We headed out of the office at 7am, destination San Carlos, a city about 120 kilometers from San Jose. In addition to giving the delegation a splendid tour, the purpose was to take the latest flyers and stickers to offices there and around the province of Alejuela. By the end of the day we would feel, up close, the energy of popular participation in this David and Goliath struggle. read more
Costa Rica is buzzing with ‘referendum fever.’ It is lit up almost as if there were a presidential election. Because Costa Rica has relatively strong institutions, one of which is the Electoral Tribunal, it is possible to have some idea of which side of this life or death debate has had the most funding. Of the $58,000,000. which has been spent on the campaign only about $4,000,000. has been spent by the people who oppose the referendum. It is known that the U/S/ Embassy has poured generous quantities of money into the campaign for passing of the referendum.
Make a Call to Congress this week! (script/talking points below) Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
Costa Rica is the only country in Central America that has not ratified CAFTA. On October 7th, an historic National Referendum will decide the fate of CAFTA, which is largely opposed by Costa Rican civil society. ART, in coordination with the Stop CAFTA coalition, has organized a delegation to observe the Referendum process. read more
Last week the Stop-CAFTA Coalition released the report on two years of CAFTA impact at a news conference in Costa Rica, where a referendum will be held on October 7th to decide if CAFTA will be implemented there read more
The following letter is being delivered to Congress today asking them to sign on to support the Jubilee Act, HR 2436. This is just one activity as part of the Cancel Debt Fast. 1 October 2007Dear member of Congress,We the undersigned organizations urge you to support HR 2634, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation of 2007 read more
The House Ways and Means committee ‘considered’ Peru Free Trade Agreement today, for a full 15 minutes! They then passed it with merely a voice vote. This will make it possible that the full House will vote on this agreement within the next two weeks. We need to raise our voices NOW if we are going to stop this latest effort to expand the failed CAFTA/NAFTA model! The Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121. You can go here to find out who your representative is: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
We are seeing some amazing and frightening instances of the destructive power of Hurricane Felix. The below images are from the work of Mirjana Kavelj with the UN World Food Program.
“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” Steven BikoYesterday marked the 30th anniversary of Steve Biko’s death in a Pretoria, South Africa prison. He was only 31.
