Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 09.23.05

[David Shove (shove001]

            P R O G R E S S I V E    C A L E N D A R      09.23.05

1. Human rights/UN     9.23 8am
2. Busses to DC        9.23 8am
3. Jean Houston        9.23/24 8am/7pm
4. Build a real bridge 9.23 9am Duluth
5. Coldwater           9.23 3pm
6. NE Mpls hootenanny  9.23-25 6pm
7. Honeysuckle Rose    9.23 6pm
8. Brazilian film      9.23 6:30pm
9. Gulf Coast benefit  9.23 7pm
10. Bolen/Butler read  9.23 7pm
11. Drum peace vigil   9.23-24 7pm
12. Bi America/reading 9.23 7pm
13. Peace ball         9.23 7:30pm
14. LatAm history/play 9.23-25 7:30pm
15. Jim Ruland/tales   9.23 8pm
16. Buffalo soldiers   9.23 time?

17. Ashley Smith et al - Which way forward for the Green Party?
18. Mokhiber/Weissman  - Chrysler unleashed: are you a speed freak?
19. ed                 - Money mountains (poem)

--------1 of 19--------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Human rights/UN 9.23.8am

September 23 - International Advocacy on U.S. Human Rights Cases: Training
Program on U.N. Mechanisms.  8am-1:30pm.  Cost: $35 includes lunch and
training materials. (Materials can be purchased separately for $10) Fees
waived for registered students..

A training program of the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights.

The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) announces a training program
to teach activists, attorneys, and students how to utilize U.N. mechanisms
to advocate on human rights cases in the United States. The September 23,
2005 training program will bring together leading experts knowledgeable on
U.N. mechanisms and advocates who have utilized the mechanisms to address
human rights abuses within the United States.

Faculty members include:

 *Regents Professor David Weissbrodt, Director of the Human Rights Center
at the University of Minnesota
 *Markus Schmidt (invited), Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR)
 *Marsha Freeman, Senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota s Humphrey
Institute and Director of the International Women s Rights Action Watch
 *Mayra Gomez, Research and Policy Officer for the Centre on Housing
Rights and Evictions USA Office
 *Mirna Adjami, Equal Justice Works Fellow with the Midwest Immigrant &
Human Rights Center
 *Carol Steele (invited), President of the Chicago Coalition to Protect
Public Housing
 *Sandra Babcock, Director of the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program

A networking lunch will immediately follow the training program (12:30
-1:30 pm).

The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) is a network of 20+ advocacy
organizations and academic centers collaborating to promote and protect
human rights both in the United States and abroad. Minnesota members
include the U of M s Human Rights Program and Human Rights Center, Center
for Victims of Torture, and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.

4 CLE credits will be applied for.

For more information, please contact Rochelle Hammer, Human Rights Program at
the University of Minnesota, hrp [at] umn.edu or 612.626.7947.
Location: Room 25, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis


--------2 of 19---------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Busses to DC 9.23 8am

Friday, 9/23, sendoff at 8 am, buses leave at 9 am from Joan of Arc
parking lot for massive demo in DC against the Iraq war.  March on
Saturday 9/24, buses gets back late afternoon on 9/25.  8 known Twin
Cities buses and 2 from Brainerd are mostly filled up, but you can try
wamm [at] mtn.org or bus [at] antiwarcommittee.org or the DFL bus at
www.thedatabank.com/meeting/caldetail_dfl.asp?ccf=149531&caleventid=3315&classevent=PUBLIC
to check availability or wait list.

(NOTE: At most recent notice, nearly all buses leaving from Joan of Arc
parking lot are full, but there are 9 buses leaving from there including 2
from Brainerd, so you could always come a bit early and risk the
wait-list.  Call WAMM at 612.827.5364 or the Antiwar Committee at
612-272-2209 for more details.  The DFL bus from St. Paul lists 5 openings
as of Tuesday night;  call Donna at 612-798-4952..)

Friday, 9/23.  There is also a bus from Brainerd, coming down through St.
Cloud, for $125 (and filling fast).  They have aver $500 for partial
student scholarships.  Contact leftylady_upnorth [at] yahoo.com or
fisksen [at] brainerd.net for more info.

--
I just got word that the DFL bus is also leaving from the Joan of Arc
parking lot - - gather at 8 am, leave at 9.  This makes things easier.
If you want to go but don't have a ticket reserved, call your favorite
activist group TOMORROW.  Or, if you are an optimist, just show up and see
if there are cancellations.  Out of 10 buses, that's about 500 seats.
SOMEBODY will be changing plans!


--------3 of 19-------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Jean Houston 9.23-24 8am/7pm

September 23 - Social Artist as World Server.  Time: (varies - see below).
Cost: (varies - see below).

[This is the only time this notice will be listed. If any of it interests
you, SAVE it -ed]

Join us with this exciting "teacher's teacher" for an exhilarating and
inspiring romp through psychology, leadership, education, religion,
archeology, contemporary physics and theater. Jean is a consultant to
governmental agencies and organizations in over 40 countries. Author of 17
books, including The Possible Human, Life Force, Public Like a Frog and
her Harper San Francisco autobiography, A Mythic Life: Learning to Live
Our Greater Stories, she is co-director with her husband, Dr. Robert
Masters, of the Foundation for Mind Research.

Jean Houston's work is where inner life and social justice intersect.  It
is urgent that we have participants in the weekend who are concerned with
this, who will interact with Jean and will have the opportunity to meet
each other.

Leadership as Social Artistry
Friday, September 23, 8am to 4pm,
INTELLIGENT NUTRIENTS CENTER, 983 East Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis 55413
(at the intersection of 35W and East Hennepin).

Description: The need to train leaders in a completely new way is
critical. The usual formulas and stop-gap solutions born of an earlier era
will not help us--as Albert Einstein reminded us, "The consciousness that
created the problem cannot be the same consciousness that solves it." The
necessary perception and resources to create truly innovative models for
healthy and sustainable growth require a revolution in tactics, strategies
and procedures. Dr. Houston--a cultural historian whose 30-year career
spans psychology, sociology, economics and philosophy--is an ambassador of
the revolutionary development that can equip today's leaders to deal with
the complexity and chaos of today's world. Cost: $295

An Evening With Jean Houston: Social Artistry - Hope for the Future
Friday, September 23, 7-9pm

The O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul 55105
Description: The density and intimacy of the global village and the
staggering consequences of our new knowledge and technologies make us
directors of a world that has, up to now, mostly directed us. We are coded
with potentials few of which we will ever learn to use if we are not
taught to think, feel and perceive in new ways. Join Jean for an
exploration of how the concept of social artistry can inform and infuse a
new world of possibility.
Costs: $26; $15 students.  For tickets/directions - 651-690-6700.
Tickets Either the O Sahughessy Ticket Office 651-690-6700 (fee per order)
OR Ticket Master 651- 690-6700

The Path of the World Server
When: Weekend workshop - September 24, 25, Saturday 9-4/Sunday 9-1

Coeur de Catherine Ballroom at The University of St. Catherine, 2004
Randolph Ave., St. Paul 55105

Description: This is an invitation to become stewards of the planet filled
with a passion for the possible and to partner with one another through
the greatest transformation ever known. Learn new ways to access
cross-cultural knowledge and the skills necessary to apply the awareness
for social/cultural deepening and exchange. In the midst of crisis and
breakdown, discover the opportunity to preserve the genius of existing
individual, social, cultural, and institutional knowledge while
facilitating emergence of the breakthrough "new story". Come for a very
special weekend filled with intellectual, physical, emotional and cultural
exploration, through a sensory-rich training that is a new paradigm
adventure! Cost: $395 (includes continental breakfast and lunch)

Social Artists at Play
Saturday Evening Program, Sept 24., 8:00 - 10:30 pm.

Coeur de Catherine Ballroom, College of St. Catherine, 2004 Randolph Ave,
St. Paul Description: An evening of song, dance, poetry and theatre for
everyone, with singer/songwriter Barbara McAfee, Kairos Dance Theatre, Big
Woods Transformational Theater and Friends. Cost: Free, but $10 suggested
donation.

A presentation of The Institute of Cultural Affairs, The Continuum Center,
The Core Curriculum Office and Center of Excellence for Women and
Spirituality/College of St. Catherine, Wisdom Ways Center for
Spirituality. Kairos Dance Theatre. Cris Anderson Productions.

Particularly in the light of Katrina this is the time to inspire hope and
re-energize action. Call or email Linda Alton or Lynne Larsen,
612-281-6556 or 612-823-3518, icamn [at] mninter.net for information or to
register for the events. Individual and Group Discounts VERY Available!

To listen to Jean speak on Social Artistry go to www.socialartistry.com
and follow the link to the audio portion. For additional information go
to:www.jeanhouston.org.


--------4 of 19--------

From: GibbsJudy [at] aol.com
Subject: Build a real bridge 9.23 9am Duluth

Sargent Creek Bridge Project
Please Come -- Volunteers Needed for Major Bridge Building Project for New
Trail in Duluth!

SHTA will be building a 50-foot engineered wooden bridge on Sargent Creek
off Beck's Road in Duluth on Friday September 23rd at 9:00 and Saturday
September 24th at 9:00. Judy Gibbs, Ken Oelkers -- our Trail Supervisors
-- and Byron Stadsvold -- our Board President (and bridge designer) --
will be teaming up to lead this big project!

The goal is to build the bridge on-site. Here are the volunteer needs:

Friday, September 23 9am
1. The lumber will be sitting on the roadside and needs to be hauled in
0.3 miles to the bridge site. Ken estimates we need about 20 volunteers to
help with this. These will be mostly light pieces.

2. Volunteers with previous bridge building experience or carpentry
experience are needed to help assemble the bridge.

Saturday, September 24th, 9:00:
Adults who are really strong are needed to help move the heavy bridge frames
into place. We need about 20 people for this.

***Lunch, beverages and snacks will be furnished to all
volunteers at the bridge site both days. ***

Please register in advance by calling or emailing the SHTA office at
218-834-2700 or suphike [at] mr.net. Thanks!

Directions to Beck's Road: (1) From I-35, take Midway Rd. Exit #246. Go
south on Midway Rd. (which becomes Beck's Rd.) 2.7 miles and watch for SHT
sign. (2) On Grand Ave. in Duluth, go south to Beck's Rd. Turn west
(right) on Beck's Rd., go 1.8 miles and watch for SHT sign.

Please Note: This plan is a change from the plan that was listed in the
Ridgeline newsletter when we thought we would assemble the bridge at the
Munger Inn on September 23rd and then disassemble it and build it at the
creek on September 24th. Instead we will be hauling a portable generator
to the creek site and building it on-site over two days.


--------5 of 19--------

From: Friends of Coldwater <susujeffrey [at] msn.com>
Subject: Coldwater 9.23 3pm

Just up the path from Pike Island is the last spring of size anywhere in
the Twin Cities--Coldwater, still flowing at about 100,000 gallons a day.
People are invited to sacred Coldwater Spring at 3pm on Friday afternoon,
September 23, 2005.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service opens the gate to this sacred spring for only
one hour a week, Friday afternoons from 3-4 PM. That closure contravenes the
1805 treaty--but the water still flows.

For a Coldwater entrance permit application call Fish & Wildlife authorities
at 612-713-5306 (fill it out, send it back & they'll process & return it to
you).


-------6 of 19--------

From: Patrick Courtemanche <pat_court [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: NE Mpls hootenanny 9.23-25 6pm

[If any of this interests you, please SAVE this notice. It will not be
reprinted - ed]

Northeast Hootenany at Columbia Grounds in Minneapolis September 23-25
Features Over 40 Performers Spider John Koerner, Ol' Yeller, Peter Lang,
Martin Devaney, Curtiss A, New Primitives, Becky Thompson, Sensacion
Latina, Grant Hart, Paul Metsa and many more.

Historic Line-Up of Musicians to Benefit the Historic Guthrie Theater
Building.

Northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 16, 2005.

The Northeast Hootenanny is three days of music, art and celebration on
September 23, 24 and 25 at Columbia Grounds, 3301 Central Ave. NE in
Minneapolis (telephone 612-781-7873).  Three stages (two outdoors) will
feature over 40 Twin Cities performers, ranging from icon to upstart, folk
to reggae, rock to Arabic, and Country to Salsa.

Friday, September 23, events start at 6pm with a Native American drum
circle, followed by a West Bank-style party with Peter Lang, Bill Hinkley
and Judy Larson, Dakota Dave Hull, Becky Thompson, Spider John Koerner and
more.

On Saturday, music starts at 10am with folks like Stephanie Varone, Rena
Haus, Mick Sterling, Ol' Yeller, Paul Metsa and Paradise Alley, Curtiss A,
Sherwin Linton's Johnny Cash Tribute, and Grant Hart.

Sunday at 10am, Rev. Gary Timbs kicks it off with gospel, followed by acts
including GB Leighton, Lonnie Knight, Shauntae, International Reggae
All-Stars, Monroe Crossing, Martin Devaney and Sensacion Latina.  The all
ages event includes works of Northeast artists, food, beer, wine and, of
course, coffee, and an appearance by Guthrie architect Ralph Rapson.

Suggested donation is $15 on Friday and $10 on Saturday and Sunday ($30
for a weekend pass), benefiting the effort to save the historic Guthrie
Theater building.  Information is available at www.SaveTheGuthrie.org or
by calling (612) 781-7873.

About Save the Guthrie.  The Guthrie Theater, a pivotal work by
internationally-admired Minnesota architect Ralph Rapson, opened in 1963
and has been a cultural focal point of the Twin Cities ever since.  With
its brilliant design, including the unique thrust stage, The Guthrie
became the prototype for the American regional theater movement.  In
addition to hosting actors like Morgan Freeman, Patrick Stewart and
Jessica Tandy, The Guthrie has been the site of legendary concerts by
everyone from Count Basie to the Who, Janis Joplin to Thelonius Monk, and
Bill Monroe to Patti Smith.  SaveTheGuthrie.org seeks to save the theater
from demolition in Spring of 2006 by turning it into a multi-cultural
performing arts center and digital broadcast center (downloads,
simulcasts, etc.) to allow the venue to thrive as The Rapson Theater.
More information is available at www.SaveTheGuthrie.org.

About Columbia Grounds.  Columbia Grounds, 3301 Central Ave. NE, is a
coffee shop, plus.  It is a home to Northeast art and artists, as well as
a beautifully landscaped garden center that provides a great setting for
indoor/outdoor events.  With outstanding food, and beverages including
beer and wine, Columbia Grounds is a Hootenanny waiting to happen.

About the Art.  The Northeast Hootenanny will feature exhibits by
Northeast artists, including works for raffle throughout the grounds.

For More Information about the Northeast Hootenanny, media members should
contact Pat Courtemanche at (612) 782-8305 or pat_court [at] yahoo.com or Paul
Metsa (founder of SaveTheGuthrie.org) at (612) 788-6815.

Confirmed Performers - Set Times To Be Determined

Friday, September 23, Doors open at 5pm
Native American Drum Circle and Dancers - 6pm
Jack Brass Band
Becky Thompson w/ Paul Metsa
Dakota Dave Hull
Tom Lieberman
Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson
Peter Lang
Spider John Koerner
* Special Guest appearance by Guthrie Theater Architect, Mr. Ralph Rapson

Indoor VIP Party-Columbia Grounds- Lonesome Dan Kase and Baby Grant
Johnson (10:30pm-Midnight)

Saturday, Sept. 24, (Music starts at 10am)
Out of the Blue
Javiar Santiago Trio (South High School Jazz Program)
Gregg Inhofer
Rena Haus
Stephanie Varone
Trampled By Turtles
Paul Mayasich
Mick Sterling and Friends
Curtiss A.
Stockcar Named Desire
Tim Mahoney
Janie Miller's Tribute to Patsy Cline
Sherwin Linton's Tribute to Johnny Cash
Grant Hart
Ol' Yeller
Paul Metsa and Paradise Alley
Indoor VIP Party-Columbia Grounds-Paul Metsa and Sonny
Earl + Molly Maher  (10:30-Midnight)

Sunday, Sept. 25 (Music starts at 10am)
Rev. Gary Timbs and Ruby Boots (Gospel)
Will Hale and the Tadpole Parade (Children's music)
Lonnie Knight
New Primitives
The Boys From the White Iron Band
Monroe Crossing
Amwaaj (Classical Arab Music)
GB Leighton
Shauntae
International Reggae All-Stars
Wain McFarlane
Martin Devaney
Sensacion Latina

--- Paul_Metsa <metsa [at] blackhole.com> wrote:


--------7 of 19--------

From: HolleB [at] aol.com
Subject: Honeysuckle Rose 9.23 6pm

HONEYSUCKLE ROSE will be featuring special guests Mark Kreitzer and gypsy
guitar virtuoso Sammo from the Clearwater Hot Club this Friday, 9/23 from
6-9pm at Molly Quinns, 3300 East Lake. Enjoy gypsy jazz and your favorite
jazz standards while relaxing with a pint of Guinness and Irish and
American food. It should be a great show so get there early!

Honeysuckle Rose is Rose Oyamot, vocals, David Stenshoel on violin, Dean
Harrington on guitar, and Holle Brian on upright bass. For more
information contact Holle at 612-822-6593, holleb [at] aol.com.


--------8 of 19-------

From: Mary Turck <mturck [at] americas.org>
Subject: Brazilian film  9.23 6:30pm

Friday, September 23-6:30pm. Quilombo FREE. Resource Center of the
Americas, 3019 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis 55406 FFI: 612-276-0788.

(directed by Carlos Diegues) Brazil. Portuguese with English subtitles.
This story of defiance, courage, and fighting spirit of oppressed peoples
who chose to die for their freedom rather than returning alive in chains
to hell on earth, namely the sugar plantations of Pernambuco provincehas
long lived in the collective memory of Afro-Brazilians.  Palmeres defied
the Portuguese empire for almost a century.


--------9 of 19--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Gulf Coast benefit 9.23 7pm

Friday, September 23rd @ Manhattan Loft
"Gulf Coast Benefit"
All Proceeds go to Hurrican Katrina victims
Live Performances by
Rad Jacket (alt jazz)
Talkin' Roots Band feat. spoken word artist David Daniels
Mpls Junction (conscience hip hop)

Friday, Sept 23 @ 7pm
Manhattan Loft (on U of M campus)
802 Washington Ave. SE*
(612)627 9737*


--------10 of 19--------

From: lynette <lynette [at] prettyhorses.net>
Subject: Bolen/Butler read 9.23 7pm

Activist author Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen reads from "Urgent
Message from Mother," and nationally acclaimed sci-fi author Octavia
Butler will read from "Fledging" 7 pm at Magers and Quinn Booksellers,
3038 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis.


--------11 of 19--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Drum peace vigil 9.23-24 7pm

Friday, 9/23 (7 pm) to Saturday, 9/24 (7 pm), All Nations Peace Drum &
Vigil, Sanctuary at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Ave S,
Minneapolis. 763-439-3104 or shewalkswithbear [at] comcast.net


--------12 of 19--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Bi America/reading 9.23 7pm
[mnlgrn] SEPT.23:Book event "bi america"

Press Contact: William Burleson 612.735.6549 bill [at] bi101.org
<mailto:bill [at] bi101.org>

Bi America
Book Reading & signing

Book reading and signing with William Burleson, author of /Bi America:
Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community/, a new book
about bisexuality ad the bi community from Haworth Press.

Friday, September 23rd, 7pm
Query Booksellers
520 East Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
612-331-7701
Free

Contact: Call 612-331-7701 or visit www.bi101.org <http://www.bi101.org/>
for more info


--------13 of 19--------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Peace ball 9.23 7:30pm

September 23 - PEACE BALL 2005. 7:30pm.  Cost: Tickets $5 or $100
voluntary donation ($15 of ticket is not tax-deductible).

PEACE BALL 2005 celebrating the many summer successes achieved by the
PEACE Foundation which was created to work for a collective call to action
and stand against violence in Minneapolis.  Dancing, refreshments,
artistic showcase and performace featuring PEACE Games winners in word,
dance and visual arts.

StJoan of Arc 4537 3rd Ave S Minneapolis


--------14 of 19--------

From: Maria - Teatro del Pueblo <teatrom [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: LatAm history plays 9.23-25 7:30pm

This is an important look American and Latin American history, from a
Latino perspective.

[This notice will be listed just this ONCE. If interested, SAVE it. -ed]

TEATRO DEL PUEBLO PRESENTS ¿HISTORIA?: A LATIN AMERICAN VERSION AT THE 4th
STREET THEATER, SEPTEMBER 22-25, 2005

Where: 4th Street Theater, St. Paul, MN 55101 (4th Street and Minnesota
Street) See www.theaterspaceproject.org for directions

9/22-9/25 7:30pm
9/24-9/25 2pm

Tickets: $17 Adults; $15 Students & Seniors

Information and Reservations:
Call: 651-224-8806 or visit www.teatrodelpueblo.org
For information on Student Matinees* and Advanced Ticket Sales: (651) 224-8806

Synopsis:
¿Historia? is a trilogy of performances featuring: Echoes of the New
World, Latinhood, and Speak, America! The first two plays will attempt to
sort through the truths and fallacies of events that have molded the
general perception of Latin America today.  Echoes touches on issues
directly related to Latinos living in Latin America.  Latinhood will focus
on Latinos living in the USA, and Speak, America! will act as a catalyst
to engage the audience.  All three pieces will work together to explore
different perspectives covering the full spectrum of Latin American
History.

Echoes of the New World
by Ric Oquita with original music by Cristian Amigo, Directed by Laurie
Witzkowski, Starring Adia Morris and Claudia Vazquez *Included in the
Student Matinee
A story of two sisters who discover a family trunk that transports them
back in time.  The play's first moments reveal a suspenseful tension
between the sisters who simultaneously fear and are captivated by the
power of the trunk's magic.  The sisters clearly share differing
perspectives on their history and experience.  To grow and change they
must learn to negotiate their differences, move past their fears and face
their past.  As the story of the trunk and objects inside are told, so
will history be revealed.

Latinhood
created and performed by Quique Aviles
An upbeat, insightful look at history through the eyes of a young, modern
Latino man.  Quique uses monologues, poetry, and music in his work to
reveal "Latinhood" in the United States.

Speak, America!
by Dominic Orlando, Directed by Alberto Justiniano, Starring Andrew
Fafoutakis and Joe Wiener See the new meaning of discussion!  Two actors
portray an executive and a producer trying to formulate a politically
based cable show.

Teatro del Pueblo 209 West Page St. Suite 209 St. Paul, MN 55107
651-224-8806 teatrom [at] bitstream.net
Media Contact: Al Justiniano at (651) 224-8806 or teatrom [at] bitstream.net


--------15 of 19--------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Jim Ruland tall tales 9.23 8pm

September 23 - Jim Ruland, author of Big Lonesome, reading at Arise!. 8pm

Jim Ruland, author of Big Lonesome and contributor to The Believer,
Razorcake and others, will read from his short story collection.

About Big Lonesome: In these twisted, tall tales of America's past and
present, Ruland transforms historical fiction into something brutal and
weird. Whether he's spinning a lurid yarn about the previous adventures of
Popeye the Sailor, imagining Dick Tracy as a San Fernando Valley police
detective, or retelling the story of Little Red Riding Hood in Nazi
Germany, Ruland's stories resonate with the truth of lessons learned the
hard way.

Jim Ruland is a veteran of the Navy, a part-time instructor of English,
and a creative supervisor at a Los Angeles advertising agency. He is the
recipient of numerous awards, including a literature fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Arts. He's also the host of Vermin on the
Mount, an irreverent reading series in the heart of Chinatown, and a
regular contributor to The Believer, Razorcake Fanzine, and National
Public Radio's "Day to Day."

FFI: (612) 871-7110 OR www.arisebookstore.org OR arise [at] arisebookstore.org
Location: Arise Bookstore and Resource Center, 2441 Lyndale Ave.,
Minneapolis, MN 55405


--------16 of 19--------

From: Chris Spotted Eagle [mailto:chris [at] spottedeagle.org]
Subject: Buffalo soldiers/play 9.23 time?

GRANDCHILDREN OF THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS

Trinity Repertory Company & Penumbra Theatre Company
PRESENT
A Play by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.
Directed by Lou Bellamy
Music by Brent Michael Davids

"When Craig Robe returns home after more than a decade away from the
Montana reservation where he grew up, he rediscovers a family still
haunted by the issues of racial identity and prejudice from which he
originally fled.

Descended from a Native American grandmother and an African-American
grandfather, a member of the famous post-Civil War cavalry regiment
nicknamed "buffalo soldiers" for their curly, dark hair, the Robe family
has been kept on the fringes of Native life for two generations.

Ridiculed as "too black" to be Native, they've had to struggle to be
accepted not only by their tribe, but perhaps more importantly, by each
other ..." (http://www.buffalosoldierstour.org/).

Premieres

September 23 - October 15, 2005
Penumbra Theatre Company
St. Paul, MN
www.penumbratheatre.org
Tel (651) 224-3180


--------17 of 19--------

A Report from Tulsa
Which Way Forward for the Green Party?
By ASHLEY SMITH, CAT WOODS, JAMES MARC LEAS, and STEVE GREENFIELD
CounterPunch
September 22, 2005

At the 2005 Annual National Meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Green Party
arrived at a fork in the road. The delegates voted down resolutions
offered by Greens for Democracy and Independence (GDI) designed to ensure
proportional representation inside the party, national delegates
accountable to the expressed will of the membership, and political
independence from the two corporate parties. These votes fly in the face
of everything that the Green Party's platform and membership stand for.

As Maryland senatorial candidate and Green Party member Kevin Zeese
rightly points out, "the overwhelming majority of Greens support real
democracy - based on the principle of one person-one vote - and want the
Green Party to stand for something different than the Democrats or
Republicans."

"The Tulsa decisions exacerbate the already growing rift in the party. The
ramifications of these decisions must be reversed if the Greens are to
truly challenge the corporate parties. This can only happen if Greens
across the country are willing to fight to take back their party. Only an
uprising by the membership will reinvigorate the Green Party," added
Zeese.

At Tulsa, two currents came into conflict over the future of the Party -
an assertive, radical wing embodied by the Greens for Democracy and
Independence (GDI) and a passive, liberal wing led by David Cobb and
others closely tied to the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA).

GDI argues that the Green Party must become the political expression of
living social movements to challenge the corporate duopoly at the ballot
box, and can only be successful in this endeavor by conducting its
affairs, setting policies, and nominating candidates from a standpoint of
complete independence from corporate-sponsored parties, policies, and
candidates. GDI came into being to resolve the political and
organizational crises that wreaked havoc in the Green Party during and
after the 2004 election and threaten to sideline the Green Party as a
progressive electoral force in the national political arena.

   Divisions form during the 2004 presidential nominating process

These crises originated in the period leading up to the nomination of
Green Presidential candidate David Cobb, who argued for a "safe states"
strategy in battleground states during the 2004 election campaign. This
tactic was viewed by many Greens as a backhanded way of adopting a
political strategy of sustaining the centrist Democratic Party in order to
defeat Bush, at the expense of Green Party interests. Cobb's eventual
running mate, Pat LaMarche, had spent the primary season arguing for
complete abstention from the Presidential race.

Cobb's strategy enjoyed only minority support in the Green party, but his
forces were able to win the Green Party nomination by rallying leaders of
the small state parties, who had a disproportionate number of delegates
allotted to them, and convincing several delegates to change their
assigned positions and vote against the expressed will of their state
party's membership. Based on successful manipulation of this undemocratic
process, Cobb won the nomination and official support for his lesser-evil
strategy without the consent or interest of the grassroots party members
and Green-leaning progressive voters. But the Green membership and
potential Green-leaning voters quickly registered their disapproval as the
Cobb campaign could attract sufficient petitioning volunteers and
signatories to get on the ballot in only 28 states, 22 of which held
pre-existing ballot lines.

The Cobb campaign for president garnered less than 120,000 votes, or about
1/3 of the registered Greens in the country, and less than 4% of the Green
Party's previous national tally. As a result of this disastrous showing,
Green Parties in seven of the twenty two states with Green Party ballot
lines lost them, which resulted in those states' election boards purging
computers of Green Party membership databases and terminating party
enrollment rights. The enhanced vote totals, success of local candidacies,
and membership increases Cobb and his promoters had assured the Green
Party would derive from the "good will" the lesser-evil approach would
engender in the wider progressive community failed to materialize. Despite
accommodating the "Anybody But Bush" forces and the high-profile position
Cobb and the Green Party took in the ballot challenges and recounts in
Ohio and elsewhere, Green Party membership declined, local candidacies
declined sharply in numbers and vote totals, and the party continues to
teeter on the brink of bankruptcy.

Since the election, the division between GDI supporters and the liberal
wing of the national Green Party has become more apparent and more severe.
It has been exacerbated by the arrival of a new political action group
rising from the ashes of the Dean and Kucinich Campaigns, and the easy
willingness of the failed "lesser evil" Greens to stay their
liberal-accommodating course through pathways provided and funded by
Democrats, serving as a wedge to widen the rift.

Under the leadership of David Cobb and his supporters in the weeks
following the election debacle, and continuing to the present, many in the
liberal wing aligned themselves with the Progressive Democrats of America
(PDA), whose stated aim is to transform the Democratic Party from within
through a policy of encouraging progressives to think "realistically"
about the immutability of the two-party system and apply their energies
inside the Democratic Party rather than through third-party challengers
like the Greens. David Cobb has appeared on many PDA panels as an
"Alliance Partner" and Cobb ally Medea Benjamin, of Global Exchange and
Code Pink, wrote a glowing fundraising letter for the PDA which was
disseminated in Green Party circles.

Like many inside/outside formations such as the Working Families Party,
however, the PDA exists to co-opt challenges into the Democratic Party,
shepherd progressives into the left wing of the duopoly's electoral pen,
and reinforce the two party system and its consequences. If the AFL-CIO
and mainstream civil rights groups - heavily integrated into the
Democratic Party and backed with millions of members and millions of
dollars - have failed to bring progress with this technique, the PDA with
its meager forces stands no chance of succeeding. Instead the PDA will
simply decapitate the Green Party's attempt to build a challenge to the
corporate duopoly. Many Greens and recalcitrant progressives believe this
to be the real purpose of PDA, and the liberal wing's new-found close
association with the PDA has diluted the Green Party's message, given
"lesser evilism"  an institutional foothold, and inflamed the growing
conflicts over mission and methods in the Green Party.

Members of GDI have been fighting back to reaffirm the central mission of
the Green Party as an independent political arm of progressive social
movements. They have been the driving force in developing proposals to
institute democratic reforms and assert the independence of the Green
Party from the corporate parties. GDI has presented these proposals
publicly on its website and at state party meetings, where they have won
supermajority support from state parties in California, Florida, Vermont,
and Utah, and unanimous support in New York.

                   Divisions Intensify in Tulsa

The Tulsa meeting was essentially a contest between the two wings of the
party played out through the same undemocratic scheme that distorted the
outcome of the 2004 Milwaukee Convention. Under this scheme California and
New York control only about 16% of the Green National Committee (GNC),
even though 65% of all registered Greens reside within these two states.
The liberals have majority support based within the leadership of small
state parties, many of them with active memberships of under 100 Greens,
some with single digits, while GDI adherents hold wide majorities based in
the states with the largest parties that, under current Green Party
bylaws, are highly underrepresented in the national leadership. By process
of this disproportionate allocation system, the liberals constitute as
much as 75% of GNC representation, and through the Tulsa Convention
controlled 100% of the executive power vested in the Steering Committee
(now reduced to a still unassailable 89%) and a similar percentage of
standing committee and working group positions. These allocations can only
be altered by a 2/3 majority vote, and are thereby effectively
self-sustaining.

Conflict between the two wings erupted early in the convention over which
delegates to seat from Utah, a state where two groups claim to be the
official Green Party. The original Utah Greens split into two factions in
2004 over which candidate - Cobb or Nader - to put on their state's ballot
line. The small Cobb-supporting wing was quickly officially recognized by
the national steering committee as the sole representative of the Utah
Greens in party affairs. By contrast, the Nader-supporting wing, 10 times
the size of the Cobb-supporting wing, is recognized by the Utah Secretary
of State as the official Green Party of Utah, but was barred from access
to the national Green Party by internal executive fiat.

With both delegations asking to be seated and confusion reigning over
recollections of what process had been applied to seat one faction over
the other, the pro-GDI delegation from Florida proposed that each Utah
group be allow to seat a single delegate and that they resolve to work out
their disputed affiliation after the convention. The liberal wing of the
Green National Committee (GNC), however, strongly opposed this proposal
and the vote to seat one pro-GDI delegate was defeated 57 to 34 (with 4
abstentions). GDI forces saw the die had been cast, but the votes on the
three GDI proposals would not be held until the next evening.

Following this telling skirmish, speeches by Peter Camejo and David Cobb
laid out very different visions and strategies for the future of the
party.

Camejo stressed the significance of building the Green Party as the
political expression of mass social movements and argued for the
importance of promoting debate and encouraging many political tendencies
to exist within the party. He even went so far as to apologize to David
Cobb for any misstatements he may have made about him during the campaign.
Finally, Camejo called upon the Green Party to stand up to the Democrats
and argued its independent challenge to the two party system is "the
spirit of the future."

During his speech Cobb repeated several of Camejo's points, but then
emphasized an exclusionary message. Instead of inviting debate, Cobb
condemned what he called "sectarianism" - his label for anyone who opposed
his safe states strategy, or believed in building a left wing of the
party - and did not accept or even acknowledge Camejo's olive branch. In
answer to a question after his speech about critical reviews of Green
Party performance, authored by prominent Greens, that have appeared
periodically in the online progressive magazine CounterPunch, Cobb
assailed these articles and denounced CounterPunch editor Alexander
Cockburn, saying that he "represents why the sectarian left has failed."
The not-so-subtle message was that the Green Party should exclude the
Left, continue to support Democrats in their election campaigns, and
suppress dissent.

Key leaders of the liberal wing of the GNC made their support for Cobb's
position clear after the speeches. "I'm not willing to define us as a
party independent of the corporate parties," Illinois delegate Phil
Huckleberry, who heads the Presidential Campaign Search Committee and
co-authored the 2004 Convention Rules, declared. "I did not join the Green
Party to fight against Democrats and RepublicansWe are more than an
independent party; we are a Green Party." Similarly, Jody Haug, Green
Party Co-Chair and delegate from the state of Washington, declared her
opposition to independence from the two corporate parties by arguing "we
should not paint ourselves into a corner."

                        The GDI Proposals

The real conflict broke out when GDI members presented their proposals to
the National Committee. GDI's strategy was to present a short overview of
each proposal (since they had already been passed by several state parties
and been discussed on the GNC's list serve) and then allow delegates to
provide comments, concerns and amendments.

The liberal wing, however, did not argue against the content of the
proposals. Instead they relied on objections concerning bylaws,
implementation, and procedural concerns. They also attempted to draw GDI
supporters into accepting an alternative proposal from the DC Statehood
Greens that would send the proposals to a committee without any political
direction regarding democracy and independence, even though party bylaws
forbid introduction for vote of new proposals without the mandatory
three-week discussion period.

The GDI wing stood its ground and rejected this "compromise" as it would
have nullified the basic principals of their proposals. After a long
period of confusion - during which the Steering Committee frequently left
the room to caucus (without explanation) and anti-GDI forces led delegates
in doing "The Wave" and singing "Oklahoma" and "Take Me Out to the Ball
Game" - the GNC defeated all three proposals by an average vote of 58 to
34 with 3 abstentions.

It was not lost on GDI members that the vote on their proposals mirrored
the vote to seat both Utah delegations. It is obvious the divide in the
leadership of the party is growing wider, and that the liberal wing -
which mostly represents the smaller state parties - has gained the upper
hand in the undemocratic setup of the national party.

While the Green National Committee defeated the GDI proposals, there can
be no doubt that this decision expresses the minority view of grassroots
Greens throughout America. Many Greens will be horrified by the travesty
in Tulsa, while most will be kept in the dark. The test now for GDI is to
determine how to rally the majority inside the party and appeal to
activists outside the party to build a democratic alternative dedicated to
challenging the corporate duopoly.

If the liberal wing is able to maintain its dominance of the party and
orient the Greens towards subordinating themselves to the Democratic
Party, the Green Party is likely to wither away like the New Party and
other progressive alternatives before them.

                       The Future of GDI

The opportunity and responsibility for GDI members is immense. The
Democrats continue to ratify the Bush administration's program of
deficit-financed corporatism, upward economic redistribution, and
permanent war, thereby stoking frustration with the two-party system. The
Democrats continue to support the occupation of Iraq and the renewal of
the Patriot Act, gave the margin of victory for the passage of CAFTA in
the Senate, and stand prepared to confirm the nomination of conservative
activist John Roberts to the Supreme Court.

As a result, tens of millions of Americans - workers, women, gays,
Latinos, blacks, Muslims, the foreign-born, other oppressed populations -
now including mainstream anti-war advocates who are finally reaching the
majority of the American public - can find no electoral expression within
the two major corporate parties for their demands and aspirations.
Millions more have grown frustrated with the failure and consequences of
the "lesser-evil" strategy of voting for the Democrats in 2004 and its
impending resurgence behind the early card of centrist Democrat hopefuls
for 2008. They are looking for an alternative. They think it was a mistake
to suspend all progressive social movements and anti-war activities in
order to mobilize the vote for Kerry, who opposed all of their interests.
Ten months after the election those movements are still demobilized,
although it is hoped that the demonstration against the war scheduled for
September 24th will mark the return of mass social movements to the
political landscape.

These millions of people and activists form a latent electoral force that
GDI and supporting state Green Parties must connect with to renew the
Green Party. Such a coalition offers the hope of galvanizing the Greens
and the broader social movements to build a genuine third party rooted in
this country's excluded majority and its mass movements that will fight,
not join or promote, the corporate parties.

The contest between the two visions of the Green party as expressed by the
two wings of the GNC is not just a fight for the soul of the Green Party.
It is a fight to win the hearts and minds of people to break with
lesser-evilism and build a no-holds-barred challenge to corporate
politics. It is also a fight to maintain and expand social movements and
their influence during election periods.

While the current undemocratic national committee of the Green Party is
taking the PDA-paved off-ramp back to the Democratic Party, the Greens for
Democracy and Independence are considering new ways to inspire individuals
and state Green Parties to take the road of democracy and independence,
and progress.

(The authors of this report are State and National Committee delegates of
the Green Parties of Vermont, California, and New York who attended the
Tulsa meeting and are reporting first-hand. All consider themselves to be
active participants in Greens for Democracy and Independence, and this
report was prepared in conjunction with other GDI associates. The authors
may be contacted through Steve Greenfield at bicyclesax [at] earthlink.net )

[Your editor agrees with the above writers; he sides with GDI, one person
one vote; and against "safe states" Hillary 2008, David Cobb, the PDA,
Code Pink, GPUS as it stands today, the corporate parties. Your editor is
outraged by Tulsa.  Fortunately our local Green Parties are independent of
GPUS, and are still able to run excellent progressive candidates
challenging the corporations. -ed]


---------18 of 19---------

Chrysler Unleashed
Are You a Speed Freak?
By RUSSELL MOKHIBER
and ROBERT WEISSMAN
CounterPunch
September 22, 2005

Are you a speed freak?

That's what Daimler Chrysler wants to know.

Everything about their current campaign pushing the new Dodge Charger is
about speed and power.

We learned about this campaign last week. We picked up USA Today, and out
dropped a glossy 23-inch-by-21-inch color poster.

On one side is a picture of the Charger SRT8. 425 horsepower. 6.1 Liter
SRT Hemi V8 engine. 420 lb-ft of torque. 0 to 60 mph in the low 5 seconds.
(The low 5 seconds?)

"Grab Life by the Horns," it said at the top.

Then in bigger letters at the bottom: "Get Your Adrenaline Out of
Neutral."

Flip over the glossy ad, and there is a picture of Charger R/T in red.

And the question, emblazoned in red: "Are you a speed freak?

The ad encourages you to go to a web site.

So, we went there.

And clicked on "power freak." There is an animation of a Charger R/T
ripping through some road barriers and fencing.

We then clicked on "speed freak." To the music of the Soledad Brothers,
(Break Em On Down), we learn that the car is "wickedly fast -- a sleek
fastback silhouette slips through the wind as pure, unadulterated speed
crescendos from one adrenaline rush to the next."

Back to the glossy ad that dropped out of USA Today.

Also, in large letters is the following: "Remember, Speed Limits Are Laws,
Not Suggestions."

We reached Suraya Da Sante, a corporate spokeswoman, at Daimler's home
office in Detroit.

"The ad campaign is not necessarily about speed per se," she says. "It's
more about unleashing your desires."

What about the 0 to 60 mph in the low 5 seconds?

"We certainly don't want to encourage someone to do that on 0 to 60 on a
residential street or even a highway," she says. "If you want to do that,
there are racing tracks around where you can take the car."

Racing tracks?

"Yes, there are places where you can take your car to race," Da Sante
says.

The whole ad campaign is about power and speed. Why insult our
intelligence and say, "Remember, Speed Limits Are Laws, Not Suggestions?"

Well, it's never appropriate to break the law -- laws are there to protect
us, she says.

Da Sante says she isn't sure whether Daimler's legal department required
that they put that statement in the ad.

She says that the demographic for the Charger is a 40-to-59-year-old male,
married with two kids, income from $65,000 to $90,000, and living in the
suburbs of a large city. She says that the psychographic is someone who is
confident, self-expressive, genuine and enterprising.

What about the video on the web site, with the driver knocking down
barriers and ripping through fences?

"That is an animated video," she says. "It is clearly fantasy. It's not
real people ripping down a road. It is more like a game. Gaming graphics
are popular. It is not a television commercial where it is a real vehicle
and someone is launching a vehicle 20 feet in the air. They were designed
to get you excited and tap into that untamed spirit."

The campaign is more than just speed, she says.

The theme of the ad campaign: unleash.

The ideal customer is someone who wants to liberate their untamed spirit,
she says.

They are looking for ways to go out and grab life by the horns.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton signed a law revoking the national 55 mph
speed limit.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that one act by President
Clinton has cost thousands of lives.

Richard Retting of the Institute says. "When speed limits are raised, it's
no surprise that drivers go faster, and when drivers go faster, there are
more deaths."

Retting says that the auto companies are just adding fuel to the fire.

He says that the DaimlerChrysler ad "encourages reckless, irresponsible
driving."

But the ad says -- right there in large print - "Remember, Speed Limits
Are Laws, Not Suggestions."

"Are they saying -- we didn't mean what we just said?" Retting asks.

Retting says that there were 41,000 deaths on U.S. highways last year.

At least a third of them are due to speeding.

That's at least 13,000 deaths per year due to speeding.

That would be four 911s.

Every year.

Due to speeding.

And irresponsible ads like the DaimlerChrysler ad are just fueling the
fire.

Bloody Daimler.

Bloody Chrysler.

Bloody Dodge.

Bloody Charger.

Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime
Reporter.

Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational
Monitor, and co-director of Essential Action, a corporate accountability
group. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The Hunt for
MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage
Press; http://www.corporatepredators.org).

(c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman


--------19 of 19--------

 Man will vanish; earth
 will be inherited by
 mountains of money.


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   - David Shove             shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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