Michelle is eating a lot....

so she can stay warm! She is going to build a protective layer of fat, also if she gains weight she will be able to beat up Rob. She saw this bit of snow one day after Rob's 26th birthday (Oct.13) on top of a mountain in the Adirondacks. She is not exactly thriving in the cold weather, but she is trying to be tough.

After several failed attempts, Rob has been successful in making 18 bottles of beer. If it tastes good we are going to start a business. What should we name our label?

Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai, a woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for starting a reforestation program in Kenya, spoke last week at my school. She has an amazing story. An article about her is in our local newspaper today...
Wangari story

Oaxaca update

The government and the protestors have been in negotiations for about 3.5 weeks. There is gradually escalating violence against the protestors (who remain unarmed) by unidentified groups.

A good source for Oaxaca news: http://www.narconews.com/

La lucha sigue en Oaxaca

For my presentation in my world culture class (per Mathieu's request) I did a study of the political identity of the protestors who have taken over the city of Oaxaca and kicked out the governor. Here is the intro to my presentation:

"Every year in May, school teachers from across Oaxaca state gather in the capital city. They set up camp in the central plaza in front of the governor's palace and go on strike for several weeks. They usually negotiate a small increase in salary. This has been happening for 26 years. This year, on June 14, the governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz ordered the state police to forcibly remove the strikers. The police attacked in the middle of the night, with weapons, tear gas, and a helicopter. But the strikers fought back, and the next day they retook control of the central plaza and drove the governmental employees and the police out of the city center.

Various groups from Oaxaca joined the teachers, and overnight they grew in number from 70,000 to about 400,000. Over 350 civic, social, and political organizations joined them. Two days later they held an assembly in which they formed the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), declared the Oaxacan government illegitimate, and started drafting a new constitution for a government of the people."

Here are a number of slides of the protests and the banners the banners and posters displayed.



Here's a quote from the APPO website: "We understood that we had to put aside our differences to unite against the common enemy of all Mexicans at this time: Fascism. Fascism, which in Oaxaca is represented by Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, ex-governor of Oaxaca."

They are willing to negotiate with the government on everything, except the non-negotiable removal of the governor. Yesterday there was an official negotiation between the Interior Secretary and members of the PRD representing APPO's interests. Fox has brought a force of 20,000 military troops to the hills and towns surrounding Oaxaca, so everyone is very nervous. National PRD leaders are traveling to Oaxaca to act as human shields in case of a violent attack. Groups of protestors are holding 72 hour vigils in the central plaza. Everyone hopes for a resolution without violence.