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Articles Featured on indymedia.us for April 2012
May 2012 >> << March 2012
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Apr 02 2012
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Portland protest against the criminalization of homelessness on 'No Fooling Day' |
Street Roots, Right 2 Survive and Sisters of the Road held a protest in Pioneer Square downtown Portland on a national day of action, 'No Fooling Day' to stand up against the ongoing criminalization of people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Portland, OR, 04/01/2011 — READ MORE & PHOTOSRELATED COVERAGE: Reportback from the “End the Camping Ban” Rally and March | Gary Johnson Convicted for Sleeping Outside Santa Cruz Courthouse | Demonstrators Call for an End to Laws Restricting Acts of Compassion
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Apr 04 2012
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Decarcerate PA Launches Platform, Prepares for Push |
Last night a coalition of over sixty organizations and hundreds of individuals gathered to formally launch an ambitious campaign — to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania. "Decarcerate PA" was initiated by ex-prisoners, prisoners families, and allies who are convinced that mass incarceration does far more harm than good. Their 3-point platform outlines how state funds should be redirected from new prison and detention center construction into public schools, jobs and job training, critical safety net services, and non-punitive programs to address the root cause of violence. The coalition held an initial rally in August and plans another rally for April 5th.
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Apr 05 2012
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'Occupy Trimet' protest in defense of Portland's public transportation |
An 'Occupy Trimet' protest was held in Pioneer Square as part of a national day of action in defence of public transportation at a time when fare rises and cuts to services are being drafted. Portland, OR, 04/04/2012. Read MoreHomepage: alexmilantracy.com | Related Info: A National Day of Action in Defense of Public Transportation | Related Post: Tri-Met is accepting comments up to April 5
Related from Boston IMC: Occupy the T opens camp at State House
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Apr 06 2012
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Mass Seniors to DeLeo, Legislature: “Don’t Leave Our Plates Empty” |
Local advocates launch State House lobby day to fight proposed elimination of 240,000 meals for low-income and homebound seniorsBEACON HILL – Seniors from across Massachusetts gathered at the State House Thursday to speak out against proposed cuts to senior meal programs. Organized by the Massachusetts Senior Action Council (MSAC), the protest and lobbying drive came in response to a new Beacon Hill budget proposal that would eliminate more than 240,000 meals for low-income and homebound seniors throughout the commonwealth. Read More & Pics | Video | masssenioraction.org
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Apr 07 2012
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Occupy SF Liberates Vacant Building to Establish Social Center |
On Sunday, April 1st, Occupy SF working groups and affinity groups occupied a vacant building at 888 Turk Street, The idea was to liberate a vacant building and convert it into a social center, shelter and food bank for the people. The SF Commune stated that they initiated the occupation "to provide a perpetual, autonomous headquarters for the Occupy SF movement." The building has space for food preparation and distribution, bedrooms for housing, event rooms for General Assemblies and art projects, classrooms and space for medical services. When San Francisco police raided the building on April 2nd, over 50 people were arrested.
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Apr 08 2012
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Move to Amend Votes in Urbana and Champaign |
On Tuesday, April 10 the Champaign and Urbana (Cunningham) Township meetings will have on their agendas two items to be voted on by all registered voters in attendance. One item calls for an item to be added to the November ballot which urges representatives, from the local to national level, to endorse an Amendment which declares corporations do not have the same rights as people and states that legislation should be pursued which challenges the Citizens United Supreme Court decision by re-enacting curbs on corporate spending in elections... read more
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Apr 10 2012
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New Texas "civil" Detention Center Unveiled |
On March 13, 2012, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unveiled its new “civil” detention center in Karnes County, Texas, located one hour southeast of San Antonio. By the end of the month the facility will hold male migrants who are either asylum-seekers or have been categorized as “low-risk.” Karnes County contracted with private prison giant the GEO Group to build this detention center, which sits upon 29 acres of land and has 608 beds, with the possibility to expand to 1200 beds. The detention center is heralded by ICE as a model facility that is demonstrative of its efforts to move towards “humane detention.” Despite its shiny exterior and the presence of volleyball courts and soccer fields, the GEO group’s troubled history and record of human rights violations within its facilities are cause for alarm. The promise of “humane detention” itself is an oxymoron that community members should challenge. A gilded cage is still a cage.
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Apr 12 2012
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Housing Rights Activists fight Gentrification in Venice Beach |
LOS ANGELES, March 30, 2012 - Occupy Venice, Venice Locals, Lawyers with the National Lawyers Guild, and a group called Venice Community Unity all came together on 3rd Ave in Venice to stop a homeless sweep from happening on March 29. There was tension. Despite public resistance, the LAPD and Street Services were going to throw away belongs that were clearly not garbage until civil rights attorney, Carol Sobel called Councilman Rosendahl and convinced him to intercede. So this time no property was seized. Trash was removed from 3rd Ave but the belongings remained. It was a success. The only problem is that the city just keeps doing the same thing. Full Stories: Venice Homeless Sweep Stopped: A Good Day in Venice for Street People by Venice Justice Committee | Rosendahl's Legacy: Gentrification and Sweeping the Homeless Out of Venice? by Peggy Lee Kennedy
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Apr 14 2012
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Police Evict Troy Davis Park Occupation |
Early Wednesday morning, police evicted the occupation outside Troy Davis Park in downtown Atlanta. Nobody was arrested, but tents were seized by police, and some were destroyed. The encampment was led and organized by homeless people. In addition to losing their tent city, some occupiers lost all of their personal belongings.Last month, city council passed an ordinance targeted against "urban camping", which makes all occupations on city property illegal. The ordinance was not enforced until Wednesday, which was also when movie trailers and camera crews appeared across the street to shoot Necessary Roughness, a network TV show. Read More & Video | Related: Psychological Warfare toward Occupy Atlanta
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Apr 16 2012
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Long Haul Vindicated in Legal Settlement for 2008 UCPD and FBI Raid |
The Long Haul and East Bay Prisoner Support have settled their lawsuits over an armed, over-broad police raid after the law enforcement agencies agreed to delete improperly seized computer data and pay $100,000 in damages and attorney's fees. Moreover, the University of California-Berkeley Police Department (UCBPD) acknowledged that at the time of the raid one of the groups qualified for federal protections designed to protect journalists, publishers, and other distributors of information from police searches, despite the police's persistent denial of that status throughout the lawsuit. Read More | Related from Santa Cruz: OSC Hosts Occupy Art Show at Resource Center for Nonviolence
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Apr 18 2012
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The Outer Limits of Solitary Confinement -- Video Interview of Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox |
The event marked 40 years of solitary confinement for Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3, by exploring the expansion and overuse of solitary confinement, mobilizing support for the Amnesty International Petition to remove Wallace and Woodfox from solitary confinement (being hand delivered to LA Governor Bobby Jindal on Tuesday, April 17) and support for the California Hunger Strikers.The video features solidarity photos from Philadelphia, where the first experiment in solitary confinement in the United States began.
Related: May 5 Launch of Campaign to free RUSSELL MAROON SHOATZ from Solitary Confinement | Call to End the Solitary Confinement Torture of Russell Maroon Shoatz
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Apr 20 2012
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11 UC Davis Students, Professor, Charged for U.S. Bank Blockade |
Just months after UC Davis police pepper sprayed seated students in the face during a protest against university privatization and police brutality, Chancellor Linda Katehi's administration is trying to send some of the same students to prison for their alleged role in protests that led to the closure of a US Bank branch on campus. On March 29th, weeks after an anti-privatization action against US Bank ended with the closure of the bank's campus branch, 11 UC Davis students and one professor received orders to appear at Yolo County Superior Court. District Attorney Jeff Reisig is charging campus protesters with 20 counts each of obstructing movement in a public place, and one count of conspiracy.
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Apr 22 2012
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#99TaxDay: 1,500 Take to Boston Streets to Call Out Corporate and 1% Tax Dodgers |
As the deadline loomed for low-income and middle class families, a mass march and rally shined a light on the companies and CEOs whose Tax Day never comes.Upwards of 1,500 Massachusetts taxpayers took to the streets of Boston’s Financial District Tuesday, Tax Day, to demand major corporations and the wealthiest 1% pay their fair share to fund our communities. The massive demonstration came as part of a growing, nationwide wave of discontent against big corporations, the rich, and politicians who have created an economic emergency for the 99% through rampant tax dodging. Read More | Related: Mutliple arrests after SOA Watch blocks Independence Ave
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Apr 24 2012
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FBI Seizes European Counter Network Web Server from NYC Colocation Facility |
On April 18th, U.S. Federal authorities removed a server from a colocation facility shared by Riseup Networks and May First/People Link (MFPL) in New York City. The seized server was operated by the European Counter Network (ECN), the oldest independent internet service provider in Europe, who, among many other things, provided an anonymous remailer service, Mixmaster, that was the target of an FBI investigation into a series of bomb threats against the University of Pittsburgh.Tech staff have assured users that no riseup user or MFPL member data or security codes were compromised in the seizure. The server itself was fully encrypted.
Hundreds of ECN users, email lists and websites were disrupted in this seizure, including academics, artists, historians, feminist groups, gay rights groups, community centers, documentation and software archives and free speech groups. None are alleged to be involved in the anonymous bomb threats. ECN is the oldest independent service provider in Europe. Before sites like Youtube and Vimeo existed, ECN created a platform called NGV where people could upload and share independent video of human rights violations. Nowadays ECN works primarily with anti-fascist and anti-Nazi movements in all of Europe, providing space and resources to political and social centers.
“The server seizure is not only an attack against us, but an attack against all users of the Internet who depend on anonymous communication," said MFPL director Jamie McClelland. "The pointlessness of this seizure suggests an inclination toward extrajudicial punishment and an attempted crackdown on the very possibility of anonymous speech online." Dispatch from MFPL | Joint Press Release | Server Seizure FAQ | ecn.org
Related: FBI attempts, fails to gain access to May 1st/People's Link servers | Privacy Groups Seek to Stop Cyber Spying Legislation | Stand Strong for Online Privacy
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Apr 26 2012
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Project Homeless Connect Santa Cruz: "Social Justice for Homeless" |
One Day of Charity in Santa Cruz: A Band-Aid Event or A Transformational Experience?On April 17th, the third annual Project Homeless Connect Santa Cruz was held inside and outside the Civic Auditorium on Church Street in Santa Cruz. Hundreds of people, most of whom are experiencing homelessness, and therefore typically marginalized and criminalized in our community, were provided with a wide range of services and some goods. According to Project Homeless Connect, which includes corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies, the organization began in San Francisco in 2004 "when Mayor Gavin Newsom challenged his county workers to create a better system of care for the homeless community."
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Apr 27 2012
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Conspiracy to Make Media: Indybay Journalists Charged with Felony |
Viewpoint Discrimination and Selective Prosecution at Work in Charges Against Independent JournalistsMarch 20, 2011: SANTA CRUZ, CA — Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee has charged eleven people with multiple felonies and misdemeanors after the occupation of a vacant bank building on November 30th, 2011. Included in this group are four regular contributors to the independent news website Indybay.org. An Indybay release called this a "full frontal assault against independent media in Santa Cruz. [...] District Attorney Lee apparently believes it is his duty to dictate how events such as the occupation of the vacant bank at 75 River Street should be reported on by the media, and if he does not approve of the coverage, then journalists risk the DA bringing charges against them." Full Press Release from Indybay | En Español
Roundup of Coverage from Indybay | santacruzeleven.org
Pictured: Bradley Stuart Allen and Alex Darocy are Indybay photojournalists and Indybay editors who were reporting on the occupation.
UPDATES:
April 14, 2012 — ACLU Issues Statement of Support and Petition for Journalists, Local Press and Activists... READ MORE
April 24, 2012 — Santa Cruz Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Condemns Law Enforcement; Issues Statement Supporting Eleven Charged in Occupation of Vacant Bank... READ MORE
April 26, 2012 — Judge Burdick Dismisses Charges Against Four of the Santa Cruz Eleven; DA Says She'll Refile; Seven Defendants Still Face Felony and Misdemeanor Charges... READ MORE
April 30, 2012 — Occupy Santa Cruz Adopts Resolution in Support of the Eleven 75 River St. Defendants... READ MORE
May 6, 2012 — ACLU of Northern California Submits Brief in Support of Indybay's Bradley Stuart Allen and Alex Darocy: The California Constitution "Is Broader and More Protective Than the First Amendment"... READ MORE
May 6, 2012 — Community Members Rally for Charges to Be Dropped Against the Santa Cruz Eleven: "Bob Lee, Stop Wasting Money! Drop the Charges!" ... READ MORE
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Apr 28 2012
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11th Annual Cesar E. Chavez - "Si Se Puede" March |
Austin, Texas - Saturday March 31, 2012: In order to celebrate and recognize the role of Cesar E. Chavez as a civil rights, farm worker & labor leader, a diversity of organizations and community members participated in the 11th Annual "Si Se Puede" Unity March. The Unity March also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the United Farm Workers Union. The event was organized by PODER - People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources. This video by Rene Renteria Photography highlights speaker excerpts from:
* Honorable Gonzalo Barrientos
* Mike Martinez - Austin City Councilman
* Margaret Gomez - Travis County Commissioner, Precinct 4
* Anita Quintanilla - Organizer for Cesar Chavez
Read More Here | Watch Video (on Youtube) | Related: Activism in the Tradition of Cesar Chavez
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Apr 30 2012
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Anarchist Alliance and Occupy DC storm Washington Circle Hotel |
Starting a little after 10 PM on the 21st of April, IMF protesters staged a noisy street march three delegate hotels, the Washington Circle, the Mayflower and the Capitol Hilton. Protesters succeeded in entering the Washington Circle Hotel and nearly got into the Mayflower as well. Read More & Photos | TheOccupyPeople video: Storming the Washington Circle Hotel | Flux Rostrom's video of the night march RELATED: Barricades at IMF pulled into streets, two arrests nearly an hour later | Implications of the US-Colombia FTA on the workers of both countries, the Americas Summit, and the People's Summit | The Facts on Fair Trade, Friday at Red&Black Cafe