If you have not yet seen "The end of the world as we know it", you are in for a video adventure. You won’t want to miss the chance for a look behind the boxes with the Stim.
When: Tuesday, Dec 2nd 2008, 6pm
Where: 310 Arnett Blvd. (Arnett Branch of the Rochester Public Library)
Free admission, donations accepted, refreshments provided
More info:submedia.tv
Sponsored by Rochester Indymedia

Frank Lopez the mastermind, writer and editor of this "better than vegan chocolate" and "awesome is an understatement" video montage production is on a limited tour in the US. He will show highlights of his program and talk about his new collaborative documentary, "Ground Noise and Static," a video report from both the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
"Submedia tackles a range of subjects from environmentalists being attacked by paid counter protesters in British Columbia, to the torching of some "McMansoions" near Seattle, to issues of media activists signing big book contracts. The Stimulator looks at the world with a sharp tongue and sharper perspective."

Within the first 100 days of Obama's presidency, U.S. troops will still be fighting in Iraq, with an additional 65,000 American military personnel to go into Afghanistan, according to the incoming administration's transitional website.

The "Obama-Biden Plan" foreign policy outline on their website also states that troops will be gradually removed from Iraq by one to two brigades a month through 2010. The President-elect's webpage gives no specified starting date for troop withdrawal from Iraq, but says the U.S. military, "…will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda …and protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel."

The Obama-Biden Plan also calls for U.S. and other NATO forces to increase military resources towards fighting GWOT (the "Global War On Terror").

With the 6th anniversary of the continuing war only three and a half months from now, there is some information available on how local, state, and national groups intend to respond on March 19th to the incoming administration's continued focus on middle-eastern domination and worldwide militarism.

More than 12,000 people gathered at Ft. Benning, GA to demand the closure the of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas.

Several Rochesterians were among the thousands who protested the taxpayer funded US Army school that trains Latin American soldiers in combat techniques and psychological warfare.

Since 1946, more than 60,000 graduates have been trained to protect the interests of multinational corporations using manuals that advocate extortion, blackmail, torture, and the targeting of civilian populations. SOA grads are responsible for murders, rapes, disappearances, and massacres that have affected hundreds of thousands of people throughout Latin America.

photos: 1 | 2 | 3

video: War on democracy - School of Americas

Additional Information: School of the Americas Watch | Textbook Repression: US Training Manuals Declassified | Critique of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

Poverty seems to have been swept under the rug during the '08 election. While the crisis that is befalling the middle class is urgent, so too is the plight of the poor. With our economy in such dire straights the ranks of the poor will only swell. It behooves us to take a look at poverty here at home.

While many people look upon our fair city and see the glittering new buildings and the prosperity of one segment of our population, the inner city residential neighborhoods go unseen. Neighborhoods on the North East and North West portion of the city are in ruins. Abandoned houses are everywhere and all the problems that they draw are making many neighborhoods dangerous and nearly unlivable.

Rochester, NY, the “Flower City,” has the 10th highest poverty rate in the nation with nearly 30% of the population living below the poverty line. In the US 1 out of 8 people are living in poverty, in NY state the numbers are 1 out of 7, and in the City of Rochester it is a dismal 1 out of 4. In a city that brags of being so modern and prosperous this is a shame.

Additional Information: Foodlink Hunger Study | Poverty and Violence: Assault on Human Rights – Workshop/Conference Friday 10/17 | Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign | Social Welfare Action Alliance

Approximately 30 people, around noon, converged near the Liberty Pole in Downtown Rochester on November 20th to commemorate the 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The vigil was not the only event scheduled for the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley hosted an evening of spoken word poetry and artwork from local transgendered individuals. Anya Turnquist, one of the organizers for the vigil, has also organized a panel and discussion around the building of a transgender movement as well as preventative strategies to transphobic violence. The panel and discussion will take place at Equal = Grounds (750 South Ave.) coffee shop at 3pm on Saturday, November 22nd.

photos: 1 | 2 | 3
Related: Victims of Transphobic Violence Remembered