LVEJO - El Cilantro Issue No. 11

Planting the seeds of revolution...let your voice be heard

Issue # 13, Volume 2 - Fall 2007 Issue

Download Fall Newsletter as Adobe PDF
Email us at El_cilantro@lvejo.org
Planting the seeds of revolution...let your voice be heard

This issue’s "Quote of the month"
Global Warming Puzzle
CONCACAF SEMIFINALS!!!
Word Search Anyone?
Bullies, Bullies
Art by Bricia
Ozzfest 2007
YOU READY FOR THIS?
YOUTH LAB CHICAGO 2007 @ COLUMBIA COLLEGE
Facts And Random Thoughts (FARTS)
LVEJO Youth Fundraiser at Black Hole for U.S. Social Reform
BP: Beyond Pollution
Gangs in our community are so dangerous...
Little May's Adventures (Comic drawing)
No ofrecen la publicidad de una “green card” o la ciudanania.
Gardening: A project funded by the a grant from the Crib Collective
PLAYPEN PRECAUTION
CHEETOS
USSF 2007
Weed: Good or Bad?

Global Warming

CONCACAF SEMIFINALS!!!

On Thursday, June 21 the CONCACAF semifinals were played at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. The teams that played were USA vs. Canada and Mexico vs Guadeloupe. In the first game USA vs. Canada, the Americans were playing aggressively and had lots of scoring chances. In some moments in the match Canada gave the US defense a scare when they almost scored twice that came of mistakes and lack of communication between the US players. Toward the end of the first half, the US hit the net twice. In the second half the game, both teams got really physical.
They were shoving, pushing and fighting with each other. Toward the end of the game, the Canadians scored in the 77 minute which made the game closer and more interesting. At the end, The US won and earned at trip to the final.

In the second game of the night, Mexico played Guadeloupe. This game was played evenly. Mexico had a lot of scoring chances throughout the first half. There were several great saves made from the Guadeloupe goalkeeper. In the 80th minute, Mexico scored a wonderful goal by Pavel Pardo. When the final whistle blew, the fans celebrated loudly with the players and on the way home from the game.

Bullies, Bullies
By: B2

Have you ever been threatened or encountered by a bully? Many kids have. There are many reasons why kids are picked on at school and why bullies act the way, they do. Bullying is a big problem. It can make kids feel assaulted to hurt people. Bullies hit, kick, or push to hurt people. They might also use words to label, threaten, tease, or terrify people. It affects children in different ways. Dealing with bullies can make kids feel sick. Bullying makes, kids not want to go outside or perhaps not go to school. Bullying can make school a place of fear and can lead to more violence for everyone. Why do they act the way that way? Well some bullies are looking for attention. Perhaps they want to feel powerful and tough. Other bullies come from familias where everyone is angry and shouting all the time. They do not realize that they are hurting people and they obviously do not care. The best things to do when dealing with a bully is stand tall and brave and not give the bully a chance. Have confidence in yourself. Get a buddy and be a buddy, look out for each other. A smart thing to do is do not bully back and do not show your feelings or preferable tell an adult if needed.

Ozzfest 2007

Ozzfest 2007 is going to be very exciting. Not only is it free and will have awesome bands attending, but they recently added Devildriver to the second stage. They will be playing with other metal bands such as Hatebreed, In This Moment, Behemoth, etc. Therefore, this means the second stage will have lots of mosh pits and circle pits.

For the main stage, there will be 4 famous bands playing. They are Lamb Of God, Static-X, Nile, and of course Ozzy Osborne. Fans will definitely be going wild. I know for sure that Lamb Of God will be making fans in the lawn section do a huge “walls of death.”

Ozzfest is on August 10; it starts at noon and ends at midnight. It will be taking place in Tinley Park, IL. Tinley Park is about and hour away from Chicago. There will be thousands of fans attending Ozzfest this year. In addition, the weather will be nice. Devildriver will be playing music from their new album called “the last kind words”. It was released on July 31. This is the first year that Ozzfest is free.

YOUTH LAB CHICAGO 2007 @ COLUMBIA COLLEGE

Director: Mindy Faber
Chicago Participants: Andrés Quiroz, Lori Moody, Marisol Becerra, Cortnee Griffith, Melissa Jordan, Sadia Nawab, Seemi Choudry, Ameenah Muhammad, Kevin Eme, Zane Scheuerlein, Spencer Fitzsimmons, and Erick Lobo.

YOUTH LAB is a two-week summer workshop hosted by OPEN YOUTH
NETWORKS where 23 TEENS from CHICAGO (USA) and BARBADOS learn
to use MEDIA to spread SOCIAL AWARENESS through a virtual contact zone.
I had the OPPORTUNITY to take this workshop and LEARN concepts such as
shooting VIDEO, camera angles, stills, EDITING, and uploading our ORIGINAL
works on the web. My EXPERIENCE in YOUTH LAB has been an EPIPHANY
for me to pursue projects using media as a tool to EDUCATE and spread the word
across the GLOBE of the variety of issues that happen in
...MY COMMUNITY, CITY, COUNTRY, OUR ENVIRONMENT.
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE: http://www.youthlab.net and view our VIDEOS
that cover the themes of segregation, DIVERSITY, racism, tourism, and our most
talked about video titled “HATE WORDS WE HATE.” By the way...we are on
YOUTUBE too! Just search for “YOUTHLAB.”

ENJOY! ^_^
- MINI-SOL

.
Domestic Violence Statistics by Kim Lopez

• Nearly 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women
• Women ages of 16-24 in dating relationships experience the highest rate of domestic violence and sexual assault
• 26% of pregnant teens reported being physically abused by their boyfriends -- about half of them said the battering began or intensified after he learned of her pregnancy
• An average of 28% of high school and college students experience dating
violence at some point
• Black women experience intimate partner violence at a 35% higher rate than white women
• 40-60% of men who abuse women also abuse children
• It is estimated that every 9 seconds, a woman is battered
• Research suggests that wife-beating results in more injuries that require medical treatment than rape, auto accidents, and muggings combined.
• Violence will occur at least once in two-thirds of all marriages
• At least 42% of women who are murdered, are killed by their partners
• 63% of boys, ages 11 to 20, arrested for homicide, have killed their mother’s abuser

For more information:

Little Village Community Development Corporation (LVCDC)
2756 S. Harding Avenue - Chicago, IL 60623-4407 - Phone: 773-542- 9233

• Mujeres Latinas En Accion

o Domestic Violence Satellite Office
4842 W. Cermak Road – Cicero,IL 60804 – (708)222-1675
o Program Office
1823 W. 17th street – Chicago, IL 60608 – (312)226-1544

LVEJO Youth Fundraiser at Black Hole

Click on picture for full sized view

LVEJO's Youth Group hosted a Break dancing Competition in June of 2007 to raise money to attend the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta. The event was hosted at the Black Hole on 26th Street and was a great success with break dancers of all ages and skill level. 1st place won a $100 and youth came out from all over the city. Local D.J. and hip hop groups also performed to keep the party live.

LVEJO Youth brainstorming for El Cilantro

. .
.

Gangs in our community are so dangerous for kids that are just 7 and older. In La Villita there are kings and 26 and those the most know. Kids start getting recruited at a young age. Kings and 26 have there own territory, and if they pass the boarders they will most likely get killed. All these young boys and girls start messing their lives, by getting into fights and doing drugs. I have seen some of my friends involved in gangs. One of them almost got killed for wearing
gang colors. Why? Because one of the cops took him to the kings’ territory so he got beaten. After that, he stopped getting involved in gangs. Now he is so happy because he is not involved in gangs anymore!! What we could do to try to lessen gang violence is to expand our organization on both sides of the neighborhood and convince youth to get involved with the community and try to keep them off the streets!!

no ofrecen la publicidad de

Continued from page...

no ofrecen la publicidad de
una “green card” o la ciudanania.
Ademas para puder
quedarse y trabajar en el
pais que ahora es su hogar,
tendrian que pagar multasexurbitantes
y ser forzados
a aprobar un eamen de historia
estada duniense que
nisiquiera aprueban muchos.
De mi opinion yo no estoy de
aquerdo con esta propuesta
continuara..... Karen Zelaya

PLAYPEN PRECAUTION

The Other Day I was on myspace. I saw a bulletin and clicked on it. It was something about what people have found in ball pits in McDonald’s all over the country. They have found needles, snakes, feces and even spidenrs. But what caught my attention was the story of a 3 year old boy who died due to a syringe that contained heroine. Later that day he died. An autopsy revealed that he died of a drug overdose. I started to research these stories on Google, and was expecting to find a bunch of advertisements for purchasing ball pits and playpens. Instead, I found articles about how mothers have found HIV positive needles. So if you have little ones in your house, please keep them away from ball pits and playpens. Also, be careful when putting gas in your vehicle or when going to the movies; people have reported finding syringes on the handles of the nozzles and in their theater seats.

A private editorial, not necssesarily supported by LVEJO or our sponsors. We do respect 1st Amendment rights - for Everyone.
Weed: Good or Bad?

This is a tough argument . . .In ancient times, Aztecs thought that marijuana was a way to communicate with the God’s, they thought it was the flesh and blood of the gods and considered it a holy sacrament. Now, it is illegal (in my opinion) because it is a street drug and the government is not getting any of the distribution money, but that is not the point. I think weed is like drinking. Casual drinking and casual puffing are o.k.; they relax people, and if you have no evil intentions (such as offering it to a younger boy/girl with the intention of raping them later on) then by all means go ahead. What I find wrong, though, is when you let it get to a point where it starts fucking up with your head and you start needing it to function. I was recently listening to a really good song and it was talking about getting blown, and then all of the sudden the singer says “How the hell’d you think I came up with songs like these” and I’m like “I don’t know, pure talent?” I found that shit insulting. It seemed to me like he was saying he could not write any of his songs without being high, and the way things are right now,
one person can turn into the stereotype for everyone else. Now I’m fucking worried that people are gonna read my pieces going “ Wow, this shit is amazing, she must’ve been high!” Personally, I can write mind-altering pieces without being under the influence of anything. I’m open minded, though, I don’t think it’s “bad” to be high. Shit, Bob Marley wrote some GREAT fucking shit, and he was stoned most of the time. All I’m saying is that if being on weed all the time works out for you, great, it just doesn’t work out for me.

-Staggmanic_
frenzy@yahoo.com

Download Fall Newsletter as Adobe PDF - Email us at El_cilantro@lvejo.org

Art, Local News
Bullies and Gangs
and much more!!

Interested in showcasing your work in
El Cilantro? Email us at El_cilantro@lvejo.org
Let your voice be heard!!!!!
Litlle Village Enviornmental Justice Organization
Address: 2856 S. Millard
Phone: (773) 762-6991 / Fax: (773) 762-6993

This issue’s quote:
“People seem not to see that their
opinion of the world is also a confession of character”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Word Search Anyone?

Art by Bricia

YOU READY FOR THIS?

by: phoenix_ri5ing@yahoo.com

This all will change, and not by some magic force, rather the people will reach
that all feared breaking point and react, I think the challenge is going to be finding a way to take that energy and putting it into effective means (as in not
watching major cities simply descend into rioting.)

What I think about now quite a bit is that:
I see a revolution of sorts coming from all sides and political spectrums and
even a-political spectrums. I see people whom would normally not even associate in the same room working together to achieve a specific end by a specific means.
The problem that leaves me wondering greatly is "After the fall, and the inevitable civil war for power ensues, and the multiple factions that once worked together are now ripping each other’s throats out to be the "new kings and queens of this republic"
...Would the American populace not beg for a police state that would in effect
end up being more brutal that the one that currently exists?
...Would the sheep without direction, comfort, or the ability to be complacent
beg for some ultra brutal force to "restore order?"
We must have a vision and a direction to implement, otherwise we are inherently doomed to repeat history. Empire rises>Empire falls through foreign or domestic means>Empire is restored in a similar if not more extreme manner by those same people who advocated the fall.
We cannot go from being the oppressed to being the oppressors, this cannot
be sustained in any realistic manner. The challenge has been set, how long will the masses wait to answer the call?
Hope and truth are great and powerful weapons that we all possess. No human
or weapon can take your hope, no human or weapon can alter what is known to
be truth. The power players have greatly underestimated the sheer power of
the human spirit, no matter how bad things get things will come full circle.
We are alive in quite possibly the most interesting and horrific period in American history.
We must learn to take care if one another, all we have is each other.
We must learn to live and survive Autonomously with one another with no help
from those outside of our autonomous communities. The old ways are becoming new again, these destructive ways that the human race has adopted must be forgotten again. We must end the simple chatter of these ideas and start making the dream a reality.

A message from Hopi Indians:

We have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go
back and tell them that “This is the Hour”. And there are things to be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation? Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community.
Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and so swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold onto the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The Elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above water. See who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all, ourselves.For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey, comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration . We are the ones we have been waiting for.

-The Elders, Oraibi, Arizona, Hopi Nation

YOUTH UNITED FOR DEMOCRACY DIGNITY & JUSTICE (YUDDJ)

LITTLE VILLAGE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION

HERE WE ARE HAVING FUN!!!!!
Sharing a nutritious meal during a break.
Meetings make us hungry!!!!

Looking for individuals willing to volunteer their time to forge economic, environmental and social justice, in order to unite our communities talents, and power to build a society that treats all of us equally: no matter what race, culture, age, or gender we are.

LITTLE VILLAGE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION

WHAT WE DO :

OUR MISSION IS TO WORK WITH OUR FAMILIES AND NEIGHBORS TO IMPROVE LIFE IN LITTLE VILLAGE AND C HICAGO THROUGH DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

WHAT ’S IN IT FOR YOU?

GAIN LEADERSHIP SKILLS BE AN ACTIVIST
FULFILL SERVICE LEARNING REQUIREMENTS
LEARN ABOUT EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
BECOME ELIGLBLE FOR SUMMER INTERNSHIPS
MEET COOL PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE
ONE - ON - ONE HELP WITH COLLEGE APPLICATIONS & SCHOLARSHIPS

WANT TO JOIN OR KNOW MORE INFO ?

STOP BY OUR OFFICE , GIVE US A CALL SHOOT US AN EMAIL

WHERE WE ARE :

2856 S. MILLARD AVE. - CHICAGO , IL 60623-4550

PHONE : 773-762-6991
E MAIL : LVEJOYOUTH @SBCGLOBAL .NET
FAX : 773-762-6993

BP: Beyond Pollution
By: Danielle

“Our products and services contribute to a better quality of life. They provide the freedom to move, to heat, to see. We believe this freedom is inseparable from the responsibility to produce and consume energy in ways that respect both human rights and the natural environment. Maintaining this balance is our life blood.” This is a statement by BP that you can find on their official website. Respecting human rights and the environment is one of their values. Of course
what a corporation says and does are two completely different things. Recently, the decision to let a BP oil refinery in Whiting Indiana dump more ammonia and industrial sludge into the Great Lakes has been made public. Even before this decision BP was already one of the largest polluters of the Great Lakes. BP is allowed to pollute more than they were previously because they claim that they will be opening up 80 new job opportunities. The result is an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge dumped into Lake Michigan every day. “Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish, while sludge is full of concentrated heavy metals (Chicago Tribune)." This is the first time in years that a company will be allowed to dump this much toxic waste into the lake. It seems as if the years of hard work trying to clean up Lake Michigan have been fruitless.

However, they did not get their way as easy as they would have wished. The original proposal was in fact double the amount, which they are now entitled to. Can you imagine 3,168 pounds of ammonia and 9,850 pounds of sludge dumped into Lake Michigan EACH day!? There wouldn’t be any more fish left in the lake and say goodbye to the days at the beach where the water was not as polluted. But thanks to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management we are only getting half the pollution we would have gotten were it up to BP. So much for their respect for the environment. This may not be as bad,compared to the even greater pollution they are causing not only to the Great Lakes but to the earth as well. Their investment in Canadian oil requires a lot of energy trying to get the petroleum out of the globs of oil and incidentally the amount of energy being used can also considerably boost greenhouse gases that are linked to global warming. I’d say that the environment is not as big a value as BP would have you believe.

Facts about BP:
• BP is among Environmental Defense's list of top 100 U.S.
emitters of cancer-causing pollutants into the air, with 150,256 pounds.
• Federal records have shown that BP puts 2 pounds of mercury
into the lake every year. Even tiny drops can harm fish or even
people.
• BP’s flow of wastewater into Lake Michigan is about 21 million
gallons a day.

To sign up and make an effort to stop MORE pollution of the Great
Lakes and help support the ongoing clean up visit this website and
sign the petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BP_Lake_Michigan/

GARDENING:

A project funded by the Youth Grant
from the Crib Collective

CHEETOS
by Jazz
CHEETOS

I’m sure you have eaten Cheetos before. Did you know that over a billion cheetos are sold world wide in one year. HERE is the list and styles of these chips and when they were first made:
• Crunchy Cheetos 1948
• Cheetos Puffs 1971
• Cheese and Bacon Balls 1980s
• Cheetos Paws 1991 (discontinued in 1994)
• Cheetos Cheezy Checkers 1995 (discontinued in 1998)
• Chester's Flamin' Hot Fries 1995
• Flamin' Hot Cheetos 1995
• Crunchy Nacho Cheetos 1996 (discontinued in 1998)
• Cheetos Zig-Zags 1999 (discontinued in 2003)
• Cheetos X's and O's 2000 (discontinued in 2002)
• Cheetos Puffs Twists 2003
• Cool Ranch Cheetos 2003 (discontinued later that year)
• Natural Cheetos Puffs (White Cheddar) 2003
• Baked Cheetos 2004
• Color Changing Cheetos Puffs 2004 (discontinued in late 2005)
• Cheetos Pizza Puffs 2005 (discontinued later that year)
• Flamin' Hot Cheetos con Limón 2005
• Cheetos Holiday Twists 2005 (discontinued in 2006)
• Cheddar Jalapeño Cheetos 2005
• Flamin' Hot Baked Cheetos 2006
• Cheetos Crunchy Twists 2006
• Flamin' Hot Cheetos Puffs 2006
• Cheetos Mix & Move 2007
• Cheetos Asteroids 2007
• Xxtra Flamin' Hot 2007

One of these styles is the most popular. Can you guess which kind it is.They are the Flamin` hot cheetos which are covered in a spicy powder. They may also come as Flamin` Hot con Limon (with lime). A distinguishing feature of snacks in this genre is their tendency to turn the eater's fingers orange or red. That is because powder dyes used to color the corn tubes. In 2005, Holiday Cheetos Twists were “invented”, which were made to turn the eater's tongue green. Currently in product testing is a new Cheetos product called "Cheetos Clean Paws," which is designed to not leave any color or residue on the eater's fingers.Natural Cheetos use organic corn meal, and contain no artificial color, artificial flavor, or preservatives.

These are other kind of cheetos in othe countries:
Australia
• Cheese and Bacon balls. Manufactured by Smiths Australia.
Japan
• Sugar Butter, puffed cheetos snacks are flavored like sugared toast.
India - Varieties of Cheetos sold in India:
• Cheetos Cheesy Masala Balls
• Cheetos Masala Balls (Red and Green Chili flavored)
• Cheetos Spicy Cheese Whirlz
• Cheetos Tangy Loops (Tomato and Red Chili flavored)
Korea - Neither Flamin' Hot Cheetos nor Cheesy Cheetos
is sold in Korea. Koreans instead made different flavors of Cheetos such as:
• Chicken-Flavored Cheetos
• Bulgogi- Flavored Cheetos
• Barbecue-Flavored Cheetos
• Hot & Spicy Cheetos
• Strawberry Cheetos
Mexico - In Mexico, Chester Cheetah is "Chester Cheetos."
• Cheese & Jalapeño Claws Cheetos
• Cheese & Jalapeño & Ham Cheetos
• Cheetos Puff
• Cheetos Twisted
• Cheetos Flamin' Hot
Egypt
• Cheetos Puffs (Smaller Size than the U.S. version, 50 and 100 gm packs).
• "Mini" Cheetos (Looks like small balls of Cheetos. Served in small
thin packs so the consumer eats them directly from pack to mouth).
Peru
• Hamburger flavored Cheetos.
• Hot Dog flavored Cheetos.
In Peru, Cheetos are called by the people as "chizitos".
Resource: www.wikipedia.com

CHEETOS

USSF 2007

In the end of June 8 youth members and two chaperones took the
journey to Atlanta to attend the first national social forum in the U.S..
Here is Danielle Cerda’s reviews on some of the workshops she attended.
Youth Power – I really didn’t like this workshop very much. Unfortunately,
it was part two and the groups that were there did not care
to explain what they were doing or the activities they were all working
on which made it hard to try and participate. However, there were
some very inspiring and excellent speakers that I thought made the
workshop more enjoyable and I felt that they helped me to take something
out of their experiences.

Youth In Power – This workshop was my favorite because the people
made it very interactive. We broke in to separate groups and had a
specific topic to discuss. Then,we got together and shared our ideas
together as a whole. There were many people who are very passionate
on the impacting roles of youth in society. We were able to see how
much in common we all are and how if we banded together could accomplish
many great things.

Mountaintop Removal – Before I went to this workshop I had no
idea what mountaintop removal was and how it was affecting everyone.
I did not know that they were destroying people’s communities and
complicating people’s lives. I now see why it’s so important to find other
ways of generating power such as wind power. I’m very glad I went to
this workshop to be more educated on the important issues today in
this country.

Is Youth Activism Still Alive? – There was a lot of lecturing and
group discussion in this workshop. I didn’t think it was interactive at all.
However the great thing about this one is that it was very informative.
We learned a lot about how youth have started many different large
and important campaigns, not only nationally but globally as well.

Download September Newsletter as Adobe PDF

Do you have something cool that you think the rest of the world needs to see? It could be a poem, a drawing, a music review, a sports review, an article, or an opinion. E-mail us here

Youth Newsletter "El Cilantro": el_cilantro@lvejo.org

For general information please email us here .

Comments regarding LVEJO

~~~~~~~~~~ Other important topics ~~~~~~~~~~
(Download as Adobe pdf):

Environmental Research Foundation / Rachel's News Archive now housed with LVEJO (En Español)

Clean Air/Lulac Study / Healthy Schools In Latino Communities flyer

"Tips on Base Building" from LVEJO Board Member Carlos Fernandez

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