Milwaukee, Feb. 23, 2019: PALESTINE: UNLIMITED “Move beyond stereotypes, enter hope…”

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An exhibition featuring award-winning photographs by Palestinian artists.

Opening Night and Reception

Saturday Feb 23 7:00 pm
Jazz Gallery, 926 E Center, Milwaukee
riverwestart.org

 

7:00  Appetizers and Beverages
7:30  Program: Bright Stars of Bethlehem.
Rev. Joseph W. Ellwanger.
& more…
8:15 Opportunity for purchase of prints, Q&A, Conversation
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Palestine is contested land. People everywhere watch Palestine, expectantly. Many share stories, images, interpretations and explanations, hoping to build a clearer picture of Palestine, hoping to make a positive contribution to the future of the country and its people.

Indeed, sometimes it seems that everyone has something to say about Palestine.

But do Palestinians themselves get to say what Palestine is about?

The current exhibition is derived from a signature initiative of Dar Al Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem: a call to the best young photographers of Palestine to share interpretations of their country and its people. Here, ten finalists from the Karimeh Abboud Award Competition — named for a pioneering 20th century Palestinian female photographer — help us break through icons and stereotypes, in order to experience Palestine as it really is.

Listen to the words of photographer Ala’a Abu Salem: “[T]hese portraits aim at representing the Palestinian away from any ties, connections or expectations with themes and specific subjects. In short, iis an attempt to break the stereotype and overused image of the Palestinian person.”

To investigate Palestinian identity, to nurture beauty, and to invest in a culture of life, to foster creative resistance, to build hope: this is the work of Dar al Kalima.

Enjoy Palestine: Unlimited. Move beyond stereotypes. Enter hope.

Building For March 23 ‘People’s Offensive March & Rally’ In Sheboygan, Organizer Declares: ‘It Is Essential That We Unite The Fights Of All Working People’

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February 18, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Mary Koczan: 920-452-6955

Jennifer Estrada: 920-371-6975

Email: sheboygancommunity@gmail.com

‘People’s Offensive March & Rally’ March 23, 2019 in Sheboygan

SHEBOYGAN, WI — Members from a diverse group of labor and community organizations are organizing a “People’s Offensive March and Rally” to be held in Sheboygan March 23, 2019. Organizers are planning to have a march to Fountain Park followed by a rally.

The March 23 event grew out of a successful Sheboygan Comm-UNITY event in mid-January where dozens attended a unity event at Mead Library. That event was inspired by the Women’s Marches taking place nationwide. Sheboygan organizers expanded the discussion to a broad range of concerns in addition to women’s rights which is also the focus of the March 23 event.

“In order to increase the impact for change we believe it is essential to unite the fights of all working people. It is crucial that we target fundamental issues impacting our Communities, not just the symptoms,” said Jennifer Estrada of Crusaders of Justicia.

Organizers will be conducting outreach throughout Northeastern Wisconsin and beyond for March 23.

“We’ll be bringing people together through progressive organizations that serve the community. We are encouraging groups to share information about their mission with people who want to get involved. Our first event in January was well attended despite a snow storm. We plan to schedule similar events in the future to continue the work of building working people’s unity and power in Sheboygan, Northeastern Wisconsin and beyond.,” said Mary Koczan, a retired union educator and a leader of Sheboygan Comm-Unity.

Initiating organizations for the March 23 event are the Crusaders of Justicia, Sheboygan Comm-UNITY and Wisconsin Bail Out The People Movement. These organizations focus on a wide range of issues including migrant and worker’s rights, LGBTQ and women’s issues, fighting evictions and foreclosures, anti-war and anti-racist activities.

If progressive labor and community organizations are interested in endorsing and participating March 23, email: sheboygancommunity@gmail.com. Or call the numbers above.

Facebook Event page: https://bit.ly/2WYrmsZ

Half-Sheet PDF: Peoples Offensive Sheboygan March 23 2019 Half Sheet

8 1/2 x 11, Spanish: PeoplesOffensiveFlyer02-Spanish March 23 2019

8 1/2 x 11, English: PeoplesOffensiveFlyer01 March 23 2019 Sheboygan

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Poster making session in Manitowoc Feb. 16, 2019 for the March 23 Sheboygan march and rally. / Photos: Crusaders For Justicia and WI BOPM

Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Region 3 Helps Promote ‘People’s Offensive March & Rally’ Scheduled for March 23, 2019 in Sheboygan

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WEAC Region 3 represents public education employees in a large territory stretching from Florence to Port Washington, and from Menominee to
Feb. 15, 2019 Email: https://conta.cc/2Ndwu87

Flyer: https://bit.ly/2GBGHen

US Air Freight Company that Smuggled Weapons Into Venezuela Linked to CIA “Black Site” Renditions

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https://bit.ly/2Gvv0FL

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – Two executives at the company that chartered the U.S. plane that was caught smuggling weapons into Venezuela last week have been tied to an air cargo company that aided the CIA in the rendition of alleged terrorists to “black site” centers for interrogation. The troubling revelation comes as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has rejected a U.S. “humanitarian aid” convoy over concerns that it could contain weapons meant to arm the country’s U.S.-backed opposition.

Last Tuesday, Venezuelan authorities announced that 19 rifles, 118 ammo magazines, 90 radios and six iPhones had been smuggled into the country via a U.S. plane that had originated in Miami. The authorities blamed the United States government for the illicit cargo, accusing it of seeking to arm U.S.-funded opposition groups in the country in order to topple the current Maduro-led government.

A subsequent investigation into the plane responsible for the weapons caché conducted by McClatchyDC received very little media attention despite the fact that it uncovered information clearly showing that the plane responsible for the shipment had been making an unusually high number of trips to Venezuela and neighboring Colombia over the past few weeks…

us hands off venezuela 1 26 2019 milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin January 26, 2019 at Stand For Peace!

WISDOM’s Madison Action Day, March 26, 2019

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Follow Madison Action Day 2019 on Facebook.

Join leaders from all parts of Wisconsin who are meeting at the Masonic Center in Madison for a day of action and movement-building. Madison Action Day is held every two years leading up to the budget session so we can get our issues on the minds of legislators while they are making their budget decisions. It is a culmination of what WISDOM and its affiliates are all about!

Buses will be transporting people to the event from Appleton and Oshkosh:

  • First Congregational UCC (724 E South River St, Appleton) – 6:30 am
  • Oshkosh Park & Ride 70-01 – 7:15 am

Coming from the Fox Valley area for Madison Action Day?! Check out ESTHER-Fox Valley‘s busing info. Sign up today!
Fox Valley buses leaving from First Congregational UCC (724 E South River St, Appleton) at 6:30am and from Oshkosh Park & Ride at 7:15am. For more info: https://esther-foxvalley.org/…/03/26/madison-action-day-2019

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In Defense of Our Lives Statement on #45’s “State of Emergency:” No Trump, No Wall, No Ban, No State of Emergency, Legalization for All

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In Defense of Our Lives

The only crisis at the border is the one Trump is creating. Thousands of refugee and immigrant children have been held in camps at the border, and some are dying in detention. Central American refugees, including large numbers of women and children, are fleeing extreme violence, caused by U.S. “drug wars” and anti-democratic
policies in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. We support asylum for the Central American and all refugees!

Trump has attacked Mexicans and all people of Latin American heritage, calling them, “Rapists, criminals, drug-dealers, and bad hombres,” and issued executive orders to exclude Muslim immigrants with his travel ban. He moved to deny Temporary Protected Status to refugees from countries such as Haiti, Nigeria and El Salvador, who he referred to as “shithole countries.” He claims that immigrants and refugees are coming to take jobs, but Trump was the one who took jobs away from workers in the United States, most recently with the month long government shutdown!

What’s the significance of Trump’s “State of Emergency”?

Trump’s justifications for declaring a state of emergency to fund his border wall serve as a convenient cover for a broader move toward authoritarianism. By declaring a state of emergency, Trump has just opened the door to a set of broad legal powers that have the potential to challenge “democracy” as we know it in the U.S. He could use this power to enforce his white supremacist world view, taking money from Sanctuary Cities,
challenge LGBTQ2S legal identification, compel the National Guard to pick up all undocumented people, impose stop and frisk policies in communities of color across the country, and many other repressive actions. He could also take over internet traffic, block any website he deems unacceptable, interfere with individuals’ emails, and enable only his own fake news to hit the airways. He could even deploy the military within the
United States to suppress political protesters.

Is this a step towards fascism?

In declaring a State of Emergency to usurp Congress’ “power of the purse”, Trump is essentially disenfranchising the entire population of the U.S. by saying that he, as president, can “trump”, or overrule Congress. In the U.S., bourgeois democracy was designed with three seats of power, as a balance against autocratic or fascist rule. The Supreme Court has already been stacked in such a way as to enable the rollback
of countless years of struggle to pass progressive legislation. If Trump gets away with overruling Congress, this will lock his control to a new level.

It’s up to the people

We can’t rely on the Democrats to put an end to this legislatively. We need mass mobilization in the streets and workplaces, by unions and mass organizations, to defeat this attack. The gains that are under attack were not won in the electoral or legislative arena. They were won by mass struggle. Now is the time to fight back. Get in the streets. Join the call for local actions on Monday, 2/18, “presidents’ day”. Organize and say no to
white-supremacy, yes to families and refugees, no to bans and walls.

In Defense of Our Lives

No photo description available.

Momentum Building For ‘People’s Offensive March & Rally’ in Sheboygan March 23, 2019

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MANITOWOC AND SHEBOYGAN, WI FEB. 16, 2019 — Labor and Community members from throughout Northeastern, Wisconsin and beyond participated in a sign making session in Manitowoc Feb. 16. Those who attended the session are preparing for the “People’s Offensive March & Rally” scheduled for March 23, 2019 in Sheboygan. [See Photos below] Organizers reported that a wide variety of outreach is now underway to unions, community and student organizations and the media.

“We are ready for the Unity March are you? Being complacent is not an option.
Estamos listos para la marcha de unidad. Los tiempos de ser complacientes ya terminadon. #wecantoo” said Jennifer Estrada of Crusaders of Justicia Feb. 16. The Crusaders are a sponsoring organization for March 23.

Also, on Feb. 16, Mary Koczan of Sheboygan Comm-UNITY, also a sponsor of March 23, said she received a warm welcome at Emil Mazey Hall from President Tim Tayloe of UAW Local 833 when she arrived to distribute leaflets to union members there.

Other March 23 organizers report that they are receiving hearty responses throughout Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties and throughout Northeastern Wisconsin while out distributing and posting leaflets and engaging in conversations with labor and community folks.

FOR MORE INFO: 

March and Rally

We will come together to unite the community in a march and rally. We will lift up the voices of all exploited people to fight for a WISCONSIN WHERE ALL FAMILIES CAN PROSPER.

Visit the Facebook pages of these organizing groups for start locations and ongoing info:
● Wisconsin Bail Out The People Movement
● Sheboygan Comm-UNITY March
● Crusaders Of Justicia

More info: sheboygancommunity@gmail.com

PDF’s of English and Spanish Fliers:

PeoplesOffensiveFlyer01 March 23 2019 Sheboygan

PeoplesOffensiveFlyer02-Spanish March 23 2019

Crusaders of Justicia and WI BOPM photos from sign making session in Manitowoc Feb. 16, 2019.

Islamophobia has no place in La Crosse, WI, Protest Fights Anti Muslim Attack On Small Business Owner

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By staff |
February 17, 2019

La Crosse, WI. – The thermometer read zero on the afternoon of February 15, but that didn’t prevent upwards of 100 people from coming out and showing their support for the local Muslims.

The rally was held to protest an act of vandalism in which a slur for a Middle-Eastern or Muslim person was spray-painted on the garage door of the Bullet Cab Company, a local business owned by Mian “Mike” Ahmad, who is Muslim. As of this time no suspects have been identified for this hate crime.

Speakers led chants espousing the need for equality, and “freedom and justice for all!” After the speakers had their say Ahmad was presented with over $1000 from a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the graffiti cleanup. The space has since been painted over with a mural by local artists Cathryn Dagendesh and Adam Faeth which reads, “One community, one family, hate has no place here!”

Looking back, however, La Crosse has a history as a ‘sundown city’ during the heyday of overt segregation across United States. This history serves as a reminder that racist discrimination was far from contained to the southern states. The occurrence of this hate crime reminds us to remain strong against the rising tide of xenophobia and national chauvinism.

The perpetrator of this hateful vandalism was ideologically aided and abetted by those in the highest seats of power in the government and media. These figures are directly responsible for the actions of these and other people by providing a platform to normalize and incite the far-right, fascist ideology.

“While I am glad that so many people showed up to voice their support, including some prominent community members, we need to be proactive in our attempts to root out racist ideology of all kinds and not just reactively decry racism after the fact,” said rally attendee Jeremy Schroeder. “These types of people are mobilizing and becoming stronger every day and we need to rise to meet them or nobody will.”

The rally was organized by the La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network, Showing Up for Social Justice, and the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (UWL) Campus Climate and was attended by such area notables as Mayor Tim Kabat and UWL Chancellor Joe Gow.

Rally

Rally organizers and attendees stand Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 in front of the garage door that was vandalized with racist graffiti and now bears a mural with an anti-hate message. / Basma Amer, La Crosse Tribune

Somali War: A Continuing Result Of United States’ Foreign Policy – OpEd

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https://tinyurl.com/y34cllzzhttps://tinyurl.com/y34cllzz

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Pentagon bombing operations against the Horn of Africa state of Somalia have killed numerous people over the last several weeks under the guise of the United States “war on terrorism.”

On 30 November 2018 the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) reported that airstrikes were launched on al-Shabaab positions in Lebede killing nine people. (Reuters, 2 December 2018)

Although Washington routinely claims these bombing operations only target so-called “terrorists” there is no way of verifying who is actually struck on the ground. Other damage such as the deaths of civilians and the dislocation of people in small towns and rural areas are never acknowledged by the military.

Official statements from AFRICOM indicate that there are approximately 500 soldiers stationed in Somalia. The actual numbers have increased since the ascendancy of the administration of President Donald Trump during 2017 as a part of his purported foreign policy aims of battling armed Islamist groups such as al-Shabaab.