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LOCAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Week of 29 MARCH 2009

25 Actions to Support Gaza Justice

Boycott Israeli Products and Services!


Continuing Events          Announcements
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TJR EVENT ARCHIVE

THIS WEEK'S EVENTS


SUNDAY, MAR 29, 2009

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Runs through April 12th: "Oppression and Pleasure"
exhibition featuring visual art by Kate Millett
curated by Heide Hatry
[suggested donation $10]
Pierre Menard Gallery
10 Arrow St., Cambridge

Regular gallery hours, which are free and open to the public: open daily, 12-8 pm.

Pierre Menard Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of selected visual art works by Kate Millett, including drawings, print and sculptures.

Although Millett is best known as a pioneer of the modern feminist movement, author of the groundbreaking classic Sexual Politics, she has lived and practiced as an artist throughout her life and has been the subject of a number of shows in both museums and private galleries. Like her nuanced, articulate, diverse and provocative writings, Millett's visual art spans a broad range of interests, media, styles and tones, from elegant minimalist nudes to thoughtful fluxoid constructions and neo-dada whimsy to austere, impersonal and often quite large-scale constructions, in which her insight into the politics of the human condition and the inhumanity of politics are ever in evidence.

Millett's artistic vision is as distinctive and humane as her literary voice, ranging over betrayal, loss, injustice and even murder without abandoning love, honor, hope and joy.

Background information:

Visual artist, feminist writer, and activist Kate Millett runs an art colony for women in Poughkeepsie, NY. Some of her visual art work can be viewed at www.katemillett.com.

Catharine MacKinnon specializes in sex equality issues under international and constitutional law. She pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment and, with Andrea Dworkin, created ordinances recognizing pornography as a civil rights violation. She is currently on the faculty at University of Michigan Law School.

Heide Hatry is a visual artist and curator. More info: www.heidehatry.com.

The Pierre Menard Gallery was founded in 2006 by John Wronoski, proprietor of the well-known international rare book firm, Lame Duck Books (founded 1984).

For more information, 617-868-2033 or www.pierremenardgallery.com

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10:30AM: Ethical Society of Boston
GREEN JOBS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
33 Garden Street, Cambridge (HarvardSq T)

Program Speaker: Mr. Gary Kaplan, of JFY Networks, offers training related to jobs in the "Green" economy. Van Jones, leader in the "green jobs" movement, recently visited the program and cited it as a leader in the field. Gary Kaplan, executive director of the agency and developer of its "green jobs" initiative, will discuss the opportunities and challenges in this new field.

Mr. Gary Kaplan, Executive Director, JFY Networks, call (617) 923-8550, or visit BostonEthical.Org

---------- Sunday----------
11AM: JEROME GROSSMAN
"Must the U.S. Rule the World?"
COMMUNITY CHURCH OF BOSTON
565 Boylston St. (Copley Square), Boston

The United States has more than 700 military bases in 180 countries. Is it worth the cost in dollars and lives? Could we lead in other ways? What would "soft power" look like?

Jerry Grossman is a writer, radio commentator, teacher, arbitrator and retired business executive. He was founder notably of the Council for a Livable World, its longtime president/chair and director of its Education Fund. He has lectured at Tufts University and Palm Beach Community College. Jerry has been involved his entire adult life in peace and arms control activism, served the Mass Civil Liberties Union Foundation for decades and held many local, state and national positions within the Democratic Party.

---------- Sunday----------
2PM: "Oppression and Pleasure", an exhibition
Public Conversation/Book Signing
With Kate Millett & Catharine MacKinnon
[suggested donation $10]
Pierre Menard Gallery
10 Arrow St., Cambridge

Pierre Menard Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of selected visual art works by Kate Millett, including drawings, print and sculptures.

Although Millett is best known as a pioneer of the modern feminist movement, author of the groundbreaking classic Sexual Politics, she has lived and practiced as an artist throughout her life and has been the subject of a number of shows in both museums and private galleries. Like her nuanced, articulate, diverse and provocative writings, Millett's visual art spans a broad range of interests, media, styles and tones, from elegant minimalist nudes to thoughtful fluxoid constructions and neo-dada whimsy to austere, impersonal and often quite large-scale constructions, in which her insight into the politics of the human condition and the inhumanity of politics are ever in evidence.

Millett's artistic vision is as distinctive and humane as her literary voice, ranging over betrayal, loss, injustice and even murder without abandoning love, honor, hope and joy.

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MONDAY, MAR 30, 2009

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0330 Mon 1230pm (rally for global BDS, DowntownCrsng) Date: Monday March 30 Time: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM Place: Downtown Crossing, Boston Meet on Washington Street outside Macy's Department Store. The World Social Forum and Palestinian civil society groups have issued a call for March 30 (Land Day) to be observed as Global BDS Action Day. To answer this call, the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights and other groups will be outside several stores that sell Motorola cell phones. We will ask customers to "Hang Up on Motorola" for its sales of communication devices and fuses to the Israeli military and products that support the Apartheid Wall and Israeli settlements. Please join us with signs saying: Hang Up on Motorola Motorola supports Israel's war crimes Motorola supports Israel's land grab And spread the word! Join March 30, the Global BDS Action Day, and endorse the Palestinian Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions With one week to go, the Palestinian BDS National Committee calls upon all social movements, organizations, networks and parties around the globe to join us in stepping up efforts to make March 30 a milestone in the growing BDS movement. After the massacre in Gaza, worldwide civil society and some progressive governments have reacted with diverse forms of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to show Israel that the era of its impunity has to end. The BDS movement is in the headlines, and Israeli government, businesses and other complicit institutions are starting to feel the effects. Now is the time to escalate mobilization and to endorse BDS to end Israeli apartheid, occupation, and human rights violations against the indigenous people of Palestine. ORGANIZE: Palestine - Many demonstrations and actions are planned to commemorate March 30 as the Palestinian Land Day with a special focus on the national BDS campaign. (Comprehensive list to follow in the coming days.) Worldwide - Activities are already planned in over a dozen countries around the globe. Please see an initial list of global actions below. (If your event is not listed, send the details to campaign@bdsmovement.net.. We will include it in the next update of the list.) bdsmovement.net bcpr.org
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0330 Mon 1330pm (Gaza Symposium day 1 of 2, MIT) 0331 Tue 1330pm (Gaza Symposium day 2 of 2, Harvard) You are cordially invited to attend... MIT/Harvard Gaza Symposium March 30 - 31, 2009 The second annual Gaza symposium, this year jointly organized by MIT and Harvard, will host a series of panels on the role of US and international actors, as well as human rights and international humanitarian law in the wake of recent events in Gaza. Bringing together experts in the fields of human rights, history, political science, US foreign policy and law, the two-day symposium will include a range of views from US, Israeli, Palestinian and UN/NGO perspectives. Speakers include: Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; John Ging (invited), Director of UNRWA operations in Gaza; Meron Benvenisti, former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem; Henry Siegman, Director of the U.S./Middle East Project; Congressman Brian Baird, Representative, Washington State (D-03); Mustafa Barghouti, Former Palestinian Presidential candidate and physician; Rami Khouri, Director of the Issam Fares Center at the American University of Beirut; William Corcoran, President of ANERA; Karma Nabulsi, Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford University and former PLO representative; Gabriel Piterburg, Professor of History at UCLA; Irene Gendzier, Political Science Professor at Boston University; George Bisharat, Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of Law; Barry Posen, Director of the MIT Security Studies Program; Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard; Husam Zomlot, Visiting Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard; Anat Biletzki, Former chairperson of B'tselem and Professor of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University; Sami Abdel Shafi, Writer and co-founder of the Emerge Consulting Group in Gaza; Andrew Whitley, Director of the Representative Office of UNRWA. Monday, March 30, 1:30 - 6:00 pm Wong Auditorium, MIT Bldg E51, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge Tuesday, March 31, 1:30 - 6:00 pm Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge The symposium is free and open to the public; please come in advance as seating is limited. Sponsors at MIT: The Center for International Studies; The Program for Human Rights and Justice Sponsors at Harvard: The Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School; The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; University Committee on Human Rights Studies; Human Rights Program at the Harvard Law School For more details on the symposium, visit: hks.harvard.edu/middleeast/MEIevents/gaza09.html web.mit.edu/cis/eventposter_033009_gaza.html The Middle East Initiative John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University To view our full events calendar, visit our website at http://www.hks.harvard.edu/middleeast For directions to the Kennedy School campus, please go to http://www.hks..harvard.edu/about/contact
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0330 Mon 1400pm (Brown v Roberts remembrance, Tubman) JWJ Week of Action Monday, March 30th 160th Anniversary of Brown vs. Roberts 2pm, The Harriet Tubman Building, 566 Columbus Ave, Boston A day to mark the anniversary of the segregation lawsuit that anticipated Brown vs. Board of Education by almost 100 years, the Union of Minority Communities invites you to attend an event in remembrance of the struggle of Black Communities here in Boston, and to witness the start of Black People for Better Public Schools, a new community group demanding quality education for all people. For more information please call (617) 524-8778 or email jennifer@massjwj.net
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0330 Mon 1700pm (Dershowitz protest org mtg, UMassB) ORGANIZING Meeting against Alan Dershowitz and to ORGANIZE a Forum on Palestine at UMB Monday March 30, 5pm Umass Boston, Campus Center, 3rd Floor, Campus Activity Center (Dershowitz is scheduled to speak at UMASS Boston Wednesday April 1, 3pm Lipke Auditorium, 2nd floor, Science Building) Why Should We Protest Alan Dershowitz? *Dershowitz has led the opposition against a recent divestment-from-Israel campaign at Hampshire College. *In 2002, Dershowitz published an editorial in the Jerusalem Post saying that, as a tactic to stop Palestinian resistance, the Zionist regime should destroy entire Palestinian villages. *After left-Zionist author/professor Norman Finkelstein pointed out that Dershowitz's book "The Case for Israel" is plagiarized as well as being wrong about the history of Palestine, Dershowitz retaliated against Finkelstein by getting Finkelstein's appearance at the Harvard Book Store cancelled, and eventually by using his influence to get DePaul University to deny tenure to Finkelstein. *Dershowitz is also notorious for calling for government agencies in the United States to be allowed to torture suspects. He suggested that sticking needles under people's fingernails would be a good method. Come Organize and Build a Strong Movement for Palestine at UMASS Boston and Boston-at-Large This meeting is about continuing to organize against Israel's atrocious occupation against Palestinians. We need to organize a strong and broad campaign that forces our schools and community to boycott and divest from Israel. Lets stop US aid to Israel and stop the Israeli occupation. And, lets start by organizing to protest Alan Dershowitz in order to publicly put forward a vision for a FREE PALESTINE. For more information contact: ateacherteacher@gmail.com
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0330 Mon 1900pm (film "Becoming The Media", LPC) Lucy Parsons Center free film showing: Becoming The Media: A Critical History Of Clamor (Mon Mar 30, 7pm) Lucy Parsons Center 549 Columbus Avenue Boston's South End Clamor Magazine was a movement publication that existed between 2000 and 2006, covering radical politics, culture, and activism. Clamor published 38 issues and featured over 1,000 different writers and artists. The mission statement was: Clamor is a quarterly print magazine and online community of radical thought, art, and action. An iconoclast among its peers, Clamor is an unabashed celebration of self- determination, creativity, and shit-stirring. Clamor publishes content of, by, for, and with marginalized communities. From the kitchen table to shop floor, the barrio to the playground, the barbershop to the student center, it's old school meets new school in a battle for a better tomorrow. Clamor is a do-it- yourself guide to everyday revolution. This analysis is presented as a case study on how movement projects and organizations deal with vital but rarely discussed issues such as management, sustainability, ownership, structure, finance, decision making, power, diversity, and vision. Reviews: "An excellent piece. I learned a great deal from reading it. I think it's a great contribution that lots of folks will find very useful in future projects, and not just media projects." -- Max Elbaum, author, Revolution in the Air "An extremely valuable resource, and very well done." - - Jordan Flaherty, Left Turn Magazine About the Author: Jen Angel has been a writer and media activist for over 15 years. Jen's publishing history includes Clamor, publishing the Zine Yearbook, and editing MaximumRockNRoll. She is a founding board member of Allied Media Projects, a non-profit independent media advocacy organization and a contributing editor to Yes! Magazine. Since leaving Clamor, she has worked as a producer for KPFA Radio, and a publicist and tour manager through the cooperative booking agency, Aid & Abet. http://aidandabet.org/ She blogs on media and activism at http://jenangel.wordpress.com/ All LPC events are free and open to the public (though donations are greatly appreciated). Telephone: (617) 267-6272 Email: lucyparsons@tao.ca web: http://lucyparsons.org/
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0330 Mon 1930pm (Ilan Pappe & Ghada Karmi, BC Devlin) Part of Israeli Apartheid Week at Boston College Monday, March 30th, 2009- "Israel-Palestine: What future for peace now?" A lecture by Ilan Pappe and Ghada Karmi 7:30pm in Devlin Hall, Room 008 Ilan Pappe is Chair of the Department of History at University of Exeter and the co-director of the Exeter Center for Ethno-Political Studies. He was the academic head and founder of the Institute for Peace studies in Givat Haviva Israel (1992-2000) and the Chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian Studies in Haifa (2000-2008). Pappe has also written on the Modern Middle East, multiculturalism and historiography and is the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, among various other publications. Ghada Karmi is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, where she lectures on peacemaking in Israel and Palestine. Her books include a widely acclaimed memoir, In Search of Fatima: a Palestinian story, and most recent book, Married to another man: Israel's dilemma in Palestine. College maps at http://www.bc.edu/about/maps.html More information at http://boston.apartheidweek.org/
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0331 Tue 1800pm (economic workshop, JWJ in JP) JWJ Week of Action Economic Education Workshop 6pm, MA JWJ offices, 3353 Washington Street, #3, Jamaica Plain The Jobs With Justice Education Committee and United for a Fair Economy are joining together to present a free workshop on Economic Crisis: Cause and Recovery. The workshop will provide answers to the confusing questions this financial turmoil has raised, and also introduce strategies that individuals and communities can use to fight back and protect themselves during this difficult time. For more information please call (617) 524-8778 or email jennifer@massjwj.net
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TUESDAY, MAR 31, 2009

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0331 Tue 1900pm (Leila Farsakh on Apartheid, BC) Part of Israeli Apartheid Week at Boston College Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 7pm "Israel and Apartheid: a futile, or a necessary, analogy?" A lecture by Leila Farsakh, at McGuinn Hall, Room 121 Leila Farsakh is assistant professor in political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has worked with a number of international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris (1993- 1996) and the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute in Ramallah (1998-1999). Dr. Farsakh has published on questions related to the political economy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Oslo Process, and international migration in a wide range of journals, including the Middle East Journal, the European Journal of Development Research, Journal of Palestine Studies and Le Monde Diplomatique. Her book, Palestinian Labor Migration to Israel: Labour, Land and Occupation, has been published by Routledge Press in fall 2005. College maps at http://www.bc.edu/about/maps.html More information at http://boston.apartheidweek.org/ ------------------------------- 0401 Wed 1700pm (action at Home Depot, SouthBayPlaza) JWJ Week of Action Wednesday, April 1st April Fool's Day Rally at Home Depot 5pm, South Bay Plaza Home Depot The Home Depot, alongside Bank of America and other Enemies of Change, is contributing millions of dollars to the anti-union smear campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act. Help JWJ tell Home Depot to get serious, and stop fooling around with workers rights. For more information please call (617) 524-8778 or email jennifer@massjwj.net
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WEDNESDAY, APR 1, 2009

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7PM: Radical Film Night at the Lucy Parsons Center

Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston's South End
Telephone: 617.267.6272
Always Free

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THURSDAY, APR 2, 2009

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0402 Thu 1200noon (two actions, Lawrence, Boston) 0402 Thu 1200noon (sick day action, PolartechLawrence) 0402 Thu 1200noon (CVS action, DowntownCrossingBoston) JWJ Week of Action Thursday, April 2nd TWO ACTIONS, ONE IN LAWRENCE, ONE IN BOSTON Sick of No Sick Days! Noon, Polartech Factory, 46 Stafford St, Lawrence Sick of no sick days? So are we! Help JWJ as we rally alongside Polartech workers in support of paid sick day legislation. The Paid Sick Day Act would help workers here and across the state. Workers shouldn't have to choose between being sick and being paid. That's no choice at all! Tell CVS to Clean Up Its Act! Noon, CVS at Downtown Crossing, Boston Stand up to corporate greed. CVS is an $80 billion corporate giant that continues to profit even in this tough economy. It can afford to provide customers with safe, equitable service. Let CVS know it needs to clean up its act! For more information please call (617) 524-8778 or email jennifer@massjwj.net
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0402 Thu 1600pm (Afghanistan spkr, 1737CambStCamb) WCFIA/CMES Middle East Seminar (Lenore G. Martin, Sara Roy, and Herbert C. Kelman, Co-chairs) Presents RORY STEWART Ryan Family Professor of the Practice of Human Rights, and Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University On Afghanistan: Rhetoric and Reality Thursday, April 2, 2009 4:00-6:00 p.m. The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs 1737 Cambridge Street Bowie-Vernon Room (K-262) Jointly sponsored by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs is located at 1737 Cambridge Street, 2nd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138. For more information about this event, please contact Elizabeth Lawler at 617-495-3816 or elawler@wcfia.harvard.edu Information on upcoming sessions is available on our website: wcfia.harvard.edu/seminars/middle_east
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0402 Thu 1830pm ($CF Amy Goodman et al, 3ChurchStCamb) Thursday, April 2 Cambridge Forum "Celebration of Independent Media." 6:30pm Reception with Amy Goodman and Jordan Weinstein 7:30pm Forum 3 Church Street (Harvard Sq) Cambridge, MA 02138 The featured speaker is Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! and an award winning journalist who has a written a new book, Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times. When media outlets are owned by an ever tightening media monopoly, what is the importance of independent media like public, non-commercial radio and television? With the declining big city newspapers cutting staff, who will do investigative reporting? Who got right the story about our current financial crisis: CNBC or Democracy Now!? Remember the deliberate media manipulation by the Bush administration in the run up to the Iraq War: what mainline media can citizens trust? What is the role of independent public forums, such as Cambridge Forum, in providing public education on progressive ideas? Here's your chance to stand up and support independent media, Cambridge Forum, and interact with two outstanding public media professionals, Amy Goodman and Jordan Weinstein. Advance tickets: $10 for students and Cambridge Forum members; $15 general admission. At the door: $15. All proceeds benefit Cambridge Forum. Purchase tickets by calling 617-495-2727 or use the secure Paypal option at www.cambridgeforum.org Book signing, courtesy of Harvard Book Store, follows the program. Cambridge Forum is taped and edited for public radio broadcast. Edited CDs are available to the public by contacting 617-495-2727. Select forums can be viewed in their entirety on demand by visiting our website at www.cambridgeforum.org and clicking on the WGBH icon in the right hand corner. Cambridge Forum 3 Church Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Phone: 617-495-2727 director@cambridgeforum.org cambridgeforum.org
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0402 Thu 1900pm (Chiapas spkr on alts to cap, E5) Thursday, April 2, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. Mass Global Action is hosting Jorge Santiago speaking to the topic: "Indigenous Alternatives to Capitalism" based on his experience in Chiapas. Encuentro 5 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor Boston, MA - Chinatown 617-482-6300 As the Wall Street financial crisis sparks urgent discussion of shortcomings in the US economy, the Mexico-US Solidarity Network invites you to join us in examining lessons from economic projects in the indigenous communities of southern Mexico .   Jorge Santiago is the former Director of Desarrollo Económico y Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas (DESMI; Indigenous Mexican Social & Economic Development) where he has worked since the 1970s developing economic alternatives in over 200 indigenous communities in Chiapas , the southernmost state of Mexico.   Jorge's work suddenly gained a high profile after the 1994 Zapatista uprising, an indigenous movement supported by many of the communities where he worked. DESMI was founded by Father Samuel Ruiz, former Bishop of the Diocese of San Cristóbal, and was one of the first NGOs in the state. Jorge is co-author of Si Uno Come, Que Coman Todos: Economía Solidaria (If One Eats, May Everyone Eat: Solidarity Economy; published by DESMI), and has traveled extensively in Latin America and Europe discussing alternative indigenous development in Chiapas. He is one of the foremost experts on the struggles indigenous communities in Chiapas , and is a leader in the "solidarity economy" movement that advocates an alternative to the neoliberal model of economic development. He was born in San Cristobal and has lived in Chiapas most of his life. Jorge will be joined by Stuart Schussler from the Mexico Solidarity Network and both will discuss:   * Alternative economic development initiatives in Chiapas indigenous communities, and * The broad historical context of indigenous resistance in Southern Mexico.   Fifteen years after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, Jorge reflects on the alternative economic projects of indigenous communities that prioritize self-sufficiency, sustainability, community and human needs. Despite persistent human rights abuses against indigenous communities, and especially against the Zapatista sympathizers, these communities have not only sustained themselves but have become an inspiring example of resistance to the dominant neoliberal model of economic development and globalization. For more info contact:  Brian @ 617-947-8983 / vinniechops@hotmail.com encuentro5.org
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FRIDAY, APR 3, 2009

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0403 Fri 0900am (foreclosure conference, Worcester) Foreclosure and Community Stabilization Regional Half-Day Conference Join us for a unique opportunity to learn and share the most cutting edge activities to reverse the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts! Friday, April 3, 2009 9am-1pm First Baptist Church 111 Park Avenue Worcester, MA 01609 Featuring: Amaad Rivera of United for a Fair Economy, Organizers, Municipal and State leaders and legal experts There is no charge to attend this conference Lunch and Light Breakfast are provided Pickups from train station available To register contact Meira at meira@actionma.org Co-Sponsored by Action For Regional Equity Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending The Foreclosure and Community Stabilization regional conference is an effort to provide a forum for municipal, housing, legal and organizing professionals and volunteers to identify opportunities to collaborate with on another so as to expedite processes, reduce confusion, and coordinate efforts to move more swiftly to preserving neighborhoods. The conference opens with a plenary which contextualizes the current crisis and overviews the strengths of organizing policy efforts, municipal efforts and litigation efforts. The subsequent workshop options are: Track 1: Strategies for Organizing and Preventing Foreclosure Techniques in collaborating with unusual suspects to enhance outreach tactics, explain pre-default programs, legislative models, advocacy and organizing tools to keep homeowners in their homes. Track 2: Strategies for Post-Foreclosure Displacement Prevention Exciting and effective models of community groups, legal services, municipal leader collaborations, that successfully reduce displacement of tenants and homeowners from foreclosed properties. Track 3: Strategies to Stabilize Communities through Properties Acquisition We want to keep our neighborhoods together. What are the challenges and liabilities of buying occupied foreclosed properties and financing and purchasing options such as non-profit ownership, land banking and receivership. Track 4: Strategies for Keeping Neighborhoods Permanently Affordable Exploring the benefits and challenges within different sale options while exploring ways to build long term stock to keep tenants and owners from being displaced. The conference closes with lunch and discussion focusing on regional issues. Action for Regional Equity 10 Malcolm X Blvd. Suite 2-2, Roxbury, MA, 02119 (617) 427-1251 www.actionma. org
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0403 Fri 1300pm (2day BailOutPeople march, WallStNYC) Bail Out the People - Not the Banks! Fri., April 3 National March On Wall St. When Wall St. is open for business Continued on Sat. April 4 Assemble at 1 pm Friday, April 3 at the Intersection of Wall & Broad Streets (The Stock Exchange) Reserve your seat(s) on the Boston buses today! Tickets are $30 + $5 suggested donation for the Transportation Subsidy Fund Buses will depart from the Roxbury Community College Parking Lot (on street parking only - Cedar at Center St.) (Roxbury Crossing Orange Line T) at 6 A.M. Friday April 3 and Saturday, April 4 and will return late evening, April 3 and 4 (the T may not be running) (Please indicate on the form if you are interested in participating in both days) March on Wall Street on the Anniversary on the day Martin Luther King gave his life fighting for social and economic justice. Why? Because we must demand that the needs of the people come before the greed of the super rich. Millions are jobless and homeless, and millions more will be living on the streets if the government continues to waste trillions of dollars on saving wealthy bankers instead of saving people. Dr. King would have been appalled and opposed to the terrible siege of Gaza as well as the continuing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. And just as King knew that the struggle for civil rights at home had to also be part of the struggle against war abroad, he understood that no one, regardless of their race would be free until everyone had the right to a decent paying job or an income for those unable to work. Most importantly, King also understood that "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." The time for suffering in silence has come to an end. Nothing will change unless our desperation and anger is channeled into a mighty movement that unites and fights. It's time to march on Wall St. Come to the march, and tell everyone you know to come with you. -- Bail Out The People Movement Boston 617-522-6626 bopmboston@gmail.com http://bopm-boston.blogspot.com National Office 212-633-6646 bailoutpeople@safewebmail.com http://www.BailOutPeople.org
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0403 Fri 1600pm (Rite Aid action, Rite Aid locns) JWJ Week of Action Friday, April 3rd Take Action Against Rite Aid! 4-6pm, Rite Aid Locations Across Greater Boston In solidarity with Rite Aid workers struggling to organize and facing employer abuse, Jobs With Justice coalitions are showing up to encourage Rite Aid management to listen to their workers, and support their rights. Join us at locations around Boston to help give workers a voice. Visit www.massjwj.net for a full list of locations. For more information please call (617) 524-8778 or email jennifer@massjwj.net
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SATURDAY, APR 4, 2009

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0404 Sat 0000 (env action conference, WentworthInst) Environmental Action 2009 Saturday, April 4, 2009 (all day) Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA New England's largest conference for citizen activists protecting public health and the environment MEET THE EXPERTS - LEARN NEW SKILLS - NETWORK - AND BE INSPIRED Hosted by Toxics Action Center, Environment Massachusetts, Massachusetts Climate Action Network, and the New England Grassroots Environment Fund The conference will offer over 25 workshops to help you prevent pollution, tackle climate change, ensure clean drinking water, protect open spaces and develop skills and strategies to create healthy and safe communities. Environmental Action 2009 will be a day to share strategies, recognize victories, and be inspired to go back to our communities and continue work to further efforts to protect the environment. Visit www.toxicsaction.org for more details, or contact Sam at sam@toxicsaction.org or by phone at (617) 747-4362
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0404 Sat 1400pm (Single Payer gala, InmanSqCamb) MASS-CARE AND UHCEF'S ANNUAL SINGLE PAYER GALA In memory of Ben Gill Sat. April 4th 2-5pm Ryles Jazz Club, Inman Square, 212 Hampshire St., Cambridge Parking: available in Ryles Parking lots Central Square T Red Line is 15 minute walk to Ryles Jazz Club Keynote Speaker: DR. GORDON SCHIFF, Associate Director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and past president of Physicians for a National Health Program Comedian JIMMY TINGLE: The best stand up local comedian; he has appeared on the Tonight Show, Conan O'Brian, Larry King, HBO NPR, PBS, and Comedy Central. Honorees: Berkshire Mass-Care/PNHP, the most politically successful local single payer group in MA Cape Care Coalition: for developing an ambitious single payer plan for Cape Cod, and winning unprecedented grassroots county support Franklin/Hampshire Health Care Coalition: for years of successful organizing in Western MA Food: Great selections from the S & S DELI with Cash Bar Music: THE JOSEPH LILLYMAN JAZZ BAND Tickets: $35 and $10 for students (no one turned away) Send checks for tickets or to be a sponsor to: Mass-Care, 33 Harrison Ave - 5th floor, Boston MA 02111 PLEASE JOIN US: LAUGH, LEARN, LOBBY FOR SINGLE PAYER For more information, visit Mass-Care's website: masscare.org
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0404 Sat 1830pm (Land Day spkr, PCCP Allston) Please join the Palestinian House of New England in commemorating "Land Day" with guest speaker Dr. Ghada Talhami (D. K. Pearsons Professor of Politics, emerita, Lake Forest College) Saturday April 4, 2009 , at 6:30 PM The Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace, 41 Quint Ave, Allston. bcpr.org

FUTURE EVENTS

SUNDAY, APR 5, 2009

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0405 Sun 1030am (ethics in govt spkr, Longy School) Sunday morning, April 5 at 10:30AM the ETHICAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON will have a program titled: ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT: DO THEY EXIST AND CAN THEY BE LEGISLATED? Longy School of Music, 33 Garden St., Cambridge (near Harvard Sq.) Program Speaker: Pam Wilmot, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts, accepts the Ethical Society of Boston "Humanist of the Year" Award. The public is very cynical about the ethics of Government officials, and with good reason - the newspapers are full of headlines of political corruption. But do these headlines represent common behaviors or exceptionally bad ones? Can better laws create better ethics? Info: goodmanjl@comcast.net
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0405 Sun 1630pm (HipHop + Celebs, KendallSqCinema) Back by popular demand: "Slingshot Hip Hop" Sunday April 5th 4:30pm Kendall Sq. Cinema, One Kendall Sq. Cambridge Director Jackie Salloum will be present. The Hip Hop group DAM from Palestine will also be present at the film. A short performance will follow the film and Q&A. DAM & Suheir Hammad bostonpalestinefilmfest.org
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0405 Sun 1915pm (El Salvador panel/slides, PaulistCtr) ¡Sí se pudo! Yes we did! El Salvador's 2009 Democratic Revolution On March 15th the Salvadoran people elected Mauricio Funes as the first leftist president in the nation's 130-year history, triumphantly breaking the bondage of brutal conservative party rule and defying the sordid tradition of US domination. Join us for eye-witness accounts and analysis of this incredible democratic victory for the Salvadoran people! Speakers Panel & Slide Show Sun. April 5th @ 7:15pm (following Mass) Paulist Center 3rd Floor Library 5 Park Street Boston 02108 (near Park St. T) Panel: FMLN Boston & election observers from Boston CISPES, MLK Bolivarian Circle, Cambridge Sister City, Independent Media Community Slide show: National Lawyers Guild Sponsored by the Paulist Center Sister Community Committee Panel: FMLN Boston & election observers from Boston CISPES, MLK Bolivarian Circle, Cambridge Sister City, Independent Media Community Slide show: National Lawyers Guild Sponsored by the Paulist Center Sister Community Committee For event info, contact: Boston CISPES Tel. (617) 576-1709 boscispes@speakeasy.net
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0405 Sun 2030pm (GazaMHF benefit show, RylesCambridge) You can now purchase tickets on line for the DAM and Suheir Hammad show: a benefit for the Gaza Mental Health Foundation and the BPFF. Sunday April 5th 8:30-11:30pm Ryles Jazz Club 212 Hampshire St. Cambridge Please do as soon as you can! SPACE IS LIMITED We urge you to make additional donations towards this benefit. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events! BPFF Organizing Commmittee bostonpalestinefilmfest.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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Resist Frame Up of Councilor Chuck Turner

Tell the Obama Administration and Congress: End the Bush Administration's Frame Ups Designed to Politically Assassinate Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and Other Progressive elected Leaders

Sign online petition at www.iacboston.org/chuckturnerpetition.html

View youtube video of Ramsey Clark press conference defending Chuck Turner at: www.youtube.com/user/IACBoston

For more info and to donate to Chuck's defense, go to www.supportchuckturner.com

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Support End the Occupation!

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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IMEMC (Internal Middle East Media Center) seeks urgent funding and/or logistical support to maintain its operations.

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Important BBC Video: "War on Terror is a Scam"
The Power of Nightmares Part 3: The Shadows in the Cave - by Adam Curtis

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. it is simply too painful to acknowledge ~ even to ourselves ~ that we've been so credulous: Carl Sagan

Here is a must see hour-long BBC film that effectively makes the case that the "war on terror" is a blatant scam to keep people fearful, politicians powerful and provide an effective smokescreen for the implementation of the New World Order. A must see video.

After watching this film you will always cringe when you hear the phrase "The War on Terror " and recognize it as both a bamboozle and scam perpetrated by the prince of darkness himself, Richard Perle, as well as Tony Blair and the Cheney/Bush crime syndicate in order to accomplish their global neocon objectives.

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Stop Modern Day Slavery in Florida

If you could help end modern-day slavery in Florida's fields with an email, would you?

Click here to take action today!

Even as we continue putting the pieces together for a major campaign calling on food service providers to take responsibility for farmworker exploitation, the latest case of slavery in Florida's fields - and Florida Governor Charlie Crist's deafening silence in response - compels us to take action in a different way today.

Please visit the SFA site (sfalliance.org) today and read the below message from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to find out more about this important action alert and to take action now.

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Oppose nomination of Raytheon lobbyist, William Lynn as Secetary of DOD

Obama's nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, the chief operating officer of the Pentagon, is a lobbyist for Raytheon.

William Lynn, is due $1.5 million in payouts for his work lobbying for the defense industry. This revolving door has to stop. We need to break the military-industrial complex and stop having defense contractors and their lobbyists working on the inside of the Pentagon.

Please take two steps:

Write the Armed Services Committee and tell them to reject the nomination. The message - no defense contractor lobbyists inside the Pentagon.

Write President Obama and urge him to withdraw the nomination and replace it with an independent voice who will look critically on the bloated military budget.

Our task is bigger than ending the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - it is to challenge the military- industrial complex that has resulted in a military budget as big as the whole world combined. The nomination of William Lynn is an opportunity to say no to lobbyists inside the Pentagon.

Kevin B. Zeese, Executive Director
Voters For Peace

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Support Single Payer Healthcare, HR 676 and S703

From Progressive Democrats of America:
"Healthcare, NOT Warfare"

And from Truth & Justice Radio:
"Single Payer, NOT extending Medicare"

Conversion to Single Payer should be included in the "stimulus" package as it would increase health care jobs, lower costs for employers, and cost a tiny fraction of the $700-900 billion stimulus package.

It is estimated that 60% of home foreclosures are due to a health care crisis on the part of a home owner.

[COMMENT FROM STAN: One person at PDA has bought somebody's claim that the best way to do this is to incrementally extend Medicare to all ages (i.e., descend the age requirement slowly). It comforts him that this idea is showing some support in Congress and the Executive branch. This is frightening. We know that extending Medicare is NOT the best way. For many reasons, we need 100% Single Payer, NOT more Medicare. Medicare, with its thicket of substantial exclusions, deductibles, copays, gaps, limits, provider writedowns, privatization scams, and regressive financing scheme, would be the WRONG way to go. Congressmembers supporting Medicare extension should be regarded as dangerous.]

PDA asks that we read the article linked here.

PDA board member Norman Solomon points out in another article (), "nearly one in six Americans has no health insurance, and tens of millions of others are woefully under-insured--while the war in Iraq continues to further skew the U.S. government's budget priorities."

We say "Healthcare NOT Warfare" and ask you to join our campaign. The time has come to redirect unnecessary and wasteful military spending to meeting human needs.

PDA's suggested petition asks to prioritize "Healthcare NOT Warfare."

In 2008, dozens of local and state parties passed resolutions supporting single-payer healthcare, and rejecting the occupation of Iraq. With our allies, PDA successfully amended the 2008 Democratic Party Platform to include "guaranteed health care for every man, woman, and child" and "everybody in, nobody left out." We hope to pass more resolutions to support "Healthcare NOT Warfare" at the local and state Democratic conventions, and in cities, counties, and states across the country.

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Ask Your State Senator to Support Fusion Center Oversight Bill

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.

The ACLU of Massachusetts Legislative Team

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Sign Employee Free Choice Petition!

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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Sign petition to release Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Jails

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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Contact local District Attorneys to prosecute Bush/Cheney

The Best Way To Light A Fire For Federal Prosecutions of Bush And Cheney Is To Get Collateral State Actions Going.

We have completed compiling a database of the current contact information for every state district attorney, for EVERY county in the country. And we have put it all together into an easy one click lookup function to help organize contacting your nearest state prosecutor, to call on THEM to step up to the plate, to stand up for justice and accountability, by prosecuting George Bush and Dick Cheney for their crimes.

In particular, renowned former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi has laid out a compelling case for charging both Bush and Cheney with the premediated murder of American service men and women, for starting a war with Iraq on patently false pretenses. By using this new lookup page you can instantly get the mailing address, phone, fax, and in many cases also the email of your local prosecutor. This action is SO critical we have dedicated our entire main site homepage to it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We are not asking anyone to file a formal criminal complaint yourself. Common sense tells us that state prosecutors will only act, in the exercise of their OWN discretion, if they believe there is a non-frivolous case to bring. But by speaking out, we can let them know there is community support for them to do so.

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Sign up to be a "Hang Up On Motorola" Organizer

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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Write to prisoners, AIUSA

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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25 actions you can do for justice in Gaza

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


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 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

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Cape Wind Project

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.

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Opportunities to Assist Cuba!

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.

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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 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

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Help Support Pro Bono Attorneys for Guantanamo Prisoners

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

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EXTRA-VIRGIN FAIR TRADE OLIVE OIL FROM PALESTINE

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) , 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

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3 Bottles shipped within continental US: $65/3 bottles

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CONTINUING EVENTS

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EVERY SUNDAY

10-11:30 AM: "Radio with a View"
WMBR 88.1 Cambridge

---------- 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 ----------

6:30PM: Stop The Wars Coalition meetings

Encuentro 5
33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown, MA 02111
info@encuentro5.org or call 617-482-6300

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----------
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5:30-6PM: Wayland Anti-War Vigil (weekly)

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.

---------- 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----------

11am-1pm on WZBC: Sounds of Dissent with John Grebe

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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TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBERS
FOR THE U.S. CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD

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    dial up, then ask for a particular Senator or Representative
  • 800-426-8073
  • 888-355-3588
  • 800-828-0498
  • 866-340-9281
  • 866-340-9279

Radio and TV Connections

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    On sister station WMFO 91.5 (Tufts University Radio)
  • "No-U-Turn Radio" (Tuesdays 8-10am, Dean Wallace)
  • "Free of Form" (Fridays 8-10PM)
    On sister station WMBR 88.1 Cambridge...
  • "Radio with a View" (Sun 10-11:30am, Dave Goodman & Marc Stern)
  • "What’s Left" (Sundays 11:30am-1pm, Linda Pinkow & Will Taggart)

Truth and Justice Radio Local Events Archive

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Contact the webmaster with comments and/or questions.