Please join other DWN members and allies, along with friends from OccupyDC, to protest the private prison corporations who are driving the mass incarceration of people of color in the United States, including nearly 370,000 immigrants every year.
The action will take place Tuesday January 24 at 5:00pm at the Wells Fargo branch in Tivoli Square (between Park Road and Monroe Street off of 14th in Columbia Heights ). If you are interested in helping with the last stages of planning for the action, please send me an email. There will be a poster making party this weekend at the DWN offices. We are also looking for singers and musicians to help liven things up on what will likely be a cold night, so if you or someone you know has some talent that they would be willing to lend to the occasion, please get in touch!
Tuesday’s action will be one of a dozen simultaneous protests taking place across the country as part of Enlace’s Private Prison Divestment Campaign. For more information on the campaign and the national day of action go to: http://enlaceintl.org/programs/prison-divestment/.
13 December 2011 — More than a thousand of disabled people protested against government cuts and their impact on key benefits such as the disability living allowance, and disability pension.
Waving placards with slogans such as “No to dismantling the welfare state” and “Protect disabled from the misery, poverty and exclusion”, disabled people took to the streets of Athens center to protest at the government’s spending cuts.
The protesters, many of whom had never been on a demonstration before, included people who are virtually immobile with supporters, relatives, charities and friends.
In front of the Greek Parliament Riot Police closed the road not allowing them to go near the Prime Minister Hall, where they wanted to deliver their requests.
16 November 2011, BBC–Greece is bracing for a large rally to mark the anniversary of the student uprising in 1973 that helped bring down the country’s military dictatorship.The march is expected to be joined by protesters against planned austerity measures, which Greece must implement to tackle its growing debt crisis.
Some 7,000 policemen are being deployed in Athens amid fears that the rally may turn violent.
It comes a day after Greece’s interim government won a confidence vote.
The governing coalition of Lucas Papademos had a huge majority – 255 MPs voted in favour, and 38 against.
The technocratic government must approve a new bailout package and commit to reforms in order to secure the next instalment of an international loan. Read more »
A young Ethiopian activist and teacher, Yenesew Gebre, died after he set himself on fire in Dawro, Waka, Southern Ethiopia, to protest against the injustice, corruption and atrocities the local community as well as the people of Ethiopia at large have been suffering under the brutal dictatorship of Meles Zenawi. The 29-year old Yenesew Gebre, who was a respected teacher, set himself alight on Friday, November 11, and died at Tercha Hospital on Monday, 14 November, from the severe burns he suffered, family sources told ESAT news desk.
In what appears to be a tragic climax linked with a local uprising in Waka town, which was sparked by maladministration and injustice, there have been protests in the past few weeks. As a result of the growing movement, a number of people including elders have been jailed. Yenesew was also detained for nearly a week but was released on bail pending further court hearing. Read more »
Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage
From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight
They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none
So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest
We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy
Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
We are the many
You are the few
——————————————————————
Makana sings Occupy protests songs to President Obama and APEC leaders
By Melissa Bell, Washington Post Lifestyle ArtsPost, 11/14/2011
President Barack Obama is busy in his home state of Hawaii meeting with Pacific Rim leaders on matters of global security and world economy. Even though Obama decided to skip the practice of goofy costumes at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the leaders are still getting a healthy sampling of the Hawaiian culture. One such display, though, may not be exactly what the White House had in mind.
Makana, a popular Hawaiian troubador, was enlisted to sing and play his guitar in the background at a dinner Obama and other leaders attended Saturday night. His song of choice: a 45-minute montage of protest songs, all while wearing a shirt that read “Occupy with Aloha.” Read more »
Thousands of protesters gathered across from the White House to oppose a transnational oil pipeline they fear could harm the environment. The Keystone XL project would carry oil derived from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas. (Nov. 6)
Kayvan Sabehgi in intensive care with a lacerated spleen after protests in Oakland, a week after Scott Olsen was hurt. He says police beat him with batons
Police used teargas to drive back protesters following an attempt by the Occupy supporters to shut down the city of Oakland. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP
Friday 4 November 2011
A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.
Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later.
Sabehgi, 32, is the second Iraq war veteran to be hospitalised following involvement in Oakland protests. Another protester, Scott Olsen, suffered a fractured skull on 25 October.
On Wednesday night, police used teargas and non-lethal projectiles to drive back protesters following an attempt by the Occupy supporters to shut down the city of Oakland. Read more »
“No to occupation” said another placard, as a U.S. flag was set on fire
By Ahmad Masood & Akram Walizada
Afghans attend a protest in Kabul October 6, 2011. Hundreds of Afghans from the Hmbastagi party (Solidarity Party of Afghanistan) staged a protest to condemn the U.S.-led invasion, which will mark its 10th anniversary on October 7. (Photo: Reuters)An Afghan woman carries a poster of an injured boy reads: ” What if Karzai’s son had the same destiny” during an anti U.S. rally organized by ” Afghanistan Hambastegi” party in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday Oct. 6, 2011. (Photo: AP)
Afghans attend a protest in Kabul October 6, 2011. Hundreds of Afghans from the Hmbastagi party (Solidarity Party of Afghanistan) staged a protest to condemn the U.S.-led invasion, which will mark its 10th anniversary on October 7. (Photo: Reuters)
Hundreds of Afghans marched through Kabul on Thursday, the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, to condemn the United States as occupiers and demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops.
About 300 men and women gathered early in the morning with placards and banners accusing the United States of “massacring” civilians while denouncing President Hamid Karzai as a puppet subservient to Washington.
“Occupation – atrocities – brutality,” read one sign, held aloft by two women with scarves covering their head and face.
“No to occupation” said another placard, as a U.S. flag was set on fire. Another banner featured a caricature of Karzai as a glove puppet holding a pen and signing a document entitled “promises to the USA.”
The rally, near a shrine and river in downtown Kabul, lasted around three hours, and ended peacefully.
An Afghan woman carries a poster of an injured boy reads: " What if Karzai's son had the same destiny" during an anti U.S. rally organized by " Afghanistan Hambastegi" party in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday Oct. 6, 2011. (Photo: AP)
Karzai became Afghanistan’s leader in June 2002, seven months after Northern Alliance forces supported by the United States entered Kabul and drove the Taliban regime from power.
Karzai won subsequent elections in 2005 and 2009.
“Ten years since the invasion, all we have seen is suffering, instability and poverty in our country,” said protest organizer Hafizullah Rasikh.
One picture that featured prominently was that of U.S. soldier Andrew Holmes posing with the corpse of an unarmed teenage Afghan villager who he had gunned down. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for the 2010 murder.
This year has seen record levels of civilian casualties and although about 80 percent were caused by insurgents, killings by foreign forces, tend to spark more vocal public anger.
The United States bears the brunt of criticism of the Western presence in Afghanistan.
“The bloodshed I see in this country is the result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. After the invaders leave, our country will be peaceful,” shouted one man on a loudspeaker.
(Reporting by Akram Walizada and Mohammad Aziz; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Sugita Katyal)
Thousands march to remember more than 3,000 people killed during Pinochet dictatorship that was launched 38 years ago.
Al Jazeera, 11 Sep 2011
Thousands of Chileans have marched in the capital Santiago to remember the more than 3,000 people killed during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet that was launched 38 years ago with a military coup on September 11, 1973.Organised by a group of relatives of those killed, the march on Sunday led to a memorial erected at a cemetery to commemorate the victims of Pinochet’s 17-year long regime.
They marched peacefully through the streets, unable to approach the presidential palace La Moneda because of the tight police cordon.
Salvador Allende, the first and only Marxist to come to power in Chile through a popular vote, died at the palace when military forces surrounded it during the coup. He is believed to have committed suicide. Read more »
LONDON RIOTS – THE INCIDENT THAT CAUSED THE TROUBLE
RIOTS IN LONDON, POLICE CARS SET ALIGHT AFTER YOUNG FATHER SHOT BY
6 August 2011
BBC News – Riots in Tottenham after Mark Duggan shooting protest
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BBC: Riots in Tottenham after Mark Duggan shooting protest (news after BBC’s commercial)
BBC: The BBC’s Andy Moore reports from behind police lines after a BBC satellite truck came under attack from youths throwing missiles–Petrol bombs have been thrown at police and three patrol cars, a bus and buildings have been set on fire in a riot in Tottenham, north London. Eight injured police officers have been taken to hospital, at least one of them with head injuries.
The unrest began after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of 29-year-old Mark Duggan on Thursday.
About 300 people gathered outside the police station on the High Road after demonstrators demanded “justice”.
London Ambulance Service said a total of 10 people had been treated and nine had been taken to hospital.
Two patrol cars were set alight at about 20:20 BST but officers were not inside at the time.
Cdr Stephen Watson: “We had no information to suggest that we would have the scale of disorder that now confronts us” Read more »
Riots erupt in Tottenham with police cars, a bus and shops set on fire. Photograph: Sky News
Two police cars, a bus and several shops were attacked and set ablaze in north London on Saturday night as violence erupted following a protest demanding “justice” over a fatal police shooting.
Officers on horseback and others in riot gear clashed with hundreds of rioters armed with makeshift missiles in the centre of Tottenham after Mark Duggan, 29, a father of four, was killed on Thursday.
At one point, rioters broke through police ranks and attempted to storm Tottenham’s police station, pelting officers with bricks, bottles and eggs. As a police helicopter flew over Tottenham High Road, youths in masks and hoods added combustible material to two burned out police cars, included a bundle of documents and an awning ripped down from one of the shops. Some attempted to persuade the rioters to disperse, one young man shouting: “Go home now people.”
But others filled bottles with petrol to throw at the police lines. Read more »
Another strong demonstration of family members and supporters of the courageous California Prisoner Strikers took place at the doors of the California Department of Corrections in Sacramento on Monday, July 25, 2011.
While the historic prisoner strike that began at Pelican Bay on July 1 and joined by thousands of inmates across California may have ended the struggle for humane policy in California prisons, and prisons across the country continues. This heroic action has exposed the torture and abuse that these men and women face on a daily basis. The US who is so arrogant and self righteous in its condemnation of human rights abuses in other countries is now being challenged for what is happening right here at home.The focus of the struggle now has to be to build a broad movement of support and solidarity by raising the five core demands that unified the strikers to take action. They are:
1. End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse
2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria -
3. Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement
4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food
5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.
A coalition of groups that organized the protest in Sacramento included the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, Critical Resistance, ANSWER, All Of Us Or None, United for Drug Policy Reform, World Can’t Wait, California United for Responsible Budget, California Prison Focus, California Coalition for Women Prisoners and others.
Around 35 people were arrested during a march through San Francisco protesting a fatal police shooting of 19-year-old parolee Kenneth Harding. (July 19)
Israeli troops opened fire on scores of Palestinian protesters from Syria who tried to cross the frontier at the Israeli-held Golan Heights.
By Samuel Sockol and Joel Greenberg, Washington Post, Sunday, June 5, 2011
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — Israeli troops opened fire as hundreds of Palestinian protesters and supporters from Syria tried to cross the frontier with the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Sunday. The official Syrian news agency said 22 people were killed and more than 350 injured.The protest near the Golan and other demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip marked the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1967 Middle East war, in which Israel captured those territories.
Israeli army spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai accused Syria of creating “a provocation” at the border to distract attention from the Syrian government’s deadly crackdown on the uprising in that country.In a sign of official backing for the protests, the border clashes were broadcast live on Syrian television, with comments from participants, and reporters were permitted direct access to the normally closed frontier zones.Near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, hundreds of protesters, many of whom arrived from Damascus, streamed down a hillside and marched toward the frontier, carrying Palestinian and Syrian flags and chanting “Palestine is Arab!” and “the Golan is Syrian!”
Unlike a similar effort last month, in which marchers from Syria caught the Israeli army unprepared and breached the frontier, soldiers Sunday were waiting for the demonstrators and used gunfire to hold them back. Read more »
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