US foreign policy

Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 7:00 p.m. "My name is Martha Lucia Giraldo Villano and I was born on June 22, 1978 in Cauca, Colombia. I am the daughter of José Orlando Giraldo, a small-scale farmer who was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by the National Army. In my country, there have been many extrajudicial killings that are also categorized as false positives (the killing of innocent civilians to pass them off as guerrillas killed in combat within the context of Colombia's armed conflict). The execution of my father is an example of a 'false-positive' murder."

"I am part of the Victims of State Crimes Movement. Along with other victims, we work together on organizing and training in order to demand our rights to truth, justice and reparation."

Saturday, August 1, 2009, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Jeff Klein of Dorchester People for Peace will report back on the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy which reached Gaza on July 15. (Read Jeff's reports from Gaza) The New England United business meeting will follow at 1:45 p.m Please join us: Iraq's Prime Minister admitted that US troops may be asked to stay beyond 2011. The expansion of the war into Pakistan has displaced millions of civilians and deepened the possibility of civil war. The troop surge in Afghanistan is creating only more opposition to the US presence. We will come together to discuss fall antiwar action proposals and need your input!

Thursday, June 18, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Omar Mejia, co founder of Café Conciencia and filmmaker Willy Barreno, will present their work creating economic development and awareness by weaving a network of community run cooperatives in Guatemala, the Guatemalan migrant
community in the United States and the American consumer who is interested in Fair-Trade and Organic principles. They will speak about connections with rural and indigenous communities who will self-preserve and grow by having equal access to food, shelter, employment and education. We are invested in the hopes that Guatemala’s producer community and U.S. market will cultivate a relationship that generates a sustainable and dignified way of life so that immigration in exchange for food is not the only option.

This event is organized by the Boston Interpreters Collective.

Monday, July 13, 2009, 6:30 p.m. On June 1st President Mauricio Funes of the FMLN took office, bringing El Salvador into a growing community of Latin American nations seeking to chart their own, independent economic and political course.

Boston CISPES - Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador - proudly presents Breny Massiel Herrera, long-time member of the FMLN and leader of the FMLN Women's Secretariat, who will discuss the platform, plans, and strategy of the new FMLN government...And what WE can do in the U.S. to support the strengthening of REAL democracy in El Salvador!

Venezuelan scholar-diplomat Escalona discusses crisis w/ a stellar panel of economists

Friday, June 12, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Venezuela's Adjunct Ambassador to the United Nations and economist Julio Escalona returns to e5 to address the global economic crisis and preview the upcoming UN Assembly's Special Session on the crisis. Joining the conversation are Richard Freeman (Harvard's National Bureau of Economic Research), Julie Matthaei (Wellesley College) and Arthur MacEwan (UMass Boston).

Program details to follow. See attachments below for the flyer and details of the UN conference; click to read the speaker bios.

New England United Meeting

Saturday, May 16, 2009, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Join with presenter, Phil Wilayto, editor of The Virginia Defender and author of In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace Delegation's Journey Through the Islamic Republic" to hear his eyewitness account of his travel to Iran and an analysis of the critical role Iran plays in US foreign policy. His presentation will be followed by a meeting of New England United.

Friday, May 1st, 2009, 8:00 p.m. till late Join our friends from the Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) in celebrating the elections recently held in El Salvador.

Friday, January 30, 2009, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Official election observer provides firsthand testimony on the outcome and events surrounding the historic 2009 Salvadoran elections--the best chance for the left to take power in El Salvador since the 1992 Peace Accords. This event is organized by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador.

Thank you for attending the event with Noam Chomsky; close to 800 people attended the sold-out presentation. We will be posting an event report shortly.

The program book is online for download.

An audio recording by the sound engineer, Freeman Z, is available below.