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Updated: 13 min 59 sec ago
75th Anniversary of the Social Security Act Celebrated
Social Security was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. Originally a plan for retired workers, it soon became a program to provide monthly income to widows and widowers and their minor children as well as the disabled. Calling the plan "America's promise to its citizens" and opposing any movement to privatize the program, activists in San Francisco and San Jose held demonstrations around the 75th anniversary of Social Security this past week.
In San Francisco, speakers atop the back of a flatbed truck proposed lifting the cap on the amount of wages taxed and called claims that the program is responsible for America's financial woes a "right wing myth." A sign hung from the truck read "Crisis My Ass."
San Jose's rally in front of the Federal Building on 2nd Street saw protesters cheering and waving signs while light rail buses carrying curious riders rolled slowly past. At both events demonstrators expressed concern that President Obama's Deficit Commission may recommend raiding Social Security to cut the deficit. In San Jose demonstrators piled up tins of cat chow next to a birthday cake and asked, "Will seniors be eating cake or cat food?"
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Audio: 1
In San Francisco, speakers atop the back of a flatbed truck proposed lifting the cap on the amount of wages taxed and called claims that the program is responsible for America's financial woes a "right wing myth." A sign hung from the truck read "Crisis My Ass."
San Jose's rally in front of the Federal Building on 2nd Street saw protesters cheering and waving signs while light rail buses carrying curious riders rolled slowly past. At both events demonstrators expressed concern that President Obama's Deficit Commission may recommend raiding Social Security to cut the deficit. In San Jose demonstrators piled up tins of cat chow next to a birthday cake and asked, "Will seniors be eating cake or cat food?"
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Audio: 1
Clear-cut Logging Road In Jacoby Creek Blockaded
Early in the morning on Agust 17th, forest defenders set up a 60-foot high road blockade to stop the active clear-cutting operations of Green Diamond Resource Company in the redwoods near Jacoby Creek Road north of Eureka in Humboldt County. These clear-cut logging plans represent a fraction of the ongoing clear-cut logging operations in Northern California.
“We are not coming down voluntarily until the reckless logging in the Jacoby Creek watershed is stopped,” said "Fly", one of the activists from atop the 60 ft high hanging platform
Citing concern for the local redwood eco-system as well as global climate change, the activists scaled rope structures made to block the entrance of a logging road. The blockades were constructed so that if moved or damaged, the activists could fall from a considerable height. Several pickup trucks and a van full of workers had to turn back when they arrived. One of the workers from the van started cutting the rope before supporters on the ground could stop him.
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“We are not coming down voluntarily until the reckless logging in the Jacoby Creek watershed is stopped,” said "Fly", one of the activists from atop the 60 ft high hanging platform
Citing concern for the local redwood eco-system as well as global climate change, the activists scaled rope structures made to block the entrance of a logging road. The blockades were constructed so that if moved or damaged, the activists could fall from a considerable height. Several pickup trucks and a van full of workers had to turn back when they arrived. One of the workers from the van started cutting the rope before supporters on the ground could stop him.
Read More
Internet Freedom Defenders Protest Google Proposal
Demonstrators swarmed Amphitheater Parkway near Google Way in Mountain View on August 13th. They converged on Google headquarters to protest the giant search engine company's proposal to the Federal Communications Commission that would exempt wireless communication from most government regulation.
Protesters on the Google campus said that without federal rules net providers could give priority to certain online traffic, a situation that would lead to a tiered "pay-to play" internet. The demonstration was organized by a coalition of internet freedom defenders including Color of Change, FreePress.net, and the Raging Grannies. The Grannies, who led anti-Google chants and songs, echoed the sentiment of fellow activists saying that the Google plan works against the concepts of internet neutrality because companies are motivated by profit rather than the public good.
Read more Photos: 1 | 2 | 3
FreePress.net | Color of Change | Raging Grannies Action League
Protesters on the Google campus said that without federal rules net providers could give priority to certain online traffic, a situation that would lead to a tiered "pay-to play" internet. The demonstration was organized by a coalition of internet freedom defenders including Color of Change, FreePress.net, and the Raging Grannies. The Grannies, who led anti-Google chants and songs, echoed the sentiment of fellow activists saying that the Google plan works against the concepts of internet neutrality because companies are motivated by profit rather than the public good.
Read more Photos: 1 | 2 | 3
FreePress.net | Color of Change | Raging Grannies Action League
An invitation to fertile resistance – the Peach Tree Project story
Read the whole article: http://lifnb.com/article/invitation_fertile_resistance_–_peach_tree_project_story
It’s been a few years since we started up our decentralized community agricultural program, the “Peach Tree Project”. The name doesn’t do justice to the variety of the plants or skills we share, but it does embody the image of a community in growth and that’s kind of the point.
The idea behind the Peach Tree Project is pretty simple. Each year we get people interested in gardening to help us germinate hundreds of fruit & vegetable seedlings – plants like peach trees, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, etc… We collect various containers to hold our newly germinated plants and once they’ve grown a few inches, or feet (depending on the plant), we share them with the community.
So, at any of the Long Island Food Not Bombs locations you’ll find nearly a dozen tables sharing thousands of pounds of fresh foods, clothing, books, etc… and, in the spring and summer months we’ll often have an extra table sharing these germinated plants.
In the few years we’ve been doing this we’ve shared hundreds of seedlings. The basic understanding is that anyone can take a few of these plants to grow some of their own food. We also ask people to bring any extra fruits & veggies that these seedlings produce back to our food shares – in essence, continuing a cycle of free food.
The idea is that Jim will bring his extra string beans to his local food share and at the same time he might be able to pickup some of Mary’s extra tomatoes, or Benders extra eggplants. Basically, it’s decentralized agricultural solidarity and it works!
Each week, folks who have a little extra to share stop by with their homegrown produce. Some people grow this food in their gardens, some people grow it on fire escapes or in windowsills, some in empty lots; really, wherever there is sun and access to water.
Part of the idea behind the Peach Tree Project is that every seedling we share comes with its own pot so anyone that’s interested in participating can do so regardless of his or her access to open land.
We also help teach the best ways to grow various plants and we focus on sharing low-maintenance seedlings (you can find a guide on growing low-maintenance plants in the zine section of our website). These can be plants that are easy to grow in our climate or in someone’s apartments. It’s important to focus on plants that produce a good volume of nutritious food. The idea is to share seedlings that take the least amount of time to cultivate while producing large healthy yields.
The Peach Tree Project creates another way people can contribute to Food Not Bombs and it creates new connections between people who share their gardening knowledge.
So with all this said, if you’re in the Long Island/NYC metro area, and you’re interested in participating in community agricultural solidarity, we invite you to join us in our endeavors.
Do you have any extra plants in your garden you’d like to share? Is your garden going great and you’d like to share some extra produce you’ve grown? Would you like to help us grow seedlings to share? Would you like to share your gardening knowledge with others in the community? – If your answer is yes to any of these questions please join us at any of our local food shares (www.lifnb.com/food_shares), or contact us (information below) to learn more about how you can get involved.
If you’re not from the Long Island/NYC metro area and you’re interested in starting your own Peach Tree Project we can help you along the way; again, just contact us (information listed below). It’s all pretty easy and this program is a great addition to any Food Not Bombs chapter.
Thanks for reading. In Solidarity,
JonSTeps & Long Island Food Not Bombs.
Full Article: http://lifnb.com/article/invitation_fertile_resistance_–_peach_tree_project_story
Contact Information/links:
Hotline: 631.223.4370
Email: LongIslandFoodNotBombs [at] gmail [dot] com
Locations: www.lifnb.com/food_shares
Get Involved: www.lifnb.com/get_involved
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30106440706&ref=ts
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Island-Food-Not-Bombs/46677416402?ref=ts
It’s been a few years since we started up our decentralized community agricultural program, the “Peach Tree Project”. The name doesn’t do justice to the variety of the plants or skills we share, but it does embody the image of a community in growth and that’s kind of the point.
The idea behind the Peach Tree Project is pretty simple. Each year we get people interested in gardening to help us germinate hundreds of fruit & vegetable seedlings – plants like peach trees, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, etc… We collect various containers to hold our newly germinated plants and once they’ve grown a few inches, or feet (depending on the plant), we share them with the community.
So, at any of the Long Island Food Not Bombs locations you’ll find nearly a dozen tables sharing thousands of pounds of fresh foods, clothing, books, etc… and, in the spring and summer months we’ll often have an extra table sharing these germinated plants.
In the few years we’ve been doing this we’ve shared hundreds of seedlings. The basic understanding is that anyone can take a few of these plants to grow some of their own food. We also ask people to bring any extra fruits & veggies that these seedlings produce back to our food shares – in essence, continuing a cycle of free food.
The idea is that Jim will bring his extra string beans to his local food share and at the same time he might be able to pickup some of Mary’s extra tomatoes, or Benders extra eggplants. Basically, it’s decentralized agricultural solidarity and it works!
Each week, folks who have a little extra to share stop by with their homegrown produce. Some people grow this food in their gardens, some people grow it on fire escapes or in windowsills, some in empty lots; really, wherever there is sun and access to water.
Part of the idea behind the Peach Tree Project is that every seedling we share comes with its own pot so anyone that’s interested in participating can do so regardless of his or her access to open land.
We also help teach the best ways to grow various plants and we focus on sharing low-maintenance seedlings (you can find a guide on growing low-maintenance plants in the zine section of our website). These can be plants that are easy to grow in our climate or in someone’s apartments. It’s important to focus on plants that produce a good volume of nutritious food. The idea is to share seedlings that take the least amount of time to cultivate while producing large healthy yields.
The Peach Tree Project creates another way people can contribute to Food Not Bombs and it creates new connections between people who share their gardening knowledge.
So with all this said, if you’re in the Long Island/NYC metro area, and you’re interested in participating in community agricultural solidarity, we invite you to join us in our endeavors.
Do you have any extra plants in your garden you’d like to share? Is your garden going great and you’d like to share some extra produce you’ve grown? Would you like to help us grow seedlings to share? Would you like to share your gardening knowledge with others in the community? – If your answer is yes to any of these questions please join us at any of our local food shares (www.lifnb.com/food_shares), or contact us (information below) to learn more about how you can get involved.
If you’re not from the Long Island/NYC metro area and you’re interested in starting your own Peach Tree Project we can help you along the way; again, just contact us (information listed below). It’s all pretty easy and this program is a great addition to any Food Not Bombs chapter.
Thanks for reading. In Solidarity,
JonSTeps & Long Island Food Not Bombs.
Full Article: http://lifnb.com/article/invitation_fertile_resistance_–_peach_tree_project_story
Contact Information/links:
Hotline: 631.223.4370
Email: LongIslandFoodNotBombs [at] gmail [dot] com
Locations: www.lifnb.com/food_shares
Get Involved: www.lifnb.com/get_involved
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30106440706&ref=ts
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Island-Food-Not-Bombs/46677416402?ref=ts
Nest Surveyors Arrested
On Friday July 31st, two Linn county sheriffs and a Forest Service LEO came to NEST camp. They harassed and threatened the few surveyors left back at camp. They claimed that the NEST camp was in private land and not the national forest. Though all public maps showed NEST camp on forest service land. The 4 NEST surveyors are facing criminal trespassing plus restitution. The police searched the camp and took pictures of the camp without a warrant.
If you wish to make donations or find out more about NEST or are interested in volunteering please contact NEST by Email: nestcascadia@gmail.com
Filipino teachers in US file class suit vs oppressive recruiters
Filipino migrant teachers in Louisiana today (August 5, US Central Time) filed a class lawsuit against Universal Placement International (UPI) and its Philippine based partner, PARS International for various offenses ranging from racketeering, human trafficking, extortion and mail and wire fraud.
DC friends of hikers petition Iran for Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal’s immediate release
Proposition 8 Ruled Unconstitutional
The California Federal Prop 8 case decision was announced today. Judge Vaughn Walker ruled for the plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court that challenged the constitutional validity of California's Proposition 8. The plaintiffs sought to have the federal court strike down the proposition, saying it is contrary to the 14th Amendment's guarantee to equal protection.
This landmark case was closely watched by gay rights activists and others interested in equal rights protections. Regardless of the ruling, few people think the battle is over. The issue of gay marriage will likely work its way up the federal judicial ladder and probably end up being heard by the Supreme Court.
Marriage rights activists held community gatherings throughout the state in response to the decision. Read More | Bay Area Rallies Announcement | Video
This landmark case was closely watched by gay rights activists and others interested in equal rights protections. Regardless of the ruling, few people think the battle is over. The issue of gay marriage will likely work its way up the federal judicial ladder and probably end up being heard by the Supreme Court.
Marriage rights activists held community gatherings throughout the state in response to the decision. Read More | Bay Area Rallies Announcement | Video
