See the acclaimed documentary, Cuba! Africa! Revolution!, at 5920 Second Ave., Detroit (just north of Wayne State and I-94). The documentary will be shown in two parts. There will will a discussion following the viewing of each part.
Part 1 - Friday, July 31, 7 PM
Part 2 - Friday, Aug. 7, 7 PM
Jihan El Tahri’s 2007 documentary “CUBA! AFRICA! REVOLUTION!” (aka “Cuba, an African Odyssey”) tells the previously untold story of Cuba’s support for African revolutions.
This documentary unravels the story of the so-called Cold War, through the prism of its least known arena: Africa. Against colonialism, capitalism, and communism, the newly independent nations fought to gain real control of their own countries and their valuable natural resources.
This is a must watch for anyone who seeks to view history through a balanced and accurate prism. This is a true and important side of history seldom told by the US mainstream Media or in Institutions of "Learning".
- Pan-African News Wire, Feb. 13, 2009
Suggested donation: $5 or whatever you can afford
Call 313-671-3715 for more information.
Sponsored by Workers World Party
Monday, July 27, 2009
Aug. 1 People's Summit Coalition Meeting
People's Summit Coalition Meeting
Saturday, Aug. 1, 2 PM
MCHT Building ( old Kresge Eye Institute, near Masonic Temple)
2720 Second Ave.
Enter parking lot from Temple, between Second and Third
Saturday, Aug. 1, 2 PM
MCHT Building ( old Kresge Eye Institute, near Masonic Temple)
2720 Second Ave.
Enter parking lot from Temple, between Second and Third
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Demonstration to Protest the military coup d'état in Honduras and Protest Israeli piracy and kidnapping human rights workers
Wednesday, July 1, 4:30 PM
Hart Plaza, Woodward & Jefferson, Detroit
Demand the restoration of the Manuel Zelaya as president of Honduras
Demand that the U.S. cut off all economic and military aid to the military junta
The seizure of humanitarian supplies and abduction of human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law. When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza. Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international waters is a clear violation of international law.
According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair." Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.
Hart Plaza, Woodward & Jefferson, Detroit
Demand the restoration of the Manuel Zelaya as president of Honduras
Demand that the U.S. cut off all economic and military aid to the military junta
Demand that Israel let the Humanitarian Aid through to Gaza
Demand that Israel free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers
Demand that Israel stop the blockade of Gaza
Demand that Israel free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers
Demand that Israel stop the blockade of Gaza
In addition to protesting the illegal military coup d'état and removal of President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, we must add additional demands protesting the siezure of the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY and the abduction of 21 human rights workers, including former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, in international waters by the Israeli "Defense" Forces last night.
Join us Wednesday in solidarity with the people of Honduras and Palestine.
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Last night, Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
The seizure of humanitarian supplies and abduction of human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law. When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza. Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international waters is a clear violation of international law.
According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair." Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Demonstration to Protest the military coup d'état in Honduras
Wednesday, July 1, 4:30 PM
Hart Plaza, Woodward & Jefferson, Detroit
Hart Plaza, Woodward & Jefferson, Detroit
Demand the restoration of the Manuel Zelaya as president of Honduras
Demand that the U.S. cut off all economic and military aid to the military junta
Demand that the U.S. cut off all economic and military aid to the military junta
On Sunday, June 28, the democratically elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was overthrown by the U.S. trained, and equipped Honduran military. Honduran soldiers invaded the residence of President Zelaya as he slept, and forcibly exiled the president to Costa Rica, just hours before a nationwide referendum was scheduled to take place.
It has been reported that the ambassadors of Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua in Honduras have been kidnapped along with Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas, and have being beaten by Honduran military forces.
While President Obama has expressed that he is "deeply concerned" and that the coup is illegal, Secretary of State Clinton has stated the the U.S. government has not formally designated the military coup as a military coup. And why? Such a move would require, according to U.S. law, that the U.S. cut off almost all U.S. aid to Honduras. In addition to aid to the Honduran government and military, aid is provided to various rightist groups and political parties from such entities as USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
While the U.S. denies any involvement in the coup, at least two of the coup leaders have received training from the Pentagon's School of the Americas, located at Fort Benning, Georgia, and known by many as the School of the Assassins. Just about every military coup in Latin America since the 1960s (and there have been quite a few) has been led by graduates of the School of the Assassins and supported by the U.S. government.
Furthermore, the U.S. maintains about 550 military and 650 civilian personnel at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, which is also the home of the Honduran Air Force and Naval Academy.
And let us not forget, the U.S. has dispatched military forces to Honduras on several occasions to protect the interests of the United Fruit Company (now known as Chiquita) and the Standard Fruit Company (now Dole).
The Honduran people are in the streets protesting and resisting the military. As of Monday evening, there are reports of several Honduran military battalions refusing to support the coup.
Join us Wednesday in solidarity with the people of Honduras.
Initiated by MECAWI, the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice, and Latinos Unidos de Michigan
Saturday, June 20, 2009
KUDOS
The People's Summit and Tent City was a great success in terms of organizing and bringing together the people throughout the region and various states to elevate the revolutionary conscience of the masses to stand up (against the powers who have waged an economic war against the working class by their corporations, banks, and government entities that do not have the interest of the people at heart) and to fight back to demand what is rightfully theirs as citizens and workers.
Not only did it present a means of organizing and strategy but it sought to unify people from all stratas of society. It sought to educate, and open the necessary dialogue with which to engage the masses.
The camaraderie and solidarity that was felt throughout the summit was an example of what is possible and necessary to fuel the type of resistance needed to effect a much needed systemic change by planning, organizing, strategizing, unifying, televising, communicating, regulating, and escalating militant protest by key organizations and classes that have been left out of the so called economic recovery and to forge ahead with their plan and list of demands to continue this momentum that resonated during the Summit.
KUDOS to our comrades who camped out in the tents to represent the homeless and to bring to conscience the magnitude and impact of homelessness across the country and the neglect to bail out those who have been swindled out of their livelihood which is their property, their jobs, their health care, which should be a right.
All the speakers were of excellent character and their words, no doubt will resonate to keep the fire burning within to make enough inroads to organize mass participation and to continue the struggle to rectify and to eradicate this crime of globalization against humanity both at home and abroad.
KUDOS, to the Latino participation and education of their struggle with immigrants rights and deportation issues, as they made clear who the enemy and aliens truly are and to set straight the many questions surrounding their oppression. Their struggle is truly our struggle and we must remain bonded to their cause of common liberty and justice for all.
KUDOS to the Labor Unions who bravely and militantly showed that they do have some fight in them as they escalated a spirited demonstration throughout the summit that they will continue to be soldiers of solidarity for the working class people all over the world and be the example of confrontation against the capitalist bosses who exploit their labor for profit.
KUDOS to our press agents who exposed themselves to the media and the demands of the people regardless of the consequences to bring enlightenment to the masses and to send out a message that resistance is not futile and that resistance exists, right here, in Detroit to reverberate across the region and put the matter in check as to whether the people have the power to effect change.
KUDOS to our elected officials like Councilwoman Joanne Watson, Senator Hanson Clarke and Jessie Jackson, for bucking the status quo to join us on common ground to support our initiative and help drive the point that both the masses and the elected officials must do their part to save the people from those who continue to destroy their domestic tranquility and pursuit of happiness, liberty, justice and freedom.
KUDOS to the cooks and many members of various organizations who did the labor in erecting the tent city, cleanup, and logistics that was sooo necessary. Their work was a most necessary component and very much appreciated from the beginning to the end.
KUDOS to our performers of poets, hip hop artists, rock bands and folk singers who didn't think twice but showed up to exploit their talents for a worthy cause voluntarily as the people loved what they saw and heard.
And last but not at all the least, KUDOS, to the FIST Youth Organization members and our WW party members from NY and other states who always have the back of the people because their power and influence brought the energy and fuel necessary to pick up the momentum of the Summit by their intellect and support to the cause from the beginning to the end.
WE SHOULD GIVE OUR SELVES A HAND AND SALUTE OUR COLORS OF SOLIDARITY IN DARING TO CONFRONT THE POWERS THAT BE. I THINK WE TRULY PUSHED THE ENVELOPE AND THE WAY FORWARD IS NOT JUST A VISION, BUT CLEARLY DEFINED OVER THE HORIZON.
COMRADES LETS CONTINUE THE FIGHT!
Peace to You All.
Andrea Egypt,
Not only did it present a means of organizing and strategy but it sought to unify people from all stratas of society. It sought to educate, and open the necessary dialogue with which to engage the masses.
The camaraderie and solidarity that was felt throughout the summit was an example of what is possible and necessary to fuel the type of resistance needed to effect a much needed systemic change by planning, organizing, strategizing, unifying, televising, communicating, regulating, and escalating militant protest by key organizations and classes that have been left out of the so called economic recovery and to forge ahead with their plan and list of demands to continue this momentum that resonated during the Summit.
KUDOS to our comrades who camped out in the tents to represent the homeless and to bring to conscience the magnitude and impact of homelessness across the country and the neglect to bail out those who have been swindled out of their livelihood which is their property, their jobs, their health care, which should be a right.
All the speakers were of excellent character and their words, no doubt will resonate to keep the fire burning within to make enough inroads to organize mass participation and to continue the struggle to rectify and to eradicate this crime of globalization against humanity both at home and abroad.
KUDOS, to the Latino participation and education of their struggle with immigrants rights and deportation issues, as they made clear who the enemy and aliens truly are and to set straight the many questions surrounding their oppression. Their struggle is truly our struggle and we must remain bonded to their cause of common liberty and justice for all.
KUDOS to the Labor Unions who bravely and militantly showed that they do have some fight in them as they escalated a spirited demonstration throughout the summit that they will continue to be soldiers of solidarity for the working class people all over the world and be the example of confrontation against the capitalist bosses who exploit their labor for profit.
KUDOS to our press agents who exposed themselves to the media and the demands of the people regardless of the consequences to bring enlightenment to the masses and to send out a message that resistance is not futile and that resistance exists, right here, in Detroit to reverberate across the region and put the matter in check as to whether the people have the power to effect change.
KUDOS to our elected officials like Councilwoman Joanne Watson, Senator Hanson Clarke and Jessie Jackson, for bucking the status quo to join us on common ground to support our initiative and help drive the point that both the masses and the elected officials must do their part to save the people from those who continue to destroy their domestic tranquility and pursuit of happiness, liberty, justice and freedom.
KUDOS to the cooks and many members of various organizations who did the labor in erecting the tent city, cleanup, and logistics that was sooo necessary. Their work was a most necessary component and very much appreciated from the beginning to the end.
KUDOS to our performers of poets, hip hop artists, rock bands and folk singers who didn't think twice but showed up to exploit their talents for a worthy cause voluntarily as the people loved what they saw and heard.
And last but not at all the least, KUDOS, to the FIST Youth Organization members and our WW party members from NY and other states who always have the back of the people because their power and influence brought the energy and fuel necessary to pick up the momentum of the Summit by their intellect and support to the cause from the beginning to the end.
WE SHOULD GIVE OUR SELVES A HAND AND SALUTE OUR COLORS OF SOLIDARITY IN DARING TO CONFRONT THE POWERS THAT BE. I THINK WE TRULY PUSHED THE ENVELOPE AND THE WAY FORWARD IS NOT JUST A VISION, BUT CLEARLY DEFINED OVER THE HORIZON.
COMRADES LETS CONTINUE THE FIGHT!
Peace to You All.
Andrea Egypt,
Another Perspective: More Help for "Working People" and The Poor
Week of 6.19.09
Another Perspective: More Help for "Working People" and The Poor
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Abayomi Azikiwe, spokesperson for Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions, talks about what he feels is irresponsible action by the government and corporations in regard to American employment and the poor. Moratorium NOW! held a protest rally—called "The People's Summit"—outside The National Summit, a conference of business CEOs and leaders which took place in Detroit June 15-17.
Over four million people have lost their jobs in the United States since December 2007 and more than two million people have lost their jobs since the beginning of this year. But neither the corporate community nor the American government have been able to respond to the deepening economic crisis by creating jobs for the unemployed and underemployed.
There are numerous factors involved in this apparent inability by multi-national corporations and the government to create jobs and provide other assistance to families suffering from home foreclosures, evictions, lack of health care and the evaporation of their savings and pension funds. Current policy imperatives of the ruling elites in this country favor the profit-making capacity of the financial sector and the most wealthy business people based in America and abroad. This is to the detriment of the interests of most working people and the poor.
The assumption is that if these banks and firms prosper, the benefits will flow downward to the workers in the form of lucrative employment and social benefits. However, this theory has been totally discredited through the lowering of real wages, the rise in joblessness, underemployment and the widening income gap between working people and the rich.
Many corporations have decided to go to areas of the country and the world where they can more freely exploit workers and consequently reap higher profits. When this system faced collapse during the fall of 2008, U.S. taxpayers were forced to bailout the very same financiers, insurance providers and automotive companies who had engineered the crisis. The collapse resulted in the worst loss of financial wealth since the Great Depression.
There must be a restructuring of national priorities in the United States. The $10 trillion in public funds and Federal Reserve-induced liquidity that was utilized to ostensibly prevent a full economic meltdown in 2008 could have easily been invested in government programs to create millions of jobs in the U.S. There could have been a national moratorium on foreclosures that could have allowed people to remain in their homes pending the outcome of the current crisis.
"Those who have guided the economic policy of the country must yield to the needs of the people who are the engine of any real program of reconstruction and renewal."
At the same time, the $700 billion annual defense budget—including the continuing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan—is draining the resources of the country in wars that have no end and that could not possibly be won by a western industrialized nation against peoples of the developing world. These Pentagon resources could be re-allocated to build mass transit systems throughout the country, reopen closed schools, and rehire laid-off educators. There could be a genuine effort to repair the national infrastructure. All of these initiatives could result in the creation of millions of jobs.
What is most important in any plans to create jobs and stimulate economic growth is the empowerment of working people and the poor. This is something that receives a hostile response from the corporate community and the federal government. Nonetheless, if people feel they have no influence in the actual operations of the state and capital, their productivity and general outlook will be severely affected.
If there is no rapid reversal of the massive job losses in the U.S., the long-term implications will be catastrophic. With the need for 25 million jobs for the unemployed and underemployed this year, consumer spending will further decline and more businesses could slide into bankruptcy, resulting in even more unemployment.
Consequently, the epidemic of job losses and home foreclosures will contribute substantially to the erosion of living standards and social stability. Those who have guided the economic policy of the country must yield to the needs of the people who are the engine of any real program of reconstruction and renewal.
Another Perspective: More Help for "Working People" and The Poor
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Abayomi Azikiwe, spokesperson for Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions, talks about what he feels is irresponsible action by the government and corporations in regard to American employment and the poor. Moratorium NOW! held a protest rally—called "The People's Summit"—outside The National Summit, a conference of business CEOs and leaders which took place in Detroit June 15-17.
Over four million people have lost their jobs in the United States since December 2007 and more than two million people have lost their jobs since the beginning of this year. But neither the corporate community nor the American government have been able to respond to the deepening economic crisis by creating jobs for the unemployed and underemployed.
There are numerous factors involved in this apparent inability by multi-national corporations and the government to create jobs and provide other assistance to families suffering from home foreclosures, evictions, lack of health care and the evaporation of their savings and pension funds. Current policy imperatives of the ruling elites in this country favor the profit-making capacity of the financial sector and the most wealthy business people based in America and abroad. This is to the detriment of the interests of most working people and the poor.
The assumption is that if these banks and firms prosper, the benefits will flow downward to the workers in the form of lucrative employment and social benefits. However, this theory has been totally discredited through the lowering of real wages, the rise in joblessness, underemployment and the widening income gap between working people and the rich.
Many corporations have decided to go to areas of the country and the world where they can more freely exploit workers and consequently reap higher profits. When this system faced collapse during the fall of 2008, U.S. taxpayers were forced to bailout the very same financiers, insurance providers and automotive companies who had engineered the crisis. The collapse resulted in the worst loss of financial wealth since the Great Depression.
There must be a restructuring of national priorities in the United States. The $10 trillion in public funds and Federal Reserve-induced liquidity that was utilized to ostensibly prevent a full economic meltdown in 2008 could have easily been invested in government programs to create millions of jobs in the U.S. There could have been a national moratorium on foreclosures that could have allowed people to remain in their homes pending the outcome of the current crisis.
"Those who have guided the economic policy of the country must yield to the needs of the people who are the engine of any real program of reconstruction and renewal."
At the same time, the $700 billion annual defense budget—including the continuing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan—is draining the resources of the country in wars that have no end and that could not possibly be won by a western industrialized nation against peoples of the developing world. These Pentagon resources could be re-allocated to build mass transit systems throughout the country, reopen closed schools, and rehire laid-off educators. There could be a genuine effort to repair the national infrastructure. All of these initiatives could result in the creation of millions of jobs.
What is most important in any plans to create jobs and stimulate economic growth is the empowerment of working people and the poor. This is something that receives a hostile response from the corporate community and the federal government. Nonetheless, if people feel they have no influence in the actual operations of the state and capital, their productivity and general outlook will be severely affected.
If there is no rapid reversal of the massive job losses in the U.S., the long-term implications will be catastrophic. With the need for 25 million jobs for the unemployed and underemployed this year, consumer spending will further decline and more businesses could slide into bankruptcy, resulting in even more unemployment.
Consequently, the epidemic of job losses and home foreclosures will contribute substantially to the erosion of living standards and social stability. Those who have guided the economic policy of the country must yield to the needs of the people who are the engine of any real program of reconstruction and renewal.
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