Friday, December 29, 2006

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - JANUARY 2007, VOLUME TWO, #10

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - JANUARY 2007, VOLUME TWO, #10

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IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS (details at the end):

PITTSBURGH CD RELEASE (January 4th)
SANTA CRUZ, CA
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
BERKELEY, CA
NEVADA CITY, CA
ASHLAND, OR
PORTLAND, OR
EUGENE, OR
VANCOUVER, BC
VICTORIA, BC
SALT SPRING, BC
BELLINGHAM, WA
SEATTLE, WA
TACOMA, WA

and then TEXAS!! FLORIDA!! NEW ENGLAND!!!


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You can have the Fellow Travelers' Advisory delivered to you once a month by signing up!

If you didn't get my new CD in your Christmas stocking, treat yourself! You can get it at CDBaby.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR YOU
GONE TO JAIL FOR JUSTICE
JACKIE BROWN FOR JACKSONVILLE
ROUGH MIX OF NEW SONG ON MYSPACE
GOT CDs FOR KPFK LABOR SHOW???
DUMP THE BOSSES OFF YOUR BACK UPDATE
THE YEAR IN REVIEW IN A MINUTE
2006 REST IN PEACE
FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2006
GIGS PAST AND FUTURE, & MANY MANY THANKS!

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MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR YOU -

PLEASE drop me a line from time to time and let me know what you're up to... anne@annefeeney.com

As most of you could guess, I have no corporate sponsors - I really count on you to spread the word about my shows and my CDs. PLEASE forward the Fellow Travelers' Advisory widely and let your friends know about my music. I really appreciate it.

If you see that I'm playing in a town where you have friends, colleagues, relatives - PLEASE tell them about my music, or better yet, buy them one of my CDs and encourage them to catch me live.

Check around to see if there are regular house concerts in your town. If you've never been to one, go! It's a wonderfully intimate and enjoyable way to hear live music and meet your neighbors.

If there isn't a house concert series in your town, consider hosting one. It's not that difficult. Email me if you're interested in learning how to host a house concert.

If you see that I'm headed your way, check around to see if there are any rallies, riots, conventions, picnics or parties near you that I should know about. I do about 80% of my booking from tips that I get from you.

Look for shows and recordings by other wonderful artists, like evan greer, charlie king & karen brandow, chris chandler, dave lippman, rebel voices, joe jencks, linda allen, emma's revolution, david rovics, david roth, kim & reggie... and of course so many many more..
Lots of them can be found here.

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GONE TO JAIL FOR JUSTICE

This holiday season let's take a moment to remember those who can't be with their families and friends this holiday season because they are in jail. My friend and companera Julienne Oldfield was among many who crossed the line at Fort Benning this year. Keep her and all those in prison in your thoughts. And consider an end of the year donation to SOA Watch. 2007 will bring us a real opportunity to close the School of the Americas!
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JACKIE BROWN FOR JACKSONVILLE

Got a few extra dollars in your sock after finishing your holiday shopping? Send it on to:

Jackie Brown for Mayor
PO BOX 62309
Jacksonville FL 32208

She's a bright, hardworking and charismatic woman looking to shake things up a little in Jacksonville.
Listen to this interview with her

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ROUGH MIX OF NEW SONG ON MYSPACE

Enjoy a holiday special rough mix of my cut of "Brave New Christmas" by the wonderful John William Davis. It will be on "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back" when it's finished... Still a few thousand dollars away from completion... The song will only be up on Myspace for another couple days, so listen in now!

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GOT CDs FOR KPFK LABOR SHOW???

Henry Walton has a Labor Show airing on Thursdays on KPFK in Los Angeles. If you're interested in having him play your music on his show, send CDs to Sandy Goldfarb, 12741 Pacific Ave #8, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

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DUMP THE BOSSES OFF YOUR BACK UPDATE

I hope to get the second CD ready for Mayday 2007. If you are a sponsor of the second CD, could you remind of that now? My record keeping is a little off here... I know the following for sure, but if I missed you, let me know: Amy Newell, Kay Magill, Jeanine Malito, Jack O' Malley, Rosemary Trump, Rosanna Lane, Candice Carter, Stan Swart, Joel Henderson, Rich Shriver, Shelley Kessler, Tom Herman and Jo Miller, Rose Feurer, Pat Bennett, Berk Snow, Jeanne Clark & Tim Sullivan, Michele Samuels. Courtney Derwinski, Dexter Arnold and Corliss Olson

(That's about 62 folks short of what I need to finish the CD... It's not too late to become a sponsor! Send $100 to me at 7206 Michigan Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15218)

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THE YEAR IN REVIEW IN A MINUTE

Some high points of 2006:

So long Rick Santorum! I still laugh when I see the DumpRick bumper stickers on cars around town.

Good riddance John Bolton! Hasta la vista Tom Delay! Bye Bye Mark Foley! Adios Donald Rumsfeld!

Getting to meet and hang out with Colonel Ann Wright and Cindy Sheehan.

Watching Stephen Colbert skewering W at the National Press Club Dinner

Working with Doug Wilkin and all the talented musicians and vocalists who helped out on my new CD "If I Can't Dance."

Jumping out of an airplane at 14,000 feet on my 55th birthday!

Having so many of you step forward to sponsor the recording of "If I Can't Dance," and "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back."

"the bells are ringing..."

My son Dan getting engaged to Monique Murad

My friends Rosanna Lane and Bill Deegan tying the knot after 30+ years of unwedded bliss!

My friend Jan Boyd getting married to the charming and wonderful Bill Erickson

Stetson Kennedy marrying Sandra Parks on November 24th!


Some low points of 2006:

The wonderful Main Street Cafe closes its doors in Homestead, FL

The valiant Boilermakers of Local 484 in Meredosia end their lockout with a lousy settlement

Lebanon is attacked by Israel

Sweden puts the center-right Moderaterna party in charge of their government ...

Mike Veon loses his house seat in Pennsylvania

The Iraq war drags on and Bush sure doesn't get it.


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2006 REST IN PEACE

Bob Blue
Joe Glazer
DC Fitzgerald
Blair Powell
Danny Conn, Walt Harper
and my Swedish parents-in-law,
Sonja and Nisse Johannson.....

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FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2006

There are still so many films that I haven't seen ... I'll be on a campaign to catch as many as I can before the Oscars. If I'm in your neighborhood and you want to see a film.... let's!!


The Departed - plenty violent, but the performances by Nicholson, DeCaprio and Damon are fabulous - it's a real edge-of-the seat thriller ... Scorcese's finest, in my opinion. Definitely in my top 100 of all time... maybe even in my top 50.

The Queen - I'll confess I'm a huge Helen Mirren fan, but she should win an Oscar for this fabulous performance as Queen Elizabeth in the aftermath of Diana Spencer's death.

Little Miss Sunshine - not a perfect movie for sure, but I still laughed out loud several times and thought it was a charming film.

Thank You for Smoking - a surprisingly hilarious film... one would think that a film starring a tobacco industry lobbyist would use up its best material in the first five minutes ... not so... it was quite ingenious.

Borat - despite a lot of wince-inducing moments in this film, I was overall quite entertained.

2006 Losers

I wouldn't expect a film about Idi Amin to be uplifting, but Last King of Scotland was simply harrowing. I couldn't look at the screen for five full minutes toward the end.

The people in front of me who were clearly enjoying "Dream Girls," didn't appreciate my groans. Over-the-top sentimentality may work better in live theater performance, but it was painful on the silver screen. This film was more fun with your eyes closed.

I wish I could have edited "The Good Shepherd." It might have been a good film if it had been an hour shorter. It was often dazzling to look at ... beautiful cinematography... but it would be more rewarding (and faster) to watch an amaryllis bloom.

Pursuit of Happyness belongs on Lifetime TV, or perhaps as an interlude at the Republican National Convention. According to this so-called "based on a true story" film, there is certainly no excuse for poverty. .. all you have to do is follow your dream. This strikes me as the kind of fantasy that rich people have when they think about what they would do if they were poor. I have no doubt that there is a *lot* more to the true story than what we see in this film. That being said, the performances in this unbelievable film are all terrific.... especially Will Smith's charming son Jaden.

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GIGS PAST AND FUTURE, & MANY MANY THANKS!

When the year started with magically lovely performance opportunities at the Danish and Swedish Social Forums, I knew the year was off to a good start. The TX tour that Teresa Allen put together for me right after that was fantastic. I met so many wonderful people on that trip! And the visit to Tucson in February was beautifully arranged by Myra and Guido... and allowed me a great visit with my Arizona cousins.

It was totally a lifelong dream come true to get to play the UMWA Convention!!! To know that I was performing for the union that my grandfather helped to build, and to be treated so well and so well received, and to share that with my beloved friends Rosanna and Bill - I'll cherish that memory for the rest of my life.

It was such a thrill to perform at the Mariposa Folk Festival and the Bread and Roses Festival this year. Both were terrific opportunities to hear fabulous music. I loved Stonefox and Lennie Gallant at Mariposa ... and Corey Dolgon and The Mammals were fabulous at B&R.

The tour of Ireland in September was a highlight of 2006. It was especially joyous to be reuinited with my dear Dublin friends, Danny and Caitriona Donnelly. If you haven't checked out my photo essay from that tour, please do... My daughter Amy took fabulous pictures of that most memorable adventure!

And countless kudos to all the organizers and volunteers at the University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium on Songs of Social Change. The series was extraordinary and it was a real honor to be part of it.

I'm so blessed to have all of you in my life, and extremely grateful to have such satisfying work. If you haven't heard my new CD yet, please check out CDBaby and get a copy. You'll love it!

Special thanks to Gerd Berlev, Stuart Acuff, Teresa Allen, Myra and Guido, Stan Swart, Ken & Cee Cee, Joel & Carolyn Henderson, Maureen Wood, Jack McKivigan, Helena Worthen, Gary Cristall, Emma Nation, Shelley Kessler, Robert Jones, Berk Snow, Danny and Caitriona Donnelly, Niall and Jenny Farrell, Jeanne Clark and Tim Sullivan, Joe Mulheron, Mixie McCafferty, Dave Lippman, Pol McAdaim, Charlie McCollester, Charles Darling, Gary O'Dwyer, Margie Rosencranz, Evan Greer, Greg Di Giorgio, Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald, Utah Phillips, Janet and Ken Bates, Paul Bueno de Mesquita, David Rovics, Gail Skidmore, Stephen Wood, Sue Powers, Jerry Starr, Jack Erdie, Marci Woodruff, Amy Newell, Vern and Lenore, Turner Wright, Jim Gorman and Joey Hartman, Jan Hammarlund, Susan Rimby, Jim Watta, Dana Lyons, Betsy Pernotto & Bob Marshall, Al & Dotty Dale, Daniel Sjestraijic, Gene & Natasha, Walt & Rose Brasch, Julie, Dan & Amy -- and of course, you!!

May 2007 bring us all peace and joy!

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COMING UP ....

Thursday, January 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
IWW presents a CD Release party for "If I Can't Dance"
Thunderbird Cafe
Butler & Fisk
Pittsburgh, PA
Price: suggested $10
no one will be turned away for lack of funds ... come early to get a seat ... Get a free CD with a donation of $50 to the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee... (all donations of any size to the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee are welcome).

Thursday, January 11th, 2007 6:30 PM
Soup 'n Songs at Sarah's
Sarah and Tarmo's house
Santa Cruz, CA
831-420-0450
Price: $10-20 sliding
call or email Sarah sring@cruzio.com to reserve seats for this show and get directions to her house. Show will start promptly at 7 and end at 9 - Sarah is making soup!! mmmmmmmmmmm

Friday, January 12th, 2007 3:00 PM
Live on Dave Stafford's Show
KKUP - 91.5 FM
1241 Franklin Square
Santa Clara, CA
(408) 260-2999
http://www.kkup.org/index.html
this station may not stream live on the inernet... i couldn't find the link...

Friday, January 12th, 2007 5:15 PM
Live on Flashpoints w Dennis Bernstein
KPFA - 91.4FM
708 Valencia
San Francisco, CA
http://kpfa.org
this show will stream live!
Friday, January 12th, 2007 6:30 PM
Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 467
1519 Rollins Road
Burlingame, CA
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/~lcushing/WWLHF/WWLHF07.html
Coming by BART? Go to the Millbrae stop, last on the peninsula route (station map) and call for shuttle pickup (650) 796-7648 -- For more information,
(including hotels and transportation)
contact David Winters, (831) 426-4940

Saturday, January 13th, 2007 9:00 AM
Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 467
1519 Rollins Road
Burlingame, CA
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/~lcushing/WWLHF/WWLHF07.html
events go on all day and into the evening!


Sunday, January 14th, 2007 10:00 AM
Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 467
1519 Rollins Road
Burlingame, CA
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/~lcushing/WWLHF/WWLHF07.html
Events start at 10 AM and go on all day. Evening Concert at 7PM in Machinists Local 1781, 1511 Rollins Road, Burlingame, CA - in same building complex and featuring Dave Lippman, Lyn Marie Smith and more


Monday, January 15th, 2007 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney with Special Guest Mrs. T Bill Banks
Redwood Garden
2159 Derby St. (@ Claremont Blvd.)
Berkeley, CA
510-848-6397
Price: $10/20 sliding
Eleanor Walden ewalden3(@)comcast.net is the contact. . #7 bus stops at front, #51 stops 1 block west at Collage Ave), parking is pretty good on the street.


Thursday, January 18th, 2007 8:30 PM
Opening for Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald and the Little Band
Cooper's Saloon
235 Commercial St
Nevada City, CA 95959
530.265.0116
http://www.coopersnevadacity.com/

Friday, January 19th, 2007 8:00 PM
Jobs with Justice and KSKQ radio present Anne Feeney in concert
Unitarian Church
Ashland, OR
contact brain@mind.net for more info

Saturday, January 20th, 2007 7:00 PM
WILPF presents Anne Feeney in Concert
St Andrew's Community Center
9th St & NE Alberta
Portland, OR
Price: $10 sliding
gpinkel(@)pacifier.com - Georgia Pinkel is the contact.. The "sliding" admission means pay more if you can, less if you can't...

Sunday, January 21st, 2007 10:00 AM
How about a UU service in PDX, Salem or Eugene or in between?

Sunday, January 21st, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Sam Bond's Garage
407 BLAIR BLVD
Eugene, OR
http://www.sambonds.com/

Thursday, January 25th, 2007 9:30 PM
Anne Feeney and Joey Only
Cafe Rime
1130 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC V5L-3X2
Canada
604-215-1130
http://www.rime.ca/event.html
Price: $7-10
I'll be doing two sets and the fabulous Joey Only will do one set.

Friday, January 26th, 2007 8:00 PM
Sounds & Furies presents (www.soundsandfuries.com)
Rhizome Cafe
317 E. Broadway (across from Kingsgate Mall)
Vancouver, BC
A new - and licensed - venue - a happening place!
Doors open 7 PM for dinner. Come early for delicious, inexpensive food. Chec out Rhizome's menu at www.rhizomecafe.ca
Opening Act: Kate Reid www.katereid.net
"One woman, one guitar, lots of attitude"
tickets $10 - $15 sliding scale (pay what you can afford on this scale) available early January at
Urban Empire (early January) 1108 Commercial Drive
Rhizome Cafe, 317 E. Broadway

Sunday, January 28th, 2007 7:30 PM
Victoria Folk Song Society presents Anne Feeney
Norway House
1110 Hillside (between Quadra and Cook)
Victoria, BC
(250) 413-3213 or email info at victoriafolkmusic.ca
http://www.victoriafolkmusic.ca/index.html


Monday, January 29th, 2007 7:30PM
Salt Spring Island Folk Club - BC - Canada
Doors open at 6:30 for season ticket holders, 6:45 for general admission. Concerts begin at 7:30.
Good Food at affordable prices available from 6:30 pm on
Individual Concert Tickets: $15
Tickets for individual concerts go on sale 2 weeks before the concert date at the following locations:
Ganges -Acoustic Planet (537-9668) Salt Spring Books (537-2812) Fulford -Stuff & Nonsense (653-4620)
http://www.saltspringfolkclub.ca/


Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
LIUNA Hall
1700 N State Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Price: $10 suggested
Betsy Pernotto is the contact


Friday, February 2nd, 2007 7:00 PM
Jobs with Justice presents Groundhog Day with Anne Feeney
Community Church of Christ
West Seattle, WA
http://wsjwj.org
Price: $10-20 sliding
more details soon!

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 7:30 PM
Southsound Jobs with Justice presents Anne Feeney
tba
Tacoma or Gig Harbor, WA
more details soon

Sunday, February 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
Looking for a gig
Seattle, Tacoma
how about a UU service???

ALWAYS contact the venue before heading out... I do my best to keep things current and accurate at http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html ... but as you all know all too well, I'm not perfect and changes happen.

That's it for now. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - DECEMBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, #9





Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - DECEMBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, #9


IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:



US LABOR AGAINST THE WAR IN CLEVELAND WITH CINDY SHEEHAN!
PITTSBURGH READING OF JERRY STARR'S NEW PLAY ABOUT SAGO
JOE GLAZER TRIBUTE CONCERTS IN WASHINGTON, DC
details at the tourdates page


JAN-FEB - CA, OR, WA & BC
FEBRUARY - TEXAS!!

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If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by going to http://annefeeney.com/newsletter.html - If you've changed your mind and need to unsubscribe, click on the link at the bottom of this email

You can also read this with live links and photos at http://fellow-travelers-advisory.blogspot.com/

Order CDs at http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid

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IN THIS ISSUE:

HOLIDAY GREETINGS
NORTHWEST TOUR
TEXAS IN FEBRUARY
NOW AVAILABLE IN UK
A GOOD LAUGH FROM PEGGY SEEGER

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Hi Folks --

Now that "Buy Nothing Day" is over, I'm sure that some of you are looking for unique holiday gifts. I hope you'll stop by CDBaby and stuff some stockings with my CDs. I've replenished CDBaby's inventory of Have You Been to Jail for Justice?, Union Maid, and If I Can't Dance ... and you can also get the Wild Wimmin for Peace CD, Heartland, Vote in November, Look to the Left, and the last three copies of Live from the Wholly Stolen Empire.

AND I've got ten of those hand-cranked Swedish music boxes that play "The Internationale." You can order them directly from me. Email me at anne@annefeeney.com if you want one... They're $50 + $5 shipping/handling. If CDBaby sells out, I'll also be doing CD sales directly from the house during December... just email me.

I'll be leaving tomorrow for the US Labor Against the War national conference in Cleveland, and I'm very excited to finally be meeting Cindy Sheehan.





(We meet at last!! Cindy and I wearing our "Jail for Justice" Tee Shirts from Will Covert)









thanks to Patrick Carano for the photos!





I'll be doing a year-in-review Fellow Travelers' Advisory at the end of December, but for now I'll say that my trips to Canada, New England and Florida were very wonderful. Gary and Pauline O'Dwyer were spectacular hosts in Cobourg - and getting so much quality time with Eric LeCompte, Kathy Kelly and Stephanie Schaudel was energizing. Stan Swart, Candice Carter and Ken and Cee Cee made the Florida visit a joy. And all my New England hosts were terrific - love and thanks to Guy and Lorraine, Margi, Greg, Gail and David, Paul, Robyn, Geoff, Stan and Joanna............


On Monday night, Dec 4th, my friend Jerry Starr debuts his new play, BURIED: the story of the Sago Mine Disaster in a standing-room-only reading at Pittsburgh Playwrights. Directed by the amazing Marci Wood, the play features an all-star cast and music by me and Sue Powers. The reading will be filmed in the hope of finding funding for full-scale productions in 2007.

This was a challenging year. This is the first year that I bought more sympathy cards than birthday cards. Both my mother-in-law and father-in-law died this year in Sweden. I'm mourning the loss of so many friends this year, as well as my generous mentor, Joe Glazer, my beloved Kerrville camping companero Blair Powell, and especially my longtime performing partner and dear friend, DC Fitzgerald.

As this holiday season approaches, I hope you're surrounded by family and friends. I'm hoping to have both my kids and my husband here in Pittsburgh for the holidays.

Keep the folks of Oaxaca in your thoughts and prayers.

I look forward to seeing you in 2007, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kindness and generosity you have shown me. We'll have plenty of work to do next year, so take a little time off now to enjoy each other and relax!

Peace on earth,

Anne

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NORTHWEST (& CANADIAN SOUTHWEST) TOUR - JAN & FEB 2007

Still quite a few dates left to fill... If you live in between Watsonville, CA and Vancouver, BC - please visit my calendar at http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html to check availability, and then email me at anne@annefeeney.com to arrange a fill in date on this tour...

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TEXAS IN FEBRUARY

I'd like to tour in Texas between February 8th and 23rd... If you'd like to see me perform in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, College Station, Austin, or points in between please talk to me - 412.877.6480 or email me - anne@annefeeney.com -- Folk clubs, rallies, riots, conferences, classrooms and of course UU congregations... and house concerts, too! If you'd like to host a house concert, I'll tell you how...



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NOW!! ORDER MY MUSIC IN THE UK!

Four Dogs Music is a new UK music site operated by Ethical Wares and featuring great music from all over the world... including mine! If you're across the pond, order from Four Dogs for prompt delivery.

Vist Four Dogs Music

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A GOOD LAUGH FORWARDED TO ME FROM PEGGY SEEGER:

(Peggy's always sending me hilarious and/or informative emails... This one made me laugh out loud...enjoy!)

It takes a college degree to fly a plane but only a high school diploma to fix one: a reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in our jobs.

After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humour. Here are some maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas Pilots (marked with a P) and the Solutions Recorded (marked with an S) by Maintenance Engineers.

(By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident)
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P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.


P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.


P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget


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Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Solstice, Festive Kwanzaa --- however you're celebrating, I wish you all the best and thank you so much for your friendship and love and support!

Friday, November 03, 2006

FROM MOLLY IVINS

May I remind you what this election is about? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, unprecedented presidential powers, unmatched incompetence, unparalleled corruption, unwarranted eavesdropping, Katrina, Enron, Halliburton, global warming, Cheney's secret energy task force, record oil company profits, $3 gasoline, FEMA, the Supreme Court, Diebold, Florida in 2000, Ohio in 2004, Terri Schiavo, stem cell research, golden parachutes, shrunken pensions, unavailable and expensive health care, habeas corpus, no weapons of mass destruction, sacrificed soldiers and Iraqi civilians, wasted billions, Taliban resurgence, expiration of the assault weapons ban, North Korea, Iran, intelligent design, swift boat hit squads, and on and on.

This election is about that, but much more - it's about honor, dignity and comity in this country. It's about the Constitution, which gives us this great nation.

Bush ran on a pledge of "restoring honor and integrity" to the White House. Instead, he brought us Tom DeLay, Roy Blunt, Katherine Harris, John Doolittle, Jerry Lewis, Richard Pombo, Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert, David Safavian, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, Karl Rove and an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. People, it's up to you.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - NOVEMBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, #8

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - NOVEMBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, #8

IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:

Youngstown, OH
Cobourg, ON
Kingston, RI
Florence, MA
Berlin, MA
Northampton, MA
Cambridge, MA
Albany, NY
Fort Benning, GA
Jacksonville, FL
Cleveland, OH
Washington, DC

I've got my ticket to the Northwest: arriving San Francisco on 11 January, departing Seattle on 5 February... If you'd like to book a show then, email me at anne@annefeeney.com

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If this was forwarded to you, or you're reading it on my blog, you can subscribe by going to my website and signing up!

Order CDs at CDBaby

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IN THIS ISSUE:

DID YOU KNOW…?
SAVE OAXACA
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT RUMINATIONS
FAMILY NEWS
LINK
TOUR DATES

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DID YOU KNOW that....

1) almost all of my music is downloadable at most online stores, including iTunes, Yahoo music, AOL and many many more?

2) My recording of "We Just Come to Work Here, We Don't Come to Die" is included in the recently released "Classic Labor Songs" from Smithsonian Folkways CD -- Featuring Paul Robeson, Joe Glazer, Woody Guthrie, Hazel Dickens, Pete Seeger, John Handcox, and many more ... order it from Labor Heritage Foundation

3) My recording of "Defenders of Marriage" is featured on the new anthology "Hail to the Thieves III" - which includes 19 other songs "to take back our country" by Billy Bragg, Utah Phillips, Chuck Brodsky, Steve Brooks, Colleen Kattau, Jolie Rickman, Jon Fromer, the DC Labor Chorus, Pat Wynne, Francisco Herrera, Evan Greer, Girlyman, Graham and Barbara Dean, John Lilly, George Mann and Julius Margolin. You can order it at CDBaby

4) you can review CDs on CDBaby and Amazon? ... why not write a review of my newest CD- "IF I CAN'T DANCE" ...Here's a sample of the reviews of the new CD, which you can buy at CDBaby

***** -- Great songs, great arrangements, great singing... Reviewer: Dennis Pearne
Anne sings with all the joy and gusto of a true, dancing revolutionary. She is rare in her bare honesty. Her musicality is beyond reproach. I have to say that lots of times I don't get past the seventh cut, "Let Their Heads Roll," because it's so good, and she performs is so perfectly, I put the CD player on "repeat" for a while. I'm sure I'll cover it, though it will be a challenge, given her fabulous rendition.

***** -- Anne Feeney is one of my favourite performers –
Reviewer: kozima1848@aol.com
I have seen her LIVE several times and she never ceases to amaze. I will recommend this CD to all my friends on the left.

***** -- I loved it - Reviewer: Craig
It is a very good CD. Every song on the CD is enjoyable. I would recommend this to others. Gets an A in my book!

***** -- You'll be singing, dancing, and thinking - Reviewer: Larry Orr
I heard songs from this CD in concert in Tucson, bought it immediately, and love it! You'll have to dance with Emma Goldman, you'll want to sing along on “Who's the Criminal,” and you're going to be remembering and thinking about the songs for a long
time. The tribute to Rosa Parks (My Feet Are Tired) is the kind of song I thought no one sang any more, with lots of message, and oh, so much music. Anne, you're a knockout on this CD, a great singer with a sharp sense of humor and justice, and a fine touch in selecting songs. This CD is hard-hitting politically and terrifically musical. Get it, play it for yourself and your friends!

5) now you can pre-order or donate toward the new CD, "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back," using Paypal, VISA or MC finding the DONATE button on my blog or my Earthlink site, or Myspace -- I'm still about $11,000 away from finishing it, but it will happen!

6) You could be the 100,000th visitor to my website if you hurry! Kudos and hearty thanks to hardworking UBC member and talented web designer Dave Livingston of Nelson, BC for the terrific job he does maintaining my website. Thanks to everyone who has visited my website in the last two years ... especially those of you who left a message in the guestbook or signed up for the newsletter.

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SAVE OAXACA!!

For more news on the Oaxaca teachers' struggle, check out http://www.corrugate.org/blog or http://www.narconews.com/ and send a letter to President Vicente Fox of Mexico --

vicente.fox.quesada@presidencia.gob.mx

Sample letter (please write your own)


Dear President Fox:

For months we have been worried about the massing of repressive force threatening the teachers union and APPO in Oaxaca by state authorities of Governor Ulysses Ruiz. Now it appears they have begun the repression against people operating radio station Planton and shooting at people in the plaza. Newspapers are reporting that primary school teacher Emilio Alonso was gunned down and that Indymedia reporter Brad Will was shot in the chest and killed in the municipality of Calicante and a photographer Oswaldo Ramirez was shot and wounded. There are rumors that other teachers have been shot and killed and that there are many injured.

Is your government planning to repeat the shame of the massacre at Tlatelolco in 1968, which people around the world still remember? We are watching with alarm. We urge you in the strongest terms to stop the repression and violence against the people of Oaxaca and the teachers union. You must use your power to stop Governor Ruiz from committing a massacre.

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MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

It's way too late at night for me to be prudently pondering world affairs... I don't know if it's the jetlag and time-zone shifting, or the endless barrage of death and sadness that shrouds our country right now, but I've been waking up a lot in the middle of the night.

I read an interesting article a while back that contended that mental illness skyrocketed in Great Britain when conservatives were in power. If my memory serves me correctly, the author maintained that the perceived mean-spiritedness of the many social safety net cutbacks that accompany conservative governments, as well as the actual decline in available services to the vulnerable, was responsible for the escalated instances of depression, paranoia and suicide.

How do you suppose that translates in the United States, where FOX news has a "terror alert" icon visible throughout most of its broadcast day? ... where we're told the threat is ubiquitous? that we are to be vigilant reporting anything suspicious to the government? what do you suppose happens to people on the edge of paranoid schizophrenia at times like that? add to the mix tens of millions of Americans with no health insurance, and millions more with no coverage for mental illness... and public health agencies that are being slowly destroyed by hiring freezes and layoffs... as my friend John Handcox observed, "There's mean things happenin' in this land."

We constantly hear politicians reciting the mantra that this is the greatest country in the world. There are concrete ways of measuring that claim. The "greatest country in the world" shouldn't be 45th in infant mortality, have a higher illiteracy rate than Cuba, have the largest gap between productivity and wages, send 20% of its children to bed hungry every night.

I think of Alyssa Peterson, the idealistic 27 year old woman who enlisted in the Army to serve as a translator. She actually arranged to switch places with someone who didn't want to be sent to Iraq. After several "harsh" interrogations in "the cage," where she served as translator, this young woman apparently turned her rifle on herself, becoming the third female soldier to die in Iraq.

I think of the woman who sold me my movie ticket tonight... she was well into her seventies. The man who collected my ticket admitted to being 85. What happened to those so-called "golden years"? How many of our elders are out working to keep up
with the cost of prescription drugs and medicare supplements? Keep your eyes open. I see men and women well into their 70's working at rest stops along the turnpike in the middle of the night, at convenience stores ... we are returning to the days where people must work until the day that they die. There are plenty of folks in Washington who are nostalgic about their imagined "good old days" in America -- and those days included colorful old people on the street corners selling apples and pencils. Coming soon to your neighborhood.

I think of the impending massacre in beautiful Oaxaca, Mexico, where schoolteachers have refused to work until they achieve decent wages, decent funding for education, and an end to the corrupt government of Governor Ulysses Ruiz. Thousands of ordinary citizens in this ancient city have constructed makeshift barricades, shut down the city, and declared a general strike until the teachers' demands are met. A 36 year old journalist documenting this grassroots movement, Brad Will, from New York City, was fatally shot in the chest on October 27th by plainclothes paramilitaries.

I think of the Congress and President that just passed an unfunded mandate for a 7+ billion dollar 700 mile wall along our border.

Is it possible that people in the United States have had enough of this macho, lying, corrupt regime in Washington? Will Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & Rice become lame ducks? Is it finally Rick Santorum's time to go? I've already cast my absentee
ballot... like you, I'll be tuning in on November 7th to find out.

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FAMILY NEWS

Sad news from my husband. His stepfather, Nisse Johannson died suddenly on October 19th. The memorial service is scheduled for November 17th. Julie’s mom, Sonia, died in April of this year. You can send condolences to picasso77750@yahoo.se

November Birthdays - Kimberly Sever (November 6th) & Julie Leonardsson (November 12th)

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NOVEMBER LINK

Please
sign this petition against torture

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UPCOMING DATES:

Friday, November 3rd, 2006 8:00 PM
WYSU Folk Festival
Peaberry's
YSU Kicawley Student Center
Youngstown, OH 44555
http://wysu.org
Price: FREE!

Saturday, November 4th-Monday, November 6th
Children and War: Impact Speakers' Forum
St Mary's School
Cobourg, ON
Canada
godwyer(at)pvnccdsb.on.ca - Gary O'Dwyer is the contact -- Thomas Merton Award winner Kathy Kelly from Voices in the Wilderness and Eric LaCompte from School of the Americas Watch will be there too!

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 7:30 PM
Honors Symposium
University of Rhode Island
Edwards Auditorium
Kingston, RI 02881
401-874-2381
http://www.uri.edu/hc/
Price: free, with David Rovics!
Email debg@uri.edu

Friday, November 10th, 2006 7:30 PM
House Concert
Joanna Varadi and Stan Pollack's House
One Bardwell Street
Florence, MA 01062
413-585-9070
Price: $10-20
feel free to bring snacks and musical instruments for a little song swap afterward.

Saturday, November 11th, 2006 7:30 PM
Village Coffeehouse
First Parish Church
24 Central St
Berlin, MA 01503
978-838-2734
http://www.fpcberlin.org
Price: $10
Robyn Tarantino coordinates the coffeehouse. Email her at guilfoyle20(@)charter(.)net

Sunday, November 12th, 2006 9:00 PM
Acoustic Open Stage Feature
The Elevens
140 Pleasant Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-586-9155
http://www.elevensmusic.com/index.html
Lisa and Naomi have turned this venue into a great music spot. Come by to hear some fabulous New England performers and my 45 minute feature set.

Monday, November 13th, 2006 9:00 PM
Geoff Bartley's Open Stage Feature
Cantab
738 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.cantab-lounge.com/public_html/cantab_directions.html
I'll be doing a 35 minute feature set at Geoff's legendary open stage -- you never know who might drop in to visit Geoff - one of the great talents and great hearts in folk music! The Cantab is a great spot to visit in Cambridge.

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006 7:15 PM
The Eighth Step and the Upstate New York IWW present Anne Feeney in Concert
Steamer No 10 Theater
500 Western Ave
Albany, NY 12203
518-861-5627
http://www.upstate-ny-iww.org
advance tickets widely available. check the website. and the theater is accessible too!

Thursday, November 16th, 2006 8:00 PM
School of the Americas Watch Benefit Concert
Eyedrum Gallery
290 MLK Drive, SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
http://www.eyedrum.org
Price: $20 donation/10 low income
Holly Near http://www.hollynear.com
emma's revolution http://www.emmasrevolution.com
Chestnut Brothers http://www.chestnutbrothers.com
Chris Chandler http://www.chrischandler.org
Jon Fromer
Francisco Herrera
Colleen Kattau http://www.colleenkattau.com
Charlie King & Karen Brandow http://www.www.charlieking.org
Jose Saavedra http://www.josesaavedra.com
Elise Witt http://www.elisewitt.com
and more

EMCEES: Dave Lippman http://www.davelippman.com & Elise Witt


SPEAKERS from SOAW http://www.soaw.org

Tickets available at Charis Books and More, 1189 Euclid Ave. in Little 5 Points, Atlanta GA 30307 – (404) 524-0304

Friday, Nov 17th- Sunday, Nov 19th, 2006
Close the School of the Americas Vigil
Fort Benning
Columbus, GA
http://soaw.org

Monday, November 20th, 2006 12:00 PM
Music in Social Movements
University of North Florida Campus Theater -- Robinson Student Services Building (Building #14, Room #1700)
4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South
Jacksonville, FL 32224
(904)-620-1654
Price: Free
Local Contact: Stan Swart, e-mail sswart@unf.edu or call (904)-620-1654

Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 2:00 PM
Anti-War Demonstration
March from Crowne Plaza Hotel to Federal Building
Cleveland, OH
http://uslaboragainstwar.org/downloads/Dec%202%20Cleveland%20Rally%20Flyer.pdf

Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 7:00 PM
Third Annual USLAW Labor Assembly Public Concert
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Cleveland, OH
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=11234

Monday, December 4th - 8PM
Reading of "BURIED" - a new play about the Sago mine disaster by Jerry Starr at
Pittsburgh Playwrights
Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA
I'll be doing some music ... more details soon... save the date!

Friday, December 8th, 2006 3:00 PM
Joe Glazer Tribute
AFL-CIO Headquarters
815 16th Ave NW
Washington, DC
I'll be there.. hope to see you too!
Friday, December 8th, 2006 7:30 PM
Tribute Concert to Celebrate the Life of Joe Glazer
Saint Mark Presbyterian Church
10701 Old Georgetown Rd (near I-270)
Rockville/Bethesda, MD
301-754-3611
http://imtfolk.org
Price: $20
Proceeds benefit the Labor Heritage Foundation. Music by Magpie, DC Labor Chorus, U-Liners and Peter Jones/Steve Jones/Laurel Blaydes. I'll be there. Hope to see you there too!

Friday, October 20, 2006

The Triplets are One Year Old Now!


Actually, Tara, Colin and Emma celebrated their first birthday on July 15, 2006 with big brother Connor, also pictured here. It was great to get a visit with them, their parents, Peggy and John Duncan, and both sets of grandparents while I was in San Diego.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - OCTOBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, #7

IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:

Terre Haute, IN
San Diego, CA
Detroit, MI
Lansdowne, PA (near Phila)
Youngstown, OH
Cobourg, ON
Kingston, RI
Berlin, MA
Cambridge, MA
Albany, NY
then on to the School of the Americas and northern FL

MY NEW ENGLAND DATES HAVE FILLED IN ... CHECK THE TWO NEW ADDS FOR NOVEMBER 10th and 12th at my tourdates page.

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Thank you for signing up for my monthly email news - The Fellow Travelers' Advisory. If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe and have it delivered to your inbox once a month.


To order CDs please click here.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

IRISH TOUR

SHANNON 5 - RAYTHEON 9

NEW CD - IF I CAN'T DANCE

JOE GLAZER - LABOR'S TROUBADOUR - (1918-2006)

FAMILY NEWS ..

DUMP THE BOSSES OFF YOUR BACK LATER

SWEDISH ELECTIONS

RADICAL UNIONISM IN THE MIDWEST

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Even with the jet lag I feel much better right now than I did 27 years ago today. My son Daniel was born at 2:30PM on the 6th after 52 hours of labor...but more about that in family news.

My daughter Amy and my sister Kate joined me for the Irish tour. Our travels took us almost 2000 miles throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland in the course of three weeks. I've put a terrific two part photo essay just below this - Amy took this photo of sunset at Malin Head - the northernmost point of the Emerald Isle.

-- I really hope you'll take a minute to check it out.

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SHANNON 5, RAYTHEON 9

It's not a football score -

Check out these five Catholic-worker Pit Stop Ploughshares activists and the amazing outcome of their trial for doing $2.5 million of damage to US weaponry en route to Iraq at Shannon Airport. "The jury is the conscience of the community chosen randomly from Irish society. The conscience of
the community has spoken. The government has no popular mandate in providing the civilian Shannon airport to service the US war machine in its illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. ... "The decision of this jury should be a message to London, Washington DC and the Dail that Ireland wants no part in waging war on the people of Iraq. Refuelling of US warplanes at Shannon Airport should cease immediately. " - Ciaron, Damien, Karen, Deirdre and Nuin... The Shannon 5

And on August 9, 2006 nine Derry activists exposed Raytheon/Derry's involvement in US/Iraq war activities by occupying the Derry offices and seizing files implicating Raytheon. The nine face major criminal charges. You can support them by going to Petition Online




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IF I CAN'T DANCE

My new CD, "If I Can't Dance" is getting rave reviews. Our local entertainment weekly - Pittsburgh City Paper - says it's "sure to amuse lefties with a sense of humor -- and history... The spirit of protest is often leavened with a brash, humorous outlook on the world's problems, accompanied by an eclectic collection of instruments spanning boogie-woogie piano, electric guitar, simple acoustic strums and uillean bagpipes... Ultimately, what unites and enlivens all the songs is Feeney's clear voice, often reminiscent of Amy Rigby's."

Get one today! -- Visit CDBaby or call 1.800.BUY.MY.CD

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JOE GLAZER - LABOR'S TROUBADOUR - (1918-2006)

It's with great sadness that I share the news that Joe Glazer died on September 19th. He was a good friend and mentor and a wonderful agitator and performer. I had never written a labor song and only knew a handful of classic labor songs when I met Joe in 1988 at the Great Labor Arts Exchange. He and the Labor Heritage Foundation were instrumental in showing me how to make my life and career part of the labor movement.

There is a well-written obituary documenting Joe's long and remarkable life at the AFL-CIO Website and his family requests donations be made to the:

Labor Heritage Foundation
815 16th St. NW
Washington, DC 20006

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FAMILY NEWS

My nephew Casey Horne is 12!

Happy October 6 birthdays to Jennifer Erin McCahill (26), Maureen Metcalfe (39+) and Daniel Berlin (27)!

Father Bill Feeney will be 60 (!) this month

Happy Birthdays too to Jill Weldon Merrill and Steve Merrill!

Aunt Claire is a great grandma again --Charlie Warren arrived on Wednesday, September 27 at 7 lbs. 8 oz - Proud parents Kelly Grefenstette Warren and Charles Warren... (I guess that explains why Charles wasn't in Ireland for the Ryder cup!)

Erin Brown and Paul Blake welcomed their second son - James Paul Blake on August 10, 2006 - weighing in at 7lb. 6 oz. Here are some photos:











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DUMP THE BOSSES OFF YOUR BACK LATER

Actually, please go ahead and dump the bosses off your back right now if you can. But my upcoming CD, "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back," is on hold -- the Irish tour was fantastic, but it didn't begin to include enough gigs to cover expenses ... so, I'm licking my financial wounds for a little while... I expect to regroup and get the early finished CD out soon... just not in time for Christmas shopping as I had hoped. That could change in a heartbeat if everyone who read this newsletter bought any cd of mine today... how about it?

http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid

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SWEDISH ELECTIONS

It was sickening to see the Social Democrats lose power to the conservative Center Party. (On the other hand, the Left Party, that I worked for in Sweden in August, did okay in the elections ... outperforming the pollsters' estimates...) This always seems to happen when so-called progressives try to move to the right to be popular. If the only choice people have is between a right winger and an imitation right-winger they'll pick the real right winger most of the time... except for the horde that just stays home. That being said, I still hope that all Pennsylvanians understand how important it is to punish Rick Santorum and get him out of the Senate.

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RADICALISM IN THE MIDWEST

As I head off to the midwest for the Debs dinner, I should tell you about Rose Feurer's new book. For $25 paperback you can learn from Rose about midwest radical unionism. I'll bet it's an exciting and informative read. To buy it, click here.


The most current information on my upcoming dates is posted on my website. Hope to see you at a show! Until next month... raise hell!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Irish Tour - September, 2006 - Part One

These wonderful photos were taken by Amy Berlin ... I wish I could have included all 500 photos in this narrative. Unfortunately, Amy didn't come to the Bellaghy gig and she didn't have her camera at the Dublin gig with the fabulous (or as they say in Ireland, "brilliant" -- or as they say in Northern Ireland "f@#!ing brilliant")Pol MacAdaim -- but this is the best photo documentation I've ever had of a tour. I just hope some of the folks who took photos of Amy singing with me send me a copy! Enjoy!



A peek at Ireland

My daughter and I flew to Dublin on September 11th and went straight to our friends, the Donnellys, for a visit. I met them first in 1977 on a visit to Ireland with my Mom and Dad, my Aunt Eileen and cousin Joanne. We loved them instantly. They came to visit us in Pittsburgh in 1980. They come from a strong Republican family. (It takes a while to get used to Republican being a good word in Ireland.) Caitriona Donnelly is the niece of Michael Mallon, one of the 13 Irish national heroes of the 1916 Easter Rising buried at Arbour Hill. Her father, Sean McConnell, was interned in Kilmainham in 1922 during the Black and Tan era. Her mother, Kathleen McConnell, kept an all night vigil outside Mountjoy jail in a vain attempt to save the life of young Kevin Barry. And Caitriona's husband Danny was sentenced to ten years in Crumlin Prison in Belfast in 1957 (he was 18 years old) for being an IRA member. On Saint Stephen's night (December 26) of 1960, he escaped from Crumlin.



Danny was the subject of a huge manhunt. The Republic of Ireland did not extradite political prisoners to Northern Ireland, so once Danny had made it safely into the Republic he was able to begin a new life. He wasn't permitted to return to the North until after the Good Friday Agreement was entered into in 1998.


















Here's a photo of Danny, taken on this visit, as he gets ready to go out to celebrate his 39th wedding anniversary with Caitriona.


















The next day, Danny and Caitriona went with me and Amy on a tour of O'Connell Street... in the rain.

Their hospitality was over-the-top. Amy and I sat enthralled watching Ken Loach's fabulous new film, "The Wind that Shakes the Barley." Danny kept us spellbound with his stories and recitations - "The Man From God-Knows-Where" - and many more. A bad cold kept Caitriona from singing to us, but she still prepared sumptuous feasts for us morning and evening for our first three days in Ireland. At night we settled into pre-warmed beds!

We took a day trip to Glendalough in the Wicklow mountains just south of Dublin. It gave me a good opportunity to try out my driving-on-the-left-and-shifting-with-my-left-hand skills. My passengers found it to be an exhilarating experience!


Glendalough has to be one of the most beautiful places in Ireland. We hiked there for a couple hours and headed back to another of Caitriona's banquets... this time she prepared broccoli, cauliflower and carrots to make an Irish flag!

As wonderful as it was to be in Dublin, on the third day I remembered I was there to work, so Amy and I set across Ireland to Sligo - where our branch of the Feeney family originated. I was booked into Barry's Pub. A small but enthusiastic crowd enjoyed Mixie McCafferty and then me. My sister had spent the last few days in Sligo, and joined me onstage for a tune at Barry's.
The next night we headed through the hills of Connemara down to Galway for a singers' night at the Crane. Niall Farrell had arranged for me to be the featured singer that evening, and we had a great time.

















The next morning Niall took us on a beautiful three mile hike around Oranmore, where he and his wife Jenny and their two daughters live. When we returned, Jenny had prepared a detailed map for a self-guided tour of the Burren... one of the most desolate areas of Ireland, but magically beautiful. Niall is a dedicated anti-war activist, and has organized several demonstrations in opposition to the war in Iraq, and in particular Ireland's role in supporting it. His family has had its share of sorrow.


In 1988, his sister, Mairead Farrell, was summarily executed at the age of 31 by the British SAS in Gibraltar. Niall is another mesmerizing yarn-spinner, and his wit and warmth entranced us all. We were particularly touched by the poem and photo of Mairead that hung in his entrance hall.

It never ceases to amaze me how people who have sacrificed and suffered so very much throughout history, retain their humor, their joy, their generosity of spirit, and their optimism.










Sunset in Clare


We left Galway and went back to Sligo for a couple more days of sightseeing and nights of pub-crawling.







The designated drinkers - Kate and Amy.











Yeah, the leprechauns made me drink it!
Here I am, leading a little sing-along at Sheila-na-Gig's in Sligo.

The next morning we decided to go as far north as we could... and that took us to the tip of Malin Head in County Donegal. We arrived at the Sandrock Holiday Hostel after dark, and it looked as if we might just drive into the sea. Sitting at the water's edge, this hostel offered the best value of our tour - 10 Euro a night per person for a gorgeous spot at the end of the world! We spent two days hiking around Malin Head and then set off for Stewartstown, Co Tyrone.

We passed from the Republic into Northern Ireland without even realizing it until we saw the petrol prices posted in sterling instead of Euros. What a change from the heavily guarded borders of the late 70s! Our Stewartstown host and presenter was Patricia Campbell - President of theIndependent Workers Union of Ireland.

At one point Patricia had a husband and three brothers in jail as political prisoners. Working now as a psychiatric nurse, Patricia helps to build the IWU and organizes for workers' rights (and promotes concerts on the side). She arranged for us to have dinner before the show with another IWU leader, Tommy McKearney, who had been part of the 1980 Hunger Strike in H-Block. That effort ended in a "victory," which turned out to be a betrayal. McKearney and others went on a Hunger Strike to demand recognition of their political status as prisoners... that is, their right to be treated as POWs and not common criminals.

The Hunger Strike is a tactic that predates the English language and has its roots in Irish Brehon law. Brehon law holds that if you are wronged by a person of higher rank than you, you must go and fast at his/her doorstep. This calls the attention of the community to the injustice. The community then investigates and brings pressure to bear on the wrongdoer to do the right thing.

When Britain reneged on the terms of the 1980 settlement following McKearney's 59-day hunger strike, Bobby Sands and other H-Block prisoners in the famous Long Kesh "Maze" renewed the Hunger Strike in March of 1981. The 1981 Hunger Strike claimed the lives of ten young men. This year marked the 25th anniversary of these tragic deaths, and Northern Ireland was filled with memorials... some quite elaborate, some heartbreakingly personal.









Bobby Sands, the first of the hunger strikers to die, was elected to Parliament while he was on hunger strike. This established clearly that the Irish populace at large did recognize and support their non-violent demands to be treated as political prisoners. Margaret Thatcher's refusal to recognize their non-violent attempt at conflict resolution should have led to worldwide pressure on Britain to resolve the matter. While some condemned Thatcher, others, including Ronald Reagan, supported her. Ten young men died, and for many, so did the hope of non-violent conflict resolution. So many of our conversations on this trip centered around Ireland's tragic history... which is recorded so vividly in Irish music.

Patricia turned out a great crowd for my show in Stewartstown. We ended up singing some rebel songs, we had a wonderful time, and the next morning Patricia took us on a tour of the murals of Belfast. Starting in Ballymurphy, a poor Catholic neighborhood in West Belfast and then going over to the Protestant Shankill and East Belfast. It's hard to look at the discrimination and polarization and call it peace.







Ballymurphy Murals































Shankill murals ... these were by no means the most disturbing or violent of the Shankill murals. Art that glorifies oppression by the powerful over the disenfranchised has always given me the creeps... and there was little doubt that these murals were intended to inflame and to terrorize.





The next night we made our way out to Newtonards, home of "Downtown Radio," where Tommy Sands has hosted a radio show for a number of years. I was his on-air guest before my show at Kelly's Cellars.

We had been looking for oysters ever since we saw a sign for the Galway Oyster Festival. The tasty little mollusks proved to be elusive until we hit Kelly's - where the proprietor prevailed on the overbooked seafood restaurant next door to deliver 3 dozen oysters on the half shell and bowls of chowder for me, Kate and Amy! mmm mmm mmm ... The show at Kelly's was lots of fun, and the next night we headed to the John Hewitt pub.


Mixie McCafferty lives in Donegal now with his lovely wife Katje and their adorable son Rory, but I met him in Dublin in 1985 outside McCullough-Piggot's music store on Grafton Street. He was busking, and invited me to sit in for a song or two. My husband took a photo of the impromptu session, and it ended up being the cover of my Grafton Street cassette in 1987. Several years later, Mixie ran in to someone who owned the cassette and spotted himself on the cover. He called me, and we've stayed in touch ever since. He invited me to come to Ireland to perform this time, and arranged most of the performances. He also brought sound equipment to a couple of the gigs, and did a fine opening set at several of the shows.



Following the John Hewitt, Amy and I headed to Derry for the Sandino's show. It was a happy reunion for me with my pal, Joe Mulheron, who owns the left-leaning Cafe. He and I hung out at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2000 when he came to visit, and it was great to see him again! The Sandino's show with Nick Harper was the best gig
of the tour. We had a full house and I sold lots of CDs and got an encore on my opening set. And a highlight of our Derry visit was getting a tour of the Bogside (Catholic area) from our friend Kieran Gallagher. Kieran is one of the Raytheon Nine who exposed Raytheon's involvement in the Iraq war to their neighbors in Derry. He and the other defendants go to court on October 12th. Please read and sign the Online Petition
to support their work.

Irish Tour - September, 2006 - Part Two





Support the Raytheon Nine!





But I digress... Kieran Gallagher, one of the Raytheon Nine, took me and Amy on a tour of the Bogside.


This sign welcomes you into the Catholic Bogside neighborhod.



















This mural depicts Mariead Farrell "on the blanket" at the women's prison in Armagh.











Ardoyne is a famous Belfast neighborhood where Catholic children ran a gauntlet every morning to get to elementary school. They were pelted with rocks and bottles, bags of urine, tear gas and more.







This is the Giants' Causeway....









See the rope bridge suspended above the sea?











and this is our possibly long-lost cousin Colleen Feeney of Malin Head.

Letter to Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers, about the Goodyear Strike

Letter to Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers, about the Goodyear Strike


Dear President Gerard

My best wishes are with you and your 15,000 striking members. Please know that I stand by to offer support for this struggle in any way that you might suggest.

If you have flyers about the strike that have the name and address of the strike fund I will be happy to distribute them at my shows for as long as the strike continues. In the next six weeks I will be performing in Philadelphia, San Diego, Detroit, Boston, Providence, Toronto, Atlanta and Jacksonville and it will be my privilege to share your struggle with my audiences. I will also be passing the hat at each up my
upcoming concerts.

In the course of my travels I will seek out your members' picket lines and stop by to offer encouragement and support. Please send literature about the strike that I may pass out at my concerts to: 7206 Michigan Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15218 - or I can come downtown and pick up material if that is more convenient. Call me at 412.877.6480 if you want me to come get materials.

Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes -

In solidarity

Anne Feeney
AFM Locals 60-471 and 1000
CLUW

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - SEPTEMBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, # 6

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - SEPTEMBER 2006, VOLUME TWO, #6

IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:

Stockholm, Sweden
Lawrence, MA
Washington, DC
Reading, PA
Jim Thorpe, PA
Ireland!!!

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IN THIS ISSUE:
The new CD is ready!!
August in Stockholm
Camp Democracy
Whole Wheat Radio
On to Ireland!

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IF I CAN'T DANCE IS READY!!!!!

Announcing the release of "If I Can't Dance" -- 16 songs that are sure to get your toes tapping -- all in the joyous revolutionary spirit of Emma Goldman. My deepest thanks to the 75+ folks who sent me $100 or more to get this project finished.

The recording opens with "Emma Goldman" - a rollicking rock tune by Paul Gailiunas and Helen Hill, and ends with a dazzling arrangement of my pal Suzanne Buirgy's touching "Lullaby." This CD features some of the most-requested material from some of my previous cassette releases as well as seven songs recorded in June 2006 at Wilkin Audio in Pittsburgh.

There's a lot of my hometown Pittsburgh embodied in this CD - starting with the cover art. It's an updated reworking of my trademark logo, now infused with Pittsburgher Andy Warhol's inspiration, thanks to the creativity of Randy McSorley of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. (Randy did the album design for Have You Been to Jail for Justice? and Union Maid, too).

This CD features some of my favorite early work, which I think can be seen in new ways as it blends with some of the best in contemporary folk music.

The first track includes a supporting vocal on from Pittsburgh rocker Bill Deasy. A cast of mostly Pittsburgh musicians is featured.

There's a terrific recording of Pittsburgh songwriter Jack Erdie's "Let Their Heads Roll" - a consummate protest song in the spirit of Phil Ochs -- one of my earliest inspirations. And Jack dropped by the studio to add some fabulous vocal harmonies.

Amazing fiddling wizard Bob Banerjee, returns to the current sessions for work on "Lullaby" and "Let Their Heads Roll," complementing his early work on "Amelia Earhart's Last Ride," and "Dr. Jazz." I found out this June that those early sessions of Bob's were his first studio work!! Bob has gone on to work with Gaelic Storm, the Irish band featured in the film "Titanic."

Janis Coppola's fantastic clarinet work brings excitement to Roy Zimmerman's hilarious "Defenders of Marriage," swing to Kristin Lems' "Days of the Theocracy" and pathos to Ted Warmbrand's evocative, "Who's the Criminal?" See the No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes website to learn more about the facts that inspired this haunting and powerful song.

Longtime fans will appreciate the inclusion of "Dr. Jazz," and "The Sheik of Araby," the two show-stopping duets from my days with D.C. Fitzgerald, my musical partner from 1986-1992.

There are only two originals on this CD - "Shell Game" and "Me Case con un Heroe." Both songs appeared originally on 1991's "Look to the Left," which is now out of print.

Once again, I've recorded a song by my friend and mentor, Jon Fromer. (Jon also wrote "We Do the Work" and "Oh, Bessie - Blues for Bessie Smith." This time it's Fromer's collaboration with Bernard Gilbert, "My Feet Are Tired," a very danceable tribute to Rosa Parks and the thousands of people whose sacrifices led to the success of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955.

I'm particularly fond of my rap reworking of the old Irish standard, "Phil the Fluter's Ball." Complete with scratches and hip-hop Uilllean pipes, this rendition may prove once and for all that rap was invented by the Irish (or, it may prove that I don't get enough sleep.)

I hope you'll buy at least one copy of the CD right away. CDBaby has a contest on this month and the top 10 sellers of the month will get a song sent out to CDBaby's next 5000 customers on a compilation CD at no cost to the artists. It would really be great to get the word out like that!

If you meant to send me some money to help with the production, it's sure not too late. I've still got lots of expenses, plus a new CD coming out in a couple months called "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back." I'll be glad to put you in the liner notes of that one if you send me $100 or more.

Send it to:

Anne Feeney
7206 Michigan Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218

and indicate how you'd like to be listed in the liner notes.

And if you have a favorite radio station that I ought to send the new CD to, let me know whose show you listen to, send me the station address, and I'll send the CD on to them with your compliments.


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AUGUST IN SWEDEN

I've been incredibly busy on this tour of Sweden... the Left Party has hired me to do two or three shows a day 3 or 4 days a week to get people engaged in the issues for the coming election. There are some photos up on my blog of our dog-and-pony shows in downtown Stockholm. I had been telling my husband I felt like the IWW windmillers that Utah Phillips talks about... hopping up in front of the mike singing to draw a crowd for the speakers... just like Joe Hill.

No sooner had I said it than a call came from the IWW folks who maintain Joe Hill's house in Gavle as a museum. They invited me to perform last Sunday, and it was great.

I've got another busy week ahead of me here and then home to the Bread and Roses Festival in Lawrence, MA.

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CAMP DEMOCRACY

The Declaration of Peace


I'm thrilled and delighted and honored to be opening Camp Democracy with Cindy Sheehan, Ann Wright, Will Covert and others on September 5th on the Mall (Constitution Ave between 14th and 15th) in Washington, DC on September 5th. Veterans for Peace is sponsoring my performance, and I'll be joined by the fabulous Emma's Revolution. I hope to see some of you there.

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WHOLE WHEAT RADIO

The next time you're sitting in front of your computer for a while, tune in Whole Wheat Radio from Talkeetna, Alaska ... they have a really wonderful mix of independent music that I think you'll really enjoy.

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IRELAND!

I'm so excited to finally be touring Ireland professionally. If you have any friends in Ireland, please please encourage them to come to my shows. You can cut and paste dates from my calendar.

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TOUR DATES

Details of all my upcoming dates are at http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html

That's it for September... hope to see you at one of these shows!

August in Stockholm, continued


My performances for the Left Party were arranged by Daniel Sestrajcic and my wonderful friend Jan Hammarlund, seen here singing "Days of the Theocracy" with me at Vinterviken in Stockholm.

August in Sweden - Photo Essay

Instead of Beirut, I arrived in Stockholm on August 7th ... I was pretty beat up from the whirlwind tour Dave Lippman and I had made up and down the left coast, but by August 12th I was participating in a series street rallies for Sweden's Vänsterpartiet (the Left Party). Their plan was to move into some public space, quick set up a display and PA, have a folksinger start singing to gather the crowd, and then have a speaker from the Left Party get folks excited about the elections (coming up on September 17th)... We'd do this at one location for an hour or so, then pack up and move to another.... at first some folks seemed skeptical






but eventually they'd warm up to it



In one location a bunch of kids came up to me for some quick guitar lessons...

Then on August 13th I was invited to perform at Joe Hill's house, which is now a museum maintained by the IWW in Gävle, Sweden ... Here I am, in front of the house, setting up in the garden...I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd and how very enthusiastically I was received! Thanks to Christer Forsberg for arranging it.