On a bitter cold Tuesday evening here in St. Louis, 150-200 people marched and rallied outside a speaking engagement for former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The event was funded by Washington University (specifically the College Republicans, part of the school's tuition-financed Student Union), which paid Gonzales $30,000 for the occasion. This payment came amidst protest from both students and law school faculty.

Kevin Johnson was convicted for 1st degree murder recently and has recieved the death sentence for the shooting of a Kirkwood cop. The following report, reprinted from the current Confluence (online: stlconfluence.org or pick up hard copy at locations around St. Louis) gives another view of this story.

End human rights abuse in Latin America! Don't let your tax dollars fund corruption and torture training.

The SOA is a military training ground in Fort Benning, Georgia that teaches how to conduct torture, assassination, and other violent actions. The academy has been open for more than 60 years, and each year the cry to close the SOA gets louder. Learn about this human rights atrocity and how to stop it. This is a podcast of an event sponsored by The St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America(IFCLA), recorded on November 9, 2007 at Mokabee's coffee house. The keynote speaker is Tina Busch-Nema who was imprisoned for two months after being arrested in an act of civil disobedience at the annual protest outside Fort Benning. Marilyn Lorenz of the IFCLA also speaks, and a staged reading, "I Will Never Be Silenced, Testimonies of hope from Colombian Women," is performed. Live music from John McClellan & Atlas Dropped The Ball.

From ZMag: An interview with Zaki Baruti

Zaki Baruti interviewed by
Don Fitz

October 25, 2007

The contemptuous demotion of a fire chief ignited unified opposition in St. Louis' Black community. Previously fragmented groups have pulled together whether their focus has been on police violence, employment opportunities, school closings, eminent domain or childhood lead poisoning.

Hundreds of black and dozens of white St. Louisans gathered on the steps of City hall on Sunday October 21 to show their support for former Fire Chief Sherman George and begin steps to recall the mayor responsible for demoting him - Francis Slay. Zaki Baruti is a veteran organizer against police violence. He was one of the rally's organizers.

Update: Rally 11/18 for Racial & Social Justice

Recording of an Ethical Food Panel presented by Washington University in St. Louis Students for Fair Trade and Amnesty International. Learn about how the food you eat affects the wider world around you! Representatives from Kaldi's coffee, the Kallari fair trade chocolate association in Ecuador, Bon Appetit(Washington University's dining services provider) speak about making a difference by buying local and/or fair trade food. A recurring theme is how the care taken in growing food affects the quality.