29 November, 2007

Audio - 11/29 and a few new artists I like...

download this week's show here.

also, Son of Nun
is coming to Tufts University, Oxfam Cafe, Friday Dec 7th at 9pm.

this is an artist named Paris.
(there was a youtube clip here but it was pointed out that it gave far too much credit to conspiracy theories, so i took it down).

you will be hearing more of these two on our radio show in the future.

The Post Thanksgiving Show...

Stuff that you should know about:

*Urgent Call for Solidarity*

Defend Teachers Threatened With Termination for Antiwar Student Walkout


BRIEF BACKGROUND:
On November 16th, over 1,000 students in Washington State walked out to protest the war in Iraq and the presence of military recruiters in public schools. Students at Foster High School in Tukwila, Washington organized and 150 walked out, saying “Money for Schools, Not War.”

Foster students rallied at the school flagpole, marched down to the I-5 overpass, and then marched to the Tukwila City Hall. The march and rally were student generated and entirely peaceful.

In reaction the Tukwila School District has done the following:

· Suspended one Social Studies teacher, Brett Rogers, who supported his students in a student generated democratic movement

· Threatened administrative action against five other teachers

· Threatened to discipline students for exercising their First Amendment Right to free speech

When Brett Rogers was asked if he had a personal stake in the war, he said: “It’s an illegal war and my cousin is deploying December 4th, and I’m not happy about it.”

Please call and email the Principal and Superintendent now!

Tell them they need to:
1 Reinstate the teacher Brett Rogers who has been put on administrative leave!
2 Drop the disciplinary hearings against all six teachers who face investigations!
3 Support the initiative and moral fortitude of students who took a stand against the effects caused by this war to their communities!
4 Take no disciplinary action against students who participated in the walkout!

We request that you flood the school administration with phone calls and emails. Tell them to halt all disciplinary action against students and the Tukwila Six!

CONTACT:

Foster HS Principal George Ilgenfritz: (206) 901-7905 ilgenfritzg@tukwila.wednet.edu

And Interim Superintendent Ethelda Burke: (206) 901-8000, (206) 901-8006, burkee@tukwila.wednet.edu

Please send a copy of protest emails to us at tukwila.teachers.solidarity@hotmail.com so we can count how many protest emails have been sent in.

If they refuse to answer your call, call Foster HS Assistant Principal Daryl Wright (206) 901-7902 and Foster HS Office Manager Darlene Aguiluz (206) 901-7915.
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Rally for a Free and Fair union election for hospital workers: Sunday, Dec 2, 1pm Longwood Medical Area - www.workmenscircleboston.org, www.FairUnionElections.org
for more info: Lisa Gallatin @ 616-566-6164

Workshop about how to help immigrant workers: Dec 14th, 9am-4pm, Simmons College - Linda Paresky Conference Room, 300 The Fenway. Registration is $20 for the day.
rodelakhan@yahoo.com, caroljg@gmail.com

Support Jin Restaurant Workers - Jin Asian Cuisine is stealing tips, discriminating and overworking and under paying workers with no breaks. Call and fax Jin Restaurant in support of the workers. Tell Jin to Apologize, Compensate their workers, comply with Workers Comp laws, Stop intimidation: phone: 781-231-8888, fax: 781-231-8899


Things in the News:

Median House Prices not falling in Massachusetts, but home sales drop 17.1% in October (Boston Globe).

Riots, or urban guerilla warfare, in Paris Suburbs. Extreme anger at the police and Sarkozy's neo-liberal gov't that is attacking workers, youth, the poor and immigrants.

In the 1990s, the national median housing price grew to 4 times the median income. This is part of the reason why sub-prime loans/variable rate mortgages - no one can afford housing without these "deals." Now we have the sub-prime world-wide economic crisis.

Matt Geary received over 3,000 votes in the Boston City Council election
.

National Student Walkout against the War: Nov 16th, thousands walked out of school in Washington state, Minnesota, Massachusetts and elsewhere (tell us if you know more!).

Deval Patrick sold park land to private developers to put up office buildings and expensive Condos in East Cambridge/old West End/Charlestown...

Venezuela - Chavez's vision shares wealth and centers power. (NY Times)

IMMIGRANTS are our brothers and sisters. No Worker is our enemy. Full rights for all undocumented and documented workers. No support for the Republican racist propaganda.






15 November, 2007

Che Guevara - Symbol of Struggle

What is democratic Socialism? Well, I can tell you one thing, its not Stalinism. There is a river of blood that separates genuine Socialism and Stalinism.

Free and Open Discussion on the 40th anniversary of Che Guevara's death:
TONIGHT! Thursday, Nov. 15, 7pm, Tufts University, Braker Hall room 113.

Solidarity:
Stand for Security Rally - Friday, Nov 16th
March and Rally at 2pm. March begins at downtown crossing by Macy’s. march ends at a rally at 10 Winthrop Square, Boston, MA. Speakers from 615, City Life and CLU. This will be targeting both the security contractor Palladion for their various irresponsible practices and Deutsche Bank for its role in the foreclosures of folks all over the city. For more information contact Jeremy Shenk at 617-878-7520 or jshenk@seiu615.org

Anti-war demonstration - Friday, Nov 16th
Gather at 4pm - Boston Common, March 5pm to BU Recruiters station.

Rally for Quality Care - Nov 28th
First rally from 10:30 am - 12 noon at the Omni Parker House, Boston Ma. For more information contact Jennifer@massjwj.net or 617-524-8778.

Support the Screen Writers Strike and the Stage Hand's Strike

Nigerian Students falsely imprisoned on trumped up charges!
The DSM is demanding the immediate release of all these three OAU activists and asking for urgent protests and solidarity.

The DSM asks for protest letters be sent to:

International supporters are asked to contact their local Nigerian Embassy or High Commission

(This is especially important, as some of these Nigerian email addresses may not accept protests).

Copies of all protest letters sent should be also sent to:

Clearly legal and other defence activities will cost money and the DSM asks for donations to be sent via its website

Please act urgently

More details are available in the following articles on the DSM’s website

The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights in Nigeria CDWRN) has details of the post-election repression in Osun State in the following items on its website:


News:
Matt Geary - Socialist Alternative candidate for Boston City Council recieves 3,025 votes (6.5% of voters voted for him). Low turnout in this election - just under 15% of registered voters. Incumbent Felix Arroyo loses seat to John Connelly.

Red Sox have most expensive tickets in baseball.
Reclaim the Game! - Sports for fans, not for profits!

Nearly half of African Americans born in the 1960s middle class have plunged into poverty. In inflation ajusted dollars, middle class african americans went from a median family income of $55,000 to $23,000 per year.
Washington Post, Tues Nov. 13th

Median household income in Erie PA is $31,000 a year.

35.5 million people found hungry in 2006. A number virtually unchanged since last year. This is over 10% of people living in the USA. Single mothers were most likely to be affected. This is in the richest country in the world.

Transit workers' strike in France. Has it spread to other public sector workers who are threatened by Sarkozy and his neo-liberal agenda.

End the Dictatorship in Pakistan!
The Pakistani working class is caught between the military dictatorship on the one hand, and these reactionary groups on the other. The Trade Union Rights Campaign - Pakistan (TURCP) is organising resistance against both threats. TURCP members in Swat and other parts of the NWFP province are resisting the reactionary Islamic fundamentalist groups, risking their lives. TURCP members are also actively involved in protests and demonstrations taking place against the military regime. Many TURCP members were injured by police baton charges and by other police brutality. The Trade Union Rights Campaign – Pakistan will continue to fight for the political, trade union and economic rights of the working class.
We will continue our struggle against exploitation, repression, and anti-worker and anti-women Islamic groups and for a better life for the working class. Our struggle for full democratic rights - brutally crushed by the military dictatorship - will continue. Support our demands for:
• An immediate end to military rule
• Release all political prisoners, including trade union activists
• Full democratic rights for all, including the right of assembly and protest
• United working class opposition to the anti-worker and anti-women Islamic groups
• Full trade union rights, including the right to organise in the workplace
• No negotiations or ‘deals’ with the dictatorship
• End British and US support and funding of the Musharraf military regime
• Immediate elections to a democratic constituent assembly; full rights for workers and poor people to participate
• The right to organise an independent political alternative for working people, poor and youth

Please support the TURCP in any way you can.

Send resolutions of protest via your Pakistani embassy, hold pickets, solidarity meetings or demonstrations.

Please also send urgently needed financial contributions to TURCP

The TURCP has a bank account in London, Britain for the collection of funds outside Asia.

Please make all cheques payable to ‘TURCP’ and send them to:

Trade Union Rights Campaign - Pakistan, PO Box 52135, London E9 5WR, Britain.

Alternatively send by Bank Transfer to: TURCP, account number: 00574699, sort code: 30-95-03 Leytonstone, Lloyds TSB Branch, 797-799 High Road Leytonstone, IBAN No: GB70LOYD30950300574699, BIC Code: LOYDGB21500, Swift Code: LOYDGB2L

Please keep us informed of protests, donations, meetings etc. through turcpakistan@yahoo.com and we will keep you informed of developments here as best we can.



"Justice"- newspaper of Socialist Alternative
"Socialism Today" - CWI magazine, produced in England

08 November, 2007

2 Important solidarity requests...

Hi all,
No show this week, we're still a bit exhausted from election day. Matt Geary for Boston City Council At-Large did quite well (we think anyway). He recieved 3,000+ votes meaning that 6.5% of voters voted for him. The campaign turned out around 30 people to pass out day of info. We consider this a great step forward considering that he was running as an open socialist on a Marxist platform.

To the business at hand:

As we've reported, Nigerian students are still in Jail.
Corrupt State government makes up attempted murder charges against student activists
Urgent appeal: Free OAU students now!
Three Nigerian student activists from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, are now in jail on made up charges, including “conspiracy to murder” and “attempted murder”.
Saburi Akande Akinola, the OAU Students Union President, has been held since 31 31 July. Taiwo Hassan Soweto, Secretary, Democratic Socialist Movement’s OAU Branch and Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), and Olatunde Dairo, a DSM member and the OAU Students Union Public Relations Officer were arrested on October 11.
The murder charges relate to protests in November 2004, nearly three years ago, during which a OAU student, Rasheed Laketu, was killed by the police. As the alleged victim, the then university Vice Chancellor, has up to now made no accusations against these three, it is clear that these are politically motivated charges attempted at wrecking the OAU Students Union. Indeed, the university unjustly expelled 7 students, in early 2005, over the November 2004 protest.


The DSM is demanding the immediate release of all these three OAU activists and asking for urgent protests and solidarity.
The DSM asks for protest letters be sent to:
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at registra@oauife.edu.ng
OAU Vice-Chancellor – mfaborode@yahoo.co.uk & mfaborod@oauife.edu.ng
Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education at enquiries@fme.gov.ng and te@fme.gov.ng

International supporters are asked to contact their local Nigerian Embassy or High Commission
(This is especially important, as some of these Nigerian email addresses may not accept protests).

Copies of all protest letters sent should be also sent to:
the DSM (CWI, Nigeria) at dsmcentre@hotmail.com

Clearly legal and other defence activities will cost money and the DSM asks for donations to be sent via its website

Last But Certainly not least:
Last week 70 students held a sit-in against the war inside thecafeteria at Morton West High School, a working class suburb outsideof Chicago. Despite being promised they wouldn't be punished beyondwhat they would get for cutting classes, many of them are nowthreatened with expulsion. We should send solidarity announcementsover the YAWR lists appealing for support for these students, as thisis an important free speech issue. I think it will also helppoliticize students in YAWR by emphasizing the lack of free speech inhigh schools and how this is something that has to be fought for - aswell as showing that students across the country are fighting for.

A link to the petition:http://cccsds.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/students-threatened-with-expulsion-after-morton-west-sit-in/
Chicago Indymedia article: http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/80059/index.php
New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/us/07protest.html

01 November, 2007

Interview with Boston City Council At-Large Candidate Matt Geary

Download Audio here.


Solidarity Announcements:

Support unfairly fired long term Harvard library worker David Toomey. Rally today at 12:30pm at Holyoke Center in Harvard Square (next to the large Au Bon Pain).

Nigerian Students are political prisoners.

Rallies for Quality Healthcare.
SEIU 1199 organizing local healthcare workers.
Thurs Nov. 29 in Lynn - contact www.massjwj.org for more info.


Interview with Boston City Council Candidate Matt Geary:
visit the Vote Geary campaign website here.

a few of Geary's demands...
Democratize the Boston School Board, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the MBTA board.
No Worker is my enemy. Amnesty for all undocumented workers.
Oppose the BU Bio-terror lab.