1) YDS SUMMER CONFERENCE & ACTIVIST RETREAT!
                  2) NEWS FROM THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA
                  3) ACTION & ARGUMENTS TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ                       
                  4) SPRING ISSUE OF LOGOS ON-LINE
                  5) INSIDE THE LABOR MOVEMENT
                  6) THE  POLITICS OF FOOD: "STORE WARS" & "THE MEATRIX"
                 
1) YDS SUMMER CONFERENCE & ACTIVIST RETREAT... AT A CASTLE!
Mark your calendars for the weekend of August 12-14!
YDS is hosting its annual national conference and activist retreat. This year YDS members and friends will be meeting at a small castle surrounded by forest and ponds, conveniently located in Ossining, NY (only 30 minutes north of New York City).
 
This is a unique opportunity for YDS members and activists to get away from it all, to remember why we do what we do and to learn how to do it better. Workshops and discussions on organizing strategies, the history of the left, contemporary social movements, mapping out political priorities for youth and students organizers, building a stronger radical presence in mainstream US politics and more. Meet young and veteran activists and public intellectuals from around the country in an affordable retreat setting. There will also be partying, film screenings, and plenty of out-door fun in between workshops and trainings. Most importantly, this is a great way to wrap up the summer, make new (and sometimes life-long) friends, and get ready for a fall of campus and community activism.
 
Additional information and on-line registration will be up soon. Please plan ahead, contact other activists in your area, and let us know what you would like to see at our conference at the castle!

A photo of the castle location and conference updates are posted on the YDS website: www.ydsusa.org
 

2) NEWS FROM THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA
The Spring 2005 Issue of Democratic Left is now available on-line at the DSA web site: www.dsausa.org.

The issue will arrive in most members' mailboxes over the course of the week.  The lead article focuses on the right-wing attempts to destroy the Social Security system. 

DSA's resolution on Social Security is also available on the web site as well as a power point presentation (toolbox page) on Social Security and a video featuring Paul Krugman (on the low wage page). We expect to post additional Social Security material on the web site in June.

Madison DSA and Chicago DSA are partnering to present a panel on Wal-Mart at the Rad-Fest Conference on June 4th. Rad-Fest (www.radfest.org) is an annual retreat of community organizers, leftists, greens and other social change advocates that grew out of a Midwest Socialist Scholars Conference. 

The Wal-Mart panel features DSA NPC member Ron Baiman who has worked closely with the Chicago anti-Wal-Mart Coalition in developing living wage legislation for  "Big Box" stores and veterans of Wal-Mart site fights in Stoughton and Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Mark Silberman of Madison Area DSA will moderate.


3) ACTION & ARGUMENTS TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ
Is "Troops Out Now" a sufficient and appropriate rallying cry for anti-war activists?  What should be our movement's stance on the Iraqi "resistance"?  What are the just and viable alternatives to the U.S. led occupation?  And what are we going to do to end the war today, tomorrow and after that?  These are some of the important strategic and political questions that peace and justice organizers around the country are grappling with.  YDS is curious to hear your thoughts on these issues.  We're working with our partner organizations in the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition to build the most effective and far-reaching campaign to end the war in Iraq, challenge U.S. militarism and stand up for the rights of young people on and off campus.  Stay tuned for word on regional counter-military recruitment training camps, the latest on the "Books Not Bombs" agenda and fall days of action.

The Anti-War Movement and Iraq
by Stephen R. Shalom (DSA member, ZNet and New Politics contributor)
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=7933

The following is from United for Peace and Justice of which YDS is a member organization:
============================================
CALL/WRITE TO DEMAND WITHDRAWAL OF US TROOPS FROM IRAQ
* National Write-in/Call-in  Week May 31-June 3 to hold elected officials accountable
* Lobby Representatives to co-sponsor Lynne Woolsey's resolution to bring the troops  home
============================================

In the wake of the passage of the appalling $82 billion supplemental war appropriations bill, it's more important than ever that we hold our elected officials accountable for their stance on the war. We are writing to urge you to mobilize your membership to take part in a coordinated national write-in/call-in week to let Members of Congress know how we feel about their vote on the war appropriation, and to urge them to sign on to Representative Lynne Woolsey's resolution (H. Con. Res. 35) to bring the troops home.  
 
Knowing that Members of Congress won't exercise better leadership on Iraq unless they hear from their constituents, United for Peace and Justice has created a legislative mail system to facilitate rapid communication with members of Congress. Just as we are keeping up the pressure in the streets, we need to keep up the pressure on Congress.  UFPJ is calling for a National Write-in/Call-in week May 31 to June 3 while Congress is in recess.
 
We will be sending out an action alert on Tuesday, May 31, urging people to contact their Representatives to hold them accountable for their vote on the $82 billion and encourage them to support the Woolsey resolution. Please forward the alert to your membership and post it on your website.

While none of us can be pleased with the continued funding of this illegal and immoral war and the further infringement on civil liberties through the Real ID provisions included in the bill, the grassroots outcry against the $82 billion helped produce two small victories. Amendments forbidding torture and funding for civilian victims were included in the final version of the legislation. In addition, a series of reporting requirements about the war were added, giving us new tools to hold the administration accountable for the failings  in Iraq.
 
We want to thank all of you who took the time to call your congresspeople about the Iraq supplemental bill. Don't stop now, turn up the heat!  While contacting your Representative on the $82 billion supplemental, let him or her know how you feel about Rep. Lynn Woolsey's  resolution calling for a withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. 

Woolseys House Resolution calls for the President  to:
 
(1) develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;
(2) develop and implement a plan for reconstructing Iraq's civil and economic infrastructure;
(3) convene an emergency meeting of Iraq's leadership, Iraq's neighbors, the United Nations, and the Arab League to create an international peacekeeping force in Iraq and to replace United States Armed  Forces in Iraq with Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guard forces to ensure Iraq's security; and
(4) take all steps necessary to provide the Iraqi people with the opportunity to completely control their internal affairs.
 
For more details and to access UFPJ's new legislative action campaign section click on the following link: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ufpj/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=737

This call-in week is part of a long-term campaign passed by UFPJ's National Assembly to hold elected officials accountable for their positions on the war. Member groups of United for Peace and Justice that engage in legislative action and would like to have input into the formation of UFPJ's ongoing inside and outside strategy for pressuring elected officials are invited to join UFPJ's legislative action working group. Subscribe to our working group listserv by sending a blank email to ufpj-legislative-subscribe@lists.mayfirst.org .


4) SPRING ISSUE OF LOGOS ON-LINE
The spring 2005 issue of Logos has just been released at: www.logosjournal.com
Read articles on new perspectives on animal rights, debates on Palestine and the Pope and The Enlightenment, Latin America and the U.S.  Critical thoughts on heroism, Schiller after 200 years, a conversation with Saad Eddin Ibrahim, art by Milton Resnick, poetry, reviews, and much more....
All at: www.logosjournal.com


5) INSIDE THE LABOR MOVEMENT
Labor's Civil War: The Sweeney revolution is definitely over.  But is the Sweeney era?  Inside the tumultuous battle over labor's future
by Harold Meyerson (DSA Vice Chair and editor-at-large of American Prospect)
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=9771


6) THE  POLITICS OF FOOD: "STORE WARS" & "THE MEATRIX"
From Free Range Studios, makers of The Meatrix ( www.themeatrix.com), comes another epic sci-fi mini-movie not to be missed:  http://www.storewars.org

Meet the heroes of the Organic Rebellion: Cuke Skywalker, Ham Solo and Chewbroccoli. With guidance from wise old Obi Wan Cannoli, this small band  of vegetable puppets (yes, vegetable puppets) is battling against Darth Tader, evil lord of the Dark Side of The Farm.

"The Meatrix" and "Store Wars" raise important questions about genetically modified foods, factory farming and corporate driven agriculture.  You might want to view these fun animated shorts in conjunction with the series of articles and debates on animal rights in the latest edition of Logos (see above).

May the Farm Be With You.


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