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Patricia Hynes is professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health. An environmental engineer, she works on issues of the urban environment (including lead poisoning, asthma and the indoor environment, safe housing and urban agriculture); environmental justice; and feminism.
Prof. Hynes is currently investigating, writing, and speaking on the health effects of war and militarism on society and, in particular, on women. She will discuss the necessity of peace going into the 21st Century after a century of war, as well as the age of extremes of wealth and poverty in which we live.
Frances Moore Lappe - Keynote Speech
Sunday, March 30th , 3:00 PM
Earth Sustainability Expo
$12 admission ($10 for seniors)
Hynes Convention Center
900 Boylston St., Boston
(Hynes stop on green line T)
Join your neighbors for a film showing...
Out of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change
and a strategy discussion
about effecting change in corporations
Sunday, March 30, 2008 7 pm
565 Boylston Street
(Community Church of Boston)
Copley Square
A program sponsored by
Boston Climate Action Network
massclimateaction.net
617-278-1885
Film on Afghanistan, with producer/filmmaker
"View From a Grain of Sand"
Sun March 30 at 7:30
Belmont World Film, Studio Cinema
376 Trapelo Rd. in Belmont
We will have the producer/filmaker, Meena Nanji on
hand to speak and do Q & A.
View From a Grain of Sand is a journey through the
last 30 years of Afghanistan's history as lived by
three Afghan women. Shot over the last three years in
Pakistan and Afghanistan, a doctor, teacher and social
activist tell how their lives were violently affected
by wars of international making and three different
regimes in Afghanistan. Yet through all their loss,
and the destruction of their homes and country, these
women have endured. With courage, conviction and hope
they continue to work on improving the lives of the
people around them, against all odds, in this
brutalized and divided nation.
Rachel Williams
rachelforpeace.blogspot.com
Rotary District 7930 (Boston area)
Literacy Program Coordinator
Ipswich Rotary Club Int'l Chair
belmontworldfilm.org
viewgrainofsand.com
Mon 3-31-08 Deadline for discount price registration
The 2008 National Conference for Media Reform
June 6-8 Minneapolis
Have you signed up yet? Here's who's already coming:
Dan Rather, Arianna Huffington, Juan Gonzalez, Bill
Moyers, Naomi Klein, Lawrence Lessig, Amy Goodman, Van
Jones, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Robert Greenwald, Sen.
Byron Dorgan, FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and
Jonathan Adelstein, and many more. Will you be there?
The National Conference for Media Reform is about
turning our frustration into positive change. The
event is filled with rousing speeches, musical
performances, new films and dozens of interactive
panels and hands-on workshops. Topics will include
media ownership, Internet freedom, the future of
independent media, media diversity, grassroots
organizing, hip-hop activism and much, much more.
free.convio.net
PALESTINE AWARENESS WEEK 2008 at MIT
March 31 - April 4
Monday - Friday in Lobby 10 MIT
Stop by our booth to learn about the Humanitarian
Crisis in Palestine and the events you can attend for
more information.
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Occupation 101: Film Screening & Discussion
Tuesday, April 1st 7 pm in MIT 2-105
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Palestine: 60 years of Dispossession & Displacement
Lecture by Dr. Norman Finkelstein
Wednesday, April 2nd 6pm in MIT 6-120
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Coffee Hour & Discussion with MIT's Palestinian
Students
Friday, April 4th 4:30pm in MIT 1-150
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bcpr.org
rule19.org
Zeina Ghaleb Saab zsaab@mit.edu
State Senator Pam Resor
and State Representative Frank Smizik
Invite you to attend an informational briefing on
PEAK OIL: Implications for Massachusetts
March 31, 2008 1:00 pm
State House, Room 222
Joining us will be...
Senator Bob Duff and Representative Terry Backer from
the Connecticut General Assembly
*
John Kaufman of the Portland Oregon Energy Task Force
*
Roger Bezdek, President of Management Information
Services, Inc. (Washington D.C.) and co-author of
“Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation,
& Risk Management”
and
*
Richard Lawrence, ASPO-USA
Contact:
Mary White mary.white100@verizon.net
Fossil Fools Day of Action!
100 actions around the world calling for environmental
justice and community autonomy.
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
RALLY FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
Copley Square, Boston
9:00AM SHARP!!!
WE'LL HAVE: puppets, signs, banners, & drums
YOU BRING: your voice and your energy and your
mom/kid/friend/housemate
Be there if you can! Tell a friend if you can't.
We'll protest creatively in coordination with actions
around the world to halt the fossil fuels industry and
inspire community-based solutions to the climate
crisis.
Called for by the International Rising Tide Network,
the Energy Action Coalition, and the Rainforest Action
Network.
For more info, contact: fossilfoolsboston@gmail.com
North American Fossil Fools Day MEDIA Contact
Monica Vaughan, Rising Tide North America
541-521-1832
fossilfoolsday.org
Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition presents a
Home Energy Efficiency Talk as part of GWAC's Low
Carbon Diet on Tuesday, April 1 from 7 to 9 PM in Cary
Library (Lexington). Robert Beaudoin, Superintendent
of Environmental Services for the Town of Lexington,
will describe the Town's successful recycling program
and discuss ways to reduce the cause of one of the
largest CO2 emissions in a household - trash. In US
households, residents generate an average of 4 pounds
of garbage per day per person; with recycling, the
amount is still a whopping 3.5 pounds each. With
suggestions from Mr. Beaudoin, your household can
reduce the ever-growing problem of solid waste
disposal.
There will be a presentation on how to compost your
kitchen waste by Lexington organic gardener, Frances
Gillespie, who has been composting for more than 20
years. Composting is nature's way of recycling
organic waste into new soil, which can be used in
vegetable and flower gardens, landscaping, and many
other applications. Composting creates a useful
product from organic waste that would otherwise have
been landfilled.
This presentation is free and open to all.
lexgwac.org
You are cordially invited to attend...
Wednesday 2 April, 5:00-7:00 PM
Fainsod Room (#324 Littauer Building)
Harvard Kennedy School
79 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square
Dr. Dani Filc: "Health and Human Rights Practice in
Israel and the Occupied Territories"
Dr. Dani Filc is a faculty member in the Department of
Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University in
Israel and the chairperson for Physicians for Human
Rights, Israel.
Refreshments will be served.
Co-sponsored with the University Committee on Human
Rights Studies, Institute for Health and Social
Justice at Partners in Health and the Center for
Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of
Public Health.
Email
mllynn2@yahoo.com
Lecture by Dr. Norman Finkelstein
"60 Years of Displacement and Disposession"
MIT Room 6-120
Wednesday April 2 at 6pm
For more information on Dr. Finkelstein go to:
Open to the general public
Sponsors: ASO, Muslim Students' Association, MIT,
Social Justice Cooperative, Latino/a Cultural Center,
GSC Funding Board, Palestine@MIT
For more information, contact:
pal_xc@mit.edu
Torture and Detention, Justice and Power
Wednesday, April 2, 6:30 to 8:00 PM
The Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street
(near Downtown Crossing in Boston)
Featuring:
ACLU 'Freedom Files' film,
"Freedom from Abuse of Power: Torture and Unlawful
Imprisonment"
Speakers:
ANDREW BACEVICH, Boston University Professor of
History and International Relations; widely published
author of The New American Militarism: How Americans
are Seduced by War (2005) and The Limits of Power: The
End of American Exceptionalism (2008)
CHRISTOPHER PYLE, Mt. Holyoke College Professor of
Politics; constitutional scholar and former
whistleblower about government spying on anti-war
protests whose books include Extradition, Politics,
and Human Rights (2001)
Moderated by Nancy Murray, Director of Education, ACLU
of Massachusetts
Followed by a participatory audience discussion
This is the third event in the ACLU of
Massachusetts/Old South Meeting House series,
"Revolutionary Ideals, Modern Debate"
For more information and to RSVP,
call 617 482-3170 x 314
or visit our website at
action.aclum.org/site/Calendar.
Earthlings (2005, 95 min.) is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, Earthlings uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
Wednesday April 2nd, 7pm
Encuentro 5 (33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor, Boston)
Activists will be gathering to mobilize opposition to
the Colombian Free Trade Agreement and fight for
justice for the Colombian people.
Nearly 4 million Colombians are displaced by state
terror and by agribusiness bent on turning land and
water resources into export dollars...
Eustaquio Polo is a leader of displaced people
battling to prevent their land from being turned into
palm-oil plantations. As a consequence, he has been
subjected to death threats and accusations that he is
a guerilla.
This event brings Polo to Boston, a city that has
close relationship with Colombia by way of immigration
and because much of its energy comes from Colombia.
Sponsors include: American Friends Service Committee -
Project Voice; Boy May Day Coalition; Colombia Vive;
Jobs With Justice; Latin American & Caribbean
Coalition; Massachusetts Global Action; and Stop the
Wars Coalition.
massglobalaction.org
encuentro5.org
617-482-6300
617-524-8778
Jewish Voices Say . . .
End the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Wednesday, April 2 7:00pm
St. John's United Methodist Church
80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA
As Americans are becoming more aware of the imbalance
of power in Israel and Palestine, many American Jews
are speaking out to oppose Israel's military
occupation of Palestinian territory and the U.S.
government's support and financing of that occupation.
In the face of accusations of anti-Semitism and even
personal attack, these Jewish peacemakers courageously
offer an alternative voice. Following their
conscience, they raise their voice for understanding
and justice for the Palestinians in order to move
toward a future of peace and reconciliation.
Hear the stories of four Boston-area Jewish peace
activists - how they came to oppose Israel's policy of
occupation - and the impact their decision has had
on their lives:
Marty Federman, Co-Chair, Boston Chapter, Jewish Voice
for Peace
Ted German, Justice with Peace Task Force, Watertown
Citizens for Environmental Safety
Eva Moseley, Board Member, Massachusetts Peace Action
Abby Yanow, Co-Founder, Israel-Palestine Task Force,
United for Justice with Peace
Parking & Public Transportation - If you are driving,
there is a parking lot to the left of the church and
on-street parking on the side opposite the church.
For public transportation, take the #71 bus from
Harvard Square; the stop is in front of the church,
across the street from Starbucks.
Sponsored by:
Justice with Peace Task Force
Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety (WCES)
Watertown's Voice for Peace, the Environment, and
Social Justice
watertowncitizens.org
617/926-8560 mailbox 2
The Massachusetts Chapter of The American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADCMA) Presents
Prof. Noam Chomsky On US Policy in the Middle East
With a special mini debate between Professor Chomsky
and Omar Baddar, the Director of the ADCMA, on
Perspectives on the Israel Lobby
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 6:00pm
College of Communication Room 101
Boston University (BU)
640 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA
This lecture will focus on the Presidential Elections,
the Surge, and current US Policy towards the Middle
East.
$10 Admission
($5 with Student ID)
adcma.org
Ford Hall Forum presents
The Great Experiment: The Story of Ancient Empires,
Modern States, and the Quest for a Global Nation
with Ambassador Strobe Talbott
President of the Brookings Institution
moderated by
Susan Shaer, Executive Director of WAND
Thursday, April 3, at 6:30-8:00 pm
in the Abbey Room, Boston Public Library (Copley Sq)
Followed by an open discussion and book signing.
Admission is free and open to all.
Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near
the Orange and Green Line on the MBTA.
617-557-2007 or
fordhallforum.org
FIRST THURSDAY FILM SERIES
WOMEN LEADING THE WAY TO PEACE
Four extraordinary women from Sierra Leone, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka and Guatemala, tracing their stories of
peacemaking, courage and hope.
6:45 THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2008
Central Square Public Library
45 Pearl Street, Cambridge, MA
Admission is free.
The documentary weaves the stories of four women’s
lives during and after conflict. The women are
different ages , from different religious traditions,
and have different approaches to solving the obstacles
they encounter. The film examines the role of women in
conflict and post- conflict peace building –and
ultimately , how history is not just in the headlines
, but how it is being lived by ordinary people doing
oftentimes extraordinary things. .
Extended informal discussion after the film.
Refreshments will be served.
There is an inexpensive parking garage next to the
library and some parking on the street. Pearl Street
is just off Mass. Ave in Central Square.
Presented jointly by the Women's lnternational League
for Peace and Freedom and the Cambridge Peace
Commission.
For further information call 617-244-8054.
Unveiling Palestine film series
Thursday, April 3rd, 7pm
"2000 Terrorists"
243 Broadway (entrance on Windsor), Cambridge
In 1982, following Israel's invasion of Lebanon and
the evacuation of the PLO, Israeli defense minister
Ariel Sharon declared that '2,000 terrorists' remained
in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Two days later the
Israeli occupation army used Lebanese Christian
Phalangists to exterminate Palestinian civilians
consisting mostly of women and children. The United
Nations officially declared the horrendous massacres
genocide.
The docudrama reconstructs the 1982 massacre against
the backdrop of ups and downs in the Belgian lawsuit.
Please join us for a stimulating night out; bring your
friends! Free film, free refreshments, & free door
prizes. [donations are accepted]
Why should YOU care? It's your money that pays for the
occupation & illegal Israeli settlements.
rule19.org/videos
Tough Talk on Impeachment (2007)
Thursday, April 3, 2008 Doors open at 6:30pm and the
DVD will start at 7:00pm.
10 Green Way, Wayland
Talk about impeachment is popping up all around us
these days, and two Constitutional scholars from both
sides of the aisle believe this is the remedy
intended by the framers of the Constitution for the
current situation we face with this administration.
In this excellent one-hour DVD, Bruce Fein and John
Nichols explain impeachment and express their views,
with Bill Moyers conducting the interview. Please
join us for the film, pizza, and group discussion.
Free and open to the public. Pizza slices and
beverages will be available for purchase. Sponsored
by the Community Film and Discussion Club: Michael
Bate, Sandy Coy, Matt Shear.
Sandy Coy sandycoy@verizon.net
Internationally acclaimed South African AIDS education
activist and political satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys is
coming back to Boston, and you're invited to join the
fun!
Uys' witty new one-man show, Elections and Erections:
A Chronicle of Fear & Fun, comes to the American
Repertory Theatre's Zero Arrow Club in Cambridge,
April 3 - May 4.
[NOTE: ADMISSION PRICE IS $39.00.]
Show times & more info:
From Jobs With Justice...
Friday, April 4, 2008 at 8am
40th Anniversary of MLK assassination
Join Security Officers in continuing struggle
26 West Street (downtown Boston)
Honor the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. on the 40th Anniversary of his assassination.
Join Security Officers in the continuing struggle for
social & economic justice at 8:00 am at 26 West St.
(two blocks from Downtown Crossing & Park Street
Stations). Come learn more about successful national
campaigns as well as the local drive of security
guards to form a union and how workplace struggles and
community struggles can be fought and won together.
RSVP to Jeremy Shenk at 617-878-7520 or
jshenk@seiu615.org
From Jobs With Justice...
El Salvador Sister Sity City Musical Event
Fri April 4, 6-8:30pm
Amigos School Cafeteria, 100 Putnam Ave, Cambridge
Cambridge - El Salvador Sister City Spring Musical
Event with dancing, sing-alongs and more at the Amigos
School Cafeteria,100 Putnam Ave. Cambridge, from 6:00 -
8:30 pm. An evening of Celebration and Fund-raiser as
a send-off party for Cambridge Teachers Delegation
traveling to our Salvadoran Sister City during April
vacation.
Light Refreshments for Sale / Child-care provided.
RSVP peace@cambridgema.gov 617-349-4694
Giving a donation to Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP, right now is a way to take action to support an end to the siege of Gaza.
In late January, a convoy of Israeli peace and human rights organizations, in partnership with Palestinian civil society groups, drove to the entrance of the Gaza Strip to deliver badly needed food and medical supplies. Thousands of you wrote letters to your legislators to ask them to help end the siege. JVP supporters across the country stood on street corners, spoke to the media, and raised funds to support the convoy. On February 18, over 6 tons of supplies from the convoy were finally let through.
But the blockade goes on and JVP is not stopping its work on the Call to End the Siege of Gaza.
A gift of $35, $80 or $100 will bring thousands of people to support our work. The larger we are, the more powerful we are!
Join JVP's Call for an End to the Siege of Gaza. Donating is easy and will raise our voices to end the injustices in Gaza and the needless deaths of Palestinians and Israelis..
Bush's FY2009 budget request for $2.55 billion in military aid for Israel, a proposed increase of 9% over actual spending in 2007, now rests with the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.
This proposed increase in military aid to Israel is the first installment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the United States and Israel in August 2007 to increase military aid to Israel by 25%, totaling $30 billion over the next decade.
Can you think of a better way to spend $30 billion instead of funding Israel's human rights abuses and illegal military occupation in violation of U.S. laws?
TAKE ACTION
Send a Personal Letter to Members of Congress on the
Appropriations Sub-Committee Challenging Military Aid
to Israel.
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Mass. House Bill #4477, if passed, would finally make it illegal for drivers of motor vehicles in Massachusetts to use hand-held phones while driving (as in NY and elsewhere). This bill recently passed the House and now is languishing in the Senate and may not come to the floor for a vote unless you phone or send a message to your friends in various towns and cities to have them urge their state senators (617-722- 5551) to vote for this bill.
According to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Marian Walsh, what needs to happen is for senators to get many phone calls from their constituents in favor of this bill. Passing House #4477 is a matter of public safety. Please call your senator and what would make a significant difference is for you to contact your friends throughout Massachusetts so House Bill #4477 becomes law.
Ed O'Reilly (PDA-endorsed candidate who advocates for single-payer health care, impeachment, stopping our current wars, and marriage equality) seeks the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by John Kerry.
In addition to making sure that Ed's name appears on the ballot, this is a great opportunity to identify new supporters and expand our network. So we really hope you can participate by gathering signatures from your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.
To get on September's primary ballot Ed needs 10,000 signatures from registered Democrats and unenrolled (independent) voters. We need to file the signatures with city and town clerks no later than 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, on May 6, 2008.
Call the campaign (866-716-2008) and we will mail nomination signature forms for you to use.
U.S. war provocation against Iran: Another Tonkin
Gulf? Take Action NOW to Stop War on Iran!
The Bush Administration has initiated an extremely dangerous war provocation just off Iran's coast, in the Strait of Hormuz. With Bush on his way to the Middle East to mobilize a collection of oil-rich U.S. client states against Iran, the U.S. government is working overtime to create a phony public-relations incident to heighten tensions in the region and threaten a new war.
An aide to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says the Lieberman/Warner climate change bill (S. 2191) “would be the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States.” (E&E Daily, February 8, 2008)...
S. 2191 is expected to be debated on the Senate floor this Spring. Your help is needed.
For more information visit the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
Congressman Robert Wexler's campaign office says that (unlike most of our Democratic Reps) he is pushing hard to force a committee hearing on Rep. Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment, recently introduced into the House of Representatives and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
This fight is not over. We must continue the pressure on our representatives or else Congress and its fellow lackey media will take no notice. That would be a historic mistake – one we must prevent Congress from making.
We stand at a critical juncture in our efforts. Forget all of those arguments that it is too late or that we have run out of time. You can’t run the clock out on our Constitution. Those of us dedicated to this fight – Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the online community, and millions of patriotic Americans – must keep the pressure on. Please continue to spread the word and help deliver accountability to the corrupt Bush-Cheney administration.Congressman Conyers needs a huge kick in the tail.
Please sign on to Congressman Robert Wexler's petition to help push the issue.
TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBERS FOR THE U.S. CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD
US House of Representatives Web Sites
Another Day, Another FISA Veto Threat By The Bully In The White House
Yesterday, Bush again put the self interest of himself and his giant telecom criminal co-conspirators above our national security, by threatening to veto the FISA update bill unless we gave them all get out of jail free cards. And if Congress were to bend over yet again, he would still probably veto it to demand even more changes and/or defy other major provisions with a signing statement, as he so outrageously did with the recent defense bill.
We must be just as relentless as the criminals who are working overtime to gut our constitution. We have had two successful filibusters so far, and it looks like we're going to need a third. And we need strong opposition in the House too, for that is our last bulwark.
Tell your Congressional Representative to vote against this awful legislation, which has passed the Senate and returned to the House. The House has stood up to pressure to provide telecom immunity to date, so don't let them buckle to pressure from the White House and Senate.
S 1959 "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" must be stopped at all costs. (It's already been approved by the House of Representatives by a HUGE majority.)
Pick up your phone and contact our US Senators' offices to instruct them to vote "NO" on S.1959, titled "To establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, and for other purposes".
If this bill is passed, and becomes law, your words and actions could be considered terrorism. S 1959 EVISCERATES FREE SPEECH, and empowers the govt. to declare ANYTHING they deem an "extremist belief system", instantly make you a terrorist, resulting in stripping of US citizenship, torture, and/or execution, with no habeas corpus rights, no ability to challenge even in the US Supreme Court.
What part of exercising power doesn't Harry Reid get? The Washington Post reports him "pleading" with the White House. And yet, it is his decision which version of the FISA bill to have the Senate consider, and by choosing to bring forward the bad one, he is knowingly forcing opponents of yet another "get out of jail free card" for Cheney cronies to get 60 votes to strip it out of the bill. Or filibuster yet again.
And what greater hero do we have than Dennis Kucinich, still standing strong as ever on every issue that matters. Here is his own leadership statement opposing telecom immunity.
And yet, even now, powerful corporations are pouring money into Dennis's district, to try to buy his seat out from under him by threatening him in his own primary. They are running malicious attack ads in heavy rotation. Please consider making a donation to Dennis now, to help him fight back.
At the end of January, thousands of people all over the world will march, speak, celebrate, and dialogue in villages, rural zones, and urban centers, in the context of hundreds of decentralized self-organized actions. They will mobilize over a one-week period in January, culminating in a Global Day of Mobilisation and Action on the 26th to show that another world is possible.
At the same period, the "old" world will meet in Davos for the World Economic Forum, bringing together its economists, experts, ideologies and techniques that produce violence, exploitation, exclusion, poverty, hunger and ecological disaster, depriving people of human rights and our Earth of its resources.
The World Social Forum is an open space where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organisations come together to raise issues, debate ideas, formulate proposals, share experiences, and build networks for effective action. These movements are opposed to a world ruled by capitalism and all forms of imperialism and domination.
Since the first worldwide encounter in 2001, the World Social Forum has become a permanent global process seeking and building alternatives to neo-liberal policies.
World Social Forums have taken place at the end of January at different sites throughout the world every year for the past seven years, and this spirit of diversity will continue to be reflected in the activities planned for the Global Day of Mobilisation and Action in 2008.
Our website is the main connection tool for all participants in the decentralized WSF 2008. Invite your friends to join and contribute through action spaces, present your action, upload your videos, publish news and connect your actions with those of others.
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.
The MBTA on October 10th started broadcasting
continuous [corporate] radio ads and "music" at South
Station, North Station and Airport Station with a plan
to expand the continuous radio broadcast system-wide
after Thanksgiving. This will adversely monopolize
this historic First Amendment public space:
1. Curtail and Interfere with Conversations of all
MBTA patrons
2. Curtail and Interfere with Reading of all MBTA
patrons
3. Target ads to all School Children who use the MBTA
4. Eliminate Subway Musician Performances
We, the undersigned, support the diversity of
expression of patrons and artists in the subway. We
petition Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority Board of Directors to stop
the T-Radio broadcast.
Congress will be debating war appropriations again, and the Senate - as the Republicans have routinely demonstrated - has the power to filibuster any appropriations it doesn't like. A filibuster in the Senate would effectively force an end to the war. So if each of us does our part in exposing the filibuster option, then we can apply tremendous pressure on our senators, the likes of which they haven't felt in decades!
Doris Tennant and Ellen Lubell (of Newton) are representing a Guantanamo prisoner pro bono, so they are providing their time at no charge. However, their costs, including their own travel and that of a translator, translator fees, and Freedom of Information Act requests, are running at least $20,000 for this year, and will likely continue at that same pace or more. Most of the other attorneys who are representing Guantanamo detainees are members of large law firms that can cover these types of expenses, but in their case the two of them are the firm.
If you would like to make a contribution to help them defray costs, it would be much appreciated. Please make your check payable to "Tennant Lubell Detainee Fund." Your contribution will NOT be tax-deductible, but they promise to put it to good use to help provide fundamental legal rights to a man who remains in indefinite detention.
Doris Tennant, Esq.
Tennant Lubell, LLC
288 Walnut Street, Suite 500
Newton, MA 02460
617-969-9610, X 101
Fax: 617-969-9611
Action Alert: The Alliance for Democracy warns us to oppose Holt bill (HR 811). We call for a ban on the use of Direct Recording Electronic voting equipment (DREs) and to require the use of paper ballots.
AFD urgently calls upon all citizens to call their Representatives to demand amendments to rectify the defects in HR 811, specifically to ban the use of DRE voting machines and require the use of paper ballots in all elections in the United States.
1. DRE systems must be banned.
2. All voting must be by voter marks on a paper ballot.
3. All recounts must be by hand counting of paper ballots.
4. All elections must have a statistically significant verification.
5. All recounts at every level of government must be by hand counting.
6. All software must be subject to public disclosure.
7. No connections to the Internet should be allowed.
8. All election records should be available to the public.
Go to for on-line information and a link to a printable flier.
A call for all people of conscience
to donate to its Lebanon Palestine Emergency Relief Fund.
All donations will be used to help Palestinian and
Lebanese victims of the latest Israeli aggression.
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
E-mail link
We are happy to report that a new shipment of olive oil has arrived. The most recent harvest was excellent and per case prices are less than they were last year.
As with our previous shipments, this oil comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, PARC, a non-profit, non- governmental organization in the West Bank. PARC works with 15 different small cooperatives. This shipment comes from the Mazare' Al Nubani/ Ramallah and the Kufr Thulth, Jayous and Azzoun cooperatives. The labels are printed in the West Bank and the oil is bottled at the PARC bottling facility in Aram. 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 BRANCH OLIVE OIL DONATIONS
As with past shipments, a percentage of the proceeds of olive oil sales is donated back to organizations working directly with Palestinians. Past recipients include:
Palestinian Medical Relief Society Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Birthright Unplugged American Friends Service Committee-Middle East Crisis Fund American Near East Refugee Aid Olive Harvest Coalition Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees Ibdaa Cultural Center International Solidarity Movement US OMEN Ta’ayush
THE IMPORTANCE OF OLIVE OIL TO THE PALESTINIAN ECONOMY
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. Olive trees, many of which are hundreds of years old, hold a deep significance in the culture and economy of the Holy Land. As the political and economic situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate, with increased restrictions on the mobility of people, goods and services, 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.
PARC assists at every stage of the olive oil production process, from helping farmers to reclaim rocky land, conserve water and implement sensible environmental practices (like re-cropping, dry-land farming and recycling of waste materials) to setting up regional labs for farmers to test their olive oil. PARC strictly monitors the quality of the oil, testing and re-testing it at its main laboratory to ensure that it meets all specifications. Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, 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.
Palestinian farmers traditionally care for their trees without the use of pesticides or sprays. PARC is currently working with international agricultural organizations to obtain organic certification for its olive oil, which should be finalized in the next few months. Because both light and heat are known enemies of olive oil, Olive Branch Olive Oil comes in a dark green glass bottle that is optimal for storage.
Available in 750ml bottles, by the case (12 bottles, $145), or more.
For ordering and other info, please email us at palestinebostonoliveoil@yahoo.com or call Susie at 781-648-6307.
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.