HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Jan. 21 2011, Issue #655
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
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DEDICATED TO HELPING BUILD
ACTIVIST MOVEMENTS IN THE HUDSON VALLEY
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Saturday, Jan. 22, ALBANY: The documentary film, "Have you Heard from Johannesburg? Apartheid and the Club of the West," will be screened at First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. at 7:30 p.m. The film focuses on the anti-apartheid movement in the United States during the 1980s-90s and its impact on the South African liberation struggle. This free event is sponsored by Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, dbull4@verizon.net, (518) 426-0883, http://www.jflan.net/solidarity.
Sunday, Jan. 23, COLONIE: Gene Damm, the educational director of the U.S.-China Peoples' Friendship Association (Northeast New York Chapter), will host a discussion called, "Who is Liu Xiabo?" at Town of Colonie Library, 629 Albany-Shaker Rd from 3-4:30 p.m. Find out about the background and writings of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is now serving a prison sentence in China. Information contact Gene Damm, (518) 482-7675, gdamm@nycap.rr.com, http://www.uscpfany.org.
Monday, Jan. 24, ALBANY: A demonstration will take place across from the FBI building, 200 McCarty Ave., starting at 4:30 p.m. to protest the government raids on Midwest peace, justice and international solidarity activists last September. Other protests against the raids and grand jury subpoenas will take place nationwide the next day, Jan. 25. According to the organizers: "If these activists are forced to give the names of contacts in Palestine and/or Colombia, these contacts could be murdered or imprisoned; if they refuse, the activists will be imprisoned. This is a political witch hunt similar to the McCarthy hearings in the '50s." Other protest issues include FBI harassment of Muslims and peace activists, fake terrorism plots to entrap Muslims into "terrorism" convictions and selective use of "material aid to terrorism" laws. This local event is sponsored by the Muslim Solidarity Community and Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. Information, (518) 439-6065, risprin@gmail.com, http://bethlehemforpeace.org.
Monday, Jan. 24, ALBANY (College of St. Rose): Dr. Douglas Goodale of SUNY Cobleskill, will speak 7:30-9 p.m. on the topic of the technology to convert bio-waste to synthetic natural gas. The free public event will be held on campus at the Events and Athletic Center, 2nd floor rooms A and B, 420 Western Ave. The talk is part of the monthly meeting of the Capital Region Energy Forum. Information, (607) 282-0220, anotherthyme@yahoo.com, http://www.capitalregionenergyforum.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 26, POUGHKEEPSIE (Vassar Campus): A panel discussion entitled, "Jewish and Muslim Experiences in America: Working Together to Promote Human Rights," will take place 6:30-8 p.m. at Sanders Hall Auditorium (room 212). Noor Elashi, a writer and speaker on Muslim rights, and Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, will speak on issues of human rights and ethnic identity. Sponsored by Vassar Islamic Society, Dutchess Peace, and Middle East Crisis Response. Co-sponsored by Alternatives to Violence Project, Marist Praxis Project for Public Citizenship, New Paltz Neighbors for Peace, Peace Action New York State, Peace and Social Progress Now, The Mid-Hudson 9/11 Truth Commission, UUFP Poughkeepsie Social Justice Committee, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Veterans For Peace, VFP Al Warren Tappan Zee Brigade, VFP Maury Colow Chapter 058 Catskill region, WESPAC Foundation. Information, (845) 876-7906, fred@acornfilm.com. Directions and a map of campus, http://admissions.vassar.edu/visit_directions.html.
Wednesday, Jan. 26, ANNANDALE (Bard College Campus): Author and activist Jeff Halper, the director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, will speak on Palestine 2011 at a public slideshow/fundraiser for his organization at 7 p.m. in the Weiss Cinema at the Bertelsmann Campus Center. Information, (718) 451-6640.
Thursday, Jan. 27, NEW PALTZ (SUNY CAMPUS): A public meeting titled "Shale Under Siege" — a screening of the extraordinary documentary "Gasland" plus a discussion of the danger of hydraulic fracking to obtain natural gas from shale — will take place starting at 6:30 p.m. in Lecture Center 100. After the screening, there will be a discussion about what the gas rush could mean for communities, landowners, and landscapes in the Hudson Valley and how you can get involved. Present will be Cara Lee, Shawangunk Ridge program director (The Nature Conservancy), and Nadia Steinzor, Marcellus regional organizer, EARTHWORKS Oil & Gas Accountability Project. Sponsored by The Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership and SUNY New Paltz Biology Department. Information, Gretchen Reed at (845) 255-0919, or Cara Lee at (845)255-9051, http://www.mohonkpreserve.org/index.php?events.
Thursday, Jan. 27, WOODSTOCK: The Middle East Crisis Response group of Hudson Valley residents opposed to Israeli and U.S. policies toward the Palestinians meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month 7-8:30 p.m. at the Library, 5 Library Lane, just off Tinker St. All welcome. Next meeting, Feb. 10. Information, (845) 876-7906, http://www.mideastcrisis.org, gale@mideastcrisis.org.
Friday, Jan. 28, MILLBROOK: The Cary Institute will be hosting a lecture entitled, "Snow is Good," at the Cary Institute Auditorium, 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rt. 44) at 7 p.m. Dr. Peter Groffman, a senior scientist with the institute, will discuss how mild winters damage plant ecosystems and water resources, and how climate change is affecting the balance of the ecology of the Northeast. This is a free and public event. Information, (845) 677-7600, ext. 121, freemanp@caryinstitute.org.
Saturday, Jan. 29, ROSENDALE: The documentary "War Made Easy," featuring Norman Solomon's critical analysis of how Democratic and Republican administrations promoted wars from Vietnam to Iraq, will be shown starting at 5 p.m. at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St. Moderating a discussion about the film will be Vassar College Sociology Professor William Hoynes. The event is presented by the Rosendale Theatre Collective and the Children's Media Project. It is funded by a New York Council for the Humanities grant. Information, 845 658-8989, http://www.rosendaletheatre.org/upcoming_events.html.
Monday, Jan. 31, SCHENECTADY: "Sir! No Sir!," the great documentary about the antiwar movement among members of the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Schenectady Public Library's McChesney Room, 99 Clinton St. This film, say the organizers, "tells an almost entirely forgotten story of the military men and women who helped force the U.S. government to end the Vietnam War. Poignantly narrated by a diverse cast of veteran GI resisters who recall the ferocious days of peace marches and stiff jail sentences, 'Sir! No Sir!' pulls no punches in its raw depiction of the power of people, especially those in uniform. The film provokes thinking of parallel situations today, regarding the wars, the soldiers, and the attempts to stifle information." Sponsoring the free public event is Schenectady Neighbors for Peace. Information, (518) 374-2166, elaineklein@hotmail.com, http://peaceact.net/snp.htm.
Wednesday, Feb. 2, ALBANY: Amnesty International of Albany will be holding their monthly meeting at Albany Public Library (main branch), Conference Room 1, 161 Washington Ave. at 8:30 p.m. The group writes and sends letters, plans actions, and discusses human rights issues. Information, (518) 453-0545, ckuehl@siena.edu.
Thursday, Feb. 3, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free film titled "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward" will be shown at 7 p.m. in Lecture Center 100, sponsored by the Zeitgeist Movement. Details are available at http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/. Information, tzmnp1@gmail.com.
Sunday Feb. 6, NEW PALTZ: Teresa Gutierrez, director of the International Action Center's Latin American & Caribbean Project, will discuss "The Real News from Mexico" starting at 6 p.m. in New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave., one block south of Main St. Gutierrez, a coordinator of the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights, will report that while the U.S. media concentrates on the "drug war," considerable social action is taking place in Mexico, including struggles involving social and economic issues, poverty, crime, education, labor, land, environment, exploitation and repression. Sponsored by CLASP. An optional potluck starts at 5 p.m. Information, (845) 255-0113.
Sunday, Feb. 13, WOODSTOCK: A V-Day Benefit Screening of Eve Ensler's "Until The Violence Stops," will begin at 2 p.m. at Upstate Films Woodstock, 132 Tinker St. Admission and donations will help support Washbourne House, the Ulster County's Battered Women's Shelter. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Call (845) 331-7080, ext. 127, or mail your check to Kathy Moretti, The Washbourne House, PO Box 3817, Kingston, N.Y. 12402.
