Democracy for New Mexico

Hold an America's Dialogue Discussion

From America's Dialogue:
I’m writing from Eugene, Oregon, to let you know about an unprecedented week of national grassroots discussions taking place April 14-22, 2007; and to invite your participation and your help in getting the word out to friends and acquaintances all across the country. The project is AMERICA’S DIALOGUE. You can get more information at AmericasDialogue.org. During this week, people will be gathering in small groups all across the country to discuss the future of America.

What kind of America, and what kind of world, do we want to see? What are our priorities as a nation and a people? These discussions will be centering around a new 42-minute video about Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, nuclear waste, and the human cost of militarism and war. The video will serve both as an educational experience for millions of Americans, young and old, and as the catalyst for our discussions about America.

The video - AMERICA’S DIALOGUE - is available on DVD; but people can also form discussion groups and view the video on their computer on our website. The following page connects you to the video on our
site and to the video on Google Video:

.

If you would like a DVD to show at a meeting, just let me know the exact address and I’ll be glad to send a copy. You’re free to copy the DVD and share it with others. You can also use the video as part of a fundraiser or membership drive for your own group if you like.

We’d love to hear from you - any ideas and suggestions and plans to view the video and participate in America’s Dialogue. We would also appreciate your letting anyone and everyone you know, both locally
and across this country, find out about AMERICA’S DIALOGUE. We’ll be networking with many individuals, groups and organizations all across the country to initiate an unprecedented dialogue about the future of our country.

America’s Dialogue
P.O. Box 12144
Eugene, OR 97440
Tele: 1-800-898-9441
Email: thetributeseries@comcast.net
Web: https://www.americasdialogue.org

Check Out Peace & Sustainability Fair at UNM

Schedule

Indoors along with the vendors and booths:

11:00 A.M.       Welcoming Statement followed by Keynote Speaker Demetria Martinez

12:30 - 1:30     Global Warming Panel Discussion

1:30 - 2:00       Hiroshima; Survivors of the Atom Bomb - Holly Siebert Kawakami

                        Marda Permaculture Farm in the West Bank of Palestine - Tami Brunk

2:00 - 3:30       Militarization Panel Discussion

3:30 - 4:00       African Drummers

4:00 - 5:30       New Mexico Food Shed Project Panel Discussion

5:30 - 6:00       Slam Poetry

6:00 - 7:00       Keynote Speaker Keith McHenry (cofounder of Food not Bombs)

Outdoors:

• Sustainability Activities throughout the day
• Veggie/Ethanol Car display and demonstrations
• Bio-Processor demonstrations
• Solar equipment demonstrations
• Live Music

For more information contact: Susi Knoblauch, Office of International Programs and Studies, 2111 Mesa Vista Hall, UNM, contact: 505-277-4032 or chknob@unm.edu

Vets for Peace Santa Fe to Offer War Stories

From Veterans for Peace Santa Fe:
Save April 5, 3-5 PM for a presentation entitled WAR STORIES. Daniel Craig and Tim Origer of the Joan Duffy Santa Fe Chapter of Veterans for Peace will read personal essays describing their experiences in war and the effects these experiences have had on their lives. These are the monologues Tim and Daniel read for the Lensic Core Witness program. If you missed that program, here is your chance to hear their graphic and compelling stories. If you attended the program, you will want to hear them again.

Ken Simonsen, also of VFP, will lead an open discussion after the readings. This event is sponsored by the Renesan Institute of Lifelong Learning and is open to everyone. Come and support the presenters. Bring your neighbors. Bring your friends. Bring young people.

Place: St. John's Methodist Church, 1200 Old Pecos Trail.
Time: 3-5 PM, Thursday, April 5.
Admission: $5 Renesan members, $7 non-members, payable at the door.

Questions? Martha or Ken, simonsen28@comcast.net.

Peace Too Controversial for Colorado Springs Parade

Read all about it. Shocking photos too. Those "arrested" had a permit to march in the St. Paddy's Day Parade. The cops didn't bother to ask to see it. Choke holds are more fun.

Remember, Colorado Springs is home to the anti-democratice right wing group, Focus on the Family -- who just happen to have put out an alert for their members to contact NM legislators to urge them to vote no on the domestic partnership bill to be considered at the Legislature's Special Session, which starts today. Please do your part to fight against them by clicking here and urging your legislators to vote YES on domestic partnership and help ALL New Mexican families.

CodePINK joins Stop the War Machine and a long list of local organizations, including Democracy for New Mexico, that are supporting tomorrow's antiwar march in Albuquerque marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion. Gather at Civic Plaza downtown, march to Robinson Park with stops at the offices of Sen. Pete "Prosecutor Purge" Domenici and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, and rally at Robinson Park for Peace-A-Palooza.

The South West Organizing Project is organizing music and dancing: Aztec dancers will be performing as the march reaches Robinon park to bless the festivities. Plans include Slam Poets (ABQ Slam Team), Bands (including Mezcla Experience, Hakim Bellamy and Members, Raging Grannies), Dance Groups, live painting by local aerosol artists, and Inti-Illimani a Chilean band, which has promoted Latin American folk music worldwide and collaborated with artists such as Federico Fellini, Mercedes Sosa, Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen. (Inti-Illimania is also performing March 17 at 8 pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center; see NHCC calendar).

Visit the March17.org website for the latest information. Download a flyer.

Peace events will be taking place Saturday in other New Mexico communities including Taos, Los Alamos and Santa Fe, with a March on the Pentagon in Washington DC and other actions all over the nation.

On Monday, March 29, you can organize or join a for peace supported by MoveOn, True Majority and other progressive and peace organizations.

And don't forget the gathering at 4:30 PM today in Corrales at the town hall meeting with Rep. Tom Udall.

Los Alamos High School Students Organize Peace March

From Steve Fettig, Los Alamos:
The Los Alamos High School Coalition For Peace has organized a rally and march at Ashley Pond starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday, March 17th. They hope to catch people coming from The Empty Bowls Project at the Senior Center. There will be music and an open microphone followed by a march through town.

Please bring your signs and come and support our youth. If you would like an electronic flyers for the event, to print and post around your office, town and on cars, contact Stephen Fettig at osprey@cybermesa.com. Help these young people make a statement to the rest of America! Thanks!

Reminder: March 17 Antiwar Protests and Related Events

Check out the Albuquerque March 17 website for everything related to the Albuquerque protest events commemorating the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq occupation. There's also info on additional related events before/after March 17:

• March 14, 6-8 PM, Wednesday, World Social Forum Report Back, SWOP, 820 Broadway Blvd. SE, St. Francis Xavier church. Details
• March 15, 7 PM, Code Pink coffeehouse event: Peace, Protest and Political Poems. Details
• March 17, 1 PM, Sante Fe rally and march, The Roundhouse, NM State Capitol. Details
• March 18, 10 AM - 4 PM, Eyes Wide Open Exhibition of the Human Cost of War, Old Town Plaza, 200 Romero NW. Overview and details
• March 19, 9 AM - 5 PM, Eyes Wide Open Exhibition of the Human Cost of War, Smith Plaza, UNM. Overview and details

March 17 in Santa Fe: 4th Anniversary of Iraq War

From :

• Rally and March to Commemorate 4th Anniversary of Iraq War
• Saturday, March 17th, 1:00 PM
• The Roundhouse, NM State Capitol (corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe)
• Invited Keynotes: Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Rep. Tom Udall, Mayor David Coss, Tim Reynolds of the Dave Matthews Band

Peace Action New Mexico, part of the coalition, United for Peace and Justice, who are sponsoring the nationwide commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the start of the war and occupation of Iraq, is hosting the New Mexico commemoration. We invite all groups and organizations in New Mexico to join this event on the final day of the State Legislature at the Roundhouse.

There will be music by a ten piece marimba band, speakers, costumes, dancers and a march to the Plaza. This is a family-friendly peaceful event. Bring your kids, pets, placards, musical instruments and drums to this important occasion. Tell the Bush administration of your strong opposition to this illegal and immoral war and occupation and the continuing troop buildup. Bring our troops home now! Click to RSVP.

For more information and to help organize, call Peace Action New Mexico at 505.989.4812.

March 17 ABQ Anti-War Protest (and Website)

Troops Home Now!

Join the March 17, 2007 Anti-War Rally in Albuquerque, NM. More than 1,000 protesters made their voices heard in Albuquerque on January 27, 2007! Global protest on the fourth year of war on Iraq.

Bring our troops home NOW: 26 New Mexicans have died. March 17th protests to occur in 150 American cities. Click to visit the new Albuquerque March Website, where you can get more information on both the local and national marches, learn how to you can help with the planning, sign up for email updates, download a flyer and more.

Special Guests for 3/1 DFA-DFNM Meetup: Noted Peace-Maker/Coach Plus Candidates for Top DPBC Offices

Our regular monthly DFA-DFNM Meetup will be held on Thursday, March 1, at 7:00 PM, at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church at Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. To RSVP or to join the group and get on our email list, click here.

Our special guests this month include:

1. Candidate Slate for Democratic Party of Bernalillo County Offices (elections set for April 14, 2007) 

• Robert Aragon, Candidate for Chair
• Carolyne Devore-Parks, Candidate for First Vice Chair
• Mike Rose, Candidate for Second Vice Chair

2. Something a Little Different: Holly Kawakami on Life Coaching and a Life of Peace-Making. (Tip of the hat to Robb Chavez.) Check out her impressive resume of academic, peace and life experience:

According to life coach Holly Kawakami,

"Working with a coach is a smart choice for people who seek to take stock of where they are and want to maximize the possibilities of living a balanced and fulfilled life. Within the structured, confidential coaching relationship, clients examine values, clarify issues and challenges, brainstorm new ideas, and celebrate accomplishments."

Ms. Kawakami has expanded into coaching as another way to empower individuals who are transitioning, who want to see their values expressed in their communities, and who act to create the world they want to see.

Holly has a 25-year career assisting people who are crossing cultures and managing diversity to be successful in the global, interdependent business world. She brings fresh perspectives and innovative alternatives to problem-solving.

One client says, "The coaching experience with Holly helped me articulate ideas that had been floating around vaguely in my head and to accomplish tasks I*d been telling myself I'd do for months."

Robb Chavez, of DFNM, adds, "Holly listens well, and brings a sensitivity that allows her to hear even the unspoken concerns of her clients. She thus is able to prompt these individuals to achieve a clarity that can help them resolve outstanding issues, be they personal or social."

Kawakami holds a B.A. in Japanese and Asian Studies, an MBA-International, and is finishing her doctorate in intercultural communication at UNM. She also is a qualified mediator and has taught mediation, negotiation and all kinds of communication courses.

Her early years in Chicago exposed her to the struggle for civil rights and to principles of community organizing. Holly then lived outside the United States--20 years in Japan--until moving to New Mexico in 2000.

Connecting people in order to create peace and understanding has always been at the center of Holly's work. For example, the Governor of Osaka appointed her, the only Westerner, to the Osaka Council for World Peace in the 1980s. In 2005, she accompanied and interpreted for the two atomic bomb survivors who came to New Mexico to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Holly Kawakami currently is a member of the UNM Peace Studies Committee and is once again part of the planning for the annual UNM Peace Fair. Holly has studied Japanese tea ceremony for three decades and teaches in the community as another expression of bringing people together in peaceful communion.

For those interested, the first coaching call is complimentary and includes explaining the coaching structure, listening to a client's expectations, and setting up the best schedule to meet that client's needs.

Contact Information: hcsk48@gmail.com

Website: www.goglobalcoaching.com (under construction)

Holly Siebert Kawakami
Ph.D. Candidate
Intercultural Communication
University of New Mexico
Communication Instructor, Water Resource Master*s Program
Albuquerque, NM 87106