Nov. 3 & 4: Discussion: Colombian Communities Under Siege

Nov. 3, 6.30 PM to 8:30 PM.
The Global Afro Latino Caribbean Initiative (GALCI) will sponsor a discussion with

Zulia Mena moderated by Humberto Brown
Caribbean Cultural Center/African Diaspora Institute
408 W. 58th Street
(Bt. 9th & 10th Aves.)
(212-307-7420)

Nov. 4,
Zulia will also be a featured guest on WBAI’s Friday morning “Wake-Up Call” with host Mario Murillo

Zulia Mena has been at the forefront of the struggle for Afro-Colombian and women’s rights in Colombia for most of her life. Born in the northwestern Colombian province of Chocó, which is 90% African descendant, Zulia was formally trained as a social worker before taking on a leadership role in the development of new
legislation regarding Afro-Colombian rights following the ratification of Colombia’s new constitution in 1991. Subsequently, Zulia was elected to Congress in 1994 and served four years as Colombia’s first ever Afro-Colombian congresswoman.

Today, Zulia continues her work in Chocó as a community organizer and social worker. She has addressed international audiences and policy makers in
Europe, the U. S. and throughout South America, speaking about the situation of
Afro-Colombians, human rights and ethnic minorities, women in Colombia, land rights, and citizen participation in democracy, among many other themes.
Zulia has received several awards for her commitment to community organizing and her work has been published in various books, magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times.
In a multi-city tour which began in North Carolina and will end in New York City, Mena has addressed a broad audience including: policy makers; the president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; local universities; and civil society groups working in solidarity with Afro-Colombians to end the
conflict.
While in New York City, Mena will talk about on-going efforts to protect the Afro-Colombian communities that were given rights to their land by “Law 70 (Ley de
Negritudes/Law of the Blacks).”

U.S. ‘had no policy’ in place to rebuild Iraq: report concludes

U.S. ‘had no policy’ in place to rebuild Iraq
By Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
The U.S. government had “no comprehensive policy or regulatory guidelines” in place for staffing the management of postwar Iraq, according to the top government watchdog overseeing the country’s reconstruction.

The lack of planning had plagued reconstruction since the US-led invasion, and been exacerbated by a “general lack of co-ordination” between US government agencies charged with the rebuilding of Iraq, said Stuart Bowen, the special inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, in a report released on Sunday.

His 110-page quarterly report, delivered to Congress at the weekend, has underscored how a “reconstruction gap” is emerging that threatens to leave many projects planned by the US on the drawing board.

(For more on this story)

Nov. 2: Counter recruitmant at Hunter

Nov. 2,
1 PM
Hunter College outside West Building
(Take the 6 to 68 street Hunter College, or the F to Lexington Ave. and 63rd st)

From: UFTersToStopTheWar:

Army Recruiters are coming to Hunter as part of a job fair hosted by career services. (As if killing people and bombing cities were a viable career option!) These recruiters will be there to lie, cheat and steal the future of poor students. It is up to us to prevent any students from being taken away from their studies, to fuel the war machine that has already been the cause of the deaths of over 100,000 Iraqis and 2,000 American soldiers. Our efforts have had an effect which is evidenced by the army's missing recruitment goals. The Army missed its recruiting goals by the widest margin since 1979. This is certainly a crisis and they will use all the means at their disposal to entice new recruits to join. This is why we need to be there every time they try to recruit at any of our schools. With the growth and successes of the Counter Recruitment movement there has also been an increase in administrative repression..

It is of the utmost importance that on Nov. 2 there be a large number of people in solidarity with Hunter students while they protest the recruiters.
We encourage everyone to come to the protest outside the building at 1pm and for Hunter students to go to the career fair and grill the military recruiters about their lies and make sure they don't recruit any students!

for more info call 631-398-4332 or 917-213-9674

(Top Photo: Corbet Lee, staff photographer, The Golden Gate [X]press online; Bottom photo no credit information)

This call is issued in Solidarity with the calls for Walk Outs issued by the World Can't Wait and Youth Against War and Racism.

Hundreds of Howard U. Students Greet Laura Bush With Protest

Hundreds of Howard U. Students Greet Laura Bush With Protest
Threatened With Arrest, Students Refuse to Back Down

In this spirit, Youth & Student ANSWER has organized a strategy session to discuss where the movement can go from here.

Nov. 6, 2pm
Room 537, Hunter North, Hunter College
68th St. and Lexington Ave.
(6 train to 68th St.)

How can the antiwar movement build off the success of the Sept. 24th demonstrations? Who will rebuild New Orleans? How can we contribute to the people's struggle for justice? How do we combat the misinformation of the media? How can we build a revolutionary youth movement - historically a driving force of progressive social movements - that overcomes a single-issue political perspective, and links war with racism, sexism, LGBT oppression, and economic exploitation?

This will draw activists from New York City, Washington D.C. and other cities. From Washington DC, Caneisha Mills, Howard University student and Youth and Student A.N.S.W.E.R. organizer, will give a report on her trip to New Orleans, and lead a discussion on the grassroots activist efforts that have taken shape there.

On Oct. 27, hundreds of Howard University students greeted Laura Bush with a militant protest against the war in Iraq, the criminally negligent and racist conduct of the federal government in response to Hurricane Katrina and cuts in education.

Holding signs that read, "2000 Dead, End Occupation: Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti…, Money for Education Not War," the students began their demonstration at 11am in protest of Laura Bush's presence on the Howard University campus.

The demonstration was led by Youth and Student A.N.S.W.E.R. and Cimarrones, a progressive Black Student Union of Caribbeans, Central and South Americans, as well as various other campus organizations such as Howard University Student Association (HUSA), Howard Amnesty International and Ubiquity.

The demonstration turned into a confrontation as university officials working with Secret Service and DC Police threatening to arrest the students unless they moved.

"They are trying to force us to disperse or at least move back 30 feet, but we in the Black community have been told to move for 300 years," said Eugene Puryear, a coordinator of Youth and Student A.N.S.W.E.R and Howard sophomore.

The Howard University protest was one of hundreds that took place in cities, towns, college campuses and high schools across the country.

As the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq hit the 2,000 figure, A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition members and supporters and other organizations came out in local protests against the illegal and criminal war and occupation in Iraq. These local protests came on the heels of the Sept. 24 demonstration, when more than 300,000 people surrounded the White House in a sea of protest. On Sept. 24, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition also held large-scale protests in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.

The gruesome number of U.S. war dead pales in comparison to the loss of life suffered by Iraqis. Public opinion in the U.S. has decisively turned against the war in Iraq just as it turned against the war in Vietnam three decades ago. U.S. troops should be brought out of Iraq immediately. The people of Iraq should be paid reparations for the wholesale destruction of their country and the staggering loss of human life. Bush, Cheney and other officials in the Bush administration should be held accountable for their criminal conduct.

Nov. 14: Expand voting rights - press conference & hearings

Nov. 14

Expansion of Voting Rights

Press Conference: 9:30AM on the steps of City Hall
Hearings: 10:00AM - 1:00PM at 250 Broadway (across from City Hall), 14th Floor Hearings Room
(1/2/3/9/A/C/J/M/Z to Chambers Street, N/R to City Hall, or 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge)

No taxation without representation.
Participation = Power

[a rally held by The New York Coalition to Expand Voting Rights on the steps of New York City's main Post Office May 15. Ruben Tavarez: "Your vote is your voice."] (No photo credit available)

There are more than 1.3 million New Yorkers of voting age who can’t participate in our local democracy… With one in five New Yorkers ineligible to vote because they are not citizens, civic participation in the city is not what it could be.
Support the expansion of voting rights to tax-paying non-citizen immigrants!

These city residents are subject to all the laws that citizens must observe. They contribute in countless ways to the economic vitality and social and cultural life of this city that serves as the unofficial capital of the world. According to the Urban Institute, immigrants pay $18.2 billion in taxes, or 15.5% of the state's tax income.
[Ron Hayduk of BMCC-CUNY & Cheryl Wertz of NICE] (No photo credit available)

Nevertheless, because of their citizenship status, these new New Yorkers are not allowed to participate in choosing the municipal representatives who make the policies that affect their lives daily. Excluding such a significant portion of the city's population from political participation undermines the health of our democracy and discourages incipient U.S. citizens from taking a stake in the issues that affect their communities.

Join the New York Coalition to Expand Voting Rights - a coalition of 57 member organizations representing hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers - for a Press Conference and City Council Hearings on the Voting Rights Restoration Act (Intro. 628)

For more information, contact Cheryl (718) 205-8796

Nov. 13: Walkathon - Develop don't Destroy Brooklyn

A Walkathon Fundraiser for Develop—Don't Destroy Brooklyn and the Community's fight against Ratner's Skyscraper/Arena Project.
Nov. 13, -- Walk for our Neighborhoods in support of the DDDb Legal Fund.
The WALKATHON is an opportunity to put your feet in motion to help fund the DDDb legal campaign against Bruce Ratner's megadevelopment proposal and eminent domain abuse. Help DDDb reach its monetary goals and raise awareness to unite our communities instead of dividing and destroying them. Join us in walking a path within our historic community and tracing the proposed project site.



DEVELOP DON’T DESTROY BROOKLYN is a 501(c)(3) organization, and your donations are deductable to the extent allowed by law.

Nov. 1: Fast for Justice at Guantanamo

The Center for Constitutional Rights, in cooperation with organizers and communities across the country, is calling for a Fast for Justice on Nov.1 to demand that the Bush Administration follow the law and provide the detainees at Guantánamo Bay with due process and humane treatment.


Fast for Justice Vigils:

New York: 1 PM - Join CCR, the NY Coalition for Civil Liberties, ICNA and other faith and community organizations at 26 Federal Plaza (Broadway between Duane and Worth Sts, Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall on the 4,5,6 or City Hall on the R or W).

Washington, DC: 12 noon - Join CCR, the Muslim American Society for Freedom, and other faith and community organizations for a Vigil in front of the Department of Justice at 12pm: 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (Navy Memorial station on the green line).

For more information, email ebetru@ccr-ny.org.

Anti-torture amendment in trouble

From United for Peace & Justice:
On Oct. 8, the U.S. Senate took a stand against torture, voting 90 - 9 for an amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees. The amendment, attached to the Defense Appropriations Bill in the Senate, now faces a battle in the joint House/Senate conference committee, the committee that will negotiate the final language in the bill. The House version of the massive military spending bill doesn't include any language banning torture.

The White House, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, is aggressively opposing the amendment. If it were to pass, the CIA would be forced to stop holding an unknown number of prisoners in secret detention centers abroad. Even worse, Cheney is requesting the conference committee to adopt language that would legally authorize human rights abuses and torture by CIA operatives and continue the practice of secret detention centers.

McCain and other amendment supporters would rather pull the amendment than have it weakened.

We can't let that happen. The Bush Administration should not be given the right to run more Abu Ghraib torture centers, where Arabs, Muslims, or others are denied basic rights granted to other human beings.

United for Peace and Justice urges you to call members of the House/Senate conference committee to express your disgust that the Bush Administration wants to give the CIA carte blanche to torture people. Demand that the House and Senate Conference Committee bring the McCain amendment to the floor AS IS - and with NO CHANGES.

Call members of the House/Senate Conference Committee
Members of the House and Senate Conference Committee are listed below. If your Senator or Representative is listed, call their office. If your Senator or Representative is not listed, call one or more of the members marked with *.


Senate Republicans:
* Stevens, Ted (AK)-202-224-3004 - voted against McCain amendment
* Cochran, Thad (MS)- 202-224-5054 - voted against McCain amendment

Specter, Arlen (PA) - 202-224-4254; Dominici, Pete (NM) - 202-224-6621;
Bond, Christopher (MO)- 202-224-5721 - voted against McCain amendment
McConnell, Mitch (KY)202-224-2541; Shelby, Richard (AL) - 202-224-5744
Gregg, Judd (NH) - 202-224-3324; Burns, Conrad (MT) - 202-224-2644

Democrats:
* Inouye, Daniel (HI), Ranking Member - 202-224-3934
* Byrd, Robert C. (WV) - 202-224-3954; Leahy, Patrick (VT) - 202-224-4242
Harkin, Tom (IA) - 202-224-3254; Dorgan, Byron (ND) - 202-224-2551
Durbin, Richard (IL) - 202-224-2152; Reid, Harry (NV) - 202-224-3542
Feinstein, Diane (CA) - 202-224-3841; Mikulski, Barbara (MD) - 202-224-4654

House Republicans:
* Young, Bill (FL-10) - 202-225-5961; Hobson, David (OH-7) - 202-225-4324
Bonilla, Henry (TX-23) - 202-225-4511; Cunningham, Randy (CA-50) - 202-225-5452
Frelinghuysen, Rodney (NJ-11) - 202-225-5034; Tiahrt, Todd (KS-4) - 202-224-6216
Wicker, Roger (MS-1) - 202-225-4306; Kingston, Jack (GA-1) - 202-225-5831
Granger, Kay (TX-12) - 20-225-5071; * Jerry Lewis (CA-41) - 202-225-5861

Democrats
* Murtha, John (PA-12) - 202-225-2065; Dicks, Norman (WA-6) - 202-225-5916
Sabo, Martin (MN-5) - 202-225-4755; Visclosky, Peter (IN=1) - 202-225-2461
Moran, James (VA-8) - 202-225-4376; Kaptur, Marcy (OH-9) - 202-225-4146
* Obey, David (WI-7) - 202-225-3365

Oct. 26: 2000 Too Many - Vigil for Soldiers Killed in Iraq

Oct. 26

2000 Too Many - Vigil for Soldiers Killed in Iraq
CNN has just reported grim news: 2,000 Americans soldiers have now died in Iraq.

6:00-7:00 PM, Times Square Recruiting Center,
Join veterans, military families and United for Peace and Justice-NYC for a solemn vigil. Bring flowers to lay on the doorstep of the Recruiting Center and banners and signs.

We have just received word that the moment we have been dreading has arrived: 2,000 U.S. servicepeople have now died in Iraq. We grieve for these two thousand men and women, killed in the prime of their lives, for a war based on lies, and we grieve for the tens of thousands of Iraqis who have also died in the chaos and carnage the Bush Administration has brought to their country.

It's time to bring the troops home -- now. Not one more U.S. serviceperson should give his or her life to this senseless war. Not one more Iraqi should be killed. Not one more U.S. dollar should be spent sustaining this war and occupation.

Also:

6:30 PM, Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War will be standing on 8th ave and 24th St,as part of the national protest against the war. Also 8th Ave and 17th st. At this point there will be two locations. [I'm not sure if the 8th Ave. & 17 St. is still happening, but 8th Ave. & 24 St. is definitly.-Dan]


6:30 PM, 3rd Ave & 47th St, (northeast corner)

1:00 PM, World Trade Center (outside PATH Station)
[Church and Dey St.: R, W to Cortlandt; E to World Trade; A, C, to
B'way-Nassau; 2, 3 to Park Pl.; 1 to Rector; J, M, Z, 4, 5 to Fulton
St.-B'way Nassau]

6:30 PM, Brooklyn, Prospect Park at Bartel-Pritchard Circle [F to 15th St.]

5:30 PM, Astoria, Queens, corner of Ditmars Blvd & 31st St [N, W to Ditmars]

Their caskets have been hidden from view, and the news of their deaths has receded to the back pages. But the men and women who died in recent days were no less brave or less honorable than those who died in the first days of the war. It's time for us to publicly honor them--to remind the public that they're dying every day in the quagmire of Iraq--and ask, "How many more?"

JOIN US outside of Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer's offices on Third Avenue in Manhattan to let our senators know how we feel about America's 2000 dead soldiers.

Sen Schumer on Meet the Press, Oct. 23:
MR. RUSSERT: Based on what you now know today, do you regret having voted for the war?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, no, Tim, because my vote was seen and I still see it as a need to say we must fight a strong and active war on terror.

Sen Clinton in Newsday, Oct. 24
"I've been asked many times, do I regret that vote," she told an audience in Palm Beach, Fla., in January. "I don't regret the vote based on what I knew at the time, but I regret the way the president used the authority. I also deeply regret our lack of planning, our refusal to use enough troops to stabilize and secure Iraq." ...
Clinton rejects that argument [to set a withdrawal date]. She still holds out hope the passage of the Iraqi constitution will lead to greater stability, in part by welcoming previously excluded Baath Party officials back to their old jobs in ministries, according to aides. She might reassess the situation in 60 days if conditions don't improve, they say.

Urge Senators Schumer and Clinton to bring our troops home now:

Sponsored by NYC Downing Street Coalition, Democrats.com and Moveon.

Rosa Parks: 1913-2005

How the ironies of history sometimes work. A little more than one month before the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Dec. 1), Rosa Parks is dead.
Rosa Parks' is a life to which attention must be paid. Ann said to me only last week that the word "hero" is used far too often these days to describe people who don't deserve the appellation. But rarely has anyone come into the world to whom the word "hero" can more truly be applied than Rosa Parks.
Ms. Parks has made it clear that the moment in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man was an act of resistance not just the result of being tired. She was tired alright, but not just from work:

Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it,

Parks wrote in her 1994 book, Quiet Strength.

I kept thinking about my mother and my grandparents, and how strong they were. I knew there was a possibility of being mistreated, but an opportunity was being given to me to do what I had asked of others.

Rosa Parks was by no means a political novice at that moment. She had been the youth secretary for the local NAACP; she had gone to the Highlander Folk School for training in non-violent resistance; and she had earlier run into trouble on the Montgomery buses. The safe myth that she was just tired from a long day's work (which was probably also true) is both racist and sexist. It is difficult (and was particularly so in the mid-fifties) for our mainstream culture to attribute such an important historic moment to a Black woman, but there it is.
I don't think she or anyone else could have predicted what the immediate and long-term consequences of her action would be; but it proves once again that only by saying "no" to oppression can we change the world.
As the Detroit Free Press (freep) wrote:

Speaking in 1992, Parks said history too often maintains

that my feet were hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long.

Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King....

At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this, Parks said 30 years later. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in.

The Montgomery bus boycott, which came one year after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal," marked the start of the modern civil rights movement.

And so on Dec. 1st we will remember Rosa Parks and the other true heroes of the 20th century Civil Rights revolution.

Upcoming events Oct. 24 and beyond (previously posted)

Stuff happening this week (Oct. 24-30) previously mentioned on Contested Terrain:


2,000 Too Many!

2,000 KIA in Iraq update


Through Oct. 30: Play: Black Folks Guide to Black Folks

Through Dec. 8: Film Series: Justice in Our Lifetime

Through March 5: Exhibit: Slavery in New York>

Oct. 24: Brecht Fest: Brecht Fest: Roundtable on Black Theater Today

Oct. 25: Brecht Fest: Disaster & Fault Lines: Race, Urban Planning and Global Capitalism

Oct. 25: Women's Poetry Jam & Open Mike

Oct. 26: The Revolution will not be Funded

Oct. 26: Funeral for the Bill of Rights

Oct. 26: Brecht Fest: A Roundtable: Socialists, Social Movements & Socialism

Oct. 26: Reading: Nell Bernstein, All Alone in the World

Oct. 26: Action Agaianst Coke

Oct. 27: Brecht Fest: Off the Shelf: The Challenge of Radical Publishing in an Age of Philistinism & Reaction

Oct. 28: Brecht Fest: From Baghdad to New Orleans: The Ravages of Empire (Note: Cooper Union Great Hall)

Oct. 28: Film Screening: Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

Oct. 28: Chelsea Party Against the War

Oct. 28: Anarchist Forum

Oct. 28: The Venceremos Brigade Noche Cubana

Oct. 29: Conference: Radicalism in Labor

Oct. 29: Brecht Fest: Neues Kabarett: Gina Leishman (and others TBA)

Oct. 30: Brecht Fest: House Warming for the Brecht Forum's New Home

Oct. 29: People's Voice Cafe: Joel Raphael's Band's Woodie Guthrie Show

Oct. 30: Screening: Behind Every Terrorist There is a Bush

Oct. 30: Free the Cuban 5

After this week: Oct. 31 and beyond

Oct. 31: Talk: The Lives of Queer Muslims

Nov. 5: People's Voice Cafe: Si Kahn

Nov. 5: Korean Kimchee Bowl

Nov. 8: Rally in Solidarity with Bolivarian Venezuela

Nov. 8: Venezuela event update

Nov. 9: Art Exhibit: Three Cities Against The Wall (Opening)

Nov. 12: People's Voice Cafe: Songs of Julie Rickman

Nov. 18-20: Vigil & Direct Action To Close The School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC)

Nov. 19: People's Voice Cafe: Brooklyn Women's Chorus

Dec. 1: Strike Against Poverty, Racism and War

Dec. 3: People's Voice Cafe: Charlie King and Karen Brandow

Dec. 10: People's Voice Cafe: Human Rights Day

Dec. 17: People's Voice Cafe: Joel Landy and Reno

What's Wrong with Ohio?

Televangelist the Rev. Rod Parsley of Columbus preaches against abortion, gay marriage and "judicial tyranny." His Center for "Moral Clarity" instructs pastors on how to arrange voter registration drives and contact legislators.

Americans must be 'Christocrats" -- citizens of both their country and the Kingdom of God -- the Rev. Rod Parsley told his congregation at the World Harvest Church, located just outside Columbus, Ohio.

And that is not a democracy; that is a theocracy," he said. "That means God is in control, and you are not.

Are you worried yet?

The quote is from an excellent piece by Bill Berkowitz at Working For Change

(The reference is from The Smirking Chimp)

George W. Bush follows George Burns advice

George Burns (Photo: The Roger Richman Agency)

And we thought George W. Bush got all his advice from Karl Rove, but the truth is now out, it's George Burns who has had the greatest influence on the current occupant of the White House:

The late and wonderfully caustic George Burns used to flick the ash off his cigar and say:

The secret of success in show business is sincerity. Once you learn how to fake that, you've got it made, kid.

- George McEvoy, Palm Beach Post.

Although I think McEvoy way overestimates the gullibility of the masses of people in the U.S., it seems to me they caught on to the flim-flam much sooner than he gives them credit for having done, here's the rest of his column

(Thanks to The Smirking Chimp for the reference)

 

2,000 KIA in Iraq: Update

The homecomings Bush is hiding from the voters (Photo)

Gold Star Families for Peace Alert

As of this writing [10/21-Dan] 1992+ of our proud military members have been needlessly killed in Iraq. We will reach the 2000 KIA mark sooner than any of us imagined.

When that milestone is reached we plan on being in front of the White House again reiterating our demand for the answer to the question...."What is the Noble cause our kids are dying for?"

We are planning a Peaceful act of civil disobediance for those willing to risk arrest.

Also, those wanting to support those arrested are needed in the area. Those not willing to be arrested can gather in LaFayette park across from the White House to "Voice" their opinion of the war. We realize this is short notice but we can't wait for 3,000 to get active. If you can't come to DC visit the United for Peace and
Justice website to find an action in your area.

NYC: 2000 Too Many! Be in Times Square, 6:00-7:00 pm, the day after the 2000th soldier dies in Iraq!

Future actions include possibly a Bring Them Home Bus Tour through the western states. The Bus will end it's tour on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24th in Crawford Texas. Whether or not we can get a bus tour together in time or not, we will still be spending Thanksgiving in Crawford at Camp Casey. All are encouraged and welcome.

We are also continuing our Not One More action. With Not one More we are encouraging everyone to demand the answer to the following questions from their Congressional Reps:

1- What is the Noble Cause?

2- How many more lives are they will to sacrifice to this Noble cause?

3- What are they doing to bring about an end to the occupation of Iraq and bring our troops home?

Members of Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans against War and Veterans for Peace have been meeting with Congress asking these questions. See the stats at Not One More.

We have as a part of the Not One More action been asking State Govenors to call for their states National Guard troops to be brought home. As we saw in the Katrina disaster it is imperative to have those forces where they belong, in their state in case of a natural disaster or "terrorist attack". Our Govenor here in California has stated that he supports the Presidents war on terror and refuses the call to bring our guard home.

The people's governor should speak on this issue," Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said during a news conference at his office. Recent Southern California wildfires and Gulf Coast hurricane devastation prove "we need our National Guard here in California, he said.

Leno is co-author of Assembly Joint Resolution 36, introduced Sept. 2 by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, (D-Berkeley). The measure would urge the federal government

to restore the balance between the federal government and states by limiting federal control of the California National Guard to cases where there is an insurrection or a declaration of war

in other words, not Iraq.
Californians, please urge your Rep. to the state Assembly to support this resolution. If not in the state of California demand your state representatives follow Californias lead.

In Peace,
Dede
Gold Star Families for Peace
Support: Gold Star Families for Peace

 

Oct. 29: Conference: Radicalism in Labor

Oct. 29, 10:00AM - 4:00PM

Radicalism in Labor: Radical Approaches to the Crisis in the Labor Movement

CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue at 34th St
Recital Hall (located on the first floor)

Students: $5/Public: $10

Sponsored by The Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work

Featuring:
Stanley Aronowitz (CUNY),
Barbara Bowen (PSC),
Bill Henning (CWA Local 1180),
Saru Jayaraman (ROC-NYC),
Kim Moody (Labor Notes),
Andrew Ross (NYU), and many others

The issues:

The decline in union membership
The rapid deterioration of workers' living standards
The large number of contract settlements that do not match inflation
The proliferation of temporary and contingent work

The questions:

Can Change to Win muster the rhetoric and the style that attracts workers?
Is the top brass of organized labor prepared to promote labor solidarity?
What would constitute an effective politics and strategy to revitalize the labor movement?
What is the state of democracy in the unions?
What organization or network can be formed to intervene in the labor movement?
Who are the key new constituencies of the labor movement?
Should contract administration remain the core of union activity?
In James P. Hoffa's words, should labor continue to "throw money at the Democrats"?

The schedule:

10:00-10:15AM: Welcome and Introductions
10:15-11:45AM: Professional and technical unionism
11:45AM-12:45PM: Break for lunch
12:45-2:15PM: Unions of the working poor
2:30-4:00PM: The politics and strategy of labor radicalism (Plenary)

Phone: 212-817-2001 / Email: saronowitz@igc.org
vox: 646.321.5710
aim/skype: whyloo

The philosophers have already interpreted the world, in various
ways; the point is to change it. -- Karl Marx, 1845, Theses On
Feuerbach

 

Syria: Bush lies, Condoleeza swears to it: Beware the wounded beast

Attack Syria? Invade Iran? By What Constitution?
by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Oct. 19, Condoleezza Rice was asked whether the Bush administration was planning military action against Syria. She answered,

I don't think the President ever takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force.

Last time we read the U.S. Constitution, the grave decision to use military force against another country was a matter for Congress to decide -- not an "option" for a President.
And last time we read the UN Charter, it provided that

all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

We've been here before. President Bush used trumped-up fears (like mushroom clouds over American cities) and frauds (like imaginary "yellowcake" uranium) to fool the American people into attacking Iraq. Now we and the Iraqi people are paying the price.
With the American military bogged down in what Lt. Gen. William Odom, director of the National Security Agency under Ronald Reagan, calls

the greatest strategic disaster in United States history,

and with a majority of the American people saying the U.S. made the wrong decision in using military force against Iraq, it may be hard to believe that the Bush administration is really contemplating further adventures.
But regimes facing military embarrassment are notorious for expanding the theater of war - witness Nixon's expansion of the Vietnam war into Cambodia. And the same delusions that got us into Iraq - from imaginary threats of illicit weapons to dreams of welcome from cheering crowds - are being repeated about Iran and Syria.

(for more on this)
 

Oct. 31: Talk: The Lives of Queer Muslims

Faisal Alam (center):

I would have a wonderful time in his company, then come home and cry, reciting verses from the Koran that condemned homosexuality.

(No photo credit available)

Oct. 31, 8 pm

Faisal Alam: Hidden Voices - The Lives of Queer Muslims,

New York University
Kimmel Center, Room 802

Faisal Alam is a pioneer of the Muslim Queer solidarity movement. He will speak on his experience in the activist community, as well as his particularly underrepresented identity. By exploring the complex diversity within the Muslim world and by illustrating the many challenges facing queer Muslims, this presentation will bring new light into the lives of an often invisible and silent community. The history of the queer Muslim movement will be presented and a
discussion on Islam's view towards sexual and gender minorities will also be explored in this interactive presentation.

Sponsored by Pride Month


 

Oct. 24: The Upcoming Local Elections: What's at Stake

Oct. 24, 6:15 PM

The Upcoming Local Elections: What's at Stake

Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street [just south of Stanton, or one block south of cnr. of 1st Av. & E. Houston St.]
212 777 6028
[trains F to Second Av.; J, M, Z to Essex; B, D to Grand & walk 7 blocks; bus: M15, M21, M9, M14A, M103)

$5 suggested

Please join Political Coordinator of the Working Families Party, Alex Rabb, for an inside look at the nature of New York City politics and what's at stake in the upcoming City Council and Mayoral races.

 

Nov. 18-20: Vigil and Direct Action to Close the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC)

The U.S. Army School of Americas (SOA), based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American security personnel in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. SOA graduates are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to release training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have participated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians.Together We'll Shut it Down!

At the gate (No photo credit available)

Nov. 18 - 20

Vigil and Direct Action to Close the SOA/ WHINSEC
Together We'll Shut it Down!

Converge on Fort Benning: Nov. 18-20
Speak Out for Justice, Peace and Accountability.
Take a Stand Against The Racist System of Military Repression, Violence and Domination

On Nov. 18-20, thousands will gather at Fort Benning, Georgia -- one of the largest military bases in the world and home of the notorious School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC) -- to confront injustice, to speak out for truth and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy.

This is a very important year to come to the vigil and this year is different than other years. Due to the fact that we will have a vote [in Congress] this spring or summer to close the school, we need to have a stronger presence at the gates of Fort
Benning to send a powerful message to Congress to close the school. This is the year we need you to be with us.

We are in a period of great change. We are going to close this school that continues to create death and suffering. Justice is within our reach when we stand up in numbers too big to be ignored -- turning the tide by putting our bodies on the line.

SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that works through creative protest and resistance, legislative and media work to stand in solidarity with the people of Latin America, to close the SOA/WHINSEC and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy that institutions like the SOA represent. We are grateful to our sisters and brothers throughout Latin America for their inspiration and the invitation to join them in their struggle for economic and social justice.

 

Oct. 26: Action against Coke

Oct. 26,
10:30am - Press Conference & Rally
Coca-Cola Office (711 5th Ave bt 55th & 56 Sts, next to Disney)
11:00am - Candlelight Vigil Procession down 5th Ave from Coca-Cola Office (to Colombian Consulate at 10 E. 46th St.

Trains, listed in descending proximity/nearest first: E, V (*not
F*) to 5th Av. (53d St.); N, R, W to 5th Av. (59th St.); F to 57th
St. (6th Av.); Q to 57th St. (7th Av.); B, D to 47th-50th St./Rock
Ctr.; #6 to 51st St. (Lex); or M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M30, M57, Q31, M7 bus.

Coke torture & murder policies:
democracy now
global exchange
dollarsandsense

Show solidarity I am calling for activists, almost activists, a little be activsits, activists-look-alike, activists with a passion, activists with no passion at all, activists with some passion, and of course non-activist, advocates, professional and non-professional advocates to come out and join me for a V-day action and solidarity. Please join me for either the press conference and/or the vigil on the V-day

Together we can do it, together we can make it happen, so let's make it happen! Peace and Justice for all!! Alba M. 212-729-3086

Join the international movement for justice and human rights against the Coca-Cola Company for murder, torture, pollution, and union-busting throughout the world!

We are preparing for what we believe will be a turning point in the campaign to hold Coke accountable for violence in Colombia as well as now in Turkey, India, and Indonesia. Coke has been doing everything it can to not only discredit the union Sinaltrainal in Colombia but also deflate the global student movement. Coke's arrogance and blatant negligence has only expanded the campaign and fueled student militancy on campus. Victory is near and we need your support!

Oct. 26 will see the consolidation of student movements in the U.S., Canada, & the UK in the first-ever International Week of Action Against Coke & For Human Rights!
Oct. 26 will see the launch of a North American Speaking Tour with Sinaltrainal Vicepresident William Mendoza and United Students Against Sweatshops to hit schools and communities from Miami to Seattle, Toronto to Los Angeles, Chicago to Atlanta! Oct. 26 will see the public filing of a historic lawsuit by the International Labor Rights Fund against the Coca-Cola Company for torture and union busting in Turkey! At the Corporate Office of the Coca-Cola Company in NYC, Oct. 26 will see people of conscience and action, including workers from Colombia, Turkey, & the U. S.,
gather to say "Stop Killer Coke" and proclaim V-Day -"Victory over Coke Day!"

 

Oct. 30: Screening: Behind Every Terrorist There Is a Bush

Sunday Oct 30 at 7PM (Doors 6:30)

JANETTE MACKINLEY
BEHIND EVERY TERRORIST THERE IS A BUSH
NEW YORK PREMIERE!

St. Mark's Church Parish House
10th St. & Second Ave.
Donation $5

Featuring hyperactivist Carol Brouillet, music by David Rovics, stand-up comedy by the hilarious Will Durst and former WP writer Bill Santiago, and rap-poetry by Drew Dellinger. The 2004 gala was a benefit show for the "International Inquiry into 9/11, Phase One: San Francisco."

A film for people with brains as well as funny bones. (60 mins)

The events of Sept. 11th literally smashed through artist Janette MacKinley's windows, across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center. She authored Fortunate, a powerful memoir of that experience, and became active in the 9/11 truth movement. After several years in the Bay Area, she will be speaking on the activities and personalities of our sister group, the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance (sf911truth.org).

9/11 TRUTH ON SUNDAYS Fall 2005 Calendar
illustrated print schedule, contact:
 

2000 Too Many!

Saying No to War and Occupation: Teach-in and Peace March
Nearly twice as many of our soldiers died in the 2nd year of our occupation of Iraq as died in first year of the conflict. The lowest estimate of the cost of the war to U.S. taxpayers is 200 billion dollars. However, the cost of this war is higher than the total of the dead and the dollars we've spent on it. (Photo: Brian Thomas, rivertext)

2000 Too Many!

Be in Times Square, 6:00-7:00 pm, the day after the 2000th soldier dies in Iraq!
As of today, 1992 soldiers have died in Iraq. Over 15,000 have been wounded. Tens of thousands Iraqis have died. How many more will die before Bush ends this senseless war?

Two thousand have died while a majority of people in our country believe the war is a mistake and our troops should come home. We must go to the military recruiting centers which promote war as the only alternative for our children and say: Not another death in this immoral war!

Join military families, veterans and United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)/NYC at the recruiting center in Times Square from 6:00-7:00 pm on the day after the 2000th death. Bring flowers to lay on the doorstep of the recruiting center in remembrance of those who have died. Bring your signs and banners.

We are just a few days from the date that the 2000th death will occur. Watch the news and check your email and come out the day after. UFPJ/NYC will send out e-mails to let you know and you can check for the exact date.

 

Oct. 22: screening of Weill/Brecht's opera THE RISE AND FALL OF MAHAGONNY

Kurt Weill

Oct. 22, 7:30 PM

Brecht Fest, a screening of Weill/Brecht's opera THE RISE AND FALL OF MAHAGONNY

The Brecht Forum
451 West St. (Bt Bank & Bethune)
(212) 242- 4201
(1,2,3 A,C,E to 14th st. 14A and 14D buses to Abingdon Square/12th St L to 8th Ave @14th st. F,V to 14th St. B,D,Q to W. 4th)

Sliding scale $10/$15/$25

We will screen a video of 1998 Salzburg Festival production of the Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht opera that depicts the consumerism of the mythical city of Mahagonny, conveying all of its ripe decadence. Mahagonny is presented as a Hollywood Babylon full of pyramidal towers, carved elephants, commodified sex, and licensed gluttony. Starring Jerry Hadley, Gwyneth Jones, and Catherine Malfitano.

(155 minutes, color, 1999, English subtitles.)

 

Oct. 28: The Venceremos Brigade Noche Cubana

Oct. 28, 7:30pm (doors Open)
Program begins: 8pm
Party: 9pm-11:30pm

The Venceremos Brigade Noche Cubana

Unity Hall
235 w 23rd St.

Hosted by the Venceremos Brigade (vbrigade@yahoo.com)
$10 donation (but you give what you can)

Didn't make it to Cuba with us this year?

Join us as we recreate a night in Cuba and share what we learned about the revolution, our work, our experience and the TRAVEL CHALLENGE!
COME READY TO Eat, Dance and Play Dominoes!
Food will be served and Drinks will be sold.

The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5 is calling on all peoples to support the international campaign to sign on the letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez ro demand the FREEDOM OF THE CUBAN 5!

The time is now to put pressure on the U.S. government to free the Cuban 5!! After the Aug. 9th decision of the 11th Cicuit Court of Appeals and the Decision by the UN Working group on Arbritrary Detentions, the the time is now to keep putting pressure on the U.S. government!

The People free Political prisoners!

 

Nov. 8: An Evening of Solidarity with Bolivarian Venezuela -update

Venezuela is the world's 5th largest oil exporter, yet 80% of its population lives in poverty. In 1998 President Hugo Chaves was elected to use the oil revenue to tackle poverty. In April 2002 a coup against him was defeated by the millions who took to the streets. A few months later the elite and the CIS paralysed Venezuela's oil company PDVSA to bring Chaves down. Oil workers took over and worked round the clock to recover production.

From: The Bolivarian Revolution, Enter the Oil Workers (Produced by the Bolivarian Circle of the Global Womens Strike)

Nov. 8, 6:30 pm

An Evening of Solidarity with Bolivarian Venezuela

Town Hall New York City
123 West 43rd St. (bt 6th Ave. & Broadway)
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! $20/General Admission.

PROGRAM UPDATE!
Confirmed speakers from Venezuela, together for the first time in the U.S., many representatives of Venezuela's Bolivarian Movement: Elegua, Women's Drummer Group; Jorge Guerrero Veloz, Afroaraguenos Civil Assn., Presidential Comm. against Racism; Miguel Hernandez, Historian, Central Univ. of Venezuela, Leonor Osorio, NY Consul General, Bolivarian Government of Venezuela; Fermin Toro, Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN
Other speakers include: Padre Luis Barrios, NYC Council Member Charles Barron, Vinie Burrows, William Camacaro, Ramsey Clark, James Cockcroft, Peter Coyote, Jorge Farinacci, Danny Glover, Curtis Mohammed, Mumia Abu-Jamal's message, August Nimtz, Leonard Peltier rep., NY Rep. Jose Serrano, Chris Silvera, Lynne Stewart, Roger Toussaint, Rev. Lucius Walker, Leonard Weinglass, with cultural performers Welfare Poets and Elegua, from Venezuela.

For more info, write, call or email to:
Venezuela Nov 8
39 W 14th St-Suite 206
New York, NY 10011
212-633-6646
email: venezuela@globalsolidarity.info

Be a part of history!
Solidarity with Venezuela is needed now more than ever!
The U.S. government is openly increasing its hostility to the Venezuelan Government and is laying the basis for intervention, military or otherwise. Bush Administration officials and allies have issued bellicose statements aimed against Venezuelan leaders.
We can and must reverse this by showing our solidarity in every way possible! You can help turn the tide!
It is now up to us-the people in the U.S.-to do what is right, to do what is just, to do what is necessary, to be part of a powerful force that can bring about peace and justice in the region by strongly opposing U.S. plans to intervene in Venezuela, in violation of international law and that nation's sovereignty.

The Host Committee members for this historic event are Danny Glover, U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, Ramsey Clark, Noam Chomsky, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Howard Zinn, Rev. Lucius Walker, Padre Luis Barrios, Peter Coyote, Marcia Campos, August Mintz, James Cockcroft, James Petras and the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle.

 

Alice in Iraqi constitutional Wonderland

A Disasterous Constitution
by Hatem Mukhlis

....
It is extremely unfortunate that so many people were led to believe that the Iraqi constitution would be a panacea. This document, which early returns indicate is likely to be approved by voters, is nothing more-or-less than a time bomb.
.....
Anyone who thinks that such a constituition would calm the insurgency has probably been spending more time than he [or she] should have reading about Alice in wonderland.

(exerpted from)