THIS WEEK'S EVENTS
SUNDAY, APR 26, 2009
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Program Speaker: Judith Nies, author, "The Girl I left
Behind", Ms. Nies discusses her memoir about living
and coping with sexism in the political 1960s. She was
chief staffer to a core of anti-Vietnam War
congressmen, and a pioneer in overcoming the limited
roles for women in society and politics.
---------- Sunday----------
Anthony Zuba, lead organizer of the Mass Interfaith Committee for Worker
Justice, comes to the job with a background in theology. Founded in 1996,
Interfaith Worker Justice educates, organizes & mobilizes the religious
community nationally on issues and campaigns to improve wages, benefits &
working conditions for all low-wage workers. The group focuses especially on
giving Blacks, Latinos & immigrants a voice in the workplace, protecting
their human rights as workers, and strengthening the communities where they
live.
Zuba considers the Employee Free Choice Act one of the most important civil
rights bills of our time. It would ensure that when a majority of employees
in a workplace decide to form a union, they could do so without the
harassment, intimidation, illegal firings & other tactics employers now use
to prevent workers' free choice. Both our faith-based and secular civic
traditions affirm the right of workers to form and join unions. However,
corporations have launched a massive, well-funded but undemocratic campaign
to fight the Act and the unionization efforts it would surely spark.
---------- Sunday----------
1PM: STAND OUT FOR PALESTINE
Protest against the Israeli Consul speaking at the
Holocaust Memorial at Faneuil Hall, Boston
Meet in front of Faneuil Hall at 1 PM. Please bring
Palestinian flags and signs supporting Palestine and
opposing Israel & Zionism and opposing imperialist
wars.
The Israeli government and Zionist groups are having a
holocaust commemoration at Faneuil Hall at 2 PM
Sunday, April 26. Israeli Consul General Nadav Tamir
(the official representative of the Israeli government
in New England), Archbishop Cardinal O'Malley, and
other speakers will be using events that happened in
the middle of the last century in Europe to attempt to
justify 61 years of Jewish-supremacist colonial rule
of Palestine and to attempt to justify the continuing
Zionist genocide against the Palestinian people.
For JCRC's announcement: jcrcboston.org
Our source: davidrolde@comcast.net
---------- Sunday----------
2PM: Bhopal Gas Tragedy Survivors visit
MIT Cuban Film Series
MIT Building 54-100
The Green Building, Earth and Planetary Sciences Bldg
Free and open to the public.
Dynamic youth leaders, 16 year old Sarita Malviya and
Rafat Kahn, will travel from their homes in Bhopal,
India to the US and Canada to mark the 25th
Anniversary of the Bhopal Chemical Disaster.
The Union Carbide Chemical Disaster in Bhopal, India
has killed more than 23,000 people due to a
catastrophic 1984 gas leak and ongoing water
contamination in the central Indian city.
Travelling with the teens is Rachna Dingra and
Satinath Sarangi of the International Campaign for
Justice in Bhopal, an international coalition of
survivors and supporters with a worldwide presence.
The campaign is calling for 'No More Bhopals', more
effective regulation of the chemical industry, and
greater rights for marginalized communities to protect
them from chemical harm.
The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal is a
coalition of survivors group and allies around the
world working for justice and a life of dignity for
the survivors of the world's worst industrial
disaster, and for a toxic free future for all. Come
meet the survivors at MIT, and hear their amazing
stories!
Contact: Umang Kumar (umkumar@gmail.com)
More info: www.aidboston.org
---------- Sunday----------
3PM: Workshops presented by Earth First! Roadshow
Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston's South End
Telephone: 617.267.6272
$5-15 sliding scale donation, no one turned away
Also, after the workshops, at
7pm: Benefit for Rising Tide Boston Concert featuring:
Here's to the Long Haul traditional & original music
that tells stories of grassroots movements and
everyday people of the Appalachian mountains and far
beyond
Jake and the Infernal Machine punk-influenced folk
from Brighton
Mallory rowdy folk-punk from Amherst
The Outspoken Wordsmiths beat-boxing geniuses from
Victoria, BC
Evan Greer of the Riotfolk! Collective
---------- Sunday----------
4PM: Stop Budget Cuts Rally
Framingham
Organization: Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations
Acting for Hope (MICAH)
Location: St. Tarcisius Church, 562 Waverly Street
(Route 135) in Framingham
We would like to URGE you to join actions across the
state to STOP the budget CUTS and to raise revenue for
our communities. The House Budget makes well over a
billion dollars in cuts to essential services for our
communities! We need to stop these cuts so we can
invest in our schools, infrastructure and social
programs to rebuild our economy.
Please, see a list of events below and JOIN one of
them!
If you have any question regarding this actions,
please contact:
Marcony Almeida (MIRA Director of Organizing)
malmeida@miracoalition.org
David Estella (MIRA Campaign Organizer)
destella@miracoalition.org
Harris Gruman (SEIU) harris.gruman@seiu.org
---------- Sunday----------
Newton Dialogues is pleased to announce that
Representative Barney Frank has accepted its
invitation to an open meeting where he will speak on
his recent proposals to CUT THE MILITARY BUDGET. His
talk will be followed by a "town hall" style question
and answer period.
[Activist/listener Amy Hendrickson suggests that this
might be a good moment to let Barney know we think
Afghanistan is madness.]
Representative Frank has written on this topic in The
Nation (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090302/frank),
held a forum on cutting the military budget
(http://www.house.gov/frank/milforum022409.html), and
published a plan to Reduce Military Spending
(http://www.house.gov/frank/milplan022409.html). He
has argued that the Military Budget includes funding
for systems to counter threats from non-existent
enemies (such as the Soviet Union) and that for too
long the Military Budget has been exempt from the
discussions of 'fiscal responsibility' which has
become a code phrase for cutting spending on Public
Services and Social Services and to threaten so-called
entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, and
Medicaid.
We encourage you to talk about this upcoming event
with your co-workers, with your fellow church or
temple members, with your neighbors and to write
letters of support for Representative Frank's proposal
to him and to local and national newspapers and
magazines.
We believe that if people start to seriously consider
this proposal, it will gain the momentum it will need
to overcome the decades of untrammeled and
unquestioned growth in military spending and Military-
based foreign policy.
---------- Sunday----------
MONDAY, APR 27, 2009
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Rally to Stop State Budget Cuts
NOON: Rally & Lobby Day & Press Conference
1PM: Start of Budget Debate
Mass State House Room 437
We would like to URGE you to join actions across the
state to STOP the budget CUTS and to raise revenue for
our communities. The House Budget makes well over a
billion dollars in cuts to essential services for our
communities! We need to stop these cuts so we can
invest in our schools, infrastructure and social
programs to rebuild our economy.
Please, see a list of events below and JOIN one of
them!
If you have any question regarding this actions,
please contact:
Marcony Almeida (MIRA Director of Organizing)
malmeida@miracoalition.org
David Estella (MIRA Campaign Organizer)
destella@miracoalition.org
Harris Gruman (SEIU) harris.gruman@seiu.org
---------- Monday ----------
TUESDAY, APR 28, 2009
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NOON: Mourn for the dead, Fight for the living:
2009 Workers Memorial Day Commemoration
Mass State House Steps
Breakfast for families of fallen workers, 10:30 AM,
State House, Room 511.
(Main Event Rain location:
Near Grand Staircase, Inside State House.)
Join us as we remember those who lost their lives,
were injured or made ill on the job and renew our call
for strong workplace safety protections and swift
enforcement
Sponsored by MassCOSH, Mass. AFL-CIO and Greater
Boston Labor Council.
Contact Katie Mae Simpson at (617)825-7233 x14 or
katiemae.simpson@masscosh.org for more Workers'
Memorial Day information or other resources about
health and safety in the workplace.
Our source:
Marcy Goldstein-Gelb marcygg@hotmail.com
---------- Tuesday ----------
Mike Prokosch (United for a Fair Economy and Jobs with
Justice)
Adrian Boutureira (United for a Fair Economy)
Tim Costello (Global Labor Strategies)
Stephanie Luce (Solidarity)
Session 2--Tuesday April 28:
International Dimensions of the Crisis
Session 3--Tuesday May 5: Where's our leverage?
What's our strategy?
All sessions 7:00-9:00 PM--Pizza served at 6:30; pre-
register to insure space and pizza!
Suggested Workshop fee--$5.00 (no one turned away!)
This lively three-evening workshop will look at the
ways wealth has been stripped from workers,
the public sector, and productive corporations over
the last 40 years; how that wealth created
the Wall Street bubble; the global dimensions of the
US economy and crisis; and how we can
transform it.
This Will Not Be A Lecture. We will form human bar
graphs, stack chairs in outrageous piles, sing
Wobbly songs, and generally have a riotous time as we
rigorously examine our sick economy and
how to make it safe for working people.
Reserve your spot now! Call or Email Boston Radical
Education Project
repboston@gmail.com; 617-491-2876
Our source:
john fitzgerald fohnnyjitz@hotmail.com
---------- Tuesday ----------
WEDNESDAY, APR 29, 2009
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10A-1:30PM: Democracy Day at the State House
Election Reform Lobby Day
Mass State House, Room 437
Your presence is requested for fun and political
change...
("lunch lobby" available if you work
during the day -- email or call for more details!)
* Learn about your state government.
* Create historic, institutional change.
* Meet passionate people.
* Enjoy a free catered lunch.
This is the BIG ONE
Big as in, pressing the flesh, in the halls of power,
once a year, structural changes to our election system
BIG ONE. We're talking a coalition of over 30
grassroots community groups, including Common Cause
and MassVOTE, (and of course, Election Action) that
have devoted four years to making these reforms a
reality. We're talking catered buffet lunch, and
guest speakers from within and without the golden dome
sitting atop that great, shining, democratic Beacon...
Hill, that is.
Policy Goals:
1) Election Day Registration (EDR),
2)
National Popular Vote (NPV),
3) Voters First Act
Short History
EDR and NPV made unprecedented progress last summer.
EDR got through one chamber. NPV got through both and
barely missed getting to the governor's desk.
The Deal
In light of this unusual level of attention (90% of
all bills die a slow, dusty death), this year promises
an easier sell. You're just going to remind your
senator and representative to finish what they started
and push these great pro-democracy bills over the goal
line!
Pep Talk
Nervous about meeting your elected officials? Don't
be! They actually love having constituents like you
come and pay them a visit. It serves as an inspiring
reminder that what our officials do quietly impacts
our lives every day. The coalition will feed you,
train you, supply you with materials, and answer all
of your questions, before you fan out in groups to
chat it up.
You Can't Not Go
OK, if you've gotten this far, then perhaps you
realize that actually, you have no choice. You must
attend Democracy Day. This is a direct order. I look
forward to hearing from you.
Adam Friedman (adam@electionaction.org)
www.electionaction.org
RSVP:
Contact Cheryl Crawford: ccrawford@massvote.org,
617-542-8683 x 211
---------- Wednesday ----------
NOON:
UNDERSTANDING PALESTINE AND ISRAEL- PERCEPTION AND REALITY
Of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Community Change Library on Racism
14 Beacon Street, Room 605
Boston MA 02108
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!!!
RSVP 617-523-0555 or email us.
Please bring your lunch. Beverages will be provided.
$5 contribution requested.
The third in our series UNDERSTANDING PALESTINE AND
ISRAEL, this presentation will discuss the discrepancy
between the mainstream U.S. perception of Israeli-
Palestinian conflict and the under- reported realities
of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
The U.S. mainstream media construct this conflict as
one over a disputed piece of territory claimed on the
one hand by a vibrant Israeli democracy and on the
other by a series of Islamic terrorist groups. The
realities of ethnic cleansing, oppression, apartheid,
and a staggering power imbalance are generally
invisible in the U.S. media.
Presenter: Omar Baddar (MA, International Relations
and Comparative Politics, U of Memphis) wrote his
thesis on US policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. Director of the Palestine Cultural Center
for Peace and Steering Committee member of the US
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Omar travels
to the Middle East on a biennial basis. He has
participated in dozens of panels, lectures, and
debates on college and university campuses throughout
the country on conflicts in the Middles East and U.S.
policy towards the region.
The current public discourse around race assumes that
we live in a color-blind society where the American
Dream is attainable by all individuals who work hard
enough. This deeply flawed discourse obscures the
racial disparities in employment, education, criminal
justice, housing, health care, etc. and provides a
powerful but faulty rationale for leaving our systems
and institutions the way they are. The issues
presented at the Community Change Brown Bag Discussion
Series are concrete examples of the structural racism
that affects the lives of all, most acutely
communities of color. The 2009 Series places these
issues in their social/historical context and gives
attendees a truthful discourse, as well as ways to put
that discourse into action, in order to challenge
institutional and systemic racism.
---------- Wednesday ----------
Bank of America, Bad for America Rallies
Noon (100 Federal St, Boston)
3PM (67 Winthrop Ave, Lawrence, MA)
4PM (365 Main St, Worcester, MA)
5PM (Davis Square, Somerville, MA)
Fighting the Employee Free Choice Act
Intimidating their workers
Foreclosing on our communities?..
It's Time to Fire Bank of America's CEO Ken Lewis
Bank of America has received $45 billion in federal
bailouts. That makes the government and us taxpayers,
the largest single shareholder of the failed bank.
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis is the poster boy for
the CEO and corporate excess that crashed the economy,
continues to drain working families' finances, and
forecloses on their homes. It's time for Ken Lewis to
go. And if we really want to create an economy that
works for everyone again, we need to pass the Employee
Free Choice Act to ensure that all workers have a
voice on the job to protect consumers. April 29th is
Bank of America Annual Shareholders Meeting and we
will be rallying to demand justice from Bank of
America.
To get involved in the Massachusetts' Campaign for
Employee Choice, visit www.massjwj.net
---------- Wednesday ----------
7pm: American Jews for a Just Peace - Boston
First Annual Hilda Bernstein Silverman Memorial Program
An evening of insight, music and poetry
celebrating the life of Hilda Silverman
First Parish in Cambridge - Unitarian Universalist
Corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Church Street,
Harvard Square, Cambridge
Suggested Donation - $10.00*
Featuring Sandy Tolan, author of The Lemon Tree: An
Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle-East
Speaking on Visions of a Just Peace in
Israel/Palestine
The Hilda Bernstein Silverman Memorial event honors
the commitments, wisdom, compassion, and activism of
the late Hilda Silverman, who was a long-time peace
and justice activist with Visions of Peace with
Justice in Israel/Palestine [now American Jews for a
Just Peace - Boston], Jewish Women for Justice in
Israel/Palestine, Workmen's Circle, the Cambridge
Peace Commission, the Cambridge Holocaust
Commemoration, amongst many other groups and
organizations.
The Hilda Bernstein Silverman Memorial Fund is a
Project of American Jews for a Just Peace Boston
*All proceeds go to the fund, which has been
established to fund ongoing programs in Hilda's memory
as well as to support individual scholarships and
grants to enable study, travel and activism that
further Hilda's hopes for a just peace in
Israel/Palestine.
This program is being cosponsored by ...
American Friends Service Committee,
Jewish Women for Justice in Israel-Palestine,
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle
East,
and Workmen's Circle.
If further information is needed go to www.vopjip.org
and click on "contact"
---------- Wednesday ----------
7:30pm: THE FIRST TYCOON (Cornelius Vanderbilt)
Cambridge Forum
First Parish In Cambridge
3 Church Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
FREE and Open to the Public
On April 29, at Cambridge Forum, T.J. Stiles, author
of The First Tycoon, discusses the life of 19th
century railroad magnate, Cornelius Vanderbilt.
What business innovations, including the modern
corporation, did Vanderbilt successfully create? How
did he rout every competitor? What did President
Lincoln ask of him in the Civil War? Why did he, one
of the North's leading business man, embrace the
philosophy of the southern Jacksonian Democrats?
T.J. Stiles has held the Gilder Lehrman Fellowship in
American History at
the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars
and Writers at the
New York Public Library, taught at Columbia University
and served as an
advisor for the PBS series The American Experience.
Cambridge Forum is recorded 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 Forum Network.
---------- Wednesday ----------
THURSDAY, APR 30, 2009
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NATIONAL GRASSROOTS CALL-IN DAY
TO STOP NUKE/COAL SUBSIDIES THURSDAY
LET'S KEEP CONGRESSIONAL PHONES RINGING ALL DAY LONG!
Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are
beginning to consider separate legislation that could
have an enormous impact on our nation's energy future.
It is essential that we all weigh in now, in the
strongest possible manner, to help shape that energy
future. Let's tell Congress loud and clear to support
renewable energy and energy efficiency programs and to
stop any more taxpayer support for dirty and dangerous
nuclear power and coal technologies.
Washington-based groups like NIRS, PSR, FoE, NRDC and
others are working hard to stop this legislation from
becoming a gift to the nuclear power and coal
industries. But the nuclear and coal industries have
far more lobbyists and far more money than we do.
What those industries don't have is YOU.
And YOU can make the difference.
On Thursday, April 30, let's keep the phones in the
Senate and House ringing all day long with a simple
message: YES to renewable energy and energy efficiency
programs, NO to any more taxpayer subsidies for
nuclear power and coal.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
nirs.org
---------- Thursday ----------
The City School SLP application deadline: April 30
The Summer Leadership Program (SLP) is the flagship
program at The City School. In July and August, we
bring together 60 high school youth from the Boston
and the suburbs to engage in community building,
action projects and intensive learning. It is a 7-
week program, Monday through Friday, where youth
engage in seminars in several subject areas,
contribute over 2,100 hours of community service as
interns at nonprofits throughout Boston, implement
student-led Community Action Projects to create change
in their communities, and grow as individuals and as a
learning community.
Summer Seminar Teachers
Seminar teachers are vital to the success of our
Summer Leadership Program (SLP) for teens. Seminar
teachers are responsible for creating an environment
the supports academic rigor and pushes the
participants' understanding of the importance
education plays in their lives. Our seminar teachers
are not only charged with creating relevant
curriculum, they must participate in the process of
developing youth leaders by serving as mentors, role
models and key staff for the summer. They also must
foster a unique teaching model that we identify as
engaging and transformative for our youth
participants. During the summer of 2009, we will hire
five seminar teachers, each having responsibility and
expertise to teach a specific topic: education,
poverty/homelessness, immigration,
violence/liberation, and health disparities.
Seminar teachers are responsible for engaging youth
and staff in an ongoing dialogue and exploration of
systematic oppression (racism, heterosexism, class
oppression, transphobia and sexism) and movement
building.
Qualifications
Have astablished experience in curriculum, program and
youth development
Interest and skill in engaging youth in activism and
community organizing
Strong communication skills
Excellent writing skills
Computer literacy
High school diploma required; some college or
community building experienced strongly encouraged.
Experience, Skills, Knowledge and Personal Qualities:
Applicants should be skilled at working with both
urban and suburban youth, and have a strong commitment
and background in mentorship. Applicants should have
demonstrated knowledge in the seminar topic they will
teach. Applicants must be comfortable facilitating
large and small groups, and developing and teaching
curriculum. Applicants should be open, energetic,
passionate, and have a great sense of humor. Seminar
teachers are expected not only to lead, but to
challenge youth to lead. Applicants should be
comfortable working in and towards a youth-led, youth-
owned space. Seminar teachers should respect and treat
youth as equals. Finally, Seminar Teachers must be
team players, excel in an intense, emotional and fast-
paced environment, and be comfortable with group
processes.
Salary, Timing & Requirements:
The salary is $3,800 for ten weeks, plus a combo pass
for July and August. Seminar Teachers are required to
participate in one week of training, an overnight
staff retreat, and a 3-day, 2-night student retreat.
The anticipated start date is mid-June 2009. The last
full teaching day for Seminar Teachers is August 14,
2009. Teachers must provide student evaluations the
following week.
The City School is a nonprofit organization in Boston
that develops the power of youth to build a just
society. We do this through: creative education and
critical thinking; leadership development; action and
service; and promoting understanding and relationships
across difference. Founded in 1995, The City School
operates after-school, weekend and summer programs
that teach youth leadership, build community and
develop vision. The City School is hiring five
Seminar Teachers for our Summer Leadership Program.
To Apply:
Visit www.thecityschoool.org/programs.html for a
Summer Teacher Application and more information.
Email (preferred), mail or fax completed application,
cover letter and resume no later than April 30, 2009
to justice@thecityschool.org
If you are called for an interview, you will be asked
to submit two references, official transcripts (if in
school) and three complete lesson plans for your
preferred seminar. Hiring decisions will be made by
May 10, 2009. People of color, men and LGBT people are
especially encouraged to apply.
Applications may also be mailed or faxed to:
Justice Williams
Director of Programs
The City School
614 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA 02125
617.822.3075 x21
617.822.3073 (fax)
justice@thecityschool.org
For more information:
www.thecityschool.org
---------- Thursday ----------
7-9PM: Dean Baker: Plunder and Blunder:
The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy
The Jamaica Plain Forum
First Church in Jamaica Plain
Unitarian Universalist Parish Hall
6 Eliot St (across from the Monument), Jamaica Plain
617-541-0500 x302
FREE
Dean Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic
and Policy Research, and the author of several books,
including his latest "Plunder and Blunder: The Rise
and Fall of the Bubble Economy," will discuss the
growth and collapse of the stock and housing bubbles.
---------- Thursday ----------
7-9PM: Prospects for Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians
Newton City Hall, War Memorial Auditorium
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton, MA
Public Program co-sponsored by the Newton Human Rights
Commission and Newton Dialogues on Peace and War
Doors open 6:30 PM ~ Program begins at 7:00 PM sharp
Moderator: Fr. Walter Cuenin Catholic Chaplin at
Brandeis University
Speakers:
Nadav Tamir ~ Israeli Consul General for New England
Husam Zomlot ~ Palestinian Scholar & Guest Lecturer at
the Kennedy School, Harvard University
AUDIENCE participation will follow.
A community thrives when all individuals and groups
are accepted and treated with dignity.
www.newtonhumanrights.org
www.newtondialog.org
---------- Thursday ----------
You are invited to attend...
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program
presents
"Felines in Islamic Art and Culture: An Entertainment"
Thursday, April 30, 2009 5:30-7:30pm
Emerson Hall 105, 25 Quincy Street, Harvard Yard
Speaker: Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of
History, Director, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic
Studies Program at Harvard University
Contact Name: Dan Glade
Contact Email: dglade@fas.harvard.edu
---------- Thursday ----------
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2009
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On International Workers Day
March and Rally for Immigrant Rights
2PM: March from Central Square, East Boston
3PM: March from Chelsea City Hall
4:30PM: Rally Glendale Park, 50 Elm Street, Everett
For full march details:
2PM: www.chelseacollaborative.org
2PM: (617) 889-6080
2PM:
2PM: This event is organized by the May 1st. Coalition of
Chelsea, East Boston & Everett and supported by
the Boston May Day Committee.
2PM: www.bostonmayday.org - 617-290-5614
2PM:
2PM: Our sources:
2PM: Boston Militant Labor Forum (bostonmlf@yahoo.com)
2PM: Visit themilitant.com and pathfinderpress.com
2PM: Charlie Welch (cwelch@tecschange.org)
---------- Friday ----------
8PM: FMLN Victory Party: Music, Food, Dancing & Refreshments
Encuentro 5
33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown, MA 02111
info@encuentro5.org or call 617-482-6300
$10-50 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of
funds.
On May 1st (after the march/rally), we'll celebrate
our collective, international, and proud history of
struggle--in solidarity with working people in El
Salvador and across the world.
DJ Carlos Rosales will spin hot Latin rhythms as we
celebrate this year's victories for working people and
the Salvadoran democratic revolution.
As hundreds of thousands of immigrants take to the
streets of US cities demanding their human rights, the
streets of El Salvador will be flooded with Salvadoran
workers celebrating the historic electoral victory of
the country's left party, the FMLN. Let's join them!
Sponsored by: Boston Committee in Solidarity with the
People of El Salvador (CISPES), MLK Bolivarian Circle
of Boston, and FMLN Boston.
For party info:
email boscispes@speakeasy.net
or call (617) 576-1709
---------- Friday ----------
SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2009
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10AM: SATURDAY WAR CRIMES RALLIES IN MAY
Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA
We the People Demand...
PROSECUTE Bush-Cheney War Crimes
Rally Saturday mornings 10:00-11:30am
EVERY Saturday thru May 30, 2009
Location: Coolidge Corner, Brookline MA
---------- Saturday ----------
3:30-7:30PM: Benefit to support Student Troupe from Aida Refugee Camp
Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace (PCCP)
41 Quint Ave., Allston, Boston, MA
Green line B-line Harvard Ave stop/ on 66 bus route.
Benefit to help bring the 12-student troupe from the
Aida Refugee Camp Al-Rowwad Center in Bethlehem to the
USA for a July tour. Proceeds will also go to support
the center in Palestine.
Agenda:
3:30 Movie Driving to Zigzigland; Nicole Ballivian,
Writer/Director *PG13 - for language
5:30 Dinner: Delicious Food: Donated by Algiers Cafe,
Andala Cafe, Sepal, The MiddleEast
Live Music, Debke
Naji Al-Ali Art Exhibit with prints for sale: all
proceeds go to the Al-Rowwad Center tour
Suggested donation: $25, children 12 and under are
free.
Sponsored by Friends of Al Rowwad, Bethlehem/Cambridge
People to People Project and Tawassul.org
If you cannot attend and would like to make a tax
deductible donation please make your check to:
Al-Rowwad USA Inc. (a 501 (c) (3) organization)
and mail to:
79 Amory Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
Al-Rowwad Center is an Independent Center for
artistic, cultural, and theatre training for children
in Aida
contact.pccp@gmail.com
Tawassul.org
palestinianculturalcenterforpeace.org
---------- Saturday ----------
FUTURE EVENTS
SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2009
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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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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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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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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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The Employee Free Choice Act is critical to our
economic recovery. Good union jobs helped build
America's middle class. This legislation will rekindle
the American Dream by leveling the playing field and
empowering workers to form unions and bargain for a
better life.
That's why greedy CEOs are terrified of this bill. One
top executive has called it "the demise of a
civilization." And they're fighting with underhanded
tactics, misleading ads, shady front groups and, of
course, big budgets.
But we can win if enough of us get involved. Members
of Congress have a weeklong break this month, and
we've planned hundreds of lobby meetings at their home
offices. Imagine those workers handing over our
petition and being able to say, "Two million people
support the Employee Free Choice Act."
a href=http://freechoiceact.org>Move us closer to 2 million signatures--it just takes
one minute.
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Disgrace for Democracy, Israel is detaining right now
40% of the Palestinian MPs who represent the people
Disgrace for Democracy: 51 Palestinian MPs and
Ministers are Detained in Israeli prisons along with
11.870 Palestinian citizens
A serious crime and new political slap in the face for
democracy is committed by the Zionist system against
representatives of the Palestinian people by the
abduction of the Palestinian ministers and MPs.
The latest of which was the arrest of MP Ahmed al-Haj
from the city of Nablus on 16/12/2007. Al-Haj is over
Seventy-years old.
Earlier on the 10th MP Dr. Maryiam Saleh Minister for
Women in the Palestinian government has been abducted
too. Dr Mariyam is a member in the Legislative Council
from Ramallah governorate.
The Minister of Palestinian Prisoner is in prison
since many years... for the fifth time.
There are more than 11,870 Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli prisons, 117 of them are mothers. Some give
birth while chained, and their children are forced to
live in the cells where they do not live their
childhood or play or go out.
I don't have to tell you about lack of healthy
conditions, or medical negligence. Some prisoners are
denied warm clothes sent to them by their families.
They are held in 30 different prisons, and detention
centers. 1189 prisoners are schools, collage, and
universities students of both genders, 330 of the
detained are children. Not only the students were
detained, but their teachers too, there are 107
Palestinian teachers in Israeli prisons. 1150
Palestinian prisoners suffer acute illnesses.
A large number of the detained are denied visits by
family members.
Thousands of Palestinian detainees in the Negev desert
prison and other detention camps such as Ofer prison
near the town of Ramallah, Hawara, Qadumim, Megiddo,
Nafha, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon and other prisons are
shivering from the cold under waves of rain and
snowfall coming from northern regions of the world
especially that some are detained inside tents made of
cloth surrounded by walls open to the cruel cold of
the desert, living in wet tents caused by snow falls
and rain, sleeping on boards made of wood which gets
soaked wet.
Soon, April 17th is the International day of
prisoners. I hope you can join in denouncing what the
Israeli government is doing to those prisoners, and
demand their release to join their families.
Do not rely on journalism to get the news, journalists
were the first to be attacked and harassed so that you
do not know what was going on.
The records documented 1147 aggressive attacks on
journalists by the Israelis. Only between 28th of
September 2000, and 31st of March 2007.
Please sign the petition and buy those prisoners some
happiness.
We are hoping to get at least 11.000 signitures, one
for each prisoner, and present this petition to
International Human Rights bodies like Amnesty
International, and United Nations. Please Circulate
this petition to all the people you can get the
message through to them. It is about time we show
solidarity for each other on human level.
Sponsored by:
Iqbal Tamimi Creator of Palestinian Mothers Network
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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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Israel's recent war on the occupied Gaza Strip brought
death and destruction to Palestinians, and a windfall
for war profiteers. Around the world, people are
standing up and saying "No more" by boycotting and
divesting from corporations that profit from Israel's
human rights abuses. The people of Stockholm have
severed their contract with the transit/waste removal
corporation Veolia due to Veolia's involvement with
Israel's settlements, and British Telecom company
FreedomCall has ceased their cooperation with Israeli
counterpart MobileMax due to the war on Gaza.
Join this growing global movement for boycotting,
divesting from and sanctioning (BDS) those who support
Israel's military occupation of Palestinian
territories by becoming an organizer for our Hang Up
On Motorola campaign. Motorola makes a lot more than
cell phones - they also make at least four products
that directly support Israel's occupation of and
assaults on Palestinians. This is why we've created a
tool-kit for boycotting Motorola until its products
are no longer used by Israel to abuse Palestinian
human rights.
Why Motorola?.
Bomb Fuses: Motorola Israel sells fuses
that the Israeli Air Force uses in its MK-80
series of bombs. On July 30, 2006, during
its war on Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force
dropped an MK-84 bomb on an apartment
building in Qana, Lebanon, killing at least
28 civilians.
Communication Devices for Occupation:
Motorola's $100 million "Mountain Rose"
communication system enhances the
efficiency of Israeli occupying forces.
Patterns of human rights violations in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories include,
but are not limited to, the killing and
injuring of civilians, torture, extra-judicial
assassinations, deliberate destruction of
civilian infrastructure, acts of collective
punishment, and economic warfare.
Surveillance Devices for Israel's Illegal Wall:
Motorola supplies the "Wide Area
Surveillance System" (WAAS) to monitor
and maintain Israel's illegal wall,
constructed in violation of the July 2004
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
advisory opinion. This wall is perhaps the
strongest symbol of Israeli Apartheid,
carving the West Bank into Bantustans.
Surveillance Devices for Israel's Illegal
Settlements: Motorola has made $93
million providing radar detection devices
and thermal cameras for 47 illegal Israeli
settlements on Palestinian land.
Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land, its
illegal settlements, illegal wall, and
continued occupation would not be
possible without Motorola's compliance.
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Film: "Occupation 101"
A "Must See" That Untangles the Web of Lies
The truth is buried about Israel's occupation of
Palestine through sophisticated repetition of
irrelevant rhetoric, distorted shuffling of time and
placement of people's histories and other devious ways
of keeping many afraid to form an opinion or act on
outrage.
Well, here's a good cure for that - pick up a copy of
Occupation 101 and you won't have to worry about being
on any fences in regards to this issue. This highly
informative video documentary will keep your mind
attentive and clear all cobwebs in the brain by
getting to the root cause of violence from the
occupier and resistance from the occupied, all
embellished with current examples and very pertinent
comparisons to Apartheid South Africa.
A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on
the current and historical root causes of the Israeli
occupation of Palestine. Unlike any other film ever
produced on the conflict - 'Occupation 101' presents a
comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths
surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels
many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.
The film also details life under Israeli military
rule, the role of the United States in the conflict,
and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a
lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict
are explained through first-hand on-the-ground
experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace
activists, journalists, religious leaders and
humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been
suppressed in American media outlets.
The film covers a wide range of topics -- which
include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from
Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war,
the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo
Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the
United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000,
the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials
from victims of this tragedy.
Tripoli Productions, DVD, NTSC all regions, 1.5 hour
plus bonus features.
leftbooks.com
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From our activist friend Sandy Coy, who runs a weekly
vigil Thursday afternoons in Wayland:
I am writing to ask activists, as well as my family
and others who are not political activists, to join me
in a simple action to launch what the whole world
hopes will be a fresh start in a better direction. I
feel I must write after reading a book today that one
of my children gave me for Christmas, "Poems from
Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak."
Most of the detainees do not know these poems were
saved, declassified (much of their writing still has
not been), translated and published. But it has
happened, through the persistent work of many
volunteer legal advocates. In these poems, the
goodness of many souls and their hope in God and their
fellow men for justice comes through. Some of the
poems moved me to tears of both sorrow and shame.
But tears for them or anyone unjustly imprisoned will
do no good. Doing something as simple as writing a
brief card can actually help people who are being
unjustly imprisoned.
How? When prisoners receive volumes of international
mail, their jailers know they have lost the cover of
anonymity. This leads to better treatment for the
prisoner and ultimately their release, just to get the
public spotlight to go away.
So, here's what I am asking of myself, my family and
of you, which shouldn't take more than a few minutes:
Write out one or more cards for selected prisoners of
conscience from any of 12 countries (one is a
Guantanamo detainee) identified by Amnesty
International.
This card to a prisoner of conscience is probably
going to mean more than any other card we sent this
year.
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From the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between
People (via our correspondent Mazin Qumsiyeh):
So far hundreds of civilians have been killed in Gaza.
Five sisters in one family, four other children in
another home, two children on a cart drawn by a
donkey. Universities, colleges, police stations,
roads, apartment buildings were all targeted. The UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied
Palestinian areas issued a statement that "The Israeli
airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent s evere and
massive violations of international humanitarian law
as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard
to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the
requirements of the laws of war."
Twenty-five things to do to bring peace with justice:
1) First get the facts and then disseminate them.
Here are some basic background information
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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Opportunities to Assist Cuba!
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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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We now ship anywhere in the continental US; please see
our website for details . Olive Branch Olive Oil
comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural
Relief Committees (PARC), a non-profit,
non-governmental organization in the West Bank. PARC
is a member of the International Fair Trade
Association, and is the only Palestinian organization
that has received the Palestine Standards Institution
certification for its olive oil.
Olive oil is the
backbone of the Palestinian agricultural economy.
Eighty percent of cultivated land in Palestine is
planted with olive trees, and the olive harvest
provides between 25 to 50 percent of a farming
family's annual income. As the political and economic
situation in Palestine worsens, olive oil has become a
matter of basic survival for many Palestinian
families. Buying this oil is a constructive and
tangible way to help alleviate poverty and build
peace.
Olive Branch Olive Oil is extra-virgin and
comes in 750 ml (25 ounce) green glass bottles.
Produced from the first pressing of the olives, extra-
virgin olive oil contains no more than 0.8% acidity,
and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be
no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil. Unopened
bottles of olive oil are generally good for up to two
years, and should be kept in a cool, dry place, away
from direct sunlight. Palestinian farmers
traditionally care for their trees without the use of
pesticides or sprays.
Olive Branch Olive Oil is an
outgrowth of a 2003 effort by Middle East peace
activists in the Boston area to support Palestinian
farmers. Since then, it has evolved into an ongoing
volunteer project to create a U.S. market for
Palestinian olive oil. Our goal is to make a tangible
difference in the lives of the farmers and their
families.
Any funds that are raised above and beyond the cost of
the oil, importing fees and administrative and
marketing costs are re-invested in purchasing more
oil. Out of that amount, 15% is donated directly to
worthy projects in Palestine. Past donation
recipients include:
Gush Shalom Emergency Relief Convoy
Badil
Palestinian Children's Relief Fund
Gaza Community Mental Health Program
Zochrot
Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
Birthright Unplugged
American Friends Svc. Comm. Middle East Crisis Fund
American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)
Olive Harvest Coalition
Union of Palestinian Women's Committees
Ibdaa Cultural Center
Grassroots International
Taayoush
How to Order
On our website with PAYPAL
or send a check to P.O. Box 1064, Arlington, MA 02474.
Each case contains twelve (12) 750ml bottles.
Prices for local pick-up in Arlington or Cambridge:
Case price $170/case
Bulk price for 7+ cases: $150/case
Bulk price for 10+ cases: $145/case
Case price shipped within continental US: $195/case
3 Bottles shipped within continental US: $65/3 bottles
For more information.
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EVERY SUNDAY
---------- Every Sunday----------
12-1pm Amherst Peace Vigil
Town Common, Amherst
For more, contact Mark Watkins
---------- Every Sunday----------
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1:30pm Cambridge Peace Vigil
Mass. Ave., and Garden St., next to Cambridge Common.
---------- Every Monday ----------
11:45AM-12:15PM: Vigil for Gaza
Memorial Church in Harvard Yard
Harvard's Palestine Solidarity Committee will
be holding a vigil for Gaza from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm on the
steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. All who care for
Palestine are invited to attend. Please wear black and spread
the word widely.
---------- Every Monday ----------
These are the meetings where we decide on events and
discuss strategies to end the war. Anyone is welcome --
from seasoned activists to beginners and we look
forward to building a dialogue with anyone opposed to
the war. Our main tenent is that we are independent of
both the Democratic and the Republican Party, such
that we can build an anti-war movement that survives
elections and continues to oppose the war, regardless
of which candidate is in
office.
---------- Every Tuesday----------
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Tuesday Weekly Anti-War Vigil 5:30-6:30pm Copley Square
---------- Every Wednesday----------
NOON-12:30 PM: Harvard-Cambridge Walk for Peace
Starts at John Harvard Statue, Harvard Yard.
Every Wednesday. All are welcome.
Meet briefly at the statue to exchange thoughts,
then walk silently around the Yard and nearby streets,
returning to the statue by 12:30pm.
---------- Every Thursday----------
5-6 PM: Antiwar Vigil in Newton
Corner of Beacon and Center Streets, Newton Center
Organizer: Newton Dialogues on Peace and War
---------- Every Thursday----------
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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----------
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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