ACTIVIST CALENDAR, January 19, 2010, Issue 154 #2
Of the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net.
http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
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CORRECTION:
In the Activist Newsletter published yesterday, Jeff Cohen, the author of the article titled "Don't Apologize for Democrats," was identified as a strong Obama supporter during last year's campaign. Jeff tells us that's an error, for which we apologize. We eliminated the reference on our Web page before most readers ever got to the article. If you haven't read the piece yet, find it at http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/. All his articles are archived at http://www.jeffcohen.org/articles.html
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Jan. 20, SAUGERTIES: The Haitian People' s Support Project is holding a "Relief Buffet" to help its work in earthquake-battered Haiti. The event will be 6-9 p.m. at New World Home Cooking on Rt. 212, between Woodstock and Saugerties. The suggested donation is $7. There will be live music. We're told, "Pierre and Terry Leroy are relieved to report that the 120 children at the House of Hope, the orphanage the HPSP maintains, have all survived. The day after the earthquake the HPSP was mobilizing a six-person team to travel to the orphanage. What's needed now is cash." Information (845) 246-0900, http://www.haitiansupportproject.org.
Saturday, Jan. 23, WOODSTOCK: A "Report Back From the Gaza Freedom March" will take place 2:30-5 p.m. at Woodstock Community Center, 56 Rock City Rd. Ten Hudson Valley residents took part in this dramatic act of solidarity from Dec. 25 to Jan. 4, traveling to Gaza to demonstrate against the Israeli blockade. They journey was stopped in Cairo by the Egyptian government. Members of this delegation will discuss their experiences, as well as the emerging International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza. Speakers include Nicholas Abramson, Helaine Meisler and Maurizio Morselli. This free public event is sponsored by Middle East Crisis Response. Information, (845) 679-5301, fred@acornfilm.com, http://www.hudsontogaza.blogspot.com.
Saturday, Jan. 23, BEACON: "'Walk, Don't Ride," a play by Peter Manos celebrating Martin Luther King and Freedom Riders in Nashville and Montgomery in the 1950-'60s, will be performed 7-9 p.m. at Beacon High School, 101 Matteawan Rd. We're told that this 45-minute production has been funded by a donation from Pete Seeger, who is a Beacon resident.
Saturday, Jan. 23, ALBANY: "Juan Meléndez – 6446," a documentary about an innocent man who spent 17 years on death row, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. We're informed: "Meléndez, a migrant farmer of Puerto Rican background raised in New York City, was unjustly accused of murder in Florida and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Told by Meléndez, his mother, lawyers and friends, this personal drama illustrates the legal, political and public policy issues around the application of the death penalty in the U.S. and Puerto Rico." Free and public, sponsored by the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, (518) 426-0883, dbull4@verizon.net, http://www.jflan.net/solidarity.
Sunday, Jan. 24, ROSENDALE: The film, "Freeing Silvia Baraldini" will be screened at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St. at 2:30 p.m., followed by a discussion and wine and cheese reception with the filmmakers. This documentary follows the life of an Italian-American activist who spent 24 years in prison following her conviction for helping to free Black Panther Assata Shakur from prison. Sponsored by The Haitian People's Support Project and The Martin Luther King Day Planning Committee. Snow date: Jan. 31, 2:30 p.m. About the film: http://www.thinedgefilms.com/.
Monday, Jan. 25, ALBANY: A "Rally to Protect New York from Natural Gas Drilling" will be held 10:30 a.m.-12 noon in the park on the west side of State Capitol building. This will be followed 1:30-3:30 p.m. by lobbying state legislators with the message: "Tell Gov. Paterson to ditch New York’s flawed plan to drill for natural gas in the Southern Tier and Catskill regions." We're informed: "The natural gas industry is eager to drill in New York. Drilling companies propose to use a dangerous technique, called hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking,' to extract natural gas buried beneath the rock of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations. In other parts of the country, fracking has poisoned wells and spilled toxic chemicals across landscapes." Groups involved include Environmental Advocates of New York, Sierra Club (Atlantic Chapter), Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Catskill Mountainkeeper. Information, Roger Downs, Sierra Club at (518) 426-9144. To register, http://www.citizenscampaign.org/fracking-action-day/register.asp.
Monday, Feb. 1, OLD CHATHAM: The film, "A Man Named Pearl" will be screened at 7 p.m. at Powell House Quaker Conference and Retreat Center, 524 Pitt Hall Road off County Route 13. The film documents the topiary artist Pearl Fryar, a sharecropper's son, and his rise to fame in his field in the poorest county in South Carolina, and the hope that he gave to the people there. Sponsored by Old Chatham Quaker Meeting. Free and public. Information (518) 766-2992. Directions, http://www.oldchathamquakers.org/.
Thursday, Feb. 4, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): Are invasive species here to stay? Dave Strayer of the Institute of Ecosystems Studies will discuss this topic as part of the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership (SRBP) lecture series. This free public lecture takes place on campus at Lecture Center room 100. Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map.
Sunday, Feb. 7, NEW PALTZ: The current economic and social trauma in Puerto Rico has seen massive layoffs and demonstrations, a general strike, repression and ongoing unrest. This is the topic of a 6 p.m. talk by seasoned activist and former jailed SOA protester Rev. Luis Barrios, chair of Latin American Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). This free public event will take place at Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave., a block south of Main St. An optional potluck begins at 5 p.m. The sponsor is CLASP (Caribbean & Latin America Support Project). Information, (845) 255-0113.
