17 Nov 2011 The Alliance for Global Justice

Posted at 21:52h in GroupSnoop by

Introduction

The Alliance for Global Justice (AGJ) is an American-based non-profit that advocates social change and economic justice primarily in Latin America. The Alliance for Global Justice seeks “alternatives to the unjust domination of governments, global financial institutions and multinational corporations which denigrate the world’s peoples and devastate ecosystems.”[1] The Alliance for Global Justice has ties to Hugo Chavez and the Occupy Wall Street movement.

History / Mission

The Alliance for Global Justice was incorporated in 1998, but its history dates to 1979 with the formation of the Nicaragua Network.[2] In 1998, the Nicaragua Network became a project of the newly incorporated Alliance for Global Justice.[3]

According to AGJ’s website, its mission is “to achieve social change and economic justice by helping to build a stronger more unified grassroots movement. We recognize that the concentration of wealth and power is the root cause of oppression requiring us to work together across ideologies, issues and communities. The Alliance nurtures organizations seeking fundamental change in international and national conditions that disempower [sic]nm,. people, create disparities in access to wealth and power, poison the earth, and plunder its resources.”[4]

Core Projects

The Alliance for Global Justice runs four major projects.

• Campaign for Labor Rights: According to AGJ, the “mission of the Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR) to mobilize grassroots support throughout the United States to promote economic and social justice by campaigning to end labor rights violations around the world.”[5]

• Nicaragua Network: The Nicaragua Network began in 1979 as a support group for the communist Sandinista Revolution.[6] As AGJ describes it, “[f]or over three decades, Nicanet has been a leading organization in the United States committed to social and economic justice not only for Nicaragua, but Latin America and the world, based on respect for sovereignty and self-determination.”[7]

• Respect for Democracy Campaign: The AGJ says of its Respect for Democracy campaign “A major goal of the Respect for Democracy Campaign is to close the misnamed National Endowment for Democracy.” AGJ complains, among other things, that the NED supported the opposition to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 2004 and Daniel and Humberto Ortega’s communist Sandinista regime in 1990. At the time, both regimes were notorious human rights violators. [8]

• Venezuela Solidarity Campaign: AGJ supports the Hugo Chavez regime, and through its Venezuela Solidarity Campaign works to “expose and oppose US government and corporate intervention in Venezuela’s sovereign affairs.”[9]

Sponsorships

AGJ often serves as a conduit for other groups and projects. On its website, AGJ explains, “[f]or an Administrative Fee of 7%, the Alliance for Global Justice offers fiscal sponsorship for grassroots non-profits which agree with our Vision and Mission Statements but do not have their own 501(c)(3) status, thus making donations to those projects tax-deductible to the donor as well.”[10]

As of November 2011, the Alliance for Global Justice sponsored more than 30 organizations including: End US Wars, Military Resistance, United Students Against Sweatshops, Anarchists Against the Wall, Civil Peace Service Gaza and Campesin@ Hope in Nicaragua.[11]

Occupy Wall Street

In October 2011, AGJ announced it is sponsoring the Occupy Wall Street movement.[12] Chuck Kaufman, AGJ’s national co-coordinator, explained the relationship between AGJ and Occupy Wall Street as follows: “Essentially we collect and process their donations and pass the money on to them as a project of the AfGJ. In IRS parlance we take ‘responsibility for all financial and programmatic matters’ of OWS… We are accountable legally and financially to prove that all expenditures by OWS are within the IRS’s tax-exempt rules… Occupy Wall Street’s obligation to us is to provide the accounting and receipts we’ll need for the IRS and to not jeopardize our tax-exempt status through any actions of theirs.”[13]

The Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York City’s privately-owned Zuccotti Park in late September 2011, and soon spread to cities across the United States.[14] According to its website, Occupy Wall Street is a “leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends.”[15] As of early November 2011, the Occupy Wall Street protests continued with participants camping in Zuccotti park and protesting wealth inequality.

In October 2011, Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen’s firm sampled the Occupy Wall Street protestors in New York City’s Zuccotti Park. According to Schoen, 31 percent of the participants “would support violence to advance their agenda.”[16] To wit, John Nolte of Big Government reported that as of November 16, 2011, there had been 119 incidents of “sexual assault, violence, vandalism, anti-Semitism, extortion, perversion, and lawlessness” committed at Occupy events across the United States.[17]

Criticism

Critics of AGJ have suggested that AGJ’s work in Latin America supports dictatorships and advances Marxism. According to Discover the Networks, AGJ “promotes opposition to free-market capitalism, particularly in Latin America, under the cover of engaging in ‘education on human, environmental and worker rights.’ AGJ underwrites and publicizes the activities of revolutionary Marxist movements from Nicaragua to Mexico and trains young activists to work toward its distinctly radical conception of ‘economic justice.'”[18]

Michael Goodwin of the New York Post points out that AGJ promotes decidedly liberal causes, calling it “a hotbed of far-left causes that range from backing hunger strikes in California prisons to denouncing the CIA and oil companies. Its Web site says the group sponsors operations in the Gaza Strip, with Hamas, and boasts of an alliance with Anarchists Against the Wall, which contests Israel’s security barrier in the West Bank.
The group suggests it has a relationship with Iran, supported the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua and expresses solidarity with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez against the United States.”[19]

Funding

AGJ receives seven percent of each donation to its sponsor groups. Additionally, according to Matthew Vadum of the Capital Research Center, billionaire George Soros is a “major backer” of AGJ.[20] Vadum explains, the “Alliance for Global Justice has received grants from George Soros’ philanthropy, the Open Society Institute ($100,000 since 2004), and from the left-wing, money launderers of the Tides Foundation ($60,000 since 2004) that allows high-profile donors to give secretly to radical causes.”[21]

In 2010, the Alliance for Global Justice had total revenues of $1,410,526.

Leadership (as of November 2011)

Chuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator (2010 Compensation, $31,285)
Kathy Hoyt, National Co-Coordinator
James Jordan, National Co-Coordinator
Jamie Way, Communications and Media Coordinator
Robert Moses, Accountant

Contact Information

Alliance for Global Justice Headquarters
1247 E St., SE
Washington, DC 20003

Telephone: 202-544-9355
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://afgj.org/

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  1. ^ “About,” The Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=2 as of November 1, 2011.
  2. ^ “Our History,” The Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=1750 as of November 1, 2011.
  3. ^ “Our History,” The Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=1750 as of November 1, 2011.
  4. ^ “Our Vision,” The Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=1750 as of November 1, 2011.
  5. ^ “Core Projects,” Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=560 as of November 1, 2011.
  6. ^ “Core Projects,” Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=560 as of November 1, 2011.
  7. ^ “Core Projects,” Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=560 as of November 1, 2011.
  8. ^ “Core Projects,” Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=560 as of November 16, 2011.
  9. ^ “Core Projects,” Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=560 as of November 1, 2011.
  10. ^ “Fiscally Sponsored Projects,” The Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=524 as of November 1, 2011.
  11. ^ “Fiscally Sponsored Projects,” The Alliance for Global Justice, available at http://afgj.org/?page_id=524 as of November 1, 2011.
  12. ^ Chuck Kaufman, “Occupy Wall Street, Fiscal Sponsorships & the Alliance for Global Justice,” The Alliance for Global Justice,” October 19, 2011, available at http://afgj.org/?p=1787#more-1787 as of November 1, 2011.
  13. ^ Chuck Kaufman, “Occupy Wall Street, Fiscal Sponsorships & the Alliance for Global Justice,” The Alliance for Global Justice,” October 19, 2011, available at http://afgj.org/?p=1787#more-1787 as of October 31, 2011.
  14. ^ Verena Dobnik, “Wall Street Protesters: We’re in for the Long Haul,” Bloomberg Businessweek, October 2, 2011, available at http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q4CNR81.htm as of November 1, 2011.
  15. ^ “Occupy Wall Street,” available at http://occupywallst.org/ as of November 1, 2011.
  16. ^ Douglas Schoen, “Polling the Occupy Wall Street Crowd,” Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2011, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204479504576637082965745362.html as of November 1, 2011.
  17. ^ John Nolte, “*UPDATED* #OccupyWallStreet: The Rap Sheet, So Far,” Big Government, November 16, 2011, available at http://biggovernment.com/jjmnolte/2011/10/28/occupywallstreet-the-rap-sheet-so-far/ as of November 16, 2011.
  18. ^ “Alliance for Global Justice,” Discover the Networks, available at http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7230 as of November 1, 2011.
  19. ^ Michael Goodwin, “‘Lord of Flies’ in Zuccotti Park,” New York Post, October 30, 2011, available at http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/lord_of_flies_in_zuccotti_park_Ce6a6psjtBX8Tgly0u0PbL as of November 1, 2011.
  20. ^ Matthew Vadum, “George Soros Funds Occupy Wall Street,” Human Events, October 21, 2011, available at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=47009 as of November 1, 2011.
  21. ^ Matthew Vadum, “George Soros Funds Occupy Wall Street,” Human Events, October 21, 2011, available at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=47009 as of November 1, 2011.


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