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Alaa Majeed, now residing and working in the U.S., was a reporter in Iraq for McClatchy News. In the midst of war, the women of McClatchy's Baghdad bureau risked their lives just to do their jobs. They've been targeted for their work; they've lost family members and friends; their homes have been destroyed. Driven by a desire to report to the world about the true situation in their country, six women were the backbone of the bureau. Since the war began in 2003, Iraq has become the deadliest country in the world for journalists: more than 100 have been killed, approximately 80% of whom were Iraqis. This conflict is the bloodiest for journalists since World War II.
Ms. Majeed is a 2007 recipient of the "Courage in Journalism" Award from the International Women's Media Foundation. Her citation reads: "Bold and unconventional in reporting, Majeed has found & led others to extraordinary stories and embraced journalism as a means to help her country. She proved adept at understanding politics and was unafraid to pursue tough stories about the government, even in a time of turmoil."
** Food ** Refreshments **
** Music ** Discussion **
and enjoy the sun!
NAME OF EVENT: Memorial Day For Peace
LOCATION OF EVENT: Christopher Columbus Park, Boston Harbor, Boston MA
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Please join Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against The War, Gold Star Families For Peace, and Military Families Speak Out for a ceremony for peace on Memorial Day, to remember and mourn those who died — but also to say that we want no more dead in senseless, immoral wars.
TIME: 2 PM
DATE: 5/26/08
CONTACT INFORMATION: info@massvfp.org
Nate Goldshlag
781-643-3307
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Smedley D. Butler Brigade Chapter 9
WEBSITE: http://smedleyvfp.org
Led to Sea: Solo project of Violist/composer L. Alex Guy
Alex performs on solo viola, taking live samples and building songs with
mysterious, lush string layers, and vocals. She'll be sharing information about
the Hen Foundation, an organization that gives grants to political artists
working with grassroots organizations.
http://www.myspace.com/ledtosea
No Logo is based on the best-selling book by Canadian journalist and activist Naomi Klein. Analyzing how brands like Nike, The Gap, and Tommy Hilfiger became revered symbols worldwide, Klein argues that globalization is a process whereby corporations discovered that profits lay not in making products (outsourced to low-wage workers in developing countries), but in creating branded identities people adopt in their lifestyles.
Films scheduled in June include:
Thursday, June 12 - Toxic Sludge Is Good For You (45 min) illustrates how much of what we think of as independent, unbiased news and information has its origins in the board-rooms of public relations companies.
Tuesday, June 24 - Deadly Persuasion: The Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco (55 min). The average American views three thousand ads in one day. Yet remarkably, most of us believe we are not influenced by advertising. In this lively exposé, Jean Kilbourne reveals how deeply advertisers insinuate themselves into our daily lives. Advertisers do far more than influence our taste - they manipulate our desires so that their products will become our closest friends.
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. The events are often lively and thought-provoking.
10AM: MoveOn members in Sudbury are asking people on the street to take The Bush-McCain Challenge. It works like the old Pepsi-Coke Challenge—we'll set up a sidewalk table and ask passersby to guess whether a quote or position is Bush's or McCain's. It's surprisingly hard to tell the difference!
Many undecided voters who live near you don't yet realize just how much John McCain is like President Bush.
A MoveOn member is already hosting an event near you. Can you come by to help set up and ask quiz questions in Sudbury?
Host: Thomas H.—fellow MoveOn member
Where: Sudbury Library; also town recycling center
Produced and Directed by Maryanne Galvin (in attendance)
Thanatos Rx presents an even-handed, nonpartisan examination of the many facets of the death penalty debate in America. Thanatos Rx journeys beyond myopic sound bites and static polls to a deeply personal exploration of the debate.
Interspersed with powerful and rare archival footage and original photographs are exclusive interviews with those most touched by Capital Punishment. Innocence, deterrence, retribution and closure for families of homicide victims are some of the topics examined through the eyes of a "volunteer" on Federal Death Row and a murderer who narrowly escaped the electric chair in Massachusetts.
Interviews with families of murder victims, District Attorneys and legal scholars at prestigious law schools, The Innocence Project and Amnesty International illustrate the emotional complexities of the issue.
In attendance will be producer and director Maryanne Galvin, an independent filmmaker, who holds both an MFA from Emerson College, Boston and a doctorate in psychology from UMASS/ Amherst.
The premier of "Looking for Peace, One Block at a Time" will be followed by a panel discussion on youth violence in Boston and solutions for our communities.
"Looking for Peace, One Block at a Time" is a documentary film addressing
youth violence from a teen's perspective and as a public health concern.
Brought to you by the
Hyde Square Task Force .
The Program will be moderated by Susan Shaer, Executive Director of W.A.N.D.
-FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC-
“You all know that I have been gagged. I have been suppressed. I have been arrested numerous times. I have been hauled off to jail. Yet every time, more people have listened to me, more have protested, more have lifted their own voices.” Thus read Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. in 1929 as Margaret Sanger sat silent beside him on the stage of Ford Hall, banned under court injunction from speaking herself. Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, joins us tonight to reflect on that event; its meaning, its messengers, and the era that gave us the phrase, “Banned in Boston.”
Equal time will be provided for prepared remarks and questions from the audience.
Come join the conversation!
National Activist Summit on Nuclear Waste
May 30 -- June 1
Columbia, South Carolina
This is a REAL SUMMIT -- not "virtual" -- intended both for seasoned activists and also those becoming active on nuclear waste issues now.
Registration is still open -- but pre-registration is required -- if you are planning to come, please do register now
We will have time to share together: the information workshops will be two-hour blocks so there will be time to develop specific ACTION STEPS. We will weave together a map of where we are and where we plan to go. We are holding this SUMMIT in the Southeast, a ground zero for the RELAPSE into commercial nuclear power reactor siting and licensing--and a significant share of the proposed expansion of the BOMBPLEX...both of which would generate MORE radioactive waste at every link in the "fuel chain."
We are meeting in South Carolina , one of the likely hubs for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and proposed reprocessing of high-level waste...and in the face of all this--we plan to have FUN! This is not a "virtual event" -- we are asking people to travel -- to physically come together, so we can reestablish a sense of community, nationwide. People are coming from California , Nevada , New Mexico , Minnesota , Illinois , Ohio , New Jersey , Massachusetts , Pennsylvania , DC and across the Southeast. We hope that YOU will come too, and add to the areas participating. It is important since we do not want to fall prey to the boosters of the nuclear cartel who seek to play us one-against-another. We want to renew and establish new friendships. We want to work together, knowing that the SUMMIT is the beginning of a new phase as we tackle the task. To paraphrase Harvey Wasserman, it’s the task of "driving a stake into an industry that should be dead, and that has no heart!"
* If you prefer not to use a credit card on-line to register, please call Mary Olson, NIRS Southeast Office (no, please do NOT email) at 828-675-1792 to make other arrangements. Also, if you just "show up" we may not have food for you, and we definitely will not have a bed for you.
We’ll likely give you a hug, but we would rather know you are coming!
In addition to community, peer-to-peer time, we have stellar presenters who have agreed to come:
Dr. Frank von Hippel, Princeton University
Dr. Arjun Makhijani, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
John Sticpewich, Common Sense at the Nuclear Crossroads
Steve Frishman, Consultant to the State of Nevada
Judy Triechel, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Michael Mariotte, Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear
Diane D'Arrigo, Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Louis Zeller, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
Tom Clements, Friends of the Earth
Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center
Glenn Carroll, Nuclear Watch South
Susan Corbett, Sierra Club, South Carolina Chapter
Debbie Grinnell, C-10
Dave Kraft, Nuclear Energy Information Service
George Crocker, North American Water Office
Mary Olson, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Southeast
AND there are several more who have been invited, who we hope will join in. This is going to be a power-packed information session on Saturday afternoon! See the event schedule on-line at: http://www.nirs.org/nwsummit/program.htm.
We will be staying together in informal dorm "digs" -- rooms with one bed each; two rooms share 1 bathroom. We will have great simple meals, and help wash the non-disposable dishes! Costs are very low (2 nights, 5 meals for $95 plus $15 materials fee for a total of $110), and if you want to stay off-site and provide your own food, then only a $15 materials fee applies to help cover incidental event costs.
Want more information? Please drop a line to Mary Olson, NIRS Southeast Regional Coordinator, 828-675-1792 or nirs@main.nc.us. Please do register on-line or by phone SOON! We need to know how many rooms to reserve at our venue.
At the end of this month, on Friday May 30th, you are all invited to attend another free party, this time featuring DJ Dabu and some all new vegan treats, again reasonably priced! Join us from 6-11pm at the Democracy Center in Cambridge, 45 Mt. Auburn St., not far from the Harvard Square red line stop and the #66 bus.
Bring your friends and family! This party is open to all. No booze, but there are plenty of nearby bars for pre- and post-partying.
Questions and RSVPs to contact@bostonvegan.org.
[CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST DISCLOSURE: THE TJR TEAM IS AMONG THE HONOREES AT THIS EVENT.]
6:30PM: Please Join Us in Honoring Sherif Fam & The Truth and
Justice Radio Team And The Boston Palestine Film Festival Organizers
Doors Open at 6:30 pm
Dinner Served at 7:00
Keynote Address by Dr. James Zogby
"The Stakes Have Never Been Higher: The 2008 Elections
and US Middle East Policy"
Live Music By Arabian Nightingales with Nader Hawa
Keynote Address: America's Middle East policy is being
scrutinized heavily during this election season;
getting it right has never been more important. The
risks in the region are exceedingly high, the
challenges as great as ever, and the stakes are
reaching new heights. Many questions abound: Do we
"stay the course" in Iraq, for example, or do we
change direction and find a different way forward? If
the latter option is to be pursued it will only come
about because an informed public demands it of U.S.
leadership. In assessing the way forward in the Middle
East, we need to explore the responsibility of the
American public in helping shape U.S. policy in the
Middle East.
Dr. James Zogby: For the past three decades, Dr. Zogby
has been involved in a full range of Arab American
issues. A co-founder and chairman of the Palestine
Human Rights Campaign in the later 1970s, he later co-
founded and served as the Executive Director of the
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 1982,
he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private non-
profit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief
organization which funds health care for Palestinian
and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare
projects in Lebanon. in 1985, Zogby founded the Arab
American Institute (AAI), a Washington DC-based
organization which serves as the political and policy
research arm of the Arab American community, where
Zogby currently serves as President.
This Year's Honorees:
Dedication to Activism Through the Arts
The Boston Palestine Film Festival Organizers
Salma Abu Ayyash
Christine Giraud
Katherin Hanna
Michael Rainho
Nitin Sawhney
Excellence in the Media
This Week in Palestine, a weekly radio show on WZBC
90.3 FM
Sherif Fam
Despina Moutzouris
Stan Robinson
Steve Cornie
Tickets:
$45 Student Tickets
$65 Regular Tickets
$125 Premium Tickets (Include Private Reception with
Dr. James Zogby)
To reserve your tickets, call or email OmarBaddar,
Executive Director, ADCMA
617.262.8902
Critical Resistance (a nationally networked grassroots organization working toward prison abolition) needs our help! Critical Resistance is organizing a conference, CR10, September 26 – 28, 2008. CR10 is more than just a weekend conference; it is an opportunity for movement building, networking, and resource development.
To show our support here in Boston we are hosting a fund raising party! These funds will go directly to providing travel funds to those with limited access to resources. Specifically these funds will be directed towards supporting formally incarcerated people and families of those incarcerated. Those most directly impacted by the prison industrial complex must be the ones directing the movement to abolition.
Boston's fund raiser will be on May 31st from 7pm – 12am at the Community Church of Boston (565 Boylston Street – Copley Square). Entrance fee is sliding scale $10 – 40.00. The goal is for each city to raise at least $5,000.00. From 7 – 9:30 we will have food, drinks, and speakers, including a representative from Critical Resistance. From 10 – midnight we will have a dance party: building community, getting sweaty, and raising money for radical change! Our fund raiser will happen along with fund raisers in New York City; Oakland, CA; Los Angeles, CA; New Orleans, LA; Philadelphia, PA; and Johannesburg, South Africa!
There are many ways you can get involved in this fund raising event:
1. Ask your organization to sponsor the event (sponsorship means you
commit to bringing at least five individuals to the fund raiser and
publicize the event to your constituents).
2. Donate a service or product for the silent auction (please contact
me ASAP if you can do this)
3. Help set up the day of (8 people)
4. Help clean up the day of (10 people)
5. Make food for the event (10 people)
6. Distribute flyers (see email attachment)
If you cannot attend the fund raiser please consider donating directly at the Critical Resistance paypal site, https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=6817.
Please consider helping out with this fund raiser. In the wake of the continued abuse and degradation of prisoners across the country, and right here in Massachusetts, we MUST strengthen our movement for change NOW!
For more information contact Jason Lydon at blackandpink99@gmail.com or 617.519.4387.
For nearly forty years, the Reverend Canon Ed Rodman has ministered and taught in an urban context, working in partnership with a wide variety of community-based and religious coalitions concerned about the death penalty, prison abolition, public education, housing, community development, and anti-oppression training. It is this perspective that he brings to his teaching, his activism and his extensive service to the Episcopal Church. Most recently Rev. Rodman co-authored, along with Jamie Bissonette, Ralph Hamm, and Robert Dellelo, When the Prisoners Ran Walpole: A True Story in the Movement for Prison Abolition, a South End Press book. Join us as Rev. Rodman shared about the destructive force the prison industrial complex is and how we can all be engaged in a movement toward abolition.
"New England Celebrates Israel" is one of the largest zionist events in the Boston area every year, perhaps larger this year because it is the 60th anniversary of Israel's existence, including its increasingly brutal occupation and oppression of the non-Jewish inhabitants of Palestine.
Gann Academy is a private Jewish high school on many acres of land directly next to Bentley College. The mission statement of the school includes instilling an attachment to the state of Israel in the students. Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Krafts (owners of the Patriots, WBCN, etc.) sponsor this event every year. It will be an outdoor festival with camel rides, jugglers & clowns, Israeli martial arts lessons, etc.
Contact:
Elaine Antonia
781-341-0052
elainecantonia@hotmail.com
Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition to present an evening with NASA Climate Scientist Dr. James Hansen together with author Dr. Mark Bowen, speaking about the most recent findings on global warming and government attempts at censorship.
Wanted: Issue Campaign Organizing Consultant The Fair Economy Action Fund is seeking an experienced organizer for full or part-time work. Seeking organizer of national campaign to enlist support for progressive federal estate tax. Activities would be largely phone and internet work out of United for a Fair Economy office at Downtown Crossing Boston.
Qualifications: Outgoing personality, excellent phone and communication skills, experience with database and Excel spreadsheets; knowledge of federal budget and legislative process ideal.
Seeking commitment for summer and ideally for the fall of 2008. $20-30 per hour, based on experience. Organizer will be paid as temporary employee.
Contact:
Chuck Collins, Director, chuckcollins7@mac.com
or Lee Farris at United for a Fair Economy:
lfarris@faireconomy.org or call 617-423-2148 x133.
OUR SOURCE: Dr. Gordon Fellman
------------------------------
Job openings on Camp Laurel Radio Staff for the summer
of 2008.
Complete application on-line at www.camplaurel.com
Call: 1-888-LAUREL-1
E-mail: staff@camplaurel.com
Camp Laurel is a private co-ed residential camp in Maine seeking radio staff for the summer of 2008.
Do you like music? Enjoy working with children? Any DJ experience? Teach campers the creative and musical side of on-air broadcasting. Our camp radio station is the home to camper radio shows throughout the day. Spin vinyl and conduct on-air interviews. Strong technical experience is NOT a requirement. We would be excited to speak with any individuals you believe are well-fit for a summer position at our camp. Please call me at 1-888-LAUREL-1, complete an application on-line at www.camplaurel.com or e-mail me at staff@camplaurel.com. Please feel free to forward this to members of your radio station, clubs or organizations, sororities, fraternities, teams and friends. We look forward to hearing from any interested applicants. Sincerely,Shirley Golub is running against Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the democratic nomination for that post.
Our so-called Democratic leadership is not only planning on lying down immediately for another $100 billion to senselessly squander in Iraq, they are talking about adding on another $70 billion of war profiteer booty, to save the White House from the trouble of throwing another foot stomping tantrum in the fall.
This is looking like the mother of all gutless
surrenders. And there is only one dynamic that can
possibly stop it. Nancy Pelosi MUST be
defeated in San Francisco in the June 3 primary, and
see it coming fast. And ONLY Shirley Golub can do it,
with contributions on the page above to run her
"Rubber Chicken" ad now.
Shirley's Rubber Chicken TV Ad
For those who many not be quite clear on this one point yet, Cindy Sheehan in running the November election in this district as an independent, but what we are talking about here is the June 3 Democratic party congressional primary.
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"
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.")
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
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.
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.
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.