HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER/CALENDAR
Oct. 19, 2010, Issue #650
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We can use some volunteer help posting our leaflet for the Oct. 27 public meeting in New Paltz on "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty." (See last item below.) We're covered in New Paltz and southern Ulster but want to get on bulletin boards and wherever there are public announcements in Woodstock, Rosendale, Kingston, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh as well as Vassar, UCCC and DCC. Inform us of your availability by email and we will send you a pdf version of the leaflet. If you incur more than minimal expenses, we'll reimburse. Thanks, Jack.
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NEW ACTIVIST EVENTS
[Our Oct. 19 calendar also includes some other events in the next few days.]
Friday, Oct. 22, NEWBURGH: A rally to support the Newburgh Four will take place 4-6 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Liberty St., one block from City Hall. The four Newburgh men were found guilty by a federal jury in New York City Oct. 18. Accusations against them included alleged plans to shoot down military aircraft and to bomb synagogues. Their lawyers and supporters in the Hudson Valley argue that the men were entrapped by the FBI. Rally organizers say: "These four African American men did not plan the crime and had no means or intent to commit such a crime, and yet they have been convicted and face life in prison. A government agent provocateur was implanted in Newburgh, one of the poorest cities in New York, and with offers of food, money, marijuana, cars and vacations, lured the four into collaborating on so-called terror plots." The rally is endorsed by WESPAC Foundation, Project SALAM, the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the NYC Coalition to Stop Islamophobia, the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter and Peace and Social Progress Now. Information, (845) 569-8662, BenWeiss@aol.com.
Friday, Oct. 22, KINGSTON: A performance and discussion of "Words of Choice" created by feminist Cindy Cooper will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Creative Education, 20 Thomas St. This event is sponsored by Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley and Ulster County YWCA. Suggested donation is $10, $5 students. RSVP and information, (845) 294-9975 ext. 115, rsvp@ppmhv.org.
Saturday, Oct. 23, NEW PALTZ: The well known progressive topical singer-musician David Rovics will appear at the Slash Root Tech Café, 60 Main St. A potluck dinner begins at 6 p.m. After warm up speakers, Rovics will go on at 8 p.m. A $15 donation is requested. Information, (845) 633-8330.
Sunday, Oct. 24, COBLESKILL: A screening of the award-winning documentary "Gasland" will start at 3:30 p.m. the Cobleskill-Richmondville High School Theater. The free public event is about director Josh Fox's "cross-country odyssey to uncover the secrets, lies and consequences of gas drilling using hydraulic fracking in the U.S." It's sponsored by Schoharie Valley Watch. Information, http://www.schoharievalleywatch.org/.
Monday, Oct. 25, SCHENECTADY: The Public Library's McChesney Room (99 Clinton St.) is the venue for a 7 p.m. showing of "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train," the film about the late progressive historian Howard Zinn. This 78-minute 2004 documentary features rare archival materials and interviews with Zinn's colleagues and friends, including Noam Chomsky, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Hayden and Alice Walker. The sponsor of this free event is Schenectady Neighbors for Peace. Information, (518) 346-0517, elaineklein@hotmail.com.
Wednesday, Oct. 27, ANNANDALE (Bard Campus): Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies will deliver a 7 p.m. talk on U.S. Middle East Policy at the Weiss Cinema on campus. Information, hvymetalviking88@aol.com.
Friday, Oct. 29, NEW PALTZ: A fundraiser for Charity Water will be held at the Slash Root Tech Café, 60 Main St. Starting at 7 p.m. there will be music (Sophia Wortzel, Sekanjabin, Marigo Farr) and a costume contest. The cost is $4 at the door. Proceeds go toward providing safe drinking water to a village of 250 people suffering from water-borne illnesses. Information, watercharity.np@gmail.com, (845) 633-8330, http://www.charitywater.org.
REMINDER
Wednesday, Oct. 27, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A major meeting, titled "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty," will take place at 7 p.m. at the Coykendall Science Building auditorium on the SUNY campus.
Speaking at this free public meeting will be four SUNY professors, two students and four Mid-Hudson community activists. They will largely discuss climate change, but war and poverty will also be noted in two talks since together they "combine to create the perfect storm of impending global devastation," according to the organizers.
The event is sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter/Calendar and the local group Peace and Social Progress Now (PSPN). The Campus sponsor is Environmental Task Force. The event is endorsed by Climate Action Coalition, SUNY Progressive Academic Network, New Paltz Students for Sustainable Agriculture, Students for Fresh Water, SUNY NP Recycling Club, Ulster County Move-On Council, Women in Black New Paltz, Hudson Valley Single Payer, Caribbean & Latin America Support Project, Arts for Peace, New Paltz Greens, Dutchess Greens, Dutchess Peace Coalition, and Mid-Hudson ANSWER.
The speakers include Sociology Professors Brian Obach and Irwin Sperber, Education Professor Kate McCoy, and Geography Professor Salvatore Engel-DiMauro, and student activists Claire Papell and Nick DePalma.
The community activist speakers include Donna Goodman, a co-chair of PSPN who is also an elected statewide delegate from the SUNY New Paltz chapter of United University Professions; Ariana Basco, a recent SUNY graduate, member of the New Paltz town Police Commission, and a local environmental organizer; Ann Guenther an anti-fracking campaigner with Climate Action Coalition; and Jack A. Smith, editor of the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter and Calendar and the other co-chair of PSPN.
The Coykendall auditorium is directly opposite the Lecture Center on campus. If you are not familiar with the campus, here are directions and a map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions_text.html, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/. Scope out the nearest parking lots and leave yourself a bit of extra time. Information, jacdon@earthlink.net, (845) 255-5779.
