Indymedia Global Network

HELLO FROM DETROIT!
Here's a short video clip from the closing ceremony at the Allied Media Conference (http://alliedmedia.org) featuring Worcester's Toxic Soil Busters and others from the Eco-Justice Track:

VegWorcester Puts on First Annual VegFest. Free Food, Free Music, and Free Education!

[Full article]

Rally to Protest Administration’s Failure to Act

Thursday, April 1st at 12:00 pm, students and faculty will leave class and rally on the campus green at 950 Main St. Worcester, MA to demonstrate that the administration's inaction regarding the immoral treatment of Clark University's food service workers by Sodexo is unacceptable. The rally will include speeches from students and workers as well as a performance by the band Harry and the Potters.

[Full article]

Troupe Associate Director Replies: “Nothing” Was There in 1948

by BDS Activists, Boston, MA

Contact: bdsbostonma@gmail.com

Worcester, MA, February 20, 2010 – The Israel Ballet’s recent performance of Don Quixote was protested by a coalition of activists who sought to highlight the troupe’s role in the Israeli government’s attempt to whitewash its record of war crimes, violations of international law, and other atrocities through promotion of its country’s artistic and cultural workers.

Approximately 34 students, workers, activists, and people of faith gathered in front of the Hanover Theatre, holding signs ranging from the playful to the direct. Representatives from the Worcester area Catholic Workers displayed an image of Don Quixote with the slogan, “Dream A Possible Dream" beside a banner that read: "End the Occupation. Live in Peace." Students from Clark University asked “Where Are the Arabs in Your Arabesques?” And Boston area activists held a banner proclaiming “Tutus Can’t Cover Israel’s War Crimes.”

Photo 1: http://bit.ly/99jf87
Photo 2: http://bit.ly/ce7UZI

Other demonstrators posed as ushers, distributing alternative programs to those attending the ballet. Appearing on the outside to be a regular performance program, inside it detailed the Israel Ballet’s role as an “Ambassador of Apartheid,” explaining how arts and culture are used by the Israeli government to promote a friendlier image of the country so as to distract from its ongoing system of apartheid, colonial occupation, and violations of human rights and international law. Activists succeeded in handing out all 200 programs they brought with them.

Video (youtube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCEGLnXmzMY
Video (vimeo): http://vimeo.com/9629470

At the conclusion of the 1-hour action, Israel Ballet Associate Director Dan Rudolf came out to address the protesters. Rudolph insisted that anyone who claimed the Ballet received money from the Israeli government was a liar, despite the fact that Ha’aretz has reported it receives over $1 million from Tel Aviv annually (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/815228.html). In response to questions from demonstrators asking “What happened in 1948?” Rudolf replied, “You know what was in Israel before 1948? Nothing. Nothing was.” When protesters cited Israeli historians Ilan Pappe’s and Benny Morris’s documentation of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced, exiled, and killed in 1948 and the destruction of 500 Palestinian villages, Rudolf stated, “That belongs to the tale of 1001 Arabian Nights, to the tale of Ali Baba.”

The Massachusetts activists were pleased to be part of a larger, multi-city campaign that refuses to let the Israel Ballet “tiptoe around apartheid,” a campaign that is part of the larger movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel (see http://adalahny.org/ for more information). Only two days prior, activists in Burlington, VT succeeded in disrupting the Israel Ballet’s actual performance with a banner: http://vimeo.com/9594080

The BDS movement is an international response to the call from Palestinian society to boycott, divest from, and sanction the Israeli government until it ends its occupation and dismantles the wall, recognizes the equal rights of Palestinian citizens, and respects the right of return of Palestinian refugees. To learn more about the call for BDS, and to read about other organizations engaged in BDS work who also support the protest of the Israel Ballet, see:
http://www.bdsmovement.net/ - site of the global BDS movement; you can read the call for BDS here
http://www.pacbi.org/ - site of the Palestinian campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/ - site of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Photo 3: http://bit.ly/bzoo4M

link to report online:
http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/209992/index.php
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/02/21/18638347.php

Rolling up our sleeves, Diving back in!

Please join the Save Our Poolz coalition

at the Ship Room in the Hotel Vernon in Kelley Square

5pm until 9pm

as we re-energize, come together as a community

and reflect on why we keep fighting for pools and our neighborhoods, families, and youth,

on what we've won, and the new leaders we've seen rise up,

and on where we're going: creating participatory democracy and a strong, organized inner city!

There'll be some great, diverse entertainment of several genres, including, at this time:

Serge Castillo and Forgotten Dreams
Nat Needle and Cha-Cha Connor
AcapElote-Veda

more to come!

And, there will be food.

Show up! Support your Pools, Neighborhoods, and Community Organizations!

This event is all ages. Under 21 need to stay in the Ship Room, and there is no alcohol in the Ship. 21+ can drink at the bar.

Worcester Peace Works has since its founding in 2001 sought healing for 9-11, sponsored dialog between Jewish and Muslim communities; fought racism, anti-Semitism, and oppression against immigrants; opposedthe Iraq and Afghanistan Wars; In November 2009 we rallied against the Afghanistan War escalation and in December we vigiled against the hate crimes in Worcester. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. we not only talk the talk; we walk the walk. Racism, gender discrimination, and economic oppression in all of their forms should be opposed. Unjust wars should be be opposed. Worcester should be a welcoming place.

Worcester Peaceworks
Eighth Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

January 16, 2010, Saturday, 1:30 PM
Green Roster Coffee House, 6 Institute Rd., Worcester

Keynote Speaker:
William Green, Civil Rights Attorney and Activist
Music:
Political songsters Professor Looie and Fast Eddie,
singing "Hurricane" and "Dreams"

http://www.myspace.com/professorlouienyc

Peace Prize: Stone Soup
Pot Luck Dinner
Free and open to the public

If you believe in the following statement, join us Friday, Dec 11 from 1-2 for another opportunity to sign Clark and Worcester's own National Registry for Conscientious Objection.

[Full article]

If you believe in the following statement, join us Friday, Dec 11 from 1-2 for another opportunity to sign Clark and Worcester's own National Registry for Conscientious Objection.

I Hereby Affirm That: Because of my deeply held beliefs about peace, justice and non-violence, I am opposed to the use of violence to settle disputes. Furthermore, I wish to make public my decision not to participate in any group, organization or agency of government that would require from me acts of violence against a fellow human being.
I sign The Registry for Conscientious Objection to have my position on peace, justice and non-violence duly recorded as a way of life that I embrace and am totally committed to.
For those of you that were not able to make the Oct 30th event, this is
another opportunity to sign the registry, or just learn more about it. We
are not having a formal event or discussion.

It only takes a few minutes to sign the Registry but it is best to have
everyone get there at the same time so we can all support each other.

Tell everyone you think may be interested in signing or learning more
about living a life devoted to nonviolence.

Meet in Jonas Clark near the Peace Studies Department, seminar room 201.

Questions? Need more info, Just send me an e-mail.
Check out the Facebook event, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=213457406680&index=1

Worcester will be hosting two Transgender Day of Remembrance (TransDOR) events this month.

Both will fall on Friday, November 20th, 2009.

There will be a non-denominational memorial service held at All Saints Church, 10 Irving Street, at 6:30PM. (Parking lot is off Pleasant Street.) The memorial service will feature guest speaker Raven Kaldera.

There will also be a reception and open mic hosted by the Transcending Boundaries Conference. The reception will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 35 Major Taylor Boulevard from 8-11pm.

Please contact Jesse at jpack25@yahoo.com for more information.

A $10 million lawsuit has been filed by Worcester attorneys Robert Scott, Esq. and Héctor E. Piñeiro, Esq. on behalf of a “John Doe” Worcester resident, charging civil rights violations by the Worcester Police Department and others. The lawsuit, originally filed on July 17th, 2009 and amended on Oct 20th, 2009 returns us to the Summer of 2006 when the Worcester Police Department’s decision to bring the Fox TV Show “Cops” to Worcester led to a major community outcry and the eventual dis-invitation of the Cops TV film crew.

The lawsuit presents the following summary, “This is an action for money damages and other relief arising from the unjustified warrantless invasion of plaintiff’s home on the night of July 19, 2006, by officers of the Worcester Police Department and cameramen of the television show "Cops," during which the officers awakened the plaintiff & menaced him with guns as he lay naked and uncovered on his bed, and the cameramen trained bright lights and video cameras on the scene”.

Community activists originally brought this incident and allegations forward to City Manager O’Brien and Chief Gemme for review, but the community’s concerns were ignored. At that time the plaintiff was attempting to retrieve the video tape, but was stymied by the police cover-up.

[Full article]