The Indymedia Newsreal Project continues its renaissance with a December installment, now available for download here.

This issue includes coverage of the No Border Camp, the ongoing protests against Gov. Ulises Ruiz, testimonies by Iraq War veterans who are speaking out against the war, and more. It brings together the work of videographers from Arizona Indymedia, MayFirst.Org, PepperSpray Productions, Philosopherseed.Org, and PanLeft.org.

Indymedia Newsreal airs on Free Speech TV, as well as local cable access channels across the US. Keep sending in your segment contributions! And spread the word! Details are here.

New Highway Would Cut Through Communities, Conservation Areas

Concerned Arizona residents, ecologists and academics turned out in force on the night of Wednesday, November 29 to oppose the Arizona Department of Transportation's (ADOT's) plans to construct an Interstate 10 highway bypass intended to allow heavy trucking traffic to avoid the area between Phoenix and Tucson. Much of the opposition centered around the fact that all proposed routes would pass through critical ecological areas, including the San Pedro Riparian Corridor, Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness or Saguaro National Park. In the hour allotted for public comment after the ADOT presentation, approximately 40 people spoke out passionately against the bypass plan, with only one voice in favor... Read More>>

On December 2, dozens of supporters marked the one-year anniversary of the tree sits at the Memorial Grove in Berkeley. Bands played, Circus Pandemonium performed, free food was served and protesters marched.

On November 20th, UC Berkeley completed the construction of a second barbed-wire fence around the Memorial Oak Grove. The fencing was built to enclose approximately ten tree-sitters inside and has cost an estimated $115,000. The University has announced it can fine or arrest anyone acting "in concert" with the tree-sitters.

Residents were angered by news of two separate decisions announced yesterday that make the construction of both the SugarHouse and Foxwoods Casinos much more likely. Read More>> | Photo from Hallwatch.

Related: Council of Churches Supports Casino Free Mass Coalition

In a surprising turn of events, a Coos County hearings officer recommended that the land use application for the Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal be rejected. She previously recommended that a second application for a different part of the project be approved. Her decision could mark a turning of the tide in the fight against LNG in Southern Oregon.

Public comment was skewed 10 to 1 in opposition to the project during hearings in September in Coquille. Citizens Against LNG, Umpqua Watersheds, Friends of Living Oregon Waters (FLOW), the Southern Oregon Pipeline Information Project, Oregon Shores, and Sierra Club all worked to persuade the hearings officer that the project was a threat to the public safety, economy, and environment of the Coos Bay Area. Read More>>

New Hampshire's answer to The New York Post announces it wants McCain for president, and the national media seems to think NH voters will care.

For those people unfamiliar with The Union Leader, Sunday's editorial endorsing Senator McCain may look like a coup for the McCain camp. Despite his lagging support, the senator has won the endorsement of the state's largest paper. But contrary to the importance given to this in the national media, for the many Granite Staters he has merely gained the support of a crank local newspaper known as "The Useless Leader.” Read More>>

Related: IMC announces latest poll results: Paul in stunning defeat

On November 15th Canada's Supreme Court ruled that it would not hear an appeal by two US soldiers who had sought refuge in Canada to avoid participation in the war and occupation of Iraq. The ruling means that conscientious objectors Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, as well as other American soldiers who have filed formal applications for refugee status, could be deported back to the US. Courage to Resist is encouraging people to sign petitions and to write letters to ask that Canadian officials provide sanctuary for the US military resisters.

Following a weeks-long media-activist campaign (including a Dec. 4 press conference covered by Reuters, Black Commentator, and Media Channel) the Dec. 6 broadcast of NBC's Today Show prominently featured the newly discovered crime scene photos, breaking the mainstream media blackout of the photos, which had only been published by The SF Bay View. A large demonstration of Mumia supporters outside the NBC studio was featured on The Today Show, as well as The NY Post, NY Times, and NBC10. Today Show guests Michael Smerconish and Maureen Faulkner (authors of "Murdered By Mumia"), were reportedly outraged by the show, which entailed several challenging questions from co-host Matt Lauer. Journalists for Mumia responded to Faulkner and Smerconish's statements regarding the new photos.

The Dec.8 Free Mumia rally in Philadelphia featured a presentation of the new photos, where Pam Africa and others urged supporters to thank The Today Show (today@msnbc.com) for their fair and balanced report. Read More>> | | View the show's overview and video online.

Related Stories: Dec. 8 demonstration in Bern, Switzerland | | Veronica Jones' letter to The Today Show | | Ed Herman on The Philadelphia Inquirer | | The Mumia case: What is true justice? | | Dec. 6 WBAI show featuring Suzanne Ross, Orie Lumumba, Hans Bennett, Linn Washington Jr., and Pam Africa | | UPRISING RADIO: Journalists Decry Racism in Media Coverage of Mumia | | Opio's Podcast II Dave Lindorff's letter to The Philadelphia Inquirer

On Dec 8 — 27th Anniversary of the assasination of John Lennon — Potomac Earth First! marched to the J. Edgar Hoover building(FBI) and read out the dishonor roll of snitches against pro-animal and pro-earth movements in the US. The list was not complete, but it is a lesson to those who would consider selling out their compatriots in this or any struggle! Read More>> | Audio via WSQT -- 2 min 59 sec

< < Photograph: Friends and Family of Daniel McGowan Mark 2nd Anniversary of Green Scare from NYC-imc || Related: Daniel's blog from Indybay

Both the Tribune and the Sun-Times reported on Friday, December 7, that four police torture victims under the infamous Jon Burge regime reached a collective $20 million settlement with the city.

However, it was also revealed in a subsequent newswire post that "[a]ttorneys for both sides in the four police torture cases were pledged to secrecy about the tentative settlement until it was to be broached before the City's Finance Committee on Monday. But in typical City of Chicago fashion, the story was "accidentally" leaked on Friday afternoon -– apparently by City attorneys — assuring that the news would be caught up in a "dead" news cycle just before the weekend."

Despite the settlement and the "burial" of the settlement story, the Burge controversy rages on. Dozens of unjust police torture cases remain without restitution, and those implicated in such torture remain unprosecuted.

Additional Resources: Police Torture in Chicago: The Chicago Reader's John Conroy Archive | Human Rights at Home: The Chicago Police Torture Archive | Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns on Police Abuse in Chicago

On Sunday, December 9, The Philippine-U.S. Solidarity Organization (PUSO) and other human rights groups joined activists in a funeral procession and ceremony for human rights victims worldwide. The event marked the 59th anniversary of the United Nation's passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This year UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour asked people to use the anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration as "the day to reflect upon our individual and collective failures to stand up against violence, racism, xenophobia, torture, repression of unpopular views and injustices of all sorts." Read More>>

Related: Tucson Judge Denies Bail; Declares Two Who Protest Torture "a Danger to the Community"

With the failure of the Democratic Congress to meaningfully challenge the Bush administration's agenda painfully apparent, renewed interest in direct action against the spectacular machinations of the political process itself has been growing across the country. Activists in Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul are busy preparing for mass mobilizations against the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In the Baltimore area, a few signs expressing support for protest against the RNC have been spotted, including this one at MICA and this banner off I-83, which has stayed up for more than a week. More substantial regional activity against both conventions will be happening on January 26th and 27th in Frederick, MD, during a regional Anti-RNC/DNC consulta.

Related news: Unconventional Action publishes free Unconventional Strategies tabloid | Twin Cities Indymedia: TransFolk and Queers to Blockade RNC | Colorado Indymedia: Democratic National Convention Media Walk Through at the Pepsi Center

Following the lead of Howard Dearborn, a crowd packed onto a small bridge, and with a countdown overturned their bottles of Poland Spring water. They watched gleefully as it poured into a stream to flow back to where it belonged.

In all, about fifty people turned up at Lovewell Pond in Fryeburg, Maine on December 8th in order to draw attention to the impact of large-scale water extraction on the watershed. Folks of all ages, from Fryeburg and the surrounding communities, talked about their concerns over the ecosystem and their opposition to Poland Spring's proposed bottling plant in Fryeburg. Two representatives from Poland Spring were also present, in order to present "their side" of the story. Ron Dyer, environmental manager for Poland Spring, claimed "It broke my heart to see water being dumped out." Read More >> | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

UPDATE: Court Agreement Stops Demolitions | | Public Housing Residents, Supporters Tell Mayor Nagin, HUD: “Bring Our People Home Now!”

Demolition and resistance began on December 12th at the B.W. Cooper Public Housing Project in Midcity. Coverage: Demolitons and Resistance Begin At B.W. Cooper by Michael Steinberg || Protest Bring Demolition Activity At B.W. Cooper To A Halt by mike howells || Demolition of B.W. Cooper Sets off Protest by Edwin Lopez -- includes pictures || High Noon in New Orleans: Anti-Demolition Protesters Storm Federal Building by Michael Steinberg || DC solidarity action blocks streets around HUD -- with audio by WSQT Guerrilla Radio || Video Montage of December 10, 2007 meeting in City Hall by Edwin Lopez || Stop the Demolitions by Diane Greene Lent || Houstonians Support New Orleans! || No Demolition Means No Demolition by Jay Arena

Past Coverage: Dec. 11--Residents and Allies Delay, Possibly Stop, Demolition of Housing Project

See also: Background Article from the Indypendent || Houston IMC Feature || Summary of Recent Housing Struggle and Updates

A Multnomah County jury found five grandparents charged with "unlawfully and intentionally causing substantial inconvenience to the United States" not guilty of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree on Thursday, December 13. Judge Richard Baldwin heard the case which stems from a silent vigil held by the Surge Protection Brigade, also know as the Seriously Pissed Off Grannies, on Good Friday, April 6, at the US Army and Marine recruiting center on NE Broadway. The jury began deliberations Thursday morning at 9:50 and deliberated for about a half an hour. After the decision, one of the jurors referred to the defendants as "heroes."

Picture: Grannies, Grandpa and Attorneys, standing with the First Amendment.

Related: "Not Home for the Holidays" Protest at Capitola Military Recruitment Center

Reposted, with permission, from Okie Funk.

It has been a tough week here for sure.

Tragically, 23 deaths have been blamed on the ice storm that stunned Oklahoma this past week. At one point, more than 600,000 homes and businesses were without power, and thousands still remain in the dark.

Some Oklahomans shivered through the storm with blankets and candles while others headed to shelters. The damage to the local tree population here is incalculable. Once the thaw is complete, we will know more, but it appears the state has lost thousands of trees. Meanwhile, the state’s college students trudged through finals week under some of the worst weather conditions possible. Read More>>

Photo from WikiNews

12/17: Today Mexican workers filed complaints at the Department of Labor and the Mexican Embassy after being illegally fired by Bender Shipbuilding, a company that recruited them in Veracruz, MX and got them to invest in over a year's salary there to travel here. The Mexican H2B visa workers charge Bender with civil rights violations, breach of contract, and fraud; File EEOC Discrimination Charge and Call on US Department of Labor to investigate. A quarter of the 32 Mexican welders who were hired to work at Benders Shipbuilding and Repairs and brought to Alabama were upon arrival in Alabama were pushed out of work and out of legal status.

"We left our families in Mexico out of economic necessity full of hope based on the promises of work made to us by representatives of Benders Shipbuilding and Repair Co., Inc. We quit our full-time jobs, sold valuables and took out loans to come here with the security that we had been tested, qualified and hired to work in the United States at Benders Shipbuilding for the contract period of our visas."

more coverage from Houston Indymedia and Comments | New Orleans Worker Justice

While people in New Orleans stand down bulldozers menacing public housing, Twin Cities residents served the local HUD office with a "Condemndation Notice". The Director of the HUD office sent a representative to speak with the protesters and agreed to meet with them Monday morning.

This action was part of a rising tide of opposition to HUD's demolition plans in New Orleans and elsewhere. Housing advocates across the country and around the world are calling for a halt to HUD’s ongoing campaign to tear down public housing units and force the relocation of public housing tenants against their will. Read More>> | | Related: Oakland Demo against New Orleans home Demolitions

RT writes, "Myspace, blogs, and online networks are like a dream for police investigators. Where they used to have to go out and interview people, check records, walk the street, now they merely have to go online. Investigation from the convenience of their offices.

I took part in a demonstration and was arrested. Afterward, the police contacted my employer to suggest that they check up on me. I got a copy of the police report yesterday and was surprised to find that the police had gone beyond just the basic facts of my arrest.

They had tracked down the website for my band, followed a link to our myspace page, and from there tracked down my personal myspace page. In my profile I had some pretty cheeky anti-authoritarian hyperbole and that was quoted in the report. "Subject says in his myspace profile that he is 'looking for someone to turn over and burn police cars with,'" a dumb comment that had been part of my online profile for many years. There was a print out of my entire myspace profile, band website, etc. All of this info had been passed on to my employer." Read More

see also: CrimethInc Primer on Security Culutre | The ABCs of Fuck MySpace (A Very Rough Draft) | Does what happens in the Facebook stay in the Facebook?

Teacher contract negotiations begin in January. The decisions that are made as a result of these negotiations will impact not only teachers, but students as well. We want a voice in the discussions about the process of hiring, teacher distribution, teacher turnover, and seniority. Because we are directly involved in the decisions made in these negotiations, we want to contribute our opinions... Read full report by Mica Root, Media Mobilizing Project

<< Pictured: Clarence Williams of the Philadelphia Student Union testifies at the School Reform Commission meeting

Previous Coverage: Oct18: Philadelphia Student Union Outlines Path to Quality Education for All Students

First locked out of their homes for more than 2 years, and now locked out of the very City Council meeting in which the city’s politicians are set to vote for tearing down their homes, residents and activist today were attacked by police to keep them from entering the City Council chambers. Read More... (photo by fraugg)

Additional Coverage Tasers, Pepper Gas Greet Protesters At City Hall | | images from city council meeting | | Videos

Reverend Edward Pinkney is a longtime political activist in the nearby Michigan community of Benton Harbor. In an effort to combat waterfront gentrification, Pinkney had successfully led a recall effort against a corrupt Benton Harbor official. But the city fought back by charging Pinkney with voter fraud under an overbroad state law, and placed Pinkney on probation and under house arrest.

On December 13, Pinkney was charged again for violating his probation. The reason: he openly criticized the judge who sentenced him on dubious grounds. Pinkney has now been forced into jail, but has now responded back with a hunger strike which has now extended into a week. Full article from The Black Commentator

Additional Resources: BANCO: Black Autonomy Network Community Organization | Chicago Indymedia video: March to St. Joseph (2003) | Coverage from Pan-African Newswire | Coverage from the Black Commentator: May 10 and Dec. 13 | Media Mouse covereage

Threaten Land Liens, Contested Real Estate Over Five State Area in U.S. West

Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status today in Washington D.C. following Monday’s withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming.

<< Pictured: Lakota delegates Phyllis Young (foreground) and Russell Means (background) at Wednesday's press event in Washington DC.

Lakota Freedom Delegation | Lakota Withdrawal Letter, December 17, 2007 | Declaration of Continuing Independence (June, 1974)

After a month-long struggle, the Tukwila solidarity campaign announces a qualified victory.

The Tukwila School District administrators finally announced the results of their disciplinary investigations against the Tukwila six teachers who allowed or supported the Nov. 16th walkout of 125 students against the Iraq war and military recruitment at Foster High School—a Letter of Reprimand for Brett Rogers who walked out with students and a Directive Letter for Kjell Rowe who gave students a ride to the student rally.

That no teachers were fired is a tremendous VICTORY for the Foster teachers, their students, and for us all! Read More>>

Past Coverage: Dec19: Tukwila School Board Meeting Report | | Dec19: Video of the Tukwila Six, and a Motion of Solidarity from the Seattle Education Association Representative Assembly | | Dec8: Student Antiwar Walkouts Spark Small Town Backlash | | Nov29: Tukwila Six - Solidarity for Teachers - Student Walkout - Rally | | Nov22: ALERT: Tukwila Teachers Being Fired For Student Counter-recruitment Walkout | | Archive of updates | | Youth Against War & Racism

County Attempts Crackdown on Community Foodsharing in the Courthouse Lawn

On Sunday December 23 people sharing food with Food Not Bombs, a free community meal, were asked to leave the Prescott Courthouse lawn or sign a permit. No one represents Food Not Bombs, so permits do not apply. Sharing food is not a charity, it's what people do in a healthy society.... Read More>>

UPDATE 1/3/2008: County Apologizes, Backs Down on Community Foodsharing

On January 6, 2007 18-year-old Amber Abreu went to the hospital in Lawrence, Massachusetts after trying to terminate a pregnancy by taking a drug, misoprostol, which is an ulcer medication as well as a key component of the abortion pill RU-486. Amber was between 23 and 25 weeks pregnant. The result was a miscarriage. The doctors rushed the 1-1/4 pound expelled fetus to the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, where it remained alive for four days. The police, meanwhile, went after Amber using an archaic law dating back to the 1840s to charge her with “procuring a miscarriage.” Cops dragged Abreu into court in shackles and then held her in the state’s maximum security prison at Framingham for three nights until friends and relatives could come up with $15,000 bail. The young woman, a recent immigrant from the Dominican Republic, faces up to seven years in jail on this outrageous charge.

Momentum is building for a demonstration against the war on Iraq at this year Rose Parade in Pasadena. Small locally organized protests have been held in past years at the parade, but this year organizers going by the name, The White Rose Coalition, are attempting to mobilize thousands. Details from the calendar | | | From the Newswire: Cindy Sheehan Joins Activists Planning Impeachment/Pro-Peace Protest at New Year's Rose Parade | | | VIDEOS: Impeach The Dark Side - 2007 Rose Parade | 7 Little Letters

Some Ron Paul supporters have been saying that these comments attributed to Chomsky are fake or a hoax. I think znet is generally regarded as reputable source in this respect, but Chomsky seems to have enough problems with misrepresentation, so I wanted to be absolutely sure. I e-mailed Prof. Chomsky to see if he could officially confirm whether the comments are authentic… (Update: I E-mailed Prof. Chomsky for confirmation. Z magazine is an official source, but some Ron Paul supporters are calling the forum comments a hoax or a fake. View Prof. Chomsky's response here.)

Pacific Power has is using Oregon's newspapers to lie about the Klamath dams. Numerous reports show that keeping these polluting dams will cost costumers way more money then removing them, and that the dams do not provide for flood control. Science shows that these dams cause one of the worst toxic algae problems in the world while killing salmon. The Oregonian did not print the response of the Klamath Riverkeeper, or the other groups and tribes working to let Oregonians know the truth about why the dams should go. This is what we wrote in response to Pacific Powers lies. Read More>> | klamathriver.org

<< Photo: Toxic algae from Pacific Power's reservoirs turned the Klamath green last year

NH Peace Action and AFSC, in partnership with allies from veterans' peace organizations and military families, will bring a strident anti-war and pro-peace message to the presidential candidates, the media, and voters in the four days before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, January 8.

How? We are bringing the Yellow Rose of Texas Peace Bus to NH on January 4. Read More>>

On Dec. 26th, 2007, attorneys for Briana Waters, a Berkeley mother and violin teacher accused of acting as a lookout during a politically-motivated arson in 2001 at the University of Washington, filed a motion asserting that the Seattle-based prosecutor and FBI agents on the case committed perjury and obstruction of justice, and asked the court to conduct an inquiry into the misconduct. Waters, who could face 35 years in prison if convicted, has steadfastly maintained her innocence.

More Than 235 Die in 2007, As Arizona Border Battle Heats Up

For the fifth straight year the number of bodies recovered from the Arizona desert surpassed two hundred. While 235 bodies were recovered in calendar year 2007, the number who actually died was likely much higher, their bodies to lie in wake among the thousands of square miles of desert along the migrant trail.

In 2007 the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office had to open a new building in order to cope with the volume of remains being recovered. While the majority of deaths occurred as the result of exposure to the elements, an increasing number resulted from trauma, including gunshot wounds. In spite of this humanitarian crisis, which Arizona human rights groups such as the Coalición de Derechos Humanos and No More Deaths argue is a direct result of the militarization of the U.S. / Mexico border, border militarization and internal enforcement continue to grow. Read More>>