Events
HR DAY – December 10 is Human Rights Day as declared by the United Nations. On that date in 1948, 48 members of the UN, including the United States, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. See the official document in over 300 languages, along with related info and press.
ASSEMBLY – The 4th Annual National Assembly of United for Peace & Justice is scheduled for December 12-14 at the Wyndham O’Hare Hotel in Chicago. Representatives of UFPJ’s 1,400 member groups will attend and the assembly is also open to all who agree with the Unity Statement and the Strategic Framework adopted at the last assembly (available at the website), though only delegates of UFPJ member groups (as of December 1, 2008) may participate in decision-making.
MLK DAY – The Martin Luther King Day holiday falls on Monday, January 19. Peace groups are highlighting MLK’s oft-overlooked anti-imperialist, antiwar activism as a way to call attention to the need to end the current wars of U.S. aggression just before the inauguration (January 20).
Contact: UFPJ, PO Box 607, Times Square Station, NY, NY 10108; 212-868-5545; www.unitedforpeace.org; National and Community Service, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20525; 202-606-5000; Volunteer Memphis, 901-523-2425; www.mlkday.org.
SOCIAL FORUM – The ninth World Social Forum is reconvening for a single event in 2009, after coordinated international actions in lieu of a single forum in 2008. WSF2009 will be held in Belem, Brazil from January 27 through February 1 to discuss and help create a more just economic and governing system under the banner "Another World Is Possible."
ANTI-NATO – Planning and mobilization is underway for protests and peace alternatives during NATO’s 60th anniversary celebration on the French-German border in April 2009.
Campaigns
BAILOUTS – A Bailout the People, Not Wall Street campaign is being conducted by the Ad Hoc National Network to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions. Educational materials and info about local groups and events is available on the website.
Contact: Ad Hoc National Network to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions, Solidarity Center, 55 W. 17th St. #5C, New York, NY 10011; 212-633-6646; [email protected]; www.StopForeclosuresandEvictions.org.
BOOKS – The Prison Book Program has been conducting their holiday campaign to fulfill the thousands of requests by prisoners for books. People can help by donating books (see website or contact them for the book donation requirements) or money.
Contact: Prison Book Program, c/o Lucy Parsons Bookstore, 1306 Hancock Street, Suite 100, Quincy, MA 02169; 617-423-3298; [email protected]; www.prisonbookprogram.org.
GITMO – Witness Against Torture is launching a new campaign, 100 Days To Close Guantánamo!, with lobbying and activism during the first three months of the Obama administration. Kicking off with a nine day fast, the campaign will consist of a daily presence across from the White House and weekly Executive and Congressional education, public teach-ins, film screenings, prayer and vigils, direct action and public pressure.
Contact: Witness Against Torture, c/o Mary House Catholic Worker, 55 E. Third St., New York, NY 10003; www.witnesstorture.org/100days.
RNC-8 – The pre-trial process is still underway for eight activists who were preemptively arrested at the Republican National Convention and charged with the Conspiracy to Commit Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. Funds are needed to fight these absurd charges which can result in several years of prison.
Contact: RNC 8 Legal Defense Fund, c/o CUAPB, 3100 16th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55407; [email protected]; www.rnc8.org.
Internet
LEFT BLOG – A new political weblog called Left Solutions has been started for the "non-denominational left" for interactive discussion and polling of issues.
REPORT – The Global Forest Coalition has released a report, "Life as Commerce: the Impact of Market-based Conservation," which is available online, featuring case studies of ill-advised policies like ecotourism, forest certification, biodiversity offsets, and carbon trade.
Contact: GFC, North American Focal Point, Global Justice Ecology Project, PO Box 412, Hinesburg VT 05461; 802-482-2689; [email protected]; www.globaljusticeecology.org; report at www.globalforestcoalition.org.
Film & Music
GOLDMINE – All That Glitters Isn’t Gold is an hour-long documentary that tells the stories of community members living near Goldcorp’s open-pit, heap-leach gold mine in Honduras’s Siria Valley.
Contact: Rights Action, PO Box 50887, Washington DC 20091; 202-783-1123; [email protected]; www.rightsaction.org/video/gold.
HAITI – A fundraising campaign is underway to complete The Price of Freedom, a four-part documentary film on the successful slave revolt that culminated in the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804.
Contact: The Price of Freedom, PO Box 371381, Decatur GA 30037; 641-715-3900, ext. 85977; [email protected]; www.thepriceforfreedom.com.
INDY-ROCK – Big Green’s new album, International House, includes political songs about class struggle, extraordinary rendition, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, dissent, and other uncontroversial topics.
WHISTLEBLOWERS – The new documentary On The Side of Angels tells the stories of several prominent "whistleblowers" around the world, from Los Alamos to Telecom Italia, and the persecutions they suffered.
Contact: Icarus Films, 32 Court Street, 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 718-488-8900; [email protected]; [email protected]; www.icarusfilms.com.
Books
AID WORK – In Humanitarian Aid Work: A Critical Approach by Carlos Martin Beristain advocates for more cultural sensitivity and collaboration in aid work, suggesting alternative ideas for social reconstruction based on his experiences in Latin America.
Contact: University of Pennsylvania Press, 3905 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA19104; 215-898-6261; [email protected]; www.upenn.edu/pennpress.
CLASS WAR – Unjust Deserts: How the Rich Are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back by Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly offers a synthesis of modern research about the unequal distribution of our collective wealth.
Contact: The New Press, 38 Greene Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10013; 212-629-8802; www.thenewpress.com.
COMIC – In Get Your War On: The Definitive Account of the War on Terror, 2001-2008, the subversive strips of comic artist David Rees offer a biting critique of a bloodthirsty imperialist monster.
Contact: Soft Skull Press, 9 West 21st, Suite 1101, New York, NY 10010; 718-643-1599; www.softskull.com.
HOMEFRONT – Home Fronts: A Wartime American Reader, edited by Michael Foley and Brendan O’Malley, is a compilation of original sources—letters, lyrics, poems, cartoons, newspaper articles, leaflets—which constructs a social history of life in the U.S. on the "home front" in a climate of endless war.
Contact: The New Press, 38 Greene Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10013; 212-629-8802; www.thenewpress.com.
IRAN – Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer by Phyllis Bennis provides an essential history and analysis of U.S.-Iranian relations and their current state of crisis.
Contact: Interlink Publishing, 46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060; 800-238-5465; [email protected]; www.interlinkbooks.com.
IRAQ WAR – In War Without End: The Iraq War in Context, Michael Schwartz demolishes the myths of Iraq war "successes" and exposes the corruption and naked power grab behind the hype.
Contact: Haymarket Books, PO Box 180165, Chicago, IL 60618; 773-583-7884; [email protected]; www.haymarketbooks.org.
MEXICO – Mexico Unconquered by John Gibler exposes the class divisions and resulting corruption and rebellions in Mexican society.
Contact: City Lights Publishing, 261 Columbus Avenue at Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133; 415-362-1901; [email protected]; www.citylights.com.
RHETORIC – Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook for 21st Century Activists by Jason Del Gandio offers guidelines for effective persuasion from conversation to street theater.
Contact: New Society Publishers, PO Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC, V0R 1X0, Canada; 250-247-9737; [email protected]; www.newsociety.com.
PEACE – Ending the Iraq War: A Primer by Phyllis Bennis discusses the history, context, and issues involved in ending the occupation in a "frequently asked questions" format.
Contact: Interlink Publishing, 46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060; 800-238-5465; [email protected]; www.interlinkbooks.com.
SOLDIERS – Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations by IVAW and Aaron Glantz documents the Spring 2008 hearings against the war organized by veterans.
Contact: Haymarket Books, P.O. Box 180165, Chicago, IL, 60618; 773-583-7884; [email protected]; www.haymarketbooks.org.
VIETNAM – Winter Soldiers: An Oral History of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War by Richard Stacewicz collects accounts from more than 30 former and current members of the VVAW.
Contact: Haymarket Books, PO Box 180165, Chicago, IL, 60618; 773-583-7884; [email protected]; www.haymarketbooks.org.
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