Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 10.14.05

[David Shove (shove001]

             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     10.14.05

1. Traffic II           10.15 8:30am
2. Haiti justice        10.15 9am
3. Buckthorn menace     10.15 9am
4. Bicking/city council 10.15 9:30am
5. Cam house party      10.15 10am
6. World youth report   10.15 10am
7. TC book festival     10.15 10am
8. Picket Eastcliff     10.15 10:30am
9. Ophuls/film          10.15 12noon
10. Guatemala/CAFTA     10.15 7pm
11. Cuban hip-hop/film  10.15 7:30pm
12. Sur seine/jazz      10.15-23

13. Nikolas Kozloff - Hugo Chavez and the politics of race
14. Harold Pinter   - Torture and misery in the name of freedom
15. Wilfred Owen    - The last laugh; The send-off (2 poems)

--------1 of 15--------

From: Samantha Henningson <shenningson01 [at] gw.hamline.edu>
Subject: Traffic II 10.15 8:30am

Twin cities residents cite pedestrian death in campaign for safer road.
International expert holds training on "Reclaiming the Street"

For immediate release October 4, 2005
For information: Alice Tibbetts, 651-646-2864; or Russ Stark, 651-644-5108

In Minneapolis, it could be Hennepin or Lyndale or University Avenues.
In St. Paul, it is Snelling or White Bear Avenues. They are the heavily
used, wide commercial streets that are particularly hazardous to
pedestrians and bicyclists.

It doesn't matter where the street is located, it matters how it is
designed, says David Engwicht, an international expert in "street
reclaiming," who will help residents make their streets safer and more
inviting.

The campaign begins with a two-part workshop with Engwicht on Thursday,
October 13, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 15, 8:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. Both events are at Hamline University. For more information,
contact the Midway TMO at 651-644-5108.

Although the site is Snelling Avenue, the ideas work for any busy road,
says Russ Stark, executive director of the Midway Transportation
Management Organization, which is co-sponsoring the event.  "We encourage
anyone who wants a safer street to attend these sessions."

Engwicht, who is making his third visit to the Twin Cities says:
"Minnesotans are some of the nicest people I've met but they are also some
of the most aggressive, rudest drivers I've encountered anywhere in the
world."

During every visit, he is asked to look at a busy commercial road. "So
many of our commercial corridors scream: no pedestrians allowed," he says.
"The reason: we have turned our backs on these streets. They should entice
pedestrians and bicyclists to enjoy the street and support the small
businesses that thrive there. Instead, they have been abandoned to
everyone but car drivers."

Engwicht is the author of a new book, "Mental speed bumps: the smarter way
to tame traffic."  For more on David Engwicht: see:
www.mentalspeedbumps.com/

"David Engwicht*turns conventional thinking upside down and maps out a
creative and highly effective plan to create people-friendly streets. He
advocates giving streets back to people, moving away from the top-down,
engineering-led world, and exploiting the power of the mind and the
imagination to redefine what streets should be used for. This is powerful
stuff and it works." -- Professor John Whitelegg, Professor of Sustainable
Development, University of York, UK.


--------2 of 15--------

From: Rebecca Cramer <biego001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Haiti justice 10.15 9am

The Haiti Justice Committee meets monthly, at 9am on the third Saturday,
at the Resource Center of the Americas (27 Av S and E Lake St), in the Ben
Linder room.

Please join us this Sat. to discuss the current political crisis in Haiti
and to plan for the forthcoming Minneapolis visit of Canadian
investigative journalists Yves Engler of Montreal and Anthony Fenton, of
Vancouver, who will present the Oct 22 coffeehour discussion at the RCTA.
Anthony has just returned from Haiti and Yves just appeared as a "witness"
at the International Tribunal on Crimes against the Haitian People.

Come to the meeting this Sat, to the coffeehour the following Sat, join
our committee, learn the facts and be a part of the growing international
outrage against the murderous political repression occurring in Haiti
since the ouster, in Feb. 2004, of the democratically-elected President of
Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.


--------3 of 15--------

From: "Krista Menzel (Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace)" <web [at] mppeace.org>
Subject: Buckthorn menace 10.15 9am

Artist Thwarts the Buckthorn Menace!

Some ecologiststs say the 21st century will be "The Age of Exotics." The
natural plant and animal communities around us are being dramatically
altered by non-native invasive plants, animals, insects and diseases. Many
of these invasives came through global trade in the last few centuries and
many more will come in the next. Can these invasions be stopped, or even
slowed? Do many of us even see what is happening? Can we visualize how
dramatic the problem is and what is being lost?

Buckthorn is an invasive alien shrub or small tree that is choking out
native plant communities in the deciduous midwest. It is originally from
Europe and has been widely planted in yards as a hedge. From people's
yards it has escaped into the wild. With no natural enemies and aggressive
dispersal, it outcompetes native wildflowers, shrubs and trees. Our
natural areas are rapidly becoming buckthorn monocultures. The problem is
very severe in the Twin Cities area.

"The Buckthorn Menace" is a temporary public art project by Jim Proctor
that will involve the creation of 20+ sculptures which resemble giant
alien dandelions in seed (see picture on page 2). This 'infestation' will
be made from dried buckthorn, unable to propagate, that is removed from
parkland overrun with the plant. Sculptures will be installed along the
Winchell Trail in the Seward Neighborhood of Minneapolis (trail begins at
the intersection of East 24th Street and West River Parkway). The
'dandelions' will be 8 to 10 ft tall, mounted on existing buckthorn stems
at the site of their removal. The sculptures will be left to decompose, or
removed after at least one year. Afterwards the site will be maintained as
a native plant community by the neighborhood. Viewers will be shocked into
a heightened awareness of the problem of buckthorn, and gain a greater
understanding of the nature of invasive species.

Saturday October 15 - Buckthorn Removal Event 9am-12noon / Seward
Neighborhood at the intersection of East 25th Street + West River Pkwy,
Minneapolis

Join with the community and artist Jim Proctor to help remove this
invasive species and gather art materials at the same time. The buckthorn
we remove will be used to create the 'infestation' installation of giant
dandelions in the same area along the Winchell Trail. The removal event is
sponsored by the Friends of the Mississippi River
<http://www.fmr.org/>www.fmr.org.

For more information on this event, please contact Elizabeth Storey,
651-222-2193 x16 or <mailto:bstorey [at] fmr.org>bstorey [at] fmr.org.

Saturday, November 5, - Sculpture Dedication Event 2-3:30 pm / Seward
Neighborhood at the intersection of East 24th Street + West River Pkwy,
Minneapolis

All are invited to come celebrate the installation of "The Buckthorn
Menace" and learn more about what the Seward Neighborhood has done to
restore its natural environment. Special invited guests include Mary
Maguire Lerman, Coordinator of Horticulture Programs for the Minneapolis
Park and Recreation Board, Elizabeth Storey, Watershed Education
Coordinator with Friends of the Mississippi River, and artist Jim Proctor.

ARTIST BIO: Jim Proctor is an artist whose sculptures are constructed of
gathered plant materials. Born in Ohio, he studied art and religion at St.
Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Prior to "The Buckthorn Menace,"
all his work has been small, measured in inches, not feet. This is his
first large work and his first public work. He has received the Blacklock
Nature Sanctuary fellowship, the Jerome travel and study grant, and the
Minnesota State Arts Board fellowship. In 2000, The Star Tribune called
him "the most original sculptor to appear in these parts in a long while.
His tiny constructions, invisibly crafted, look entirely natural even
though they are hybrids as strange as the famous fur-lined teacup by the
surrealist sculptor Merit Oppenheim." View his work at
<http://www.mnartists.org/Jim_Proctor>www.mnartists.org/Jim_Proctor .

"The Buckthorn Menance" is made possible by FORECAST Public Artworks, a 27
year-old nonprofit that seeks to strengthen and advance the field of
public art locally, regionally and nationally by expanding participation,
supporting artists, informing audiences, and assisting communities. This
project was funded through the 2005 Public Art Affairs grant program,
supported by Jerome Foundation.

For more information regarding "The Buckthorn Menace," the Public Art
Affairs grant program, or to receive high-resolution images, please
contact: Nichole Alwell, Program Manager, FORECAST Public Artworks at
651-641-1128.

CONTACT: Nichole Alwell FORECAST Public Artworks 2324 University Ave. W
#104 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55114 P 651.641.1128 F 651.641.1983
forecast [at] visi.com forecastART.org


--------4 of 15--------

From: wyn douglas <wyn_douglas [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Bicking/city council 10.15 9:30am

Here are a few volunteer opportunities for the next week in support of
Dave Bicking's run for the City Council in ward 9.

Doorknocking
Saturday 10/15 9:30AM-12PM - doorknocking w/ Farheen.
Meet at Mayday Cafe, Bloomington Ave. and 35th St.
Need 3 more volunteers (spainish speaking prefer)
Precinct 5

Saturday 10/15 12:30PM-3PM - doorknocking w/ Farheen.
Meet at Mayday Cafe, Bloomington Ave. and 35th St.
Need 5 more volunteers (spainish speaking prefer).
Precinct 5

Sunday 10/16 9:30AM-12PM
Doorknocking w/ Farheen.
Meet at Magpie Coffee, 4159 Cedar Ave S
Need 3 more volunteers Precinct 7

Sunday 10/16 12:30PM-3PM
Doorknocking w/Farheen
Meet at Magpie Coffee, 4159 Cedar Ave S
Need 5 more volunteers Precinct 7

We are running a true grassroots campaign and doorknocking is the most
important part of this grassroots effort. Any help would be much
appreciated. Please email me or call me (612-532-8288) if you can help on
any of these days.

Thanks Ian Stade Volunteer Coordinator Bicking for City Council


--------5 of 15--------

From: Cam Gordon <CamGordon333 [at] msn.com>
Subject: Cam house party 10.15 10am

House Party for Cam Gordon for City Council, ward 2, Green Party

Saturday, October 15
10am-12noon
At the Home of Erik Anderson
83 Bedford St. SE


--------6 of 15-------

From: Mary Turck <mturck [at] americas.org>
Subject: World youth report 10.15 10am

Saturday, October 15: Fourth World Rising in Venezuela Amalia Anderson, a
youth and indigenous delegate, will report back from the World Youth
Conference in Venezuela in August. (Coffeehour: A weekly talk and
discussion with a featured speaker. Saturdays, 10-11:30am $4 ($3 for
members).  Resource Center of the Americas, 3019 Minnehaha Ave.,
Minneapolis.)


--------7 of 15--------

From: Chris Fischbach <fish [at] coffeehousepress.org>
Subject: TC book festival 10.15 10am

Don't miss it! Rain Taxi proudly presents the fifth annual
TWIN CITIES BOOK FESTIVAL

Saturday October 15, 10am-5pm
Minneapolis Community & Technical College, conveniently located in
Downtown Minneapolis.

Completely Free and Open to the Public!

This Year's Special Events:

Spruce Room
10am: Bill Lofy on Paul Wellstone
11am: Siri Hustvedt
12pm: Rick Moody*
1:30pm: Audrey Niffenegger
2:30pm: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni*
4pm: Harvey Pekar, in conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia

Hennepin Room
10:30am: Warren Hanson,
11:30am: MCBA Book Artists Panel
1pm: Ana Castillo*
2pm: Pete Hautman & Alison McGhee
3pm: Forrest Gander & Eliot Weinberger on New Directions

*Starred readings will be sign-language interpreted.  Raffles will be
held at each event!
Books by all authors are for sale at the Festival, and booksignings will
take place after each event.

Plus! Dozens of local authors will be on hand to sign their books,
including Zak Sally, Jim Moore, Joyce Sutphen, Ann Bauer, Bart Schneider,
Cecilia Konchar-Farr, Susan Marks, Mary Logue, Bill Holm, David
LaRochelle, and many more!!  Check out our website for details.

AND don't forget our annual Used Book Fair and Lit Mag Fair, Fun with Book
Arts and scores of exhibitors! Complete info available at www.raintaxi.com
<http://www.raintaxi.com>

Please forward this notice to interested parties. See you at the Book
Festival!


--------8 of 15--------

Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 15:16:11 -0500 (CDT)
From: rachleff [at] macalester.edu
Subject: Picket Eastcliff 10.15 10:30am

AFSCME locals from the University of Minnesota invite all labor supporters
to join them in picketing Eastcliff, the U of M president's shack on East
River Road, just south of the Lake Street bridge, on Saturday morning at
10:30am.

The unions are mired in labor negotiations with the University's lawyers.
The picket is intended to call attention to the disparity between the
compensation accorded 60 male administrators, all of whom earn more than
the governor, and the thousands of women who work at the U ("this
university works because we do") and are in financial distress.


--------9 of 15--------

From: Adam Sekuler <adam [at] mnfilmarts.org>
Subject: Ophuls/film 10.15 12noon

Marcel Ophuls: Open Your Eyes

Son of a great fiction filmmaker, the silky-smooth Max Ophüls (Letter from
an Unknown Woman), Marcel Ophüls makes the world's most demanding and
insightful documentaries about the queasy moral questions that lie within
world history. This three-film retrospective is especially notable for the
presence of The Memory of Justice, Ophüls's 1976 masterpiece about the
Nuremburg trials and the nature of "crimes against humanity" in the
post-WWII world. Memory was assailed in its day for being unfocused, but
the filmmaker's roving style, darting from Dresden to Ho Chi Minh City in
a blink of the mind's eye, will seem especially apt to today's hypertext
generation. Alongside Memory sits Ophüls's monumental Sorrow and the Pity,
a four-hour meditation on the nature of the words collaboration and
resistance (and, alas, a punch line in Annie Hall). A Marcel Ophüls film
frustrates your certainties, requests a rigorous reexamination of the
point it just made, and never lands in a place where it can feel secure.
In other words, a Marcel Ophüls film has never been more essential than
now. (Note: All screenings begin at noon.)² --Matthew Wilder, City Pages

October 15-16 The Sorrow and the Pity

October 15 -16 at Noon
The Sorrow and The Pity
1971 | 265 min.

In 1972, Marcel Ophuls challenged the conventional wisdom of France
regarding its role in World War II. The Sorrow and the Pity documents the
occupation of France during the second World War, the Vichy government's
collaboration with the Germans, and the human tragedy that resulted from
that collaboration. What made the film more than just a pictorial record
of archival evidence, however, was Ophuls' use of incisive contemporary
interviews, intercut with the wartime news footage, in which French,
German, and English subjects recollect the times and their attitudes
toward them, then and now. Responses that ranged from regret to
rationalization to outright denial contribute to a powerful examination of
how historical events are absorbed into the public psyche.

Other films in the program:
October 22-23 The Memory of Justice
October 29-30 The Troubles We've Seen: A History of Journalism in Wartime

The Bell Auditorium is located at 10 Church Street SE (intersection of
17th & University Ave SE) on the E. Bank of the U of MN Twin Cities
campus. More information call 612.331.7563 or log onto
www.mnfilmarts.org/bell

Parking can be found in the Nolte garage on Church Street next to the Bell
Auditorium as well as in the Church Street garage next to Northrop.
Additional parking can be found at the intersection of 4thSt. & 17th Ave
SE in the 4th Street ramp.


--------10 of 15--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Guatemala/CAFTA 10.15 7pm

Saturday, 10/15, 7 pm, Guatamalan civil-war survivor Miriam Jacop Guamuch
describes the New Horizons Cooperative of 36-year war survivors and
struggles against CAFTA, from the same area where CBS films its "reality"
show "Survivor," Joan of Arc Hospitality Hall, 4537 - 3rd Ave S,
Minneapolis.  FFI: Kay at 612-724-6943.


--------11 of 15--------

From: Adam Sekuler <adam [at] mnfilmarts.org>
Subject: Cuban hip-hop/film 10.15 7:30pm

ONLY AT SOUND UNSEEN
La Fabrik-K
The Cuban Hip-Hop Factory

Saturday, October 15 7:30pm Oak Street Cinema

Emerging from Cubaıs cultural vibrancy is a new art form, a unique brand
of hip-hop.

Two of its leaders, the groups Obsesion and Doble Filo, have formed the
collective La Fabri-K in an effort to showcase their art and to raise
political consciousness.

Lisandro Pérez-Reyıs film intercuts concert footage, rehearsal scenes, and
day-in-the-life verité footage to create a mosaic of life in Cuba and a
burgeoning hip-hop scene in which traditional percussion, guitar, violin,
cello, sax, and piano are layered under rhymes. Live musicianship is
central to their art, and here we see them travel from shabby Cuban
apartments to the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem to open for the Roots
and Kanye West. One of the myriad remarkable facets of the film is its
ability to locate the universal in the specific circumstances. La Fabri-K
artist Alexy Rodriguezıs words translate to ³My lyrics spring from my
kinky hair, my wide nose. The rapper tells the filmmaker: ³Blacks donıt
seem to be proud of their race. We gotta confront that.² And this film
does confront it, demonstrating that even in Cuba, so divided from the
States, music helps the marginalized and oppressed find their voices.


--------12 of 15--------

From: Samantha Smart <speakoutsisters [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Sur seine/jazz 10.15-23

Minnesota sur Seine is an international exchange and collaboration
of music, spoken word and art. The Festival will bring together
musicians and artists from the Twin Cities and France. This year we
also welcome renowned artists from England. The second edition of
this unique festival will be held October 14th - 23rd, 2005.

2004 was the first edition of this festival and it was the subject of a
film by French director Judith Abitbol, four pages in L'Express magazine,
three pages in Jazz Magazine France and ½ page in Downbeat Magazine. It
garnered numerous positive mentions in the Twin Cities papers as well.

Second Annual Minnesota sur Seine Music Festival Announced for October 15
through 23, 2005 in the Twin Cities

The Minnesota sur Seine Music Festival returns for a second year at
various Twin Cities locations from October 15 through 23, 2005. Minnesota
sur Seine celebrates a growing musical partnership between musicians from
the Twin Cities, France and this year, England. The Festival is truly an
international event, featuring music, spoken word and art with an emphasis
on improvisational jazz. Each concert and event pairs Twin Cities and
French artists, often in collaboration.

The 2004 festival proved that such musical cross-pollination can be
exhilarating. This informal "cultural exchange," which began in the year
2000 and has resulted in heralded tours and top-selling jazz recordings in
France, continues to grow in artist involvement and musical scope.

For the 2005 Edition of Minnesota sur Seine, hip hop, "Gypsy Jazz," Celtic
music and spoken word performances have been added. Among the many artists
who will be performing at Minnesota sur Seine are Ursus Minor (Stokley
Williams, Tony Hymas, François Corneloup, Jef Lee Johnson) with Brother
Ali, Eyedea, D' Kabal and Spike, Happy Apple, News From the Jungle,
Anthony Cox and Denis Colin, Poor Line Condition, Cepia, Michael Bland,
Pablo Cueco, George Cartwright, Didier Petit, Gwen Matthews, Erik
Marchand's Celtic band from Brittany, François Tusques, Django-style
guitar great Dorado Schmitt, British saxophone icon Evan Parker, Fat Kid
Wednesdays and more.

Concerts will be held at a mix of venues in both Minneapolis and St. Paul,
including the The Triple Rock Social Club, The Dakota, Alliance Francaise,
The SoapFactory, Artist's Quarter, McNally Smith College of Music,
Zeitgeist Theater, SPCO Hall, the Black Dog Café, and the Varsity Theater
and others. The festival's name translates to "Minnesota on the Seine",
the famous river that runs through Paris.

The burgeoning connection began in 2000 when Michel Portal, a reed player
and leading figure in modern European jazz, along with iconoclastic French
record producer Jean Rochard, visited the Twin Cities. Excited about what
they found, the team entered Creation Audio Studios in Minneapolis and
recorded a CD called Minneapolis (Universal Music Jazz France / 2001) with
Portal (bass clarinet, saxophones, bandoneon), Vernon Reid of Living
Colour (guitar), Tony Hymas of Jeff Beck fame (keyboards), Sonny Thompson
(bass, rap) and Michael Bland (drums). Minneapolis became jazz record of
the year in France for the year 2001. It was followed with a live CD,
Minneapolis We Insist, documenting a French tour that culminated with
tremendous success at the Paris Olympia, and generated a box CD set
entitled Dipping in Minneapolis.

In addition to the Minneapolis project, the Portal/Rochard visit
resulted in an on-going presence by Twin Cities artists on French
recordings and tours. Performers like Fat Kid Wednesdays, Gwen
Matthews, Happy Apple, Anthony Cox, News from the Jungle and others
have been welcomed into the French music scene by musicians and
audiences alike.

The 2005 Minnesota sur Seine Music Festival once again brings the
collaboration of highly creative, improvisational musicians from
the river cities of Paris and St. Paul/Minneapolis back to where it
all began. Join us for an exciting and creative weeklong adventure
in collaboration and creativity.


--------13 of 15--------

A Real Racial Democracy?
Hugo Chavez and the Politics of Race
By NIKOLAS KOZLOFF
CounterPunch
October 14, 2005

As the war of words heats up between the Bush White House and Venezuelan
president Hugo Chavez, the firebrand South American leader has boldly
sought to forge ties with poor communities of color in the United States.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Chavez provided relief assistance to the
poverty stricken and largely African American victims of the disaster. The
head of Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state owned oil company,
set up disaster relief centers in Louisiana and Texas in the wake of the
hurricane and provided humanitarian to thousands of victims. Volunteers
based at Citgo refineries in Lake Charles, Louisiana and Corpus Christi,
Texas, provided medical care, food and water to approximately 5,000
people. In Houston, volunteers from Citgo headquarters provided similar
assistance to 40,000 victims. What is more, Venezuela has provided
hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil in energy assistance to the United
States. Chavez followed up his bold initiative by announcing that he would
soon begin to ship heating and diesel oil at rock bottom prices to
schools, nursing homes, hospitals and poor communities within the U.S. The
Venezuelan president has also offered to provide free eye surgery for poor
Americans suffering from certain eye conditions. The firebrand South
American leader, who proclaimed the plan during a recent visit to New
York, will begin his oil program through an October pilot project in
Chicago. There, the Venezuelan government will target poor Mexican
Americans for assistance.

In November, Chavez intends to expand the program to the South Bronx and
Boston. Chavez has even offered to ship low cost gasoline to Native
American tribal communities in the United States. "There is a lot of
poverty in the U.S. and I don't believe that reflects the American Way of
Life. Many people die of cold in the winter. Many die of heat in the
summer," Chavez recently remarked during his weekly TV show. "We could
have an impact on seven to eight million persons," he added. During his
time in New York, Chavez toured the largely African American and Latino
populated Bronx and was treated like a veritable rock star. Democratic
Congress member Jose Serrano, who invited the Venezuelan president to the
Bronx, remarked, "Chavez went to the poorest congressional district in the
nation's richest city, and people on the street there just went crazy. A
lot of people told me they were really mesmerized by him. He made quite an
impression." Chavez's trip is reminiscent of similar moves by Cuban leader
Fidel Castro, a figure who Chavez frankly admires. In a celebrated trip in
1960, Castro stayed at a cheap hotel in Harlem where he met with important
political figures of the day such as Malcolm X.

Chavez's moves are sure to play well in the inner city. In light of the
high price of oil this year, which has reached $70 a barrel, it is
expected that the price of heating oil will skyrocket and become
unaffordable to many poor people of color. By providing cheap oil to
marginalized communities fed up with price gouging, Chavez shrewdly
overshadows George Bush. The U.S. president, along with the Republican
party, have long ignored the social needs of America's inner cities as
evidenced by the botched hurricane relief operation in New Orleans. Unlike
the U.S. government, which was hobbled by Hurricane Katrina and which had
to redirect much of the winter's energy assistance program to hurricane
victims, Chavez is ideally positioned to help poor communities of color.
Venezuela owns 14,000 gas stations and eight refineries in the United
States through Citgo, none of whose oil infrastructure was damaged by
Hurricane Katrina. Chavez has stated he will reserve 10% of the 800,000
barrels of Citgo oil and ship the petroleum directly to poor communities.
Unnamed Venezuelan officials claimed that their country would not lose
money through the deal, as the idea was to "cut the middle man" out of the
deal. Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's Minister of Energy and Petroleum, says
the move will relieve urban suffering as beneficiaries could see price
reductions of up to 30%. Chavez's moves are sure to play well in the
Bronx, but unlikely to be received with any sign of gratitude in
Washington.  "Cutting oil prices must seem like the worst sort of
radicalism to the Big Oil companies and their buddies at the Bush-Cheney
White House," writes Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News.

                 Forging Ties With Communities of Color:
                     Chavez's Political Imperative

Chavez's moves seem to form part of a larger, long term strategy of
building alliances with racial minorities such as African Americans. By
aiding the poor, Chavez will certainly do much to reverse the negative
media onslaught that has taken its cue from the White House and which has
sought to portray him as "totalitarian" and a threat to this country (see
for example my earlier Counterpunch piece, "Fair and Balanced or US Govt.
Propaganda? Fox News vs. Hugo Chavez," April 30-May 1, 2005). Julia
Buxton, a scholar at Bradford University who has written extensively on
Venezuela, remarked that Chavez's gambit reflects ideological as well as
pragmatic considerations. "He's been deeply, deeply frustrated by coverage
in the U.S. media and the attitude of the U.S. government, and he's trying
to counter a very Republican-directed vendetta," she said. That vendetta
has included, most recently, calls by U.S. evangelist Pat Robertson for
Chavez's assassination (see my earlier Counterpunch article, "Demeaner of
the Faith, Rev. Pat Robertson and Gen. Rios Montt," September 17-18,
2005). "He clearly needed to build constructive alliances with more
liberal sections of American society," Buxton added, "and open a way to
insulate himself against his Washington enemies."

For Chavez, the task of recruiting domestic support within the United
States has become a political imperative. The Venezuelan president has
fallen afoul of the White House for his criticism of the war in
Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. supported drug war in the Andean region,
and the U.S. sponsored Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. What is more,
Chavez has increased royalty taxes on U.S. oil companies doing business in
Venezuela, and even shipped petroleum to the island nation of Cuba in
exchange for Cuban medical assistance. With the added oil money Chavez has
funded ambitious social programs in health and education. The Bush White
House chose to confront Chavez: in April 2002 the U.S. government provided
taxpayer funds to the Venezuelan opposition through the National Endowment
For Democracy. Bush and the neo-conservatives nearly succeeded in removing
Chavez from power when the opposition staged a short-lived coup d'etat.

ince then however, Chavez has consolidated his position and emerged as
the most charismatic leader in South America. Chavez's calls for greater
regional unity, including the formation of Petrosur, a South American oil
company, and Telesur, a South American satellite TV station, have further
enraged the Bush White House. Not surprisingly, the U.S. has forged ahead
in seeking to isolate Chavez, as evidenced by the recent strong statements
coming from the likes of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. In a
meeting with the New York Times editorial board, Rice remarked that oil
was "warping" international politics and "It [oil] gives certain power and
leverage to certain countries and not to others. We're experiencing it
with Venezuela, for instance, where the oil profits are being put to use
across the region to, you know, push forward Chavez's particular view of
the world." Chavez has struck back by threatening to cut off oil shipments
to the United States if he is assassinated. Venezuela is the United
States' fourth largest oil supplier currently accounting for 12% of
imports. As such, a cut off of oil supplies could exert a significant
impact on the U.S. energy supply (see my earlier Counterpunch column:
"Chavez's Gambit 'Oil is a Geopolitical Weapon;" April 6, 2005). Chavez's
recent oil for the poor idea, closely following on the heels of the
hostile war of words, will most certainly fan the flames yet further and
lead the Bush White House to continue its bellicose strategy in Venezuela.

         "I was a farm kid from the plains of South Venezuela"

While Chavez's strategy of appealing to racial minorities is certainly
bold, it is hardly surprising given the history. Chavez himself was born
in the Venezuelan plain or llano, and has a provincial accent. A
forbidding area with a harsh tropical climate, the area has had a long
history of racial conflict going back centuries. During the Spanish
colonial period, rebellious black slaves managed to escape from
plantations and haciendas, fled to the llano and became a problem for the
authorities. Slaves started to live in cumbes or escaped communities where
collective forms of work were practiced. The blacks mixed with the Indian
population and carried out daring raids on cattle ranches. The whites grew
alarmed by inter-racial mixing: escaped slaves, they feared, might have a
radicalizing effect on the Indian population. Accordingly, in 1785 the
authorities drafted laws prohibiting blacks from living with Indians
"because they only corrupt them with the bad customs which they generally
acquire in their breedingand they sow discord among the same Indians."

Physically, Hugo Chavez is a pardo, a term used in the colonial period to
denote someone of mixed racial roots. "Chavez's features," writes a
magazine columnist, "are a dark-copper color and as thick as clay; he has
protruding, sensuous lips and deep-set eyes under a heavy brow. His hair
is black and kinky. He is a burly man of medium height, with a long,
hatchet-shaped nose and a massive chin and jaw." In an interview, Chavez
remarked that when he first applied to the military academy he had an
Afro. From an ethno-racial standpoint, Chavez is similar to many of his
fellow Venezuelans. Indeed, today 67 per cent of the population is
mestizo, 10 per cent black and 23 per cent white. Chavez himself has not
sought to distance himself from his ethnic heritage. "My Indian roots are
from my father's side," he remarked. "He [my father] is mixed Indian and
black, which makes me very proud." What is more, Chavez has boasted of his
grandmother, who he says was a Pum Indian. Like many other Venezuelans of
mixed race, Chavez grew up in poverty. One of six children, Chavez was
born in extremely humbling conditions in the llano. "I was a farm kid from
the plains of South Venezuela," he remarked to Ted Koppel on ABC's
Nightline.  "I grew up in a palm tree house with an earthen floor," he
added. Chavez entered the military, which historically has been one of the
few paths towards social advancement for men of mixed race. While on duty
with the military he toured the country and became aware of economic
exploitation and racial discrimination.

                  Venezuela: A "Racial Democracy"?

Unlike the United States, Venezuela has not experienced poisonous anti
black racism. But the idea of racial democracy does not stand up under
scrutiny: the caste like divisions of the colonial period are still latent
in society. "Venezuelan elites," one scholar has remarked, "judged people
by their appearances. Accordingly, individuals with 'anxious hair' or
'hair like springs' lived in the shadow of their black slave ancestors.
The elites considered respectable the whiter Venezuelans who had 'hair
flat as rainwater, of an indefinite light brown color which is neither
fair nor dark.'" Though some blacks were able to enter white society
through marriage and miscegenation, "in the long run, such individuals
provided the exceptions that proved the rule." Blacks who sought social
acceptance had to adopt the clothing, education, and language of the white
elite. In present day Venezuelan society, notes respected commentator
Gregory Wilpert, "The correspondence between skin color and class
membershipis quite stunning at times. To confirm this observation, all one
has to do is compare middle to upper class neighborhoods, where
predominantly lighter colored folks live, with the barrios, which are
clearly predominantly inhabited by darker skinned Venezuelans." Meanwhile,
journalist Greg Palast noted that rich whites had "command of the oil
wealth, the best jobs, the English-language lessons, the imported clothes,
the vacations in Miami, the plantations."

                     Chavez and Indigenous Peoples

In 1998 while campaigning for president, Chavez made a commitment to
champion the rights of Venezuela's half-million indigenous peoples. After
he was elected, Chavez put the issue of indigenous rights front and center
by addressing it on his weekly call-in program, Al Presidente. But actions
speak greater than words, and Chavez made good on his promises by working
to codify the rights of indigenous people in the new 1999 constitution.
Article 9 proclaims that while Spanish is the official language of
Venezuela, "Indigenous languages are also for official use for Indigenous
peoples and must be respected throughout the Republic's territory for
being part of the nation's and humanity's patrimonial culture." In chapter
eight of the constitution, the state recognizes the social, political, and
economic organization within indigenous communities, in addition to their
cultures, languages, rights, and lands. What is more, in a critical
provision the government recognizes land rights as collective,
inalienable, and non-transferable. Later articles declare the government's
pledge not to engage in extraction of natural resources without prior
consultation with indigenous groups. Three long time indigenous activists
have been elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly, and prominent
leaders hold positions in government. In a novel move, Chavez has even had
the constitution translated into all of Venezuela's languages.

Chavez has lived up to the constitution by awarding communal land titles
to six Karia indigenous communities. The land titles will be handed out to
4,000 people and encompass 317,000 acres in the Venezuelan states of
Monagas and Anzoategui. The land transfers form part of Mission
Guaicaipuro, a plan to provide land titles to all of Venezuela's 28
indigenous peoples. Chavez awarded the communal titles to the Karia in
August during the 16th World Festival of Students and Youth. The
conference, which was attended by 40,000 people, was held in Caracas.
During the opening procession of nations Chavez gave a "thumbs up" to a
banner which displayed the words "Leonard Peltier." An indigenous woman
speaker at the conference, one of three indigenous representatives in the
Venezuela Assembly, praised recent advances for indigenous people. One
conference participant reported, "Chavez hugged all the indigenous leaders
in front of the world and gave deeds of territory to the tribes." By the
end of 2006, Chavez' Mission Guaicaipuro plans to award land titles to 15
more indigenous groups. Participants at the conference were also pleased
by Chavez's moves to halt the celebration of Columbus Day, which he has
replaced with "Indigenous Resistance Day."

                    Chavez and Afro-Venezuelans

On the other hand, while the new constitution recognizes indigenous
rights, it mentions nothing about blacks in Venezuela, leading Bill
Fletcher of the Washington-based TransAfrica Forum to comment, "I feel
that black issues need to be injected into politics." On the other hand,
there are signs that Chavez government is at least aware of the problem.
>From March to May 2004, Afro Venezuelan groups celebrated the 150th
anniversary of the end of slavery in Caracas. At the end of the conference
Chavez made an appearance and the audience heard a lecture from
Afro-Venezuelan historian Jos Marcial Ramos Guedez. Some participants
expressed optimism that racial progress would be made under the Chavez
government. "Representatives of Venezuela's Afro-descendants are so
positive about the current reforms in government [under Chavez]," said
Maryori Marquez, assistant to the director of culture in the city of
Sucre, "that we are now also trying to have legislation drafted that will
mandate the acceptance and the recognition of the traditional and current
human rights of Black Venezuelans." Maryori added that Chavez was
"completely open to this initiative, we just have to work to make this
come true, we have to develop this. Because this won't just benefit a few
people, it would be to everyone's benefit."

                   The White Elite Strikes Back

The white elite has not been amused by Chavez's recent moves. For them,
the new president was an outsider. In contrast to previous leaders in
Venezuela and throughout the region who identified with the outside
European world, Chavez loudly proclaimed his indigenous and African roots.
Chavez himself seems well aware of the race issue. According to the
Venezuelan president, racial tensions have increased since his election.
"There is racism here," Chavez remarked. "It used to be more hidden and
now it is more open." Chavez's opponents, who argue that racism does not
exist in the country, charged that the president exploits the race card
for political gain. According to Fletcher, the Chavez opposition "has
attacked him [Chavez] using racist language and imagery which would be
totally unacceptable in public discourse in the USA." The Venezuelan elite
has used racial slurs to taint Chavez, denouncing him as a black monkey.
According to author Tariq Ali, "A puppet show to this effect with a monkey
playing Chavez was even organized at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. But
Colin Powell was not amused and the Ambassador was compelled to issue an
apology." The attacks continued when Venezuelan media commentators
referred to the Minister of Education, Aristobulo Isturiz, who is black,
as "a monkey" and "an ape." Meanwhile, analysts have remarked upon the
racial undertones of political conflict in Chavez's Venezuela. "Class and
skin color differences," remarks Wilpert, "clearly correlate very highly
at demonstrations, such that the darker skinned (and presumably lower
class) support the Chavez government and the lighter skinned (and
presumably middle and upper class) oppose the Chavez government."

                   Race and the Venezuelan Media

This difference in skin color was clearly evident during the
demonstrations both for and against Chavez in the days preceding the April
2002 coup, and during an oil lock out in December 2002-January 2003. What
is more, the Venezuelan TV media, which is dominated by whites or light
skinned individuals, and which relegates blacks or dark skinned people to
play roles as criminals or servants in soap operas, played a significant
role in the April 2002 coup. In the days leading up to Chavez's ouster,
Venevisin, RCTV, Globovisin and Televen substituted their regular
programming with non-stop vitriolic anti-Chavez propaganda, which some of
their staff later acknowledged as unprofessional behavior. This relentless
barrage was interrupted by commercials urging TV viewers to go into the
streets. Inflammatory ads blaring, "Not one step backward. Out! Leave
now!" were carried by the stations as public service announcements. Later
on the day of the coup, Gustavo Cisneros allowed his television station
Venevision to serve as the meeting place for anti-Chavez coup plotters.
Reportedly, interim coup president Pedro Carmona was present.

Chavez has struck back against the established media through Vive TV, a
state sponsored station. In contrast to TV stations like RCTV, which airs
shows such as "Quien Quiere Ser Millionario" ("Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire"), Vive TV shuns American-style consumerism. According to its
website, Vive TV promotes "the common citizen, the millions of Venezuelans
and Latin Americans who have been made invisible by imperialism and its
cultural domination." Through Vive's programming, claim the station's
managers, "it is possible to acquaint oneself with the reality, lives and
struggle of people of African descent [and] indigenous peoples." As Blanca
Eekhout, the former manager of Vive explains, people of color previously
"have appeared in the media but in a stigmatized way; they are shown as
marginal people, criminals. They are not shown building, constructing,
which is part of the struggle for the development of the country. That's
one thing we are trying to change." The result of that changed attitude
was plain to see during Vive TV's extended coverage of the Social Forum of
the Americas in Ecuador. According to Eekhout, Venezuelan Indians attended
the event and "The [Venezuelan] indigenous movement was excited; they
could see not only movements there, but also their own Venezuelan
delegates." Chavez has also increased the visibility of Latin America's
indigenous peoples through the launching of the government-sponsored
Televisora del Sur (Telesur). The network, which offers news and opinion
programming, has hired Ati Kiwa as a presenter, an indigenous Colombian
woman who wears traditional dress. The station provides a stark contrast
to Univisin celebrity anchor Jorge Ramos, who wears a jacket and tie.

                 Chavez, Glover, and Martin Luther King

Even as he forges ahead with his media initiatives, the indefatigable
Chavez has also moved to increase his political ties with the African
American community. In January, 2004 TransAfrica Forum sent a delegation
of influential artists, actors, activists and scholars to Caracas to meet
with government officials. The group included the likes of screen actor
Danny Glover ("Lethal Weapon," "The Color Purple"), who expressed his
excitement at the social changes taking place in Venezuela. Glover
remarked that the U.S. media's portrayal of Venezuela "has nothing to do
with reality." Glover stated that his presence in Venezuela was "to listen
and learn, not only from government and opposition politicians, but to
share with the people, those who are promoting the changes in this country
and we want to be in contact with those who benefit from those changes."

Glover and others later presided over the inauguration of a new "Martin
Luther King., Jr." school in the coastal town of Naiguata. The area is
home to large numbers of Afro-Venezuelans. The school inauguration was the
first official Venezuelan recognition of the importance of the slain civil
rights leader. What is more, the government launched a photo exposition to
honor Dr. King. Speaking at the event, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the
United States, Bernardo Alvarez, declared that "The visit by members of
the TransAfrica Forum represents a struggle that goes beyond the figure of
Martin Luther King; his struggle, his ideas and the African-American
social movements inspired by him. This is a struggle aimed at defending
people's rights, not only in the United States, but in the hemisphere and
the world." Glover, clearly touched by the occasion, commented, ""This
isn't Danny Glover the artist. I'm here as a citizen, not only of the US,
but a citizen of the world. We understand fully the importance of this
historical moment." Chavez later honored the late Dr. King during his
radio and TV show Alo Presidente; Glover and others were invited on air to
participate.

Predictably, the TransAfrica Forum delegates came under heavy attack from
the Venezuelan opposition. "In the Opposition-oriented media, racist
language and imagery wereused to characterize, if not caricaturize, our
visit," Fletcher remarked. According to him, the delegation received
racist e mail, and newspaper editorials and cartoons depicted the
delegation in a racist manner. During a press conference, however,
TransAfrica participants held their own against the media. James Early,
Director of Cultural Studies and Communication at the Center for Folklife
Programs and Cultural Studies at the Smithsonian Institution, expressed
dismay with Venezuelan journalists. Early said he was surprised that none
of the journalist's questions had to do with issues of cultural or racial
diversity. "What are you journalists doing to educate the Venezuelan
people about racial and cultural diversity? Democracy in the hemisphere
relies heavily on the social responsibility of journalists, and asking
questions only about the government or the opposition isn't going to help
reach that goal. Democracy is not the government or the opposition, it is
the people, being the people of Venezuela or the people of the United
States," he said. Sitting in the audience was Education and Sports
Minister Aristobulo Isturiz, the same black man who had been described by
opposition reporters as "a monkey" in the past. Reportedly, Isturiz
couldn't hide his satisfaction at the way the delegation handled the
combative journalists.

           Jackson, Glover, Belafonte: Chavez's New Friends

Chavez has maintained his close relationships with prominent black
entertainers in the United States. In July 2005, Danny Glover and singer
Harry Belafonte were invited to the ceremonial launching of Chavez's new
TV station Telesur. Glover was impressed with the new media initiative,
but criticized the station for not having any people of African or
indigenous descent on its advisory board. Chavez himself called in to the
inauguration shortly after and said to Glover, in English, "Danny, I am
with you."

Meanwhile, Chavez has cultivated ties with civil rights leader Jesse
Jackson. During a visit to Caracas, the veteran African American activist
condemned Pat Robertson's call for Chavez's assassination. Coinciding with
Jackson's stay in the country, the Venezuelan National Assembly declared a
special session to commemorate Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech.
National Assembly member Nohel Pocaterra, an indigenous woman of Wayu
descent, addressed parliament in her native language and later in Spanish.
Pocaterra compared Chavez's struggle for equality in Venezuela with Dr.
King's civil rights work. Speaking later at the National Assembly, Jackson
discussed the role of Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights
struggle. Jackson praised Venezuela for making slavery illegal prior to
the United States. "You in Venezuela ended the system of slavery in 1854,"
he remarked. At the end of his speech Jackson was cheered with thunderous
applause from Venezuelan lawmakers.

              The Future of Hemispheric Racial Politics

Chavez's international diplomacy and his warm ties with prominent African
Americans will surely enrage the Bush White House yet further. Just at the
time when Bush's popularity is flagging over the war in Iraq and botched
relief efforts at home, Chavez has emerged as the most charismatic South
American leader in recent times. For Bush, who tried and failed to
dislodge Chavez in 2002, it is hardly a promising picture. Meanwhile,
Chavez has inspired not only oppressed minorities within his own country
but also blacks living outside Venezuela. "Advanced by individuals such as
President Chavez," Fletcher remarks, "the recognition of the on-going
reality of racism, and the struggles against it by the African descendant
and Indigenous populations, could have a momentous impact on the politics
and future of Latin America, let alone the entire Western Hemisphere."

Nikolas Kozloff received his doctorate in Latin American history from
Oxford University in 2002. His book, South America In Revolt: Hugo Chavez
of Venezuela and The Politics of Hemispheric Unity, is forthcoming from
St. Martin's Press.


--------14 of 15--------

Torture and Misery in the Name of Freedom
by Harold Pinter
Published on Friday, October 14, 2005 by the Independent/UK

The following remarks were adapted during Mr. Pinter's acceptance speech
on winning the Wilfred Owen Award earlier this year.

The great poet Wilfred Owen articulated the tragedy, the horror - and
indeed the pity - of war in a way no other poet has. Yet we have learnt
nothing. Nearly 100 years after his death the world has become more
savage, more brutal, more pitiless.

But the "free world" we are told, as embodied in the United States and
Great Britain, is different to the rest of the world since our actions are
dictated and sanctioned by a moral authority and a moral passion condoned
by someone called God. Some people may find this difficult to comprehend
but Osama Bin Laden finds it easy.

What would Wilfred Owen make of the invasion of Iraq? A bandit act, an act
of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the
concept of International Law. An arbitrary military action inspired by a
series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore
of the public. An act intended to consolidate American military and
economic control of the Middle East masquerading - as a last resort (all
other justifications having failed to justify themselves) - as liberation.
A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and
mutilation of thousands upon thousands of innocent people.

An independent and totally objective account of the Iraqi civilian dead in
the medical magazine The Lancet estimates that the figure approaches
100,000. But neither the US or the UK bother to count the Iraqi dead. As
General Tommy Franks of US Central Command memorably said: "We don't do
body counts".

We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts
of random murder, misery and degradation to the Iraqi people and call it
"bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East". But, as we all know,
we have not been welcomed with the predicted flowers. What we have
unleashed is a ferocious and unremitting resistance, mayhem and chaos.

You may say at this point: what about the Iraqi elections? Well, President
Bush himself answered this question when he said: "We cannot accept that
there can be free democratic elections in a country under foreign military
occupation". I had to read that statement twice before I realised that he
was talking about Lebanon and Syria.

What do Bush and Blair actually see when they look at themselves in the
mirror?

I believe Wilfred Owen would share our contempt, our revulsion, our nausea
and our shame at both the language and the actions of the American and
British governments.

Harold Pinter recently won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature.


--------15 of 15--------

 Wilfred Owen
 The Last Laugh

 'Oh! Jesus Christ! I'm hit,' he said; and died.
 Whether he vainly cursed or prayed indeed,
 The Bullets chirped - In vain, vain, vain!
 Machine-guns chuckled, - Tut-tut! Tut-tut!
 And the Big Gun guffawed.

 Another sighed, - 'O Mother, -Mother, - Dad!'
 Then smiled at nothing, childlike, being dead.
 And the lofty Shrapnel-cloud
 Leisurely gestured, - Fool!
 And the splinters spat, and tittered.

 'My Love!' one moaned. Love-languid seemed his mood,
 Till slowly lowered, his whole faced kissed the mud.
 And the Bayonets' long teeth grinned;
 Rabbles of Shells hooted and groaned;
 And the Gas hissed.

 --

 Wilfred Owen
 The Send-Off

 Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way
 To the siding-shed,
 And lined the train with faces grimly gay.

 Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray
 As men's are, dead.

 Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp
 Stood staring hard,
 Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.

 Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp
 Winked to the guard.

 So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went.
 They were not ours:
 We never heard to which front these were sent;

 Nor there if they yet mock what women meant
 Who gave them flowers.

 Shall they return to beatings of great bells
 In wild train-loads?
 A few, a few, too few for drums and yells,

 May creep back, silent, to village wells,
 Up half-known roads.


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