HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST CALENDAR
November 6, 2012, Issue #662
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
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Wednesday, Nov. 7, ALBANY: The 90-minute documentary
"Rachel: An American Conscience," will be screened at 6:30 p.m. at
the Albany Public Library, Delaware branch, 331 Delaware Ave. This film is
about Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American peace activist and International
Solidarity Movement volunteer who was slain in Israel in 2003. She died when an
Israeli Defense Force armored bulldozer crushed her to death as she attempted
to block the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip. Those with her
in the demonstration said Rachel, a native of Olympia, WA, was in effect murdered.
Her story was in the news this summer, when Israeli courts rejected an unlawful
death suit filed by her parents. The film was produced 2005, directed by Yahya
Barakat. This free public event is sponsored by the Palestinian Rights
Committee of Upper Hudson Peace Action, and we certainly recommend it.
Information, (518) 928-7822.
Thursday, Nov. 8, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): The recent
strike by public school teachers in
Chicago is the topic of a free public meeting at today at 4:30 p.m. in the
Coykendall Science Building Auditorium on campus. The speaker is University of
Illinois Professor Pauline Lipman. Her talk, titled “The Chicago Teachers
Strike: Reframing Education Reform and Teacher Unions” will focus on the
national significance of the recent strike and its potential for the future of
education reform and teacher unions in the U.S. The event is co-sponsored by
the Progressive Academic Network (PAN) and by the Labor Education Committee,
which has just been formed by the New Paltz chapter of United University
Professions (UUP), along with the Upper Hudson Central Labor Council and New
Paltz United Teachers. The committee’s purpose is to educate public school and
college students, as well as their own members, about the long labor history
dating back to the nineteenth century; about the value of collective bargaining
in improving the terms and conditions of employment; and about the
contributions of unions to our general quality of life.
Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/. Information about the meeting,
Nancy Schniedewind, (845) 257-2827.
Thursday, Nov. 8, HUDSON: A panel discussion on “The Impact
of the War on Drugs on our Community and Across the USA” begins at 6:30 p.m. at
Time & Space Limited, 434 Columbia St. The panel includes Alice Green,
Executive Director of Albany's Center for Law and Justice. Additional panelists
include Derek Anderson and Cedrick Fulton, who spent 30 years and 17 years,
respectively, in prison for drug related crimes. Both have recently been
released and are eager to talk about their experiences before, during, and
after incarceration. The moderator is Linda Mussmann. The discussion will be
followed by a screening of "The House I Live In," a documentary
analyzing the War on Drugs from the perspective of several different states.
This public event is free though donations are appreciated. Information, (518)
822-8100.
Thursday, Nov. 8, WOODSTOCK: The Middle East Crisis Response
is a group of Hudson Valley residents who united to promote peace and human
rights in Palestine and the Middle East. It meets tonight 7-8:30 p.m. and welcomes new members. The next
meeting is Thursday, Nov. 22, same time and place. Information, (845)
876-7906 or
http://www.mideastcrisis.org.
Friday, Nov. 9, DELMAR: Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace is
sponsoring a pot luck dinner (bring a dish), an auction and the play
"Voices of a People's History of the United States" beginning at 5:30
p.m. at the Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Ave. We’re told: “Anthony
Arnove's book of the same name examines America's struggles with war, class,
race and women's rights. It is a companion volume to Howard Zinn’s ‘A People's
History of the United States.’ The production will be directed by Dan Kelly,
and include both actors and activists. There will be dramatizations from such
historic figures as Frederick Douglass, Tecumseh, Cindy Sheehan and other
rebels, dissenters, and visionaries from our past and present.” The play begins
at 7:30 p.m. Cost, a $10 donation is requested, $2 for students. Information,
tquaif@yahoo.com, (518) 466-1192.
Friday, Nov. 9, POUGHKEEPSIE: The First Human Services
Resource Fair for Latinos will take place 3-7 p.m. at Family Partnership Center
at 29 North Hamilton St. Information, Mariel Fiori, (845) 594-8598,
fiori@bard.edu.
Saturday, Nov. 10, RHINEBECK: Live Latino Dance Music
provided by "Cuboricua," live dance demonstrations, door prizes, and
light refreshments will be provided at the Mid-Hudson Larreynaga Sister City
Benefit Dance. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Messiah Parish
Hall, 6436 Montgomery St. The cost is $20 per person. Proceeds are dedicated to
the needy children of our sister city, Larreynaga, Nicaragua. Anyone who brings
a nonperishable food item to donate to the church food pantry will get a free
door prize ticket. Reservations are suggested. Sponsors include Mid-Hudson
Larreynaga Sister City; Dutchess Peace; The Church of the Messiah. Information,
(845) 876-3779.
Thursday, Nov. 15, NEW YORK STATE: Today is the “Call-In Day
to Ban Fracking” by sending a message to Gov. Cuomo in Albany — (866) 584-6799.
The sponsor is New Yorkers Against Fracking, a leading anti-fracking group. The
group says: “Fracking is inherently dangerous and threatens our water, health,
communities, and environment. The evidence is in, and the scientists and
experts have spoken. Instead of whitewashing fracking with a sham health study,
Cuomo should ban it.” The group says: Fracking is inherently dangerous and
threatens water, health, communities, and environment. Information,
david@nyagainstfracking.com, (917) 514-0700, http://www.NYAgainstFracking.org.
Sunday, Nov. 18, DELMAR: The superb 2011 documentary "5
Broken Cameras," concerning nonviolent resistance in West Bank, will be
screened free at 4 p.m. at Bethlehem Town Hall, 445 Delaware Ave. A discussion
will follow. We’re informed this film is “a Palestinian farmer's chronicle of
his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army. The film was shot
almost entirely by Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record
the birth of his youngest son. Over the years the Israeli authorities broke
five of his cameras as he sought to film their oppressive activities. The
footage was given to Israeli co-director Guy Davidi, who edited it to be
structured around the violent destruction of the cameras. The filmmakers' collaboration
follows one family's evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat
watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify,
and lives are lost.” The event is sponsored Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace.
Information, jlombard@nycap.rr.com, (518) 466-1192
Monday, Nov. 19, ALBANY: Iranian American author Trita Parsi speaks on "U.S. and
Iran — Between War and Diplomacy" at 8 p.m. in the SUNY Uptown campus
center, Room 375, 1400 Washington Ave. Parsi, who is President of the National
Iranian-American Council, is an advocate of diplomatic approaches to conflicts
in the Middle East, and will be speaking on using diplomacy in the growing
crisis between the U.S.-Iran. The free meeting is sponsored are New York State
Writer's Institute, Women Against War and Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Information, easter@nycap.rr.com, http://www.WomenAgainstWar.org.
Thursday, Nov. 22, AMERICA: Today is Thanksgiving, a
traditional day for family and friends to get together and consume a turkey. It
is our tradition to suggest an untraditional Thanksgiving instead: how about a
vegetarian or vegan meal for the holidays? There are endless entries under
"vegetarian thanksgiving dinner" on Google with thousands of recipes.
Why a meatless Thanksgiving? Aside from health and environmental reasons, we'll
quote Farm Sanctuary, an organization for the protection of farmed animals:
"Dark, dirty warehouses. Crowds of animals in distress. Mutilated beaks
and toes. Sick, injured birds left to suffer and die without anyone to help
them. These are not the kinds of images we tend to conjure when we think about
Thanksgiving, yet they are indicative of the reality faced by more than 46
million turkeys slaughtered every year in the U.S. for this holiday alone [all
told throughout the year, about 300 million turkeys are raised for slaughter
annually in our country].... The more our fellow citizens learn about the
cruelty that goes on behind the closed doors of factory farms, the less sense
it makes that we feast on these maligned birds as symbols of gratitude, and the
more natural it becomes to spare a life in the spirit of thankfulness that
shines this time of year."
Sunday, Nov. 25, STONE RIDGE: A Community Forum Against
Fracking will take place at Marbletown Community Center, 3564 Main St. This
free public event will focus on using Community Bill of Rights Ordinances
(CBROs) as well as land-use municipal ordinances to ensure against local
fracking. We’re told, “speakers will explain why a CBRO is effective as well as
representatives from towns that have
passed ordinances. The free public event begins with a showing of the new
documentary by Josh Fox “The Sky is Pink” (“his first film was Gasland”). The film
starts at 1 p.m. The forum follows at 2 p.m. The sponsor is the town of
Rochester Defense Against Fracking (Ulster County). Information, (845) 626-7355
or (845) 687-0692.
