here is some of what Julian had to say:

“Our future is the present. The anti-war movement, the anti-militarization movement needs to be led by youth, because our generation is heading toward being a generation of veterans, that doesn’t have proper resources or health care, because our imperialist regime that sends us to war is the same one that has cut these services for veterans. We must stop this racist, imperialist regime from sending to war our best and brightest young people of color!”

Right ON Julian!!


Another presenter asked us to: "Imagine a world in which there are no prisons. Really imagine that. NO prisons. Can you imagine this? Really? A world in which there is NO prison-industrial complex. Not kinder or gentler but simply NO prisons."


Stats she rolled out...created a picture of what she called genocide...because when at any given time 5% of black men are in prison...you are killing a community. She called the prison industrial complex the largest "social program" we have short of the military. We are constantly policed, and if we aren't policed we are policing. And we do it all over the world without batting an eye because we do it right here without batting an eye.

So we have to get rid of it.

I can imagine a world without it. Can you?

Here are further reflections on our journey through Houston, Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Slidell, from Nez and Dezbah.

Nez:

On day 3, we were in Houston and we were protesting against a Valero oil plant. There was a lot of food and some speakers. Then we started to leave to Lake Charles. There, we had dinner. We were in a gym this time. We did some very inspiring chants and some of us played at the playground there.

On day 4, we were in New Orleans and got to choose from a variety of programs to do during the day. I picked helping rebuild homes there. During the program, we went to a neighborhood with apartments that had trash all over its parking lots. We picked a ton of trash and moved it to the sidewalk. When we were done, we all got in the bus and drove to the park. There were a lot of cool things there like music, food, vendors, and a few speakers. It was a lot of fun while we were there. Once the festivities were done, we all got in the buses and headed for Slidell. We were eating right next to a nice lake and we had a lot of crabs to eat. I had my first crab in Slidell, Louisiana. After that, we started towards Jackson, Mississippi. On the way, we watched a documentary on New Orleans’ housing recovery. Once it was over, we made it to the hotel a few minutes later.

We're about an hour outside Atlanta, on the bus, with an incredible feeling of anticipation mixed with inspiration from five days on the People's Freedom Caravan. What a great foundation this tour has been for our participation in the first ever United States Social Forum. Here are perspectives of a few compañeros/as on our bus about the past five days, as we prepare to join our nation-wide community in struggle and solidarity:


Lucille Cordova: This has been a terrific learning experience. Even though I’m a historian and thought I knew a lot about this history, I’ve learned lot on the caravan. I’ve met a lot of people and there’s been great hospitality.


Ezequiel Grado: I’m very happy to be here, it’s been great to meet new people in the struggle.

by P. Sandoval


The journey begins 6:30am June 22. My bus is leaving in 30 minutes, yeah I’m running late but with fate I will make it on time. I should of set two alarms, my dad’s outside waiting for me, so we jet out to get a fast bite and we’re on our way to the park to meet up with SWOP, we can make it and we did. The sun is up and the people are happy, I know this is gonna be an awesome trip. A life changing experience to say the least, call it destiny. Six months prior I was telling a good friend I wanted to embark on more activist work and to help the community. Now here I am with the sun glistening on my face about to take off on a 13 day adventure throughout the southwest region of the United States to Represent for the people, meeting up with 10,000 strong for the first ever United States Social Forum! I meet and greet with other SWOP members and friends in the park where the two Buses are waiting for us. This is gonna be one fun caravan sticking it to the man! Me, my Dad and Sister Emma say a prayer, then me and Em hop on the bus with the other 80 or so people. I’m glad I’m going with Emma to the United States Social Forum, this will be a great time to bond. With two Buses we head north, our first stop is Carlsbad New Mexico or Carl Is Bad, like some on the bus were saying, we meet up with friends of SWOP at a very nice house and we eat Enchilada’s (yummy). This is a good time to talk to people so I say what’s up to a few unfamiliar faces we snap a huge photo in front of our two Bus’s then its time to leave so we say adios and now we’re heading to San Antonio Texas (my first time going to S.A)! We get there safe and we rest.

The next day June 23rd is a nice morning. I’m still sleepy and we roll in the bus for an environmental justice tour of Kelly Air Force Base. Someone on the intercom tells us about the major pollution that is surrounding the community of people that live near the base. It’s sad and I feel bad for these people that live there, I wish the government gave a shit and cleaned up the chemicals so people won’t get cancer and other diseases. This is one of the reasons we’re going on this tour to show that we, the people, demand a change and we will not be silenced! We then meet up with some local community members at a house and they tell us of the bad situation they’re in because of the AFB chemicals that are going into the community. God Bless the community, they been through so much and I want them to have a clean environment to raise their families in, I hope the people responsible clean up their act before global warming gets worse. We then meet up with the Southwest Workers Union and other folks that are down for the cause and we head downtown to have a rally for comprehensive immigration reform and workers rights. The turn out was beautiful. We marched to the Nazi Senator John Cornyn’s office and rally past the river walk where tons of tourist and people from San Antonio were watching. Most are surprised to see us but greet us with smiles. I had the opportunity to talk to a reporter. She asked me why I was there and I let her know I support equal rights for all human beings and let her know in my opinion if all the migrant workers stopped working for a day the US would fall apart. She was very nice and I was glad I had a little chat with her. We made our voice heard that afternoon. Then we went to the park to have a Delicious BBQ and went for a dip in the free pool. We finished off the day with some of the best carne asada I ever had at a local bar/restaurant with the great vibes of Native American music and dancers.


Sunday June 24th we caravanned to the park and had a fantastic lunch, some excellent chicken I might add. There were lots of speakers there talking on the mic. One of them that caught my attention was a man and woman that got in trouble for chaining themselves to a fence in front of a children prison to show that they don’t want children in the prison. Yes, we are talking about children and it shouldn’t be just no child left behind but no child locked up either (THAT AINT RIGHT), imprisoning kids…come on get real! After that the crew and I left some crosses on the Valero refinery fence letting them know we acknowledge that people are getting sick and we want change in the refinery industry. We demand less pollution, and environmental changes for the future of humanity (I told you we’re gonna stick it to the man). As if the day wasn’t fun enough we then go to Lake Charles, Louisiana. What a blast. We got a chance to chill with the friendly local community people and eat some more top notch food!

Monday June 25th 730am. It’s a little early but today I’m going with others to help clean up some low income house’s that were messed up by Hurricane Katrina. Almost two years later the clean up is not done yet (where did all the federal/donated money go?). It was nice helping out the community but I personally feel sad and wish there was more I could do. When I get back to NM I’m gonna find more ways to help. After the clean up we had a festive time with the local Katrina survivors at Congo square. What a good time, good food, good music, and huge smiles. New Orleans will live in my heart. Later we left N.O and went to Slidell where we ate tasty crabs with the nice residents that were there.

Tuesday June 26th we head to the historic town of Jackson, Mississippi. We go on a tour around the town with Hollis Watkins, a civil rights leader who talked about the struggle of the south and their way to freedom. We then ate with the locals and had a really good lunch! On our way, we stopped to rally against Wally World, aka WalMart the capitalist store who don’t give there employees health care or a fair amount of money to live off of, this experience was so much fun. I think this was the best rally so far. We meet up with other local people and say some LOUD chants. I think the workers inside heard us. I hope Walmart listens to the people in the future and stops depriving their workers. We really let our presence be felt, what a crazy time the vibes where ecstatic!


So we pull up to Alabama and I reflect on our trip thus far. This is an unbelievable experience. The laughter the voices and the fun will last with me forever. Plus the change that is gonna happen as we push forwards towards a better US will be amazing. We haven’t even got to Atlanta, Georgia, yet the journey already has been an adventure. Thank God for the safe bus ride, The people will prevail! Thanks to all those that read so far, this is my first real blog and I hope u enjoyed what I said, peace and love. ¡Si Se Puede!

On the 1^st day of the USSF we launched the conference as I call it. Mom’s inspiration speech started the journey to Atlanta, Georgia. I road the bus that Jessie was on. It was cool sitting with my best friend in the world! We listened to Jessie’s MP3, ate snacks, and did a game of trivia with the whole bus. We stopped in Carlsbad to have some lunch with a family. The family was the Dorado family. The main host was Martin Dorado. He was the father and husband of the house. There was I think another family that lived in that house. From there we headed to San Antonio. We arrived at the hotel about 10:30 or 11:00 at night.

On the 2^nd day of the USSF we start the day with an environmental justice tour of Kelly AFB. Then we meet with community members at Community Headquarters of the organization Committee for Environmental Justice Action. I met many new people there. We headed to the Alamo for a rally about migrant rights. Then we marched to Senator John Cornyn's office, by Travis Park. They had the kids write messages to him, draw dead body’s out line, hang up wanted posters of him, and tear down a paper wall meaning “tear down the wall!” Our buses picked us up at the park. Then we went to another park to eat lunch. After lunch we went back to the hotel for an hour or 2. Then went to the Ruta Maya café to eat dinner while there was music and performers. I ended the day with a good night sleep.

Nez Evans:

This was the day when the NM caravan left. Where it all started. It’s also where I first got motion sickness. I will probably remember the launching most of all. We picked up some people working for better education in Carlsbad. We also started watching movies that day. The first one was George Lopez. In Carlsbad, we stayed for a while and had lunch.

We stopped in San Antonio where we would stay for the next whole day. We all piled up in a motel. After that we took a tour of the air force base and learned about the toxic waste being released into the community and the water under ground. After that, we all went to a park with a swimming pool. It was very fun and there was food there. I think the coolest and most memorable part was swimming in the pool.

The Buzz is HUGE!!! The Social forum is everywhere, things are coming along very nicely. The caravan is on its way(Justice on the Move) our local Atlanta hosts have been amazing opening their offices, homes, hearts, and city to us.

2 days and its ON! The time grows ever more near even as I type this. Walking around the city handing out fliers and posters in my travels the question I've heard the most is "why?". There are many complicated answers to give to this, it has led to many many great conversations.

Right now the only thing that comes into my mind when I'm asked "Why are you doing this?" or "Why in Atlanta?" is the Rage Against the Machine Lyric

"It has to start somewhere/It has to start sometime/What better place than here?/What better time than now? ALL HELL CAN'T STOP US NOW"

Check this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; interviews with key organizers of the forum.

Social Forum aims to help activists blend strengths

By ERNIE SUGGS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
06/24/07

On Wednesday, about 10,000 grass-roots activists will meet in Atlanta
for a major forum that will feature close to 1,000 workshops and, it's
hoped, a lot of understanding.

Understanding, that is, of what they do and of who they are.

"We want to show that we are not the marginalized sector of the crazies
across the street," said Stephanie Guilloud, one of the organizers of
the U.S. Social Forum. "We are your neighbors. I think for a lot of
folks, when we are talking about activists, there seems to be a sense
that we are complainers. But we are putting forth a vision that affects
us all."

The U.S. Social Forum, the first in the United States, begins Wednesday
with a march from the state Capitol to the Atlanta Civic Center, the
site for the bulk of events at the five-day conference.

Organizers are expecting participants from all over the country to come
talk about such issues as immigration, poverty, housing and police
conduct.

Alice Lovelace, an activist and poet who is also the USSF's lead
organizer, said the participants will include, among others, "Native
Americans, domestic workers, school teachers, youth, hip-hop artists,
environmentalists, labor leaders and people who work on immigration."

Lovelace said the main purpose of the forum is to get activists to work
together. In theory, the forum would help a singularly focused housing
activist learn how to "break the isolation" by learning how racism,
education and police conduct fit into his cause.

"This will allow all of them to get together and become better educated
about each other. We want to see how do we improve the world for human
beings," Lovelace said. "We cannot devise a strategy to move forward
until we hear how these issues impact the lives of everyday people."

Tufara Waller-Muhammad will travel from New Market, Tenn., to attend the
forum and talk about civil rights. Waller-Muhammad is a cultural program
leader for the Highlander Research and Education Center, which has been
a training ground for several civil rights leaders.

During the civil rights era, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Pete Seeger
and the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy trained at Highlander. Rosa Parks
credited her time there with shaping her thinking before she sparked the
Montgomery bus boycott.

"We bring together grass-roots leaders to train each other,"
Waller-Muhammad said of the mission of the Highlander. "We believe that
each person has a piece of the pie and when we bring people together, we
get the whole pie. One of the things I am looking forward to is
intergenerational dialogue around some of the civil rights work."

But while she is looking forward to meeting people from across the
country who are working on civil rights issues, Waller-Muhammad is also
eager to meet people outside of civil rights to see how their goals
match.

"We, as people and citizens of this country, are supposed to direct the
way that politicians act. We are supposed to have a direct effect on
politicians and decision-makers," Waller-Muhammad said. "People are
still violating civil rights. Like the attack on voting rights. There
will always be work to be done."

Planning for the forum has been going on for three years, Lovelace said.
"It took a year to educate people to what it was," she said. "Then we
had to figure out if we could do it."

When the forum begins Wednesday with the march, it will have a different
vibe than most people might be used to. True to its mission, the
grass-roots forum will be organic. Registration is only $20, and about
50 groups helped organize the event. Along with big downtown hotels,
some workshops will be held in area churches, libraries and museums.

Several of the Forum's 950 workshops will focus on immigrant and
Hispanic communities; women's health issues and leadership; the Iraq
war; farm workers; and police brutality.

But anybody who wants to put on a workshop can simply add one as part of
the forum's "open spaces."

"This is an open forum," Lovelace said. "We exist only to provide the
space for it to happen."

Organizers are also hoping to make a difference. Both Lovelace and
Guilloud are aware of how the grass-roots movement can be perceived as
nonexistent or nonchalant.

"I think we want to beat that perception, because that is a way to
marginalize voices of the grass roots," said Guilloud, program director
for Project South, a leadership development organization. "We are
pushing for change that is broad and connected. The goal is to shift us
from a reactive stance to a position of strength and vision."

Waller-Muhammad, who said she has been a social activist for half of her
34 years, said the conference will make an international statement that
activism is strong in the United States.

"We who believe in freedom cannot rest," Waller-Muhammad said. "If we
stop standing up for justice and freedom, who knows what will happen to
the world?"

Labels: atlanta, United States Social Forum

They had freedom on their on mind, singing songs on the bus. "Woke up this morning with my mind, stayed on freedom."

"The people in Houston filled me inspiration, says Victoria Rodriguez. "I don't know how they live next to those refineries, you can smell it. Truly an environmental injustice."

"We heard about children having heart surgery, families dealing with high instances of cancer, yet the community is still filled with hope."

Many thanks to the Southwest Worker's Union for providing us with a truly thought provoking and inspiring day in San Antonio yesterday.



We began the day with a tour of the neighborhoods surrounding Kelly Airforce Base. The Base, closed in July 2001, became part of the Armed Forces in 1948. It's also the site of Union Pacific Railroad's railyards, where derailments frequently spill toxic chemicals into the environment. UP is not responsible to anyone in local or state government, and in 2004 five community members died as a result of a large derailment that spilled chlorine into the air.

Located near a low income, primarily Chicano/Mexicano community, residents have been struggling with the incredible contamination by the base and private corporations (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc.), contamination that has caused much cancer, leukemia, birth defects and muscular illnesses.




They are confronted daily by a racist government that has actually suggested their illnesses are the result of eating too many tortillas. They have been successful in getting a clinic and some cleanup in the area, but the government and military still have a long way to go in cleaning up the incredible environmental devastation they have caused in this community.

From there we moved on to an immigrant rights rally at the Alamo.



The Alamo is a highly contested symbolic space in Mexico/Texas history. The site of a famous battle in the U.S. aggression against Mexico in the early 1800's, in which the Anglos occupying the site were completely defeated by the army of General Santa Ana, it became a rallying cry for Anglo's in their quest to seize Texas from Mexico. For many Texans it represents an almost sacred place in the nation-building "manifest destiny" mythology of the United States. Manifest Destiny was the idea promoted heavily at the time that the United States had a "manifest" (as a righteous people we can only guess) destiny to inhabit the land from coast to coast. This mythology is underpinned with a deeply embedded notion of the "promised land", which in turn excludes other groupings of people by its very nature. Essentially, the idea of manifest destiny is incredibly racist. So it was fitting that we held the rally advocating for just immigration policies for workers, who are primarily from Mexico, at this place.

Then we marched to TX Senator Cornyn's office to protest his racist "enforcement only" stance when it comes to the immigration bills being debated in congress. Since Senator Cornyn wasn't there, we made sure he knew we had paid him a visit...










After the march, caravanistas enjoyed SWU hospitality at San Pedro Park (The pool at the park was widely enjoyed!), and later at Ruta Maya Cofeehouse for dinner. Dinner was made by women in Fuerza Unida, a sewing cooperative started by former Levi factory workers when the factory closed down.



We are now setting out for Houston, TX and Lake Charles, LA joined by a full bus from San Antonio. Onward to Atlanta!

Labels: People's Freedom Caravan

We left Albuquerque this morning right around 7:30, two large charter buses full of people who managed to be both sleepy and excited at the same time. On the bus, we've spent time introducing ourselves, reading and sleeping, watching George Lopez and Seinfeld (yes, we're idealistic but we also like to laugh at goofy sitcoms) and daydreaming, of course. We got to Carlsbad a little after noon, where the Dorado Family fed us a great enchilada lunch. In Carlsbad we picked up another 12 folks, including the Dorado's and the Martin Luther King Dream Team. Now we're in the final leg into San Antonio, with The Motorcycle Diaries for entertainment. It's been a long ride today but surprisingly it’s gone pretty fast. We're a happy bunch, thrilled to the last one of us to have this opportunity to be part of a historic social justice caravan heading across the South.

Many thanks to all of you good folks who supported us in a myriad of ways to undertake this journey. Keep checking back, we'll keep the updates flowing. And check out our photo pool on flickr for many more pictures over the coming week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfc2007

You all gotta' see the buses! They're painted with the graphic art from the USSF outreach flyer. Scroll down for the article in yesterday's Journal.

Come back for updates!

Labels: People's Freedom Caravan, United States Social Forum, US Social Forum, USSF

This is great....tomorrow is the big day. We're at crunch time and the excitement level is going through the roof. Our national allies are coming in tonight, everyone's packing tonight, and the media is buzzing about it already.

We're about to make history.

Keep coming back to the blog throughout the caravan. We will be posting, pictures, writings from participants, and hopefully some video as well.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to make this a reality.

Show your solidarity with the Carvan and come to Washington Park at 6:45am, for our send off rally!

******************************

Activists Join People’s Caravan

Bus tour to focus on social, economic disparities on way to forum in Atlanta

BY DEBRA DOMINGUEZ-LUND
Journal Staff Writer

They are seeking another form of U.S. democracy — one they say is based on “equality, living wages, sustainability and human rights.”

About 100 community members and civil rights activists will gather as the sun comes up Friday morning at Washington Park near Downtown Albuquerque to launch a “People’s Caravan” across the nation.

The bus caravan, a grassroots effort by participating groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Southwest Organizing Project, was created in remembrance of the first Freedom Ride that was met with violence in Jackson, Miss., in 1961.

New Mexicans from civil rights advocacy groups like SWOP, Enlace Comunitario, the Martin Luther King Dream Team and Somos un Pueblo Unido, will launch the bus tour from Albuquerque and visit at least six other U.S. cities until reaching their destination: the U.S. Social Forum, which is expected to draw some 1,000 attendees in Atlanta on Wednesday.

“During the tour, we’ll be meeting up with allies in other cities for rallies, press conferences, meetings with legislators and to even do community work,” SWOP communications organizer Jo Ann Gutierrez-Bejar said.

The caravan will make stops in San Antonio, Texas; Houston; Lake Charles, La.; New Orleans; Jackson, Miss.; Selma, Ala., and finally, Atlanta.

“Our primary mission is to bridge the nation’s democratic divide,” Gutierrez-Bejar said. “We live in a country with structural inequities. Lowincome people of color are divided amongst each other.

“We need to bridge the gap between us with this tour and realize we’re all fighting the same struggles and seeking the same opportunities,” she said.

“We want to look at how certain policies in this nation are tailored for the rich by the rich. We want to get the poor involved so policies are tailored to help get them out of poverty.”

Organizers say that as the freedom riders of the 1960s brought a new vision for the South based on desegregation, this year’s “People’s Caravan” will demonstrate that another United States is possible — one that bridges racial, geographic and cultural divides and moves beyond the status quo “pay to play” politics.

“We are going to Atlanta to build a unified voice of the people,” said Agnes Rivera, New York’s Community Voices Heard leader and a caravan participant.

“We want to make connections across the country to create a domino effect of action and organizing.

“On the caravan and at the forum, we will discuss our social safety net, jobs and public housing,” she said. “We’ll learn from each other and strengthen our work for another world.”

Sandra Ortsman, a member of Albuquerque’s immigrantrights group Enlace Comunitario, said costs, harsh working conditions and distance typically keep the poor apart and away from organizing opportunities.

“This caravan will allow us to unite,” she said. “It will give us a chance to form a partnership and come up with strategies and solutions to do away with injustice and inequities in the United States.”

Labels: atlanta, People's Freedom Caravan, US Social Forum, USSF

Show your support tonight.

We need to continue fighting for just policies. Families need to be together, and migrants need to be left alone to provide for them.

Labels: el centro de igualdad y derechos, Immigration, vigil june 19th

Casandra is and has been an incredible asset not only to our organization, but to her community.

She has mobilized against the war and has challenge the heightened military recruitment in our low-income schools in Albuquerque.

Casandra is coordinating the SWOP Summer Youth Recreation Program that includes 20 youth from all over Albuquerque. They are learning about Social Justice issues, Youth Rights Campaigns, Poetry and Filmmaking Workshops and next week... Globalization and Immigration.

Casandra will be attending the US Social Forum in the People's Freedom Caravan and is also making a baby that's due in September. :)

Thank you for your contributions to the movement for global justice Casandra! You are amazing.

Click here to read the entire article which highlights our allies like Genaro Lopez Rendon from Southwest Workers Union and Teresa Almaguer from PODER, SF.

********************

Casandra Stewart, Youth Intern with the Southwest Organizing Project, Albuquerque, New Mexico

SWOP is a statewide multi-racial, multi-issue, community based membership organization. Since 1980, SWOP has worked to make it possible for thousands of New Mexicans to begin to have a place and voice in social, economic and environmental decisions that affect their lives. Their mission is “working to empower our communities to realize racial and gender equality and social and economic justice.”

What is the work you’re involved in?

It’s a grassroots, community based organization. We work to empower the disenfranchised. We work with poor communities of color to make gender and racial equality a reality and to create social and economic justice.

We do door knocking. We talk about issues in the community. We get people involved in issues they see as pressing. We do a lot of empowerment work. We don’t speak for people, we go and find out what people care concerned about and work with them.

We have a youth rights campaign—we want to give young people better options, better choices than war or prison. We’ve been working on getting into schools. The administrations are so afraid to let people hear the other side. We’re working with the school board too—to exercise our right to present alternatives to students. But it’s hard to get access. In lower-income schools, administrations don’t want federal funding revoked. So they’re fearful of any type of criticism. But if you can’t get in through the administration, you get in through the students.

How do you see the work you’re doing intersecting with a larger movement or movements?

In New Mexico we’re good at empowering and strengthening local communities. We want to work on collaborating with national struggles and building strength, especially in the South. All the work we do here in New Mexico around water issues, racism and environmental racism, is all directly related to things going on in the South, New Orleans specifically. Our struggles are very similar.

The Freedom Caravan, which we are co-organizing, is a place to build strong, solid relationships—relationships that demonstrate a willingness to struggle and work together.

How do you see the US Social Forum relating with your work?

The Freedom Caravan started out as an idea of ours to get to the USSF. We want to caravan for the media attention but also for economic reasons—it’s cheaper than flying 100 people out. We’re raising money to make it happen. We made 500 enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo and sold ‘em for $10 a plate. People are committed to raising money for the delegation. Ally organizations and our membership are committed to sending people to Atlanta. All of our members’ costs are subsidized.

When we first pitched the idea of caravanning to other organizations, people were skeptical. How to get people to take 2 weeks off of work? But people totally committed. Here we are a month and a half before and two buses are completely booked by people who are gonna take two weeks to go across the country and to the USSF.

In each place the caravan goes we want to learn about local struggle, learn about how local struggles are similar, how to work together to create change.

Labels: atlanta, Left Turn Magazine, People's Freedom Caravan, USSF

Probably not, but yet we still do. How many times have we been muzzled, shhh-ed, asked to leave, called disruptive, told we're on private property....better yet...threatened.

The ideology in this country about free speech is that: "It's only free if I agree with you, or if you own the means of the media."

Sometimes I would love some people to be shut up, especially when it comes to CNN anchors. The most hateful and ignorant speech comes out of there. The ONLY reason they get to say the most ridiculous crap is because they own the media. So technically it's not free speech, they paid for it.

Let's visit our 1st amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, unless they pay for it, or pay for someone else's rights to be infringed upon.

Yes that's pretty accurate.

In saying that, we have to fight for freedom of speech. It's fundamental to change and in this political climate it's our dissent.

On to the article below....
The City of Atlanta would be in a tight corner if they passed this "Free Speech Zone," legislation, right before the US Social Forum.

I can picture it now.....10,000 protesting the mayor's office as we pass by Coke headquaters......kill 2 birds with one stone. It would be nice wouldn't it. But no....good thing this crazy law didn't get passed and they came to their senses.
*********************
ATL scraps effort to create ‘free speech zones’
Proposal stems from street preachers protesting at Pride

By RYAN LEE
JUN. 15, 2007Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was forced Tuesday to back down from a proposal to create “free speech zones” that would actually limit where protesters can demonstrate during large city festivals. The mayor’s proposal stems from incidents at Gay Pride in recent years, but the measure was widely rebuked by gay activists and others as anti-democratic, Orwellian doublespeak.

“In Atlanta we try to make sure there’s a balance of the various First Amendment rights,” said Greg Pridgeon, Franklin’s chief of staff. “We think that people who want to protest ought to be able to have access [to festivals and large events], to be in a spot where they can be heard, be seen, and have their presence felt.

Some gay activists warned that while protecting Pride attendees from unwanted religious protesters, the proposed ordinance could be used to curb everything from anti-war protests to the upcoming U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta.

“It was clear that is was just about zoning free speech across the board, and that it really didn’t matter what the audience was,” said Will Cordery, a queer organizer with the Social Forum. “I think if this had passed, Pride might’ve looked great as far as anti-gay protesters, but who knows what it would’ve been used for next year. We could be the ones silenced.”

Read the entire article here: Southern Voice

Labels: Free Speech, right to protest, United States Social Forum, US Social Forum, USSF

The Council of Great City Schools, a non-profit organization representing over 50 of the nations largest school districts; reported back to the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education's Community Safety Commission today that it was not in the best interest of the district to arm APS police on school campuses.

The council team also recommended overhauling the district's police department to create a new safety and security arm.

The team said the Albuquerque Board of Education and its administration don't seem to have the will or leadership to run an armed police force.

We've said it all along, adding guns to school campus will do nothing but perpetuate the culture of violence that is leading the problems with school violence.

It only makes young people the are going to school to learn and grow in SAFE, HEALTHY, GUN FREE environments feel like criminals.

Don't forget that this fight is not over, Saturday June 16th (This Saturday) at 10AM, Del Norte High School the school board is hosting its Open Community Forum around this issue

We will meet at the SWOP office at 8:30 AM to make posters and installation pieces to make sure that Board knows we are there and that we are serious about keeping our schools Gun Free!

Read the article from the Tribune below.

Police officers shouldn't carry guns, review team says

By Susie Gran (Contact)
Thursday, June 14, 2007

It's time to disarm the school police and let city and county cops carry the guns, the experts say.

Contracts with Albuquerque police and the Bernalillo County sheriff are the best law enforcement option for Albuquerque Public Schools, a review team from the Council of Great City Schools says.

The team's recommendation was reviewed on June 14 by the district's new Community Safety Commission, formed to help determine the fate of the embattled APS Police Department.

The council team also recommended overhauling the district's police department to create a new safety and security arm.

The team said the Albuquerque Board of Education and its administration don't seem to have the will or leadership to run an armed police force.

"Based on their past performance, it is not apparent that the Board of Education and the district's executive leadership team would provide the executive leadership, support and backing, and make the critical and difficult decisions that would be required to create a safety, security and professional, fully authorized law enforcement department," the report said.

The review team said the proposed safety and security department could concentrate on intervention and prevention in creating safe schools.

The commission will review the team's recommendation, then forward its own recommendation on to Superintendent Beth Everitt.

The goal is to have all changes in place by the time school starts in August, said district spokesman Joseph Escobedo.

The APS Police Department has a $3.1 million budget and 40 sworn officers, who are allowed to carry their weapons before and after school. Currently, there are 32 officers and eight openings.

Everitt called on the Council of Great City Schools to make recommendations on best practices for school police after the debate over arming officers heated up and audits verified problems in the department.

The chief for the last 16 years, Gil Lovato, has been on administrative leave since January amid allegations of misconduct and mismanagement of his department.

Everitt has said she will not renew his contract when it expires June 30.

Under Lovato, the district's school police operated as a police department with sworn officers. Many officers have urged the school board to allow them to carry guns around the clock.

The school board agreed to review its gun policy after the council review. Some board members also suggested the district consider disbanding its police force and asking the city or county to contract police services.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who is a member of the safety commission, said on June 12 that APS must decide whether it needs its own police department, an unarmed security force or a little of both.

"It's kind of like an identity crisis," White said of school police.

"The district needs to do a needs assessment to determine if they need sworn officers. If they do, then they need to be armed."

White said it's not his recommendation for the sheriff or city police to take over school police.

"We should have close coordination, and the head of school police should report directly to the superintendent," he said.

Meanwhile, the district and Lovato are preparing for a court battle over his contract.

Lovato's attorney, Sam Bregman, said he intends to sue the district on the grounds of wrongful termination, defamation and retaliation.

The district refused Bregman's offer of a $500,000 settlement to end the dispute, district spokesman Rigo Chavez said.

An internal audit of Lovato's department identified 20 infractions including poor evidence-room inventory

Labels: APS, Guns in Schools

Blogging the People's Freedom Caravan to the USSF

Sarah van Gelder says:

A week from today, I'll be on my way to Albuquerque to join up with one of the People's Freedom Caravan that will be making its way to the U.S. Social Forum. Check back here for my blogs, where I hope to offer you the flavor and the mounting excitement as we make our way across the South, ending up with a march into Atlanta.

The Southwest Workers Union, the Southwest Organizing Project, Southern Echo and the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond are organizing the caravan, which picks up on the spirit of the Freedom Rides of 1961 in which volunteers rode buses throughout the South to press for desegregation.

Evidently, there are other caravans in the works, but the one I'll be on starts off in Albuquerque and makes stops in San Antonio, Houston, Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Jackson, Mississippi.

"The Freedom Caravan is a social movement on wheels, giving us a chance to share and strategize towards achieving ‘another’ US.” That is how Genaro Rendon of Southwest Workers' Union described the caravan.

Along the way, caravan riders will stop to highlight local struggles. Here's how the Southwest Workers Union described the route in their May 23rd posting.

Read More:

Labels: People's Freedom Caravan, United States Social Forum, US Social Forum, USSF, YES Magazine

Greetings from Beautiful HotLanta! Ground Zero of a history making event that is less than 19 days away, the FIRST EVER United States Social Forum.

This past week has been an adventure for 3 Swopistas, Monica Cordova, Juliana Lujan,
and Rodrigo Rodriguez(Me). Our first leg of our adventure was the National Planning Committee Meeting in Washington D.C. The NPC touched base one last time before the forum so that we could all go home with finalized plans of action and get ready to hit the ground running for the forum. We also attended a really good meeting with youth from the D.C. area(Pictured above) that are planning on attending the USSF. Almost 30 young people an representing 20+ youth groups were there and rocked it like always!!!

After the meeting we continued on to Atlanta to join the Atlanta Organizing Committee here at the home base.

SWOP has put a lot of resources into the USSF, the three of us are of course evidence of SWOP's commitment to the forum and social justice. We will be here through the forum, organizing the Youth Tent, the Youth Camp, the People's Freedom and Solidarity Tent, and plugging in wherever else the brothers and sisters here in the ATL need.
We will also be getting ready to welcome the SWOP delegates and everyone else coming in on the People's Freedom Caravan.

We will be meeting Saturday the 9th with the folks organizing the opening march, and on Monday we will be diving into the work head first!
We are all extremely excited and grateful to be here.

We've already been on the radio talking about SWOP's involvement in the USSF and will be on again on Monday, Tune in online to www.wrfg.org to peep it.
We'll be updating you guys again soon. LOVE/PEACE.
Swopistas Represent!
Rigo
Monica
Juliana

Labels: atlanta, SWOP, United States Social Forum, youth

The G8 which stands for "The Group of 8," is a group made up of the 8 most powerful countries in the world that represent about 14 percent of the world population, but they account for nearly two thirds of the world's economic output.

That's 66% of world economic power held by only 14% of the population. Sounds bad right...well it is.

Wondering which governments/countries are in the G8?
"Will the governments of the power elite G8 come on down..."

Canada
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Russia
the United Kingdom and of course last but certainly not least...
The United States Of America

How's that for your happy friday morning? We're in the mix.

This year the group has been meeting in Germany since June 6th and has finish today. To do what...not quite sure except it's probably okay to say that they are realizing their greedy dreams of world economic domination.

The G8 and its policies have been the culprits for poverty around the world, debt, free trade, pollution, AIDS not being cured (and then some), globalization and Imperialism, just to name a few.

Protesters gather there at every meeting to pressure the group to combat the problems they are creating.

Most of the media coverage doesn't surround the issues being debating. It's main focus is always on the protestors and the "violence of anarchists." Which is ridiculous obviosuly, how can a small number of unarmed people be violent against thousands of riot police fully armed with strong weaponry? Oh yes...anarchist carry rocks...

anyway - we need to hear the issues and the policies being debated. Unfortunately we only get the report after the fact. This year $60 million was promised to Africa and Iran also was urged to end their uranium enrichment program after that I can't understand it, everything seems to get a little or alot fuzzy.

As progressive people, we really need to get more informed on these policies and start coming up with our own solutions to poverty, imperialism, global capitalism.

We don't have to re-invent the wheel we just need to start.
Who's ready? Who's up for it?

The elite had to start somewhere right? Then so do we.

Read more ABQ Journal and IndyMedia.

Labels: G8, globalization, world poverty

Check out this video blog from someone in DC at the USSF National Planning Committee.

It features our very own youth intern Rodrigo Rodriguez who's already left Albuquerque to go organize this historic event. He's joined by Julianna Lujan and Monica Cordova! Right on SWOPISTAS - we'll see you in a few weeks.

Check out the video here at My Urban Report

Here's the repost of his blog, but you've got to check out the video. Rodrigo and Cindy lay it out nicely...you've got to attend...

On June 27-July 1, 15-20-thousand people from around the U.S. and world are expected to converge on the city of Atlanta for the first ever U.S. Social Forum. It’s a gathering of activists, grassroots organizations, and youth who are working for change.

Instead of simply attending, or covering the U.S. Social Forum, I’m putting my media knowlege to use by working in the media center. I’ll be coordinating media check-in, and the video pool. That’s why I’m in DC right now. The last logistical meeting is being held as I write. Some of the events include: A march and rally through the streets of downtown Atlanta, there is a Hip-Hop Social Forum, and too many workshops to count. We’re expecting plenty of independent media, bloggers, and hoping mainstream folks check some of the activities as well.

I’m meeting plenty of interesting people, and it’s good to be back in DC. I only lived here a year, but enjoyed every minute of it. The neighborhood where I lived, U-Street has changed a lot. There are towering condos, chain businesses like Subway, and Starbucks, and like so many cities in America, a big time demographic shift is happening. Some call it economic development, but I’ll quote my brother, “It’s called gentrification.”

Labels: atlanta, United States Social Forum, USSF, Video Blogging

I encourage you to read the entire article, it's amusing to read the JROTC instructors response throughout the entire thing.

I can just imagine him talking out the side of his mouth. If anyone has had an experience with military recruiters you KNOW what they are like. You KNOW deceptive sweet talk is a part of their repertoire.

He also contradicts himself saying that recruitment isn't targeted to poor young people. But then at the end of the article he states, that of course young people who have college paid for wouldn't think of going into the military. What's that percentage? And how many of them go to Rio Grande!

The SWOP youth and Another Side have taken on an intense battle to fight the structural racism here in Albuquerque around military recruitment. They will soon be on campuses exposing young people to various opportunities available to them. It's time for change, and they're making it happen!

Viva los jovenes!

***************
News Feature

Military Brats
Waging a war against recruitment at Albuquerque’s public high schools

By Kate Trainor

In Albuquerque’s high schools, students are more likely to sign up for military service than join the student senate. The armed forces are as popular as any school sport and, on many campuses, military recruiters and the JROTC are a more prominent presence than college or career scouts.

Since the beginning of the Iraq war, a group of Albuquerque-based activists has rallied for “balanced” representation of post-secondary opportunities in New Mexico’s public schools. The military, they say, is selling students on the service with sugarcoated stories and deceptive sweet talk.

Statistics indicate the sales pitch has been a success. Since 2005, military recruitment in New Mexico is up by 23 percent, reports the National Priorities Project. Conversely, college enrollment has stagnated. According to the 2005-2006 Report on the Condition of Higher Education, published by the New Mexico Department of Higher Education, “Enrollment at New Mexico’s public institutions of higher education is relatively flat … [and] will remain flat.”

Still, Sgt. Stephen Standifird, public affairs representative for Recruiting Albuquerque, denies any dishonesty in communication with students. “I don’t think there are a lot of blatant lies told to kids,” he says, though he acknowledges that “a recruiter has to gear their spiel to a particular kid.” Standifird says there is competition among the various military academies and that, occasionally, one will slander another to win a recruit. Otherwise, he says, recruiters are straightforward.

A year ago, the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice partnered with the SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) to form Another Side, a campaign to lobby for the availability of “balanced” information about military service on APS campuses. Another Side contends that military recruiters are given preferential access to students over other groups, specifically those that advocate for peace. The group itself says it has had difficulty gaining access to the schools. By law, a school must allow military recruiters on its campus if it receives federal funds.

Casandra Stewart, now a youth intern with SWOP, graduated from West Mesa High School in 2003. Stewart recalls military recruiters calling her “at least once a week,” she says. “They would say that I needed to contact them. They were very manipulative, very knifing. I felt really targeted.” Stewart surmises that most students join the military for the promise of financial security. But, she says, “They need to know that alternatives exist.” While in school, Stewart says, she didn’t see any college or career recruiters, but felt the military was “always in [her] ear.”

To read the rest of the article click here: Weekly Alibi

Wanna Opt Out
The No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to release student names and contact information to the military, though the law also stipulates that school districts notify students and their parents of their right to opt out of this information sharing. However, Another Side claims that students are seldom aware of this provision, as school districts fail to inform them of it. Rigo Chavez, director of communications for APS, says opt-out information is provided during student registration and through a variety of school communications, such as newsletters.

Students and parents who wish to withhold their information can download the opt-out form online at www.militaryfreezone.org/opt_out.

Labels: APS, Equal Access, military recruitment, youth

Description: Our silent auction features an outstanding black and white collection of 19 original 11x14 inch photographs taken by Margaret Randall in Nicaragua, just as the Sandinistas swept to power in 1979.

Included is a wide variety of artwork available from local New Mexico artists, from paintings to photographs, to jewelry.

A large collection of revolutionary posters; brought back to SWOP down through the years, mainly from the many Latin American Solidarity efforts we have been involved with.

Art from struggles right here in New Mexico, as well as posters from the Seattle WTO protests in 1999 and from the past five World Social Forums SWOP has attended.

Details:
The proceeds of this auction support a delegation of 100 New Mexicans traveling to the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of June 2007.

Along the way SWOP is undertaking a civil rights tour through the south, connecting with similar organizations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Traveling to the forum together is an opportunity to build unity in our work here in New Mexico to create positive social change.

Everybody on the tour is chipping in to help raise the money we need to make it happen. For every person who goes on the tour, it costs about $1000. This auction is one part of our effort to raise these funds.

When: Friday June 8th, 5:30 – 8:00pm

Where: Silver Moon Lodge in the Central Park Deli
918 Central Avenue at 10th Street, Downtown, Albuquerque

Contact: 505-247-8832

View art samples now: http://swopista.blogspot.com

Labels: local NM artwork, Margaret Randall, Nicaragua 1979, People's Freedom Caravan, Silent Art Auction, United States Social Forum

By Tara Lohan, AlterNet
Posted on June 1, 2007, Printed on June 1, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/52795/

There are a group of people that believe another United States is possible -- another world is possible. These are people who work on labor rights, environmental sustainability, anti-racism, anti-violence, pro-peace and pro-justice campaigns. They are a group of people who are reacting not just to war and repression but are working on building movements, uniting struggles, developing relationships. This group of people is growing every day.

From June 27 to July 1, these people -- thousands of activists, organizers and educators from across the country, will be convening at the U.S Social Forum in Atlanta. So far over 800 organizations have already signed on, and the welcome mat is out to any group or individual that would like to participate.

"It is open to anyone who buys into the mission of social change and believes that another world is possible," said Heeten Kalan of Panta Rhea and New World Foundation, which are helping to fund the endeavor. "There is no set agenda; it is self-organized. That is the value. It is open to all groups. This is your space; let's do something with it."

The USSF sprung from the seeds of the World Social Forum, an annual event that now garners up to 100,000 people a year for a weeklong conference of dialogues, workshops, cultural events, marches and rallies. "The WSF was created to provide an open platform to discuss alternatives to the economic plans created by multinational corporations and the governments at the World Economic Forum," their website explains. "These plans often result in strategies that suppress workers and human rights, and undermine national and Indigenous sovereignty."

As the World Social Forum grew over the years, there was an increasing international call for the United States to hold their own forum. "Our counterparts from around the world have been telling us to work on our connections in the U.S., and that the best way to support