It's the lame duck session for USA's Congress, and according to Jay Marx of Proposition 1, it is time for the US Senate to ratify its nuclear weapons reduction treaty. This comes just after US President Barack Hussein Obama came back from the NATO meetings in Europe and convinced the European governments to increase their nuclear capabilities in a global drive to arm for deterrence!!

This 2010-11-30 edition of Voices With Vision radio show looked at citizens power, government responsibility and global safety stemming from nuclear armament reduction, short of dis-armement. Read More & Audio

District Court Rules For U.S. Forest Service in Save the Peaks Case; Plaintiffs will Appeal

The case known as The Save the Peaks Coalition, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was heard before Honorable Judge Mary H. Murguia and today (December 1, 2010) a decision was made.

The Court ruled against the plaintiffs claims that the final FEIS prepared by the USFS ignores thorough consideration of a number of critical health issues. The plaintiffs contend that a new and thorough FEIS should be filed by the USFS. If this reveals that the use of reclaimed sewage water is a public health risk then snowmaking should not be permitted for the Arizona Snowbowl on the San Francisco Peaks.

Howard Shanker, representing the Save the Peaks Coalition and additional plaintiffs, will file an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court...

The sixth annual state report on Illinois Traffic Stop Statistics was recently released by the Center for Research in Law and Justice of the University of Illinois at Chicago.  The statistics provide a window into local traffic stop data that helps local communities answer a fundamental question:   “Are the number of traffic stops and searches involving motor vehicles operated by members of a racial minority disproportionate to the number of traffic stops involving motor vehicles operated by persons who are not members of a racial minority?”

What does the data tell us about traffic stop behavior of the Champaign, Urbana, and University of Illinois police departments?

The budget cuts that we are seeing are one of the many masks that hegemony wears. They are another form of the institutional racism that seeks to erase our historical memory so that we don't know our people's and other people's struggles, victories, and resistance. From the moment we enter schools, a white supremacist, patriarchal, hetero-normative, and hierarchical view of the world is normalized and reinforced. When students enroll in area studies courses or programs, it often represents the first time they have had the chance to see themselves reflected in the curriculum and to learn their stories. This knowledge gives us the strength to organize, unite, and resist, all of which endanger the hegemonic forces that seek to breed ignorance and apathy.

Budget cuts, increased fees, and increased tuition are decontextualized and separated from the legacy of discrimination that prevented poor people and people of color from having access to education. They are separated from the living, breathing human beings who will be affected and converted into dollar signs and percentages that indicate how much money the university will allegedly save. Cut back? Fuck that. We’re here to fight back. Read More | Photos | Past Coverage: Students Organize In Resistance Cuts to Peoples' Studies at UT

The annual Friday-after-Thanksgiving protest of the fur industry, led by In Defense of Animals and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was held in San Francisco's Union Square on November 26th. Similar demonstrations were held in Portland and other cities across the U.S. and the world. From the event announcement: "Come and raise your voice for the voiceless 50 million fur bearing animals that are brutally slaughtered each year for their fur." Read More

Previous Fur-Free Friday Coverage on Indybay: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2000

Related: International 'Fur-Free Friday' Portland protest | Bold Native Humanizes the "Nation's #1 Domestic Terrorist Threat" | Goldman-Sachs seeks, gets injunction against HLS/Fortress protests

Dec 5 Update: Protesters display censored art ("A Fire in My Belly" by David Wojnarowicz) inside the National Portrait Gallery; then get banned from the museum for life.

Documentation and Interviews with demonstrators organized by the Transformer Art Space in Washington, DC against the Smithsonian Institution decision to remove the video by David Wojnarowicz. The video imaged ants crawling over a reclining Jesus paired with homo-erotic images to represent the devastation of the AIDS epidemic on the body and on the Gay community. After a story appeared in the conservative Cybercast News (a project of the L. Brent Bozell III and the Media Research Center), the Catholic League complained that images were offensive to Catholics and other conservatives took up the crusade against the Video. In no time the National Portrait gallery removed the video.

The Transformer Gallery on P Street NW responded to the censorship with screening of "A Fire in My Belly". Video | transformergallery.org | DC Marches against censorship of National Portrait Gallery exhibit | Culture Wars: Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and CSN News on “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture” exhibit | Montana Woman Destroys Controversial Art by Enrique Chagoya | Chagoya defends his work

As the 150th anniversary of the War of 1862 approaches in 2012, the conversation around the genocide of the Dakota people at the hands of white Minnesotans is changing. Earlier this year, Dakota activists and allies disrupted an event of the Minnesota Historical Society (which continues to downplay the significance of the War) at the state capitol, and the Take Down the Fort campaign held the largest rally yet outside (and inside) the gates of Fort Snelling. But these protests are only a small portion of the much larger, less visible fight towards decolonization.

Much of that fight happens through personal conversations, discussion groups, teach-ins, and lectures. Such a lecture, delivered by activist and scholar Waziyatawin, was given in the 95% white college river town of Winona, Minnesota in early November--and has since ignited a firestorm of debate. There, Waziyatawin was accused of "terroristic threats" in a letter in the local newspaper; a follow-up article fanned the flames; and a public statement from out-of-state elected tribal government officials also condemned the lecture. But meanwhile, the Winona State University faculty member who organized the talk called it a "complete success".

Waziyatawin, too, has responded, saying, "I, for one, am not interested in propping up the government and society that exterminated our people and stole our lands." (Her full response--which the Winona Post refused to print--is below).read more

WikiLeaks has struggled to stay online after initiating the slow release of over 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables on 28th November 2010. The releases, dubbed "Cablegate" have been carried in newspapers around the world. The four-year-old WikiLeaks organistaion has been under constant political attack, especially from the conservative side of politics, whilst it's website has been subjected to a series of sophisticated cyber attacks. Reporters Without Borders condemned this hounding of Wikileaks.

Spokesperson for Wikileaks, Julian Assange, was put on Interpol's most wanted list for detention and extradition to Sweden in relation to two allegations of sexual abuse against him which had previously been dropped. The Swedish prosecutor is described as “overzealous” in the mainstream German weekly, Die Zeit. Assange surrendered his passport to British police and offered sureties of £180,000, but a Westminster Court denied his bail application. (Court protest

Global resistance in support of Wikileaks and Assange is taking the form of over 1,200 websites mirroring Wikileaks and street protests such as in Australia. The Indymedia Network is hosting one of these Mirrors.... READ MORE from Global IMC

More Coverage from US-based IMCs: WikiLeaks: The First Cyber-War from Buffalo,NY | Women question the unusual zeal in pursuing Julian Assange for rape allegations (letter published in The Guardian) from Philadelphia, PA | Wikileaks: A "Teachable Moment" for Anarchists from Portland,OR | PayPal Pulls Plug on WikiLeaks Donations from San Francisco, CA | WikiLeaks Mirrors! from Washington, DC

From the Open Publishing Newswire: WikiLeaks Reveals Diplomatic Cables on Aafia Siddiqu by Stephen Lendman

Gal Lugassi is an Israeli conscientious objector, a member of the Shiministim, an activist with the Anarchist Against the Wall action group, and the Boycott! from Within group. She also volunteers at the Coalition of Women for Peace and with the Who Profits project. Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW) is a direct action group that was established in 2003 in response to the construction of the wall Israel is building on Palestinian land in the Occupied West Bank. The group works in cooperation with Palestinians in a joint popular struggle against the occupation. read more | video

The Metro Boston Edition of December 6, 2010 that on its front page includes the headlines: "North End memorial to murder? - Group trying to erect a plaque to two men convicted in the '20s. - Sacco and Venzetti (sp) case is infamous". Then on the full page of a small article the reporter, Justin Rice, continues the stereotypes via a sub-heading: "- Group of anarchists trying to memorialize convicted killers in the North End".

Ashland, Oregon — SHOUTOUT posted 12/6/10 — Dear Concerned and Active Citizen Base: The recent uprising of Ashland's houseless population demands a just, safe, and sane rectification of a endemic social dysfunction, namely the criminalization of homelessness and the necessary acts that accompany that status. It is inevitable that this core social issue gets faced in a way that brings to light the full import of the crisis. Disabled, elderly, youth, family, temporary and chronic homelessness and poverty have reached a critical mass. Now is the time to deal with homelessness and poverty in a peaceable, orderly way so that violence can be ruled out as a viable alternative.

THE PUBLIC COMMONS CAN BE RECLAIMED BY THE WILL OF AN ORGANIZED, EDUCATED, NON-VIOLENT PUBLIC

Thanks for being awake.

Organised by the Sunnyside Self-Help Employment Group, Oregonians held a press conference in Director Park to speak out against the looming cuts and the affect this will have on people in the Northwest. Portland, OR, USA, 29/11/2010.

The conference today focused on the issues surrounding the fact that just 4 days after Thanksgiving, Tuesday November 30th, Federal Unemployment Insurance Extension Benefits and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) will expire for millions of Americans. Countrywide over 20 million Americans are unemployed. If Congress does not act by the deadline over 2 million will be cut off from exiting employment benefits, with 7500 families affected in Oregon alone. Read More | homepage: http://www.alexmilantracy.com

On Friday, December 3rd, the FBI delivered at least three subpoenas to Chicago activists to appear before a grand jury, as confirmed by National Lawyers Guild attorney Jim Fennerty. By Monday, December 6th, activists rallied in defense of those subpoenaed. Read statement by one of those subpoenaed.

The December delivery comes in the wake of an September sweep targeting fourteen activists in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling in February. But activists and allies have resisted what many have decried as harrasment of community activists engaged in no wrongful activity.

More from Chicago Indymedia: Chicago Independent Television: Activists Respond to FBI Raids | From The Trenches radio: Chicagoans hold press conference in response to FBI raids

Additional Coverage: Justice Department Prepares for Ominous Expansion of "Anti-Terrorism" Law Targeting Activists | StopFBI.net

As Pres. Obama set to sign bill authorizing payment of $4.6 billion to settle claims for Black and Native American farmers, Philly starts new trend. It will mean a lot to me and other blacks concerned with how our ancestors were and descendants are still being treated. I’m here in Philly, but my heart, mind and soul is stuck in South Carolina on an old plantation. Read More by Bob Shipman Jr

Pictured: Dr. John Boyd, President, National Black Farmers Association

Dozens of environmentalist and concerned citizens braved temperatures in the teens [last] Thursday afternoon to demonstrate against the controversial drilling technology known as Hydraulic fracturing. Lafayette square was the scene and national Fuel Gas Company was the focus of attention at 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon as downtown commuters began heading home.

There is much at stake: thousands of jobs, and millions of dollars in desperately needed revenue for cash-strapped families and governments across the Empire State. Balanced against this is a price that may be too high to pay. The destruction of thousands of acres of forest and the pollution of pristine water sources and aquifers could be the result. The source of this bonanza is trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, trapped a mile below the surface inside the massive Marcellus Shale. This middle-Devonian formation covers most of Pennsylvania and western New York. read more by Grady Hawkins

Saturday, December 11, 2010 — COLTON, California: In a large public gathering the cafeteria of Alice Birney Elementary School, well over one hundred community members from Colton, a city whose residents include many low-income immigrants, met with their police chief to expose him to the injustices his officers have been committing and to petition redress of their grievances. While distrust between the community and police is historic, things have gotten worse since the city created its own towyard a few years back and began collecting impound fees on cars, mostly taken from immigrants ineligible for licenses. In order to impound more automobiles to bail the city out of its financial troubles, officers have resorted to profiling anyone who "looks undocumented," making pretextual stops in order to impound vehicles.

Full report: Colton Immigrant Community Meets PD Chief, Demands Justice by Rockero | En español: Comunidad Inmigrante de Colton Se Reunió con Jefe de Policía para Reclamar Abusos por Rockero

On Thursday, December 9th, the call went out. The prisoners protest had begun, and it was time to spread the word. As a longtime freedom fighter in the global struggle for human rights, Sister Empress Chi of the Philadelphia-based Nu Day Resurrection & Liberation/International Million Woman Movement got the call. She immediately put a message together and attached a press release and started the ball rolling in the city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.

And now, the word is out... in a number of locations, including: The Defenestrator | Philly 1 blog | Facebook | Voice of Detroit. There has also been a radio interview with Elaine Brown by Davey D on KPFA in Oakland CA (lengthy; interview is about 10 minutes into the tape) and a video by Kenny Snodgrass, Activist, Author of From Victimization To Empowerment

A Press Conference for the Philadelphia/PA Coalition Contingent is being planned for the week of Dec. 20th, 2010. For additional information and updates from GA, tune in to www.blogtalkradio.com/empresschi LIVE on Sat. Dec. 18, 2010 starting at 10:30 PM.

Related: Texans United for Families speak out against new for-profit immigrant detention center in Texas

On December 14th, hundreds of PG&E customers, outraged about the health damage caused by wireless 'smart' meters, ramped up protests by testifying at county government meetings and shutting down payment centers in both Santa Cruz and Marin Counties to demand an immediate halt to the program. Protesters are also angry about PG&E's attempts to cover up the growing health scandal and recently revealed espionage carried out against their customers concerned with increasing reports of nausea, headaches, and bouts of dizziness from the meters. The protesters, backed by 22 local governments and an increasing number of scientists and medical professionals, are demanding that PG&E halt any further installation of smart meters.

More then 100 people arrested in a Civil Disobedience at the White House protesting the continuing wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in Iraq. Chris Hedges extraordinarily anti-war soliloquy is inter-cut with interviews with Veterans from recent wars and with Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the top secret Pentagon Papers. Read More | Video from ebecker2000 | Luke's Video | David Swanson's Video

Local Coverage: Rogue Valley | Boston | Minnesota | Philadelphia

The 2010 Hempstead Food Share Bonanza was the largest Food Not Bombs ever and the largest vegan Thanksgiving ever! On that day over 30,000 pounds of food was shared with thousands of people, and Long Island Food Not Bombs followed this with nearly a dozen consecutive Thanksgiving events throughout the rest of the week, sharing a total of nearly 55,000 pounds of groceries in 5 days!

For the full story with pictures, video and more please go to lifnb.com

The hydraulic fracturing controversy reached its next but not final chapter late Saturday afternoon; at least for the administration of Governor David Patterson. After being besieged by armies of lobbyists, activists, farmers, scientists, and business people of every stripe, the governor deftly side-stepped the issue and passed the gas to Andrew Cuomo.

He vetoed legislation A11443-B which would have placed a moratorium on all natural gas exploration until May 15th of next year. He then issued an executive order that restricts horizontal drilling and fracking until July 2011. Vertical drilling is not affected. Nor the jobs or revenue connected with these operations. So the gas industry is somewhat placated. As noted, horizontal drilling is stopped until next July, therefore appeasing environmentalists opposed. read more by Grady Hawkins | Past Coverage: National Fuel Buffalo Protest

Photo from frackaction.com. See also fractracker.org

from the open publishing newswire: Starting on Dec. 14, KPFT 90.1fm began airing what will be a twice a month program called "Voice of Peace" which is produced by the Israeli Consulate of Houston.

KPFT is a listener supported radio station in Houston Texas with a mission to promote peace and social justice. Airing programing produced by the Israeli Government is a clear violation of the call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, an international non-violent movement to end the injustice of occupation and ensure human and civil rights of Palestinians and all people in Palestine/Israel.

We are committed to KPFT respecting the call for BDS and for a non-violent and just resolution to the conflict. We will organize to end any relationship or use of our airwaves by the Israeli government. Let KPFT know your opposition to programming by the Israeli Consulate: [full article with contact info for station management]

More from the newswire: KPFT Responds to Concerns about The Voice of Peace Program with Consulate of Israel | Video: Debate about Israel Government program on KPFT | More Information: End Israeli Government Programing on KPFT Radio for Peace Facebook Group | Mondoweiss: Progressive radio station in Houston airs Israeli Consulate programming so as to counter alleged anti-Semitism | New Human Rights Watch Report: Israel/West Bank: Separate and Unequal

Related: Being Subpeonaed by the FBI for Visiting Israel and Palestine

Kwanzaa is celebrated annually from December 26th to January 1st. The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa are considered tools for addressing issues facing the African American community. In San Francisco, the cultural holiday will be held at nine different venues throughout the city. In Sacramento, the California Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association will honor the founder of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga, during the annual California State Capitol Kwanzaa Umoja Ceremony.

Related: One More Hour for Political Caroling Season! | International Migrants' Day Posada for Human Rights

After a ten-year struggle for the rights of undocumented youth to regularize their status through higher education or military service, the DREAM Act was again shot down by anti-immigrant senators on December 18, International Migrants' Day. DREAM has gone through several changes since it was first introduced, each version weaker and more unpalatable than the last. Nonetheless, the youth-led activism surrounding the DREAM Act has been incomparable. An entire generation has learned the arts of activism, from lobbying and letter-writing to hunger strikes and civil disobedience, including a DREAM-focused shut-down of Wilshire Boulevard earlier this year. In Southern California, the immigrant rights community reacted to the tragic news of DREAM's non-passage.

From the newswire: International Migrants' Day Posada for Human Rights by Rockero | | DREAMERS WILL NOT GIVE UP by Dream Team LA | | DREAM Act Vote Will Not Be Forgotten by CHIRLA

When someone becomes a soldier, they swear an oath to support and defend the US constitution by following “lawful” orders. Thus, they are legally obliged by their own oath to not follow unlawful orders. What Bradley Manning did by leaking this critical information has been to uphold his oath as a soldier in the most patriotic way. Now, compare that with how he has been raked over the coals by most of the mainstream media. Read More by Angola 3 News

Related: VIDEO: Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan (Part 1) | Afghanistan: Another “Bright and Shining Lie”

On New Year's Eve, as it has for the past six years, Santa Cruz will again host the DIY New Years Parade, what has become both a homespun, family-friendly alternative celebration and a controversial embarrassment for the city. The result of six years of do-it-yourself community organizing, the Last Night DIY Parade, a community-sponsored New Year's Eve celebration will again hit Santa Cruz streets.

This winter, activists and supporters have gathered in four cities across the U.S. (Seattle, LA, NY and DC) to celebrate the 30th anniversary of CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). The organization shares the same birthday as the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front), which formed in response to growing U.S. backed violence in El Salvador. CISPES was created in order to build “a national movement to end U.S. support for the military regime in El Salvador and to stand in solidarity with the struggle for self determination in the Americas.” Today, it is not a U.S. backed military regime in power in El Salvador, but the FMLN. Read More | Audio | cispes.org

Image from pdxjmorris' photostream

West Philly confronts police terror, community radio jumps through hoops, Mayor Nutter gives excuses, and boondockers descend on Walmart. Its all in the fiftieth issue of the Defenestrator newspaper.

The Defenestrator is Philly's quarterly newspaper for resistance, creative revolution and class struggle. With it's motto of "Throwing Power Out the Window," it has been a consistent feature of Philadelphia radical politics for over twelve year and is often found in coffee shops, bars, laundromats, book stores, community centers and other varied locations throughout the city.