Earthblog

Saturday, May 19, 7:30 PM
"Songs for a Changing World"
An Evening with Jon Fromer
Don't miss this inspiring performance by one of America's finest singer/songwriters.
Jon's music is at once soulful, empowering and human as it connects us to the common struggles for peace, justice and a sustainable future.
Many activist groups in Marin are coming together in love and unity to support Jon in his personal fight with cancer with this concert to raise money for his medical expenses.
Please join us.
Sliding scale $10-$35.
Special musical guest appearances, including Francisco Herrera.
Wheelchair accessible.
In case you've never seen him or need a reminder of his great work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZQRRkf7jog
Angelico Hall, Dominican University
San Rafael

Thursday, May 24, 7 PM
Maya Roads Author Book Signing
Mary Jo McConahay, author of Maya Roads, will discuss her three decades of traveling and living in Central America to create a fascinating chronicle of the people, politics, and archaeology of Maya civilization. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.
Ms. McConahay witnesses the transformation of the Lacandon people, the Zapatista indigenous uprising in Mexico, increased drug trafficking, and assists in the uncovering of a war crime. She has been writing about Latin America for more than twenty years, and her feature articles have appeared in Vogue, Rolling Stone, Ms. and Sierra magazines.
This event is sponsored by the Task Force on the Americas. A $5 donation is requested. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information call 415/924-3227 or go to www.mitfamericas.org.
Redwoods Presbyterian Church, lower level,
110 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur.

Wednesday, May 30 at 7 PM
Community Media Center of Marin
Lecture Series Presents: Ken and Melanie Light
Documentary photographers Melanie and Ken Light are speaking at the May installment of the Marin Media Lecture Series. Melanie and Ken will be talking about their latest book project, Valley of Shadows and Dreams.
Valley of Shadows and Dreams began with a five year exploration of the Central Valley that coincided with Melanie's work on another book. Ken and Melanie soon were fascinated by the development boom taking place throughout the Central Valley. They saw the issues that accompanied this development as the same ones challenging other communities around the world: land and water use, growing economic disparity, and population growth.
Valley of Shadows and Dreams is the second collaboration between Melanie and Ken. Their first co-authored work, Coal Hollow, is a collection of photographs and oral histories that chronicle the legacy of coalmining in West Virginia. Melanie lectures and teaches internationally and is the recipient of grants from the Soros Documentary Fund and the Rosenberg Foundation. Ken Light is the author of numerous photography books and teaches the University of California, Berkeley's School of Journalism and is a Laventhol visiting Professor at Columbia University.
The Venture Greenhouse
30 Castro Ave, San Rafael

Tuesday, June 19, 7:30 PM
Medea Benjamin
Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control
Drone Warfare (with a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich) is a comprehensive look at the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who “pilots” these unmanned planes, who are the victims and what are the legal and moral implications. In vivid, readable style, the book also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward. In reality, writes Benjamin, the assassinations we are carrying out via drones will come back to haunt us when others start doing the same thing—to us.
Medea Benjamin is a cofounder of both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 30 years. Described as "one of America’s most committed -- and most effective -- fighters for human rights" by New York Newsday, and called "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement" by the Los Angeles Times, Medea has distinguished herself as an eloquent and energetic figure in the progressive movement.
The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley
Benefit for KPFA.
Tickets on sale by May 15: brownpapertickets.com
Info: 800-838-3006

Tuesday, June 26, 7:30 PM
Chris Hedges
“Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt”
Hosted by Brian Edwards-Tiekert
In Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges and American Book Award winning cartoonist Joe Sacco show how places like Camden, New Jersey, a poster child of postindustrial decay, stand as a warning of what huge pockets of the United States will turn into if we cement in place a permanent underclass.
In addition to Camden, Hedges and Sacco report from the coal fields of West Virginia, Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and undocumented farm worker colonies in California.
With unemployment and underemployment combined at far over ten percent, as Congress proposes to slash Medicare and Medicaid, Food Stamps, Pell Grants, Social Security, and other social services, Hedges and Sacco warn of a bleak near future—where cities and states fall easily into bankruptcy, neofeudalism reigns, and the nation’s working and middle classes are decimated. A shocking report from the frontlines of poverty in America, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is a clarion call for reform.
Benefit for KPFA.
King Middle School, 1781 Rose Street, Berkeley
Tickets: brownpapertickets.com
Info: 800.838.3006

Wednesday, September 5, 7:30 PM
Gabor Mate
Beyond This Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Hosted by Kris Welch
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1944, he is a survivor of the Nazi genocide. His maternal grandparents were killed in Auschwitz when he was five months old, his aunt disappeared during the war, and his father endured forced labour at the hands of the Nazis. He emigrated to Canada with his family in 1957.
Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with the severely addicted on Vancouver’s skid row, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts radically reenvisioned this much misunderstood field by taking a holistic approach.
Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout (and perhaps underpins) our society. He describes the significant role of "early adversity" i.e. stress, mistreatment and particularly childhood abuse, in increasing susceptibility to addiction.
Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, his book avoided glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts argued persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and those impacted by it. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own "high-status" addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions made the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.
Benefit for KPFA
First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
Advance tickets: brownpapertickets.com
Info: 800.838.3006