Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 12.11.05

[David Shove (shove001]

           P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     12.11.05

1. Zimmerparty       12.11 5pm

2. Digital junction  12.12 8:30am
3. Alliant trial     12.12 1:30pm
4. Truth in taxation 12.12 5:05pm
5. ComoPark N4P      12.12 6pm
6. No stadium        12.12 6:30pm
7. Town hall/Iraq    12.12 6:30pm

8. Alito/court       12.13 12noon
9. Umm Kulthum/film  12.13 6pm
10. Suburban ecology 12.13 6pm
11. Salon/peace      12.13 6:30pm
12. WhiteBear N4P    12.13 7pm
13. CD training      12.13 7pm

14. Garrison Keillor - War on drugs: A foul tragedy
15. Vandana Shiva    - Trade liberalisation is not development
16. Mike Whitney     - How Greenspan skewered America
17. Eugene McCarthy  - The maple tree (poem)

--------1 of 17--------

From: Dean Zimmermann <deanzimm [at] mn.rr.com>
Subject: Zimmerparty 12.11 5pm

I want to thank all of the people who worked on my re-election campaign.
We were up against some serious obstacles and came up 46 votes short. This
is a bit of a bother, but life goes on and my deep thanks go out to all
who helped on this great campaign.

In order to thank you properly, I want to invite you all to my home, 2200
Clinton Ave, Sunday, December 11th.  We will get started about 5pm and go
till bedtime.  Party time.  Please come. If you think that you did not
really do enough to deserve to come to a Volunteer recognition and thank
you party, fret not, come anyway and ease your conscience by bringing food
or drink to contribute to a pot luck in honor the hard working volunteers.
If you have a schedule conflict, come early or late if even for a short
time.

Please arrive prepared to have a good time, eat and drink heartily, enjoy
the energy of people motivated by a Green vision, meet friends and talk
politics.

Let us continue our work to make life easier for poor people and to create
an environment that will sustain our great grandchildren.  I may have lost
an election, but I am not defeated.  Please come party with me.  Life is
good.

Dean Zimmermann Mpls City Council - Ward 6 deanzimm [at] mn.rr.com C:
612-388-1311 W: 612-673-2206 H: 612-724-3888 2200 Clinton Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404


--------2 of 17--------

From: Steven Clift <clift [at] publicus.net>
Subject: Digital junction 12.12 8:30am

December 12
Four Points Sheraton Minneapolis
1330 Industrial Boulevard
Minneapolis, MN

8:30-9:30 Pre-conference
9:45-4:30 Conference
Individuals, small non-profits and business groups: $25.00
Institutional rate, for business, government agency or large non-
profit: $100.00

What is Digital Justice?

"Digital Justice" means equal access to information and communications
technology, and information literacy for all individuals and communities.
To achieve it we need more people like you - from all walks of life and
all disciplines to understand and advocate for this critical democratic
value.

Why should you care?  Why should you attend this conference?

We need you to join us - "We the People" (you remember those important
words) - to share ideas and create a roadmap that ensures everyone knows
how to support and use community technologies:  information and
communications tools that can help us all make better, more informed
decisions about important issues and opportunities in our communities.
Let's make sure no one gets left behind at the Digital Junction.

Everyone from tech expert to community citizen is welcome to come help! No
prior experience needed!

The 2005 Digital Junction Conference is about People and Equity in
Information & Telecommunications Connectivity.

This years' conference will explore how people, using emerging
technologies & tools, can better:

- Promote Civic Engagement & Advocacy
- Document and Engage "A Changing Community"
- Identify Community Needs & Create Sustainable Solutions
- Plan for a Transforming Minnesota
- Learn, Grow and Develop a More Just, Fair and Equitable Minnesota

Whether you are new to information and telecom technology issues, a
working practitioner in the field, or you aspire to leave a legacy for
others, there will be specific sessions designed to engage, enlighten and
empower participants. (details)

Cross-sector and new coalitions [for example --- grassroots, nonprofit and
government groups working together on digital connectivity issues]
participating in this event will be eligible to receive a planning grant
and to submit for a Minnesota State Network Grant for 2006.(agenda)

Register today to assure your coalition's place at the table!

Last yeard's conference attracted over 100 local technology advocates,
developers, GIS professionals, policy makers, and non-profit decision
makers. This year we want to increase outreach to young people, new
immigrant participants, and legislators.

The date is December 12, 2005.

Four Points by Sheraton
1330 Industrial Boulevard Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413

Sign up for the conference listserve and we will contact you as
updated info becomes available.

Contact us at info [at] MSNetfund.org for further information.

Co-hosted by Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. and the Community Computer
Access Network (C-CAN), the Twin Cities-based Community Technology
Empowerment Project. Sponsored by the Minnesota State Network (MSNet) Fund
of The Minneapolis Foundation and HP.

From:
http://msnetfund.org/agenda.html

December 12th, 2005
Four Points Sheraton Minneapolis
1330 Industrial Boulevard
Minneapolis, MN

DRAFT AGENDA
(Most presenters have confirmed as of 11/13/05, several pending)

8:00 AM Registration
Continental Breakfast & Tech Fair Tables
in registration area and general session room

8:30-9:30 a.m. PRE-CONFERENCE 101 SESSIONS
(For beginners and those new to the Field of Digital Connectivity)
These sessions will address these questions---

Usefulness: Why do I need this stuff?
Understanding: What do all these terms mean?
Access: Where is this available and can I learn how to use it?
Rights: Who gets access and why? Who determines WHAT is available?
Cost: What about the MONEY? Who controls funding and the decisions?

NOTE: Content will be presented in 15 minute mini-sessions, option for
attendees to rotate among the choices every 15 minutes.

 - People, Tech Literacy and Applications:-- Catherine Settanni & Rick
Birmingham
 - People and Information: Data - Research - Planning--- Jeff Matson, Jim
Ramstrom, LMIC, MN Dept of Administration
 - People & On-line Democracy --- Organizing, Advocacy and Activism --
Angela Stuber, Ohio Community Computer Network (OCCN)
 - Demystifying Blogs & More --- Allison H. Fine

REGULAR CONFERENCE SESSIONS
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(These are all general sessions, with 10 minute context-setter speaker
followed by 30 to 40 minutes of panel response, then 30 minutes of Q & A
discussion with the audience.)

9:45 AM
Welcome and Overview of Day - Joanne Walz, Community Philanthropy Officer,
The Minneapolis Foundation, Minnesota State Network Fund

10 AM-11:30 Community Informatics - Community Informatics (CI) is the
practice of enabling communities with Information and Communications
Technologies (ICTs). CI seeks to work with communities towards the
effective use of ICT to improve their processes, achieve their objectives,
and overcome the "digital divides" that exist both within and between
communities. CI empowers communities and citizens in the access to and use
of ICT across a number of community services and community needs including
but not limited to health, building the capacity and responsiveness of
cultural communities to advocate on their own behalf, civic management,
community development planning processes, and e-governance.

Moderator: Jane Leonard, co-chair Minnesota State Network Fund of the
Minneapolis Foundation, president of Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc.
Keynote: Kate Williams, Research Fellow, University of Michigan School of
Information Panel members:  John Powell of the Kirwan Institute Cheryl
Wilson, MICAH Cheryl Morgan Spencer, Minneapolis Urban League Rep. Carlos
Mariani, Executive Director, Minnesota Minority Education Partnership Jim
Ramstrom, Minnesota Land Mgmt Information Center: Environmental Atlas Dawn
Simonson, Metro Agency on Aging

11:30 Break & Pick up lunch

12 noon Wireless---Next Generation of Tech for Communities

Moderator: Catherine Settanni, co-chair Minnesota State Network Fund
of the Minneapolis Foundation, founder/director of C-CAN; The
Community Computer Access Network
Keynote: Matt Rantanen and Michael Peralta-Tribal Digital Village
developers, Pala Reservation
Panel members:
 Jim Farstad, Minneapolis IP/Broadband Initiative
 Russ Adams, Alliance for Metro Stability- Digital Access+Equity Campaign
 Gary Schiff, Minneapolis City Council
 Donna Martin, Director of Telecommunications Upper Sioux Community
 Teresa R. Peterson, Vice Chairman, Upper Sioux Community Board of
Trustees

1:30 - Break

1:45 PM Policy/Regulatory Arena - Next Generation of Issues

Moderator: Madonna Yawakie, president of Turtle Island Communication,
Inc.
Keynote: Adrian Herbst, principal, Baller Herbst Law Group
Panel members:
 Angela Stuber, Ohio Community Computing Network (OCCN)
 Josh Kirshenbaum, PolicyLink
 Nick Wallace, Institute for Race and Poverty, University of MN
 Marcia Warren-Edelman, Native Networking Policy Center in Washington,
D.C.
 David Glover, Eastmont Computing Center in Oakland

3:15 - Break and groups move into Strategy/Action organizing rooms
and tables
Potential organizing areas:
-American Indian Telecom
- Community Organizing around Tech Issues
-Community Informatics Center Concept
- Multi-sector coalition to address Policy/Legislative/Regulatory
Issues

3:30 - 4:30 PM Strategy - Coalition Building
Planning Grant Development
Organize and formulate brief description / narrative for Minnesota
Digitized: The Next Generation Planning Grants

Goal for each session:
Form a group of individuals and organizations willing to meet over the
next three months to develop a full proposal to the MSNet Fund

Work to be done:
1) Determine a focus for the planning process, an issue that needs to
be addressed or a strategy that needs to be developed that flows from
the conference sessions:
- Community Informatics
- New Technologies - Empowering Minnesota's New Communities [e.g.
wireless]
-Policy and Regulatory Challenges
-Other --- group defines a focus

2) Determine who needs to be part of the planning and how that group
represents the assets and interests of those most impacted by the
need/issue. Assure that the "expertise" is also part of the group.
Determine how to best empower that group to work together in the planning
process.

3) Decide on an organization to serve as "agent" for the group [will
receive the planning funds, will organize meetings, make sure invitations
and supports [stipends, childcare, etc] are distributed, responsible for
putting the proposal in document form, assures that group members are
empowered in participation.

4) Determine a planning schedule and date of next meeting.

5) Determine amount needed for planning [$2000 - $5000]

6) Appoint someone to spearhead completion of the planning grant and
submission for MSNet Fund Advisors consideration at 4:30 PM.

4:15 MSNet Fund Advisors Meeting

Announcement of Planning Grant Awards will be made on December 13

Register now---it is easy and low-cost. If you are an education, youth
organizer or grassroots activist---you can even register as a group for
the entire conference including pre-conference Digital Connectivity 101
sessions.

Contact us at info [at] MSNetfund.org for further information, or call 651-
645-9403.

Co-hosted by Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. and the Community Computer
Access Network (C-CAN), the Twin Cities-based Community Technology
Empowerment Project. Sponsored by the Minnesota State Network (MSNet) Fund
of The Minneapolis Foundation and HP


--------3 of 17--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Alliant trial 12.12 1:30pm

Monday, 12/12, 1:30 pm, Bench trial for 12 who were arrested on July 13 at
Alliant Techsystems, Miinesota war contractor of illegal weapons under
International Law. Bench trial at Southdale District Court, 7009 York Ave
South, Edina (library is on corner, too) www.alliantaction.org


--------4 of 17--------

From: Todd Heintz <proud2liveinjordan [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Truth in taxation 12.12 5:05pm

Have a complaint about taxes, then let your voice be heard!!

Minneapolis residents and property owners have an opportunity to comment
on the 2006 tax level and City budget at the Truth in Taxation hearing on
Dec. 12, 2005.

The hearing will be held:
5:05pm, Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 City Council Chambers (Room 317),
Minneapolis City Hall, 350 S 5th St.

The hearing is being held by the Minneapolis City Council, Board of
Estimate and Taxation, Library, and Park and Recreation Boards. The City
Council is schedule vote on the adoption of the budget on Dec. 19, 2005.


--------5 of 17--------

From: Sheila Sullivan <aiisullivan [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: ComoParkN4P 12.12 6pm

Hello Peace Lovers of Como Park,

Next Monday, Dec 12 we will be meeting at the Coffee Grounds at 6pm.
Please join us as we will be planning our meeting with the group - Youth
Against War and Racism (YAWR).  Many times we have talked about reaching
out to youth in our community and this may open those doors for us.


--------6 of 17--------

From: Ron Holch <rrholch [at] attg.net>
Subject: No stadium 12.12 6:30pm

The Lino Lakes City Council will take up the issue of a resolution
supporting the State required referendum for Taxes to pay for a Vikings
Stadium(see below):

	Monday December 12, 2005
	6:30 pm City Council Meeting
	At Lino Lakes City Hall

We need all those who can be there to show support.  You can speak on the
issue for 4 minutes if you want to.  There is no need to preregister.  If
we are successful the resolution which has already been introduced may be
voted on or tabled for the next regular City Council Meeting and be voted
on by the Council.

If you have any questions email or call me 651-642-9717
Or call City Council member Donna Carlson (651) 429-1372

STATE OF MINNESOTA
COUNTY OF ANOKA
CITY OF LINO LAKES
Resolution

WHEREAS, Anoka County and the Minnesota Vikings are proposing to construct
a sports stadium in the City of Blaine; and

WHEREAS, Anoka County is proposing to financially fund a portion of the
stadium with a County-wide sales tax and other fees which will be paid by
taxpayers, and

WHEREAS, Anoka County and others are in favor of bypassing a state law,
which requires a referendum in order to increase taxes to fund a stadium.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Lino Lakes City Council, which is
the representative government body of the residents of Lino Lakes,
supports the necessity of a referendum, as it is required by law.

Ron Holch Organizer Tax Payers Against an Anoka County Vikings Stadium


--------7 of 17--------

From: faith [at] plethora.net
Subject: Town hall/Iraq 12.12 6:30pm

As many of you may have heard After Downing Street, democrats.com,and
Progressive Democrats of America plus many other oragnizations (see the
list below) have been promoting nation wide Town hall meetings on Iraq on
or near January 7th. Congressman Sabo has already agreed to attend a town
hall meeting hosted by DFL Progressive Caucus in CD 5 on Jan 3rd at 7pm
location TBA

I am having planning meetings the next 2 weeks. The first meeting will be
this coming Monday 6:30 pm at Fireroast Mountain coffe shop 38th ST and
37th ave.

We will talk about details such as press releases, fliers, program agenda,
listening survey questions ect.  If you are interested in haelping
conctact me or please come. The second plaaning session will be at the
same place, same time, different day uesday December 20th.  Email me
faith [at] plethora.net, or call 612-760-2512. Thank you Faith

Sponsoring groups
Backbone Campaign, Progressive Democrats of America, After Downing Street,
Democracy Cell Project, Cities for Peace, MilitaryFreeZone.Org & Operation
Ceasefire, Montgomery County Progressive Alliance (Maryland), United for
Peace and Justice, U.S. Tour of Duty, Hip Hop Caucus, Democracy Rising,
World Can't Wait, WakeUpLaughing.com, Gold Star Families for Peace,
PeaceMajority Report, Global Exchange, Bring Them Home Campaign, UP
(United Progressives) for Democracy, 20 20 Vision, Impeach Bush Coalition,
Peace Action,


--------8 of 17--------

From: David Strand <mncivil [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Alito/court 12.13 12noon
[Mpls] Dec. 13th "The Alito Nomination and the Future of the U.S.
    Supreme Court"

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution
Society invites you to a luncheon on:

"The Alito Nomination and the Future of the U.S. Supreme Court"
Featuring: Nan Aron President, Alliance for Justice

12noon
Tuesday December 13
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP
2800 LaSalle Plaza
800 LaSalle Avenue
Minneapolis, MN

Lunch will be served. There is no charge for this event.
Please RSVP to TwinCities [at] ACSLaw.org by Monday, December 12 at 12 PM


--------9 of 17--------

From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Umm Kulthum/film 12.13 6pm

Perspectives on the Arab World Film Series: "Umm Kulthum: A Voice
Like Egypt" Free film, pizza, and pop.

Tuesday December 13, 6pm Macalester College, Carnegie Hall 07,
1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul. "Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt".

Documentary on the most important diva of the Arab World, placing her
career in the context of the social and political upheavals of modern
Egyptian history. Includes concert footage and clips from her roles in
classic Egyptian films (Michael Goldman, 1996, 67 min., English and Arabic
with subtitles). Free pizza and pop. In conjunction with "Contemporary
Arab Society." Endorsed by: WAMM Middle East Committee.

[THE female Arab singer. What a treat! -also as Oum Kolsoum -ed]


--------10 of 17--------

From: Wyn Douglas <wyn_douglas [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Suburban ecology 12.13 6pm

Cafe Scientifique: Suburban Ecology
Tuesday, December 13, 6-8pm
Varsity Theater, Dinkytown
Free. Must be 18 or older to attend.

Though suburban life may seem to promise a "return to nature,"  suburbs
are anything but natural. Photographer Chris Faust and historian Frank
Edgerton Martin will look beneath the "veneer of greenness" in today's
suburbs to discuss how biodiversity is often lost or threatened by urban
sprawl and landscaping trends. The duo behind the Suburban Documentation
Project have built a remarkable photo archive documenting suburban lawns,
retention ponds, streets, and commercial developments. They'll be joined
by landscape ecologist Susan Galatowitsch and cultural historian John
Archer for a panel discussion about the past and future of the suburban
environment.

Cafe Scientifique is a monthly forum for science and culture hosted by the
Bell Museum of Natural History and sponsored in part by Sigma Xi and the
Varsity Theater.


--------11 of 17--------

From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Salon/peace 12.13 6:30pm

Mad Hatter's Tea House Conversational Salon: Rita Steinhagen, CSJ
Tuesday, December 13, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mad Hatter's Tea House, 943 West
7th, StPaul.

Rita Steinhagen, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, will read excerpts
from her recently published book, "Hooked by the Spirit: Journey of a
Peaceful Activist". Free. Donations accepted for program and treats. FFI:
Call 651-227-3228 or 651-227-2511. Endorsed by: WAMM.


--------12 of 17-------

From: Suzanne linton <bahiabaubo [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: WhiteBear N4P 12.13 7pm

WHITE BEAR LAKE NEIGHBORS FOR PEACE
Tuesday December 13    7:00
White Bear Unitarian Church
328 Maple St.   Mahtomedi

"Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land" a documentary on the
Palestinean/Israeli crisis, will be shown, followed by discussion.

'WBN4P' meets every second Tuesday.
We are primarily an educational support group.  Come join us.  Contact:
bahiabaubo [at] hotmail.com Suzanne Linton 651-429-3529


--------13 of 17--------

From: Tracy Molm <molm [at] umn.edu>
Subject: CD training 12.13 7pm

Civil Disobedience Training
Tuesday 12/13 @ 7pm @ Mayday Books, 301 Cedar Ave S, Mpls.

Interested in taking the next step to oppose the war? Hear why civil
disobedience is an effective tactic, and learn the skills necessary to
carry out a successful act of civil disobedience. Sponsored by the AWC.


--------14 of 17--------

War on Drugs:' A Foul Tragedy
By Garrison Keillor
In These Times. Posted December 6, 2005.

A marijuana grower can get life in prison without parole, while a murderer
might be in for eight years. No rational person can defend this.

We Democrats are at our worst when we try to emulate Republicans -- as we
did in signing onto the "war" on drugs that has ruined so many young
lives.

The cruelty of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 is stark indeed, as are
the sentencing guidelines that impose mandatory minimum sentences for
minor drug possession -- guidelines in the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act that
sailed through Congress without benefit of public hearings, drafted before
an election by Democrats afraid to be labeled "soft on drugs."

As a result, a marijuana grower can land in prison for life without parole
while a murderer might be in for eight years. No rational person can
defend this; it is a Dostoevskian nightmare, and it exists only because
politicians fled in the face of danger.

That includes Bill Clinton, under whose administration the prosecution of
Americans for marijuana went up hugely, so that now there are more folks
in prison for marijuana than for violent crimes. More than for
manslaughter or rape. This only makes sense in the fantasy world of
Washington, where perception counts for more than reality. To an old
Democrat, who takes a ground view of politics -- What is the actual effect
of this action on the lives of real people? -- it is a foul tragedy that
makes you feel guilty about enjoying your freedom.

If suddenly on a Friday night the red lights flash and the cops yank your
teenage son and his little envelope of marijuana into the legal
meatgrinder and some bullet-headed prosecutor decides to flex his muscle
and charge your teenager -- because he had a .22 rifle in his upstairs
bedroom closet -- with a felony involving the use of a firearm, which
under our brutal sentencing code means he can be put on ice for 20 years,
and the prosecutor goes at him hammer and tong and convinces a passive
jury and your boy's life is sacrificed so this creep can run for Congress
next year -- this is not your cross alone to bear. If the state cuts off
your right hand with a meat cleaver on my account and I don't object, then
it is my cleaver and my fingerprints on it.

I don't dare visit Sandstone Federal Prison here in Minnesota for fear of
what I'd see there: People who chose marijuana, a more benign drug than
alcohol, and got caught in the religious war that we Democrats in a weak
moment signed onto. God help us if we form alliance with such bullies as
would destroy a kid's life for raising cannabis plants.

Garrison Keillor is the host and writer of "A Prairie Home Companion," now
in its 26th year on the air.


--------15 of 17--------

Trade Liberalisation Is Not Development
By Vandana Shiva
ZNet Commentary
December 10, 2005
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-12/10shiva.cfm

It is an irony of our times that WTO and fair trade are now being
presented as "development". The enlargement of free markets for global
corporations in agriculture, services, and industrial products through the
Doha Round is being referred to as the "Doha Development Round". And
"development" will be the spin for the WTO Ministerial taking place in
Hong Kong from 13th to 18th December 2005. A special "development package"
has been introduced in the Draft Ministerial Text as para 37 titled Aid
for Trade.

"We welcome the discussions of Finance and Development Ministers in
various fora, including the IMF and the World Bank Development Committee,
that have taken place this year on expanding Aid for Trade. Aid for Trade
should aim to help developing countries, particularly LDCs, to build the
supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure that they need to
assist them to implement and benefit from WTO Agreements and more broadly
to expand their trade.

Aid for Trade cannot be a substitute for the development benefits that
will result from an ambitious conclusion to the DDA, particularly on
market access. However, it can be a valuable complement to the DDA. We
invite the General Council to convene a meeting before July 2006 dedicated
to considering how Aid for Trade might contribute most effectively to a
successful and ambitious conclusion to the DDA."

When fair trade was launched through WTO a decade ago the slogan was
"Trade not Aid". Ten years of WTO have exposed how unfree and unfair the
rules of WTO are. "Development" had become the fig leaf for the fading
promise of free trade. But the Hong Kong Ministerial will go further than
merely playing with worlds. What is being offered in "Aid for Trade" is a
new convergence and coherence between the coercive imposition of trade
liberalization by WTO, the World Bank and IMF.

"Building supply side capacity" implies the destruction of food
sovereignty and the reorientation of Third World agriculture to corporate
farming of cash crops for exports. "Trade related infrastructure" implies
privatization of energy and water services, privatization of highways,
ports and airports and the Walmartisation of retail. In other words, the
aid for trade implies World Bank and IMF using their financial muscle to
impose trade liberalization and privatization as conditionalities on
developing countries.

"Aid for Trade" implies World Bank / IMF bullying joining with WTO
bullying to enlarge and expand markets for MNC's in every sector -
agriculture, services, manufacturing.

Such dictatorship cannot possibly be called "development". Development
refers to the self-organised endogenous evolution of an organism, a
person, a society, a country. Development must therefore be based on
sovereignty and having the economic and political space for
self-determination. Development in its real meaning, derived from biology,
refers to self-organised evolution, not imposed change. The latter is
referred to as "maldevelopment", not development.

'Development' was to have been a post-colonial project, a choice for
accepting a model of progress in which the entire world remade itself on
the model of the colonizing modern west, without having to undergo the
subjugation and exploitation that colonialism entailed. The assumption was
that western style progress was possible for all. Development, as the
improved well-being of all, was thus equated with the westernization of
economic categories - of needs, of productivity, of growth.  Concepts and
categories about economic development and natural resource utilization
that had emerged in the specific context of industrialization and
capitalist growth in a center of colonial power, were raised to the level
of universal assumptions and applicability in the entirely different
context of basic needs satisfaction for the people of the newly
independent Third World countries.

Yet, as Rosa Luxemberg has pointed out, early industrial development in
Western Europe necessitated the permanent occupation of the colonies by
the colonial powers and the destruction of the local 'natural economy'.
According to her, colonialism is a constant necessary condition for
capitalist growth : without colonies, capital accumulation would grind to
a halt.  "Development" as capital accumulation and commercialization of
the economy for the generation of 'surplus' and profits thus involved the
reproduction not merely of a particular form of creation of wealth, but
also of the associated creation of poverty and dispossession.

A replication of economic development based on commercialization of
resource use for commodity production in the newly independent countries
created the internal colonies.  Development was thus reduced to a
continuation of the process of colonization; it became an extension of the
project of wealth creation in modern western patriarchy's economic vision,
which was based on the exploitation or exclusion of women (of the west and
non-west), on the exploitation and degradation of nature, and on the
exploitation and erosion of other cultures.  'Development' could not but
entail destruction for women, nature and subjugated cultures, which is
why, throughout the Third World, women, peasants and tribals are
struggling for liberation from 'development' just as they earlier
struggled for liberation from colonialism.

World Bank / IMF structural adjustment programmes which force trade
liberalization through conditionalities have added to the devastation of
their earlier financing of "development". Trade liberalization of
agriculture has been imposed by changing national laws related to land and
seeds facilitating corporate control over seed supply and agriculture.
Combined with WTO's trade liberalization, removal of quantitative
restrictions and promotion of dumping, World Bank funding has led to the
impoverishment and indebtedness of the majority of farmers and over the
last decade more than 40,000 Indian farmers have been driven to suicide in
despair as the burden of high costs production and low prices for their
produce squeezes out their livelihoods and lives. Killing farmers is not
development.

World Bank driven energy and water privatization programmes have led to
ten-fold increase in tariffs and denial of people to essential services.
Denying people their fundamental human right to water is not development.
It is genocide.

The Hong Kong Ministerial has been defined as a "development" ministerial.
Peoples movements told World Bank 50 years is enough and are telling WTO
10 years is enough. The convergence of trade liberalization as imposed by
the WTO and the World Bank in the "Aid for Trade" package needs to be
responded with a clear peoples agenda that exposes that trade
liberalization is not development, it is in fact anti-development and
maldevelopment.  "Development" cannot be allowed to once more become a
process of domination, exploitation, recolonisation. It has to be a
process unleashed by peoples energies as they reclaim their sovereignty to
land, to water, to seeds, to livelihoods, to culture. Post Hong Kong, it
is the grass roots initiatives that have created alternatives based on
people's sovereignty which will define what should be referred to as
development and what should be the rules of trade.

[Financal bullets. Financial bombs. Financial mustard gas. Financial gift
blankets filled with disease -ed]


--------16 of 17--------

How Greenspan Skewered America
by Mike Whitney
Dissident Voice - Dec 10, 2005
http://www.dissidentvoice.org

No one has done more to ensure the ultimate demise of the American middle
class than Alan Greenspan.

No one.

In the stately pantheon of class warriors, Greenspan's spectral-image
looms larger than any other; the foremost proponent of hardnosed social
Darwinism and exclusionary economics. Even his carpet bagging consort,
G.W. Bush, pales in comparison.

In just under five years the Fed master has engineered a coup so vast and
devastating that $1.3 trillion of borrowed revenue has been adroitly
shifted from the beleaguered middle class to the privileged 1% that
Greenspan represents.

Whoa!

It is the biggest heist in the history of the planet, and it was designed
and executed within the leather-bound citadel of the Federal Reserve.

Thanks, Alan.

The partnership of Bush and Greenspan has been the moral equivalent of the
sacking of Rome, maxing out the nation's credit card until every last
farthing has been drained from the public till. Greenspan's tenure has
left America bobbing atop an ocean of red ink ready to capsize with the
first gust of recession.

Greenspan was a key player in facilitating the Iraq war, pushing interest
rates to their lowest level six months before the war to keep the economy
on life-support while the propaganda campaign burst from the front pages
of the New York Times and the Washington Post.

It worked like a charm.

The American people were hoodwinked by White House fabrications and
anesthetized by cheap money. They began a borrowing frenzy that sluiced
zillions into a hyper-inflated housing market that is timed to detonate
just as wistful Alan picks up his gold watch and heads for the exit.

Good thinking, Alan.

Now, after years of mismanagement, Greenspan is offering caveats about the
chaos he's leaving behind. In his typical gibberish the chairman has
warned of "painful" adjustments if deficits are not brought under control.

"Painful" or life threatening?

It was Greenspan, the budget-busting tote for the patrician-class, who
defended the lavish Bush tax cuts that put the country on the fast track
to doomsday. Now, he's joined Grover Norquist and the "privatization
kooks" who want to dismantle the tattered ruins of the social safety net
and christen the new epoch of predatory capitalism. Alan is a big
supporter of "survival of the fittest" economics, the notion that people
at the bottom of the societal food chain deserve to be there so their
Nietzschean overlords, like the Fed chair, can rule supreme.

As Greenspan applies the last few turns of the screw (raising interest
rates twice more before he leaves) we're bound to see the credit-shackled
middle class begin an orderly march towards the nearest cliff where they
will quickly disappear lemming-like into the sea.

Seriously, the American people have no idea of the economic firestorm
that's just around the corner.

The economy is underwritten by $8 trillion of debt, requiring massive $2
billion infusions of foreign capital EVERY DAY. As former Fed chief Volker
noted, "It can't go one forever."

No it can't. Besides, it's all part of a neoliberal plan that has been
successfully executed throughout the third world: plunging the host nation
into insurmountable debt with the help of crooked regime (Bush and Co.)
and then pulling the rug out from under the shocked public. The massive
and calculated deficits are intended to create a crisis of insolvency,
resulting in the same type of "shock therapy" and "structural
readjustment" programs the IMF applies to bankrupt nations around the
world. Greenspan has moved the country closer to his goal of dismantling
popular social programs so the captains of industry can privatize the
public's assets.

So, how did Greenspan pull it off?

How did he keep the somnolent American public from noticing the widening
deficits and the alarming transfer of wealth from one class to another?

The answer is: low interest rates, the toxic elixir that can incapacitate
an entire nation, leaving its people drowsy and indifferent to imminent
disaster.

Recently, Greenspan has begun warning of the difficulties ahead,
cautioning that our problems will only be "compounded by a protectionist
reversal of globalization." In other words, prepare yourself to compete
with the lowest paid worker in Canton province. The hemorrhaging of
high-paying jobs that sustain the middle class doesn't bother the
Fed-chief. Greenspan has the same irksome sense of equity as his
ideological twin at the New York Times, Tom Friedman. Friedman has been
preaching the gospel of "free market" capitalism for years. Neither one
tries to conceal their contempt for organized labor or the redistribution
of profits. Friedman's Brigadoon is identical to Greenspan's: a land of
milk and honey where 99% of the denizens live in abject poverty scraping
to get by and where the not-so-invisible hand is savagely affixed to the
throat of a permanent underclass.

Welcome to Greenspan's nirvana.

Greenspan also warned that the budget "will substantially worsen in the
coming years unless major deficit-reducing measures are taken."

"Deficit-reducing measures"? You mean, like rolling back the Bush tax
cuts?

Hell no. Class-warrior Alan said he did not "believe that major increases
in taxes were the solution."

Of course, not. Why should the fat cats in the silk suits and Ferraris
have to pay their share? After all, we can just raise the payroll tax
again (Greenspan's earlier plan) and take another pound of flesh from the
middle class? No one will notice.

Baby boomers retirement?

Not to worry, Greenspan suggests we extend the age of retirement to some
imaginary date when the wealthy will stop fleecing the poor and the
national ledger will magically balance.

Cradle to grave, Americans are being prepared for the slaughter. The
chances for upward mobility or even subsistent living are being eclipsed
by the day. The yoke that one shoulders at birth will follow him/her until
his death.

Greenspan's racketeers have absconded with the nation's bounty behind a
smokescreen of low interest rates. They lulled us to sleep with soothing
words of "no-interest loans," no down payments, and a real estate windfall
for anyone bold enough to sign on the dotted line.

Now, the grim reality has begun to set in. Interest rates are rising, the
dollar is reeling, energy costs are skyrocketing, consumer confidence is
plummeting, and gold is shooting through the roof. When China and Japan
decide to jettison their worthless US Savings Bonds, Greenspan's mighty
fortress will collapse in a heap.

The American people are crazy to think that a privately owned institution
like the Federal Reserve will ever function in the public interest. The
Fed operates behind an iron curtain of secrecy to protect the interests of
its primary constituents: the parasite class. The Fed was authorized under
executive order by Woodrow Wilson, who was coerced into putting the
country's future into the hands of its central bankers so he could finance
World War I. Bankers have always understood that the one who holds the
purse-strings calls the shots. This explains what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said, "Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing
armies."

While Greenspan teeters off to retirement, he can be confident that his
trap has already sprung. The country is dead broke and will be forced to
comply with the demands of its creditors. The impending "austerity
measures" will be used to reshape the fabric of American life; a complete
reordering of society to meet the standards of a modern capitalist utopia:
Greenspan's paradise, the United States of Destitution.

[Financal bullets. Financial bombs. Financial mustard gas. Financial gift
blankets filled with disease -ed]


--------17 of 17--------

 THE MAPLE TREE

 The maple tree that night
 without a wind or rain
 let go its leaves
 because its time had come.
 Brown veined, spotted,
 like old hands, fluttering in blessing,
 they fell upon my head
 and shoulders, and then
 down to the quiet at my feet.
 I stood, and stood
 until the tree was bare
 and have told no one
 but you that I was there.

    --Eugene McCarthy, 1916-2005

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