Streep’s peaceful Oscar accessory

Actress Meryl Streep has already committed to wearing one, but whether other Oscar nominees join the crusade remains to be seen. When the 75th annual Academy Awards bows March 23, Streep will be wearing a specially designed peace pin inspired by Pablo Picasso’s “Dove of Peace.”

The pin is the brainchild of Los Angeles-based designer-developer Xorin Balbes and journalist Cliff Rothman, who have organized a philanthropic group called Global Vision for Peace in hopes of sending a message to the Oscars’ global television audience that many Americans want peace.

The peace pin is the work of New York jewelry designer Henry Dunay. Rothman stressed that it is not meant to protest either President Bush or the threat of war in Iraq.