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There is no such thing as victory in war. The question becomes: how profound is the defeat. History and current events teach us that the most vulnerable of humanity suffer the defeats of war most deeply. From the women of Troy to the women of the Congo, slavery and rape change their lives forever. Today, women as combatants also suffer sexual abuse at the hands of their fellow warriors. We hear and we pray a prayer of lament. "God Almighty, have mercy."
Valerie Elverton Dixon is a womanist scholar interested in ethics, hermeneutics, postmodern, postcolonial and neo-pragmatist thought. She also works on issues of peace and justice. Her Ph.D. dissertation, "Reading the Clarence Thomas Hearings: Ideology, Context, Discourse and Meaning," made her, likely, the only person to read the entirety of his appointment hearings. Dixon is currently working on a book, its working title is "Jumping Double Dutch: Musings of a Womanist Mind at Play."
NAFTA Failure and Alternatives for the Future: Stop SPP and the US Colombian Trade Agreement
Don't miss this great program this Sunday in Cambridge! Sponsored by Boston Cambridge Alliance, North Bridge Alliance for Democracy and other local groups! Featuring speakers from Canada, Mexico, the US and Colombia!
Learn about the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, a "super-NAFTA" package of trade and security initiatives organized behind closed doors between corporate leadership and the Mexican, Canadian, and US governments, and the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (Colombia FTA), a “free-trade” deal built on a history of neoliberal repression of workers rights.
Find out how you can stop these undemocratic pro- corporate giveaways, and protect the rights of people, communities, and ecosystems threatened by “free trade.”
Co-sponsored by the Greater Boston Latin American and Caribbean Coalition, Boston/Cambridge Alliance for Democracy, North Bridge Alliance for Democracy, AFSC Project Voice, MIT Western Hemisphere Project, Colombia Vive, Massachusetts Global Action, Jobs with Justice, Grassroots International and Global Exchange.
For information, please call Barbara at 781-894-1179, or email us.
We hope to raise money so that members of our organization and veterans of the Iraq War can travel to the capitol to participate in the Winter Soldier event, which will be an opportunity for those who have been to Iraq to talk about what they experienced there.
We are very proud to have Colonel Ann Wright at our special event. Col. Wright has recently published a book,Voices of Conscience: government insiders speak out against the War in Iraq.
On March 19, 2003, the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Ann Wright cabled a letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that without the authorization of the UN Security Council, the invasion and occupation of a Muslim, Arab, oil-rich country would be a disaster. Since then, she has been writing and speaking out for peace. She fasted for a month, picketed at Guantanamo, served as a juror in impeachment hearings, and has been arrested numerous times for peaceful, nonviolent protest of Bush's policies, particularly the war on Iraq. She lives in Honolulu.
We invite you to share in a wine tasting which will feature locally available wines selected by MFSO member Bob Fuhro with friend of MFSO, Lionel Joseph. There will be non-alcoholic delights as well.
Live music performed by Andy Celley, jazz keyboardist, composer and producer.
We seek a donation of $50 per person (or whatever you can offer) to support our efforts to bring the war to an end and to lobby for care for veterans when they return.
Tell the Harvest Coop to stop firing workers who stand up for their rights! Join the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) in an informational picket line on Sunday, March 9 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Harvest Coop, 57 South Street in Jamaica Plain. For more information please contact wbumpus62@comcast.net.
Our fund raiser will be held on Sunday, March 9 (7:30PM), at the Eliot Church (corner of Centre St. and Church St. in Newton Corner) and will feature a film produced by IVAW featuring a preview of some of the testimonies to be given in Washington.
On March 10-13, join us in Washington DC to mark year 5 of occupation of Iraq. We are not talking about the usual demonstrations, marches, rallies, cute T-shirts and all!
Please access the web site for all current updates and information. Soon we will post a RIDE-SHARES page and info for FREE to low cost housing while you are in DC.
Activities include lobbying and mass civil disobedience targeting the Military Industrial Complex.
We will have info about FREE to CHEAP HOUSING in DC as well as ride-shares up on the web site soon.
Nancy Pelosi, Ed Markey and Niki Tsongas are all going to be in Waltham on Monday March 10 at 9:30 AM at the William F. Stanley Elementary School, 250 South St Waltham, MA 02453
Everyone is invited to display anything to welcome them.
There will probably be no opportunity for questions since it is a highly organized event to visit the school.
John Lewis was a student leader of SNCC, a Freedom Rider, and a speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, at which Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Congressman Lewis has been called “the conscience of the U. S. Congress”, and it is an extraordinary opportunity to be able to hear him speak and engage with him about his experience and insight.
Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
We'll be holding the next regular meeting of our group on Mon. March 10th at 6:30pm at Johnny D's in Davis Square, Somerville, MA.
This month is the 2nd anniversary for our King George group, so come on out and have a pint with us as we plan our spring agenda of activism against Bush administration crimes.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our "send an impeachment postcard to Congress" campaign last month. Together we sent over 1000 postcards & letters to members of the House Judiciary Committee in February calling for impeachment hearings (& it's still going - see below - a special thanks to Code Pink for helping us organize our Valentine letter-writing party.)
At the meeting, we will be discussing our impeachment letter-writing campaign (& writing more postcards too) & planning for new campaigns and events for the spring.
If you haven't yet written or called members of the House Judiciary Committee, you can still do so. Please do so, we need to keep the momentum going. All the info you need can be found in the FILES SECTION of our website - including names & numbers of House members to contact & how to download/print out our impeachment postcards.
If you have sent letters and/or called them, then do it again. It's a new month & Bush/Cheney are still criminals.
Yes Spring is coming! The Labor Guild's School of Labor Relations starts Monday, March 10 with two class periods 7-8:10, 8:20- 9:30 for nine Monday evenings through May 12. If you would like flyers, course descriptions, or more info, visit laborguild.com or email laborguild@aol.com, or call phone: 781 340 7887.
GWAC will host a talk by Mark Durrenberger about installing domestic solar hot water systems and wind turbines. Mark was trained in Nashville at Al Gore's Climate Project and is the owner of New England Breeze in Hudson, Mass.
A Keyspan representative will be present to discuss rebates offered by the utility. This event is free and open to all; seating is limited.
Oppose License Applications to IMPORT MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF NUCLEAR POWER WASTE from EUROPE to BURN, MELT, TRANSPORT and DUMP in the US!
EnergySolutions (often called EnergyPollutions) runs 2 commercial nuclear waste dumps in the US (in South Carolina and Utah) and incinerators, a metal melter and other “processing” facilities in Memphis and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
EnergySolutions is applying for a federal license to import 20,000 tons, one million cubic feet and over 600,000,000,000,000 becquerels (radioactive emissions per second) of radioactive waste (mainly from Italian nuclear power and related industries) into the US for processing including incineration, “recycling” (into unspecified waste streams and destinations), transport and disposal.
The “Low” and Intermediate Level Nuclear Waste from ITALY would
Some could be “cleared” and Dumped in Solid Waste Dumps in TN or “Released” and “Recycled” for use as if not radioactive.
Some would be transported to Utah to be buried.
This opens the doors (or the borders) to foreign radioactive waste coming in from around the world.
This would give a huge financial boost directly to EnergySolutions (and indirectly to other “processors”) that routinely release radioactivity and use Tennessee (Dept of Envt and Conservation-TDEC) state licenses to release the waste from regulatory controls normally required for nuclear power waste. It facilitates dispersing nuclear waste in this country via Tennessee.
This would fill up existing (already-controversial) disposal capacity for the massive amounts of nuclear waste already generated by nuclear power and weapons in the US.
ACTION NEEDED:
Comment to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to say
NO to License Applications Nos. IW023 and XW013
(Federal Register Volume 73, Number 28, 2/11/08)
Send copies of your comments to your Congressmembers and Senators and to your State legislators especially if you are in TN, UT, LA, SC and states between and downwind.
Comment to NRC by March 12, 2008; Contact NIRS to join requests for hearing(s) and to intervene.
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue Suite 340
Takoma Park MD 20912
301 270 6477 x 16
Tzipi Livni, the second most senior official of the Zionist colonial occupation regime in Palestine, will apparently be in the Boston area on Wed March 12 making two appearances. Boston Anti-Zionist Action (BAZA) will be protesting her appearances. Concerned citizens are invited to join these protests.
Our source at BAZA has been searching the net and making calls trying to verify this information and get more info, but so far we have only two sources. Be on the lookout for updated information on the Rule 19 calendar by Monday or Tuesday.
According to an email from the Institute of Politics and the IOP's website, Livni will be speaking at the JFK School at Harvard in Cambridge at 7 PM on Wednesday evening, March 12. Admission is by lottery (already fully subscribed).
According to the Thursday March 6 Boston Metro newspaper, "The acting prime minister of Israel, Tzipi Livni, is scheduled to visit the State House next Wednesday, where she will meet with Gov. Deval Patrick and address a crowd at noon."
Protests are possible at one or both of these events.
BAZA suggests we should start protesting outside the JFK School at 5:30 PM while the line of ticket holders is waiting to go in. (The tickets have all been assigned already.)
BAZA suggests protesting outside the Statehouse at 11am. We don't know who is allowed to go in and be in the "crowd" to boo Livni. We assume you would have to get there early to go through the Statehouse police checkpoints.
BAZA suggests that the protests should be non- sectarian, and that each group and individual should produce their own emails, flyers and signs. BAZA regards Tzipi Livni as a heinous perpetrator of genocide.
This novel intertwines the stories of three generations of African American mothers and daughters, each in her own way both enduring and challenging the legacy of slavery. Jump at the Sun was chosen by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association as a 2007 Fiction Honor book and the Massachusetts Center for the Book as the 2007 MA Book Awards Fiction Honor book. Ms McLarin hosts BASIC BLACK on WGBH.
Refreshments will be served.
Writing Race: Memory and Imagination is funded through
the generous support of the African American
Experience Fund.
In the early 21st century, it's become clear that air pollution can significantly reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, lower temperatures, and mask the warming effects of greenhouse gases. Climate researcher James Hansen estimates that "global dimming" is cooling our planet by more than a degree Celsius (1.8°F) and fears that as we cut back on the pollution that contributes to dimming, global warming may escalate to a point of no return. Regrettably, in terms of possibly taking corrective action, our current understanding of global dimming has been a long time in the coming, considering the first hints of the phenomenon date back to 18th-century observations of volcanic eruptions.
Mark the one year anniversary of the ICE raid on the Bianco factory in New Bedford. Come watch DETAINED, the acclaimed 30 minute film which follows families who were affected by the March 2007 ICE raid in New Bedford.
Of the over 300 people arrested, many were women with small children. Learn what's happening with the families who were detained during the raid. Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker Jenny Alexander, workers who were detained and allies.
This event is co-sponsored by the UMD Labor Education Center, CEDC of Southeastern MA, Organizacion Maya K'iche, the Sociology, Anthropology, & Crime and Justice Studies Department, the Social Change Society, UMD Chapter of Amnesty International, People of African Descent, Haitian American Student Association, Sigma Phi Rho, United Latino Society, Operation Help Now, UMD FMLA, and several other campus organizations.
For more information contact: Camilo Viveiros or Mercy Bell 508-264-0779
A free public lecture by HARVEY SILVERGLATE
Co-founder and Chairman, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
Member of the Board and Former President, ACLU of Massachusetts
Q/A session immediately following the lecture
sponsored by Brandeis Republicans, Brandeis Democrats,
and BADASS (Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society)
for more information, contact Amanda Hecker
Cape Wind Needs Your Voice! Mass Climate Action Network is looking for MCAN members, particularly in communities represented by fence-sitting Congressmen, to speak in support of Cape Wind at the March 13 public hearing.
If you would like to speak at the hearing, attend the March 6 event, or find out more, contact Fred Schlicher of MCAN or call him at 781.395.7207.Don't know exactly what to say in support? Clean Power Now has read and analyzed the 2,000 page MMS DEIS and has a great set of talking points about the impacts assessed.
The film "Big Bucks, Big Pharma" challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well- being.
Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry's marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors. Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well- being.
For more information on the film, Big Bucks, Big Pharma, see the Media Education Foundation web site.
MIT Professor John D. Sterman will give a highly informative presentation on this critically important topic at the Alcott School, 91 Laurel St, Concord. Sterman is an outstanding speaker, who addressed an overflow crowd on this topic in Lexington in January, 2007. In addition to identifying a cause of widespread confusion about global warming, he will demonstrate a general-purpose approach that can clarify the confusion. Global Warming is clearly one of the most daunting and serious challenges mankind faces in this century. Climate scientists around the world have repeatedly affirmed that it is real, that it is a terrible threat, and that failure to act quickly on a large scale to combat it will probably have devastating consequences. They have also pointed the way to actions that can be taken to reduce the severity of its impact.
People and governments around the world have begun to act; but the United States has been very slow to respond. Many people in this country have adopted a “wait and see” attitude. They resist changing familiar habits and accepting higher costs for energy.
Why do many people want to wait and see when they are told that there can be devastating consequences of inaction? It is this question that Professor Sterman will address. He will do so using tools from the discipline of systems dynamics, through which one develops skill in understanding the structure and operation of complex systems. This field of study, which was developed under the leadership of long-term Concord resident, Jay Forrester, is taught in universities around the world, as well as in middle and high schools (Carlisle and Chelmsford, for example).
The “wait and see” approach to global warming assumes
that it makes sense to see for ourselves whether or
not our economy and environment are being harmed as
the climate warms. Then, when the evidence is
compelling, we can act to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, even if it is costly; and all will be well.
Many seem to believe that stopping global warming is
like stopping a speeding sports car. If we apply the
brakes sharply, the car will simply grind to a stop.
The reality of the global warming process, however, is
much more complicated than this. Reducing the rate of
greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere does not
quickly reverse the process. We need to understand
that there is a complex cycle in place that can be
reversed only very slowly and may continue to
accelerate for a time even after we have begun to
apply the brakes. This program is part of a Speaker
Series offered by Concord Climate Action Network and Concord-Carlisle Adult and Community Education.
CCACE office: 978-318-1540
Sanam Anderlini continues her ground-breaking exploration of gender and conflict. A longtime consultant to the UN and NGOs on these issues, Anderlini has produced several field studies and analyses of how women building and sustain peace in their war-torn countries and communities, often in unconventional ways. Born and raised in Iran and educated at Cambridge University, she is a Research Associate for the Center for International Studies.
Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies and Technology and Culture Forum.
Please join us for a screening of the new film "Brad, One More Night at the Barricades". Brazilian filmmaker and media activist Miguel will be on hand to discuss his documentary tribute to a fallen friend.
When Mexican paramilitary forces shot Brad Will in the chest, killing him, his camera fell from his hands. But it didn't stop recording. It continued moving from hand to hand, telling Brad's story, as well as the story of the movement of movements that he was a part of. From the squats of New York to the forests of Oregon, from the anti-globalization protests in Seattle, Prague, Quebec to the popular uprising in Oaxaca, Brad's camera paints us a picture of what his life was about, and what so many of his friends continue to struggle for.
After the film, Friends of Brad Will will kick off a strategy and action brainstorm with a screening of their public service announcement called "Plan Mexico" (3 min). Stick around to roll up your sleeves compadres.
Donations will go to help Miguel continue his tour. DVDs will also be on sale.
New England's largest conference for citizen activists protecting public health and the environment
ONE-ON-ONE FROM WITH THE EXPERTS - LEARN NEW SKILLS - NETWORK -BE INSPIRED
Join hosting organizations Toxics Action Center, Environment Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, and dozens of cosponsoring organizations, including Clean Water Action and Alternatives for Community and Environment at the Environmental Action 2008 conference on March 15, 2008 at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
Keynote Speaker: Gary Cohen is a founder and Co- Executive Director of Health Care Without Harm, the international campaign for environmentally responsible healthcare. He is also the Executive Director of the Environmental Health Fund, which works on domestic and global chemical safety issues. He is the co-author of Fighting Toxics (Island Press, 1990) and the groundbreaking report, "The U.S. Military's Toxics Legacy."
The conference will offer over 25 workshops to help you tackle climate change, ensure clean drinking water, phase out persistent toxic chemicals, and develop skills and strategies to create a healthy and safe community, including:
Environmental Action 2008 will be a day to share strategies, recognize victories, and be inspired to go back to our communities and continue the work to further efforts to protect the environment.
See a list of conference workshops, browse the silent auction prizes, learn more about the speaker, see who is cosponsoring the event, register, and get to Wentworth at toxicsaction.org over the upcoming weeks.
Individuals are $30 pre-paid and $35 at the door. Breakfast, a reception, and childcare are included.
Email Meredith at info@toxicsaction.org, or call her at (617) 747-4362 with questions or to sign up for one- on-one coaching for environmental test results, legal help, health studies, fundraising, and organizing assistance.
Register online at toxicsaction.org.
Preregistration for this symposium has begun and you will save money by doing it by March 15. A Boston area group is forming to travel to this symposium. If you would like to join them, email Jorge Marin.
Boston Iraq Veterans Against the War members will be in DC for the historic event, Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, next week. We encourage everyone to tune into the panels with your friends and neighbors to hear the eyewitness accounts we will share.
Our friends in the Greater Boston peace movement are also organizing a live screening of the events in DC for Saturday, March 15, 2008.
Local activists, veterans, the media and cultural performers will be present. It will also be a place to plug into ongoing antiwar organizing and bring your suggestions. Here's a map showing the church's location.
For more on Winter Soldier.
Flyers for the local event may be downloaded
here.
The Natick Peace Vigil has gathered for the past five years every Saturday from noon to 1 pm at the corner of Rt. 27 & 135 at the Natick Common. People come together, rain or shine, in heat or freezing temperatures, to stand against war, and advocate for nonviolent solutions in place of occupation and military action.
It has been five years since the United States invaded Iraq, and the group plans a special vigil entitled "Year Five Against the War" on Saturday, March 15, noon to 1 p.m. at the Natick Common. You are invited to join us if you feel that 5 years is enough and that it is time to remove all United States troops and US military bases from Iraq.
For more information contact Judith Rich.
It will be at the Wayland Pulic Library, Raytheon Room, Wayland Public Library lower level. Directions: just north of intersection of Rts 27 and 20). Free parking. Refreshments. Free and open to the public.
"UNCOUNTED" is an explosive new documentary that examines in factual, logical, and yet startling terms how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity across the U.S. Noted computer programmers, statisticians, journalists, and experienced election officials provide the irrefutable proof." As we approach the decisive election of 2008, UNCOUNTED is a wakeup call to all Americans. Beyond increasing the public’s awareness, the film inspires greater citizen involvement in fixing a broken electoral system.
Contact Matt Shear for more information: 508-358-5656
A newscaster has finally called Bush a fascist! But as we look to the work of changing our world, we know what really matters is that we can build with People Power. What does a climate of fear and distrust create inside & around us that erects barriers to change, shifts the ground beneath us, yet offers unexpected opportunities for justice?
Grace Ross helped to bring the Rainbow Coalition & Green Parties together in Mass., standing for election as their gubernatorial candidate in 2006. She is a long-time community organizer and former director of two grassroots non-profits. Her primary activist work has been organizing around issues related to abolishing poverty. She has also worked on other causes, from nonviolence, the environment & international solidarity to anti-racist struggles, women's empowerment, union organizing & gay/lesbian civil rights.
Stop The War Coalition is building an anti-war contingent for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Anyone can participate and help us distribute stickers, flyers, or just march with us.
If interested, meet us at the Broadway red line T-stop at 12:30PM on 3/16 (St. Patrick's Day.) Both Ashmont and Braintree trains stop at Broadway.
Greater Boston Stop The Wars Coalition, Outreach Committee
Giving a donation to Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP, right now is a way to take action to support an end to the siege of Gaza.
In late January, a convoy of Israeli peace and human rights organizations, in partnership with Palestinian civil society groups, drove to the entrance of the Gaza Strip to deliver badly needed food and medical supplies. Thousands of you wrote letters to your legislators to ask them to help end the siege. JVP supporters across the country stood on street corners, spoke to the media, and raised funds to support the convoy. On February 18, over 6 tons of supplies from the convoy were finally let through.
But the blockade goes on and JVP is not stopping its work on the Call to End the Siege of Gaza.
A gift of $35, $80 or $100 will bring thousands of people to support our work. The larger we are, the more powerful we are!
Join JVP's Call for an End to the Siege of Gaza. Donating is easy and will raise our voices to end the injustices in Gaza and the needless deaths of Palestinians and Israelis..
Bush's FY2009 budget request for $2.55 billion in military aid for Israel, a proposed increase of 9% over actual spending in 2007, now rests with the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.
This proposed increase in military aid to Israel is the first installment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the United States and Israel in August 2007 to increase military aid to Israel by 25%, totaling $30 billion over the next decade.
Can you think of a better way to spend $30 billion instead of funding Israel's human rights abuses and illegal military occupation in violation of U.S. laws?
TAKE ACTION
Send a Personal Letter to Members of Congress on the
Appropriations Sub-Committee Challenging Military Aid
to Israel.
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Mass. House Bill #4477, if passed, would finally make it illegal for drivers of motor vehicles in Massachusetts to use hand-held phones while driving (as in NY and elsewhere). This bill recently passed the House and now is languishing in the Senate and may not come to the floor for a vote unless you phone or send a message to your friends in various towns and cities to have them urge their state senators (617-722- 5551) to vote for this bill.
According to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Marian Walsh, what needs to happen is for senators to get many phone calls from their constituents in favor of this bill. Passing House #4477 is a matter of public safety. Please call your senator and what would make a significant difference is for you to contact your friends throughout Massachusetts so House Bill #4477 becomes law.
Ed O'Reilly (PDA-endorsed candidate who advocates for single-payer health care, impeachment, stopping our current wars, and marriage equality) seeks the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by John Kerry.
In addition to making sure that Ed's name appears on the ballot, this is a great opportunity to identify new supporters and expand our network. So we really hope you can participate by gathering signatures from your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.
To get on September's primary ballot Ed needs 10,000 signatures from registered Democrats and unenrolled (independent) voters. We need to file the signatures with city and town clerks no later than 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, on May 6, 2008.
Call the campaign (866-716-2008) and we will mail nomination signature forms for you to use.
U.S. war provocation against Iran: Another Tonkin
Gulf? Take Action NOW to Stop War on Iran!
The Bush Administration has initiated an extremely dangerous war provocation just off Iran's coast, in the Strait of Hormuz. With Bush on his way to the Middle East to mobilize a collection of oil-rich U.S. client states against Iran, the U.S. government is working overtime to create a phony public-relations incident to heighten tensions in the region and threaten a new war.
An aide to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says the Lieberman/Warner climate change bill (S. 2191) “would be the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States.” (E&E Daily, February 8, 2008)...
S. 2191 is expected to be debated on the Senate floor this Spring. Your help is needed.
For more information visit the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
Congressman Robert Wexler's campaign office says that (unlike most of our Democratic Reps) he is pushing hard to force a committee hearing on Rep. Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment, recently introduced into the House of Representatives and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
This fight is not over. We must continue the pressure on our representatives or else Congress and its fellow lackey media will take no notice. That would be a historic mistake – one we must prevent Congress from making.
We stand at a critical juncture in our efforts. Forget all of those arguments that it is too late or that we have run out of time. You can’t run the clock out on our Constitution. Those of us dedicated to this fight – Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the online community, and millions of patriotic Americans – must keep the pressure on. Please continue to spread the word and help deliver accountability to the corrupt Bush-Cheney administration.Congressman Conyers needs a huge kick in the tail.
Please sign on to Congressman Robert Wexler's petition to help push the issue.
TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBERS FOR THE U.S. CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD
US House of Representatives Web Sites
Another Day, Another FISA Veto Threat By The Bully In The White House
Yesterday, Bush again put the self interest of himself and his giant telecom criminal co-conspirators above our national security, by threatening to veto the FISA update bill unless we gave them all get out of jail free cards. And if Congress were to bend over yet again, he would still probably veto it to demand even more changes and/or defy other major provisions with a signing statement, as he so outrageously did with the recent defense bill.
We must be just as relentless as the criminals who are working overtime to gut our constitution. We have had two successful filibusters so far, and it looks like we're going to need a third. And we need strong opposition in the House too, for that is our last bulwark.
Tell your Congressional Representative to vote against this awful legislation, which has passed the Senate and returned to the House. The House has stood up to pressure to provide telecom immunity to date, so don't let them buckle to pressure from the White House and Senate.
S 1959 "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" must be stopped at all costs. (It's already been approved by the House of Representatives by a HUGE majority.)
Pick up your phone and contact our US Senators' offices to instruct them to vote "NO" on S.1959, titled "To establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, and for other purposes".
If this bill is passed, and becomes law, your words and actions could be considered terrorism. S 1959 EVISCERATES FREE SPEECH, and empowers the govt. to declare ANYTHING they deem an "extremist belief system", instantly make you a terrorist, resulting in stripping of US citizenship, torture, and/or execution, with no habeas corpus rights, no ability to challenge even in the US Supreme Court.
What part of exercising power doesn't Harry Reid get? The Washington Post reports him "pleading" with the White House. And yet, it is his decision which version of the FISA bill to have the Senate consider, and by choosing to bring forward the bad one, he is knowingly forcing opponents of yet another "get out of jail free card" for Cheney cronies to get 60 votes to strip it out of the bill. Or filibuster yet again.
And what greater hero do we have than Dennis Kucinich, still standing strong as ever on every issue that matters. Here is his own leadership statement opposing telecom immunity.
And yet, even now, powerful corporations are pouring money into Dennis's district, to try to buy his seat out from under him by threatening him in his own primary. They are running malicious attack ads in heavy rotation. Please consider making a donation to Dennis now, to help him fight back.
At the end of January, thousands of people all over the world will march, speak, celebrate, and dialogue in villages, rural zones, and urban centers, in the context of hundreds of decentralized self-organized actions. They will mobilize over a one-week period in January, culminating in a Global Day of Mobilisation and Action on the 26th to show that another world is possible.
At the same period, the "old" world will meet in Davos for the World Economic Forum, bringing together its economists, experts, ideologies and techniques that produce violence, exploitation, exclusion, poverty, hunger and ecological disaster, depriving people of human rights and our Earth of its resources.
The World Social Forum is an open space where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organisations come together to raise issues, debate ideas, formulate proposals, share experiences, and build networks for effective action. These movements are opposed to a world ruled by capitalism and all forms of imperialism and domination.
Since the first worldwide encounter in 2001, the World Social Forum has become a permanent global process seeking and building alternatives to neo-liberal policies.
World Social Forums have taken place at the end of January at different sites throughout the world every year for the past seven years, and this spirit of diversity will continue to be reflected in the activities planned for the Global Day of Mobilisation and Action in 2008.
Our website is the main connection tool for all participants in the decentralized WSF 2008. Invite your friends to join and contribute through action spaces, present your action, upload your videos, publish news and connect your actions with those of others.
Comcast has given us a glimpse of a world without Net
Neutrality, and it's a chilling sight.
An investigation by the Associated Press caught the
cable giant secretly inspecting online communications
and crippling users' ability to share information with
one another.
On 11-1-07, Free Press filed a legal complaint
demanding that the FCC take action to protect the free
flow of information on the Internet. By joining our
complaint, you can help stop Comcast and other
gatekeepers.
The MBTA on October 10th started broadcasting
continuous [corporate] radio ads and "music" at South
Station, North Station and Airport Station with a plan
to expand the continuous radio broadcast system-wide
after Thanksgiving. This will adversely monopolize
this historic First Amendment public space:
1. Curtail and Interfere with Conversations of all
MBTA patrons
2. Curtail and Interfere with Reading of all MBTA
patrons
3. Target ads to all School Children who use the MBTA
4. Eliminate Subway Musician Performances
We, the undersigned, support the diversity of
expression of patrons and artists in the subway. We
petition Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority Board of Directors to stop
the T-Radio broadcast.
Congress will be debating war appropriations again, and the Senate - as the Republicans have routinely demonstrated - has the power to filibuster any appropriations it doesn't like. A filibuster in the Senate would effectively force an end to the war. So if each of us does our part in exposing the filibuster option, then we can apply tremendous pressure on our senators, the likes of which they haven't felt in decades!
Doris Tennant and Ellen Lubell (of Newton) are representing a Guantanamo prisoner pro bono, so they are providing their time at no charge. However, their costs, including their own travel and that of a translator, translator fees, and Freedom of Information Act requests, are running at least $20,000 for this year, and will likely continue at that same pace or more. Most of the other attorneys who are representing Guantanamo detainees are members of large law firms that can cover these types of expenses, but in their case the two of them are the firm.
If you would like to make a contribution to help them defray costs, it would be much appreciated. Please make your check payable to "Tennant Lubell Detainee Fund." Your contribution will NOT be tax-deductible, but they promise to put it to good use to help provide fundamental legal rights to a man who remains in indefinite detention.
Doris Tennant, Esq.
Tennant Lubell, LLC
288 Walnut Street, Suite 500
Newton, MA 02460
617-969-9610, X 101
Fax: 617-969-9611
Action Alert: The Alliance for Democracy warns us to oppose Holt bill (HR 811). We call for a ban on the use of Direct Recording Electronic voting equipment (DREs) and to require the use of paper ballots.
AFD urgently calls upon all citizens to call their Representatives to demand amendments to rectify the defects in HR 811, specifically to ban the use of DRE voting machines and require the use of paper ballots in all elections in the United States.
1. DRE systems must be banned.
2. All voting must be by voter marks on a paper ballot.
3. All recounts must be by hand counting of paper ballots.
4. All elections must have a statistically significant verification.
5. All recounts at every level of government must be by hand counting.
6. All software must be subject to public disclosure.
7. No connections to the Internet should be allowed.
8. All election records should be available to the public.
Go to for on-line information and a link to a printable flier.
A call for all people of conscience
to donate to its Lebanon Palestine Emergency Relief Fund.
All donations will be used to help Palestinian and
Lebanese victims of the latest Israeli aggression.
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
E-mail link
We are happy to report that a new shipment of olive oil has arrived. The most recent harvest was excellent and per case prices are less than they were last year.
As with our previous shipments, this oil comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, PARC, a non-profit, non- governmental organization in the West Bank. PARC works with 15 different small cooperatives. This shipment comes from the Mazare' Al Nubani/ Ramallah and the Kufr Thulth, Jayous and Azzoun cooperatives. The labels are printed in the West Bank and the oil is bottled at the PARC bottling facility in Aram. PARC is a member of the International Fair Trade Association, and is the only Palestinian organization that has received the Palestine Standards Institution certification for its olive oil.
OLIVE BRANCH OLIVE OIL DONATIONS
As with past shipments, a percentage of the proceeds of olive oil sales is donated back to organizations working directly with Palestinians. Past recipients include:
Palestinian Medical Relief Society Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Birthright Unplugged American Friends Service Committee-Middle East Crisis Fund American Near East Refugee Aid Olive Harvest Coalition Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees Ibdaa Cultural Center International Solidarity Movement US OMEN Ta’ayush
THE IMPORTANCE OF OLIVE OIL TO THE PALESTINIAN ECONOMY
Olive oil is the backbone of the Palestinian agricultural economy. Eighty percent of cultivated land in Palestine is planted with olive trees, and the olive harvest provides between 25 to 50 percent of a farming family’s annual income. Olive trees, many of which are hundreds of years old, hold a deep significance in the culture and economy of the Holy Land. As the political and economic situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate, with increased restrictions on the mobility of people, goods and services, olive oil has become a matter of basic survival for many Palestinian families. Buying this oil is a constructive and tangible way to help alleviate poverty and build peace.
PARC assists at every stage of the olive oil production process, from helping farmers to reclaim rocky land, conserve water and implement sensible environmental practices (like re-cropping, dry-land farming and recycling of waste materials) to setting up regional labs for farmers to test their olive oil. PARC strictly monitors the quality of the oil, testing and re-testing it at its main laboratory to ensure that it meets all specifications. Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil.
Palestinian farmers traditionally care for their trees without the use of pesticides or sprays. PARC is currently working with international agricultural organizations to obtain organic certification for its olive oil, which should be finalized in the next few months. Because both light and heat are known enemies of olive oil, Olive Branch Olive Oil comes in a dark green glass bottle that is optimal for storage.
Available in 750ml bottles, by the case (12 bottles, $145), or more.
For ordering and other info, please email us at palestinebostonoliveoil@yahoo.com or call Susie at 781-648-6307.
Harvard's Palestine Solidarity Committee will be holding a vigil for Gaza from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. All who care for Palestine are invited to attend. Please wear black and spread the word widely.
These are the meetings where we decide on events and discuss strategies to end the war. Anyone is welcome -- from seasoned activists to beginners and we look forward to building a dialogue with anyone opposed to the war. Our main tenent is that we are independent of both the Democratic and the Republican Party, such that we can build an anti-war movement that survives elections and continues to oppose the war, regardless of which candidate is in office.
Meet briefly at the statue to exchange thoughts,
then walk silently around the Yard and nearby streets,
returning to the statue by 12:30pm.
Southeast corner of Rt 27 and 30 (nearest to Brooks Pharmacy).
Come for all or part. Bring a candle, lantern, or flashlight.
Organizer: Sandy Coy.
Join the Boston Tea Party Conference call,
Participant call in: 402-756-9100; Access code: 680903#
Socialist Alternative Radio, 91.5 FM Boston
listen anytime on the Web at WMFO.org. A democratic socialist, working-class view of politics and culture, including solidarity announcements, interviews, music, and more.
Write to us at BostonSAradio@aol.com.
Join a Friday fast and/or protest in solidarity with illegal detentions. The fast began in 2005 when Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Adolpho Esquivel, (Argentina), along with others around the world, chose this method to seek the release of our unjustly detained and tortured brothers and sisters.
In Boston, local activists Susan McLucas and Phoebe Knopf have joined the Friday fast and will protest every Friday in front of the JFK Building from noon to one. The action, which is rooted in nonviolence, includes speakers, music, hand-outs and petitions to create public pressure to stop all illegal detentions and to try those responsible for the illegal treatment of thousands of detainees, most of whom are Arab and Muslim men. Susan and Phoebe will be wearing orange jumpsuits.