Tuesday, January 31 – 7 p.m.
Central Valley Animal Liberation presents a free screening of “Earthlings” (2005). Joaquin Phoenix narrates this feature-length documentary about mankind’s commercial use of other animals. Unflinching footage provides a rare glimpse inside puppy mills, factory farms, and medical labs to reveal the breadth of animal exploitation for the sake of human economic interests.

Fresno Center for Nonviolence – 1584 N Van Ness Ave (Southeast corner of Van Ness and McKinley), Fresno, CA. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, email Jonathan Hussain at jonathanh@mercyforanimals.org

NOTE: This film contains graphic images of violence to animals. It is not rated by the MPAA but should only be viewed by those 17 and older.

Wednesday, February 1 at 6:00 p.m. FCNV Board meeting at 1584 N. Van Ness (SE corner McKinley and Van Ness) Call 237-3223 11-3 Mon-Fri for details..

Wednesday, February 8 at 3 - 3:30 p.m. on  KFCF 88.1 FM On the Center’s “Stir it Up” monthly radio show, Angela Price will have as her guest Terje Carlsson, director of this month’s film “Israel vs. Israel”.  Call-ins are welcome at 559-266-8888.  For information call 559-237-3223.

Wednesday, February 8 at 12 noon and at 7 p.m. (No potluck) (Please note different venues)  Our 2^nd Wed. film will be “Israel vs. Israel” and Terje Carlsson, the filmmaker, will be at both showings.  The 12 noon showing will be at the Center, 1584 N. Van Ness Ave, Fresno (SE corner McKinley and Van Ness.)  The 7 p.m. showing will be at the College Community Congregational Church, 5550 N. Fresno Street (SE corner of Browning and Fresno). (doors open 6:30 p.m.)  Free and open to the public. Wheelchair accessible.

“Israel vs. Israel” is a documentary about Jewish peace activists who face skepticism and criticism from their fellow Israeli citizens. A Rabbi, a soldier, a grandmother and an anarchist – four very different Israelis whom share a common goal: to achieve peace in the Middle East and end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Undeterred, they promote a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to improve the lives of Palestinians and their fellow countrymen alike. Using in depth interviews and dynamic footage to narrate their inspiring stories, Israel vs. Israel provides a unique perspective on the struggle to find a peaceful solution of this decades-long conflict.

This critically acclaimed film has been invited to festivals and screenings around the world and has won:
* Public Liberties and Human Rights Award – Al Jazeera Documentary Festival 2011
* President of the Festival – Special Award at the One Shot ISFF Festival, 2011
* Best Documentary at the 2011 Turkish Radio and Television Documentary Awards
* 2011 Ojai International Film Festival Best Documentary Honorable Mention

The filmmaker, Terje Carlsson, will be present at both showings. He is a freelance journalist who has spent almost a decade covering the Middle East for the news media including Swedish Television and Radio. His first film “Welcome to Hebron” was about a 17 year old teenager, Leila, living in Hebron in 2006 and 2007. This critically acclaimed documentary was released in 2008. Because of the film’s great success, Swedish TV wanted Terje to make another film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
For more information about the film log on to their website at: www.israelvisraelmoveie.com.

For those who find it hard to get to our films on Wednesdays, please note that the film “Israel vs. Israel” will also be shown by the Reedley Peace Center on Friday, February 10. They meet at the Fellowship Hall of First Mennonite Church, located on L Street between 12^th and 13^th streets in Reedley.  Map available at www.reedleypeacecenter.org.  Contact: Don Friesen at dfriesen0@gmail.com.   Here is their calendar item.

Friday, February 10, 6:30-8:30

Documentary: Israel vs. Israel, with film producer, Terje Carlsson. To many of their fellow Israelis, they are traitors. They are attacked, arrested and demonised. Yet Israelis like Yehuda Shaul, leader of Breaking the Silence andJonathan Pollack from Anarchists Against the Wall continue to struggle for a more peaceful Middle East. They believe that they can save their state by putting an end to the military occupation. But the Israeli peace movement has lost momentum in recent years. There is widespread apathy in Israel against ending the Occupation, especially after the withdrawal from Gaza. ‘Israel vs Israel’ takes a fresh look at one of the leading tensions in Israeli society.

www.israelvsisraelmovie.com

Continue reading “Israel v. Israel” documentary February 8, 2012

Please come to see an important film “The Economics of Happiness” that the Center, together with Peace Fresno, will be showing next Wednesday, December 14, both at 12 noon and in the evening at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

It will be shown at the Center at midday, but the evening showing will be at Woodward Park Regional Library, 944 E. Perrin.  Really easy to find but call if you need help. Although the show is free as always, we are hoping that you will consider making a donation as the film cost us more than we anticipated.

Angela Price will also be talking on the phone from Australia with Helena Norberg-Hodge, the acclaimed writer and director of this film during the Center’s “Stir It Up” radio show on the same day, Wednesday, December 14, on KFCF 88.1 from 3 to 3:30 p.m. It will be a live call and so you can call in and ask questions

Please call the Center at 237-3223 for more information. Here is the original post.

Wednesday, December 14 at 12 noon and 7 p.m. The Center, together with Peace Fresno, will be showing the Central Valley premiere of the film “The Economics of Happiness” .There will be two showings – one at 12 noon at 1584 N. Van Ness, Fresno, and the other at 7 p.m. at the Woodward Park Regional Library, 944 E. Perrin, Fresno.  The film  describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions: while government and Big Business push for a globalized economy based on high technology and increased trade, people all over the world are working from the grassroots to nurture smaller scale, ecological, local economies. We hear from a chorus of voices from six continents including Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of Tibet’s government in exile, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten and Zac Goldsmith. The Economics of Happiness restores our faith in humanity, and challenges us to believe that it is possible to build a better world.

“It is good news indeed to find so persuasive an explanation of our ailing world as The Economics of Happiness. This film connects the dots between climate chaos, economic meltdown, and our own personal suffering– stress, loneliness, and depression. It presents the localization movement as a systemic alternative to corporate globalization, as well as a strategy that brings community and meaning to our lives.”– Joanna Macy author of World as Lover, World as Self

“A must-see film for the future of the planet.”– Zac Goldsmith, Member of UK Parliament

The film is free and open to the public but donations would be very welcome.  For more information call FCNV at 559-237-3223. .Check the website too to see a trailer of the film www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org. .

 

 

Saturday, October 8 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Fresno Center for Nonviolence will hold its Annual Book Sale (dvds, cds, tapes etc) at the southwest corner parking lot of Van Ness and Olive.  We are still accepting books etc. for the sale but no textbooks or VHS tapes..  Volunteers for sorting books on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before the sale, and for shifts on the 8^th are also needed.  For more information or to volunteer call the Center at 559-237-3223 or email Angela Price at angela.price41@comcast.net.

Wednesday, October 12 at 3 - 3:30 p.m. on  KFCF 88.1 On the Center’s “Stir it Up” monthly radio show Richard Stone will have as his guest Michael Black Bull who will be speaking on “American Indians: United States Original Sin”.  Call-ins are welcome at 559-266-8888. For information call (559)237-3223.

Wednesday, October 12 at 12 noon and 7 p.m. (potluck at 6:30 p.m.), FCNV, 1584 N. Van Ness (SE Corner McKinley and Van Ness). The Fresno Center for Nonviolence will present John Pilger’s new film ‘The War You Don’t See’ It was nominated for the ‘Documentary Award’ at the 2011 One World Media Awards.

On 7 June 2011, the Lannan Foundation in the United States banned the film and cancelled a US visit by John Pilger without explanation but Pilger is making the film available to stream for viewing for a small fee. Americans are not able to buy the DVD unless they live in the U.K. or Australia.

The film is a powerful and timely investigation into the media’s role in war, tracing the history of ‘embedded’ and independent reporting from the carnage of World War One to the destruction of Hiroshima, and from the invasion of Vietnam to the current war in Afghanistan and disaster in Iraq. As weapons and propaganda become even more sophisticated, the nature of war is developing into an ‘electronic battlefield’ in which journalists play a key role, and civilians are the victims. But who is the real enemy?

John Pilger says in the film: “We journalists… have to be brave enough to defy those who seek our collusion in selling their latest bloody adventure in someone else’s country… That means always challenging the official story, however patriotic that story may appear, however seductive and insidious it is. For propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a far away country but at you at home… In this age of endless imperial war, the lives of countless men, women and children depend on the truth or their blood is on us… Those whose job it is to keep the record straight ought to be the voice of people, not power.”

Free to the public and wheelchair accessible. For more information call the Center at 559-237-3223.

Sunday, October 30, 2 to 4 p.m. “RENT EVENT”, Café Corazon, 1306 N. Wishon north of Olive.   Richard Stone is hosting a monthly event to help meet the increased expenses of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence. Joining him will be readings by “Partners in Prose,” a writers’ group comprising our host Richard Stone with Polly Brewer, Vida Samiian, Sky Sweet and Isaac Weil. The readings will range from memoir to short fiction to fantasy–and maybe a brief play for good measure. Only guarantee: “It’s all good.” No admission is charged but donations will be solicited for the Center. For more information call 559-237-3223 or 559-266-2559.

Other important peace and justice events in our area:

1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month: “Keeping It Real” with Dr. Jean Kennedy.   8:00pm-10:00pm  - KFCF. FM.88.1

Saturday,October 1 • 1 –4 p.m.
Jim Hightower will be the keynote speaker in Fresno at a forum addressing the topic of “Strenghthening Our Voice-Bringing Valley Progressives Together.”  This event will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church,2672 E. Alluvial,Fresno.  Following Hightower’s address,there will be a facilitated dialogue laying the groundwork for more effective collaboration and a greater progressive voice in the Valley. Ticket are required and are available for a suggested donation of $10.00. For more information contact:Connie Peterson c.peterson8784@sbcglobal.net .

Saturday,October 1 • 6:30 –8:30 p.m.
Evening Dinner with Hightower,entertainment and no host bar at Arte Americas,1630 Van Ness Avenue in Fresno.  Only 70 tickets will be sold.  Cost $50 per person.  RSVP by submitting contact information and check to:Fresno MHS,P O Box 842,Fresno Ca 93712-0842.  For more information contact:Connie Peterson at (559) 325-8941 or c.peterson8784@sbcglobal.net .

Saturday’s events with Jim Hightower are co sponsored by Volunteers for Change-Fresno,the Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee of Fresno,Community Alliance,Central Valley Progressive PAC,Fresno Mental Health Services,and Central Valley-Sierra Progressives (Local Chapter PDA).

Sunday,October 2 • 4 –6 p.m.
Ghandi’s 142 birthday celebration –Followed by Candle Light Vigil for World Peace at the Fresno State,Peace Garden (just north of the Library). Free Admission.

Program includes:

Garlanding &Flower Ceremony
Special Guest Speakers
Classical &Folk Dances
Musical Tribute and Peace Concert
Short Speeches by youth leaders on
“How To Deal With Corruption in Our Life &Society
Brief statements by community &civic leaders
Meditation
Pledge Against Hate &Violence
Photo Exhibition on Life of Gandhi

For more information contact:Dr. Kapoor at 559.435.2212,Dr. N.P. Mahalik 559.278.2995
Central Valley Cultural Heritage Institute at Fresno State 559.278.6946.  Stop the Hate,Build a Culture of Peace.

Monday,October 3 • 6 –8 p.m.
A panel discussion on “Media Responsibility,Ethics and Civility” will be held at the Peters Education Center adjacent to Sav-Mart Center on the CSUF campus.  Listening to broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh,Sean Hannity and Fresno’s own Ray Appleton,you may well have asked yourself,“Can they really say that?” And the answer,under our nation’s principles of free speech,is usually,“Yes”,even if the statement in question has no basis in fact and/or seems defamatory.

An alternative set of questions we at CCAM have been asking involves not the rights of the individual commentator to speak his or her mind,but the responsibility of privately-owned media outlets—especially TV and radio stations which are granted licenses to serve the public interest on valuable space on the broadcast spectrum by “we the people”.  Should owners have the legal right to use their stations to lionize one political position and demonize others while squelching all debate? Do they have the ethical right to call demonstrably false statements “news”,and then defend themselves saying they only provide entertainment? Should they be held accountable for the effect of their programming on unbalanced,violence-prone listeners?

Then,too,there are larger questions of community viability. Do we as a city or county,or state or country,have sufficient cohesiveness and mutual respect to continue living together?  Can we disagree vigorously yet maintain civility…or are divisions over religion and economics,matters of survival and justice,creating the grounds for another civil war? Should the public airwaves be made available to undermine community sustainability?

Such questions will be addressed at a forum to be held under the auspices of the Leon S. Peters Ethics Lecture Series entitled “Media Responsibility,Ethics and Civility”. Panelists will include:

Les Kimber            Founding Editor,California Advocate  and representative of CCAM
Juan Esparza Loera      Editor,Vida en el Valle
Betsy Lumbye        Executive Editor,Fresno Bee
Ben Ingersoll            Editor-in-Chief of the Collegian

Faith Sidlow            Channel 24 news anchor,MCJ Faculty

The panel discussion is free and open to the public. Parking permits can be obtained at the campus vending machines:to get the code check the  website at csufresno.edu/ethicscenter. The event has been organized by the Ethics Center Lecture Series Committee,in conjunction with CCAM and the “Stop the Hate,Stop the Violence,Build a Culture of Peace” events committee.

Dear Friends of the Center:   Two things!

(1)     Below is the announcement for our Annual Book Sale on Saturday, October 8.  We are now sorting donations of books, dvds, cds, and for the first time in a long while vinyl records!  People are now looking for them.  Make sure they are in good shape though!  Please bring donations in early so they can be sorted for the big day!

OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING BOOK SALE – OCTOBER 8  8 A.M. TO 4 P.M. SW corner of Van Ness and Olive.

We are now accepting books, dvds, cds for our Annual Fundraising Book sale.  You can bring them to the Center between 11-3 daily.  This is an important fundraiser for us so I’m hoping that not only will we get great donations but that you come and buy at the sale.  If necessary buy back the book you’ve donated! (Smile).  We have been repeatedly told by shoppers that ours is the best book sale in town!  Think Christmas or birthday gifts!

We also will need volunteers on the day and a day or two before for sorting.  Call us at 237-3223 for more information Mon-Fri 11 -3.

(2)    OUR EBAY/ETSY/CRAIG’S LIST/ CLOVIS YARD SALE PROJECT

During the past months we have been quite successful in selling items donated by our members on eBay/Etsy/Craig’s List/Clovis Yard Sale.  I say “we”, but it is really Gioia Frank, our volunteer,  who has taken on this quite time consuming job. In the summer months between our Spring Appeal, Book Sale and Fall Appeal our funds naturally go down, but this project has helped pick up some donations we would not normally have had.  (Richard Stone’s “Rent Event” has been doing this too – and kudos to Richard for doing this).

So, here is another appeal – as you look for books etc for our Book Sale, take a look at other items.  Almost anything will find a buyer somewhere!  And if that doesn’t happen we offer it back or “free cycle” it.   Gioia has sold jewelery, clothing, pieces of furniture, office items like file cabinets, children’s toys, valuable books, paintings, ice cream makers, garden equipment, dog house!

You can really help out here.  If you need something picked up just contact Gioia at: center.for.nonviolence@gmail.com.   If you want to look at what we have on sale on eBay, here is the link.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/peacecenter/m.html?_trksid=p4340.12562

 

There is a new location for our August 28 “Rent Event” – Cafe Corazon, 1306 N. Wishon north of Olive.   Here are the details again:

Sunday, August 28, 2 to 4 p.m. “RENT EVENT”, Cafe Corazon, 1306 N. Wishon, north of Olive.    Richard Stone is hosting a monthly event to help meet the increased expenses of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence featuring readings from his 30-plus years of writing.  Richard’s guest this month will be his partner, Avigdar Adams, who has recovered from the illness that side-lined him in June.. Avigdar is known in Rogue Festival circles for his singing of old-time coffee house folk music in the tradition of Burl Ives and Joan Baez. No admission is charged, but donations will be solicited to benefit the Center.  For information call: 559-237-3223 or 559-266-2559.

Wednesday, August 3 at 6:00 p.m. FCNV Board meeting at 1584 N. Van Ness (SE corner McKinley and Van Ness) Call 237-3223 11-3 Mon-Fri for details..

Wednesday, August 10 at 3-3:30 p.m. on  KFCF 88.1 On the Center’s “Stir it Up” monthly radio show your host, Richard Gomez, will have as his guests the returning Fresno Caravanistas, Professor Gerry Bill and Dr. Leni Reeves, and discuss the current state of the Cuban Revolution.  This show will be pre-recorded earlier to be heard at this time.  For information call (559)237-3223.

Wednesday, August 10 at 12 noon and 7 p.m. (potluck at 6:30 p.m.), FCNV, 1584 N. Van Ness (SE Corner McKinley and Van Ness). The 2^nd Wednesday film will be “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill”. In San Francisco, there are at least two flocks of largely wild parrots who flock around the city. This film focuses on the flock of cherry-headed conures (and a lonely blue-headed one named Connor) who flock around the Telegraph Hill region of the city and their closest human companion, Mark Bittner . Through his own words, we learn of his life as a frustrated, homeless musician and how he came to live in the area where he decided to explore the nature around him. This leads him to discover the parrot flock and the individual personalities of it. In a cinematic portrait, we are introduced to his colorful companions and the relationship they share as well as the realities of urban wild life that would change Bittner’s life forever. Musical score was created by Chris Michie, a Bay area musician, formerly the guitarist for Van Morrison and is dedicated to his memory. 2005.  83 minutes. Free to the public and wheelchair accessible.

Sunday, August 28, 2 to 4 p.m. “RENT EVENT”, Iron Bird Café, 1915 Fulton St. (just south of Divisadero),   Richard Stone is hosting a monthly event to help meet the increased expenses of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence featuring readings from his 30-plus years of writing.  Richard’s guest this month will be his partner, Avigdar Adams, who has recovered from the illness that side-lined him in June.. Avigdar is known in Rogue Festival circles for his singing of old-time coffee house folk music in the tradition of Burl Ives and Joan Baez. No admission is charged, but donations will be solicited to benefit the Center.  For information call: 559-237-3223 or 559-266-2559.

 

Tuesday, July 12, at 7:30pm
Peace Fresno will host a discussion regarding the economics of war and its consequences with the traveling team of high school and college age students from the Martin Luther King Jr Freedom Center.  This will be held at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N. Van Ness, Fresno (SE corner Van Ness and McKinley).  All are invited and it is wheelchair accessible.  The students are coming as part of a summer program that teaches youth about the economic and education crisis that harms our world today.  The program sponsor is Karen Bohlke of the Institute for Community Leadership.  For more information go to: www.peacefresno.org and www.centerfornonviolence.org