LA IMC

ALEX SÁNCHEZ DENIED BAIL!

Anna — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

6/30/09 According to Tom Hayden, who had been in the courtroom during the hearing, it was as if the judge and the prosecutor were fallowing a script that they were not willing to veer from. However, everyone present agreed that all the evidence presented was very flimsy, and that if this is all the prosecution can come up with, it’s unlikely that their case will hold water in the end

Décimo día del ayuno de Judith / Day 10 of Judith's hunger strike

Rockero — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

She has been camping out in front of the office of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Other members of the Danza have been on rolling strike in support of their matriarch. At sundown each day, a ceremony is held. Today Judith says she feels good, and is strong. Ella empezó su ayuno cuando los maestros dejaron el suyo. Se está alojando en una tienda de campamento delante de la oficina del distrito escolar de Los Ángeles. Otros miembros de la danza están participando en la huelga también, pero en turnos. A la hora del puesto del sol, los danzantes hacen su ceremonia. Hoy día dice Judith que se siente bien y que tiene fuerzas.

Demonstration at the Honduran consulate/Manifestación en el consulado hondureño

Rockero — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Monday, June 29, 2009 LOS ANGELES--Small groups of demonstrators gathered at the Honduran consulate on Wilshire Avenue to express their displeasure with the coup d'état against the democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya. Lunes, el 29 de junio, 2009 LOS ÁNGELES--Pequeños grupos de manifestantes llegaron al consulado hondureño en la Avenida Wilshire para denunciar el golpe de estado contra el presidente Manuel Zelaya, quien fue elegido a través de un proceso democrático.

CONDEMNATION OF HONDURAS COUP BY PEACE AND FREEDOM PARTY CHAIR

Kevin Akin — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

When there is a right-wing coup in Central American, it is inevitable that there are suspicions of U.S. involvement. Despite the pious words of Secretary Clinton and President Obama regretting the coup, it is generally considered significant that they have not yet demanded the immediate return of President Zelaya to power, but have instead spoken of talks involving all sides, including the right-wing military traitors who kidnapped Zelaya and sent him into exile. There is no doubt that some U.S. officials were involved in earlier organizing against the Zelaya government, during the presidency of George Bush. Whether that continued under Barack Obama is an open question. Democratic Party administrations have certainly been involved in plotting right-wing coups in past years, for the benefit of business interests and the detriment of local working people. The coup came on the day which was supposed to see voting in "straw polls" on future political developments in Honduras. The military, rightist party leaders, and the reactionary hold-over Supreme Court, all acting on behalf of the big ranchers, the industrialists, and foreign businesses, were desperate to prevent the free expression of the will of the Honduran people. Even grossly biased U.S. media reports admit that Zelaya has the support of the poor - and the poor are at least 3/4 of the population of Honduras. But in the eyes of the wealthy, they do not count at all. The Peace and Freedom Party strongly condemns the coup against President Zelaya. We urge the government of the United States to make immediate public statements endorsing the return to power of the elected president of Honduras, and we further demand a speedy investigation of the role of agents of the U.S. government and U.S. corporations in planning and promoting the coup. We thank the many progressive governments that now exist in the Americas for their quick expressions of support for the Honduran people and opposition to the coup. And we urge everyone who is able, specifically members and supporters of the Peace and Freedom Party, to participate in the demonstrations and other actions being organized in many cities in opposition to the coup, and in support of Honduran democracy. -Kevin Akin, California State Chair, Peace and Freedom Party, June 29, 2009

Statement from 17 year old arrested and deported on public RTA bus in Rubidoux

debbie — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

I spoke over the phone to Luis this morning in Mexicali. He gives the following testimony that yesterday morning he boarded the bus to go to work, in Rubidoux around 42nd st bus stop when the Border Patrol boarded the bus, closed off the doors so nobody could come in or out, and started asking for ID's. They took him and he thinks 5 other people with them into custody to the border patrol station. The bus drivers were also interviewed this morning in Rubidoux. They say everyone was talking about it at the bus station this morning (drivers). It was the westbound route towards Limonite Ave that was approached by the border patrol They say this is the fist they've ever seen this before in 30 years of driving (one of the two RTA bus drivers says, his name was Albert driving the same route that was "attacked" yesterday morning). The workesr at Jiminez Market (corner of Rubidoux Blvd. and Mission) report seeing border patrol in the parking lot on opposite side of them on rubidoux blvd with 5 or 6 people getting arrested and taken into custody. This seems to conflict with the original amount, so either these were additional people also taken into custody yesterday morning, or something else. I asked Luis if the border patrol had been following him or in contact with him in any way before he boarded the bus--to dispell the belief of bus drivers that they would only have boarded bus like that if they were chasing someone in particular. But Luis says--no, that he was not aware of anything, never had any encounter with immigraiton before nor any previous deportation. He says he was just boarding the bus to go to work when the agents got on board, sealed off the exits, and ultimately took him and others into custody. Luis says his parents live here in California. He was released to a shelter for minors in Mexicali. they were very protective of him when I called this morning. Two different people screened my call before allowing me to speak to him, and then also advised me that nobody is allowed to come pick him up without consent from parents, etc. , which I assured them that was not my intention.

COMMUNITY MEETS TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR ALEX SÁNCHEZ

Juan Carrillo and Oriel Siu — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

The purpose of the community meeting called by Alex's lawyer, his family and the gang intervention organization Homies Unidos, was to show solidarity with Alex Sánchez and focused on raising the bail necessary for Alex’s release. According to Alex’s lawyer, on Monday, Alex will enter his plea of not-guilty to the court. A bail hearing is scheduled for this coming Tuesday at 312 N. Spring Street, 8th Floor, Court D, at 2PM. Organizers are calling for a show of support at the court, beginning at 1PM. At the meeting, Homies Unidos underscored the importance of raising as much bail money as possible for Alex’s release. Anyone interested in helping support this effort please contact Homies Unidos before Tuesday June 30, 2009. Homies Unidos is also calling for letters of support on behalf of Alex. On Wednesday July 1, 2009, www.wearealex.com will begin listing current updates and action items concerning Alex’s case. Homies Unidos, at the end of the meeting, reiterated the importance of assuring a fair trial for Alex. For more information on the court hearing this Tuesday, please contact Mirna at 213.291.5494.

Union Del Barrio In Support of Alex Sanchez & Nativo Lopez

Union Del Barrio - Comité Central — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Through its community projects Unión del Barrio has maintained aproductive working relationship with Alex Sanchez of Homies Unidos. As one of the founders of Homies Unidos, a nonprofit/community based organization, Alex has an extensive history of community involvement,working primarily towards ending the violence among raza youth. As a person who grew up under the same conditions as the young people he works with, and through his excellent communication and organizing skills, he has struggled to direct youth away from violence while encouraging them to maintain their dignity, pride, and culture as raza. It was because of the community work of led by Alex that we invited him to be a speaker at the 2008 Conference on Raza Prisoners and Colonialism, which was organized by the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project (CMPP), a collective of Unión del Barrio. The objective of our invitation was to learn from his experiences and help develop more Mexicano-Salvadoreño unity that is desperately needed to advance our struggle. The morning of June 24, 2009, Alex was arrested by agents of the FBI under a so-called “federal indictment”. His detention was one of several under a government claim that the arrested are members of the gang Mara Salvatrucha. Through these=2 arrests and the subsequent use of the media, the FBI has implicated Alex in conspiracy and of “multiple slayings, extortion, and assaults”. This has been a legal lynching against him, and has taken place without further details or explanation from the state. Nor is this the first time the state has used its law-enforcement agencies to harass, arrest, and attempt to deport Alex. On the other hand there exists an extensive and well-documented history of the FBI, LAPD, and other so-called law enforcement agencies of actively conspiring and participating in slayings, extortion, and assaults. Since it was founded, one of the principle functions of the FBI has been to contain and disrupt independent political struggles. And this history has been especially aggressive when so-called law enforcement is looking to neutralize effective community organizers such as Alex Sanchez. Therefore, Unión del Barrio considers this arrest a political act, and Alex as a political prisoner. Furthermore, state repression has been escalated with the recent arrest and wide media aggression against another high profile Raza community organizer Nativo Lopez, with whom Unión del Barrio members have maintained a working relationship as well. Within the context of these two public detentions there is clear evidence of a broader attack led by federal law enforcement agencies against the organizing capacity of Raza communities throughout Southern California. Pre cisely because of their extensive histories of community struggle, the arrests of Compañeros Alex and Nativo should not be considered as indictments against two individuals (regardless of the charges leveled against them), but must consistently be identified as direct political attacks against political organizers and raza community activism in general. As such, this letter also represents a public statement condemning any such state aggression. All progressive compañeras and compañeros should remain vigilant of further covert and/or overt political attacks against our movement, and immediately denounce these publicly. Community organizations should be prepared to raise the alarm as well. The Comité Central of Unión del Barrio calls on each of its Bases, collectives, and community based supporters to reject these legal lynchings, and actively assist in broader efforts to defend Compañeros Alex and Nativo. Furthermore, Unión del Barrio holds the state responsible for the physical and psychological well being of Alex until he is returned to his community. Unión del Barrio Comité Central, June 27, 2009

Jose Compean to appear in Temecula parade

John — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jose Compean will address the Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly's dinner meeting on July 3. The assembly invited Compean and his family to ride the assembly's parade entry the next day. The man shot, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, was later imprisoned for marijuana smuggling. "We felt (Compean) was unrightly put in prison for doing the right thing," said assembly President Bob Kowell. "They maybe were wrong on an administrative issue ... (but) 11 or 12 years in prison for that is just obscene." The assembly always has an entry in the Fourth of July parade, and Compean was asked to take part because he would be in town for the dinner, Kowell said. Every year Temecula invites groups to take part in the parade, which runs through Old Town. The winner of the Good Neighbor award serves as grand marshal. Herman Parker, the city's community services director, said he didn't object to Compean taking part. The assembly grabbed headlines in March for inviting anti-gay rights activist Scott Lively to speak. Lively wrote a book alleging ties between homosexuals and Nazi Germany leadership.

ICE and Border Patrol raids continue

debbie — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

EPCC letter of Solidarity with Alex Sanchez and Homies Unidos

Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

EPCC NEWS Contact Person: Jerry Esguerra (818) 749-0272 Los Angeles, CA EPCC letter of Solidarity with Alex Sanchez and Homies Unidos Los Angeles- -- The Echo Park Community Coalition expresses its militant indignation upon learning of the arrest of Alex Sanchez, executive director of Homies Unidos in Los Angeles, by the FBI on June 24. The EPCC based in central Los Angeles among the Latino, Filipino and API community, have known and worked with Alex , a longtime fighter for justice in the immigrant community and has worked tirelessly to support the rights of youth in the US and El Salvador for the past nine years. Alex and Homies Unidos, the violence prevention and gang intervention organization he helped found, have been close allies of the EPCC, People’s CORE and Latin American organizations like CISPES in the struggle for justice and against police violence throughout the Americas. Plain Case of harassment We and other allied organizations are concerned that the federal indictment against Alex follows in a long line of false charges against him and appears to be part of a pattern to target him for his work to promote an alternative strategy for combating violence than that of the LAPD which over the years have chosen iron-fist tactics over crime prevention programs. While Alex and Homies Unidos have sought to promote reconciliation within their community. On the other hand, many politicians in Los Angeles have stood by a failed model of combating gang violence with indiscriminate police violence, criminalizing youth and utilizing corrupt institutions to attack suspected gang members and social movement leaders alike. Twisted Priority In the process, they used precious public funds to support the police and channel this resources from education, public needs and support for the needy for the persecution of the immigrants, youth and the community. A proof of twisted priorities. We in the community of color stands by Alex and Homies Unidos in rejecting the changes against him, and we repeat the statement of the Homies Unidos board that “an indictment is an allegation only”. We deplore the bourgeois media that seems intent of vilifying Alex and the work he has done to rescue youth from gang violence, we stand by him and believe that he is innocent of the crimes he is being accused of. In solidarity with the community, The Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) June 26, 2009

BORDER PATROL REAKS HAVOC IN INLAND EMPIRE

debbie — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

rancho cucamonga, rubidoux, and and home gardens

Border Patrol hits day labor corner in Rancho Cucamonga Cae la migra en Rancho Cucamonga

Rockero — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Viernes, el 26 de junio 2009 RANCHO CUCAMONGA--La red de Justicia por los Inmigrantes, atenta a la ola de redadas de la patrulla fronteriza, estuvo presente en la esquina de los jornaleros (Arrow y Grove) en la ciudad de Rancho Cucamonga. Nos mobilizamos para estar presente en caso de cualquier abuso de los derechos de los jornaleros y para documentar cualquier enfrentamiento. Pocos jornaleros se presentaros para trabajar--tal vez sospechaban algo. Cerca de las ocho y media, llegaron dos vehículos tipo SUV que cayeron de repente. Fueron seguidos por un coche que se quedó a una cierta distancia de la esquina. Se bajaron los agentes, uno de los cuales no andaba uniformado, y empezaron a interrogar a los tres compañeros presentes, pidiéndoles sus documentos. A uno que no contestó le registraron los bolsillos, sacando su cartera y ojeando su contenido. Lo arrestaron y lo metieron a la camióneta. Poco después, nos enteramos de que los agentes de la migra se habían ido a buscar a más indocumentados en una calle a una cuadra de la esquina. Varios guatemaltecos los vieron, y echaron a correr a su casa. Los agentes los persiguieron hasta el interior de la casa, y arrestaron a unos seis, o tal vez siete, más, incluyendo a un hombre que estaba dormido al momento de llegar los compañeros y la migra. Friday, June 26, 2009 RANCHO CUCAMONGA--The Inland Empire Justice for Immigrants network, aware of the increased presence of immigration enforcement, was present for a Border Patrol raid on the Rancho Cucamonga day labor corner at Arrow and Grove. We mobilized instantly to be present in case in human rights abuses occurred in order to document them. Most of the normal day laborers were not present, but a few were there. Before 8:30, two SUVs quickly pulled up and parked. One, a tan Chevy Tahoe, was unmarked. Another, a white Tahoe, had government-issued plates. Agents, including one man disguised as an employer, got out and started interrogating the three men who remained, asking them for their documents. One young man refused to answer their questions, so they started rifling through his pockets, ultimately throwing him in the back of the tan SUV and departing. Shortly afterward, we found out that the Border Patrol had turned down a street near the corner to continue their hunt. They approached a group of Guatemalans, some of whom began to ran to their place of residence. The agents pursued them, entering the home. There they arrested six or seven men, including one man who had been asleep when his roommates and the migra entered.

IWW Forum This Sunday!

IWW — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Sunday, June 28 7:30 PM *IWW Forum:Organizing the Unorganized–Lessons of Community Organizing* Come join the Industrial Workers of the World for an Evening of Poetry and Conversation. Poet, playwright and journalist *Fernando Castro* will be sharing his work; along with a panel of labor and community activists who will discuss strategies and experiences for "organizing the unorganized". There will be a screening the Brave New Films short *Stop Starbucks*; and they will be celebrating the life and work of U. Utah Phillips by screening a brief documentary. Admission is Free. Sunday, June 28 7:30 PM Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center 681 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 310.822.3006 The late *U. Utah Phillips* is a nationally known folk artist, singer/story teller, Grammy Award Nominee for his work with Ani Difranco, archivist, historian, activist, philosopher, hobo, tramp, member of the IWW, and just about everything in between. Poet, playwright and journalist *Fernando Castro* was born in Ibagué, Colombia and immigrated with his family to the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights - the heart of NYC's Colombian community. He notes that he "grew up in the bosom of an immigrant working class family that wanted to embrace the American dream and yet was painfully aware of its contradictions." *Hector Herrera *was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico and is labor activist and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has provided voice over narration and has served the community as an interpreter in legal and medical matters. *Arlen Jones *worked on staff as a boycott organizer for UNITEHERE! on hotel campaigns. Currently, he is a volunteer bicycle mechanic and serves as a board member for the Los Angeles Bicycle Kitchen, and a member of the Los Angeles General Membership Branch of the IWW. *Maria Ochoa *of the UCLA Labor Center has taught labor history and is an activist with Pride at Work and other programs that are trying to bridge the gap between the Labor Community and the LGBT Community. *Serouj Aprahamian *has long been involved with the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), a decentralized youth organization which strives to assist the social, cultural, political, and intellectual advancement of the Armenian community. Aprahamian currently serves as the Executive Director of the AYF and the co-editor of the AYF's "Haytoug" magazine.

CISPES letter of solidarity with Alex Sanchez and Homies Unidos

The Committee in Solidarity with the People o — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

CISPES letter of solidarity with Alex Sanchez and Homies Unidos June 25, 2009 It was with sadness and indignation that we learned of the arrest of Alex Sanchez, executive director of Homies Unidos in Los Angeles, by the FBI on June 24. Alex is a longtime fighter for justice in the immigrant community and has worked tirelessly to support the rights of youth in the US and El Salvador. He and Homies Unidos, the violence prevention and gang intervention organization he helped found, have been close allies of CISPES in the struggle for justice and against police violence throughout the Americas. We are concerned that the federal indictment against Alex follows in a long line of false charges against him and appears to be part of a pattern to target him for his work to promote an alternative strategy for combating violence than that of the LAPD and Salvadoran National Civilian Police (PNC), which over the years have chosen iron-fist tactics over crime prevention programs. While Alex and Homies Unidos have sought to promote reconciliation within their community, many politicians in El Salvador and the US have stood by a failed model of combating gang violence with indiscriminate police violence, criminalizing youth and utilizing corrupt institutions like the LAPD and PCN to attack suspected gang members and social movement leaders alike. CISPES stands by Alex and Homies Unidos in rejecting the changes against him, and we repeat the statement of the Homies Unidos board that “an indictment is an allegation only”. Though the media seems intent of vilifying Alex and the work he has done to rescue youth from gang violence, we stand by him and believe that he is innocent of the crimes he is being accused of. In solidarity, The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)

Homies Unidos Statement on Arrest of Executive Director Alex Sanchez

Homies Unidos — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Homies Unidos Board stands united in full support, behind our executive director, Alex Sanchez and his family. For the past 11 years, Alex has been committed to helping bring about change in his community. He is an exemplary leader, respected colleague and dedicated husband and father. Just as we are confident in Alex's innocence, we are confident that Los Angeles and the nation will remember that an indictment is an allegation only. As stated in the FBI press release, "Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court." We have sought another path, a peacemaker's path, through intervention and prevention, and we remain committed to it. We appreciate the tireless work of peacemakers in all these arenas and the danger that sometimes accompanies it. We thank our staff, partners, community allies and generous donors and funders who have supported our work during the past 11 years and encourage you to remember the positive impact that Homies Unidos has had on countless lives and improvements in our communities. In Alex's absence, board and staff will continue to lead these important efforts and we ask for your support during this critical time.

Homies Unidos activist Alex Sanchez arrested

Repost — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

An article appeared in a Los Angeles Times blog:

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-anti-gang25-2009jun25,0,17059.story?track=ntothtml

Some quotes:

An anti-gang activist known nationally in the United States was arrested Wednesday on federal racketeering and conspiracy charges stemming from his alleged involvement in one of the most violent street gangs in the U.S., Scott Glover and Richard Winton report.

Sanchez, 37, was arrested at his home in Bellflower. He broke into tears at a U.S. District Court hearing at which he was read the charges. He is expected to enter a plea next week. The board of directors of Homies Unidos issued a statement Wednesday evening expressing "full support" for Sanchez and saying that its members were "confident in Alex's innocence."

PETA vs. Ringling

df — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

UCSB terminates case against Professor

CDAF — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Date: June 24, 2009 Contact: Daniel Olmos, (818) 468-8894, olmos@umail.ucsb.edu. Yousef Baker, (301) 703-3315, youseft@gmail.com SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Nearly five months after opening an investigation of University of California sociology professor William I. Robinson for alleged faculty misconduct, university officials abruptly announced today that it has dismissed all charges and terminated the case. In fact, an Ad Hoc Committee set up by the Academic Senate to investigate the allegations had already reached the conclusion on May 15 that the charges against Robinson were without merit. The Committee is “unanimous in finding that his sending the email is in accord with the principles of academic freedom, especially when teaching a class whose content is the sociology of globalization,” stated the report. Yet, remarkably, the top-level administration kept these results secret for six more weeks, dragging Robinson deeper into public scrutiny and further tarnishing the university’s own image. It was only on June 24 that executive vice chancellor Gene Lucas informed Robinson, without any explanation for the delay, that he “accepted the findings of the Charges Committee” and terminated the matter. “Why did the administration wait six more weeks before ending this case,” asked Yousef Baker, of the Committee to Defend Academic Freedom. “The professor faced six more weeks of harassment and disruption of his teaching, and research, while the sense of intimidation among faculty and students only deepened. They owe us an explanation.” The case began when he introduced materials criticizing the Israeli invasion of Gaza into a course on global affairs last January. The materials included a photo essay that Robinson forwarded to students from the Internet juxtaposing images of Israeli abuse against Palestinians with Nazi abuses during the holocaust. Two students took offense at the images and withdrew from the course, prompting pro-Israel groups to pressure the university to pursue charges of “anti-Semitism” against Robinson. According to Baker, “university officials might believe this case is closed, but we will pursue the matter until full justice is achieved. Unless those that violated university procedures and effectively politicized this case are held accountable and punished accordingly this episode will have set a precedent for impunity and will leave in place a chilling atmosphere of censorship on campus.” The case against Robinson has attracted broad national and international attention and brought the University of California under increasing condemnation for violation of academic freedom and political retaliation against faculty members who introduce materials critical of Israel. For his part, Robinson stated that he is awaiting “a public apology from the university as a first step in clearing my name after it has smeared my reputation and undermined my professional integrity.” He added, “as my supporters and I have documented from the start, university officials have acted deceitfully and shamelessly. It is now time for amends.” Robinson said that he is in the process of filing a grievance with the Academic Senate for the violation of his rights as a faculty member. The decision to prosecute Robinson generated an angry backlash on campus. In April, students formed a Committee to Defend Academic Freedom (CDAF), and in may more than 100 professors and 20 department head signed a petition demanding that the Senate cease its investigation. The petition charged that “procedural improprieties have already produced a substantive injustice with respect to Professor Robinson.” It called on the Senate to “conduct inquires into the reasons why these mistakes were made” and to “take disciplinary measures against those responsible for them.” On June 8, a Senate meeting took up the petition, approving motions to investigate mismanagement of student complaints and recommended changes in Senate procedures to avoid improprieties in the future. Among those irregularities, according to sociology professor Geoffrey Raymond, the Charges Officer “bypassed relevant options for seeking an informal resolution of the matter before seeking to form an ad hoc committee.” In an April memorandum to the Senate, Raymond wrote, “his [the Charges Officer] departures from steps laid out in the Faculty Code of Conduct effectively prevented the accused from meaningfully participating in the process.” Moreover one member of the Academic Senate Charges Committee, Aaron Ettenburg violated confidentiality by discussing the Robinson case with Rabbi Aruthur Gross-Schaefer the interim director of the Santa Barbara chapter of Hillel, an organization that works with Jewish communities on college campuses. Gross-Schaefer was a vocal public critic of Robinson in the local community and called for the university to punish the professor. In a blatant conflict of interest, Ettenburg did not disclose that from 2006-2008 he served as president of the local congregation Bnai Brith, to which the Anti Defamation League belongs. The Anti Defamation League was the driving force behind a national campaign launched by the Israel lobby to have Robinson prosecuted. According to Baker, anyone who knew of Ettenburg’s conflict of interest and violation of confidentiality and yet said nothing is just as complicit.” Beyond campus, as the case dragged on it generated increasing repudiation from free speech and civil rights organizations. On June 10 the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education (FIRE) sent a letter to UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang saying that the charges against Robinson “make a mockery” of the first amendment and academic freedom, while the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was preparing to release a docket this week calling for the dismissal of the case as baseless. For detailed information about the Robinson case, visit the CDAF Web site at www.sb4af.wordpress.com. For media inquiries, call Olmos at (818) 468-8894 or Baker at (301) 703-3315.

Day 28 of LAUSD Protest:LAUSD Board Votes 5 to 2 for School Cuts - Photo Essay Pt. 2

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Original story Part 1 of Photo Essay http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/228560.php Tuesday saw a flurry of activity at the LAUSD headquarters. The school board voted 5 to 2 to implement severe budget cuts that will send pink slips to 2500 district teachers and thousands of school workers throughout Los Angeles county. The increase in class size and the reduction in individual attention is generally viewed by all parties as a tragedy in an already scholasticly dismal environment, where as many as 50 % of students drop out yearly. AJ Duffy spoke to the board remphasizing the UTLA's position on the 2500 teacher layoffs. Superintendent Ramon Cortinez spoke of his proposal to levy of a parcel tax. This type of tax is being used as a way to re-localize tax revenue for California school districts in the wake of 1978's Proposition 13, whose strictures essentially caused property value taxes to be distributed by the state and thus relieving local districts of any real power of funding discretion. Since Prop 13 was also limited to 1 percent of assed value the amount flowing from property value tax was greatly diminished. Parcel taxes are uniform and not based on property value thus getting around Prop 13. For an explanation of the parcel tax in California .... The Parcel Tax Eric J. Brunner San Diego State University http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/ejbrunner/research/ptax.pdf In the school board vote, Julie Korenstein was one of the two dissenting voices. She stated " The revenue system in the state of California for public education has to be fixed " Outside of the council chambers as Marlene Canter was being feted for her work on the board, a moving protest was being undertaken by members of CADRE who made good use of bright colors and duct tape. For more on this South Central activist organization. http://www.cadre-la.org/ The hunger strike is still being waged by Judith, Yolanda and Milagros of the Cuauhtemoc dance group. For more info on Judith and Yolanda Cuauhtemoc Indymedia article http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/228540.php Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc - National Page dancuauhtemoc@yahoo.com For info on the Original Hunger Strikers Hungry4 Education Website http://www.netvibes.com/lahungry4ed#General UTLA Website http://www.utla.net/ The address of the protest is... LAUSD headquarters 333 South Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles, California 90017 Google Map http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=LAUSD

Day 28 of LAUSD Protest:LAUSD Board Votes 5 to 2 for School Cuts

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tuesday saw a flurry of activity at the LAUSD headquarters. The school board voted 5 to 2 to implement severe budget cuts that will send pink slips to 2500 district teachers and thousands of school workers throughout Los Angeles county. The increase in class size and the reduction in individual attention is generally viewed by all parties as a tragedy in an already scholastic dismal environment where as many as 50 % of students drop out yearly. AJ Duffy spoke to the board remphasizing the UTLA's position on the 2500 teacher layoffs. Superintendent Ramon Cortinez spoke of his proposal to levy of a parcel tax. This type of tax is being used as way to re-localize tax revenue for California school districts in the wake of 1978's Proposition 13, whose strictures essentially caused property value taxes to be distributed by the state and thus relieving local districts of any real power of funding discretion. Since Prop 13 was also limited to 1 percent of assed value the amount flowing from property value tax was greatly diminished. Parcel taxes are uniform and not based on property value thus getting around Prop 13. For an explanation of the parcel tax in California .... The Parcel Tax Eric J. Brunner San Diego State University http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/ejbrunner/research/ptax.pdf In the school board vote, Julie Korenstein was one of the two dissenting voices. She stated " The revenue system in the state of California for public education has to be fixed " Outside of the council chambers as Marlene Canter was being feted for her work on the board, a moving protest was being undertaken by members of CADRE who made good use of bright colors and duct tape. For more on this South Central activist organization. http://www.cadre-la.org/ The hunger strike is still being waged by Judith, Yolanda and Milagros of the Cuauhtemoc dance group. For more info on Judith and Yolanda Cuauhtemoc Indymedia article http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/228540.php Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc - National Page dancuauhtemoc@yahoo.com For info on the Original Hunger Strikers Hungry4 Education Website http://www.netvibes.com/lahungry4ed#General UTLA Website http://www.utla.net/ The address of the protest is... LAUSD headquarters 333 South Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles, California 90017 Google Map http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=LAUSD

SAME Meeting Challenges Queer Establishment, Democratic Party

Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger's Newsmagazine — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

SAME Hosts “Radical” Marriage Equality Meeting June 23 Robin Tyler Challenges the Queer Establishment and Democratic Party by MARK GABRISH CONLAN Copyright © 2009 by Mark Gabrish Conlan for Zenger’s Newsmagazine • All rights reserved PHOTO: Robin Tyler (right) and her wife, Diane Olson “I am to the Gay establishment what the Antichrist is to the Catholic Church,” said Lesbian comedienne, tour promoter and activist Robin Tyler in her keynote speech at the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality’s (SAME) meeting at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center June 23. The meeting was billed as a discussion of how to move forward on the marriage equality issue — but there’d already been a meeting on that topic the day before, sponsored by statewide organizations Equality California and the Courage Campaign as part of a tour across California to get community input on the future of marriage equality and in particular whether to seek a repeal of Proposition 8 in 2010 or 2012. The SAME meeting became a wide-ranging criticism of the role of state organizations in the marriage equality campaign and a call for grass-roots activism by internally democratic, community-led groups that refuse to take orders on strategy or tactics from the large statewide organizations. Tyler, who along with her wife Diane Olson was one of the original plaintiffs in the marriage equality cases that led to the California Supreme Court’s May 2008 ruling upholding the right of same-sex couples to marry — and the successful initiative, Proposition 8, that overturned it six months later — said she’d been trying for months to set up a speech in San Diego “and everyone said they were too busy.” Much of her presentation reviewed the history of the Queer rights movement and the demand for marriage equality in particular. The first same-sex couple to marry legally in the U.S. tied the knot in Minnesota in 1971, she explained; that state’s marriage law had never explicitly defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman and the two men took advantage of that loophole. Three years later, she said, Anthony Sullivan, an Australian living in Arizona, took advantage of a similar legal situation to marry his U.S.-born partner and thereby qualify for legal residency. Tyler gave a long history of the Queer community’s various National Marches on Washington — in 1979, 1987, 1993 and 2000 — as a prologue to explaining why she doesn’t support the call for a march this year and why she would prefer the community wait until 2010. “I called for the first March on Washington,” she said, pointing out that she did so in the late 1970’s while Anita Bryant was on the warpath against Queers and Harvey Milk was virtually unknown outside San Francisco. When she issued her call for a march and set up a committee in Minnesota to plan it, Tyler recalled, “my first call was from Harvey Milk, who said, ‘We don’t need a march. I just got elected.’ I asked him where he’d just got elected and he said, ‘San Francisco.’ When Harvey first started out, he was rather conservative. He really believed in change through the system, and both the Gay establishment and the Democratic Party didn’t want him to run.” After three months of planning, Tyler recalled, “the Minnesota committee collapsed because the women weren’t talking to the men.” But the March got a new lease on life in July, 1978, when Milk changed his mind and endorsed it. Even so, Tyler said, “the people in New York didn’t want to do a March on Washington” — until Milk was killed in November 1978. Eventually the March happened and drew 100,000 people. Tyler worked the stage in 1979 and again in 1987, when she fought the rest of the march organizing committee to allow Cleve Jones, Milk’s former assistant and organizer of the NAMES Project AIDS quilt, to display the quilt as part of the march. In 1993, Tyler had to fight again, this time to include lifting the ban on Queers serving openly in the U.S. military as one of the issue demands of the March. She also said that President Clinton had arranged to speak at the 1993 march, then backed out and sent greetings instead — and Tyler tore up his greetings on stage and said they were from “somebody who shouldn’t matter.” The current march plans began in the fall of 2008, when Tyler called for a march “in 2010 or 2012” — intending that it should be in an election year to put more pressure on President Obama and Congressional Democrats to support Queer issues. “Cleve Jones called me and said, ‘What a stupid idea. It’ll drain resources from California,’” Tyler said. “Now Cleve, David Mixner and Torie Osborn have called for a March in 2009, just 16 weeks from now, because we’re a year away from the mid-term elections.” Tyler accused them of wanting to schedule the March at a time which will be completely safe and won’t hurt the Democrats’ chances in a Presidential or Congressional election — and she said that’s totally the wrong strategy because the Democrats have “screwed” the Queer community again and again. In a rally called to discuss marriage, Tyler called for divorce — the Queer community, she said, needs to break away completely from the Democratic party. “We have no teeth, because we’ve never made the Democratic party pay for what they’ve done,” Tyler said. “I have been a Democrat all my life, and they have screwed us for 30 years. In 1979 the Democratic leadership made a deal with Steve Endean [then executive director of the Human Rights Campaign] and said if we took marriage off the table, they’d pass all our other civil rights legislation. Then, instead of advancing our civil rights in one package, they started to divide the issues — and it is now 2009 and we still do not have one civil right at the federal level. They have screwed us for the past 35 to 40 years, and when you screw someone without permission it’s called rape. All the Democrats have lied to us — including Obama. You cannot say you support us and then file a legal brief comparing us to pedophiles.” Though soft-pedaling her criticism of Equality California — she said that, since their much-criticized management of the No on 8 campaign, they’ve started hiring people of color as organizers, and they have a track record of having steered 50 Queer-friendly bills through the state legislature and into law — Tyler was almost as withering about the Courage Campaign as she was about the Democratic Party. She compared the Courage Campaign’s “public input” meetings to the Church of Scientology: “You sit in a room and tell each other your stories, and then the leadership goes ahead and does what it wants.” She said that the reason she’d been trying unsuccessfully to get an invitation to speak in San Diego for six months was that “the leaders in your community don’t want me here. Nobody wants to hear anything but the party line. Nobody wants a democratic movement. Nobody voted in Fresno [at the much-ballyhooed ‘Middle of the State’ rally May 30] whether we wanted it in 2010 or 2012. Don’t become part of anything that looks progressive, but is run from the top down and there’s no internal democracy.” Local activist Ann Menasche followed Tyler with her own memories of why the campaign to defeat the Briggs Initiative, Proposition 6, in November 1978 succeeded while the No on 8 campaign failed. The Briggs Initiative was an effort to allow California schools to fire teachers who either were Queer themselves or supported Queer rights. The idea behind it, Menasche explained, “was that Gays were sick, and if they could teach our kids they would corrupt them and — horrors! — turn them Gay.” Though Proposition 8 didn’t specifically deal with children or education, Menasche noted, the Yes on 8 campaign effectively exploited similar concerns and ran itself very much the way the Yes on 6 campaign had 30 years earlier, with fear-mongering propaganda about the alleged ill effects of open discussion about sexual orientation in the classroom. But the No on 6 campaign was very different from No on 8, Menasche said. Instead of being run top-down by hired consultants relying on so-called “focus groups,” the Bay Area Campaign Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI) followed a strategy Menasche referred to by the acronym MAP — “Mass, Alliances, Pride.” BACABI “was run democratically by open meetings,” Menasche said. “Instead of focus groups and paid consultants, we relied on the experiences of people on the ground. We had lots of time for local action, and to elect people to a statewide steering committee.” One of their efforts was to mount anti-Briggs contingents in pride parades and give them professionally printed signs. Another, she said, was “mass distributions at shopping centers all over the Bay Area, not just in the ‘Gayborhood.’” Their final action was to organize a public meeting at which they showed a big-screen projection of the televised debate between Harvey Milk and Lesbian activist Sally Gearhart on the anti-Briggs side, and Briggs himself and a sidekick in favor of the initiative. (The event is dramatized in the film Milk but made to look like a one-on-one debate between Milk and Briggs.) Over 10,000 people attended the meeting, Menasche recalled. BACABI also built coalitions with other grass-roots organizations, Menasche said, instead of No on 8’s strategy of reaching out to leaders of other top-down entities and trusting that they could bring their members along. And in contrast to No on 8, where Queer people in general and same-sex couples in particular were deliberately kept out of the limelight because the consultants and their “focus groups” had said that straight supporters would draw more voters than real, live Queers, “Gays and Lesbians were front and center” in the anti-Briggs campaign. “We refused to be apologetic or hide who we are,” Menasche said. “We showed that Gay teachers were good for schools; it was homophobia that was bad.” The June 23 meeting was MC’d by Chuck Stemke and the first speaker was Zakiya Khabir, both members of the International Socialist Organization (ISO). Khabir’s short opening statement was dedicated to establishing that SAME was practicing the same grass-roots, bottom-up, internally democratic governance that Tyler and Menasche later called for in the movement as a whole. “Congratulations,” Khabir said; “by being in this room at this event, you are a member of SAME. We decided early on that every member of the public who comes to a meeting can vote. We are truly of, by and for the people.” She said that SAME’s proudest moment was the sit-in of nearly 80 people at the San Diego County Administrative Center May 27, the day after the California Supreme Court announced its decision upholding Proposition 8 — an event KGTV Channel 10, the San Diego Union-Tribune, Workers’ World and Zenger’s Newsmagazine covered but the Gay & Lesbian Times did not. Rev. Madison Shockley, an African-American United Church of Christ (UCC) minister in Carlsbad, was a last-minute addition to the program and spoke about the difficulty in reaching out to the African-American community on this issue. “In No on 8 we made assumptions about alliances that were incorrect,” he said, “including that Obama’s turnout would help our campaign and that African-Americans would support us. Both were wrong.” Shockley said that the No on 8 campaign could have neutralized Obama’s harm to the campaign by more effectively exploiting his split position on the issue — against same-sex marriage but also officially opposed to Proposition 8 — instead of letting the African-American church and the Yes on 8 campaign enlist Obama on their side with recorded phone calls crudely edited from his speeches to create the impression Obama supported 8. Though he currently ministers to a mostly white congregation, Rev. Shockley said, in the past he’s pastured Black churches and felt nearly 100 percent resistance even within an officially Queer-friendly denomination like UCC. He said the biggest mistake the No on 8 campaign in relation to the African-American community was to describe marriage equality with the words “civil rights.” “In our culture, there are certain phrases that are ethnically owned,” he explained: “’Holocaust,’ ‘internment,’ ‘civil rights.’ We need to find language that will win, and in a political campaign the winning language is in the middle. ‘No on hate, no on 8’ made us feel good, but it made people in the middle who hadn’t made up their minds and had doubts feel like we were calling them haters.” Rev. Shockley also said that a campaign to repeal Proposition 8 would actually be easier to win in one respect; we’d be presenting a positive message rather than a negative one. (Lemon Grove City Councilmember George Gastil, who was at the SAME meeting but didn’t speak, had argued exactly the opposite before the San Diego Democratic Club on May 28, saying there’s a hard core of California voters so disgusted by initiatives in general that they just vote no on everything, and therefore it’s easier to defeat an initiative than to pass one.) “This time it will be a positive campaign,” Rev. Shockley said. “We can say ‘yes’ to equality. We lose the no-man’s-land that people could be against marriage equality but against Proposition 8. Now you’re either for or against it.” “I’ve worked for Equality California three times and quit eight times,” said Fernando Lopez, who actually organized the kind of campaign others in the room were just talking about — reaching out one-on-one to potential voters in communities outside the Queer-friendly zones. After signaling his approval of how things are changing there and in other statewide organizations, Lopez warned his audience of the enormity of the task ahead in either 2010 or 2012. “We have 450,000 votes we need to change by 2010 and 650,000 votes we need to change by 2012,” he said. “That means changing 1,000 people every day and doing 1,000 volunteer shifts. A lot of that will be media and personal conversations, but a lot of that will have to be done door-to-door with clipboards and phones.” Powell D. Gangi, local organizer for the UNITE HERE union, thanked the Queer community for its support of their boycott against Doug Manchester, owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel on the Embarcadero, who has waged a ferocious battle to keep his hotel non-union and also gave $125,000 in seed money to get Proposition 8 on the ballot in the first place. He boasted that the boycott has already cost Manchester’s operation $7 million in business, most of it from organizations who have decided not to hold conventions and national events in a hotel whose owner endorses discrimination. SAME had planned to split the meeting in half — an hour for speeches and an hour for comments from audience members — but the speakers’ portion ran over 20 minutes longer than expected so the audience comments were cut to 40 minutes. One young African-American woman who was there with a female partner said, “We haven’t told people what it’s like to be in our shoes. I waited eight hours to vote [in November 2008] and right behind me was a Black woman in her 60’s, and I realized we didn’t talk to her.” Criticizing Rev. Shockley’s argument that African-Americans feel they own the term “civil rights” and resent any other group describing their struggle with those words, she quoted Martin Luther King’s widow Coretta as saying that “Gays were there for us when thy didn’t have a voice for themselves,” and added, “I hope Equality California tells people why it’s not fair.” Robin Tyler rose to respond, and her comments echoed a lot of the frustration many people had had in the room with the way the No on 8 campaign was run. “Equality California is doing a series of commercials, including one with an African-American family,” she said. “I produced 17 public-service announcements for TV for the No on 8 campaign, including Dolores Huerta [co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers], Hollywood stars, Gay couples and Lesbian couples, and No on 8 wouldn’t use them because the focus groups said, ‘Don’t show Gays and Lesbians.’” She compared that strategy with that used to pass Proposition 2, aimed at curbing the maltreatment of farm animals, whose backers made disturbing footage of chickens in factory farms the centerpiece of their campaign. Tyler also echoed the woman’s criticism of Shockley’s statements that certain terms are “owned” by certain ethnicities — “Holocaust” by the Jews and “civil rights” by African-Americans. “The Holocaust is not just about Jewish people,” she said. “I’m Jewish myself and a child of the Holocaust, but there was a Holocaust in Rwanda too. We are a civil-rights movement. We moved from being a Gay liberation movement, fighting politics from the waist down, to a civil rights movement. We can’t move the hard-core radical Right, but we need to start thinking of ourselves as a civil rights movement and acting as a civil rights movement. Power is never shared; it must be taken.” Another woman — a lifelong Lesbian who introduced herself as older than the 67-year-old Tyler — raised a question most of the people in the room probably hadn’t thought they’d hear at a meeting like this: why should the Queer community be pressing for the word “marriage” in the first place? She said she and her partner had been together for 20 years and took the opportunity to register as state-recognized domestic partners in California, but chose not to get married during the 4 1/2-month “window” between June and November 2008. “I’m not clear why ‘marriage’ is such a big deal in the Gay and Lesbian community,” she said. “I’ve always thought that marriage was for the heterosexual community, and I have a charge around marriage that’s negative.” Tyler asked her whether she’d ever been married to a man — and she said no, she’d been a Lesbian all her adult life, but her partner had been married to a man before she came out “and I’ve adopted her negative view” of marriage. Tyler seized on this woman’s comment as an opportunity to go back to first principles and explain why she thinks marriage is so important a civil right that she and her wife were willing to sue the state for it. “There are a lot of people like you who don’t regard marriage as that important,” Tyler said. “There were a lot of people in 1955 who didn’t think it was such a big deal that Rosa Parks couldn’t sit in the front of the bus.” Tyler said the marriage issue hit home for her personally when she found out that her union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), wasn’t going to extend partner benefits to Olson until she turned 65 and was eligible for Social Security — and being smacked in the face with real-world unequal treatment for being a same-sex couple and therefore ineligible for marriage led her and Olson to file the lawsuit. “Marriage has become the Trojan horse that contains all our other rights,” Tyler said — ironically echoing one of the principal arguments the radical Right uses in favor of Proposition 8 and other similar bans on marriage equality. “It’s the only container that gives us rights. As long as they can just sexualize us, they could deal with that. Marriage humanized us. Twenty-two percent of Gay and Lesbian households raise children, and without marriage we can’t protect our children. In every state where they’ve gone after marriage, they’ve also gone after civil unions and domestic partnerships.” (There was an internal debate within the Yes on 8 campaign before they started gathering signatures — whether to do an initiative that would repeal California’s domestic partnership law as well or whether to focus only on marriage — and they went with the latter only because their polls showed that an attempt to ban both marriage and domestic partnerships would lose.) “If Diane and I travel across the world and say we’re domestic partners, no one knows what that means,” Tyler said. “When we say we’re married, everyone knows what that means. Separate is never equal. Our marriages don’t diminish heterosexual marriage. A 50 percent divorce rate diminishes heterosexual marriage. Eighty percent of men who don’t pay child support diminishes heterosexual marriage. So many children being sexually abused diminishes heterosexual marriage. Marriage humanized us and took us away from being sex objects. It made us human beings. All of a sudden, we’re not talking about sex; we’re talking about love. Marriage has woken up our community and changed us from lambs to lions.”

Pomona Police Vs U.S. Marine Vet 9/11 Truther, Friday 6/26/09 9AM

Martin Hill — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Pomona Police Vs U.S. Marine Vet 9/11 Truther, ... Friday June 26th 2009 9AM

LibertyFight.com

Mohammed Abdullah had a court hearing on 6-12-09 to respond to allegations levied by the Pomona City Attorney in their attempt to file a restraining order on behalf of the Pomona Police dept. The complaint claims that some employees of the Police Dept. and city became afraid of Abdullah, who had been standing outside the department with signs and dvds contending that 9/11 was an "inside job", as well as protesting the rape and tortue of Iraqi Muslims by U.S. soldiers. The city had failed to provide copies of the complaints despite numerous requests, so on 6-12-09 Abdullah had asked for a continuance. During the hearing the judge stated that "there are constitutional issues here", referring to Abdullah's right to free speech, and encouraged the city attorney and Abdullah to come to some sort of compromise.

No agreement has been reached, so Abdullah is fighting these charges as originally planned. The original restraining order demanded that Abdullah surrender any firearms he owns. Abdullah, who works as a security officer, says that relinquishing his right to bear arms as a result of his political activism is not only unfair and completely unjustified, but will impede his ability to work as an armed guard and possibly prevent him from finding employment. He continues to maintain, as he always has, that he never did anything wrong, and that he never "stalked' "followed" or "harassed" anyone. Abdullah says that although his speech and presentation may be passionate and theatrical, it is his God given right to do so, and he considers it his moral obligation to expose the government lies and corruption. He will fight these charges to the end and deserves your support. Court is Friday 6-26-09 at 9AM.

Mohammed Abdullah's Court Date is This Friday June 26th at 9AM.
Pomona Superior Court
400 Civic Center Plaza
Pomona, CA 91766

"Third Floor - Department G (Check the Docket)"
From WACLA.org: 9-11 Truth Activist taken to court. Needs your moral support PART 2!
History:
Public Supports Targeted Veteran Outside Pomona Police Dept
Police File Restraining Order Against U.S. Marine 9/11 Truther
Open Letter To The City Of Pomona From John Shanahan of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

Here is part one of the video outside the Pomona Police Dept. after the 6/12/09 Court hearing.

Part 2: Public Supports 9/11 Truther Outside Police Dept

PREVIOUS VIDEOS:

Judith de las danzas aztecas Cuauhtemoc se puso en huelga de hambre

Rodrigo Argueta — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Creo que no hay mucho que decir para poder ubicar el trabajo de la compa Judith, ha estado en practicamente con todas las organizaciones y grupos aqui en Los Angeles y mas alla, con su grupo de danzantes ha estado al frente o atras o donde se pueda en casi todas las marchas y eventos, cada vez que le hemos pedido apoyo, alli esta, alli esta SIEMPRE!! con los tambores y la danza. ha estado con los Filipinos frente al consulado de ellos innumerables veces, con los del Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional otras tantas, con las marchas realizadas en Maywood, en las marchas de Emiliano Zapata por 15 años en el este de los Angeles, con los nicaraguenses del Frente sandinista de Liberacion Nacional, en incontables veces con la gente de Union del Barrio, jamas ha desairado a los compas Puertorriqueños, con los grupos del movimiento migratorio los de antes y los de hoy, fue la unica danza que acompaño a la coalicion del Sur de California en su marcha reciente, ha danzado en eventos con diferentes expresiones de la Hermandad Mexicana, a estado en casi todos los centros organizativos, con los sindicatos, con las costureras, los empleados despedidos de las fabricas, en todas las marchas y eventos organizados por el Frente Indigena Oaxaqueño Binacional, han dado la cara por los compas de Atenco, Michoacan, Guerrero, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia.. etc.. y han danzado por la Fundacion Niños De Chiapas para recaudar fondos, han participado en cada evento del Frente Unido de los Pueblos Americanos, Son practicamente el ultimo bastion de apoyo politico real del Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional -sin menospreciar a los otros compas y colectivos que tambien estan realizando un trabajo de apoyo para los Zapatistas- , Doña Judith al frente de las danzas nunca jamas se nego, ni se negara a lanzarse a cada batalla que se le presente. Quien puede siquiera sugerir que sus virtudes en la lucha callejera son infinitamente mayores que cualquiera (si los hubiera) de sus errores? Hoy, la compa se ha hechado en los hombros una lucha que deberia estar encabezada por los afectados directamente, la lucha de los maestros y la lucha de evitar recortes a las escuelas y al ciclo de estudios y al presupuesto, etc. su corage la ha empujado ha ponerse en huelga de hambre en las oficinas del distrito escolar. Los maestros que estaban en huelga de hambre ya la levantaron por haber cumplido la fase que se propusieron y ahora ella los releva, con la presencia de alg unos de los maestros y pocas gentes mas, pero solo ella esta en huelga de hambre en este momento. Perdon por citar a los aqui--se citan y hay muchos mas grupos que no se citan por que se llevaria un libro completo el citar a todos los grupos--que hemos sido apoyados por los Danzantes Mexicas, en Santa Ana, Oxnard, Tijuana, Los Angeles, etc etc etc es mas; seria muy dificil hacer el recuento de todas las batallas y marchas y eventos a donde la hemos visto, con ese vigor que solo puede dar la conviccion de que la guerra del pueblo en contra de los opresores es una guerra hasta el final de nuestros dias. Si este correo te llega es porque de alguna forma conoces a los danzantes o a doña Judith quien empezo su huelga de hambre el dia 19 de Junio sin una fecha fija para terminarla, pero aunque sea un dia o una semana, con esa accion nos esta llamando a participar y no podemos dejarla sola pues si no lo hacemos como podriamos verla a los ojos otra vez y pedirle su apoyo cuando lo necesitemos?. AHORA ES EL TIEMPO DE CUMPLIR CON ELLOS ASI COMO ELLOS YA HAN CUMPLIDO DE SOBRA CON NOSOTROS. ELLA ESTA PIDIENDO A LOS COMPAS DEL ARTE QUE LO PINTEN, A LOS MUSICOS QUE LO CANTEN, A LAS ORGANIZACIONES QUE PROPAGANDICEMOS LA LUCHA, A LOS PADRES DE FAMILIA QUE SE CONCIENTICEN Y A LOS MAESTROS Y ESTUDIANTES QUE DIGNIFIQUEN SU PAPEL HISTORICO. Judith de las danzas aztecas Cuauhtemoc se puso en huelga de hambre, ella esta e ntre las calles 3ra y 4ta sobre la Beaudry a un lado del 110 fwy. se necesitan compas cantores que lleguen a trovar a unque sea alguna vez si deseas llegar a tocar al campamento, si quieres apoyar de cualquier otra forma regresa este correo o comunicate al (323) , se necesita agua y tu presencia, Gracias compas VIVA DOñA JUDITH! VIVAN LOS DANZANTES! VIVAN NUESTROS PUEBLOS EN LUCHA! si alguien puede traducir esto pues gracias Judith from Danza Cuauhtémoc is fasting and needs YOUR support Message from Rodrigo Argueta about danzante Judith (translated) Brothers and sisters, our compañera Judith from Danza Azteca Cuauhtémoc has gone on hunger strike. She is on Beaudry between 3rd and 4th streets beside the 110 freeway. There is not much to say to describe the work of comrade Judith--she has been with practically every organization and group here in Los Angeles and beyond. With her group of dancers, she has been at the front or behind or wherever in almost every march and event, each time we have asked for support she's there, she's ALWAYS there! with the drums and the danza. She has been with the Filipinos in front of their consulate an innumerable number of times, with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front many others, at the marches conducted in Maywood, at the marches for Emiliano Zapata for 15 years in East Los Angeles, with the Nicaraguans of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, numerous times with the folks from Unión del Barrio, she has never ignored our Puerto Rican comrades, qith groups from the immigrant rights movements of the past and of today, hers was the only danza to accompany the Southern California Immigration Coalition at their recent march, she has danced at events with different manifestations of Hermandad Mexicana, she has been at almost every organizational center, with the unions, with the garment workers, laid-off factory workers, at all the marches and events organized by the Binational Oaxacan Indigenous Front, they have backed up the compañerxs from Atenco, Michoacán, Guerrero, Perú, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, etc. and they have danced for the Chiapan Children's Foundation to raise funds, have participated in each and every event of the United Front of the Peoples of the Americas.... They are practically the last bastion of real political support for the Zapatista National Liberation Army, without devaluing the other friends and collectives who are also working to support the Zapatistas, Doña Judith heading up the danzas has never denied, and never will refrain from throwing herself into each struggle that comes about. Who could even suggest that her strength she gives to the fight in the streets are infinitely greater than any (if there were any) of her errors? Today, our compañera has taken on a struggle that should be spearheaded by those who are directly affected, the fight of the teachers and the struggle to avoid cuts to the schools, the school year, and the budget, etc. Her courage has pushed her to fast at the office of the school district. The teachers who were on hunger strike have broken their fast since they accomplished this phase of what they proposed to do, and now she has relieved them, with the presence of some of the teachers and a few others, but only she is on hunger strike as of now. My apologies for only mentioning those groups here cited--it would take a whole book to list everybody who has also received the support of the Aztec dancers, in Santa Ana, Oxnard, Tijuana, Los Angeles, etc. etc. What's more, it would be very difficult to enumerate all the battles and marches and events where we have seen her, with that vigor that can only come from the conviction that the war of the people agaisnt their oppressors is a war until our dying days. If this letter reaches you, it's because in one way or another, you know the dancers or Doña Judith who started her hunger strike June 19 without any set date to break it, but whether its a day or a week, with this action she is calling us to participate and we cannot leave her alone. If we did, how could we look her in the eye again and ask for her support when we need it? Now is the time to be there for them like they have always been there (and then some) for us. She is asking that the artists paint, that the musicians sing, that the organizations spread the word about the struggle, that the parents raise their awareness, and that the students and teachers dignify their historic role. Judith from Danza Azteca Cuauhtémoc has gone on hunger strike, she is on Beaudry between 3rd and 4th streets just beside the 110 freeway. Brothers and sisters in the struggle are needed to sing, or even if you just want to touch base with the campout, if you want to support in any way, e-mail back or call, we need water and your presence! Long live Doña Judith! Long live the dancers! Long live our people in the struggle!

ICE raid nets 12 day laborers in Ontario / Redada de 12 jornaleros en Ontario

Rockero — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Preliminary reports indicate that about 12 people were kidnapped by immigration authorities. It is unknown whether local police agencies aided in the raid. Informes preliminarios indican que alrededor de doce personas fueron secuestrados por oficiales de ICE. Aún no se sabe si las agencias locales de policía estuvieron involucrados.

RaisetheFist EMERGENCY RESPONSE NETWORK

raisethefist.com — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

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Los Angeles Hunger Striking Teachers Stop Action.

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Thursday saw a press conference in front of the LAUSD headquarters where the hunger strike being waged in response to the 2500 pink slips being issued by the LAUSD for the 2009 to 2010 year was officially stopped. UTLA president, AJ Duffy started off the conference by stating that negotiations are still going on and that their fight will continue. Hunger strikers Sean Leys and Martin Terrones ended their fast publicly with statements that emphasized that their actions were essentially focused on the civil rights of children and what class overcrowding will do to those students futures. Terrones made his statement in spanish while Leys ate an apple on camera to end his fast. The press conference was ended by a statement from Marco Flores who reiterated the civil rights aspects of the protest and the UTLA's next moves, which along with other strategies may include school board recall campaigns aimed at those members who have little teaching experience or show a lack of empathy for the students in the poorer parts of Los Angeles. Marco Flores statement to Indymedia http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/228467.php All of the speakers claimed victory in the hunger strike action. They cited that public awareness of the problem had gone up dramatically and this is what was needed to win all 2500 jobs back. The LAUSD rescinded 500 pink slips on June 12th. However, the UTLA maintains that all 2500 jobs need to be restored to avoid a scholastic jim crow disaster. Class sizes in individual attention fueled subjects such as biology, math and english are expected to climb into the mid 40's and 50's this fall. It seems to be universally agreed upon that classes sizes of 20 to 30 students are optimal. According to state figures the dropout rate for Los Angeles high school students in 2009 has been reported at 34.7 % or over a third of the student population. However, It has also been estimated in some recent years to be as much 50 percent. Alarmingly, the African American and Latino rates are much higher. According to the California Dropout Research Project http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/ which is a U.C Santa Barabara research wing of the Gevirtz Graduate School http://education.ucsb.edu/ the graduation rates for Blacks in California is only at 59.94 % while Hispanics have a rate of 60.3 %. This means that every 4 out of 10 kids of color drop out of high school in Los Angeles. There's also a consensus that the Californian dropout emergency, is concentrated in about 100 of the state's 2,000-plus high schools. The California Dropout Researchers say most of them are in Los Angeles and other California urban centers, accounting for 40 percent of the dropout rate. If the 2500 layoffs are not rescinded, some schools which are located in the these same neighborhoods and are also often the schools in question themselves may lose as many as 35 to 50 percent or more of their teaching staffs. Robert S. Lowden Los Angeles, 2009

Los Angeles Teacher Marco Flores Outlines Hungry For Educations Continuing Campaign

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Video statement By Marco Flores where he outlines Hungry For Education's and possible UTLA strategies for rescinding 2500 teaching job pink slips being issued by the Los Angeles School Board for the 2009 to 2010 school year.

Santee Students Walk Out and March in Support of Hunger Strikers Part 3

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Last Thursday saw a group of students from South Central's Santee Education Complex organize and stage a walkout - protest in support of the Los Angeles teachers who had been on a hunger strike for the previous twenty three days. The hunger strike was in response to the 2500 pink-slips that are being issued by the LAUSD for the 2009 to 2010 school year. The students marched to the West Adams Preparatory School and the Manual Arts High School where they challenged other kids to join the march. They were often urged on with horn honks from the passing traffic and pedestrians. There was absolutely no media presence for the march except for this reporter. The students consistently reemphasized the point that class size increase will severely harm their scholastic opportunities on a day to day basis. The idea that math, science and english are hard enough without the specter of class overcrowding seems to have been the general consensus amongst the kids in the protest. They also cited that the loss of the long term relationships that many of their teachers had with their families and communities would be painful as well. The march eventually wore down in the noon day desert heat of South Central LA. However... Some of the young scholars made their way to the LAUSD headquarters, where the hunger striker's tents were pitched. There was a public meeting of the LAUSD taking place. Several kids took their concerns into the meeting by abruptly standing up, pulling out their protest signs. and shouting "Shame on you, LAUSD ...Shame on you" ! Superintendent Ramon Cortinez and other members of the board chastised the students who repeated their charge two more times, ( code pink style ) and then peacefully left the assembly. They joined their protesting teachers outside and then participated in a press conference that formally ended the hunger strike for the time being. At this time there is a probable 50 percent drop out rate among high school students in the Los Angeles school system. The middle school dropout rate for California is probably around 10,000 students per year. Robert S. Lowden Los Angeles,2009 Part 1 http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/228406.php Part 2 http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/228426.php

Santee Students Walk Out and March in Support of Hunger Strikers Part 2

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Santee Students Walk Out and March in Support of Hunger Strikers

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Hunger Strikers Picket Cortinez Home Day 21

Robert Stuart Lowden — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortine's posh Pasadena home was picketed last Wednesday evening by the Hungry 4 Eduction teachers and their supporters who had been waging a hunger strike against the 2500 LAUSD teacher cuts which will inevitably lead to larger class sizes in educationally distressed schools. http://www.netvibes.com/lahungry4ed#General At the time of the picket several of the educator/ protesters had fasted for 23 days. Several other teachers had fasted in piggyback fashion for 3 to 11 days. Despite the small crowd of folks in front of his home, Mr.Cortinez never appeared. Letters from students were physically forwarded to the Superintendent. Robert S. Lowden Los Angeles, 2009

Checkpoints tonight (19/jun) and tomorrow night (20/jun)

Repost — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

1970-01-01T00:00:00Z Repost text/plain en

Border Patrol raids in the Inland Empire

Repost — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tuesday, June 16 -- At least four people detained at the day laborer corner in the Casa Blanca neighborhood of Riverside. Calls to the hotline report Border Patrol presence at a Latino market with up to ten people possibly detained. Other reports indicate BP presence on the streets of San Bernardino. Several detentions reported in Barstow. Thursday, June 18 -- Approximately 10 workers were arrested at the day laborer corner in the Casa Blanca neighborhood of Riverside. One man was injured as he attempted to flee. One human rights defender was harassed by a security guard while attempting to respond to a call to the raids hotline.

Mensaje de un huelguista a la comunidad

Martin — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Hace ya más de 24 días, la ciudad de Los Angeles dió luz a un movimiento necesario para el bienestar de no solo nuestros hijos, sino el futuro de nuestra comunidad y sociedad. Ese movimiento, como todos los movimientos en la historia de nuestra tierra, comenzó con un pequeño grupo de personas motivadas por las injusticias cometidas en contra de las personas más vulnerables. Durante estos 24 días, estos pocos pero fieles individuous, incluyendo a su servidor aquí presente, han pasado hambre, frió y acusasciones falsas por parte del distrito escolar. Pero aún más peor, los que hemos participado en esta huelga de hambre hemos recibido un gran sentido de indiferencia y apatía por parte de la comunidad al cual hemos dedicado nuestras vidas, tiempo y salud por ofrecerles a todos las herramientas necesarias para poder lograr aquellas metas que con tanto trabajo, sudor y sacrificio les ha costado. Esos cortes, que incluyeron en un tiempo la despedida de más de 2,500 maestros, después de haber sufrido un corte completo de programas después de clases, programas de verano, y de inglés como segundo idioma, han producido un crecimiento de número de estudiantes por clase, creando una serie de imposibilidades para nuestro maestros en enseñar a los estudiantes los cursos necesarios para progresar. Hermanas y hermanos, se aproxima ua tormenta. Y al menos que nos pongamos de pie, nos unamos en masa, y demandemos una mejor educación para nuestros hijos las consecuencias serán devastadoras por generaciones. Debemos alzar la voz y unidos gritarle a los 4 vientos “ya basta” con los cortes; ya basta con la despedida de maestros, de programas que preparan a nuestros estudiantes para sus futuros, y ya basta que nos vean como una comunidad débil e ignorante. Ayer salieron miles de miembros de la comunidad Angelina a desfilar para celebrar el campeonato de nuestro equipo local en vez de salir a protestar en contra de aquellos quienes son responsables por causar tanto daño a nuestra educación. En el año 2006, nuestra comunidad se despertó y demando justicia para todos. Hoy espero marque el primer día que continuaremos con esta lucha, quizas la mas importante de nuestras vidas. Salgamos a las calles. Hagamos un esfuerzo para que nuestros hijos no falten tanto a la escuela y así no pierda tantos millones el distrito. Y hagamos lo posible por demandarle al distrito que no despidan a los únicos heroes, que apesar de amenazas y represalias, estos maestros salieron a protestar y a demandar un cambio de parte suya y de sus hijos. Nuestros maestros necesitan de cada uno de nosotros. Hagamos lo imposible por defenderlos en contra de estos recortes y hagamos a nuestros representantes electos, ya sea el presidente, gobernador, alcalde, miembros de la mesa directiva, o el superindendiente de escuelas a que sean más responsables por sus acciones y recordarles de que ellos trabajan para nosotros. Por ultimo, les dejo con una pregunta: que no harían por sus hijos? Si su respuesta es todo, entonces luchemos este día por el futuro de ellos, así como lo prometimos aquel día que por primera vez entramos a este país llenos de sueños y ilusiones. Nada es fácil en esta vida, especialmente para nuestra juventud quienes dependen de nosotros. Ayudenos en ayudarles. Si no lo hacemos nostros como padres y maestros, quien entonces lo hará?

Sat. June 20: Stop Killing Innocent People in IRAN

Green Flags — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Where are our/their votes? Stop Killing Innocent People in IRAN WHEN: Saturday, June 20 from 11AM - 1PM WHERE: Westwood Federal Buliding Wilshire and Veteran Los Angeles In protest to the fraud in the Iran ’ s presidential election and brutality of the government against peaceful demonstrations in Iran, Iranian and non-Iranian students are gathering in front of the LA Federal Building This event will be covered by major international news.This is the second massive demonstration in LA as part of a global movement by Iranian students around the world. - Please bring green flags only ( No Iranian flag ) ###

VIDEO: Santa Monica Activist Beaten by Israeli Police and Military

Ann Wright — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

WATCH VIDEO HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-wright/israeli-police-and-milita_b_215477.html Ann Wright Posted: June 15, 2009 07:47 AM UPDATE (with video): Israeli Police and Military Brutalize Peaceful Protesters at Netanyahu's Speech While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making a major foreign policy speech at Bar-Ilan University Sunday, Israeli police outside the university attacked international protesters of Israel's invasion of Gaza, illegal settlements and the apartheid wall. Heavy-handed police treatment of the unarmed, peaceful members of the CODEPINK delegation there began immediately after they unfurled several pink banners that read "Free Gaza" and "End the Occupation." CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin and New York activist Zool Zulkowitz were physically dragged across the street from their original protest site next to the entrance gate to Bar Ilan University where audience members and press entered the university complex to attend the speech. Several hours later, a French journalist and member of the CODEPINK delegation, was arrested as she crossed a small street in an attempt to take photos of the demonstration. As she was placed in an Israeli police car, several members of the delegation converged to determine why the journalist was being held. Israeli police and military violently shoved the group back into a wall. Delegation member Tighe Barry from Santa Monica, Cali. was struck in the face with the butt of a military rifle and pushed to the ground where he could barely breathe. He was taken by ambulance to the Trauma Center of Tal-Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv where he was treated for a concussion, an injured neck and an asthma attack. Benjamin and several other delegation members were bruised in the arms and upper body from being shoved and manhandled by the police and military. The journalist was taken to a local police station and released an hour later without charges. Mr. Barry was treated overnight at the hospital. The CODEPINK delegation has requested the Israeli police and military investigate the brutality used by their forces on the peaceful, non-violent protesters. When President Obama spoke in Cairo on June 4, a separate CODEPINK delegation that had just returned from six days in Gaza in early June, held a demonstration right outside Cairo University holding signs that read "Stop funding Israeli War Crimes." Egyptian police allowed the demonstration to take place. But not so in Israel. "Is this the great democracy that the U.S. taxpayers pay for with $3 billion dollars a year?" Benjamin cried, as she was being dragged away by the police. Ann Wright is a retired US Army Reserves Colonel and a former U.S. diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war. She served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, and Mongolia. She was on a small State Department team that reopened the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2001. She has visited Gaza three times in the past three months, co-leading two delegations of more than 120 persons.

JUNE 13 JFAV KALAYAAN ACTIVITIES IN LA, A SUCCESS!

Justice for Filipino American Veteran (JFAV) — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Media Advisory Justice for Filipino American Veterans(JFAV) Contact Person: Arturo P. Garcia Phone;(213)2410995 June 16,2009 JUNE 13 JFAV KALAYAAN ACTIVITIES IN LA, A SUCCESS! Los Angeles— MABUHAY ANG ARAW NG KALAYAAN! The Filipino Veterans and their students and youth advocates commemorated the 111th Independence of the Philippines with a fundraising concert in Historic Filipinotown and a flag raising ceremony at the Hollywood Presbyterian medical Center (HPMC) Fair on June 13. Despite the June gloom, hundreds of seniors, HPMC personnel, community folks and veterans raised the Philippine flag in a flag ceremony at around 9:45 in the morning on June 13 at the opening of the HPMC Community fair at Vermont at Fountain Sts. The more than 40 veterans and seniors with widows were led by SGS Commander Jack Vergara, AWARE president Lulu Astilla and JFAV National Coordinator Arturo P. Garcia. Philippine Consul general Mary Jo B. Aragon was the guest of honor. JFAV Kalayaan Concert On the evening on June 13,the JFAV Kalayaan concert was held. Four Filipino artist and groups graced the JFAV Concert and performed at the Remy‘s At Temple Art gallery at 2326 W. Temple St.Los Angeles, Ca 90026 The One Imaginations from South Bay performed. They gave Spoken Words, guitar music and songs from the heart. And then THE COMMITTEE followed next who rocked the house with their songs and instruments. They were followed by the FIGHTING COCKS led by Farmer Johneric who filled the night with his ballads. The last performer for the evening was BAMBU- who brought the house down who and rapped and performed his Spoken Word to the delight of the adoring crowd. The program ended late at night with a rousing singing of the Philippine National Anthem in Pilipino. The JFAv concert was a part of the Philippine Series commemorating the 111th independence Day of the Philippines. All the proceeds for the fundraiser will go for the JFAV equity and justice campaign. *******

Save Prop 36! Treatment Not Jail!

SCHA-LA — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Please join Assemblymember Jim Beall Jr. and members of the California Assembly's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Select Committee at a special hearing and rally hosted by Assemblymember Kevin de Leon on June 19 at the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. This hearing focuses on the cost of alcohol's harm to California and potential cuts that would eliminate Proposition 36, the Offender Treatment Program, and affect local funding that combats addictions. Elimination of these programs will lead to the unnecessary destruction of people's lives as well as their families' while adding to Californias costs for healthcare, foster care and imprisonment. Select Committee members will discuss alternatives to the Governor's proposed cuts including the concept of raising levies on alcohol to help pay for alcohol-related accidents, emergency medical and trauma care, treatment programs, and law enforcement costs. The Select Committee invites you to attend this crucial rally and hearing to provide your ideas and solutions to save these important treatment programs in the face of a devastating $24 billion state deficit Please contact interested groups or individuals about this special meeting. Assembly Select Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Hearing June 19, 2009 starting at 10am Los Angeles County +USC Medical Center 2051 Marengo Street Los Angeles, CA 90033 Agenda: 10am - Rally/News Conference: Top Steps of New Hospital's Main Entrance 11:30 a.m - Informational hearing: Inpatient Tower 1st floor Conference Room The Select Committee advises participants to arrive 30 minutes early to allow themselves enough time to find parking and go through hospital security. Parking is tentatively reserved and available on a first come first serve basis in Lot 9D located at 1950 Marengo Street. Please check our website Monday for parking and facility details including map of facility. http://www.assembly.ca.gov/beall For more information contact Sunshine Borelli or Rodney Foo, (408) 282-8920.

Despite police abuse, mobile home park community pursues redress

Rockero — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

The chief of police, who was present at the meeting and was called to account by some members of the council, denied that the Pomona police department had been involved in Friday night's raid, claiming it was an operation of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's department. (The largest portion of Pomona lies within Los Angeles County, but a small section of the city falls on the other side of the county line, placing it within San Bernardino County.) The chief claimed that the Pomona police department had no foreknowledge of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's raid, and that the only reason they got involved was that they happened to be passing by the park as the sheriffs entered, and offered to provide backup. "Aren't other agencies supposed to let you know when they're doing an operation within your jurisdiction?" a councilmember asked. The chief explained that the procedure exists, but is not mandatory. The council referred the park's manager to Tri-City Mental Health services, who they claimed would counsel the children who were traumatized by the series of raids. They also arranged a meeting between the residents and the city attorney. The community, and the activists supporting them, were skeptical. "If the city attorney's job is to defend the city, how is meeting with him going to help?" one wondered aloud. The residents of the mobile home park are planning to meet with him regardless, since it is one of the necessary steps to achieve justice in their case. But they are not by any means allowing the city to limit the scope of their action. They are currently considering further actions including returning to address the city council, conferring with lawyers to explore their legal options, and further marches and demonstrations, and they ask that supporters remain attentive to the situation and be prepared to show up to demonstrations or contribute to fundraisers for legal defense. ______________________________ Photos courtesy of the Pomona-based People for Immigrant Rights

Obama Needs a Bug Vacuum

RP — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

President Obama has been lauded by some for including an organic garden at the White House over objections of chemical companies. However, today's big headline at Yahoo News was—no, not any criticism of the war appropriations bill or mention of single-payer healthcare— Obama swatting a fly. (Footage plus PETA's reaction: http://www.examiner.com/x-8357-DC-TV-Examiner~y2009m6d17-PETA-reacts-to-Obamas-fly-swat-video.) There is a better way to deal with insects. Various companies make a science toy called the Bug Vacuum. (The one I've been using is made by a company called Summit, which I bought at a school supply store .) It sucks insects into a transparent holding area so that children can study them and then turn them loose. However, for the last several years, I've been using it to catch bugs in my home and set them free outside. I have found it amazingly effective, even for bugs that look delicate like daddy longlegs, spiders(1), or mosquitoes. Flies, especially smaller ones, can be good at evading the vacuum, though I've captured and released many of them, too. In her book All Our Relations, Winona LaDuke mentions the “spiritual mistake” of “killing without reverence” (page 147). And although she discusses this in the context of wholesale slaughter of buffalo, I personally apply it in my daily interactions with other beings. LaDuke further says (on page 148) that “to kill incorrectly, many would say, affects and disrupts all life.” ----- (1)I allow some spiders in my house, partly to deal with flies that I cannot catch, partly to give them shelter in case there is ever malathion spraying in L.A. again. The last time malathion was sprayed, it took years for some spiders to return (and the ladybug population still hasn't recovered).

KPFK has an LSB official meeting

akpfker — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

a brief review of what happens at an LSB meeting is described for exposure, edification and education. Only those actually interested in what happens at and for the station should bother to read this. see URL ..or not

Reflections after 22 days on hunger strike

Martin — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

It's been 22 days since I began this hunger strike. And while many people joke about the fact that a person my size on such a hunger fast may turn out to be the best thing for me, there is no denying that the sacrifice thus made has and is continuing to take a toll. I am, as I try to write this, the weakest I have ever felt. I am no longer able to do the things that I once took for granted, like reading or watching films and television, which in my profession as a filmmaker, I must do constantly. I am no longer able to carry on a conversation for long moments without starting to forget if what I am about say, or as is the case now, about to type, has been done and said before already. Not having that one thing that was once strongest in you is the worse form of vulnerability one can have. It is, nonetheless, a necessary consequence when considering what it is that we are all fighting for. But what is that thing that drives these brave women and men, teachers and activists all, to risk so much for the chance to gain so little or even nothing at all? Is it their jobs? Is it their egos perhaps? Is it really the children? The answer: No, No and YES! I have, for the past 22 days, sat and stood by teachers who have put the interests of their students above and beyond what others in more affluent schools and neighborhoods ever would. They have taken to the streets, slept on cold slabs of concrete and have withstood the temptation of eating delicious food in community potluck settings because they believe in something their own employers, like LAUSD Superintendent Cortinez, doesn’t seem to understand or comprehend. To him, this strike is “a complete waste of time”, as he has publicly stated. Since when is standing up for something so important as the future of our youth a waste of time? The issue is not just local, I grant him that. It's state. It's national. But it's also HIS job to go out and beg if need be to find the funds. I wonder, how many times has Mr. Cortinez visited Sacramento in the past few days, weeks, months or years? How many meetings has he had with the Secretary of Education, members of both houses of Congress, the President or even the Superintendent of Schools for the State of California? How many fundraisers has he coordinated, other than the ones he has attended? How much of the thousands of dollars that he has collected from speaking engagements in other school districts did he give back to the general fund or donate to a charity, like the United Way, whom the school board is planning on asking soon to fund after school programs? No Mr. Cortinez, this is not a complete waste of time. Call it what you will, but this action, this small sample of a greater movement is partially, if not wholly responsible for the reversal of your decision to rescind the notices. You made up your mind once to dismiss an entire generation of teachers at LAUSD and yet you magically changed your mind after looking at things over. It’s like that incident at the June 9 LAUSD board meeting when we all discovered that the district's attorney admitted to have made an error in not paying attention to a looming deadline to renew a contract. You would think that her salary, which is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, would afford her an assistant to look over those dates and numbers. In fact, I bet the district was billed for those very same services not rendered separately by her law firm. It’s unfortunately, Mr. Cortinez, that you insist upon vilifying and undermining the progress already made by so few but faithful. As for the school board, what can I say except to remind them that they were elected to their posts and entrusted to protect and serve the best interests of the children in their district and the greater LAUSD. Your job, dear madams and sirs, is not to do what you voted to do at the last meeting. In that same meeting, you voted to lease a lot that will pay back the district a total of $13M over the next 66 years. That’s approximately $197,000 per year and for what: to build housing for an apartment complex that would house district employees. According to the presentation, LAUSD personnel would only pay, and I’m trying not to laugh here, $500 (give or take a few dollars) for a 3 bedroom, 2 bad apartment. Are you kidding me? Seriously? When asked by Dr. Vladovic where the company was planning to make its profit, there was no response from the presenter. What’s more, Ms. Canter argued for this strenuously because, according to her, “this would improve and beautify the neighborhood”. I’m sorry, but since when is it the responsibility of the “School Board” to beautify the neighborhood? Isn’t that the city’s responsibility? Shouldn’t we be spending money improving education, not improving the surrounding landscape? Is an apartment complex really going to improve the already decaying morale of students and parents? Wouldn’t it be best to spend bond money to improve decrepit schools first before building more schools that will not be occupied by students because there are no teachers? Most of the already constructed schools are empty, and many of them are now being leased to corporations to turn them into charter programs. Why are we building these facilities for them when we can be improving the ones we already have first. What we need is a complete overhaul of this education system and put the needs of the students first so that we can tackle other problems associated with a lack of education. What we need is courage and faith. We need a school board willing to make the hard decisions that address the issues now instead of making decisions that may or may not arise tomorrow. Some members of the board claim that turning in a budget that reflects a 3-year period instead of 1 is the reason why they cannot spend the stimulus money now to save our teachers and reduce class size. Yet everyone knows that every year they turn in and adopt a new budget that accurately reflects the needs of that year. I am not naïve to think that hard times lay ahead. I know we are in a financial crisis. But I also know that in such times we have pulled together as one to face those challenges. All we ask, all our teachers ask, is for LAUSD to spend the stimulus money now and give us all one year to move the masses and demand that our government meet its obligation to those whose future hangs in the balance. Let’s send a message to the school board that they are not alone and that if they vote to fix the damage they have already done, that we will start, right here, right now, to improve and fix it. As day 22 comes close to an end, I can only hope that the LAUSD act responsibly and courageously not just for our kids sake, but for our own, for some day we are going to depend on their support to sustain us through our late years. And so, the question I ask everyone as I write this one and final blog is, "what wouldn’t you do for your children?" Come and join us at 3rd and Beaudry every night at 6PM. Bring a tent, a sleeping bag and your children to send a message this whole week that enough is enough. As parents, teachers, as human beings, let’s stand as one and fight for what is our solemn duty, responsibility and privilege to defend: our children's future. In solidarity and struggle, Martin

National Bread and Roses Speaking Tour

Luma Nichol — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Christina López and Anne Slater have a message for you: “No more singing capitalism’s blues--Sisters it’s time to fight!” The two touring feminists from Seattle will address this topic at a public event on Sunday, June 28 at 2:00pm. Slater, the National Organizer for Radical Women (RW), says the Bread and Roses Tour will “mobilize women and their allies to make a stand against anti-abortion vigilantes, rightwing racism, devastating layoffs, and state budgets balanced on the backs of public workers, children, and the ill” Chicana-Apache feminist López explains, “Just like the textile workers in the 1912 Lawrence Strike who, as the song says, demanded ‘a sharing of life’s glories…bread and roses!’ women today are fighting for basic needs, in addition to respect and the good things in life.” López is a frontrunner in the battle for rights for undocumented workers, a longtime abortion clinic defender and a pacesetter in RW’s Comrades of Color Caucus. Slater is active in the Queer Ally Coalition and led a community college unionizing drive in 2007. They recently launched a grassroots action project, Sisters Organize for Survival. You can join in the discussion on June 28, 2:00pm, at Solidarity Hall, 2170 W. Washington Blvd., in Los Angeles (off the 10 freeway at Western; on 35, 207 & 550 bus lines). A sizzling barbecue buffet will be served after the program at 4:30pm. Dinner donation is $9 and door donation is $3. Sliding scale and work exchanges are available for strikers and low income people. Proceeds will benefit the $45,000 Radical Women Fund Drive. For more information or childcare call 323-732-6416 or email radicalwomenlosangeles@gmail.com.

Lakers Fans Victory Party in the Streets Gets Crazy

LA-IMC — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Spontaneous street parties broke out at various locations around the city Sunday night after the Lakers won the NBA Finals. There are reports of hundreds of fans in East LA taking Whittier at Atlantic. In South Central fans took parts of Crenshaw Blvd and in the Valley the intersection of Woodland & Van Nuys. The largest street party was downtown in front of the Staples Center where an estimated 1,000 fans filled the street. Downtown celebrations were boisterous, but peaceful until tension between some of the more rowdy fans and the police erupted when a small group broke away and smashed the windows of several police cars. This incident was broadcast live by local corporate media helicopters. At 9:00 pm the LAPD went on tactical alert and began to clear the streets around the Staples Center. Around the same time LA County Sheriff began clearing Whittier Blvd in East LA. It was at this point that the situation actually became more unstable, resulting in the looting of a small gas station store, smashing of some storefront windows and the setting of trash fires. For next two hours police fought a cat and mouse game with fans often showing up to locations after the fans had moved on. By 11:30 pm things had mostly calmed down. No serious injuries have been reported. Four Lakers fans related arrests have been reported and there may be more. There are reports of objects thrown at police, including fireworks. And there are unconfirmed reports of police bean bag rounds shot at a crowd of fans during an incident near Washington & Grand.

Torture alleged in LA County Jail

Becky Johnson — 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Los Angeles, Ca. -- Jason Paschal, an African-American man accepted a plea bargain in a case where he was approached by a man angry at him for making inquiries, and defended himself with a table leg. Paschal was charged with assault, but despite having a good self-defense case, opted to accept a plea. On June 2, 2009 he turned himself into the authorities to serve his 6 month sentence. Jason has been a brittle diabetic since 18 months old. Included in his case was a court-order to provide him with proper diet, insulin, and medical care for his diabetes. WIthin 24 hours, Jason had been denied both food and insulin and his blood sugar shot up to 400 mg/ltr. He has had multiple seizures since incarcerated, and fell off a bench possibly breaking his arm. He was not treated for five days. When he was finally taken for medical treatment, he had a seizure while handcuffed to a hospital gurney. When he came to, he was confronted by an officer who threatened to taze him. This morning, Jason reports that he caught a guard trying to plant contraband in his cell. Jason's mother, Jan Paschal, a former aide with the Clinton Administration, contacted the ACLU of Los Angeles and they came to investigate. Jason reports that since the ACLU visit, "the abuse is much, much worse." Jan is beside herself with worry. "They are either incompetent or they are engaging in torture. There is no other explanation. I worry whether Jason will survive this jailing." Those who want more information or can suggest another avenue to address this abuse which is occurring right now within the Los Angeles Old County Jail, please contact me by e-mail at becky_johnson222@hotmail.com.