JusticeVision
Democracy University: Chomsky/Caldicott/Dugger/Berenson video
Welcome to Democracy University- The following is the most recent draft of our letter describing the 6-hour Berenson/Chomsky/Caldicott/Dugger video, Democracy University Volume 1, available for a donation of $10 (to be sent after you receive the video). Please contact Justicevision at (213) 747-6345 or by e-mail at [email protected] to obtain a copy of this video, to be notified about videos available now or in the future, and if you are interested,to be part of a Democracy University planning group. In addition to additional events with Noam Chomsky and Helen Cldicott, future videos in the series will include Dick Gregory, Cesar Chavez (speaking in 1992), Ralph Nader, Winona LaDuke, David Korten, Richard Grossman, Molly Ivins, Hazel Henderson, Howard Zinn, Tony Clarke, Michael Parenti, and many others. Please inform us about issues we should cover for this series, and of important events we should try to go and videotape. Also, please email and/or post this message periodically wherever it is not inappropriate to do so (we're trying out a volunteer incentive plan- see the footnote near the end for a description of it). January 28, 1998 Dear Justicevision Supporter or Other Person of Conscience - The following message is about a videotape we have put together which has Noam Chomsky, Helen Caldicott, Ramsey Clark, Maxine Waters, Ronnie Dugger (founder of the Alliance for Democracy), and the parents of prisoner of conscience Lori Berenson (see below) for a minimum donation of only $10. Let me know if I can put you down for one: We have had the opportunity to videotape a number of exceptional inter-related events lately, and are making four of them available together on one 6-hour videotape for a minimum pledge of only $10; the sound and picture quality are suitable for showing to groups, for public access programs, and for radio broadcast. The video includes a complete Dec. 5th lecture by Noam Chomsky entitled "Democracy and Markets in the Evolving World Order", a Nov. 18th talk given by Helen Caldicott at the UCLA Medical Center on "The Medical Implications of the Consumption Economy" (our title), and a Nov. 15th program about Lori Berenson, a journalist that while writing about Peru's poor, was accused of sedition, convicted in a closed trial, and given a life sentence, which she is serving in an Andean prison in near freezing conditions. Lori's story is told by former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Congressperson Maxine Waters, and by her parents, Mark and Rhoda Berenson. I'm also including an Oct. 31 interview with Ronnie Dugger, founder of the Alliance for Democracy (a growing grassroots effort to end the domination of the political process by corporations, now with 55 chapters across the country), done at their 2nd Annual National Convention in Atchison, Kansas, along with 20 minutes of performances from that convention by protest singers Jim Bush and Native American Victor McManamy. The music may be worth the $10 by itself. Dr. Chomsky's lecture took place at the World History Center at Northeastern University in Boston. There were about 75 present, primarily students. His announced topic was "Democracy and Markets in the Evolving World Order", although he touched on a wide range of interesting and current topics, not only during his talk, but also during Q&A and in a followup discussion with one of the seminar's attendees, which is included. The Chomsky portion is 2 hrs. 24 mins. Dr. Helen Caldicott, in addition to discussing the medical effects of consumer goods, discusses the U.S.'s use of depleted uranium artillery weapons in the Gulf War, the sale of 60 nuclear reactors by GE to China, the continuing threat posed by nuclear waste, and the genetic consequences of rising levels of atmosphericly borne plutonium. We will send a copy of the above described 6-hour video to anyone who pledges to either view and return the videetape or send us a donation of $10 or more in the envelope we will send along. It is our hope that we can get enough $10 orders to sustain our effort, because $10 is all many people can afford, and we feel change is only possible democratically if enough people have access to good information. You can help us avoid having to ask more for our tapes by telling others about this effort. We do not require a royalty for permission to edit our tapes for use on public access, radio, or etc. Programmers who do so may take credit for co-production, but we request fair compensation for our efforts if such funding is available. Please acknowledge us if you can and provide your audience with a means of contacting us if possible, since my family has no other income besides from the tapes we make. We love to get feedback... please let us know how our tapes are being used. If you need multiple copies of our tapes, we will make them for you as affordably as we can. We can also make copies in 2-hour mode, S-VHS, or Hi-8; possibly in 3/4 inch as well. Please order by phone or email and send your donation to Justicevision after you receive your videotape, in the envelope we will provide with the tape for that purpose. We will send along our list of available videos, a photocopy of the poster from the Chomsky event, and also printed information about Lori Berenson and how you can get involved in the effort to save her life. The tape can be requested by calling me at (213) 747-6345 or by e-mail at [email protected] . Be sure to leave a phone number, and your snail mail address where you would like the tape sent. Please forward this message to any friends that may be interested, either in this particular tape or in future announcements. In requesting this tape, you can refer to it as "Democracy University, vol.1", or simply, DU-1. Also, please tell us how our announcements could be made more effective, who we can e-mail announcements to, and where we can post them, and tell us which speakers or which previous events from our list you would like to see in the Democracy University series. Thank you for your interest. I hope and look forward to hearing from you. Ralph Cole, organizer, [email protected] Justicevision FOOTNOTE: This message would not have reached you had it not been for those that took the time to pass it on to you. I know they would appreciate your thanks and maybe a small donation (perhaps $1 to each to compensate them for their time and effort) if you care to show your appreciation in that manner, whether or not you chose to order the video tape. In case I am unable to fill your order promptly for some reason (like I get overwhelmed with orders or something), you should wait until your tape arrives. (Although I am always appreciative of donations, if my name is included it is merely as a place holder to start off the list, and should be considered as such.) REMINDER: your $10 pledged donation for the videotape itself is to be sent to Justicevision AFTER we send you the videotape in the mail (to avoid misunderstandings we prefer that you do not pay in advance). Thank you gifts to the following list are optional; they are separate from the pledge and can only be in addition to it, since they do not help to pay the cost of making the 6-hour Democracy University videotape and sending to you. The five volunteers (or organizations) last responsible for passing this information to you are: 1. Ralph Cole, Justicevision 1425 W.12th St. #262 Los Angeles, CA, USA 90015 (place holder only-see preceding paragraph) 2. Ralph Cole, Justicevision 1425 W.12th St. #262 Los Angeles, CA, USA 90015 (place holder only-see preceding paragraph) 3. Ralph Cole, Justicevision 1425 W.12th St. #262 Los Angeles, CA, USA 90015 (place holder only-see preceding paragraph) 4. Ralph Cole, Justicevision 1425 W.12th St. #262 Los Angeles, CA, USA 90015 (place holder only-see preceding paragraph) 5. Michael Stec 2131 Westmount Rd NW Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 3N3 VOLUNTEER INCENTIVE PLAN: I devised this plan in the hope that it will enable me to focus on making tapes instead of on getting orders. My thinking is that the same thing that motivates people to donate for a tape they have already received will motivate many of them to send something to those that brought them the information, as well. To participate in the volunteer incentive plan, add your (or your organization's) name and address in space 5 and move everybody else up one (dropping the name at the top). Then fax, email, snail mail, post, or whatever, this entire message anywhere it is not inappropriate to do so. Please use discretion and be careful not to post or send it where it is going to bother or offend someone. Fresh and/or updated copies of the body of this letter will be sent upon request (ask for DU#1 letter). If you do get a fresh copy from me, be sure to paste in the volunteer list you received (revising it to include you, of course). Suggestions for revisions would be appreciated and will be considered. You do not have to order the tape to participate in the volunteer incentive plan. Thank you very much for volunteering. I have no idea how this is going to work, or what to expect. I just hope Margaret Meade is not disappointed, wherever she is. I hope the incentive plan succeeds in providing our volunteers with a just and/or sustaining compensation for there contributed time and effort. Please share your experience with me from time to time. Thank you very much for joining in the effort to make Democracy University a success!Back to JusticeVision Main Page
