Calendar Archives - January - June, 2004

[January events to be added later]

Feb 7 Communicating With Compassion 9:30 AM  4:30 PM at the Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community Common House 120 Pulpit Hill Rd, North Amherst. A workshop offering: a language and consciousness of compassion that can improve your relationships skills to support dialogue in the face of judgment, criticism, and anger practice in honest expression and empathic listening effective ways to bring more joy, ease and connection into your life a nonviolent approach to social change Workshop led by Jerry Koch-Gonzalez Jerry leads workshops on conflict resolution, group process, leadership, multicultural organizational development, economic inequality and class. Jerry has been organizing, educating and consulting for social justice for more than 25 years, and holds an M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts. Requested contribution: sliding scale $60-$20. All are welcome regardless of ability to contribute financially. Registration is limited to 30 participants on a first come basis. To pre-register contact Jerry Koch-Gonzalez by phone 413-549-1747 or emailjkgonzalez@comcast.net. This workshop is based on the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as developed by Marshall Rosenberg and others. NVC is used to mediate and resolve conflicts in a variety of settings and circumstances, from marriages to war-torn countries such as Rwanda, Bosnia, Palestine and Israel. For more information visit the Center for Nonviolent Communication web site atwww.cnvc.org.

February 8: Plainfield, MA Sunday Night Contact Improvisation Jam. Come one, come all to our ongoing second Sunday of the month Contact Jam. It's always fun, it's always different, and you never know who you'll end up dancing with. All levels of experience are welcome. Potluck 7:00pm, $5-$7. Contact Improv class before the jam (call 413-634-5678 for more info). 5:00-6:30pm. $15 class & jam. 7:30 pm -

Sunday February 8 UPDATE ON ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION 7pm, Quaker Meeting, Center St between Police Station and Masonic Bldg (enter via front door), Northampton. Speakers: State Representatives Peter Kocot (D - 1st Hampshire District); Ellen Story (D - 3rd Hampshire District); and Steve Kulick (D - 1st Franklin District); (tentative) State Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Hampshire-Franklin District). Please come and show support for environmental issues and ask questions of our state legislators. “Government decisions should be based on independent scientific information and meaningful citizen participation. They must place a higher priority on protecting health and the environment than on the economic interests of a particular industry. The decision-making process should represent public values, protect the rights of potential victims, and be insulated from interference by narrow, special interests.” - The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow. Info: Jenny Fleming-Ives, 586-4006, or Tina Clarke, 549-4381, 549-6834, mailto:tclarke@cleanwater.org; www.cleanwateraction.org

Feb 9 - Monday, at 4:30pm, South Hadley. Isabelle V. Barker Five College Women's Studies Research Associate Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick. An Ethical Intervention into the International Division of Reproductive Labor Barker considers feminist theories regarding care work in an effort to work out an ethical theory of social citizenship that recognizes the conditions of the new global economy and the international division of reproductive labor. She puts forth a feminist social democratic framework that attends to the structural conditions of women's transnational labor migration and to the ideological traditions that predominate in policies regarding immigration and the privatization of entitlement programs for the elderly in the United States. Five College Women's Studies Research Center, 83 College St (Route 116), South Hadley. All events are free, open to the public and handicapped accessible. For more information call our event line at 538-2527.

Feb 9 ELAINE BROWN ON "NEW AGE RACISM" 7:00pm, Student Union Ballroom, UMass, Amherst. Elaine Brown is a writer, activist, and the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party. Talk, reception, and book signing. Sponsored by the Black Student Union at UMass, the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program Hampshire College, Distinguished Visitors Program UMass, Enrollment Services at UMass, Five Colleges, Inc, Mount Holyoke College Anthropology Department, Radical Student Union UMass, Women of Color Leadership Network of the Everywoman's Center UMass, WMUA-FM. Info: Ellen Miller-Mack, 586-0591.

Tuesday February 10 FR BRIAN BOLAND 10th ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL COMMITTEE 3-5pm, WNEC School of Business - Churchill Hall, 2nd floor (Churchill Hall is directly behind Deliso Hall, the administration building, off Wilbraham Rd, Springfield. Park on the horseshoe in front of Deliso. Campus map: http://www1.wnec.edu/admissions/index.cfm?selection=doc.611.) Planning to remember and celebrate Father Brian Boland, the unofficial chaplain of the labor movement in Western Mass and friend of Caesar Chavez. Brian died 10 years ago next March. The committee's public education event on March 9 presents Brian's vision and commitment to human dignity and justice, with a speech by Dolores Huerta, co-founder and First Vice-President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America. Info: co-chairs Tony Chelte, Western New England College Professor, 782-1553, and Jon Weissman, Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, 737-0640; mailto:brianbolandmemorial@hotmail.com.

February 10, 24, & March 1 "WOMEN, FILM, & SEXUALITIES" FILM & SPEAKER SERIES 7:30pm, Five College Women’s Studies Research Center, 83 College St (Rt 116), S Hadley. No reservations required. Info: 538-2275.

Tuesday February 10: "Feminist Citizen’s Media" with Liz Miller, Five College Visiting Assistant Professor of Film/Video Production. Liz Miller's award-winning documentary film "Novela, Novela" (Spanish with subtitles) provides a behind the scenes look at the making and impact of the very first Nicaraguan soap opera to take on contemporary issues - HIV/domestic violence/homophobia/abortion etc. Winner of Outfest's Freedom Award (2002), the film investigates the power of a group of feminists and young script writers closely engaged with local youth groups in raising political issues that impact their daily lives. Liz will show and discuss her work together with another innovative feminist media project from India and frame these projects as "feminist citizen's media." Citizen's media projects involve citizens in the production of their representation to exploit every fissure in the dominant media system. A specialist in Development and Communications, Liz will address feminist interventions in transnational context. Tuesday

February 24: Showing of Su Friedrich’s "Hide and Seek" in preparation for a talk with the filmmaker at Smith College on March 29. "Hide and Seek" is an award-winning black and white film that offers a richly sensitive narrative treatment of emergent adolescent sexuality through the story of Lou, a 12-year-old girl growing up on Chicago in the turbulent 1960s. Interwoven with Lou’s story are the mostly hilarious, sometimes painful recollections of adult lesbians who try to figure out how they ever got from there to here. Completing the picture are old scientific and educational film clips which blend seamlessly with the beautiful images of Lou’s world. Visit www.sufriedrich.com.

Tuesday February 10 JANE ELLIOTT: THE ANATOMY OF PREJUDICE Time TBA, Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College, Rt 116, Amherst. A three-hour presentation during which Jane Elliott introduces and discusses the Peabody Award-winning film, "The Eye of the Storm," and explores with the audience the problems of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and ethnocentrism and the responsibility shared by all of us for illuminating them in and eliminating them from ourselves and our environment. Jane Elliott, internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer, and recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education, exposes prejudice and bigotry for what it is, an irrational class system based upon purely arbitrary factors.

Feb 11, March 10, 24 and April 14 - Reel World 7-9pm, Arms Library, Shelburne Falls. Information: (413) 625-9543 “Reel World” is a documentary film series organized by West County residents seeking to uncover events and analyses not often found in our usual news sources. The theme of this series is an investigation into the national and international impact of the foreign and domestic policies of our government. Films from the first series have been donated to the Arms Library by "Reel World" and are now available for borrowing. Anyone interested in replicating this series in their own community please contact Liz Kelner.

FEBRUARY 11 UNCOVERED THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR This documentary goes behind the walls of government as more than 20 CIA, Pentagon and Foreign Service experts speak out, many for the first time, detailing the lies, misstatements and exaggerations that served as the rationale for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It offers an in-depth look at the distortion of intelligence and the "spin and hype" presented to our nation.

FEBRUARY 15,   SUNDAY AT SUNSET - On the anniversary of the worldwide outpouring last year, ItÕs a Worldwide Candlelight Vigil for Peace Talk to neighbors? -- Ask them to take a stand. The president lied.  Thousands have died.

"International Candlelight Vigil Hundreds of thousands of people in over 70 locations around the world will gather to vigil and proclaim "Peace". Vigils are being organized in London, England, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Mozambique, China, British Colombia, Quebec, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and more than 50 locations around the U.S.A. including Washington D.C. http://www.endthewar.org/feb15.htm with about another 25 being planned in Massachusetts alone. These Candlelight Peace Vigils will take place on the first anniversary of the historic day when more than 10 million people demonstrated world-wide against the Bush administration's plans for the invasion of Iraq." Thanks for the update to Timothy Baer, Bloomington Peace Action Coalition http://www.BPAC.info/ See local updates at the Traprock Forum

New England/New York participation is growing by leaps and bounds. Acton, Albany, Amherst, Bolton, Brattleboro (VT), Brookline, Burlington (VT). Charlemont. Colrain. Concord. Conway, Gill at Great Falls, Greenfield. Hartford (CT), Heath, Leverett, Montague, Nashua (NH), New Haven (CT), Newburyport, Northport (NY), Patchogue (NY), Putney (VT), Saratoga Springs (NY), Shelburne Falls, Shutesbury, South Deerfield, South Hadley, Somerville, Tarrytown (NY), Ware, Watertown (NY), Wendell, Westford, Worcester, and Wrentham have announced vigils.

We hear rumors about other towns and would love to get confirmations for Belchertown, Williamstown, Northampton, Lee, Huntington, Chicopee, Springfield, whether neighbors there will vigil. All it takes are a few commitments and ONE candle to start something rolling.

One will be at noon; this is a vigil which has been going on for several decades on the Amherst Common, and on February 15th the session will specially invite people to come, in honor of the worldwide demonstrations of a year ago and to honor the memory of Margaret and Lee Holt, who attended this vigil for many years, and both of whom very recently died. For more information about that vigil please contact Susan Dorazio, susandor@crocker.com. A vigil for sunset on the common has been announced as well at 5 pm. (posted on forum by Roger Conant).

Feb 12 - The local bus service with the Pioneer Valley Transportation Authority (PVTA) is contemplating cutting services due to budget woes. People in poverty and those with disabilities would be hurt by this.

According to an Amherst Bulletin article, the PVTA is planning on cutting some of the Dial-a-Ride and Handicapped Van routes completely. According to the article, "Under the Americans for Disabilities Act, residents must live within 3/4 of a mile from a fixed bus route to qualify for van service, so that if a route is cut, some residents could lose van service." The Amherst-Deerfield route and some routes in Amherst may be cut. (We have heard PVTA is also considering cutting Orange to Greenfield service.)

The public hearing about all this will be held at the Bangs Community Center on Boltwood Avenue in Amherst on Thursday, Feb. 12th at 1:30 p.m. Please come and speak your mind on yet another injustice to those most vulnerable.

Thursday February 12 MELODY ERMACHILD CHAVIS: "Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan: The Martyr who Founded RAWA" 7pm, Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St (Routes 116 at 47), in the Village Commons, S Hadley, 534-7307 or 800-540-7307; mailto:odysseybks@aol.com; www.odysseybks.com. In 1977, Meena, a twenty-year-old student, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy, and women's rights in fundamentalist Afghanistan. She was assassinated ten years later. Melody Chavis, a private investigator defending people against capital punishment, offers a riveting portrait of a courageous mother, poet, and political leader. Co-sponsored by the Five College Women's Studies Research Center and People Opposing War at Mount Holyoke College.

Feb 12 Arise Peace Committee Meeting Planning for International Women’s Day and March 20 Global Day of Action.  Call to confirm location. Arise, 94 Rifle Street, Springfield, Massachusetts 01105-1632
Phone: (413) 734-4948, Fax: (413) 781-3712; Email: Arise @ riseup.net

Feb 12 - Voting and Democracy A two-part information, dialogue, action series at the Montague Grange. Part One: The Recent Past Florida Elections in 2000 Thursday Feb 12, 7-9 pm Video, discussion, and recommended legislative and legal actions Video shown: "Unprecedented, the 2000 Presidential Election" Part Two: The Present Future Perils of Electronic Voting Thursday March 11, 2004 7-9 pm Video, discussion, and recommended legislative actions Video shown: "Electronic Voting: A Threat to Democracy?" Contact Info: admin@montaguema.net, kwerner@montaguema.net

Feb 12 - Thursday, at 7:30pm, South Hadley - Joya Misra Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Global Carework: Reproducing Inequalities by Race, Gender, Ethnicity and Nationality. Around the globe, there are ever-increasing numbers of migrant women careworkers providing domestic work, childcare, and elder care for other families. Neoliberalism has not only created hostile environments that push women into immigrant carework in order to provide for their families; it has also created welfare state restructuring that pulls immigrant women workers into filling carework positions in wealthy countries. Misra analyzes the impact of neoliberalism and its implications for inequality by gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center, 83 College St (Route 116), South Hadley. All events are free, open to the public and handicapped accessible.
For more information call our event line at 538-2527.

Feb 12- 14 - Vagina Monologues at Converst Hall at Amherst College. Tickets are $3 each, with several fund raising raffles offered. Tickets may be purchased ahead of time for the Amherst shows by calling director Gretchen Krull at 413-542-4180.

Feb 13 Interfaith Coalition Steering Committee 3:00, Woodstar Café in Northampton. All welcome

Sunday February 15 AMHERST VIGILS -

NOON: PEACE VIGIL HONORS MARGARET & LEE HOLT Noon, Amherst Town Common. All WMass activists are urged to come to this weekly (since July 14, 1979!) vigil on February 15 both to demonstrate on the anniversary of last year's massive worldwide demonstrations for peace and to celebrate Margaret and Lee Holt, Amherst vigil founders, tireless peace and justice advocates, who died last month. Margaret and Lee Holt were backbones of the Amherst Peace Vigil. See Remembrances and Photo-Album. There will be a joint Memorial Service this spring.

5 PM: The second vigil on Sunday 2/15 in Amherst will be at 5pm, Amherst Common. This Candlelight vigil for peace is part of the worldwide demonstrations.

Sunday February 15 WORLDWIDE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR PEACE - A CIRCLE AT SUNSET ON SUNDAY Sunset, everywhere. On the anniversary of the worldwide demonstrations for peace in 2003. Traprock Peace Center has a downloadable flyer at www.grassrootspeace.org/feb_15_flyer.pdf. WMass vigil locations at www.grassrootspeace.org/forum/. Info: www.endthewar.org/feb15.htm.

See more above.

Sunday February 15 SOJOURNER TRUTH 2pm, Wright Hall, Smith College, Rt 9, Northampton. Nell Irvin Painter, Edwards Professor of American History at Princeton U, is author of "Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol". Info: Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St (Rt 9), 584-6011, www.historic-northampton.org/.

Monday February 16 (Third Monday) FRANKLIN COUNTY INTERFAITH ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TASK FORCE 5:30pm, potluck, 7pm, meeting with some time of ritual/silence/reflection, followed by a discussion. Info: Kate Stevens, 625-6967.

Monday February 16 MIDEAST PEACE COALITION MEETING 7pm, Good Thyme Deli, 186 Main St, Northampton. Info: Joel Dansky, mailto:feltondansky@rcn.com.

Feb 16 Tim Wise, prominent anti-racist figure will be speaking at Keene State College At 7 pm in the Student Center. For info, contact: Susan Theberge 603-358-2863

Tuesday February 17 (Third Tuesdays) ALLIANCE FOR INJURED WORKERS 3-5pm, AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd, near corner of Osborne Ter, Springfield, across the street from the old Westinghouse. Support and advocacy for people hurt on the job. No perfume, cologne please; some members suffer from chemical sensitivity due to workplace injury. Refreshments. Contact Western MassCOSH, 731-0760, mailto:comphurts@aol.com. Ask for your FREE copy of "Injured Workers Survival Guide".

Through Feb 21 - Borgia Gallery, Mary Dooley College Center, Elms College, 291 Springfield St., Chicopee, A Friendly Bond, A Joyful Connection: A child-to-child art exchange between children in Iraq and in the USA

Feb 18 In honor of Black History Month at Holyoke Community College Brown v. Board of Education: 5o Years Later At 11 am in the Forum at HCC there will be a panel discussion on racism featuring HCC African American History Professor Dr. Diane Beers, HCC Political Science Professor Dr. Mark Clinton, and The Honorable Benjamin Swan, State Representative, 12th Hampden District.

Feb 18 - John Bonifaz at 7:30 pm at Broadside Books, 247 Main Street Northampton, John C. Bonifaz will be reading from and signing copies of his book, Warrior King: The Case For Impeaching George W. Bush.

Feb 19 - Greenfield Community College - Vainga Monologues - This is a benefit performance for the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition's programs for battered women and GCC's Women's Resource Center. 7 pm in the East Building Dance Studio. Room 106. This is one of among 2000 performances of the play being held by colleges and community groups throughout the US as part of an annual "V-Day" campaign to end violence against women around the world. Advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Tickets may be bought at the World Eye Bookstore in Greenfield or the GCC bookstore. This is the first perfomrance in Franklin County. It is co-sponsored by Women's Studies Program at GCC and NELCWIT. The cast of about 40 is comprised of Amherst College students who have raised over $3500 for NELCWIT over the past two years. Recommended donation is $10 to $20 and $3 each for students and low-income people.

Feb 19 Thursday(Third Thursdays) (agenda correction) MASS SENIOR ACTION COUNCIL - FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAPTER 1pm, Greenfield Senior Center, 54 High St. Topic: Al Norman, Mass Home Care, speaking about the state budget. MSAC tackles vital issues, including single payer health care and prescription drug price relief. No age requirement! Contact Linda Stone, 533-9235, mailto:lstone@wmeldercare.org.

Feb 23 - Monday, at 4:30 pm, South Hadley, MA - Simone Weil Davis Five College Women's Studies Research Associate Long Island University-CW Post "A Scurrilous, Vicious and Libelous Book": Suppressing a Tell-All in 1933 As an ad man, evangelical writer and politician, Bruce Barton proved one of the most influential Americans of his era; his triumphs throw into stark relief the clamorous tragedies of Frances King, a would-be author, ever-voluble fighter in her own doomed cause, employee-mentee to Barton, his lover, and then his blackmailer. "A Scurrilous, Vicious and Libelous Book" is about the printed word...and the powers that keep some words from ever seeing print. Set as the United States approached and then was battered by the Crash of 1929, the tale is also about failure and its strange intimacies with success, both of them sustained by the same myths, the same bravery and the same ravenous hunger. Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held at the Five College Women'sStudies Research Center, 83 College St (Route 116), South Hadley. All
events are free, open to the public and handicapped accessible. For more information call our event line at 538-2527.

Feb 23 Meeting of the Springfield Harm Reduction Coalition 6:00pm, Arise for Social Justice, Springfield, 413.734.4948

Feb 24 - Global Day of Action Against Corporate Takeover of Iraq. See United for Peace and Justice for details.

Feb 24, Tuesday, 4 pm - Daniel Berrigan appears in the Spring Poetry Center Series @ Smith College, Helen Hills Chapel, Northampton

Feb 24, Tuesday, 7-9 pm - Video "Shaping Holy Lives," featuring Sister Joan Chittister at the Bishop Marshall Center, Elliott St., Soringfield Please bring non-perishable and canned food items. Brendon Preston,  413 848-2320

Tuesday February 24 VIDEO: "SHAPING HOLY LIVES" 7-9pm, Bishop Marshall Center, Elliot St, Springfield. Featuring Sister Joan Chittister. Please donate non-perishable and canned food items. Info: Brendon Preston, Springfield Catholic Worker, 848-2320.

Tuesday February 24 (Fourth Tuesdays) HAMPSHIRE-FRANKLIN CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL 7:30pm, McDonald House, next to Roundhouse Plaza, intersection of Conz St, Clark Av, & Old South St, Northampton; enter rear. Community and labor activist guests are welcome, but call Maureen Carney, 739-8550, mailto:mcarney@massaflcio.org.

Feb 26 - Thursday LIVING WAGE RALLY AT MT HOLYOKE COLLEGE 12:15pm, Blanchard Student Center, MHC, Rt 116, S Hadley (www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/map/844.shtml). The Mt Holyoke Student Coalition for Action (SCA) is continuing its hard work this semester to have the college sign a Code of Conduct for fair labor practices at the college. SCA is working to get staff (day laborers, temp workers, etc) a living wage of $12/hour and benefits. Students, staff, outsourced workers, and faculty are signing ballots stating that they support the fair labor code of conduct. The SCA will take these ballots to the Trustees. Info: mailto:jlevy620@yahoo.com.

February 26 - UNCOVERED - The Whole Truth About the Iraq War. Film Showing and Discussion Jones Library, Amherst Thursday February 26, 2004 7-9 pm Sponsored by SAGE Contact: Susan and Rene Theberge - reneandsusan@comcast.net  or Rick Last r.last@comcast.net

Feb 26 - March 20 - Third Annual Walk for a New Spring - New England Peace Pagoda and friends. See photos from 2003 Walk. See 2004 Brochure (pdf file; dates and locations tentative; please watch this space for updates).

To contact the walk (Feb 26 to March 19) call 413-695-2871. If you cannot get through, call Western Mass AFSC at 413.584.8975 / afsc@crocker.com

For a walker's updates and photos,
see Craig's photos and journal uploaded during the walk.

The first stops are as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 26, leave from Pittsfield arrive at 5:00pm at Lee for potluck and program. Walkers to sleep at the church and have breakfast there the next morning offered by the church. Bert Marshall coordinating (bermarsh@msn.com) WALK ROUTE for 2/26: The walk will leave Pittsfield City Hall around 9AM taking Route 7&20 south to Main St, Lenox. From Lenox Center take Old Stockbridge Rd. Take left onto Summer Street to Lee. Arrive at First Congregational Church 25 Park Place (right off Main St in center of town) around 3PM.

Friday, Feb. 27, arrive at the Parish House of West Cummington Church (Steve Philbrick, pastor). [Note: walkers may want to go directly to Earthdance and unload luggage. -- to discuss further.] Rest until 7:30pm potluck and program at the Creamery (WILL NEED TO TRANSPORT FROM THE CHURCH TO THE CREAMERY for the evening program). Probably sleeping at Earth Dance and will be offered breakfast at Earthdance. Leni Fried coordinating (leni@titaniumarts.com). WALK ROUTE for 2/27: The walk will start from the First Congregational Church in Lee around 8:30AM, walking on Route 20East to Beckett Road/ Yokum Pond Road to Route 8North to the center of Beckett . Lunch at Kushi Institute in Beckett. Shuttle by car to West Cummington. Arrive Parish House at around 3PM.

Saturday, Feb. 28, [WILL NEED TO TRANSPORT TO HUNTINGTON in the am. Rev. Philbrick will help]. Arrive at approximately 5:00pm in Westfield, Ruth Brandon’s church on the Westfield State Campus. Community potluck and program. Homestays overnight with members of the peace group. Breakfast will be determined. Contact, Ruth Brandon (arembe@mac.com).

Sunday, Feb. 29, arrive at First Churches Northampton for community potluck and program featuring Colomiban Human Rights Leader Amanda Romero. Walkers to sleep at the church and have breakfast the next morning. Jo is the contact (afsc@crocker.com)

Monday, March 1, arrive in Conway. Sunny is the contact (413-773-7427). Details to come.

Tuesday, March 2, arrive in Leverett.  Emilie Hamilton is the contact (256-1369) Walkers will gather for a 5:30 PM vigil and gathering at the Leverett Congregational Church before shuttling walkers over to Mt Toby Friends meetinghouse at 6PM.  Potluck dinner and community discussion at Mt. Toby from 6-9 PM, ending with a simple sacred circle dance.

Wednesday, March 3, Hattie and Marcia are the contacts (hattieshalom@verizon.net). Peace Pagoda, leave 8:30 - N. Leverett Rd - Lake Wyola - Locks Villiage Rd. - Wendell Village Store = lunch //transport to Wendell Depot (Rt 2 & 2A point) Rt. 2A - Orange - Athol (stop at "Haleys") Evening program at UU Church/Petersham.

Thursday, March 4 Haley's 8 AM - Athol Ctr - Rt 68 - Royalston Village School = lunch // transport to Winchendon. Rest in PM. Evening program at UU Church/Winchendon, 5:30 PM

Friday, March 5 Noonday Farm - Winchendon Center - High St - Baldwinville Rd - Rt 68 (West St) - Gardner. Evening program: UU church, 66 Elm St, Gardner, MA. Potluck dinner starts between 5:30 and 6 PM.

Saturday, March 6 Gardner 8 AM // 2 miles before Fitchburg (at Rt 12 & 2A) - 2A - Lunenburg - 2A - Cowdrey Nature Ctr = lunch - 2A - Rt 225 - Groton. Evening program contact: VWbilljennings@aol.com.

Evening program: First Parish Unitarian Church, Groton. People will join us at 7pm for pot luck and informal discussion. We are in the basement of the church and the entrance is the side door. The church is on the main drag going through Groton (Route 119) also called Main Street, It is across the street from the Groton Library on Main Street, on the corner of the Lawrence Academ Prep School.

Sunday, March 7: leave Groton 8 AM - Rt. 225 - Pine - Forge Village Rd. - Westford:lunch - Main St. - Westford St. - arrive 4 PM All Saints Episcopal Church, Chelmsford. Potluck dinner and program starts around 5:30 PM.

Monday, March 8: leave Chelmsford 8 AM - Rt 110 - Lowell - Rt 133 - vigil at Raytheon from 12 noon - 12:40 PM - by car to Lazarus House, Park St, Lawrence for lunch - leave 2 PM, walk through Lawrence streets - Winthrop Ave. - 4 PM arrive Methodist Church in North Andover, potluck starts at 6 PM.

Tuesday, March 9: leave Methodist Church 8 AM - Andover St (rt 133) - Pond Rd. - West Boxford - Rt 133 (Washington St - Willow Rd - Andover St) - Georgetown:lunch - North St - Byfield - Main St - South St - Scotland Rd - Graf Rd - Newburyport. Evening program with Kristina Olson, potluck supper, 5 - 8 PM, Belleville Church Hall, Chapel & High Streets, Newburyport.

Wednesday, March 10: leave Newburyport 8:30 AM - Rt 1A (High St.) to Newbury - car to Ipswich - walk to House of Peace, arrive 10 AM - Rt 133 to Essex (lunch at UU Church, 12:30 PM) - Rt 133 to Gloucester - Evening program at UU Church.

Thursday, March 11: Transport by car from Gloucester to West Falmouth, Friends Meeting House, on route 28A. Rest day. 6 PM gathering at Quaker house which is at opposite end of Meeting House Cemetary from the meeting house. Contact: Alta Mae Stevens (508) 548-8664.

Friday, March 12: leave Falmouth Friends Meeting House 8 AM; leave Mashpee rotary 8:30 AM, route 130 South to route 28 towards Hyannis. Right onto West Main St to Main St, Hyannis. Continue to Barnstable Unitarian Church, Rt 6A, Barnstable, MA. Contact: Kristin Harper (508) 362-6381.

Feb 26, Thursday afternoon. Scott Ritter is coming for a school event in Springfield. This will not be open to the public. We will be doing a press conference, and will post the audio of the press conference on this site. We would like to bring him to more area schools. Hear Scott Ritter's talk at Mohawk Regional School Dec. 19, with students' GREAT questions. For information call 413 773-7427.

Feb 27-28 - Women's Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Association with The New World Theater, The Black Student Union, the Women of Color Leadership Network, and the Office of ALANA Affairs Proudly Presents a two day conference. Free and open to the public. A Revolutionary Convening: The Vision of June Jordan Friday February 27-Saturday February 28, 2004 Poet, novelist, essayist, professor, orator, performance artist, and political activist, June Jordan was one of the world's most articulate and essential voices in the liberation struggles of the past forty years. Jordan's work flourished at the crossroads of arts and activism. Confronting white supremacy and imperialism, celebrating resistance struggles across the globe, extolling the strength and endurance of African American culture, and singing lyrically about the healing power of love, Jordan's work transcended traditional boundaries of self and society with the vision of a passionate revolutionary. Jordan's vision provides the basis for this event, which will feature conversations among scholars, artists, and activists confronting the political situation we face today.

Keynote Speech: Poet and Activist Sonia Sanchez Friday 27, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst Roundtable Discussions

Saturday, February 28th -- Campus Center 101 . From 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., panelists from a variety of spheres will engage in roundtable dialogues about arts, politics, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-imperialism, and revolutionary pedagogy. Panelists include artists like Sonia Sanchez, Magdalena Gomez, and Letta Neely; activists like Paulina Hernandez (from the Highlander Center), Bhairavi Desai (New York Taxi Workers Alliance), Katya Hahn D' Errico (a Breast Cancer activist), Dawn Lundy Martin (co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation), Loretta Ross (Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education), Frances Crowe and Jo Commeford (former and current directors of the American Friends Service Committee), Alan Shaw (from the Algebra Project), Jane Sapp (director of Voices of Today), and Camilia Leiva (an anti-sweatshop activist); and scholars include Vijay Prashad, Agustin Lao-Montes, and Adolph Reed, Jr. (complete schedule below) These discussions are free and open to the public.

Blueprints for Revolution: A Performance Bowker Auditorium 8:00 The conference will culminate in a performance showcasing artists and poets. Sonia Sanchez, Magdalena Gomez, Evelyn Harris, Kate Rigg, Project 2050, Jane Sapp and the Voices of Today This event is also free and open to the public. Seating is limited, and admittance will be given on a first come, first serve basis.

SCHEDULE OF SATURDAY ROUNDTABLES -- ALL IN 101 CAMPUS CENTER

9:00-10:30 Art and Politics Magdalena Gomez, poet Letta Neely, poet Sonia Sanchez, poet

11:00-12:30 Revolutionary Pedagogy Paulina Hernandez, Highlander Center Adolph Reed, Jr., Professor of Political Science, The New School Jane Sapp, teacher/activist/director of Voices of Today Alan Shaw, Algebra Project

2:00-3:30 U.S. Anti-Racism and Anti-Sexism Struggles Bhairavi Desai labor activists, organizer, Taxi Drivers, NYC Katya Hahn d'errico, Breast Cancer activist Dawn Lundy Martin, Ph.D. co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation Loretta Ross, Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education

4:00-5:30 Anti-Imperialist Struggles Frances Crowe & Jo Commeford, former and current directors of American Friends Service Committee Agustin Lao, Assistant Professor of Sociology, UMass Camilia Leiva, anti-sweatshop activist, high school student, Albany, NY Vijay Prashad, Assistant Professor of International Studies, Trinity College

Feb 27 Friday (date, agenda correction) MASS SENIOR ACTION COUNCIL - GREATER SPRINGFIELD CHAPTER 10am, Good Life Center, 1600 E Columbus Av, Springfield. Forum on the future of Medicare and Social Security with Rep. Richard Neal, co-sponsored by Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council. Michael Meeropol will speak about economics of health care. MSAC tackles vital issues, including single payer health care and prescription drug price relief, including adding Rx coverage to Medicare and stopping Medicare privatization and how to get prescriptions filled in Canada. No age requirement! For info or a ride: Linda Stone, 533-9235, mailto:lstone@wmeldercare.org.

Feb 27 Saving Medicare and Social Security for Future Generations 10 am, Good Life Center, 1600 E. Columbus Ave., Springfield Co-sponsored by Mass. Senior Action Council and Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council. Congressman Richard Neal will attend.

Saturday February 28, V-DAY SPRINGFIELD 2004 PRESENTS "THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES" 11:00am, breakfast performance at the Springfield Sheraton Hotel, followed by a gala reception at The Valley Portfolio Photographic Center, 1500 Main St, Springfield. $20.00. This benefit production of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play, "The Vagina Monologues", will raise money and awareness for local organizations that work to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue to expand their core work while taking action to stop worldwide violence against women and girls. Since its creation in 1998, V-Day has awarded close to $4 million to grassroots, national, and international organizations and programs. V-Day Springfield will also recognize Brenda Lopez, Domestic Violence Coordinator, Springfield Police Dept; Mary Reardon Johnson, Executive Director, YWCA of Greater Springfield; and the Rev Suzanne Morris, CEO, Morris Professional Services. V-Day Springfield will also feature an astounding photographic display of Springfield artist Lisa Lichtenfels' work. Info, including sponsorship opportunities and group sales: P. Gail Wilson, 732-9518 x227; mailto:gwilson@eccspfld.org.

Feb 28 - Saturday - TERRIBLE TALES OF TIMONEY 7pm, Unitarian-Universalist Meeting House, 121 N Pleasant St, Amherst. "The Terrible Tales of Timoney" and "A Wall Is Just A Wall" - two puppet shows expose the unjust repression of protest and the political history of prisons from past to present. WMass stop of the Keep the Timoney Three Free tour - to support the Timoney Three, including Massachusetts activist Camilo Viveiros, the only person who is still facing first degree felony charges (trial set for April 5) stemming from the Republican National Convention in 2000 (www.friendsofcamilo.org). The Providence Puppet Posse is traveling in a bio-diesel car around the east coast and midwest with two puppet shows and a message for everyone: We need to defend those who protest for all of our freedoms! "The Terrible Tales of Timoney" tells the story of Police Commissioner John Timoney and his illegal tactics during the RNC in 2000 and the recent Miami FTAA protests in 2003. "A Wall is Just A Wall" tells the stories of a few political prisoners lives throughout time. This show highlights freedom movements and will put the history of prisons in the context of various social movements. Info: mailto:valeoftheoaks@hotmail.com.

Feb 28-29 June Jordan Conference Friday: 7:30 PM Keynote Speaker: Sonia Sanchez

Saturday: February 28 9:00-10:30 Art and Politics Magdalena Gómez, poet Letta Neely, poet Kate Rigg, performance artist Sonia Sanchez, poet

11:00-12:30 Revolutionary Pedagogy Paulina Hernandez, Highlander Center Adolph Reed, Jr., Professor of Political Science, The New School Jane Sapp, teacher/activist/director of Voices of Tomorrow Alan Shaw, Algebra Project

12:30-2:00 Lunch

2:00-3:30 U.S. Anti-Racism and Anti-Sexism Struggles Bhairavi Desai, New York Taxi Workers Alliance Katya Hahn d’errico, Breast Cancer activist Dawn Martin, Ph.D. candidate, co-editor, The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminism (forthcoming, Anchor Books) Loretta Ross, Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education

4:00-5:30 Anti-Imperialist Struggles Frances Crowe and Jo Comerford , former and current directors of American Friends Service Committee Agustin Lao-Montes, Assistant Professor of Sociology, UMass Camilia Leiva, anti-sweatshop activist, high school student, Albany, NY Vijay Prashad, Assistant Professor of International Studies, Trinity College

8:00-10:00 Saturday Evening Performances Bushra Fouz-poet Magdalena Gomez, poet Evelyn Harris, vocalist, former member of Sweet Honey in the Rock Letta Neely, poet Project 20/50 Kate Rigg performance artist Sonia Sanchez, poet Jane Sapp and the Voices of Tomorrow

Feb 29 The Spring Beneath the Tree: Stories of the Middle East by story teller Jay Goldspinner

4:00 pm, Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall (on Spring Street Immediately behind Grace Church in Amherst.

Jay Goldspinner is a longtime teller of tales from around the world. She has created a concert of stories and poems brave, humorous, sad, joyous in the varied voices of people of the Middle East - Jews, Muslims, Christians - who, like ourselves, desire life and love, community and spiritual wisdom. The program is suitable for adults and older children.

Free and open to the public. Donations welcome to benefit Christian and Jewish organizations working for peace, reconciliation and human rights in Israel and Palestine.

Feb 29 - Truth and Consequences of Plan Colombia, Globalization & the US War on Terror Amanda Romero, Colombian Quaker International Affairs Representative, Speaks in Northampton 7pm, First Churches Northampton, 129 Main Street Amanda Romero is the American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) Quaker International Affairs Representative in Colombia and the Andean Region. Born in Colombia, Amanda is a founding member of the Colombian Human Rights movement.  Prior to joining AFSC, she worked for ten years with the Latin American Institute for Alternative Legal Service (ILSA).  Amanda is a long-time human rights educator and researcher, with a history of advocating for Colombians who have been internally and/or externally displaced due to civil conflict and ensuing economic upheaval.  Through her work with organizations such as the Centre for Research and Popular Education, the Committee of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, the University of Colombia, and the Petroleum Workers’ Union, Amanda has organized and established various human rights programs working with indigenous and Afro-Andean peoples, trade unionists, and human rights activists. Today, Amanda and the AFSC Colombia office directly supports the work of nonviolent Afro-Andean and indigenous movements and communities which actively resist being incorporated into the civil war and work to protect their lands from encroachment and their right to govern themselves based on their cultural norms.  “As you might imagine, this is dangerous work given that the overwhelming violence in Colombia forces 1,500 people to flee their homes each day for fear that they will be murdered, tortured and/or raped.  More than twenty people die each day in Colombian cities and villages, fifteen are civilians living in areas controlled by Colombian paramilitary or guerrilla forces,” notes Rachel Chandler-Worth, recent AFSC delegate to Colombia. Truth and Consequences is co-sponsored by Western Massachusetts AFSC, Solidaridad Colombia, Nonviolence Roundtables and The Valley Empire Working Group.  It is free and accessible.  Donations are welcome to support Colombian justice efforts.  Information: 413.584.8975.

February 10, 24, & March 1 "WOMEN, FILM, & SEXUALITIES" FILM & SPEAKER SERIES 7:30pm, Five College Women’s Studies Research Center, 83 College St (Rt 116), S Hadley. No reservations required. Info: 538-2275.

Monday March 1: Showing of "Venus Boyz" with facilitated discussion by Performance Artist, FCWSRC Alumna Research Associate, and UMass-Amherst Visiting Professor Jyl Lynn Felman. "Venus Boyz" is a new documentary film by Gabriel Baur about Drag Kings - women who, after assuming male alter egos, parody male archetypes and subvert masculine power strategies while exploring concepts of male eroticism. Transgendered men who have transformed their bodies through surgery or hormones are also profiled, elaborating on masculine metamorphosis as existential necessity. A legendary Drag King event in New York is the point of departure for an odyssey to transgendered worlds, where women become men ­ some for a night, others for their whole lives. What motivates them? What changes take place? What defines gender?

March 1 - Monday, at 4:30pm, South Hadley - Chanda Shah Five College Women's Studies Research Associate and former member of the Parliament of Nepal. Integration of Women in Nepal's Post-Insurgency Political Process. Shah will discuss the status and role of women in rebuilding Nepalese society after Nepal's seven-year long conflict. She will discuss legislation to safeguard the rights of women and children in general and that of victims of the conflict in particular. The rehabilitation of victimized women and children must include various kinds of empowerment including management of conflicts at different levels. Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center, 83 College St (Route 116), South Hadley. All events are free, open to the public and handicapped accessible. For more information call our event line at 538-2527.

March 4 - Health Care Action Day

Protest huge premium cost increases and cuts in benefits and essential services! Stop the Wal-Martization of health insurance.
Start creating a health care insurance plan that:
* covers everyone,
* saves money by eliminating bureaucratic inefficiency and negotiating better prices, and
* is publicly financed.
JOIN US AT WAL-MART IN HADLEY
4PM THURSDAY MARCH 4
Meet at the Mountain Farms Mall on Russell Street (Route 9) in Hadley, in the vacant lot just north of Wal-Mart and just off of South Maple Street. When we deploy ourselves to leaflet shoppers, Hadley Police ask us to be mindful of safety, not let cars back up into traffic, etc.

Download Wal-Martization Flyer and Health Care Action Day Flyer.

March 4 - Thursday, at 4:30pm *(event to take place at Amherst College)* Drucilla Cornell Professor of Political Science from Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick Living and Dying in Iraq: Killing Talk and the Limits of Just War Theory Is it possible to even think of just war theory as applicable to recent military conflicts waged by the US government, given the kinds of weapons and strategies that have been used? Can there be such a thing as non-combatant immunity under "shock and awe"? Personal testimonies reveal a picture of the terrible suffering of the Iraqi people. Cornell argues for the ideal of peace by addressing the limits of just war theory. Against Jean Elstain and Michael Walzer, she believes that there are no circumstances exceptional enough to justify an infinite war on terror with all its dangerous repercussions for democracy with the United States.*NOTE: This event will take place at Amherst College. Check our web site at http://wscenter.hampshire.edu for exact location.**

March 4 - Social and Spiritual Engagement During a Time of Empire 7pm, First Churches, Northampton part of the Valley Resisting and Transforming the U.S. Empire series. Speakers: Thai activist Sulak Sivaraksa, Karuna Center founder Paula Green, and Roshi Bernie Glassman, founder of Peacemaker Circles mailto:ne-bpf@bpf.org (please confirm time and place)

Friday, March 5 @ 7:30 PM - Northampton, Massachusetts

"The people's poetry theatre"

celebrating international women's day and critiquing empire

Lenelle Moïse, Chris O’Carroll, Arjuna Greist and gooselove are The People's Poetry Theatre -Come celebrate international women's day and critique empire friday, march 5 @ 7:30pm (doors 7pm) a.p.e. performance space third floor, thorne's marketplace, northampton, massachusetts, presented by the valley empire working group, the western massachusetts afsc, the poetry center at smith college and the smith college anti-war coalition. (413) 584-8975 for more information. See Flyer (html) and download/print flyer (doc file).

March 6-9 - Fernando Suarez del Solar who lost his son Jesus, a 20 year old US Marine, on March 27, 2003, in the current war with Iraq flew in last night and will be with us for the next three days and again on Tuesday morning.  His schedule appears below.  More information about Fernando is at the end of this email.  His analysis, story and personal courage are astounding and I am grateful to all who are helping to bring him to our area. - Jo Comerford, WesternMass AFSC

SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2004 10:00am and 11:45am, AMHERST, UMass Teach-In on War and Occupation Herter 227 3pm, (see information on teach-in below).

NORTHAMPTION, First Churches Northampton 129 Main Street, Northampton

SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2004 1:30pm, PITTSFIELD, Unitarian Society 175 Wendell Ave.

GREENFIELD, 6:30pm, , All Soul’s Unitarian Church of Greenfield (A youth-focused program open to the community) 399 Main Street. Traprock Peace Center and the All Soul's Church are co-sponsoring his visit to Greenfield.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9 11:00am, HOLYOKE, Holyoke Community College Forum (Building C)

March 6 TEACH-IN ON WAR, THE ECONOMY, CIVIL LIBERTIES UMass Amherst. Take the bus to Herter Hall by the Haigus Mall, UMass Amherst.

Info: Mark Nelson, 207-1175, mailto:marknelson56@yahoo.com. A coalition of progressive student and community organizations will host a “Teach-in on War and Occupation” March 6th at the University of Massachuetts-Amherst. The teach-in will begin in the Herter Hall auditorium, room 227, at 10 a.m. on the UMass campus. Events will include plenary presentations, workshops, and a variety of cultural activities. Featured speakers include Sut Jhally, UMass Professor of Communications and head of the Media Education Foundation; Rania Masri, director of the Economic and Environmental Justice Program at the Institute for Southern Studies and national board member of United for Peace and Justice; Bill Fletcher, director of the Transafrica Forum and long-time labor activist; and Peta Lindsay, an 18 year old Howard University student and a national organizer with International ANSWER. In conjunction with the teach-in there will be an Arab Cultural Event the afternoon of March 5th in the Student Union Ballroom at UMass. This event, organized by the Arab Student Club and the Office of ALANA Affairs, will showcase traditional dance, food and music from the Middle East, as well as a variety of other contemporary cultural activities such as spoken word, poetry, and body art. These events are scheduled two weeks before the one year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, in part, to highlight and promote the global day of action being planned for March 20th. These coordinated anti-war demonstrations will mark the first year of U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, and will take place in dozens of cities around the country. All events will be free and open to the public.  If you are interested in “moving” this teach in to your local campus or community, please contact AFSC.  Information: 413.584.8975

March 6, Saturday - MIT offers a stacked (pro-DOD in our opinion) panel on DU, 1-5 pm. Our DU study group is preparing reference material and media packets. See http://www.grassrootspeace.org for more information.

Saturday, March 6, 8:00 pm - GROOVE PARADISE - Shelburne Falls Yoga Center - A Gathering for Celebration and Connection - … bringing Heaven to Earth for a night of Ecstasy!!! Greetings Soulseekers, Cosmic Lovefunkers, and Tribal Rhythmystics!

The time has come to honor ourselves and heed the lunacy of our pulsing hearts. We gather in the colorful hamlet of Shelburne Falls, with its modern gypsies and organic earthgifts. Here, the psychic vortex will manifest as a nocturnal festival of every beautiful bouncing soul you've ever wanted to be in joy with! Come rekindle your passions for the blessings of life, play with other children in the idyllic eden of Groove Paradise, a space washed by the waves of the Beatstream. Immersed in globalicious funk, gaiatronic grooves, soulshaking beats, and supersonic bliss, our barefoot dances will awaken the fecund dream of our creativity.

Experience the delectable fourfold nature of Groove Paradise: the Garden of Delight, the Temple of Bliss, the Nirvana Lounge, and the Heavenly Café.

In the Garden of Delight:DJs Root and July infuse the collective soul with Divine transmissions from the heart of the Beatstream. With only toes, oxygen, and endorphins, our shamanic waxwhackers will guide you through sweating, delighting, and dancing until you achieve the ecstatic trance of our foremothers. Remember to breathe!

In the Temple of Bliss: Mark Z creates live ambient musical inventions, respired and inspired by the breath of life that connects us all. His subatomic soundwaves will join DJs July and Root for a mind-expanding and spacious mix of deep sonic signals tapping the cosmic OM and the vibrations of the One. Worship, ground, connect, integrate, and harmonize.

In the Nirvana Lounge: The hands of angels become visible and offer their healing grace. Reflexology, Thai, and Swedish massage by a variety of bodyworkers who have incarnated for the soul purpose of bringing more joy to the world.

In the Heavenly Café: The Olive Tree nourishes the body with love and a choice selection of gourmet eatables. Imagical Arts Face and Body Art employs a full palette of colored paints to adorn the body with exotic, evocative, transformative designs and henna tattoos. The goddess provides glimpses into the Otherworld, divining, scrying, and channeling oracles to clarify your Earthwalk and keep you on the Path of Love.

The visionary artistry of Tish P. and Slashtipher J. conjure the incredible atmospheres and exquisite altars throughout, immersing revelers in the tribaldancing, ecstaticsweating, heartwarming, spiritconnecting, funkcommuning, moonsmiling, nightwell spinning Groove Paradise experience of pure, unadulterated bliss.

The gates to Groove Paradise will open at 8pm… No shoes… only toes No smoking… only oxygen No substances… only endorphins All ages… under 15 with an adult Groove Paradise: A Gathering for Celebration & Connection When: Sat. March 6 @ 8pm Who: DJ Root, DJ July, Mark Z, Imagical Arts, the Goddess, Slashtipher J, Tish, The Olive Tree, Angelic Bodyworkers Where: Shelburne Falls Yoga Center, near the Glacial Potholes More Info: DJ Root (413) 268-0146 www.shelburnefallsyoga.com

March 7, Sunday afternoon - Green Fields Market Annual Meeting at the Guiding Star Grange - FUN (with Trevor the Gamesman), FOOD & ECONOMIC COOPERATION!

March 7 - from 1-4 pm at the Root 9 Collective in Hadley, MA there will be a free workshop on "Self-Care for Activists" as part of the
Radical Self-Care Free Skool Series and the Rt 9 Lending Library (the library will be open during these hours as well). Please join us for an
informative workshop with Claudia Sperber, Licensed Acupuncturist talking about ideas and tools for taking care of yourself as an activist to promote
peace first on a personal level and then in our communities and world. The Root 9 Collective is located at 68 Russell St across from the Shell Car
Wash on Rt 9 in Hadley. For questions please call (413)586-4792. We hope to see you there!

March 8 International Women’s Day 4pm Greenfield Town Common International Women’s Day/End the Occupations Rally and Speak-Out - 4 PM, Grenfield Town Common; Susan Dorazio organizing All welcome.

March 8 - Monday, at 4:30pm, South Hadley - Five College Women's Studies Research Center, 83 College St (Route 116), South Hadley. Amy Dryansky Five College Women's Studies Research Associate Conway, MA The Art of Refusal: Poetry and Motherhood Dryansky's work explores of the impact of motherhood on the work of women poets. Examining how poets navigate the territory of "mother-poet" using a variety of approaches along a continuum of refusal and embrace, Dryansky includes her own struggle to make her way back to poetry after the birth of her children. She relates her search for models in the larger poetry world, and talks about her growing understanding of the ways in which motherhood is now present in her work. Her talk includes a reading of poems written during her tenure at the Center that form the basis for her second full-length collection. All events are free, open to the public and handicapped accessible. For more information call our event line at 538-2527.

March 8 - Noted historian and author Howard Zinn "The War on Terrorism: A Historical Perspective" at 5 PM, Monday in the studios of AOTV, 163 South Main Street, Athol, MA followed at 7:30 PM by "The Trial of the Cantonsville 9" - a play reading directed by Sheila Siragusa (UMass Dept. of Theater). Special appearance by Tom Lewis of Worcester, one of the original Catonsville 9. Tom's artwork will be on display at Haley's in Athold during March, 2004 (opening reception March 7, 3-5 PM).

A potluck supper will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 PM - please bring a dish to share. Tickets $10 adults/$8 seniors and outh. Available at Bruce's Pharmacy (Athol), Wheeler Memorial Library (Orange), and Haley's (Athol) and online at http://www.1794meetinghouse.org

March 9 Brian Boldand, 10th Anniversary Lecture on Human Rights and Social Justice. Dolores Huerta from the United Farm Workers will deliver the Brian Boland 10th Anniversary Memorial Lecture on human rights and social justice on Tuesday March 9 at 7pm at Western New England College (Sleith Hall room 100) in Springfield.

Tuesday March 9 FR BRIAN BOLAND 10th ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL 7-9pm, Sleith Hall room 100, Western New England College, Wilbraham Rd, Springfield (www.wnec.edu/admissions/index.cfm?selection=doc.611). Father Brian Boland, the unofficial chaplain of the labor movement in Western Mass and friend of Caesar Chavez, died 10 years ago. The United Farm Workers' Dolores Huerta, co-founder and First Vice-President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, will speak. Info: co-chairs Tony Chelte, Western New England College Professor, 782-1553, and Jon Weissman, Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, 737-0640; mailto:brianbolandmemorial@hotmail.com.

Wednesday March 10, 2004 - Vigil for Equality - Time 6:30 to 8 PM
Court Square, Downtown Springfield
Guest Speaker: Jennifer Levi,
one of the lawyers on the Goodridge case.
Join us in a candle light vigil to support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
On Thursday March 11th, Massachusetts Legislature will vote on a constitutional amendment that would take away full equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
For more information go to www.massequality.org
MassEquality.org is an unprecedented coalition of twenty local and national groups dedicated to ensuring that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on marriage equality is upheld, and that any anti-gay amendment or legislation is defeated.

Download flyer

March 11 - ARE ALL MOTHERS CREATED EQUAL? THE IMPLICATIONS OF RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER OPPRESSION ON BLACK MOTHERS How long shall the fair daughters of Africa be compelled to bury their minds and talents beneath a load of iron pots and kettles? ~Maria Stewart

Mount Holyoke College Year-Long Series, 2003-2004 Geographies of Color: Education, Inequality, and Black Leadership in the Twenty-First Century -

DATE: March 11, 2004
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Mount Holyoke College, Gamble Auditorium Panelist and Book Signing: asha bandele, author of The Prisoners Wife and Daughter Joan Morgan, author of When Chicken Heads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down, Rebecca Walker, Author of Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, and Safiya Bandele, Director of the Center for Women's Development at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York (CUNY)

Moderator: Dr. Michelle Stephens, Professor of English, American Studies, and African and African-American Studies at Mount Holyoke College

For additional information please visit http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl/ or contact Crystal Hayes via email at cmhayes@mtholyoke.edu

Sponsored by: The Office of the President and The Office of the Dean at Mount Holyoke College, including the Weissman Center for Leadership, the African American and Women's Studies Departments. The Women of Color Leadership Network and The Women's Studies Department at Umass at Amherst and the Women's Studies Department at Amherst College. See Flyer.

March 13 - Come Celebrate International Women's Day - Saturday, 1 - 4 PM at All Souls Church, Hope and Main Streets, Greenfield, MA. bring your spirit; bring your song, your poem; bring your friends in celebratin, Brava! Raising hope, Raising turth, Raising voices!

With an Open Mic, celebrating women of any nation. All welcome. Gather and nourish our community. Refreshments, door prizes, donations welcome. Coffee and Cocoa courtesy of Dean's Beans & a Neghbors' Network to End War. Call Tarprock Peace Center for information. 413-773-1633, http://www.grassrootspeace.org

Boston Area

MARCH 2, 3-7 PM Boston UJP is offering trainings for any interested folks.> 2 CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TRAININGS to sign up, please email to TrainingRSVP@yahoo.com and indicate which training you want along with your name, phone, address and email.> Anyone interested in exercising their constitutional right to Non Violent Civil Disobedience through UJP must go through a training. It's a way to be prepared, to reflect on the power of non-violence, to consider the pros and cons of civil disobedience, to connect with others in affinity groups, to get some experiential feeling for an action and to have concrete legal, logistical, practical information. Think about coming with others from your neighborhood, workplace or political networks. If you have a large (15+) group which would like to be trained let us know. Community Church of Boston 565 Boylston St. Boston, Mass. For more information, call Gray or Matthew at 617-661-6130

March 4 - Thursday NATIONAL HEALTHCARE DAY OF ACTION Organizing resources are at www.jwj.org. Contact Tiffany Skogstorm, 617-524-8778, mailto:skogstrom@massjwj.net, to get detail on how your organization or workplace can participate! Planning committee meets Wednesday February 11, 4pm, Carpenters Local 107, 29 Endicott St, Worcester (508-755-3034 or 508-755-1920).

March 5 - 7 - Activists Networking Weekend - Sponsored by INTERHELP - March 5-7, 2004
Friday 6 pm to Sunday 3 pm
Participant-organized discussions and experiences
Also featuring a workshop on Dismantling Racism
led by Mary Baker and Mary Gleason
INTENTION of Our Gathering:
• Networking with others working for Peace, Justice, and Community;
• Celebrating our connectedness with the Earth in the Interhelp tradition;
• Refreshing our spirits as we relax from our daily efforts to repair the world;
• Getting our anti-burnout shot-in-the-arm;
• Co-creating a weekend of mutual en-COURAGE-ment. See PDF flyer for details. interhelp@earthlink.net

TIME and LOCATION:
Friendly Crossways Retreat and Conference Center in Harvard, Massachusetts, 30 miles northwest of Boston,
near the intersection of Rte. 2 and I-495 (and 3 miles from the commuter rail station in Acton). (See
www.friendlycrossways.com, but note that registration and any inquiries will be handled by Interhelp.)
• Registration starts at 4:00 pm, Friday, March 5; supper at 6:00, program starts at 7:30.
• Gourmet vegetarian meals will be prepared by Annie Hassett.
• The program ends after Sunday lunch, March 7, with departure by 3:00 pm.
COST and SCHOLARSHIPS:
$150 if postmarked on or before February 6, 2004 (includes six meals and two overnights in small dorms)
$175 if postmarked after Feb. 6. (includes six meals and two overnights in small dorms)
$50 reduction for commuters not requiring overnight accommodation (includes six meals)
Need-based scholarships up to $100 available, especially to increase the economic, ethnic and cultural diversity
of the usual attendees at Interhelp events.

March 9 - Mumbai (Bombay): Report back on the World Social Forum and its Implications for the Boston Social Forum

Speakers:  Joseph Gerson and Suren Moodliar
Date:  Tuesday, March 9 Time:  6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Place:  Cambridge Public Library, 45 Pearl Street in Central Square
Admission Free  Wheelchair Accessible  Food Provided
Description: The latest meeting of the World Social Forum took place at the end of January in Mumbai (Bombay), India. It drew tens of thousands of people from around the globe who oppose domination by huge corporations of every dimension of human life and who believe that "another world is possible". Suren Moodliar and Joseph Gerson participated in this historic event. They will give us their take on the social forum and provide us with their ideas on how the Boston Social Forum at UMASS-Boston this July (just before the Democratic National Convention) can be a successful and inspiring event for all New England. Suren Moodliar is a coordinator of the North American Alliance for Fair Employment (NAFFE), a U.S.-Canadian network concerned about the rise of contingent work and its impact on the welfare of all workers. In the 1980s and 1990s he was active on anti-apartheid issues in both South Africa and the U.S. as a member of the African National Congress. In addition with his work on contingent employment he has also organized efforts to monitor the political activities of transnational tobacco corporations. Joseph Gerson is Director of Regional Program for the American Friends Service Committee in New England. He is also staff person for AFSC’s Peace and Economic Security Program and speaks regularly at conferences and forums around the world. He made presentations on Nuclear Weapons, U.S. foreign bases and the U.S. peace movement at several conferences at the World Social Forum. For Information:  Paul Shannon, 617-497-5273 Sponsors: Boston Social Forum and American Friends Service Committee (Non Profit Federal ID # E23 1352 010)

Saturday March 13 FIFTH ANNUAL GRASSROOTS USE OF TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 9am-5:30pm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. An affordable community event. Registration is on a sliding scale from $20-$35 ($7 student/unemployed). Please register early, as space is limited - at www.organizenow.net/conference04.html. Featuring Technology for Political and Civic Engagement and Open Source and Free Software for Nonprofits. Program includes Speakers and Workshops on * Case Studies on Low Cost Uses of Technology by Grassroots Groups * Wireless Messaging for Political Campaigns * Voter Lists and the Civic Engagement Initiative * Mapping with GIS Targeting for Campaigns * Social Capital Forming Citizen Networks * Intro to Blogs, Meetups, Evites and Useful Web Tools * Maintaining your Mailing Lists * How to Be an Effective Accidental Techie * How can I benefit from a database-backed web site? * And more! Info: Organizers' Collaborative, PO Box 400897, Cambridge MA 02140; 617-426-1228 x108; mailto:conf2004@organizenow.net.

Page updated December 12, 2002 by Charlie Jenks; updated continually.