The United States and Europe are vying to reverse correct verdicts in the WCAR Durban Declaration

The follow up to the World Conference against Racism (WCAR) 2001 and the Durban Declaration dubbed "Durban Review" will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, April 20 - 24, 2009. The December 12th Movement International Secretariat, a non governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status to the United Nations, will lead the "Durban 400" delegation and defend Black peoples' right to reparations for slavery.

April 15, 2009 — Pioneer Square was filled to over flowing this evening with citizens protesting taxes, the bailout, socialism, pork, and demanding, as on one sign among hundreds of others, that the government "redistribute freedom and not wealth." One sign even apologized for voting for Obama.

This was an extremely well promoted and financed event. One speaker claimed that there were 22 of these rallies in Oregon alone, starting in Medford Oregon this morning. Before I left home for downtown, I heard Corporate news sources claim that there were about 500 Tea Party's nation wide, and Laura Ingram on her Conservative talk radio program this evening claimed there were 700 of them nationwide [...]

Though in the lead up to this nation wide protest organizers claim it to be bipartisan, there was little evidence of any Progressive or Democratic constituency [...] There is much common ground here, yet I did not feel the crowd to be in sympathy with the poor, the homeless, the undocumented immigrant. The rhetoric from the speakers emphasized the many problems which brought them all to the Square, yet few if any solutions were offered. There was a general and overwhelming mood of discontent, with constant reference to the fact that "we the people" could somehow solve the problems, if government would leave us alone... Read More | | | Photo from Tax Day "Tea Parties" Bring Out the Worst of the Right Wing | | | More Reportbacks: Austin, TX | Houston, TX | Rogue Valley, OR | San Francisco | | | Audio Coverage from On the Media | | | Related: No War Tax in Smugtown! 2 demonstrators and 3 witnesses arrested by police | War Tax Resistance Info from War Resisters League

Okay, so what should I say about this? there were clearly multiple thousands of people at this event, organizers are saying 8,000+ which is not that unbeliveable. The crowd was 95% white and probably mostly middle aged and old. The crowd was an interesting mix of business folks leaving their downtown office buildings, lots of folks with veteran hats and clothing, and a lot of folks with very county aesthetics. The outside of Jones Plaza was the most interesting, people were checking out each others signs and having conversations. The inside of Jones Plaza was packed to the gills and they had a stage with speakers, it was hard to move and folks basically just listened to the speaker and cheered periodically.

The politics of folks there seemed to spread the gamut of conservative, right-libertarian, ayn rand objectivist, Texas Sucesionist, anti-immigrant, Ron Paulism, and business casual. I felt like I was in San Salvador at an ARENA rally, or maybe in Santa Cruz Bolivia. It really gave me the willies of a possible counter revolutionary movement. The uniting factor seemed to be dislike for Barack Obama and that love of country and hatred of government that is really in vouge right now. [read full article with photos]

Report from Austin: The Silent Majority Squeaks

Anti-tax "Tea Party" rallies held in San Jose and San Francisco on April 15 brought out about 500 conservative activists in each city. Although the majority of participants appeared to be white Republicans, contingents of Libertarians and members of the vigilante Minutemen organization also displayed signs. In San Jose about 50 anti-war/anti-racism demonstrators countered the right wing demonstrators. A heavy police presence utilized batons to keep the two groups apart as the two sides faced off.

On April 15, 2009, hundreds gathered in Medford Oregon to rally in opposition to federal tax codes and bailouts that enrich the wealthy elite and impoverish the middle class. This astroturf event does have a strong following and only time will tell if this will lead to positive change.

On April 11, a small protest featuring several members of Code Pink and a number of other opponents of the bank bailouts protested in Lafayette Park. People were urged to pull all their money out of the big banks, and Obama, et all were asked to nationalize and dismmember the large banks.

Governor To Alaska's Kids: "You're On Your Own"
Palin Says Education No Longer Important for State

(Anchorage – March 19, 2009) – "Logic-defying, dumb-founding, short-sighted – and a slap in the face to parents, children and educators across Alaska." That's how the National Education Association of Alaska (NEA-Alaska) is describing Governor Palin's decision to reject more than $160 million of federal stimulus funds for Alaska education.

"Governor Palin has deliberately chosen to ignore the education needs of tens of thousands of children across Alaska. Her attempt to score short term gains will have long-term, dire consequences for our students and educators," said Barb Angaiak, President of NEA-Alaska. read more

The NorthEast Anarchist Network is endorsing the "Self Described Anarchist Collective" and Global Justice Action calls for a diversity of tactics, including direct action, to disrupt the Spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, DC. Even in this era of uncontrolled economic retraction and collapse, the IMF and World Bank continue to reach for their misleading, self-proclaimed objective of "eradicating poverty", while paradoxically ignoring the needs of poor and indigenous communities.

Declaring something a success doesn’t necessarily make it so. We learned this at the Bush-led G-20 summit only four months ago, when global leaders were expected to do something far-reaching in response to the world-wide economic crisis, instead of chatting about it. When nothing came of the meeting, we were told that the summit “succeeded” because it “laid the groundwork” for the next G-20 gathering, recently led by Obama.

The four months between G-20 summits was one of rising massive unemployment and social misery for millions of people, creating an urgency that was unmet by the world leaders in London. Read More | | | RELATED: Indymedia reporting on the G-20 protests | Climate Camp (alternative to G20)

With excessive executive compensation and bank bailouts feeding public anger at Wall Street, thousands of demonstrators from around the country converged on the financial district in New York this past weekend (April 3 and 4), calling for a new American economy that benefits all. On Friday, amidst rainy weather, hundreds of people participated in a rally and march organized by the Bail Out the People Movement (BOPM), making stops at the offices of the American International Group and Bank of America. Dustin Langley, media coordinator for BOPM, said, “Since our government doesn’t listen, we sometimes have to go over their heads and straight to management. So we’re talking to their managers now: AIG, CitiGroup, Bank of America, and Bear Stearns.”

On Saturday, the 41st anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, a march put together by anti-war organization United for Peace and Justice drew thousands, demanding cuts in military spending and an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as a “larger investment in the needs of our communities.” Reports from NYC IMC: 1 | 2 | 3 | | | Photos and Videos from Boston IMC: Boston Activists Protest Wall Street Bailout In NYC | | | Photo by Isis, DC Indymedia

In Los Angeles, demonstrators staged a protest outside Bank of America’s downtown office building on Friday calling for an end to bank bailouts and foreclosures and evictions. Full Report: Bail Out People, Not Banks: Protesters Picket Bank of America Downtown Corporate Building

RELATED: Calls for protests against the Wall St. Bailout have been issued for April 11 in Colorado and California, and local groups in Rogue Valley, Oregon have called for opposition to the US military surge in Afghanistan in solidarity with United for Peace and Justice.

The City From Below conference took place last weekend in Baltimore, MD. The conference brought together organizations and individuals across urban centers to think about organizing in the city, as it is a crucial space in creating social change. The majority of the participants organize for the rights of the poor, working classes, immigrants, refugees and people of color pushing the agenda that all who live in the city must be involved in shaping its future. Read More

Audio: Opening address from Mumia Abu-Jamal | Opening Panel - Crisis and Resistance in the Neoliberal City w/ David Harvey, Max Rameau, Esther Wang, and Shiri Pasternak | Max Rameau from Take Back the Land in Miami | Resisting Gentrification in the Creative City w/ Stevphen Shukaitis, Beka Economopoulos, Alan Moore, Christina Ulke & Adrian Blackwell | From Cities to Cells (and back again) w/ Vikki Law, Power Inside & Critical Resistance | Urban Struggles and Media Activism w/ the Media Mobilizing Project, The Philadelphia Student Union & more | Baltimore Human Rights Zone: Geography of developement and resistance w/ United Workers | David Harvey - View from Federal Hill, Revisited

Video: Children in the City w/ Elliot Liu and China Martens | Dispatches Against Displacementwith James Tracy and Maria Guadalupe "Lupe" Arreola | Know Your Rights to the City w/ NLG and Picture the Homeless | Chicago 101 w/ AREA's Dan Tucker

More audio,video, and reportbacks on the City From Below Website

Organizers estimate a protest on Wall Street including a march that went passed the New York Stock Exchange and American International Group, drew 10,000 participants on April 4. On Saturday April 11 demonstrators in front of San Francisco's Federal Reserve Bank building will call for major changes to the US banking system as will protesters at more than 50 locations across the nation.

NYC-April 4, 2009: About 1000 activists marched on the 41st anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination, to protest the US government's trillion dollar bailout of the banks and CEOs. This was part of 2 days , April 3-4 , of protests in NYC, coordinated mostly by the Bail Out The People and United For Peace movements. Read More | VIDEO

On Saturday, April 11 there will be rallies in Boulder and Denver protesting the latest plan for bailing out Wall Street banks. The plan will cost the taxpayers at least $1 trillion. Everyone is invited to come out to send the message to our politicians in Washington D.C. to "Bail Out Main Street, Not Wall Street"... read more

Despite our being soaked to the skin before we even had our cameras out to shoot the rally in front of the Bank Of New York Mellon, we still managed to find ourselves in a jumpin' little demo that resulted in several arrests in a spontaneous civil disobedience before the protest set off on a march that wound through New York City's financial district, including Wall Street, the Bank Of Amerika and the Notorious AIG. Still photography by Isis, on Flickr. Video by Mike Flugennock, streaming out of YouTube, 04:22

Despite our being soaked to the skin before we even had our cameras out to shoot the rally in front of the Bank Of New York Mellon, we still managed to find ourselves in a jumpin' little demo that resulted in several arrests in a spontaneous civil disobedience before the protest set off on a march that wound through New York City's financial district, including Wall Street, the Bank Of Amerika and the Notorious AIG.

Channeling widespread populist anger at seemingly never ending bank bailouts and excessive executive compensation, hundreds of demonstrators converged on Wall St. this afternoon for a rally and march through the financial district, even as a steady rain continued throughout the day.

12 Noon, Southeast Corner of College (6th St.) & Main Ave., Durango, CO

12 million unemployed. Foreclosures up 81%. Wall Street has taken over. We must break up the banks and never again let them get so big that they distort our politics and take down the economy. read more

After 15 years of NAFTA, we have not seen increased prosperity nor reduced migration, as its original supporters claimed. Who is impacted? What should the future of NAFTA and similar agreements look like? Join a panel of civic leaders and community members to look at the Impacts of NAFTA on communities in the U.S., Mexico and beyond. Small group discussions, facilitated by panelists, will further explore the roots of migration and the movements for food sovereignty and trade justice in our communities.

APRIL 9, 7 - 9 pm, Seattle Labor Temple, Hall 8 (ground floor), 2800 1st Ave.

The April 2009 G20 in London was the scene of the first large-scale event—expected to be faced by considerable protest—since last fall's 2008 RNC, held in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Looking at the eerie parallels between both events, one sees a pattern of globalization—not only of protest—but of preemptive police tactics and handling of protesters.

Indymedia London has been providing live coverage of the protests and policing.  One man, Ian Tomlinson, 47, died Wednesday after collapsing during the protests.  Witnesses have come forward indicating that police impeded efforts of medical assistance, contradicting early corporate media reports that protesters hurled bottles at police trying to help.

Indymedia London | Indymedia UK | Witness Statements on Death | Video Statement | Protester Spaces Raided | Breaking News Timeline | Were you at the St. Paul RNC and London G20? Independent media activists would like to interview you.  Please email archive@rnc08report.org | Below: April 1 Photos, RNC Comparison