Of the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter
Current and back copies of the Activist Newsletter as well as the Activist Calendar are at http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com. Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net.
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Editor’s Note:
This is a second update of the Activist Calendar we sent Oct. 19. Click on that calendar in the column to your right for other items in this time period. Our next full calendar will be emailed Nov. 12.
The November Activist Newsletter will be emailed in a few days, containing several reports including an analysis of the serious difficulties confronting the national and local peace movement at this time, plus an article on the expanding war in Afghanistan, and on women in Afghanistan, as well as a review of Michael Moore’s new film, “Capitalism: A Love Story, among other articles.
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ACTIVIST CALENDAR. After October’s many national and local demonstrations for peace, healthcare reform and environmental sanity, November tends to become more reflective and directly educational. We hope you can attend some of these meetings.
Friday, Oct. 30, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): Dr. Andy Coates, a national spokesperson for Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP), will lecture on the topic "The Hidden Truth About Health Care Reform," starting at 7:30 p.m. in Lecture Center 102. Says Dr. Coates, a practicing physician and professor of medicine and psychiatry at Albany Medical College: "It's important for college students and working families to understand how our grossly expensive health care system is burdening our economy and restraining job and wage growth. There's currently much confusion about what's at stake and what can be done. PNHP will be conducting statewide tours to demonstrate the logic and simplicity of health care for all." This free public event is sponsored by Democracy Matters, Coalition of Concerned Citizens of New Paltz, Citizens for Universal Healthcare, and the Hudson Valley Progressive Coalition. Information, Ruth Molloy, (845) 256-0733, rmcfood61@live.com, or Rachel Williams on campus at willia67@newpaltz.edu. Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Friday, Oct. 30, TROY: “Front Lines: Words of Choice” is the title of an evening of theater in support of women's right to choose to have an abortion, 7-10 p.m. at The Sanctuary For Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave. in north Troy (just below 101st St.). We’re told: “The featured guest will be Cindy Cooper, an award-winning playwright, journalist, and creator of the social-activist theater organization Words of Choice. She'll be joined by Alexis Greene, co-editor of the new book ‘Front Lines: Political Plays by American Women.’ Actresses Claudia Schneider and Abigail Ramsay, both members of the NYC-based Words of Choice troupe, will be performing. Together they will work with the audience to explore persuasive language around the continued struggle for women's health and reproductive rights. Suggested donation, $10, $5 student/low-income. Information, (518) 272-2390. http://www.mediasanctuary.org/.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, HYDE PARK (Culinary Institute of America campus): Writer, journalist and professor Mark Danner discusses "Torture, Democracy, and Us: Lost in the War on Terror," 8–9:30 p.m. at the EcoLab Theatre in the Admissions Building on campus, just off Rt. 9. Danner has covered Central America, Haiti, the Balkans and Iraq, among other assignments, and has written extensively about U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and afterward. His books include “The Secret Way to War: The Downing Street Memo and the Iraq War's Buried History” (2006), among others. He was a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books. He is also Professor of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, and the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs, Politics, and Humanities at Bard College. The event is free and public. A campus map is at http://www2.ciachef.edu/lm/visitor/hpmap/map.html. Information, d_flynn@culinary.edu, http://www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/dooley.asp.
Wednesday, Nov. 4, PURCHASE (Manhattanville College campus): Tonya Gonnella Frichner, founder-director of the American Indian Law Alliance, and a member of the Onondaga Nation, will discuss the question of "What does the U.S. veto of the Declaration on Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples Mean for the Human Rights of Native American Peoples in 2009?" This free public event will be held at 7:15 p.m. in the French Parlor at Reid Castle on campus. The college is located at 2900 Purchase Street. Information, Hogarth Center, (914) 323-7156 or Duchesne Center, (914) 323-5186.
Thursday, Nov. 5, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): Three speakers will discuss the important impact of Charles Darwin in a free public meeting titled “Pathways of Evolutionary Theory,” which takes place 5-7 p.m. in Lecture Center 102. We’re told: “Agitation to include creationism in the curriculum of public universities typically leads to caricaturing of Darwin’s research in popular culture. All too often, this fundamentalist advocacy has led to dismissive portrayals of his work even in the halls of Congress. The panel on evolutionary theory will serve as a corrective to these distortions by examining the ideas that influenced his research and, in turn, the profound impact of his work in various disciplines.” The penal includes: Dr. Andi Weiss Bartczak, environmental toxicologist and science consultant, will review The Logic of Darwin's Research. Dr. Gilbert Brenner, Department of Geology (emeritus), elected member of the British Darwin Society, will talk on Darwin's Discoveries and Geology. Dr. Irwin Sperber, Department of Sociology, will sketch Marxist and Laissez- Faire Interpretations of Darwin's Discoveries in the Social Sciences. This event is sponsored by the Department of Sociology. It is co-sponsored by the Evolutionary Studies Program, the Progressive Academic Network (PAN), and endorsed by Hudson Valley Humanists. Information, sperberi@newpaltz.edu, (845) 257-2772. Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Saturday, Nov. 7, TROY: The “Indymedia Film Festival: Where Do We Go from Here?” will present a number of progressive films 2 p.m.-11 p.m. at The Sanctuary For Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave. in north Troy (just below 101st St). We’re told: “Ten years ago, massive protests shut down the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle and introduced global grassroots citizen journalism known as Indymedia — a potent alternative to the corporate press. Join us for a retrospective screening of seminal Indymedia films, including, ‘This is What Democracy Looks Like,’ ‘Fourth World War,’ ‘A Tribute to Brad Will’ and plenty of others.” Suggested donation, $10, $5 student/low-income. Information, (518) 272-2390. http://www.mediasanctuary.org/.
Sunday, Nov. 8, GOSHEN: A demonstration supporting marriage rights for gays and lesbians in New York State will take place in Church Park (by the 5-way intersection) at 12:30 p.m. There will be speakers and music. The State Senate is meeting in a special session beginning Nov. 10 and may vote on such a measure. The State Assembly has already voted in favor. Sponsors of the rally include the Young Democrats of Orange County, the Democratic Alliance, and the Alliance for the Realization of Legal Equality. Information, Sussman.sam@gmail.com.(845) 304-0830.
Monday, Nov. 9, STONE RIDGE (SUNY Ulster campus): A lecture on the global water crisis will be delivered by Dr. Norbert Glennon, 6:30 p.m. in the Student Lounge in Vanderlyn Hall. Professor Glennon teaches Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. He is the author of “Unquenchable, America’s Water Crisis and What to do About It,” and “Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters.” The campus is at 491 Cottekill Rd. Seating begins at 6 p.m. The meeting is presented by the Water Discovery Center and the John Burroughs Science Lecture Series at SUNY Ulster. (We’re told “Seating is limited, so contact info@waterdiscoverycenter.org or (845) 254-3319 to guarantee a space.”) Information, http://www.waterdiscoverycenter.org.
Wednesday, Nov. 11, SCHENECTADY: Veterans for Peace (Tom Paine Chapter) is sponsoring a progressive documentary showing about American military veterans — "The Good Soldier" — which will be begin at 7 p.m. at Proctors Theatre, 432 State St. We’re informed: “This documentary follows the journeys of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars as they sign up, go into battle, and eventually change their minds about what it means to be a good soldier.” After the film a veterans panel will speak about their experience and reaction to the movie. The panel includes four former marines and an Air Force vet: Tyler Boudreau, USMC 1989 – 2005; Ed Bloch, USMC 1943 – 1948; Frank Houde, USAF 1954 – 1974; Jason Peterson, USMC 1989 – 1995; John Amidon, USMC 1965 -1969. The cost is $6 adults, $4 students and seniors. Information, John Amidon, (518) 312-6442, jajaja1234@aol.com, http://www.vfpchapter10.org/content/good-soldier.
