Virginia and DC events

We know that in 2003 a twenty three year old named Rachel Corrie left her hometown of Olympia, Washington and went to Palestine.

We know that in March of that year she died.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is an intimate look at one woman's life, told in her own words.

It's about a student, a writer, an activist, a daughter.

It's about Rachel.

It's her story.

From Rachel Corrie

Save the Date! April 24-26, 2009, Washington DC

Protest the spring IMF/World Bank meetings!

As the economic crisis deepens and US foreclosure and unemployment rates climb, wealthy bankers and finance ministers from around the world scramble to resuscitate the financial institutions which created the crisis in the first place. This April the global elite, global financial institutions, and wealthy governments will meet to plan out billions of dollars worth of new economic bailouts for themselves while the nation's poor, the poor of the world, and working people are left with only crumbs. Billions of dollars have already been handed over to CEOs and portfolio managers, while workers' benefits and wages get slashed simultaneously. This trend will continue so long as capitalist expansion is prioritized over democratic principles, as long as profit is more important than people.

A better world is possible, a world in which our means of providing for ourselves is not controlled by a wealthy elite. A global order is possible in which the dignity of human life is placed above greed, and the living earth is shared and respected, rather than commodified and sold.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are two institutions which enforce the hyper-capitalist status quo. Since 1980, these institutions have been forcing countries to adopt neoliberal structural adjustment policies of privatization, liberalization and budget cuts. These policies are directly to blame for much of the suffering in the current financial crisis and in its predecessors in Argentina, East Asia, Russia and elsewhere. Though the IMF itself is beginning to admit its mistakes – it recently recommended that countries abandon market fundamentalist policies to directly intervene in their economies – it’s understood that that advice only applies to the United States and European countries. Free markets for the poor and socialism for the rich is their mantra.

Neoliberal economics widens the sphere of imperialist capitalism, props up schemes of privatization, market liberalization and deregulation, and is ultimately to blame for this crisis. The World Bank and IMF are preeminent supranational institutions working to preserve the global financial order that puts profits, private gain, militarism, and gentrification over the needs of the people. Through their Structural Adjustment Programs - what they now refer to as “Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers” – these institutions have been destroying economies, local and global, for far too long. They must be stopped.

The World Bank and IMF will be holding their annual joint spring meetings April 24-26 in Washington DC. As they try to save themselves from global financial meltdown (or maybe just give themselves a few extra billion dollars) we all know better than to let them have all the fun without us. Join Global Justice Action to oppose these institutions, resist the dominant global order, and show that a better world is possible, free from neoliberalism, capitalism, and imperialism.

Global Justice Action embraces a diversity of tactics and will therefore be organizing a wide array of actions and events including coordinated direct actions and blockades, a mass permitted march, a people's forum, and a few other surprises! GJA will host community education events, arts workshops, trainings, and direct action meetings in the months leading up to April for the purposes of putting together a well coordinated, effective, inclusive weekend of actions that will hamper the plans of the ten thousand plus delegates.

John McCutcheon to Play in Richmond Sunday, May 17

Jeni and Billy Will Also Perform
Noted folksinger John McCutcheon will perform a spring concert for peace on the afternoon of Sunday, May 17. The show will be held at 4 p.m., at the VCU Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave. Proceeds from the performance will benefit the programs of the Richmond Peace Education Center.
Tickets for the concert cost $20 for adults, $8 for students, and a maximum of $50 per family. To purchase or reserve tickets, visit www.rpec.org, email tickets@rpec.org, or call the offices of the Richmond Peace Education Center at 232-1002.
John McCutcheon is a world renowned musician and composer. His songs and stories comment on modern politics and society—both humorous and serious. McCutcheon accompanies himself on guitar, banjo, piano, autoharp, fiddle and even the nyckelharpa, a Swedish hurdy-gurdy. He is a master of the hammered dulcimer—his performances on that instrument are among the many highlights of a John McCutcheon show. His performances appeal to audiences of all ages.
McCutcheon’s career began in the mid 1970s. He has recorded more than thirty albums and been nominated for have been nominated for six Grammy awards. In addition, McCutcheon is the author of children’s books and essays, and a long-time activist for peace and social justice. McCutcheon’s most recent release is entitled Sermon on the Mound, which tells stories and draws lessons from America’s national pastime.
This year, John’s opening act will be the folk duo Jeni and Billy--Jeni Hankins and Billy Kemp. Jeni and Billy’s most recent album is Jewell Ridge Coal. Their music reflects the bittersweet heritage of the Southwest Virginia coalfields, where Jeni was born.

For more information: RPEC, 400 W. 32nd St, Richmond VA 23225
804-232-1002 rpec@rpec.org
For more information on the performers, and downloadable images:
John McCutcheon: www.folkmusic.com
Jeni and Billy: www.jeniandbilly.com

The underlying goal of the conference is to learn how to work with members of Congress to sponsor and vote for House bill #808, which establishes a Department of Peace at the Cabinet level, including a Secretary of Peace. The city of Charlottesville is already listed as one of the many cities in America that endorse the concepts in this House Bill. The Peace Alliance website provides the details of the conference, agenda, sliding fees,guest speakers. The conference culminates Monday, March 23rd in a Day on the Hill, where we visit members of the House and Senate to advance awareness of the underlying rationale and need for the creation of a Department of Peace. There is no charge to be a part of this lobbying process on Monday, but it is helpful to be a part of the preparation for lobbying that occurs during the conference.

Summer Peacebuilding Institute

The Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) at the EMU Center for Justice and Peacebuilding offers intensive courses in peacebuilding, conflict transformation, organizational leadership, restorative justice, trauma healing and more, and has become a model for other such institutes around the world. Offered each May-June, participants attend from over 40 countries and may take one or several courses (often 5-7 days) for professional development or academic credit.

Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Vietnam Speech of April 4, 1967, by marching on Wall Street to oppose wars and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, and call for an end to rascism and economic inequality.
United for Peace and Justice is sponsoring this event, marchers are to meet at Leonard, Franklin, and White Streets with the march to begin at noon and to end at the NY Stock Exchange.