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25 Actions to Support Gaza JusticeCall US Congress to Stop Blockade on Gaza |
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TJR EVENT ARCHIVE |
With a second showing of "Eyewitness Gaza," Wednesday, January 28, 7 pm
SEE ALSO:
An exhibit of photographs by Skip Schiel about Gaza, at the University Lutheran Church in Harvard Square, Cambridge MA. "Gaza is home to one & one-half million human beings: How do they live?"
January 15 to April 12, 2009
University Lutheran church, Cambridge, Harvard Square,
66 Winthrop St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (www.unilu.org)
(off JFK St, near Staples)
Hours: Mon - Thurs, 10 AM - 4, Sun 9 AM - 12
Until recently we didn't hear much about Gaza, a narrow sliver of land in Palestine-Israel that is home to 1.5 million Palestinians?some 75% of them refugees since 1948 when the state of Israel was founded, and 1967, after the Six Day War. With the carnage reported daily?rocket attacks by militants against Israeli civilians and Israel's air, sea, and land attacks on Gaza, as Israel has killed more than 1000 Palestinians, half of them civilians, with more than 4000 injuries?the region is now in the anguished hearts of many. Skip Schiel, a photojournalist from Cambridge Massachusetts, offers the exhibit and multi media presentations about Gaza.
Mr. Schiel has traveled and photographed in Israel- Palestine over a five-year period, usually three months each year. Using photographs and stories, he will present his experiences from his last journey to the land of troubles in January 2008. The photographer visited the apparent site of the 2003 killing of Rachel Corrie, a young woman working with Palestinians in Rafah. He toured the area near the Egyptian border wall which four days later Gazans breached in a nonviolent attempt to break the siege. While in Gaza Mr. Schiel worked with the American Friends Service Committee youth program, teaching and photographing.
Free and open to the public. Donations accepted at the door for the January 28th show. Photographs on sale.
Website: teeksaphoto.org
Blog: skipschiel.wordpress.com
617-876-3256, x 201 or 617-441-7756
United for Justice with Peace will have a community pot luck brunch from 10am to 1pm Sunday Jan 25. (These happen periodically.)
Please bring some juice or brunch food to share if you can.
First, we eat together. Then, a meeting.
Draft agenda...
-Gaza, updates and plans
-Cut Military Spending/Beyond War, and A New Economy
is Possible - reports and plans
-Updates on task groups from Nov 22 meeting
-March 21 and April 4 demonstrations
-Community group listserve
-Scheduling the next UJP strategy meeting
Please send your agenda items to Vicky Steinitz at vicky.steinitz@umb.edu
Questions? Quickly write Susan Lees .
Nancy Murray, who has visited Gaza a dozen times over the past 20 years, was denied entry in late October. She and 100 international health workers and academics tried to enter the Gaza Strip to speak at a conference, but ended up demonstrating at its border. She will talk about the recent history of Gaza and prevailing conditions today. Why has Jimmy Carter called the siege "an atrocity, a crime, an abomination" and Israeli activist Michel Warchawski declared that "Israel is conducting a rampant genocide against the people of Gaza"? What is our responsibility?
Dr. Murray is founder and president of the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, which raises funds for the work of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program founded by Dr. Eyad el Sarraj. She is also on the advisory board of U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, as well as a member of various activist groups including the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights.
A Panel Discussion with...
Ellen Frank, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, a member of the Dollars & Sense collective, and author of The Raw Deal: How Myths and Misinformation about Deficits, Inflation, and Wealth Impoverish America (2004).
Steve Early, active in the labor movement since 1972 as a journalist, lawyer, organizer, and union representative.
Jim Crutchfield, an attorney and active member and former officer of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
Light refreshments and spirited discussion
Sponsored by the Boston Radical Education Project, dedicated to providing a forum for left education and discussion.
$5 suggested donation -- no one turned away for lack of funds.
For more information, contact the Boston Radical Education Project, repboston@gmail.com, 617-491-2876.
We invite folks to show up at 4:30 Kids show from around 5-6pm
Feasting and eating from 6-7pm
More adult kinda set from 7pm-8pm or so (although folks with kids are welcome to stay if they want!)
Then more feasting and jamming from 8pm or so until 9:30 or so ..
Group cleanup and then we end by 10pm
David Rovics - for those of you who don't know his music, is a world renowned folk musician of highly political, uprising, radical and incredible music he has opened for amy goodman, howard zinn, noam chomsky - been lauded by democracy now, pete seeger and many others...
We're at 33 Dalrymple Street in Jamaica Plain - a couple blocks from the stony brook T on the orange line. there will be limited seating for those who need it especially and then a lot of floor...
We are asking for a donation of $10-20 (although if you can't afford it, come anyway or just drop in a few bucks!)
David also recently put out his first children's CD of pirate songs for kids...
Hope you can come!!
We welcome you to join us for this critical and timely discussion. Drawing on presentations by Majora Carter, Timothy Gorringe, David Korten and Nestor Miguez, we will consider together: Is there a theological basis for living abundantly while striving for justice and sustainability?
Re-imagine an abundant world measured not by personal consumption but by just and sustainable relations with nature and communities.
Register for this event by Monday January 26th by contacting Christina English at cenglish@mit.edu. This event is offered in partnership with Trinity Institute, The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, and the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. For more information on the speakers and conference topic, see Trinity Institute website (not given).
Video presentations featuring:
Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx & MacArthur "Genius" Fellow.
Timothy Gorringe, author of "A Theology of the Built Environment: Justice, Empowerment, Redemption"
David Korten, author of "When Corporations Rule the World" and "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community"
Nestor Miguez, Professor at Instituto Universitario ISEDT, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Mon.-Sun., Jan. 26-Feb. 1
Free and open to all.
Wheelchair accessible.
Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama,
539 Tremont St., South End, Boston
617-426-5000 option 1
Description: Bread and Puppet Theater Artistic
Director Peter Schumann's most recent visual art
exploration, consisting of very large paintings
depicting the real story of a Haitian-American woman
who received notice about her house being foreclosed
and then being told about the death of her eldest son
who was serving in the U.S. military.
Exhibit details:
Mon., Jan. 26, 6-8 pm: opening reception, with an art
talk given by Schumann and live music performed by
Debo (
Tues.-Fri., Jan. 27-30: regular Cyclorama hours: 9am- 5pm [Thursday & Friday hours extended up to and after the evening performance];
Sat.-Sun., Jan. 31-Feb. 1: one hour before and after each matinee and evening performance.
Although all Bread and Puppet events have a seriousness of purpose a few laughs are always thrown in!
Join a Low Carbon Living group 2nd and 4th Mondays in Jan. & Feb., 6:30pm Harbor School, 11 Charles Street, across the street from the Fields Corner T-station.
Join a small group for a series of 4 meetings focused on measuring and reducing your "carbon footprint." Use the Low Carbon Diet workbook to learn tips and tricks for saving money while you help save the world. See the power of your actions at home magnified as you connect with others doing the same in Boston and elsewhere. And if you've already done what you can at home to conserve energy and reduce your "carbon footprint," learn how to teach your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors how to save energy too.
Co-led by BostonCAN and ACORN members.
Info:
Loie at BostonCAN at 617-278-1885
or Chris at ACORN at 617-436-7100
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, NOON EST
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Last Chance to Register for Grassroots Advocacy
Training/Lobby Day, Feb. 1-2, Washington, DC
REGISTER TODAY TO GAIN IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR YOUR
ACTIVISM & MAKE AN IMPACT IN THE NEW CONGRESS.
Join Interfaith Peace-Builders and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation for a unique opportunity to make real change. Your participation will enrich your understanding of the conflict and help build a strong grassroots U.S. movement for peace and justice in Palestine/Israel.
QUICK LINKS:
HOW TO SET UP YOUR CONGRESSIONAL VISITS
0127 Tue 1730pm (Haiti forum w/Amy Goodman, JFK Libr)
Partners In Health and Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti invite you to Change Haiti Can Believe In with Matt Damon, Paul Farmer, Linda Dorcena Forry, and Brian Concannon, Jr.
Moderated by Amy Goodman (host of Democracy Now!)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. John F. Kennedy Library (at UMassBoston) Smith Center Boston, MA
Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health; actor and activist Matt Damon, who recently visited Haiti to assist victims devastated by hurricanes; Massachusetts State Representative and Haitian American Linda Dorcena Forry; and Brian Concannon, Jr., director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, share their stories of eradicating disease and injustice in one of the world's poorest nations, and discuss how changes in U.S. policy can help to build strength and prosperity.
To register for the event, please visit the Kennedy Library Forums website (not supplied).
Live webcast will be available at www.pih.org.
American Travesty
When 46 people were arrested for drug offenses in the sleepy Texas town of Tulia, the local lawman was hailed as a hero. But there was a problem - almost all of the defendants were black, and there wasn't a shred of evidence. Andrew Gumbel reports on an extraordinary story of racism and police corruption.
Kizzie White was still fast asleep when the police came knocking on her door in the early hours on 23 July, 1999. She had no idea what they could possibly want. After all, she was an ordinary 24-year-old mother of two small children living in Tulia, a small, dusty farming town of 5,000 souls in northern Texas. She had never been in trouble for anything in her life.
They told her, to her astonishment, that she was under
arrest on drugs charges and ordered her out of the
house. She asked if she could at least put her clothes
on, but they said no. "I had on boxers and a T-shirt
with no underclothes on. With no shoes on," she
recounts much later. "Basically, they took me out half-
naked."
Hostelling International and Boston Cares, in collaboration with WGBH, are proud to bring this unique film series to Boston.
Each month, Community Cinema screenings offer special sneak previews of films scheduled for upcoming broadcast on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens.
Community Cinema screenings also feature panel discussions with leading community-based organizations and special guest speakers, as well as information and resources designed to help people learn about and get involved in today's key social issues.
Debt - government, corporate, and household - has reached astronomical proportions. Where does all this money come from? How could there be that much money to lend?
Paul Grignon's 47-minute animated presentation tells in very simple and effective graphic terms what money is and how it is being created. The film is a hard- hitting educational tool that explains the unsustainable monetary system in Canada and the United States.
Join us in a campaign to get all charges against the Hyde Square 7 dropped and oppose ongoing repression.
On October 21st, 7 members of the International Socialist Organization in Jamaica Plain, MA were harassed by police as they stood in conversation on a public sidewalk. When they spoke up about their right to stand on public sidewalk and requested reasons for why the police wanted their identifications, they were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Currently, all motions for dismissal have been denied and the Hyde Square 7 face trial January 28.
The Hyde Square 7 were targeted for their political ideas, their activism, and for knowing the law.
This incident is one example of the repression used by the police and the State to squash dissent, especially during times of war. In today's climate of the 'war on terror', the repression of left-wing activists goes hand in hand with attacks on Arabs, Muslims and other minorities. As the economic crisis deepens and US Imperialism escalates, we must defend our own rights and civil liberties.
We need courtroom solidarity! Join us January 28, 9am,
at West Roxbury Court, 445 Arborway (T-stop Forest
Hills). Court starts at 9am, so please show up early!
Keith Rosenthal
Thank you for getting the momentum started at the State House! We know we can win legislation to save affordable housing this year and that is why we are asking you to join fellow HUD Tenants at the State House on Wednesday, January 28th for a Tenant Lobby Day!
Our mission on the 28th will be to get co-sponsors for the Statewide Enabling Act to Save Affordable Housing. Meet at 10am at the State House Cafeteria (4th floor). If you arrive late, call 617-233-1885 or 857-719-8914 to find us.
To follow up on our work on the 28th, we will be at the State House on Thursday, January 29th and February 2nd, 3rd, and 4th (the deadline for getting co- sponsors). If you can join us any one of these days, contact the MAHT office at 617-267-2949.
Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants 42 Seaverns Avenue Jamaica Plain MA 02130 maht@saveourhomes.org
0128 Wed 1130am ($panel on wage theft, 26WestStBoston)
Organizing for a Just Economy: Stopping Wage Theft and Other Sins Against Workers
A luncheon, presentation, and panel discussion Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 11:30 a.m. SEIU Local 615, 26 West Street, Boston
Featured Presenter: Kim Bobo, executive director, Interfaith Worker Justice, and author of Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Americans Are Not Getting Paid--And What We Can Do About It
Panelists:
Prof. Thomas Kochan, Sloan School of Management, MIT, and member of Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice
Audrey Richardson, Esq., senior attorney, Greater Boston Legal Services
Rev. Laurel Scott, New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
Jim Snow, Painter DC 35
Tickets $30; tables $300 (for ten) and $400 (patron level).
All proceeds to benefit the Massachusetts Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice.
Make checks payable to the Massachusetts Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. Please mail check by Jan. 19 to Massachusetts Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, 145 Tremont Street, Suite 202, Boston, MA 02111. All tickets will be held at the door. Please RSVP for luncheon to info@massinterfaith.org by Jan. 26.
Massachusetts Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice 145 Tremont Street, Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111 (617) 840-5860 (cell) (617) 316-0451 (office)
For more information and to RSVP, contact Anthony Zuba, lead organizer, at (617) 840-5860 or e-mail.
Film donated by Consulate of Boliviarian Republic of Venezuela.
"Direccion de Salud Indigena: Motor del Derecho a la Salud" Documentary about combining indigenous traditions of healing within the Venezuelan health care system.
Veteran Washington Post correspondent Robert G. Kaiser exposes the impact of lobbyists and their money on American government. From the cost of political campaigns to the way legislation is written, how has lobbying changed in recent decades? How does the growing power of the lobbyists affect ordinary citizens?
Help Tell Governor Patrick: Put Patients First
Protect Community Safety-net hospitals. Protect patient care. Protect Boston Medical Center. Protect Cambridge Health Alliance. Protect patient care.
Ask Governor Patrick to Put Patients First.
Many of our healthcare worksites are struggling in the current economy. However, Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance are facing the deepest and most severe threats of layoffs and service reductions.
Community members, patients, and health care workers will rally together at the Massachusetts State House in Boston to protect community safety-net hospitals and the vital health services our families and neighborhoods depend on.
Recent health care funding cuts by Governor Patrick could financially devastate care delivery and patient services at the hospitals and clinics that low-income and minority neighborhoods depend upon the most to keep our families healthy.
Protect community safety-net hospitals. Protect patient care.
Contact: Jenny (1199SEIU) at 877-409-1199
Visit Put Patients First today to send an urgent message to Governor Patrick and to RSVP for the rally.
On January 13, 2009, before a packed house at MIT, Noam Chomsky addressed the crisis in Gaza for 53 minutes followed by a 55-minute question and answer session.
[Chomsky's main address was aired on Truth & Justice Radio on January 18; entire audio remains available for download at radio4all.net.]
As always, Chomsky asks us to think about commonly held views: "The question is not whether Israel has the right to defend itself, but whether it has the right to defend itself by force."
Questions asked by the audience include: "Why do you gloss over the Hamas crimes against Israel?" "Why don't journalists practice the journalism they were taught at university?" "How do you personally decide what is a fact and what is propaganda?"
The Documentary Film & Discussion Series meets every 2nd Thursday and 4th Tuesday of the month for an in- depth look at important topics of our day. The discussions are often lively and thought-provoking.
SOURDOUGH PHILOSOPHY
SPECTACLE & CIRCUS
Boston Center for the Arts
CYCLORAMA
performances January 29 through February 1
in partnership with the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama Residency Series
(Boston, MA) The Boston Center for the Arts co-
presents the Bread and Puppet Theater's Sourdough
Philosophy Spectacle & Circus as part of the BCA's
Cyclorama Residency Series. Events run from January 26
through February 1. Performances, Art Exhibit, and
Cheap Art Sale all held in the Boston Center for the
Arts Cyclorama, 539 Tremont St., South End, Boston.
Wheelchair accessible. Tickets for the performances
available for purchase [cash or check only] in the
Cyclorama one hour before each show. For advance
tickets, log onto
Back by popular demand, the award-winning Bread and
Puppet Theater, featuring Artistic Director Peter
Schumann and his troupe of 8 Vermont puppeteers,
returns for a third year to the Cyclorama bringing
their signature powerful imagery, masked characters,
and giant papier-mâché puppets. Their residency
includes two different puppet shows (the 'spectacle',
primarily for ages 12 & older, and the "family-
friendly' circus) and a week-long political art
exhibit.
Detailed listings information:
Evening Shows [recommended for ages 12 & older]:
Bread and Puppet Theater: Sourdough Philosophy
Spectacle
Jan. 29-Feb. 1, Thurs.-Sun., 7 pm
$12 general admission [students, seniors, & groups of
10 or more $10]
Description: "The Sourdough Philosophy Spectacle" is
about the need for human fermentation. It takes a
lesson from how apple cider is made. Our republic
teases us with the possibility of democracy, but
citizens are raised like military apple orchards,
pruned down to their predictable minimums, yielding
controlled fruits that lack the ecstasy of nature.
However, human fermentation occurs in parts of the
human body that are not governed by the government,
like the guts and the gutsy parts of the brain.
Fermented citizens are corrupted by the ecstasy of
nature and from that corruption, derive strength to
corrupt military-orchard citizens. The show is run by
a bunch of cooks, specialists in cooking the various
stews and pancakes of our everyday first world
existence. Performed by Peter Schumann and the Bread &
Puppet Company, along with a large number of local
volunteer puppeteers and musicians. Informal talk back
with the artists follows each performance.
Family-Friendly Matinees:
Bread and Puppet Theater: Sourdough Philosophy Circus
Jan. 31-Feb. 1, Sat.-Sun., 3 pm [Take note that the
Sunday matinee performance will be ASL interpreted by
Jody Steiner.]
$10 / $5 students and seniors / children 2 and under
free
Description: The family friendly "The Sourdough
Philosophy Circus" is about the need for human
fermentation, taking a lesson from how apple cider is
made. The concept is applied to dancing zebras and
turkeys and free range cows. The show is run by a
bunch of cooks, specialists in cooking the various
stews and pancakes of our everyday first world
existence. Additional commentary is provided by the
Rotten Idea Theater Company. Music is by the Sourdough
Philosophy Brass Band, joined by local musicians.
Performed by Peter Schumann and the Bread & Puppet
Company, along with a large number of local volunteer
puppeteers. Take note that some of the circus acts are
politically puzzling to adults, but accompanying kids
can usually explain them.
The Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition wants to help homeowners reduce their utility bills by offering a 3-part speaker series on home energy efficiency - "Home Energy Efficiency 101" beginning on January 29 at Cary Library.
With climate change heading toward a dangerous tipping point and fuel costs fluctuating wildly, now is the time to reduce energy leaks in our homes. All homes, whether new or old, can have leaks that can be the same as leaving a window wide open all winter.
The first talk, "Home Energy Audits" will feature Dan Valianti of Next Step Living, Inc., a home energy audit firm that has already completed a number of audits in Lexington. Next Step Living (NSL) is a Massachusetts-based business dedicated to saving homeowners money on their monthly utility bills, making the home more comfortable, and helping the environment by reducing the home carbon footprint. An energy audit is an important first step in assessing how much energy your home consumes and what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. A professional auditor pinpoints sources of heat loss, determines the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling systems, shows you ways to conserve hot water and electricity, and provides a report that includes steps you can take to achieve significant energy cost reduction over time. A professional auditor uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. Thorough audits typically use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the overall tightness in the building envelope, and infrared cameras, which reveal areas of air infiltration and where insulation is needed.
The second talk in the series is "Lowering Your Electricity Bills" on Tuesday, February 24. The third talk is "Alternative Energy Installations for Homeowners" on Monday, March 23. The series is free and open to all. All talks begin at 7pm in the Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Mass. Ave., Lexington. Seating is limited.
Bahey el-din Hassan, Director Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Visiting Professor Harvard University
The first annual report on the state of human rights in the Arab world released by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies aims at providing analytical reading of the trends of development or deterioration in human rights and democracy, both at countries level or at the aggregate level of the Arab region..
Brown bag lunch. Light refreshments provided. This event is open to the public.
Co-sponsored with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
The Middle East Initiative
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Everyone, even the Right, are predicting the left FMLN party is on track to capture El Salvador's presidency in March 2009. The rightwing ARENA party is poised to lose their stranglehold on power and they're desperate and using violence and fraud to sway the elections.
Just returned from the excitement of El Salvador's January 18th legislative and local elections, CISPES representative Lisa Fuller will report on the election results, the grassroots social struggle and the prospects for the FMLN to win the Presidential elections in March.
There will be refreshments and a discussion of the questions:
How will the Salvadoran rightwing respond to an FMLN victory?
What will be the Obama Administration's stance toward an FMLN government?
What does an FMLN presidency mean for Free Trade and CAFTA in El Salvador?
How can we in North America support free & fair elections in El Salvador, including observing the March elections in El Salvador!
Be a part of history!
contact Boston CISPES
617.576.1709
Traducción al español/
Translation to Spanish available
Suggested Donation -- Program: $5 Dinner $5
CUBA: AN AFRICAN ODYSSEY describes internationalist
missions in which hundreds of thousands of Cuban
volunteers, combatants and military trainers, as well
as doctors, nurses, teachers, and construction
workers gave decisive aid to struggles in Africa
against colonialism, neocolonialism, and apartheid.
CUBA: AN AFRICAN ODYSSEY combines remarkable archival
footage with an amazing cast of participants in
telling of Cuba's pivotal role in the liberation
movements in Africa.
By train, take the blue line to Maverick Station and
walk down Meridian about 5 blocks to Bennington, at
the Liberty Plaza
0131 Sat 1900pm (Gaza gathering/benefit, PCCP Allston)
Community Gathering & Benefit Dinner/Fundraiser
for
The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
Saturday, Jan 31st @ 7:00PM
Palestine Cultural Center for Peace
41 Quint Avenue, Allston
Speakers
Message from Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, Founder and Director,
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, and
Commissioner-General of the Palestinian Independent
Commission for Citizens' Rights.
Nancy Murray, President of the Gaza Community Mental
Health Foundation
Sherif Fam, Producer of "This Week in Palestine"
segment of Truth & Justice Radio (WZBC 6-10am Sundays)
And
A fundraising sale of privately-donated items
0131 Sat 1930 (MCHC coffeehouse, ArlSrCtr)
Mass. Coalition for Healthy Communities
Come to an evening of music, poetry and community-
building for People, Peace, & the Planet
January 31, 7:30 PM
Arlington Senior Center
27 Maple St., corner of Academy & Maple Sts.,
behind Arlington Town Hall, Arlington, MA.
(Suggested donation $10.00)
Coffeehouse with musicians Jill Stein, Ken Selcer and
Friends; Arlington High School students band Rage and
Satisfaction; poet Dorian Brooks; local folksinger
Chris Nauman and storyteller George Capaccio to
benefit the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy
Communities, Secure Green Future Initiative and
Arlington/Lexington United for Justice with Peace.
The Department of Defense is the biggest drain on our
discretionary federal budget, and the single biggest
purchaser of oil in the world. That's why wars for
oil, the economic crisis, and climate crisis all go
hand in hand. We can - and must - stop them all. Come
help build a unified movement for a peaceful, just,
green future.
Come celebrate a better way forward for People, Peace
and the Planet!
Parking Available and Wheelchair Accessible
Please bring your own mug if you can!
For more information, contact Eli at eli@masschc.org,
or 617-821-1453.
[Excerpted from message recd 1-21-09]
Leonard was severely beaten upon his arrival at the Canaan Federal Penitentiary. When he went into population after his transfer, some inmates assaulted him. The severity of his injuries is that he suffered numerous blows to his head and body, receiving a large bump on his head, possibly a concussion, and numerous bruises. Also, one of his fingers is swollen and discolored and he has pain in his chest and ribcage. There was blood everywhere from his injuries.
...Since Leonard is up for parole soon, this could be a conspiracy to discredit a model prisoner. He was placed in solitary confinement and only given one meal, this is generally done when you won't name your attackers; incidentally being only given one meal seriously jeopardizes his health because of his diabetes. Prison officials refuse to release any info to the family, but they need to hear from his supporters to protect his safety, as does President Obama. His attorneys are trying to get calls into him now.
Requesting help ... details on website.
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
Your member of Congress needs to know you support an end to Israel's continued blockade and attacks on Gaza.
The newly-elected Congress has been sworn in and has a chance to urge a comprehensive agreement in Gaza. They alone can end the injustice, including Israel's continued collective punishment of the Palestianian's in Gaza with their blockade.
Call your Congressperson and Senator today! There is a lot of work to do as the vote in the US Senate unanimously supported Israel's recent attack in Gaza, while only five members of he US House voted against support of the attack on Gaza (Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, Ron Paul, Gwem Moore, Nick Rahall).
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.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
The Lucy Parsons Center is proud to demonstrate that an all-volunteer, collectively-run radical bookstore and community center can survive in the capitalist United States, but the majority of our income comes from book sales and most of that goes straight to pay our landlord and bills.
That's why we need you! Without support from our community, we could not continue to function.
As the year draws to a close we are asking you to pledge to support the Lucy Parsons Center in 2009. We want 100 new monthly supporters kicking in $5 a month to help ensure our ability to offer radical books, talks, workshops, movies, meeting spaces, and whatever else you want to see happen as we work to build the better world.
100 supporters sounds like a lot and we are challenging ourselves to meet this goal. On the other hand, $5 a month isn't that much. It's the price of a beer with tip, less than a falafel, and come January less than the priority mail postage you'd have to pay to order the books you can ONLY find at the LPC over the internet.
Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston's South End
Telephone: (617) 267-6272
Email: lucyparsons@tao.ca
From Lexington Global Warming Action Coailtion LGWAC
In an 11th hour, blatant, political move that is similar to the one Ted Stevens tried to pull in 2005, on December 12, Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN) launched an effort to derail Cape Wind (proposed windfarm of 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound off Massachusetts).
Oberstar sent a letter to Commandant Thad Allen of the Coast Guard "requesting" an extraordinary and unprecedented review of the Coast Guard's OK as regards navigation hazards.
Oberstar's letter comes at the request of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a group backed and fronted by Bill Koch, CEO of Oxbow. Oxbow's primary businesses are the mining and marketing of energy and commodities such as coal, petroleum coke, oil production, and composite pipe manufacturing. The Alliance's central mission is to stop Cape Wind, no matter what it takes, and has spent well over $15 million dollars, primarily on lawsuits, lobbying efforts and deliberate public relations campaigns promoting fearmongering and misinformation.
So we need you to help resist this maneuvering, and here's how.
ACTIONS:
1. Call Chairman Oberstar's offices
Washington DC: (202) 225-6211
Duluth, MN: (218) 727-7474
Tell him he should withdraw his request to the Coast
Guard Commandant.
2. Call the Coast Guard's public affairs office:
Telephone: (202) 372-4620
Tell them you support their efforts and to stand up to
Oberstar's bullying and that the American people
support Cape Wind and clean renewable energy.
3. Hit up Commandant
Thad Allen on his Facebook page
Tell him you support him and will join him in standing
up to Oberstar's bullying and that the American people
support Cape Wind and clean renewable energy.
Please call right away.
The damage from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike persist in Cuba. Tens of thousands homes need to be rebuilt, while building supplies remain limited due to the US Embargo. The following contacts can be used to assist Cuba in its continued reconstruction.
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.
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.
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
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
Just a friendly reminder that the holidays are coming and what better gift to give than a bottle of fairly traded extra-virgin olive oil from Palestine. We have plenty of oil available and should be able to fill all orders for the holidays. Think about buying a case of oil and instead of bringing a bottle of wine to your next dinner party, bring a bottle of olive oil instead!
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)
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.
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.