News

Reflections on the Camden Conference

By Ron Bancroft | Mar 03, 2015 | Rockland – Camden – Knox – Courier-Gazette – Camden Herald My wife and I are just back from the Camden Conference. This year’s topic was “Russia Resurgent.” With Russia’s aggressive support of rebels in Eastern Ukraine and its earlier annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea, the topic could not have been more timely. Reflecting this, all three Conference venues: the Camden Opera House, the Strand in Rockland, and the University of Maine’s Hutchinson Center in Belfast were sold out, over 900 attendees in all — quite remarkable for a cold and snowy February weekend in Midcoast Maine. More remarkable is the Conference’s ability to attract experts from all over the world. Well-known Russia scholars and experts from the United States included Matthew Rojansky, the director of the Kennan Institute at Princeton, Nina Tumarkin, professor of Russian History at Wellesley, Thomas Graham, a Senior Fellow at…

The March to Doom, on the road

By Dagney C. Ernest | Feb 11, 2015 | The Republican Journal It began 10 years ago with a tall order: compress 100 years of history into a 100-minute presentation and make it an entertaining complement to the annual Camden Conference. Tom DeMarco and Mac Deford pulled it off and, in the years since, they have gotten even more ambitious with their Tom & Mac Show. The ninth edition — they took one year off along the way — is titled “Russia and The March to Doom 1861-1917,” and the two friends are marching it around the state. The 2015 Tom & Mac History Roadshow will be presented Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at Portland Public Library; Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Rockport Opera House, 6 Central St.; and Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at the University of Maine’s Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Ave./Route 3,…

Captain Willcox will speak in Rockport – Tonight!

The Rockport Library in collaboration with the Camden Conference will host a presentation by Captain Peter Willcox on Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 6:30 PM at the Rockport Opera House. His talk titled “To Stem the Tide” will focus on his experiences in Russia and provide a glimpse into a life devoted to making a difference. This special event is free and open to all. Peter Willcox has been an environmental activist for over 42 years, first for Pete Seeger’s Clearwater and then for Greenpeace. He has served as Captain on all of the Greenpeace boats, and was in command of the Arctic Sunrise in 2013 when that vessel was seized in international waters by the Russian military. He spent two months in detention in Russia as a member of the Arctic 30. He was also on board the Rainbow Warrior when the boat was sunk by French military agents in…

Damariscotta Event Rescheduled due to Storm

Re-scheduled from January 27 Louis Sell, a 28-year veteran of the US diplomatic service, will discuss the causes of the Soviet collapse and the influence it still exerts on contemporary events. His talk – Who Killed the Soviet Union and Why It Matters Today – will take place on Tuesday, February 3, at the Skidompha Public Library in Damariscotta at 10:00 am. This event is free and open to all. Louis Sell spent many years living in Moscow, where he witnessed the Soviet collapse and knew many of the participants first-hand. He is currently finishing a book on the end of the USSR. This presentation is hosted by the Skidompha Public Library and offered as a free community event in in anticipation of the 28th Annual Camden Conference: Russia Resurgent, February 20-22, 2015. The mission of the Camden Conference is to foster informed discourse on world issues. For more information,…

Film Screening in Rockland

Greenpeace Captain Talks about Experience in Russia

The Rockport Library in collaboration with the Camden Conference will host a presentation by Captain Peter Willcox on Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 6:30 PM at the Rockport Opera House. His talk titled “To Stem the Tide” will focus on his experiences in Russia and provide a glimpse into a life devoted to making a difference. This special event is free and open to all. Peter Willcox has been an environmental activist for over 42 years, first for Pete Seeger’s Clearwater and then for Greenpeace. He has served as Captain on all of the Greenpeace boats, and was in command of the Arctic Sunrise in 2013 when that vessel was seized in international waters by the Russian military. He spent two months in detention in Russia as a member of the Arctic 30. He was also on board the Rainbow Warrior when the boat was sunk by French military agents in…

Recent Developments in Russia to be discussed in Castine

Professor James Warhola will discuss recent developments in Russia and their impact on the region and Russia’s relations with the West on Tuesday, January 20, 1:00 pm at the Witherle Memorial Library in Castine. James Warhola is a professor of Political Science and Chair of the Political Science department at the University of Maine. For more information, please contact the library at 207-326-4375 or email to refdesk@witherle.lib.me.us. The mission of the Camden Conference is to foster informed discourse on world issues. For more information, visit www.camdenconference.org, email info@camdenconference.org, or call 207-236-1034.