There are reports from many activist organizations that indicate both snail mail
and e-mail are continually late, often arriving after the planned meeting or rally.
A good alternative is to have a calendar on the web so those wanting to participate
in the political process may do so without Cointelpro interference....

This page is updated continually, so be sure to click the RELOAD button
on your browser.

Wednesday, September 12, 7 p.m.
SOS Benefit at Paramount Theater: "The Unforeseen"
with filmmaker  Laura Dunn
        The American Dream of owning a house with a white picket fence goes
head to head with environmental sustainability in Laura Dunn's
lyrical and beautifully crafted documentary "The Unforeseen."
        Dunn tracks the career of Gary Bradley, a west Texan farm boy who
went to Austin and became one of the largest real estate developers
in the state. In the 1980s, Bradley had plans to transform miles of
pristine hill country into large-scale subdivisions. But the
development jeopardized Barton Springs, a watering hole treasured by
locals, and served as a lightning rod for mobilizing environmental
activism. A battle ensued at both the local and state level,
development patterns changed, and the water quality at Barton
Springs, as well as the surrounding landscape of Austin, was
irreversibly transformed.
        "The Unforeseen" is a meditation on the destruction of the natural
world and the American Dream as it falls victim to the cannibalizing
forces of unchecked development. It is an intricate tale of personal
hopes, victories, and failures, and debates over land, economics,
property rights, and the public good. In a time when development and
property values have skyrocketed in nearly every major city, Dunn
makes a plea for our development-oriented society to consider
restructuring the relationship between our values and the environment
that sustains us.
        Following the film there will be Q&A with director Laura Dunn,
cinematographer Lee Daniel, and Save Our Springs executive director
Bill Bunch. You can watch an interview with Laura Dunn from the PBS
show NOW at http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/324/index.html
Location: Paramount Theater, 713 Congress Avenue.
Tickets - $10, $15, or $20 - are available at http://www.sosalliance.org

Sunday, September 16, 2:00 p.m.
Austin Project for a Participatory Society Book Club - La Lega: The
Making of a Successful Cooperative Network
The Austin Project for a Participatory Society's book-of-the-month
for September is Piero Ammirato's La Lega: The Making of a Successful
Cooperative Network. This book explores the inspiring cooperative
movement in Italy and can be ordered online from Labyrinth Books.
Location: Carver Branch Library, 1161 Angelina.

Monday, September 17, 8:00 p.m.
Robert Jensen on Academic Freedom and
Norman Finkelstein's Tenure Denial
This past June, scholar and activist Norman Finkelstein, known for
his criticism of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, was denied
tenure at DePaul University. Then, at the end of August, students
were informed that Finkelstein's classes had been cancelled. What
went into these decisions? And what have students and professors been
doing about it? UT Professor Robert Jensen which will lead a
discussion of the events and the broader question of academic freedom.
Location: MonkeyWrench Books, 110 E. North Loop.

Thursday, September 20, 7 p.m.
St. Andrew's Movie Series: "Dreamworlds 3"
In an updated version of his 1995 documentary, Sut Jally examines the
stories contemporary music videos tell about girls and women, and
encourages viewers to consider how these narratives shape individual
and cultural attitudes about sexuality. Illustrated with hundreds of
up-to-date images, Dreamworlds 3 analyzes the continuing influence of
music videos and how pop culture more generally filters the
identities of young men and women through a narrow set of myths about
sexuality and gender. In doing so, it encourages viewers to reflect
critically on images that they might otherwise take for granted.
Location: St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 14311 Wells Port Drive,
west of I-35 off Wells Branch Parkway.

Thursday, September 20 - Sunday, September 23
Inside Books Project Fall Work Party
Inside Books Project - insidebooksproject.org - an all volunteer, non-
profit organization providing free literature and educational
material to the Texas incarcerated population, receives around 900
requests for materials every month. The Fall Work Party is one of the
times when they match up those requests with books and catch up on
the backlog of letters. Everyone is invited to help for any amount of
time that can be spared for package-making fun, food, music, and
great community involvement. Everything starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Subsequent days will begin at 10 a.m. and continue into the wee hours
of the night.
Location: Rhizome Collective, 300 Allen St., Austin, 78702.

Sunday, September 30, 6:30 p.m.
Last Sunday at Ruta Maya Coffeehouse
        Eliza Gilkyson, Robert Jensen, and Jim Rigby kicked off the Last
Sunday monthly gathering last year with the goal of bringing together
folks with progressive values interested in combining the political,
social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of our lives. Joined by
guest speakers and artists, hundreds of people filled the venerable
Saengerrunde Hall downtown each month for conversation and connection.
        This year the Last Sunday event moves to Ruta Maya Coffee House on
South Congress. Gilkyson, Jensen, and Rigby will be back, with
activist/artists Florinda Bryant and Sean Tate on board to direct the
action. We'll have a new mix of speakers and performers, as we
continue to work to build a sense of community in troubled times. The
main show will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with additional music
until 11 p.m..
Location: Ruta Maya Coffee House, 3601 South Congress.
Cost: $8 suggested donation to support the independent artists
performing; no one turned away for lack of funds.
More information: Bob, 471-1990, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu

Monday, October 1 and Tuesday, October 2
Two Films on Gandhi's Legacy: "Words on Water" and "Jeshn-e-Azadi"
        In commemoration of Gandhi's birthday, October 2, UT's South Asia
Institute will screen two films by Sanjay Kak that address the varied
legacies of Indian nationalism and Gandhian nonviolence. Filmmaker
Sanjay Kak will be present to answer questions after both films.
        Oct. 1, 7 p.m.: "Words on Water" focuses on the more than 20 year
history of non-violent struggle of displaced farmers and tribals in
the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement). For more than
15 years people of the valley have resisted a series of massive dams
on their river, and in their struggle have exposed the deceptive
heart of India's development politics.The struggle has forged unusual
alliances. Adivasis in the hills, farmers from the Nimad plain, sand-
quarriers and fishermen on the river, and middle-class activists.
They are ranged against the powerful apparatus of this chosen model
of development - Ministers, Magistrates, Police Commissioners, the
World Bank, and in this era of privatization, multinational
corporations. This is a dialogue with authority that is usually
conducted across barricades. But through the tumult and slogans, we
make our way to the transactions between power and powerlessness,
between truth and untruth.
        Oct. 2, 7 p.m.: "Jeshn-e-Azadi" ("How We Celebrate Freedom")
examines the more than 50 year history of violence in Kashmir's
struggle for Independence. It is August 15th, India's Independence
day, and the Indian flag ritually goes up in the heart of Srinagar,
Kashmir. But the empty streets and the sullen silence that greet
India's claim on Kashmir spark off old questions about freedom -
azadi - and the denial of freedom. In the aftermath of 18 years of an
armed struggle, with 60,000 dead and nearly 7,000 missing, death and
loss is everywhere. Sometimes it is marked; sometimes in the process
of being uncovered, and sometimes expressed in the fractured minds of
ordinary Kashmiris. Using a mix of verite footage, rare archival
material, poetry and text, the film is a provocative look at Indian
democracy in the 60th year of India's independence, and a reflection
on power, resistance and "freedom's terrible thirst".
Location: UT Campus, ACES 2.302, Avaya Auditorium (both nights).

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