Click here to pledge your support for the mobilization and to receive updates.

For over 200 years the United States, with its military, has been interfering in the internal affairs [...]]]> Join us on October 8-9, 2011 in Florida and converge on the new headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command outside of Miami, Florida.

Click here to pledge your support for the mobilization and to receive updates.

For over 200 years the United States, with its military, has been interfering in the internal affairs of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. We want that to end! So on Invasion Day (Columbus) Weekend, SOA Watch South Florida / SouthCom Watch will hold a series of events centering around the U.S Southern Command in Doral Florida, just to the west of Miami, Florida.

We are inviting groups and organizations to co-sponsor and participate in this regional event. This weekend of education, entertainment, and protest, with groups from all over the country, grew out of last April’s conference on Latin America that was held in Washington DC.

People from all over the Americas know the role the U.S. Southern Command has played in the U.S. intervention, militarism, and economic domination of the region. It is time to show the U.S. government and the military that people in the United States will no longer tolerate a boot to the neck foreign policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean. From Free Trade agreements to immigration, U.S. policy has had a devastating effect on the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. This must end!

The weekend of October 8-9, Invasion Day (Columbus Day), we will gather in South Florida to demand an end to repressive U.S. polices!

Our demands include:
an end to U.S. militarization of Latin America & the Caribbean (close all U.S. bases and deactivate the 4th fleet),
stop the criminalization of immigrants and people of color,
close the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC),
and abolish the economic embargo of Cuba.

“They… brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for glass beads and hawk’s bells. They willingly traded everything they owned… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features… They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (From Howard Zinn’s, People’s History Of The United States; a log entry by Christopher Columbus, on his first encounter with the native peoples of this hemisphere.)

From one conquistador to another,
519 years of repression of the peoples of the Americas

The U.S. Southern Command, located outside of Miami, Florida, is the brains behind the U.S. military domination of Latin America and the Caribbean. We would like to close it. Reclaim the sacred land for the peoples of the Americas. Bring an offering from your part of the Americas to inaugurate a new spirit of peace and justice and end U.S. military, economic and political intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Close the SOA/WHINSEC, de-activate the 4th Fleet.

Tentative Schedule of Events

Saturday, October 8
Panel on U.S. Militarization and Resistance in the Americas, Saint Maurice Catholic Church, Daina Beach, Florida

Sunday, October 9
Rally & March to the gates of the U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Florida

Contact the organizers to get involved:
Linda Belgrave, cell 305-801-0245, email lindaannie@gmail.com,
Ray Del Papa, cell 754-423-0051, email mrrratpp@aol.com

Click here for a list of hotels in the area

Click here for a report back from the November 2009 protest at SOUTHCOM
View Larger Map
Co-sponsoring organizations:

SOA Watch South Florida / SouthCom Watch, Pax Christi Saint Maurice, 8th Day Center for Justice, Action LA Network, Alachua County Green Party, Alliance for Global Justice, Bend-Condega Friendship Project, Black Unity movement, CEIG Communities Engaged in Global Justice, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Colectivo Morazán, Colombia Action Network, Colombia Vive, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Fellowship of Reconciliation Chicago Chapter, Fox Valley Citizens for Peace & Justice, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Guatemala Human Rights Commission, Haiti Action Committee, Hilton Head for Peace, Interconnect Newsletter, Jeannine Coallier Catholic Worker, La Voz de los de Abajo, Latin America Solidarity Coalition, Louisville chapter NLG, National Immigrant Solidarity Network, National Lawyers Guild, New Hampshire Veterans for Peace, Nicaragua Center for Community Action, Nicaragua-US Friendship Office, October2011 Movement, Office of the Americas, Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, Peace and Freedom Party, Peace NO War Network, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Progressive Democrats of America, Progressive Democrats of America – Miami Chapter, Red River Veterans for Peace – Chapter 154, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC), Red River Veterans For Peace; Chapter 154, SOA Watch, SOA Watch Boulder, SOA Watch West, South Florida Food Not Bombs, St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America, Topanga Peace Alliance, MLK Coalition for Jobs, Justice and Peace, U.S. Peace Council, U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities, United Church of Christ, United for Peace and Justice, United National Anti-War Committee (UNAC), Veterans For Peace, Veterans For Peace – Chapter 32 Miami

Click here to pledge your support for the mobilization and to receive updates.
Besides the March on the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom), grassroots resistance actions are also being coordinated Washington, DC and in Nevada in early October. Click here to read the Joint Solidarity Statement by the October2011 Movement, the National Catholic Worker Gathering and SOA Watch South Florida/ SouthCom Watch

ORIGINAL POST HERE

On Tuesday, August 2, The Bankers’ “Debt-Ceiling Deadline”

…Come To A People’s General Assembly On Wall Street [...]]]>

Thu, 2011-06-16 08:00 – 23:59

RSVP on Facebook

We are [...]]]>

June 16: Day of Action in Solidarity with Carlos Montes

Friday June 17th, from noon-1:30pm at San Francisco City Hall

June is Torture Awareness Month and Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlotte has planned an event in conjunction with Charlotte Friends Meeting (Quakers).

On Saturday, June 11 at 7 pm, the PUUC Social Justice Committee, the PUUC Peace Alliance will join with the Charlotte Friends Peace and Social Concerns Committee along with support from [...]]]>

June is Torture Awareness Month and Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlotte has planned an event in conjunction with Charlotte Friends Meeting (Quakers).

On Saturday, June 11 at 7 pm, the PUUC Social Justice Committee, the PUUC Peace Alliance will join with the Charlotte Friends Peace and Social Concerns Committee along with support from NC Peace Action, NC Veterans for Peace and NC Stop Torture Now to present one or both of two short films, “Ending US-Sponsored Torture Forever, a study for people of faith” and “Repairing the Brokenness, A Faithful Response to US-Sponsored Torture”.  There will also be a discussion of our response to the problem of US sanctioned torture of political prisoners.

We know that the torture of any prisoner is illegal under many national and international laws and agreements.  We know that our government has been instrumental in not only condoning torture, but paying private companies for the transport of prisoners for this purpose.  We know that the hatred of the US resulting from our involvement with torture has put not only our military personnel, but all Americans at risk for reprisals from foreign groups, and we know that in North Carolina we are especially culpable because of our direct involvement in allowing prisoner transport planes to fly from here.

We’re always asking, “What can I do.”  What we can do is to not look away with the idea that it doesn’t matter and that if the government wants to torture people that’s not our concern.  We can continue to lobby, continue to gather in groups, and continue to demand that those breaking anti-torture laws be held responsible for their actions.  We willl also discuss the endorsement of the Citizens Commission of Inquiry, a document that calls for a legal investigation of private or government involvement in torture in violation of national laws.

Presenters and discussion leaders are Christina Cowger director of NC Stop Torture Now and Edie Garwood of Amnesty International.

The event will be at the Quaker Meeting House, 570 W. Rocky River Road, Charlotte, NC.

For more information contact Mimi Davis, davisxyz@hotmail.com, 704-499-3918.

No court date on June 1 for release of Johannes Mehserle– killer cop who executed Oscar Grant. DON’T RELEASE THE KILLER COP!

Confirmed through [...]]]>

Dancing can be dangerous. In Ceausescu’s Romania I was arrested for dancing without a partner. In newly independent Guinea Bissau, my dancing partner was thrown in jail for boogying before the President and his wife had the first dance. In Cuba I was awoken at 4am to bail out a friend who had been [...]]]>

Dancing can be dangerous. In Ceausescu’s Romania I was arrested for dancing without a partner. In newly independent Guinea Bissau, my dancing partner was thrown in jail for boogying before the President and his wife had the first dance. In Cuba I was awoken at 4am to bail out a friend who had been locked up for “lesbian dancing.” And in Afghanistan I narrowly escaped arrest for dancing on a “men-only” dance floor. On each occasion I was shocked by the misuse of government power and disrespect for personal freedom.

So I naturally felt the same sense of outrage when I heard about the case of Mary Brooke Oberwetter, who was arrested for dancing quietly (with a headset on) at the Jefferson Memorial back in 2008. She sued the Park Police, lost and then appealed. On May 17, 2011 the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against her, saying that that dancing at memorials is forbidden “because it stands out as a type of performance, creating its own center of attention and distracting from the atmosphere of solemn commemoration.” Never mind that Oberwetter was arrested at midnight, when there was nobody but her and her friends around. Never mind that tourists at these memorials are always talking loudly, posing for photos and making all kinds of “distractions.” Never mind that dance can be a way to express joy at the freedoms espoused by our founding fathers.

To protest this absurd ruling, some folks put out a call on Facebook to gather on Saturday, May 28, to dance at the Memorial. I heard about it from my friend Adam Kokesh, an Iraq war vet and producer of the show Adam vs. the Man on the network Russia Today. A committed libertarian, Adam decided to help spread the word and join the protest.

It was Memorial Day weekend. My partner Tighe Barry and I were on our way to New York, but we decided to make a quick trip to the Memorial to support the dancers. When we got there, two park policemen were talking to the group. We moved closer to hear what they were saying and overheard someone ask the police how they define dancing. Tighe put his arms around my waist and started swaying, illustrating how hard it is to define what, precisely, is dancing.

Suddenly, to our utter amazement, we were set upon by the police. They yanked us apart, handcuffed us and shoved us on the ground.  That’s when three members of the group put on their headsets and started boogying. The police went wild, bodyslamming, chokeholding, and jumping on top of them. The police cleared out the entire Memorial as if they were protecting the tourists from some kind of terrorist threat, then threw us in a paddywagon and hauled us off to jail. Three hours later, after mug shots and fingerprinting, we were charged with “dancing in a restricted area” and cited to come back to court.

But then something even more remarkable happened. We looked online and discovered that a video taken of the event was already out, and had gone viral. In just a few hours, thousands had seen it and were reposting it all over cyberspace. Other video versions began popping up, and the media starting calling. We were on Fox News, CNN, the Washington Post. In a few days, over 1 million people had seen a version of the video, and over 10,000 people were engaging in an intense on-line debate about it.  Sure, some thought we “got what we deserved,” but most were as outraged as we were–and they wanted to do something about it.

So we decided to invite people back again, the next Saturday, to dance. Adam put up a Facebook event page, and before the week’s end, over 2,500 people had signed up.

Of all the issues I have been part of in recent years—protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Wall Street banksters, the BP oil spill, attacks on immigrants, draconian drug laws—few have struck a chord like this. People around the nation, both progressive and conservative, are appalled that the police would so violently arrest people for dancing—silently—in a memorial built to a man who was this nation’s most passionate defender of the rights of the individual against the state. It was, after all, Jefferson who asked, ”What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” It was also Jefferson who warned that “a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
The interior walls of the Jefferson Memorial are engraved with passages from Jefferson’s writings and on the southwest wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

What could be more emblematic of the pursuit of happiness than dance? Surely Jefferson, an avid fiddler and jig lover, would agree.

If you are in the DC area, come join us Saturday, June 4^th at noon at the Jefferson Memorial. You don’t have to risk arrest. You can dance on the steps (legal), you can observe (legal) or, you can bring your dancing shoes and your smoothest moves. If you can’t come, you can sign this petition to the DC Park Police urging them to Let the Dancers Dance.

So this Saturday, we’ll be dancing in reverence to Thomas Jefferson’s spirit of resistance. We’ll be dancing to reclaim our nation’s memorials for us, the people. We’ll be dancing because we are freedom-lovers and want to preserve our freedoms. Most important, we’ll be dancing for the pure joy of dancing.

ORIGINAL POST HERE

11:30 am – Gather at Bob Dougherty Memorial Park, N 2nd St. and Kickapoo St. (map). Unrestricted street parking is available around the park. Toilets will be available as well.

Noon – Rally

1:00 pm – March to the intersection of Metropolitan Ave. and N 7th St. (map), six blocks north-west of the rally.

The last weekend in May (27th-29th), Greensboro will be hosting the 3rd NC Rising, a statewide anarchist/anti-authoritarian conference for the total dismemberment of modern-day oppression and the construction of harmonious self-determination. We are interested in “provoking community;” a phrase designed to examine the importance of forming powerful, mutual, & intimate [...]]]>  

The last weekend in May (27th-29th), Greensboro will be hosting the 3rd NC Rising, a statewide anarchist/anti-authoritarian conference for the total dismemberment of modern-day oppression and the construction of harmonious self-determination. We are interested in “provoking community;” a phrase designed to examine the importance of forming powerful, mutual, & intimate relationships while pushing the limits of our affinities.

As we are getting closer to the weekend, please check the website for updates in workshop descriptions, scheduling, childcare, and other information relating to the conference. Also don’t forget to shoot us a registration email if you haven’t yet, specifically so we can be prepared for food and housing!

Please send any questions, registrations, and emergent desires for the weekend to NCRising3@gmail.com.

ORIGINAL POST HERE