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It's true that race has always been with us, right? Wrong. Ancient peoples stigmatized "others" on the grounds of language, custom, class, and especially religion, but they did not sort people according to physical differences. It turns out that the concept of race is a recent invention, only a few hundred years old, and the history and evolution of the idea are deeply tied to the development of the U.S.
"The Story We Tell" traces the origins of the racial idea to the European conquest of the New World and to the American slave system - the first ever where all the slaves shared similar physical traits and a common ancestry. "The Story We Tell" is an eye-opening tale of how deep social inequalities came to be rationalized as natural - deflecting attention from the social practices and public policies that benefited whites at the expense of others.
9AM: In-court support requested for our brother in
struggle, David Rolde.
Motion session at Waltham District Court, 38 Linden
Street, Waltham
Prosecutor of cookie-cutter charges against David
refuses to stop the nonsense. In David's own words:
My motion to dismiss is scheduled to be heard in the morning (court starts at around 9AM) on Monday August 18 at Waltham District Court. If anyone can come, it might be helpful for me to have some supporters there.
The history of the case is that last September I was driving home in Weston where I live. I saw the police pulled over cuffing a guy. I stopped to ask them what was going on. They told me to leave. I left. Then they charged me with "disorderly conduct" and "resisting arrest" through an application to the court. They didn't arrest me.
My lawyer, Beverly Chorbajian, has been trying to negotiate with the prosecutor to dispose of the case through pre-trial probation, which would lead to the charges being dismissed without admission of guilt. I will not take a continued-without-a-finding disposition as that would require me to admit to guilt, which I won't do since I did not violate either statute. At the last hearing the prosecutor refused to offer me pre-trial probation. So I asked my lawyer to schedule a hearing date for the motion to dismiss which will be based on the assertion that the allegations in the police report don't even include the elements of the crimes with which I am charged. There are some lies in the police report but I think not enough to actually justify either of the charges. The judge at the last hearing had a sidebar with my lawyer and the prosecutor about the motion to dismiss. The judge said he saw no justification for the "resisting arrest" charge. In open court the judge asked the prosecutor to drop the "resisting arrest" charge but the prosecutor refused. So we are having a hearing for a judge to hear my motion to dismiss both charges. If the prosecutor still will not offer a deal that I can accept to dispose of the case, and if my motion is denied, then the next step may be a trial. But especially in light of what happened at the last hearing, we think that there is a chance that my motion may be granted.
Other aspects of the case are 1. that the Weston police know me and have taken actions against me before probably because of my anti- imperialist activism and local activism against the injustice system. And 2. At this incident last September I caught the Weston police and the Waltham District Court prosecutors / Middlesex DA's office giving a break to a white guy. The person the Weston police arrested was a white 19-year old semi-pro snowmobile racer from Vermont who had two rifles in his car (with no Massachusetts gun license) and ammunition and marijuana and alcohol. There is a Massachusetts statute that imposes a mandatory minimum 18 month sentence for having guns in your car. The police got the prosecutor to decline to prosecute the gun charges and to give the kid continued-without-a- finding on the alcohol and marijuana charges. What I have learned from this is that I need to work to get these mandatory minimum sentence laws repealed as they are only used to unjustly put non-white people in prison. So if anyone wants to work on that with me let me know.
My hearing for the motion to dismiss is scheduled for 9AM (I don't know what time they will actually get to me) this coming Monday August 18 at Waltham District Court, 38 Linden Street, Waltham. The bus from Central Square Cambridge to Waltham stops near the court. I can give people rides home afterwards.
I expect to be away from my computer til Sunday afternoon sometime. I'll respond to emails Sunday night.
David Rolde
781-642-7218
We will hear from:
Dave Lewit on possibly working with National Lawyers Guild on democracy protection project
Barbara Clancy on Maine Citizen Policy Trade Commission organizing for Considering Democracy, and a possible screening of "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections" and/or attending screenings of "Battle in Seattle" (featuring at least one shot of an AfD rain poncho and starting its run at the Landmark in Kendall Sq. on Sept. 26) and "Stealing America Vote by Vote" (starting Aug. 29 at Kendall Sq.).
Questions, comments, additions:
afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org
or call 781-894-1179
Boston Medical Center (East Newton Campus) Picket from
7 a.m. - 2 p.m. at 88 East Newton St., Boston, MA.
The Boston Medical Center nurses have completed their 20th negotiating session with talks stalling over: the hospital's demand for unlimited floating between units and campuses, the right to unilaterally cancel shifts and to limit bumping rights following a layoff. The hospital is also refusing to negotiate a retiree health benefit enjoyed by surrounding MNA hospitals, refuses to agree to "Kentucky River" language to protect nurses' union rights, and is offering a three year contract at 1 percent per year, even though the facility has posted record profits and granted its CEO a 46 percent pay raise.
Directions to BMC.
For more information.
7AM: Rally for the Freedom to Join a Union
60 Million Americans Want A Union, What's Stopping Them? Broken labor laws that allow companies to profit from denying workers their right to choose a union. 7:00 AM at Sheraton Commander Hotel, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, MA. Please join AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff, labor leaders, workers, and elected officials to show your support for the Employee Free Choice Act outside a "union avoidance" seminar held by a well known union-busting consulting firm. The seminar will teach local employers how to keep their workplace union-free by using dishonest and intimidating tactics that undermine our labor laws. Workers who have been affected by this firm's $250,000 campaign to deny them a union will be speaking out to demand that we end employer abuse by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.
For more information: John Drinkwater, Organizing and Mobilization Coordinator, at (781) 324-8230 or Jennifer Doe at (617) 524-8778.
3:30PM:Secure Jobs, Secure Communities Campaign Action
Blackstone's says it wants to be a different kind of company and contribute to the cities where they do business. Let's make sure they don't go back on their word. Join Community Labor United and their allies at 3:30 PM who will be gathering outside the Wendy's located at 71 Summer St. in Boston.
Call 617.723.2639 or email kalila@massclu.org for more information.
Watch (2001, 65 min.) is directed by Briana Waters, a professional musician and violin teacher based in Oakland, California. On March 15, 2006, she was falsely accused of participating in a politically motivated arson which took place at the University of Washington in May 2001.
Briana steadfastly maintains her innocence. She is a peaceful woman who believes in non-violence. Watch tells the moving true story of a peaceful campaign that built a coalition between environmentalists, loggers, and the residents of Randle, Washington to save the old-growth forest on Watch Mountain.
7PM: Lynn Regional meeting of the Coalition for Our Communities.
Please make every effort to turn out your local leaders, activists and members to these meetings so they can learn how to work in their community to defeat this reckless proposal to eliminate the income tax. 7:00 pm at IUE Hall, 112 Exchange Street, Lynn, MA.
More info: Edwin.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
JwJ Phone Bank for the "No On One" Campaign.
Every Thursday until the election campaign, Jobs with
Justice will be calling our members to educate them on
the reckless ballot imitative, Question 1. This
imitative will eliminate our income tax, raising
income taxes and reap havoc on our state. Can you give
two hours of your time to beat back this bad idea?
Email
jwj@massjwj.net if you can join us.
Insurgent Theatre is a Milwaukee based theatre company founded by Tracy Doyle and Rex Winsome, producing locally written plays and other performance art. We have been producing bad-ass DIY theatre in Milwaukee since 2003. Always independent local writers, directors and actors. Never compromising to the establishment. Insurgent's goal is nothing less than to take the future of theatrical production (from words, to actors, to audiences) out of the clumsy hands of obsolete bourgeois institutions, one production at a time. Step aside, our revolution is inevitable.
For this tour, Insurgent Theatre will be performing "Paint the Town Red". A one act play about two anarchists living in the subways of New York and how far they will go to attain absolute freedom.
Peter J Woods represents one of the many young artists currently entering into the sordid noise underworld. Providing a much needed sense of shifting dynamics to the harsh noise community, Woods combines power electronics, minimalism, industrial and old-school hardcore into personal works which focus on more on the world of philosophy than that of sexual deviance or violence, which most noise artsits seem to be doing.
GUATEMALAN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER AND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVIST COMES TO BOSTON TO SHOW FILMS AND ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE CONNECTING RECENT ICE RAIDS AND AN HISTORICAL INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Willy Barreno will be showing his short film "Documigrante" which traces the journey of Guatemalans coming to and living in the United States. He will also screen "Voice of a Mountain" directed by Tyler Rumph and Michael Field.
"Voice of a Mountain", is a documentary of the lives of rural Guatemalan coffee farmers who took up arms against their government in a civil war that lasted 36 years. This film explores Guatemala's dark history from the perspective of those who saw armed revolution as their only hope for change in a nation suppressed by years of poverty and dictatorship. Ex-combatants talk about the reality of the country that led to their involvement in the war, and the response of genocide from the Guatemalan government against its people.
"Eyes of the Rainbow" deals with the life of Assata Shakur, the Black Panther and Black Liberation Army leader who escaped from prison and was given political asylum in Cuba, where she has lived for close to 15 years. In it we visit with Assata in Havana and she tells us about her history and her life in Cuba and more…
After film, discussion led by:
Kazi Toure
Former Political Prisoner
Co-chair of Jericho National
Special Performance by PRESENTE!
This event is one in a series of events building up to the 10th Anniversary of the Jericho Movement with a March to the United Nations on October 10, 2008.
Through Barbed Wire was created by Arnie King to (re)establish and maintain ties to our neighborhoods and to offer and provide genuine service to society. Due to the heavy chains around our hands and feet, as well as CORI and other stigmas, such efforts face severe restrictions. These obstacles can be lessened, and eventually eliminated, with virtues of honesty, open-mindedness and willingness flowing through barbed wire into the community.
For more information visit Arnie King.
Boston will remember the 81st anniversary of the execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants and committed anarchists whose trial is widely regarded as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American history. Calling attention to the continued repression of immigrants and radicals, the Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society (SVCS) invites all to attend and participate in the third annual march and rally. We will begin by gathering in Copley Square at 1PM, followed by a march to the North End at 3PM, and conclude with a rally at 5PM at the Paul Revere Mall at 416 Hanover Street featuring a number of speakers, including Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner.
Join editors and contributors to
"In the Middle of a Whirlwind"
2008 Convention Protests, Movement and Movements
A one-off online journal of theory, art, activism and
organizing released May 15th.
Coordinated by:
Team Colors (Militant Research Collective)
Published by:
The Journal of Aesthetics & Protest Press
In the Middle of a Whirlwind (Whirlwinds) inquires
into current organizing efforts in the United States,
and through that process, assembles a strategic
analysis of current political composition as a tool
for building political power.
Whirlwinds' strategic context is this summer's RNC and
DNC protests; through these documents and the
discussions that erupt from them we hope to directly
impact the anti-Convention organizing. In a larger
sense, and in the long-term, Whirlwinds is intended to
provide a set of useful documents for contemporary
radical organizing. Each essay and interview
addresses the issues of movement, working class power
and composition, and/or gives strategic insight into
organizing, and the strengths and weaknesses of
current movement/s in the U.S.
It's the night of the 81st anniversary anniversary of the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. (Maybe you spent part of the day earlier at the march and rally - 1pm Rally at Copley and 3pm march to the North End). How should you remember the great miscarriage of "justice" that lead to the institutional murder of two immigrants who happened to have political views that challenged the power of the state? Well, for one, you could come on down to the LPC for some live music, performances, food and fun! Proceeds will go towards paying the expenses of the rally and also towards a fund to put up a memorial statue.
3-5 PM: Gil at the Grille - a summer gathering of progressives
Fran & Gil Hoy's, 295 Reservoir Rd, Brookline
Amy Hendrickson (our supporter and sister in struggle)
says: Gil Hoy's summer parties are a great place to
meet interesting Brookline people, highly recommended--
hope to see some of you there.
Brookline PAX occasionally stages a summer get- together – a chance to talk, eat and relax together outdoors.
This year, to provide an opportunity for progressives of different stripes to come to know one another, we asked Fran and Gil to open their house to more than just the usual PAX crowd. And they've agreed. So we're extending the invitation to the members and friends of other local progressive organizations as well: Brookline PeaceWorks Brookline Peace Coalition CCAB (C- cab, Climate Change Action Brookline) PDM (Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts) SAJE (Student Action for Social Justice and Education).
Gil will be doing hamburgs & hotdogs, and the food table and coolers will contain a variety of other afternoon drinks and snacks (to which you're welcome to contribute).
No charge, no dress code. Feel free to call with any questions.
Frank Farlow Co-chair (with Marty Rosenthal), Brookline PAX 617-232-9654
The film "Slim Hopes" informs as it entertains, allowing viewers to explore the impact of advertising on women's health.
The Documentary Film & Discussion Series, sponsored by the Ashland Friends of the Library, will present the film "Slim Hopes: Advertising and the Obsession with Thinness" (30 min) on Tuesday, August 26 at 7:00 pm in the Community Room, Ashland Public Library, 66 Front Street, Ashland, MA. The event is free and open to the public. Viewers are invited to stay for discussion or to just listen. Refreshments are served.
Jean Kilbourne offers an in-depth analysis of how female bodies are depicted in advertising imagery and the devastating effects of that imagery on women's health. Addressing the relationship between these images and the obsession of girls and women with dieting and thinness, Slim Hopes offers a new way to think about life-threatening eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, and it provides a well- documented critical perspective on the social impact of advertising.
"1 in 2000"
Every parent-to-be hopes for a "perfect" baby, but
what does that actually mean? Every newborn is
different, but some of those differences are scarier
to parents than others. Each year an estimated one in
two thousand babies are born with anatomy that doesn't
clearly mark them as either male or female -- with
what is known as an intersex condition. It's a
situation that's hard to talk about; it challenges our
preconceptions about how things are "supposed" to be.
This provocative documentary demystifies the issue of sexual difference. At a time when five babies a day in the United States are having "gender reassignment" surgery, it argues that there is little evidence that such surgery is beneficial to the child. The program profiles several people born with ambiguous sexual anatomy, who have managed to deal with some very difficult family and social issues, but today are living "ordinary" and productive lives. It also includes a young mother who is matter-of-factly creating the conditions for her intersex baby to do the same.
"Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars"
In the U.S. one out of every five men are raped during
incarceration. Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars
looks beyond the shock and inhumanity of prison rape
to the intricate social hierarchy that keeps it alive.
The film goes deep inside Alabama's infamous
Limestone penitentiary to uncover what Hollywood
portrayals leave out: the long-term causes and
consequences of prison rape.
With a startling lack of inhibition, a group of five inmates, a sort of jailhouse clan, reveal the workings of an elaborate inner society with its own political system and its own economy--a society where men sell their bodies for bags of coffee or chips, where sex is the gold standard, and where makeshift families are cobbled together out of fear.
At the film's alarming conclusion, members of the once almost contented clan at Limestone, in the face of its disintegration, vividly describe the desperate rape of a new inmate, who upon his release, tells his family he had "been away at college for four years".
A universal single-payer health plan has again been introduced in Congress by Rep. Conyers (D-MI), this time with the support of 90 other members, numerous unions, and independent groups.
HR676.org, PO Box 882122, Port Saint Lucie FL 34988
800-680-9310
info@HR676.org
Cindy Sheehan is making a courageous run for the Congressional seat in San Francisco, to challenge Nancy Pelosi, who has done nothing but cave in to the Bush/Cheney criminal war agenda, while the approval rating of Congress drops into single digits for the first time ever.
But FIRST Cindy needs to get on the ballot, and to do that as an independent she still needs another 6,000 petitions signatures in the next couple weeks.
Even with her many valiant volunteers, you can really help now by making a donation to put more paid signature gatherers for Cindy Sheehan on the street to give the voters of San Francisco a pro-courage choice. Help put Cindy safely over the top with enough margin of petition signatures that they cannot keep her off the ballot.
Cindy Sheehan Petition Donations
In one month, the Free Gaza Movement will sail on a mission of civil resistance: breaking into the prison that is Gaza.
We are students and teachers, human rights observers and aid workers, lawyers, medics, activists - parents and grandparents. We are Americans and Europeans, Israelis and Palestinians, Australians, South Africans, and more. We are of all ages and backgrounds. Collectively, we have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank. Because of our human rights work, the state of Israel has banned many of us from re-entering Palestinian areas. Because of the ongoing blockade, the rest of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza at all. Despite deteriorating conditions, the great need for international assistance, and the invitations of our Palestinian partners - the Israeli Government will not allow us into Gaza to help. Will you help?
We must break the siege of Gaza. Conditions there are already catastrophic. We have to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of Gaza and deeply pressure Israel and the international community to lift the blockade and end the Occupation. As people of conscience our actions must be commensurate with the crisis.
We've tried to enter Palestine by land. We've tried to arrive by air. Now we're getting serious. We're taking a ship. Please look into your hearts and ask yourselves if the collective punishment and virtual imprisonment of one and a half million human beings can ever be justified. If your answer’s “no,” then we want your help this August when we break into Gaza and try to break out of this siege.
If you’d like more information, or if you can donate money or medical supplies (such as hearing aids), please visit their website at FreeGaza.org.
Boston Palestine Film Festival
Asking for contributions now.
Festival is October 4 thru 12, 2008.
2007: With over 40 films, BPFF brought authentic
Palestinian perspectives, experiences and culture to
venues as prestigious and diverse as the Museum of
Fine Arts, Coolidge Corner Theatre, Kendall Square
Cinema, Harvard Film Archive, Harvard University and
Boston College. BPFF featured several US premieres
and included appearances by many noted international
filmmakers. Please visit BPFF online to view the
substantial coverage we received in the Boston Globe,
the Boston Phoenix and on WBUR, a local affiliate of
National Public Radio—to name just a few media
outlets.
2008: This year’s festival is every bit as exciting
and compelling as last year’s. We are now finalizing
our 2008 program for this coming fall, October 4th-
12th. We hope that we can count on your support to
build on the achievements of last year,
Carlos Arredondo has traveled thousands of miles with his pick up truck decorated as a memorial to his son Alex who died in Iraq . I remember when I first heard about his action as a distraught father who set himself on fire when he heard the news of his son's death. An article about Carlos appears in the Nation. Since then, as a member of Military Families Speak Out, I have come to know and love Carlos and his wife Melida as two dedicated activists for peace. You can read about Carlos' actions for peace on Democracy Now!.
Carlos and Melida would have certainly had every right to sit back and mourn the death of their son. Instead they have taken every opportunity and often at great personal expense to remind people of the true cost of war. They have traveled to every demonstration, vigil, poltiical rally, memorial and meeting with politicians to tell their story of loss, and the deep concern they feel for others who have suffered or daily face the possible loss of a family member to this endless occupation of Iraq.
Many of you have met Carlos or heard of him. You have seen his hopefulness in the face of grief. Now it's time for all of us to help put his (OUR) truck back on the road where it belongs. $20 collected from one hundred people should do it! If the travel weary truck cannot be repaired one more time, the money will go to the down payment on a new or newer truck.
Please make out checks to Carlos Arredondo and send them to me so I can present them in a lump sum
Sarah Fuhro, 8 Abbott Road Natick, Ma 01760
Sign petition against US missile offense in Poland
In a few days, the US government will likely sign an agreement with the Czech Republic government allowing the US to place a radar satellite system in that country. The satellite system is part of the US "missile defense" installations designed to be placed in Poland.
We can join our voices in support of the Czech people to say "no" to a US radar system in their country.
Please add your voice to support this effort by signing the petition.
Understanding that this empire-building strategy by the US could lead to a new arms race which threatens the Czech people, the majority of whom oppose this project. The opposition which began with a few activist voices now includes over 70 percent of the population who oppose any US military presence in the Czech Republic.
Even thought the Czech President may sign the agreement, it has to be ratified by the Czech Parliament. And the situation is far from clear, because the government has a very small mandate - not even have a majority. They were only able to pass a confidence vote after seven months of negotiations, and thanks to some two members of parliament that didn't vote against them. So they have a very weak mandate, and it is far from clear how the vote will go.
The Czech people have asked for support from around the world to bolster their campaign. They are looking for a million signatures on their petition to take to the parliament to defeat the agreement.
Sign petition on McCain/Obama statements to AIPAC
FROM Jewish Voice for Peace...
We are deeply concerned by statements that both Senator McCain and Senator Obama made at the AIPAC Conference. Please sign our petition calling on Senators Obama and McCain to moderate their stances in the interests of a peaceful future:
In particular:
1) Senator Obama declared that Jerusalem "must remain undivided." We believe the future status of Jerusalem must be negotiated.
2) Both Senators McCain and Obama promised enormous sums of unconditional military aid to Israel. We believe the U.S. must hold Israel accountable for using U.S. weapons against civilians.
3) Both Senators McCain and Obama continued to demand the exclusion of Hamas from the negotiating table. We believe peace agreement cannot be achieved without Hamas at the table.
Global Exchange Delegations to Venezuela. Here are planned events in 2008:
Democracy, Development, and Regional Integration- A New Vision for the Americas
August 09 - 19, 2008
Labor, Land Reform, and Agriculture
September 06 - 16, 2008
Health and Healing
October 04 - 14, 2008
Popular Democracy : Observing the 2008 Regional Elections
November 15 - 25, 2008
Democracy, Development, and Regional Integration- A New Vision for the Americas
December 05 - 15, 2008
Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
April 16, 2008
Dr. Al-Arian Faces Shocking Abuse in New Facility
Yesterday morning, Dr. Sami Al-Arian was transported
by immigration agents to the Hampton Roads Regional
Jail in Portsmouth, Virginia. Since arriving at the
facility, he has been subjected to numerous, shocking
abuses, even worse than those he experienced at a
detention center in Maryland.
Take Action: call 757-488-7500
And if you haven't already, sign the petition.
See also:"USA vs AL-ARIAN"
To everyone in the Boston area progressive community, After months of development and testing by a few dozen folks, Open Media Boston, the new progressive news, views and arts web portal, has just launched and is now ready for your participation. (Site is still labeled "beta.")
We have quietly been working away at TecsChange in Roxbury to refurbish computers. We recently sent one of our bigger shipments of 15 computers to a series of radio stations in Oaxaca, Mexico.
We work most Thurday evenings and Saturday afternoons
(1pm to at least 4 PM, usually longer)
We have one day a week where daytime volunteers come in. Presently it's Mondays but it might change soon.
Please call if you are interested.
TecsChange Office
617-442-4456
Mass. House Bill #4477, if passed, would finally make it illegal for drivers of motor vehicles in Massachusetts to use hand-held phones while driving (as in NY and elsewhere). This bill recently passed the House and now is languishing in the Senate and may not come to the floor for a vote unless you phone or send a message to your friends in various towns and cities to have them urge their state senators (617-722- 5551) to vote for this bill.
According to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Marian Walsh, what needs to happen is for senators to get many phone calls from their constituents in favor of this bill. Passing House #4477 is a matter of public safety. Please call your senator and what would make a significant difference is for you to contact your friends throughout Massachusetts so House Bill #4477 becomes law.
Ed O'Reilly (PDA-endorsed candidate who advocates for single-payer health care, impeachment, stopping our current wars, and marriage equality) seeks the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by John Kerry.
Ed Received 22.5% of the vote at the June Primary Nomination vote to qualify for the fall primary (15% minimum required). For further information, call the campaign at 866-716-2008.
U.S. war provocation against Iran: Another Tonkin
Gulf? Take Action NOW to Stop War on Iran!
The Bush Administration has initiated an extremely dangerous war provocation just off Iran's coast, in the Strait of Hormuz. With Bush on his way to the Middle East to mobilize a collection of oil-rich U.S. client states against Iran, the U.S. government is working overtime to create a phony public-relations incident to heighten tensions in the region and threaten a new war.
S 1959 "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" must be stopped at all costs. (It's already been approved by the House of Representatives by a HUGE majority.)
Pick up your phone and contact our US Senators' offices to instruct them to vote "NO" on S.1959, titled "To establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, and for other purposes".
If this bill is passed, and becomes law, your words and actions could be considered terrorism. S 1959 EVISCERATES FREE SPEECH, and empowers the govt. to declare ANYTHING they deem an "extremist belief system", instantly make you a terrorist, resulting in stripping of US citizenship, torture, and/or execution, with no habeas corpus rights, no ability to challenge even in the US Supreme Court.
And what greater hero do we have than Dennis Kucinich, still standing strong as ever on every issue that matters. Here is his own leadership statement opposing telecom immunity.
And yet, even now, powerful corporations are pouring money into Dennis's district, to try to buy his seat out from under him by threatening him in his own primary. They are running malicious attack ads in heavy rotation. Please consider making a donation to Dennis now, to help him fight back.
Comcast has given us a glimpse of a world without Net
Neutrality, and it's a chilling sight.
An investigation by the Associated Press caught the
cable giant secretly inspecting online communications
and crippling users' ability to share information with
one another.
On 11-1-07, Free Press filed a legal complaint
demanding that the FCC take action to protect the free
flow of information on the Internet. By joining our
complaint, you can help stop Comcast and other
gatekeepers.
Doris Tennant and Ellen Lubell (of Newton) are representing a Guantanamo prisoner pro bono, so they are providing their time at no charge. However, their costs, including their own travel and that of a translator, translator fees, and Freedom of Information Act requests, are running at least $20,000 for this year, and will likely continue at that same pace or more. Most of the other attorneys who are representing Guantanamo detainees are members of large law firms that can cover these types of expenses, but in their case the two of them are the firm.
If you would like to make a contribution to help them defray costs, it would be much appreciated. Please make your check payable to "Tennant Lubell Detainee Fund." Your contribution will NOT be tax-deductible, but they promise to put it to good use to help provide fundamental legal rights to a man who remains in indefinite detention.
Doris Tennant, Esq.
Tennant Lubell, LLC
288 Walnut Street, Suite 500
Newton, MA 02460
617-969-9610, X 101
Fax: 617-969-9611
Action Alert: The Alliance for Democracy warns us to oppose Holt bill (HR 811). We call for a ban on the use of Direct Recording Electronic voting equipment (DREs) and to require the use of paper ballots.
AFD urgently calls upon all citizens to call their Representatives to demand amendments to rectify the defects in HR 811, specifically to ban the use of DRE voting machines and require the use of paper ballots in all elections in the United States.
1. DRE systems must be banned.
2. All voting must be by voter marks on a paper ballot.
3. All recounts must be by hand counting of paper ballots.
4. All elections must have a statistically significant verification.
5. All recounts at every level of government must be by hand counting.
6. All software must be subject to public disclosure.
7. No connections to the Internet should be allowed.
8. All election records should be available to the public.
Go to for on-line information and a link to a printable flier.
A call for all people of conscience
to donate to its Lebanon Palestine Emergency Relief Fund.
All donations will be used to help Palestinian and
Lebanese victims of the latest Israeli aggression.
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
E-mail link
This oil comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), a non-profit, non-governmental organization in the West Bank. PARC works with 15 different small farming cooperatives. PARC is a member of the International Fair Trade Association, and is the only Palestinian organization that has received the Palestine Standards Institution certification for its olive oil. PARC recently received the top BIOL award for excellence in olive oil in a competition in Puglia, Italy which included 300 participants from Italy and abroad.
Olive oil is the backbone of the Palestinian agricultural economy. Eighty percent of cultivated land in Palestine is planted with olive trees, and the olive harvest provides between 25 to 50 percent of a farming family’s annual income. As the political and economic situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate, olive oil has become a matter of basic survival for many Palestinian families. Buying this oil is a constructive and tangible way to help alleviate poverty and build peace.
We hope that you will continue to support us in this endeavor, as it is more important than ever to help sustain the Palestinian economy. On our most recent trip to the region in June 2008, we found that conditions are worse than ever, with unrelenting, tightening restrictions on movement making life incredibly difficult.
Harvard's Palestine Solidarity Committee will be holding a vigil for Gaza from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. All who care for Palestine are invited to attend. Please wear black and spread the word widely.
These are the meetings where we decide on events and discuss strategies to end the war. Anyone is welcome -- from seasoned activists to beginners and we look forward to building a dialogue with anyone opposed to the war. Our main tenent is that we are independent of both the Democratic and the Republican Party, such that we can build an anti-war movement that survives elections and continues to oppose the war, regardless of which candidate is in office.
Meet briefly at the statue to exchange thoughts,
then walk silently around the Yard and nearby streets,
returning to the statue by 12:30pm.
Southeast corner of Rt 27 and 30 (nearest to Brooks Pharmacy).
Come for all or part. Bring a candle, lantern, or flashlight.
Organizer: Sandy Coy.
Join the Boston Tea Party Conference call,
Participant call in: 402-756-9100; Access code: 680903#
Socialist Alternative Radio, 91.5 FM Boston
listen anytime on the Web at WMFO.org. A democratic socialist, working-class view of politics and culture, including solidarity announcements, interviews, music, and more.
Write to us at BostonSAradio@aol.com.
Join a Friday fast and/or protest in solidarity with illegal detentions. The fast began in 2005 when Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Adolpho Esquivel, (Argentina), along with others around the world, chose this method to seek the release of our unjustly detained and tortured brothers and sisters.
In Boston, local activists Susan McLucas and Phoebe Knopf have joined the Friday fast and will protest every Friday in front of the JFK Building from noon to one. The action, which is rooted in nonviolence, includes speakers, music, hand-outs and petitions to create public pressure to stop all illegal detentions and to try those responsible for the illegal treatment of thousands of detainees, most of whom are Arab and Muslim men. Susan and Phoebe will be wearing orange jumpsuits.
On this day, Friday and from there on!, we hereby declare the
establishment of a new DeMilitarized Zone where all those who wish can
congregate to denigrate and repudiate the war machine and celebrate the
growth of the new movement from coast to coast willing to oppose the war and opression in
this country and around the world. Bring your signs, and minds, let's
chalk, talk, play music, paint art with caring and sharing and declaring
that we are "chilling *against* the villins" in this zone to show our
independence!!!!!
We declare our solidarity with the people of the Middle East who share
the misfortune of living on top of the largest oil reserves on the
planet which is the reason behind the current war on Iraq. We declare
our condemnation of those who support this criminal war commanded by
criminals who promote a criminal ideology with criminal intent and
crimes against humanity. We repudiate with prejudice the general assault
on our rights: abuses, excuses, jailings, raids, lies, spies,
xenophobia, torture, extraordinary rendition, and the general police
state system that says we must stand together and support this
generalized oppression. We are no longer the silent generation but are
now willing to Stand Apart and against the mass murdering villins who
are doin the real killin. Join us in the DMZ!!
Chillin against the villin's!!!
Our *DMZ* and our Independence.