Dozens of people attended a rally in Northampton on April 9 to protest President Trump's military attack on Syria. Sabine Merz spoke at the rally. "The way to help Syria is to open our borders to them," she told the Valley Post. The event was outside city hall. It was organized by the American Friends Service Committee of Western Massachusetts www.afscwm.org.

At least five people from the Valley were among the thousands who marched against climate change in Philadelphia July 24. “The march was huge,” Paki Wieland of Northampton told the Valley Post on July 26. She traveled to the march with four other Valley residents. “I am here with CODEPINK,” Wieland said. CODEPINK is a women-led group that works to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect Americans' tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and related programs.

These photos were taken on May 25 in Keene. A man rides his bicycle outside the Keene food co-op. People walk down Main Street. World War II veteran Jim Johnston of Keene, seated, and Vietnam war veteran Jeffrey Scott of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, hold peace signs on the town common. "We've been here every week for the past 13 years, in snow, rain, you name it," Johnston said. "Once we had about 150 people here with us."

Lucinda Williams will perform a public concert at the Colonial Theater in downtown Keene on June 20 at 8 p.m. The cheapest tickets are $39.

On Saturday, March 14 at 10 a.m., there will be a peace march from Amherst to Northampton. The public is invited to attend all or part of the walk. In rough numbers, with 5 percent of the world's population, the USA spends as much on the military as the rest of the world combined. The USA spends about $2 trillion a year on war.

“Our goal is to eliminate all the world's nuclear weapons,” said organizer Tim Bullock of Leverett, Massachusetts. The march will start at the Amherst town common, across the street from 30 Boltwood Avenue.

Hundreds of people in Northampton, Keene, Brattleboro, and other Valley towns attended rallies for peace with Syria on September 8 and 9. The Northampton action drew more than 200 people. It was organized by the local chapter of www.afsc.org and by www.MoveOn.org. The other rallies were organized by MoveOn. About a dozen people were at the Keene rally, about two dozen in Amherst.

A rally in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, near Northampton, was attended by 22 people, organizer Eliza Cooney told the Valley Post.

If the government spent less on the military, life in the Valley would almost certainly improve, according to local experts. In the Valley, it’s likely that people are dying because they don’t have health insurance. In 2010, more than 44,000 Americans died because the U.S. does not have universal health care, which Canada, Cuba, Europe, Japan, and every other rich nation has. That’s according to congressman Alan Grayson.

Every year, acres of farmland and forestland in the Valley are turned into parking lots, fast food restaurants, and “McMansion” vacation houses that are usually vacant.

There will be a march and rally for peace on May 17 at 3:45 p.m. in Northampton. The event will start at City Hall, 210 Main Street. The U.S. spends more on the military than any other nation. “The U.S. war budget is greater than the military spending of the next 13 largest military powers combined,” said event organizer Susan Theberge.

The U.S. spends about $2,000 per person per year on the military. The global average is about one-tenth that amount. That’s according to:

www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-steven-friedman/military-spending-united-s...

On April 15 in Brattleboro, and on April 16 in Northampton, there will be rallies for peace. The rallies are to cut the nation’s military budget. Almost half of this year's entire federal budget of $2.9 trillion is being spent on war. That’s according to:

www.warresisters.org/sites/default/files/FY2014piechart-english-color.pdf

People at the rallies will also call on the government to raise taxes on the rich and use the money to help the poor, through programs like better public transportation and free health care.

At 6:30 p.m. on December 10, there will be a rally for peace outside the courthouse at the corner of Main and King streets in Northampton. The rally is to cut the nation’s military budget. Almost half of this year's entire federal budget of $2.8 trillion is being spent on war. That’s according to:

www.warresisters.org/sites/default/files/FY2012piechart-color.pdf

There were rallies for justice in Springfield on March 31 and April 2. About 1,700 people attended the March 31 rally, which was the bigger of the two. The bigger rally was to support Trayvon Martin, and to protest racist police. There were similar protests around the nation. Martin was an unarmed African American teenager who was shot and killed in Florida in February by George Zimmerman. The government has failed to charge Zimmerman with any crime; he is free.