Demonstration for Iran

Demonstration against threats towards the Islamic Republic of Iran.

West steps of the capitol building (Lincoln and Colfax)

Saturday, Aug 2nd

Noon-2pm

Recreate ‘68 Film Series for July

From Recreate 68:

Five week film series every Tuesday, benefiting Recreate 68, a coalition organizing events and protests against the Democratic National Convention.
EACH week of film will correspond with the DAYS OF RESISTANCE AT THE FESTIVAL OF DEMOCRACY, SUNDAY, August 24-THURSDAY, August 28.
We are asking for a small donation for each screening and don’t forget to support HOOKED ON COLFAX while there !!
HOOKED ON COLFAX COFFEE SHOP, BASEMENT
3215 EAST COLFAX

Tuesday, JULY 1st-7pm
END THE OCCUPATIONS DAY
1. Daylight Robbery Iraq: What happened to the $23 Billion (not released in the US)
On Tuesday, June 10, 2008 the BBC in the UK aired this informative program about the estimated $23 billion that was lost, stolen or not properly accounted for in Iraq. Most of this money came from US taxpayers, who aretotally unaware of this story.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/7438372.stm

2. Iron Wall-This documentary warns that a contiguous and viable Palestinian state is becoming no longer possible, and that the chances for a peaceful resolution of the conflict are slipping away.
www.palestineonlinestore.com/films/theironwall.htm

Tuesday, JULY 8th-7PM
PRISONER RIGHTS/HUMAN RIGHTS
1. Mission Against Terror
The Cuban Five are five Cuban men who are in U.S. prison, serving four life sentences and 75 years collectively, after being wrongly convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami, on June 8, 2001. They are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González. The Five were falsely accused by the U.S. government of committing espionage conspiracy against the United States, and other related charges.
www.freethefive.org/
www.atasite.org/calendar/?x=2514

Tuesday, JULY 15th-7PM
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
WETBACK
www.opencityworks.com/wetback/
Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary is an excellent film by Arturo Pereze Torres and Heather Haynes. It shows the issue of immigration into the US from the side of the undocumented worker. We all know the side of the vigilantes. All we have to do is watch anyone on Fox to get that side. But, what do we really know about the other side. The Smoking Gun’s expose of A Million Little Pieces showed us that what we think is true often isn’t.
Wetback shows us the poverty that drives workers across our borders. Poverty that causes them to literally risk life and limb to get something for their family. It also shows the gains to the US and other American countries from the undocumented workers in this country.

Tuesday, JULY 22-7PM
ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
CRUDE-THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF OIL
www.abc.net.au/science/crude/
From the food on our tables to the fuel in our cars, crude oil seeps invisibly into almost every part of our modern lives. Yet many of us have little idea of the incredible journey it has made to reach our gas tanks and plastic bags. This is a special broadband companion website to this landmark documentary.

Tuesday, JULY 29-7PM
CIVIL RIGHTS
THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON
www.shockcinemamagazine.com/murder.html
Fred Hampton was the leader of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. This film depicts his brutal murder by the Chicago police and its subsequent investigation, but also documents his activities in organizing the Chapter, his public speeches, and the programs he founded for children during the last eighteen months of his life.

-R68

Upcoming Dead Prez Shows

Dead Prez has two shows coming up. Proceeds from both are going to Tent State University and Recreate 68 to support the ‘Festival of Democracy’ and other peaceful protests against the Democratic National Convention.

Tuesday, May 6, 8 pm at the Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder
Wednesday, May 7, 8 pm at Cervantes, 2637 Welton St., Denver

As it turns out, last February Dead Prez played at show at Evergreen College. What began as a peaceful protest when campus police arrested a concert-goer, turned into a “riot” only after the Olympia Pig Department ran in brutalizing the growing crowd.

Here’s a short documentary on it.

Here’s more footage, doesn’t include any “riot” footage

Part 1

Part 2

Fuck the Pigs

Protest “Mad” Madeleine Albright, April 16th

Madeleine Albright, the patron saint of UN enforced starvation, will be speaking at the “University” of Kolorado- Boulder on April 16th. RAIM-Denver is leading the charge in opposing this event:

On April 16th, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright will be speaking at the University of Colorado- Boulder. Under Bill Clinton, Albright championed the policy of UN enforced starvation upon the nation of Iraq. On national television she later admitted that the United States, through UN sanctions, killed half a million Iraqi children. In her own words such a cost in human life was, “worth it.”

Coming at a time when activists will shortly be protesting the Democratic National Convention, this appearance by Albright is a excellent opportunity to point out the destructive imperialistic nature of the Democrats.

We call on local activists to mount a protest of this engagement, both as a militant warm-up for the DNC and to let Madeleine Albright and similar war criminals know that their presence in the Denver/Boulder area is opposed. Show up pissed off and ready to be heard. This appearance by Madeleine Albright will not go unchallenged.

When: April 16th, 6:00 pm

Where: Main entrance to the Coors Event Center, 1111 Broadway St., Boulder

Bring signs, puppets, drums, extended middle fingers- whatever you need to make your point.

Beyond Chicanismo: 40 years of radical activism

Don’t miss it.

Join the Recreate 68 Spy Camera Hunt

Recreate 68 presents:

The Great Easter Spy Camera Hunt. Forget the Eggs. Join a Team to Find and Tag Surveillance Cameras in downtown Denver And Then Join a Pre-Festival of Democracy Pot-Luck Picnic in Civic Center Park.

SATURDAY, MARCH 22 12:30 PM MEET AT SKYLINE PARK, SIXTEENTH AND ARAPAHOE HUNT FOR CAMERAS FROM 1 – 3 THE TEAM THAT FINDS THE MOST CAMERAS GETS A PRIZE POT-LUCK PICNIC AT CIVIC CENTER PARK AT 3:00 PM

The city of Denver has installed and is installing surveillance cameras in anticipation of the DNC. Big Brother is watching You. Now Watch Him.

Upcoming Anti-War Protests

Boulder: Saturday, 15th. Rally at 11 a.m. at the Main Branch, Boulder Public Library Lawn (Canyon between 9th and Broadway), followed by a march.

Denver: Sunday, 16th. Rally at 1:30 at the West Steps of the State Capitol.

Beyond Chicanismo talk at MSCD

EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT, EVENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BEYOND CHICANISMO PRESENTS: 

¡CHALLENGING INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY: ALTERNATIVE MEDIA, HUMAN RIGHT’S AND SELF-DETERMINATION!

FEATURING SIMÓN SEDILLO.

____________________________________________________________________________________

SIMÓN SEDILLO TO SPEAK AT AURARIA CAMPUS.

WHO:    Simón Sedillo is a community based human rights film-maker whose work has centered on placing skills, cameras and editing equipment in the hands of communities in resistance so that they may be able to document their own histories and human rights situation. Sedillo has spent the last 6 years documenting and teaching community based video documentation in indigenous communities in Oaxaca, in immigrant communities in the US, and with youth of color across the US.

In Oaxaca, Sedillo has been working with The Committee Organized in Defense of the People’s Rights (CODEP), and The Oaxacan Popular Magonista Antineoliberal Coordination (COMPA), both predecessors of APPO (the Oaxacan People’s Popular Assembly). Sedillo collaborated with the Austin Independent Media Center and COMPA on the 2005 production of “El Enemigo Comun”, which documents the birth of COMPA and its resistance to paramilitary activity in Oaxaca from 2001 - 2005. In March of 2007, Sedillo facilitated the co-production of “El Machete- La Lucha por el Poder Popular” a documentary showing the day to day struggles for land, water, crops and transportation, filmed and edited by indigenous women and youth from Oaxaca. Sedillo’s work in Oaxaca has contributed to the liberation of 21 political prisoners, and has continued to support several international human rights campaigns.

Today Sedillo shares some experiences and perspective for international audiences in the US and Europe, on the local and global implications of the Oaxacan people’s struggle. Through lectures, workshops, and screenings Sedillo helps open a powerful space for dialogue on the effects of neoliberalism on indigenous communities in Oaxaca, immigrant communities around the world, and communities of color in the US. Through collaborative media projects, Sedillo’s work has contributed to a growing network of community based media activism whose primary objective is to share, teach, and learn from one another, about popular community based resistance and the collective construction of horizontal networks of popular power.

WHAT:    A discussion on Challenging International Solidarity: Alternative Media, Human Right’s, and Self-Determination.

 

WHERE:    AURARIA CAMPUS, TIVOLI ROOM 320 B&C.

 

DATE & TIME:    THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2008. 11:30 A.M. TO 2:30 P.M.

 

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Sponsored by: Conscious Journey, Los Herederos of Change & Esperanza,

and the MSCD Department of Chicana/o Studies.

R68 Next Meeting, Thursday 6:30pm

From the Recreate68 Organizing Committee -

NEXT WORKING MEETING:

Thank you to all the folks who came to the last working meeting. As we discussed, we would love to see you come to the next one and bring a new friend. For those who have not made one, it is time to put the active back in activist. Help plan the largest progressive event Denver has ever experienced.

WHEN: Thursday, March 6th at 6:30 pm

WHERE: The Gypsy House Cafe 1279 Marion Street, Denver

R68 Postcard flyer

Here is the new R68 two-sided flyer:

Upcoming Ward Churchill Lectures

For a second semester some fine students from CU-Boulder are hosting a lecture series by Ward Churchill. Class begins next Tuesday. Below is the tentative schedule with room numbers.

2/26/2008    7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 199  Confirmed
3/4/2008     7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 252  Confirmed
3/11/2008    7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 252  Confirmed
3/18/2008    7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 252  Confirmed
4/1/2008     7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 252  Confirmed
4/22/2008    7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 252  Confirmed
4/29/2008    7:00 PM  10:15 PM  Hellems Room 252  Confirmed

Anarchist National Liberation

US, Anarchist People of Color National/Inter-Regional Gathering 2008

Date Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:32:10

A couple of individuals from New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles met informally and wanted to propose a national/inter-regional gathering for Anarchist People of Color. —- This is just a draft proposal, it is not the final say in how this shit is going to happen or what’s going to happen at it. — This is being put out to initiate some discussion around this idea. — This conference will be a serious gathering to strategize, dialogue, plan, follow through, and create the foundation for real solidarity and revolutionary movement throughout different regions. — Nothing has been set for the conference so that is why I’m putting this out there to people. There are some initial ideas that need to be built on. The conference will be taking place in the summer or sometime in the fall, but needs to happen as soon as we can pull it together.It is a crucial time in history and their is important organizing we are all doing and need to be doing. We need to support each other in our work and help each other strategize. Hopefully this can be the first step to building the foundation for a revolutionary movement. Among the topics that are proposed…

-Building Black and Brown Unity!!! The work that we need to be doing, the
responsibility that we have to do this. We must go beyond just talking about it.
This is a key question in building unity amongst all colonized people.

-National Liberation — Our position in supporting National Liberation in the
process of creating autonomy and self-determination of colonized people

-Class Struggle within APOC — who is APOC and why we have nothing in common
with sell-outs

-Political Prisoners, our role as anarchist people of color in this movement.

-Follow through from the first APOC conference

-Popular Education and other strategies for organizing in our communities

-EZLN and Magonismo: other movements in Latin America and the third world

-Creating New models of organizing

-Indigenismo and anarcha-indigenism

-Our experiences as anarchist people of color and supporting each other, having
solidarity and building

-The intersection of gender and sexuality to race and class

-Building APOC as a revolutionary movement

others… etc (these are all still proposals)

We want to get a good core group of committed people who want to help make this
happen discuss this seriously to make it happen.

There were proposals for cities/states/regions: Los Angeles, Minnesota, Colorado

The city/collective in the city will have to help coordinate space, housing,
food, etc.

Each city will have to do some fundraising to send people and for general funds.
Hopefully we can also raise money to help other cities with limited resources.

Lets discuss this seriously, and make this happen.
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
http://ainfos.ca/en

“Take Back” MLK Day March

There is an alternative march to the Trickenlooper-approved State Farm commercial (The MLK Day “Marade”) going down on Monday Jan 21st. Organizers are billing this as a march in celebration of ideals the MLK Jr. upheld. RAIM-Denver will be there doing our thing.

Gather at the water fountain in City Park (near 18th and Detroit) at 9:00 am.

Justice on the Border: Minutemen, Militarization, and Deaths on the Migrant Trail

Coloradans For Immigrant Rights/AFSC, the Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center , and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado Proudly Presents:

Ray Ybarra – Justice on the Border: Minutemen, Militarization, and Deaths on the Migrant Trail

6:00 PM ~ Monday, January 14h, 2008!

Join us Monday, 6:00 PM, January 14th, 2008 as Ray Ybarra shares his work along the border.  Ray Ybarra is a human rights activist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and public speaker. Born in Douglas , AZ , Ybarra’s mother was born just a few miles to the south in the town of Agua Prieta , Sonora .

Ybarra co-wrote and co-produced with AFSC the award-winning documentary, “Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border,” was instrumental in bringing about a major civil rights lawsuit against one of the vigilantes, and created and coordinated the Legal Observer Project during the Minutemen’s operations. He has trained hundreds of volunteers and spent months following the Minutemen as they patrolled along the U.S.-Mexico Divide.

Ybarra has written about and given numerous talks on vigilantism, the militarization of the border and the growing immigrant’s rights movement at numerous universities including Stanford, Harvard, University of California at Berkeley, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and to community groups from Washington to Iowa . In addition to receiving awards for his commitment to social justice, Ybarra has testified in front of local and state bodies as well as having his work quoted at the United Nations. Ybarra is frequently quoted in both the national and international media and his work has been profiled in the Intelligence Report, Stanford Lawyer, and in a documentary that premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, ‘Crossing Arizona.’

Ybarra spent a year volunteering at a migrant center in Agua Prieta , Sonora , Mexico assisting with cleaning, preparing food, and conducting human rights discussions amongst the migrants.

Ybarra attended Cochise Community College in Douglas , AZ and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University in 2002 and from Stanford Law School in 2007.

Topics covered

    * Immigration * The Humanitarian Crisis on the Border * Vigilantism * How Average Citizens can help stop the Humanitarian Crisis on the Border

Meet us at the AFSC office, 901 W. 14^th Ave, Community Room, Denver , CO , for some SNACKS and a skill share, learn how further support the human rights of immigrants!

 If you would like more information about this skill share and or would like to request or propose a training, please ask at any time.   Email , Jordan T. Garcia at jgarcia@afsc. org or call 303.623.3464. 

RAIMD Declares People’s War On Christmas - It’s On, Fuck Yeah!

In Amerika, Christmas is a sick imperialist consumerist celebration of exploitation.
The Santa myth obscures the real origin of commodities. Santa is an imperialist!

Amerikans teach their children that if they are obedient to the system, a magic
jolly old White fat fart delivers goodies made by elves. Toys are not made by happy
elves at the North Pole! Toys are made by Third World workers, often child laborers,
toiling in slave-like conditions. Third World children are basically enslaved by
corporations so that First Worlders can have the latest idiotic toy or gadget.

Bill O’Reilly and similar idiots are always spewing nonsense about a so-called “war
against Christmas.” Truth be told, there has never been a war against Christmas —
until now.

RAIM-D is formally declaring an all out people’s war against Christmas in Amerika.
It’s on, piggies. It’s on. Fuck Yeah!

Denver Pigs Harass and Brutalize Local Activists

In yet another example of the brutality of local pigs and the harassment of activists, the Denver Pig Department roughed up and terrorized a prominent local activist here. Click here for the full story.

A press conference is set for Monday, Dec. 3rd 7pm @ Denver Police Headquarters 1331 Cherokee St. Denver, CO 80204 720-913-2000. RAIMD urges people to be there in solidarity. We will post updates as we get them on this case. Also check out colorado.indymedia.org for more news on this.

Beyond Chicanismo: Simon Sedillo on Immigration, Border Issues, and Neoliberalism

Events This Week

Monday the 26th
-Fear of Aztlan, Fear of the Reconquista: Why do WASPs think they can be Native Americans?-
11:30 am Tivoli 440

-¡NO SOMOS CRIMINALES!: Facts and Myths on Latina/o Immigrations-
2:30 pm Tivoli 440

details for both events here

Tuesday the 27th

Wedsnesday the 28th
-Indigenous Survival Week-
Performances by the Tortuga Prject, Rebel Diaz and Savage Family
6:00-11:00 pm, Club 156 of the UMC, CU-Boulder
details

Thursday the 29th
-RAIM-Denver Presents: Troublemaker-
1:00pm Tivoli 442
details

-Indigenous Survival Week-
Panel on Hip Hop, indigenous resistance, and community self
determination and self-definition.
6:00-8:00pm Glenn Miller Ballroom of the UMC, CU-Boulder
details

Friday the 29th

Beyond Chicanismo Presents: Fears of Aztlan, fears of the Reconquista

Fears of Aztlán, Fears of the Reconquista: Why do WASP’s think they can be Native Americans?

FEATURING DR. ARTURO J. ALDAMA.

DR. ARTURO J. ALDAMA TO SPEAK AT AURARIA CAMPUS.

WHO: Dr. Arturo J. Aldama was born in Mexico City, and grew up in northern California. He has BA in Ethnic Literatures/ English from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He went on to receive both his M.A. and his Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, 1993 and 1996, respectively. He served as an Assistant-Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies at Arizona State University (1996-2003) and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara 1999-2000.

His publications include:

* Disrupting Savagism: Intersecting Chicana/o, Mexican Immigrant and Native American Struggles for Representation; Duke University Press
* Ed, Decolonial Voices: Chicana and Chicano Cultural Studies in the 21st Century; Indiana University Press
* Violence and the Body: Race, Gender and the State; Indiana University Press
* Associate contributing editor, Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Works, Culture, and Education, Bilingual Review Press

He was elected as the Rocky Mountain Regional Delegate of the Modern Language Association. He made an experimental digital short on the “ism’s” that Chicanas/os and immigrants negotiate on a daily basis, called Border Haiku: Scenes of Everyday Life with David Martinez. His most recent project is to serve as senior subject editor and contributor for the Encyclopedia of Latina and Latino Popular Culture, a 400,000 word, multi-volume project that is the first of its kind.

Future projects include books on the politics of subaltern representation for Latino immigrants and criminalized youth, a study of time and violence, and a book length collection of essays with images with Dr. Elisa Facio as co-editor called Hidden Legacies/ Enduring Struggles: Ethnic Histories and Cultural Survival in Colorado. The volume will consider the rich and complex histories and struggles for cultural survival in the Native American, Mexican-Chicana/o, African American, and Asian American communities in the Colorado Borderlands.

WHAT: A Discussion On Fears Of Aztlán, Fears Of The Reconquista: Why Do WASP’s Think They Can Be Native Americans?

WHERE: AURARIA CAMPUS, TIVOLI ROOM 440/540.

DATE & TIME: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007. 11:30 A.M.

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Sponsored by: The MSCD Department of Chicana/o Studies,

Los Herederos of Change & Esperanza, and Conscious Journey.

also…

THE BEYOND CHICANISMO ORAL HISTORY PROJECT PRESENTS:

¡NO SOMOS CRIMINALES: FACTS & MYTHS ON LATINA/O IMMIGRATION!

FEATURING DR. ARTURO J. ALDAMA.

WHO: Dr. Arturo J. Aldama was born in Mexico City, and grew up in northern California. He has BA in Ethnic Literatures/ English from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He went on to receive both his M.A. and his Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, 1993 and 1996, respectively. He served as an Assistant-Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies at Arizona State University (1996-2003) and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara 1999-2000.

His publications include:

* Disrupting Savagism: Intersecting Chicana/o, Mexican Immigrant and Native American Struggles for Representation; Duke University Press
* Ed, Decolonial Voices: Chicana and Chicano Cultural Studies in the 21st Century; Indiana University Press
* Violence and the Body: Race, Gender and the State; Indiana University Press
* Associate contributing editor, Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Works, Culture, and Education, Bilingual Review Press

He was elected as the Rocky Mountain Regional Delegate of the Modern Language Association. He made an experimental digital short on the “ism’s” that Chicanas/os and immigrants negotiate on a daily basis, called Border Haiku: Scenes of Everyday Life with David Martinez. His most recent project is to serve as senior subject editor and contributor for the Encyclopedia of Latina and Latino Popular Culture, a 400,000 word, multi-volume project that is the first of its kind.

Future projects include books on the politics of subaltern representation for Latino immigrants and criminalized youth, a study of time and violence, and a book length collection of essays with images with Dr. Elisa Facio as co-editor called Hidden Legacies/ Enduring Struggles: Ethnic Histories and Cultural Survival in Colorado. The volume will consider the rich and complex histories and struggles for cultural survival in the Native American, Mexican-Chicana/o, African American, and Asian American communities in the Colorado Borderlands.

WHAT: ¡No Somos Criminales! is a fun, informative, and interactive workshop on the facts and myths about how immigrants are criminalized through an examination of the issues around this using the census, demographics, and purchasing power.

WHERE: AURARIA CAMPUS, TIVOLI ROOM 440/540.

DATE & TIME: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007. 2:30 P.M.

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Sponsored by: The MSCD Department of Chicana/o Studies,

Los Herederos of Change & Esperanza, and Conscious Journey.

Indigenous Survival Week

On 144th anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre ‘Indigenous Survival Week’ will be held at CU Boulder. All of these events are free.

WEDNESDAY, November 28th
Performances by: The Tortuga Project, REBEL DIAZ and SAVAGE FAMILY
Club 156 on the first floor of the UMC, 6:00 to 11:00

THURSDAY:
Panel on Hip Hop, indigenous resistance, and community self
determination and self-definition.
Glenn Miller Ballroom at the UMC,
6:00 to 8:00

Screening of ‘Troublemaker’

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement- Denver invites you to a special screening of ‘Troublemaker,’ a groundbreaking collection of video shorts by Shubel Morgan/Proletarian Productions. Unlike anything you have ever seen before, ‘Troublemaker’ combines music, images and speech into a politically charged message of Third World liberation and revolutionary anti-imperialism.

If you have never seen video, you do not want to miss this event. Even if you have, this is still a good opportunity to catch up with RAIM, find out what we’ve been up to and get more involved with future actions and events.

This screening will be held at 1pm in room 442 of the Tivoli building [on the Auraria campus] on Thursday the 29th of November. After the video there will be a question and answer session and discussion with members from the Revolutionary Anti Imperialist Movement- Denver.

RAIM-Denver TCD Flyer

TCD Events Flyers

Complete TCD Lineup

Thursday October 4th, 2007 “Rock Out Columbus Day”
1st Annual Indigenous Peoples Fest
Oriental Theater, 44th Ave & Tennyson, All Ages, $5-10 sug. donation
Booths all night, Spoken Word at 7:30pm, Music at 8:30
9:15 Mano and Tit for Tat
10:00 Savage Family
11:00 Debajo Del Agua

Friday October 5th “Columbuscide”
“515 Years of Invasion, Indigenous Resistance and Renewal”
Art Festival, Opening Friday, October 5th,
7pm Laughing Bean Café, 1025 N. Santa Fe Drive

TRANSFORM COLUMBUS DAY- SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6TH

Four Directions March
Gather at 7:00am and step off at 7:30am from:
-North (red) - Mercury Cafe, 22nd and California
-East (yellow) - Governor’s Park, 7th and Pearl
-West (black) - Auraria Campus Flagpole <—[RAIM will meet here]
-South (white) - Four Winds, 5th and Bannock

Converge at Lincoln Park at 8:00am
Rally at the State Capitol at 8:30am
Protest Racist Columbus Day Parade 9:30-Noon.

Four Directions March

October 6th, 7:00 AM [!]

Before the Transform Columbus Day protest there will be a Four Directions March to the state capitol.

Gather at one of the following places:

North Mercury Café, 22nd and California
East: Governor’s Park, 7th and Pearl
West: Auraria Campus flagpole
South: Four Winds, 5th and Bannock

RAIM-Denver will gather at Auraria Campus and march east towards the capitol building.

TCD John Brown Flyer

Transform Columbus Day

Meet at the west steps of the State Capitol building at 8am on October 6th. Bring a friend and your radical passion for justice.

RAIM-Denver mentioned by Newmont PR

With the recent news of Newmont Chair Wayne ‘Dirty’ Murdy getting a humanitarian award despite the mining company’s numerous human rights violations, and the outrage it has generated, in some of this coverage our own blog has received attention.

From the blog of Al Lewis, who wrote an article giving fair time to activist criticisms of Newmont:

Some of these activist complaining about Newmont are reasonable. Some are not. Like the Anti-Imperialist Movement of Denver (sic), which refers to Albright as a “mass murdering lunatic hiding behind the ‘legitimacy’ of the United Snakes.”…(I guess, being a proud American, this makes me a snake, too. Slither. Slither.) (1)

First of all, Lewis can’t even get the name of the group right, the “Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement of Denver.” For making an accusation that we are “unreasonable” he should at least get our name right! And in being unreasonable about Newmont, he focuses on what we said about Madeleine Albright.

This is in reference to when she was UN Ambassador, in a widely quoted remark on 60 minutes, where she responded that even though the sanctions killed 500,000 children they were ultimately “worth it.” A year later she was confirmed as Secretary of State under Clinton, which continued genocidal sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq. She sort-of apologized for the statement in her memoir “Madam Secretary”, but that apology was hardly adequate.(2)

Two days after Al Lewis’ snide comment, the main Public Relations guy of Newmont wrote in, and here’s what he had to say:

Deserving of DU award?

Re: “Not all that glitters is good,” Aug. 5 Al Lewis column

I believe your readers should judge for themselves if Newmont Chairman Wayne Murdy is deserving of the University of Denver’s International Bridge Builders Award. The stated purpose of the award is to recognize people who have “distinguished themselves as builders of ties between Colorado and the world beyond our national frontiers.”

As such, I invite your readers to visit our 2006 sustainability report at: www.BeyondTheMine.com. This report is compiled as part of our ongoing obligations under the United Nations’ Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org) and in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines(www.globalreporting.org). In addition, World
Monitors Inc. (www.worldmonitors.com) provides independent assurance of the objectivity, materiality and credibility of the report.

Also, I invite your readers to visit the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement of Denver’s Web page describing why they think Wayne Murdy should not receive the award: http://raimd.wordpress.com/2007/08/05/pre-tcd-2-for-1/

Omar Jabara
Senior Director of Communications and Media Relations
Newmont Mining Corporation
Denver”

Mr Jabara urges people to judge for themselves whether Wayne Murdy should be honored for “building bridges,” while he gives a link to Newmont’s whitewash website and at the same time he urges people to visit RAIM-D on what we think about Wayne Murdy.

It would be a great stretch to think that Newmont’s PR department would want people to get into revolutionary politics. Rather both Lewis and Jabara are engaged in classic PR tactics against radical activists. Here is an article from Covert Action Quarterly(4) that describes these tactics:

Ronald Duchin, senior vice-president of another PR spy firm Mongoven, Biscoe, and Duchin …. A graduate of the US Army War College, Duchin worked as a special assistant to the secretary of defense and director of public affairs for the Veterans of Foreign Wars before becoming a flack. Activists, he explained, fall into four categories: radicals, opportunists, idealists, and realists. He follows a three-step strategy to neutralize them: 1) isolate the radicals; 2) cultivate the idealists and educate them into becoming realists; then 3) co-opt the realists into agreeing with industry.

According to Duchin, radical activists:

want to change the system; have underlying socio/political motives [and] see multinational corporations as inherently evil….These organizations do not trust the… federal, state and local governments to protect them and to safeguard the environment. They believe, rather, that individuals and local groups should have direct power over industry. … I would categorize their principal aims right now as social justice and political empowerment.

The article continues:

 

“Idealists are also hard to deal with. They want a perfect world and find it easy to brand any product or practice which can be shown to mar that perfection as evil. Because of their intrinsic altruism, however, and because they have nothing perceptible to be gained by holding their position, they are easily believed by both the media and the public, and sometimes even politicians. However, idealists have a vulnerable point. If they can be shown that their position in opposition to an industry or its products causes harm to others and cannot be ethically justified, they are forced to change their position…. Thus, while a realist must be negotiated with, an idealist must be educated. Generally this education process requires great sensitivity and understanding on the part of the educator.”

Opportunists and realists, says Duchin, are easier to manipulate. Opportunists engage in activism seeking visibility, power, followers and, perhaps, even employment. … The key to dealing with [them] is to provide them with at least the perception of a partial victory. And realists are able to live with trade-offs; willing to work within the system; not interested in radical change; pragmatic. [They] should always receive the highest priority in any strategy dealing with a public policy issue. … If your industry can successfully bring about these relationships, the credibility of the radicals will be lost and opportunists can be counted on to share in the final policy solution.

By bringing attention to RAIM-D and labeling us “unreasonable,” they are first attempting to isolate the radicals. The rest of the strategy dealing with the idealists and realists is with their “social responsibility” facade.

Newmont Mining and companies like it exploit the resources of the Third World for profit. Newmont itself has left a trail of ecological destruction in places like Peru(5), Indonesia(6), Ghana(7) and in the Western Shoshone nation(8) Despite how badly Al Lewis and Newmont’s Public Relations hack would like to portray this as a RAIM-Denver vs. Newmont issue, those with brains know that it is not the real issue. The real issue is between Newmont and the affected populations. While Newmont enriches itself and raises its credibility amongst amerikans, the people of Peru, Indonesia, Ghana and the Shoshone nation remain in poverty and are often times poisoned by such operations.

The main opposition to Newmont Mining and companies like it are not First World radicals but rather the people they oppress. RAIM-Denver isn’t going to chase Wayne Murdy down with sticks and rocks, but Newmont employees have met similar opposition from the local population of places where they do business. (9) Radicals, on the other hand, whole heartedly stand up with and lend support to the struggles of oppressed peoples.

In the case of this particular protest, even without Al Lewis and Omar Jabara mentioning RAIM-Denver, it is unlikely many “realists” or “opportunists” will show up. Instead, Lewis and Newmont’s PR puppet gave more publicity to us and this protest than otherwise would have been received. For our part, we’re going to be working overtime to promote this protest and we’ll be putting in an extra effort to radicalize the idealists once they are there.

1)http://blogs.denverpost.com/lewis/2007/08/07/gold-miners-academicians-and-activists/
2)http://www.fff.org/comment/com0311c.asp
3)http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2007/08/09/newmont-deserving-of-du-award/
4)http://mediafilter.org/CAQ/CAQ55prwar2.html
5)http://www.csrwire.com/News/9314.html)
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/peru404/
http://www.foe.org/WSSD/newmont.html
6)http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14481
7)http://www.24hgold.com/printarticle.aspx?pagedest=98854&langue=en
8)http://www.wsdp.org/minewatch.htm
9)http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press698.htm

Pre-TCD 2 for 1

Before the Transform Columbus Day protests there will be a very special pre-event. On August 30th the University of Denver will be will be hosting an awards dinner featuring not one, but two, modern day perpetrators of genocide.

Wayne Murdy, the CEO of Newmont Mining, is being given an award by the University of Denver. Newmont Mining is the second largest gold stealer in the world. It operates mines all over the globe. In the process it plunders the wealth of nations, devastates natural environs and poisons local, often indigenous, populations. Wayne Murdy, Newmont Mining and companies like it are waging systematic economic and ecological warfare against poor peoples of the world in what amounts to a protracted genocide.

But that’s not all. The key-note speaker for this award ceremony will be Madeleine Albright. Madeleine Albright is a psychotic terrorist who during the Clinton presidency was Secretary of State. She implemented a policy of sanctions against Iraq which led to the death of over 500,000 children. When asked about the murderous implications of such a policy she said, on national TV, that the deaths were “worth it”.

What: Protest Newmont Mining for the economic and ecological destruction it’s caused and the deaths that have resulted; Protest Madeleine Albright for being a mass murdering lunatic hiding behind the ‘legitimacy’ of the United Snakes.

Where: The Denver Marriot (17th and California)

When: August 30th at 5:00 PM

Turn The World Upside-Down!!

 

 

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement- Denver is a loosely organized local network of dedicated radicals. RAIM-Denver fights for a world free of oppression by nations over nations, groups over groups and people over people. We fight to end imperialism, national oppression, patriarchy youth and class oppression.

We fight against those with power in the interest of those with none. Smashing imperialism is the starting point for ending all oppression. We concentrate our fight against a handful of rich First World nations which live off the exploitation of the majority of peoples in the Third World.

We want to turn the world upside-down. We advocate stripping power from the oppressors and uplifting the oppressed. We advocate overthrowing amerika’s domination of the world and distributing that power amongst the community of poor nations, which make up the vast majority of the world.

The main task of RAIM-Denver is to help build a counterculture of radicalism within imperialist amerika. We use written word, speech, art and action to promote revolutionary thought and practice. We promote a social climate of radicalism as a way to combat and organize against amerika’s empire-driven oppressor culture.

We work outside of typical activist scenes to build a revolutionary undercurrent of anti-imperialism and anti-amerikanism. We intend to lay the foundation for a broad radical underground within amerika. Don’t sit there while the everything gets tipped over and smashed. Join the movement of revolutionary anti-imperialism and help turn the world upside down!

To find out more and about how you can get involved, click on the “Get Involved” page.