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TJR EVENT ARCHIVE |
Additional Local Event Announcements at:
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David Swallow is a highly respected spiritual leader, sundance chief and one of the headmen of the Lakota Nation. He will speak on what he views as a "global warning" from The Earth, due to many recent harmful anthropogenic activities, prophecies concerning the birth in Pennsylvania a year ago of a rare white buffalo and the importance of coming together as human & spiritual beings to pray for the survival of Turtle Island.
Born and raised near Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Oglala Reservation, Swallow is a member of the Teton Lakota Nation (the band of Crazy Horse).
Mr. Brown, founder and President of Earth Policy Institute, has been described by the Washington Post as "one of the world's most influential thinkers." President Clinton said, "Lester Brown tells us how to build a more just world and save the planet from climate change in a practical, straightforward way. We should all heed his advice." He will be introduced by Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Brown is the author of numerous books, including "Plan B 3.0, Mobilizing to Save Civilization", in which he outlines a survival strategy for our early twenty- first century civilization. The scale and complexity of the issues facing our fast-forward world have no precedent. Brown outlines an ambitious plan that includes cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, achievable with existing technologies. "Plan B 3.0" is a comprehensive plan for reversing the trends that are undermining civilization. Its four overriding goals are climate stabilization, population stabilization, poverty eradication, and the restoration of the earth's ecosystems Brown's principal research areas include food, population, water, climate change, and renewable energy. He is the recipient of scores of awards and honorary degrees. In 1974, he founded Worldwatch Institute, of which he was President for its first 26 years.
Sponsored by the Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition. Copies of "Plan B 3.0" will be available for sale and the author will stay to sign copies for audience members.
The film the Discovery channel doesn't want you to see.
Coolidge Corner theater recommends reserving tickets on-line.
The Federal Communications Commission is coming to Boston to hold a public hearing--featuring a rare local appearance of all five FCC Commissioners--about the future of the Internet.
In recent months cable and Internet companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon have repeatedly been caught blocking, filtering, and spying on consumers' Internet activities. The FCC is [assertedly] responding to the hundreds of thousands of people who have expressed their outrage over the anti-competitive practices by holding a hearing in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
We are in a unique moment in history when the government will decide whether we have a closed Internet controlled by a small handful of giant corporations, or an open Internet controlled by the people who use it. Come to make your voice heard or submit comments directly to the agency.
Screening and discussion with producer Gretchen Steidle Wallace and Amnesty International Sudan Country Specialist Denise Bell
Hosted by: Amnesty International Group 133 & Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights
Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former US Marine Captain Brian Steidle, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK takes the viewer on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where the Khartoum government is systematically ridding the province of its black African citizens.
Attendees are invited to a post-screening discussion of the film and the current situation in Darfur with Gretchen Steidle Wallace and Denise Bell.
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless has been working for the past twenty-five years as a key voice on a public policy level for families and individuals in Massachusetts who are at-risk or experiencing homelessness. For the past twelve years, MCH has held an annual Legislative Action Day at the State House to engage our members and allies in educating their state legislators about the needs of the Commonwealth's residents who are experiencing housing crises.
The theme for this year's event is "Housing is a Human Right!" We are pleased to announce that we will be joined by Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, as well as Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, who will be providing the keynote address. In the year ahead, Amnesty International will be kicking off its Global Campaign for Human Dignity, an economic/cultural/social rights campaign focused on poverty and human rights. This campaign will highlight Amnesty's ongoing work to promote the universal right to housing and freedom from poverty. The framework of the human rights movement supports housing as a right for all, not a privilege for a few.
As part of Legislative Action Day, we will host a panel discussion with key members of the Massachusetts Commission to End Homelessness: Representative Byron Rushing (Co-chair of the Commission), Tina Brooks, Undersecretary, Department of Housing and Community Development (Co-chair of the Commission), Joe Finn of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (Chair, work group on unaccompanied adults experiencing homelessness) and Sue Beaton of One Family, Inc. (Chair, work group on families experiencing homelessness). The panelists will outline their recommendations and the next steps for the implementation of the state's five-year plan to reduce, and ultimately end, homelessness within the Commonwealth. After their presentations, the commission members also will dialogue with Legislative Action Day participants about the work to end homelessness on the statewide level.
Most importantly, there will be time after the panel discussion to meet with legislators to advocate for improved access to affordable housing, services, and programs for families and individuals at-risk or experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts.
We hope you will be able to raise your voice and join us for this exciting day!
For more information and to register for this event, please call Rebecca at 781-595-7570 x32 or go to our current alert.
By popular demand, an event that is convenient for our friends to the Northwest. Let's get to know each other over some chewy gourmet flatbreads piled with organic veggies. A portion of $ from each pizza goes to the beagle rescue and adoption efforts of B.O.N.E.S.
RSVP - Reservations are not needed, but it helps to have an idea how many will be joining in.
The Flatbread Company uses organic produce and is on the Phantom Gourmet's "8 Favorite Restaurants of All- Time" list for their fabulous flatbreads wood-fired in a clay oven right in the dining room.
Listed on their menu of pizzas: Vegan Pizza - Our organic wood-fired cauldron tomato sauce, organic caramelized onions, organic mushrooms, Kalamata olives and homemade organic garlic oil with our own blend of organic herbs Whole $14.50, Small $7.75 ...
DIRECTIONS:
Flatbread Co. is in a complex of buildings that looks
like an office park. The sign on the road where you
turn in is subtle and easy to miss, but it says
"Flatbread Co," so watch carefully for it!
From Rt. 128 take Exit 32 onto Rt. 3 North towards
Lowell. Drive 4/10 mile and take Exit 26 onto Rt. 62
(Burlington Rd.) towards Burlington/Bedford. Drive
3/10 mile and watch carefully to your right for that
subtle sign saying Flatbread Co.
"Our public schools are being hijacked by transnational corporations who care more about branding and the bottom line than civics, critical thinking, and citizenship. 'Captive Audience' turns a bright spotlight on this phenomenon, and shows us how we can fight back." --Rob Williams, President, Action Coalition for Media Education
For marketers who wish to reach the lucrative youth market, the relatively uncluttered medium of the school environment represents the final frontier access to a captive audience of millions of students. Meanwhile dwindling federal, state, and local funding for education has left many schools vulnerable to the advertiser's pitch. As a result, commercialism has steadily increased in America's public schools in recent years, often with little or no public awareness.
The film Captive Audience is a compelling expose of the transformation of classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, and textbooks into advertising vehicles. It explores how education is short-changed and democracy is at risk when schools become marketplaces and commercialism goes to the head of the class.
The Documentary Film & Discussion Series meets every 2nd Thursday and 4th Tuesday of the month for an in- depth look at important topics of our day.
Copies of Ritter’s latest book "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change" will be available for purchase.
SCOTT RITTER, The Outspoken UNSCOM Senior Weapons Inspector in Iraq and Non Proliferation Analyst, is on a nationwide tour, speaking out about the administration’s threats against Iran, presenting information that he has gathered from his experiences in Iraq and Iran, and encouraging participation by ordinary citizens to stop the madness that is this administration’s foreign policy. The threat of a United States attack on Iran is a threat that we cannot afford to dismiss lightly.
Co-sponsored by United for Justice with Peace and Newton Dialogues on War and Peace.
Narrated by Paul Newman, /The Price of Sugar/ follows Father Christopher Hartley, a charismatic Spanish priest, as he organizes some of this hemisphere's poorest people to fight for their basic human rights. This film raises key questions about where the products we consume originate and at what human cost they are produced.
The film will be presented by Bill Haney, director and producer of the film.
This event is sponsored by the Environment and Natural Resources Program, the Center for International Development, and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.
The film will be followed by Q&A with the director and producer. Reception to Follow.
Life Without is a novel about the lives of eleven characters who are incarcerated in two neighboring American prisons. These characters are connected by common experience and proximity, daily routine and interactions, and rolling domino and bid whist games through which the inmates gather to socialize. They are serving various sentences for different kinds of crimes, and each one has his or her own story of loss, despair, imagination and survival. Although they do not begin to comprise an exhaustive portrait of the men and women who fill American prisons, all are part of the whole of prison life. Ms Lee?s work on Life Without has involved volunteer work teaching writing and storytelling workshops with prison inmates over the last six years, and many interviews with ex-offenders and people who work with prisoners.
Helen Elaine Lee, Professor of Humanities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has published two other novels, The Serpent?s Gift (Atheneum, 1994) and Water Marked (Scribner, 1999). About her work, she writes: ?I carry the tales of many heroes of world literature with me, along with the story of my ancestors, who sneaked along rows of cotton in the night, teaching fellow slaves to read. To these I want to add my own stories about the ways in which my communities have tried to make art out of loss and make meaning from narrative.? Life Without is currently under submission to publishers.
ASL/ENGLISH INTERPRETATION WILL BE PROVIDED AT ALL READINGS
Refreshments will be served
Writing Race: Memory and Imagination is funded through the generous support of the African American Experience Fund.
In 1998, university professor Kembrew McLeod (Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa) trademarked the phrase "freedom of expression" a startling comment on the way that intellectual property law restricts creativity and the expression of ideas. This provocative and amusing documentary explores the battles being waged in courts, classrooms, museums, film studios, and the Internet over control of our cultural commons. Based on McLeod's award-winning book of the same title, Freedom of Expression charts the many successful attempts to push back the assault on free expression by overzealous copyright holders. Freedom of Expression is an essential tool for educators, activists, filmmakers, students, artists, librarians, and more.
Director Jeremy Smith will be present to introduce Freedom of Expression and will answer questions after the showing.
This documentary recently won third place at the ION International Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Please see below for more information on the documentary and the producer.
ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY:
A current affairs travelogue filmed immediately after
the 2006 Summer War between Israel and Hizbullah,
Deserted Riviera casts a penetrating look at the
conflict's legacy. Greek film-maker Iason Athanasiadis
and Lebanese cameraman Ziad Tarraf negotiated strong
access to Hizbullah leaders and field-workers alike as
they traversed devastated villages on the frontline
with Israel, the still-smoking ruins of Beirut's
Shiite quarters and central Beirut's hedonistic
nightclubs. A fast-paced, insider's view of postwar
Lebanon.
ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Writer, photographer and television producer, Iason
Athanasiadis has been covering the Middle East,
Central Asia and the southeast Mediterranean since
1999. He earned degrees in Arabic and Modern Middle
Eastern Studies at Oxford University (BA) as well as
Persian and Contemporary Iranian Studies at Tehran's
School of International Studies (MA).
Athanasiadis lived in Iran from 2004-2007, covering conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Lebanon for U.S., British and international media including the Times, the Christian Science Monitor, American Prospect, British Journalism Review and the South China Morning Post. He covered the 2003 invasion of Iraq from Qatar for al-Jazeera, the 2004 Athens Olympics for BBC World and the 2006 Israeli-Hizbullah war in Lebanon as a freelancer. At the same time, his photography has been featured in solo exhibitions in Germany, Greece and Iran, and his work published in Der Spiegel and the Los Angeles Times, among other newspapers and magazines. Fluent in Arabic and Persian, Iason practices immersion journalism, without the support of fixers and translators.
A native of Greece, Athanasiadis is currently a Fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. He is an Aristotle Onassis Foundation scholar.
Narrated by Paul Newman, /The Price of Sugar/ follows Father Christopher Hartley, a charismatic Spanish priest, as he organizes some of this hemisphere's poorest people to fight for their basic human rights. This film raises key questions about where the products we consume originate and at what human cost they are produced.
The film will be presented by Bill Haney, director and producer of the film.
This event is sponsored by the Environment and Natural Resources Program, the Center for International Development, and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.
The film will be followed by Q&A with the director and producer. Reception to Follow.
Often seen as the poor relation of architecture and design, both unglamorous and often unattractive, parking is viewed as a necessary evil. If the parking system works well, nobody notices. If it doesn't, parking can work against a city's best efforts to improve urban design, manage traffic and achieve a wide array of other goals. How we structure and where we place parking facilities often dictates the shape of buildings, affects the financial feasibility of projects, and impacts the beauty of a place.
Jason and Mark will discuss the growing number of American cities --large and small-- that are reforming parking requirements and proving we can build walkable, beautiful places that reasonably including parking. These cities are the vanguard in a planning & design movement that is reducing traffic, increasing economic performance and protecting the environment.
Nelson\Nygaard is a US-based consulting firm with an office in Boston providing a broad range of transit and multi-modal transportation services.
This event is sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance and hosted by Adaptive Environments
Join outspoken former UN weapons inspector in Iraq Scott Ritter for a presentation and discussion on the Bush administration’s secret plans for the "War on Terror," including a possible nuclear attack on Iran. Find out why Ritter, who visited Iran on a fact-finding mission, commented, "We are seeing history repeat itself," referring to the disaster in Iraq which he also warned about. Strategies for the peace movement and ordinary Americans to end the war on Iraq and to stop this dangerous move towards expansion of the Iraq war to the whole Middle East will also be discussed. Talk followed by Q&A.
Ritter, author of TARGET IRAN and WAGING PEACE is on a national speaking tour. Both books will be available for purchase at the event.
Event admission: $10. Come early and meet Scott at our fundraising reception (wine, hors d'oeuvres) and book signing, 6:00-7:00PM, $30/$35 - in advance/at door; includes main event and reserved seating.
For tickets or more information, call 781-316-2018 or send an email. Download a copy of the flyer for this event at ArlingtonUJP.org.
Ample parking in municipal lot, corner Mass. Ave. and Rte. 60
MBTA: Bus 77 (Harvard Sq.), Bus 80 (Tufts/Medford)
Zuzu Angel
Directed by Sergio Rezende, with Patricia Pillar and
Daniel de Oliveira (2006).
Acclaimed Brazilian fashion designer Zuzu Angel was assassinated in 1976 because of her constant search for answers to the death of her son, Stuart Angel/ /who was captured, tortured, and murdered because of his participation in the student's movement that challenged the military dictatorship of the 60s and 70s. Zuzu became a leading influence in Brazilian fashion and politics for generations to come.
Free and open to the public. Free popcorn, guaraná $1
Dave Rovics, nationally celebrated singer/songwriter will be perfoming. This event is a fundraiser to assist the RI Spring Mobe Committee in its organizing efforts. For example, the recent rally and march concurrent with Chief Justice Roberts' visit was a RI Spring Mobe action.
A donation of $10 per person is suggested. If you belong to a group that would like to table at this concert, generous table space is available for your literature and merchandise for only $10.00. Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will also be available.
For more info, contact Nick Schmader.
Mass. House Bill #4477, if passed, would finally make it illegal for drivers of motor vehicles in Massachusetts to use hand-held phones while driving (as in NY and elsewhere). This bill recently passed the House and now is languishing in the Senate and may not come to the floor for a vote unless you phone or send a message to your friends in various towns and cities to have them urge their state senators (617-722- 5551) to vote for this bill.
According to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Marian Walsh, what needs to happen is for senators to get many phone calls from their constituents in favor of this bill. Passing House #4477 is a matter of public safety. Please call your senator and what would make a significant difference is for you to contact your friends throughout Massachusetts so House Bill #4477 becomes law.
Ed O'Reilly (PDA-endorsed candidate who advocates for single-payer health care, impeachment, stopping our current wars, and marriage equality) seeks the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by John Kerry.
In addition to making sure that Ed's name appears on the ballot, this is a great opportunity to identify new supporters and expand our network. So we really hope you can participate by gathering signatures from your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.
To get on September's primary ballot Ed needs 10,000 signatures from registered Democrats and unenrolled (independent) voters. We need to file the signatures with city and town clerks no later than 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, on May 6, 2008.
Call the campaign (866-716-2008) and we will mail nomination signature forms for you to use.
U.S. war provocation against Iran: Another Tonkin
Gulf? Take Action NOW to Stop War on Iran!
The Bush Administration has initiated an extremely dangerous war provocation just off Iran's coast, in the Strait of Hormuz. With Bush on his way to the Middle East to mobilize a collection of oil-rich U.S. client states against Iran, the U.S. government is working overtime to create a phony public-relations incident to heighten tensions in the region and threaten a new war.
An aide to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says the Lieberman/Warner climate change bill (S. 2191) “would be the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States.” (E&E Daily, February 8, 2008)...
S. 2191 is expected to be debated on the Senate floor this Spring. Your help is needed.
For more information visit the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
Congressman Robert Wexler's campaign office says that (unlike most of our Democratic Reps) he is pushing hard to force a committee hearing on Rep. Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment, recently introduced into the House of Representatives and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
This fight is not over. We must continue the pressure on our representatives or else Congress and its fellow lackey media will take no notice. That would be a historic mistake – one we must prevent Congress from making.
We stand at a critical juncture in our efforts. Forget all of those arguments that it is too late or that we have run out of time. You can’t run the clock out on our Constitution. Those of us dedicated to this fight – Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the online community, and millions of patriotic Americans – must keep the pressure on. Please continue to spread the word and help deliver accountability to the corrupt Bush-Cheney administration.Congressman Conyers needs a huge kick in the tail.
Please sign on to Congressman Robert Wexler's petition to help push the issue.
TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBERS FOR THE U.S. CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD
US House of Representatives Web Sites
Another Day, Another FISA Veto Threat By The Bully In The White House
Yesterday, Bush again put the self interest of himself and his giant telecom criminal co-conspirators above our national security, by threatening to veto the FISA update bill unless we gave them all get out of jail free cards. And if Congress were to bend over yet again, he would still probably veto it to demand even more changes and/or defy other major provisions with a signing statement, as he so outrageously did with the recent defense bill.
We must be just as relentless as the criminals who are working overtime to gut our constitution. We have had two successful filibusters so far, and it looks like we're going to need a third. And we need strong opposition in the House too, for that is our last bulwark.
Tell your Congressional Representative to vote against this awful legislation, which has passed the Senate and returned to the House. The House has stood up to pressure to provide telecom immunity to date, so don't let them buckle to pressure from the White House and Senate.
S 1959 "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" must be stopped at all costs. (It's already been approved by the House of Representatives by a HUGE majority.)
Pick up your phone and contact our US Senators' offices to instruct them to vote "NO" on S.1959, titled "To establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, and for other purposes".
If this bill is passed, and becomes law, your words and actions could be considered terrorism. S 1959 EVISCERATES FREE SPEECH, and empowers the govt. to declare ANYTHING they deem an "extremist belief system", instantly make you a terrorist, resulting in stripping of US citizenship, torture, and/or execution, with no habeas corpus rights, no ability to challenge even in the US Supreme Court.
What part of exercising power doesn't Harry Reid get? The Washington Post reports him "pleading" with the White House. And yet, it is his decision which version of the FISA bill to have the Senate consider, and by choosing to bring forward the bad one, he is knowingly forcing opponents of yet another "get out of jail free card" for Cheney cronies to get 60 votes to strip it out of the bill. Or filibuster yet again.
And what greater hero do we have than Dennis Kucinich, still standing strong as ever on every issue that matters. Here is his own leadership statement opposing telecom immunity.
And yet, even now, powerful corporations are pouring money into Dennis's district, to try to buy his seat out from under him by threatening him in his own primary. They are running malicious attack ads in heavy rotation. Please consider making a donation to Dennis now, to help him fight back.
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."
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.