Truth and Justice Radio
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Independent Primary "Tsunami Tuesday"Stop War on Iran!Support Impeach Cheney Initiative!Resist passage of pending fascist law!Join the World Social Forum in 2008Stop Telecom FISA ImmunityStep Down Harry Reid!Support Kucinich for Congress |
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Dave Czesniuk is the director of operations at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. He has managed several healthy development, violence prevention & diversity programs or research initiatives serving both youth and adults. These projects utilize the power and appeal of sport to create social-change oportunities for the global community. Dave was previously a sport psychology consultant and instructor at the U.S.M.A., West Point.
The discussion will focus on recent trends in sport that Dave has addressed with colleagues, students, program constituents and the mass media over the past year. He will also share feedback gained from studying sport and those who participate in it, his 15-year exploration of the various perspectives of sport in society.
Topics will include, but are not limited to,
impeachment and ending the occupation of Iraq.
It was repeated meetings with constituents that
eventually convinced Wexler to take a serious look at
impeachment -- and now he's pressing a campaign to
advance hearings in the Judiciary:
Sign up if you haven't already.
Email David
or leave a message at 508-485-8498
1 Avalon Dr., Apt 7, Marlborough MA 01752
David says:
This will be the first meeting for my meetup group.
During this meeting, we will watch Loose Change -
final cut and then have an open discussion. I want to
establish the goals of the group at this meeting and
determine how we are going to meet those goals.
If you would like to attend this meetup, please feel free to join the group and then RSVP here.
The Divine Reality Comedy, a brand new translation of Dante's Divina Commedia, consists of four parts: Paradise, in which the old human Born-to-Die gene is replaced by the brand new Born-to-Buy gene; Post- Paradise Horsemanship; Purgatory, in which the shadows of the indefinitely detained speak to you; Hell, the Guantanamo interrogation process in which an eight- inch papier maché population recites actual interrogation transcripts and then witnesses three cases of torture as demonstrated on three over-life size puppets. The show will be performed by Peter Schumann and the Bread & Puppet Company, along with a large number of local volunteers, including members of the Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band and their musical friends. Informal talk back with the artists follows each performance.
The Bread and Puppet Theater’s The Divine Reality Comedy “hits you harder than all of the breathless cable news coverage in the world” [Claudia La Rocco, New York Times, Dec.1, 2007]
Description: The Divine Reality Comedy Circus features the following acts: Grand Forgiveness Society of Glover VT; the triumph of the small farmer; advice on where to get really cheap drinking water; a celebratory ballet by a flock of roosters; the Rotten Idea Theater Company's distillation of political issues; and much more.
Take note that some of the circus acts are politically puzzling to adults, but accompanying kids can usually explain them.
Each of these events will also include an opportunity to savor Schumann's famous sourdough rye bread, laden with garlic aioli, and to purchase the theater's legendary "cheap art."
Visual Art Exhibit:
The University of Majd: the Story of a Palestinian Youth
Mon.-Sun., Feb. 4-10
Free and open to all.
Description: Peter Schumann’s most recent visual art exploration, consisting of 7 large paintings created after his most recent visit (Fall 2007) to Ramallah.
Exhibit details:
Mon., Feb. 4, 6-8 pm: opening reception;
Tues.-Fri., Feb. 5-8: regular gallery hours
(which include the Cheap Art Store):
11 am-6pm [Thursday & Friday hours extended up to and after the show];
Sat.-Sun., Feb. 9-10: one hour before and after each matinee and evening performance.
"The 11th Hour" (2007) is a film about the challenges and opportunities climate change presents us with. Written and narrated by LEONARDO DICAPRIO, it begins with the reality of the environmental crises facing us, but ultimately ends with the message that "this is an exciting and incredible time to be alive" because we have an opportunity to rethink and redesign the way we relate to the planet and to each other in order to build a more just and sustainable world.
It is brought to you by Students for Environmental Action (SEA).
For information, contact Christine Chung.
Taxi to the Dark Side: Oscar-Nominated Documentary Film Explores U.S. Abuses in “War on Terror”
Last Friday's edition of Democracy Now included an interview with the filmmaker, Alex Gibney. He received his first Oscar nomination for "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."
Contact angela kelly at mass peace action for an e-ticket.
Hear first-hand accounts of Indigenous resistance to the 2010 Olympics, which are scheduled to take place on unceded Coast Salish, St'at'imc and Squamish territory near the stolen land known as Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Native Youth Movement is a Movement of Native youth that works to revive traditional knowledge and inspire Native youth to defend their Peoples and Territories.
Kanahus Pellkey is a Secwepemc and Ktnuxa Warrior and a spokesperson for the Secwepemc chapter of the NYM. She has been jailed before for fighting against the illegal occupation and theft of Secwepemc Lands for the Sun Peaks ski-resort, and is active in opposing the 2010 Olympics.
Dustin Johnson is a member of the Ts'mkiyen nation and is active in organizing anti-colonial resistance to the 2010 Olympics.
The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement-Guelph did much of the core organizing of the tour. IPSM-Guelph works in solidarity with Indigenous struggles for self- determination and control of their traditional territories.
Contact pcannon@riseup.net for more information.
Features representatives from Mass. Technology Collaborative and the Solar Energy Industry, who will discuss the State's new program, the "Commonwealth Solar Initiative". MTC and Borrego Solar representative Brendan Neagle will answer questions about installing solar panels on residential and commercial roofs, and the $68 million State incentive program which begins on January 23.
This new State program will offer rebates covering one- third to one-half of the cost of a normal residential- sized system, or a maximum $1 million for a commercial installation. Homeowners and business owners are invited. Local solar businesses will be in the audience to assist homeowners and business owners with their questions. Snow date Feb. 7.
Many people from inside the community wonder why things aren't getting done and why overwhelming change is not taking place in Boston. Examine the possibility of a covert conspiracy to separate the people from the process. Discuss ways to organize and strategize in order to expose and remove gatekeepers who serve as obstacles to solutions.
PRESENTER:
JAMARHL CRAWFORD: The New Black Panther Party
Jamarhl Crawford is the Boston Chapter Chairman and
National Minister of Information of the New Black
Panther Party. Jamarhl is a 4th Generation Bostonian
and community activist. He is also a Poet, Author and
Revolutionary Hip-Hop Artist having worked with many
greats across America and Europe. His latest book
Prophecy: Exemption & Redemption will be out in
February, his latest album “Split the Prophet” is due
out June ‘08 on Guerilla Funk Recordings.
Citizen Journalism is meant to provide the independent, reliable, and relevant dissemination of information that a democracy requires. Please join John Grebe, Host and Executive Producer of ?Sounds of Dissents? on WZBC-FM, as he explores the ways that you too can become involved with reporting news on topics that are important to you!
Two sessions:
WED February 6 6-9pm
WED March 5 6-9pm
Fee $20
Registrations are accepted on a first-come basis.
Early registration is advised since courses may fill up.
Register by web or phone, 617-661-6900.
Cambridge Community Television is a public forum for all Cambridge residents, businesses and organizations.
Today, eighty to 120 million construction workers are building a new China, most for a mere pittance, at the mercy of contractors with terrible safety records. Beijing is currently the biggest, busiest building site on the planet, its growth spurred by the 2008 Olympics and China's entry into the World Trade Organization. As shiny new buildings and icons of western consumerism take the foreground, the hardships of the people constructing these new images, as well as the disappearing world of the country's culture- carrying elders and their values, are shunted into the shadows. The Concrete Revolution (2004, 62 min) provides a brave vision of the dark side of the capital's transformation to glossy modern city. Its blend of objective documentation and personal reflection adds up to pungent social commentary.
International human rights worker and award-winning author Kevin Bales presents a 25-year plan to end global slavery and rebuild the lives of 27 million held in slavery today. What actions by governments, NGOs, businesses, and individuals are required to bring an end to more than 5,000 years of human bondage?
"THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF THE BARRIER, ITS ROUTING AND IMPACT IS SHOWN IN THE FILM, THE IRON WALL" (PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER)
THIS DOCUMENTARY FEATURES INTERVIEWS WITH PROMINENT ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN PEACE ACTIVISTS AND POLITICAL ANALYSTS AS WELL AS ISRAELI SETTLERS AND SOLDIERS AND PALESTINIAN FARMERS.
Extended informal discussion after the film. Refreshments will be served.
One block from Central Square T stop. 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, Nonviolent Peace Force of Greater Boston and the Cambridge Peace Commission.
Our three panelists, Claire Schaeffer Duffy of the Worcester Catholic Worker, Abby Yanow of Jewish Voice for Peace, and John Roberts of the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights will share their vision for promoting justice and human rights in Palestine and Israel.
We will open with light refreshments at 6:45 PM and the panel starts at 7.
For more information, contact Jan Leary.
EXPLOSIVE and GRIPPING documentary that shows never before seen footage of al-Hajj Malik Shabazz, a truly Islamic hero. [Malcolm X took the name al-Hajj Malik Shabazz in 1964]
Free film, free refreshments, & free door prizes.
[donations are accepted]
"Unveiling Palestine" film series
The RNC Welcoming Committee is an anti-authoritarian group from Minneapolis / St. Paul that's doing organizing for the demos against the Republican National Convention in September. And they're on tour!
From their website... The RNC Welcoming Committee is delighted to announce an early 2008 tour of these stolen lands we call the United States. Between the end of January and the (as-yet-unnamed, pReNC-like) event we're planning for Mayday weekend, we'd like to cover the entire country, region by region, spreading anti-RNC fervor and gathering feedback, information and resources for next September. The more networking and exchange we have now, the stronger we'll be come convention crashing time!
Understanding that most people can't make it out to Minnesota before the Convention, we see this tour as an opportunity to bring the Welcoming Committee to your hometown, and to bring your thoughts, ideas and voices back to Minnesota. We'll be prepared to do everything from a basic "What the RNC Will Look Like" presentation, to strategizing and info-swapping sessions, to one-on-one discussion with folks organizing for the protests.
In a world where we increasingly see marketing in every nook and cranny, it is not surprising that there are advertisements targeted to children. However, what is surprising is the extent and reach of that marketing. For example, current statistics show us that children see more than 40,000 commercials on television, contributing to a $15 billion dollar industry. Susan Linn, child psychotherapist and author, is leading the pack in reducing the harmful effects of exploitative marketing on children.
Join Susan at the Jamaica Plain Forum as she reveals the impact that over-marketing has on the development and creativity of our children. By interweaving real- life stories of marketing to children, child development theory, the latest research, and what marketing experts themselves say about their work, Susan reveals the magnitude of this problem and shows what can be done about it.
This year's Annual Meeting will feature speakers with expertise on Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, nuclear weapons, federal budget priorities, and more. They will take us beyond the hype and the headlines to consider what's at stake in 2008... and what we can do to have an impact!
FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC - SPREAD the WORD!
RSVP: Call 617.354.2169 or email us.
Who should come: Anyone (and EVERYONE) who believes Bush & Cheney must be investigated and held accountable for their many crimes & abuses of power! If you care about upholding the rule of law and can sign your name on a postcard, then you should come to this event!
We're getting very close to the start of impeachment hearings against Cheney in the House Judiciary Cmte. Closer than ever before! Sending letters to Congress is right now the best thing to do to get the investigations going!
Getting A Grip is not an ordinary book: it's more like a new pair of glasses, allowing you to see everything around you with greater clarity. Suddenly the world is more comprehensible, more manageable, even more beautiful. You won't want to take them off. --Barbara Kingsolver
Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 16 books, from the three-million-copy bestseller "Diet for a Small Planet" (1971) to "Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy Back to Life" (2006). Her life and work have been featured in O, Glamour, People, The Utne Reader, Orion, and many other publications. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Readers’ Digest, Christian Century, Le Monde Diplomatique, National Civic Review, Tikkun, and Harpers.
Nalda Vigezzi, co-chair of the National Network on Cuba, will give a brief update on the case of the Cuban Five. Ask her questions and discuss.
MISSION AGAINST TERROR is a critically acclaimed Cuban- Irish co-production written and directed by Roberto Ruiz and Bernie Dwyer. The film raises the question, "Why are people who fight terrorism imprisoned in the U.S. while known terrorists are allowed to walk the streets of Miami freely?"
It follows the case of five Cubans currently serving long sentences in U.S. jails for trying to prevent terrorist attacks on Cuba. It depicts the long history of violence against innocent Cubans by right-wing groups based in Miami supported by the U.S. government. The film shows historic footage of terrorism against Cuba and provides a moving depiction of the case of the Cuban Five. It features interviews with Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, former CIA agent Philp Agee, attorney Leonard Weinglass, Cuban activist from Miami Andres Gomez, and family members of the Cuban Five. 48 minutes, 2004.
The event is sponsored by Newton Cuba Solidarity and the July 26th Committee of Boston.
For information visit us or call 617-916-2265.
IndependentPrimary.Com is holding a "Tsunami Tuesday"
on-line primary thru February 1st.
[This organization ran an on-line primary prior to NH,
and found that Kucinich got the most votes!]
We're going to find out the choices of independent- minded Americans. We'll announce the results by email on February 2nd and hold a press conference for the media before February 5th.
This is an exciting [not to mention frightening] time to be an independent-minded American.
IndependentPrimary.Com Please remember to cast your vote and tell at least five of your friends to cast theirs too!
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.
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
Before the holiday break, in defiance of the perverse decision by Harry Reid to bring forward the version of the FISA bill with telecom immunity, and thanks to your voices and leadership of Senator Dodd, this was beaten back by filibuster.
We need to keep beating them back by continuing to speak out on this.
And we have a new incipient national leader on this, John Laesch, who is running for the old Dennis Hastert seat (IL-14) in a special primary election coming up in very soon (March 5th). Please submit the action page sponsored by John, and please also consider making a donation to encourage him to keep standing strong on the issues you care about.
As the Democratic nominee in 2006, John Laesch polled 40 percent against the powerful incumbent Hastert in the general election, and John is in the running again. With numbers like that, and especially given the shift in public sentiment in the last two years, this is a very winnable race.
Excerpt of John Laesch's recent message:
President Bush and the National Security Agency enlisted the help of telecommunications companies to spy on American citizens without the FISA required warrants. Now Bush wants Congress to give the telecom companies permanent immunity from prosecution. I ask you to fight Telecom Immunity Telecom immunity means that corporations who worked with the government to illegally spy on our citizens would never have to answer for their actions.
This bill exemplifies how wealthy corporations have more rights than U.S. citizens. Large telecommunications companies spied on Americans, violating the 4th Amendment, the right to privacy, and now Congress and the president wants to give them a get out of jail free card. We need to protect the Constitution of the United States. Please join me in calling our U.S. Representatives.
Tell your senators and Senator Reid to vote against this awful legislation.
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.
Dennis Kucinich is out of the presidential race, and now the thugs who did this want to push him out of Congress.
Despite the fact that he is the best candidate on just about every issue, after being rudely shut out of the debates before his time perhaps it was inevitable he would not be able to sustain a run for president. But today we learned that there is a conspiracy of huge corporations prepared to throw millions of dollars at trying to kick our hero out of Congress altogether, by financing a troll primary challenge. They are running smear ads in his district already and we have to fight back now.
IMPORTANT: Even if you have already given the legal limit to the Kucinich presidential campaign, you can donate up to another $2,300 to his Congressional campaign above now.
They've done this before, when Kucinich stood up to the utility special interests, and refused to sell Cleveland's power generating resource. Kucinich is an irreplaceable advocate for all the issues we are fighting for. This is a not just a race he is supposed to win, it is a race we MUST win, and by a landslide. And we only have weeks to do it.
There is no better investment we can make in the integrity of our democracy than a Kucinich donation. Look at what Dennis has done with his donations. He financed a recount in New Hampshire, which turned up enough problems to inspire a new bill in Congress to provide emergency paper ballot assistance to any jurisdiction that wants to switch back to tamperproof paper.
Call the Harvest Cooperate at 617-661-1580 and ask for Marc Cutler, Manager of Operations. Tell him to stop union busting and give Deon Furtick his job back with back pay for hours missed!
Contact the Harvest Employee Organizing Committee
Matthew Andrews
617-633-1857
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!
Petition to sign.
"We do not support construction of new nuclear
reactors as a means of addressing the climate crisis.
Available renewable energy and energy efficiency
technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner
strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than
nuclear power."
See and hear Walter, Joe, Abbey, random pedestrians (One even honked.) and a supporting cast of spontaneous volunteers all explaining the Honk Experience. (You can hear them when the cars aren't honking anyway.) No honks were added.
This took five hours in the cutting room. It's derived from thirty minutes of source shot over a two hour period on July 30th.
Cuencavision the local Spanish cable TV that carries some TV from Cuba. It includes Cubavision news from 1 to 1:30 PM weekdays and News from Telesur at Noon. The current schedule is viewable as a pdf file by clicking on the "Media Kit Cuencavision" link. Telesur is a major initative by several Latin American countries to provide an alternative to the US dominated media.
Cuencavision a local low power Spanish TV station in Boston is picking up Telesur and Cubavison TV and rebroadcasting them during the day. Cuencavision is carried on Cablevision in Boston and Brookline on Channel 26. It can also be received directly on Ch 58 in a limited area of its Albany Street, Boston, Transmission Site.
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.
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.