the world. To bring these inspiring efforts to light we are organizing The Ediger Memorial Interfaith Celebration of Active Nonviolence on September 23. Dinner will be provided, and childcare will be available. RSVPs are appreciated to help us plan accordingly.

The celebration honors the spirit of active nonviolence with presenters who are life-long peace workers, authors and scholars. Vincent Harding is chairperson of the Veterans of Hope Project: A Center for the Study of Religion and Democratic Renewal. He was the academic adviser for Public Broadcasting's famous Eyes on the Prize documentary about the civil rights movement, was friends with Martin Luther King, Jr. and is credited with drafting King's famous speech, “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.”

Kathy Kelly is founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, based in Chicago. Members of Voices led over 70 delegations to Iraq to challenge the economic sanctions and were present in Baghdad in resistance to the 2003 U.S. military invasion. Since 2009, Voices has led five delegations to Afghanistan and two to Pakistan to listen to and learn from nonviolent grassroots movements and to raise awareness about the impacts of U.S. militarism in the region.

Mary Litell OSF will facilitate an exercise to help participants discern why they consider some actions violent or nonviolent. Mary is a trainer with Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service and also with Capacitar International which helps trauma-stricken refugees learn practical coping techniques. Joining the program for the evening panel, Nonviolence in Action, will be

Rae Abileah, a co-director of CODEPINK Women for Peace and a founding member of Young, Jewish and Proud. A Capella music by members of the St. James the Apostle Catholic Church choirs will stir our souls.

We're asking you to support this continuation of Ediger’s work to lift up “Faith, Hope and Love as alternatives to Cynicism, Despair and Fear." We are raising funds now to make this a successful community event that will attract a broad audience of inter-faith participants.

Peter Ediger was a poet and peacemaker who died on February 17. He was the local coordinator of Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, and he was a former Mennonite minister and Coordinator of Nevada Desert Experience. Active Nonviolence means a practice that doesn’t hate or try to annihilate “enemies” through war or violence, but also doesn’t ignore or retreat into passive acceptance of injustice.

Our vision of a world full of community and love instead of violence and war is closer then we ever imagined possible. Come. Celebrate the making of peace!

Donations by check can be made payable to Nevada Desert Experience.  Put “Ediger NV Celeb” on the memo line.

Direct inquiries to Jim Haber, Coordinator, Nevada Desert Experience, 1420 W. Bartlett Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89106. Telephone: 702-646-4814 E-mail: <jim@NevadaDesertExperience.org>.

Shalom, Salaam, Paz, Peace,

The Ediger Memorial Interfaith Celebration of Active Nonviolence Organizing Committee
Aslam Abdullah, Imam, Islamic Society of Nevada; Board Member IFCSN
Mary Lou Anderson, Council Member, Nevada Desert Experience and Board Member IFCSN
Baba Anal, Board Member, Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada (IFCSN)
Karen Boyett, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada (IFCSN)
Jo Ann Buckner, Board Member, Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada
Jim Haber, Committee Chair and Coordinator, Nevada Desert Experience
Ruthie Howard, Program Manager, Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada

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August 5 Book Signing:
Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control

with Author and Activist Medea Benjamin, co-Founder of the organization CODEPINK: Women for Peace

Sunday August 5
2:00 to 4:00 pm
EMERGENCY ARTS
520 Fremont Street 
Las Vegas, NV 89101

Come hear Medea Benjamin read from her new book, Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control. This is an excellent conversation starter and well-rounded introduction to the subject. Benjamin is great at connecting the dots, raising ethical questions and speaking passionately. The Beat Cafe will be open, and the event will be in the Common Gallery on the first floor.

August 6 to 9
Protests Against the Largest Drone Convention in the World
AUVSI Meets at Mandalay Bay Convention Center
8000 People from 40 Countries
If you want to help be a fly in the ointment of this new killing machine's smooth running, check in with NDE as plans develop further with other allies.

August 9
Anti-Test at the Mercury Entrance to the Nevada Test Site (Nevada National Security Site)
6:30 to 8:00 am (Before it gets really hot!)

and then in Las Vegas
Educational Picket at the National Atomic Testing Museum
10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Greet visitors to this museum that is devoted to remembering the Cold War in all its nuclear glory...and not much of the horror. We will informally supplement the discourse and remind people of the ongoing fallout from the use of the atomic bomb in 1945 as we memorialize the victims in Nagasaki (and Hiroshima).

For other actions around the southwest and as part of the move to "un-Occupy the Nuclear Weapons Complex, visit NukeFreeNow.org. Also, more local actions and educational events will be planned. More information will be on the NDE website and in the July Desert Voices.

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What we'll do for a rhyme sometime...Here is a brief visual roundup of Nevada Desert Experienc's goings-on. NDE was also represented at a Summit of anti-drone organizers in Washington DC and marched with local immigrants and Occupiers on May Day in Las Vegas. We also continue to greet people heading to tours of the NTS. More images are available on line, and we'll share more in the forthcoming Desert Voices.