Bits and Peaces
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Events
Center for New Words Speaker Series, 11/18, 7 pm, Alison Bechdel, Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, Lesley College, 1815 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge.?11/20, 7pm, Jean Kilbourne & Diane Levin, So Sexy So Soon, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston. 12/2, 7pm, Gender & Toys, CNW, 7 Temple Street, Cambridge. 12/12, 7pm, Mouthful, An Open Mic for Open Minds, CNW, 7 Temple Street, Cambridge, 617/876-5310, www.centerfornewwords.org
New England Gathering of War Tax Resisters, 11/14-16; Kennebunk ME; this year's theme is "Telling Our Stories"; For all WTRs & those who are simply exploring; For more information or to register, contact Stephen Soucy, POB 5510, Ellsworth ME 04605; sjsoucy@gmail.com or Larry Dansinger, 207/525-7776
Campaigns
The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of thousands of citizens and organizations dedicated to a total ban on antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions (www.uscbl.org). It is one of 90 country campaigns that form the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. A treaty to ban cluster bombs has been signed by 110 countries - but not yet the US. The Friends Committee on National Legislation is the coordinating organization for the U.S. Campaign, working to pass the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act and to ratify the treaty. www.fcnl.org
Accidental American Website and Book Tour. Share your story about how you became an Accidental American. Watch videos and slideshows, share your family's recipes, download the discussion guide and use it in your book club or classroom, and take action on immigration policy.
Transgender Day of Remembrance and TransAction! The Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network stands in solidarity with the 10th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) (www.rememberingourdead.org) and encourages students to commemorate transgender people who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The official TDOR is November 20 and students are encouraged to do any of the following or more: Candlelight vigils; marches; art/photography displays, visual representation of the number of deaths with cardboard tomb stones of remembered people, paper cutouts of remembered people, or body outline chalkings of remembered people. Plus: TransAction! - New date in early 2009 to be announced. TransAction! is a day for education and celebration of transgender and gender non-conforming people and experiences. A day to begin having dialogues about gender and to advocate for inclusive schools for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
Help Haitian Hurrican Survivors. The New England Haiti Relief Effort collect monetary donations to alleviate the suffering of those affected. Donations can be deposited at Citizens Bank, Account # 1313181878 (with the memo "New England Haiti Hurricane Relief Fund"). NEHRE also collects medical and hygiene supplies (over the counter medicine, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and sanitary products, etc.) and school supplies (notebooks, pens, pencils and backpacks). Contact: Carline DŽsirŽ, Association of Haitian Women in Boston. 617/287-0096 (office) www.afab-kafanm.org
Resources
Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid, by Frank B. Wilderson, III;
$18 pb; 498 pp; Wilderson, one of only 2 Americans elected to the African National
Congress, details the political and economic struggles of Blacks in both the United
States as well as South Africa under and after Apartheid. Wilderson goes on to
explain the subtle and outright racism Black people face and work to resist on
a daily basis; www.southendpress.org
We Who Dared to Say No to War: American Antiwar Writing from 1812 to Now,
edited by Murray Polner & Thomas. E. Woods, Jr.; $16.95 pb; 352 pp. This collection
of well-known and obscure cross-ideological writings and speeches illustrates
the protests against and negative consequences of American wars. www.basicbooks.com
The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth about US War Crimes:
Inside the Army's Secret Archive of Investigations, by Deborah Nelson; $26.95
hb; 296 pp. In 2005, Nelson and military historian Nicholas Turse came upon
a 9000 page Army archive compiling US war crimes in Vietnam. The files confirm
more than 300 atrocities, and 500 other cases which weren't confirmed or weren't
investigated. Nelson tracked down and interviewed witnesses, alleged perpetrators,
and Army officials. Nelson confirms that US war crimes were systemic, tolerated,
and even ordered by military leaders. Today, we're receiving limited and conflicting
information on the civilian toll in Iraq and Afghanistan. But if history is
our guide, the The War Behind Me offers a window into what happens when
young soldiers are faced with violent insurgents and commanders demanding results
at any cost. www.warbehindme.com
Peaceprints: Sister Karen's Paths to Nonviolence, edited by Evelyn McLean
Brady; $18 pb; 162 pp. Commemorates the legacy of Karen Klimczak, a nun who left "peaceprints"
through her ministry to ex-offenders. Documentary DVD also included. www.buffaloheritage.com.
Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, Stories of the Search for Home and Healing
on the Streets by Craig Rennebohm with David Paul; $23.95 hb; 208 pp. UCC
minister Rennebohm in 1987 founded the Mental Health Chaplaincy to work with
homeless mentally ill people in Seattle, WA. The Chaplaincy attempts to create "circles
of care" for homeless people. www.beacon.org
A People's History of Poverty in America, by Stephen Pimpare; $27.95
hb; 322 pp. Mimi Abramovitz said, "A must read for anyone interested in learning
the real story of poverty, social welfare policy, and social change." Part
of a series edited by Howard Zinn. www.thenewpress.com
Evolution's Edge: The Coming Collapse and Transformation of Our World,
by Graeme Taylor; $24.95 pb; 306 pp. Not a prophesy of doom, but a cry for global
ecological, economic, and political transformation for sustainability. Sohail
Inayatullah, the co-editor of the Journal of Future Studies, said, "Simply
outstanding - easy to read, inspiring, thoughtful. Integrates environmental challenges
with spiritual issues, technological possibilities, and general systems evolutionary
theory."www.newsociety.com
Taking on the System: Rules for Radicals in a Digital Era by Markos Moulitsas Zœniga; $23.95 hb; 275 pp. The founder of one of the largest liberal blogging sites, DailyKos, updates Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, focusing on the power of digital communication tools to drive social, cultural, and political changes from the bottom up. www.penguin.com
Toolbox for Sustainable City Living, by Scott Kellogg & Stacy Pettigrew; $16 pb; 241 pp. Co-founders of the Rhizome Collective in Austen, Texas outline ways to give urban communities access to and control over water, food, and energy through environmental justice projects. www.southendpress.org
