Update 2/12/08: You can now listen to the whole program, available for free download from Indybay.org/santacruz. Please Click Here to visit the Indybay article which contains the evening divided into 9 MP3’s of all the speakers numbered and presented in order of how they spoke.

Special West Coast Speaking tour appearance in Santa Cruz!
Wednesday Jan. 30th, reception at 5:30 pm in the basement of the Vets Hall, 846 Front Street, main program at 7:30 pm upstairs in the meetng room of the Vets Hall.

Combatants for Peace was founded by former Israeli and Palestinian fighters who no longer see each other as enemies. They forswear violence and advocate an end to the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip. Bassam Aramin, formerly a Fatah fighter who spent 7 years in an Israeli prison, now heads the Al Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue. Bassam received the Bremen Peace Award for reconciliation work and the Eliav-Sartawi Award for Middle Eastern Journalism. Elik Elhanan, served as a soldier in an Israeli Defense Forces combat unit from 1995-98 and is now a military refuser. In 1997 a Palestinian suicide bomber killed his sister in Jerusalem.

In January, 2007, Palestinian girls were walking home from school in East Jerusalem. Israeli Border Police firing rubber bullets wounded and killed 10-year old Abir Aramin, Bassam’s daughter. Combatants for Peace has joined other Palestinian, Israeli and International peace and human rights organizations in an effort to memorialize Abir to build ABIR’S GARDEN on the grounds of her school for her classmates to gather, play, and heal.

Elhanan and Aramin are part of a national speaking tour, one year after Abir was fatally wounded. Bassam’s wife Salwa and daughter Areen will be present. Suggested donation $5-$10 sliding-scale (no one turned away for lack of funds). Proceeds benefit Abir’s Garden & Combatants for Peace.

Combatants for Peace is hosted in Santa Cruz by the Middle East Program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence . The Combatants for Peace national tour is organized by The Rebuilding Alliance and Women of a Certain Age. For more information and to and support the Abir’s Garden Project go to www.rebuildingalliance.org/

Check out Bassam’s appearance on Democracy Now recently.

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m., at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 420 Melrose, Santa Cruz

George Baldwin is author of “A Political Reading of the Life of Jesus.” Baldwin was a local pastor for twelve years and a seminary professor for fourteen years. He felt called to live in voluntary poverty and lived in Nicaragua from 1984 to 1996.

Bill Moyers called George “…one of the memorable people I have met in my work and one for whom I have the utmost admiration.”

Baldwin says, “Don’t ask, what would Jesus Do? Read what Jesus did Do!” Baldwin examines Jesus as the leader of a political insurrection, in relation to Christology, the Trinity, theories of atonement, love of neighbor, and the role of the Church.

This event is part of a series, “Jesus and Justice: Journeying Towards Repentance and Reconciliation” organized by local churches, Quaker Meeting, and RCNV.

Call 251-4833 for more information.

Wednesdays, 7:30p.m.: Jan. 16, 23, Feb. 6. Please join Scott Kennedy, RCNV Middle East Program Coordinator on Wednesday evenings in January and the first Wednesday in February for a series of reading and discussions focusing on Nonviolence. Topics will include Gandhi’s Truth – The power of Active Nonviolence; Ends and Means; hating the sin, not the sinner; nonviolence as truth speaking. The groups will be held at 404 King Street in SC. Advanced registration is requested at 831 423 – 1626 ext 107 or by emailing kenncruz {at} pacbell.net Call for more details or with any questions.

Note: The study group will not meet January 30th as we’ll have another RCNV sponsored special event the same evening. We will be hosting Bassam Aramin and Elik Elhanan, two members of Combatants for Peace, a group made up of Palestinian and Israeli individuals who were former fighters and soldiers in the conflict. Check back soon, more details TBA. Click Here to check out Bassam on Democracy Now with another member of Combatants for Peace.

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.

Friday, January 18, 7:30p.m., First Congregational Church, 900 High St., Santa Cruz. Tickets $16-25 sliding scale Advance; $17-25 Door.

Sat. January 19, Children and Family Concert, 10:a.m, First Congregational Church, 900 High St., Santa Cruz. Tickets $8-15 sliding scale Advance; $10-15 Door.

Tickets NOW available at: STREETLIGHT RECORDS, 941 Pacific Av., hours 10-10 daily; **SYLVAN MUSIC, 1521 Mission St., hours, 11-6 daily (**service fee added), and RCNV, 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz. You can also call 831-423-1626 for reservations. You can also make reservations via paypal on this website, but we are charged a fee for each transaction, so we prefer you purchase tickets in person or make reservations via phone. Advance tickets are recommended.

John McCutcheon is a captivating storyteller and truly magical folk musician, who has made over 30 recordings. Master of the hammer dulcimer, John also plays guitar, banjo, piano, and fiddle. His latest CD is “This Fire: Politics, Love and Other Small Miracles.” Join us for these amazing and magical concerts!! John’s website is www.folkmusic.com

For more information, call 423-1626.