Thursday, April 17th
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Event starts at 7:00 pm
University of California, Santa Cruz
Stevenson Event Center

Anti-sexist activist and filmmaker, Byron Hurt, will speak about his film, “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” where he has taken an in-depth look at the representations of manhood and masculinity in mainstream hip-hop culture. He examines how creative genius, within mainstream hip-hop, collides with misogyny, violence and homophobia, exposing the complex implications these issues have in the construction of masculinity, especially among young people of color.

Update! Click Here to download Ann Wright’s talk at the Vets Hall or check the whole article from SC Indymedia with additional MP3’s of Neal Coonerty, Diane Rejman, and the Raging Grannies.

“DISSENT: VOICES OF CONSCIENCE” a book-reading and public presentation by COLONEL (Ret.) ANN WRIGHT. Sunday, January 20th 2008 3:00 p.m. Songs by “The Raging Grannies”! Introduction by County Supervisor Neal Coonerty. Veterans Memorial Hall 846 Front Street in Santa Cruz Sponsored by the Resource Center for Nonviolence, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, CODEPINK SC, Veterans for Peace, GI Rights Hotline, Women in Black members of the Corrie-Mizo Chapter 11. VFW Post #5888, MediaWatch, PUP (People United for Peace), Women in Black, the Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Church and Society Committee of the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz. For more information, contact (831) 423-1626 or www.rcnv.org.
“Dissent: Voices of Conscience–Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq” by Colonel (retired) Ann Wright, (Koa Books, January 2008), profiles government officials whose loyalty to the Constitution and the American people ultimately transcended partisan politics. Originally scheduled for release in 2007, publication has been delayed until now by the State Department’s clearance process. Books will be available for author signing. Author Colonel (ret.) Ann Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service on March 19, 2003, while serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Mongolia, in protest of the war in Iraq and unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties. She joined the Foreign Service in 1987 and served in US Embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, Micronesia, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan. Before entering the Foreign Service, she served in the Army and Army Reserve for 29 years combined. She has Master’s and Law Degrees from the University of Arkansas and a Master’s Degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College. $5 – $10 suggested sliding-scale donation. No one turned away for lack of funds. The book “Dissent: Voices of Conscience–Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq” is also available by mail for a $20 donation to Courage to Resist, 484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610. Proceeds to benefit Courage to Resist’s “Dear Canada: Let U.S. War Resisters Stay!” campaign underway.

Update: You can now download for free a copy of Boatamo’s talk including introductions and the Question and Answer portion of the evening. Please Click Here to visit the Indymedia article and download the separate segments.

Dr. Boatamo Yvonne “Ati” Mosupyoe, African Studies Program Director, California State University, Sacramento, will be the special guest of a dinner hosted by the Resource Center for Nonviolence at El Palomar Restaurant, 1336 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz on Thursday January 10th at 5:30 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. program at the Veterans Hall, 846 Front St.Dr. Mosupyoe is an expert on mediation and interest-based negotiation, conflict resolution and civil society’s role in mitigating and resolving conflicts. Mosupyoe will address Africa’s unique contribution to the growing appreciation of mediation and conflict resolution methodologies and ethics in addressing regional and world problems. Her presentation will include various South Africa case studies.Dr. Mosupyoe also serves on the Advisory Board of Global Majority in Monterey. She is a native of Tshwane, South Africa, received her PhD from UC Berkeley, and has published on a broad range of subjects, including Pan Africanism, ethnic studies, and “Mediation of Patriarchy and Sexism by Women in South Africa.”Dinner reservations are $40-100 sliding-scale and spaces are limited. A $5-10 suggested sliding-scale donation is asked for the 7:30 p.m. program, with no one turned away for lack of funds. For more information, call 423-1626.

On Wednesday December 12th 2007, Sharon Delgado read selections from her new book “Shaking the Gates of Hell: Faith led resistance to Corporate Globalization” at the Capitola Book Cafe. Delgado is a former organizer with the Resource Center for Nonviolence, a Reverend of Earth Justice Ministries, and a global justice activist. Sharon walked us through portions of her book, and some of the ideas and philosophies behind her resistance to Corporate Globalization. This file is an un-edited recording of the event. I left questions and comments from the audience in the MP3 cause some of them guide the conversation and help frame what Sharon is saying. The file is approximately 64 MB and an hour and ten minutes long.

Click Here to download direct or check out Indybay for this and many other informative articles, photos, video and more!

Four young men speak out out against war in Watsonville.

They spoke in Watsonville on May 14 at the First Presbyterian Church on Beach Street. Please see the Indybay article for more information. For more information about war resisters and support networks for them, please check out Courage to Resist. Photo Credit Jeff Paterson

Iraq combat veterans, Agustin Aguayo and Camilo Mejia, were joined by fellow war resisters Pablo Paredes and Robert Zabala at a series of Northern California events May 9-18. One of the stops included Watsonville where the 4 men spoke in local high school class rooms and on local station KUSP 88.9 FM in the morning and at the First Presbyterian Church that evening. Check out this link and click on the May 14th program to hear the show streamed.

Just weeks after being released from a military stockade in Germany for refusing redeployment to Iraq, Agustin Aguayo was joined by fellow war resisters on a greater San Francisco Bay Area speaking tour. Agustin served almost eight months in prison after fighting for nearly three years to be recognized as a conscientious objector. Agustin has explained for the first time why he chose jail instead of redeploying to Iraq.

Camilo Mejia was one of the first Iraq combat veterans to refuse to return to Iraq and served almost nine months in prison for his stand against war. In his upcoming book, “Road from ar Ramadi; The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía,” Camilo gives an inside view of what it felt like to be a soldier on the ground in Iraq. Camilo’s book will be available at his events and is now available on amazon.com and soon in your local independent bookstore.

Pablo Paredes refused to ship out in support of the Iraq War at the San Diego Naval Station in 2005. He is now a GI rights counselor and counter-recruitment activist.

Robert Zabala is a Marine recently ordered discharged as a Conscientious Objector (CO) by a federal judge after fighting for nearly four years to be recognized as a CO.

The RCNV GI Rights Hotline & Draft Alternatives Program provides information and counseling for enlisted military seeking legal discharge, and for young people and families concerned about Selective Service registration, a potential draft and comprehensive information about military enlistment. For information contact the program’s 7-day-a-week hotline at (831) 359 0202

Click here to download the audio MP3 direct or click here to visit the Indybay article with more info on the men and their cases.