Truth and Justice Radio
WZBC 90.3 Boston
Sundays 6-10 AM


LOCAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Week of 20 April 2008

Support Dr Sami Al-Arian

Philadelphia Sabeel Conference
IN SEARCH OF A HOMELAND:
The Quest for Place and Peace in Israel and Palestine


Continuing Events          Announcements
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thur
Fri
Sat
Future
TJR EVENT ARCHIVE
Additional Local Event Announcements at:

Rule 19 August 2006 Action Calendar
Activists MA Current Listings
Justice with Peace Calendar
Radical Calendar Nationwide Events
American Friends Service Committee
Watertown Citizens Committee

THIS WEEK'S EVENTS


SUNDAY, APR 20, 2008

back to top

11AM: SUNDAY FORUM
LEE FICH
"Liberation Seder"

COMMUNITY CHURCH OF BOSTON
565 Boylston St. (Copley Square), Boston

It is again time for our congregation's traditional, non-traditional, non-sectarian Liberation Seder, a celebration of the renewal offered by Spring. In our own way, we interpret the story of Passover. We celebrate the story of struggle and liberation by the Israelites at the time of their slavery. Join us with Lee Fich as our leader. Lee Fich is a good friend of the Community Church and has led this celebration many times over the past years. (Please bring potluck food to share)

---------- Sunday ----------
2PM: Ministry for the Earth and Social Action Film Series
Arlington St. Church
Corner of Arlington St. and Boylston St.
(Arlington St. T Stop, Green Line)

THE GLOBAL BANQUET

This beautifully produced film reveals the profoundly negative impact of globalization on our food system. Taking examples from all over the world, it makes "difficult" issues understandable and gives positive proposals for solving the problem of world hunger.

Produced and directed by Anne Macksound and June Akele.

---------- Sunday ----------

4PM: Craig and Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie's parents, will speak at Christ Church Cambridge, Zero Garden Street, (Harvard Square) Remarkable family, come meet Rachel's parents!
Sponsored by Somerville Divestment Project
617 230-2835

---------- Sunday ----------

MONDAY, APR 21, 2008

back to top
7-9PM: Peak Oil and the Future of Food and Land Use
First Parish-Unitarian Church, 50 Church Street,
Waltham, MA

Preparing Now For the Fuel/Food Crisis Ahead

Come hear...
Richard Heinberg
Widely acclaimed author and oil-depletion educator in Waltham on 4/21 (and in Amherst on 4/27).

Heinberg is a senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute, and his latest book Peak Everything: Waking

Up to the Century of Declines addresses resource depletion and the challenges we face as nature rapidly dictates our new limits. He will be talking about the end of cheap oil and its impact on society and government. Come learn how communities can prepare now for growing uncertainties and stresses from the fossil fuel shortage and climate crisis. Following each talk the audience is invited to participate in a discussion of local/community solutions to peak oil currently underway.

This talk will focus in particular on the impact of peak oil on agriculture and food supplies, and the urgent need to rethink land-use policies in light of these new critical challenges. This has particular relevance to the effort by the state to close and sell off for intensive development the 200-acre Fernald home for the severely disabled. Co-sponsors include Mass. Coalition for Healthy Communities (MCHC), the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing (WATCH), the Fernald Working Group, Waltham Fields Community Farm, and Lexington Global Warming Action.

Eli Beckerman 617-821-1453

---------- Monday ----------

TUESDAY, APR 22, 2008

back to top
7PM: "A Killer Bargain" (57 min)
Friends of Ashland Library
Documentary Film Series
Community Room
66 Front Street, Ashland, MA
Free and open to all, refreshments served.

"There is enough for everyone's need but not enough for one man's greed"--Mahatma Gandhi
The Killer Bargain referred to by this hard-hitting documentary's title is the availability of cheap consumer goods, imported by Western companies, whose prices don't reflect the actual human and environmental costs associated with their production in the developing world. Consumers remain largely unaware of the conditions under which the goods they buy are produced; this film makes those connections shockingly clear. While some retailers and manufacturers refuse to talk to the filmmakers, workers, doctors and scientists testify eloquently to the tremendous human costs of globalization.

---------- Tuesday ----------

WEDNESDAY, APR 16, 2008

back to top

7PM: "The Power Of Community:
How Cuba Survived Peak Oil"
Radical Film Night

Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston's South End

Telephone: 617.267.6272
Always FREE!

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half -- and food by 80 percent -- people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period."

The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis -- the massive reduction of fossil fuels -- is an example of options and hope.

---------- Wednesday ----------

THURSDAY, APR 24, 2008

back to top
5:30PM: Evelyn Abdalah Menconi Memorial Cultural Series
Boston Public Library, Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston St
Boston MA 02116

For program information, please call 781-648-1245.

Remembrance, Images, & Musical Resonance
The Palestinian Narrative - Muslim Women and the Veil

Qanun Expressions

In Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba and the Armenian Genocide

Susan Abulhawa is the author of the novel, The Scar of David, which portrays the Palestinian narrative from the Nakba to the present. She will discuss and read from her novel.

Rania Matar is a documentary photographer. She will present and elucidate her photographic series on Muslim Women and the Veil: Modesty, Fashion, Devotion, or Statement.

Jamal Sinno is a master qanunist. He will play traditional musical selections throughout the program.

The Series honors the legacy of the late Dr. Evelyn Abdalah Menconi, known for introducing Arab cultural traditions to the public and highlighting achievements of gifted Arab-Americans.

Open to the public - Wheelchair accessible - Assistive listening devices are available.

Co-Sponsors: The William G. Abdalah Library,
The American-Arab Media Foundation, and Tawassul


Reception: 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.
Lobby, Rabb Lecture Hall
Program: 6:30 to 8:15 p.m.

---------- Thursday ----------

6PM: Film: "Our History is In Our land"
o "Nuestra Historia Esta en la Tierra"
A documentary by/Un documental de: Eliézer Arias

Harvard University Sever Hall 307 (Quincy St. side)
Harvard Yard

The documentary follows a journey throughout the territories of three indigenous groups, located in the Venezuelan Orinoquia. Their communities are the backdrops that expose some of the conflicts and contradictions people are confronting in their demand for land rights and for self-determination.

Sponsored by: Cultural Survival, Bolivarian Circle
Martin Luther King Jr. and Student Labor Action Movement

For more information, call: 857-389 6768
or contact iraida blanco.

---------- Thursday ----------

FRIDAY, APR 25, 2008

back to top

END THE WARS ABROAD AND AT HOME:
CHARTING A PATH FOR 2008
A New England-Wide Conference
April 25-26, 2008
Tufts University - Medford, MA

Sponsored by New England United and the Tufts Peace and Justice Studies Program

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

Friday, April 25, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
FORUM Pearson Chemical Lab 104
WHERE WE STAND TODAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AT HOME:

US Foreign Policy and Military Spending - MAX ELBAUM, editor WarTimes; columnist :Washington’s Wars and Occupations

Impact on the Countries of the Middle East - STEPHEN ZUNES, Middle East editor for Foreign Policy in Focus; Professor of Politics, University of San Francisco; and chair, Middle East Studies program

The Domestic Crisis and the War - ELLEN FRANK, Professor of Economics, UMass-Boston; Dollars & Sense Magazine Collective

Saturday, April 26, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

(8:30-9:00) REGISTRATION Barnum Hall 008

(9:00-9:30) WELCOME AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DAY Barnum Hall 008

(9:45-11:00) EDUCATIONAL AND ISSUE WORKSHOPS Olin Hall (see list below)

(11:15-12:30) PANEL - MAJOR ORGANIZING STRATEGIES Barnum Hall 008

1. Cutting the Manpower supply for illegal wars -- WAYNE SMITH (Civil Liberties Program manager, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; former combat medic)
2. Pressuring or Changing Congress and the Presidency - - TIM CARPENTER (Progressive Democrats of America)
3. Building a Mass Movement/Organizing Mass Actions -- ASHLEY SMITH (International Socialist Organization)
4. Broadening the Movement to End the War -- KIM FOLTZ (Exec. Director, Bikes not Bombs; a founding member of Mass. Global Action)

(12:30-1:30) LUNCH Campus Center

(1:30-2:45) ACTION CAMPAIGN WORKSHOPS Olin Hall (See list below)
(Proposals for New England-Wide Action Campaigns for 2008 discussed in preparation for consideration by the Conference Plenary)

(3:00-4:30) PLENARY Barnum Hall 008
(Discuss and vote on NEU action campaigns for 2008 and form ongoing working groups)

WORKSHOPS (Olin Hall)

Morning: Educational and Issue Workshops (tentative list)

1. European No Bases Campaign -- Andrea Licata
2. Lessons of the Fight Against the War in Vietnam -- Jeff Mackler
3. Torture, Rendition, Human Rights -- National Lawyers Guild
4. The "Surge"/Out Now -- Max Elbaum
5. Why the US Supports the Israeli Occupation -- Stephen Zunes/Omar Baddar
6. Immigration Crisis
7. Climate Change: No War/No Warming
8. Contributions of Nonviolent Struggle in Movements for Justice & Peace
9 The Role of Students in Today's Anti-War Movement

Afternoon Workshops - NEU Action Campaigns (tentative list)

1. From Every Village Green
2. National Assembly/Mass Action
3. GI Resistance and Counter-Recruiting
4. People's Campaign for the Constitution
5. Electoral Action

Suggested Donations: $10 each day -- $5 each day for students, seniors, unemployed

Proposals for New England United action campaigns and workshops are invited. Deadline for submission is
April 23 - See form on website.
For latest conference and registration information.

---------- Friday ----------

SATURDAY, APR 26, 2008

back to top

No Events to post at this time.

---------- Saturday ----------

FUTURE EVENTS

SUNDAY, APR 27, 2008

back to top

6:30PM: Palestinian Night
Irish American Club, 177 West St. Malden

The Palestinian House of New England cordially invites you and your family to...

Honored guests...
Dr. Elaine Hagopian and Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh
Dinner + cultural and musical activities
Tickets: adults $15, children free

Call: Samir 617-447-6744

---------- Sunday ----------


ANNOUNCEMENTS

back to top

Support Dr Sami Al-Arian

Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
April 16, 2008

Dr. Al-Arian Faces Shocking Abuse in New Facility

Yesterday morning, Dr. Sami Al-Arian was transported by immigration agents to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Virginia. Since arriving at the facility, he has been subjected to numerous, shocking abuses, even worse than those he experienced at a detention center in Maryland.

Take Action: call 757-488-7500
And if you haven't already, sign the petition.
See also:"USA vs AL-ARIAN"

____________

back to top

Friends of Sabeel--North America
Voice of the Palestinian Christians

Philadelphia Sabeel Conference
IN SEARCH OF A HOMELAND:
The Quest for Place and Peace in Israel and Palestine

April 25 & 26, 2008
Villanova University, Connelly Center

KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
The Quest and The Crisis: What Americans Can Do
The Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek
Founder and Director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem

____________

back to top

Open Media Boston on line

To everyone in the Boston area progressive community, After months of development and testing by a few dozen folks, Open Media Boston, the new progressive news, views and arts web portal, has just launched and is now ready for your participation. (Site is still labeled "beta.")

____________

back to top

We have quietly been working away at TecsChange in Roxbury to refurbish computers. We recently sent one of our bigger shipments of 15 computers to a series of radio stations in Oaxaca, Mexico.

We work most Thurday evenings and Saturday afternoons
(1pm to at least 4 PM, usually longer)

We have one day a week where daytime volunteers come in. Presently it's Mondays but it might change soon.

Please call if you are interested.
TecsChange Office
617-442-4456

____________

back to top

Take Action: Tell Appropriations Subcommittees
No More Military Aid to Israel

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

____________

back to top

War is Illegal Petition
Sign it and pass it on!

____________

back to top

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF
INATTENTIVE MOTORISTS DIALING, YAKKING, OR TEXTING
ON CELL-PHONES, BLACKBERRIES, ETC. WHILE THEY DRIVE

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.

____________

back to top

Signature Campaign for Ed O'Reilly
Candidate for US Senate from MA

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.

____________

back to top

Stop War on Iran
Sign the Petition

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.

____________

back to top

STOP THE PHONY LIEBERMAN/WARNER "CLIMATE CHANGE" BILL!
It’s too weak on climate…. It’s too strong on nuclear….

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.

____________

back to top

Support Cheney Impeachment
209,782 have already signed petition!

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

IMPEACH BOTH

____________

back to top

No FISA Immunity of Any Kind Action Page

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.

____________

back to top

STOP RESTRICTIVE SENATE BILL, S 1959

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.

____________

back to top

"Reid Must Step Down As Majority Leader
Over His Telecome Immunity Surrender"

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.

Step Down Harry Action Page

____________

back to top

Dennis Kucinich Is Still Standing Strong
Fight Back Kucinich!

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.

____________

back to top

2008 World Social Forum

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.

____________

back to top

Comcast: the poster child for Net Neutralitiy

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.

____________

back to top

STOP T-RADIO PETITION

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.

____________

back to top

Filibuster for Peace

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!

____________

back to top

Help Support Pro Bono Attorneys for Guantanamo Prisoners

Doris Tennant and Ellen Lubell (of Newton) are representing a Guantanamo prisoner pro bono, so they are providing their time at no charge. However, their costs, including their own travel and that of a translator, translator fees, and Freedom of Information Act requests, are running at least $20,000 for this year, and will likely continue at that same pace or more. Most of the other attorneys who are representing Guantanamo detainees are members of large law firms that can cover these types of expenses, but in their case the two of them are the firm.

If you would like to make a contribution to help them defray costs, it would be much appreciated. Please make your check payable to "Tennant Lubell Detainee Fund." Your contribution will NOT be tax-deductible, but they promise to put it to good use to help provide fundamental legal rights to a man who remains in indefinite detention.

Doris Tennant, Esq.
Tennant Lubell, LLC
288 Walnut Street, Suite 500
Newton, MA 02460
617-969-9610, X 101
Fax: 617-969-9611

____________

back to top

Support Paper Ballots, Oppose the HOLT Bill

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.

____________

back to top

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

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

____________

back to top

PURCHASE OLIVE OIL PRODUCED IN PALESTINE

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.



CONTINUING EVENTS

back to top

EVERY SUNDAY

10-11:30 AM: "Radio with a View"
WMBR 88.1 Cambridge

---------- Every Sunday----------

12-1pm Amherst Peace Vigil

Town Common, Amherst
For more, contact Mark Watkins
---------- Every Sunday----------
back to top

1:30pm Cambridge Peace Vigil

Mass. Ave., and Garden St., next to Cambridge Common.
---------- Every Monday ----------

11:45AM-12:15PM: Vigil for Gaza

Memorial Church in Harvard Yard

Harvard's Palestine Solidarity Committee will be holding a vigil for Gaza from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. All who care for Palestine are invited to attend. Please wear black and spread the word widely.

---------- Every Monday ----------

6:30PM: Stop The Wars Coalition meetings

Encuentro 5
33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown, MA 02111
info@encuentro5.org or call 617-482-6300

These are the meetings where we decide on events and discuss strategies to end the war. Anyone is welcome -- from seasoned activists to beginners and we look forward to building a dialogue with anyone opposed to the war. Our main tenent is that we are independent of both the Democratic and the Republican Party, such that we can build an anti-war movement that survives elections and continues to oppose the war, regardless of which candidate is in office.

---------- Every Tuesday----------
back to top

Tuesday Weekly Anti-War Vigil 5:30-6:30pm Copley Square

---------- Every Wednesday----------

NOON-12:30 PM: Harvard-Cambridge Walk for Peace

Starts at John Harvard Statue, Harvard Yard.
Every Wednesday. All are welcome.

Meet briefly at the statue to exchange thoughts,
then walk silently around the Yard and nearby streets,
returning to the statue by 12:30pm.

---------- Every Thursday----------

5-6 PM: Antiwar Vigil in Newton
Corner of Beacon and Center Streets, Newton Center
Organizer: Newton Dialogues on Peace and War

---------- Every Thursday----------
back to top

5:30-6PM: Wayland Anti-War Vigil (weekly)

Southeast corner of Rt 27 and 30 (nearest to Brooks Pharmacy).
Come for all or part. Bring a candle, lantern, or flashlight.
Organizer: Sandy Coy.

---------- Every Thursday----------

5-6 PM: Veterans for Peace vigil
West Side Rotary, Augusta, Maine

---------- Every Thursday ----------
back to top

9 PM: 911 Researchers Conference Call

Join the Boston Tea Party Conference call,
Participant call in: 402-756-9100; Access code: 680903#

---------- Every Friday----------

7-9 AM: Socialist Alternative Radio in Boston

Socialist Alternative Radio, 91.5 FM Boston listen anytime on the Web at WMFO.org. A democratic socialist, working-class view of politics and culture, including solidarity announcements, interviews, music, and more.
Write to us at BostonSAradio@aol.com.

---------- Every Friday----------
back to top

Noon-1PM in front of JFK Federal Building, Boston.

Join a Friday fast and/or protest in solidarity with illegal detentions. The fast began in 2005 when Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Adolpho Esquivel, (Argentina), along with others around the world, chose this method to seek the release of our unjustly detained and tortured brothers and sisters.

In Boston, local activists Susan McLucas and Phoebe Knopf have joined the Friday fast and will protest every Friday in front of the JFK Building from noon to one. The action, which is rooted in nonviolence, includes speakers, music, hand-outs and petitions to create public pressure to stop all illegal detentions and to try those responsible for the illegal treatment of thousands of detainees, most of whom are Arab and Muslim men. Susan and Phoebe will be wearing orange jumpsuits.

---------- Every Friday----------
back to top

12:30 PM: Women in Black Vigil
Lithgow Library, Augusta, Maine

---------- Every Friday----------

4:30-6 PM: Protest AIPAC - every Friday

Kennedy Sch of Govnt
79 JFK St, Harvard Sq, Cambridge
Organized by AntiWar League
---------- Every Saturday----------

11am-1pm on WZBC: Sounds of Dissent with John Grebe

Saturday Anti-War Vigils

back to top
---------- 1st & 3rd Saturday----------
11A-NOON:
1st Saturday of Month
Corner of Main & Moody Streets, by the Common.
Parking: On-street or the lot on Center St.

3rd Saturday of Month
Corner of Moody and Pine Streets, by Watch City Brewery.
Parking: On-street or Embassy Theatre lot on Pine Street

Useful Links (alphabetized)

back to top

TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBERS
FOR THE U.S. CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD

back to top

Radio and TV Connections

back to top

Truth and Justice Radio Local Events Archive

back to top
Contact the webmaster with comments and/or questions.