Danny Glover Attends World Social Forum

www.washingtonpost.com By Alan Clendenning Associated Press Writer Sunday, January 26, 2003; 4:38 PM

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil –– Actor Danny Glover showed up in Brazil on Sunday to mingle with activists at the World Social Forum talking about everything from women's rights to eliminating Third World debt and poverty.

Glover said he headed to Porto Alegre on his first trip to Brazil to draw attention to important social issues being overshadowed by talk of war.

"Even though my country, the United States, is engaged in a very intensive discussion about the possibility of war in Iraq, there are still other issues in the world that must be addressed," Glover said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Glover – best known for his role as conservative partner of action hero Mel Gibson in the "Lethal Weapon" movies – also was chairman of the TransAfrica Forum in 2001, the 25-year-old advocacy group best known for protesting apartheid. He has also criticized Hollywood for racial progress he called cosmetic.

Glover said he plans to meet with activists representing groups trying to improve conditions for youth, women and the environment, along with artists and writers. About 100,000 people are attending the six-day forum.

"I think there's a great deal we can all learn from each other," he said.

Glover also said he is impressed with the plans of Brazil's new leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to fight poverty in Brazil and pleased that Silva has appointed black Brazilians to top Cabinet posts.

"I'm hopeful that some of the programs he plans to initiate are ones that are embraced not only by the business community but those financial institutions which also dictate a great deal of what happens in this country," Glover said.