SWOPblogger

karlos says: No, this story isn't about King George. Well, not really anyway...

U.S. dropped ball by banning Cuba from first WBC
by Frank Deford
Sports Illustrated
December 21, 2005

American dictators

In the midst of Old Havana, a couple of blocks away from El Floridita, where
the daiquiri was introduced to a thirsty world, is Parque Central. It's not
like New York's Central Park, more just a plaza, but most days Parque
Central is distinguished by a group of noisy and animated men, doing nothing
but sitting there and arguing about baseball. Such passion -- why, you've
never even seen its likes in Fenway Park or Wrigley Field. Oh, would I love
to be in Parque Central this March when the 16 most prominent nations of the
diamond play in the first World Baseball Classic.

Only, of course, now our government has decreed that whereas Cuba can
compete on U.S. soil in the Olympics, the World Cup and other international
sports tournaments, we won't let them play in the inaugural World Baseball
Classic. Some Americans simply cannot accept the notion that somewhere,
somehow Cuba might make a couple lousy Yankee dollars.

Now, I am not one of those who subscribes to the fantasy that simply by
playing games among countries, all politics fade away, that sport
automatically produces peace, love and brotherhood. But the fact is,
international sport usually has some benefits. And sometimes it really does
demonstratively work for good. Remember the initial ping-pong diplomacy with
Communist China? By all but forcing his way into South Africa's tennis open,
Arthur Ashe first cracked the apartheid curtain, and it never could be fully
closed again.

But in a declaration that is at once both petty and ham-handed, the Treasury
Department has decreed that it must apply the same U.S. policy that hasn't
worked for almost half-a-century, and refuse to allow Cuba to play against
the other baseball nations of the world. In a way, this posture is even more
distasteful than when those anti-Semitic countries refuse to play Israel. At
least those nations have the strength of their convictions sufficient to
take themselves out of the games. We're just being a bully. No, it's our bat
and our ball, and you can't play.

Ironically, too, if we simply let Cuba into the Classic, we might even win
some political points, because then Fidel Castro might be afraid to let his
team go to Puerto Rico, where Cuba's first games were scheduled, for fear
that some of his players would defect. How would the gentlemen of Parque
Central like it if their own friendly dictator refused to let Cuba play
baseball?

But no, the way it is now, once again, we'll be the villains before the
world. Is there no sensitivity left in Washington, no sense of proportion
whatsoever? These are games.

If our dim, short-sighted government maintains this stance, there is only
one reasonable alternative. All of the players in the tournament, from China
to Venezuela, from the Netherlands to Australia, from Canada to the
Dominican Republic . . . and yes from wherever our own players come from in
these United States of America -- all of these athletes must stand together
in support of their baseball brethren of Cuba and tell the United States
government: we're out. Everybody plays baseball or nobody plays baseball.

World Baseball Classic called on account of American hubris and stupidity.

karlos says: Sometimes decisions can have negative impacts. Unfortunately, this strike has been felt by other working class people who may be unable to get to their jobs. But don't fall into the spin. It's the Transit Authority who has caused this by failing to negotiate for a dignified contract for the transit workers. This is what happens. If we let the bosses break the unions and the strike, we'll never be able to leverage our people power.

Que Viva La Union!

NYC Grassroots Organizations are joining the fight for Transit Workers
Rights!

To keep posted visit their website at: http://nycsupportstwu.blogspot.com/

A support petition can be found here...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/573666744

Go here for a list journalists who bucked the stenographer trend this past year. The usual suspects. Some locals worth mentioning: Jeff Bradford, Corrales Comment.

Ok, one local worth mentioning. (I know, I know...I'm leaving someone out. I gotta' be. Write in your favorites.)

Go here for the P.U.-litzer's. Would add at least one:

The Couldn't Calculate the Numbers, Even With a Pentium Chip Award...

Goes to our good ol' local media. KOAT, KOB, KRQE, the Journal, the Trib, the Alibi, the New Mexican... Not one even tried to do the simple math to explain how Intel's latest "investment" could add up to $2 billion in tax breaks. It gets technical, but it affects much more than just Sandoval County, the entity that ok'd the breaks. (Really it was just a few commissioners, including Damon Ely.) I'm sure you can find the numbers somewhere here on SWOPblogger...

Ok, one more...

The I'm Gonna' Pretend to be Giving the Inside Scoop, Yet Only Spout the Establishment Line Award

Goes to none other than our very own Joe Monahan. With all the scandals going on in La Politica, only blogged about the little stuff. It seems his Alligators have their heads in the mud...

karlos says: Since Bono and the Gates' get enough attention, I thought I'd offer up some other folks as Persons of the Year.

"Power concedes nothing without demand." (Photo left)

Mama D - Diane Cole French

Angela Winfrey-Bowman
James (Jim) Hayes
People’s Institute for Survival & Beyond

Brenda Robichaux
United Houma Nation

LaTosha Brown
Vivian Felts
Saving OurSelves (SOS)

Victoria Cintra
Bill Chandler
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance

Leah Hodges

Malik Rahim
CommonGround Collective

Curtis Muhammad
People's Hurricane Fund and Relief Oversight Committee

Hollis Watkins
Southern Echo

...and all the people and organizations of the Gulf Coast. For keepin' it real.

karlos says: Just passing info along. The following is from an email making its way around cyberspace...

Dear friends:

Cedric Edwards, who is from the New Orleans area, recently became the first US student to graduate from the Latin American International School of Medicine in Cuba. Cedric has decided to apply for residency in internal medicine in New Mexico.

We need to identify quickly physicians specializing in internal medicine who are willing to talk to Cedric and assist him to make it more likely that he is accepted as a resident in internal medicine here in Albuquerque.

Cedric's resume is available to those who may be interested in looking at it, and we can also arrange for him to speak on the phone with those willing to do so.

I encourage any with ideas on this to let me know by either responding to this email or calling at 505-344-5049. You may also contact Arnold Trujillo at atruj@rocketmail.com or at 505-737-1025.

The Latin American School of Medicine, known as "ELAM," was established in response to the devastation left behind by hurricanes George and Mitch in Central America and the Caribbean in 1998 and the fact that the countries most affected by those storms were lacking in doctors and medical infrastructure. The School presently takes in up to 1500 students per year from 24 countries in the Americas and Africa. Students receive a full scholarship, including training, accommodations, books and a modest stipend.

The School is located about 15 miles west of Havana. Students at the school agree on entry to return to their home countries to work in underserved communities

In 2000 the Cuban government committed to take in up to 500 students from the United States. At present there are approximately 90 students from the US at ELAM, most of them Black and Latino. This includes three students from New Mexico: Belisario Bejarano, Tatyana Guerrero-Pezzano, and Jessi Barreto.

The three will be returning to New Mexico in the coming three-four years and will face the challenge of obtaining residency as an important step towards practicing here.

Cedric's situation is important to all concerned about access to medical education as well as the provision of adequate medical attention to all people in New Mexico. By obtaining residency, Cedric will show in practice that it is possible for students to complete the program in Cuba and return to their home communities. Like others from the Gulf Coast, Cedric has been displaced by Katrina and seeks to obtain residency elsewhere. Having him here in New Mexico would be an honor, as well as assist us in our efforts to secure residency for the others who will be returning from the school both to New Mexico and to other parts of the United States.

Louis

Louis Head, Exec Dir
Cuba Research & Analysis Group
P.O. Box 6510
Albuquerque, NM 87197-6510
505-344-5049

...to include a case study on Intel Corp and SWOP.

Intel's recent $2 billion re-up on their tax breaks added to their already very large tax break package, chronicled at the above links.

December 14, 2005
Report: Two Bedrooms Equals Three Jobs in NM

(Sound files are available at: www.newsservice.org)

Albuquerque, NM - A new study released yesterday (Tuesday) by the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows that minimum wage workers in New Mexico have little chance of finding affordable housing. And Charlotte Roybal with Health Action New Mexico, a member of the New Mexicans for Fair Wages Coalition, says the proposed minimum wage increase wouldn't solve the problem - but it would help.

Jobs have to pay at least 12 dollars an hour for a person to afford the average rent on a two-bedroom apartment in New Mexico, according to a new report (from the National Low Income Housing Coalition). Charlotte Roybal with the New Mexicans for Fair Wages Coalition says most minimum wage workers in New Mexico only make five dollars, fifteen cents an hour...

"Therefore, people work two and three jobs, and they still can't make it. Especially this winter with heating bills."

Housing is considered affordable if it takes up less than a third of a household's income. The fair market average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in New Mexico is $626 a month. When utilities are included, New Mexicans earning the minimum wage would have to work three jobs to pay the bills. The coalition supports raising the state minimum wage to seven dollars, fifty cents an hour. Some businesses say that could put them out of business.

Roybal says the proposed minimum wage increase would help families afford housing.

"The recommended legislation for $7.50 an hour is a good start towards a living wage, but it's going to take more than that."

Roybal is at 505-930-0563. The National Low Income Housing report is online at http://www.nlihc.org/

NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICE
A statewide news service for New Mexico
Phone: 888-471-1722 Fax: 303-253-8905 E-mail: nmns@publicnewsservice.org

(AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
karlos says: The following is rom Colin Rajah, of National Network Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Colin is at the mobilizations against the WTO in Hong Kong, and was detained by Hong Kong authorities because of his immigration status as an asylee. We are glad Colin is ok and able to participate . Be sure to visit his blog over the next few days to see how it's going in Hong Kong.

Dear NNIRR members, allies and friends,

I want to express my extremely deep-hearted gratitude for taking action -- sending emails, faxes and making calls to stop my deportation and demand my release from detention in Hong Kong because of my migration status. Due to each and every one of your efforts, I was finally released after 12 hours in detention, and approximately less than an hour before my scheduled deportation.

The director of the immigration department himself came to visit me in the detention center to explain that they had received numerous calls, faxes and emails to demanding my release, which prompted them to reconsider my case. I want to particularly thank Jessica Walker Beaumont and Amy Gottlieb of the American Friends Service Committee, and my colleagues at the National Network (NNIRR) for their persistence around my case. Thank you all.

However, this is not an isolated case. The harassment of immigrants and refugees around the WTO ministerial meetings and similar convenings of government trade negotiators is nothing new. Even here in HK (as in the US) with consistent harassment of migrant workers, the WTO meetings have heightened the attack against migrant workers. On December 12th and 13th, the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union and KOTHIKO (a collective of Indonesian migrant workers) was raided not just once or twice, but a total of THREE times by plain-clothes police. The police said that they received reports of "illegals" and accusations of "bombs and other explosives" at the migrant workers offices.

However, together with our allies Asian Migrant Centre (AMC), Migrant Forum Asia (MFA) and others here, and alongside our grassroots API delegation we continue to raise attention on the issues migrant workers face under the WTO's trade policies.

I can be reached by mobile (cell phone) here at +852-6079-1700 at any time. Please do not hesitate to circulate this number and the others' from the grassroots API delegation and Bay Area WT-No to any one who might want to reach us here.

Thank you, and please keep a lookout at migrantdiaries.blogspot.com for an update in the next day. Thank you everyone again.

For justice and solidarity across borders,

Colin Rajah
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
crajah@nnirr.org or colinrajah@yahoo.com
Cell: +852-6079-1700
Hong Kong

Hong Kong WTO
globalization
Immigration
trade

Are you concerned with the direction that our political and economic leadership are taking us? Do you understand the value of community institutions where disenfranchised, every day folks can organize to impact the decisions that afect our lives?

As you may already know, this year is SWOP's 25th anniversary with a continued mission to 'empower ourselves and our communities to realize racial and gender equality and social and economic justice.' We feel this is a major victory for low-income, working and people of color here in New Mexico. Now more than ever we need institutions like SWOP where people can organize to impact the decisions that affect our lives. These are decisions increasingly made by special interests, corporate interests, and in New Mexico in particular patrón politicians.

To put it bluntly, SWOP needs your help to continue to fight for the values, needs and interests of working families. To quote our late compañera (and my mom) Jeanne Gauna, "Please join us. New Mexico is not for sale."

You can be a part of our celebration by placing an ad in our commemorative program, by attending January 21 celebration or by sending us your $30 solidarity statement (20-25 wds).
For more info on ad rates, ticket sales or solidarity statements call SWOP @ 505 247 8832 or Email me.

Looks like some nasty anti-immigrant legislation will be before the House of Representatives in the next few days. (Fox News has already started propagating.)

Our friends over at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, a project of Enlace Communitario, are asking people to call Congresswoman Heather Wilson to urge her to continue to vote against anti-immigrant legislation.

The Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act (I was hoping for one of those cleverly antonymous acronyms, but all we got was BPATIICA) will likely be heard on the house floor on Thursday, December 15.

Wilson's local number is 505 346 6781 and the DC number is 202 225 6316.

Wilson has voted against anti-immigrant laws in the past. She must hear from you so she's able to tell her right wing friends she can't vote for it.

• H.R. 4437 criminalizes millions of hard working immigrants in our country.
• H.R. 4437 is bad for public safety. H.R. 4437 would shift the burden of immigration enforcement to state and local police which would jeopardize community policing, would be a disincentive to victims of a crime to report that crime or serve as a witness, and would increase racial profiling. Local and state law enforcement need to be able to focus limited resources on those who are really putting our community in danger, not targeting hard-working immigrant families.

List of groups, organizations and businesses turning 25 this year:

• SWOP
• Intel New Mexico
• 94 Rock
• Black Entertainment Television (BET)
• Cable Network News (CNN)
• People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
  
• First Peoples Worldwide
• Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives
• Depeche Mode
• American Farmland Trust
• Nikkei for Civil Rights and Progress
• Vintage Road Racing Association
• Violent Femmes
• American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP)
• American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving
• First Nations Development Institute
• Human Rights Campaign
• Para los Ninos
• Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
  
• Nurse Practitioner Associations for Continuing Education
• Center for Public Interest Law
• National Women's History Project
• Grassroots Leadership
• Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
• National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications
• National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education
• Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
• Harlem Business Alliance
• People for the American Way
• The Blues Hall of Fame

The Center for Media and Democracy's annual Falsies are here again. The Falsies honor those propagandists and spinners who have most subverted democracy with their willingness to decieve the public.

And this years nominees are a truly deserving bunch.

Vote for your favorite. Or nominate a shill yourself.

I voted for the lack of coverage of Iraqi civilian deaths. Bush himself admits to 30,000. (Do I have to mention his credibility?) Other estimates are near 100,000.

Hey - it's all legal. What's Marty's stake in all this? His dad helped set Westland up in the first place.

For much more on this see http://nmviewpoint.typepad.com

- El que sigue bien molesto

Board Gets $26M If Westland Sells
By Rory McClannahan

Albuquerque Journal
December 9, 2005

The Westland Development Co.'s nine-member board of directors stand to gain more than $26 million if the company's shareholders agree to a proposed $166 million buyout.

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission released details of the proposed sale of Westland to ANM Holdings on Wednesday. Both corporations are required to file a joint Agreement and Plan of Merger outlining details of the sale.

Calls seeking a comment from Westland board members were not returned Thursday.

The release of the agreement indicates that a proxy statement to shareholders will be sent soon, the document states, but a vote on the sale has not been scheduled. In the agreement, ANM and Westland indicate they hope to complete the transaction this month.

According to the agreement, ANM would essentially be taking over as Westland.

ANM is offering to pay $200 for each of Westland's 794,927 shares in a deal that would transfer the company's assets and holdings, which includes more than 57,000 acres on the West Side and several commercial properties, to ANM. Westland is the successor to the Atrisco Land Grant.
According to the agreement and the company's latest quarterly report, Westland's board of directors owns 97,478 of Westland's stock individually and together. Board members individually own 49,239 shares. Directors and officers of the company, own an additional 48,239 shares together.

According to the sale agreement, the company's bylaws require that the board of directors issue itself another 35,000 shares before the sale is completed. With the additional 35,000 shares, there would be a total of 829,927 shares for a $166 million buyout.

At $200 a share, ANM would be buying Westland's 57,000 acres for $2,912 per acre.

Board Chairman Sosimo Padilla stands to gain the most. According to the company's latest quarterly report, Padilla has 23,008 shares of stock, which at $200 a share is worth $4.6 million if the sale goes through. Barbara Page, Westland's chief operating officer, would gain nearly $2.5 million. Those figures don't include a $7 million payment the board can expect from the additional 35,000 shares.

I'm down with luminarias...and christmas lights.

But the city could do more than christmas lights and luminarias to shine.

The Mayor is at his dog and lights show again. And he's good at it. I suppose it could bring some publicity for the city.

I just can't help of thinking of the folks up on Pajarito Mesa. For over a decade they've organized to demand basic services like electricity and water, worked to get their roads in shape, and provided school transportation for children.

Or folks without shelter or warmth this cold winter. Or even people just having a hard time paying the electric and heating bills.

On our 300th birthday as a city, we should be looking to tackle those problems. Lighting the city can wait.

I was just in New Orleans for the Gulf Coast Justice and Solidarity Tour. I saw first hand what happens when priorities are mixed up. When culture is used to promote a city, yet the folks whose culture is celebrated can't participate because they can't afford it.

The lights turn on in the French Quarter, yet the Treme area where Mama D and Jim Hayes live is dark, with corpses still being found.

This dynamic plays out in ABQ all the time.

We promote Native America, yet build roads through sacred sites. Now we're lighting luminarias and Christmas lights, while ignoring the plight of the people on Pajarito Mesa.

Albuquerque will shine brighter when we get our priorities straight.

karlos says: in case anyone missed it...

(En Español Abajo)

New Mexico recently took a step toward healthier communities when Gov. Bill Richardson signed the executive order on environmental justice. This order affirms our right to live in a clean and healthy community. The Executive Order recognizes the existence of environmental injustice within the state of New Mexico which disproportionately impacts people of color and low-income communities.

This Executive Order is the result of the hard work of people and organizations across the state demanding the action to fix the problems caused by pollution in their communities. Last year environmental justice listening sessions were held in Las Vegas, Deming, Acoma Pueblo and Albuquerque. The resounding theme was the right of the community to be involved in the decision-making process and that the health and safety of our communities comes before profits.

Many people of color and low-income families live next door to more polluters than anyone else in our country. Often times, these are the communities that act as the canaries in the coalmine for many of the pollutants that we know very little about.

There are real people behind these statistics. And real diseases.

Many of our neighbors and family members, especially our children and elders, become sick with cancers, leukemia and asthma because the chemicals we are exposed to are bad for our health. These are not only chemicals that we breathe, they are also in the water we drink and the food we eat.

Common sense tells us that polluting facilities should not be allowed near places like homes, schools, community centers, and churches. When polluters break the law, they should be punished so it doesn't happen again. They should also be required to pay the cost of cleaning up when they contaminate our air, water and soil.

We all deserve choices that promote clean jobs and a safe environment, not take it or leave it ultimatums from polluters in the name of economic development. We must consider the impact our decisions and practices have on future generations.

The executive order will establish a task force comprised of representatives of various state government departments. We hope this process will ensure that the health and environment of New Mexicans is a top priority rather than a feel good measure. Residents of New Mexico deserve action as well as nice word. Governor Richardson and the New Mexico Environment Department should implement the executive order by providing leadership to all agencies of the state of New Mexico when making decisions which impact our
communities.

Pollution knows no boundaries. It is critical we set limits and involve communities in decision making. The executive order is a step toward ensuring that all communities regardless of race, ethnicity or income level have a right to a safe and clean environment to live, work, play, study and pray.

The Southwest Network New Mexico EJ Working Group is comprised of the following organizations: Colonias Development Council, Concerned Citizens of Wagon Mound and Mora County, Kalpulli Izkalli, Laguna-Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment, SAGE Council, SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP), the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, and the Southwest Research and Information Center.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Orden Ejecutiva un Paso Hacia Comunidades Saludables

Nuevo México recientemente tomó un paso hacia comunidades más saludables cuando el Gobernador Bill Richardson firmó una orden ejecutiva sobre la justicia ambiental. Esta orden afirma nuestro derecho de vivir en una comunidad segura y saludable. La orden ejecutiva reconoce la existencia de la injusticia ambiental dentro del estado de Nuevo México, la cual impacta desaproporcionadamente a comunidades del pueblo de color y de bajos ingresos.

Esta orden ejecutiva es el resultado del duro trabajo de personas y organizaciones a lo largo del estado que exigen la acción de remediar los problemas causados por la contaminación en sus comunidades. El año pasado se sostuvieron sesiones de escuchar de justicia ambiental en Las Vegas, Deming, Acoma Pueblo y Albuquerque. El tema resonante fue el derecho de la comunidad de involucrarse en el proceso de la toma de decisions y que la salud y seguridad de nuestras comunidades son primero que las ganancias.

Muchas familias del pueblo de color y de bajos ingresos viven en seguida de más contaminadores que cualquier otro pueblo en nuestro país. A menudo, estas son las comunidades que actúan como los canarios en la mina de carbón para muchos de los contaminadores que conocemos muy poco de ellos.

Hay personas reales detrás de estas estadísticas. Y enfermedades reales.

Muchos de nuestros vecinos y miembros de familia, especialmente nuestros niños y ancianos, se enferman con cánceres, leucemia y asma debido a que los químicos a los cuales somos expuestos son malos para nuestra salud. Estos no solamente son químicos que respiramos, también están en el agua que tomamos y el alimento que comemos.

El sentido común nos dice que las facilidades contaminantes no deberían ser permitidas cerca de hogares, escuelas, centros comunitarios, e iglesias.
Cuando los contaminadores rompan la ley, deben ser castigados para que no vuelva a suceder. También se les debería requerir pagar el costo de limpiar cuando contaminen nuestro aire, agua y suelo.

Todos merecemos alternativas que promuevan trabajos limpios y un ambiente seguro, no ultimátums de tomarlo o dejarlo para contaminadores en el nombre del desarrollo económico. Debemos considerar los impactos que nuestras decisiones y prácticas tendrán sobre las futuras generaciones.

La orden ejecutiva establecerá una fuerza de trabajo compuesta de representantes de varios departamentes de gobierno estatal. Esperamos que este proceso asegure que la salud y ambiente de los nuevo mexicanos sea una prioridad principal en lugar de una medida para sentirse bien. Los residentes de Nuevo México merecen acción, como también una palabra buena.
El Gobernador Richardson y el Departamento Ambiental de Nuevo México deben implementar la orden ejecutiva al suministrar liderazgo a todas las agencias del estado de Nuevo México cuando se tomen decisiones las cuales impactan a nuestras comunidades.

La contaminación no conoce linderos. Es crítico que fijemos límites e involucremos a las comunidades en la toma de decisiones. La orden ejecutiva es un paso hacia asegurar que todas las comunidades, sin importar la raza, etnicidad o nivel de ingresos, tengan el derecho a un ambiente limpio para vivir, trabajar, jugar, estudiar, y orar.

El Grupo Trabajador de JA de Nuevo México está compuesto por las siguientes
organizaciones: Colonias Development Council, Concerned Citizens of Wagon Mound and Mora County, Kalpulli Izkalli, Laguna-Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment, SAGE Council, SWOP, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, and the Southwest Research and Information Center.

karlos says:

Folks MUST check out this article from the NY Times. I'm looking to bring back some cheap oil to New Mexico when we go down to Venezuela in January 2006 to the World Social Forum! :)

My favorite quote from the article:

Mr. Serrano, who led Mr. Chávez on a tour of the Bronx in September, said
that he is not bothered by criticisms of Mr. Chávez's motivation. "If people
think that the Venezuelan government and Chávez are trying to score points
in my district, as a Congressman from the district, I welcome that," he
said. "And I welcome any other American corporation that wants to come here
and score points."

Venezuela to Help Bronx Residents With Heating Oil Bills
By MANNY FERNANDEZ and JUAN FORERO

New York Times
December 6, 2005

About all that Belkis Bejaran had ever heard about the firebrand leader of
faraway Venezuela was that the combative populist often hurled verbal
insults at President Bush.

Then this week, with a sort of bemused gratitude, she heard that Hugo
Chávez's government, which sits on the Western Hemisphere's biggest oil
supply, would provide cheap heating fuel to her landlord, reducing her
monthly rent this winter by more than $100.

"I find it weird, because he's always talking about the administration,"
said Ms. Bejaran, 38. "Then, all of a sudden I heard he was going to provide
oil for the South Bronx. I was surprised." Read More:

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

I've been out of the office (and somehow far away from internet access) in the Bay Area for the last couple of weeks. I was at an orientation, training and leadership convening of Grassroots Global Justice, an alliance of grassroots US groups and organizations working to build power in disenfranchised communities in the US and solidarity with global social movements.

The orientation was for a delegation of GGJ to the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela next January. SWOP will be sending a small delegation of members as well. I will attend with Celia, Jeremy, and Sylviana. I am looking forward to a powerful experience.

Quick Headlines around SWOP:

• Governor Signs Executive Order On Environmental Justice;

• Pajarito Mesa Residents Pressure Gov On Services for Community;

• State-Wide Minimum Wage Increase Gaining Traction, Dems Jump On Board;

• SWOP End-Of-Year Party this Saturday at Office, Bring the Children;

• SWOP 25th Anniversary Committee Meets Tonight;

• Rosina Roibal, youth cultural coordinator at SWOP, Plays with Kanye West In El Paso Tonight...