It's Starting

Holy Shit. Bond set at 1.5 million dollars each. Official press release.

This is the weekend prior to the start of the Nato Summit in Chicago. The terrorists were charged under the ridiculous Illinois terrorism statutes. They were accused of making molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices. Trumped up charges to create fear among the citizen protesters? But it looks like an FBI sting operation. Could very well be another Reichstag. There's no way to know, for sure.

But one thing we do know for sure. They are lucky..............once the NDAA is in effect there'll be no bond, no habeas corpus rights, no nada. But, the so called Patriot Act took care of most of their Constitutional rights already. Why do you think 9/11 occurred?

Vermont Responds to Free Gaza Flotilla Massacre

Sam Mayfield writes on her blog,

"In response to this assault, dozens of people gathered in Burlington, Vermont on May 31 to mourn the dead and to express their sadness and outrage over Israel’s blatant lack of respect for international law.

"Two days later more than fifty citizens visited Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy’s office to insist that the US government not remain silent about the mishandling of innocent people in Gaza and the West Bank, humanitarian aid workers and human rights activists by the Israeli government anymore. Citizens stated that "The US is alone in our support for Israel" and demanded that the Senator not be complicit in Israels crimes against humanity any longer. Citizens also demanded an end to military aid to Israel."

Sam also made a video report.

UVM protests continue

University of Vermont student protests continued a 2nd day, this time with UVM workers unions supporting the students. Yesterday 31 students were arrested.

Although Thursday’s event was billed as a faculty rally and speak-out, only a few faculty and staff members attended, and fewer spoke. Most of those who addressed the rally were students.

“There is so much fear on this campus,” Katherine Nopper, a senior from Putney, told the crowd. “People are afraid if they speak out they will lose their jobs.”

Among the staff and faculty representatives who did speak were Carmyn Stanko, president of the union representing UVM maintenance and service workers, and David Shiman, president of the faculty union.

“We have known from the day that President Fogel was hired that his goal was to continue transforming UVM from a university to a business corporation,” Stanko said. “We will continue to fight for all workers who have been laid off, to return them to their rightful jobs.”

Shiman told the students his union was concerned about the impact of the cuts on the quality of education that UVM provides. He praised the students for using their constitutional rights to question the administration’s plans.

25 UVM protesters arrested

Burlington Free Press

University of Vermont students angry about budget cuts prepared to regroup today after 25 of them were cited for trespassing late Wednesday night.

They were part of a larger group that sat down about 3 p.m. outside the president’s wing of the Waterman administration building with a list of 13 demands.

Those demands included revoking recent reductions in faculty, capping tuition increases at the rate of inflation and recovering all the bonuses paid to administrators in 2008 and 2009.

President Dan Fogel met with seven of the students during the afternoon. He did not negotiate, a university spokesman said, but reiterated the school’s plan for reducing expenses.

Seven students were cited for trespassing in an inner hallway about 4:45 p.m., after Fogel departed.
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“They were given the opportunity to leave and refused, so they were forcibly removed,” university spokesman Enrique Corredera said. “We did not engage in negotiations over their demands; we just responded with what our position is on those issues.”

Many students remained in the building. Others joined them until police closed Waterman to incoming students about 9:30 p.m. with about 60 protesters inside. As evening fell, the students ate pizza, passed around water bottles, sang protest songs and chanted slogans: “They say cut back, we say fight back,” and “People united will never be defeated.”

University police announced the building would be closed at 10 p.m. and anyone inside would be cited for trespassing.

The students took to their cell phones, rallying support from around campus. A crowd of several hundred gathered outside the south door of Waterman, cheering and singing.

Jean Marie Pearce, 21, a senior history major from East Albany, was one of those seated in the corridor.

“For the past six months, we’ve been trying to convince them that cuts need to come from the top, not from our beloved and needed faculty,” she said. Pearce said she was willing to protest, though she will soon graduate. “It’s still my community and my school,” she said. [read complete story]

In this case it was the video

From the Guardian: G20 death: 'This might have been swept under the rug' - eyewitness

As he sat down in his office in New York yesterday, the hedge fund manager who filmed the moment a police officer clashed violently with Ian Tomlinson digested the latest revelations.

He has chosen to remain anonymous but has been observing events from across the Atlantic. Informed by the Guardian that the second postmortem had found Mr Tomlinson died not of a heart attack but abdominal haemorrhage, he said he was relieved he had stepped forward as a witness.

"Judging by the short amount of time that lapsed between him being hit and pushed to the ground and him collapsing and dying, it just seemed to be coincidental that it was called a heart attack," he said.

"Now I'm glad I came forward. It's possible Mr Tomlinson's death would have been swept under the rug otherwise. There was nothing except some witnesses speaking to the Guardian saying they saw him being beaten. But it was their statements versus the police. You needed something incontrovertible. In this case it was the video."

THE LESSON OF THIS STORY: Where ever you are (London, New York, Burlington or any of the 'Constitution-Free-Zones' throughout America), if you every see anybody pulled over, harassed (or 'dog handled') by the oinks, stop and observe. And keep the camera rolling.

Photograph: Guardian.co.uk footage of Ian Tomlinson walking past a line of police dog handlers during the G20 protests in London.

Texas Secession? The stars at night are big and bright....

From McClatchy we read this morning, "Texas' Perry raises secession issue at 'tea party' protest."

Though I have moved back to New England, where I grew up as a kid/teen, I lived in TX for over 20 years and remember those bumper stickers back in the 80s, "Texas Secede" and "Texas Native." This secession idea has been kicked around for years. It's that whoop and holler "Don't Mess with my white, anti-hispanic, anti-gay Texas" mentality, and with the changing demographics, that dog don't hunt. Perry's a fucking opportunist anyway. It was all bluster. When pressed with questions about his statement, he told reporters that Texas probably wouldn't secede anyway.

PUT PEOPLE FIRST PROTEST IN LONDON

More than 35,000 marched through London.

REAL NEWS NETWORK: REPORT ON MARCH 21 PROTEST IN DC

DUTCH PROVO 'HAPPENINGS' FOUNDER GROOTVELD DIES

The creative 'high' of 1960s Amsterdam - my birthplace - was certainly exciting! After my high school graduation, while visiting my relatives for the summer, I attended some of these Provo 'happenings' organised by Robert Grootveld at the statue, 't Lievertje, in Spui square. (Oh, to experience those days again!) Ironically, the statue was a gift to the city of Amsterdam by a major tobacco company.

One evening, sitting with my cousin on the outdoor café terrace of the famous Art Deco American Hotel in Leidseplein, we heard a rumour that a 'happening' would take place. Everyone sat in anticipation. You could feel it in the buzz of conversation. Suddenly, we were startled by a loud crash. Had it started !?! No, a nervous waiter serving guests on the terrace had dropped his tray of drinks!

DutchNews.nl

Robert Jasper Grootveld, one of the most emblematic figures of the 60s provo (provocation) movement, has died in a nursing home at the age of 76.

Grootveld was famous for the ‘happenings’ he organised on the Spui (photo), then Amsterdam’s ‘magic centre’. The anti-smoking guru would dance around in a cloud of his own cigarette smoke chanting ugh, ugh, ugh - which became one of his mantras.

Grootveld started out as a window cleaner, then turned to journalism and finally found his feet as an artist in the creative atmosphere of the 1960s. He came up with the famous white bicycle plan which has since been adopted by many cities around the world.

His lifelong devotion to the figure of Sinterklaas may go some way towards explaining his childlike pleasure in inventing such institutions as the Exotic Kitch Museum and the Expertological Laboratory, with fellow-artists and poets. In 2000, he made a present of the floating gardens he created to the city of Amsterdam.

‘He totally changed the Amsterdam street scene,’ friend and filmmaker Herbert Curiel told ANP.

STUDENT APATHY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Hicham Yazza in the Guardian last week - using the backdrop of the recent British university protests about Israel's re-invasion of Gaza - looked at the political awareness of students:- [N]ot only have they highlighted a rise in political awareness among a new generation raised in the shadow of the Iraq war debate, they have also exposed what has for long been a suspected but unspoken reality: rather than being the centres of learning, debate and intellectual engagement of yore, British universities are now little more than businesses purveying a product, employable students. The message is unambiguous: political engagement might be good for the mind but it is very, very bad for business.

He continues - and this could also apply to US 'educational' institutions:- Many universities have now grown to see their task as that of churning out generic, malleable clones for the consumption of ever more regimental recruiters. Students now spend their university years being bombarded with instructions on how to turn themselves into perfect job interview candidates. Countless career tutorials, taster sessions, seminars, workshops and presentations drum into students the notion that any semblance of political consciousness will damage employability – and that employability is everything. What is being lost on many is that such a shift is draining this young generation of bright, capable graduates of their essential critical instincts. The unquestioning deference to authority and the blind adherence to the party line are now seen not as impediments, but as the pre-requisites for anyone serious about getting a job with a top recruiter.

Thanks to Martin Wisse of Progressive Gold for the Yezza link; Martin also comments vis-à-vis the lack of protests in the Netherlands:- If you have to depend on a student loan of several (tens of thousands) of pounds to be able to study, you’ll be less likely to waste your time with political activity, especially if, as in the Netherlands, your loan or grant is made dependent on your study results. It’s perhaps no coincidence that there was little if any student protest over here against the invasion of Gaza, certainly not on the scale of the UK protests.

HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE BECOMES THE FIRST U.S. COLLEGE TO DIVEST FROM ISRAELI OCCUPATION

Via PULSE-- Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP’s “institutional statement” calling for the divestment.

BBC OCCUPIED OVER CRAVEN NON-BROADCAST OF GAZA AID APPEAL

Good on those Glaswegians!

CBS News

Members of a British anti-war group occupied the Glasgow offices of the BBC on Sunday, saying they would stay in the building until the national broadcaster agrees to air a charity fundraising appeal for Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

The occupation followed criticism from lawmakers and religious leaders who said the BBC's decision not to air an advertisement from the Disasters Emergency Committee - a group of charities that includes the Red Cross, Oxfam, and Save the Children - was wrong.

Lenin's Tomb has more on the sit-in (look in the comments for first hand accounts from protesters).

The ABC has criticised the BBC refusal, too.

REMINDER: March in Burlington Against Attacks on Gaza this Saturday - forward widely

JOIN BREAD and PUPPET AT THE GAZA PROTEST ...

Meet Saturday, January 17th, 11:30 AM in front of City Hall to gear up for a demonstration and march beginning at noon. Help carry huge, striking Bread & Puppet banners and figures.

Arrive at noon for the march and demonstration.

Join Vermonters and people around the world to protest the occupation and bombings of Gaza, which have killed over 750 Palestinians and injured over 3100 (as of January 9) [now over 1,000 fatalities!]. Hospitals in Gaza have little to no medical supplies and they are overflowing with victims of this humanitarian crisis. Food and water are in extremely short supply due to the blockade Israel has imposed on the people of Gaza. The United States government is complicit in this brutality, supplying military aid to Israel and endorsing Israel's actions. The bombings and killings must end! End the violent blockade and occupation of Gaza immediately!

DEMANDS
- Israel must end the occupation and bombing of Gaza immediately,
- Stop the violence in the Middle East and end the embargo on Gaza
immediately
- The US government must end all military aid to Israel
- Israel must observe international law
- We demand that Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders, and Rep. Welch
denounce the occupation and bombing of Gaza

Sponsors: Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel,
International Socialist Organization, American Friends Service
Committee, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Iraq
Vets against the War, Pax Christi Burlington, Peace and Justice Center

For more information contact S'ra at sra@riseup.net or 324-3073

SUFFER THE CHILDREN

Nearly 200,000 people protested earlier today in central London [some photos here] against the Israeli aggression in Gaza. Well-known author of books for children Michael Rosen wrote and read out a poem for the children of Gaza at the protest right after a group of children read the names of some of the children who've been killed in Gaza.

In Gaza, children,
you learn that the sky kills
and that houses hurt.
You learn that your blanket is smoke
and breakfast is dirt.

You learn that cars do somersaults
clothes turn red,
friends become statues,
bakers don’t sell bread.

You learn that the night is a gun,
that toys burn
breath can stop,
it could be your turn.

You learn:
if they send you fire
they couldn’t guess:
not just the soldier dies -
it’s you and the rest.

Nowhere to run,
nowhere to go,
nowhere to hide
in the home you know.

You learn
that death isn’t life,
that air isn’t bread,
the land is for all.
You have the right to be
Not Dead.
You have the right to be
Not Dead.
You have the right to be
Not Dead.

SADLY, THE GROUND INVASION HAS BEGUN

Israeli troops cross border into Gaza

Richard Seymour reports on today's protest in London. 10,000 in Amsterdam.



Photo courtesy Indymedia NL.
There were other protests today around the world.

BEEF

VIA LEFT I
Inane Quote of the Day

"The guy wanted to get on TV and he did. I don't know what his beef is, but whatever it is, I'm sure someone will hear it."

George Bush, referring to shoe-thrower and hero Muntadar al-Zeidi

Yeah, who knows what the "beef" is of someone yelling "This is a farewell kiss, you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."? It's a mystery.

Yeah, Mr Prez, indeed, people heard it and have demanded Mr al-Zeidi's release.

Not only does Bush's reaction show his cultural ignorance, but it also shows his insensitivity to the plight of Iraqis after six years of occupation and the arrogance of a warmonger.

If you've got a Facebook account, you can join a group, as I have done, to support the journalist. Type Muntadar al-Zeidi in a search on that site and follow the link.

UPDATE @ 4:36 PM (h/t Ten Percent): Al-Zaidi Remanded Into Custody After Court Appearance

THE AL-ZAIDI MOVE

DENNIS PERRIN

Of course, if any American tried the same thing, the penalty would be severe, since attacking the imperial manager is a serious felony. Not to worry. American journos, especially those covering the White House, are too well conditioned to ever make an al-Zaidi move. Their job is to kiss and polish the president's shoes, not throw their own.

As the AP headline put it, "Bush's Iraq-Afghan farewell tour marred by dissent." Marred. Yep, that pretty much sums up our domestic media mindset. Meanwhile, American liberals are enjoying a mighty laugh over the shoe toss. Were the same to happen to Obama, libs would be the first to scream foul, angered by the lack of foreign respect for the Leader of The Free World, especially from ungrateful Iraqis, who don't have the decency to finance their own submission, as Obama repeatedly points out.

A WARNING FROM BELOW

DENNIS PERRIN, writing from his home state of Michigan

The prospect of a GM or Chrysler collapse has added more tension to this part of Michigan, a place where working people are already being squeezed if not steamrolled by what passes for the economy. I've never seen anything like it in my life, and I suspect it'll get worse. I hope not. I don't know how much more negative weight people around here can endure.

I've never considered myself a Marxist or a communist -- indeed, I've had many nasty fights with those who do. But looking around at the devastation, which isn't hard to find, I can see how one could succumb to the Marxist urge. I thought that the Army radicalized me, which it did, for a time, anyway; but this shit is something else. No wonder mainstream outlets like The Christian Science Monitor are calling on Obama to save capitalism. Being very class conscious, American elites understand how the unmasked face of capital can affect the desperate and powerless. The worker occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago is a warning shot from below. The people above don't want to see more of that.

Let's see how serious Obama's proposed "public works" project ultimately is. I'm not sure where he'll get the money. Perhaps the Saudis and the Chinese can help rebuild parts of Detroit, without doubt the poorest, most decimated city I've ever been in. I've yet to visit Gaza, so my perspective is limited. But a drive through Detroit reveals some pretty ghastly images, and will shatter your car's suspension if you aren't meticulous behind the wheel. The vast number of craters and potholes makes it seem like someone went on a bombing spree, which, in a fiscal sense, is pretty much the case. If GM and Chrysler fold, the bombing will intensify, turning swaths of southeastern Michigan into an economic Afghanistan. Somehow, I doubt the locals will consider that a "good war."

A DAY WITHOUT A GAY

"How much are your rights worth?"

WHO DECIDES ON CENSORSHIP?

SPREADING THE WORD - A POST WAS IN THE LOCAL FRONT PORCH FORUM --
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Al Jazeera pulled from Burlington Telecom

Censorship?

Who decides what Burlington Telecom cable subscribers watch and how is that decision arrived at? If you are concerned about Burlington Telecom's proposed pulling of Al Jazeera network from its line-up, come to Ch. 17 studios this Friday at 5:00pm to be part of a public conversation, there will be an opportunity for public comment and questions. Greg Eppler-Wood, Chairman of the Cable Advisory Committee and the Burlington Telecommunications Advisory Committee along with free speech advocate Sandy Baird, will talk about the process and the challenges of free speech within a municipally-owned cable provider.

When - May 16, 2008, Live at 5:25 - studio guests please plan to arrive by 5:00pm.
Where - 294 North Winooski Avenue, Burlington
More Info - Sam Mayfield, smayfield@cctv.org 862.3966 ext. 19