Week of January 1, 2009

You can help send medicine to Gaza

Time for Change? - US Network Correspondents Come Home from Iraq - Troops Remain


LI Wins Blog: NAACP Installs Officers - Issues Statement on LI Hate Crimes

East Hampton Star: James Henry on Zellner's Civil Rights Memoir and Activism Today

"Community Discussion" on National Health Plans - Report from Dr. E. Fox

Congress to Bail Out Social Service Agencies-NOT

Peace and Justice Calendar - Ellen Frank's Cities of Peace at Cathedral of St. John the Devine - Wednesday Jan 7 - bus from East End

Suffolk Peace Vigils - East End Women in Black - Sunday January 4 - 3pm at Bridgehampton Monument

Casualties in Iraq - 31 December 08 - 14th soldier death for month- TV Networks Bring Correspondants Home!

Gaza Under Attack: Read, Listen and Act


Israel, U.S. Policies Aided Hamas- Warren Stobel, McLatchy Newspapers
Rabbi Michael Lerner: Right but not smart
Israel is still using a strategy of domination in its struggle with Hamas, trying to use force to gain security. But this is a recipe for endless war.
Palestinian Legislator Mustafa Barghouthi: Palestinian Guernica and Myths of Israeli Victimhood
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: A Call to End Attacks and Their Cause
Let’s be crystal clear. Israel’s massive attacks on Gaza today have one overarching goal: conflict management. How to end rocket attacks on Israel from a besieged and starving Gaza without ending the impetus for those attacks, 41 years of increasingly oppressive Israeli Occupation without a hint that a sovereign and viable Palestinian state will ever emerge.

Phyllis Bennis: The Gaza Crisis
Washington Post: Obama Silent on Gaza - Activists call for Change in Mideast Policy
WPKN "Between The Lines" Interview with Free Gaza Movement's Ramzi Kysia
US based Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) - Sending Medicines to Gaza Now
12-31-08: Barbara Lubin Director of MECA "I will be leaving next week to meet our Gaza Director Dr. Mona El-Farra in Egypt to receive five tons of medicine for infants and children that we purchased and had shipped from Holland. We will also purchase emergency supplies from a Palestinian pharmaceutical company in Cairo to help treat the thousands who have been wounded in the horrific Israeli attacks."

Recommended Reading-click here

The Bone in the Throat - Jeff Halper - Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
Iraq, Before, After and Now
Lucero Killing Follows Months of Anti-Immigrant Agitation
Economic Contributions of Immigrants to Long Island

Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island
Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 and 22 now require a digital capable TV or converter box.

Go to Cablevision.com/update for more information.

Monday 10 pm
Tuesday 6 pm

Wednesday 10 pm
Thursday 10 pm
Friday 8 pm
Saturday - 6pm

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

email subscribers:

To Un Subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

send comments to EastEndReport@yahoo.com


HEALTH CARE SYSTEM COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

On 27 December 2008, Dr. Elaine Fox hosted a community discussion on health care at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton. The discussion format was based on the guidelines provided by the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Mark Seidler assisted Dr. Fox by facilitating the discussion.

The instructions provided by the Transition Team framed this discussion as “part of the President-elect’s continuing efforts to reach out and directly involve the American people in their own government. Health care is a top priority for President-elect Obama, and he wants your help in designing a system that provides quality, affordable health care for all Americans.”

Participants responded to 7 questions concerning health care. The results of the discussion were recorded, and Dr. Fox will forward a summary of the group’s responses to the Transition team, as part of a nationwide dialogue process. Participants also completed a 3 question written survey and results are available by request.

There was an overflow crowd in the Maria Cooper room at the library. Among others, the questions asked participants to describe what they saw as the biggest problems in the American health care system, and what they thought were the best ways for policy makers to plan to address these problems.

Central issues discussed were, not surprisingly, the skyrocketing cost of both medical care and medical insurance premiums, the resulting bankruptcies and foreclosures, the impact on American businesses, and the rising numbers of uninsured and underinsured. Also raised were perceptions of waste, lack of transparency, and a general sense of disempowerment of individuals in relation to their health care system.

There was some concern that the major proposed alternative to the present system - the single payer system - was not sufficiently explored. This alternative was favored by many at the meeting.

The format provided by the instructions really only invited discussion around the plan currently being considered by Obama-Biden, which essentially focuses on working with and improving the current system. Even for those who questioned whether a single payer system is desirable or feasible, the time frame allowed only minimal exploration and debate on the complexities of that question.

Intimately tied to this choice (incremental improvement vs. radical change) is the question about the actual and desirable role of the insurance companies. Many in the group saw them as the core of the problem, while others pointed out that they are a political reality, and that any efforts at reform need to include them in the process. Many participants wanted further dialogue, and expressed the desire to have input into the political process as the reform initiatives develop at the national level.

For further information and potential follow-up events, please contact: Dr. Elaine Fox at 631.287.1093, or efoxmd@optonline.net


US Network Correspondants Come Home from Iraq - Troops Remain

Two news items appear today, December 31, 2008 on the web-site icasualties.org

1) 12/31/08 Soldier dies from wounds


The un-identified soldier is the 4,221 st US death since the invasion of Iraq was launched almost six years ago.

2) TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War

Palestine’s Guernica and the myths of Israeli victimhood -By Mustafa Barghouthi

Ma'an News Agency

Palestine’s Guernica and the myths of Israeli victimhood -By Mustafa Barghouthi
Date: 30 / 12 / 2008 Time: 18:04
تكبير الخط تصغير الخط
Cartoon by Abu Yusef
The Israeli campaign of ‘death from above’ began around 11am on Saturday morning and stretched straight through the night into Tuesday. The massacre continues as I write these words.

The bloodiest single day in Palestine since the War of 1967 is far from over following on Israel’s promise that this is ‘only the beginning’ of their campaign of state terror. At least 360 people have been murdered thus far, but the body count continues to rise at a dramatic pace as more mutilated bodies are pulled from the rubble, previous victims succumb to their wounds and new casualties are created by the minute.

What has and is occurring is nothing short of a war crime, yet the Israeli public relations machine is in full-swing, churning out lies by the minute.

Once and for all it is time to expose the myths that they have created.

1.Israelis have claimed to have ended the occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2005.
While Israel has indeed removed the settlements from the tiny coastal Strip, they have in no way ended the occupation. They remained in control of the borders, the airspace and the waterways of Gaza, and have carried out frequent raids and targeted assassinations since the disengagement.

Furthermore, since 2006 Israel has imposed a comprehensive siege on the Strip. For over two years, Gazans have lived on the edge of starvation and without the most basic necessities of human life, such as cooking or heating oil and basic medications. This siege has already caused a humanitarian catastrophe which has only been exacerbated by the dramatic increase in Israeli military aggression.

2. Israel claims that Hamas violated the cease-fire and pulled out of it unilaterally.
Hamas indeed respected their side of the ceasefire, except on those occasions early on when Israel carried out major offensives in the West Bank. In the last two months, the ceasefire broke down with Israelis killing several Palestinians and resulting in the response of Hamas. In other words, Hamas has not carried out an unprovoked throughout the period of the cease-fire.

Israel, however, did not live up to any of its obligations of ending the siege and allowing vital humanitarian aid to resume in Gaza. Rather than the average of 450 trucks per day being allowed across the border, on the best days, only eighty have been allowed in –with the border remaining hermetically sealed 70% of the time. Throughout the supposed ‘cease-fire’ Gazans have been forced to live like animals, with a total of 262 dying due to the inaccessibility of proper medical care.

Now after hundreds dead and counting, it is Israel who refuses to re-enter talks over a cease-fire. They are not intent on securing peace as they claim; it is more and more clear that they are seeking regime change – whatever the cost.

3. Israel claims to be pursuing peace with peaceful Palestinians.
Before the on-going massacre in the Gaza Strip, and throughout the entirety of the Annapolis Peace Process, Israel has continued and even intensified its occupation of the West Bank. In 2008, settlement expansion increased by a factor of 38, a further 4,950 Palestinians were arrested – mostly from the West Bank, and checkpoints rose from 521 to 699.

Furthermore, since the onset of the peace talks, Israel has killed 546 Palestinians, among them 76 children. These gruesome statistics are set to rise dramatically now, but previous Israeli transgressions should not be forgotten amidst this most recent horror.

Only this morning, Israel shot and killed a young peaceful protester in the West Bank village of Ni’lin, and has injured dozens more over the last few hours. It is certain that they will continue to employ deadly force at non-violent demonstrations and we expect a sizable body count in the West Bank as a result. If Israel is in fact pursuing peace with ‘good Palestinians,’ who are they talking about?

4. Israel is acting in self-defense.
It is difficult to claim self defense in a confrontation which they themselves have sparked, but they are doing it anyway. Self-defense is reactionary, while the actions of Israel over the last two days have been clearly premeditated. Not only did the Israeli press widely report the ongoing public relations campaign being undertaken by Israel to prepare Israeli and international public opinion for the attack, but Israel has also reportedly tried to convince the Palestinians that an attack was not coming by briefly opening crossings and reporting future meetings on the topic. They did so to insure that casualties would be maximized and that the citizens of Gaza would be unprepared for their impending slaughter.

It is also misleading to claim self-defense in a conflict with such an overwhelming asymmetry of power. Israel is the largest military force in the region, and the fifth largest in the world. Furthermore, they are the fourth largest exporter of arms and have a military industrial complex rivaling that of the United States. In other words, Israel has always had a comprehensive monopoly over the use of force, and much like its super power ally, Israel uses war as an advertising showcase of its many instruments of death.

5. Israel claims to have struck military targets only.
Even while image after image of dead and mutilated women and children flash across our televisions, Israel brazenly claims that their munitions expertly struck only military installations. We know this to be false as many other civilian sites have been hit by airstrikes including a hospital and mosque.

In the most densely populated area on the planet, tons upon tons of explosives have been dropped. The first estimates of injured are in the thousands. Israel will claim that these are merely ‘collateral damage’ or accidental deaths. The sheer ridiculousness and inhumanity of such a claim should sicken the world community.

6. Israel claims that it is attacking Hamas and not the Palestinian people.
First and foremost, missiles do not differentiate people by their political affiliation; they simply kill everyone in their path. Israel knows this, and so do Palestinians. What Israel also knows, but is not saying publically, is how much their recent actions will actually strengthen Hamas – whose message of resistance and revenge is being echoed by the angry and grieving.

The targets of the strike, police and not Hamas militants, give us some clue as to Israel’s mistaken intention. They are hoping to create anarchy in the Strip by removing the pillar of law and order.

7. Israel claims that Palestinians are the source of violence.
Let us be clear and unequivocal. The occupation of Palestine since the War of 1967 has been and remains the root of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Violence can be ended with the occupation and the granting of Palestine’s national and human rights. Hamas does not control the West Bank and yet we remain occupied, our rights violated and our children killed.

With these myths understood, let us ponder the real reasons behind these airstrikes; what we find may be even more disgusting than the act itself.

The Israel I leaders are holding press conferences, dressed in black, with sleeves rolled up.

‘It’s time to fight’, they say, ‘but it won’t be easy.’

To prove just how hard it is, Livni, Olmert and Barack did not even wear make-up to the press conference, and Barack has ended his presidential campaign to focus on the Gaza campaign. What heroes…what leaders…

We all know the truth: the suspension of the electioneering is exactly that – electioneering. Like John McCain’s suspension of his presidential campaign to return to Washington to ‘deal with’ the financial crisis, this act is little more than a publicity stunt.

The candidates have to appear ‘tough enough to lead’, and there is seemingly no better way of doing that than bathing in Palestinian blood.

‘Look at me,’ Livni says in her black suit and unkempt hair, ‘I am a warrior. I am strong enough to pull the trigger. Don’t you feel more confident about voting for me, now that you know I am as ruthless as Bibi Netanyahu?’

I do not know which is more disturbing, her and Barack, or the constituency they are trying to please.

In the end, this will in no way improve the security of the average Israeli; in fact it can be expected to get much worse in the coming days as the massacre could presumably provoke a new generation of suicide bombers.

It will not undermine Hamas either, and it will not result in the three fools, Barack, Livni and Olmert, looking ‘tough.’ Their misguided political venture will likely blow up in their faces as did the brutally similar 2006 invasion of Lebanon.

In closing, there is another reason - beyond the internal politics of Israel - why this attack has been allowed to occur: the complicity and silence of the international community.

Israel cannot and would not act against the will of its economic allies in Europe or its military allies in the US. Israel may be pulling the trigger ending hundreds, perhaps even thousands of lives this week, but it is the apathy of the world and the inhumane tolerance of Palestinian suffering which allows this to occur.

‘The evil only exists because the good remain silent’


*** Mustafa Barghouthi is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative

Cities of Peace at St. John the Devine January 7



PLEASE JOIN US AT
THE PREMIER ARTIST EXHIBIT
IN THE RESTORED LANDMARK CATHEDRAL

THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE

Bus to Jan 7 event from East End

contact Ellen Frank at eefrank@optonline.net

Diana Rose
President, Garrison Institute,
Elena Prohaska Glinn,
Director, Elena Prohaska Fine Arts
&
The Board of Directors of
Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation, Inc.
Cordially invite you to attend the

OPENING RECEPTION FOR

CITIES OF PEACE
Gold illuminated paintings honoring world cities traumatized by war including
Baghdad, Beijing, Hiroshima, Jerusalem, Kabul, Lhasa, Monrovia, New York, Sarajevo


Wednesday, January 7, 2009
6 - 9 p.m.

The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine

1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th St.
New York City

SPEAKER:

Abigail E. Disney, Ph.D.
Philanthropist, Filmmaker and President of the Daphne Foundation
will discuss art as an instrument for global understanding

R.S.V.P.: info@efiaf.org or 631.329.0530




Sarajevo: Here from CITIES OF PEACE TREASURE SUITE
22 k Gold and Palladium Leaf on Giclee, 2008. 12" x 12"
Inspired by the monumental CITIES OF PEACE paintings now on view.

Exhibition continues through February 16, 2009

VIEW PAINTINGS


CITIES OF PEACE™ was produced at the Illumination Atelier of Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation in East Hampton, New York, with interns from China, Korea, Colombia, Estonia, Japan, Poland, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States, under the artistic direction of Dr. Ellen Frank.

Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation, Inc. (EFIAF), a 501 (C) (3) not-for-profit public organization, was formed to revitalize, create and exhibit illuminated art, using historic and literary traditions to combine art and social justice. EFIAF’s Peace Education Program, the Illumination Atelier, unites international interns, artists and experts to research and create illuminations that bridge ethnic and religious diversity and national identity.

ELLEN FRANK ILLUMINATION ARTS FOUNDATION, INC
Dedicated to the transformative power of art to build a culture of understanding.
Ellen Frank, Founder & Artistic Director

PLEASE VISIT www.efiaf.org for more information.

Week of December 18 - click here for updates

Congress to Bail Out Social Service Agencies-NOT

Holiday Spirit at the Bridgehampton Child Care Center - Monday, December 22

Shinnecock Museum Exhibit- People of the Shore

December 14 - 24: Art Show Benefits Burmese HIV Positive Children

Peace and Justice Calendar

Suffolk Peace Vigils - East End Women in Black - Schedule Change Starting Sunday December 7: Vigils once each month at Bridgehampton Monument

Casualties in Iraq

Recommended Reading:
Iraq, Before, After and Now
Lucero Killing Follows Months of Anti-Immigrant Agitation
Economic Contributions of Immigrants to Long Island

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media


Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island
Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 and 22 now require a digital capable TV or converter box.

Go to Cablevision.com/update for more information.

Monday 10 pm
Tuesday 6 pm

Wednesday 10 pm
Thursday 10 pm
Friday 8 pm
Saturday - 6pm

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

email subscribers:

To Un Subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

send comments to EastEndReport@yahoo.com


Congress to Bail Out Social Service Agencies - NOT

It seems that the coming change in administration and Congress in DC will not see an increase in funds for social services. Rather hundreds of billions will be bled to 'fix' the banking, auto and financial industries. Meanwhile the collapse of the economy will increase the needs that private social service agencies attempt to fill.

Here is our list of local organizations that need our help to survive.

Please send us your list to eastendreport@yahoo.com and we will include them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Padoquohan Medicine Lodge, Inc a 501 c3 organization on the Shinnecock Reservation helps with emergencies such as housing repairs and food, typically for single parent households.

Post Office Box 5078
Southampton, NY 11969
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center

Operates day care and after school programs and a food pantry.

631-537-0616
P.O. Box 1197 

Bridgehampton, NY 11932

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sag Harbor Food Pantry

at the Old Whalers Church
44 Union Street
Post Office Box 1241
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
ph: 631-725-0894

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinnecock Cultural and Center Museum

Besides preserving the history and culture of some of Long Island's first peoples, the museum provides employment for several well trained professionals from Shinnecock

Budget cuts have threatened its existence and has forced the reduction in staff hours.

Contact the Museum: (631) 287-4923

online: www.shinnecockmuseum.org

Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center & Museum
PO Box 5059
Southampton, NY 11969

Holiday Spirit at the Bridgehampton Childcare and Recreational Center

In the Heart of the Community, the Historic Bridgehampton Childcare and Recreational Center Holds Holiday Gathering, Supports Families

In the true spirit of community, in keeping with its historic tradition and commitments, the Bridgehampton Childcare and Recreational Center on the Bridge/Sag Turnpike will open its doors wide for holiday sharing on Monday December 22nd, at 5 p.m.

Thanks to community groups including Island Harvest, Have a Heart, the Southampton Town PBA, Southampton Village PBA , Dan’s Papers, among others; local Center families will be offered turkeys, gifts and a warm celebration.

The Center’s Girl Scout Troop also adopted a family in need for the holidays. The girl scouts are collecting specifically requested items for the 15 and 11 year old sisters in the single mother family of seven. Their home is also in need of repair.

The Center, founded in 1954 has been energized under the direction of Southampton Village Trustee Bonnie Cannon. Other initiatives include a Visiting Artists program. In the past weeks renowned local singer/songwriter Terry Winchell has been teaching music and creating songs with the children. If one listens it may be possible to hear an original Christmas song composed by Terry and the Center kids, very soon!

The Center hosts regular community informational meetings on a range of critical subjects, from good parenting to health care alternatives.

According to Ms. Cannon: “We want the Center to serve as a beacon for our youth and families. Just as President-Elect Obama seeks to engage all communities in a revitalization of our nation; we seek to engage our local families in building what Dr. King called a Beloved Community.”

For more information contact Bonnie Cannon, Director, at 631 537-0616, ext 16.

East End Ink - Thursday December 18 at 12 Noon

WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport / WPKM 88.7 Montauk / streaming at wpkn.org

This month on East End Ink two local poets read from their recent work.
Alex Russo, a painter, poet and teacher reads from "Poems and Images" (Xlibris), a collection of 64 poems and 10 pen and ink drawings.

Allen Planz , a former poetry editor of The Nation and a licensed sea captain, reads from
"Creaturely Drift: New & Selected Poems" (Street Press).

More about the reading, recorded at Canio's Books in Sag Harbor at hamptons.com

East End Ink is heard each month on the third Thursday at 12 noon.

Week of December 11 - click here for updates

Alex Russo and Allen Planz: Poetry on East End Ink - Thursday, December 18 at 12 Noon - WPKN/WPKM/wpkn.org

Holiday Spirit at the Bridgehampton Child Care Center - Monday, December 22

Three Murders - Pat Young Commentary

From Free Speech Radio News: Another Ecuadorian Killed in New York and How Nassau and Suffolk Handle Hate Crimes


Friday, December 12: An Evening for Marcelo's Mom in Patchogue

Saturday and Sunday Dec. 13, 14: WHEN THE OYSTER WAS OUR WORLD - Shinnecock Museum Winter Festival


December 14 - 24: Art Show Benefits Burmese HIV Positive Children


Sunday, December 14: Film on Mumia Abu-Jamal Benefits Pacifica Radio and WBAI

Bridgehampton Child Care Center Needs Our Help

Peace and Justice Calendar

Suffolk Peace Vigils - East End Women in Black - Schedule Change Starting Sunday December 7: Vigils once each month at Bridgehampton Monument

Casualties in Iraq

Recommended Reading:
Iraq, Before, After and Now
Lucero Killing Follows Months of Anti-Immigrant Agitation
Economic Contributions of Immigrants to Long Island

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media


Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island
Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 and 22 now require a digital capable TV or converter box.

Go to Cablevision.com/update for more information.

Monday 10 pm
Tuesday 6 pm

Wednesday 10 pm
Thursday 10 pm
Friday 8 pm
Saturday - 6pm

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

email subscribers:

To Un Subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

send comments to EastEndReport@yahoo.com

People of the Shore: Shinnecock Museum Maritime Exhibit

Explore a vibrant new exhibit, “People of the Shore: The Maritime History of the Place of Shells,” at the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum.

Co-sponsor for the exhibit is the Shinnecock Shellfish Hatchery & Environmental Center (SSHEC) that cultivates oysters off the Shinnecock tribal shores.

The “People of the Shore” exhibit uses artifacts and historical and present day photographs featuring those from lifelong Shinnecock bayman and self-taught photographer, Herman Quinn, to examine the distinctive and enduring connection of the Indians of Eastern Long Island with the sea. It includes demonstrations of Shinnecock maritime traditions of today, wampum and shell jewelry making and net making.

The exhibit is on view through March 14, 2009 except for the museum's January hiatus.

Also on view are the Museum’s permanent exhibitions, “A Walk with the People,” murals, photo gallery and collections depicting the history of the Shinnecock and other coastal eastern woodland cultures, and “My Spirit Dances Forever,” The Frederick DeMatteis Collection of bronze sculptures of Native Americans.

The Shinnecock Museum is the only Native-owned and operated museum on Long Island. Montauk Highway (Route 27A) and West Gate Road in Southampton.

Contact (631) 287-4923 or info@shinnecockmuseum.org for more information.

online: www.shinnecockmuseum.org

Art Show Benefits Burmese Children with HIV





A Benefit Show at the Wish Rock Studio
17 Grand Avenue on Shelter Island
Telephone 631-749-5200

70% of the proceeds will benefit HIV positive children and families in Myanmar/Burma.

Exhibit from December 14 to December 24.

Reception Sunday December 14 10 am - 5 pm

Friday December 12 AN EVENING FOR MARCELO’S MOM IN PATCHOGUE

Friday, December 12, 2008

This evening is dedicated to the spirit of community healing and unity in the wake of the tragic death of Marcelo Lucero and in particular to his mother, Rosario.
All donations collected will go directly to Rosario Lucero in Ecuador.

Schedule of Events

Solemn Candlelight Procession & Vigil – 6:30 p.m.
Gather at Railroad Ave./Sephton St., near the site where Marcelo died. Process to

Congregational Church of Patchogue (95 E. Main St.).
No Signs Please Group Banners Welcome Rain or Shine

Congregational Church of Patchogue – 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Candlelight Prayer/Reflection • Performances by Musicians, Singers, Poets
• Art Exhibit Courtesy of Projecting Art • LI WINS Table
• Free Will Offering for Rosario Lucero Fund

Concert to Benefit Rosario Lucero at Blue Point Brewing Co. – 8 p.m.
Featuring Jack’s Waterfall, Jay Scott and others. Tickets $40.
Call 631-475-6944 for information/tickets.

Satellite Events
BrickHouse Brewery (631-447-2337) and Once & For All (631-447-0519)
will be raising money for the Rosario Lucero Fund the night of December 12.

On December 11, The Katie Pearlman Band, Jordan Hope, Cathy Kreger & Jack Licitra
perform Live in the Lobby of the Patchogue Theatre (71 E. Main St.).
Musicians will donate a portion of their CD sales to the Rosario Lucero Fund. Tickets $10.

For further information about An Evening for Marcelo’s Mom,
contact oceanofjoy129@aol.com

WE ARE ALL ONE!
¡Somos todos uno

Co-Sponsors (as of Dec. 3): Village of Patchogue • Jack’s Waterfall • Live in the Lobby at the Patchogue Theatre • Blue Point Brewing Company • Alianza Ecuatoriana Internacional • Congregational Church of Patchogue • BrickHouse Brewery • Once & For All • South Country Peace Group • LI WINS • Projecting Art • WUSB Radio • WRCN Radio • North Country Peace Group • Patchogue Arts Council • St. Joseph the Worker Pax Christi • Little Portion Friary • Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook • Long Island Friends of WBAI• Christopher Collaborative incorporated • Temple Beth El of Patchogue • Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bellport • The American Jewish Committee, Long Island Chapter • Latino-Jewish Council of Long Island • Patchogue Improvement District

Week of December 4

Southampton Police to Work with County Bias Crimes Unit - Anti Bias Task Force Says Klan Active in Town


Tidings from Hazel Kahan - Dark Tourism in Mumbai
- download audio

December 9: Marx Bros Film - Duck Soup - in Water Mill / Bridgehampton

December 10: Blanche Wiesen-Cook Hosts Program for Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th Anniversary


December 12: An Evening for Marcelo's Mom in Patchogue


December 14: Film on Mumia Abu-Jamal Benefits Pacifica Radio and WBAI

Bridgehampton Child Care Center Needs Our Help

Peace and Justice Calendar

Suffolk Peace Vigils - East End Women in Black - Schedule Change Starting Sunday December 7: Vigils once each month at Bridgehampton Monument

Casualties in Iraq

Recent postings:

Economic Contribution of Immigrants to Long Island

Recommended Reading

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media


Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island
Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 and 22 now require a digital capable TV or converter box.

Go to Cablevision.com/update for more information.

Monday 10 pm
Tuesday 6 pm

Wednesday 10 pm
Thursday 10 pm
Friday 8 pm
Saturday - 6pm

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

email subscribers:

To Un Subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

send comments to EastEndReport@yahoo.com


Anti Bias Task Force: Klan Active Here, Southampton Seeks Help from County

The Town of Southampton, says it is seeking the help of the Suffolk County Police hate crimes unit in investigating a series of alleged bias crimes in the area.



The decision is in response to a request by the Southampton 
Town Anti-Bias Task Force and a resolution of the Southampton Town
 Board. The action was announced at a press conference
 called by the Anti Bias Task Force on Monday.



None of the east end towns of Southampton, Southold, Shelter Island and
 Riverhead have used the Suffolk County hate crimes unit as yet. 

Advocates for minority groups have long argued
 that it requires a specialist in this area to recognize
a crime as hate - related. 



Lucius Ware of the Anti-Bias group and the Eastern Long Island NAACP 
says the record of hate crimes investigation in Southampton has been 
abysmal. Ware says


"the case often ends with no report, inconclusive findings or no findings at all".



The recent discovery of a hangman's noose along a nature trail 
near Bridgehampton was cited as the latest instance of hate-related
 crime in the area.
 
Bob Zellner, a member of the Anti-Bias group and a white southerner
 who worked in the 1960s civil rights movement charged that
 the Ku Klux Klan is active in Southampton and that authorities
 have ignored this.
Zellner said: 

"The town ranger said the noose was a kid's prank, not the main symbol of the 
well organized Ku Klux Klan here in Southampton. 
Just take it down so people won’t be disturbed by the gruesome hate message. 
The Klan is distributing hate literature in mailboxes here? oh well, kids will be kids."

The Anti-Bias Task Force is also urging the town to seek the help of the FBI and the US Justice Department in investigating the incidents. 


______________________________

Report from WPKN / WPKM News, Tuesday December 4. WPKN news is heard Mon-Fri at 6:30 pm following Free Speech Radio News from Pacifica on WPKN 89.5 FM Bridgeport / WPKM 88.7 FM Montauk.

Dec. 10 7:30pm: 60th Anniversary - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

World Premiere: "A Flame in the Dark"

Thiago de Mello and Amazon, With Special Guest Ithamara Koorax and others

Join Grammy Award-nominated composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Gaudencio Thiago de Mello for the World Premiere of "A Flame in the Dark," his tribute to Sergio Vieira de Mello, in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Speakers will include:

William Kelly, President, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Charlotte Bunch, Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

Monica Aleman, International Indigenous Women's Forum

Hossein Alizadeh, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) Catherine Albisa, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)

Host:

Blanche Wiesen Cook, Distinguished Professor of History, The Graduate Center, CUNY

December 10th, Wednesday, 7:30pm

Proshansky Auditorium

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Ave (btwn 34th & 35th)

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

No registration. Please arrive early for a seat. 212-817-2005

Dec 14 - Film: "In Prison All My Life": Benefit for WBAI


Click to enlarge

December 9: Marx Bros Film 'Duck Soup' in Water Mill/Bridgehampton

Long Island Progressive Coalition- South Fork Chapter Hosts Showing of "Duck Soup" and a party - bring your own snacks


You are invited to a special edition of the regular monthly meeting of the South Fork chapter of the LI Progressive Coalition. The Marx Brothers' look at the last (1930's) economic melt - down will be viewed and we will share some 'noshes'.

Location: Lutheran Church at Montauk Highway & Hayground Rd. between Water Mill and Bridgehampton.

More Info: 516-541-1006, ext.55 or 631-259-2482. also http://www.lipc.org/

Week of November 27


Tidings from Hazel Kahan - will be Moving

Speak Out at Suffolk Legislature - Tuesday December 2

New York Times Editorial: A Catastropic Silence

Bridgehampton Child Care Center Needs Our Help


Peace and Justice Calendar - World Aids Day Service in Bridgehampton Monday Dec 1

Suffolk Peace Vigils

Casualties in Iraq

Recent postings:

Economic Contribution of Immigrants to Long Island

Recommended Reading

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media


Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island
Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 and 22 now require a digital capable TV or converter box.

Go to Cablevision.com/update for more information.

Monday 10 pm
Tuesday 6 pm

Wednesday 10 pm
Thursday 10 pm
Friday 8 pm
Saturday - 6pm

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

email subscribers:

To Un Subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

send comments to EastEndReport@yahoo.com



Speak Out at Suffolk Legislature - Tuesday Dec 2

The Long Island Immigrant Alliance is urging all people concerned about the hate killing of Marcelo Lucero to go to the Suffolk Legislature Tuesday morning December 2 at 8:30AM to speak out against the Legislature's role in fostering a climate of intolerance.

This event will include a rally and press conference, and it will provide an opportunity for you to make your voice heard.

If you want to speak, go to the Legislative Building at the county complex in Hauppauge at 9AM on December 2. You should sign a card indicating that you want to speak at the "Public Portion" (not the "Hearing"). You will then be assigned a number and cards are called beginning after 9:30AM. You will have three minutes to speak. Generally legislators will not comment and will not answer questions, just (hopefully) listen.

If you go to the legislature on Tuesday, please make the following points in your statement:

1) End the cynical rhetoric demonizing immigrants;

2) Stop introducing legislation that results in profiling immigrants;

3) Create a 5-year plan to improve how we integrate immigrants coming
into Suffolk County.
Other Suggestions:

- We want an end to anti-immigrant legislation. It does not address
Suffolk's real problems and it just stirs up resentments.

- Stop campaigning by scapegoating immigrants.

- County Exec. Levy says he is creating a liason between the Latino
community and the police. Ask the20legislators to make sure that the
person appointed is accountable to Latino victims.

- The Legislature must hold a hearing to look into the dramatic 93% drop in reported hate crimes against Latinos since Levy took office. Is anti-Latino bias really going down, or are hate crimes not being reported or are they miscategorized?

Here is the Legislature's address
725 Veterans Memorial Highway
William H. Rogers Building
Smithtown, NY 11787-4311
Telephone: (631) 853-4070

Tidings from Hazel Kahan - Thursday Dec 4 - Dark Tourism


Starting on December 4 'Tidings from Hazel Kahan' will be heard on the first Thursday each month at 12 Noon on WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport and WPKM 88.7 Montauk and wpkn.org (streaming audio).


This month Hazel investigated "Dark Tourism" which includes poverty tourism and trips to
the scene of disasters. Is this a good or a bad thing? Hazel investigates. Includes an interview with a Mumbai tour operator - recorded hours before the terrorist attacks.

Tidings programs are available for download at

http://web.mac.com/hzelkahan/Tidings/Podcast/Podcast.html

New York Times - November 26, 2008


Editorial

A Catastrophic Silence

The killing of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, on Long Island this month brought with it a cruel blessing. From a shocking crime — an assault by a gang of boys accused of making a hobby of hunting Latinos — came a chance for a stricken, divided community to bind old wounds and to bury anger.

Instead, the moment is collapsing into the same old shouting. Advocates for immigrants are condemning the Suffolk County executive, Steve Levy, as somehow complicit in the killing for his rigid devotion to immigration enforcement. Mr. Levy is lashing back and trying to distribute blame fairly. He wonders, for example, how a gang out of “A Clockwork Orange” could have run free for so long, firing BB’s and hateful slurs at random victims, jumping and punching them for sport.

Why, he asks, were their friends and acquaintances silent? It’s a fair question, but there is another silence Mr. Levy should focus on.

The silence that echoes most painfully is that of the Latino victims of these and other hidden crimes. Mr. Lucero’s death has set loose a flood of stories of abuse and harassment. A police precinct commander lost his job over his handling of two other attacks against Latino men that fatal day, an acknowledgment that in Suffolk, equal protection may not always apply to everyone.

Suffolk is not the only place with hate crimes or fearful immigrants. The same silence ruled in Postville, Iowa, where children worked brutal hours on a slaughterhouse killing floor. It hung over a factory in New Bedford, Mass., that systematically cheated workers of wages and the Louisiana shipyards where legal guest workers were held in modern-day indentured servitude.

The silence of undocumented immigrants is the catastrophic silence of people taught by legislative harassment and relentless stereotyping to live mute and afraid.

Mr. Levy sees no role for himself in this drama.

“Since when is enforcing the law seen as something negative and inflammatory?” he asked his critics this week. Here is an attempt to explain.

The fixation on uprooting and expelling immigrants is negative because it doesn’t work. It’s inflammatory because it tears communities and families apart.

When you turn the local police into la migra, as Mr. Levy once tried to do, you turn immigrants into the mute prey of criminals. When you relentlessly pick fights with advocates who criticize you, as Mr. Levy has, you are unable to stand with them when disaster strikes.

And when you tolerate the poisonous notion that “illegal” is a stain that can never be erased, with no path to atonement, then you turn the undocumented into a permanent class of presumed criminals who have no rights.

The undocumented do have rights. They have the right to be paid for their labor, to speak freely and to congregate in public places without fear.

Mr. Levy has an agile mind and a commitment to doing what he sees as right. There is a way for him to make Suffolk a better place. He can give the jobs of deportation and border control back to the federal government and concentrate on making things safer and more lawful in his community. He can stand up for the rights of the undocumented, like day laborers, to congregate safely and to be paid for their work, to prevent federal crimes like wage theft and to keep off-the-books businesses from eroding pay and conditions for all workers.

He can pursue common ground with his Latino constituents — even those who are angry at him but would jump at the chance to sit down and talk. He can listen to Marcelo Lucero’s brother, Joselo, who has been a voice for peace. He can lead his county into the calm silence of reconciliation instead of silence based on fear.


____________________________________

copyright New York Times Company 2008

www.nytimes.com

Week of November 20

Bridgehampton Child Care and Rec. Center Needs Help

East End Special Players at Bay Street Theater - Dec 5

LI Wins: Letters to Suffolk Pols

LI Wins: Pat Young on Racial Attacks; Bart Jones Reports from Ecuador for Newsday

NY Times: Teenagers Violent Sport Led to Killing

Lynching in Patchogue- Pat Young Commentary

Economic Contribution of Immigrants to Long Island

Peace and Justice Calendar

Suffolk Peace Vigils

Casualties in Iraq

Recent postings:

Seven Years of War

Sustainable Southold Launched

Recommended Reading

Counter Recruiting Schedule

Alternative Media


Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island
Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 and 22 now reaquire a digital capable TV or converter box.

Go to Cablevision.com/update for more information.

Monday 10 pm
Tuesday 6 pm

Wednesday 10 pm
Thursday 10 pm
Friday 8 pm
Saturday - 6pm

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

email subscribers:

To Un Subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

send comments to EastEndReport@yahoo.com



Bridgehampton Child Care and Rec. Center needs help

From WPKN/WPKM* radio news, November 21, 2008:

A Bridgehampton, Long Island social service agency says needed repairs to its roof and other physical infrastructure is threatening its ability to deliver services to its clients who are low income families in the area.

The Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center is on the Bridgehampton - Sag Harbor Turnpike. Its executive director Bonnie Cannon says the center is a lifeline to many in the community.




"Primarily we service the low income families in the area. 
Through educational services we have our Head Start program that is housed here. We also have an after school program for the children. 
and we have adult programs here in the evening. 
Adults come here for 10 weeks to learn how to use a computer 
and at the end of the 10 weeks they actually get a computer. 
 That's one of our programs. We also have a Spanish class that's taught here. 
We do parenting classes. A Single Parent Discussion Group meets on a weekly basis. We also work with our teens. 
In Summer we do a Day Camp. We had 90 kids here this summer, 
and we also have a food pantry here."


Cannon says children from 70 families participate in the day care and after school programs and many of these families also benefit from the food program, which is needed more than ever this time of year.


"Winter time is when it is most needed because a lot of individuals - their work stops because they do seasonal work"
But, the state of the economy has affected the Center's pantry.
"We usually get about 50 turkeys from Island Harvest for our families for Thanksgiving Day and this year they were only able to give us 10 turkeys."

Cannon says many organizations and individuals contribute to make it possible for the center to do its work. But there’s now an even bigger need to maintain its buildings.
"There is a leak where we have the Head Start Program. We need to get a $6000 roof put on there and for the administration building we need a new furnace and that's going to run us, I guess 6 or 7 thousand dollars as well."
She says the leak has damaged the floor which means an additional expense.
 Cannon says the Center has applied for a grant from the Town of 
Southampton for repairs. But the grant has not been approved so far.

The Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center can be reached

by phone at

631-537-0616

or by mail at 


P.O. Box 1197 

Bridgehampton, New York, 11932

________________________________
* WPKN 89.5 FM Bridgeport / WPKM 88.7 FM Montauk

Local news from the AP and our local staff at 6:30pm Mon - Fri, following
world and national news from Free Speech Radio News at 6 pm.

Long Island Wins: Pat Young on racial attacks in Patchogue Area -CLICK HERE

also Bart Jones' articles from Ecuador in Newsday

Letters to Suffolk Pols

From "Long Island WINS"


Dear Friends,

Many of you have asked to be kept up-to-date on any events surrounding the tragic death of Marcelo Lucero and how you can get involved. Letters you can send to your Legislators and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy are below.


Below are two sample letters, one is a direct appeal to the Suffolk County Executive and Legislators; and one is directed to other Long Island or New York State Elected Officials urging them to contact the Suffolk County Executive and call for a change of course in Suffolk County. Please use these letters, add your own thoughts, and send them! Circulate them far and wide.
Contact us at longislandwins@gmail.com if you need help finding the contact information of your elected officials. Please let the Long Island Wins team know if you have sent one or both of these letters as well as to whom you send them. We are hoping to track how many letters are sent. The letters will also be avalible on the website in the coming days.

The time for action is now. Keep checking-in with www.longislandwins.com for the latest updates.

In solidarity,
The Long Island Wins Team


LETTER ONE



Dear County Executive Steve Levy and Suffolk County Legislators,

I am a concerned _________________ (citizen, mother, student, teacher, clergy member etc) and a _________________ (Long Islander or New Yorker). Last Saturday night 7 teenagers from Patchogue and Medford murdered Marcello Lucero. The assailants were specifically looking to inflict violence that night on “some Mexicans.” Marcello and his friend became their targets simply because of the color of their skin.
This is not the first time Long Island immigrants have been the victims of a hate crime. When will immigrants be able to walk the streets of Suffolk County without fear of attack?
In contrast to County Executive Steve Levy’s recent statements, I believe that hate does not occur in a vacuum or spontaneously, it is learned from others. Hate of this sort is fed by discriminatory policies, attitudes of our local leaders, and general intolerance of difference. There is an undeniable link between the way politicians advocate for the treatment of immigrants and the way they are in turn treated in their communities. Regardless of the color of one’s skin or the country of one’s birth, all people deserve equal treatment.
Long Islanders have continued to express their outrage on what feels like deaf ears. You, as an elected official, are both empowered and obligated to actively work against the spread of hatred towards immigrants. Education is necessary to increase tolerance but education alone is not enough. We as politicians, parents, teachers, business owners and Long Islanders, must set the example. We must lead by our example.
I call on you to 1) Stop using harsh and irresponsible rhetoric demonizing immigrants on Long Island; 2) To support a moratorium on divisive legislation that seeks to penalize and marginalize immigrants, and 3) To promote practical legislation and policies that ensure opportunity for all Long Islanders, foster better understanding of diverse communities, and build trust and cooperation between local government and the communities they serve.
Please contact County Executive Steve Levy and your fellow elected officials to let them know that significant change is needed in Suffolk County. Without drastic changes to the political ideology of Suffolk County we leave ourselves vulnerable to another hate crime in the future. The responsibility falls on all of us to take action now.

Sincerely,
Full Name (Printed) Email Address
Street Address City and Zip Code Signature Phone Number


_________________________________________________________

LETTER TWO




Dear _________________________,

I am a concerned _________________ (citizen, mother, student, teacher, clergy member etc) and a _________________ (Long Islander or New Yorker). Last Saturday night 7 teenagers from Patchogue and Medford murdered Marcello Lucero. The assailants were specifically looking to inflict violence that night on “some Mexicans.” Marcello and his friend became their targets simply because of the color of their skin.
This is not the first time Long Island immigrants have been the victims of a hate crime. When will immigrants be able to walk the streets of Suffolk County without fear of attack?
In contrast to County Executive Steve Levy’s recent statements, I believe that hate does not occur in a vacuum or spontaneously, it is learned from others. Hate of this sort is fed by discriminatory policies, attitudes of our local leaders, and general intolerance of difference. There is an undeniable link between the way politicians advocate for the treatment of immigrants and the way they are in turn treated in their communities. Regardless of the color of one’s skin or the country of one’s birth, all people deserve equal treatment.
Long Islanders have continued to express their outrage on what feels like deaf ears. You, as an elected official, are both empowered and obligated to actively work against the spread of hatred towards immigrants. Education is necessary to increase tolerance but education alone is not enough. We as politicians, parents, teachers, business owners and Long Islanders, must set the example. We must lead by our example.
I urge you to contact County Executive Steve Levy and call on him to 1) Stop using harsh and irresponsible rhetoric demonizing immigrants on Long Island; 2) To support a moratorium on divisive legislation that seeks to penalize and marginalize immigrants, and 3) To promote practical legislation and policies that ensure opportunity for all Long Islanders, foster better understanding of diverse communities, and build trust and cooperation between local government and the communities they serve.
Please contact County Executive Steve Levy and your fellow elected officials to let them know that significant change is needed in Suffolk County. Without drastic changes to the political ideology of Suffolk County we leave ourselves vulnerable to another hate crime in the future. The responsibility falls on all of us to take action now.

Sincerely,

Full Name (Printed) Email Address
Street Address City and Zip Code
Signature Phone Number