2009 PEACEMAKING WORKSHOP . . . Friday, April 3 and Saturday April 4, the “2009 Peacemaking Workshop” will be held in Lincoln. Anna Baltzer will speak at Nebraska Wesleyan University’s Miller Lab Theater, just off Huntington Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets, 1:00pm, Friday, April 3, and deliver the keynote address, "Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories and Photos," 7:00pm, at 1st United Methodist Church, 50th & St. Paul Avenue. The workshop will continue Saturday morning, April 4, 8:30am, at 1st Mennonite Church, 7300 Holdrege Street, with Baltzer presenting "The Next Step: Taking Action for Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine!" All events are free and the public is invited. Click here for more information.
LINCOLN BEYOND WAR RALLY AND MARCH. . . Saturday, April 4, 2009, "Beyond War: A New Economy is Possible," the sixth annual protest of occupation in Iraq, will begin at 12:30pm on the north side of the state capitol building. There will be an organized march to the UN-L Student Union, where Steve Larrick will talk about Martin Luther King Jr’s Beyond Vietnam speech of April 4, 1967. Also the date of Dr. King’s assassination, the rally will focus on the societal problems King emphasized: militarism, racism, social and economic injustice.
2009 PEACEMAKING WORKSHOP PREPARATION . . . Anna Baltzer, a Jewish American writer and peaceworker documenting human rights abuses and supporting non-violent direct action in the West Bank will speak at a noon lunch in the Hastings College Cafeteria, HASTINGS, Nebraska, Wednesday, April 1, 2009. That night at 7:00pm, she will give a Sermon at the Lenten Service, First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hastings. Thursday, April 2, Anna will appear at Doane College Whitcomb Lee Conservatory, Room 240, 3:00pm, in CRETE. Anna’s Eyewitness Reports from Palestine: Stories & Photographs document human rights abuses in her work with the International Women’s Peace Service. Thursday, April 2, 4:35pm, Anna will be spotlighted in an interview with Susan Risinger on WJAG 780AM and 105.9FM Radio. Live streams at www.wjag.com and www.kexl.com. Nebraska appearances are in conjunction with the 2009 Peacemaking Workshop in Lincoln, Friday, April 3 and Saturday April 4. Monday, April 6, Anna will speak at 3:30pm in the Hacks Landing Room at the Student Center, North East Nebraska Community College, NORFOLK. There will be a 6:15pm pot luck at Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk followed by Anna’s presentation of “Life in Occupied Palestine.”
OMAHA’S WATER SUPPLY ON AGENDA . . . Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 7:00pm, former State Senator Don Preister will convene a public information meeting to address the issue of toxic ground water moving toward Omaha’s water supply in the Platte River. The open community conversation will be at the VFW Hall, 102 South 24th Street, ASHLAND, Nebraska.
2009 GRASSLAND FOUNDATION LECTURE . . . The Grassland Foundation’s 4th Annual Grassland Conservation & Sustainable Communities Lecture “Global Developments in Private Conservation: Do They Apply to the Northern Great Plains?” will be presented by Jeffrey Langholz of the Monterey Institute of International Studies on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at the Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q Street, Lincoln. A 3:00pm reception will be followed by the lecture with Q & A from 3:30 to 5:00pm. The annual lecture is free and open to the public.
THE BATTLE FOR WHITECLAY . . . A new Mark Vasina documentary, The Battle for Whiteclay, will be shown Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 4:00-7:00pm, at Hixson-Lied Auditorium in the Harper Center, Creighton University, OMAHA. The screening will be followed by Q&A with Frank LaMere and filmmaker Vasina. For more information, contact Rhonda Kodad, rkodad [at] creighton [dot] edu, or phone 402.280.2079. April 7, 6:00-9:00pm, LaMere and Vasina will appear for a screening at the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Headquarters, 1800 Syracuse Avenue, NORFOLK, Nebraska, followed by Q&A.
CHILD WELFARE CONFERENCE . . . Social workers, providers and therapists are invited to the first annual Child Welfare Conference, Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at the University of Nebraska-Kearney Student Union, 1013 West 27th Street, KEARNEY, Nebraska. For details, e-mail stuehmnj [at] unk [dot] edu,or phone 308.865.8738.
OMAHA PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL . . . There is a People’s Film Festival every Wednesday evening, 7:00pm, at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Harney in Omaha. The event is always free and open to the public. This week’s film is Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox. Food and drink is available. A lively discussion follows each showing. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
OMAHA PEACE VIGILS . . . Omaha peacemakers vigil every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30pm, at StratCom/UN-O, 6801 Pine Street, east of the Scott Technology Center on the Un-O campus. For more information, phone Jerry Ebner, 402.502-5887.
LINCOLN PEACE VIGILS . . . Join weekly peace vigils at the Federal Building, 15th and O streets in Lincoln, every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00pm. Contact Mark at 402-499-6672 or e-mail mark [at] weddleton [dot] com for more information.
LEAVE NO CHILD INSIDE . . . Bestselling author and journalist Richard Louv, Chairman of the Child and Nature Network, will speak at Countryside Community United Church of Christ, 8787 Pacific Street, OMAHA, on Thursday, April 2, 2009, 7:00pm. “Leave No Child Inside: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” will be the keynote address of Radical Amazement: The Spirituality of Childhood Conference April 2-3. Click here for the entire brochure and complete ticket information or contact Cyndi Kugler, 402.391.0350 x121.
BIONEERS MEETING . . . Lincoln Bioneers will meet Thursday, April 2, 2009. Everyone is invited to a potluck before the meeting at 6:00pm. Phone 489.8669 for directions to the home of Carol Smith. Details for a Bioneers Earth Day booth will be worked out, and a spring/summer scheduled for meetings will be discussed.
GANDHI SYMPOSIUM . . . The twelfth annual UN-O School of Social Work Gandhi Award and Symposium, “Restorative Justice: What It Is, Why It Works, How It Applies to Practice,” will be Friday, April 3, 2009 at Thompson Alumni Center, 6705 Dodge Street, ONAHA. There is a fee. Longtime Omaha peace activist Peg Fitzgerald Gallagher will receive the Gandhi Award at a 12:15pm luncheon with Keynote, “Advocacy for the Poor in Spirit: Vignettes from a Poor Person,” by A’Jamal Byndon. Click here for information about the event and speakers.
LEED CERTIFIED BUILDING TOUR . . . Friday, April 3, 2009, 6:00 to 8:00pm, the public is invited to tour The Sawmill Building, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) space on the corner of 8th and S Streets in Lincoln’s Haymarket. The environmentally-friendly building tour is being offered by the Building & Design Task Group of Lincoln Green by Design.
LABOR CONFERENCE: PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE . . . The Tenth Annual Labor Studies Conference will be Saturday, April 4, 2009, 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Milo Bail Student Center, 6001 Dodge Street. Same day registration starts at 8:00am. To pre-register phone 402.595.2344.
INDIAN CAVES OVERNIGHT BACKPACK TRIP . . . Indian Cave State Park is a pristine area devoted to camping, hiking and backpacking, with 3,052 rugged acres bordering the Missouri River. Hikers on the organized trip will backpack about five miles Saturday, and five miles Sunday, April 4-5, 2009. Contact John Calandra, hike leader, johndcal [at] cox [dot] net, or phone 402.991.8314 for more details and to rsvp.
There is WALK-IN VOTING NOW for the April 7, 2009 PRIMARY ELECTION, Lancaster County Election Commissioner’s office, 601 North 46th Street, Lincoln.
We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente