MARIN PEACE AND JUSTICE COALITION
A FREE WEEKLY BULLETIN
A GUIDE TO EVENTS AND ACTIONS IN MARIN AND GREATER SF BAY AREA
May 17, 2006
Read, learn, share and give someone you love truth, peace and your heart!
The Bulletin Boys, Shep and Jimmy "Justice"
For all events and news postings go to: http://www.mpjc.org
NOW with Marin Podcasting/Webcast News Service
(coming soon - Internet radio - looking for talent and shows to produce)
also
VISIT OUR NEW ONLINE STORE
If you have events and or announcements that need to reach Marin progressives
E-mail Jimmy "Justice"
Please forward to friends and cross-post this bulletin widely. Critical mass is essential!
LIVE YOUR DREAM
AUDIO and VIDEO NEWS REPORTS
News to feed your soul...
this weeks reports
Saving the Elephants of Thailand
An Interview with All For Elephants
co-founder Amanda DeNormanville
Partners Amanda DeNormanville and Gary Soden have combined their skills to save elephants and help tsunami-ravaged villages in Thailand. Coco Hall talks with Amanda about their Santa Rosa based organization, All For Elephants on 4/30/2006. http://www.allforelephants.org
Click here to download the mp3 interview!
High speed recommended, 20+ MB file.
Dial-up friendly! streaming version at www.mpjc.org
Go watch Boston Legal's - "Stick It" episode closing arguments. Then pass it on to your friends. Click here to watch! Your world view will be much improved by knowing this aired on TV. Thanks to Ted Newman...
Steve Colbert lambastes Bush at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Part One click here
Part Two click here
Part Three click here
Thanks to Green Girl for these links...
THE POLITICAL SCENE
THE COMING WEEKS IN MARIN
Wed, May 17, 5pm
COMCAST CONTRACT APPROVAL?????? THIS IS IT...
Marin Telecommunications Agency (MTA)
There will be a second MTA meeting on the cable franchise agreement the following at San Rafael City Hall. At the May 17th meeting, the MTA expects to vote to accept the cable franchise agreement with Comcast.
Please attend these important meetings to:
1) learn the details about this new 10-year cable agreement which will impact cable television subscribers and all Marin residents
2) listen to the comments and suggestions of Media Action Marin (MAM) on the franchise details
3) learn about the efforts being made to establish a Marin Community Access Television (PEG) center, run by a community-based nonprofit
4) understand why the public needs to be involved in all aspects of Marin community media
5) show the MTA that the Marin public has a strong interest in media issues
6) support a vision of public access television as a place where Marin residents can have regular access to television programs not available in the mainstream media, that offer a broad range of views and information on the important issues of the day, locally, nationally and internationally.
Wed., May 17, 7:00 p.m.
Sustainable Community:
Principles and Practices at the Local Level
COMmunity Round Table
Join us in a Round Table conversation exploring the meaning of sustainability at the neighborhood and town scale and the role for the College of Marin Kentfield and Indian Valley campuses. This event will be moderated by visionary architect and Director of COM's Center for Regenerative Design Sim Van der Ryn, and educator and author Andres Edwards. Opening remarks by Dr. Frances White, Superintendent/President College of Marin and David Schwartz, President, College of Marin Foundation.
Presenters:
Harry Moore; College of Marin
Alex Hinds; Marin County Community Development Agency
Catriona Macgregor Glazebrook; Env. Education Council of Marin
Randy Hayes; International Forum on Globalization
Kim Baenisch; Marin Bicycle Coalition
Ed Mainland; Sustainable Novato/Sustainable Marin
Presented by
The Center for Regenerative Design at The College of Marin
Where:
Olney Hall, College of Marin, Kentfield Campus
835 College Drive, Kentfield, CA
For information about this event and the Center for Regenerative Design (CRD) call: (415) 457-8811 Ext. 7727 or visit: http://marincc.blogspot.com
Thurs, May 18, 7 to 10 p.m.
A Night of Fire and Ice Party
A Benefit for Rose/Hardman Boat Fund,
Live Bands, puppet parades, sculptures on display, and a theatrical spectacle, the likes of which could only be created by Chris Hardman and ANTENNA Theater.
If you can’t come but would like to make a gift to the Rose/Hardman Boat Fund, you may send a contribution to the Rose/Hardman Fund, c/o Westamerica Bank, 1 Harbor Drive, Sausalito, CA 94965
Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito
$20 per person
Light snacks, no-host bar
Entertainment, silent and live auctions
To help us plan, please reserve by Monday, May 15 th
Checks to Rose/Hardman Boat Fund,
1001 Bridgeway, Box 105, Sausalito, CA 94965
http://www.antenna-theater.org/fire_and_ice_about%20benefit.htm
Thurs., May 18, 7p.m.
SMART - debate
Please join Sierra Club Marin Group for a forum that gives equal time and opportunity to both sides of this issue!
San Rafael City Council Chambers
5th Street at "E" Street, San Rafael
Doors Open at 6:45pm, Program Begins Promptly at 7pm
This forum will feature:
* prominent spokespersons on both sides of this issue
* pro and con presentations
* audience questions to a panel including local government, transit advocate, and environmentalist perspectives
MODERATED BY: Larry Fahn, former Sierra Club President
'PRO' PANELISTS (titles are for description only)
* George Ellman, former Tiburon mayor, long-time activist in Marin and Sonoma (not confirmed)
* Wendi Kallins, transit advocate
* David Schonbrunn, TRANSDEF (Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund) president
'CON' PANELISTS (titles are for description only)
* Mike Arnold, Marin Citizens for Effective Transportation co-chair
* Ron Ford, community leader and activist
* Jana Haehl, Marin Conservation League recent past president
Thurs., May 18, 7 PM
The Arab Film Festival and the Alliance Française
present a pre-festival screening of the
Moroccan-French film:
Le Grand Voyage by Ismaël Ferrouhki
at the Alliance Française, 1345 Bush St, San Francisco
Members AFSF: $3 Others: $5
Friday, May 19, 2006, at 7:00 PM
The Arab American Cultural Center Of Silicon Valley:
May, 2006 Social & Pre-Festival Screening of Le Grand Voyage
Admission is FREE. Light refreshments will be served. ALL are welcome.
Community Room at the Saratoga Library -
13650 Saratoga Avenue in Saratoga
Fri., May 19, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
The California Clean Money Campaign
FREE event - Mill Valley
Do you think that public officials should be accountable to voters instead of to big money contributors?
The solution is Clean Money, Clean Elections reform that finances candidates who reject all private money.
• Level the playing field for new candidates and ideas
• Let voters take control over politics
• A sensible approach that's popular in other states
• Get started by learning the basics
The event will include a video with Bill Moyers,
Q&A with California Clean Money speaker, Clark Moscrip
Earth Charter Marin: promoting sustainable living in Marin County through free educational events / Earth Charter principles at
http://www.earthchartersummits.org/TheEarthCharter.htm
Info: Bonnie Hunter, phone: 415 331.2997 (cell: 302.5649) and/or Muriel Adcock, earthcharter@COBUSA.org
Presented by Earth Charter Marin and Seniors for Peace
The Redwoods at 40 Camino Alto (at Miller Avenue),
Mill Valley (across the street from Safeway)
(http://www.caclean.org/) from the website:
Sat., May 20th at 12:00 Noon
Marin County Bicycle Coalition - North South Greenway Ride:
beginning at A St. and Andersen Dr. in San Rafael.
Please join MCBC for our North-South Greenway bike ride on Saturday, May 20th from 12 PM until 4 PM to learn about past successes and future plans for creating this world-class facility.
The 12-mile ride will begin in San Rafael at noon at Andersen Dr. and A Street and progress to Sausalito with 12 informative stops along the way where the group will hear updates from elected officials, engineers, and advocates.
After the ride, you are invited to a party at WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes) at 475 Miller Avenue in Mill Valley from 4 PM to 6 PM to celebrate the success of Bike to Work Week.
Sat., May 20, 12:30 - 3p.m.
Gray Panthers of Marin will meet
San Rafael
Whistlestop in the Caboose.
Between Tamalpais and Hetherton, and 3rd and 4th. across from the transit terminal
12:30 - Socialization and Food (Optional - Bring finger foods to share)
1:00 - Business meeting
1:30 - Program: Candidates running for State Assembly. Also short discussion of the 2 initiatives on the ballot.
Sat., May 20, 1:30 - 4:30pm
CfER - ANNUAL MEETING
Californians for Electoral Reform
Is holding its annual membership meeting at the Sausalito Library. The keynote speaker will be Assembly Member Joe Canciamilla (D-11), co-author of the California Citizens' Assembly bill, ACA 28. CfER's annual meetings are open to the public.
The details are now on our website: http://tinyurl.com/fwr7h.
CfER's annual leadership retreat will be the next day, May 21, also in
Sausalito. All CfER members are invited to attend this all-day planning session. RSVP to 415-256-9393 for more information.
Wed., May, 24, 7 p.m.
Closing the School of the Americas
Ending Impunity in the Southern Cone
Discussion and presentation.
In late March, 2006 Argentina and Uruguay joined Venezuela in making a commitment to no longer send troops to the SOA (School of the Americas), Fort Benning, GA. Using a slide presentation, Bay Area human rights activists will report on their recent delegation to Argentina and Uruguay on the 30th Anniversary of the dictatorship in Argentina. They met with high government officials of both countries and received personal assurances that soldiers would no longer receive training at the school that activists refer to as the “School of Assassins.” Similarities to Abu Ghraib prison torture techniques will be discussed and references to the impunity that still exists in the Southern Cone. A warning will be made that even in the most egalitarian and democratic societies, fascism can happen.
Trip leader and expert on Latin America, Andres Conteris will join the discussion of the histories of Uruguay and Argentina; the "Dirty War" from 1976-1983, the military dictatorships, and the estimated 30,000 people who were imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Among the "subversives" singled out by the government were Marxists, progressive Catholics, human rights organizations, women's rights groups, socialists, and liberal democrats. Conteris' uncle, a Tupamaro revolutionary, was imprisoned for eight years under the Uruguayan dictatorship. Delegates will report on the role of the US government that encouraged Argentina and Uruguay to commit unimaginable atrocities to take place in the name of the “doctrine of national security.”
Hosted by Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas and the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists' Social Justice Committee,
Redwoods Presbyterian Church
110 Magnolia Avenue Larkspur, CA 94939
$5-10 donation is requested. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. This venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, please call 415/924-3227, email mitf@igc.org, or go to www.mitfamericas.org
Wed., May 24, 7:00 p.m. (social & setup 6:30)
The Ruth Group Presents –
Iran: The Looming Danger?
With David Harris and Jerry Dekker
Showdown over Iran: What’s Really Going On?
David Harris and Jerry Dekker recently returned from Iran will be speaking out on the dangerous situation in Iran next week at the Ruth Group. Stay tuned for more details about the evening, and make sure to spread the word. As many people as possible need to know about this important event.
JERRY DEKKER is an instructor at the New College of San Francisco who lived in Iran for eight years before the revolution and has been conducting study tours to Iran for the last decade. He returned from his latest visit there several weeks ago and is scheduled to return next month. He is fluent in Farsi and has had complete freedom of movement inside of Iran. During his most recent visit he met at length with former President Khatami and spent time in the nearest city to Iran’s contested nuclear facilities. He will present a picture of the current situation inside Iran and how America looks from the average Iranian’s perspective.
DAVID HARRIS is a founder of the Ruth Group and international author and journalist who last visited Iran in 2002. His most recent book, The Crisis: The President, the Prophet, and the Shah; 1079 and the Coming of Militant Islam, is an account of the hostage crisis that continues to define relations between Iran and the U.S. He will examine current American policy towards the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implications.
It is now known that the Iranian leadership, which was convinced that Bush was planning to move against Iran after toppling Saddam Hussein in Iraq, proposed in April 2003 to negotiate with the United States on the very issues which the administration had claimed were the basis for its hostile posture toward Tehran: its nuclear program, its support for Hezbullah and other anti-Israeli armed groups and its hostility to Israel’s existence.
Tehran offered concrete, substantive concessions on those issues. But on the advice of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Bush refused to respond to the negotiating proposal. Nuclear weapons were not, therefore, the primary U.S. concern about Iran. In the hierarchy of the administration’s interests, the denial of legitimacy to the Islamic Republic trumped a deal that could provide assurances against an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Event is being held at the Sausalito Cruising Club (Bridgeway at Napa St.) click here for more info
Monday, May 29, at 9:30 am
COME MEMORIALIZE WITH US
Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade
Oh Happy Days - Let the Good Times Roll!
The "I Love A Parade Committee" has officially admitted MPJC into the Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade. This is after years of exclusion and marching without permission, so we want to make a good showing. Bring your family and friends!
MPJC will assemble on on Throckmorton Ave., opposite Old Mill Park between the Mill Valley Library and Old Mill School at 9:30am
At a succession of meetings of MPJC acting as a committee of the whole, we have decided that we want to present our organization in a manner in keeping with Memorial Day. We have decided that the leading row of the marchers will carry bouquets of flowers to commemorate the fallen. This is in keeping with the original intent of what was formerly called "Decoration Day," which was to decorate the graves of those killed in the US Civil War. March organizers will provied the flowers, but people are also invited to bring their own and carry them wherever they are marching in the parade. However, we shall also have about 18 of the familiar peace-sign windmills that we have carried before.
People are also invited to bring their own posters. We shall have big banners like "Salaam, Sholum, Peace," "Honor the fallen by bringing the troops home now," "End the Immoral Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine," "Impeach Bush and Cheney." This should give a sense of the breadth and tone of we want to project. Our intention is to let most of the spectators recognize that they are not alone in their feelings. We want to validate, not antagonize them, although we recognize that any message we were to present will not be approved by everyone.
It has been suggested that everyone wear at least white shirts or blouses. You may want to affix to your shirt a photo of one of the dead, which can be found on line (for instance, ABC.com. One way to do that is by hot ironing it on. It will be difficult to park cars near the assembly site, but not difficult on the other side of downtown.
If you have any questions or recommendations, give a call to Alan Barnett at 388-6488, or contact him at alanbarnett@sbcglobal.net. |