Tidbits and Announcements - August 9, 2012

* can anybody define 'meme'? --Tidbits - Aug. 8, 2012 
  (David Worley)
* The Reckoning - Global Warming's Terrifying New Math
  (long) (Dan Morgan)
* Re: Cuba's ban on anti-Castro musicians quietly lifted 
  (Fred Ryan, Martin Gittelman)
* Death of John "Tito" Gerassi.(Margaret Leahy)
* Spanish for Activists Camp! - August 18 & 19
* Travel to Venezuela for the Elections! October 1-9, 2012
* A free copy of Presente...for you! (SOA - School of the
  Americas Watch)

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* can anybody define 'meme'? (Tidbits - Aug. 8, 2012)

Definition of "meme": I understand this to refer to anything
(image, phrase, even an idea, etc.) that spreads organically
("goes viral"), if you will, across communication media
(usually used with reference to digital media) without any
control or direction by its originators.

David Worley

==========

* The Reckoning - Global Warming's Terrifying New Math
(long)

Bill McKibben's 6,000 words on the math of global warming
also seemed long to me, but the message was powerful.  So I
condensed it to 889 words, and sent it to all my contacts.
I also translated this précis into Spanish, and did
likewise.

Dan Morgan
Chile

==========

* Re: Cuba's ban on anti-Castro musicians quietly lifted

I'd like to reply to today's BBC piece on Havana and the
music blacklist.:

My wife and I have been to Cuba several times (we're
Canadians), and I have to shout that the Cubans don't seem
to miss, and certainly don't need, the gusanos who joined
the blockade by moving to the US.  There is so much
excellent music there, no one is short of hearing the
world's best live Salsa and Trova music, almost anywhere. We
bought CDs of local bands and singer everywhere, including
poetry recordings by Pablo Neruda, Mistral, and a other
poets.  Blacklists are criminal, but they aren't proof of a
"communist prison island" either.

The country is poor. Americans are blockading it!  Put aside
the claptrap about a dictatorship, just as Americans put
aside George Bush and the puppet in there now.  The country
is clean (a person could sleep on the street without getting
dusty, although we never saw anyone sleeping there, as we
have in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco) The food
is not very spicy or adventuresome but it is largely
organic, additive- and pesticide-free, and hardly any of the
obesity which trademarks Gringolandia.  The stores are
sparse, but they are open and busy. The night sky is clear,
no flashing billboards and advertising lights, etc. etc etc.

I can see that the travel restrictions for Americans fulfil
their purpose, with American media, because most of what I
read and hear from south of the border is a long way from
reality. That's the reality of  Spanish Harlem, Wounded
Knee, Alabama, and George Bush-Obama.

Cuban music is among the world's best, and it's everywhere
on the island.  No obscenities, no defiling of women, and,
hey, the ubiquity of songs in honour of Che!  What blacklist
is BBC writing about?

Fred Ryan
Ottawa, Ontario

===

Are pro-Cuba artists employed and welcomed in the US ?

Martin Gittelman

==========

* Death of John "Tito" Gerassi.

Political activist, author and professor Tito Gerassi died
in New York on July 26. His actions. his writings and his
teaching inspired countless numbers of people. His legacy
will be in the actions of those who continue to fight the
good fight against any and all aspects of what he saw as the
dehumanizing capitalist world system. A celebration of is
life will be held in San Francisco in late September. For
more information contact <[log in to unmask]>.

Margaret Leahy

==========

* Spanish for Activists Camp! - August 18 & 19

Those hot days of summer beginning to get you down?
Time to get off that scorching pavement and into the green
fields of Central New York state on the shore of Cayuga
Lake!

1th Annual NY CISPES-CUSLAR Spanish for Activists Camp in
beautiful Ithaca, NY
Weekend of August 18th and 19th

Participate in immersion Spanish classes, workshops and
panels on current social and political issues in Latin
America, as well as music, dancing and great food.  Join
fellow activists in discussing how to confront US and multi-
national corporate policies in the Americas.

We will have car and/or van pooling leaving Friday
afternoon/evening from New York City to Ithaca.
For details and to reserve a spot go to the CUSLAR web site
at:

http://cuslar.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=180&Itemid=215

For questions and transportation call: 917-214-3479

Committee on U.S. - Latin American Relations

==========

* Travel to Venezuela for the Elections! October 1-9, 2012

This October, witness one of the most important elections in
the history of Venezuela - and of the hemisphere. On October
7, the people of Venezuela will exercise their right to vote
and decide whether to carry forward the Bolivarian
Revolution through the reelection of President Hugo Chavez.
This will be one of the most closely watched elections in
the world for all that the Bolivarian Revolution represents.
Come witness it from the inside and lend your solidarity to
the people of Venezuela as they shape their own future.

Participants in this solidarity delegation will learn about
Venezuela's electoral process and witness participatory
democracy in action through meetings with community councils
and other grassroots groups in Caracas and the neighboring
states of Aragua and Miranda. The group will get a first-
hand glimpse of the various areas of social transformation
taking place in Venezuela, including in education,
healthcare, food sovereignty, and alternative media. The
delegation will also include trips to beaches, parks, and
other sites of interest.

When: October 1 to 9, 2012

Tentative Itinerary: Start and end in Caracas; visits to the
states of Miranda and Aragua.

Cost for Activities: $1100. This will cover all lodging, all
ground transportation, 2 meals per day, qualified trip
leaders, and Spanish-English interpretation. Additional
expenses during the trip will be minimal. Airfare not
included.

To Learn more and hold a spot, email:
[log in to unmask] 
Please be in touch as soon as possible, as space for this
delegation is very limited. Please allow several days for
responses.

Sponsored by the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle of NY.

For more information see:

http://revolucionalimentaria.wordpress.com/category/delegations/

Check out these articles from past delegations:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2008/magdoff040208.html
http://monthlyreview.org/090824shiavoni-camacaro.php

==========

* A free copy of Presente...for you! (SOA - School of the
Americas Watch)

We need to hear from you now if would like to receive a copy
of Presente delivered to your home! The next issue of
Presente is coming out very, very soon! SOA Watch is
committed to sending a copy of Presente to all folks who are
interested. Inside you will find information on the big
November Vigil in Columbus, news updates from Honduras,
Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, and other parts of the Americas,
cartoons, and more! Click here to receive a copy of Presente
with important Vigil information!

Looking for an interesting statistic? According to research
studies, a controlled circulation like ours to 30,000 people
alone, puts the average number of readers who read/look into
an issue of a magazine to 120,000, which makes Presente the
most widely read English-language publication on Latin
America Solidarity issues. How cool is that!

Click here to receive a copy! 
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/727/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6961

Want to do more? Make a donation to SOA Watch to help cover
our costs of printing and shipping by clicking here! Thank
you, thank you!https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/727/t/10656/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=6045

Thanks everyone! Hugs from DC,

Jenna
Operations and Development Coordinator
SOA Watch
202-234-3440

==========

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