[mgj-discuss] LIBERATING DEMOCRACY FROM WASHINGTON SPIN: A TEACH IN ON LEBANON

[Dan Beeton]

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LIBERATING DEMOCRACY FROM WASHINGTON SPIN: 
 
A TEACH IN ON LEBANON 
 
Sunday, April 3
1:00 - 3:00pm
 
Provisions Library
1611 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC
(one block from Dupont Circle Metro)
 
$5 donation suggested; no one turned away
 
The Bush administration is marketing the developments in Lebanon as a manifestation of the US's disastrous occupation of Iraq. The US media is parroting the administration and reporting on the "democratic" movement in Lebanon without any historical context. This intervention by the US is feeding sectarian divisions in Lebanon as demonstrated by recent turmoil there. Furthermore, western and Lebanese opportunists linked with the neo-conservative agenda in the US are using the recent mass protests to push through their plan of weakening the Lebanese resistance that had expelled Israel from a 22-year occupation.
 
We invite you to join speakers from the region to dialogue on the critical developments in the Lebanon beyond the sound and fury of the Bush Administration and its parroting media.
 
"Freedom and democracy need to be liberated from Bush's deadly embrace and returned to the movements of the Middle East that have been struggling for these goals for decades. They have a story of their own to finish."
 
                                                - Naomi Kline in a recent editorial on Lebanon
 
SPEAKERS: 
 
Bassam Haddad is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at St. Joseph’s University and Visiting Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. He serves as Editor of the Arab Studies Journal (www.arabstudiesjournal.com), a peer-reviewed research publication. Bassam is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad  (www.aboutbaghdad.com). He is currently directing a film series on "Arabs and Terrorism."
 
Bilal El-Amine is the founding editor of Left Turn magazine. He is a longtime Palestine solidarity activist. He is returning this month to Lebanon where he was born and raised.
 
Sponsored by Left Turn, www.leftturn.org