Tidbits and Announcements - April 9, 2012

* Re: LGBT Groups Issue Joint Trayvon Martin Statement (Ty
  Geltmaker)
* Re: military spending (Roz Boyd)
* Re: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. Again? (Steve Lane)
* Jon Fromer in concert with friends and family...April 21 -
  Berkeley
* 39th Annual Human Rights Awards Dinner and Program -
  Chicago - May 5

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* Re: LGBT Groups Issue Joint Trayvon Martin Statement

It's too bad this admirable statement includes an
unfortunate metaphorical usage of the word "cancer." One
need not read Susan Sontag's "Illness as Metaphor" and the
later "AIDS and its Metaphors" to see that using "cancer" in
the place of hatred and intolerance does no justice to
anyone, especially people who have cancer. We LGBT people
should be especially aware of the way illness has been used
to stigmatize us.

Ty Geltmaker, Ph.D.
Los Angeles

==========

* Re: military spending

How do you suggest we win the struggle to drastically reduce
the Pentagon budget when there is so much money to be made
re: war?

Roz Boyd

==========

* Re: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. Again?

"A genuine humanitarian response to the Syrian carnage is to
demand a UN-supervised ceasefire,..." Why would anyone think
that Assad would keep his word even if he did agree to a
ceasefire? Do you see him keeping his word anywhere else?

"The hour is late; but it is not too late for a reenergized
peace movement to oppose US intervention."  So the problem
here is a possible US intervention, not the reality of 9,000
deaths and counting?

"That silence is perhaps understandable in light of an
urgent priority to prevent an attack on Iran's nuclear
facilities." That is, he is more interested in the
possibility of an attack on Iran than the reality of 9,000
deaths in Syria.

Is this guy serious?

Steve Lane

==========

* Jon Fromer in concert with friends and family...April 21 -
Berkeley

Dear friends, I'm doing a full concert in two weeks!  Here's
the info...

Duets & trios with Lichi Fuentes, Prince Myshkins, Francisco
Herrera, the Bagwells, Reed Fromer and more!

Saturday April 21, 8pm

La Pena
3105 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley

Advance tickets: $12, At door: $15

Gonna be some beautiful music!  Hope you can be there. ~ Jon

==========

* 39th Annual Human Rights Awards Dinner and Program

The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
is proud to announce that former AFL-CIO, Assistant to the
President, Bill Fletcher, Jr., will be the keynote speaker
at our 39th Anniversary Human Rights Awards Dinner and
Program, which will take place on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at
the Lutheran School of  Theology, 1100 E. 55th Street,
Chicago.  This year's theme is "Uniting for Equal Justice
and Power." A buffet dinner will be served at 5:30 PM. and
the program will begin at 7:00 PM.

Bill Fletcher, Jr., is a longtime labor, social/racial
justice and international activist.  He has held several
leadership positions in the labor movement, including,
Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO. He was past
president of TransAfrica Forum and a founder of the Black
Radical Congress. He currently is editor and columnist for
BlackCommentator.com.  His book, Solidarity Divided, The
Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path Toward Social
Justice, co-authored with Fernando Gaspasin, has been highly
praised by Danny Glover, as important, not only for labor,
but for anyone involved in building a movement for social
justice.

Toussaint Losier, PhD Candidate in the History Department,
University of Chicago, Anti-Eviction Campaign leader,
workers rights supporter and international human rights
activist, will serve as the program's Master of Ceremonies.

Recipients of the 2012 Human Rights Award are:

Dara Cooper, Senior Project Manager of Fresh Moves, a
promoter of the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables
in the Lawndale and Austin communities of Chicago;

Clarice Durham, Co-Chair of the Chicago Alliance Against
Racist and Political Repression and lifelong social justice
activist;

Laurie Jo Reynolds, Organizer of Tamms Year Ten, a project
that calls for the closing of that prison and;

Frank Rosen, outstanding labor leader/activist, advocate for
human rights and health and safety for all workers.

Friends, we need your support to continue this important
work. Thank you in advance for a generous response. For
ticket information, please contact: Josephine Wyatt @
[log in to unmask]

The Struggle Continues!

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