VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Every Monday, from noon to 1:00pm, supporters of abolition in Nebraska vigil in front of the governor’s mansion, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. Join them for a few minutes, or the hour. For more information, contact Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, 402.477.7787.

“THE GREEN BOOK” WRITER AT DOANE . . . Monday, November 10, 2008, 7:00pm at Doane College Heckman Auditorium, columnist and New York Times writer Thomas Kostigen will speak on how an individual’s everyday actions can affect the environment. Co-author of “The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time,” Kostigen’s new book is “You Are Here: The Surprising Link Between What We Do and What That Does to the Planet.”

STATE’S FIRST WIND ENERGY CONFERENCE . . . Nebraska’s first Wind Energy Conference is Tuesday and Wednesday, November 11 and 12, 2008 in Kearney at the Holiday Inn Convention Center.  Hosted by the Nebraska Wind Working Group and the Nebraska Energy Office, the Conference will feature national wind experts, industry exhibits, and sessions on small wind turbines, land issues, and financing. Pre-Register here.

“BATTLE FOR WHITECLAY” . . . Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 7:00pm, there will be a special showing of Mark Vasina’s original documentary about Whiteclay, “Battle for Whiteclay,” in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom at UN-O. After the screening, Vasina, the film’s producer, and Frank LaMere, Native American activist, will speak with the audience. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for background, and to order the film on DVD.

PEACE ACTIVISTS GO TO ARRAIGNMENT . . . Eight peace activists were arrested at a 30-minute Omaha Die-In October 8, 2008 outside the Qwest Center, including 90 year old Nebraska Icon of Peace Peg Gallagher. The demonstration symbolized the thousands of people who die each year at the hands of rampant global militarization promoted by STRATCOM. The Die-In was meant to “expose the lie of legitimacy given by the City of Omaha and the Qwest Convention Center to the 2008 Strategic Space and Defense Conference” weapons bazaar. The event was part of Keep Space for Peace Week, International Days of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space. Gallagher and the other Omaha activists will be arraigned Wednesday November 12, 2008, 1:30pm, at the Douglas County Court, Courtroom Number 27, 18th and Farnam Street, Omaha.  If they plead guilty or no contest, they may be sentenced after a short hearing.  If they plead not guilty, the judge will set a trial date.  Supporters are invited to attend the arraignment in solidarity.

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.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL GROUP . . . Learn about human rights violations around the world, and what is being done to address them, at a Letter-Writing Group, Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 7:00 to 9:00pm, Jones Coffee, 727 South 11th in Lincoln. For more information, call Matt Gregory, 402.570.7840, or e-mail phylas [at] hotmail [dot] com.

TIM WISE AT NWU . . . Tim Wise, activist author of the critically-acclaimed memoir White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, will speak on “The Audacity of Truth: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama” Thursday, November 13, 2008, 1:00pm, at O’Donnell Auditorium, 51st & Huntington on the Nebraska Wesleyan Campus, Lincoln.   Learn more about Wise, and read some of his essays, at www.TimWise.org.

WACHISKA AUDUBON GENERAL MEETING . . . “Multi-functional Rural Landscapes” is the theme of this month’s Wachiska meeting, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 7:00pm. Chuck Francis, Un-L agronomy and horticulture professor and renewable agriculture advocate, and Twyla Hansen, local poet and organic sustainability expert, will present on keeping farms and open space. The meeting is in Room 03, lower level, Union College Dick Administration Building, 3800 South 48th Street in Lincoln. For directions, click here.

“RENEWABLE NEBRASKA” . . . A Governor’s Conference on Rural development focused on building leadership, community and economic development will be at the Holiday Inn Kearney on Friday, November 14, 2008. The “Renewable Nebraska” theme will feature five “resource” tracks on renewables: technical, financial, human, natural and youth. Click here for conference agenda and to register. For more information contact Lindsay Papenhausen, Nebraska Community Improvement Program Coordinator, at 402.471.6587 or lindsay [dot] papenhausen [at] nebraska [dot] gov.

HAWKWATCH FIELD TRIP . . . The Annual HawkWatch Eagle Migration Festival begins at 1:00pm, Sunday, November 16, 2008, 20 minutes north of Omaha at Hitchcock Nature Center. Thousands of raptors migrate south across the Missouri River Valley “hawk highway” each year. A carpool from Lincoln will meet at the Wachiska Audubon office, 4547 Calvert Street, at 9:00am, to meet for the Hawkwatch at 10:30. There will be live raptor demonstrations, kids activities, programs and refreshments at the Festival. Click here for more information about HawkWatch. For directions, click here.

SUNDAY MATINEE: SECRECY . . . The Nebraska ACLU will present a panel discussion with refreshments immediately following a special screening of “Secrecy”  at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 North 13th Street, Lincoln, on Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 1:00pm.  The panel begins at 2:45.  The film “explores the tensions between our safety as a nation and our ability to function as a democracy,” focusing on classified government secrets. General admission. Bring a friend and the friend gets in free.

We are not the alternative; we are the imperative.