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Does anyone know about a Pete Wilson protest?
wonderer,
Anyone know?
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Stay Home Wins in Oaxaca Election, PRI Retains Power
compiled by san diego indymedia volunteer,
In Sunday elections in Oaxaca, close to 80% of the electorate elected not to vote, meaning that the candidates of PRI (the party of murderous dictator Ulises Ruiz, which has long held power) won all open offices. The overwhelming lack of participation was somewhat unexpected, given APPO's (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) call for a punishment vote against the ruling party.
Reports:
por Centro de Medios Libres: Al menos ocho de cada diez ciudadanos oaxaqueños convocados a las urnas (2 millones 383 mil 667), despreciaron la vía electoral como el medio para “dirimir sus diferencias”. Con más del 60 por ciento de las casillas computadas, el nivel de abstencionismo ronda el 80 por ciento, superando todos los pronósticos, que señalaban que el mismo sería del 40 por ciento.--Leer Mas--
por El ChicoZapote: Ya que terminó el “ejercicio democrático” de ayer, estamos de vuelta en la normalidad autoritaria. Obviamente nunca salimos de ella, y la elección, tan costosa, fue parte de esta realidad autoritaria. Y por eso la gran mayoría de la ciudadanía, el 70%, no votó, no entró a este juego. Aunque los tachan de desobligados, de ignorantes, de antidemocráticos, la verdad es que el abstencionismo se debe al hecho que la mayoría no encuentra un lugar dentro de las instituciones políticas: la percepción de las instituciones, y de la “democracia” electoral es de profunda desconfianza, de rechazo, de asco. El acto de votar es visto como ejercicio de legitimación de un sistema deplorable, o simplemente como perdida de tiempo, que al final es lo mismo.--Leer Mas--
from South Notes: Although the preliminary results are still being tallied, it’s already apparent that the big winner in today’s legislative elections is “none of the above”. At just after midnight local time, the State Electoral Institute showed that 75% of the electorate chose not to vote today. [Note: That number may change as more ballots are tallied.] --Read More--
from Barucha Calamity Peller: Last night, while the votes were being counted that confirmed a PRI sweep of the state legistlative elections, three people were taken off the streets of the Zocalo in Oaxaca City by police at approximately 10 pm. Among them were two Catalans and one Mexican woman...[the detainees apparently have been accounted for] The elections, in which almost 80% of the Oaxacan population abstained from voting, came as a dissapointment for the APPO’s “punishment vote” campaign against the PRI.--Read More--
Background:
from Barucha Calamity Peller: Has the world forgotten about Oaxaca? Political activity, from repression to organizing, is still just as present as when the Oaxaca uprising was visible in the streets, but with the appearance of normalcy in Oaxaca City it seems that many of us have begun the process of forgetting or assuming that the Oaxaca struggle is over. --Read More--
from South Notes: Mexico’s Ejercito Revolucionario Popular (EPR) guerrilla group has claimed responsibility for the two explosive devices found in Oaxaca City yesterday. One of the devices damaged the shuttered front entrance of the Sears department store in the Plaza del Valle shopping center district, while the other (placed in a Banamex branch in a different neighborhood) did not detonate. --Read More--
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Racisim - Injustice in Jena: The 'White Tree'
Bill Quigley (repost),
A White Judge, White Jury, and White Prosecutor Calling White Witnesses Leads To Conviction of Black Youth
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Anti-Racists Face Serious Legal Battle in Phi
The Love Park 4 Defense Committee,
On Monday July 23rd, four anti-fascists from the Philadelphia, PA area were arrested at what was supposed to be a Ku Klux Klan rally in Center City Philadelphia. Jared Schultz, Tom Keenan, Jason Robbins - all of Philadelphia Anti-Racist Action - as well as a member of the Progressive Labor Party - were all arrested and charged with a series of trumped up misdemeanors in a situation that - for all practical purposes - was straight up entrapment.
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Work with Guatemalan Anti-Genocide Activists
jordan,
Call for direct solidarity with the indigenous movement in Guatemala...
Become a Human Rights Observer!
The Guatemala Accompaniment Project (G.A.P.) of the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) is always looking for qualified candidates to be human rights accompaniers.
Next training: October 14-21, 2007
Application deadline: August 17, 2007
Training will take place in San Francisco, CA
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Black Thursday
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,
Two things that happened on Thursday, June 28 were so dire in their portents for America’s political future that the day may well go down in history as “Black Thursday.” First, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out two attempts to integrate public schools in Seattle and Louisville on the ground that school districts can’t make race a factor in assigning children to schools even to undo the effects of over a century of past discrimination against students of color. Then, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly killed a bad immigration “reform” bill because of organized political pressure from talk-radio hosts and other members of the rabid Right because it wasn’t punitive enough against so-called “illegal” immigrants. These events are a wake-up call to people still naïve enough to think the results of the 2006 election are the beginning of a progressive revival.
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The exclusivity of snitchin'
everardo carvajal,
Recent attention to urban attitudes has painted a picture of a wild urban frontier. The idea of snitching isn’t limited by geography, income level, or time period. For some people, the ‘Stop snitchin’ idea is another fantasy of how the other half lives.
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German University Racism
Rajamohan,
Boycott German cars and products! Mercedes BMW Porsche Siemens Bosch!
Please read in  http://german.university.racism.googlepages.com
how they ruined the promising career of a young Indian research scholar suffering from writers’ cramps in the Stuttgart University in Germany despite his showing extraordinarily brilliant scientific qualification
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Protest to Spanish authorities on the inhuman
stop deportation!,
On the 9th of June 2007 Osamuyia Aikpitanhi, a 23 year Nigerian, was killed by spanish police officers during a forced deportation. A Protest Note will be delivered to Spanish embassies around the globe at NOON on FRIDAY 29th of June 2007.
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UCSD Students Confront Vice Chancellor
dj lotu5,
On thursday, June 12th, over 75 students met for a very quickly organized meeting to respond to UCSD's proposed change to their free speech policy. Vice-Chancellor Watson sent out an email with a proposed change to UCSD's policy on speech, literature and demonstrations, changing the policy from a one page document to a 19 page document including free speech zones, restrictions on political speech by faculty and staff and administration approval requirements for demonstrations.
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UCSD Students Confront Chancellor
san diego indymedia volunteer,
"When i hear that this an academic affairs issue, it upsets me. This is about the marginalization and silencing of identities. You are silencing my identity. You are taking away my voice. You are telling me as a queer student I do not belong in your college or your curriculum..."
On May 29, over 50 members and supporters of the UCSD Lumumba-Zapata Coalition marched to the chancellor's complex to confront chancellor Marye Anne Fox about the watered down Dimensions of Culture (DOC) curriculum and the firing of two teaching assistants for the course because of their political views and criticisms of the curriculum.
The chancellor, associate vice-chancellor Mark Appelbaum and vice-chancellor Joseph Watson emerged from their normally quiet sanctum to the chant of the energized protesters: "Keep DOC Real!"
Speakers at the rally confronted chancellor Fox with the negative response the students have received from adminstrators, the injustice and assault on academic freedom of the firing of Benjamin Balthaser and Scott Boehm as TAs in the DOC program, and the hypocrisy of the chancellor in trumpeting her commitment to diversity while failing to protect the DOC curriculum.
The chancellor and her associates responded by blaming the union representing the TAs and appealing to procedures and university rules. The actual response came ten days later in the form of a proposed rule change to ban meetings with ten or more people on university grounds without a permit, a rule that would have prevented students from confronting the chancellor. This is how chancellor Fox reacts when students of color have the audacity to tell her what is on their minds.
Video of the Confrontation | Partial Transcript of the Confrontation | Rule Change | Teach-In | Background | Lumumba-Zapata Coalition Demands
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Continue the Pressure on the Immigration Bill
AJLPP-USA,
As we vehemently oppose the US Border Protection and immigration Reform Bill that will turn 12 million immigrants into a permanent underclass of “guest workers” and scrap the family reunification laws the Coalition In Defense of immigrant Rights (CDIR) and the Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) take a stand to fight the anti-immigrant backlash that came with the debates on the U.S. Congress on the so called’ immigration reforms”
Meanwhile, immigrant scapegoating and anti immigrant tirades at the CNN with Lou Dobbs leading the charge and other media outlets went on a crescendo as the debates went on in the US Congress.
As the U.S Congress debates, the fascist right wing groups have succeeded in forming 250 anti-immigrant racist groups of which 150 are armed and are considered threats against the minority groups. One particular group that has been active lately is the Minutemen led by Ted Hayes in California.
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La muerte en Tejas: el caso de Kenneth Foster
Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Bajo una ley orweliana, Kenneth Foster (Haramia) tiene fecha de ejecución aunque todos los oficiales reconocen que él nunca mató a nadie.
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SD Artist Cultivates Spiritual, Sexual Garden
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,
San Diego artist François Michel Beausoleil is noteworthy for the rich colors and backgrounds of his paintings and their wide variety of subject matter, from poerful male nudes to peaceful contemplations of the spiritual world. A French Canadian from Montreal, Beausoleil considers himself multicultural and regards his theme as the common nature of humanity. He's currently at work on a series of paintings called "My Spiritual Garden" which he hopes to exhibit as a group; the paintings consist of various individuals posed in the Buddhist meditation pose inside the lotus flower.
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Spartacist League Says Don't Run Minutemen Of
The Internationalist,
Accompanying state repression against immigrants in post-9/11 America, racist vigilantes have escalated violent anti-immigrant attacks. The most prominent of these sinister groups is the so-called Minuteman Project which has staged armed "border patrols" hunting "illegal aliens" along the Mexican border. We have warned: "The Minutemen are shot through with fascist outfits.... These are not just racist bigots: they are armed and dangerous." Last October Minuteman founder Gilchrist fled the stage when student protesters unfurled a banner defending immigrant rights. Now the Spartacist League says students should not "disrupt" or shut down Minuteman events on campus. The SL pretends these racist vigilantes are not fascist, only "fascistic," and denies that they advocate or carry out deadly violence against the oppressed. The SL's whitewash of the racist vigilantes is a repudiation of Trotskyism and its own past actions, and an act of sabotage of the struggle to defend immigrants against government and vigilante terror. The Internationalist Group calls for organized immigrant/worker defense to sweep away these deadly immigrant hunters.
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Mumia Abu-Jamal: Los jueces en la mira
kalo,
Después de la audiencia del 17 de mayo en Filadelfia los jueces tardarán en ordenar un nuevo juicio, la ejecución o cadena perpetua para Mumia Abu-Jamal. El periodista recibe apoyo internacional y mensajes de otros presos políticos, incluso Leonard Peltier.
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Police Brutality in Oak Park
geri,
Yesterday, May 17, 2007, at 4:00pm, at the corner of Laurel St. and Balsa, in San Diego, a community member was maced, pepper sprayed, kicked, and arrested without reason. Four officers used unnecessary force in fear of an imaginary weapon. What was the reason for the arrest and the unnecessary force?
The police said, after the community member had been placed in the back of the police vehicle, after calling the entire family out to see this incident, including a 16 year old boy and a 11 year old girl, they thought he was going to reach for a weapon in his pocket. The four officers included 3 men: J.C. Hunter, D. West, and Andrew Tafoya, and one woman officer: T. Clendenen. After the community member was already on the ground and hands in cuffs, officer J.C. Hunter continued his authoritative force by kicking his stomach and pepper spraying his eyes. All actions were unnecessary, but if the officers were in fear of an imaginary weapon, once the community member was in cuffs on the ground with three officers holding him down, what was the reason for officer J.C. Hunter kicking and pepper spraying him?
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The Virginia Tech Massacre
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,
An editorial commentary on the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech University, reprinted from the May 2007 issue of Zenger's Newsmagazine.
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Anti-Circumcision "Intactivists" vs. OB-GYN's
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,
Anti-circumcision activists, or "intactivists" as they call themselves, are organizing a vigil during the upcoming convention of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) all day May 7, 8 and 9. "Intactivist" Pat Brown is giving a presentation on the issue to H.E.A.L. [Health, Education, AIDS Liaison]-San Diego Tuesday, May 1 at the War Memorial Building, 3325 Zoo Drive in Balboa Park. According to "intactivists," routine male circumcision is just as bad as female genital mutilation; not only does it interfere with sexual pleasure but, contrary to popular belief, it not only doesn't help prevent AIDS but might actually make AIDS more likely.
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On Imus Racist and Sexist Remarks
AJLPP-USA,
The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP) and the Coalition in Defense of Immigrant Rights (CDIR) stands against systemic racism and sexism in all its forms.
The racist and sexist remark by disc jockey Imus about the Rutgers women’s basketball team was not only racist in form. Like the tip of spear, in essence,this racist and sexist slur, was a blatant attack against people of color and immigrants.
Not only does it foster stereotypes against women andpeople of color and all minorities but it serves alsoto trivialize an insult and make it “acceptable”common language even for the people concerned and the groups it is attacking.
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Mumia's Oral Arguments set for May 17
Hans Bennett,
On May 17, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the case of internationally renowned black death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. The court will consider four different issues that it has already certified for appeal. It will then decide to either grant a new trial, affirm the life sentence, or re-instate the death sentence.
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UCSD Open Studios
general giggles,
The Graduate Visual Arts Department at the University of California – San Diego invites the Southern California art community to view the work of its current MFA students at Open Studios on April 6, 2-8 p.m. Political handshakes, post-human dolls, Mexican moustaches, false promises, Old-Time
radio shows, military recruitment tools, epic octopi, drone machines, fishing boats and Chris Farley are among the explorations of these graduate students.
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African reparations tribunal launches pledge
Uhuru African Liberation Solidarity Campaign,
African Liberation Solidarity Campaign launches pledge drive to support the International Tribunal on Reparations for Afrikan People, taking place in Berlin, Germany this June.
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Locals Visit Cucapá Community
sdimc volunteer,
Since approximately 9000 years ago the Cucapá have lived in the land adjacent to the Rio Colorado, dedicated fundamentally to fishing. Eighteen years ago the Mexican federal government began passing laws that made it nearly impossible for the indigenous Cucapá to live in these lands. The rivers near the Cucapá are drying out because of the dams that have been built on the US side of the Colorado River. Therefore, the current fishing grounds have become a last resort for their survival. In addition, in these waters, fishing of any type of marine species has been prohibited. With the implementation of this decree, the life of the Cucapá has been gravely affected; putting at risk the existence of the Cucapá as indigenous people in Baja California.*
*previously posted for full press release CLICK HERE
a san diego indymedia volunteer got an opportunity to interview Fernanda Rios (collective zapatista, california coalition against poverty) and Andrea Donez (collective zapatista) who have contributed time to organize support for the Cucapá camp and who recently traveled to the Cucapá community
Q: How did you hear about the Cucapá situation?
F.R.: Sup came to the border and told us we should be supporting the indigenous communities nearby.
A.D.: After the commission visited the Cucapá, Delegate Zero said, “We have decided to send an urgent message to the Mexicans and Chicanos north of the Rio Grande to come here in order to maximize the number of people here, create a safe space, and protect the Cucapá and Kiliwa community during the fishing season.”
Cucapá Benefit Show Sat March 31 7PM A+E/North Park | Donations for Cucapá Camp - Dropoff at Chican@ Perk | Cucapá Camp Video
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9/11 FIREFIGHTERS CONDEMN GHOULIANI
Islamic Community Net,
9/11 FIREFIGHTERS CONDEMN GHOULIANI
Islamic Community Net
Tue Mar 13, 2007
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamiccommunitynet/message/11963
Assalamu aleikum.
In addition to the crimes of Ghouliani listed by 9/11 firefighters below, Ghouliani is best remembered by Muslims for his racial scapegoating and as the defender of the 1999 police martyrdom of Amadou Diallo on his doorstep in a hail of 41 bullets.
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Firefighters Union Letter On Rudy Giuliani
IAFF
Fire Fighting News
March 8, 2007
http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?articleID=27125
On March 14, 2007, the IAFF will host the first bi-partisan Presidential Forum of the 2008 election cycle. No other union and very few organizations has the credibility and respect to attract top-tier candidates from both political parties. The lineup of speakers who have agreed to participate in our Forum is truly a testament to our great union and the reputation we have built as a powerful political force and a coveted endorsement.
John Edwards, John McCain, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Duncan Hunter and seven other candidates will make their case before the 1,000 delegates who will be attending the Forum and to our entire membership via same-day broadcast on our web site.
Early on, the IAFF made a decision to invite all serious candidates from both political parties — except one: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
We made this decision after considerable soul-searching and close consultation with our two New York City affiliates, the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854, as well as our former Local 94 President and current IAFF 1st District Vice President covering New York.
The IAFF recognizes that Mayor Giuliani generally enjoys a favorable reputation as a result of his actions immediately after the tragedy of 9/11. As such, we want our affiliates and every one of our members to clearly understand the reason and rationale behind this very serious and sober decision.
Many people consider Rudy Giuliani "America's Mayor," and many of our members who don't yet know the real story, may also have a positive view of him. This letter is intended to make all of our members aware of the egregious acts Mayor Giuliani committed against our members, our fallen on 9/11, and our New York City union officers following that horrific day.
Rest assured, our exclusion of Mayor Giuliani is not about any particular contractual or policy issue or disagreement, nor is it based on his unfriendly relationship with our New York City affiliates prior to 9/11 — which we will document and explain in additional correspondence later on during the campaign. In fact, we invited several candidates with whom we have had substantial disagreement on policy issues because we feel very strongly that our members have the right to hear from all candidates, not just those who tow the IAFF line.
Regrettably, the situation with former Mayor Giuliani is very different. His actions post 9/11 rise to such an offensive and personal attack on our brother and sisterhood — and directly on our union — that the IAFF does not feel Rudy Giuliani deserves an audience of IAFF leaders and members at our own Presidential Forum.
The disrespect that he exhibited to our 343 fallen FDNY brothers, their families and our New York City IAFF leadership in the wake of that tragic day has not been forgiven or forgotten.
In November 2001, our members were continuing the painful, but necessary, task of searching Ground Zero for the remains of our fallen brothers and the thousands of innocent citizens that were killed, because precious few of those who died in the terrorist attacks had been recovered at that point.
Prior to November 2001, 101 bodies or remains of fire fighters had been recovered. And those on the horrible pile at Ground Zero believed they had just found a spot in the rubble where they would find countless more that could be given proper burial.
Nevertheless, Giuliani, with the full support of his Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, decided on November 2, 2001, to sharply reduce the number of those who could search for remains at any one time. There had been as many as 300 fire fighters at a time involved in search and recovery, but Giuliani cut that number to no more than 25 who could be there at once.
In conjunction with the cut in fire fighters allowed to search, Giuliani also made a conscious decision to institute a "scoop-and-dump" operation to expedite the clean-up of Ground Zero in lieu of the more time-consuming, but respectful, process of removing debris piece by piece in hope of uncovering more remains.
Mayor Giuliani's actions meant that fire fighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills Landfill.
Our Local presidents at the time attempted to meet with the Mayor to stop this despicable treatment of those who perished, but he refused to even see them face-to-face.
The scoop-and-dump continued. And when hundreds of family members of the fallen joined with our affiliate leadership and members to protest Giuliani's decision, he ordered senior officers of the New York Police Department to arrest 15 of our FDNY brothers, including a number of local elected IAFF leaders.
Giuliani modified his policy after the protest because public opinion was so strongly with our members. Ultimately, he was forced to put the fire fighters back on the pile. Our protests were later proven justified as more bodies were ultimately recovered and those families given a chance for some closure and a decent burial.
Giuliani argued that the change was for our own safety, but his argument was empty and without substance. Fire fighters had been on that pile since minutes after the twin towers fell — why all of a sudden, after nearly two months working on the pile, was Giuliani concerned about fire fighter safety?
In our view, he wasn't really concerned. The fact is that the Mayor's switch to a scoop-and-dump coincided with the final removal of tens of millions of dollars of gold, silver and other assets of the Bank of Nova Scotia that were buried beneath what was once the towers. Once the money was out, Giuliani sided with the developers that opposed a lengthy recovery effort, and ordered the scoop-and-dump operation so they could proceed with redevelopment.
In the first few days immediately after the disaster, Giuliani had said he was committed to the recovery of those lost "right down to the last brick." We believed him at the time. But, what he proved with his actions is that he really meant the "last gold brick."
Giuliani crucified fire fighters after our protest and publicly stated that our members were essentially acting like babies, that they didn't have the market cornered on grief. His insensitive statements demonstrated his inability to grasp what members of the FDNY were experiencing.
What Giuliani showed is a disgraceful lack of respect for the fallen and those brothers still searching for them. He exposed our members and leaders to arrest. He valued the money and gold and wanted the site cleared before he left office at the end of 2001 more than he valued the lives and memories of those lost.
Our members deserved the ri |
