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              <p><span style="font-size:20px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="%3CTrackClick%3Ehttp://www.thestrategycenter.org/radio"
                    target="_blank"><img moz-do-not-send="true"
                      alt="Voices From the Frontlines"
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/voices-silhouette.gif"
                      style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;
                      width: 600px; height: 193px;"></a></span></p>
              <p><span style="font-size:20px;"><span style="color:
                    rgb(175, 238, 238);"><strong><span align="center"
                        style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Host:
                        Eric Mann</span></strong></span></span><br>
                <span style="font-size:20px;"><span style="color:
                    rgb(175, 238, 238);"><strong><span align="center"
                        style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Every
                        Tuesday from 4 - 5pm</span></strong></span></span><br>
                <span style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="color:
                    rgb(175, 238, 238);"><strong><span align="center"
                        style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">KPFK
                        Pacifica 90.7 FM Los Angeles, listen live
                        at kpfk.org</span></strong></span></span></p>
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              <h2 style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><em><span
                    style="font-size:20px;"><span style="color: rgb(0,
                      0, 255);"><strong>Tuesday,</strong></span><span
                      style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><strong> March 26,
                        2013 4PM PST:</strong></span></span></em><br>
                 </h2>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span
                  style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:
                    24px;"><strong>1. Mumia Abu Jamal in conversation
                      with Eric Mann<br>
                      <br>
                      2. Readings from Political Prisoners:<br>
                      Russell Maroon Shoatz and Mumia Abu Jamal<br>
                      <br>
                      3. Eric Mann Commentary:<br>
                      <span style="font-size:20px;">"The Life of Hugo
                        Chavez<br>
                        and the Death of the L.A. Mayoral Elections"</span></strong></span></span><br>
                 </p>
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              220px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align:
              center;"><span style="font-size:18px;"><img
                  moz-do-not-send="true" alt="Mumia Abu Jamal with copy
                  of his book, Live from Death Row"
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/mumia-with-book.jpg"
                  style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px;"><img
                  moz-do-not-send="true" alt="Russell Maroon Shoatz"
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/Maroon-the-Implacable.jpg"
                  style="width: 200px; height: 301px; margin: 10px;"></span></td>
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              <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:
                  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong><span
                      style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="color:
                        rgb(0, 0, 255);">Mumia Abu Jamal<br>
                        <br>
                        Russell Maroon Shoatz</span></span></strong></span><br>
                 </p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span
                  style="font-size:16px;">We share another conversation
                  between Mumia Abu Jamal and Eric Mann. </span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span
                  style="font-size:16px;">Afterward, Eric reads from:</span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span
                  style="font-size:16px;">Mumia's book: </span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10437&qid=467026"><strong><span
                      style="font-size:16px;"><em>Live From Death Row</em>,
                    </span></strong></a></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span
                  style="font-size:16px;">and</span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span
                  style="font-size:16px;">Russell Maroon Shoatz' book:</span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10438&qid=467026"><strong><span
                      style="font-size:16px;"><em>Readings from Maroon
                        the Implacable</em></span></strong>.</a></p>
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              text-align: center;"> 
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            <td style="padding: 10px 20px; vertical-align: top; width:
              220px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align:
              center;"><img moz-do-not-send="true" alt="Hugo Chavez"
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/hugo-chavez.jpg"
                style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px;"></td>
            <td style="padding: 10px 20px; vertical-align: top;
              background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family:
                  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong><span
                      style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="color:
                        rgb(0, 0, 255);">Eric Mann commentary:</span></span></strong></span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0,
                  0, 255);"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><strong><span
                        style="font-size:20px;">"The Life of Hugo Chavez<br>
                        and the Death of the L.A. Mayoral Elections"</span></strong></span></span></p>
              <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; color:
                rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
                Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span
                  style="font-size:16px;">Eric will also read his
                  commentary on Hugo Chavez. Text below, <a
                    moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10439&qid=467026">please
                    post comments here.</a></span></p>
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              <p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10439&qid=467026"><span
                    style="font-size:20px;">The Life of Hugo Chavez and
                    the Death of the L.A. Mayoral Elections</span></a></p>
              <p><span style="font-size:20px;">Eric Mann</span></p>
              <p>On  Tuesday, March 5, 2013 two events happened of
                diametrically opposed moral and historical
                significance—the end of the life of the great world
                leader Hugo Chavez and the death of the Los Angeles
                mayoral elections.</p>
              <p>In between yawns and “oh, was there some kind of
                election in the news that I missed?” 8 candidates ran in
                the “fight for the soul-less city” mayor race. The
                results: City Controller Wendy Greuel and City Council
                member Eric Garcetti will run in another soul-less
                run-off on Tuesday May 21 to see who will carry out the
                bidding of Eli Broad, the downtown business elite, the
                transnational capitalists, and the LAPD for the next
                four years—the job officially called “Mayor of Los
                Angeles.” This election was met with such a yawn that
                even the “voting class” -- the group of middle-class
                people with no power and the illusion that they have
                some, forgot to vote. (“Hey, did you know that
                my brother-in-law knows Wendy’s nanny who knows Eric
                Garcetti’s mechanic and they said…blah blah blah.”) L.A.
                like most urban center is a city of color—of the 4
                million residents 12 percent are Black and 46 percent
                Latino. But you wouldn’t know it by listening to the
                candidates. Police brutality, low-wage and no wage jobs,
                choking air pollution, police and ICE suppression of
                immigrants, deteriorating social services, were not on
                the agenda—but all the candidates, including Jan Perry,
                a Black city councilperson, debated how many more police
                they wanted. These are the “free elections” that are so
                free that nobody gives a damn, only 16 percent of
                eligible voters showed up at the polls and
                the rest just stayed home and debated whether Justin
                Bieber, Selena Gomez, or Rihanna should be number one.</p>
              <p>Meanwhile, on the same day, in Venezuela, a true
                champion of the people, the amazing Hugo Chavez, died--
                an event of enormous world consequence. Hugo Chavez, a
                man of African, Indigenous, and Spanish ancestry was
                elected president of Venezuela in 1998, re-elected in
                2000, 2006, and again in 2012.  During the election of
                2006, Manuel Criollo and I, representing the
                Labor/Community Strategy Center, were so fortunate to
                have witnessed history. We went not as “impartial
                observers” but on the invitation of friends in Venezuela
                as partisan U.S. friends of the Venezuelan people. On
                Election Day, we were awakened by bells ringing at 6
                A.M. These were not church bells but bells of
                liberation—urging working class voters
                to get up and get to the polls before they even opened.
                But that was really not necessary. Most of the voters
                were awake long before the bells rang. By the time we
                got to the streets at 9AM, the lines to vote went on as
                far as the eye could see--an entire city ready to vote.
                We saw hundreds of thousands of Indigenous working
                people with Chavista hats, banners, red-t shirts,
                chanting, talking, laughing. They were not “waiting” to
                vote but having a “vote-in” that was an all-day event. 
                In one of the more affluent downtown districts, I asked
                a woman of European-descendant, obviously a very
                affluent voter, what she thought of the elections. She
                told me, “Well, Chavez will win because he is for the
                poor and
                there are so many of them, but he does not represent
                ‘us.’” I thought, well, she certainly knows her place in
                the class struggle, and fortunately, in Venezuela, so
                does the working class and the working people.</p>
              <p>That night, the bells rang again, when Chavez won with
                63% of the vote and a 74% voter turnout. Manuel and I
                stood in the rain in Caracas, along with what seemed
                like the entire city in the streets, crying with joy. It
                was impossible to explain to people in the U.S., the
                world’s policeman, what a free election feels like and
                looks like. Certainly no one in L.A. could comprehend if
                they judged by ours. And ironically, as soon as Chavez
                won in free elections again, the U.S. government kept
                referring to him as a “dictator” to justify its plans to
                overthrow him.</p>
              <p>But Chavez got elected because he had a program--social
                services for the poor, free health care, and challenging
                Yankee Imperialism. As the New York Times reported,</p>
              <p>“In office, he upended the political order at home and
                abroad. Inspired by Simon Bolivar, the mercurial
                Venezuelan aristocrat who led South America’s 19<sup>th</sup>
                Century Wars of independence, Mr. Chavez sought to unite
                the region and erode Washington’s influence.”  In a 2006
                speech to the United Nations he said, ‘The hegemonic
                pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk
                the very survival of the human species,” In the same
                speech, he called President George W. Bush “the devil.”
                (Note that “the devil” remarks are repeated endlessly, a
                good thing in itself, but his context of the U.S. Empire
                is of course left out by the journalists of the U.S.
                Empire.)</p>
              <p>As Simon Romero continues in the New York Times: “For
                years, he succeeded in curbing U.S. influence…Fidel
                Castro was not only an ally but also an inspiration.  He
                forged a Bolivarian alliance with some of Latin
                America’s energy exporting nations like Ecuador and
                Bolivia, and applauded when they expelled U.S.
                ambassadors, as he had done. He asserted greater control
                of Venezuela’s economy by nationalizing dozens of
                foreign-owned assets, including oil projects controlled
                by Exxon-Mobil and other large American corporations. 
                Though he met opposition at home, he enjoyed broad
                support. He did this in part by going into the slums to
                establish health clinics staffed by Cuban doctors and
                state-run stores
                selling subsidized food.  These and other social welfare
                programs made the poor feel included in a society that
                had long ignored them.”<br>
                <br>
                Sadly, as we go back to Los Angeles, for now (“Por
                ahora! As Chavez explained”) neither Wendy Greuel nor
                Eric Garcetti are running on a “social welfare state not
                the police state” campaign. They do not propose free
                medical care or subsidized food and housing—but the
                Strategy Center’s Fight for the Soul of the City does.
                  So, with the Mayoral elections run-off coming up on
                May 21, we are reaching out to candidates Wendy Greuel
                and Eric Garcetti to ask them to support our vision that
                includes:</p>
              <ul>
                <li>Restore one million hours of bus service lower the
                  Monthly pass to $42 on the way to creating a
                  first-class, 24/7, zero emission, free public
                  transportation system based on a 5,000 MTA bus fleet
                  (more than double the current fleet.)</li>
                <li>Restricting auto use, toxic air contaminants, and
                  greenhouse gases by initiating auto free zones, auto
                  free rush hours, reducing auto and truck traffic, and
                  expansion of freeway buses.</li>
                <li>Stopping police sweeps of LA schools, eliminating
                  police from any role in school discipline, and
                  reversing LAPD’s decision to put 600 “police patrols”
                  inside schools.</li>
                <li>Reducing, not expanding the size of the police force
                  and the overall police budget. </li>
              </ul>
              <p>We know there cannot be “free” elections when the
                corporations control our society and the electoral
                process. But we are asking candidates Greuel and
                Garcetti to consider our alternative to their soulless
                city based on private profit and the interests of the
                corporatizing, policing, privatizing, and polluting
                classes.  We are building a movement in Los Angeles that
                is based on the Black/Latino strategic alliance. We want
                to encourage a national urban insurgency in alliance
                with the movements of the peoples and nations of the
                Third World--as we continue to Fight for the Soul of the
                Cities—from Los Angeles to Caracas!</p>
              <p>Eric Mann is the director of the Labor/Community
                Strategy Center, the host of KPFK’s Voices from the
                Frontlines, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10440&qid=467026">www.voicesfromfrontlines</a>
                and author of Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities of
                the Successful Organizer, the Spanish language edition
                of which, <em>Camino Para Progresistas</em>, is now
                available from the Strategy Center, 213-387-2800.</p>
              <p><span style="font-size:16px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10439&qid=467026">please
                    post comments here.</a></span></p>
              <p><span style="font-size:16px;">you can also email Eric
                  with your comment at: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
                    href="mailto:eric@ericmannspeaks.com">eric@ericmannspeaks.com</a></span></p>
              <p> </p>
            </td>
          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>
      <h3 style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(51,
        51, 51); line-height: 26px; font-family:
        Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Voices from the Frontlines</strong>
        airs every Tuesday from 4-5pm PST on KPFK 90.7 FM</h3>
      <h3 style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(51,
        51, 51); line-height: 26px; font-family:
        Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10441&qid=467026"
          style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"
          target="_blank">Click here to listen live</a></h3>
      <h2><span style="font-weight: bolder; font-size: 16px;
          text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);
          font-style: normal; font-family:
          Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal;">missed
          a show? find Us Online! </span><br>
        <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; color:
          rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; font-family:
          Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our shows are now being
          archived online! If you missed our past shows, you can find
          them at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10442&qid=467026">VoicesFromFrontlines.com.</a></span></h2>
      <table style="margin-right: 10px;" width="100" height="133"
        align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
        <tbody>
          <tr>
            <td><img moz-do-not-send="true" alt=""
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/images/ericmann_VFTFL.JPG"
                style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin:
                10px; float: left;"></td>
          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>
      <!--end host portrait-->
      <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51,
        51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
        Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Eric
            Mann</strong> </span><font size="2">is a veteran of
          anti-war, labor, and environmental organizing, working
          extensively with Congress of Racial Equality, Students for a
          Democratic Society, and the United Auto Workers. Since 1989,
          he has been the Director of the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10443&qid=467026">Labor/Community
            Strategy Center.</a> He is the author of seven books and two
          films on social movements and organizing theory, including his
          most recent book,<em> Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities
            of the Successful </em><em>Organizer.  </em></font></p>
      <p style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51,
        51); line-height: 24px; font-family:
        Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>His
            work can be found at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10444&qid=467026">VoicesFromFrontlines.com</a>.</strong> </span>
        <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10445&qid=467026"><img
            moz-do-not-send="true" alt=""
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/Facebook-Buttons-1-10-.jpg"
            style="width: 31px; height: 31px;"></a>     <a
          moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10446&qid=467026"><img
            moz-do-not-send="true" alt=""
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/Twitter.jpg"
            style="width: 30px; height: 30px;"></a>     <a
          moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=10447&qid=467026"><img
            moz-do-not-send="true" alt=""
src="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/sites/strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/LinkedIn.jpg"
            style="width: 30px; height: 30px;"></a><br>
         </p>
      <p style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-style:
        normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size:
        12px; line-height: 18px; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch:
        normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="2"><span
            style="color:#000000;"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica,
                sans-serif">Voices From the Frontlines</font></strong>
            is dedicated to helping reconstruct a U.S. and world Left.
            The guests on <em>Voices </em>are strategists, tacticians
            and leaders of on-the-ground social movements. Our goal is
            to develop a group of activist listeners who will pressure
            elected officials, attend movement events, march in the
            streets, join organizations, and help to build the movement
            against racism and
            empire.</span></font></p>
      <p style="font-size: 11px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family:
        Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span
            style="color:#000000;">For comments or more information:
            (213) 387-2800 </span><a moz-do-not-send="true"
            href="mailto:eric@ericmannspeaks.com" target="_blank">eric@ericmannspeaks.com</a></font></p>
      <table>
        <tbody>
          <tr>
            <td style="padding: 5px 20px 20px 32px;" valign="top"
              bgcolor="#ffffff">
              <hr noshade="noshade">
              <p style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;
                color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 12px;">
                <span style="font-family:
                  Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51,
                  51); font-size: 12px;">
                  <br>
                </span></p>
              <div class="location vcard"><span class="adr"><span
                    class="street-address">3780 Wilshire Blvd.</span><br>
                  <span class="extended-address">Suite 1200</span><br>
                  <span class="locality">Los Angeles</span>, <span
                    class="region">CA</span> <span class="postal-code">90010</span></span></div>
              <br>
              <br>
              If you want to stop receiving all emails from Strategy
              Center lists, click <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://strategycenter.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/mailing/optout?reset=1&jid=1291&qid=467026&h=d18a5cf482fdeff5">here.</a><br>
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