Democracy for New Mexico

2008 NM Wild Guide Now Available

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:
The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has just released its “2008 Wild Guide, The Passport to New Mexico’s Great Outdoors.” Copies are going fast! Get yours today. Order A Copy Online Right Now!

Sponsored by REI, this year’s Wild Guide is jam-packed with great hikes, volunteer service projects and Wilderness lore. Included are 48 hikes, some of which are self-guided, but most are lead by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. There are nine backpacking trips, four car-camps, and 27 volunteer service projects all across the state. Some of our projects venture into areas that are not normally open to the public.

Through the numerous hikes, backpacks, and Wilderness service projects we aim to build awareness and support for the protection of these special landscapes – all while having FUN! The 2008 Wild Guide captures a wide variety of experiences while showcasing some of our states greatest wilderness resources and potentials. Additionally, there are cooking recipies, safety tips, stories written by outdoor enthusiasts, and much more.

Valerie Plame Wilson Booksigning Saturday at Bookworks

Valerie Plame Wilson will be appearing at in Albuquerque for a brief talk, Q & A and book signing at 3:00 PM on Saturday, November 10, 2007 (free). Her book, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, was recently published and is garnering excellent reviews. Learn more. Buy your book now to reserve your place in the signing line:

Bookworks
4022 Rio Grande NW; Albuquerque, NM 87107
505-344-8139 (phone); 505-344-9948 (fax)
orders@bkwrks.com

Plame Wilson will also be speaking at the Lensic in Santa Fe tonight but I'm not sure how many tickets are left. See our previous post for more info on the Lensic appearance .

New Book Parties & Discussions: Community Organizing

From Mark Rudd:
I know this coming weekend, November 3 and 4, is tragically busy, but please consider attending one of these book parties and discussions, Saturday in Santa Fe and Sunday in Albuquerque. My old friend Michael Brown, with a lifetime of experience in community organizing, has written an extraordinary book, an easy-to-read guide. The title tells it all, every word of which is covered in the book: Building Powerful Community Organizations. Michael writes simply and directly and tells lots of stories from the his own experience.  Whether you're a veteran organizer or a novice activist, you'll want to meet Michael (muy charming) and read his book. Tell young activists about this, please.

Michael's trip to New Mexcio is sponsored by the National Organizers' Alliance. Saturday's discussion and party is at Terry Odendahl's house in Santa Fe. Sunday you can go to the Peace Center discussion and party after the Dia de los Muertos events. Information is below. Thanks.

Book Party and Organizing Discussion
Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups That Can Solve Problems and Change the World, a new book about community organizing, by Michael Jacoby Brown , (Long Haul Press. 2007). Introduction by Mark Rudd. Also see: and Long Haul Press.

Sunday, November 4, 2007, 7 PM
Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center
202 Harvard St , Albuquerque, NM
Sponsored by the National Organizers Alliance
RSVP: 505-268-9557

"Michael Brown is a superb guide. His book is full of thoughtful, practical advice for community organizers, and indeed for anyone who wants to participate at the grass roots in making ours a more just society."  -Howard Zinn

"Michael Jacoby Brown distills more than 30 years of organizing into his book, which every aspiring and veteran activist should own." -Library Journal (starred review)

And in Santa Fe:
Saturday night, November 3, 2007, 7:30 PM
At the home of Terry Odendahl
1439 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe, NM
RSVP: Terry Odendahl at (505) 216-9756

Directions: From Albuquerque: take the St. Francis exit off Interstate I25. Go north 3 long blocks. Turn right on Columbia and right again on Miracerros Loop South. From Santa Fe: Go south on Galisteo. Turn right on Columbia and left on Miracerros Loop South.

Books will be on sale for discounted rate of $15. Available at bookstores for $19.95 or Michael Jacoby Brown, (781) 648 1508 or Email: MBrown7387@aol.com or Michael's cell: : 617 645 0226). Co-sponsored by the National Organizers Alliance www.noacentral.org and the Institute for Collaborative Change , Santa Fe.

Ortiz y Pino Guest Blog on Blackwater: The Visigoths

This is a guest blog by NM State Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino (right), a Democrat who represents Senate District 12 in Albuquerque. This piece was originally published in Santa Fe Sun News:

When the full accounting of the worst excesses of the Bush (Junior version) administration is at last tallied by historians, I will not be surprised to find heading the pathetic inventory the inglorious adventures of that uniquely American institution, the Blackwater Company. In a way that is exquisitely appropriate, Blackwater may well become recognized as the perfect example of the Bush-Cheney administration in microcosm, W's ideal and exemplary "MINI-ME"; a band of clumsy mercenaries wreaking havoc everywhere they tread (even while making quite a bundle of money in the process).

They are our Visigoths, the armored warriors who've swept in mindlessly and knocked down the last props holding up the American Empire, the very Empire our hapless President was apparently attempting to deputize them to protect. If it were a soccer match, Blackwater would have just managed to score an "own goal"... one for the other side. Recognize, too, that Blackwater is not an aberration, an unfortunate mistake, one noteworthy precisely because it is so different from all else that is going on. Oh no! These guys are no glitch; they are actually the vision! They are what Cheney and Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld and the rest of that "New American Generation" crew had in mind when they talked about market forces and the "opportunity for regime change" and when they driveled-on about spreading American entrepreneurial capitalism across the globe. They saw the future and the future was ... Blackwater: another in the endless stream of governmental functions to be privatized; the endless chain of thefts from the public treasury for private gain; you know, the hallmark of all that Bush stands for! It's been so simple, really, to reverse the pumps.

It used to be Washington's task to bring money into the Government. No more. By the time they finally stagger away from their time at the trough, Dubya and his guys will have pretty well emptied out the Federal Government's cash reservoirs and filled their own and their buddies' up to the brim. What with Halliburton sopping up billions through creative bookkeeping of its non-activity in Iraq and dozens of corporations evading all tax liability by the simple expedient of listing their headquarters address off-shore in some businessman's tropic paradise; with Defense contractors, oil companies, major pharmaceuticals and money lenders all gorged just about to capacity from sucking up Federal largesse, it now turns out that (surprise!) there isn't much left in the accounts to actually run governmental services with. So there are plenty of villains to point at these days, no end to the larcenies being committed at public expense. Yet even among the ranks of all the many rogues with the foresight to cozy up to Republican elected officials and the willingness to exchange ethics for no-bid contracts, Blackwater stands out.

They all stink, of course; they all invite outrage, and they all should be made to pay the money back. But there is a clinging to this particular Virginia-based enterprise, this armed-muscle-for-hire company, an especially repugnant aroma that does set it apart even among the other opportunists and jackals that avidly fatten themselves at the expense of the miserable. You see, these guys are not just hired guns, mercenaries willing to serve whoever signs their pay vouchers. They fancy themselves as being our privatized Armed Forces: the ultimate in out-sourcing of essential governmental functions. And unfortunately, the President seems to agree with them.

Thus, when thugs in the employ of Blackwater commit murder, assault, mayhem and similarly impolite other forms of behavior during their stay in Iraq, as described so numbingly by Reporter Jeremy Scahill in his just-published book on the company called, simply, Blackwater, it is not the corporate investors in the company who will feel the heat of Iraqi outrage, it is the American people who will be blamed.

This is what the Romans learned the hard way over sixteen hundred years ago.

Those darned mercenaries are more trouble than they are worth. Not only can they prove difficult to control, but you have to bear the weight of all the errors they make. They are not independent of those who hire them. The illusion is that it is easier to pay big bucks for contractors to do the dirty work than to recruit, train and supervise your own troops. That is the illusion to which the current occupant of the White House has fallen prey. That is why we now have more private contract manpower in Iraq than we have troops (200,000 versus 170,000), even if we don't keep close tabs on their deaths -- must be a clause in their employment contract or something, a kind of "you don't have to mark my passing" authorization. But it is starting to look like even the Iraqi government (whose puppet strings we routinely jerk just to remind them who's boss) has finally tired of the arrogance and blood-letting of the contractors. The general populace did so long ago, of course. But then the general populace tired of all of us long ago, so it's no use asking them.

The government, though, now wants Blackwater gone; removed; their contract ended. They will soon be forced out of Iraq, I assume. But that will end neither the Bush entanglement with mercenaries in Iraq nor the profitability of Blackwater. Some other company of soldiers of fortune will fill their shoes, with little or no change in how badly we are served by using unaccountable and uncontrollable troops like that. Blackwater itself will scoop up some other juicy contract for work somewhere else in the world: Afghanistan, Mississippi (yes, they were there during Katrina), Darfur -- wherever there's a buck to be made and a code of ethics to be ignored. Blackwater is the Bush doctrine: private gain squeezed from public coffers. Now it is up to us, the American people, to decide if we are going to tolerate what it represents. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and Blackwater are three very smelly pieces of inheritance to pass on to our children.

They don't deserve it. We must turn away the Visigoths.

This is a guest blog by Democratic NM State Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino. Guest blogs provide readers with an opportunity to express their views on relevant issues and may or many not reflect our views. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.

Valerie Plame Wilson at Santa Fe's Lensic 11.6.07

Valerie Plame Wilson Book Event
Occurrences:		Dates: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 Times: 6:00 PM
Presented by:		Garcia Street Books
Location:		The Lensic, Santa Fe's Performing Arts Center
City:		Santa Fe
Address:		211 West San Francisco Street
Description:		Valerie Plame Wilson will be reading from and discussing her newly released book, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House." More info.
Contact:		Tickets Santa Fe at The Lensic
Phone:		505-988-1234
Email:		boxoffice@lensic.com
Website:		https://www.ticketssantafe.org
Ticket Prices:		$15/ $50 Includes Book/ $250 Includes Signed Book & Reception
Ticket Phone:		(505)988-1234

Click for EVENT FLYER (doc). Click for an invitation to meet Valerie Plame Wilson and Ambassador Joe Wilson.

Yesterday, Firedoglake hosted an online salon about the book with Santa Fe resident Valerie Plame and host Sidney Blumenthal. And here's a good reference piece on Plame and the new book by Sidney Blumenthal in The Guardian.

Friday: Juan Cole at College of Santa Fe

Juan Cole writes one of the most influential and visited blogs on Iraq and the Middle East, in addition to his many other distinguished activities. His most recent book Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East has just been published. He'll be speaking in Santa Fe this Friday:

College of Santa Fe
Friday, October 26, 7:00 PM - Forum
Juan Cole: Steps Toward Peace in Iraq
Click for Campus Map and Directions

This lecture by Mid-East scholar Juan Cole will explore processes for establishing a peaceful Iraq -- although Cole doesn't mince words in his recent Nation article: "There is no plan that can guarantee peace in the region." He argues that a U.S. withdrawal could lead in the right direction if a highly calculated series of conditions are met and Sunnis can be brought back to the negotiating table. Such conditions include American diplomacy toward Iran and Syria; Saudi leadership on behalf of Sunni Iraqis; a newly elected Sunni Arab political class; a six-plus-two meeting in which Mid-East foreign ministers assume crucial leadership roles; and the presence of a UN Peacekeeping force.

Cole's writings have been published in the Washington Post, The Guardian, and Salon.com. As a commentator, he can often be heard on such news shows as "Democracy Now!" Al Jazeera, "Lehrer News Hour," and "CNN Headline News." He is a professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of Michigan, and author of the popular weblog "Informed Comment."

Discussing the theoretical implications of war-time torture tactics or negotiating peace among Los Angeles gang members can be an engrossing way to spend the evening -- but theoretical debate turns experiential when the discussion includes participants in the events being explored.

In CSF's 2007-08 Beyond-the-Lecture Series, "Bridging the Cultural Divide," each event features the first-hand perspectives of people who bore witness or actively work to find solutions to epic problems. The series includes presentations by Samuel Toe, the Hearings Officer of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Tony Lagouranis, former Abu Ghraib Army interrogator; Alfredo Corchado, the Mexican Bureau Chief of the Dallas Morning News; and Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, as well as scholars, documentarians and others who will share their experiences with major world issues.

All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, call (505) 473-6282. Co-sponsored by the Santa Fe Reporter and the United World College-USA/Bartos Institute. (From the CSF website.)

More info:

• Cole's blog Informed Comment
• Juan Cole articles in The Nation
• Cole's latest article on Salon

Sunday Bird Blogging: Sunny the Couch Clown

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Sunny the sun conure loves to play games on the couch. He likes to hang out there with us, mess around with his toys and eat cashews. I'm not kidding, cashews (and almonds and peanuts in the shell) are among his most prized treats. Here he is playing one of his favorite games -- hustling through the pillow tunnel with his toy balls and/or lying on his back while jerking the balls around with his feet. He really digs it when he can throw one onto the floor and make a big noise.

Ignore me droning on at the beginning of the video. I'm reading Naomi Klein's powerful and revealing new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, and I can't help passing on my discoveries as I go. You can also hear our parakeets singing. They do that a lot, as is their destiny.

Sorry about the grainy quality of the video. Our digital camera has started acting strangely and we don't know why. We don't know if that's connected with our sudden problem with uploading videos to You Tube. They upload to 100% and then You Tube tells us the upload failed with no explanation. I love computer glitches, don't you?

September 30, 2007 at 10:58 AM in Bird Blogging, Books, Corporatism | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Noted Author Alice Walker to Appear at Kiva Auditorium

From :
Alice Walker, bestselling author of The Color Purple and =yes&ks=q&qsselect=KQ&title=&author=&qstext=Alice+Walker">many other works of fiction and non-fiction, will be at the Kiva Auditorium at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 7:00 PM to read and sign her new book! Why War is Never a Good Idea is a peace-advocating children's book that is also beautifully illustrated. She will also sign this and her other titles.

One ticket FREE with book purchase ($16.99+tax) or TWO tickets and ONE book for $25, all in advance. At the door, tickets are $20 for one book and ticket, $25 for one book and two tickets. Contact Bookworks for books and tickets: Bookworks; 4022 Rio Grande NW; Albuquerque, NM 87107; 505-344-8139 (phone), 505-344-9948 (fax); orders@bkwrks.com

An interview with Alice Walker about her new book. More info on Alice Walker, her books and her politics.

September 18, 2007 at 06:00 AM in Books, Events, Peace | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, September 14, 2007

(Updated) Free Introductory Course on The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community

UPDATE 9/15/07: A reader submitted info on additional activities relalated to The Great Turning. I've added it to the end of this post. (Hat tip to M.M.)
******************
From the Conscious Aging Network of NM:
An introductory course will be presented by Mary Fogarty, President of the Conscious Aging Network of NM, and UNM instructor Dr. Gary Carlson on Dr. David Korten’s groundbreaking book The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community:

October 4th, 2007, 1:15 to 3:30 PM
UNM-Valencia Campus, Student Community Center,
280 La Entrada, Los Lunas, NM  87031
—FREE Beverages—
Click for a course description (doc)
Click for flyer (jpg)

For additional information call the UNM campus at 925-8970.

Dr. Korten beleives that more than ever before in history, our families and communities experience the fallout from inequities within our institutions, the state, and governing bodies resulting in fragmentation, a decline in social cohesion and an increase in social exclusion. Individually, we exist in connection with a larger composition, a grander collective, a universal body of parts in which we, as individuals, contribute to the productivity and harmony of the whole. We can make conscious collective decisions and work together to bring forth a new era of Earth Community grounded in the life-affirming cultural values shared by most all the world’s people and eloquently articulated in the Earth Charter.

Dr. Korten is an internationally renowned author, speaker and thinker who is scheduled to visit Albuquerque sometime in November. He's also the author of When Corporations Rule the World, an international bestseller that helped expose the attack on democracy and economic justice being advanced through free trade agreements and the institutions that negotiate and enforce them. Partial bio:

• received his degree at Stanford
• taught at Harvard
• served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War
• lived 21 years outside the U.S. in Southeast Asia, traveled to Pakistan, India,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, & the Philippines as regional manager for (USAID), and founded the People-Centered Development Forum

Extensive information about Dr. Korten's books, presentations, articles and work can be found at his website, including a complete bio. Also read this article from the Fall edition of Yes! magazine to learn more about Dr. Korten's views about what's happening in the world and where we need to go from here to reinvent and reinvigorate our culture, economics and lives to achieve sustainabilty and harmony.
****************
UPDATE 9/15/07: Additional activities related to The Great Turning:

Gary Carlson and Mary Fogarty are teaching more classes based on the book. From the events calendar of The Conscious Aging Network of New Mexico:

October 3-November 7, 7:00 to 9:00 PM, Creating Earth Community, UNM Continuing Education, 6-week class on David Korten's book, The Great Turning, by Gary Carlson. Contact UNM at 277-0077 for registration. New class!

October 18-December 13, 1:30-3:30 PM, Creating Communities, UNM Valencia Campus, 1-credit, 8-week class based on David Korten's book, The Great Turning, by Gary Carlson and Mary Fogarty.  Contact UNM Valencia campus for registration: 925-8580.
**********
From the New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light calendar (at the bottom):

Saturday, November 10, 7 PM: Free public address by Dr. David C. Korten at the UNM Sub Ballroom A. Click for flyer (PDF).
**********
Dr. Korten was on Democracy Now this past Friday: David Korten, author of "When Corporations Rule the World". He is the co-founder of Positive Futures Network, and publisher of the magazine YES! A Journal of Positive Futures. His most recent book is titled The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community. To watch, listen to or read the transcript of the show, click here.

September 14, 2007 at 09:59 AM in Books, Corporatism, Economy, Populism, Environment, Events | Permalink | Comments (0)

Meet the Author - American Torture

From Citizens for Global Solutions:
Citizens for Global Solutions and Amnesty International USA are cosponsoring several events in New Mexico with Michael Otterman, an award winning freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker, and author of ‘American Torture: From the Cold War to Abu Ghraib and Beyond.’ Please join us and Michael while he discusses his book and answers your questions. The events, scheduled for September 17-18, 2007, are free and do not require you to register in advance. The schedule is below:

Albuquerque:

Webster University (Albuquerque Campus)
8500 Menaul NE Suite B-395, Albuquerque, NM 87112
(September 17th, 1:00 – 3:00 PM, Room A317)

University of New Mexico School of Law
1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
(September 17th, 6 – 9 PM, Room 2401)

Santa Fe:

Mary Charlotte Domandi
KSFR Public Radio – 25 minute radio slot - 8 AM

College of Santa Fe
1600 St. Michael's Drive, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(September 18th, 3:15 – 5:15 PM, O’Shaughnessy Theater in Benildus Hall)

Collected Works Bookstore
208B West San Francisco, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(September 18th, 6:30 – 8:30 PM) 

In 'American Torture' Michael Otterman reveals how torture became standard practice in today’s War on Terror and how it was refined, spread and legalized. Long before Abu Ghraib became a household name, the U.S. military and CIA had used torture with impunity both at home and abroad. Billions of dollars were spent during the Cold War studying, refining then teaching these techniques to American interrogators and to foreign officers charged with keeping Communism at bay. 

Michael Otterman is a New York native and is currently a visiting scholar at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS) at the University of Sydney.  He has covered crime and culture for an array of publications, including Melbourne’s Is Not magazine, The Sydney City Hub newspaper, and Boston’s Weekly Dig.  His website is www.americantorture.com. 

Citizens for Global Solutions is a grassroots membership organization that envisions a future in which nations work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve alone. To that end, we work to educate Americans about our global interdependence, communicate global concerns to public officials, and develop proposals to create, reform, and strengthen international institutions such as the United Nations.  Our website is www.globalsolutions.org. For more information, please contact Tom Moran at tmoran@globalsolutions.org.

September 14, 2007 at 08:40 AM in Books, Current Affairs, Film, Terrorism | Permalink | Comments (0)

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