Author Archives: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Recommended Event: Join Amy Goodman tonight at 6 pm at Tribeca Barnes & Noble!

Text by Democracy Now!

Please join Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman as she speaks at the first event at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble since its reopening post-Hurricane Sandy. In a talk entitled “The Elections, Superstorm Sandy, Climate Change, and the Movements That Make History,” Goodman links Sandy and other extreme weather events to climate change, and discusses the corporate media’s failure to make the connection. She will also talk about tomorrow’s elections, the movements that make history, and share tales of her 100-city tour launched with the release of her latest book, The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope. This is her first NYC event on the tour.

When:  Monday, November 5th, 2012
Time: 6 pm
Where: Tribeca Barnes & Noble (97 Warren Street between Greenwich and West Streets, New York, NY 10007)

Music listings – 11/5 through 11/11

1. Pete Drungle Solo Piano

Date: Monday, November 5, 2010
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Delancy (168 Delancy Street, NY)
Ticket: free
Genre: Jazz piano

Pete Drungle (b. Chicago, 1972) is a composer/pianist with a diverse background in music who lives and works in New York. He has played duets with Ornette Coleman, performed internationally with Ronald Shannon Jackson’s legendary Decoding Society and Craig Harris’ Nation of Imagination, arranged music for the Kronos Quartet and composed for and conducted the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, Drungle received the prestigious Bessie Award for Best Composer for his score to Michael Portnoy’s avant-dance piece THE ‘K’ SOUND. Drungle enjoys being involved in cross-disciplinary projects, and has performed in museums, art galleries, theaters, and music halls internationally, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, all in New York.

2. Pamelia Kurstin with Vehicle of Ascension

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Music activism will survive: 2 Vietnamese musicians sentenced to prison!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

It happened again last week in Vietnam: musicians – music activists are sentenced to prison because of telling the truth. Like the Pussy Riots three months ago Vo Minh Tri 34, whose stage name is Viet Khang, and Tran Vu Anh Binh, 37, were sentenced to 4 years and 6 years respectively in Ho Chi Minh City.

Both were convicted of “spreading propaganda against the state.” Viet Khang protested in his songs against the government’s soft policy towards China in a territorial dispute. A YouTube video of his song Viet Nam Toi Dau – Where is my Vietnam? (watch video below) became a big hit. And Tran Vu Anh Binh supported an imprisoned blogger, Nguyen Van Hai,  in the song Nguc Toi Hien Ngang – Courage In The Dark Prison. In this song Mr.Binh urges people to go on the streets in support of Mr. Hai and protest nonviolently.

Again the same situation which we have observed in different totalitarian countries recently: the government or regime of that country is trying to silent dissidents who have successfully used the Internet and social media, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,etc. to spread out anti-regime messages.

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Recommended Event: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance

Tickets for the Friday and Saturday performances by the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra of Falafel, Freilach, & Frijoles: From Mambo to Borscht will be at the box office of Symphony Space. The box office opens at 1pm on both days. Symphony Space is located at 95th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.

If you would like to attend please go to the box office and request a ticket. There will be assigned seating and everyone must have a ticket.

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Democracy Now! Election 2012 Silenced Majority Tour

Text by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! is on the road for a 100-city Election 2012 Silenced Majority Tour. Between now and Election Day, Democracy Now! will broadcast live across the United States, traveling through many of the electoral swing states, going beyond the mainstream media’s obsessive focus on the latest poll numbers and candidate gaffes, to examine how people are organizing; the impacts of restrictive voter ID laws that are making it harder to vote; and how the massive influx of campaign cash following the Citizens United decision is changing how our democracy works.

Amy Goodman‘s latest book, The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope, written with Denis Moynihan, provides a vivid record of the events, conflicts, and social movements shaping our society today. The Silenced Majority pulls back the veil of corporate media reporting to dig deep into the politics of “climate apartheid,” the implications of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the movement to halt the execution of Troy Anthony Davis, and the globalization of dissent from Tahrir Square to Liberty Plaza. Throughout, Goodman and Moynihan show the work of ordinary people to change their media—and change the world.

Join us for a public event near you—to help raise critical funds for the public community television and radio stations across the country. Continue reading →