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UCF SDS protests for Free Expression (Photo: UCF SDS)

Orlando, FL - March 12, 2007. At 12:30 pm on Tuesday, March 6th, members of SDS at the University of Central Florida (UCF) gathered on the so-called “free speech lawn” outside the Health & Physics building. Several speakers assailed the University’s policy banning campus-wide free expression, linking the repression to the U.S. military-corporate dominance in Iraq and to the late 1960s when UCF was created and the architecture was designed to contain and control campus protests.Caution tape was put up around the “free speech lawn,” indicating those engaging in Constitutionally-protected speech and assembly outside that perimeter had better watch out for a renegade administration that has no respect for civil liberties or human rights.

View Photos From The Action…

Some 35 marchers proceeded the short distance to the administration building, handling out leaflets explaining the purpose of the demonstration along the way. Once inside, stairs were taken to the third floor administrative offices, where the group stopped at several, including the provost and the president, to deliver petitions demanding the end of the oppressive anti-First Amendment policies at UCF.\n\u003cbr\>\nMaking their way back downstairs, the group then quietly sat in a circle on the first floor atrium for about 15 minutes. \u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\nFrom there the march resumed across campus, going through the Washington Center breezeway and on to the student union, where the group went inside and placed the Statue cut-out surrounded by signs on the Pegasus logo in the middle of the lobby floor, and at that point dispersed.\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\nThis action signified the first time a campus organization has carried protest inside the administration building, and was only the latest in the continuing campaign to restore rights illegally usurped by administrators and link oppression at home with liberation struggles against the empire worldwide.Making their way back downstairs, the group then quietly sat in a circle on the first floor atrium for about 15 minutes.

This action signified the first time a campus organization has carried protest inside the administration building, and was only the latest in the continuing campaign to restore rights illegally usurped by administrators and link oppression at home with liberation struggles against the empire worldwide.
Original post by Jay Jurie and reposted by Radical Blogs

I spent the last weekend in Dripping Springs Texas at the 9th Radical Encuentro Camp (REC). It was a meeting of about 200 activists around the state to share skills and ideas. The theme this year was “climate justice.” We saw panels of amazing women fighting coal companies from native reservations in the Four Corners, to mountain families in Kentucky. Workshops were led by community groups resisting environmental racism, by spiritual leaders about staying spiritually grounded in the struggle, about skills such as media and legal defense, presentations by Rising Tide (radical roadshow on tour educating about climate change), and lots of other fun stuff.

(more̷

Our movement desperately needs to undergo a process of renewal and reinvigoration. But as we rebuild our movement, we need to avoid a whole series of mistakes that have brought us to our current state of ineffectiveness and despair. Too many of us have allowed our analysis to be clouded by apocalyptic scenarios that foster fear and inaction. Too many of our discussions have been mired in debates, fueled by racism and pseudo-scientific “projections,” concerning the alleged “threat” posed by immigration to “affluent” countries. And too many of our most high profile activists and organizations have committed themselves, if not out of cynicism then out of naiveté, to a strategy that looks to corporations and their political representatives as sources of funding and potential converts to a “green agenda.” The result is a movement that is at once massively funded, enormously popular, and largely ineffective. In this time of looming ecological crisis, such mistakes are no longer tolerable. We need a radical overhaul of the politics of our movement: its aims, its analysis, and its strategy.

(more̷

The first question that we, as anti-war activists, need to ask ourselves is this: what causes wars? Of course, there are long and complicated answers to that question, and answers specific to each individual war. But there is also a short and simple answer, which is quite general. The short and simple answer is that wars are caused by the calculation, on the part of rich and powerful people, that a war policy would offer more benefits and impose fewer costs than would a peace policy.[ftn.1] The benefits that they expect may include lucrative opportunities for war-profiteering, a convenient pretext to undermine entrenched civil liberties, geo-political advantages in global power politics, electoral gains for a governing party, or a way of enforcing terms of trade more favorable to Western corporations. In each case, the goal is the same: to enhance the wealth and power of the corporate elite and its political representatives.

Something important follows from this. If wars are caused by a cost/benefit calculation by elites, then wars can be stopped by increasing the costs and decreasing the benefits of a war policy. This, then, sets the task of every anti-war movement: to change the context in which elites calculate the advantages and disadvantages of going to war, so that it seems less appealing to them, and more threatening.

(more̷

TORONTO - By 12:13 pm on New Year’s Day, while many Canadians were still nursing a hangover, Canada”s 100 highest paid CEOs had already pocketed what will take minimum wage workers the rest of 2007 to earn.

The clock keeps ticking. By 9:46 am Jan. 2, as most Canadians begin another year of labour, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs will have reaped, on average, $38,010 in pay.

“That equals the average annual earnings of workers in Canada,” says Hugh Mackenzie, research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). “And it will take them all of 2007 to earn it.”

By the time Canadians tune into the 6:00 news Jan. 2, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs will have pocketed nearly $70,000. The highest paid CEO will have pocketed more than $570,000.

“If time is money, are Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs really worth more in a day than most Canadian workers are in a year?” asks Mackenzie.

“People wonder what the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us looks like. This provides us with a pretty good snapshot of how unevenly the Canadian workforce is valued these days.”

Timing is Everything: Comparing the earnings of Canada’s highest-paid CEOs and the rest of us is availalble on the CCPA web site at http://www.policyalternatives.ca or http://www.growinggap.ca

Original post by anticapitalism and reposted by Radical Blogs

Left to Right: Hank Jones, John Bowman, Ray Bourdeaux, Harold Taylor, Richard Brown.

Press Release                                                                                                         For Immediate Release

Friday, February 23, 2007

Orlando Student Group Calls for the Release of the Panther 8

On Jan. 19, former Black Panther Harold Taylor, 58, was an honored guest speaker at the University of Central Florida. Then one month ago on Jan 23, the Floridian was arrested from his Panama City home in relation to the 1971 killing of a San Francisco police sergeant. That charge was dropped of over 30 years ago, in 1975, when evidence proved that New Orleans Police obtained confessions through horrifying torture. Harold Taylor and other members endured electric shock, sensory deprivation, beatings and other unspeakable at the hands of the state.

After years of relative peace in Florida, Taylor began experiencing threatening encounters with federal agents. The timing depicts a revival of COINTELPRO style tactics near the birth of the unconstitutional USA PATRIOT Act.

“In 1971, two brothers and I were set up by the FBI. We didn’t learn about COINTELPRO until years later. In 1973 I was arrested in New Orleans and was beaten and tortured for several days. in 2003 the detectives that were responsible for my torture came to my house to try and question me. I have not been the same since.”

– Harold Taylor
#07-00944, 5600 Nehi Road, Panama City, FL 32404

Today, Harold Taylor sits in jail, once again awaiting extradition to California for a case he was cleared of.
UCF Students for a Democratic Society call for the immediate release of Brother Harold Taylor and those of the Panther 8 whose trials have been previously dismissed by grand juries on the grounds that [1.] these men have already undergone trial;[2.] putting them in double jeopardy violates their 5

Original post by Alison Van Doren and reposted by Radical Blogs

People hacked up black tar. They cried black tears. Paramedics in biohazard suits desperately tried to save their lives. It was a lively day for the financial district of Boston. We left major banks and financial institutions nervous, scared, and on their toes.

Here’s a video of the carnage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xoaoNm7hVE

Last Wednesday across the country in major cities from Dallas to New York, Rainforest Action Network activists stormed branches of Merrill Lynch to hold them accountable for funding TXU, a corporation trying to build 11 coal-fired power plants.

(more̷

The Ohio University campus has been rocked this year by a decidedly anti-democratic, unaccountable administration, pushing unpopular policies without any student input whatsoever. “Free Speech Zones” on campus attempt to shut out discourse and protest. Arbitrary fees around popular student parties and holidays, the sudden cuts of Athens Varsity Sports teams, and indulgent pay bonuses for Administrators have left students feeling alienated and without control of their college. Ohio University is being run like a corporation rather than an educational institution.

SDS has risen up to advocate for student syndicalism and a radical vision of a democratic university, and built an impressive coalition in the process. The SDS free speech demonstration on Friday, Feb 2nd, was attended not just by activists, but students most activists groups wouldn’t think to try to organize – including athletes and Frat boys.

I was invited to come to OU in Athens by their SDS chapter and the umbrella activist group InterAct, to do workshops, trainings, and other action support, both as an SDSer and also as an organizer from Rainforest Action Network (RAN). Trainings with SDS ranged from sustainable organization building to campaign strategy, while I got to connect with InterAct about collaborating on a few RAN-related projects including shutting down a corporation called TXU building dirty coal fired power plants (but that is a separate entry entirely).

We woke the morning of the demo to a new blanket of snow coating the campus. It was beautiful. We met in a nearby coffee shop early to tie up loose ends. Somehow a PBS news crew found us an hour early and interviewed Olivia and Sarah.

The snow was falling as students gathered around the civil war monument – an area NOT in a free speech zone. A student read the plaque outside the monument - one that discussed liberties that we’re supposed to have in this country, and about 150 students gathered around the SDS banner hanging from the monument.

Initially, energy seemed low. Some folks didn’t even want to chant. I soon realized this was a good thing; about 90% of the people there had likely never been to a demonstration before. Despite the lack of racial diversity, in other respects the diversity of students there was staggering. SDS managed to mobilize a wide cross section of campus, including students with a wide range of interests and backgrounds - people who would have never come out to a demonstration if it werent for Athens SDS’ strategy to simply be relevant.

After the president of the Graduate Student Union spoke, Will Klatt gave a speech about the corporatization of our universities:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6yrstQEac8

I was also invited to speak about Free Speech Zones:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8UqyFd_yiI

After which I convinced folks that chanting can be fun and it doesn’t make you a hippy:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYcsRGtxhuo

Rosemary Esch announced SDS’ demands on the administration:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKzVC3lQ1dw

And Dylan spoke about SDS being inspired by Malcolm X and organizing students AS students:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn2nY1J4nUw

People were fired up and marched to the presidents office. Energy was high, people were dancing and chanting and whoopin and hollerin.

We reached the chief of police and demanded entrance.

And got it.
The cop actually turned out to be a pretty nice guy. Most of his background in stopping “civil disturbance” had been shutting down KKK rallies, so he seemed pretty down that we were actually trying to do something positive. Always important to remember to try to get inside the head of the police if you confront them - on campuses at least, they usually just don’t want to look bad in front of their bosses. If you can challenge their power and authority and get what you want, while still making it so they can play it off to their superior like they had control over the situation, then not only do you win and alter the power dynamics, but you usually eliminate the chance of arrest.

When we found out the president was in hiding, we decided to have a spokescouncil to see what to do next.

Strategically, it was useful for a lot of reasons. Not only did we want to democratically decide what to do next, but it helped all the participants in the demo - people with very different backgrounds and experience levels in activism - feel ownership over the march. Part of the strategy of the demo was to engage and activate people as much as possible. It worked (I’ll explain how in a minute).

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhchlJCEyMk

We decided to march to a meeting of Vision Ohio - where administrators were proposing additions for the campus to business leaders, without student input.

We danced:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=044vliYDgM8

And went inside the new student building and shook things up:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5z-6-Oe0Hc

And tracked down the Dean.

A student issued the demands:

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_xgwpEWEw

And he pinkey-swore Sarah that they would be responded to by the president before the deadline that SDS issued.

( see video: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow4TtcHuWpQ

Afterwards we found out where the Vision Ohio meeting was, had a spokescouncil, and headed down there. The cop asked us to not be disruptive, and we thought that was appropriate. We pinkey-swore that we wouldn’t, and we kept our end of the bargain. Tactically, it was a great move, as in any action you need to make sure to exit on your own terms. We had already gotten what we wanted, and we decided to push it further - but if we had ended up getting kicked out it woudln’t have been useful to us at all. It would have killed the energy and disheartened all the new folks involved. Instead we just ate all the cookies and soda at the Vision Ohio meeting and did interviews with lots of press.

Like I said, SDS is trying to be relevant. It’s actually quite a revolutionary thing to do, given how most “radical” groups on campuses are content to build exclusionary, elitist subcultures and regress into them (and then wonder why all the other students are “apathetic” since they can’t relate). Building on the anger from the recent sports cuts and other assaults on campus, the whole demonstration was cultivated to activate people and give them a sense of ownership over the demo.

At the end, we pushed that idea even further. We announced that we were going to have a strategy session workshop, and it wasn’t just for SDS - everyone was invited to come shape SDS’ strategy. If SDS is supposed to be building a student movement, their vision and strategy has gotta be shaped by real students, not just a small section of them. We wanted it as participatory as possible.

I was asked to facilitate the training/workshop. Some of the best ideas came from people who had not only never thought strategically before, but had never thought about activism period before. In the session we identified clear concepts about what it means to strategize campaigns – differentiated between campaigning for change or simply protesting it, between specific goals, broader vision, and the difference between being guided by a strategy rather than a random assortment of tactics. We identified power holders in the administration, how they were related to other power holders, what their points of weakness were, and how to leverage our own power to target them. We identified what the different kinds of tactics are, how to build and escalate them, and brainstormed on how to use them to connect with allies, be accountable to other students and student groups, build power, and win concrete victories each step of the way.

I left the strategy session feeling like Athens SDS is really experimenting with models of organizing that are pretty new for our generation. The push for genuine participation by the general student body in their strategy - indeed thinking strategically at all - is a welcome change to the alienating subcultural elitist bullshit that seems to confine a huge part of the student left (the mostly-white sections of it at least). The need to be open minded, to be positive, to build up rather than tear down, and to be open to other “nonactivist” voices is a huge step in the maturity and sophistication of the activism at OU.

Until we can organize students in their own interest as students, we will be stuck in the thoughtlessness of doing self-congratulatory actions simply to “piss people off.” OU activists are realizing that militance is about strategy, vision and goals, about being serious, grounded, thoughtful and long-term. Often times young radicals get confused, thinking that tactics themselves can be militant or not. Tactics are only as militant insofar as they are strategic to achieving radical goals - and often “fucking shit up” is the clear road to marginalization and impotence. Athens SDS is building power on campus for real, being relevant for real, and being in it for the long haul. And they are doing it with concrete victories.

Nothing builds a movement like winning.

We live in a generation of cynicism. Students nowadays are perhaps (legitimately) more skeptical than any other generation in history. It’s not “apathy” so much as its grounded in an assessment that ‘we don’t have the power to make change’. When you organize on campus and you WIN - you show people that they are powerful, that they can make change, that win is enough to shatter the illusion of impotence. The shattering of that illusion is often a radicalizing process. It so deeply rocks the way we have been taught to view the world that it forces us to shift our perspective just to make sense of the things around us. That’s the process that I saw in Athens, Ohio. While SDS chapters across the country are thinking about how they can radicalize their campuses, Athens is providing a useful (if situationally specific) model.

As is important with every victory, its crucial to celebrate. So after the punk rock dance party, activists were gonna head over to the fraternity house, to which everyone was invited by a frat boy in the march. Unlikely alliances indeed!

(here is a little bit of media around the event. From Speakeasy Magazine and The Post:
http://speakeasymag.com/index.php/campuslife/article/news_020407_001 http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/articles/2007/02/02/news/17457.html )

Original post by joshrussell and reposted by Radical Blogs

Whatever anyone says about the issues, whatever anyone says about organizing and tactics and strategy, there is one thing that will always be true: we are way better dancers than they are.

The few hundred folks that came out to the counterprotest were certainly colorful. We repped fun street theater, witty songs sung by trannies, passionate speeches, creative slogans, bigger banners, not to mention lotsa anger and smiles. We were funny. Amidst all the screaming and laughing, I looked out into the street to see the thousands of anti-choicers. I could have thought of all the women left without options, all the women who are killed because of the “pro life” agenda. I didn’t. Instead, I thought, “DAMN, THESE FOOLS ARE BOOORING.” They Plodded along in silence, no chanting, no singing, no nothing. All wore plain black t-shirts. All had matching signs. All were directed by the march organizers, who made sure no one stepped out of line.

But of course, that’s the point. While us queers and freaks were out galavanting around, they maintained what they perceived as their dignity and civility. And while we were clearly having more fun, I tried to be a little bit more thoughtful about their tactics.

I always have a complicated relationship to the celebratory aspect of our demonstrations. I love puppets, creative slogans, autonomous actions etc. Our demonstrations are celebrations of life, of love, of reclaiming space. But at what point does all that become trivializing? Back in the day demonstrations were often taken seriously because they represented a real threat. They screamed “HEY! WE’RE PISSED! AND WE’RE ORGANIZED!” Mass mobilizations were sometimes effective because power holders knew that if they ignored the demo, there would be rioting or worse later. Nowadays when we take to the streets, we yell and scream and chant and then….go home and watch TV. Of course we are ignored.

I looked out at the anti-choicers, all wearing black, silent, with consistent messaging, and I imagined our side being organized enough to have people show up to a mass mobilization dressed the same. The idea of uniforms in a mass demonstration is enough to make any anti-authoritarian cringe. But entertain the idea for just a second. If you’re a power-holder, would you feel more threatened by 300,000 disorganized people plodding around in circles, or by 300,000 people all dressed alike, shouting with one voice? I know which one would freak me out more. Just sayin’. The precedent is already there, from black blocs to unions. When most unions mobilize, they wear union shirts and have the same signs. They’re organized. But they’re often small. Imagine if it was hundreds of thousands of people. There’s an anti-authoritarian precedent for that too - just look at the Global Justice demonstrations against the IMF, WTO, and World Bank, in Asia from Korea to Japan. I dunno, just a thought.

Despite the uniformity of the Walk for Life, the protestors actually captured a wide variety of nuance in their beliefs - nuance that ‘our side’ often fails to recognize. A whole lot of our signs were simply anti-religious, as if that would somehow have any effect on people other than reinforce their presently held ideas. We acted like everyone in the Walk for Life was some ultra-right fundamentalist fascist. But what about the otherwise-progressive Latino communities that showed up because of their grounding in Catholocism? What about the people with signs like “No War, No Death Penalty, No Abortion”? How do we confront and account for those? We didn’t. We dehumanize them just as much as they dehumanize us. I didn’t know how to respond to these folks:

…at least not in a way that that was conducive to a good slogan.

I went to the counterprotest with the intention of having fun, pissing some anti-choicers off, and networking. To those ends, I think it was a success. But I left realizing that we actually don’t have many resources on counter-demonstrations: what their purpose is, how to strategize and plan them, what tactics make sense, etc. By the end of the day folks from the Ruckus Society were talking about putting together a good counter-demo manual. I think its something the movement needs right now.

But for now, I’ll just chuckle that I got to dress flamboyantly and shout my head off behind a banner that said “do you really want US to have kids?”

Original post by joshrussell and reposted by Radical Blogs

Orlando, FL — Jan. 15, 2007. Orlando? Not typically known as one of the primary locations of southeastern activism, however, the city has seen a recent surge in radical action and politics. February of 2006 brought many anti-racist organizations to the city in a large counter-demonstration against a planned Neo-Nazi rally. The long-lasting Orlando Food Not Bombs has been the focus of much media coverage as they partake in a battle against City Hall demanding the right to public parks and the uncensored right to food distribution and sharing. The extremely effective and large Orlando FNB has even led to an East Orlando chapter. Currently Melbourne activists are in communication with the two groups to form their own chapter. The ACLU has even entered the conflict in support of the grassroots organization’s right to public sharings. The city most famous for Disney World, however, continues to promote gentrification which can be seen through new park policies which perpetuate economic segregation.

SDS of Central Florida was the only southeastern chapter to attend the 2006 National Convention and while in no way the leading authority on southern SDS activism, the chapter realized its potential for an early initiative in networking. Orlando hosts a Central Florida MDS, UCF SDS, Rollins SDS, and Valencia SDS. Realizing the potential for future activism in this newly radicalizing city and utilizing the available resources of a large ‘home base’, the first Southeast Convention of the new SDS was called for the beginning of new spring college semesters at the UCF campus in Orlando.

While it was acknowledged that the event was not central to the geographic diversity of the Southeast, as the urgency of early networking was pressing, it was determined to hold this as the first of at least two conferences. The next conference will hopefully be held in a more central location, and if any activist group can make arrangements for such, please start immediate work and get in touch with philjasenishot@gmail.com

As this was one of at least two conferences, the urgency of a strict constitution or guidelines for the Southeast was non-existent. Instead, while the NY proposal for a National SDS constitution as reviewed, the conference resulted in no more than a set of core principles SDS chapters could be built upon, that no form of representative democracy could be allowed, and that all chapters needed full autonomy. More on the structure meetings will be mentioned later.

The convention opened with report backs of what is going on with different chapters. Unfortunately, many SDS chapters had still not arrived by this first workshop, so only a few voices could be shared. There were, however, fantastic statements sent in by UNA SDS and UNCA-SUL SDS which kept the convention in contact with what was going on elsewhere.

While the convention was relatively small, 50+ attending, this left highly appreciated room for personal networking and truly getting to know those around us. The most common feedback shared in the closing convention moments were how well everyone got to know one another and what an enjoyable experience the conference was.

The convention addressed these issues in detail: structure and coordinated actions. No definite structure was determined, one reason being that there was not a strong enough diversity of attendees [while a diverse Florida crowd, out of state attendees unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute]. What was reviewed was a NY proposal for a National Constitution. While looked over initially to be elaborated or slightly altered, it was quickly thrown out entirely as the conversation tried to find an anti-authoritarian yet structured approach to bottom up organizing which left chapters and regions as their own policymakers.

The 2007 Southeast SDS Convention agreed on the strong need for another convention in the next few months which can spare many hours to Regional and National Structure conversations. Out of respect of other chapters in the southeast, nothing was or should be decided upon until more are at the table of discussion. There were though, some points which are to be circulated through the Southeast for feedback and consideration.

The second major topic of conversation was the co-ordination of actions. While nothing was planned for any grand scale or for there to be SDS sponsored events, it was agreed that all major days of actions needed SDS direct actions in connection. While national protests are often seen as ineffective to community building, they can be great chances for the networking of SDS chapters and all attendees of national or regional rallies are encouraged to contact one another and form solidarity blocs and network. Specifically, J27 in DC is seen as the next date and location to enhance communication among the southeast SDS and perhaps start dialog on policy and structure for the region.

The January 2007 Southeast SDS Regional Convention was hopefully only the first of many and the Southeast convention attendees look forward to meeting many more SDS’ers and expanding our movement.

Original post by SDS and reposted by Radical Blogs

“3000 Too Many” protest in Orlando (Photo: Mychel Estevez)

Orlando, FL - January 18, 2007. On Thursday, January 18th, Campus Peace Action (CPA) and SDS partnered to hold a rally commemorating those who have died in the war against Iraq and calling for an end to the war. Held at the University of Central Florida, the rally was followed by a march to the Armed Forces Recruitment Center across the street from campus. Since the event took place so close to Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, CPA and SDS members took turns reading Dr. King’s stirring essay opposing the war in Vietnam. Several commentators remarked on the similarities between that period and today.

Names of some of the U.S military personnel who have fallen in the war were then read. Two mock coffins were carried by “pall bearers” to the front of the stage. One by one, members of the audience deposited into these coffins rolled up sheets of paper representing the diplomas soldiers might have earned had they been able to lead normal lives.

An estimated sixty-five of those at the rally participated in the march accompanying the two mock coffins across campus to the recruitment office. At the recruitment office, students sat in front of the doors for over and hour while recruiters locked themselves inside.

View Photos From The Action…

Original post by Jay Jurie and reposted by Radical Blogs

To the Wayne State University Board of Governors,

I’m Aaron Petcoff, I’m a student at the university, majoring in Secondary Education and a member of the Wayne State University Students for a Democratic Society. I’m here to express my concern to the Board over the recent College of Education laptop requirement program and propose some alternatives.
In November of 2006 the Dean of the College of Education sent a letter to the students stating the implementation of a policy requiring “all students enrolled in initial teacher preparation programs” to own a “college-specified” laptop computer. The required platform is the Apple MacBook, which would cost the students over $1,400. (more̷

]]> http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/25/address-to-bog-about-coe-laptop-requirement/feed/ http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/25/%e2%80%9cpeople%e2%80%99s-history%e2%80%9d-article-in-the-south-end/ http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/25/%e2%80%9cpeople%e2%80%99s-history%e2%80%9d-article-in-the-south-end/#comments Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:54:11 +0000 admin Array http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/25/%e2%80%9cpeople%e2%80%99s-history%e2%80%9d-article-in-the-south-end/ Here’s an article from the campus newspaper, the South End, about our recent “People’s History of Wayne State University” speakers series:

Former WSU revolutionists speak on campus
Markeysha Davis
Contributing Writer

The WSU Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) welcomed WSU students and alumni to the Student Center last night for “A People’s History of Wayne State University,” a two-part series on the radical history of WSU. (more̷

]]> http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/25/%e2%80%9cpeople%e2%80%99s-history%e2%80%9d-article-in-the-south-end/feed/ http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/report-back-from-the-florida-anarchist-organizing-workshop-at-the-2007-south-florida-radical-activist-conference-miami/ http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/report-back-from-the-florida-anarchist-organizing-workshop-at-the-2007-south-florida-radical-activist-conference-miami/#comments Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:37:02 +0000 admin Array http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/report-back-from-the-florida-anarchist-organizing-workshop-at-the-2007-south-florida-radical-activist-conference-miami/ Miami, FL –Jan. 7, 2007.  [written by Pablo, submitted by Phil Jasen]

Some of what’s been happening in Florida

The workshop was originally billed as “Southeast Anarchist Organizing”, but since virtually all of the 30+ people that attended were from Florida, talk mostly focused on organizing activities within this state. There were people attending from many different towns and cities in Florida (Orlando, Gainesville, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Miami, Lake Worth, Ft. Lauderdale) who participated in a lively discussion of anarchist organization in Florida and in the Southeast, either conceived by folks as an informal network of collectives, friendships and personal relationships that for the most part already exists but can be expanded, and one that largely helped to coordinate the conference, or through reviving attempts at more formal organization, in the style of anarchist networks like the Southeast Anarchist Network (SEANET) and Florida Radical Activist Network (FRAN) that existed years ago. (more̷

]]> http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/report-back-from-the-florida-anarchist-organizing-workshop-at-the-2007-south-florida-radical-activist-conference-miami/feed/ http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/orlando-ignites-with-activism-during-the-2007-southeast-sds-regional-convention/ http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/orlando-ignites-with-activism-during-the-2007-southeast-sds-regional-convention/#comments Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:13:42 +0000 admin Array http://radicalblogs.org/blog/2007/01/20/orlando-ignites-with-activism-during-the-2007-southeast-sds-regional-convention/

Orlando, FL — Jan. 15, 2007. Orlando? Not typically known as one of the primary locations of southeastern activism, however, the city has seen a recent surge in radical action and politics. February of 2006 brought many anti-racist organizations to the city in a large counter-demonstration against a planned Neo-Nazi rally. The long-lasting Orlando Food Not Bombs has been the focus of much media coverage as they partake in a battle against City Hall demanding the right to public parks and the uncensored right to food distribution and sharing. The extremely effective and large Orlando FNB has even led to an East Orlando chapter. Currently Melbourne activists are in communication with the two groups to form their own chapter. The ACLU has even entered the conflict in support of the grassroots organization’s right to public sharings. The city most famous for Disney World, however, continues to promote gentrification which can be seen through new park policies which perpetuate economic segregation. (more̷

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On January 10, 2007, the University of Central Florida Police Department issued a citation for trespassing, threatened arrest, and expulsion to, UCF student Eric Eingold and issued a Student Conduct Referral to two other UCF students, Patrick DeCarlo and Jeff Grim, for refusing to move to a “free assembly area” in front of the UCF Student Union, though the UCF Golden Rule clearly states that SDS members were in a free assembly area. The police officers were called to the Student Union by the Union management after members of the Central Florida Students for a Democratic Society refused to move when asked twice by Union Management after setting up “Free Store,” which SDS has done regularly over the last semester. Free Store is an event where students lay out old clothes, books, records, and even blenders today, in front of the Union to pass out to students for free. The Free Store has been widely successful, and donations from the UCF Student Body have become vital in keeping Free Store afloat. Every Wednesday in front of the Union, vendors from a variety of businesses reserve space, at a fee of $120 for the day to sell goods to students at UCF, and Free Store offers an alternative to the students at UCF to the marketplace the Student Union now is. (more̷

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William Blum (Photo: Thomas Good)

Washington, DC - January 12, 2007 In the past year Iran has issued several warnings to the United States about the consequences of an American or Israeli attack. One statement, issued in November by a high Iranian military official, declared: “If America attacks Iran, its 200,000 troops and 33 bases in the region will be extremely vulnerable, and both American politicians and military commanders are aware of it.”[1] Iran apparently believes that American leaders would be so deeply distressed by the prospect of their young men and women being endangered and possibly killed that they would forswear any reckless attacks on Iran. As if American leaders have been deeply stabbed by pain about throwing youthful American bodies into the bottomless snakepit called Iraq, or were restrained by fear of retaliation or by moral qualms while feeding 58,000 young lives to the Vietnam beast. As if American leaders, like all world leaders, have ever had such concerns. (more̷

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David McReynolds, longtime War Resister. (Photo: Thomas Good)

New York, NY - January 10, 2007. This is written early Wednesday morning, before I take Amtrak down to Washington DC to join Thursday’s protest on the International Day to Shut Down Guantanamo. Before going further, let me give the web site so that anyone wanting to join the general campaign can find ways to engage. Go to: www.witnesstorture.org. That site will not only give you information on how you can get involved, it will also provide updates on what happens Thursday, who has been arrested, when we will be released.

CONTINUE READING AT NEXT LEFT NOTES.NET 

Original post by Thomas Good and reposted by Radical Blogs

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Please help us promote this event! Tell your friends, professors and classes about the event and ask them to come! Below are the flyers that’ve been made.
People’s History of Wayne State University Flyer PDF
Half-Size People’s History of Wayne State University Flyer

Original post by Aaron and reposted by Radical Blogs

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