On Saturday, the Coalition of Latino Pastors of Northeast Ohio organized a protest at the new office of House Rep. Ted Strickland, one of 16 democrats who voted in favor of the bill. On Tuesday, hundreds gathered in Philadelphia for a day-long strike organized by El Paro. Strikers called on employers to wake up to the potentially devastating effects of the bill. [Para un reportaje en Espanol] [Video Coverage]

Meanwhile, the March for Migrants -- which began in California early this month and reached Louisiana on Sunday -- arrived in DC on Wednesday, where the group is meeting with legislators about HR 4437. [Audio from the rally on Saturday at the Capitol Building] [Audio from the road]

Upcoming Events: [in Houston] [in Oakland]

The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center recently moved into their new home -- in Urbana's historic downtown post office. The opening, which featured the "barnraising" of a new low power FM radio station located in the building, highlighted the eclectic and engaged organizing tactics of this highly-successful IMC.

The significance of their new home is not lost on the UC-IMC collective members, who are brimming with ideas on how to re-invent this natural human gathering point by and for their community.  The front section of the structure will remain a post office, as it was before, so neighbors walking in will have a similar experience as in the past -- with one significant difference: where one wall of mailboxes used to be is now the newly-constructed studio window of the new low power FM radio station -- WRFU, Radio Free Urbana. 

WRFU is just one of UC-IMC's projects that the new building will enable to come to fruition. The Independent Media Center in Urbana-Champaign has embraced a broad definition of "media" and over the past five years has given birth to a loose network of interdependent, overlapping projects -- from art collectives to a program that sends books to prisoners; from an innovative community wireless initiative to multiple ad-hoc advocacy efforts arising in response to stories that IMC "citizen journalists" broke.

On Friday, November 18, a group of peace activists from St. Louis, North Carolina, and Chicago entered the property of Aero Contractors near Smithfield, North Carolina, to deliver an indictment of their illegal activities. The indictment accuses Aero of providing planes and pilots for the CIA's program of extraordinary rendition that flies terror suspects to locations where they will likely be tortured.



Other members of the group held signs along Route 70 during rush hour traffic to alert commuters to Aero's activities. Copies of the indictment are being delivered throughout the day to members of the Johnston County Council and Johnston County Airport Commission urging them to take action to put an end to Aero's illegal activities.

videos: excerpts of the action. (35.5 MB) || letter and copy of the indictment being delivered to Ray Blackmon, Director of the Johnston County Airport. (20.7 MB)

see also: Stop Torture Now || 14 Arrests Today at NC Protest of CIA Torture-Prison Flights || Five St. Louis Protesters Arrested Outside Aero Contractors Ltd || List of CIA Planes in North Carolina || What Is AERO CONTRACTORS? Here's the rundown || CIA flights in Europe round-up

A new organization called "The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!" formed in 2005 and organized a national day of protest for Wednesday, November 2nd. That date is the anniversary of Bush's re-election last year. World Can't Wait says, "People everywhere will walk out of school, they will take off work, they will come to the downtowns and town squares and set out from there, going through the streets and calling on many more to join us." World Can't Wait says that people in 67 cities, at 43 colleges and universities, and in 90 high schools will leave their jobs and classes to join protests on that day.

People held rallies, feeder marches, and caravans from all over the Bay Area to gather in San Francisco. They converged at 12pm in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, rallied from 12pm to 1pm, marched at 1:30pm, and an ended with another rally at 4:30pm in Civic Center Plaza. The march down Mission Street and back up Market was a sea of energized youth carrying aloft the distinctive WCW signs, doted with red “Not Our President! – Not in Our Name” posters and Earth flags.

Event speakers included Cindy Sheehan of Gold Star Families for Peace, California State Senator Carole Migden, SF Supervisor Chris Daly, CODEPINK’s Media Benjamin, Jeff Paterson on behalf of Not in Our Name, Paul George of the Pennisula Peace and Justice Center, a taped message from Mumia Abu Jamal, and a statement from WCW initiators the Revolutionary Communist Party.



After the main march left Civic Center, there was an unpermited breakaway march. As the march moved up Mission Street, a Molotov cocktail was tossed at the Chronicle Building. Near the end of the march, a small group sat down in the the street near Hyde and Market as a form of direct action. The police moved in and nine protesters were arrested. A tenth protester was arrested accused of having Molotov cocktails in their posession.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Video



Hayes Valley/Lower Haight/Alamo Square residents gathered at 10:00am to talk about neighborhood organizing, and then marched to Civic Center to join World Can't Wait. In Sacramento, people planned to gather in William Land Park (3930 W Land Park Dr, Sacramento, CA), and they planned to march at 3:45.



Elsewhere in California, protests were also held in Eureka and Los Angeles.

Protest also occurred in Atlanta Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Houston, New York, Portland, and many other cities around the country.



World Can't Wait website

Major anti-war protests were called for September 24th by International ANSWER, United for Peace and Justice, and hundreds of endorsing organizations nationwide. Rallies and marches are planned for Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Portland, Oregon, and many other cities such as Fresno, CA, Santa Cruz, CA, Las Vegas, Reno, Nevada, and Seattle, WA Anti-war events in more cities

For more coverage by other IMCs in DC, go to Big Muddy IMC and Urbana-Champaign IMC.

Enemy Combatant Radio in SF | Portland IMC Web Radio | More radio coverage

The trial of the St. Patrick’s Four has national significance because it raises several fundamental issues regarding constitutional freedoms and the Bush-Gonzalez ongoing campaign to silence and intimidate dissent and public expressions of opposition to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The trial of the St. Patrick’s Four will establish whether the Federal Government can jail dissenters engaging in civil disobedience for up to six years and fine them up to $250,000 on feckless charges of “conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States by threat, intimidation or force”. Even more ominous, in terms of the procedures for a fair trial, the senior US District Judge for Northern New York, Thomas McAvoy, has ruled that the defendants cannot discuss the reasons and motivation for their action.

To counter the Feds gag order on the defendants, local supporters of the St. Patrick’s Four have organized a national network of solidarity and education through a five-day Citizens Tribunal on Iraq. The Tribunal will hear expert testimony on the illegality of the invasion and occupation of Iraq as well as a legal and moral defense of civil disobedience to oppose crimes against humanity. Former CIA agent Ray McGovern, Global Exchange director Medea Benjamin, anti-war soldier Camilo Mejia and many other critics of the war have accepted the invitation to participate in panels to counter the pro-war case of the government and local media.



The city of Binghamton is a microcosm of the increasingly polarized country; the outcome of the trial in this obscure corner of New York however will have a major impact on whether the Bush Administration will have the judicial weapons to intimidate the opposition and proceed with its war plans or suffer another defeat in the courts as well as in the streets.

On September 20, in a sign of solidarity with the four war resisters — Teresa Grady, Danny Burns, Clare Grady, and Peter DeMott — several hundred people gathered outside the Federal Courthouse in Binghamton, NY. The defendants' statement after today's jury selection 5.4MB QuickTime U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey speaks about the trial and the future of our country 27.9MB QuickTime

On September 19, member of British parliament Michael Meacher, former US Ambassador and Service member Anne Wright, and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern expressed their opposition to the Iraq War and support for the St Patrick's Four civil disobedients before an audience of over 300 people at the Centenary-Chenango St. United Methodist Church in the official kick-off of Binghamton's week-long “Citizen's Tribunal of Iraq”.

The 15,000 members of the United Houma Nation branch out across the most southeastern part of Louisiana. Of them, at least 3,400 have been direly affected by Hurricane Katrina, the homes of approximately 1,000 remain underwater, and the plight of all have been largely ignored  by the federal government and mainstream media alike.

Still federally unrecognized by the U.S. government, the Houma's calls for help have too remained unheeded by the same authority. Fortunately, the Houma can count on allies such as the National Congress of American Indians and the Common Ground Collective. NCAI and the National Indian Gaming Association have teamed up in a million-dollar fundraising effort to benefit all of the tribes in the affected areas of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Meanwhile, the Common Ground Collective of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans sent one truck loaded with food and ice today. Another truck stocked with gasoline, water, and medicine, should be hitting the road tomorrow.

Throughout their history, the Houma have rebuilt and relocated after each displacement, be it because of natural disasters or man-made oppression. How many times must a people recreate themselves before the simple recognition of their existence is finally granted?

His detention and deportation have been controversial, sparking significant debate (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5)and numerous protests (1 | 2 | 3). Australian Iraq-war-whistleblower Andrew Wilkie said his detention is proof of an out-of-control national security agenda. The FBI has stated that he is welcome to return to the U.S.

Scott was detained by police in Australia and held in solitary confinement without being charged with any crime. The reasons were ambiguous but his legal advisor has confirmed that among the reasons given for his detainment is that Scott has been identified as a terror threat to Australian national security. Scott is in no way a terrorist threat; he is a political activist, plain and simple, and was detained because of his political activism.

Scott has been an essential component in organizing anti-war profiteering protests against Halliburton in Houston, Texas. He was a key organizer of the two large protests during Halliburton¹s 2004 and 2005 shareholders meetings that garnered negative publicity for Halliburton, and he has co-organized numerous teach-ins, rallies and other nonviolent actions about war profiteering. Scott is also an environmental activist and worked with Greenpeace on an action during Exxon Mobil¹s shareholder meeting in 2003.

Scott has been traveling in Australia since June, camping and hiking, and recently began doing some work with Australia Greenpeace. He has also recently has been participating in some anti-corporate protests in Australia, and has given presentations to Australian activists about strategic organizing, street theater, and nonviolent direct action. He has broken no known law or violated his visa requirements. According to his legal advisor in Australia, Marika Dias, "Scott has complied with that visa completely while he's been here. There's been no wrongdoing on his part."

Background | Sydney protest | Melbourne protest | Latest updates on case | Agrees to deportation | Aus A-G pretends deportation not political | Worldwide Coverage | Returns to US

Case sparks Australian commentary:

On Scott Parkin | Why Deport Parkin? | Debate in Australian Senate | The new terrorism: Working for peace! | ASIO used against green & anti-corporate activists

Check New Orleans Indymedia and Houston Indymedia for breaking news on the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and Katrina.Indymedia.us for local features from IMCs across the US.

Indybay's poverty page has a Katrina timeline detailing 5 days with little federal response leaving thousands dead. Portland IMC has created a Katrina aftermath page which includes links to more resources. Also vist Real Reports of Katrina Relief for on-the-ground truth telling from New Orleans, southern Louisiana and Mississippi.

Grassroots Mutual Aid is being offered by many groups, including Common Ground, Rainbow Emergency Management Assembly and Food Not Bombs. 

“That’s Cindy Sheehan,” points the Vietnam War veteran from his seat at the table. “She lost her son Casey in Iraq. And I’m going to follow her to Crawford. You coming?”

Looking up from my plate, I take the vet’s direction and turn to see Sheehan standing on the grass, stage left, mixing with three generations of veterans who have gathered this evening for peace and Bar-B-Que.



Twenty-four-year-old Casey Sheehan was killed at Sadr City on April 4, 2004 during the historic uprising (16 months ago to the day). Cindy blames the President for “creating that insurgency by his failed policies,” and on Saturday morning she is going to attempt to visit Bush at his vacation ranch in Crawford, a couple hours’ drive to the South.

More coverage at  http://dc.indymedia.org/feature/display/127541/index.php

Update - August 10th

Day 1 of the spirited march through Coal River, WV:

On Day 1 of a spirited three-day march through the Sylvester/Whitesville area of southern West Virginia, local folks and concerned people from around the country came together to oppose Mountain Top Removal coal mining in the heart of MTR country....

Day 2 of Anti-MTR march in Whitesville, WV:

On Day 2 of the event counter-protesters became increasingly hostile yelling at the march participants, intimidating protesters, kicking up gravel with vehicles and in one case appearing to purposefully attempt to hit a march participant with their car....



Day 3 of the march in Sylvester, WV:

The third day of a march through Coal River, WV ended in a powerful show of solidarity between locals, elderly members of the community, and Mountain Justice summer volunteers from around the country....

Listen to audio report about the march