Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 12.09.05

[David Shove (shove001]

            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     12.09.05

1. Protest Bush        12.09 11am
2. Housing forum       12.09 12noon
3. Workers rights      12.09 12noon
4. Vets open house     12.09 12noon
5. Counter recruit     12.09 12noon
6. Human Rights Day    12.09 1:45pm
7. Palestine vigil     12.09 4:15pm
8. Human rights/StKate 12.09 7pm
9. Peace basketball    12.09 7pm
10. Marty/mercury/TV   12.09 7pm
11. Vs World Bank      12.09 7:30pm
12. Don Quixote        12.09 7:30pm

13. Green Party US - Call for universal single-payer health insurance
14. Barry Grey     - Harold Pinter on US imperialism
15. Tom Crumpacker - Toward a realistic antiwar strategy.
16. Anon           - What does Justin's dad do
17. Joan Malerich  - Cuba and Venezuela film and discussion group
18. Thomas R Smith - Nettle (poem)

--------1 of 18--------

From: Veterans For Peace <vfpchapter27 [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Protest Bush 12.09 11am

[Here is the message posted yesterday, in full, after clarification - ed]

Confront George W. Bush the deceitful commander in chief of the
blood-drenched Iraq quagmire!

Friday, 12/9, 11:a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in front of the Hilton Hotel, 1001
Marquette Avenue South, in downtown Minneapolis.

Bush is joining robotic Republican hawk Mark Kennedy for a $1,000-a-plate
luncheon and for $10,000 contributors can get a picture taken with Bush.

A solid majority of Americans believe that we were misled into war - that
the war is not sustainable and not worth the slaughter and maiming of
thousands of American G.I.'s and tens of thousands of Iraqis.  If
Americans could see the carnage in Iraq the way television viewers saw the
agony of New orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - if they could
see the men, women and children who have been butchered or permanently
paralyzed, horribly burned or blinded, this war would be over.

Join with us in demanding an end to the insurgency-fueling U.S. occupation
of Iraq.

Veterans For Peace (612-821-9141), FNVW (651-917-0383), Twin City Peace
Campaign-Focus on Iraq (612-522-1861), AlliantACTION (1-651-388-4814),
Anti-War Committee and AWOL.

Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27 St. Stephens Community Center 2123 Clinton
Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55404 (612) 821-9141 TwinCitiesVFP.org


--------2 of 18--------

From: Darrell Gerber <darrellgerber [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Housing forum 12.09 12noon

The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Presents
The CURA Housing Forum - A monthly "brown bag" discussion of Twin Cities
housing issues and research

NOTE NEW DATE: Friday, December 9, 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Challenges and Achievements of the Plan to End Long-Term Homelessness
Carlson School of Management, Room 1-123

A broad working group established by the Legislature in 2003 at the
request of the Governor completed a business plan to end long-term
homelessness by 2010. The plan calls for multi-disciplinary (housing,
human services, corrections), multi-sector (government, business,
nonprofit) and multi-jurisdictional (federal, state, local) strategies to
address long-term homelessness. Key to success will be creating 4,000
additional supportive housing opportunities for people who have
experienced long-term homelessness. The forum will focus on the
achievements and challenges along the way to implementing the plan.

 Featured forum speakers are key players in implementing the business
plan:
 - Richard Amos, Program Manager, St. Stephen's Housing, a program serving
families, youth, and adults without children in need of housing in
Hennepin County
 - Janel Bush, Director of Community Living Supports, Minnesota Department
of Human Services, overseeing group residential housing and other programs
key to the success of the business plan
 - Laura Kadwell, Minnesota Director of Ending Long-Term Homelessness,
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, coordinating the work of all partners in
implementing the business plan

Please RSVP at 612-625-1551. For more information contact Kaydee Kirk at
612-625-2086.  www.cura.umn.edu


--------3 of 18--------

From: stpaulunions.org <llwright [at] stpaulunions.org>
Subject: Workers rights 12.09 12noon

Twin Cities Rally for Workers' Rights
December 9

A rally for workers' rights will be held Friday, December 9th at noon at
the Twin Cities Interfaith Worker Center in Bethany Lutheran Church at
2511 E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis.

This event coincides with activities being held around the globe to
commemorate December 10, International Human Rights Day. It is sponsored
by the Twin Cities Religion and Labor Network (TCRLN), the Minneapolis
Central Labor Union Council, St Paul Area Trades and Labor Assembly and
the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

**Learn more about International Human Rights and Workers Rights at
www.aflcio.org**


--------4 of 18--------

From: Guy Gambill <gambillgt1 [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Vets open house 12.09 12noon

On December 9, from 12noon-4pm the Minnesota Assistance Council for
Veterans will hold its annual Open House at Building 47 on the Veteran's
Medical Center. The Staff and members of the Board of Directors cordially
extend our invitation to attend our Open House and get to know us. In
addition to our facilities in Minneapolis, we also have concerns in
Richfield, Duluth, Mankato, and St. Cloud. MACV is a great organization
that assists hundreds of veterans and their families throughout the State
of Minnesota. We hope some members of the community will decide to attend.


--------5 of 18--------

From: sarah standefer <scsrn [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Counter recruit 12.09 12noon

Counter Recruitment Demonstration
 Our Children Are Not Cannon Fodder
Fridays   NOON-1
Recruiting Office at the U of M
At Washington and Oak St.  next to Chipolte
for info call Barb Mishler 612-871-7871


--------6 of 18--------

From: Stephen Feinstein <feins001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Human Rights Day 12.09 1:45pm

Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights Commemorates International Human
Rights Day

December 9
University of Minnesota Law School
229 19th Ave. So.
Minneapolis, MN

CLE Seminar 1:45-6pm, Room 30
Reception 6pm
Live Theatre Performance 7pm, Room 25
Panel Discussion 8pm, Room 25

To commemorate the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948), Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center
of the University of Minnesota will hold an afternoon seminar, reception
and evening event to highlight historic and current situations of
discrimination in the U.S. The seminar will be followed by a reception,
live performance of "I Voted for Gummi Bears" and a panel discussion on
voting rights.

Presentations will address international and state human rights standards
of non-discrimination and remedies that address harm suffered due to
discrimination. The cost for the seminar is $60/$30. CLE credits will be
applied for (3.25 CLE's). The registration deadline is November 30, 2005.
To register for the CLE Seminar, please download the event brochure
<http://www.mnadvocates.org/sites/608a3887-dd53-4796-8904-997a0131ca54/u
ploads/Human_Rights_Day_Brochure2.pdf> and mail or fax to Minnesota
Advocates for Human Rights. For more information go to www.mnadvocates.org
<http://www.mnadvocates.org/> or contact Aaron Van Alstine at
avanalstine [at] mnadvocates.org or call (612) 341-3302 ext. 127.

Registration is not necessary to attend the free evening reception,
performance and panel discussion.

Schedule of Events

1:45-2:15 CLE SEMINAR REGISTRATION

2:15-3:15 International and National Standards of Non-Discrimination
Effects of 9/11 on Minnesota Immigrants, Refugees and Religious Minorities
by Laura Provinzino, Attorney and Wellstone Fellow of Minnesota Advocates
for Human Rights.

3:15-4:15 BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS HOME TO MINNESOTA: Trends in Race,
National Origin and Religious Discrimination by Linda Hansen, Director of
Policy and Legal Affairs; Beth Bibus, Compliance Services Officer; and,
Sylvia E. Neblett, Project Consultant of the Minnesota Department of Human
Rights.

4:15-4:30 BREAK

4:30-5:00 A Case of Historic Discrimination: The Western Shoshone Nation
by Rob Lafrentz, Law Student, University of St. Thomas and former Midwest
Human Rights Fellow.

5:00-6:00 Reconciliation in America: Reparations for Ancestors of African
Slaves by Mary Turck, J.D., Editor, Connection to the Americas and Ronald
Salzberger, Ph.D., Harvard, Professor of Philosophy, Metropolitan State
University

6:00-7:00       RECEPTION

7:00-8:00 LIVE Performance - "I VOTED FOR GUMMI BEARS" performed by Ochen
K. A thought provoking one-person show written and performed by
Minneapolis artist Ochen K. This 2005 Fringe Festival audience favorite,
dissects the history and effects of Jim Crow laws enacted in the 19th
century that today keep 13 percent of the national black male population
from voting. Free and open to the public.

8:00-9:00 Panel discussion ON VOTING RIGHTS with panelists including Chris
Uggen, Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Mara Michaletz,
Law Student, University of Minnesota Law School and former research
assistant for the Voting Rights Project of the ACLU through the Midwest
Human Rights Fellowship, Ochen K. and others. Free and open to the public.


--------7 of 18--------

From: peace 2u <tkanous [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Palestine vigil 12.09 4:15pm

Every Friday
Vigil to End the Occupation of Palestine

4:15-5:15pm
Summit & Snelling, St. Paul

There are now millions of Palestinians who are refugees due to Israel's
refusal to recognize their right under international law to return to
their own homes since 1948.


--------8 of 18--------

From: Gabe Ormsby <gabeo [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: Human rights/StKate 12.09 7pm

COLLEGE OF SAINT CATHERINE AMNESTY'S HUMAN RIGHTS FESTIVAL: FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 9 - 7-10pm

The student Amnesty International group at the College of Saint Catherine
will commemorate International Human Rights Day with their Human Rights
Festival. The event will take place in the Pulse, which is located in the
Coeur de Catherine on the College's campus, 2004 Randolph Avenue in Saint
Paul. The public is encouraged to attend.


--------9 of 18--------

From: Todd Heintz <proud2liveinjordan [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Peace basketball 12.09 7pm

Urban Youth Conservation, the PEACE Foundation and the newly formed Gang
Engagement Collaborative announce the launch of the UYC PEACE League

A late night basketball league bringing youth involved in gangs into
positive connection with their community

Come celebrate the launch of this new North Minneapolis initiative and
meet the young men ready to plan a positive course for their future!

Friday, December 9
Hospitality House, 1220 Logan Ave. N.
7 to 9 PM

7 pm: Mingle over appetizers provided by the Sullivan Ballou Fund

7:40 pm: Share the moment when one of these courageous young men, Durrell
Mitchell, receives the Sullivan Ballou Award honoring his important
contribution to the community.

8 pm: Enjoy the game as newly recruited youth play basketball! Learn how
you can help

Congregations, organizations and individuals from the broader community are
now signing up to lend their time, talents and resources to this effort.
 Sponsor a team.
 Help with organizing.
 Donate funds or in-kind resources.
 Be a mentor.
 Connect youth to jobs and learning opportunities.

For more information, call Jimmy Stanback, Project Take Back Director at
612-919-9623, or Michelle Martin, PEACE Foundation Director at
612-702-3040.
Todd Heintz, Jordan and Northside


--------10 of 18--------

From: Elizabeth Dickinson <eadickinson [at] mindspring.com>
Subject: Marty/mercury/TV 12.09 7pm

Hearings on mercury pollution

Sen. Marty (DFL) is the chair, but everyone else is Republican, I think.

The MPCA held separate, secret meetings with the chamber of commerce on
TMDLs (total maximum daily load) restrictions for mercury.  Mercury is a
brain toxin produced by coalburning utilities and taconite processing.
It gets into fish.  Most of MN's lakes have fish alerts - pregnant women
and children are advised not to eat more than about 6 ounces of fish a
week to prevent brain damage to developing brains.

After these meetings with the chamber (please note that utilities like
Xcel belong to the chamber of commerce), key recommendations for limiting
mercury were compromised, and key information was left out when subsequent
presentations were made to other community and environment groups.  Some
of those groups were unable to get the original versions of the powerpoint
presentations - and these are public documents which are supposed to be
available to anyone.

Sen. Marty kept asking why certain members of the public were not given
the original documents (the same information initially given to the
chamber) after repeated requests.  There was a lot of hedging by MPCA
officials, including Sheryl Corrigan (head commissioner - former executive
with 3M). Ms. Corrigan has an op-ed in the Pioneer Press today.

Sen. Marty will be on Almanac tomorrow night.  Aside from the mercury
question itself, there's a ton of dissatisfaction with the lack of
transparency within the agency.


--------11 of 18--------

From: Tessa Eagan <teagan [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Vs World Bank 12.09 7:30pm

A reading with Michael Goldman from his new book,
Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the
Age of Globalization

Friday December 9, 7:30pm
Magers and Quinn Booksellers
3038 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis

Why is the World Bank so successful? How has it gained power even at
moments in history when it seemed likely to fall? This pathbreaking book
is the first close examination of the inner workings of the Bank, the
foundations of its achievements, its propensity for intensifying the
problems it intends to cure, and its remarkable ability to tame criticism
and extend its own reach. Michael Goldman takes us inside World Bank
headquarters in Washington, D.C., and then to Bank project sites around
the globe. He explains how projects funded by the Bank really work and why
community activists struggle against the World Bank and its brand of
development.

Michael Goldman is a McKnight Presidential Fellow and Associate Professor
of Sociology and Global Studies at the University of Minnesota.  Imperial
Nature is published by Yale University Press (2005).

Tessa Eagan Media and Public Relations College of Liberal Arts University
of Minnesota 225 Johnston Hall 101 Pleasant St. S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455
Tel: 612.625.3781 Fax: 612.625.3504 http://www.cla.umn.edu

---
From: david unowsky <rdu [at] ruminator.com>

Michael Goldman appears at Magers and Quinn, Friday December 9 at 7:30 pm
to discuss his book Imperial Nature - a strong critique of the World Bank.

In Imperial Nature, Michael Goldman takes a hard look at the success of
the World Bank. Why is it so successful and-despite its poor track record-
how has the world Bank acquired greater authority and global power than
ever before? This pathbreaking book is the first close examination of the
inner workings of the Bank, the foundations of its achievements, its
propensity for intensifying the problems it intends to cure, and its
remarkable ability to tame criticism and extend its own reach.

Naomi Klein, author of No Logo says of Goldman's book "Highly original and
thoughtful, Imperial Nature reveals how countries are pushed backwards
instead of forwards in the name of 'development.'" The book shows how the
work of "The Bank" has served to kill ecological and economic democracy
and helped to dispossess the poor of their resources and rights. Goldman's
work does contribute to the possibilities for more politically enabling
alternatives.

Michael Goldman is associate professor of sociology at the University of
Minnesota and is affiliated with its Institute for Global Studies. For
further info see www.magersandquinn.com or call David Unowsky at
612-822-4611


--------12 of 18--------

From: paulino brener <email [at] paulino.info>
Subject: Don Quixote 12.09 7:30pm

"The Adventures of Don Quixote" with Paulino Brener

Starting Friday 9 at 7:30pm, the halls of Center for Independent Artists
will be filled with stories of adventures, knights and squires, witches
and windmills, love and friendship. Paulino uses storytelling, imagination
and humor to bring "The Adventures of Don Quixote" to the stage. This is a
highly interactive, bilingual and entertaining show about the adventures
of the famous character from Spanish literature. It's based on the novel
by Cervantes and other readings. It commemorates the 400th Anniversary of
the first edition of the book.

In an effort to make this show accessible, Paulino is working with various
Twin Cities organization to offer free performances for low income
families.

This show is recommended for children (6+) and their families. For more
information, dates and times, and to buy tickets online, visit
www.adventuresofdonquixote.com

December 2005
9 and 16 at 7:30 pm
10, 11, 17, 18 at 2 pm

Where:
Center for Independent Artists
4137 Bloomington Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN USA 55407

Phone: 612-724-8392
FFI: Paulino Brener (612) 203 5197
Tickets: $10
Reservations: 612-724-8392
 www.adventuresofdonquixote.com


--------13 of 18--------

From: GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
Thursday, December 8, 2005

GREENS CALL A NEW DIRECTION IN NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY: SINGLE-PAYER
COVERAGE; REPEAL OF ABSTINENCE-BASED HIV AND HPV PREVENTION

Greens identify the enemies of sound health policy: profit-based HMO,
insurance, and drug firms, and right-wing religious lobbies.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Green Party leaders called for a revival of the
movement to enact single-payer national health insurance, and for the
repeal of 'morality'-based obstructions to AIDS prevention and to a new
cervical cancer vaccine.

"The Medicare reform bill passed in November, 2003, benefited
pharmaceutical companies while gutting coverage for millions of working
people and making coverage difficult and confusing for many older
Americans," said Jody Grage Haug, co-chair of the Green Party of the
United States.  Ms. Haug turns 70 in January.  "With the growing public
realization that we've been conned out of health care, now is the time for
a popular demand and legislative action to introduce single payer."

Under single-payer national health insurance, all Americans, regardless of
income, ability to pay, or prior medical condition, would receive quality
health care, including choice of provider, under a tax plan that would be
far less expensive than what most working people pay for private insurance
or HMO plans.

Single-payer national health insurance is a major goal of the Green Party
of the United States.  It was dropped from the Democratic Party platform
under the Clinton Admininstration; Al Gore and John Kerry opposed it in
their 2000 and 2004 White House bids.  (Mr. Gore later endorsed it.)

Insurance for a family of four is now over $10,000 a year, higher than the
yearly income of a minimum-wage worker, and 9% higher than 2004.  Only
three out of five businesses now offer health insurance to their
employees.

"Employer-based private insurance has failed, as employers continue to
reduce and eliminate benefits," said Mike Cavlan, Minnesota Green
candidate for the U.S. Senate <http://www.cavlan.org>.  Mr. Cavlan is
slated to address hospital professionals in St. Paul on Thursday evening.
"Market-based coverage has proven a disaster, with 45 million lacking
coverage, especially those who need it most - older Americans, those with
or at risk of diseases, poor people, and others considered uninsurable by
market standards.  Whether it happens state-by-state or through national
implementation, conversion to single-payer must begin immediately."

Health coverage in general, and AIDS/HIV treatment in particular, have
suffered because of cuts in services under the Bush Administration, said
Greens.  Party leaders also stressed that abstinence-only education, in
the U.S. and abroad (i.e., in nations receiving U.S. aid) under pressure
from the Bush White House, has placed even more lives at risk.  Many women
have no control over the conditions in which they have sex; these policies
leave them especially vulnerable to infection.

Greens noted recent attempts by Republicans to block a new vaccine against
cervical cancers caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), and compared
it to the prolonged Republican assault on condoms, including measures to
to obstruct availability and an FDA requirement to place 'warning' labels
on condom packages.

"The justification is that making the cervical cancer vaccine and condoms
widely available 'sends the wrong message' that sex outside of a
monogamous marriage is permissable," said Rebecca Rotzler, national
co-chair of the Green Party and Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York.
"The message behind Bush policies that deny information and prevention is
that those who don't conform to certain faith-based standards deserve
illness and death."

"The American people face two enemies in their need for guaranteed,
quality health care - corporations that place profit before human life
and health, and religious extremists trying to impose false and reckless
ideas about morality," Ms. Rotzler added.  "Both Democrats and Republicans
are addicted to money from insurance firms, HMOs, and pharmaceutical
manufacturers.  Republicans and some Democrats have fallen under the spell
of religious extremists who hold little regard for the lives of women and
gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender Americans.  Greens call for public
health policy based on human needs."

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue
NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax
202-319-7193

Health Insurance Costs Exceed Annual Minimum-Wage Earnings By Debora
Vrana, The Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-091405health_lat,0,4868032.story?coll=la-story-footer&track=morenews

Physicians for a National Health Program http://www.pnhp.org

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty [at] greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene [at] greens.org


---------14 of 18--------

Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize speech: a brave artist speaks the truth about US
imperialism
By Barry Grey
9 December 2005
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/pint-d09.shtml

British playwright Harold Pinter, this year's Nobel laureate for
literature, delivered a passionate, truthful and courageous acceptance
speech to the Swedish Academy on Wednesday. The renowned author of such
plays as The Homecoming and The Caretaker, Pinter has spoken out
tirelessly and powerfully against the war in Iraq and the depredations of
American imperialism in the Balkans, Central America and elsewhere that
preceded it.

He utilized his acceptance speech to extend and develop that struggle,
giving a blistering critique of the entire course of US foreign policy in
the period since World War II, and indicting Britain for its role as
Washington's junior partner and accomplice. Mincing no words, Pinter
called Bush and Blair war criminals, and made an impassioned call for mass
political resistance to militarism and war.

The 75-year-old playwright, screenwriter, poet, actor and antiwar activist
gave his address in the form of a videotape, made in Britain and shown on
screens to the assemblage in Stockholm. Pinter was recently treated for
cancer of the esophagus and remains in fragile health. On the advice of
his physicians, he refrained from making the trip to Sweden.

He appeared on tape sitting in a wheelchair, with a rug over his knees.
His voice was hoarse, but, according to published accounts, no less
commanding for that.

Pinter's address, entitled "Art, Truth and Politics," was refreshing and
even liberating in its honesty and bluntness about the catastrophic impact
of US subversion, violence and aggression over many decades and in many
parts of the world. Even sections of the establishment press in both
Britain and the United States, such as the Guardian and the New York
Times, which have fully participated in the dissemination of lies and the
coverup of crimes associated with US foreign policy, were obliged to
register in some measure the powerful impact of Pinter's words.

Pinter prefaced a discussion of his body of dramatic work and his approach
to art with the following observation:

"In 1958 I wrote the following: 'There are no hard distinctions between
what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is
false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both
true and false.'

"I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to
the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but
as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is
false?"

Pinter proceeded to give some insight into the complex and elusive process
by which he composed his dramas, making clear that his primary concern was
the utilization of language, plot and character to discover important
human and social truths.

Concerning the relationship between art, language and truth he said: "So
language in art remains a highly ambiguous transaction, a quicksand, a
trampoline, a frozen pool which might give way under you, the author, at
any time.

"But as I have said, the search for the truth can never stop. It cannot be
adjourned, it cannot be postponed. It has to be faced, right there, on the
spot."

This theme of the responsibility to seek and present the truth was the
connecting link between his remarks on drama and his remarks on history
and politics. He said: "Political language, as used by politicians, does
not venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians,
on the evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power
and the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential
that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth,
even the truth of their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a vast
tapestry of lies, upon which we feed."

He continued: "As every single person here knows, the justification for
the invasion of Iraq was that Saddam Hussein possessed a highly dangerous
body of weapons of mass destruction, some of which could be fired in 45
minutes, bringing about appalling devastation. We were assured that was
true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq had a relationship with Al
Qaeda and shared responsibility for the atrocity in New York of September
11, 2001. We were assured that this was true. It was not true. We were
told that Iraq threatened the security of the world. We were assured it
was true. It was not true."

Pinter then moved to a discussion of US foreign policy since the end of
the Second World War. "Everyone knows what happened in the Soviet Union
and throughout Eastern Europe during the post-war period: the systematic
brutality, the widespread atrocities, the ruthless suppression of
independent thought. All this has been fully documented and verified.

"But my contention here is that the US crimes in the same period have only
been superficially recorded, let alone documented, let alone acknowledged,
let alone recognized as crimes at all.... Although constrained, to a
certain extent, by the existence of the Soviet Union, the United States'
actions throughout the world made it clear that it had concluded it had
carte blanche to do what it liked."

Pinter then spoke of Washington's record of international subversion: "In
the main, it has preferred what it has described as 'low intensity
conflict. ' Low intensity conflict means that thousands of people die but
lower than if you dropped a bomb on them in one fell swoop. It means that
you infect the heart of the country, that you establish a malignant growth
and watch the gangrene bloom. When the populace has been subdued-or beaten
to death-the same thing-and your own friends, the military and the great
corporations, sit comfortably in power, you go before the camera and say
that democracy has prevailed. This was commonplace in US foreign policy in
the years to which I refer."  He then went on to describe the mass murder
and destruction wreaked by the US-backed Contra terrorists in Nicaragua in
the 1980s. "I should remind you," he said, "that at the time President
Reagan made the following statement: 'The Contras are the moral equivalent
of our Founding Fathers.'"

Pinter elaborated on the US role in Nicaragua and Central America as a
whole. Noting the social achievements of the left-nationalist Sandanista
regime that overthrew the US-backed dictator Samoza in 1979-the abolition
of the death penalty, land reform, gains in literacy and public education,
free health care-he said:

"The United States denounced these achievements as Marxist/Leninist
subversion. In the view of the US government, a dangerous example was
being set. If Nicaragua was allowed to establish basic norms of social and
economic justice, if it was allowed to raise the standards of health care
and education and achieve social unity and national self respect,
neighbouring countries would ask the same questions and do the same
things. There was of course at that time fierce resistance to the status
quo in El Salvador....

"President Reagan commonly described Nicaragua as a 'totalitarian
dungeon.' This was taken generally by the media, and certainly by the
British government, as accurate and fair comment... The totalitarian
dungeons were actually next door, in El Salvador and Guatemala. The United
States had brought down the democratically elected government of Guatemala
in 1954 and it is estimated that over 200,000 people had been victims of
successive military dictatorships....

"The United States finally brought down the Sandinista government. It took
some years and considerable resistance but relentless economic persecution
and 30,000 dead finally undermined the spirit of the Nicaraguan people.
They were exhausted and poverty stricken once again. The casinos moved
back into the country. Free health and free education were over. Big
business returned with a vengeance. 'Democracy' had prevailed.

"But this 'policy' was by no means restricted to Central America. It was
conducted throughout the world. It was never-ending. And it is as if it
never happened.

"The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right-wing
military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War.
I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey,
the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror
the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can
never be forgiven." [Editor's note: There are other countries that could
be added to Pinter's list, including Argentina, Iran and Pakistan].

Moving on to the US establishment's well-honed and sophisticated
propaganda methods, Pinter said: "Language is actually employed to keep
thought at bay. The words 'the American people' provide a truly voluptuous
cushion of reassurance... This does not apply of course to the 40 million
people living below the poverty line and the 2 million men and women
imprisoned in the vast gulag of prisons, which extends across the US."

Pinter continued: "The United States no longer bothers about low intensity
conflict. It no longer sees any point in being reticent or even devious.
It puts its cards on the table without fear or favour. It quite simply
doesn't give a damn about the United Nations, international law or
critical dissent, which it regards as impotent and irrelevant. It also has
its own bleating little lamb tagging behind it on a lead, the pathetic and
supine Great Britain.

"What has happened to our moral sensibility?... Look at Guantanamo Bay.
Hundreds of people detained without charge for over three years, with no
legal representation or due process, technically detained forever. This
totally illegitimate structure is maintained in defiance of the Geneva
Convention...

"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism,
demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law... A
formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and
mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.

"We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable
acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people
and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East.'

"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as
a mass murdered and war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough,
I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be
arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has
been clever. He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of
Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or for that matter politician
finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he will send in the
marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available
for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're
interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London....

"The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to
their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The
mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives."

Summing up, Pinter said: "I have said earlier that the United States is
now totally frank about putting its cards on the table. That is the case.
Its official declared policy is now defined as 'Full spectrum dominance.'
That is not my term, it is theirs. 'Full spectrum dominance' means control
of land, sea, air space and all attendant resources...

"Many thousands, if not millions, of people in the United States itself
are demonstrably sickened, shamed and angered by their government's
actions, but as things stand they are not a coherent political force-yet.
But the anxiety, uncertainty and fear which we can see growing daily in
the United States is unlikely to diminish...

"I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching,
unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the
real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which
devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory.

"If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have
no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us-the dignity of man."


--------15 of 18--------

DR. WEAVER'S SNAKE OIL
Toward a realistic antiwar strategy.
by Tom Crumpacker

Dec 6, 2005 (NY Transfer News)--Sunday's New York Times reports that the
use of the word "victory" 15 times in President Bush's brief address at
Annapolis last week was due to the influence of his NSC special advisor
"Dr. Weaver," a scientist whose research on public opinion about the
Iraq war has established that Americans will support such a war with
mounting casualties on condition they believe it will ultimately succeed.

As always, the Administration is selling snake oil. In its history so
far the American People have never agreed on anything controversial, and
any so-called science which purports to prove otherwise is not science.
Weaver assumes that justice and morality play no part in what Americans
will support, only self interest.

There are two different kinds of wars being fought in Iraq. One is for
military dominance, in which the Americans have and will continue to
have victory. The other is to obstruct it -- an insurgency using suicide
bombing, land mines, snipers, small surprise attacks to defeat a brutal
exploitation by occupation. This war the insurgents are winning and will
continue to win, especially so long as their support in Iraq and US
continues to increase. As Representative John Murtha recently observed,
Iraq polls are now showing that over 80% of Iraqis want the US to leave
now. Polls here indicate that over 65% of Americans want US to leave.

Neither side has any ability to end the other's continuing "victory."
The real question is whether the majority of Americans, who realize
this, have the ability to stop their government from continuing the
nightmare as it gets worse.

Our rulers are saying that they will withdraw when the Iraqi army has
enough training to make Iraq secure. This obviously will never happen.
Basic training for soldiers who are willing to fight normally takes 6 -
8 months at most. The reason the Iraqi army doesn't fight is that its
soldiers don't want to kill and injure fellow Iraqi citizens, or be
killed and injured by them.

Rather than rhetoric, the realist looks at what rulers do or fail to do
in order to discern their true intent. At the time the puppet government
was installed in Iraq, it was agreed between the puppets and US-UK that
Iraq's oil reserves would be developed by US and UK companies, that the
proceeds would be used to pay for the cost of regime change and
subsequent Iraq security, and any constitution subsequently adopted
could not change this. Since this agreement deprives the Iraqi people of
the benefit of their primary resource, it's hard to see how its
implementation would make the occupation more popular there. The puppets
are now signing 30 year contracts with US-UK companies, the US is
building permanent bases and other facilities to pump, remove and market
the oil, and there are almost as many privately hired US people in Iraq
as soldiers. Obviously our government is planning on staying
permanently, whether the American people acquiesce or not, whether the
insurgency increases or not, regardless of continuing injury and deaths.
If Congress were serious about ending this war it would cut off the
funding for it. This is not being discussed, has never been discussed,
and never will be.

Presently a few Democratic Party politicians like the Black Caucus,
Murtha and some others want to get the US out of Iraq soon. The majority
of Democrats in and out of Congress want to continue the war but with
some kind of timetable. Most of the Democratic leadership, including the
front runners for president, want to continue the war to final
"victory." It's clear that if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2008 the
war will continue. Or a Republican.

Realistic antiwar activists understand that, regarding this war, the
American people (and to some extent the Iraqis) have been and are being
subjected to the most pervasive, intrusive, and massive
marketing-propaganda campaign the world has ever seen. Nothing in the
mainstream media about the war is worthy of belief. Some things reported
may be true, but intelligent belief in such is conditioned on
independent verification. Whichever party has power, all important
public decisions are made in secret and public acquiescence is later
obtained by manipulation through the mainstream media by our national
representatives and other public and private officials chosen to speak
to us in mainstream media. Of course some national politicians like the
Black Caucus and a few others are actually representing their
constituents, but the vast majority in both parties are moved primarily
by self interest (the "invisible hand" of late, unlimited, unregulated
capitalism) and respond primarily to the needs of those who fund them.
This war is good for big business.

Realistic antiwar activists understand that we are not living in a
democracy as advertised. Our present political system can only be
accurately described as a commercial or corporate oligarchy. It's no
longer possible to elect more than a handful of progressive or antiwar
candidates in Congress, or work through the system to bring about
progressive change. Because of campaign funding and district
gerrymandering, in the last election over 97% of the seats in our House
of Representatives (more accurately called the House of Lords) were
either uncontested or not seriously contested. The system is so far gone
it's beyond the point of no return. Trying to work within it implies a
belief that it's functional. While conceivable a century ago, now,
because of the winner-take-all elections, campaign funding, mainstream
media bias and many other reasons, alternative parties, viewpoints and
candidates are no longer viable on a national scale.

A mass social movement of progressives can be organized. It can be
outside the political system, at least until it is big enough to wield
substantial power. Its primary goal would be to reorganize US political
institutions so as to allow people power to overcome or at least
equalize the power of capital.

Now is the time for more risky but well thought out antiwar actions,
such as boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience, direct action, military
obstruction-sabotage, and pinpoint demonstrations with specific goals.
Militarization can be attacked at its most vulnerable points. At
present, the obvious one is recruitment. Remembering how the draft
aroused antiwar sentiment in the Vietnam days (because middle class
youngsters had to serve), our government this time is shamefully
restricting its recruitment to very poor people who are susceptible to
its propaganda. $20,000.00 signing bonuses are being offered, which is
more than many of these young people have ever seen. This is similar to
but worse than leading children into prostitution, and should be so
stigmatized. No school, organization, shopping center, business or
public place should allow this shameful type of recruitment on its
premises, and it should have to pay an increasing penalty if it does.
The poor-youth pool of death-injury cannon fodder can be dried up. US
companies with big Iraq contracts can be penalized by boycott,
demonstrations and other forms of direct action. Without manpower, our
rulers can't continue the occupation.

[Tom Crumpacker is a retired attorney in Austin, Texas.]
Copyright (c) 2005 by Tom Crumpacker


--------16 of 18--------

Anon: What does Justin's dad do

One day a fourth-grade teacher asked the children what their fathers did
for a living.  All the typical answers came up: fireman, mechanic,
businessman, salesman, doctor, lawyer, and so forth.

But little Justin was being uncharacteristically quiet, so when the
teacher prodded him about his father, he replied, "My father's an exotic
dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other
men and they put money in his underwear. Sometimes, if the offer is really
good, he will go home with some guy and make love with him for money."

The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other
children to work on some exercises and then took little Justin aside to
ask him, "Is that really true about your father?"

"No," the boy said, "He works for the Republican National Committee and
helped re-elect George W. Bush, but I was too embarrassed to say that in
front of the other kids."


--------17 of 18--------

17. Joan Malerich  - Cuba and Venezuela film and discussion group

CUBA AND VENEZUELA FILM AND DISCUSSION GROUP
BE PROACTIVE: LEARN TRUTH AND REALITY TO STOP WARS

The third set of Cuba/Venezuela film and discussion groups will start in
January. One group will meet at Arise Bookstore, 2441 Lyndale Ave S,
Minneapolis, Sundays, 6;00 PM, starting January 15. Another group will
meet in St. Paul (six blocks N of Macalester College), Wednesdays, 7:00
PM, starting January 18. Free but need to contact joanmdm [at] comcast.net or
651-451-4081 to register.

Each group is limited to 10 people and will last approximately 8 weeks.

NO fundraising, no donation, no request for money, no tests, no project.

If you choose to purchase a video or book, that is your choice but is not
required.

For people who support Cuba and/or who honestly want to learn more about
the country. Not a bash Fidel nor bash Cuba group.

There is no religious focus nor political party focus in this group.

The structure of these meetings is:

1. Watch a video on Cuban/Venezuelan issues such as: Estela Bravo's Fidel:
The Untold Story, Mission Against Terror: Case of the Five, Bloqueo on the
US blockade against Cuba, Free to Fly on the travel ban, Septiembres Y Mas
regarding US history of terrorism against Cuba, Bloodletting film compares
Cuba to US Healthcare, Oliver Stone's Comandante and Looking for Fidel,
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, The Bolivarian Revolution: Enter the
Oil Workers and Aleida Guevara (Che's daughter) interview with Chavez.

2. Discussion of the video.

3. Updates on current US/Cuba issues. Articles from progressive groups

4. Reference to Issac Saney's excellent book, Cuba: A Revolution in
Motion.

Why now? May of 2004, Bush had Colin Powell draw up "The Commission for
Assistance to a Free Cuba," which is a brutal Iraqi-style invasion plan of
Cuba. The US has told Cuba to use Iraq as an example of what is planned
for Cuba. This would affect the 20,000 Cuban doctors in Venezuela. It is
time to be proactive. Educating ourselves after a country is bombed is not
proactive.

Why Now? Also, in April of 2005, the Cuban-Exile arch-terrorist, Posada
Carriles illegally entered the US and asked for asylum. The US security
system did not arrest him until he staged an interview. Venezuela, where
Posada escaped from jail in 1985, has asked that Posada be extradited to
Venezuela. The US is refusing to do this. Essentially, the US is harboring
a terrorist. This case is a extraordinary challenge to Bush's claim that
US is leading the war against terrorism.

Why Now? The Cuban Five. The US 11th Circuit Appellate Court voted to
overturn the Five's Miami trial decision. However, the US government
appealed and now the Five remain unjustly detained in five different
federal prisons from the west to the east coast.. The wives of two have
not been allowed visas to visit their husbands for over five years. The
Cuban Five are Cuba. They are anti-terrorists who infiltrated the Cuban
American Exile Terrorists groups in Miami, so they could warn Cuba about
future terrorist plans against Cuba. They did not seek nor obtain any
classified information. We must free the Five.

Why Now? Recently PBS showed the false propaganda "documentary" (sic)
Fidel Castro by Cuban Exile Adriana Bosch. People need to ask themselves
WHY did PBS show this particularly negative film and WHY does not PBS show
Estela Bravos's Fidel: The Untold Story. Why were both of Oliver Stone's
films, Comandante and Looking for Fidel, either fully censored or allowed
only briefly on HBO.


--------18 of 18--------

From: Thomas R. Smith <thosmith [at] spacestar.net>
Nettle

War is over if you want it.
            -John Lennon


NETTLE
December 8, 1990

    l.
 Eighth of December.  Snow slanting down on yards.
 This morning I wept for John Lennon, murdered
 ten years ago, and heard again his voice pressed
 green among the black revolutions, his hawk-like
 desire to hover up near the blinding face of truth.

    2.
 A door in this music opens to a place he called
 ³Strawberry Fields.²  My generation followed
 him over that threshold of irresistible sound,
 left houses our parents feared to abandon,
 threw back taunts that stung medicinally as we went.

    3.
 I am driving again in evening on County Road F,
 crawling through the blizzard in my black and white
 LeMans, radio harvesting crystals of shock sown
 by the assassin.  In town, the glitter under street lamps
 cannot heal the wounded air, torn open again and again.

    4.
 Bullets have ploughed the singer under drifts
 of that winter, but not his song.  John, the war still
 isn¹t over, though we broke our hearts trying.
 Christmastime near . . . The snow crust smoothed by wind
 shelters one fallen nettle as if it were a friend.

                -Thomas R. Smith

Originally appeared in LUNA #6, 2003.

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