((Hi contributors: please write your responses directly into the text so we could try to develop this together. It would be too much work to try to integrate everyone's ideas. So if you want to add or change something, maybe just write your initials in brackets before and aftr your changes. Kinda a wiki thing, gell.))

In November we plan to have a strategy dinner at Gus'. Charles is going to prepare Chinese finger food (dim sum) and we want to invite some "outsiders" and do some networking. Charles had the idea after all the active email discussions going on about parecon. Mostly Mark, Charles, Reinhold Klett und Fabian Betz exchanged ideas on social activism and parecon.
Here are some thoughts on how this evening might be designed. Basically there will be great food but it won't be a sit-down-at-table type of thing. Rather people should be encouraged to get into discussions. Of course we can't tell people what to talk about but maybe in the invitation we could make some suggestions:
- What are your basic ideas about how to change our society? What are the basic "evils" of our day and age? ((I think the attendees will all agree that there are some serious problems with the way our society is organized and some major things need to change.)
- What can the individual do to make a difference? How can we encourage self-determination/empowerment/activism?
- What can we do at the local level to move towards such common goals as citizen involvement (Bürgerbeteiligung), grass-roots democracy, cooperation, solidarity

We would like to organize a workshop on economic alternatives. Topics could range from parecon to local currencies to local first (small-mart revolution). Here is what it could look like:
- one or two day event
- small introductory lectures on a few central topics
- focus on working groups
- summary at end and planning next steps
- goals: help people find groups in the area in which they can get involved, setup system where groups in the region can network
Possible topics:
- parecon and libertarian socialism (Charles)
- Bürgergeld (ZAK)
- Small-Mart: Penny?
- Military and capitalism, attac?? Globalisierungskritiker
- local currencies (Reinhold Klett)
- Global Marshall Plan
- Alternative Wohnformen (Axel Burkhart (Burgi) von der Schelling (burgi@schellingstrasse.de): he has a presentation prepared on Wohnprojekte, Networking)
Goals:
- creating a vision
- helping get more people involved
- encouraging dialogue
- encouraging long-lasting, substantive change through local action
- what can be done at the community level to further global goals of economic justice?
- how can more people get involved?
- how can we reach a wider sector of the population?
- common goals of attendees?
-- strengthen local economies
-- decrease dependence on corporations
-- increase control of individual over his/her life (consumption, work, political life)
-- increase economic justice
- networking
Guidelines:
- topics have to be focused on socio-economic issues
- in the workgroup segments it has to be a priority that as many people as possible take part in the discussions. It has to be avoided that we only have experts lecturing on their topics.
- By giving people the opportunity to speak themselves we radically increase the chances of them becoming empowered to get involved.


Questions:
We we like to adopt the principles of the World Social Forum (https://www.ussf2007.org/en/wsf_charter)
How could we get others involved in the preparation?

Now that Agustin is out of the brig and possibly even heading home soon, we will soon be considering what our next project will be. There are certainly enough issues. Charles Yee will be honing our minds for economic issues this weekend. The environment is all over the press. The war in Iraq rages on. Ideas for themes are easy to generate, plans to attack them are a bit harder to formulate, but certainly myriad.

I would like to encourage everyone to keep keep a list of what you think we could take on next. Whenever you get an idea, jot it down. Make your ideas as concrete as possible. Then, at our next meeting - perhaps some time in May - we can compare notes. The way I see it, there are two basic project types or options:

Type A: making a concrete difference in a small, personal or local issue

Type B: adding our small voice to a larger national or global project

The Aguayo thing was "type A" project. He is nationally and even internationally relevant, but our contribution was about helping him help himself. In an indirect way we may have had a larger-scale effect by freeing his resources in the coming months to do some speaking, (giving him money, some moral support, peace of mind, etc.). We also generated some local or regional awareness.

Doing the dishes this morning I heard a really good interview (the April 22nd show at http://www.will.uiuc.edu/am/mediamatters/default.htm)
about getting a grass-roots movement going within the Democratic party to win elections while at the same time actually being "progressive," playing to the Democratic base. If we were to get involved in something like that, it would be an example of what I would call a type B project. Getting on board an already-existing campaign for media reform, for impeachment, for the prevention of global warming, for living wages, for universal health care, gay marriage, etc., would also be type B.

Which approach is more "rational" in terms of global, long-term effect could be debated at length. I think type A projects will always be more fun and satisfying, however. They certainly give those involved a sense of empowerment.