NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION CONVERGENCE AT THE HALLIBURTON SHAREHOLDER’S MEETING ; May 18 : Houston Indymedia

NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION CONVERGENCE AT THE HALLIBURTON SHAREHOLDER’S MEETING COME TO HOUSTON MAY 14 – MAY 18, 2005

*FESTIVAL OF RESISTANCE * NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION * STREET THEATER*

George W. Bush and former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney to support the ongoing war and occupation have served billions upon billions of dollars in no-bid contracts on a silver platter to Halliburton. As a result, they have deprived the children and civilians in Iraq of a viable, independent future. Furthermore, the billions lining Halliburton's pockets detract and weaken desperately needed social services here at home.
Halliburton’s operations are essential to the continuing US presence in Iraq and forcing their withdrawal would shut down parts and motives of the U.S. occupation. An aggressive, relentless and innovative campaign will create an economic, political and social climate that will ultimately force Halliburton from Iraq. That campaign has begun and the time to act is NOW!

We've petitioned, held vigils, marched and cried out. Little has changed. The need for Direct Action has come and Houston is a perfect place to begin. On May 18th we will descend upon the Halliburton Shareholder's meeting from around the country en masse and put our bodies and creative resistance to use as a beginning to an end.

Here is some of what is planned and what you need to know to come to Houston:

PUPPETISTA MOVING CARNIVAL OF RESISTANCE, Saturday May 14, 11am at the Art Car Parade. When Puppets are Outlawed, Only Outlaws will have Puppets!
We'll rally at the Southwest corner of Allen Parkway and Montrose with a
spirited group of puppetistas, stilt walkers, musicians, hymn singers,
dancers, radical cheerleaders and anarcho-artists. Bring drums,
tamborines, noise-makers, pig snouts, costumes and your own vision of
cardboard chaos.

ACTION/SKILLSHARE CAMP MAY 15 NOON Happening at Superstitious Studios, 1719 Live Oak
Activist skill shares and trainings.
Non-Violent Direct Action--Houston Global Awareness
Knowing your rights--TBA,
Strategy/People Power--David Solnit (editor of Globalize Liberation,
puppeteer, direct action organizer of Nov 30, 1999 WTO Shutdown in Seattle
and March 20, 2003 Financial District Shutdown in San Francisco)
Media/Storytelling--SmartMeme Project(messaging/media collective)
Anti-oppression--Houston Global Awareness
Arts Organizing--Paper Machete Collective (local arts collective)
Community Building-- editor of the Alarm (local zine focusing on Houston's
Radical community)

FILM SCREENING AT RICE MEDIA CENTER Monday, May 16, 8pm
Rice Media and Houston Indymedia to present films on war profiteering,
Iraq and Fallujah.
Films to include:Globalization at Gunpoint: The Economics of Occupation, Testimonies From Fallujah and Breakfast in Baghdad
Filmmaker David Martinez and Pratap Chatterjee of Corpwatch will lead a
Q&A session after the screening. Rice Cinema is located on the Rice
University Campus at entrance #8: Univeristy Blvd. and Stockton Dr.

TEACH-IN Tuesday, May 17 7:30 PM, Art Car Museum, 140 Heights Blvd.
Teach-in on Halliburton featuring Pratap Chatterjee (Corpwatch, author of
Iraq Inc. and forthcoming book on Halliburton), Medea Benjamin (co-founder
of Global Exchange and Code Pink), a former Halliburton employee
(tentative) and Aaron Glantz (Free Speech Radio News)

MAY 19 STOP THE WAR PROFITEERS MASS NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION
We are planning a large scale, well-organized, high visibility action to tell Halliburton that there will be no more business as usual on Wednesday May 18. 8am rally at the greenspace at Crawford and Lamar. Cosponsored and supported by the Houston Global Awareness, Code Pink, Democracy Rising, Latinos Por La Paz, Maryknoll House, Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Peace Action-Houston, Austin Spokescouncil, Witness for Peace, Anti-Racist Action, Progressive Action Alliance, Louisiana Activist Network, Harris County Green Party, Progressive Worker's Organizing Committee, Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane, School of the America's Watch, ISO, North Texas for Justice and Peace, amongst others

WHY NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION AND STREET THEATER? It is time to raise the social and political cost to those who aim to increase the destruction and misery caused by corporate globalization and the war in Iraq, as movements in other parts of the world have. Nonviolent direct action can force Halliburton’s war profiteering onto the front burner of public discussion and coupled with high visibility street theater, will get national and international alternative and mainstream media coverage. The time is ripe for massive nonviolent direct action against Halliburton, war profiteering and the war in Iraq it serves. Demonstrations and protest have been an essential part of every successful social change movement in North American history, but the corporate media too easily dismisses those we want to engage, marginalizes them and bores the audience.

Street theater used as a tool for making social change can break into people's consciousness, communicate powerfully and capture the imagination of participants and observers. Well-planned nonviolent direct action can intervene into a process that we have been left out of, showing the depth of our opposition and forcing the issues onto the public agenda. There is an incredible opportunity to use street theater-- art, dance, music, giant puppets, graffiti art and theater-- and nonviolent direct action to simplify and dramatize the issues of corporate globalization and to develop and spread new and creative forms resistance. This will help catalyze desperately needed mass movements in the US capable of
challenging war, war profiteering and corporate globalization and making radical change and social revolution.

ORGANIZE YOUR COMMUNITY The Halliburton Shareholder’s meeting offers an new opportunity to organize in our communities, build alliances with other groups and communities impacted by the war in Iraq, and help build a movement capable of standing up to the existing economic and political system at the root of our problems. Here is a brainstorm of ideas of what you can do in your community:
* Form, join or activate a local group to organize around war
profiteering. Publicize your meeting/s. This is a chance to work with local groups affected by the war, war profiteering etc.
* Outreach to your community: get out flyers/posters, put in newsletters and zines, speak to groups, announce at events, write letters to
editor/guest editorials, send out calendar announcements
* Plan a public event about Halliburton and war profiteering (speakers, video, music, performance..), organize a nonviolent direct action training with local trainers, or street theater making workshop, or a teach-in. Ask other local groups to cosponsor.
* Fundraise to help cover costs, especially for those who need $ help for transport.
* Plan transportation to Houston: organize drivers and passengers, share renting of a van, ask to borrow vehicles, check out trains and buses. * Organize yourselves into affinity groups (5-20 person self reliant action groups-- the basic planning and decision-making bodies for the action)to take care of each other and stick together. Pick a name. Make a
banner/puppet. Take a nonviolent direct action training together.
* Plan a simultaneous solidarity event/action on November 30 for those who can't come to Houston.
* Make a public send-off event out of leaving, leave as a caravan, send press release to and call local press (offer to keep them updated and call from Houston--"Local residents protest/arrested at Halliburton
Shareholder’s meeting")
* Plan a follow up meeting after the shareholder’s meeting to celebrate, take care of any legal or other loose ends, discuss sticking together as a local group or affinity group to keep working to overthrow the war profiteers.

ACTION GUIDELINES All participants in this action are asked to agree to these action guidelines. Having this basic agreement will allow people from many backgrounds, movements and beliefs to work together for this action. They are not philosophical or political requirements placed upon you or judgements about the validity of some tactics over others. These guidelines are basic agreements that create a basis for trust, so we can work together for this action and know what to expect from each other.
1. Houston Global Awareness is a non-violent organization.
2. We will carry out this action in a manner that reflects the world we want to create, and act in the service of what we love.
3. We envision a non-violent world, we will use means consistent with this vision. we will carry no weapons to our action.
4. We will act with respect for the local community and in a way that encourages all to join us.
5. We will protect and care for each other in this action. we will stand in solidarity against police and state repression, even with those whose choices differ from ours, and work to ensure our tactics do not result in the endangerment of our sister and brother activists or people not participating in the demonstrations.
6. We recognize that people of color, poor people, lgbt's, people of limited mobility and immigrant groups are at greater risk of police harassment, arrest and abuse. we respect that people may wish or need to have safer spaces to express themselves and we will act accordingly.
7. We will use common sense at our actions. We will bring no drugs or alcohol unless for medical purposes.

JAIL/LEGAL SUPPORT We will encourage and facilitate jail and court support for the mass action. This includes: Distributing information about and giving trainings on navigating the legal system; Setting up spokescouncil meetings to plan support; providing legal observers at the action, PROVIDING A LEGAL SUPPORT TEAM FOR POST ACTION NEEDS.

LEGAL
We will have legal support for those arrested at the mass action through arraignment: this includes legal and solidarity briefings, and lawyers who can make jail visits.

AFFINITY GROUPS: Everyone participating in the action is asked to form or join an affinity group (a self reliant action group of 5-20 people, which includes some support people who do not risk arrest and are committed to do support before during and after arrest). Affinity groups are the basic planning and decision making bodies for the mass action. Form an affinity group with your friends, people from your town, neighborhood or workplace, from your organization or community, with people you share some other affinity, interest or identity with. Two or more affinity groups that have something in common, or want to do similar actions should work together as a "cluster" of affinity groups.
Action Spokescouncil: Leading up to the action participants will
coordinate the action and jail/court solidarity through an Action
Spokescouncil, with spokespeople chosen by each affinity group responsible for carrying their groups plans, opinions and decisions to the
spokescouncil and carrying information and decisions back to their group. Agenda items and proposal will be available before each spokescouncil so affinity groups can discuss them. We encourage mass action participants to try arrive by Monday May 16, or as early as they can on Tuesday May 17 to get briefed and to coordinate.

NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TRAINING: All action participants will be encouraged to take a nonviolent direct action training to prepare
themselves for both the action and for jail and court solidarity to deal with the legal system. Trainings are already being set up in many local communities and will be available in Houston during the week leading up to and the day and evening before the action. Trainings are also happening on a weekly basis in Houston. Please contact Houston_da@riseup.net for details.

HOUSING
If you have any connections in or near Houston where you can stay, please pursue them. Houston Global Awareness is working on getting housing for out of town activists. Please contact 09Jilane20@ev1.net

NEEDS:
* Housing: For Houston area people: can you put up an out of town
activists before and/or during the shareholder’s meeting mobilization ? Please contact 09Jilane20@ev1.net
* Puppet supplies: Backpack frames, bamboo and wooden poles (6 feet and up), large pieces of rip stop nylon other water resistant fabric, white sheets, latex (water-based) house paint (bright, not pastel colors-- like red, yellow blue, green and black only).
* Food to share: call for specifics
* Money: we need money for outreach materials, puppet supplies, phone calls, mailing, legal support and office space. Please send what you can. Make checks to "Houston Global Awareness" and contact hgac@riseup.net about a mailing address.

Houston Global Awareness is a community based anti-war and global justice group. Since it’s founding in July 2001, Houston Global Awareness has organized hundreds of protests and educational events around the Houston area on war profiteering, the war in Iraq and corporate globalization. We are organizing and coordinating nonviolent direct action and large scale street theater-- giant puppets, dance, drums, music, spoken word, and graffiti art at the Halliburton Shareholder’s meeting in Houston, May 14 to May 18. A NEW WORLD IS POSSIBLE and we are part of a global movement that is rising up to make it happen. Join us!

HOUSTON GLOBAL AWARENESS 832-725-6220 houston_da@riseup.net
http://www.houstonglobalawareness.org