February 23, 2007, The current crisis in Lebanon, The solidarity economy in the Global South, Lecture series on ancient Mexican cultures continues, Rainbows, creativity and the New York avant-garde

The current crisis in Lebanon,
February 23, 2007

Global Justice lecture
The Current Crisis in Lebanon
Mon, Feb 26, 10:30am
Sala Quetzal, Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25

Dr. Rima Akkary, born and raised in Lebanon, offers insights on the historical and contemporary influences shaping the socio-cultural and geopolitical situation in Lebanon. Her talk is entitled “Background and Insights on the Current Crisis in Lebanon: An Insider’s Perspective.” As a former faculty member of the American University of Beirut, Akkary has lived and studied in Lebanon for nearly 40 years.

Among other issues, she will discuss the Palestinian-Israeli tensions and their impact on Lebanese politics, the challenges of maintaining a “sectarian” democracy in the midst of competing cultural, religious, and political interests and relations with Syria, Iran, France, the US and Israel.

The solidarity economy in the Global South

Global Justice panel discussion
The Solidarity Economy in the Global South
Wed, Feb 28, 10:30am
Sala Quetzal, Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos

The dominant economic system in the world is based on capitalist principles: production and exchange for profit to owners in a competitive market. Where workers are not organized, landless or are desperate for any work they can get, wages are low and profits can be large. Where small businesses have to compete with giant corporations, it’s usually the little guys who lose.

Nowhere have these painful lessons been so evident than in the poorer countries of the global South. Transnational corporations exploit the abundant low-wage labor force and squeeze out or buy up the nation’s businesses and land. Especially in Latin America, where corporate globalization has had heavy impact, this has led many to seek ways to build an alternative economic system.

Venezuela under Hugo Chavez has been promoting cooperatives among the poor as a way of helping them help themselves through their collective efforts. In Argentina, workers took over their factories when the owners fled the country after the economy collapsed in 2001. Bolivia, Uruguay and Brazil have similar tales to tell. And in Cuba, for over four decades the Revolution has shielded working people from exploitation by foreign capital.

Recently, these countries have found new ways to cooperate with one another for mutual benefit, independent of the colossus of the North. Through regional trade relations and the Bolivarian Alternative in the Americas (ALBA), an alternative is being fashioned to the US-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

This emerging solidarity economy is the focus of a panel discussion on Wednesday, February 28. Sponsored by the Center for Global Justice, the panel features Betsy Bowman and Bob Stone, who have long been active in the cooperative movement in the US and internationally. Last year, they visited co-ops in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, and this year Betsy ventured to South Africa to confer with cooperatives there. The third panelist, Cliff DuRand, is a frequent visitor to Cuba.

Lecture series on ancient Mexican cultures continues

Lecture
Ancient Cultures of Mexico part II
Wed, Feb 28, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25
50 pesos

Several ancient cultures of Mexico are fairly well-known: Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Aztec, Olmec and Toltec. Less known, perhaps, is the Classic Veracruz culture, which flourished from about AD 100 to 900. The Classic Veracruz had a unique art style that revealed itself in yokes, palmas and hachas, stone-carved ritual objects associated with the Mesoamerican ball game—which frequently ended with the sacrifice of the players. Not all the players, of course (but what would you guess—the winners or the losers?). The Classic Veracruz culture’s interest in the ball game was extraordinary. Most architectural sites of the ancient cultures had one to three ball courts. El Tajín, the major site of the Classic Veracruz civilization, had eleven!

The Classic Veracruz culture, along with the Maya, Zapotec and Mixtec, are the focus of a lecture entitled “Ancient Cultures of Mexico, part II.” The lecture’s purpose is to aid those interested in distinguishing between the various cultures.

Each culture has a defining characteristic or phenomenon associated with it that sets it apart from the others. There are also images of art and architecture that differentiate and distinguish each of the cultures. The lecture will be illustrated with over 200 digital images that reveal the uniqueness and beauty of the ancient cultures of Mexico. The lecturer is Guillermo Méndez, retired Professor of Humanities and San Miguel resident.

Rainbows, creativity and the New York avant-garde

Lecture
Fred Stern
Fri, Mar 2, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Insurgentes 25
Donations

Fred Stern will present a video of his rainbow work and segments from his video work of Charlotte Morman and the New York Avant-Garde Movement that is currently being shown at the National Gallery in Madrid.

Stern has created natural rainbows in the sky as large as 600 meters across for major cities and events around the world. The presentation is in anticipation of the San Miguel rainbow he will create on March 4 in Parque Clouthier next to the new general hospital on Salida a Querétaro at 4pm.