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Link:  http://indymedia.us/en/2009/12/39732.shtml

Indymedia.us is happy to announce that we've managed, after nearly a year of legal action on our behalf by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to successfully fight back against a bogus subpoena request issued by the FBI in conjunction with a grand jury investigation. The request demanded we turn over all IP address logs for a day in June of 2008 - not only did Indymedia.us object to this blatantly illegitimate and overly broad request, but, per accepted Indymedia best practices, we do not keep such logs in the first place, in order to maximally ensure the privacy of our site users.

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 November has been quite a month for change here at Grand Junction Alternative Media (GJAM).  GJAM is the umbrella media group for such projects as The Red Pill, CUNTastic, The Peep Show, Vignettes: Glimpses of Culture, Confluence Books, and more.   At the beginning of this month the collective, after a many month-long process, have changed the name of GJAM to Confluence Media Collective.  CMC will be continuing all of GJAM's media projects, except one, Confluence Books storefront will be closing at the end of November.  We are sad to have to close the storefront, and we are looking into becoming a mobile infoshop to bring radical literature to all the small radical communities around the region.  On Friday 13th of this month CMC held its first Variety Show, highlighting CMC's many artist, writers, and activists. In the coming months look for the variety show to come to a radical community near you soon. 

CMC is always looking for new co-conspirators.  Get in touch with us. gjredpill@hotmail.com or visit our website: www.gjredpill.org.  Many of our books, zines, and DVD's are for sale on our website.

 

From the newswire: "On Tuesday, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign kicked off its first day with a successful blockade at the home of Lenise Forrest, a community member and mother of two. At 9AM on November 17, supporters began arriving to blockade the house from eviction, and with the increasing police presence circling the block, many people were wondering what would happen next.

Supporters were prepared to stand between Lenise's family and the police to prevent the eviction of the family. Then, just as the corporate news arrived, the police suddenly disappeared. After the press conference the police stayed away most of the time, and the threat of eviction dwindled. In all, the eviction blockade turned out to be not a clash with police, but instead a great community building event in which people from all parts of chicago came together in solidarity.

Read more | Watch video | Anarkismo.net coverage

Two banners were dropped on the University of Illinois campus by a group of anonymous activists in the early morning of November 20th in solidarity with the UC occupations and the UC strike. This banner drop follows a three day strike in the UC college system, national and international solidarity actions with UC, and the recent local success of the Graduate Employee’s Organization in obtaining a fair contract.

One banner, hung off the English building, reads “Education is NOT for Sale. Support the UC strike.” The International Students Movement's statement “Education is not for sale” speaks to both the UC strike and the continuation of the fight against the privatization of public education in an attempt to make college more accessible. Another banner that briefly hung off the Alma Mater, alluding to cuts in the state budget and the continued pay disparity between administrators and other workers at the university, read “Chop from the Top. Solidarity with UC.”

 

I’ve already commented on the split before, but ODOT just keeps doing more to prove that they’re a villain and are hostile towards the revitalization of our urban core and all the hard work that is being done.

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After two days of picketing in stormy weather, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) emerged victorious. The GEO called a strike on Monday, November 16, after contract negotiations broke down over the issue of tuition waivers for out-of-state graduate students. Their strike is an example of how sheer people power can push back against the growing corporatization of public education.

In recent years, the University of Illinois has been racked with several scandals, most notably the “clout-gate” scandal in which well-connected students gained admission while more qualified students were turned away. As a result, the president, chancellor, and almost all of the Boart of Trustees were forced to step down. The so-called “global campus” was shut down, but only after incurring millions of dollars in debt. A proposed Academy of Capitalism and Limited Government Fund was opposed by faculty for its lack of oversight. A decade after it was founded, the research park on south campus has become home to multinational corporations like Caterpillar and the stealth military contractor SAIC with little benefit to the university.

Recently a story about Ms. Pignotti entitled “Monica Pignotti Introduces the PIGNOTRON” was published in the open newswire of COIMC. COIMC was contacted by Ms Pignotti via email and her request to remove the article follows.

Subject: Complaint about libelous harassing posting about me on
Colorado Indymedia
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:28:51 +0000
From: pignotti@att.net
To: webmaster@coimc.org

 

I want to make you aware that a person who has been cyberstalking me by
placing literally hundreds of false postings and ads all over the
internet about me has posted the following ad on your website that is
libelous not only of me, but also of my university. See:xxxxxxxxxxxx

Of course, there is no "PIGNOTRON". This is a libelous smear of my name
and my institution, Florida State University. Please remove this posting
or I will be consulting the university's attorneys.

Thank you,

Monica Pignotti

When COIMC receives a request to un-publish an article we on the editorial board post the request after evaluating weather the request has merit. It is the consensus of the COIMC editorial board that this request does indeed have merit and so the story on the open news wire about Mrs Pignotti has been removed for violation of the COIMC editorial policy (you can find our editorial policy at http://colorado.indymedia.org/no... ) specifically the two paragraphs bellow.

Posts which are obviously incorrect or misleading. This includes attempts to spread disinformation or to impersonate another individual. For example, if you post an article written by someone else and with your byline this is misleading and will be deleted.

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The November episode of Chicago Independent Television features extensive on-the-ground coverage of the protests and violent police response to the grassroots protests against the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. We'll also join a Chicago protests in Hyde Park against the war in Afghanistan on the war's eighth anniversary.

Read more about Episode 52 | CIMC TV Podcast | CIMC Video Page | CITV on YouTube

Despite the rain and cold, hundreds showed up on Monday, November 16, 2009 to join picket lines thrown up around several buildings on the quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After negotiations broke down over the weekend, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) called for a strike. They have been without a contract for more than three months.

In the morning, picket lines were set up at all entrances of Gregory Hall, Foellinger Auditorium, Davenport Hall, the Foreign Languages Building, and the English Building. Hundreds of classes were cancelled across campus and all of the classes in the English Building were called off. GEO members marched in circles and joined in chants that could be heard from inside the buildings. The GEO drum corps travelled to each building to keep the picket lines inspired with live drumming. A trombone player joined them playing to the tune of the 1980s pop song, “I Want Candy,” which GEO members adapted to, “I Want Contract!”

The Graduate Employees' Organization held two actions on Thursday, November 12, 2009.  The first was an early morning rally at the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting held at the Springfield campus.  Approximately 80 to 100 members and supporters rallied outside the meeting, then were invited inside by Interim President Stanley Ikenberry, Former President, B. Joe White, and BOT Chair Christopher Kennedy (of the Kennedy family).  See forthcoming video for more on this. 

A second GEO rally began at 12:00 pm at the Urbana-Champaign campus.  A very large group of between 150 and 200 GEO members and supporters gathered on the quad and then marched to Swanlund Administration Building.  Video on this will be posted later this evening. 

Be sure to visit the GEO Web site:  http://www.uigeo.org so visit http://www.iresist.org for more video footage - throughout next week.

 

About 25 people, including several youth and their parents, showed up at the Champaign County courthouse on November 12, 2009 for a juvenile hearing of the other 15 year old involved in the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington. Police had originally responded to a burglary on October 9, but after it was discovered that one of the two youth lived at the house, charges of felony resisting arrest were leveled against the surviving boy. After the hearing, supporters and family members assembled in front of the courthouse for a rally.

Before the hearing, State’s Attorney Julia Rietz was seen outside her office talking with Ed Piraino, known as a local “plea doctor” who had been appointed by the court to handle the case. When inside the courtroom, Rietz appeared personally and Piraino was present for the defense―but not for long. Local attorney Alfred Ivy, who ran against Rietz in the 2008 democratic primary for State’s Attorney office, entered a substitution of counsel and will be taking over the case.

African American men are ten times as likely to be incarcerated. Police periodically mishandle domestic violence calls. Women and men of color are routinely victimized be police and court "justice" systems because of their race or ethnicity.

Columbus needs an alternative to systems that have failed us time and time again, leaving women and survivors of abuse and assault trapped in dangerous situations, without justice, and abusers without rehabilitation.

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The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), the largest union in Champaign-Urbana, is gearing up for a strike. In a vote by members, 92% agreed to strike.

A press conference announcing the news was held at the YMCA today. Peter Campbell addressed the local media. Two dozen GEO members stood behind him with signs.

The GEO could not say when the strike may begin. Their planning committee is deciding on the course of action.

Below is the full press release from the GEO.

BD

 

Several weeks ago, we published the contents of the 2004 FBI files on the Denver Anarchist Black Cross. Now we are announcing that on November 30th, we will be filing a new set of Freedom of Information Act Requests for FBI files on behalf of ourselves and others involved in social justice movements around Denver.

There has been a long history of state repression targeting various movements for liberation and justice in the Denver area. With the acknowledgment just several years ago of the existence of the Denver Police Department’s spy files on activists, and the release of various FBI documents and files pertaining to individuals and groups active in our area, we feel that there is a need for this new round of FOIA requests. It has been years since the release of these previous records. These years have been filled with continuous organizing and resistance and, we can only assume, continued monitoring by state agencies.

If you are currently involved with, or have been involved in the past with any social justice organization or project in Denver and want to be added to this FOIA request for records, please contact us at denverabc@rocketmail.com. We have forms for each requesting individual to fill out, and we must have these signed, notarized, and in hand for mailing by November 30th, to meet our self-imposed deadline. If you wish to decline seeking personal records, but want an organization listed in the request, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

In solidarity,
Your comrades with the Denver Anarchist Black Cross
denverabc.wordpress.com

Link:  http://theusasanon-superpower.blogspot.com/

I am not suggesting that the United States should walk on eggshells or otherwise cater to our enemies or adversaries, nor am I embracing the idea that the United States is the villain in global affairs.

Rather, I am suggesting that members of the US general public not believe in absurdities regarding US foreign policy or otherwise embrace cartoonish or simplistic ideas about US foreign policy.

Maybe coming to terms with the likelihood that the United States will sooner or later lose its super-power status is a good idea, in terms of preserving quality of life in our society. No empire in history has lasted forever.

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A recent Durango Herald article reported that a military recruiter was overheard by students using a homophobic slur during the adminstration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test in Durango High School.

We would like to say we are shocked by the language of the officer described in the article, but we are not. No one familiar with the history of homophobia, transphobia, and hetero-normativity in the military would be. The armed forces of nation-states are instruments of patriarchy and a hetero-normative world view. Our lack of surprise, however, does not detract from our anger and rage against the larger social dynamics present in our increasingly precarious lives, which this incident is merely a microcosm of. We find ourselves more than anything surprised that parents and students are not more resistant to military-supervised testing in the first place, let alone the presence of military recruiters in our schools, and the overwhelmingly conservative backlash in local discourse surrounding the incident. Kudos though to DHS for at least making a bit of a ruckus about it, and not taking it sitting down.

Though by law schools receiving tax dollars must allow military recruiters to stalk their hallways for fresh cannon fodder, there are easy steps that can be taken to protect your children from these predators (at least to a certain, albeit minimal extent). Just google "military opt out form" or go to leavemychildalone.org

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By Ricky Baldwin & Barbara Bailey

From The Colorado Palestine Community Network & The Gaza Action Coalition:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ga...

Please distribute widely.

Dear all,

Governor Ritter, Mayor Hickenlooper, the University of Denver, and the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies are hosting the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem in Denver on Tuesday, 11/3/2009. Nir Barkat is leading a campaign to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents by declining building permits for Palestinians and launching a campaign of house demolitions that has displaced more than 150 people this year alone. The latest demolitions of five houses took place on Tuesday, 10/27/2009, just on the eve of his trip to the US and displaced 26 people, including 10 children. Hosting Barkat in Denver means that we endorse Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem in violation of international law and makes us party to the injustice being committed against the Palestinian people.

The Colorado Palestine Community Network is urging you to take the following actions:

1- Sign the online petition . This will be submitted to the Governor's office, the mayor's office, and the University of Denver on Monday. The petition is to urge them to rescind the invitation of Nir Barkat. The petition can be found by clicking here: http://www.petitiononline.com/Je...

2- Join us for a rally on Tuesday, 11/3/2009 at 6:00 PM in front of University of Denver Newman Center for Performing Arts located at 2344 E Iliff, Denver, CO 80208. The forecast is calling for good weather.

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The U.S. economy has been brought to the brink of collapse thanks to the failure of shoddy and dubious financial instruments, and kept afloat only thanks to major infusions of taxpayer cash. The major banking institutions, who have been raked over the coals of public opinion, saw their main public lobby, the American Bankers Association, assemble in Chicago, only to face the wrath of organized public outrage.

Thousands of activists and citizens also converged to take the ABA to task, thanks to the organizing efforts of National People's Action in an effort called Showdown in Chicago. Protesters entered the lobby of the Sheraton Chicago to face the ABA directly. This was followed by marches through downtown Chicago where thousands voiced their concern and called for accountability and positive change.

Additional Coverage: Labor Beat — Video 1 | Labor Beat — Video 2 | Photo gallery | 5000 March Against Bankers in Chicago | Photos of Chicago banner drop | Democracy Now! coverage of Showdown in Chicago

Start: Nov 11 2009 8:00 pm Start: Nov 11 2009 8:00 pm

Help defend and support social justice movements in Denver and beyond!
A benefit event for the Denver ABCF Mutual Aid Fund

"Martyr's Ball: Remember the dead and dance like hell for the living"
Wednesday November 11 (Haymarket Day) 8pm
Mercury Cafe 2199 California Street (22nd St and California), Denver

Enjoy a night of music and food to commemorate Haymarket Day, the anniversary of the execution of the Haymarket Martyrs, four anarchists executed during the height of the struggle for the 8 hour day in 1887. We will remember fallen comrades while also helping to raise funds for
contemporary social justice movements active in Denver and across the globe.

In the spirit of remembrance, we are encouraging attendees to come dressed as a martyr or fallen comrade from a social justice struggle. We are also encouraging participants to contact us in advance to let us know who they will come as, so we can compile educational materials about many of the martyrs represented at the event.

All funds generated by the event will go to benefit with Denver ABCF Mutual Aid Fund, a project that aims to provide financial support to members of social justice movements in need of economic relief and assistance.

For more information about the event you can contact the Denver ABCF at denverabc@rocketmail.com or contact Whitney at 303-995-3899

For more information about Denver ABCF you can visit our blog at
denverabc.wordpress.com