The 2002 fund drive campaign will feature several speaking tours on issues vital to world peace and the defeat of the ultraright in this fall’s elections. These speakers can give information and assessments of world events you can’t get anywhere else.
In addition, these events – whether at universities, union meetings, community forums or special house gatherings – can help mobilize public opinion as well as raise money. Speakers and topics include:
Enron: George Bush, Ken Lay and the axis of greed:
People’s Weekly World Editor Tim Wheeler has written extensively on the Enron thievery and its relationship to the Bush administration. Wheeler also traveled to Greece to attend a conference on the attacks on civil liberties in Europe in the wake of Sept. 11.
Eyewitness to Occupation:
Communist Party Vice Chair Judith Le Blanc is in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel as part of a delegation sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
China today – building socialism with Chinese characters:
At the invitation of the Communist Party of China, a CPUSA delegation headed by National Chairman Sam Webb, and including Marilyn Bechtel, international secretary; Debbie Bell, chair of the African American equality commission; and Scott Marshall, labor secretary, went for a one-week tour of industrial cities in southeast China.
A new day for Venezuela:
The Venezuelan Communist Party hosted Blair Bertaccini, CPUSA national committee member, at its recent Congress. His experiences of the mounting anti-imperialist struggle are revealing, as will be his views on the attempted Bush-backed coup.
Cuba hosts the Sao Paolo Forum:
From its inception in 1991, the Sao Paolo Forum has been an important vehicle for the exchange of views and experiences for the Latin American and Caribbean left. CPUSA Executive Vice Chairman Jarvis Tyner and National Committee members Rookie Perna and Armando Ramirez were there.
Colombia: The next target of the war on terrorism?
Sarah Staggs, chair of the CPUSA peace and solidarity commission, went to the Colombian Communist Party Congress and saw first-hand the devastating effects of the U.S.-backed “Plan Colombia.”
India and globalization:
World Associate Editor Terrie Albano recently attended two Communist Party congresses, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India – which are two of the largest Communist parties in the non-socialist world.
Brazil and the fight against FTAA:
The Brazilian trade union movement and left are playing a big role in the fight against the Free Trade of Americas Act. Dee Myles, chair of the CPUSA education commission, was in Brazil to attend the PCdoB’s 10th Congress.
To set up a speaking engagement in your area contact Pam Saffer at safara71@hotmail.com or Lee Dlugin at (212) 989-4994 ext. 220.
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