Still working for peace and social justice.

Activist Radio has the following guest on this week:

GUEST: Ahmed White, author and professor of labor and criminal law at the University of Colorado Boulder, talks about his recently released book: "Under the Iron Heel: The Wobblies and the Capitalist War on Radical Workers."
https://www.ucpress.edu/blog/61077/lessons-from-the-wobblies-for-labor-activism-today/

Activist Radio can be heard: Thursdays 8-9 am on KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland, OR; Thursdays 11-12 noon on WRFA 107.9 FM in Jamestown, NY; Thursdays 5-6 pm on WVKR 91.3 FM at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY; Thursdays 7-8 pm on WBDY 99.5 FM at The Bundy in Binghamton, NY; Sundays 1:30-2:30 pm on WESU 88.1 FM at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT; Sundays 4-5 pm from WIOF 104.1 FM in Woodstock, NY; and Sundays 5-6 pm from the Progressive Radio Network at PRN.live. Past programs are available as a podcast, or anytime on the web at ClassWars.org.

Thanks,

Fred
Activist Radio

 

American Autumn

We had about 25 people to see American Autumn. It was an excellent movie about Occupy, and we even had some Occupy Poughkeepsie and Occupy Northern Dutchess folks there. Very nice discussion followed regarding the Occupy movement.

=====================

American Autumn, An Occudoc: free film screening

Thursday, September 20 at 7:00 pm 

Crafted Kup 

44 Raymond Ave

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Shot on the front lines and meeting spaces of the Occupy movement in NYC, Boston, and Washington, DC from the earliest days through the end of January 2012, American Autumn,  an Occudoc is an inside looking out view of the occupy movement. With interviews and insights from key organizers, thinkers and activists, writer/director Dennis Trainor Jr. weaves commentary and a fearless style that often puts the viewer right between police and protesters. Come help us celebrate Occupy's first anniversary!

The screening will be followed by an audience discussion. This is part of the "Give Peace a Film" series and there is no admission charge.

Sponsored by: Dutchess Peace Coalition <www.dutchesspeace.org>

Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif dies at Guantanamo

Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif was one of the poets whose poems we read when we had our readings of poems by Guantanamo inmates. This was his poem:

HUNGER STRIKE POEM

They are criminals, increasing their crimes.
They are criminals, claiming to be peace-loving.
They are criminals, torturing the hunger strikers.
They are artists of torture. †They are artists of pain and fatigue,
They are artists of insults and humiliation.
They are faithless - traitors and cowards
They have surpassed devils with their criminal acts.
They do not respect the law, They do not respect men,
They do not spare the elderly, They do not spare the baby-toothed child.
They leave us in prison for years, uncharged, Because we are Muslims.
Where is the world to save us from torture?
Where is the world to save us from the fire and sadness?
Where is the world to save the hunger strikers?
But we are content, on the side of justice and right, Worshiping the Almighty.
And our motto on this island is, salaam.

The Distinguished Gentleman

The Distinguished Gentleman

We had about 20 people for this very funny film about corruption in our nation's political system. Released in 1992, it's world of money in politics is instantly recognizable. We even have a black candidate, a complete charlatan,  promising change that voters can believe in. It is a chilling moment.

Con man Eddie Murphy, in a change of heart, is able to bring down some of the corporate sponsored, white politicians feeding at the campaign finance trough. That part was the most fanciful when applied to today's completely corrupt system. We spent about half an hour at the end of the movie talking about how to restore a people's democracy by eliminating corporate dominance of our elections.

Button making at the Strawberry Festival

Who says that tabling isn't fun? The Strawberry Festival this weekend in Beacon produced a lot of peace buttons, and parents interested in the topics we cover: making the world a safer and cleaner place for little kids like these. End the wars, tax the rich and the corporations, change the American Empire back into a democracy.

 Poetry night was quite a change from our monthly movie schedule. A number of the poets who read were high school students and some of their work was very moving. They had written about race, social injustice, and the hope for national transformation. Some others from the audience read poems written by Guantanamo inmates, a potent reminder of the mistreatment and illegal incarceration of so many innocent people. About 25 people attended the poetry night.

Fred

We had a great evening of poetry at The Crafted Kup tonight. The high school students were simply fantastic, and there was other good poetry as well.


Pat




Thanks to Brook for organizing this event. We will do more events like this in the fall, and possibly include some vets from the wars in the Middle East.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Today Nick, Karen, Jenn, Ari, Ashley, Gabe, and I handed out flowers and flyers at the Walkway along with some members of Arts for Peace: David, Deirdre (sp.?), their son Lucas, and Emily.

We started just outside the gate of the Walkway and were there for maybe 45 minutes (not sure how long) when we were told to leave. Long story short, we retreated to where the path splits and goes to the unpaved parking lot on Parker Avenue. Many people were delighted with the flowers and interested in the history of the Mother's Day proclamation. Having babies and dogs around made it more fun for everyone. We wound up leaving at about 4:30, having given away all but 3 of the flower pots and most of the flyers. It was a beautiful day weather-wise and except for a somewhat nasty encounter with the person in charge who told us to leave, it was peaceful as well.

I'm attaching three photos here and will attach three more in a separate email.  Hopefully Jenn can forward to her AFP list and Fred can post to the web site as
he sees fit.

This showing was one of our best. We had over 35 people and a very good discussion at the end. Moore's analysis of Capitalism is really where the Occupy Movement started. The "crime scene" tape that he wraps around Wall Street shows the way for a new generation of protesters. He asks at the end of the movie where everybody is. We still have a long way to go, but the resistance he calls for is now in the streets.

Dutchess Peace was a cosponsor of this film, along with Christ Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie. Lillian Rosengarten, a member of the Jewish Boat to Gaza, read one of her poems at the end.

About 35 people attended, almost all new people. They loved the film and several mentioned buying the film for their churches.

Why We Fight: free film screening

Why We Fight: free film screening

Thursday, April 5 at 7:00 pm 

Crafted Kup 

44 Raymond Ave

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Eugene Jarecki's documentary "Why We Fight" takes its name from a series of propaganda films made by Frank Capra during World War II. It begins with a conservative president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, warning the nation about "the military-industrial complex," a self-perpetuating war machine that burrows into the capitalist fabric of the country, independent of political parties and unaccountable at the polls. Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. (98 minutes)

The screening will be followed by an audience discussion. This is part of the "Give Peace a Film" series and there is no admission charge, although a collection will be taken for Occupy Poughkeepsie.

Sponsored by: Dutchess Peace Coalition <www.dutchesspeace.org>

Contact: 845 452-4013

We had about 30 people for this eye-opening film about America's empire. Every high school student in the country should watch this documentary. It explains how militarism and unrestrained capitalism combines to produce endless wars abroad and corporate tyranny at home. One of the best films we have shown this spring for Occupy Poughkeepsie.

Counter recruiting at the HS.

Three of us handed out flyers at the Poughkeepsie HS as students left the building for the day.

School gets out at 2:45, and by 3:00 it is all over. But in that short time we passed out about 100 of our counter-recruiting flyers and about 100 of the folded poster explaining why the military is a bad deal. Almost everyone takes the flyer, especially when told that we are trying to convince them not to join the military. Students, as always, were very friendly.

We are now completely out of materials, and probably should order more. We have the money, if people think we should continue doing this. There is also the possibility of going into the schools when a recruiter is there. Maybe we should stress alternatives to the military for students without money for college.

After last month, we were afraid that our space at the Crafted Kup would be too small. But this showing of "The Corporation" was just about perfect in size, 30 people. This is a shot again before the movie started.

CVS
722 Dutchess Turnpike (opposite the Adam's Store)
Poughkeepsie

Background:

-We contacted the CVS store manager by letter and then I talked to her by phone.

-She repeated that store managers cannot dictate what is sold at their stores, but agreed to contact her district manager about the sale of Dead Sea products by CVS.

-I said that we would do a boycott action at the beginning of February. Dutchess Peace decided on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Here is why we think that CVS should stop carrying these products:

The word Ahava may mean love, but Ahava cosmetics represent anything but.  They’re manufactured in Israel's illegal* West Bank settlement of Mitzepe Shalem and made with minerals literally stolen from the Palestinian people. Selling products produced in illegal settlements helps finance the destruction of hope for a just and peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis.

CVS should stop selling Ahava, as well as other products made in Israel's illegal settlements. These include L'Oreal's Natural Sea Beauty, Dead Sea Salt Foot Soak, and Swisa Beauty Esensuals. Ask this CVS store manager to contact corporate headquarters about these products. Or make a call yourself to 401 765-1500 (request Customer Relations). You can make a difference in bringing peace to the Middle East.

* Under international law, it is illegal for an occupying power (like the Israeli government) to move its citizens onto the land it is occupying and to exploit for profit that land’s natural resources.

Fred

Packed crowd at the Crafted Kup...

A packed house watched The People Speak, a movie inspired by the work of Howard Zinn. Amazing that we fit about 45 people in this small space. There were no complaints either, even when we had to change films at the last minute due to a defective DVD.

We also collected over $100 for Occupy Poughkeepsie.

This picture was taken about 15 minutes before the film started when we ran a brief slide show about Dutchess Peace.

Showing of "Inside Job" is big success

We had about 30 people at our latest film. A good discussion followed and we collected $110 for Occupy Wall Street. Afterwards, many in the crowd went over to support the occupation which was under a 11:00 pm evacuation order from the city. Over 200 supporters of Occupy Poughkeepsie stood around the perimeter until about 12:30 am.

We take part on Occupy Wall Street: Poughkeepsie

Members of Dutchess Peace have been visiting Occupy Poughkeepsie during the last week. Several of us marched in a Saturday rally. Fred and Eli spent Saturday night, a interesting and rewarding experience. If you want to know what the next generation's democracy looks like, visit the encampment to talk, or to spend the night. Bring some food and a willingness to talk about grassroots political change.

Pumpkin Festival in Beacon

We had a windy but very busy day in Beacon. Many stopped and talked. We handed out many cards, flyers, etc. The dock is a great area, since most people taking the boat go right by our table. Thanks to those who came out to help us.

Fred

Dutchess Peace and the Adriance Library

Dutchess Peace donates to the Adriance Public Library and

gets a plaque near the section on peace studies. Pat and

Jim (a World War II vet) stand under our plaque.

THE DUTCHESS PEACE COALITION

THE DUTCHESS PEACE COALITION

By Pat Lamanna

The Dutchess Peace Coalition was founded early in 2003 by a group of Dutchess County citizens concerned that the United States was preparing to invade Iraq.    When the invasion began shortly after, continued meeting and continued to protest the actions of the Bush Administration.    We joined in demonstrations in New York City and Washington, D.C., and locally began a campaign to inform the public about the hastily-passed U.S.A. Patriot Act.  At some point, however, we made the decision to return to our original mission: to promote peace.   

Over the years, we have tabled at many community events; showed a wide variety of antiwar films; and participated in various larger demonstrations in Kingston, New York City, and Washington.  We’ve also handed out anti-recruitment flyers at Poughkeepsie and Beacon High Schools.   We discovered a book of poetry by prisoners of Guantanamo, and put together a creative and moving presentation in which members of our group, clad in orange jump suits and black hoods, read their poems and told their stories at poetry coffeehouses in the area.   

We affiliated with PANYS in 2008.    Three of us attended the PANYS annual meeting this year, and two of us participated in Lobby Day on June 30 by visiting Senator Schumer’s Hudson Valley office and speaking with an aide about Afghanistan.

You’ll find video, photos and a great deal of information about the organization at our web site, http://www.dutchesspeace.org, which is ably mastered by Fred Nagel.

Meeting in Schumer's Office

Sent: Monday, July 04, 2011 9:57 PM

To: Rabenstein, Andrew (Schumer)
Cc: Dutchesspeace@yahoogroups.com Subject: Thank you

Hello Andrew,
I'm writing to thank you for meeting with Brook Nam and myself last Thursday, June 30 in your office. We appreciate your taking the time to discuss the very important issues of war and peace with us.

We also appreciate that you gave us a copy of the letter to President Obama, which Senator Schumer and other senators signed, expressing support for a "sizable and sustained reduction of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan." I believe that you had mentioned that you would send me a list of the other signatories to that letter. I would appreciate it if you would do so at your earliest convenience.

Our group would also like to stress that we would like to see a more rapid timetable for withdrawal than the President has set forward, and that we want to see not only uniformed service members, but also private contractors, moved out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible, with no permanent military bases left behind.

We are also concerned about the seeming buildup to military action in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and other countries, and we want to emphasize that we do not want troops removed from Afghanistan and redeployed to any other nation, except the United States.

Please convey these sentiments to Senator Schumer as soon as possible, and again, thank you for inviting us to state our case.

Sincerely,
Pat Lamanna