Week of May 25, 2006

For an updated East End Report click here

In this week's report: [ click on any of the bold headers below ]

Space Invaders

American Promise

Peace & Justice Calendar
(Thursday 9:30am Tax Day Protesters in East Hampton Justice Court)

Suffolk Peace Vigils

Alternative Media for Eastern LI - Starting April 1

Support Independent Media: WUSB and WPKN/WPKM need your support.
Go to wpkn(dot)org and wusb(dot)fm contribute on line.

Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez: Monday- Saturday on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold Channel 20.

Monday 10pm
Tuesday 9 pm
Wednesday 6am
Thursday 5pm
Friday 7pm
Saturday 8pm

See the North Fork People of Conscience web site

Also see the Suffolk Progressive Vision web site for links to more local events.

The East End Report is compiled by Tony Ernst.

Send comments, corrections and event listings to eastendreport@yahoo.com

Hazel Kahan: Space Invaders

We shake our heads in disbelief and despair at the McMansions or "starter castles" that are increasingly imposing themselves on our cherished open lands, invading our communities with their gaudy, dollar-based delusions.

But, while their architectural hubris provides easy fodder for analysis by psychologists and laymen alike, let's look closer at the consequences to their neighbors, to you and me--and to themselves--of the colossal footprints these invaders have imposed on us all. The entrance of such people into our hamlets and villages brings with it all the signs of an invasion: they clearcut the land, uprooting trees that have been here for decades, replacing native trees with homogeneous nursery "products" seen in every yard in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The obliteration and displacement of the visible and invisible ecosystems--the birds, insects, animals, wildflowers-- can be as devastating to these creatures as the razing done by invading armies in Darfur. I don't believe they will ever return. Would you?

And then there are the humans. I spoke recently to a woman who described her tears and despair as she watched an old oak tree she had always known, a landmark of her childhood, being cut down to provide easier access for the bulldozer. She is not alone in experiencing such destruction as massacre, as an inability to protect a tree that has always protected and nourished us--with its shade, beauty, oxygen, fruits and leaves. Perhaps relating this way to a tree is not as widespread as I wish it were.

However, what I do believe to be a shared experience is the hijacking of a neighborhood by a selfish builder and his customer. Planting a huge mansion in a quiet, unassuming community creates an instant set of enemies for life--of people who are forced to live in the shadow of a domineering outsider, of one who remakes a neighborhood in his own image, of a person who has often bludgeoned through loopholes in the zoning laws and who is ultimately more interested in proclaiming his or her financial importance than in being gracefully received by those who created that community. These invaders not only consume more than their fair share of all our resources but rob us of our harmony too.

Perhaps before being granted building permits, people should be screened for signs of hidden McMansion Syndrome so that only those with a certified civic sense be allowed to build in our town.

Can one love one's country if one does not love the country, the land that is one's country?

Hazel Kahan is an artist, psychologist and activist. She lives in Mattituck

This commentary was prepared for broadcast on WPKM-88.7 Montauk and WPKN-89.5 Bridgeport.

Peace & Justice Calendar - Week of May 25, 2006

* May 25 (Thursday): Tax Day Protesters in East Hampton Justice Court at 9:30am

* Thursday (May 25): Herstory Writers Read in Farmingville at 7pm

* May 27(Saturday): Memorial Day Observance at Jones Beach Field 2 10am

* May 27 (Saturday): Peace Vigil in Bellport, 11-11:45 am

* May 27(Saturday) Recruiting Station Demo in Huntington 11 am – 12:30 pm

* May 28 (Sunday): Monthly Peace Vigil in Patchogue at 7:30 pm

* May 29 (Monday): Memorial Day Parade in Bellport 10:30am

* May 29 (Monday): Peace Group Marches in Memorial Day Parade in Setauket Starting at 10:30am

* May 31 (Wednesday): Suffolk County Public Health Hearing in Hauppage at 4 pm


Repeating Events:

( see Counter-Recruiting for listing of weekly and monthly demonstrations)

* First Thursdays: Waging Peace - Meditation and Visualization in Westhampton Beach at 7pm

* Every Thursday evening - Book Study Group in Water Mill at 6:30

* "Herstory" Writing Workshops now on Wednesdays in Farmingville (Spanish and English) 3 to 5 pm and Thursdays in Spanish only in East Hampton at 7 pm

* Second Tuesday of Month: South Fork Chapter of LI Progressive Coalition Meets in Water Mill at 6:30 pm

Details follow:

May 25 (Thursday): Tax Day Protesters in East Hampton Justice Court at 9:30am

On April 15, five people were arested in East Hampton Village while protesting the Iraq war. They were charged with obstructing government business, disorderly conduct and one with resisting arrest. The arrested include Conor Wolf, Dan Steiger, Ella Engel-Snow, Kathy Engel and Paola Agudelo.

Those arrested say they believe the issue here is our first amendment right to free speech. Part of a media statement written by Ella Engel-Snow and Paola Agudelo says "We didn't do anything wrong, We walked down Main Street silently holding signs against the war; we're proud we did".

The group has asked us to be in court this Thursday, May 25th at 9:30 am. The East Hampton Justice Court is at 159 Pantigo Road, East Hampton.

For more information contact Dan Steiger at meriger@hotmail.com or 631-831-4966
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Thursday (May 25): Herstory Writers Read in Farmingville at 7pm

The Workplace Project and Herstory Writers Workshop will present an all-Spanish reading (with English summaries) of memoirs-in-progress by Latina writers in the Farmingville and East Hampton Herstory Latina workshops this Thursday, May 25, at the Church of the Resurrection, 50 Granny Road, in Farmingville, NY at 7 p.m. This is a joint fundraiser, so a $10 donation is requested. Light refreshments will be served. For further information please contact 516-565-5377 or 631-725-4697.
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May 27 (Saturday): Peace Vigil in Bellport, 11-11:45 am

Women in Black weekly vigil will be held at the corner of Station Road and South Country Road in Bellport.

Contact: Eve Sokol 631-286-5879
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May 27 (Saturday) Recruiting Station Demo in Huntington 11 am – 12:30 pm

Code Pink LI and Suffolk Peace Network will be holding their monthly demonstration at the Army Recruiting Station located at 304 Main St/Rte. 25A in Huntington Village 1½ blocks west of the intersection of Rte. 25A and Rte. 110; on the South side of 25A).

Contact janjim16@optonline.net or call 631-424-4647.

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May 27(Saturday): Memorial Day Observance at Jones Beach Field 2 10am


The American people dedicated Memorial Day as a time to mourn the victims of war. Pax Christi Long Island invites you to gatherwith us for a recitation of the names of those killed in the Iraq war. Join us at the western end of Jones Beach at Parking Field 2 at 10 am, as we proceed along the boardwalk and commemorate those killed in Iraq - over 2400 American soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.

Sponsors of this event include the Suffolk Peace Network, South Country Peace Group, St. Joseph the Worker Church, Pax Christi South Country, Bellport Women in Black, UUF Bellport Peace & Justice Committee and North Fork People of Conscience.

For more information call, Pax Christi Long Island at 631-385-3250

To request a free map of Jones Beach State Park, call 516 785 1600

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May 28 (Sunday): Monthly Peace Vigil in Patchogue 7:30-8:30 pm

Women In Black and South Country Peace Group Patchogue candlelight vigil will be held at the four corners (N. Ocean & Main St.) from 7:30 to 8:30pm. Names will be read of those killed.

More info: 631-286-5879 or email dmu7@optonline.net
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May 29(Monday): Memorial Day Parade in Bellport 10:30am

The South Country Peace Group invites you to march with them in Bellport's Memorial Day Parade. Meet on the Community Center steps on Bell St., which is the 1st left on Bellport Lane from Station Rd. Wear black or black armband. No signs are permitted, but the SCPG will carry their banner. The parade starts at 11 am and goes to the cemetery.

For more info, call 631-286-5879


May 29 (Monday): Peace Group Marches in Memorial Day Parade in Setauket Starting at 10:30am

The North Country Peace Group will march in the American Legion -Veterans of Foreign Wars 2006 Memorial Day Parade in Setauket on Monday, May 29th. All are invited to march with us; bring friends and family.

1. FORMATION: 10:30am along Main street just off 25A (Main street will close to car traffic at 10:30). We will be in the 3rd Division between the Peace Corps Volunteers and Briarwood Montessori School.

2. PARADE ROUTE: South on Main Street then East on 25A to Setauket Memorial Park at Shore Road. (V.F.W. Organizers will be wearing Brown hats and can direct you if you need help finding our group).

3. RULES: We can carry the North Country Peach Group banner but NO SIGNS. There can be no toddlers/strollers (safety concerns). All units MUST continue to march PAST the Village Green before disbanding (safety).

4. DRESS: We intend to dress in black and will each carry a yellow rose to be provided.

5. MUSIC: if you have a drum and would like to mark the beat of the walk, that would be great.

6. FOOD: Following the parade and at the V.F.W. Hall on Jones Street, there will be hot dogs and refreshments for all parade participants.

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May 31 (Wednesday): Suffolk County Public Health Hearing in Hauppage at 4 pm

Dr. Brian L. Harper, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, will listen to comments regarding the health care system in the County from residents. The hearing will be held at the Dnnison Building 100 Vets Highway in Hauppauge at 4pm on Wednesday, May 31.

For those who cannot attend the hearing, written testimony will be accepted
until June 15th, 2006. Written comments should be forwarded to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, 225 Rabro Drive East, Hauppauge, NY 11788, Attention: Millie Dinda.

For information on the hearing contact Millie Dinda at 631-853-3009.

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Repeating Events:

See Suffolk Peace Vigils for a complete list of weekly and monthly vigils.
See Counter Recruiting Schedule for a listing of weekly and monthly demonstrations.
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First Thursday each month: Waging Peace - Meditation and Visualization in Westhampton Beach at 7pm A community gathering designed by a psychotherapist to combat feellings of helplessness and powerlessness. 32 Mill Road in Westhampton Beach from 7 to 8pm.

Contact Nancy Privett at 325-1402 or nlprivett@yahoo.com
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Thursday evening Book Study Group in Water Mill at 6:30 pm

The group meets at the Lutheran Church at Hayground Road and Montauk Highway on Thursdays at 6:30pmContact Pastor Vita at 631-537-1187 or pastorvita(at)verizon(dot)net
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"Herstory" Writing Workshops in Spanish and English

Wednesdays in Farmingville:
Herstory Writers Workshop meets every Monday afternoon at the Farmingville branch of the Workplace Project from 3 to 5. Both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking women come together to share and shape their life experiences through memoir writing. The workshop is conducted in both English and Spanish. Call 631-723-0150 for more information and directions to the center.

Thursdays in East Hampton:Every Thursday Spanish-speaking women come together to share their writing with one another and receive feedback on how to structure and shape their lifewriting.

The East Hampton workshop is open to East Hampton Town residents and is conducted entirely in SpanishIt meets every Thursday, 7-9 p.m., at the Senior Citizens Center, 128 Springs-Fireplace Road.Call 631-723-0150 for more information.
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Second Tuesday each month:

South Fork Chapter - LI Progressive Coalition Meets in Water Mill at 6:30pm The regular monthly meeting of the South Fork chapter of the Progressive Coalition is at 6:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Lutheran Church on Montauk Highway & Hayground Rd. between Water Mill and Bridgehampton.

Info: 516-541-1006, ext.55 or www dot lipc dot org
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