ACTION ALERTS!
----------------------------
Respond to the corrupt Supreme Court decision
empowering corporations as having all rights of
"persons"
Action Page: Corporations Are NOT The People
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1029.php
Action Page: Impeach The Supreme Court 5
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1030.php
----------------------------
OBAMA BUDGET SAID TO TRIPLE NUCLEAR LOAN GUARANTEE
PROGRAM - ACT NOW!
NIRS action request: tell Obusha and Energy Sec. Chu
NO TAXPAYER BAILOUT FOR NUKE POWER PLANTS.
Just in the past couple of weeks, two more reactors
(in Vermont and North Carolina) have been discovered
to be leaking radioactive tritium, bringing the total
number to more than 20 leaking reactor sites. Far from
being safe and clean, nuclear power is proving itself
to be dirtier and more dangerous than ever.
nirs.org
THIS WEEK'S EVENTS
SUNDAY, FEB 7, 2010
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"RADIO with a VIEW"
(produced by Marc Stern & Dave Goodman)
Sunday Feb 7 10am - 12:00noon
WMBR 88.1FM or wmbr.org (live webcast & archive)
This week's guests and topics include:
Journalist (Washington Correspondent for The Nation
Magazine), and author, JOHN NICHOLS, and author and
Professor ROBERT McCHESNEY speak out about the future
of media and journalism. Their latest book is called
"The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media
Revolution That Will Begin the World Again."
[Recorded at the Harvard Coop on Tuesday 2-2-2010]
Grace Notes with GRACE ROSS.
Contact: radioview@ibisradio.org
wmbr.org
ibisradio.org
---------- Sunday ----------
Ethical Society of Boston program ...
THE HIGH COST OF DISCOUNT CULTURE
Sunday, February 7 10:30am
Spiegel Auditorium, 56 Brattle Street, Cambridge
(Harvard Square)
Program is Free, Public Welcome, Coffee
Discussion to follow.
Ellen Ruppel Shell will discuss her recently released
book, "THE HIGH COST OF DISCOUNT CULTURE", that
exposes the dangers of consumerism.
Further information:
call 617-739-9050
or visit BostonEthical.Org
---------- Sunday ----------
Gaza Steadfast:
a photographic presentation by Skip Schiel (SLIDE SHOW)
Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 12:30PM
Cambridge Friends Center
5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge (near Harvard Square)
Free and open to the public
Light refreshments
Photos for sale
Donations to Schiel's work gratefully accepted
Sponsored by the Peace & Social Concerns Committee of
Friends Meeting of Cambridge
More info:
skipschiel@gmail.com
617-441-7756
teeksaphoto.org
skipschiel.wordpress.com
---------- Sunday ----------
City-wide Planning/organizing Meeting
to celebrate the contributions of Howard Zinn
Sunday, February 7, 1:30 PM
Encuentro 5 (33 Harrison Avenue, 5^th Floor)
(Chinatown Stop on the Orange Line T)
Everyone is invited so please spread the word.
Howard Zinn inspired many throughout the peace
movement and movements for social justice generally.
Contact: John Harris
john.r.harris@verizon.net
---------- Sunday ----------
MONDAY, FEB 8, 2010
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Jill Stein gubernatorial campaign kickoff
(Running as a Green-Rainbow Party candidate)
Mon., Feb. 8, 11 AM
State House, Boston, front steps, across from the
Robert Gould Shaw monument on Beacon St.
(Dr.) Jill Stein will be announcing her
gubernatorial kick off Monday Feb. 8 at 11am, on the
front steps of the State House, near Boston Common.
To help with planning, RSVP.
Contact/RSVP: info@jillstein.org
jillstein.org
---------- Monday ----------
"Searching for a Human Rights Strategy for the Arab Region" [???]
Bahey El Din Hassan, General Director,
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Monday, February 8, 2010 12:15 - 1:30 PM
Lewis 202, Harvard Law School
Open to the public but RSVP required
A well known lecturer, Hassan is also the author of
numerous articles and papers exploring issues
associated with human rights and democratic
transformation in the Arab Region.
Light lunch provided - RSVP required.
Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative, the Human
Rights Program at Harvard Law School, the Outreach
Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and
the Middle East Law Student Association.
Directions to the Kennedy School campus:
www.hks.harvard.edu/about/contact
Full events calendar:
www.hks.harvard.edu/middleeast
RSVP: hrp@law.harvard.edu or 617-495-9362
---------- Monday ----------
Climate Change Action Brookline
Lecture & monthly meeting
Monday February 8th at 7pm
Meeting begins 7:00; Speaker at 7:30
First floor community room at Brookline Town Hall,
333 Washington Street, Brookline, MA
The Century Ahead - Four Scenarios, a talk by Dr. Rich
Rosen
Dr. Rosen, who has over twenty-seven years of
experience in energy sector resource planning and
management, will describe four scenarios for our
century. These scenarios include most key aspects of
sustainable development: energy consumption, CO2 and
methane emissions, economic and population growth,
water demand and supply, land-use patterns,
agriculture and food, and work life. They illustrate
how the issues are interconnected in complex ways, and
how they ultimately connect to climate change, and
sustainability more broadly. Two of the scenarios
lead to an un-sustainable future. Ultimately, one
scenario, the Great Transition scenario, emerges as
representative of the only hope we have for a
sustainable world.
About CCAB: Climate Change Action Brookline
is a group of volunteer activists committed to the
vision of Brookline evolving from an energy-consuming
community to an energy-conserving community. CCAB is a
member of Massachusetts Climate Action Network
(MCAN), a network of local and statewide groups
dedicated to halting the threat of global climate
change.
Contacts...
Susan Martin 617-277-1027 Co-Chair
Paul Harris 617-277-0167 Co-Chair
www.ClimateChangeActionBrookline.org
www.Brookline2010.org
---------- Monday ----------
TUESDAY, FEB 9, 2010
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MA Jobs With Justice calendar items
(for details, consult MA JWJ's website)
Tuesday, February 9:
AFL CIO Organizing Roundtable
Thursday, February 11:
Join the Tufts Medical Center and Boston Medical
Center Nurses for a Joint Informational Picket
Harvard Labor and Worklife Public Forum
massjwj.net
---------- Tuesday ----------
WEDNESDAY, FEB 10, 2010
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MIT Amnesty International presents...
Women in Afghanistan
screening of "View from a Grain of Sand"
Q&A panel with director/producer Meena Nanji
Wed Feb 10, 6-8pm
MIT Bldg 66 Room 110
Food Will Be Served
Co-sponsors:
MIT Center for International Studies
MIT Program in Women's and Gender Studies
Contact to arrange other showings:
Rachel Williams
978-372-1106
rachfit@mindspring.com
Film info:
viewgrainofsand.com
---------- Wednesday ----------
American Passage: Immigration Then and Now
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 6:30 PM
Cambridge Forum
The First Parish in Cambridge
3 Church Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Historian Vincent Cannato discusses the history of
Ellis Island with political scientist Paul Watanabe.
Watanabe's research focuses on contemporary
immigration trends as a counterpoint to Cannato's
historical research. How has the immigrant experience
changed since Ellis Island was the key entry point to
the United States?
Co-sponsored by The Immigrant Learning Center.
cambridgeforum.org
---------- Wednesday ----------
Radical Film Night at the Lucy Parsons Center
Always Free
"Gaza Ghetto: Portrait Of A Palestinian Family" (1984)
Wed Feb 10, 7pm
Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue (Boston's South End)
Telephone: (617) 267-6272
Email: lucyparsons@tao.ca
Shows the impact of war on family life and community
identity. Produced in 1984, 21 years before complete
Israeli withdraw from Gaza.
lucyparsons.org
---------- Wednesday ----------
Poets for Haiti: a Benefit for Partners In Health
Harvard Grad School of Education
Longfellow Hall, Appian Way, Cambridge
Wednesday February 10th at 7:30pm
$10 Donation Requested
presented by HUCTW and the Woodberry Poetry Room
Poets include:
Robert Pinsky
Jorie Graham
Rosanna Warren
Gail Mazur
Afaa Michael Weaver
Fred Marchant
Christina Davis
Marilene Phipps-Kettlewell
Daniel Tobin
Patrick Sylvain
Jean-Dany Joachim
Wendy Mnookin
Kim Stafford
Tom Daley
Jericho Brown
Kevin Bowen
Frannie Lindsay
Barbara Helfgott-Hyett
Nadia Herman-Colburn
Donate Directly:
pih.org
---------- Wednesday ----------
THURSDAY, FEB 11, 2010
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Public symposium: 'Globalization and the Grassroots"
Thursday February 11, 2010 3pm-7:30pm
97 Cargill Hall, Northeastern University Law School
near corner of Boylston & Forsyth
(5 minute walk from either Green 'E' Line Northeastern T stop or
Orange Line Ruggles T stop)
Free admission and refreshments
Featuring scholars and local activists the event will explore themes
such as indigenous people and women, food sustainability and housing
movements, and the World Social Forum.
Preliminary Schedule
3:00 to 5:00pm- panel on "Global Activism and Emerging Transnational
Subjectivities"
Berna Turam, Northeastern University: Transnational Islam
Denise Horn, Northeastern University: Transnational Activism and
Global Civil Society
Manisha Desai, University of Connecticut: Transnational Feminism and
the World Social Forum
Sylvia Escarcega, Depaul University, CIESAS- Oaxaca: Global
Indigenous Movements
Janet Conway, Brock University: Transnational Activism and the World
Social Forum
Geoffrey Pleyers (University of Louvaine, London School of
Economics): Global Movements for Food Sustainability
Moderator: Alex Khasnabish, Mount Saint Vincent University
5:00 to 5:30pm- coffee break
5:30 to 7:30pm- panel on "Globalization, Crisis, and Grassroots
Responses"
Liza Weinstein, Northeastern University: Globalization and Housing
Movements in Mumbai
David Hess, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Localist Movements in a
Global Economy
Jackie Smith, University of Notre Dame: Globalization, Crisis, and
the US Social Forum
Thomas Ponniah, Harvard University: The World Social Forum and the
Left in Latin America
Giuseppe Caruso, University of Helsinki: Local Food Movements in India
Boston-based housing and tenant's rights activists
Moderator: Jeffrey S. Juris, Northeastern University
Sponsored by the Northeastern University College of Arts & Sciences,
Departments of Sociology & Anthropology and Political Science, and
Program in International Affairs
Contact: J.Juris@neu.edu
For more Info:
grassglobsymposium.wordpress.com
---------- Thursday ----------
Gaza Freedom March Report Back with Sarah Roche-Mahdi
Thursday February 11, 2010 6:30pm-9pm
Boston University Kenmore Classroom Building (KCB), Room 101,
565 Commonwealth Ave. (5 minute walk from Green 'B' Line Blandford Street T stop or from Kenmore Square)
Free admission, wheelchair accessible
The Gaza Freedom March brought together hundreds of people from 43
countries, including high-profile leaders, to challenge the inhumane
and illegal siege on Gaza. Organized by the US based CODE PINK and UK
based Viva Palestina, the march was intended to bring hundreds of
people to Egypt to march against the closed boarder with Palestine,
bringing badly needed humanitarian supplies. To our dismay the
Egyptian authorities did not allow the march to proceed and activists
scrambled to make their voices heard despite the overt repression.
Come hear the personal account of one woman's journey to Egypt with
the Gaza Freedom March!
Sponsored by the Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition, CODE PINK,
BU Students for Justice in Palestine, Socialist Party USA
contact Sarah Roche-Mahdi: MRochemahd@aol.com
RSVP on Facebook:
tinyurl.com/yjsuugl
or
facebook.com/event.php?eid=298336391976&ref=nf
---------- Thursday ----------
China Study Group discussion and New Year's dinner
Thursday February 11, 2010 discussion 6:30pm-7:30pm
Center for Marxist Education, 550 Mass Ave, Central Square, Cambridge
Dinner 7:30pm
Mary Chung Restaurant, 460 Mass Ave, Central Square, Cambridge
The discussion is free, but if you go out for dinner you have to pay
your share
For the next China study group we will discuss China's role at the
Copenhagen conference on the environment and also look at a New
Yorker article which talks about some of China's alternative energy
accomplishments (along with continuing serious pollution problems).
Then we will go to Mary Chung's restaurant to celebrate China's Lunar
New Year -- Year of the Tiger!
6:30 discussion
7:30 leave for restaurant
Duncan can send you the reading material, but worth coming anyway
Contact Duncan McFarland: mcfarland13@gmail.com
---------- Thursday ----------
Boston 9/11 Truth meeting
Thursday February 11, 2010, 6:30pm
Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Avenue, 5th floor
near corner of Harrison and Beach
(5 minute walk from either the Orange Line Chinatown T
stop or the Green Line Boylston T stop)
contact Richard Krushnic:
rkrushnic@gmail.com or 617-276-7839
---------- Thursday ----------
FRIDAY, FEB 12, 2010
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The Militant Labor Forum presents a video showing...
"Deacons for Defense"
Friday, Feb 12 at 7:30pm
Militant Labor Forum Hall
12 Bennington St., 2nd floor, East Boston
(T Blue Line to Maverick Station, bus or walk five
blocks down Meridian to Bennington at Liberty Plaza
traffic circle)
Suggested donation $5
The civil rights movement was marked by sustained mass
challenges to the Jim Crow system in the South that
drew millions of Black workers, farmers, and youth
into combat. The Ku Klux Klan and other segregationist
forces staged brutal, and often deadly, assaults on
movement leaders and foot soldiers. In response, armed
self-defense of Black communities played a critical
and under-appreciated role in the movement.
One example of this was the Deacons For Defense in
Louisiana, founded in 1965 in the town of Jonesboro.
Join a discussion after the film about the lessons of
this little known history.
Info:
themilitant.com
pathfinderpress.com
---------- Friday ----------
SATURDAY, FEB 13, 2010
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Boston UJP Strategy Conference
Sat Feb 13 1:00pm
The Democracy Center
Mt Auburn Street 1/2 block from Harvard Sq T stop
Cambridge
justicewithpeace.org
justicewithpeace.org/node/797
---------- Saturday ----------
OTHER EVENTS
SUNDAY, FEB 14, 2010
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Boston Anarchist Black Cross presents
Anti-Valentine's Day Dinner!
Sunday, February 14 at 6PM
Community Church of Boston
565 Boylston Street (Copley T stop)
Come alone, come with friends, bring a date, bring
multiple dates, bring your kids, bring your parents,
but come on over to Copley to take in the ambience and
eat delightful vegetarian food! Vegan and gluten-free
diets amply accommodated. Please notify us of any
food allergies.
Your ticket gets you a four course dinner with a
drink! Tickets start at $15 and you must get them in
advance. You can arrange this through one of our
friendly collective members when you see them, at the
Lucy Parsons Center, or through bostonabc@riseup.net
Write to: bostonabc@riseup.net
lucyparsons.org
---------- Sunday ----------
MONDAY, FEB 15, 2010
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Daniel Ellsberg to Speak for AFSC
Cambridge Friends Meeting
5 Longfellow Pk (just off Brattle St., near HarvardSq)
Monday February 15 at 5pm
Suggested contribution $10; no need to RSVP
Dan will be providing a "Critique of Obama's U.S.
National Security Policy"
During the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger described
Daniel Ellsberg as "The most dangerous man in
America." Dan remains among the most trenchant critics
of the national security state, pained and outraged by
the suffering it brings abroad and here at home.
A senior Pentagon and Rand Corporation official for
Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, Dan was
sentenced to 109 years in prison for making the
Pentagon Papers - the Pentagon's secret history of the
Vietnam war - public in a heroic effort to force an
end to the war's killing. Since then Dan has become a
long-term resource for the peace movement and has been
arrested many times for participating in nonviolent
protests.
Our program begins with a fund raising reception with
Dan (4:00 - 5:00 P.M.) for AFSC's Peace and Economic
Security Program. ($40 per person, please RSVP to 617-
661-6130 ext. 119)
afsc.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Boycott of Israeli Products and Services
(1) IDENTIFYING RETAIL PRODUCTS MADE IN ISRAEL
Examine the UPC ("Universal Product Code") section of the product's
label. (This is a bar code with 10-12 numeric digits at bottom.) If the
FIRST THREE DIGITS are 729, the product is made in Israel. (The "7"
will appear to left of the leftmost bar in the bar code.)
HTTP://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.php
(2) LIST OF COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO ISRAEL:
26 prominent companies with links to info
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.html#list
(3) BRANDS & LABELS TO BOYCOTT:
123 prominent brands and labels with links to info
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-brands.html
____________
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US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
How You Can Sustain the US Campaign
To generate more momentum and bring us closer to our
goal, we need sustained support. That's why we're
asking you to join our Olive Branch Club and make a
regular monthly tax-deductible contribution of $5-$200
per month.
____________
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Support MA Senate Bill (S931) on Fusion Center Oversight
Do you know about the Fusion Center?
It knows about you.
Please take a moment to ask your state legislators to
co-sponsor Senator Harriette Chandler's new bill -- An
Act Regarding the Commonwealth Fusion Center and Other
Intelligence Data Centers -- filed on behalf of the
ACLU of Massachusetts.
So what is the Fusion Center anyway?
In the aftermath of 9/11, then-Governor Mitt Romney
enlisted Massachusetts in a national plan to
centralize and expand the government's ability to
collect and retain detailed information on ordinary
Americans, for the professed purpose of preventing
terrorism.
Without public debate, Romney established the
Commonwealth Fusion Center, a multi-agency data-mining
hub which enables federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies to comb through information about
Massachusetts residents and engage in domestic
intelligence collection beyond the bounds of ordinary
criminal investigations.
Take action now! Find and contact your legislators.
Urge them to support Senator Chandler's bill to
provide oversight of the Commonwealth Fusion Center.
Historically, unregulated database-driven policing has
led to broad surveillance of completely lawful
activities, including protected First Amendment
activity -- and it's happening again in Massachusetts
in 2009.
The Fusion Center operates today with virtually no
independent oversight, without adequate privacy
protections, and without necessary protections for
constitutional rights. With your help, we can -- and
must -- shine a light on the Fusion Center's
operations and insist that any intelligence operations
in Massachusetts be conducted in keeping with
established civil liberties principles.
ACLU Announcement on Fusion oversight bill.
____________
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The Employee Free Choice Act is critical to our
economic recovery. Good union jobs helped build
America's middle class. This legislation will rekindle
the American Dream by leveling the playing field and
empowering workers to form unions and bargain for a
better life.
That's why greedy CEOs are terrified of this bill. One
top executive has called it "the demise of a
civilization." And they're fighting with underhanded
tactics, misleading ads, shady front groups and, of
course, big budgets.
But we can win if enough of us get involved. Members
of Congress have a weeklong break this month, and
we've planned hundreds of lobby meetings at their home
offices. Imagine those workers handing over our
petition and being able to say, "Two million people
support the Employee Free Choice Act."
a href=http://freechoiceact.org>Move us closer to 2 million signatures--it just takes
one minute.
____________
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Disgrace for Democracy, Israel is detaining right now
40% of the Palestinian MPs who represent the people
Disgrace for Democracy: 51 Palestinian MPs and
Ministers are Detained in Israeli prisons along with
11.870 Palestinian citizens
A serious crime and new political slap in the face for
democracy is committed by the Zionist system against
representatives of the Palestinian people by the
abduction of the Palestinian ministers and MPs.
The latest of which was the arrest of MP Ahmed al-Haj
from the city of Nablus on 16/12/2007. Al-Haj is over
Seventy-years old.
Earlier on the 10th MP Dr. Maryiam Saleh Minister for
Women in the Palestinian government has been abducted
too. Dr Mariyam is a member in the Legislative Council
from Ramallah governorate.
The Minister of Palestinian Prisoner is in prison
since many years... for the fifth time.
There are more than 11,870 Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli prisons, 117 of them are mothers. Some give
birth while chained, and their children are forced to
live in the cells where they do not live their
childhood or play or go out.
I don't have to tell you about lack of healthy
conditions, or medical negligence. Some prisoners are
denied warm clothes sent to them by their families.
They are held in 30 different prisons, and detention
centers. 1189 prisoners are schools, collage, and
universities students of both genders, 330 of the
detained are children. Not only the students were
detained, but their teachers too, there are 107
Palestinian teachers in Israeli prisons. 1150
Palestinian prisoners suffer acute illnesses.
A large number of the detained are denied visits by
family members.
Thousands of Palestinian detainees in the Negev desert
prison and other detention camps such as Ofer prison
near the town of Ramallah, Hawara, Qadumim, Megiddo,
Nafha, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon and other prisons are
shivering from the cold under waves of rain and
snowfall coming from northern regions of the world
especially that some are detained inside tents made of
cloth surrounded by walls open to the cruel cold of
the desert, living in wet tents caused by snow falls
and rain, sleeping on boards made of wood which gets
soaked wet.
Soon, April 17th is the International day of
prisoners. I hope you can join in denouncing what the
Israeli government is doing to those prisoners, and
demand their release to join their families.
Do not rely on journalism to get the news, journalists
were the first to be attacked and harassed so that you
do not know what was going on.
The records documented 1147 aggressive attacks on
journalists by the Israelis. Only between 28th of
September 2000, and 31st of March 2007.
Please sign the petition and buy those prisoners some
happiness.
We are hoping to get at least 11.000 signitures, one
for each prisoner, and present this petition to
International Human Rights bodies like Amnesty
International, and United Nations. Please Circulate
this petition to all the people you can get the
message through to them. It is about time we show
solidarity for each other on human level.
Sponsored by:
Iqbal Tamimi Creator of Palestinian Mothers Network
____________
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Israel's recent war on the occupied Gaza Strip brought
death and destruction to Palestinians, and a windfall
for war profiteers. Around the world, people are
standing up and saying "No more" by boycotting and
divesting from corporations that profit from Israel's
human rights abuses. The people of Stockholm have
severed their contract with the transit/waste removal
corporation Veolia due to Veolia's involvement with
Israel's settlements, and British Telecom company
FreedomCall has ceased their cooperation with Israeli
counterpart MobileMax due to the war on Gaza.
Join this growing global movement for boycotting,
divesting from and sanctioning (BDS) those who support
Israel's military occupation of Palestinian
territories by becoming an organizer for our Hang Up
On Motorola campaign. Motorola makes a lot more than
cell phones - they also make at least four products
that directly support Israel's occupation of and
assaults on Palestinians. This is why we've created a
tool-kit for boycotting Motorola until its products
are no longer used by Israel to abuse Palestinian
human rights.
Why Motorola?.
Bomb Fuses: Motorola Israel sells fuses
that the Israeli Air Force uses in its MK-80
series of bombs. On July 30, 2006, during
its war on Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force
dropped an MK-84 bomb on an apartment
building in Qana, Lebanon, killing at least
28 civilians.
Communication Devices for Occupation:
Motorola's $100 million "Mountain Rose"
communication system enhances the
efficiency of Israeli occupying forces.
Patterns of human rights violations in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories include,
but are not limited to, the killing and
injuring of civilians, torture, extra-judicial
assassinations, deliberate destruction of
civilian infrastructure, acts of collective
punishment, and economic warfare.
Surveillance Devices for Israel's Illegal Wall:
Motorola supplies the "Wide Area
Surveillance System" (WAAS) to monitor
and maintain Israel's illegal wall,
constructed in violation of the July 2004
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
advisory opinion. This wall is perhaps the
strongest symbol of Israeli Apartheid,
carving the West Bank into Bantustans.
Surveillance Devices for Israel's Illegal
Settlements: Motorola has made $93
million providing radar detection devices
and thermal cameras for 47 illegal Israeli
settlements on Palestinian land.
Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land, its
illegal settlements, illegal wall, and
continued occupation would not be
possible without Motorola's compliance.
____________
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Film: "Occupation 101"
A "Must See" That Untangles the Web of Lies
The truth is buried about Israel's occupation of
Palestine through sophisticated repetition of
irrelevant rhetoric, distorted shuffling of time and
placement of people's histories and other devious ways
of keeping many afraid to form an opinion or act on
outrage.
Well, here's a good cure for that - pick up a copy of
Occupation 101 and you won't have to worry about being
on any fences in regards to this issue. This highly
informative video documentary will keep your mind
attentive and clear all cobwebs in the brain by
getting to the root cause of violence from the
occupier and resistance from the occupied, all
embellished with current examples and very pertinent
comparisons to Apartheid South Africa.
A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on
the current and historical root causes of the Israeli
occupation of Palestine. Unlike any other film ever
produced on the conflict - 'Occupation 101' presents a
comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths
surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels
many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.
The film also details life under Israeli military
rule, the role of the United States in the conflict,
and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a
lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict
are explained through first-hand on-the-ground
experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace
activists, journalists, religious leaders and
humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been
suppressed in American media outlets.
The film covers a wide range of topics -- which
include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from
Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war,
the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo
Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the
United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000,
the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials
from victims of this tragedy.
Tripoli Productions, DVD, NTSC all regions, 1.5 hour
plus bonus features.
leftbooks.com
____________
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From our activist friend Sandy Coy, who runs a weekly
vigil Thursday afternoons in Wayland:
I am writing to ask activists, as well as my family
and others who are not political activists, to join me
in a simple action to launch what the whole world
hopes will be a fresh start in a better direction. I
feel I must write after reading a book today that one
of my children gave me for Christmas, "Poems from
Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak."
Most of the detainees do not know these poems were
saved, declassified (much of their writing still has
not been), translated and published. But it has
happened, through the persistent work of many
volunteer legal advocates. In these poems, the
goodness of many souls and their hope in God and their
fellow men for justice comes through. Some of the
poems moved me to tears of both sorrow and shame.
But tears for them or anyone unjustly imprisoned will
do no good. Doing something as simple as writing a
brief card can actually help people who are being
unjustly imprisoned.
How? When prisoners receive volumes of international
mail, their jailers know they have lost the cover of
anonymity. This leads to better treatment for the
prisoner and ultimately their release, just to get the
public spotlight to go away.
So, here's what I am asking of myself, my family and
of you, which shouldn't take more than a few minutes:
Write out one or more cards for selected prisoners of
conscience from any of 12 countries (one is a
Guantanamo detainee) identified by Amnesty
International.
This card to a prisoner of conscience is probably
going to mean more than any other card we sent this
year.
____________
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From the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between
People (via our correspondent Mazin Qumsiyeh):
So far hundreds of civilians have been killed in Gaza.
Five sisters in one family, four other children in
another home, two children on a cart drawn by a
donkey. Universities, colleges, police stations,
roads, apartment buildings were all targeted. The UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied
Palestinian areas issued a statement that "The Israeli
airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent s evere and
massive violations of international humanitarian law
as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard
to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the
requirements of the laws of war."
Twenty-five things to do to bring peace with justice:
1) First get the facts and then disseminate them.
Here are some basic background information
Israei Information Center for Human Rights
PNGO Condemnation of Gaza Attack
Middle East Peace
United for Peace
Electronic Intifada on Gaza Attack
2) Contact local media. Write letters to editors
(usually 100-150 words) and longer op-eds (usually 600-
800 words) for local newspapers. But also write to
news departments in both print, audio, and visual
media about their coverage.
In the US you can find
media listings in your country using search engines
like google.
3) Contact elected and other political leaders in your
country to urge them to apply pressure to end the
attacks. In the US, Contact the State Department at
202.647.5291, the White House 202-456-1111 the
Egyptian Embassy 202.895.5400,
embassy@egyptembassy.net and the Obama Transition
Team 202-540-3000 (then press 2 to speak with a staff
member).
4) Organize and join demonstrations in front of
Israeli and Egyptian embassies or when not doable in
front of your parliament, office of elected officials,
and any other visible place (and do media work for
it).
5) Hold a teach-in, seminar, public dialogue,
documentary film viewing etc. this is
straightforward: you need to decide venue, nature, if
any speakers, and do some publicity (the internet
helps).
6) Pass out fliers with facts and figures about
Palestine and Gaza in your community (make sure also
to mention its relevance to the audience: e.g, US
taxpayers paying for the carnage, increase in world
instability and economic uncertainty).
7) Put a Palestinian flag at your window.
8) Wear a Palestinian head scarf (Koufiya).
9) Wear Black arm bands (this helps start conversations with people).
10) Send direct aid to Gaza through the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
11) Initiate boycotts, divestments and sanctions at
all levels and including asking leaders to expel the
Israeli ambassadors (an ambassador of an apartheid and
rogue state).
See Palestinian call.
12) Work towards bringing Israeli leaders before war
crime courts (actions along those lines in courts have
stopped Israeli leaders from traveling abroad to some
countries like Britain where they may face charges).
13) Calling upon all Israelis to demonstrate in front
of their war ministry and to more directly challenge
their government.
14) Do outreach: to neighbors and friends directly.
Via Internet to a lot of others (you can join and post
information to various listservs/groups).
15) Start your own activist group or join other local
groups (simple search in your city with the word
Palestine could identify candidate groups that have
previously worked on issues of Palestine). Many have
also been successful in at bringing coalitions from
different constituencies in their local areas to work
together (human rights group, social and civil
activists, religious activists, etc).
16) Develop a campaign of sit-ins at government
offices or other places where decision makers
aggregate.
17) Do a group fast for peace one day and hold it in a
public place.
18) Visit Palestine (e.g. with Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies).
19) Support human rights and other groups working on
the ground in Palestine.
20) Make large signs and display them at street
corners and wherever people congregate.
21) Contact local churches, mosques, synagogues, and
other houses of worship and ask them to take a moral
stand and act. Call on your mosque to dedicate this
Friday for Gaza actions.
22) Sign petitions for Gaza, e.g.
Gaza: Stop the Bloodshed Petition.
23) Write and call people in Gaza.
24) Work with other groups that do not share your
political views (factionalism and excessive divisions
within activist communities allowed those who advocate
war to succeed).
25) Dedicate a certain time for activism for peace
every day (1 hour) and think of more actions than what
is listed above.
For support and contacts of people in Gaza or to
volunteer, please contact the Palestinian Center for
Rapprochement Between People, via gaza@imemc.org, or
call 989-607-9480 (from the US and Canada) or 972 2277
2018 (from other places).
____________
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The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
(ICAHD) in Jerusalem has been informed that its
request for re-funding has been rejected, in high
probability because of pressure brought to bear by
right-wing Israeli neo-cons who have campaigned
obsessively against our funding while threatening
publicly to close us down.
Tax-deductible donations needed.
____________
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We have quietly been working away at TecsChange in Chinatown 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
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We now ship anywhere in the continental US; please see
our website for details . Olive Branch Olive Oil
comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural
Relief Committees (PARC), a non-profit,
non-governmental organization in the West Bank. 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.
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 worsens, 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.
Olive Branch Olive Oil is extra-virgin and
comes in 750 ml (25 ounce) green glass bottles.
Produced from the first pressing of the olives, extra-
virgin olive oil contains no more than 0.8% acidity,
and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be
no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil. Unopened
bottles of olive oil are generally good for up to two
years, and should be kept in a cool, dry place, away
from direct sunlight. Palestinian farmers
traditionally care for their trees without the use of
pesticides or sprays.
Olive Branch Olive Oil is an
outgrowth of a 2003 effort by Middle East peace
activists in the Boston area to support Palestinian
farmers. Since then, it has evolved into an ongoing
volunteer project to create a U.S. market for
Palestinian olive oil. Our goal is to make a tangible
difference in the lives of the farmers and their
families.
Any funds that are raised above and beyond the cost of
the oil, importing fees and administrative and
marketing costs are re-invested in purchasing more
oil. Out of that amount, 15% is donated directly to
worthy projects in Palestine. Past donation
recipients include:
Gush Shalom Emergency Relief Convoy
Badil
Palestinian Children's Relief Fund
Gaza Community Mental Health Program
Zochrot
Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
Birthright Unplugged
American Friends Svc. Comm. Middle East Crisis Fund
American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)
Olive Harvest Coalition
Union of Palestinian Women's Committees
Ibdaa Cultural Center
Grassroots International
Taayoush
How to Order
On our website with PAYPAL
or send a check to P.O. Box 1064, Arlington, MA 02474.
Each case contains twelve (12) 750ml bottles.
Prices for local pick-up in Arlington or Cambridge:
Case price $170/case
Bulk price for 7+ cases: $150/case
Bulk price for 10+ cases: $145/case
Case price shipped within continental US: $195/case
3 Bottles shipped within continental US: $65/3 bottles
For more information.
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EVERY SUNDAY
---------- Every Sunday----------
12-1pm Amherst Peace Vigil
Town Common, Amherst
For more, contact Mark Watkins
---------- Every Sunday----------
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1:30pm Cambridge Peace Vigil
Mass. Ave., and Garden St., next to Cambridge Common.
---------- Every Monday ----------
11:45AM-12:15PM: Vigil for Gaza
Memorial Church in Harvard Yard
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.
---------- Every Monday ----------
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.
---------- Every Tuesday----------
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Tuesday Weekly Anti-War Vigil 5:30-6:30pm Copley Square
---------- Every Wednesday----------
NOON-12:30 PM: Harvard-Cambridge Walk for Peace
Starts at John Harvard Statue, Harvard Yard.
Every Wednesday. All are welcome.
Meet briefly at the statue to exchange thoughts,
then walk silently around the Yard and nearby streets,
returning to the statue by 12:30pm.
---------- Every Thursday----------
5-6 PM: Antiwar Vigil in Newton
Corner of Beacon and Center Streets, Newton Center
Organizer: Newton Dialogues on Peace and War
---------- Every Thursday----------
5-6 PM: Veterans for Peace vigil
West Side Rotary, Augusta, Maine
---------- Every Thursday ----------
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9 PM: 911 Researchers Conference Call
Join the Boston Tea Party Conference call,
Participant call in: 402-756-9100; Access code: 680903#
---------- Every Friday----------
7-9 AM: Socialist Alternative Radio in Boston
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.
---------- Every Friday----------
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Noon-1PM in front of JFK Federal Building, Boston.
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.
---------- Every Friday----------
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12:30 PM: Women in Black Vigil
Lithgow Library, Augusta, Maine
---------- Every Friday----------
4:30-6 PM: Protest AIPAC - every Friday
Kennedy Sch of Govnt
79 JFK St, Harvard Sq, Cambridge
Organized by AntiWar League
---------- Every Friday----------
6-8PM: *Chillin Against the Villins*
DeMilitarized Zone*
Corner of Mass ave and Boylston st!!!
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.
---------- Every Saturday----------
Saturday Anti-War Vigils
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- 11-11:30am Weston, Old Boston Post Rd at School St
Traffic island with flowerpot, Contact person: Mary Shaw
- 11-11:45am Quincy City Hall
- Noon-1pm Natick Center (Rt 27 & 135)
- Noon-1pm Sudbury Town Hall
- Noon-1pm Coolidge Corner, Brookline Peace Works
- 12:30 PM Needham Center on the Green
- 1-2pm Park Street T station
---------- 1st & 3rd Saturday----------
11A-NOON:
1st Saturday of Month
Corner of Main & Moody Streets, by the Common.
Parking: On-street or the lot on Center St.
3rd Saturday of Month
Corner of Moody and Pine Streets, by Watch City Brewery.
Parking: On-street or Embassy Theatre lot on Pine Street
Useful Links (alphabetized)
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