Thursday the jury came to a verdict of guilty for Brian P. White, in the June 2008 stabbing death of Useless Wooden Toys' singer, Christopher Johnson.

When Useless Wooden Toys, a skate thrash band from Minneapolis, played a show at a house in Bloomington, Indiana in late June 2008 they never imagined that this show might be their last or that they would lose one of their lead singers that night....

New Orleans Police discovered the bodies of three young, Black, Queer people in a 7th ward house Saturday. The three people, one of whom was gender variant, were all shot to death in the house sometime around 3 or 4am Thursday. Mainstream media and the Police are as of now ignoring the fact that the three people were queer and possibly trans. However, Facebook groups devoted to the three and comments on news sites, are raising interesting questions by Queer people of color as to why large Lesbian and Gay organizations are ignoring this. Many people have wondered as to whether there would be an LGBT organizational black out on such violence had the three been wealthy and white Gay businessmen.

On October 18th, both exterior surveillance cameras at the McDonald's on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz were stolen. A post to Santa Cruz Indymedia says the action was a follow-up to a similar event in August and also states that, "McDonalds is a major sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics which are flooding the city of Vancouver with increased surveillance and police presence."

About a month and a half ago, I was sitting on a bench inside Powell's without my shoes on, reading a book. A female security guard came up to me and asked me to put my shoes back on, which I did. Several days later, I was reading at Powell's, again with my shoes off, and the same security guard approached me and explained the store's policy regarding shoes. I said I understood, and put my shoes back on. I thought the whole issue was settled, and everything was fine, until my most recent encounter with this same security guard.

On Wednesday, October 8th, at around 5:15 p.m., I was shopping for some books and needed to use the rest room. When I went into the rest room, that same security guard was also in the bathroom. Since I had my shoes on, I didn't think anything of it, and figured she would leave the rest room after she finished her business. I went into a stall, took my coat off, and used the toilet. Personally, when I use the toilet, I have a harder time going when I have my shoes on. I must take them off to concentrate. Since I was in a bathroom stall doing something so personal, I didn't think that taking my shoes off, while sitting on the toilet defecating, broke Powell's policy of having to wear shoes in the store. I put my shoes back on after I finished, flushed the toilet, picked up my coat and bag, and exited the stall. When I walked out of the stall, the security guard was standing outside of my stall, staring at me, with another Powell's employee standing next to her.

Since 2000, Rochester ranked 11th in the entire U.S. for childhood poverty rates and, more recently, first in New York State. In 2005, Rochester was “Murder Capital” of New York State on per capital basis with 54 homicides. Somehow, the self evident connection between these reports is all but lost in our public discourse and the city’s response to crime in Rochester. The upcoming Poverty and Violence: Assault on Human Rights conference on Friday, 10/17 at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church on 141 Adams St. seeks to correct this.

"I could walk from here to Manchester and doubt I'd find one person who would say the fundamentals are strong and the economy is roaring – unless I ran into John McCain," Biden said.

I told him he and Senator Obama are the most formidable ticket in my 43 years and also appreciated the hug and his response to my question about enforcement of gun laws for people like Gregory W. Floyd, a multiple felon with a violent history.

On Monday, September 22nd, in front of 60 neighbors and friends, Jen Solin of Women Together expressed her heartfelt condolences to the students of Becker College that joined to say NO to violence. "We want you to know that we are here for you. You are not alone in this tragedy."

This past weekend saw white supremacist and nativist protests in Pasadena and Cypress
from the open publishing newswire: This was a very tense scene today. There were about 50 people with us and hundreds with the bikers and the white neighbors. There was a lot of shoving by the racists and horrible shouts of racial epithets during the whole protest. The "N" word was shouted and "Go back to Africa!" and other stupid things. They carried the confederate flag and the American flag.

Vigilante justice seemed to be the theme of the neighbors who shouted at Quannell that if he came on to their property, they'd shoot to kill. It was a scary and sad day for humanity in Houston today! The Klan bookstore may have closed in Pasadena but their relatives are still there. [read full story]

from the open publishing newswire: What just happened in Pasadena is the same we see with the Borderwatch People at the Steubner Airline corner on Saturdays. It is scary to see how each Saturday the Borderwatch people incorporate more para-military equipment to their protests...I use to think they were old, isolated and fearful people...but in this suburb, they have a growing contigent of young people who are joining them. Seeing the confrontation in Pasadena may embolden them and if they ever get organized, all people must fear the strengthening of the hate mongering offensive to attack people's rights.

Racism is entrenched in these neighborhoods among certain sectors without a doubt. Those who stand up to them like Rev Franklin Moore and his wife Tammy have had tires slashed five times and their sons car vandalized. All incidents happen after the Moores are on the corner supporting the day laborers. Calls threatening them are a dime a dozen.

We are living very difficult times in the struggle for equality and justice. Our commitment and resolve has to move unabated and with the conscience that our efforts must prevail in defending the dignity and rights of all. [read the full story]

San Francisco's security workers took to the streets September 24th - September 28th for a week of direct action to demand the city’s wealthiest property owners, including Shorenstein, Morgan Stanley, and Hines, give them a living wage and decent health care benefits.

This is the first strike of its kind in San Francisco. Security workers protect high-rise commercial offices in the downtown area for some of the richest property owners in the country. While these corporations are enjoying record breaking profits, the security workers are relegated to poverty wages with no health-care. While job responsibilities for the security workers are high, they find themselves on the bottom of a growing service industry that has pushed down the standard of living of workers in this country to record lows. Mostly people of color and new immigrants, San Francisco’s security workers earn less than everyone else in the city’s commercial property buildings, including window washers, parking attendants and janitors. Photos | Announcement | SEIU Press Release

On Monday September 17th Iraq's Interior Ministry revoked the license of Blackwater USA and demanded that all employees leave the country. The ban followed a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The Interior Ministry said authorities will prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force and "all those responsible for Sunday's killing will be referred to Iraqi justice."

On Wednesday September 5th, under leadership of the TWA-PA, Taxi Drivers of Philadelphia went on a 24-hour strike to protest the faulty GPS system in their cabs. On the same day, Allied Barton Security Guards at Temple campus along with an Interfaith Network called on the Temple Administration to give guards 5-paid sick days. This was a historic day, as laborers and concerned citizens from all over the city came to support this new face of labor. Ronald Blount president of the TWA captured this declaring: "This is not just about taxi drivers, this is about all outsourced and unfairly treated workers in the city. The is the face of new labor in the city. We will join together and we will be back." In conjunction with the cabbie strike in Philadelphia, the NYTWA led a strike in New York City.

Video of the Strike and Rally | Photos of the Strike and Rally

Interview with Bhairavi Desai director of New York TWA

Past Coverage of TWA PA: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Past Coverage of the Security Guards: We Are Marching for our Penn Guards

From the Newswire: Message from JWJ | Support of TWA

On Thursday, October 28, Temple University Student Labor Action Project, SLAP activists staged a street theater play that they called the “Economic Make-Over Show” to illustrate how the lives of the Allied Barton security officers would change if their wages and benefits were improved. Playing a security guard during a skit, 2nd year student Jose Diaz explained, “I tried to get paid leave for my ankle operation. I’m three months behind on my rent, and I’m looking at a winter without heat.”