Progressive Calendar 11.15.07 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu) | |
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:36:35 -0800 (PST) |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 11.15.07 1. Blacks/college 11.15 9am 2. Iraq/KFAI 11.15 11am 3. Eagan vigil 11.15 4:30pm 4. Northtown vigil 11.15 5pm 5. KFAI/wine/power 11.15 6pm 6. Hmong origins 11.15 6:30pm 7. Womens dreams 11.15 6:30pm 8. Eat the rich 11.15 7pm 9. Jew/Muslim/peace 11.15 7pm 10. eCycling/MoA 11.15 11. Anti-warWalkout 11.16 12noon 12. Hmong origins 11.16 3pm 13. James Petras - Venezuela between ballots and bullets --------1 of 13-------- From: Anne R. Carroll <carrfran [at] qwest.net> Subject: Blacks/college 11.15 9am Dr. Julianne Malveaux to keynote College Access Conference on November 15 AM. Tickets available separately Renowned economist, author and college president Dr. Julianne Malveaux will keynote the Minnesota College Access Network Conference on Thursday, November 15, in a 9 to 10 AM breakfast speech. Dr. Malveaux will be introduced by Art Rolnick, and will speak on the role of college access strategies in building our economy and the development of our leadership and civic capacity Cost for Dr. Malveaux' speech alone is $ 50. The College Access Conference, which runs Thursday AM through Friday noon, November 15-16, is for college access practitioners, education policy-makers, business stakeholders and others with interest in the college access field. The cost of the full conference is $ 150 (less for MCAN members). The full line-up of offerings and a sign up for either the entire conference or Dr. Malveaux's speech can be found at www.mncollegeaccess.org <http://www.mncollegeaccess.org/> . - Dr. Rosa Smith to keynote MMEP's 20th Anniversary Dinner on November 15, evening. Dr. Rosa Smith, former president of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, will keynote the Minnesota Minority Education Partnerships 20th Anniversary celebration on Thursday, November 15. Her talk is entitled " Black boys: the litmus test for public education". The evening program (5:30 to 9 PM) will run at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Minneapolis and includes dinner. Tickets are $ 85 and reservations can be made online at www.mmep.net <http://www.mmep.net/> . The Minnesota College Access Network is an initiative of MMEP whose goal is to increase the number and quality of college access programs as well as the number of college-bound students of color who benefit from them. For more information, go to www.mncollegeaccess.org <http://www.mncollegeaccess.org/> The Minnesota Minority Education Partnership (MMEP), founded in 1987, is a nonprofit collaborative that formally brings together major educational institutions in Minnesota with people of color to increase the success of Minnesota students of color in Minnesota schools, colleges and universities. For more information, go to www.mmep.net <http://www.mmep.net/> --------2 of 13-------- From: Write On Radio <writeonradio [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Iraq/KFAI 11.15 11am Write on radio airs every THURSDAY 11 am - noon central time on 90.3 FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul and live on the web at www.kfai.org. Shows are archived for two weeks on line. Thursday, November 15th, Lynette talks with poet Ann Iverson. She's a member of the Laurel Poetry Collective, and her newest book is Definite Space. Many of the poems in this collection describe the conflicted feelings of a mom watching her son called to the Iraq war. In the second half of the show, we talk with Haifa Zangana, author of City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance. Haifa Zangana is a weekly columnist for al-Quds newspaper and a commentator for The Guardian, Red Pepper, and al-Ahram Weekly. She lives in London. --------3 of 13-------- From: Greg and Sue Skog <skograce [at] mtn.org> Subject: Eagan vigil 11.15 4:30pm CANDLELIGHT PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest corner of Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs and candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends south of the river speaking out against war. --------4 of 13-------- From: EKalamboki [at] aol.com Subject: Northtown vigil 11.15 5pm NORTHTOWN Peace Vigil every Thursday 5-6pm, at the intersection of Co. Hwy 10 and University Ave NE (SE corner across from Denny's), in Blaine. Communities situated near the Northtown Mall include: Blaine, Mounds View, New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Spring Lake Park, Fridley, and Coon Rapids. We'll have extra signs. For more information people can contact Evangelos Kalambokidis by phone or email: (763)574-9615, ekalamboki [at] aol.com. --------5 of 13-------- From: Andy Driscoll <andy [at] driscollgroup.com> Subject: KFAI/wine/power 11.15 6pm KFAI Wine Tasting = Power Increase Celebration (Thursday, November 15th) As you may have learned through the grapevine, the FCC has approved KFAI¹s application to build a 900-watt directional antenna (up from 30 watts) for our 90.3 signal. The new antenna, scheduled for construction during the first half of 2008, will increase the broadcast area and strength of our main signal. This is exciting news for listeners and volunteers alike. To celebrate, you (and your friends and colleagues) are invited to attend KFAI¹s WINE TASTING EVENT at the Black Dog Café on Thursday, November 15th (6-9pm). Proceeds from tickets help benefit KFAI and all our current and future projects. For tickets and information: <https://www.kfai.org/node/add/wine-tasting-tickets> Details: KFAI Wine Tasting at the Black Dog Thursday, November 15, 2007, 6pm until 9pm The Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar in Lowertown 4th and Broadway, downtown St. Paul: 651.228-9274 (Ample parking available in surface lots 1 block east, off Kellogg, or 1 block south, off Prince Street.) TICKETS: $30 per person, tickets available at the Black Dog, online here <https://www.kfai.org/node/add/wine-tasting-tickets> or call KFAI: --------6 of 13-------- From: jovita.bjoraker [mailto:Jovita.Bjoraker [at] state.mn.us] Subject: Hmong origins 11.15 6:30pm The Center for Hmong Studies will host a lecture by Dr. Gary Yia Lee, Scholar-in-Residence at Concordia University, on November 15, 2007 from 6:30 pm. - 7:30 pm. The lecture is entitled, The Origin of the Hmong. During this lecture Dr. Lee will share with the audience what he discovered through his research relating to this topic. The lecture will take place in the Buenger Education Center at Concordia University. The lecture is free and open to the public. --------7 of 13-------- From: "wamm [at] mtn.org" <wamm [at] mtn.org> Subject: Womens dreams 11.15 6:30pm Minnesota Women's Consortium Conference: "Women's Dreams, 1977-1007 and Beyond" Thursday, November 15, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. and Friday, November 16, 8:00 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. University of Minnesota, Continuing Education Center, 1890 Buford Avenue, St. Paul. Conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Houston Plan of Action. Advance registration in required. Sponsored by: Minnesota Women's Consortium. FFI and to Register: Call 651-228-0338, visit <www.mnwomen.org> or email <info [at] mnwomen.org>. --------8 of 13-------- From: Michael Wood <mwood42092 [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Eat the rich 11.15 7pm [ed head] Gus Hall Action Club warmly invites you to study and discuss an article, "The Class Struggle and Ideology," with us November 15th at 7:00 Mayday Bookstore, 301 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis. Gus Hall, one of the founders of the Steelworkers' Union (USWA), was born in Minnesota and was the leader and presidential candidate of the Communist Party for many years. Hall's essay, "Class Struggle and Ideology," addresses the ideology and worldviews of the capitalist class vs. the working class. He writes: "There are two main world views - capitalist and working class. This is based on the law that in a class divided capitalist society, the interests of the capitalist class and the working class will remain irreconcilable, antagonistic, in opposition until the end of capitalism." Hall's essay addresses ways of interpreting and struggling to change the world. Hall calls Marxism-Leninism "a science for social change." The full essay may be read at: http://www.pww.org/past-weeks-1999/The%20class%20struggle%20part%201 See the Gus Hall Action Club blog at: http://gushallactionclub.blogspot.com/ --------9 of 13-------- From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com> Subject: Jew/Muslim/peace 11.15 7pm Thursday November 15th - 7-9 pm: "Jerusalem in our Day: Possibilities for Peace," A talk with Eliyahu McLean and Ghassan Manasra ? Temple Israel, Hennepin and Emerson Ave, Mpls. MN Free and open to the public Sponsored in part by the Minneapolis Interfaith Forum. Sunday November 18th- 5:30 pm (potluck) & 6:30 program Healing Abraham's Family.? A talk with Eliyahu McLean and Ghassan Manasra - Two peacemakers from Jerusalem Woodbury United Methodist Church - 7465 Steepleview Rd, Woodbury, 55125 Free and open to the public; For further information call Stina, (651) 738-0305, at the church. Eliyahu McLean, who is Jewish, directs the Jerusalem Peacemakers a network of religious leaders and grassroots peace builders in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Eliyahu is a leader in such bridge building projects as the Abrahamic Reunion, a group of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Druze religious leaders working together to re-claim religion as a source for peace; the annual 'On the Way to Sulha' event and monthly inter-religious Israeli-Palestinian peace gatherings in East and West Jerusalem. Ghassan Manasra, who is Muslim, directs Anwar il-Salaam, a Muslim peace center in Nazareth promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue. Ghassan is ordained as a sheikh and he is the son of Sheikh Abdel Salaam Manasra, the head of the Qadiri Sufi order in the Holy Land. --------10 of 13-------- From: "Krista Menzel (Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace)" <web [at] mppeace.org> Subject: eCycling/MoA 11.15 The Great Minnesota eCycling Event at Mall of America Help save a river, or a forest or a city tree - by bringing your old electronics to the country's biggest eCycling event You probably didn't realize your old TV's and computers are a major problem for the environment. You can't leave them in the street; you can't put them in the trash anymore - so bring them here to the country's largest ever eCycling (electronics recycling) event organized by MPC in partnership with Mall of America. It's three days to save the planet, or at least make a start. Bring old stuff, get FREE stuff Join us Thursday November 15 on America Recycles Day for the start of a three-day eCycling event. Bring your old computers, TV sets, and small electronics (sorry, no appliances). There's no charge for drop off and in return you'll get a Mall of America Mystery Park Pass, a Special Guest Star Program pass with 200 discounts throughout the Mall and other free coupons and goodies. Come to the Mall of America Met Lot just north of the Mall and near Ikea and simply pull into one of the many drop off lanes. Special staff will unload your electronics and get you quickly on your way. Event Schedule Thursday November 15 6.00am - 7.00pm Friday November 16 6.00am - 7.00pm Saturday November 17 9.00am - 5.00pm --------11 of 13-------- From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com> Subject: Anti-war walkout 11.16 12noon Twin Cities Student Anti-War Walkout Fri.NOV.16,NOON End the War in Iraq! Bring the Troops Home Now! Military Recruiters Out of Our Schools! Money for Education Not War! Friday, November 16 Walkout of school at 12 noon Rally at 1:00pm at Government Plaza (downtown Minneapolis on 5th St. and 4th Ave. by Light Rail station), followed by a march to a mass indoor anti-war extravaganza with music, film, spoken word, and speeches at Augsburg College TOP 5 WAYS TO BUILD THE WALKOUT IN YOUR SCHOOL: 1. Download leaflets to pass out in your school at http://www.yawr.org/nov16/index.htm (If you need us to get you copies or make a leaflet with specific info for your school, please get in touch right away! - e-mail against.war [at] gmail.com) 2. Publicize the walkout over Facebook and MySpace - Create your own Facebook event and invite people from your school! - Visit the Youth Against War and Racism MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/yawrMN - Send a MySpace bulletin to all your friends with info on the walkout - Join the Twin Cities Student Walkout Against the War Facebook Group at: http://harvard.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13124520620 3. Download the walkout sign-up sheet and collect names from your school - then make a plan to make phone calls a day or two before the walkout - Walkout sign-up sheet available at http://www.yawr.org/nov16/Files/Walkoutsignup.rtf 4. Forward this e-mail to all your friends! 5. Bring leaflets to concerts, football games, or any events where there might be a lot of students! WHY WALKOUT NOVEMBER 16? Military Recruiters Out of Our Schools Our high schools have been turned into recruiting stations. To find soldiers, schools are required to give military recruiters students' names, phone numbers, and addresses. Recruiters target working class youth and students of color. In St. Paul, Minneapolis, and beyond, YAWR is pressuring school boards to restrict military access to our schools. Turn up the heat with a mass student walkout! Money for Education - Not War In Minnesota alone, the war has cost us $11 billion, which could have provided over 536,000 students four year scholarships at public universities ( www.costofwar.com). Furthermore, the Minneapolis School District recently closed five schools, claiming they had a budget deficit. Out of our classes and into the streets to demand money for jobs and education - not war! End the War - Bring the Troops Home Now In last year's election, the American people sent a clear message to end this war that has killed over 3,800 U.S. soldiers, 1,000 private military contractors, and 655,000 Iraqis. Instead of cutting off the funds, the new Congress continues to hand Bush billions of dollars for this illegal occupation. Vote with your feet on November 16th. Twin Cities Youth Against War and Racism against.war [at] gmail.com / 651-210-5342 http://www.yawr.org http://www.myspace.com/yawrmn --------12 of 13-------- From: Jeff Hartman <hartm152 [at] umn.edu> Subject: Hmong origins 11.16 3pm "Diaspora and the Predicament of Origins: Interrogating Hmong Postcolonial History and Identity" - a talk by Gary Yia Lee Friday, November 16, 3:00 pm Institute for Advanced Study, 125 Nolte Center 315 Pillsbury Dr. SE, Minneapolis Professor Gary Yia Lee will focus on the origin of the Hmong and re-examine the debate between using "Hmong" or "Miao" as an umbrella term for this ethnic group. He is a Hmong anthropologist who was born in Laos, but moved to Australia as a teenager, where he later received his PhD from the University of Sydney in 1981. He works as a bilingual welfare service coordinator with the Cabramatta Community Centre, Sydney, Australia. He is the editor of the Lao Studies Review for the Lao Studies Society, he has been a referee for the Journal of Asian and Pacific Migration (Quezon City, Philippines) and the International Review of Migration (New York, USA) and is also the author of novels and scholarly articles. Prof. Lee is the first Visiting Professor at Concordia University's newly established Center for Hmong Studies. --------13 of 13-------- Venezuelan Democracy, the Presidency of Hugo Chavez and the Great Majority of Popular Classes Face a Mortal Threat Venezuela Between Ballots and Bullets By JAMES PETRAS CounterPunch November 14, 2007 Venezuela's democratically elected Present Chavez faces the most serious threat since the April 11, 2002 military coup. Violent street demonstrations by privileged middle and upper middle class university students have led to major street battles in and around the center of Caracas. More seriously, the former Minister of Defense, General Raul Isaias Baduel, who resigned in July, has made explicit calls for a military coup in a November 5 press conference which he convoked exclusively for the right and far-right mass media and political parties, while striking a posture as an 'individual' dissident. The entire international and local private mass media has played up Baduel's speeches, press conferences along with fabricated accounts of the oppositionist student rampages, presenting them as peaceful protests for democratic rights against the government referendum scheduled for December 2, 2007. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC News and the Washington Post have all primed their readers for years with stories of President Chavez' 'authoritarianism'. Faced with constitutional reforms which strengthen the prospects for far-reaching political-social democratization, the US, European and Latin American media have cast pro-coup ex-military officials as 'democratic dissidents', former Chavez supporters disillusioned with his resort to 'dictatorial' powers in the run-up to and beyond the December 2, 2007 vote in the referendum on constitutional reform. Not a single major newspaper has mentioned the democratic core of the proposed reforms - the devolution of public spending and decision to local neighborhood and community councils. Once again as in Chile in 1973, the US mass media is complicit in an attempt to destroy a Latin American democracy. Even sectors of the center-left press and parties in Latin America have reproduced right-wing propaganda. On November the self-styled 'leftist' Mexican daily La Jornada headline read 'Administrators and Students from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) Accuse Chavez of Promoting Violence'. The article then proceeded to repeat the rightist fabrications about electoral polls, which supposedly showed the constitutional amendments facing defeat. The United States Government, both the Republican White House and the Democrat-controlled Congress [for which let it be damned to hell -ed] are once again overtly backing the new attempt to oust the popular-nationalist President Chavez and to defeat the highly progressive constitutional amendments. The Referendum: Defining and Deepening the Social Transformation The point of confrontation is the forthcoming referendum on constitutional reforms initiated by President Chavez, debated, amended and democratically voted on by the Venezuelan Congress over the past 6 months. There was widespread and open debate and criticism of specific sectors of the Constitution. The private mass media, overwhelmingly viscerally anti-Chavez and pro-White House, unanimously condemned any and all the constitutional amendments. A sector of the leadership of one of the components of the pro-Chavez coalition (PODEMOS) joined the Catholic Church hierarchy, the leading business and cattleman's association, bankers and sectors of the university and student elite to attack the proposed constitutional reforms. Exploiting to the hilt all of Venezuela's democratic freedoms (speech, assembly and press) the opposition has denigrated the referendum as 'authoritarian' even as most sectors of the opposition coalition attempted to arouse the military to intervene. The opposition coalition of the rich and privileged fear the constitutional reforms because they will have to grant a greater share of their profits to the working class, lose their monopoly over market transactions to publicly owned firms, and see political power evolve toward local community councils and the executive branch. While the rightist and liberal media in Venezuela, Europe and the US have fabricated lurid charges about the 'authoritarian' reforms, in fact the amendments propose to deepen and extend social democracy. A brief survey of the key constitutional amendments openly debated and approved by a majority of freely elected Venezuelan congress members gives the lie to charges of 'authoritarianism' by its critics. The amendments can be grouped according to political, economic and social changes. The most important political change is the creation of new locally based democratic forms of political representation in which elected community and communal institutions will be allocated state revenues rather than the corrupt, patronage-infested municipal and state governments. This change toward decentralization will encourage a greater practice of direct democracy in contrast to the oligarchic tendencies embedded in the current centralized representative system. Secondly, contrary to the fabrications of ex-General Baduel, the amendments do not 'destroy the existing constitution', since the amendments modify in greater or lesser degree only 20 per cent of the articles of the constitution (69 out of 350). The amendments providing for unlimited term elections is in line with the practices of many parliamentary systems, as witnessed by the five terms in office of Australian Prime Minister Howard, the half century rule of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, the four terms of US President Franklin Roosevelt, the multi-term election of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair in the UK among others. No one ever questions their democratic credentials for multi-term executive office holding, nor should current critics selectively label Chavez as an 'authoritarian' for doing the same. Political change increasing the presidential term of office from 6 to 7 years will neither increase or decrease presidential powers, as the opposition claims, because the separation of legislative, judicial and executive powers will continue and free elections will subject the President to periodic citizen review. The key point of indefinite elections is that they are free elections, subject to voter preference, in which, in the case of Venezuela, the vast majority of the mass media, Catholic hierarchy, US-funded NGO's, big business associations will still wield enormous financial resources to finance opposition activity - hardly an 'authoritarian' context. The amendment allowing the executive to declare a state of emergency and intervene in the media in the face of violent activity to overthrow the constitution is essential for safeguarding democratic institutions. In light of several authoritarian violent attempts to seize power recently by the current opposition, the amendment allows dissent but also allows democracy to defend itself against the enemies of freedom. In the lead up to the US-backed military coup of April 11, 2002, and the petroleum lockout by its senior executives which devastated the economy (a decline of 30% of GNP in 2002/2003), if the Government had possessed and utilized emergency powers, Congress and the Judiciary, the electoral process and the living standards of the Venezuelan people would have been better protected. Most notably, the Government could have intervened against the mass media aiding and abetting the violent overthrow of the democratic process, like any other democratic government. It should be clear that the amendment allowing for 'emergency powers' has a specific context and reflects concrete experiences: the current opposition parties, business federations and church hierarchies have a violent, anti-democratic history. The destabilization campaign against the current referendum and the appeals for military intervention most prominently and explicitly stated by retired General Baduel (defended by his notorious adviser-apologist, the academic-adventurer Heinz Dietrich), are a clear indication that emergency powers are absolutely necessary to send a clear message that reactionary violence will be met by the full force of the law. The reduction of voting age from 18 to 16 will broaden the electorate, increase the number of participants in the electoral process and give young people a greater say in national politics through institutional channels. Since many workers enter the labor market at a young age and in some cases start families earlier, this amendment allows young workers to press their specific demands on employment and contingent labor contracts. The amendment reducing the workday to 6 hours is vehemently opposed by the opposition led by the big business federation, FEDECAMARAS, but has the overwhelming support of the trade unions and workers from all sectors. It will allow for greater family time, sports, education, skill training, political education and social participation, as well as membership in the newly formed community councils. Related labor legislation and changes in property rights including a greater role for collective ownership will strengthen labor's bargaining power with capital, extending democracy to the workplace. Finally the amendment eliminating so-called 'Central Bank autonomy' means that elected officials responsive to the voters will replace Central Bankers (frequently responsive to private bankers, overseas investors and international financial officials) in deciding public spending and monetary policy. One major consequence will be the reduction of excess reserves in devalued dollar denominated funds and an increase in financing for social and productive activity, a diversity of currency holdings and a reduction in irrational foreign borrowing and indebtedness. The fact of the matter is that the Central Bank was not 'autonomous', it was dependent on what the financial markets demanded, independent of the priorities of elected officials responding to popular needs. As the Chavez Government Turns to Democratic Socialism: Centrists Defect and Seek Military Solutions As Venezuela's moves from political to social transformation, from a capitalist welfare state toward democratic socialism, predictable defections and additions occur. As in most other historical experiences of social transformation, sectors of the original government coalition committed to formal institutional political changes defect when the political process moves toward greater egalitarianism and property and a power shift to the populace. Ideologues of the 'Center' regret the 'breaking' of the status quo 'consensus' between oligarchs and people (labeling the new social alignments as 'authoritarian') even as the 'Center' embraces the profoundly anti-democratic Right and appeals for military intervention. A similar process of elite defections and increased mass support is occurring in Venezuela as the referendum, with its clear class choices, comes to the fore. Lacking confidence in their ability to defeat the constitutional amendments through the ballot, fearful of the democratic majority, resentful of the immense popular appeal of the democratically elected President Chavez, the 'Center' has joined the Right in a last ditch effort to unify extra-parliamentary forces to defeat the will of the electorate. Emblematic of the New Right and the 'Centrist' defections is the ex-Minister of Defense, Raul Baduel, whose virulent attack on the President, the Congress, the electoral procedures and the referendum mark him as an aspirant to head up a US-backed right-wing seizure of power. [For which let the US be damned to hell also -ed] The liberal and right wing mass media and 'centrist' propagandists have falsely portrayed Raul Baduel as the 'savior' of Chavez following the military coup of April 2002. The fact of the matter is that Baduel intervened only after hundreds of thousands of poor Venezuelans poured down from the 'ranchos', surrounded the Presidential Palace, leading to division in the armed forces. Baduel rejected the minority of rightist military officers favoring a massive bloodbath and aligned with other military officials who opposed extreme measures against the people and the destruction of the established political order. The latter group included officials who supported Chavez' nationalist-populist policies and others, like Baduel, who opposed the coup-makers because it radicalized and polarized society - leading to a possible class-based civil war with uncertain outcome. Baduel was for the restoration of a 'chastised' Chavez who would maintain the existing socio-economic status quo. Within the Chavez government, Baduel represented the anti-communist tendency, which pressed the President to 'reconcile' with the 'moderate democratic' right and big business. Domestically, Baduel opposed the extension of public ownership and internationally favored close collaboration with the far-right Colombian Defense Ministry. Baduel's term of office as Defense Minister reflected his conservative propensities and his lack of competence in matters of security, especially with regard to internal security. He failed to protect Venezuela's frontiers from military incursions by Colombia's armed forces. Worse he failed to challenge Colombia's flagrant violation of international norms with regard to political exiles. While Baduel was Minister of Defense, Venezuelan landlords' armed paramilitary groups assassinated over 150 peasants active in land reform while the National Guard looked the other way. Under Baduel's watch over 120 Colombian paramilitary forces infiltrated the country. The Colombian military frequently crossed the Venezuelan border to attack Colombian refugees. Under Baduel, Venezuelan military officials collaborated in the kidnapping of Rodrigo Granda (a foreign affairs emissary of the FARC) in broad daylight in the center of Caracas. Baduel made no effort to investigate or protest this gross violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, until President Chavez was informed and intervened. Throughout Baduel's term as Minister of Defense he developed strong ties to Colombia's military intelligence (closely monitored by US Defense Intelligence Agency and the CIA) and extradited several guerrillas from both the ELN and the FARC to the hands of Colombian torturers. At the time of his retirement as Minister of Defense, Baduel made a July 2007 speech in which he clearly targeted the leftist and Marxist currents in the trade union (UNT) and Chavez newly announced PSUV (The Unified Socialist Party of Venezuela). His speech, in the name of 'Christian socialist', was in reality a vituperative and ill-tempered anti-communist diatribe, which pleased Pope Benedict (Ratzinger). [Another to be damned to hell -ed] Baduel's November 5 speech however marks his public adherence to the hard-line opposition, its rhetoric, fabrications and visions of an authoritarian reversal of Chavez program of democratic socialism. First and foremost, Badual, following the lead of the White House and the Venezuelan 'hard right', denounced the entire process of Congressional debate on the Constitutional amendments, and open electoral campaigning leading up to the referendum as 'in effect a coup d'etat'. Every expert and outside observer disagreed - even those opposed to the referendum. Baduel's purpose however was to question the legitimacy of the entire political process in order to justify his call for military intervention. His rhetoric calling the congressional debate and vote a 'fraud' and 'fraudulent procedures' point to Baduel's effort to denigrate existing representative institutions in order to justify a military coup, which would dismantle them. Baduel's denial of political intent is laughable - since he only invited opposition media and politicians to his 'press conference' and was accompanied by several military officials. Baduel resembles the dictator who accuses the victim of the crimes he is about to commit. In calling the referendum on constitutional reform a 'coup', he incites the military to launch a coup. In an open appeal for military action he directs the military to 'reflect of the context of constitutional reform.' He repeatedly calls on military officials to 'assess carefully' the changes the elected government has proposed 'in a hasty manner and through fraudulent procedures'. While denigrating democratically elected institutions, Baduel resorts to vulgar flattery and false modesty to induce the military to revolt. While immodestly denying that he could act as spokesperson for the Armed Forces, he advised the rightist reporters present and potential military cohort that 'you cannot underrate the capacity of analysis and reasoning of the military.' Cant, hypocrisy and disinterested posturing run through Baduel's pronouncements. His claim of being an 'apolitical' critic is belied by his intention to go on a nationwide speaking tour attacking the constitutional reforms, in meetings organized by the rightwing opposition. There is absolutely no doubt that he will not only be addressing civilian audiences but will make every effort to meet with active military officers who he might convince to 'reflect'and plot the overthrow of the government and reverse the results of the referendum. President Chavez has every right to condemn Baduel as a traitor, though given his long-term hostility to egalitarian social transformation it may be more to the point to say that Baduel is now revealing his true colors. The danger to Venezuelan democracy is not in Baduel as an individual--he is out of the government and retired from active military command. The real danger is his effort to arouse the active military officers with command of troops, to answer his call to action or as he cleverly puts it 'for the military to reflect on the context of the constitutional reforms.' Baduel's analysis and action program places the military as the centerpiece of politics, supreme over the 16 million voters. His vehement defense of 'private property' in line with his call for military action is a clever tactic to unite the Generals, Bankers and the middle class in the infamous footsteps of Augusto Pinochet, the bloody Chilean tyrant. The class polarization in the run-up to the referendum has reached its most acute expression: the remains of the multi-class coalition embracing a minority of the middle class and the great majority of the working power is disintegrating. Millions of previously apathetic or apolitical young workers, unemployed poor and low-income women (domestic workers, laundresses, single parents) are joining the huge popular demonstrations overflowing the main avenues and plazas in favor of the constitutional amendments. At the same time political defections have increased among the centrist-liberal minority in the Chavez coalition. Fourteen deputies in the National Assembly, less than 10 per cent, mostly from PODEMOS, have joined the opposition. Reliable sources in Venezuela (Axis of Logic/Les Blough Nov. 11, 2007) report that Attorney General Beneral Isaias Rodriguez, a particularly incompetent crime fighter, and the Comptroller General Cloudosbaldo Russian are purportedly resigning and joining the opposition. More seriously, these same reports claim that the 4th Armed Division in Marcay is loyal to 'Golpista' Raul Baduel. Some suspect Baduel is using his long-term personal ties with the current Minister of Defense, Gustavo Briceno Rangel to convince him to defect and join in the pre-coup preparations. Large sums of US funding is flowing in to pay off state and local officials in cash and in promises to share in the oil booty if Chavez is ousted. The latest US political buy-out includes Governor Luis Felipe Acosta Carliz from the state of Carabobo. The mass media have repeatedly featured these new defectors to the right in their hourly 'news reports' highlighting their break with Chavez 'coup d'etat'. The referendum is turning into an unusually virulent case of a 'class against class' war, in which the entire future of the Latin American left is at stake as well as Washington's hold on its biggest oil supplier. Venezuelan democracy, the Presidency of Hugo Chavez and the great majority of the popular classes face a mortal threat. The US is facing repeated electoral defeats and is incapable of large-scale external intervention because of over-extension of its military forces in the Middle East; it is committed once more to a violent overthrow of Chavez. Venezuela through the constitutional reforms, will broaden and deepen popular democratic control over socio-economic policy. New economic sectors will be nationalized. Greater public investments and social programs will take off. Venezuela is moving inexorably toward diversifying its petrol markets, currency reserves and its political alliances. Time is running out for the White House: Washington's political levers of influence are weakening. Baduel is seen as the one best hope of igniting a military seizure, restoring the oligarchs to power and decimating the mass popular movements. President Chavez is correctly 'evaluating the high command' and states that he 'has full confidence in the national armed forces and their components.' Yet the best guarantee is to strike hard and fast, precisely against Baduel's followers and cohorts. Rounding up a few dozen or hundred military plotters is a cheap price to pay for saving the lives of thousands of workers and activists who would be massacred in any bloody seizure of power. History has repeatedly taught that when you put social democracy, egalitarianism and popular power at the top of the political agenda, as Chavez has done, and as the vast majority of the populace enthusiastically responds, the Right, the reactionary military, the 'Centrist' political defectors and ideologues, the White House, the hysterical middle classes and the Church cardinals will sacrifice any and all democratic freedoms to defend their property, privileges and power by whatever means and at whatever cost necessary. In the current all-pervasive confrontation between the popular classes of Venezuela and their oligarchic and military enemies, only by morally, politically and organizationally arming the people can the continuity of the democratic process of social transformation be guaranteed. Change will come, the question is whether it will be through the ballot or the bullet. James Petras, a former Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, owns a 50 year membership in the class struggle, is an adviser to the landless and jobless in brazil and argentina and is co-author of Globalization Unmasked (Zed). His new book with Henry Veltmeyer, Social Movements and the State: Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina, will be published in October 2005. He can be reached at: jpetras [at] binghamton.edu From shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu Thu Nov 15 06:08:58 2007 Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:48:11 -0600 (CST) From: David Shove <shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu> To: David Shove <shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu> Subject: Venezuelan Democracy, the Presidency of Hugo Chavez and the Great Majority of Popular Classes Face a Mortal ThreatVenezuela Between Ballots and BulletsBy JAMES PETRAS (fwd) Venezuelan Democracy, the Presidency of Hugo Chavez and the Great Majority of Popular Classes Face a Mortal Threat Venezuela Between Ballots and Bullets By JAMES PETRAS CounterPunch November 14, 2007 Venezuela's democratically elected Present Chavez faces the most serious threat since the April 11, 2002 military coup. Violent street demonstrations by privileged middle and upper middle class university students have led to major street battles in and around the center of Caracas. More seriously, the former Minister of Defense, General Raul Isaias Baduel, who resigned in July, has made explicit calls for a military coup in a November 5 press conference which he convoked exclusively for the right and far-right mass media and political parties, while striking a posture as an 'individual' dissident. The entire international and local private mass media has played up Baduel's speeches, press conferences along with fabricated accounts of the oppositionist student rampages, presenting them as peaceful protests for democratic rights against the government referendum scheduled for December 2, 2007. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC News and the Washington Post have all primed their readers for years with stories of President Chavez' 'authoritarianism'. Faced with constitutional reforms which strengthen the prospects for far-reaching political-social democratization, the US, European and Latin American media have cast pro-coup ex-military officials as 'democratic dissidents', former Chavez supporters disillusioned with his resort to 'dictatorial' powers in the run-up to and beyond the December 2, 2007 vote in the referendum on constitutional reform. Not a single major newspaper has mentioned the democratic core of the proposed reforms - the devolution of public spending and decision to local neighborhood and community councils. Once again as in Chile in 1973, the US mass media is complicit in an attempt to destroy a Latin American democracy. Even sectors of the center-left press and parties in Latin America have reproduced right-wing propaganda. On November the self-styled 'leftist' Mexican daily La Jornada headline read 'Administrators and Students from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) Accuse Chavez of Promoting Violence'. The article then proceeded to repeat the rightist fabrications about electoral polls, which supposedly showed the constitutional amendments facing defeat. The United States Government, both the Republican White House and the Democrat-controlled Congress [for which let it be damned to hell -ed] are once again overtly backing the new attempt to oust the popular-nationalist President Chavez and to defeat the highly progressive constitutional amendments. The Referendum: Defining and Deepening the Social Transformation The point of confrontation is the forthcoming referendum on constitutional reforms initiated by President Chavez, debated, amended and democratically voted on by the Venezuelan Congress over the past 6 months. There was widespread and open debate and criticism of specific sectors of the Constitution. The private mass media, overwhelmingly viscerally anti-Chavez and pro-White House, unanimously condemned any and all the constitutional amendments. A sector of the leadership of one of the components of the pro-Chavez coalition (PODEMOS) joined the Catholic Church hierarchy, the leading business and cattleman's association, bankers and sectors of the university and student elite to attack the proposed constitutional reforms. Exploiting to the hilt all of Venezuela's democratic freedoms (speech, assembly and press) the opposition has denigrated the referendum as 'authoritarian' even as most sectors of the opposition coalition attempted to arouse the military to intervene. The opposition coalition of the rich and privileged fear the constitutional reforms because they will have to grant a greater share of their profits to the working class, lose their monopoly over market transactions to publicly owned firms, and see political power evolve toward local community councils and the executive branch. While the rightist and liberal media in Venezuela, Europe and the US have fabricated lurid charges about the 'authoritarian' reforms, in fact the amendments propose to deepen and extend social democracy. A brief survey of the key constitutional amendments openly debated and approved by a majority of freely elected Venezuelan congress members gives the lie to charges of 'authoritarianism' by its critics. The amendments can be grouped according to political, economic and social changes. The most important political change is the creation of new locally based democratic forms of political representation in which elected community and communal institutions will be allocated state revenues rather than the corrupt, patronage-infested municipal and state governments. This change toward decentralization will encourage a greater practice of direct democracy in contrast to the oligarchic tendencies embedded in the current centralized representative system. Secondly, contrary to the fabrications of ex-General Baduel, the amendments do not 'destroy the existing constitution', since the amendments modify in greater or lesser degree only 20 per cent of the articles of the constitution (69 out of 350). The amendments providing for unlimited term elections is in line with the practices of many parliamentary systems, as witnessed by the five terms in office of Australian Prime Minister Howard, the half century rule of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, the four terms of US President Franklin Roosevelt, the multi-term election of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair in the UK among others. No one ever questions their democratic credentials for multi-term executive office holding, nor should current critics selectively label Chavez as an 'authoritarian' for doing the same. Political change increasing the presidential term of office from 6 to 7 years will neither increase or decrease presidential powers, as the opposition claims, because the separation of legislative, judicial and executive powers will continue and free elections will subject the President to periodic citizen review. The key point of indefinite elections is that they are free elections, subject to voter preference, in which, in the case of Venezuela, the vast majority of the mass media, Catholic hierarchy, US-funded NGO's, big business associations will still wield enormous financial resources to finance opposition activity - hardly an 'authoritarian' context. The amendment allowing the executive to declare a state of emergency and intervene in the media in the face of violent activity to overthrow the constitution is essential for safeguarding democratic institutions. In light of several authoritarian violent attempts to seize power recently by the current opposition, the amendment allows dissent but also allows democracy to defend itself against the enemies of freedom. In the lead up to the US-backed military coup of April 11, 2002, and the petroleum lockout by its senior executives which devastated the economy (a decline of 30% of GNP in 2002/2003), if the Government had possessed and utilized emergency powers, Congress and the Judiciary, the electoral process and the living standards of the Venezuelan people would have been better protected. Most notably, the Government could have intervened against the mass media aiding and abetting the violent overthrow of the democratic process, like any other democratic government. It should be clear that the amendment allowing for 'emergency powers' has a specific context and reflects concrete experiences: the current opposition parties, business federations and church hierarchies have a violent, anti-democratic history. The destabilization campaign against the current referendum and the appeals for military intervention most prominently and explicitly stated by retired General Baduel (defended by his notorious adviser-apologist, the academic-adventurer Heinz Dietrich), are a clear indication that emergency powers are absolutely necessary to send a clear message that reactionary violence will be met by the full force of the law. The reduction of voting age from 18 to 16 will broaden the electorate, increase the number of participants in the electoral process and give young people a greater say in national politics through institutional channels. Since many workers enter the labor market at a young age and in some cases start families earlier, this amendment allows young workers to press their specific demands on employment and contingent labor contracts. The amendment reducing the workday to 6 hours is vehemently opposed by the opposition led by the big business federation, FEDECAMARAS, but has the overwhelming support of the trade unions and workers from all sectors. It will allow for greater family time, sports, education, skill training, political education and social participation, as well as membership in the newly formed community councils. Related labor legislation and changes in property rights including a greater role for collective ownership will strengthen labor's bargaining power with capital, extending democracy to the workplace. Finally the amendment eliminating so-called 'Central Bank autonomy' means that elected officials responsive to the voters will replace Central Bankers (frequently responsive to private bankers, overseas investors and international financial officials) in deciding public spending and monetary policy. One major consequence will be the reduction of excess reserves in devalued dollar denominated funds and an increase in financing for social and productive activity, a diversity of currency holdings and a reduction in irrational foreign borrowing and indebtedness. The fact of the matter is that the Central Bank was not 'autonomous', it was dependent on what the financial markets demanded, independent of the priorities of elected officials responding to popular needs. As the Chavez Government Turns to Democratic Socialism: Centrists Defect and Seek Military Solutions As Venezuela's moves from political to social transformation, from a capitalist welfare state toward democratic socialism, predictable defections and additions occur. As in most other historical experiences of social transformation, sectors of the original government coalition committed to formal institutional political changes defect when the political process moves toward greater egalitarianism and property and a power shift to the populace. Ideologues of the 'Center' regret the 'breaking' of the status quo 'consensus' between oligarchs and people (labeling the new social alignments as 'authoritarian') even as the 'Center' embraces the profoundly anti-democratic Right and appeals for military intervention. A similar process of elite defections and increased mass support is occurring in Venezuela as the referendum, with its clear class choices, comes to the fore. Lacking confidence in their ability to defeat the constitutional amendments through the ballot, fearful of the democratic majority, resentful of the immense popular appeal of the democratically elected President Chavez, the 'Center' has joined the Right in a last ditch effort to unify extra-parliamentary forces to defeat the will of the electorate. Emblematic of the New Right and the 'Centrist' defections is the ex-Minister of Defense, Raul Baduel, whose virulent attack on the President, the Congress, the electoral procedures and the referendum mark him as an aspirant to head up a US-backed right-wing seizure of power. [For which let the US be damned to hell also -ed] The liberal and right wing mass media and 'centrist' propagandists have falsely portrayed Raul Baduel as the 'savior' of Chavez following the military coup of April 2002. The fact of the matter is that Baduel intervened only after hundreds of thousands of poor Venezuelans poured down from the 'ranchos', surrounded the Presidential Palace, leading to division in the armed forces. Baduel rejected the minority of rightist military officers favoring a massive bloodbath and aligned with other military officials who opposed extreme measures against the people and the destruction of the established political order. The latter group included officials who supported Chavez' nationalist-populist policies and others, like Baduel, who opposed the coup-makers because it radicalized and polarized society - leading to a possible class-based civil war with uncertain outcome. Baduel was for the restoration of a 'chastised' Chavez who would maintain the existing socio-economic status quo. Within the Chavez government, Baduel represented the anti-communist tendency, which pressed the President to 'reconcile' with the 'moderate democratic' right and big business. Domestically, Baduel opposed the extension of public ownership and internationally favored close collaboration with the far-right Colombian Defense Ministry. Baduel's term of office as Defense Minister reflected his conservative propensities and his lack of competence in matters of security, especially with regard to internal security. He failed to protect Venezuela's frontiers from military incursions by Colombia's armed forces. Worse he failed to challenge Colombia's flagrant violation of international norms with regard to political exiles. While Baduel was Minister of Defense, Venezuelan landlords' armed paramilitary groups assassinated over 150 peasants active in land reform while the National Guard looked the other way. Under Baduel's watch over 120 Colombian paramilitary forces infiltrated the country. The Colombian military frequently crossed the Venezuelan border to attack Colombian refugees. Under Baduel, Venezuelan military officials collaborated in the kidnapping of Rodrigo Granda (a foreign affairs emissary of the FARC) in broad daylight in the center of Caracas. Baduel made no effort to investigate or protest this gross violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, until President Chavez was informed and intervened. Throughout Baduel's term as Minister of Defense he developed strong ties to Colombia's military intelligence (closely monitored by US Defense Intelligence Agency and the CIA) and extradited several guerrillas from both the ELN and the FARC to the hands of Colombian torturers. At the time of his retirement as Minister of Defense, Baduel made a July 2007 speech in which he clearly targeted the leftist and Marxist currents in the trade union (UNT) and Chavez newly announced PSUV (The Unified Socialist Party of Venezuela). His speech, in the name of 'Christian socialist', was in reality a vituperative and ill-tempered anti-communist diatribe, which pleased Pope Benedict (Ratzinger). [Another to be damned to hell -ed] Baduel's November 5 speech however marks his public adherence to the hard-line opposition, its rhetoric, fabrications and visions of an authoritarian reversal of Chavez program of democratic socialism. First and foremost, Badual, following the lead of the White House and the Venezuelan 'hard right', denounced the entire process of Congressional debate on the Constitutional amendments, and open electoral campaigning leading up to the referendum as 'in effect a coup d'etat'. Every expert and outside observer disagreed - even those opposed to the referendum. Baduel's purpose however was to question the legitimacy of the entire political process in order to justify his call for military intervention. His rhetoric calling the congressional debate and vote a 'fraud' and 'fraudulent procedures' point to Baduel's effort to denigrate existing representative institutions in order to justify a military coup, which would dismantle them. Baduel's denial of political intent is laughable - since he only invited opposition media and politicians to his 'press conference' and was accompanied by several military officials. Baduel resembles the dictator who accuses the victim of the crimes he is about to commit. In calling the referendum on constitutional reform a 'coup', he incites the military to launch a coup. In an open appeal for military action he directs the military to 'reflect of the context of constitutional reform.' He repeatedly calls on military officials to 'assess carefully' the changes the elected government has proposed 'in a hasty manner and through fraudulent procedures'. While denigrating democratically elected institutions, Baduel resorts to vulgar flattery and false modesty to induce the military to revolt. While immodestly denying that he could act as spokesperson for the Armed Forces, he advised the rightist reporters present and potential military cohort that 'you cannot underrate the capacity of analysis and reasoning of the military.' Cant, hypocrisy and disinterested posturing run through Baduel's pronouncements. His claim of being an 'apolitical' critic is belied by his intention to go on a nationwide speaking tour attacking the constitutional reforms, in meetings organized by the rightwing opposition. There is absolutely no doubt that he will not only be addressing civilian audiences but will make every effort to meet with active military officers who he might convince to 'reflect'and plot the overthrow of the government and reverse the results of the referendum. President Chavez has every right to condemn Baduel as a traitor, though given his long-term hostility to egalitarian social transformation it may be more to the point to say that Baduel is now revealing his true colors. The danger to Venezuelan democracy is not in Baduel as an individual--he is out of the government and retired from active military command. The real danger is his effort to arouse the active military officers with command of troops, to answer his call to action or as he cleverly puts it 'for the military to reflect on the context of the constitutional reforms.' Baduel's analysis and action program places the military as the centerpiece of politics, supreme over the 16 million voters. His vehement defense of 'private property' in line with his call for military action is a clever tactic to unite the Generals, Bankers and the middle class in the infamous footsteps of Augusto Pinochet, the bloody Chilean tyrant. The class polarization in the run-up to the referendum has reached its most acute expression: the remains of the multi-class coalition embracing a minority of the middle class and the great majority of the working power is disintegrating. Millions of previously apathetic or apolitical young workers, unemployed poor and low-income women (domestic workers, laundresses, single parents) are joining the huge popular demonstrations overflowing the main avenues and plazas in favor of the constitutional amendments. At the same time political defections have increased among the centrist-liberal minority in the Chavez coalition. Fourteen deputies in the National Assembly, less than 10 per cent, mostly from PODEMOS, have joined the opposition. Reliable sources in Venezuela (Axis of Logic/Les Blough Nov. 11, 2007) report that Attorney General Beneral Isaias Rodriguez, a particularly incompetent crime fighter, and the Comptroller General Cloudosbaldo Russian are purportedly resigning and joining the opposition. More seriously, these same reports claim that the 4th Armed Division in Marcay is loyal to 'Golpista' Raul Baduel. Some suspect Baduel is using his long-term personal ties with the current Minister of Defense, Gustavo Briceno Rangel to convince him to defect and join in the pre-coup preparations. Large sums of US funding is flowing in to pay off state and local officials in cash and in promises to share in the oil booty if Chavez is ousted. The latest US political buy-out includes Governor Luis Felipe Acosta Carliz from the state of Carabobo. The mass media have repeatedly featured these new defectors to the right in their hourly 'news reports' highlighting their break with Chavez 'coup d'etat'. The referendum is turning into an unusually virulent case of a 'class against class' war, in which the entire future of the Latin American left is at stake as well as Washington's hold on its biggest oil supplier. Venezuelan democracy, the Presidency of Hugo Chavez and the great majority of the popular classes face a mortal threat. The US is facing repeated electoral defeats and is incapable of large-scale external intervention because of over-extension of its military forces in the Middle East; it is committed once more to a violent overthrow of Chavez. Venezuela through the constitutional reforms, will broaden and deepen popular democratic control over socio-economic policy. New economic sectors will be nationalized. Greater public investments and social programs will take off. Venezuela is moving inexorably toward diversifying its petrol markets, currency reserves and its political alliances. Time is running out for the White House: Washington's political levers of influence are weakening. Baduel is seen as the one best hope of igniting a military seizure, restoring the oligarchs to power and decimating the mass popular movements. President Chavez is correctly 'evaluating the high command' and states that he 'has full confidence in the national armed forces and their components.' Yet the best guarantee is to strike hard and fast, precisely against Baduel's followers and cohorts. Rounding up a few dozen or hundred military plotters is a cheap price to pay for saving the lives of thousands of workers and activists who would be massacred in any bloody seizure of power. History has repeatedly taught that when you put social democracy, egalitarianism and popular power at the top of the political agenda, as Chavez has done, and as the vast majority of the populace enthusiastically responds, the Right, the reactionary military, the 'Centrist' political defectors and ideologues, the White House, the hysterical middle classes and the Church cardinals will sacrifice any and all democratic freedoms to defend their property, privileges and power by whatever means and at whatever cost necessary. In the current all-pervasive confrontation between the popular classes of Venezuela and their oligarchic and military enemies, only by morally, politically and organizationally arming the people can the continuity of the democratic process of social transformation be guaranteed. Change will come, the question is whether it will be through the ballot or the bullet. James Petras, a former Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, owns a 50 year membership in the class struggle, is an adviser to the landless and jobless in brazil and argentina and is co-author of Globalization Unmasked (Zed). His new book with Henry Veltmeyer, Social Movements and the State: Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina, will be published in October 2005. He can be reached at: jpetras [at] binghamton.edu --------14 of x-------- Honey I shrunk Bush and the neo-cons to bug size. Send in the birds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu rhymes with clove Progressive Calendar over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02 please send all messages in plain text no attachments To GO DIRECTLY to an item, eg --------8 of x-------- do a find on --8 impeach bush & cheney impeach bush & cheney impeach bush & cheney impeach bush & cheney
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