LIFE ON EARTH IS THREATENED
[Following is the text of a talk delivered at the Perfect Storm public meeting at SUNY New Paltz, Oct. 27, 2010, by Activist Newsletter editor Jack A. Smith, a co-chair of Peace and Social Progress Now.]
After perhaps 600 generations of human civilization, life on Earth is entering a period of extreme jeopardy. This is largely a product of the industrialization brought about during the last 10 generations. We can live with industrial society, but it must be organized far differently because its unintended consequences — climate change and ecological collapse — are leading toward disaster.
I imagine most of us here try to do something for the environment. Maybe it's turning off unneeded lights, or conserving water, or consuming local farm products, or riding our bikes for small errands, or adopting a vegetarian/vegan diet, or turning down the thermostat a few degrees at home and wearing a sweater.
Many of us are trying to leave a smaller ecological footprint. That's absolutely necessary. But we must act upon something more important — and that is insuring we have a sustainable Earth upon which to leave our smaller footprint.
The dilemma we face goes far beyond our personal actions. For instance, we try to cut down on waste, but household waste (also known as municipal solid waste) accounts for less than 3% of total accumulation of American waste. The rest derives from industries, businesses, construction and demolition. This far larger amount is the result of the production-consumption methodologies and excesses of the advanced industrialized capitalist countries.
All these countries adhere to what has become an ecologically unsustainable global free market economic structure. Driven by profit, this system is inherently compelled to expand production by inducing ever-increasing individual and societal consumption by those who can afford it while heedlessly depleting our planet's natural resources.
There are three main problems today that endanger life on Earth. We call them, in combination, a "perfect storm" because each component intensifies the others until utter chaos ensues, probably this century unless there is a demand for drastic change and restructuring by the world's peoples.
• Global warming and the potential collapse of Earth's ecological system constitute the main danger. The governments of all the wealthy industrial societies mainly responsible for the crisis must adopt bold, immediate, concerted measures to deflect this danger.
But despite melting glaciers and arctic ice packs, changes in temperature and weather patterns, desertification and chemical pollution, depleting aquifers and limited access to drinking water, the prospect of rising flood tides, reduced crop yields in poor societies, and mass extinctions of wildlife, the responsible countries are doing virtually nothing, in good part because of the stubborn inaction of the U.S. government.
• Impending wars are the second problem, particularly resource wars for energy as oil peaks and declines. The United States spends over $1 trillion a year on the Pentagon and the national security apparatus, more than the rest of the world combined, but peanuts to counteract climate change or alleviate poverty.
To justify these enormous expenses Washington points to the threat to the threat of terrorism. At most there are 50 members of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and several hundred — maybe twice that — in the rest of the world. But the Bush-Obama governments have created such exaggerated fears of terrorism that few Americans question that half their tax money goes for war, or even rebel at being photographed nude and/or have their private parts groped by government employees before boarding planes at many U.S. airports.
The Pentagon maintains up to nearly 1,000 large and small military bases abroad to accommodate some 400,000 troops continuously stationed around the world to advance and protect an empire of a new type based on global hegemony. In addition to the present wars in the Middle East and Central Asia, the Pentagon has blueprints for future wars on land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. Preventing future wars, and particularly a catastrophic world war, is nearly as important as halting environmental collapse.
• Worldwide poverty is the third problem, and it will increase as populations expand and global warming takes its toll on water, land and food supplies. Half the world's 6.8 billion people, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, live below a poverty line of less than $2.50 a day. By 2050, when the world population is over 9 billion, 70% of humankind will live in urban and rural slums.
Such poverty is as intolerable as war and climate change, but as long as war gets all the money, and the environment and the poor are shortchanged, the gathering perfect storm is more menacing every day.
American society, so wealthy and essentially secure, appears indifferent to the immense suffering of our world's poorest multitudes, and to the wars — so often our wars — that since 1812 inevitably transpire on other people's territory. But we'd best not remain indifferent to climate change because when the icecaps melt and the temperatures rise Manhattan is not much better protected than the sea-level Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, the wealthy developed countries consume enough manufactured products, extract enough of nature's resources, and exude enough greenhouse gases from fossil fuels for a planet one and a half times larger than our Earth. According to the World Wildlife Fund's just released 2010 Living Planet Report:
"Humanity's ecological footprint exceeded the Earth's biocapacity — the area actually available to produce renewable resources and absorb CO2 — by 50%. In other words, it would take 1.5 Earths to keep up with humanity's consumption of natural resources,... a doubling of our demands on the natural world since the 1960s." The report goes on to say that in 20 years two Earths will be required.
It can't work — and our country is largely responsible for this crisis because on a per capita basis America is by far the greatest producer of errant greenhouse gases that create global warming.
Despite the Democratic Party's large majority in Congress, the Obama Administration's environmental program —tepid to begin with — is getting nowhere except for two of its biggest, and worst initiatives: Extended offshore oil drilling and more nuclear power plants, even though there is no safe means to dispose of deadly radioactive wastes.
As a result of Washington's timid approach to the crisis, public opinion polls show that markedly fewer Americans today, compared to just a few years ago, see global warming as a serious threat.
This situation will only get worse when the Republicans dominate the House of Representatives in January. Virtually the entire Republican congressional delegation are climate change deniers who dispute the scientific verdict that human activity is mainly responsible for global warming. There will no noteworthy environmental legislation from Washington for many years, if then.
And there is little doubt — based on the performance of the major industrial nations addicted to fossil fuels — that the UN climate conference in Mexico starting the end of November will fail to produce substantial results.
The United States insists upon being universally recognized as the unrivaled world leader — the nation with the know-how and the economic, political and military strength to get things done. But on the key issues that require world leadership — to restore ecological balance, end the wars, and launch an audacious effort to overcome poverty, hunger and inequality — Washington's efforts are either nonexistent, inadequate or counterproductive.
Under the present circumstances, and within the lifetime of the students in this audience, I believe it is likely we will experience dreadful consequences from global warming and ecological degeneration, debilitating world poverty, and wars including World War III.
I said under the present circumstances. Those circumstances can change, but not of themselves, and the political system appears incapable of generating the serious countermeasures that involve restructuring the economic base of society. The two ruling parties are essentially dedicated to maintaining the profitable industrialization policies that are creating the developing catastrophe for our world.
Throughout American history, the most important vehicles for progressive social change of magnitude have been mass movements of people making strong uncompromised demands on the political structure.
Racial segregation lasted a hundred years after the Civil War. It ended because of the mass uprising of the African American people and their allies. Women struggled for the democratic right to vote for a hundred years until their mass movement finally prevailed. The large U.S. peace movement struggled for 10 years in opposition to the Vietnam War until Washington pulled all its troops and CIA agents out that poor beleaguered peasant society.
Given political, economic and ideological realities during these conservative decades, it seems inconceivable that Washington on its own will launch the process of saving life on Earth. To move forward, millions of people must band together in a nationwide movement with steadfast leadership demanding decisive action from the political system.
Ultimately, what's required will be an historic reconfiguration of society to accommodate a new Grand Compact between human society and the natural world — a condition where social needs take precedence over individual or corporate profits, and where balance is restored between society and nature.
We do not own our planet. We are its guests. We must treat it with respect. And above all, it is imperative for us to make it livable and safe for future generations.
Monday, November 22, 2010
11-22-10 Israel/Palestine analysis
ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS:
FAR MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
[Following is the talk by Activist Newsletter editor Jack A. Smith, at the Nov. 10 Israel/Palestine meeting at SUNY New Paltz, including paragraphs omitted from original draft to keep within time limits.]
Good evening. I'm going to discuss some of the geostrategic aspects of the Middle East situation.
Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people is the most daunting international issue confronting the world today, but the facts of the matter are not particularly complex.
Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land that it invaded 43 years ago. The UN says Israel must withdraw, but it won't. Israel is supposed to be fulfilling a commitment to help pave the way for an independent, sustainable Palestinian state, but isn't.
The Tel-Aviv government treats the 4.2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem like colonial subjects to be manipulated, deprived and punished at will.
These problems are compounded by several related factors:
First and foremost — because it influences all else — the United States exercises political and military hegemony throughout the Middle East. The reason is that the region is the repository of the world's largest reserves of petroleum and considerable natural gas, primarily in the Arabian Peninsula and the littoral states of the Persian Gulf.
Washington has ceaselessly intervened in the Middle East since collaborating with Great Britain to overthrow Iran's democratic government in 1953 after it nationalized its oil fields. Since then, in country after country, the U.S. has helped regional authoritarian governments impede social progress, destroyed left movements, and prolonged to this day the existence of undemocratic regimes.
The U.S. is Israel's political, military and economic protector, and Israel functions as Washington's pro-Western, nuclear-armed military surrogate in the region, but there's a contradiction in this relationship.
America's drive for regional domination is increasingly compromised by Israel's long subjugation of the Palestinian people. It's a major cause of anti-Americanism among the Arab masses, and for the rise of al-Qaeda for that matter. Washington seeks the creation of a weak and subordinate Palestinian state, legally independent of Israel, that will no longer be a detriment to U.S. geostrategic ambitions.
President Obama had to know from the start that the current peace talks would fail. But his goal is at least to convey the impression to the Muslim world that the U.S. wishes to alleviate the Palestinian plight, even as it rides roughshod over Muslim Iraq, Afghanistan, western Pakistan and Yemen.
Other problems include the following:
• Near paralyzing differences exist on many issues between the main ruling parties in the Israeli political system, virtually halting any progress on the Palestinian crisis.
• A debilitating split separates the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza.
• Arab governments support the Palestinian cause, but most are now well within the U.S. sphere of influence, and are thus compromised.
These factors in combination impede a progressive resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. But the actions of two non-Arab Muslim countries — Sunni Turkey and Shi'ite Iran — may make a difference in future developments.
Israeli politics has moved increasingly to the right in recent decades. The ruling parties and coalitions are center right, right and far right — with the latter imbued with racism. There are no ruling leftist parties.
The current ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud party, governs largely from the far right. This is due to the influence of smaller extreme right coalition partners and ultra-orthodox religionists, many of whom maintain that Palestinians have no right to any land within the alleged God-delineated boundaries of Biblical Israel.
The result is the government's refusal to withdraw from the occupied lands, and to continue building settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem and Syria's Golan Heights — which now accommodate about a half million Jews. It is against international laws to which the U.S. subscribes for an occupying power to resettle the territory with its own citizens.
Netanyahu even refused to order a brief moratorium on new settlements for the duration of his direct talks with PNA President Mahmoud Abbas, who then ended the talks until another suspension is declared. Just last week the government announced it would build another 1,300 new apartments for Jews in East Jerusalem, several months after revealing plans for 1,600 apartments.
Abbas said last week that if Netanyahu persists, "there are alternatives to negotiations," including seeking UN Security Council recognition of an independent Palestinian state, bypassing Israel and the U.S. The Obama Administration made it clear to Abbas his suggestion was "not helpful."
To keep the talks going, President Obama offered generous inducements to Netanyahu to extend the freeze for two more months. [Update: When the Israeli leader rejected the offer, Washington offered a second and more lucrative bribe for a three-month moratorium on building settlements, excluding East Jerusalem. This included a gift of $3 billion worth of advanced fighter planes, a promise to veto any UN Security Council resolution on the Palestine question that Tel-Aviv opposed, and a pledge not to request another halt in settlement building. Such an inducement —an act of public self-humiliation by the timorous Obama Administration — is still being "considered" by Netanyahu, who seems to play President Obama like a fiddle.]
Israel's center-right Kadima party, out of power and now headed by Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, is willing to form a less reactionary Likud-Kadima government, which probably would be joined by the opportunist center-right Labor party, now part of the governing Likud coalition.
Livni says that such a coalition government would accept the U.S. proposal for a temporary suspension of settlement building. She told Netanyahu that his coalition's intransigence is damaging Israel's interests and security.
Netanyahu hasn't budged so far, though it would free him from the far right fanatics practically paralyzing Israeli politics. Despite his obliging rhetoric the prime minister agrees with the far right's desire to keep as much of the Palestinian territories as possible. He also does not want to lose the leadership of the right wing to his foreign minister and rival, Avigdor Lieberman, an anti-Arab bigot with neofascist tendencies.
The U.S. subsidizes and manipulates the quasi government of the Palestine National Authority which is composed of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) coalition led by Fatah, a much weakened and far less popular organization in recent years than the resistance-minded force it was during most of the years it was led by the late Yasser Arafat. A dozen Palestinian organizations — mostly left but including Islamic Hamas — have been critical of Abbas and the PNA's relationship with Washington. They criticized the talks as a sham.
Neither Washington nor Tel-Aviv recognize or speak to the Hamas government in Gaza, including to Ismail Haniyeh who became the PNA's Prime Minister after the January 2006 democratic election for the Legislative Council, which previously was led by Fatah.
The next year, as a consequence of a virtual civil war between Fatah and Hamas, President Abbas dismissed Haniyeh as Prime Minister. The Hamas leader contested the firing as illegal and continues to function as Prime Minister in Gaza only, legally backed by the Legislative Council. The new Prime Minister Abbas named functions as such in the West Bank only, and is recognized by Obama and Netanyahu though not by the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Israel and the U.S. demonize the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza, but it cannot be forgotten that in earlier years Israel encouraged the growth of Islamic Hamas as an alternative to the secular and then-leftist Fatah. Much to Tel-Aviv's regret, given its earlier hopes, Hamas turned out to be as dedicated to the national struggle as Fatah and the PLO.
One of the counts against Hamas is that it refuses to recognize Israel, but Hamas has let it be known it is not inflexible when it comes making a balanced and sustainable deal. Fatah, with which the U.S. and Israel are dealing through the Palestinian Authority, does not recognize Israel, either.
In reality, whether or not a political party "recognizes" a state has no legal significance. Recognition is a state to state affair, not party to state. It's fairly certain that an eventual Palestinian state would exchange mutual recognitions with Israel.
The two Palestinian factions remain far apart, but recognize the need for tactical unity. Talks between both sides began in September, broke down but resumed and made progress on three disputed questions. A tough remaining issue concerns the control of Palestinian security forces, which Fatah refuses to share with Hamas.
All the Arab countries support the Palestinians rhetorically, and some do so materially. But some also fear the impact of an independent, progressive, secular Palestinian state on their own undemocratic, conservative regimes, and would prefer a weak, dependent Palestine, as does Washington.
Only two Arab states maintain diplomatic relations with Israel — Egypt and Jordan — but most other Arab governments are no longer antagonistic and are expected to resume normal relations after a Palestinian state is organized.
Egypt is the most powerful Arab state. The authoritarian Cairo regime of President Hosni Mubarak is in Uncle Sam's pocket, extracting an annual subsidy of $1.3 billion a year. Cairo despises Hamas because it is ideologically associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak's principal internal enemy.
The monarchy of Jordan, with its large Palestinian population, is in Uncle Sam's other pocket (collecting $540 million a year) because the Hashemite Kingdom is insecure about a possibly progressive Arab republic at its doorstep.
Syria supports the Palestinians and maintains cordial relations with both Fatah and Hamas, but it can't stand up to Washington. And Lebanon has too often been an Israeli battlefield for it to invite Tel-Aviv's ire.
Saudi Arabia and the oil-rich Arab Gulf States give a nod and some money to the Palestinian cause but genuflect to Washington's global power. The rest of the Arab countries, including former radical states such as Libya, rally for Palestinians at Arab League meetings, but do little else.
This leaves the two wild cards in the region — Turkey and Iran — both capable of complicating the U.S.-Israeli domination game in the Middle East.
Turkey, long a West-leaning NATO member and close ally of Israel and the United States, began seeking closer ties with some Arab nations a few years ago. Evidently the Ankara government has decided that circumstances dictate it is time for Turkey to assume the role of an influential Middle Eastern power, independent of Washington and Tel-Aviv.
In 2009 Prime Minister Erdogan condemned Israel's invasion of Gaza with a ferocity that made its old allies blanch. Earlier this year Turkey and Brazil unexpectedly announced they had obtained a nuclear fuel swap agreement with Iran, obviating additional U.S.-UN sanctions — an initiative Washington rejected. And then a few months ago Israeli commandoes interdicted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, killing nine unarmed Turkish civilians. This provoked an extremely harsh outcry from the Turkish government and people.
Turkey retains diplomatic, economic and other relations with the U.S. and Israel, but its independent involvement in regional affairs, anger at Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, friendship with Iran and Syria, and willingness to confront both its old allies has generated deep suspicions in Washington and Tel-Aviv.
There have been suggestions Turkey is going to adopt the posture of a radical Islamic state, but this is incorrect. While it is true Turkey's strict secularity since its defeat in World War I has weakened in recent years, its secular tradition remains strong.
Iran has long been in U.S.-Israeli bomb sights. President Bush was planning regime change in Tehran until Iraq blew up in his face. Both Presidents Obama and Netanyahu preposterously charge that the Islamic republic seeks to construct nuclear weapons with which to threaten Israel and other countries.
Iran is surrounded by U.S.-Israeli military power, and is being strangled with sanctions. An honest appraisal shows that Tehran's military strategy is defensive, as President Obama — who retains an interest in regime change — is well aware.
Tehran is no military threat, much less the "existential" threat Tel-Aviv claims. Israel's only existential threat is if the U.S. withdraws political/military support and halts its annual $3 billion military subsidy and billions in other favors.
Israel's antagonism toward Iran is unrelated to a potential Iranian attack. It opposes Tehran because it is one of the very few governments that actively support and help finance Palestinian resistance, and because it backs the Hezbollah resistance movement in Lebanon.
America's antagonism is not based on fears of Iranian aggression or nuclear threats. Iran possesses immense oil deposits. The U.S. seeks to control the oil or at least grab priority rights before global oil shortages commence. Washington also regards the Tehran government's public opposition to U.S. imperialism as an obstacle to its long range geopolitical strategy. And if Iran ever teamed up with Turkey, Syria and even Shi'ite Iraq, that would be a game changer. These are the reasons for U.S.-Israeli threats against Iran.
The Middle East often looks static, with American power ruling the region, especially where the Palestinians are concerned. But that's deceptive. No one knows what is going to transpire in the next years. There are many possibilities for change germinating throughout the Middle East, especially as other world nations rise while the U.S. continues to engage in an historic decline.
FAR MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
[Following is the talk by Activist Newsletter editor Jack A. Smith, at the Nov. 10 Israel/Palestine meeting at SUNY New Paltz, including paragraphs omitted from original draft to keep within time limits.]
Good evening. I'm going to discuss some of the geostrategic aspects of the Middle East situation.
Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people is the most daunting international issue confronting the world today, but the facts of the matter are not particularly complex.
Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land that it invaded 43 years ago. The UN says Israel must withdraw, but it won't. Israel is supposed to be fulfilling a commitment to help pave the way for an independent, sustainable Palestinian state, but isn't.
The Tel-Aviv government treats the 4.2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem like colonial subjects to be manipulated, deprived and punished at will.
These problems are compounded by several related factors:
First and foremost — because it influences all else — the United States exercises political and military hegemony throughout the Middle East. The reason is that the region is the repository of the world's largest reserves of petroleum and considerable natural gas, primarily in the Arabian Peninsula and the littoral states of the Persian Gulf.
Washington has ceaselessly intervened in the Middle East since collaborating with Great Britain to overthrow Iran's democratic government in 1953 after it nationalized its oil fields. Since then, in country after country, the U.S. has helped regional authoritarian governments impede social progress, destroyed left movements, and prolonged to this day the existence of undemocratic regimes.
The U.S. is Israel's political, military and economic protector, and Israel functions as Washington's pro-Western, nuclear-armed military surrogate in the region, but there's a contradiction in this relationship.
America's drive for regional domination is increasingly compromised by Israel's long subjugation of the Palestinian people. It's a major cause of anti-Americanism among the Arab masses, and for the rise of al-Qaeda for that matter. Washington seeks the creation of a weak and subordinate Palestinian state, legally independent of Israel, that will no longer be a detriment to U.S. geostrategic ambitions.
President Obama had to know from the start that the current peace talks would fail. But his goal is at least to convey the impression to the Muslim world that the U.S. wishes to alleviate the Palestinian plight, even as it rides roughshod over Muslim Iraq, Afghanistan, western Pakistan and Yemen.
Other problems include the following:
• Near paralyzing differences exist on many issues between the main ruling parties in the Israeli political system, virtually halting any progress on the Palestinian crisis.
• A debilitating split separates the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza.
• Arab governments support the Palestinian cause, but most are now well within the U.S. sphere of influence, and are thus compromised.
These factors in combination impede a progressive resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. But the actions of two non-Arab Muslim countries — Sunni Turkey and Shi'ite Iran — may make a difference in future developments.
Israeli politics has moved increasingly to the right in recent decades. The ruling parties and coalitions are center right, right and far right — with the latter imbued with racism. There are no ruling leftist parties.
The current ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud party, governs largely from the far right. This is due to the influence of smaller extreme right coalition partners and ultra-orthodox religionists, many of whom maintain that Palestinians have no right to any land within the alleged God-delineated boundaries of Biblical Israel.
The result is the government's refusal to withdraw from the occupied lands, and to continue building settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem and Syria's Golan Heights — which now accommodate about a half million Jews. It is against international laws to which the U.S. subscribes for an occupying power to resettle the territory with its own citizens.
Netanyahu even refused to order a brief moratorium on new settlements for the duration of his direct talks with PNA President Mahmoud Abbas, who then ended the talks until another suspension is declared. Just last week the government announced it would build another 1,300 new apartments for Jews in East Jerusalem, several months after revealing plans for 1,600 apartments.
Abbas said last week that if Netanyahu persists, "there are alternatives to negotiations," including seeking UN Security Council recognition of an independent Palestinian state, bypassing Israel and the U.S. The Obama Administration made it clear to Abbas his suggestion was "not helpful."
To keep the talks going, President Obama offered generous inducements to Netanyahu to extend the freeze for two more months. [Update: When the Israeli leader rejected the offer, Washington offered a second and more lucrative bribe for a three-month moratorium on building settlements, excluding East Jerusalem. This included a gift of $3 billion worth of advanced fighter planes, a promise to veto any UN Security Council resolution on the Palestine question that Tel-Aviv opposed, and a pledge not to request another halt in settlement building. Such an inducement —an act of public self-humiliation by the timorous Obama Administration — is still being "considered" by Netanyahu, who seems to play President Obama like a fiddle.]
Israel's center-right Kadima party, out of power and now headed by Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, is willing to form a less reactionary Likud-Kadima government, which probably would be joined by the opportunist center-right Labor party, now part of the governing Likud coalition.
Livni says that such a coalition government would accept the U.S. proposal for a temporary suspension of settlement building. She told Netanyahu that his coalition's intransigence is damaging Israel's interests and security.
Netanyahu hasn't budged so far, though it would free him from the far right fanatics practically paralyzing Israeli politics. Despite his obliging rhetoric the prime minister agrees with the far right's desire to keep as much of the Palestinian territories as possible. He also does not want to lose the leadership of the right wing to his foreign minister and rival, Avigdor Lieberman, an anti-Arab bigot with neofascist tendencies.
The U.S. subsidizes and manipulates the quasi government of the Palestine National Authority which is composed of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) coalition led by Fatah, a much weakened and far less popular organization in recent years than the resistance-minded force it was during most of the years it was led by the late Yasser Arafat. A dozen Palestinian organizations — mostly left but including Islamic Hamas — have been critical of Abbas and the PNA's relationship with Washington. They criticized the talks as a sham.
Neither Washington nor Tel-Aviv recognize or speak to the Hamas government in Gaza, including to Ismail Haniyeh who became the PNA's Prime Minister after the January 2006 democratic election for the Legislative Council, which previously was led by Fatah.
The next year, as a consequence of a virtual civil war between Fatah and Hamas, President Abbas dismissed Haniyeh as Prime Minister. The Hamas leader contested the firing as illegal and continues to function as Prime Minister in Gaza only, legally backed by the Legislative Council. The new Prime Minister Abbas named functions as such in the West Bank only, and is recognized by Obama and Netanyahu though not by the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Israel and the U.S. demonize the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza, but it cannot be forgotten that in earlier years Israel encouraged the growth of Islamic Hamas as an alternative to the secular and then-leftist Fatah. Much to Tel-Aviv's regret, given its earlier hopes, Hamas turned out to be as dedicated to the national struggle as Fatah and the PLO.
One of the counts against Hamas is that it refuses to recognize Israel, but Hamas has let it be known it is not inflexible when it comes making a balanced and sustainable deal. Fatah, with which the U.S. and Israel are dealing through the Palestinian Authority, does not recognize Israel, either.
In reality, whether or not a political party "recognizes" a state has no legal significance. Recognition is a state to state affair, not party to state. It's fairly certain that an eventual Palestinian state would exchange mutual recognitions with Israel.
The two Palestinian factions remain far apart, but recognize the need for tactical unity. Talks between both sides began in September, broke down but resumed and made progress on three disputed questions. A tough remaining issue concerns the control of Palestinian security forces, which Fatah refuses to share with Hamas.
All the Arab countries support the Palestinians rhetorically, and some do so materially. But some also fear the impact of an independent, progressive, secular Palestinian state on their own undemocratic, conservative regimes, and would prefer a weak, dependent Palestine, as does Washington.
Only two Arab states maintain diplomatic relations with Israel — Egypt and Jordan — but most other Arab governments are no longer antagonistic and are expected to resume normal relations after a Palestinian state is organized.
Egypt is the most powerful Arab state. The authoritarian Cairo regime of President Hosni Mubarak is in Uncle Sam's pocket, extracting an annual subsidy of $1.3 billion a year. Cairo despises Hamas because it is ideologically associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak's principal internal enemy.
The monarchy of Jordan, with its large Palestinian population, is in Uncle Sam's other pocket (collecting $540 million a year) because the Hashemite Kingdom is insecure about a possibly progressive Arab republic at its doorstep.
Syria supports the Palestinians and maintains cordial relations with both Fatah and Hamas, but it can't stand up to Washington. And Lebanon has too often been an Israeli battlefield for it to invite Tel-Aviv's ire.
Saudi Arabia and the oil-rich Arab Gulf States give a nod and some money to the Palestinian cause but genuflect to Washington's global power. The rest of the Arab countries, including former radical states such as Libya, rally for Palestinians at Arab League meetings, but do little else.
This leaves the two wild cards in the region — Turkey and Iran — both capable of complicating the U.S.-Israeli domination game in the Middle East.
Turkey, long a West-leaning NATO member and close ally of Israel and the United States, began seeking closer ties with some Arab nations a few years ago. Evidently the Ankara government has decided that circumstances dictate it is time for Turkey to assume the role of an influential Middle Eastern power, independent of Washington and Tel-Aviv.
In 2009 Prime Minister Erdogan condemned Israel's invasion of Gaza with a ferocity that made its old allies blanch. Earlier this year Turkey and Brazil unexpectedly announced they had obtained a nuclear fuel swap agreement with Iran, obviating additional U.S.-UN sanctions — an initiative Washington rejected. And then a few months ago Israeli commandoes interdicted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, killing nine unarmed Turkish civilians. This provoked an extremely harsh outcry from the Turkish government and people.
Turkey retains diplomatic, economic and other relations with the U.S. and Israel, but its independent involvement in regional affairs, anger at Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, friendship with Iran and Syria, and willingness to confront both its old allies has generated deep suspicions in Washington and Tel-Aviv.
There have been suggestions Turkey is going to adopt the posture of a radical Islamic state, but this is incorrect. While it is true Turkey's strict secularity since its defeat in World War I has weakened in recent years, its secular tradition remains strong.
Iran has long been in U.S.-Israeli bomb sights. President Bush was planning regime change in Tehran until Iraq blew up in his face. Both Presidents Obama and Netanyahu preposterously charge that the Islamic republic seeks to construct nuclear weapons with which to threaten Israel and other countries.
Iran is surrounded by U.S.-Israeli military power, and is being strangled with sanctions. An honest appraisal shows that Tehran's military strategy is defensive, as President Obama — who retains an interest in regime change — is well aware.
Tehran is no military threat, much less the "existential" threat Tel-Aviv claims. Israel's only existential threat is if the U.S. withdraws political/military support and halts its annual $3 billion military subsidy and billions in other favors.
Israel's antagonism toward Iran is unrelated to a potential Iranian attack. It opposes Tehran because it is one of the very few governments that actively support and help finance Palestinian resistance, and because it backs the Hezbollah resistance movement in Lebanon.
America's antagonism is not based on fears of Iranian aggression or nuclear threats. Iran possesses immense oil deposits. The U.S. seeks to control the oil or at least grab priority rights before global oil shortages commence. Washington also regards the Tehran government's public opposition to U.S. imperialism as an obstacle to its long range geopolitical strategy. And if Iran ever teamed up with Turkey, Syria and even Shi'ite Iraq, that would be a game changer. These are the reasons for U.S.-Israeli threats against Iran.
The Middle East often looks static, with American power ruling the region, especially where the Palestinians are concerned. But that's deceptive. No one knows what is going to transpire in the next years. There are many possibilities for change germinating throughout the Middle East, especially as other world nations rise while the U.S. continues to engage in an historic decline.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
11-14-10 Activist Calendar update
HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Nov. 14, 2010, Issue #652
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
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Dedicated to Helping Activist Movements in the Hudson Valley
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Editor's Note: This supplements our full November Calendar, dated Oct. 29, and the Nov 5 supplement below this item. Our December Calendar will be posted Nov 28. The Activist Newsletter, including reports on our Oct. 27 environmental event and Nov. 10 Palestine meeting, will be posted in a week.
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ACTIVIST EVENTS
Tuesday, Nov. 16, MIDDLETOWN (Town of Wallkill): There are so many tax loopholes for the wealthy these days that progressive taxation — meaning proportionately higher tax rates for higher incomes — has become compromised. The Bush millionaire tax cuts are a stunning case in point. The Orange County Democratic Alliance is sponsoring a forum at 7:30 p.m. on the topic "Progressive Taxation: An Essential Element of Economic Recovery." The speaker is Frank Mauro, the executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a leading proponent of progressive taxation. This free public meeting will be held at Town of Wallkill Town Hall, on Tower Drive, off Rt. 211. The organizers say "raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers is the best option for balancing the state's budget during the recession." Information, benweiss@aol.com.
REPEATING: Wednesday, Nov. 17, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free and public 7 p.m. screening of the documentary "Gasland" will be held Lecture Center 100. This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The event is sponsored by NYPIRG and the Environmental Task Force.
Thursday, Nov. 18, NEW PALTZ: A "Hydro-Fracking Mini Forum" — a good follow-up to "Gasland" — will begin at 7 p.m. at New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave., a block south of Main St. (Rt. 299). The free event is sponsored by the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, which says "bring your questions and ideas." Information, (845) 255-9297.
Friday, Nov. 19, MILLBROOK: There will be a free public screening of "Carbon Nation," which is described as "a witty and optimistic documentary about climate change solutions." We are told that "this 90-minute film details how fighting climate change can boost local economies, improve public health, and strengthen national security" as well as explaining "what the world needs to do to stave off climate change by moving to a low-carbon economy." The event will be held in the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies auditorium, 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rt. 44). Information, (845) 677-7600, ext. 121, freemanp@caryinstitute.org.
Friday, Nov. 19, STONE RIDGE: "No Impact Man," a 93-minute documentary about Manhattan family trying to live a year while making no net environmental impact, will be screened at 8 p.m. p.m. at the Marbletown Multi-Arts Center, 3588 Main St. A discussion will follow. From 6-8 p.m. the facility's Café is open for dinner and snacks. Local crafts, herbal products, and sustainable living supplies are available for purchase. Sponsored by the Collective Wisdom Series. The cost is $5-$25, sliding scale. Information, (845) 332-7522, deenakw@gmail.com, http://www.collectivewisdomseries.com.
Friday, Nov. 19, to Sunday, Nov. 21, FT. BENNING, GA.: Thousands of demonstrators will protest against the infamous School of the Americas (SOA) at the Ft. Benning Army base near Columbus. As in past years there will be workshops, plenary speakers, political action and — for those who wish to participate, nonviolent civil disobedience at the gates to the military facility on Saturday, Nov. 20. People from around the U.S. will take part in this event. Information about this annual action, transportation, accommodations, etc., is at the website of the sponsor, SOA Watch, http://www.soaw.org/.
Sunday, Nov. 21, KINGSTON: More than 30 regional folk singers will be jamming together at the 4th annual Hootenanny taking place 2:30-5:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills, 320 Sawkill Rd. The nonprofit Heritage Folk Music is sponsoring this fundraising event which honors the tradition of celebrating the art of singing together. “Many of the great songs of the 1960's folk boom found their way to the mass market through people from the Catskills and the Hudson Valley,” said Bob Lusk, founder of Heritage Folk Music. “Our annual Hootenanny raises awareness of this while also highlighting the great performers of today.” In addition to the music, the event will include an auction with many of the artists donating instruments, CD’s, vintage folk music magazines and other memorabilia. Admission $5. For a complete listing singers and auction items, visit http://heritageconcerts.blogspot.com/. Information, Bob Lusk at (845) 594-4412, heritagefolkmusic@gmail.com.
Nov. 14, 2010, Issue #652
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
———————————————————————
Dedicated to Helping Activist Movements in the Hudson Valley
———————————————————————
Editor's Note: This supplements our full November Calendar, dated Oct. 29, and the Nov 5 supplement below this item. Our December Calendar will be posted Nov 28. The Activist Newsletter, including reports on our Oct. 27 environmental event and Nov. 10 Palestine meeting, will be posted in a week.
———————————————————————
ACTIVIST EVENTS
Tuesday, Nov. 16, MIDDLETOWN (Town of Wallkill): There are so many tax loopholes for the wealthy these days that progressive taxation — meaning proportionately higher tax rates for higher incomes — has become compromised. The Bush millionaire tax cuts are a stunning case in point. The Orange County Democratic Alliance is sponsoring a forum at 7:30 p.m. on the topic "Progressive Taxation: An Essential Element of Economic Recovery." The speaker is Frank Mauro, the executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a leading proponent of progressive taxation. This free public meeting will be held at Town of Wallkill Town Hall, on Tower Drive, off Rt. 211. The organizers say "raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers is the best option for balancing the state's budget during the recession." Information, benweiss@aol.com.
REPEATING: Wednesday, Nov. 17, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free and public 7 p.m. screening of the documentary "Gasland" will be held Lecture Center 100. This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The event is sponsored by NYPIRG and the Environmental Task Force.
Thursday, Nov. 18, NEW PALTZ: A "Hydro-Fracking Mini Forum" — a good follow-up to "Gasland" — will begin at 7 p.m. at New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave., a block south of Main St. (Rt. 299). The free event is sponsored by the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, which says "bring your questions and ideas." Information, (845) 255-9297.
Friday, Nov. 19, MILLBROOK: There will be a free public screening of "Carbon Nation," which is described as "a witty and optimistic documentary about climate change solutions." We are told that "this 90-minute film details how fighting climate change can boost local economies, improve public health, and strengthen national security" as well as explaining "what the world needs to do to stave off climate change by moving to a low-carbon economy." The event will be held in the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies auditorium, 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rt. 44). Information, (845) 677-7600, ext. 121, freemanp@caryinstitute.org.
Friday, Nov. 19, STONE RIDGE: "No Impact Man," a 93-minute documentary about Manhattan family trying to live a year while making no net environmental impact, will be screened at 8 p.m. p.m. at the Marbletown Multi-Arts Center, 3588 Main St. A discussion will follow. From 6-8 p.m. the facility's Café is open for dinner and snacks. Local crafts, herbal products, and sustainable living supplies are available for purchase. Sponsored by the Collective Wisdom Series. The cost is $5-$25, sliding scale. Information, (845) 332-7522, deenakw@gmail.com, http://www.collectivewisdomseries.com.
Friday, Nov. 19, to Sunday, Nov. 21, FT. BENNING, GA.: Thousands of demonstrators will protest against the infamous School of the Americas (SOA) at the Ft. Benning Army base near Columbus. As in past years there will be workshops, plenary speakers, political action and — for those who wish to participate, nonviolent civil disobedience at the gates to the military facility on Saturday, Nov. 20. People from around the U.S. will take part in this event. Information about this annual action, transportation, accommodations, etc., is at the website of the sponsor, SOA Watch, http://www.soaw.org/.
Sunday, Nov. 21, KINGSTON: More than 30 regional folk singers will be jamming together at the 4th annual Hootenanny taking place 2:30-5:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills, 320 Sawkill Rd. The nonprofit Heritage Folk Music is sponsoring this fundraising event which honors the tradition of celebrating the art of singing together. “Many of the great songs of the 1960's folk boom found their way to the mass market through people from the Catskills and the Hudson Valley,” said Bob Lusk, founder of Heritage Folk Music. “Our annual Hootenanny raises awareness of this while also highlighting the great performers of today.” In addition to the music, the event will include an auction with many of the artists donating instruments, CD’s, vintage folk music magazines and other memorabilia. Admission $5. For a complete listing singers and auction items, visit http://heritageconcerts.blogspot.com/. Information, Bob Lusk at (845) 594-4412, heritagefolkmusic@gmail.com.
Friday, November 5, 2010
11-5-10 Activist Calendar update
HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER/CALENDAR
Nov. 5, 2010, Issue #651, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
———————————————————————
Dedicated to Helping Activist Movements in the Hudson Valley
———————————————————————
Editor's Note: This supplements our full November Calendar, dated Oct. 29, below. Check it out for many other events during the next couple of weeks.
———————————————————————
UPDATING OUR SPECIAL EVENT
Wednesday, Nov. 10, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A public meeting titled "Crisis in Israel/Palestine" will take place in the auditorium of the Coykendall Science Building on campus. The subtitle asks two questions: What do Americans Need to Know? What is the Palestinian Side of the Story? This 7 p.m. event is co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, Middle East Crisis Response, and Peace and Social Progress Now. The campus sponsor is the Muslim Students Association. A main purpose of the educational event, according to the organizers, will be to discuss "the Palestinian side of the story because the great majority of Americans have only been exposed to the views of Israel and the United States and not to those of the Palestinians." Speakers include Mariam Haris, a Muslim student at SUNY New Paltz; Faris Giacaman, a Palestinian student at Bard College; Joel Kovel, a retired professor and author of a dozen books, the latest being "Overcoming Zionism"; Nada Khader, executive director of the WESPAC Foundation, and a Palestinian American who has served as a consultant for the UN Development Program in Gaza; Jack A. Smith, editor of the Activist Newsletter; Jane Toby, who teaches at SUNY/NP and founded the first Hudson Valley branch of Women in Black; Hannah Schwarzchild, representing the organization American Jews for a Just Peace; and Paul Rehm, a Christian pacifist who took part in a recent peace mission to Hebron in the West Bank. The MC is Donna Goodman. Information, (845) 255-5779, donna0726@earthlink.net. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/. Directions, http://www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions_text.html.
Another update, adding room:
Wednesday, Nov. 17, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free and public 7 p.m. screening of the documentary "Gasland" will be held Lecture Center 100. This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The event is sponsored by NYPIRG and the Environmental Task Force.
———————————————————————
ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Sunday, Nov. 7, ALBANY: The B'nai Sholom Reform Congregation, 420 Whitehall Rd., is the venue for a 7:30 p.m. talk by Israeli activist Yael Dayan on the topic "Israel's Future and the Urgency of Two States." Dayan is an author, former member of the Knesset (parliament), and member of Tel Aviv City Council. The sponsor is J Street (Capital District). About Dayan, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yael_Dayan. Information, jalexa56@gmail.com, (518) 674-8582, http://action.jstreet.org/c/8205/t/5534/signUp.jsp?key=2899.
Monday, Nov. 8, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): An extraordinary full length documentary titled "Lost Boys of Sudan" will be screened at 6 p.m. at the Honors Center in College Hall, sponsored by the Amnesty International Campus Club. It's public and free. We're told this film "follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia." About the film, http://www.LostBoysFIlm.com/reviews.html. Information, ozleri@newpaltz.edu. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Saturday, Nov. 13, TROY: Dr. Helen Caldicott, the internationally known anti-nuclear campaigner, will speak at 8 p.m. at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave. in North
Troy (at 101st St). She will discuss the history and future of anti-nuclear activism. According to Caldicott, a pediatrician, "Ninety-five percent of the approximately 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world are owned by the United States and Russia. The stark truth is that one single failure of nuclear deterrence could end human history." Admission is by donation ($10 suggested, $5 student/low income). Information, (518) 272-2390, info@MediaSanctuary.org, http://MediaSanctuary.org for directions, etc.
Saturday, Nov. 20, NEW ROCHELLE: The Women in Black (Westchester) Palestine Solidarity Vigil takes place 2-3 p.m. at Main St. and Memorial Highway, sponsored by CodePink and WESPAC. Information (914) 654-8990, ceilie@aol.com.
Saturday, Nov. 20, ALBANY: The 2009 documentary "The 800 Mile Wall" will show at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. We're informed this public and free 90-minute film "looks on the effect of the wall on migrants trying to cross into the U.S. Many believe the wall has caused the death of thousands of migrants, and violates fundamental human rights." The co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), says The 800 Mile Wall "sounds the alarm on the neglected human rights crisis on our nation's Southwestern border and puts on the table the life-and-death questions we must address in comprehensive immigration reform." A discussion will be held after the film, led by Guillermo Perez of the Albany chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). The evening is sponsored by the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, LCLAA, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, dbull4@verizon.net, (518) 426-0883.
Thursday, Nov. 25, AMERICA: Today is Thanksgiving, a traditional day for family and friends to get together. But Farm Sanctuary, an organization for the protection of farm animals, says it is important to rethink one aspect of this tradition: "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.... 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." Find a complete vegetarian Thanksgiving menu at http://www.kitchendaily.com/2010/10/11/vegetarian-thanksgiving-recipes/, and from the New York Times online yesterday, some delicious vegan Thanksgiving dishes, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/a-vegan-chef-dishes-up-thanksgiving/?scp=1&sq=vegan%20Thanksgiving%20dishes%20&st=cse. Information, http://farmsanctuary.typepad.com/making_hay/2010/10/rethinking-our-thanksgiving-traditions.html/.
Nov. 5, 2010, Issue #651, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
———————————————————————
Dedicated to Helping Activist Movements in the Hudson Valley
———————————————————————
Editor's Note: This supplements our full November Calendar, dated Oct. 29, below. Check it out for many other events during the next couple of weeks.
———————————————————————
UPDATING OUR SPECIAL EVENT
Wednesday, Nov. 10, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A public meeting titled "Crisis in Israel/Palestine" will take place in the auditorium of the Coykendall Science Building on campus. The subtitle asks two questions: What do Americans Need to Know? What is the Palestinian Side of the Story? This 7 p.m. event is co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, Middle East Crisis Response, and Peace and Social Progress Now. The campus sponsor is the Muslim Students Association. A main purpose of the educational event, according to the organizers, will be to discuss "the Palestinian side of the story because the great majority of Americans have only been exposed to the views of Israel and the United States and not to those of the Palestinians." Speakers include Mariam Haris, a Muslim student at SUNY New Paltz; Faris Giacaman, a Palestinian student at Bard College; Joel Kovel, a retired professor and author of a dozen books, the latest being "Overcoming Zionism"; Nada Khader, executive director of the WESPAC Foundation, and a Palestinian American who has served as a consultant for the UN Development Program in Gaza; Jack A. Smith, editor of the Activist Newsletter; Jane Toby, who teaches at SUNY/NP and founded the first Hudson Valley branch of Women in Black; Hannah Schwarzchild, representing the organization American Jews for a Just Peace; and Paul Rehm, a Christian pacifist who took part in a recent peace mission to Hebron in the West Bank. The MC is Donna Goodman. Information, (845) 255-5779, donna0726@earthlink.net. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/. Directions, http://www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions_text.html.
Another update, adding room:
Wednesday, Nov. 17, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free and public 7 p.m. screening of the documentary "Gasland" will be held Lecture Center 100. This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The event is sponsored by NYPIRG and the Environmental Task Force.
———————————————————————
ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Sunday, Nov. 7, ALBANY: The B'nai Sholom Reform Congregation, 420 Whitehall Rd., is the venue for a 7:30 p.m. talk by Israeli activist Yael Dayan on the topic "Israel's Future and the Urgency of Two States." Dayan is an author, former member of the Knesset (parliament), and member of Tel Aviv City Council. The sponsor is J Street (Capital District). About Dayan, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yael_Dayan. Information, jalexa56@gmail.com, (518) 674-8582, http://action.jstreet.org/c/8205/t/5534/signUp.jsp?key=2899.
Monday, Nov. 8, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): An extraordinary full length documentary titled "Lost Boys of Sudan" will be screened at 6 p.m. at the Honors Center in College Hall, sponsored by the Amnesty International Campus Club. It's public and free. We're told this film "follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia." About the film, http://www.LostBoysFIlm.com/reviews.html. Information, ozleri@newpaltz.edu. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Saturday, Nov. 13, TROY: Dr. Helen Caldicott, the internationally known anti-nuclear campaigner, will speak at 8 p.m. at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave. in North
Troy (at 101st St). She will discuss the history and future of anti-nuclear activism. According to Caldicott, a pediatrician, "Ninety-five percent of the approximately 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world are owned by the United States and Russia. The stark truth is that one single failure of nuclear deterrence could end human history." Admission is by donation ($10 suggested, $5 student/low income). Information, (518) 272-2390, info@MediaSanctuary.org, http://MediaSanctuary.org for directions, etc.
Saturday, Nov. 20, NEW ROCHELLE: The Women in Black (Westchester) Palestine Solidarity Vigil takes place 2-3 p.m. at Main St. and Memorial Highway, sponsored by CodePink and WESPAC. Information (914) 654-8990, ceilie@aol.com.
Saturday, Nov. 20, ALBANY: The 2009 documentary "The 800 Mile Wall" will show at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. We're informed this public and free 90-minute film "looks on the effect of the wall on migrants trying to cross into the U.S. Many believe the wall has caused the death of thousands of migrants, and violates fundamental human rights." The co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), says The 800 Mile Wall "sounds the alarm on the neglected human rights crisis on our nation's Southwestern border and puts on the table the life-and-death questions we must address in comprehensive immigration reform." A discussion will be held after the film, led by Guillermo Perez of the Albany chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). The evening is sponsored by the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, LCLAA, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, dbull4@verizon.net, (518) 426-0883.
Thursday, Nov. 25, AMERICA: Today is Thanksgiving, a traditional day for family and friends to get together. But Farm Sanctuary, an organization for the protection of farm animals, says it is important to rethink one aspect of this tradition: "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.... 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." Find a complete vegetarian Thanksgiving menu at http://www.kitchendaily.com/2010/10/11/vegetarian-thanksgiving-recipes/, and from the New York Times online yesterday, some delicious vegan Thanksgiving dishes, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/a-vegan-chef-dishes-up-thanksgiving/?scp=1&sq=vegan%20Thanksgiving%20dishes%20&st=cse. Information, http://farmsanctuary.typepad.com/making_hay/2010/10/rethinking-our-thanksgiving-traditions.html/.
11-5-10 "CLIMATE IS GONE"
Karl Rove: ‘Climate Is Gone’
By Brad Johnson
Republican strategist Karl Rove, who helped organize the outside groups that spent millions to install Republicans in the midterm elections, spent election day celebrating with Pennsylvania’s growing drilling industry. Like other corporate sectors, the fossil industry is hoping that Republicans will be able to roll back regulations that limit their profit-seeking at the expense of people’s health and safety. Rove told the attendees of a shale-gas conference in Philadelphia that the incoming Republican House of Representatives “sure as heck” won’t pass legislation to limit greenhouse pollution from fossil fuels:
“Climate is gone,” said Rove, the keynote speaker on the opening day of a two-day shale-gas conference sponsored by Hart Energy Publishing L.L.P. And Rove told the trade show, “I don’t think you need to worry” the new Congress will consider proposed legislation to put the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal rather than state regulation. The procedure, known as “fracking,” is responsible for the dramatic growth of shale-gas drilling in formations such as Pennsylvania’s vast Marcellus Shale.
Rove’s pronouncement that the “climate is gone” may be more accurate than he realizes. The Geological Society of London is warning that the planet will take 100,000 years to recover from man’s global warming pollution, the permanently warmer Arctic is altering weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, and scientists continue to warn that global policy ambitions — if the United States even acted — are likely too weak to avoid catastrophe.
— Written Nov. 4, 2010, on Think Progress
By Brad Johnson
Republican strategist Karl Rove, who helped organize the outside groups that spent millions to install Republicans in the midterm elections, spent election day celebrating with Pennsylvania’s growing drilling industry. Like other corporate sectors, the fossil industry is hoping that Republicans will be able to roll back regulations that limit their profit-seeking at the expense of people’s health and safety. Rove told the attendees of a shale-gas conference in Philadelphia that the incoming Republican House of Representatives “sure as heck” won’t pass legislation to limit greenhouse pollution from fossil fuels:
“Climate is gone,” said Rove, the keynote speaker on the opening day of a two-day shale-gas conference sponsored by Hart Energy Publishing L.L.P. And Rove told the trade show, “I don’t think you need to worry” the new Congress will consider proposed legislation to put the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal rather than state regulation. The procedure, known as “fracking,” is responsible for the dramatic growth of shale-gas drilling in formations such as Pennsylvania’s vast Marcellus Shale.
Rove’s pronouncement that the “climate is gone” may be more accurate than he realizes. The Geological Society of London is warning that the planet will take 100,000 years to recover from man’s global warming pollution, the permanently warmer Arctic is altering weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, and scientists continue to warn that global policy ambitions — if the United States even acted — are likely too weak to avoid catastrophe.
— Written Nov. 4, 2010, on Think Progress
Thursday, October 28, 2010
10-29-10 Activist Calendar
HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER/CALENDAR
Oct. 29, 2010, Issue #650, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
———————————————————————
Dedicated to Helping Activist Movements in the Hudson Valley
———————————————————————
Editor's Note:
A total of 165 people, more than half of whom were students, attended our public meeting Oct. 27 on "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis Plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty." Texts of some of the talks will be published in the next issue of the Activist Newsletter.
Our next public meeting is a collaboration with Middle East Crisis Response. It's Wednesday, Nov. 10 (below), titled "Crisis in Israel/Palestine — What do Americans Need to Know? What is the Palestinian Side of the Story?"
———————————————————————
ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Friday, Oct. 29, POUGHKEEPSIE: The documentary film, "The Dark Side of Chocolate" will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 67 S. Randolph Ave., 7-9 p.m. The film documents the trafficking of children, slavery, and child labor in the international chocolate industry. Donation is requested. Non-complicit chocolate will be served. Information, (845) 471-6580, (845) 452-4013, patla@hvc.rr.com, http://www.uupok.org.
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.
Friday, Oct. 29, CATSKILL: Green Party candidate for governor Howie Hawkins will speak and answer questions 4 p.m. election rally at Leggio Park at the corner of Water and Main Sts. For information about his campaign, http://www.howiehawkins.com.
Saturday, Oct. 30, KINGSTON: Join others in a "Walk for a Free Palestine" starting at 12:30 p.m. at Dietz Stadium parking lot. People in Kingston will join others in 45 cities across America in the Second Annual Free Palestine Walks, sponsored by the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights. The aim of this silent walk is to raise awareness about the movement, and to raise funds. Registration fee is $20, and you will receive a T-shirt. Information, http://www.aaper.org.
Monday, Nov. 1, POUGHKEEPSIE: Author, historian and peace activist Lawrence Wittner will discuss "How to Grow Local Organizations" in a 7 p.m. talk at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 67 South Randolph Ave. Wittner, a professor of history at SUNY Albany and a board member of Peace Action, will discuss how to expand the membership of grassroots activist organizations. "All Mid-Hudson activists and organizations are welcome to attend" this free event sponsored by Dutchess Peace. Information, http://www.dutchesspeace.org.
Monday, Nov. 1, NEW PALTZ (SUNY Campus): The documentary, "Freeing Silvia Baraldini" will be shown at Lecture Center 102 at 6 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the director. This award winning film tells the story of an Italian immigrant who became an American radical when she was convicted of helping to free a Black Panther from prison. Co-sponsored by the Departments of History, Black Studies, Foreign Languages, Women's Studies, Sociology and Political Science, and the Progressive Academic Network. Information, bernstel@newpaltz.edu. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Monday, Nov. 1, OLD CHATHAM: A free public showing of the documentary "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai," followed by a moderated discussion, will take place 7-9 p.m. at the Powell House Quaker Conference and Retreat Center, 524 Pitt Hall Rd. (off Columbia County Rt. 13). Here is what the film notes say about this one hour 20 minute 2008 production: "Planting trees for fuel, food and timber is not something usually associated with winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Yet with that simple act, Wangari Maathai helped spark a movement to reclaim Kenya's land from a century of deforestation while providing new sources of livelihood to rural communities. The tree-planting groups that formed were a community-building context for women to come together and become involved in resolving their local challenges. The documentary tells the story of Kenya's Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization encouraging rural women and families to plant trees in community groups." The sponsor is Old Chatham Quaker Meeting. Information, (518) 766-2992, poetapoetus@taconic.net. The film's at http://TakingRootFilm.com/. Directions, http://www.oldchathamquakers.org/directions.html.
Monday, Nov. 1, ALBANY: The film, "Amreeka" will be screened at the Pine Hills Branch of the Public Library, 517 Western Ave. at 6:30 p.m. This comedic drama tells of the happenings of a single mother who leaves the West Bank with dreams of a better future in the promised land of Illinois. This is a free event, with refreshments to follow. Information, (518) 465-5425, mfolsom@aol.com, http://www.palestinianrightscommittee.org.
Thursday, Nov. 4, NEW PALTZ: The PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" will start at 7 p.m. at Elting Library, 93 Main St. at North Front St. (The free parking lot is behind the library.)The program notes for the 2002 film say it's "The story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years, and continues to shape the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. The film takes viewers not only to ancient Middle Eastern sites where Muhammad's story unfolds, but into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated 7 million Muslims, to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example." This free showing is sponsored by New Paltz Neighbors for Peace. Information, (845) 255-4815, tellallwtc7@gmail.com.
Thursday, Nov. 4, CATSKILL: Amy Goodman, the host of the hour-long weekday Democracy Now! TV/radio/internet program, will appear 6:30-8:30 p.m. at this Hudson River town's Community Theatre of Catskill, 323 Main St., as part of a fundraiser for the new Community Radio station WGXC. She will give a talk on Promoting Social Justice Through Independent Media and sign copies of her new book "Breaking the Sound Barrier." Tickets are $25. WGXC is online and expected to launch its FM signal on 90.7-FM this fall. It's located at http://www.wgxc.org/, where you can order tickets for the Goodman talk. Information, chameides@gmail.com.
Friday, Nov. 5, TROY: Author Scott Christianson will discuss his new book, "The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber," at a 7 p.m. public meeting at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave. and 101st St. in North Troy. We're told: "The Last Gasp takes us to the dark side of human history in the first full chronicle of the gas chamber in the United States,... originally touted as a 'humane' method of execution." Admission is by donation ($10 suggested, $5 student/low income). Information, (518) 272-2390, info@MediaSanctuary.org, http//www.MediaSanctuary.org.
Sunday, Nov. 7, NEW PALTZ: Progressive editor/journalist Ben Dangl will discuss his new book about social movements in Latin America titled "Dancing with Dynamite" in a 6 p.m. free public meeting at New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave. (a block south of Main St. (Rt. 299). We're informed the book will address the internal and external dynamics of "grassroots social movements that played major roles in electing left-leaning governments throughout Latin America" during the last decade, suggesting that "subsequent relations between the streets and the states remain uneasy." Democracy Now's Amy Goodman says "Ben Dangl breaks the sound barrier, exploding many myths about Latin America that are all-too-often amplified by the corporate media in the United States. Read this much-needed book." It should be a good meeting. The free event sponsored by the Caribbean and Latin America Support Project (CLASP) begins after an optional potluck starting at 5 p.m. Information, (845) 255-0113, http://DancingWithDynamite.com/.
Sunday, Nov. 7, POUGHKEEPSIE (Vassar College Campus): A Fair Trade Bazaar and Ethical Shopping Experience will be held at The Aula at Ely Hall, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. An international marketplace with crafts, clothing, food, live music and more. Information, (845) 452-4013, patla@hvc.rr.com, http://www.uupok.org. Campus map, http://www.vassar.edu/visitors/pdfs/map.pdf.
Tuesday, Nov. 9, ROSENDALE: The documentary "Gasland" will be screened at 7 p.m. at the Rosendale Theater, followed by a discussion featuring Democratic State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill. This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The cost is $6. (Gasland will also be shown at SUNY New Paltz Nov. 17.) Theater information, (845) 658-8968.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A public meeting titled "Crisis in Israel/Palestine" will take place in the auditorium of the Coykendall Science Building on campus. The subtitle asks two questions: What do Americans Need to Know? What is the Palestinian Side of the Story? This 7 p.m. event is co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, Middle East Crisis Response, and Peace and Social Progress Now. The campus sponsor is the Muslim Students Association. A main purpose of the educational event, according to the organizers, will be to discuss "the Palestinian side of the story because the great majority of Americans have only been exposed to the views of Israel and the United States and not to those of the Palestinians. A clear understanding of the Israel/Palestine crisis is possible only by knowing the actual facts about both sides of this question." Speakers at the meeting include Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and now a tireless peace and justice activist who took part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla; Joel Kovel, a retired professor and author of a dozen books, the latest being "Overcoming Zionism"; Jack A. Smith, editor of the Activist Newsletter; Nada Khader, executive director of the WESPAC Foundation, and a Palestinian American who has served as a consultant for the UN Development Program in Gaza; Jane Toby, who teaches at SUNY/NP and founded the first Hudson Valley branch of Women in Black; Mariam Haris, a Muslim student at SUNY New Paltz; Faris Giacaman, a Palestinian student at Bard College; Hannah Schwarzchild, representing the organization "American Jews for a Just Peace"; and Paul Rehm, a Christian pacifist who took part in a recent peace mission to Hebron in the West Bank. The MC is Donna Goodman. Information, (845) 255-5779, donna0726@earthlink.net. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/. Directions, http://www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions_text.html.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, DELMAR: A potluck dinner and fundraiser to support the legal defense of Pfc. Bradley Manning will take place 6:30-9 p.m. at Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Ave. Manning is accused by the U.S. military of leaking the video called "Collateral Murder" to the WikiLeaks web site. Manning was charged in June with being the source of the leak last April. The 22-year-old intelligence analyst is accused of disclosing a classified video showing U.S. Army Bravo Company 2-16 in Iraq shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in 2007. Twelve people were killed, including two Reuters employees. Two children were critically injured. No charges, of course, have been filed against the soldiers who did the killing. We're told: "Participants are asked to bring a dish to share, and are asked to consider bringing an appropriate book, CD, DVD, baked goods or services to donate toward a silent auction. A number of local merchants are donating gift certificates for this event. The suggested donation is $10, "more or less as per your ability." This event is sponsored by Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace and Tom Paine Chapter of Veterans for Peace. Information, tquaif@yahoo.com, (518) 466-1192, http://www.bethlehemforpeace.org.
Friday, Nov. 12, SAUGERTIES: "Sonando-12th Annual Benefit Dance and Art and Craft Sale for Haiti's Reconstruction" will take place at Ric Orlando's New World Home Cooking, 1411 Rt. 212, 7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Suggested donation for dance is $20, arts and crafts fair is free. Sponsored by Haitian People's Support Project and New World Home Cooking. Information, (845) 679-7320, http://www.haitiansupportproject.org.
Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12-13, ALBANY: A working conference to build the Northeast food system will take place at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, 660 Albany Shaker Rd., with pre-conference trainings taking place on Friday, Nov. 11. Join others to build sustainable agriculture in the Northeast region of the U.S. A full agenda, schedule and registration can be found at http://www.ittakesaregion.org. Registration fee is $180. Information, and to find out about sponsorships, or become a sponsor, contact Amy Little at (845) 255-0822, (845) 853-3440, amylittle@hvc.rr.com.
Saturday, Nov. 13, RHINEBECK: The Mid-Hudson Larreynaga Sister City Benefit Dance will be held at the Church of the Messiah Parish Hall at 6436 Montgomery St. at 7:30 p.m., with the band Cuboricua. Admission is $20 per person. Proceeds will benefit the children and village of Rhinebeck's sister city, Larreynaga, Nicaragua. Free door prize ticket to donors of non-perishable food items for the church food pantry. Sponsored by Mid-Hudson Larreynaga Sister City and Dutchess Peace. Information (845) 876-3779, http://www.mhsistercity.org, http://www.dutchesspeace.org.
Monday, Nov. 15, DELMAR: Tom Ellis, a member of the regional Palestinian Rights Committee, will discuss the book "Rounded Up: Artificial Terrorists and Muslim Entrapment After 9/11." The book details the FBI's terrorism case of Albany immigrants/residents Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain. Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace is the sponsor. Information. (518) 466-1192, jlombard@nycap.rr.com.
Wednesday, Nov. 17. ALBANY (SUNY Uptown Campus): Norman Finkelstein, the author and critic of Israeli policies, will speak on Israel/Palestine After the Gaza/Flotilla attack at 8 p.m. in Lecture Center 18 on campus, 1400 Washington Ave. This free public meeting is sponsored by the Palestine Rights Committee, Justice and Peace in Palestine Alliance, and University at Albany Amnesty International. Information, gdamm@nycap.rr.com, seanewart@gmail.com. Campus map: http://www.albany.edu/maps/uptownmap.html.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, POUGHKEEPSIE: A free screening of the classic 1964 film, "The Americanization of Emily" will be shown at the Adriance Library Community Room, 93 Market St., at 6 p.m. This free film features James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvin Douglas, and James Coburn. It is a charming antiwar comedy set during the lead up too D-Day in Europe. Part of Dutchess Peace's "Give Peace a Film" series. Sponsored by Dutchess Peace. Information, (845) 876-7906, http://www.dutchesspeace.org.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free and public 7 p.m. screening of the documentary "Gasland" will be held at a campus location to be announced soon (email Ryan at rlong@nypirg.org for information). This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The event is sponsored by NYPIRG and the Environmental Task Force.
Thursday, Nov. 18, NEW PALTZ: A "Hydro-Fracking Mini Forum" — a good follow-up to "Gasland" — will begin at 7 p.m. at New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave., a block south of Main St. (Rt. 299). The free event is sponsored by the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, which says "bring your questions and ideas." (The coalition meets every Thursday at Village Hall, 5-6:30 p.m., and encourages local residents to "join and learn about our programs.") Information, (845) 255-9297.
Thursday, Nov. 18, RHINEBECK: Dr. Sacha Spector, Scenic Hudson's director of Conservation Science, will discuss how the latest climate predictions will affect Hudson Valley residents in a discussion titled, "Our Fight Against Global Climate Change," to be held at the Starr Library, 67 W. Market St. at 6:30 p.m. Information, contact Anthony Coneski at (845) 473-4440, ext. 273, http://www.scenichudson.org.
Wednesday, Dec. 1, PORT EWEN: Dr. Sacha Spector will discuss "Our Fight Against Global Climate Change (see Nov. 18 just above), at the Town of Esopus Library, 128 Canal St. at 7 p.m.
Oct. 29, 2010, Issue #650, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
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Dedicated to Helping Activist Movements in the Hudson Valley
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Editor's Note:
A total of 165 people, more than half of whom were students, attended our public meeting Oct. 27 on "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis Plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty." Texts of some of the talks will be published in the next issue of the Activist Newsletter.
Our next public meeting is a collaboration with Middle East Crisis Response. It's Wednesday, Nov. 10 (below), titled "Crisis in Israel/Palestine — What do Americans Need to Know? What is the Palestinian Side of the Story?"
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ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Friday, Oct. 29, POUGHKEEPSIE: The documentary film, "The Dark Side of Chocolate" will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 67 S. Randolph Ave., 7-9 p.m. The film documents the trafficking of children, slavery, and child labor in the international chocolate industry. Donation is requested. Non-complicit chocolate will be served. Information, (845) 471-6580, (845) 452-4013, patla@hvc.rr.com, http://www.uupok.org.
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.
Friday, Oct. 29, CATSKILL: Green Party candidate for governor Howie Hawkins will speak and answer questions 4 p.m. election rally at Leggio Park at the corner of Water and Main Sts. For information about his campaign, http://www.howiehawkins.com.
Saturday, Oct. 30, KINGSTON: Join others in a "Walk for a Free Palestine" starting at 12:30 p.m. at Dietz Stadium parking lot. People in Kingston will join others in 45 cities across America in the Second Annual Free Palestine Walks, sponsored by the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights. The aim of this silent walk is to raise awareness about the movement, and to raise funds. Registration fee is $20, and you will receive a T-shirt. Information, http://www.aaper.org.
Monday, Nov. 1, POUGHKEEPSIE: Author, historian and peace activist Lawrence Wittner will discuss "How to Grow Local Organizations" in a 7 p.m. talk at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 67 South Randolph Ave. Wittner, a professor of history at SUNY Albany and a board member of Peace Action, will discuss how to expand the membership of grassroots activist organizations. "All Mid-Hudson activists and organizations are welcome to attend" this free event sponsored by Dutchess Peace. Information, http://www.dutchesspeace.org.
Monday, Nov. 1, NEW PALTZ (SUNY Campus): The documentary, "Freeing Silvia Baraldini" will be shown at Lecture Center 102 at 6 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the director. This award winning film tells the story of an Italian immigrant who became an American radical when she was convicted of helping to free a Black Panther from prison. Co-sponsored by the Departments of History, Black Studies, Foreign Languages, Women's Studies, Sociology and Political Science, and the Progressive Academic Network. Information, bernstel@newpaltz.edu. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Monday, Nov. 1, OLD CHATHAM: A free public showing of the documentary "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai," followed by a moderated discussion, will take place 7-9 p.m. at the Powell House Quaker Conference and Retreat Center, 524 Pitt Hall Rd. (off Columbia County Rt. 13). Here is what the film notes say about this one hour 20 minute 2008 production: "Planting trees for fuel, food and timber is not something usually associated with winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Yet with that simple act, Wangari Maathai helped spark a movement to reclaim Kenya's land from a century of deforestation while providing new sources of livelihood to rural communities. The tree-planting groups that formed were a community-building context for women to come together and become involved in resolving their local challenges. The documentary tells the story of Kenya's Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization encouraging rural women and families to plant trees in community groups." The sponsor is Old Chatham Quaker Meeting. Information, (518) 766-2992, poetapoetus@taconic.net. The film's at http://TakingRootFilm.com/. Directions, http://www.oldchathamquakers.org/directions.html.
Monday, Nov. 1, ALBANY: The film, "Amreeka" will be screened at the Pine Hills Branch of the Public Library, 517 Western Ave. at 6:30 p.m. This comedic drama tells of the happenings of a single mother who leaves the West Bank with dreams of a better future in the promised land of Illinois. This is a free event, with refreshments to follow. Information, (518) 465-5425, mfolsom@aol.com, http://www.palestinianrightscommittee.org.
Thursday, Nov. 4, NEW PALTZ: The PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" will start at 7 p.m. at Elting Library, 93 Main St. at North Front St. (The free parking lot is behind the library.)The program notes for the 2002 film say it's "The story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years, and continues to shape the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. The film takes viewers not only to ancient Middle Eastern sites where Muhammad's story unfolds, but into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated 7 million Muslims, to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example." This free showing is sponsored by New Paltz Neighbors for Peace. Information, (845) 255-4815, tellallwtc7@gmail.com.
Thursday, Nov. 4, CATSKILL: Amy Goodman, the host of the hour-long weekday Democracy Now! TV/radio/internet program, will appear 6:30-8:30 p.m. at this Hudson River town's Community Theatre of Catskill, 323 Main St., as part of a fundraiser for the new Community Radio station WGXC. She will give a talk on Promoting Social Justice Through Independent Media and sign copies of her new book "Breaking the Sound Barrier." Tickets are $25. WGXC is online and expected to launch its FM signal on 90.7-FM this fall. It's located at http://www.wgxc.org/, where you can order tickets for the Goodman talk. Information, chameides@gmail.com.
Friday, Nov. 5, TROY: Author Scott Christianson will discuss his new book, "The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber," at a 7 p.m. public meeting at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave. and 101st St. in North Troy. We're told: "The Last Gasp takes us to the dark side of human history in the first full chronicle of the gas chamber in the United States,... originally touted as a 'humane' method of execution." Admission is by donation ($10 suggested, $5 student/low income). Information, (518) 272-2390, info@MediaSanctuary.org, http//www.MediaSanctuary.org.
Sunday, Nov. 7, NEW PALTZ: Progressive editor/journalist Ben Dangl will discuss his new book about social movements in Latin America titled "Dancing with Dynamite" in a 6 p.m. free public meeting at New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave. (a block south of Main St. (Rt. 299). We're informed the book will address the internal and external dynamics of "grassroots social movements that played major roles in electing left-leaning governments throughout Latin America" during the last decade, suggesting that "subsequent relations between the streets and the states remain uneasy." Democracy Now's Amy Goodman says "Ben Dangl breaks the sound barrier, exploding many myths about Latin America that are all-too-often amplified by the corporate media in the United States. Read this much-needed book." It should be a good meeting. The free event sponsored by the Caribbean and Latin America Support Project (CLASP) begins after an optional potluck starting at 5 p.m. Information, (845) 255-0113, http://DancingWithDynamite.com/.
Sunday, Nov. 7, POUGHKEEPSIE (Vassar College Campus): A Fair Trade Bazaar and Ethical Shopping Experience will be held at The Aula at Ely Hall, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. An international marketplace with crafts, clothing, food, live music and more. Information, (845) 452-4013, patla@hvc.rr.com, http://www.uupok.org. Campus map, http://www.vassar.edu/visitors/pdfs/map.pdf.
Tuesday, Nov. 9, ROSENDALE: The documentary "Gasland" will be screened at 7 p.m. at the Rosendale Theater, followed by a discussion featuring Democratic State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill. This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The cost is $6. (Gasland will also be shown at SUNY New Paltz Nov. 17.) Theater information, (845) 658-8968.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A public meeting titled "Crisis in Israel/Palestine" will take place in the auditorium of the Coykendall Science Building on campus. The subtitle asks two questions: What do Americans Need to Know? What is the Palestinian Side of the Story? This 7 p.m. event is co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, Middle East Crisis Response, and Peace and Social Progress Now. The campus sponsor is the Muslim Students Association. A main purpose of the educational event, according to the organizers, will be to discuss "the Palestinian side of the story because the great majority of Americans have only been exposed to the views of Israel and the United States and not to those of the Palestinians. A clear understanding of the Israel/Palestine crisis is possible only by knowing the actual facts about both sides of this question." Speakers at the meeting include Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and now a tireless peace and justice activist who took part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla; Joel Kovel, a retired professor and author of a dozen books, the latest being "Overcoming Zionism"; Jack A. Smith, editor of the Activist Newsletter; Nada Khader, executive director of the WESPAC Foundation, and a Palestinian American who has served as a consultant for the UN Development Program in Gaza; Jane Toby, who teaches at SUNY/NP and founded the first Hudson Valley branch of Women in Black; Mariam Haris, a Muslim student at SUNY New Paltz; Faris Giacaman, a Palestinian student at Bard College; Hannah Schwarzchild, representing the organization "American Jews for a Just Peace"; and Paul Rehm, a Christian pacifist who took part in a recent peace mission to Hebron in the West Bank. The MC is Donna Goodman. Information, (845) 255-5779, donna0726@earthlink.net. Campus map, http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/. Directions, http://www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions_text.html.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, DELMAR: A potluck dinner and fundraiser to support the legal defense of Pfc. Bradley Manning will take place 6:30-9 p.m. at Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Ave. Manning is accused by the U.S. military of leaking the video called "Collateral Murder" to the WikiLeaks web site. Manning was charged in June with being the source of the leak last April. The 22-year-old intelligence analyst is accused of disclosing a classified video showing U.S. Army Bravo Company 2-16 in Iraq shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in 2007. Twelve people were killed, including two Reuters employees. Two children were critically injured. No charges, of course, have been filed against the soldiers who did the killing. We're told: "Participants are asked to bring a dish to share, and are asked to consider bringing an appropriate book, CD, DVD, baked goods or services to donate toward a silent auction. A number of local merchants are donating gift certificates for this event. The suggested donation is $10, "more or less as per your ability." This event is sponsored by Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace and Tom Paine Chapter of Veterans for Peace. Information, tquaif@yahoo.com, (518) 466-1192, http://www.bethlehemforpeace.org.
Friday, Nov. 12, SAUGERTIES: "Sonando-12th Annual Benefit Dance and Art and Craft Sale for Haiti's Reconstruction" will take place at Ric Orlando's New World Home Cooking, 1411 Rt. 212, 7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Suggested donation for dance is $20, arts and crafts fair is free. Sponsored by Haitian People's Support Project and New World Home Cooking. Information, (845) 679-7320, http://www.haitiansupportproject.org.
Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12-13, ALBANY: A working conference to build the Northeast food system will take place at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, 660 Albany Shaker Rd., with pre-conference trainings taking place on Friday, Nov. 11. Join others to build sustainable agriculture in the Northeast region of the U.S. A full agenda, schedule and registration can be found at http://www.ittakesaregion.org. Registration fee is $180. Information, and to find out about sponsorships, or become a sponsor, contact Amy Little at (845) 255-0822, (845) 853-3440, amylittle@hvc.rr.com.
Saturday, Nov. 13, RHINEBECK: The Mid-Hudson Larreynaga Sister City Benefit Dance will be held at the Church of the Messiah Parish Hall at 6436 Montgomery St. at 7:30 p.m., with the band Cuboricua. Admission is $20 per person. Proceeds will benefit the children and village of Rhinebeck's sister city, Larreynaga, Nicaragua. Free door prize ticket to donors of non-perishable food items for the church food pantry. Sponsored by Mid-Hudson Larreynaga Sister City and Dutchess Peace. Information (845) 876-3779, http://www.mhsistercity.org, http://www.dutchesspeace.org.
Monday, Nov. 15, DELMAR: Tom Ellis, a member of the regional Palestinian Rights Committee, will discuss the book "Rounded Up: Artificial Terrorists and Muslim Entrapment After 9/11." The book details the FBI's terrorism case of Albany immigrants/residents Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain. Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace is the sponsor. Information. (518) 466-1192, jlombard@nycap.rr.com.
Wednesday, Nov. 17. ALBANY (SUNY Uptown Campus): Norman Finkelstein, the author and critic of Israeli policies, will speak on Israel/Palestine After the Gaza/Flotilla attack at 8 p.m. in Lecture Center 18 on campus, 1400 Washington Ave. This free public meeting is sponsored by the Palestine Rights Committee, Justice and Peace in Palestine Alliance, and University at Albany Amnesty International. Information, gdamm@nycap.rr.com, seanewart@gmail.com. Campus map: http://www.albany.edu/maps/uptownmap.html.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, POUGHKEEPSIE: A free screening of the classic 1964 film, "The Americanization of Emily" will be shown at the Adriance Library Community Room, 93 Market St., at 6 p.m. This free film features James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvin Douglas, and James Coburn. It is a charming antiwar comedy set during the lead up too D-Day in Europe. Part of Dutchess Peace's "Give Peace a Film" series. Sponsored by Dutchess Peace. Information, (845) 876-7906, http://www.dutchesspeace.org.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): A free and public 7 p.m. screening of the documentary "Gasland" will be held at a campus location to be announced soon (email Ryan at rlong@nypirg.org for information). This new film by Josh Fox exposes the extreme dangers of the fracking (horizontal hydraulic fracturing) process of extracting natural gas. The State Senate has issued a temporary moratorium in New York State and the Assembly has yet to vote. The event is sponsored by NYPIRG and the Environmental Task Force.
Thursday, Nov. 18, NEW PALTZ: A "Hydro-Fracking Mini Forum" — a good follow-up to "Gasland" — will begin at 7 p.m. at New Paltz Village Hall, 25 Plattekill Ave., a block south of Main St. (Rt. 299). The free event is sponsored by the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, which says "bring your questions and ideas." (The coalition meets every Thursday at Village Hall, 5-6:30 p.m., and encourages local residents to "join and learn about our programs.") Information, (845) 255-9297.
Thursday, Nov. 18, RHINEBECK: Dr. Sacha Spector, Scenic Hudson's director of Conservation Science, will discuss how the latest climate predictions will affect Hudson Valley residents in a discussion titled, "Our Fight Against Global Climate Change," to be held at the Starr Library, 67 W. Market St. at 6:30 p.m. Information, contact Anthony Coneski at (845) 473-4440, ext. 273, http://www.scenichudson.org.
Wednesday, Dec. 1, PORT EWEN: Dr. Sacha Spector will discuss "Our Fight Against Global Climate Change (see Nov. 18 just above), at the Town of Esopus Library, 128 Canal St. at 7 p.m.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
10-21-10 Activist Calendar
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.
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.
———
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.
10-21-10 THREE NEW ARTICLES
WHAT'S REALLY CAUSING THE
LOSS OF U.S. MANUFACTURING JOBS?
[Editor's Note: It's fashionable to blame foreign trade — especially with China — for America's huge decline in manufacturing jobs. But is it true? According to economist Arthur Macewan it's much more complex than that. Macewan, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, answers reader questions at Dollars & Sense magazine, under the name "Dr. Dollar." Here a question and his answer from the progressive magazine's September-October issue.]
Dear Dr. Dollar: Many times I have read (in writings by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, for example) or heard it said (by President Obama, for example) that technology is eliminating more manufacturing jobs in the United States than rising imports. Is that true? — Kevin Rath, Oakland, Calif.
The former labor secretary and the president are right — at least if by “technology” we mean all sources of increases in output per worker, whether by greater use of machinery, work reorganization, or plain old speed-up.
Consider the years from 1990 to 2007. In this period, the supply of manufactured goods in the United States (production plus imports) roughly doubled (in inflation-adjusted, or “real,” terms). Had the share of imports stayed the same and had productivity (output per worker) stayed the same, employment too would have roughly doubled (assuming workers worked just as many hours, an issue I will come back to below). But that’s not what happened. In 2007, manufacturing employed about 76% as many people as in 1990, 13.431 million as compared to 17.695 million.
In fact, both productivity and the share of imports in total supply increased substantially between 1990 and 2007. Output per worker in manufacturing rose dramatically, by roughly 88% in real terms. Imports rose from 27% of the total supply of manufactured goods in the United States in 1990 to 48% in 2007. So the amount of domestic output, instead of doubling along with the doubling of supply, increased by only 43% (in real terms).
To figure out which of these factors—productivity or the share of imports in total supply—had the larger quantitative impact on employment, let’s look at two fictitious cases that allow us to examine each factor separately:
Case 1: Productivity increases by 88%, but the share of imports stays the same. If supply doubles, domestic output will also double. Employment will rise, but only by approximately 6% because with an 88% increase in productivity, each worker is yielding a larger output. Only 6% more workers are necessary to produce twice as much output.
Case 2: The import share increases from 27% to 48%, but productivity stays the same. If supply doubles, domestic output will rise by 43% (as it actually did). And if productivity stays the same, employment would therefore also increase by 43%.
It is clear that the increase in productivity had a quantitatively larger impact in limiting employment growth than did the increase in the share of imports.
Job-loss in manufacturing presents serious problems. Some people lose their jobs and most are unlikely to get jobs that pay equivalent wages, even if overall employment picks up. These people suffer, and so do their families and communities. More broadly, the strong unions that developed in manufacturing are weakened, undercutting the economic and political strength of all working people.
But these negative impacts don’t have to take place. There is no good reason why we have to accept the choices of cutting foreign trade or cutting jobs, of reducing technological change or reducing jobs, or, for that matter, of destroying the environment (e.g., off-shore drilling and clear cutting of forests) or destroying jobs. Instead we can find ways to prevent the costs of economic changes from falling on workers, their families, and their communities.
One positive step would be to assure that productivity gains yield shorter work-weeks with no cut in pay—that is, no loss in the number of jobs. After all, this has happened before. Also, we need to establish the conditions for rebuilding strong unions in all segments of the economy—for example, by passing the Employee Free Choice Act and assuring that the National Labor Relations Board does its job. In addition, we need an array of good social programs such as, “Medicare for all” so people don’t lose their health care benefits when they lose their jobs. Likewise, better support for education and training programs for all workers—not just those affected by imports—are essential to facilitate their adjustment to change.
There may be good reasons to place some restrictions on technological changes or foreign trade—for example, when they generate environmental destruction, when they place workers in danger, or in conditions of virtual slavery (in the exporting countries). When we are forced to choose between the gains from trade or technology versus the well-being of workers directly affected, most often we should choose the well-being of the workers. The real solution to these problems, however, is to find ways to change the choices.
Whatever steps we take, we need to recognize that foreign trade is not the only cause—not even the quantitatively most important cause—of the decline in manufacturing employment
—————————
RICHEST NATIONS AIM TO WRECK CLIMATE TALKS
By Simon Butler
A strong agreement at Copenhagen was scuttled by the rich nations’ refusal to commit to deep emissions cuts. No legally-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions will be made at this year’s big United Nations climate conference in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 to December 10.
And that’s just the way the rich nations want it. Few world leaders are even expected to turn up to the Cancun talks. For months, key players have tried to dampen down public hopes that the summit will mark a shift away from business as usual.
The British Guardian columnist George Monbiot wrote on September 20 that it was time for climate action campaigners to accept the UN process was dead.
The huge threat posed by dangerous climate change, and the need for an urgent response, may make this painful to admit for some. But the facts speak for themselves.
A September 21 AFP article reported that top US climate negotiator Todd Stern said bluntly: “No one is anticipating or expecting in any way a legal treaty to be done in Cancun this year.”
For two decades, successive US governments have fought against any legally-binding climate treaty. The US is the only nation in the world to not sign on to the existing Kyoto protocol treaty.
But this year, UN officials have also downplayed hopes for much progress at Cancun — or beyond.
On June 9, Associated Press reported that UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said: “I don’t believe that we will ever have a final agreement on climate, certainly not in my lifetime.” (JS: She's 54.)
Figueres’s statement marked a shift in the UN’s rhetoric — and a win for the big polluting nations bent on sabotaging strong climate action.
Before the December 2009 UN climate talks in Copenhagen, UN officials urged member nations to agree to a new, binding treaty to replace the existing Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
A strong agreement at Copenhagen was scuttled by the rich nations’ refusal to commit to the deep emissions cuts demanded by the world’s least developed nations.
Developed nations also led a charge to kill off the Kyoto protocol, which requires rich countries to make bigger emissions cuts than poor countries.
Copenhagen ended in a stalemate. Many poor countries refused to endorse the so-called Copenhagen Accord that was proposed by the US, China, India and South Africa. Most rich nations, including Australia, supported the accord.
By contrast, developing countries have insisted that cuts of 40%-50% by 2020 are needed.
The Guardian reported on August 4 that the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Third World Network had released a study that found various loopholes in the accord would actually allow emissions to rise by as much as 9% by 2020 (on 1990 levels).
The accord also proposed a global warming target of a 2°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels, despite the call from the Association of Small Island States to limit warming to a safe level of less than 1.5°C.
350.org founder Bill McKibben said in a December 19 statement that the Copenhagen Accord was “a declaration that small and poor countries don’t matter, that international civil society doesn’t matter, and that serious limits on carbon don’t matter”.
Yet this year, the rich countries have pushed to make the Copenhagen Accord the basis of Cancun negotiations.
The April 11 London Observer revealed that European Union (EU) and US diplomats had threatened African countries with cuts in humanitarian aid unless they dropped their opposition to the accord.
The same month, the US suspended its climate aid programs to Bolivia and Ecuador because the two countries had refused to back the accord.
Preliminary UN climate talks held in August in Bonn, Germany, ended without any positive news. After Bonn, the EU’s climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: “These negotiations have, if anything, gone backwards,” BBC.co.uk reported on August 9.
Another round of talks in the Chinese city of Taijing, the last before Cancun, ended on October 9. Ironically, Taijing was not the first-choice venue. The conference was supposed to take place on the Chinese island of Hainan. But in the days before the talks opened, the island was hit by a freak, nine-day rainstorm, which caused the worst flooding in 50 years.
The October 11 China Daily said the rains affected 2.5 million people and forced the evacuation of 336,000 residents. Local crops were wiped out, vegetable prices rose by 30% and medicine supplies ran low.
Yet the rich nations were unmoved. The head of Bolivia’s delegation, Pablo Solon, told Businessweek.com on October 6: “We don’t see any kind of movement [at Taijing] from developed countries to increase the level of emissions reduction.”
Instead, several developed nations, including Australia, Japan, Russia, New Zealand and Canada, used the meeting to announce “they want to do away with the Kyoto Protocol,” said the October 11 Malaysian Star.
It is clear the existing framework will not allow for the urgent action required. Much greater struggle is required against the powerful forces that rich nations’ governments are in bed with.
—
This article appeared Oct. 17 in Australia's Green Left Weekly.
—————————
LIFE EXPECTANCY, RICH MAN, POOR MAN
By Economic Policy Institute (Oct. 20)
Not all Americans are living longer than they were a generation ago. In 2006 (the latest figures), the top income half of men who reached age 65 were expected to live another 21.5 years, but lower half income of men had a median life expectancy of only an additional 16.1 years — a difference of five years and four months.
While life expectancy for higher-income men increased more than five years between 1986 and 2006, life expectancy for lower-income men rose little more than a year over that same 20-year period. Lower-income men in 2006 had shorter life expectancies than higher income men had a generation ago.
These data, from the research paper "Trends in Mortality Differentials and Life Expectancy for Male Social Security-Covered Workers," by Average Relative Earnings, were presented Oct. 5 at the America’s Fiscal Choices conference co-sponsored by EPI. During a panel on Social Security and overall retirement security, experts Nancy Altman of Social Security Works and Teresa Ghilarducci of The New School stressed that raising the retirement age would reduce benefits, particularly for those lower-income workers with shorter life expectancies, who depend on Social Security for the bulk of their income. They also stressed that workers are often unable to choose when they retire and must stop working when they are no longer able to perform physically demanding jobs, or when they suffer a layoff and cannot find work.
The America’s Fiscal Choices conference focused on the best policies for strengthening the economy and reducing the deficit. Panelists stressed that without Social Security, the economy would be in much worse condition, since the program lifts 19 million people out of poverty.
LOSS OF U.S. MANUFACTURING JOBS?
[Editor's Note: It's fashionable to blame foreign trade — especially with China — for America's huge decline in manufacturing jobs. But is it true? According to economist Arthur Macewan it's much more complex than that. Macewan, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, answers reader questions at Dollars & Sense magazine, under the name "Dr. Dollar." Here a question and his answer from the progressive magazine's September-October issue.]
Dear Dr. Dollar: Many times I have read (in writings by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, for example) or heard it said (by President Obama, for example) that technology is eliminating more manufacturing jobs in the United States than rising imports. Is that true? — Kevin Rath, Oakland, Calif.
The former labor secretary and the president are right — at least if by “technology” we mean all sources of increases in output per worker, whether by greater use of machinery, work reorganization, or plain old speed-up.
Consider the years from 1990 to 2007. In this period, the supply of manufactured goods in the United States (production plus imports) roughly doubled (in inflation-adjusted, or “real,” terms). Had the share of imports stayed the same and had productivity (output per worker) stayed the same, employment too would have roughly doubled (assuming workers worked just as many hours, an issue I will come back to below). But that’s not what happened. In 2007, manufacturing employed about 76% as many people as in 1990, 13.431 million as compared to 17.695 million.
In fact, both productivity and the share of imports in total supply increased substantially between 1990 and 2007. Output per worker in manufacturing rose dramatically, by roughly 88% in real terms. Imports rose from 27% of the total supply of manufactured goods in the United States in 1990 to 48% in 2007. So the amount of domestic output, instead of doubling along with the doubling of supply, increased by only 43% (in real terms).
To figure out which of these factors—productivity or the share of imports in total supply—had the larger quantitative impact on employment, let’s look at two fictitious cases that allow us to examine each factor separately:
Case 1: Productivity increases by 88%, but the share of imports stays the same. If supply doubles, domestic output will also double. Employment will rise, but only by approximately 6% because with an 88% increase in productivity, each worker is yielding a larger output. Only 6% more workers are necessary to produce twice as much output.
Case 2: The import share increases from 27% to 48%, but productivity stays the same. If supply doubles, domestic output will rise by 43% (as it actually did). And if productivity stays the same, employment would therefore also increase by 43%.
It is clear that the increase in productivity had a quantitatively larger impact in limiting employment growth than did the increase in the share of imports.
Job-loss in manufacturing presents serious problems. Some people lose their jobs and most are unlikely to get jobs that pay equivalent wages, even if overall employment picks up. These people suffer, and so do their families and communities. More broadly, the strong unions that developed in manufacturing are weakened, undercutting the economic and political strength of all working people.
But these negative impacts don’t have to take place. There is no good reason why we have to accept the choices of cutting foreign trade or cutting jobs, of reducing technological change or reducing jobs, or, for that matter, of destroying the environment (e.g., off-shore drilling and clear cutting of forests) or destroying jobs. Instead we can find ways to prevent the costs of economic changes from falling on workers, their families, and their communities.
One positive step would be to assure that productivity gains yield shorter work-weeks with no cut in pay—that is, no loss in the number of jobs. After all, this has happened before. Also, we need to establish the conditions for rebuilding strong unions in all segments of the economy—for example, by passing the Employee Free Choice Act and assuring that the National Labor Relations Board does its job. In addition, we need an array of good social programs such as, “Medicare for all” so people don’t lose their health care benefits when they lose their jobs. Likewise, better support for education and training programs for all workers—not just those affected by imports—are essential to facilitate their adjustment to change.
There may be good reasons to place some restrictions on technological changes or foreign trade—for example, when they generate environmental destruction, when they place workers in danger, or in conditions of virtual slavery (in the exporting countries). When we are forced to choose between the gains from trade or technology versus the well-being of workers directly affected, most often we should choose the well-being of the workers. The real solution to these problems, however, is to find ways to change the choices.
Whatever steps we take, we need to recognize that foreign trade is not the only cause—not even the quantitatively most important cause—of the decline in manufacturing employment
—————————
RICHEST NATIONS AIM TO WRECK CLIMATE TALKS
By Simon Butler
A strong agreement at Copenhagen was scuttled by the rich nations’ refusal to commit to deep emissions cuts. No legally-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions will be made at this year’s big United Nations climate conference in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 to December 10.
And that’s just the way the rich nations want it. Few world leaders are even expected to turn up to the Cancun talks. For months, key players have tried to dampen down public hopes that the summit will mark a shift away from business as usual.
The British Guardian columnist George Monbiot wrote on September 20 that it was time for climate action campaigners to accept the UN process was dead.
The huge threat posed by dangerous climate change, and the need for an urgent response, may make this painful to admit for some. But the facts speak for themselves.
A September 21 AFP article reported that top US climate negotiator Todd Stern said bluntly: “No one is anticipating or expecting in any way a legal treaty to be done in Cancun this year.”
For two decades, successive US governments have fought against any legally-binding climate treaty. The US is the only nation in the world to not sign on to the existing Kyoto protocol treaty.
But this year, UN officials have also downplayed hopes for much progress at Cancun — or beyond.
On June 9, Associated Press reported that UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said: “I don’t believe that we will ever have a final agreement on climate, certainly not in my lifetime.” (JS: She's 54.)
Figueres’s statement marked a shift in the UN’s rhetoric — and a win for the big polluting nations bent on sabotaging strong climate action.
Before the December 2009 UN climate talks in Copenhagen, UN officials urged member nations to agree to a new, binding treaty to replace the existing Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
A strong agreement at Copenhagen was scuttled by the rich nations’ refusal to commit to the deep emissions cuts demanded by the world’s least developed nations.
Developed nations also led a charge to kill off the Kyoto protocol, which requires rich countries to make bigger emissions cuts than poor countries.
Copenhagen ended in a stalemate. Many poor countries refused to endorse the so-called Copenhagen Accord that was proposed by the US, China, India and South Africa. Most rich nations, including Australia, supported the accord.
By contrast, developing countries have insisted that cuts of 40%-50% by 2020 are needed.
The Guardian reported on August 4 that the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Third World Network had released a study that found various loopholes in the accord would actually allow emissions to rise by as much as 9% by 2020 (on 1990 levels).
The accord also proposed a global warming target of a 2°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels, despite the call from the Association of Small Island States to limit warming to a safe level of less than 1.5°C.
350.org founder Bill McKibben said in a December 19 statement that the Copenhagen Accord was “a declaration that small and poor countries don’t matter, that international civil society doesn’t matter, and that serious limits on carbon don’t matter”.
Yet this year, the rich countries have pushed to make the Copenhagen Accord the basis of Cancun negotiations.
The April 11 London Observer revealed that European Union (EU) and US diplomats had threatened African countries with cuts in humanitarian aid unless they dropped their opposition to the accord.
The same month, the US suspended its climate aid programs to Bolivia and Ecuador because the two countries had refused to back the accord.
Preliminary UN climate talks held in August in Bonn, Germany, ended without any positive news. After Bonn, the EU’s climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: “These negotiations have, if anything, gone backwards,” BBC.co.uk reported on August 9.
Another round of talks in the Chinese city of Taijing, the last before Cancun, ended on October 9. Ironically, Taijing was not the first-choice venue. The conference was supposed to take place on the Chinese island of Hainan. But in the days before the talks opened, the island was hit by a freak, nine-day rainstorm, which caused the worst flooding in 50 years.
The October 11 China Daily said the rains affected 2.5 million people and forced the evacuation of 336,000 residents. Local crops were wiped out, vegetable prices rose by 30% and medicine supplies ran low.
Yet the rich nations were unmoved. The head of Bolivia’s delegation, Pablo Solon, told Businessweek.com on October 6: “We don’t see any kind of movement [at Taijing] from developed countries to increase the level of emissions reduction.”
Instead, several developed nations, including Australia, Japan, Russia, New Zealand and Canada, used the meeting to announce “they want to do away with the Kyoto Protocol,” said the October 11 Malaysian Star.
It is clear the existing framework will not allow for the urgent action required. Much greater struggle is required against the powerful forces that rich nations’ governments are in bed with.
—
This article appeared Oct. 17 in Australia's Green Left Weekly.
—————————
LIFE EXPECTANCY, RICH MAN, POOR MAN
By Economic Policy Institute (Oct. 20)
Not all Americans are living longer than they were a generation ago. In 2006 (the latest figures), the top income half of men who reached age 65 were expected to live another 21.5 years, but lower half income of men had a median life expectancy of only an additional 16.1 years — a difference of five years and four months.
While life expectancy for higher-income men increased more than five years between 1986 and 2006, life expectancy for lower-income men rose little more than a year over that same 20-year period. Lower-income men in 2006 had shorter life expectancies than higher income men had a generation ago.
These data, from the research paper "Trends in Mortality Differentials and Life Expectancy for Male Social Security-Covered Workers," by Average Relative Earnings, were presented Oct. 5 at the America’s Fiscal Choices conference co-sponsored by EPI. During a panel on Social Security and overall retirement security, experts Nancy Altman of Social Security Works and Teresa Ghilarducci of The New School stressed that raising the retirement age would reduce benefits, particularly for those lower-income workers with shorter life expectancies, who depend on Social Security for the bulk of their income. They also stressed that workers are often unable to choose when they retire and must stop working when they are no longer able to perform physically demanding jobs, or when they suffer a layoff and cannot find work.
The America’s Fiscal Choices conference focused on the best policies for strengthening the economy and reducing the deficit. Panelists stressed that without Social Security, the economy would be in much worse condition, since the program lifts 19 million people out of poverty.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
10-19-10 Activist Calendar
HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER/CALENDAR
Oct. 19, 2010, Issue #649, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
———————————————————————
Editor's Note:
• We have organized an important meeting that will take place in New Paltz Wednesday, Oct. 27. It's titled "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty." Full details are in the last item below, including a listing of the speakers and the Hudson Valley groups endorsing the event. Check out the details and join us at the meeting.
• Our November Calendar will be emailed in a week, including information about a Nov. 10 meeting we have organized in New Paltz on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
———————————————————————
ACTIVIST CALENDAR:
Tuesday, Oct. 19, NEW PALTZ: Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins will make a campaign appearance 12 noon-1:30 p.m. at the Slash Root Cafe, 60 Main St. The long time political and antiwar activist and a co-founder of the Green Party will discuss his political program and why it is important to challenge the candidates of the two ruling parties.
Thursday, Oct. 21, BEACON: "Bioscapes: A Bioregional Approach to Sustainability" is the topic of a free public talk by Fred W. Koontz, director of the 834-acre nature preserve in Ossining known as the Teatown Lake Reservation. One aspect the discussion will be to encourage regional residents to practice "nature-friendly living" in their own back yards. The event will be held at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries Center for Environmental Innovation and Education, 199 Dennings Ave. Attendees are asked to pre-register at http://www.bire.org/events.
Thursday, Oct. 21, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): "The Push to Revive Nuclear Power" will be explored by SUNY Old Westbury journalism Prof. Karl Grossman, an author and investigative reporter. His free public talk will begin at 7 p.m. at the Coykendall Science Building auditorium. We're told he will discuss "a number of myths about nuclear power prominent in the mainstream media, among them that nuclear power doesn’t contribute to global warming." Grossman will also present a workshop, “Energy We Can Live With,” that "will provide an interactive venue for participants to learn about and discuss new, safe, clean energy technologies." The meeting is sponsored by the Progressive Academic Network and Environmental Task Force, among others. Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Friday, Oct. 22, MILLBROOK: A free public talk on genetically modified crops and environmental health will begin at 7 p.m. at the auditorium of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Route 44). The speaker will be aquatic ecologist Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall, who will "discuss the adoption of modified crops in the U.S., evidence that the insecticides and herbicides in these plants can escape into natural areas, and potential threats to biodiversity and freshwater supplies." According to the organizers: "The next time you go grocery shopping, survey your cart. If it contains products that list corn, soybeans, canola oil, cottonseed oil, or papaya as ingredients — chances are good that they can be traced back to genetically modified crops. These crops, which have been altered to repel pests and/or resist herbicide exposure, are now a mainstay of U.S. agriculture." Information, (845) 677-7600, ext. 121, freemanp@caryinstitute.org.
Friday, Oct. 22, NEW PALTZ: A free public showing of the documentary "Under Our Skin" — a tale of "microbes, medicine and money" — will begin at 8:15 p.m. at the Elting Library, 93 Main St. at North Front St. We're told the film "exposes the hidden story of Lyme disease, one of the most controversial and fastest growing epidemics of our time. Each year, thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed." Sponsored by New Paltz Neighbors for Peace. Information, Tellall45@yahoo.com.
Saturday, Oct. 23, GREENWICH, Conn.: A peace march demanding "War Profiteer: Stop the Wars," will kick off at 12:30 p.m. from the Post Office at Arch St. and Greenwich Ave. The march will wend its way through the downtown area and then proceed to the neighborhood containing the residence of ITT Corporation Chairman, President and CEO Stephen R. Loranger. We're told: "ITT makes bomb and missile releases for drones used in Afghanistan and Pakistan, among other military hardware. ITT is among the top 10 Pentagon contractors and spent $ 2.5 million lobbying the current Congress. The event is endorsed by WESPAC and World Can't Wait. Greenwich is only a few miles from Westchester, which is convenient for our Lower Hudson Valley readers. Information, nickmottern@earthlink.net, benweiss@aol.com.
Sunday, Oct. 23, ALBANY: "The Great Depression: Mean Things Happening" is an important 53-minute documentary about worker uprisings during the 1930s — particularly the struggle of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union to organize sharecroppers, and of the new Congress of Industrial Organizations to organize steel workers. A free public showing of this 1993 film starts at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. (between Robin and Lake Sts.). It's said that "this film tells the dramatic story of two workers' uprisings of that era through interviews with participants and their descendants, as well as through rarely-seen film footage." The filming is sponsored by the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, (518) 426-0883, dbull4@verizon.net, http://www.jflan.net/solidarity.
Sunday, Oct. 24, NEW PALTZ: There will be a Memorial Bench Dedication at this town's African-American Burial Ground "to commemorate the slaves who helped build our community and nation." The ceremonies begin at 3 p.m. at 174 Huguenot Street. At 4 p.m. gospel music and refreshments will be available at nearby Deyo Hall, 6 Broadhead St. Information, (845) 255-1660 or (845) 255-8560.
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. tonight 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 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/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, check out 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, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/.
Oct. 19, 2010, Issue #649, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/
Send event announcements to jacdon@earthlink.net
———————————————————————
Editor's Note:
• We have organized an important meeting that will take place in New Paltz Wednesday, Oct. 27. It's titled "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty." Full details are in the last item below, including a listing of the speakers and the Hudson Valley groups endorsing the event. Check out the details and join us at the meeting.
• Our November Calendar will be emailed in a week, including information about a Nov. 10 meeting we have organized in New Paltz on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
———————————————————————
ACTIVIST CALENDAR:
Tuesday, Oct. 19, NEW PALTZ: Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins will make a campaign appearance 12 noon-1:30 p.m. at the Slash Root Cafe, 60 Main St. The long time political and antiwar activist and a co-founder of the Green Party will discuss his political program and why it is important to challenge the candidates of the two ruling parties.
Thursday, Oct. 21, BEACON: "Bioscapes: A Bioregional Approach to Sustainability" is the topic of a free public talk by Fred W. Koontz, director of the 834-acre nature preserve in Ossining known as the Teatown Lake Reservation. One aspect the discussion will be to encourage regional residents to practice "nature-friendly living" in their own back yards. The event will be held at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries Center for Environmental Innovation and Education, 199 Dennings Ave. Attendees are asked to pre-register at http://www.bire.org/events.
Thursday, Oct. 21, NEW PALTZ (SUNY campus): "The Push to Revive Nuclear Power" will be explored by SUNY Old Westbury journalism Prof. Karl Grossman, an author and investigative reporter. His free public talk will begin at 7 p.m. at the Coykendall Science Building auditorium. We're told he will discuss "a number of myths about nuclear power prominent in the mainstream media, among them that nuclear power doesn’t contribute to global warming." Grossman will also present a workshop, “Energy We Can Live With,” that "will provide an interactive venue for participants to learn about and discuss new, safe, clean energy technologies." The meeting is sponsored by the Progressive Academic Network and Environmental Task Force, among others. Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Friday, Oct. 22, MILLBROOK: A free public talk on genetically modified crops and environmental health will begin at 7 p.m. at the auditorium of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Route 44). The speaker will be aquatic ecologist Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall, who will "discuss the adoption of modified crops in the U.S., evidence that the insecticides and herbicides in these plants can escape into natural areas, and potential threats to biodiversity and freshwater supplies." According to the organizers: "The next time you go grocery shopping, survey your cart. If it contains products that list corn, soybeans, canola oil, cottonseed oil, or papaya as ingredients — chances are good that they can be traced back to genetically modified crops. These crops, which have been altered to repel pests and/or resist herbicide exposure, are now a mainstay of U.S. agriculture." Information, (845) 677-7600, ext. 121, freemanp@caryinstitute.org.
Friday, Oct. 22, NEW PALTZ: A free public showing of the documentary "Under Our Skin" — a tale of "microbes, medicine and money" — will begin at 8:15 p.m. at the Elting Library, 93 Main St. at North Front St. We're told the film "exposes the hidden story of Lyme disease, one of the most controversial and fastest growing epidemics of our time. Each year, thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed." Sponsored by New Paltz Neighbors for Peace. Information, Tellall45@yahoo.com.
Saturday, Oct. 23, GREENWICH, Conn.: A peace march demanding "War Profiteer: Stop the Wars," will kick off at 12:30 p.m. from the Post Office at Arch St. and Greenwich Ave. The march will wend its way through the downtown area and then proceed to the neighborhood containing the residence of ITT Corporation Chairman, President and CEO Stephen R. Loranger. We're told: "ITT makes bomb and missile releases for drones used in Afghanistan and Pakistan, among other military hardware. ITT is among the top 10 Pentagon contractors and spent $ 2.5 million lobbying the current Congress. The event is endorsed by WESPAC and World Can't Wait. Greenwich is only a few miles from Westchester, which is convenient for our Lower Hudson Valley readers. Information, nickmottern@earthlink.net, benweiss@aol.com.
Sunday, Oct. 23, ALBANY: "The Great Depression: Mean Things Happening" is an important 53-minute documentary about worker uprisings during the 1930s — particularly the struggle of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union to organize sharecroppers, and of the new Congress of Industrial Organizations to organize steel workers. A free public showing of this 1993 film starts at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. (between Robin and Lake Sts.). It's said that "this film tells the dramatic story of two workers' uprisings of that era through interviews with participants and their descendants, as well as through rarely-seen film footage." The filming is sponsored by the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, (518) 426-0883, dbull4@verizon.net, http://www.jflan.net/solidarity.
Sunday, Oct. 24, NEW PALTZ: There will be a Memorial Bench Dedication at this town's African-American Burial Ground "to commemorate the slaves who helped build our community and nation." The ceremonies begin at 3 p.m. at 174 Huguenot Street. At 4 p.m. gospel music and refreshments will be available at nearby Deyo Hall, 6 Broadhead St. Information, (845) 255-1660 or (845) 255-8560.
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. tonight 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 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/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, check out 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, http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
10-13-10 Perfect Storm
PERFECT STORM COMING
TO THE HUDSON VALLEY
A major meeting, titled "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty," will take place Wednesday Oct. 27 in New Paltz 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. The will largely discuss climate change, but war and poverty will also be noted in two talks since together with the environmental crisis they "combine to create the perfect storm of impending global devastation," according to the organizers.
The 7-9:15 p.m. event is sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter and the local group Peace and Social Progress Now (PSPN). The SUNY sponsor is the campus-community organization Environmental Task Force. Almost a dozen local groups are endorsing the meeting, including SUNY's Progressive Academic Network, New Paltz Students for Sustainable Agriculture, and Students for Fresh Water among others.
The speakers include Sociology Professors Brian Obach and Irwin Sperber, Education Professor Kate McCoy, 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 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 purpose of the meeting is two-fold," say the organizers, "First is to alert New Paltz students and regional residents to the extreme danger of climate change and environmental degradation, especially during an era of seemingly endless wars and growing global poverty. Second, we hope to encourage more people to take action against this developing Perfect Storm."
Volunteers will distribute the following statement promoting the meeting on campus and in surrounding villages and towns:
"Global warming will disfigure our world unless decisive emergency measures are taken now. The United States and other industrialized countries must substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other tasks, within a couple of decades. The longer it takes, the more devastating the destruction.
"Earth's entire ecological system is in crisis. But the principal countries with the power to prevent disaster are either not acting swiftly, or not at all. Water and food supplies are endangered. Glaciers are melting, as are the Arctic and Antarctic ice packs. Temperatures are rising. Coastal areas are in danger of flooding.
"Coinciding with this unfolding tragedy are the long wars being conducted by our own country, and Pentagon plans for more wars in future. America is spending a trillion dollars a year on the military and national security — funds needed to help develop a green economy and to end increasing global poverty. By 2050, 70% of world population will live in urban or rural slums. A billion people suffer chronic hunger now. And 15 million children starve to death each year, one every six seconds.
"Taken together this amounts to a perfect storm of impending global devastation. Learn about this crisis from experts and activists Oct. 27. Learn about what we can do as concerned people to stop this madness — for ourselves and future generations. There's still time, but we must act now to help save our environment and life on Mother Earth."
Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/
Information and directions, (845) 255-5779, jacdon@earthlink.net.
TO THE HUDSON VALLEY
A major meeting, titled "The Perfect Storm: Environmental Crisis plus Endless Wars and Global Poverty," will take place Wednesday Oct. 27 in New Paltz 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. The will largely discuss climate change, but war and poverty will also be noted in two talks since together with the environmental crisis they "combine to create the perfect storm of impending global devastation," according to the organizers.
The 7-9:15 p.m. event is sponsored by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter and the local group Peace and Social Progress Now (PSPN). The SUNY sponsor is the campus-community organization Environmental Task Force. Almost a dozen local groups are endorsing the meeting, including SUNY's Progressive Academic Network, New Paltz Students for Sustainable Agriculture, and Students for Fresh Water among others.
The speakers include Sociology Professors Brian Obach and Irwin Sperber, Education Professor Kate McCoy, 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 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 purpose of the meeting is two-fold," say the organizers, "First is to alert New Paltz students and regional residents to the extreme danger of climate change and environmental degradation, especially during an era of seemingly endless wars and growing global poverty. Second, we hope to encourage more people to take action against this developing Perfect Storm."
Volunteers will distribute the following statement promoting the meeting on campus and in surrounding villages and towns:
"Global warming will disfigure our world unless decisive emergency measures are taken now. The United States and other industrialized countries must substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other tasks, within a couple of decades. The longer it takes, the more devastating the destruction.
"Earth's entire ecological system is in crisis. But the principal countries with the power to prevent disaster are either not acting swiftly, or not at all. Water and food supplies are endangered. Glaciers are melting, as are the Arctic and Antarctic ice packs. Temperatures are rising. Coastal areas are in danger of flooding.
"Coinciding with this unfolding tragedy are the long wars being conducted by our own country, and Pentagon plans for more wars in future. America is spending a trillion dollars a year on the military and national security — funds needed to help develop a green economy and to end increasing global poverty. By 2050, 70% of world population will live in urban or rural slums. A billion people suffer chronic hunger now. And 15 million children starve to death each year, one every six seconds.
"Taken together this amounts to a perfect storm of impending global devastation. Learn about this crisis from experts and activists Oct. 27. Learn about what we can do as concerned people to stop this madness — for ourselves and future generations. There's still time, but we must act now to help save our environment and life on Mother Earth."
Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/
Information and directions, (845) 255-5779, jacdon@earthlink.net.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
10-09-10 "Socialist Obama?
IS OBAMA A SOCIALIST?
[Editor's Note: We're all aware that the right wing considers President Obama, a man who governs from the center/center right, to be a "socialist," so CBS News political reporter Brian Montopoli decided to ask an actual socialist for his views on the matter. His article, which appeared on CbsNews.com Oct. 8, follows.]
By Brian Montopoli
According to a Democracy Corps poll released over the summer, a majority of likely voters believe that the word "socialist" is a fair way to describe President Obama. The word is often used by the president's harshest critics, and not just those on the fringe: In March, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele complained that the president was pushing a "radical socialist health care 'reform' experiment."
So what does an actual socialist think about the idea that Mr. Obama deserves the label? Not much.
Billy Wharton, the 41-year-old co-chair of the Socialist Party USA, said in an interview that the president's agenda is nothing like the vision that his group espouses for the country.
Start with employment: As the government announced today, the unemployment rate currently stands at 9.6%. Under socialism, he said, everyone has a right to a job — which means that the unemployment rate would, essentially, be zero. If the private sector didn't provide enough jobs, Wharton said, a socialist government would create jobs to fill the gap.
Wharton pointed to the bank bailout — passed under President Bush but supported by President Obama — as an example of where socialist and Obama agendas differ. "We would have used that money to create a national jobs system," he said, calling for a "system of cooperatives that would be run by workers themselves."
Then there's health care: Wharton's Socialist Party supports the idea of a single-payer health care system in which the health care companies would be "abolished." The bill passed under the Obama administration didn't even come close to such a system — even the "public option," the government-run health care plan, did not make it into the bill. The bill that passed actually ended up creating more customers for health care companies thanks to the individual mandate.
"We really see the corporation as being the most undemocratic influence in capitalist society," said Wharton, who believes "regular people" should be able to decide what gets produced and consumed.
Wharton, who penned a Washington Post op-ed on this topic last year, said the use of the word socialist by opponents of the president "taps into a long tradition of paranoia in American politics," most notably in the 1950s. He complains of a "hysterical tone of a farcical McCarthyism" in the current debate over the president.
He also suggested the use of the word as an insult has become less effective as more Americans have grown up in a post-Cold War era. "People under the age of 25 weren't educated in a Cold War period," he said. "So when they hear the word socialism, they don't automatically draw a negative conclusion."
As for the president, Wharton says socialists see him as a "hedge-fund Democrat" — someone unwilling to take what they see as necessary steps like nationalizing banks or keeping public money from flowing to private corporations. Instead of supporting programs like Social Security and Medicare, he says, Mr. Obama is doing the bidding of the wealthiest Americans.
And for those still insist the president is his ideological brother? "I'd invite them to ask a real socialist what a socialist is," says Wharton.
[Editor's Note: We're all aware that the right wing considers President Obama, a man who governs from the center/center right, to be a "socialist," so CBS News political reporter Brian Montopoli decided to ask an actual socialist for his views on the matter. His article, which appeared on CbsNews.com Oct. 8, follows.]
By Brian Montopoli
According to a Democracy Corps poll released over the summer, a majority of likely voters believe that the word "socialist" is a fair way to describe President Obama. The word is often used by the president's harshest critics, and not just those on the fringe: In March, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele complained that the president was pushing a "radical socialist health care 'reform' experiment."
So what does an actual socialist think about the idea that Mr. Obama deserves the label? Not much.
Billy Wharton, the 41-year-old co-chair of the Socialist Party USA, said in an interview that the president's agenda is nothing like the vision that his group espouses for the country.
Start with employment: As the government announced today, the unemployment rate currently stands at 9.6%. Under socialism, he said, everyone has a right to a job — which means that the unemployment rate would, essentially, be zero. If the private sector didn't provide enough jobs, Wharton said, a socialist government would create jobs to fill the gap.
Wharton pointed to the bank bailout — passed under President Bush but supported by President Obama — as an example of where socialist and Obama agendas differ. "We would have used that money to create a national jobs system," he said, calling for a "system of cooperatives that would be run by workers themselves."
Then there's health care: Wharton's Socialist Party supports the idea of a single-payer health care system in which the health care companies would be "abolished." The bill passed under the Obama administration didn't even come close to such a system — even the "public option," the government-run health care plan, did not make it into the bill. The bill that passed actually ended up creating more customers for health care companies thanks to the individual mandate.
"We really see the corporation as being the most undemocratic influence in capitalist society," said Wharton, who believes "regular people" should be able to decide what gets produced and consumed.
Wharton, who penned a Washington Post op-ed on this topic last year, said the use of the word socialist by opponents of the president "taps into a long tradition of paranoia in American politics," most notably in the 1950s. He complains of a "hysterical tone of a farcical McCarthyism" in the current debate over the president.
He also suggested the use of the word as an insult has become less effective as more Americans have grown up in a post-Cold War era. "People under the age of 25 weren't educated in a Cold War period," he said. "So when they hear the word socialism, they don't automatically draw a negative conclusion."
As for the president, Wharton says socialists see him as a "hedge-fund Democrat" — someone unwilling to take what they see as necessary steps like nationalizing banks or keeping public money from flowing to private corporations. Instead of supporting programs like Social Security and Medicare, he says, Mr. Obama is doing the bidding of the wealthiest Americans.
And for those still insist the president is his ideological brother? "I'd invite them to ask a real socialist what a socialist is," says Wharton.
10-09-10 Netanyahu
ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU — "HIS FATHER'S BOY"
[This article about right wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu is by Uri Avnery, the long time leader of Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, a frequent critic of his country's policies toward the Palestinians. It appeared on the organization's website Oct. 9, 2010.]
By Uri Avnery
WHICH IS the real Netanyahu?
• Bibi the weakling, the invertebrate, who always gives in to pressure, who zigzags to the left and to the right, depending whether the pressure comes from the U.S. or from his coalition partners?
• The tricky Likud chief, who is afraid that Avigdor Ivett Lieberman might succeed in pushing him towards the Center and displace him as the leader of the entire Right?
• Netanyahu, the man of principle, who is determined to prevent at any cost the setting up of the State of Palestine, and is therefore using every possible ruse to sabotage real negotiations?
The real Netanyahu - stand up!
Hey, wait a minute, what's going on here? Do I see all three of them rising?
THE FIRST Netanyahu is the one who meets the eye. A leaf in the wind. The con man without principles and with plenty of tricks, whose sole aim is to survive in power.
This Netanyahu practically invites pressure on himself.
Barack Obama pressured him, so he agreed to the settlement freeze - or the perceived settlement freeze. In order to avoid a crisis with the settlers, he promised them that after the agreed ten months, the construction boom would be resumed with full vigor.
The settlers pressured him, and he did indeed resume the building at the appointed time, in spite of the intense pressure from Obama, who pushed for an extension of the moratorium for another two months. Why two months? Because the congressional elections take place on November 2, and Obama desperately needs to avoid a crisis with the Jewish establishment before that. For this end, he is ready to sell Netanyahu the whole inventory - arms, money, political support, a set of guarantees about the outcome of the negotiations that have not yet even begun. Sixty days! sixty days! my kingdom for sixty days!
Netanyahu is now zigzagging between these pressures, trying to find out which is the stronger, which one to give in to, how much and when. In his dreams he probably feels like the Baron von Munchhausen, who found himself on a narrow path, with a lion behind him getting ready to spring and a crocodile in front of him opening its awesome jaws. (If I remember right, the baron ducked and the lion jumped straight into the jaws of the reptile.)
This is the great hope of Netanyahu. AIPAC will help to deliver Obama a crushing defeat in the elections, Obama will deliver a crushing blow to the settlers, and Baron von Netanyahu will rub his hands and survive to fight another day.
Is this the real Netanyahu? For sure.
BUT THE second Netanyahu is no less real. This is Tricky Bibi who is trying to out-fox Tricky Ivett.
Ivvett (Avigdor) Lieberman astounded the UN General Assembly, when, as the Foreign Minister of Israel, he addressed this august body from the rostrum.
Because our Foreign Minister did not rise to defend the policies of his country, as did his colorless colleagues. Quite the opposite: from the UN rostrum he vigorously attacked the policy of his own government, giving it short shrift.
The official policy of the Government of Israel is to conduct direct negotiations with the Palestinian leadership, in order to achieve a final peace treaty within one year.
Nonsense, said the Foreign Minister of that same government. Rubbish. There is no chance at all of a peace treaty, not within a year and not within a hundred years. What's needed is a Long-Term-Interim-Agreement. In other words, the continuation of the occupation without time limits.
Why did Lieberman give this performance? He was not addressing the few delegates who had remained in the UN assembly hall, but the Israeli public. He challenged Netanyahu: either dismiss me or pretend that the spittle on your face is rain.
But Netanyahu did not dismiss and did not react, except for a weak statement that Lieberman was not expressing his views. And this why? Clearly, if Netanyahu were to kick Lieberman's party out of the government and bring in Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party, Lieberman would do to Netanyahu what Netanyahu did to Yitzhak Rabin. He would declare him a traitor selling out the fatherland, an enemy of the settlements. His devotees would parade around with posters of Netanyahu in SS uniform or wearing a keffiyeh, while others performed arcane Kabbalah rituals to bring about his death.
Lieberman would raise the flag of the Right, split the Likud and take sole possession of the entire Israeli Right. He believes that this is the way to become Prime Minister.
Netanyahu understands this perfectly. That's why he is restraining himself. As a man who grew up in the United States he probably remembers what Lyndon Johnson said about J. Edgar Hoover: Better to have him inside the tent pissing out, then outside the tent pissing in.
AND PERHAPS this Netanyahu - the second one - does not really object to the plan outlined by Lieberman at the UN assembly.
The Foreign Minister was not content with rejecting peace and bringing up the idea of the Long-Term-Interim-Agreement. He described the solution he has in mind. Not surprisingly, it is the electoral platform of his party, Israel Beytenu ("Israel Our Home"). In essence: Israel, the "Nation-State-Of-The-Jewish-People", will be free of Arabs, or, translated into German, Araberrein.
But Lieberman is a humane person, and does not advocate (at least in public) ethnic cleansing. He does not propose a third Naqbah (after the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe and the 1967 expulsion). No, his solution is far more creative: he will separate from Israel the Arab towns and villages along the Eastern border, the so-called "triangle", from Umm al-Fahm in the North to Kufr Kassem in the South This area, together with its inhabitants and lands, would be joined to the territory of the Palestinian Authority, and in return Israel would annex the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
That raises, of course, several questions. First, what about the Arab concentrations in Galilee, which include dozens of villages, towns like Nazareth and Shefa Amr, and the Arab population in the mixed towns, Haifa and Acre? Lieberman does not propose to transfer them too. Neither does he propose to give up East Jerusalem, with its quarter of a million Arab residents. If that is the case, is he prepared to leave in the "Nation-State-Of-The-Jewish-People" more than three quarters of a million Arabs? Or does he dream at night, lying in his bed, of conducting ethnic cleansing after all?
A second question: to whom will he transfer the Arab towns and villages of the 'triangle"? Without a peace treaty, there will be no Palestinian state. Instead, there will remain the Palestinian Authority, with its few small enclaves all subject to Israeli occupation. The Long-Term-Interim-Agreement would leave this situation, more or less, intact. Meaning that this area, now part of Israel, would become a territory under Israeli occupation. Its inhabitants would lose their status as Israeli citizens and become an occupied population, devoid of civil rights and human rights.
As far as is known, not a singe Arab leader in Israel agrees to that. Even in the past, when it seemed that Lieberman agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state and wanted to transfer to it the Arab areas of Israel, not a single Arab leader in Israel agreed. The Arab citizens of Israel, a population approaching a million and a half, are indeed a part of the Palestinian people, but they are also a part of the Israeli population.
Netanyahu is certainly afraid of Lieberman, but can it be that he did not condemn Lieberman's UN speech because he secretly shares his views?
In any case, this week Netanyahu announced that he is adopting Lieberman's baby, the demand that non-Jewish (meaning Arab) people who wish to obtain Israeli citizenship swear allegiance not just to the State of Israel and its laws, as is usual, but to "Israel as a Jewish and democratic state". This is a nonsensical and meaningless addition, solely devised to provoke the 20% of Israelis who are Arabs. One might as well demand candidates for U.S. citizenship swear allegiance to the "United States as a White Anglo-Saxon Christian and democratic nation".
BUT IT is quite possible that there is a third Netanyahu, who stands taller than the others.
This is the Netanyahu who always believed in a Greater Israel, and who has never given up the ideology which he suckled with his mother's milk.
The veteran Israeli journalist Gideon Samet goes further: he believes that Binyamin Netanyahu's main motivation is his total obedience to his old father.
Ben-Zion Netanyahu is now 100 years old, and in full possession of his mental faculties. He is a professor of history, born in Warsaw, who came to Palestine in 1920 and changed his name from Mileikowsky to Netanyahu ("God has Given"). He has always been on the extreme right-wing fringe. Ben-Zion Netanyahu spent several periods of his life in the U.S., where his three sons grew up. When in 1947 the UN General Assembly adopted the plan to partition Palestine between a Jewish state and an Arab state, father Netanyahu signed a petition, published in the New York Times, condemning the resolution in the strongest terms. Returning to Israel, he was not accepted into the new Freedom Party (the forerunner of Likud), because his views were too extreme even for Menachem Begin's tastes. He claims that he was barred from a professorship in the Hebrew University because of his opinions, and his bitterness about this poisoned the atmosphere at home.
The professor's special field is Spanish Jewry, with the emphasis on the Spanish Inquisition. He condemns the Jews who were baptized (the Marranos) and says that the great majority of them were eager to be assimilated into Christian Spanish society, contrary to the official heroic myth, which says that they continued to practice the religion of their forefathers in secret.
When Netanyahu the son transferred a part of Hebron to the Palestinian Authority, his father rebuked him and stated publicly that he was unfit for the job of Prime Minister, fit at most to serve as Foreign Secretary. But the son made a huge effort to remain true to his father's views, and that is the main motivation for his policy. According to Samet, he would not dare to face his father and tell him that he had given away parts of Eretz Israel.
I tend to accept this version. Netanyahu will never agree to be responsible for the establishment of the State of Palestine, will never conduct serious peace negotiations - unless under extreme duress. That is all there is to it, everything else is hollow talk.
If the real Netanyahu were called to stand up, all three, and perhaps a few more, would rise. But the third one is the most real.
[This article about right wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu is by Uri Avnery, the long time leader of Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, a frequent critic of his country's policies toward the Palestinians. It appeared on the organization's website Oct. 9, 2010.]
By Uri Avnery
WHICH IS the real Netanyahu?
• Bibi the weakling, the invertebrate, who always gives in to pressure, who zigzags to the left and to the right, depending whether the pressure comes from the U.S. or from his coalition partners?
• The tricky Likud chief, who is afraid that Avigdor Ivett Lieberman might succeed in pushing him towards the Center and displace him as the leader of the entire Right?
• Netanyahu, the man of principle, who is determined to prevent at any cost the setting up of the State of Palestine, and is therefore using every possible ruse to sabotage real negotiations?
The real Netanyahu - stand up!
Hey, wait a minute, what's going on here? Do I see all three of them rising?
THE FIRST Netanyahu is the one who meets the eye. A leaf in the wind. The con man without principles and with plenty of tricks, whose sole aim is to survive in power.
This Netanyahu practically invites pressure on himself.
Barack Obama pressured him, so he agreed to the settlement freeze - or the perceived settlement freeze. In order to avoid a crisis with the settlers, he promised them that after the agreed ten months, the construction boom would be resumed with full vigor.
The settlers pressured him, and he did indeed resume the building at the appointed time, in spite of the intense pressure from Obama, who pushed for an extension of the moratorium for another two months. Why two months? Because the congressional elections take place on November 2, and Obama desperately needs to avoid a crisis with the Jewish establishment before that. For this end, he is ready to sell Netanyahu the whole inventory - arms, money, political support, a set of guarantees about the outcome of the negotiations that have not yet even begun. Sixty days! sixty days! my kingdom for sixty days!
Netanyahu is now zigzagging between these pressures, trying to find out which is the stronger, which one to give in to, how much and when. In his dreams he probably feels like the Baron von Munchhausen, who found himself on a narrow path, with a lion behind him getting ready to spring and a crocodile in front of him opening its awesome jaws. (If I remember right, the baron ducked and the lion jumped straight into the jaws of the reptile.)
This is the great hope of Netanyahu. AIPAC will help to deliver Obama a crushing defeat in the elections, Obama will deliver a crushing blow to the settlers, and Baron von Netanyahu will rub his hands and survive to fight another day.
Is this the real Netanyahu? For sure.
BUT THE second Netanyahu is no less real. This is Tricky Bibi who is trying to out-fox Tricky Ivett.
Ivvett (Avigdor) Lieberman astounded the UN General Assembly, when, as the Foreign Minister of Israel, he addressed this august body from the rostrum.
Because our Foreign Minister did not rise to defend the policies of his country, as did his colorless colleagues. Quite the opposite: from the UN rostrum he vigorously attacked the policy of his own government, giving it short shrift.
The official policy of the Government of Israel is to conduct direct negotiations with the Palestinian leadership, in order to achieve a final peace treaty within one year.
Nonsense, said the Foreign Minister of that same government. Rubbish. There is no chance at all of a peace treaty, not within a year and not within a hundred years. What's needed is a Long-Term-Interim-Agreement. In other words, the continuation of the occupation without time limits.
Why did Lieberman give this performance? He was not addressing the few delegates who had remained in the UN assembly hall, but the Israeli public. He challenged Netanyahu: either dismiss me or pretend that the spittle on your face is rain.
But Netanyahu did not dismiss and did not react, except for a weak statement that Lieberman was not expressing his views. And this why? Clearly, if Netanyahu were to kick Lieberman's party out of the government and bring in Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party, Lieberman would do to Netanyahu what Netanyahu did to Yitzhak Rabin. He would declare him a traitor selling out the fatherland, an enemy of the settlements. His devotees would parade around with posters of Netanyahu in SS uniform or wearing a keffiyeh, while others performed arcane Kabbalah rituals to bring about his death.
Lieberman would raise the flag of the Right, split the Likud and take sole possession of the entire Israeli Right. He believes that this is the way to become Prime Minister.
Netanyahu understands this perfectly. That's why he is restraining himself. As a man who grew up in the United States he probably remembers what Lyndon Johnson said about J. Edgar Hoover: Better to have him inside the tent pissing out, then outside the tent pissing in.
AND PERHAPS this Netanyahu - the second one - does not really object to the plan outlined by Lieberman at the UN assembly.
The Foreign Minister was not content with rejecting peace and bringing up the idea of the Long-Term-Interim-Agreement. He described the solution he has in mind. Not surprisingly, it is the electoral platform of his party, Israel Beytenu ("Israel Our Home"). In essence: Israel, the "Nation-State-Of-The-Jewish-People", will be free of Arabs, or, translated into German, Araberrein.
But Lieberman is a humane person, and does not advocate (at least in public) ethnic cleansing. He does not propose a third Naqbah (after the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe and the 1967 expulsion). No, his solution is far more creative: he will separate from Israel the Arab towns and villages along the Eastern border, the so-called "triangle", from Umm al-Fahm in the North to Kufr Kassem in the South This area, together with its inhabitants and lands, would be joined to the territory of the Palestinian Authority, and in return Israel would annex the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
That raises, of course, several questions. First, what about the Arab concentrations in Galilee, which include dozens of villages, towns like Nazareth and Shefa Amr, and the Arab population in the mixed towns, Haifa and Acre? Lieberman does not propose to transfer them too. Neither does he propose to give up East Jerusalem, with its quarter of a million Arab residents. If that is the case, is he prepared to leave in the "Nation-State-Of-The-Jewish-People" more than three quarters of a million Arabs? Or does he dream at night, lying in his bed, of conducting ethnic cleansing after all?
A second question: to whom will he transfer the Arab towns and villages of the 'triangle"? Without a peace treaty, there will be no Palestinian state. Instead, there will remain the Palestinian Authority, with its few small enclaves all subject to Israeli occupation. The Long-Term-Interim-Agreement would leave this situation, more or less, intact. Meaning that this area, now part of Israel, would become a territory under Israeli occupation. Its inhabitants would lose their status as Israeli citizens and become an occupied population, devoid of civil rights and human rights.
As far as is known, not a singe Arab leader in Israel agrees to that. Even in the past, when it seemed that Lieberman agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state and wanted to transfer to it the Arab areas of Israel, not a single Arab leader in Israel agreed. The Arab citizens of Israel, a population approaching a million and a half, are indeed a part of the Palestinian people, but they are also a part of the Israeli population.
Netanyahu is certainly afraid of Lieberman, but can it be that he did not condemn Lieberman's UN speech because he secretly shares his views?
In any case, this week Netanyahu announced that he is adopting Lieberman's baby, the demand that non-Jewish (meaning Arab) people who wish to obtain Israeli citizenship swear allegiance not just to the State of Israel and its laws, as is usual, but to "Israel as a Jewish and democratic state". This is a nonsensical and meaningless addition, solely devised to provoke the 20% of Israelis who are Arabs. One might as well demand candidates for U.S. citizenship swear allegiance to the "United States as a White Anglo-Saxon Christian and democratic nation".
BUT IT is quite possible that there is a third Netanyahu, who stands taller than the others.
This is the Netanyahu who always believed in a Greater Israel, and who has never given up the ideology which he suckled with his mother's milk.
The veteran Israeli journalist Gideon Samet goes further: he believes that Binyamin Netanyahu's main motivation is his total obedience to his old father.
Ben-Zion Netanyahu is now 100 years old, and in full possession of his mental faculties. He is a professor of history, born in Warsaw, who came to Palestine in 1920 and changed his name from Mileikowsky to Netanyahu ("God has Given"). He has always been on the extreme right-wing fringe. Ben-Zion Netanyahu spent several periods of his life in the U.S., where his three sons grew up. When in 1947 the UN General Assembly adopted the plan to partition Palestine between a Jewish state and an Arab state, father Netanyahu signed a petition, published in the New York Times, condemning the resolution in the strongest terms. Returning to Israel, he was not accepted into the new Freedom Party (the forerunner of Likud), because his views were too extreme even for Menachem Begin's tastes. He claims that he was barred from a professorship in the Hebrew University because of his opinions, and his bitterness about this poisoned the atmosphere at home.
The professor's special field is Spanish Jewry, with the emphasis on the Spanish Inquisition. He condemns the Jews who were baptized (the Marranos) and says that the great majority of them were eager to be assimilated into Christian Spanish society, contrary to the official heroic myth, which says that they continued to practice the religion of their forefathers in secret.
When Netanyahu the son transferred a part of Hebron to the Palestinian Authority, his father rebuked him and stated publicly that he was unfit for the job of Prime Minister, fit at most to serve as Foreign Secretary. But the son made a huge effort to remain true to his father's views, and that is the main motivation for his policy. According to Samet, he would not dare to face his father and tell him that he had given away parts of Eretz Israel.
I tend to accept this version. Netanyahu will never agree to be responsible for the establishment of the State of Palestine, will never conduct serious peace negotiations - unless under extreme duress. That is all there is to it, everything else is hollow talk.
If the real Netanyahu were called to stand up, all three, and perhaps a few more, would rise. But the third one is the most real.
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