Nov. 16: Discussion - Confronting Minutemen Vigilantes at the Border

Nov. 16, 7PM

Discussion: Confronting Minutemen Vigilantes At The Border

Bluestockings
172 allen Street
One block south of Houston and First Ave. (F train)

$5 Suggested

As migration becomes the specter haunting empire, freedom of movement across national borders is critical in the struggle against empire. Jacob from the organic collective will discuss the Triple Fence, The REAL ID Act, the rise of the Minutemen vigilantes, and current resistance to each of these. He will also show a short video from recent border actions and will lead a discussion centered around the migration, white supremacy and the war on terror.
Jacob is a member of the organic collective, a noborder anarchist collective based in San Diego which is confronting anti-immigrant machinations embodied by the Minutemen and materialized by the border.

Nov. 9: Protest: Dishonoring the Dead at the American Enterprise Institute

Nov. 9, 2-4 PM

Peaceful Nonviolent Protest of Ahmed Chalabi in Washington, D.C.

Outside the American Enterprise Institute,
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. (Farragut North).

Group Hosts Major Misleader of American People on Iraq who will be speaking on "An Insider's View: Democratic Politics at Work in Iraq."

A broad coalition of organizations opposed to the war in Iraq will demonstrate against the appearance of Ahmed Chalabi at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

As an Iraqi exile before the war, Chalabi was one of the principal sources of intelligence about Iraq and its alleged weapons of mass destruction for neo-conservatives and journalists (especially Judith Miller of the New York Times). But Chalabi's own record is highly questionable, including a 22-year sentence in absentia by a Jordanian court for bank fraud, and accusations that he has been acting as a double agent for the Iranian government.

"We know now that President Bush relied on Ahmed Chalabi in putting together the web of lies that this president used to take us to war," said David Swanson, Co-Founder of After Downing Street. "The American Enterprise Institute, which says in its mission statement that it is 'dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of freedom,' should be ashamed of hosting a man whose lies have done so much to weaken those foundations."

"We're here today at AEI to remind the American people that President Bush backed Ahmed Chalabi for puppet leader in Iraq. We should not in fact be seeking to impose any leader on a sovereign people," said Gael Murphy, Co-Founder of CODE PINK. "The blood of more than 2,000 dead Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis cries out against working with this architect of deceit and death. In a country truly dedicated to justice and freedom, our leaders should be arresting Ahmed Chalabi, not feasting with him."

Nov. 10: Reverend Billy reading

Nov. 10, 7:30 PM

Reverend Billy will read

VOX POP: Books, Coffee, Democracy
1022 Cortelyou Rd.
Brooklyn,
718-940-2084

FREE!

Vox Pop opens its doors to Reverend Billy, who will read to the Vox Populace from his book: What Should I Do if Reverend Billy Is in My Store? as well as
the introduction he penned for the new edition of Abbie Hoffman's Revolution
for the Hell of It! The Reverend will be joined by Harry Ram of the
London-based magazine The Ecologist.


Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir will also cross the country this shopping season, stopping consumers in the parking lots of Wal Marts, Macy’s and Nordstrom’s. We will erect our gaily painted Revival Tent at a super-mall near you! Traveling in two bio-diesel busses, the 30 singers and musicians (and preacher) will start from Buy Nothing Sunday, Nov. 27 in NYC, and head west. The revival show rolls to a stop in California a month later, on Christmas Day.

Nov. 9: Bringing Guantanamo Home

Nov. 9, 7.30 PM SHARP

Bringing GUANTANAMO Home:
The "Guantana-
mobile Project"
Creative Strategies To Resist Torture

The Brecht Forum
451 West St
(that's the West Side Highway) bt. Bank & Bethune Sts

Speakers Include:
Asli Bali (Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee),
Subhash Kateel (Families for Freedom) and
Lisa Lynch (the Guantanamobile Project)


This focused discussion and film screening on the policies of detention and torture of prisoners from the “war on terror” at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba will feature activists, scholars, and legal experts involved in raising awareness about and resisting all that is exemplified by Guantanamo.

“The Guantanamobile Project” is a multi- media activist project designed to raise awareness about the ongoing atrocities in Guantanamo. One component of the project is a documentary film, where we hear from those involved in the Supreme Court case as well as from Americans unconnected to the case on the their perspectives on situation in Guantanamo. Project members have
been touring the U.S. with footage from the documentary-in-progress screened out of the back of a van and it has served as a basis to discuss both the facts of the Guantanamo detentions and strategies for media activism.

(Torture in Guantanamo?
"Not here!" says U.S. military.
Photo from Spiegel online)
The discussion will consider the place of Guantanamo as arguably the most visible part of a larger set of developments regarding detentions and torture, including the targeting of immigrant communities in the U.S.

This event is meant to create a forum to plan concrete strategies for new forms of activism and resistance against detentions and torture.

This is the 5TH WEDNESDAYS AGAINST THE WAR event at The Brecht Forum

Sy Kahn at the People's Voice Cafe in NYC Nov. 5, 2005

Audience Participation during Sy Kahn concert







Upcoming shows at
People's Voice Cafe
at Workman's Circle
45 East 33 St (bt Park & Madison Aves.)


Nov. 12, 8 PM

The People's Voice Cafe will present A Tribute to the Music of Jolie Rickman,

with special guests:
Coatlicue Theater
Pamela Means
Lenelle Moise
Charlie King
& PMN Singers

Nov. 19, 8 PM

Brooklyn Women's Chorus

With special guest: Jaque DuPree

Also: Barry Kornhauser (bass & cello) & Bruce Markow (guitar & mandolin)

Photos by Dan Cohen

Veterans Day peace activities

Nov. 11

Veterans Peace Contingent in Veterans Day Parade
Wage Peace: Love the Troops, Hate the War

11:00 a.m.
The parade begins and marches up 5th Ave from 42nd St to 72nd St.

This year the NY Veterans Day Parade is being touted as the "Nation's Parade". Veterans for Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War will be marching in a Peace Contingent. With more than 2000 U.S. servicepeople dead in Iraq and over 15,000 wounded, they will bring the most important message to the nation: Support our Troops, Bring them Home Now, Then Treat Them Right! Come support and cheer on the Peace Contingent from the sidelines with your signs and banners!


Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m.

Wage Peace: Love the Troops, Hate the War:

Columbus Circle

Code Pink invites you to honor our servicemen and women and demand an end to the war Sponsored by VFP Local Chapter 034, UFPJ/NYC, Peace Action New York and many others.

(Times Square vigil to commemorate 2,000
soldiers dead in Iraq-photo: Dan Cohen)


Nov. 12, 2:30 - 6:30 p.m.,

Speak Out!

1199 Break Room,
330 W. 42nd St, 9th Fl

Veterans and military families members speak out about the war, the treatment of veterans, depleted uranium, traumas inflicted on women veterans and more.
Speakers from Iraq Veterans against the War, Vets for Peace, Black Veterans for Social Justice, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace.

 

Bush loses another round

Rioters shatter Bush's hopes of forging free trade coup

Violent protests have turned a prestigious foreign policy trip to South America into another public relations catastrophe

Paul Harris
The Observer


President George W Bush was poised for a big new political setback last night as a diplomatic push for a major free trade agreement seemed stalled amid fierce opposition from key countries and scenes of violence and rioting in Argentina and Uruguay.
Bush, who is already beset by a host of domestic political troubles, had hoped for a major foreign policy coup to take some of the pressure off his beleaguered White House. He has put breaking down free trade barriers in the region at the top of the agenda at the Summit of the Americas, which has brought together leaders from 34 different countries in the Argentine city of Mar Del Plata.


(Photo: A fire burns near the Summit
of the Americas after demonstrators
faced off with police.)
But the end of the summit was delayed as talks dragged on inconclusively about a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). A group of left-leaning countries, headed by Brazil, Venezuela and others, opposed the idea, saying it would open their countries to exploitation by large American firms and do little to alleviate poverty. Bush left the summit before it ended as discussions about whether to adopt a clause scheduling FTAA talks for next year continued past a deadline set for a summit declaration.

(For complete article)

Nov. 18: National Stand Down Day

Nov. 18, 2005

National Stand Down Day
End The Iraq War - Demonstrations and Nonviolent Resistance at Recruiting Stations Across the Country

Young Americans sign on to go into harm’s way to defend their country if necessary, but instead they are being turned into harm’s ministers in a war that has claimed more then 100,000 Iraqi lives and more than 2,000 Americans. The President and Congress have breached a sacred trust with our soldiers and abused their oath to defend the Constitution by leading young Americans to kill and die in a war based on lies.

As the Bush Administration refuses to make plans to bring our troops home, join us for “National Stand Down Day,” as we halt the machinery that takes young Americans off to this illegal and endless war in Iraq.

We welcome, and will provide coordination and support as possible, for all manner of protests and demonstrations at recruiting centers. We want to especially encourage and assist nonviolent resistance actions, such as civil resistance or civil disobedience. As we recognize and support soldiers who take great risks to refuse fighting in this unjust war, so it is our moral responsibility to share that risk to the extent that we can, by preventing even more young Americans from being placed in such jeopardy ­ particularly in light of the lies and abusive practices being used in the recruiting process.

Also note: Nov. 17 - National "Not Your Soldier" Youth and Student Day of Action at a high school or college campus near you....

Nov. 8: Discussion - Earth, animal liberation

Nov. 8, 8:30-10:30 PM

Earth, Animal, Liberation @ NYU

Come listen to first hand accounts of liberation movements that have acted both within and outside of the law and experienced unjust government repression.

With former prisoner Andy Stepanian (photo left) and other activists of conscience.

Kimmel Center ,
60 Washington Square South, room 406.

Open to the public. Photo ID required for entry.

More about Andy:

wordsasweapons.com
shacusa.net
A-Infos
Slingshot
animal liberation front

A challenge to Hillary from the left

I would love to see a challenge to Hillary Clinton mounted from the left within or outside the Democratic Party. But it would have to emerge from a united coalition of groups representing every aspect of the movement at the current time, who were willing to - at least temporarily - put aside their differences. I don't, however, think that it can be done by an individual acting on his/her own. It particularly can't be done by a white man acting alone.

These thoughts were provoked by this note from Steve Greenfield (see below) to Chelsea Neighbors Against the War:

I would like to start some discussion with peace activist groups about my planned primary race against Hillary Clinton.

I would also appreciate it if you could circulate this to any interested persons and groups.

Thanks.

Steve Greenfield
New Paltz, NY
http://us.f330.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=bicyclesax@earthlink.net
(845) 255-2516

Greenfield is interviewed by a reporter outside the Ulster County Board of Elections (no photo credit)
From the Woodstock Times: "The once fiercely Green, third-party candidate for Ulster County legislator, Steve Greenfield, announced this past week that he is switching parties. Not only did Greenfield announce that he would change his political enrollment at the Board of Elections in Kingston from Green to Democrat, but he also declared his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2006 -- with plans to specifically target senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries."

Here's what greenfield had to say to the Woodstock Times [much of which I agree with, but keep in mind the caveats I stated above-Dan]

"...Senator Clinton,... he believes, "has just parroted the Conservative agenda every step of the way.

"Hillary Clinton, while masquerading as a Democrat is pro-war, pro-Patriot Act, pro-troop escalation in Iraq, pro-corporate welfare, pro-Indian Point...her political spectrum runs the gamut of the prevailing and destructive Conservative views...so what voters will get, if someone like myself doesn't challenge Clinton, are two very wealthy, very accomplished, very bright middle-aged woman candidates who share the same views and are both pro-choice," he said during his press conference at the Board of Elections. "This does not represent the millions of Democrats, 80 percent the latest polls showed in New York who are anti-war and pro-peace! This does not represent the majority of Democrats who are against the portions of the Patriot Act that violate the Constitution, or who are against corporate welfare and want to see Indian Point closed down for public safety. I will offer those Democrats a real choice. Hillary Clinton's stance on almost every critical issue facing this country seems to come straight from a Karl Rove press release!"


Greenfield, 44years old, graduated from Columbia College with a degree in economics. He has been a college fundraiser, computer consultant and database manager. He is a professional musician. He is married with two daughters, resides in New Paltz since Feb. 2001, and is previously from New York City. He has been a member of New Paltz Greens since March 200.

Nov. 9: Talk: Sexual sedition from espionage laws to the war on terror

Poster by Icky A.
from irishqueers.org

Nov. 9, 7 - 9pm

Talk: Sexual Sedition from Espionage Laws to the War on Terror.

CUNY Grad Center, Room C201,
5th Ave and 34th St.
(6 train to 33rd street. or B, D, F, N, Q, R, V, W to 34th-Herald Sq.; M2, M3, M4, M5, M16, M34 bus]

Molly McGarry’s project examines the inter-twining of gender, sexuality, and racialized citizenship in the case of Dr. Marie Equi, a birth control advocate, abortionist, I.W.W. organizer, and lesbian, convicted and imprisoned under the Alien and Sedition Acts.
This talk uses the case of Dr. Equi, who was imprisoned under the sedition laws as “an anarchist, an abortionist, and a degenerate,” to examine the links between sexual and political dissidence, “unnatural” identities and un-American acts.

CLAGS colloquium series in LGBTQ studies:
Molly McGarry, The Center for Religion and Media, New York University and Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of California, Riverside

Nov. 7: In DC - Rally, March & Non-violent Civil Disobedience to end AIDS

Protest Bush's Campaign to Increase AIDS


Nov. 7, 11 AM

Rally, March and Non-Violent Civil Disobedience in Washington DC

MacPherson Square at 15th and I sts
(MacPherson Square metro, Blue/Orange lines)

March to the Concerned Women for America (CWA)

March and Rally at the White House

Some people will engage in non-violent civil disobedience (CD) at the
White House.
Others interested in joining the CD are welcome to contact us in advance, or come to the training on Nov. 6.
Everyone is welcome to join the rally and march!

Sponsored by ACT UP New York, ACT UP Philadelphia, Community HIV AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), Health GAP, and Student Global AIDS Campaign (list in formation)


Nov. 5, 8 - 10 pm:

Action Planning meeting,

National City Christian Church
5 Thomas Circle NW
(14th, M, Vermont, and Mass all cross there)


Nov 6, 9 am -11:30am and another from 11:30 to 2pm

Civil Dis- obedience training

SIECUS:
1706 R St. NW (corner of 17th and R)
(Dupont circle stop on the red line - from there exit to Q st and take Q 2 blocks to New Hampshire. Make a left and walk up New Hampshire to R st. Make a right and SIECUS is at the end of the block on R st).

Congregate sleeping space and meals available through the Campaign to End AIDS if pre-registered

WHY WE ARE PROTESTING:
Religious right-wing insiders and the Bush Administration are dismantling HIV prevention efforts here and around the world. Join us as we hold the first ever C2IA awards ceremony, in which we will present "golden tombstones" to the right-wing leaders of the Campaign to Increase AIDS, for their work to actually increase HIV infection and death around the world.

We will also march and rally at the White House, followed by an optional non-violent civil disobedience action at the gates of Bush's residence.

This is a part of the day of affinity actions during the Nov 5-8 Campaign to End AIDS convergence in Washington, DC

As HIV infections continue to rage through our communities in the U.S., and AIDS destroys millions of lives globally, the Bush Administration is following the lead of the religious right's Campaign to Increase AIDS.

These groups are getting millions of taxpayer dollars to spread misinformation, block access to condoms and needles, and tosubstitute prayer for HIV prevention programs.

Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs discriminate against LGBT youth, spread gender stereotypes, and are rife with inaccuracies. These programs are controlled by legislation -- originally written by the [right-wing] Heritage Foundation -- that gags teachers from giving the real facts on HIV prevention, even for sexually active youth.

Global AIDS funds through Bush's PEPFAR program deny condoms to most sexually-active people and ignore the risks of HIV for youth, married women and other so-called "low risk" groups.

Concerned Women for America is paid by the Federal government for "anti-sex trafficking" programs, after leading passage of a ban on funding of groups around the world that help sex workers protect themselves from HIV.

CWA is part of a web of religious lobby groups that has mobilized their puritanical base to press legislators and the president for abstinence-only sex-ed and drug policies.

Other groups like the Traditional Values Coalition prepared "hit-lists" to attack HIV/AIDS prevention researchers studying transmission of HIV in the gay community, while backing poorly conducted research supporting abstinence-only education.

Join us as we confront these extreme right-wing groups and our government for their fake AIDS prevention efforts and expose the Bush Administration's use of public dollars to build patronage for future elections.

Transportation available from Philadelphia, New York City, Providence and other locations.

For more information, John Riley - 917-653-7267 or
email: N7action@gmail.com.

Nov. 8: Reading: Letters from Young Activists

Nov. 8, 7PM - Free

Reading: Letters from Young Activists: Today's Rebels Speak Out

BLUESTOCKINGS
172 Allen Street @ Stanton (1 block south of Houston)
212.777.6028 http://www.bluestockings.com/
You will not be turned away from an event
at Bluestockings for lack of $


Described by Alice Walker as "inspiring, compassionate and soulful", this is a bold introduction to America's newest generation of activists. Aged ten to thirty-one, these atheist, christian, jewish, muslim, pagan, transgender, heterosexual, bisexual, metrosexual Americans are united by their struggles to do good work. In letters, each author articulates a vision towards racial, economic, gender, environmental and global justice. Please join the editors and contributors in a discussion about our collective future.



With a preface by Bernardine Dohrn, former member of the Weather Underground.

Nov. 10: Film & Discussion - Depleted Uranium: The Agent Orange of the Iraq Wars

Nov. 10, 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Soldiers and Scientists Present:
DEPLETED URANIUM - THE AGENT ORANGE OF THE IRAQ WARS

Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture,
4450 Fieldston Road at Manhattan College Parkway, Bronx
(#1 to Van Cortlandt Park-242d St.)

Panel Presentation on the devastating effects on both soldiers and civilians of the Pentagon's massive use of weaponry coated with depleted uranium (DU) in Iraq throughout the 1990s and today.

Army National Guardsmen Spc. Gerard Matthew and Herbert Reed, both Iraq War Veterans found to have DU poisoning
Dr. Glen Lawrence, professor of BioChemistry at LIE, DU Project

Documentary Film: Poison Dust by the People's Video Network

(Photo: Wife of Gulf War II vet, whose baby was born with a birth defect)
Disturbing Facts: 10,324 U.S. soldiers involved in Desert Storm (Gulf War I) have died! More than 1/3, or 221,502 Iraq War veterans are on Disability benefits. Now soldiers returning from the 2003 invasion of Iraq are confronting serious impaired immunity illnesses. The U.S. government denies any connection between their sickness and the toxic DU. Is this a hidden war against our soldiers and Iraqi civilians? Come to learn more about Depleted Uranium.

SPONSORED BY:
Society for Ethical Culture - Riverdale-Yonkers,
Bronx-Westchester NATION Discussion Group,
WESPAC Foundation and NoWar Westchester Coalition,
Bronx Greens and Gronowicz for Mayor,
DFNYC (Democracy for New York),
News You Need R Us and A Real 9/11 Commission

For Info Contact:
Curt Collier (Society for Ethical Culture) at curt.collier.rysec@earthlink.com
or Florence Gold at (718) 549-1601 or slehrer2@optonline.net

Time's Up Video screenings

Video Screenings are usually 8:00pm on Thursday nights. There will be a short film screened before the feature.

All Movies are screened at:
49 Houston St.
(bt. Mott and Mulberry)

Nov. 10th, 8pm
Oil on Ice (2004)
This in-depth documentary examines the raging controversy over drilling for black gold in a 1.5-million-acre area of the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The film follows the efforts of environmentalists and Alaskan natives to protect the site from oil exploration and development, dramatizing the choice between fossil fuel technologies and those that take advantage of renewable energy resources.
More Info and Trailer

Nov. 17th, 8pm
Warriors: The Bike Race. (2002)
In August of 2002, over 800 bicycle riders descended upon New York City in the form of 89 gangs. Their goal: to live out the epic gang warfare movie known as THE WARRIORS. During the all night race from the Bronx to Coney Island, riders got lost, blood was shed, police outwitted, and countless brain cells destroyed. Most of what took place that night was thankfully never to be discussed again until WARRIORS: THE BIKE RACE.
More Info

Dec. 8th, 8pm
Still We Ride (2005)
On Friday August 27, 2004 just days before the start of the Republican National Convention, a massive police operation was underway. By the end of the night 264 people were arrested. It marked one of the largest mass arrests in New York City's history - and the arrested had done nothing illegal.

For many New Yorkers, this was the first time they heard of what has become a monthly ritual for New York City's bike community; a free-forming ride called Critical Mass.

Still We Ride is a documentary that captures the joyous atmosphere of
this August ride before the arrests began and the chaos that followed. It recounts how this ride first started in San Francisco over 10 years ago and chronicles the police crackdown and resulting court battles in New York over the last 12 months. The movie takes on issues of civil liberties, surveillance, the power of mainstream media, and the benefits of alternative means of transportation.
More Info and Trailer

Dec. 15th, 8pm
Orwell Rolls in His Grave (2004)
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kane Pappas presents a riveting argument for his theory that the U.S. is under an Orwellian watch with the rise to power of the radical, right-wing Republican party, an ascent aided, unwittingly or not, by the mainstream media. Here, Pappas interviews an impressive roster, including Center for Public Integrity director Charles Lewis, legal analyst Vincent Bugliosi and liberal filmmaker Michael Moore.
More Info and Trailer

Dec. 22nd, 8pm
Go Further (2004)
This unorthodox documentary from filmmaker Ron Mann examines the notion that each person has the ability to achieve monumental, far-reaching change by altering the most trivial aspects of his/her own lives. Join actor Woody Harrelson and a varied cast of characters for a bus ride down California's Pacific Coast Highway to promote social change on a global level by opting to modify our current customary, often environmentally damaging actions.
More Info and Trailer


Due to the high volume of events Time's Up has been holding, we have decided not to show a movie every Thursday night. But we still have a schedule. We don't want people thinking that we have abandoned a local, free event.

Movie info

Nov. 14: A Forum on Filipino Women & Youth Organizing

Nov. 14, 7-9 PM

Trans- national Organizing in Times of War: The Filipino Women &
Youth's Experience

A forum with Emmi De Jesus, Secretary General, GABRIELA-Philippines

Brooks Hall, Brooks Living Room
Barnard College, 3009 Broadway, btwn 116 & 120 Sts.

(Take the uptown 1 train to 116 St /Columbia University. Exit on the west side of Broadway. Use the Barnard campus entrance before the main gate. Enter through Hewitt to get to Brooks. Need ID to enter.)

Emmi de Jesus, Secretary General of GABRIELA Philippines, gives a first-hand account of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's (GMA) massive record of gross human rights violations and anti-people policies and how it is wreaking havoc in the lives of the people in the Philippines, esp. the women and youth.
GABRIELA Philippines is the largest and only multi-sectoral women's alliance in the country. Leading the most militant and strongest women's liberation movement in Asia, it has about 200 women's organizations, women's desks and women's institutions under its umbrella.

(Chairperson Emmi de Jesus and Women Legal Bureau's Atty. Evalyn Ursua lead the signing of the VOW-CL Unity Statement. Photos: Arkibong Bayan)


This event is free and open to the public. Seats are limited. Please RSVP by Nov. 11 to Riya Ortiz at ugnayan_nyc @ yahoo.com.
This forum is organized by Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Linking the Children of the Motherland) NY/NJ in coordination with Gabriela Network NY/NJ, Center for Research on Women (Barnard College), and Department of Womens Studies (Barnard College).

Nov. 6: Make the 2005 NYC Marathon about political prisoners

Nov. 6

THE CUBAN 5 AND MUMIA AT THE NYC MARATHON

E. 116th St. and 1st Ave. a community table to distribute information on the Cuban 5 and Mumia Abu Jamal

The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5 is proud to support 56-year-old Angel Gonzalez, long time Puerto Rican Activist, who is running for the Freedom of Political Prisoner MUMIA ABU JAMAL AND THE CUBAN 5

We ask that people send pledges to Angel Gonzalez and to join the Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5

MAKE THE NYC MARATHON 2005 ALL ABOUT POLITICAL PRISONERS

A statement fromm Angel Gonzalez:

Let me hear from you, Familia y Amigos:

On Nov. 6, I am running the New York City Marathon. I will run to raise awareness about Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Cuban 5. They are six political prisoners, who suffer unjustly in U.S. jails and desperately need our support.

Mumia is a renowned African-American activist and journalist who was been jailed since 1981 for allegedly shooting a police officer. Evidence points to his innocence and to racist manipulations throughout his trial. We cannot allow our political leader to remain in jail! Mumia must not be executed. Join the broad international movement calling for Mumia's freedom.
Please read more .

The Cuban 5 have been unjustly jailed in the U.S. since 1998. The Cuban 5 worked to expose Cuban Miami-based terrorist organizations by documenting their plots to bomb places in Cuba and other countries. The Miami-based terrorist groups in the past have killed and injured hundreds with explosives in hotels and planes. The U.S. government has refused to prosecute those exposed Miami terrorists and instead has protected those terrorists!
For their heroic work, the Cuban 5 were ironically persecuted and were jailed for the outrageous charge of "espionage conspiracy". This past August, the Cuban 5 won an appeal for a new trial, BUT they still remain in jail and continue to be cruely denied visits from their family members. The Cuban 5 must be freed. Please read more .

You can help Free Mumia and Free the Cuban 5 by pledging for my marathon run. Your check can be made out to either of these support organizations:

For Mumia, checks are made out to "NBUF" with a memo sayin for "Mumia Organizing".
For the Cuban 5, checks are made out to "IFCO/The Popular Education
Project".
Checks written in my name will be divided evenly between these organizations.

Send your pledges to me at:
Angel F. Gonzalez
3977 Sedgwick Avenue #18 C
Bronx, New York 10463

The training has been rough ... BUT ... for this important cause, I will try to go the extra mile. (At 53 years, it ain't easy!)

With your pledge, you can help carry me across the finish line. Your generosity will help to promote my t-shirt message, FREE MUMIA & FREE THE CUBAN 5, throughout the 26 miles in New York City and among thousands on
Nov. 6.

Thank you.

Para la justicia y la libertad,
Angel F. Gonzalez

A cold wind wafts through what was formerly-Public Broadcasting

Here are excerpts from an important update on how the "New Pub-casting Chief Completes Right-Wing Coup" posted by Timothy Karr on his Mediacitizen blog:

"The new president of the Corporation for Public Broad-casting (CPB) has stacked the agency's offices with propa- gandists and White House loyalists in a bold-faced effort to carry forward Kenneth Tomlinson's right-wing crusade against public broadcasting.

"Since taking up her post as CPB President in June, Patricia de Stacy Harrison -- the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee -- has brought in senior officers from the State Department's 'Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy' division, the group that oversees efforts to 'advance U.S. interests and security and to provide the moral basis for U.S. leadership in the world.'

"Each of the new hires had previously served under Harrison when she was assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs and acting undersecretary for public affairs and public diplomacy.

"'Public diplomacy' is gov-speak for propaganda. The packing of the CPB with individuals more comfortable with selling U.S. propaganda than with honest journalism sends a not-so-subtle signal to those working in public broadcasting that truth is out and government spin is in." ....


"Harrison got her own position at the CPB through her political connections to then-Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson, who also heads the Broadcasting Board of Governors -- which oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio and TV Marti and other government-run international broadcasting." ....

"Tomlinson is currently being investigated for efforts to impose his political agenda at CPB by funding programming with a pro-government slant, secretly monitoring PBS and NPR for signs of "liberal advocacy journalism," as well as hiring unqualified political cronies like Harrison. Inspector General Kenneth Konz is expected to present his findings -- which reportedly included ethical and procedural violations as well as misuse of funds -- on Tuesday to a closed-door meeting of the CPB board of directors, of which Tomlinson remains a member.

"CPB is being governed more like a private, secret society than an agency supported by taxpayers,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "As the hiring of former State Department propaganda colleagues by Patricia Harrison illustrates, the CPB has been ideologically hijacked."

Did Nader sink the USS Gore or did Gore torpedo himself (With a large assist from Rove)?

Here's a still-provocative argument about Nader and the 2004 election - made by Andy Ostroy on his The Ostroy Report - with which I fundamentally disagree but I think raises some very important issues that are well worth thinking about.
My response follows.
"We Can Thank the Nader-ites for "Scalito" Alito":
"Rewind, if you will, back to the 2000 presidential election. Al Gore vs George W. Bush. Oh, and Ralph Nader, remember him? You know, the one who pulled all those votes away from Gore, especially in Florida, and in the process prevented him from becoming president and sent Bush to Washington instead. The guy who refused to drop out of the race despite desperate pleas from the Left that his spoiler act could change America in ways unthinkable. Well, his colossal ego and supreme narcissism won out and he stayed the course. And the rest, as they say, is history.

"But it's the naive, "message-sending" followers of this selfish fool who we now have to thank for the past five disastrous years of Bush, and worse, for the nomination Monday of staunch conservative jurist Samuel "Scalito" Alito to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. For those of you still in the dark, that's "Scalito," as in, "little Scalia." Alito's nomination has sent the far right wing of the Republican Party into a euphoric state over this solid pro-lifer who's record strongly indicates he'll jump through hoops to overturn Roe V. Wade. The Rehnquist-for-Roberts swap had little consequence. The O'Connor-for-Alito trade, however, has the potential to dramatically and dangerously shift the high court to the far right. The Democrats must come out in full body-armor on this one and fight to the death if we ever intend to preserve personal freedoms; the right to privacy; separation of church and state; and other constitutional bedrocks.

"This nightmarish scare is the work of those misguided Nader-ites who, back in 2000, said there was "no difference" between Gore and Bush; who said they felt disappointed and betrayed by the Democratic Party; who said they needed to "send a message" of this frustration through their "protest vote" for Nader. They sent a message alright, and that message was..."Welcome to the White House, Mr. Bush." Want to talk betrayal? How about how the Nader-ites now feel having lived through five years of the Bush betrayal on humanity? Their unfortunate protest vote just might result in the conservative Taliban of this country setting back judicial progress 30+ years.

"Oh how it was so clear to the rest of us what the stakes were. Why couldn't these reckless folks see it too? Did they really think Bush would serve their interests and ideals as well as Gore? Could they have been that naive? Many on the left even desperately tried to "swap" votes with Nader supporters through web sites that were set up in an attempt to minimize the impact of his candidacy. I am proud to say I was one of them. But that effort failed as well. The Nader-ites were on some sort of sanctimonious, self-righteous mission to prove they were more worthy of the political process than the rest of us who were simply trying to keep a dangerous, unqualified moron out of the White House.

"If I sound angry, I am. Damn angry. Punch my fist into a wall angry. You don't play games with people's lives. With people's freedoms. With constitutional rights. Nader's supporters knowingly and willfully rolled out the red carpet for Bush through their wasteful protest vote. Funny how there are no more Nader-ites. The 2004 election proved that. Sadly, they've learned their lesson in the most unfortunate way. Let's just hope that for the rest of us, there's still time to wage a holy war on these religious fanatics who've highjacked the country from the founding fathers."

Here's my response as posted on The Ostroy Report:

"Hey Andy,
"I'm really glad to have come accross your blog. I intend to add it to my links www.contestedterrain.blogspot.com.

But I can't agree with your argument about Nader. Although I didn't vote for him, most of the people I know who did would not have voted for Gore if Nader hadn't run. I simply don't believe that the way to strengthen democracy is to reduce the number of people speaking out. Running for office is one way to be heard (but, unfortunately, not in the mainstream media). Much of what Nader had to say, particularly about fair trade and the global economy are essential to any left understanding of the world today.

"Blaming Nader for the newly resurgent right-wing capture of the institutions of power in the U.S., simply ignores the long history of the Democratic Party's strategic mistakes and abandonment of the principles that made it what it was. It has always been an amalgam of disparate forces that can only be held together by a very strong candidate (Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton). Neither Gore nor Kerry could manage it. Although it's a mistake to overlook the fact that Gore actually won the 2004 election and then it was taken away by the machinations of brother Jeb in Florida and Scalia on the Supreme Court. If that had happened in any other country, it would be called a coup, not an election.

"Had Gore sat down with Nader during the campaign and either offered him the vice-presidency (instead of the extreme right-wing choice he made) or at least incorporated most of Nader's issues into his campaign - Kerry never did either - then things might have been different, but I'm not certain even of that.

"I think the time has come for us - on the left - to realize that we can't depend on either party to do our work for us, we have to do it ourselves. If that isn't clear from even a superficial reading of U.S. political history, it should be obvious from the recent behavior of the right-wing in it's dealings with Bush and the Republicans. They certainly understand the dynamic.
Ah well, I've gone on far too long. But I really am happy to have found your blog. I will come back to it often. Good luck, peace."

Scalito selected to cause a Senate battle and strengthen Bush's right-wing bona-fides

I have thought ever since Bush nominated Scalito (Scalia Light+Alito) to the Supreme Court that Harriet Miers was just a stalking horse for a male nominee. Bush could later claim that he nominated a woman to fill recently-retired Justice Sandra Day O'conner's shoes but when her nomination didn't fly he was free to pick a man. I don't think he ever expected Miers to get through. But then the question arises: why an extreme right-wing nominee? Why a choice that is certain to cause a battle royal in the Senate? Well, according to James Ridgeway in the Village Voice, that's exactly what Bush wants at the moment. Ridgeway writes:

President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court this morning is a transparent—and embarrassing—move to promote a left-right fight over a court appointment as a device to shift attention from the debacle set off by Scooter Libby's indictment Friday.

(for more on this)
Photo: www.uscourts.gov

Nov. 9: Discussion - Charge or Release Bill

Nov. 9, 6:30 PM

Community Forum on Policing

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
521 West 126th Street (bt Broadway & Amsterdam)

Learn about the Charge or Release Bill * Share Your Story * Know Your Rights
Listen to political leaders, advocates and activists discuss the Charge or Release Bill, a City Council bill that would ensure that anyone arrested in New York City is brought before a judge within 24 hours. Hear testimonials from people who have been arrested and detained longer than 24 hours before seeing a judge. Then, ask our panel of lawyers and activists your questions about your rights if you're stopped by the police, if you're arrested, etc.

Panelists Include:
City Council Member Bill Perkins; Charles Billups, Grand Council of Guardians; Traci Douglas, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem; King Downing, ACLU’s Campaign Against Racial Profiling; And more…

Frank Treadwell, flanked by Council Member Bill Perkins (left) and ACLU's Donna Lieberman (right) recounts his experience of prolonged detention by the police.

Sponsored by:
Democracy for NYC • Institute for Puerto Rican Policy • Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem • New York City Bill of Rights Defense Campaign • New York Civil Liberties Union • Roundtable of Institutions of People of Color • St. Mary’s Episcopal Church • Women of Color Policy Network

For more information, email info@nycbordc.org or call 212.344.3005 x268

Tell Your Council Member to Support the Charge or Release Bill

Petition to stop SCOTUS nomination of Alito

I just received an important message from MoveOn.org. Bush has caved to pressure from the far right and nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Alito is a notoriously [far right-wing]judge who has attacked workers' rights, womens' rights and civil rights for years.

Please join me in signing the emergency petition to our Senators, asking them to stand up for us and block this nomination.

Thanks!

"If confirmed, Alito could very well ... alter the balance of the court and push it dangerously to the right, placing at risk decades of American progress in safe- guarding our fundamental rights and freedoms."
–Sen. Ted Kennedy

President Bush has...made a selection to appease the far right-wing of the Republican Party."
–Sen. Barak Obama

"Last week after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination, I asked the President: Who was in charge? Today, the President answered: the radical conservative right is in charge of this Administration."
–House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi