Tacoma SDS

Women for peace bicycle ride continues in Syria
The Associated Press
Published: May 6, 2008

DAMASCUS, Syria: Some 300 women activists from 28 countries have begun the second leg of a 12-day bicycle ride in what has become a yearly event to campaign for peace and highlight the plight of Arab women.

The riders from the "Follow the Women" organization left Damascus on Tuesday and will travel to Jordan before ending in the Palestinian territories on May 14. The women began their journey in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on May 3.

Poor People's Solidarity Needed:
Attend Tacoma City Council on May 6 and let them know the King Shelter is a valuable community resource!

Tacoma-Olympia Mayday Calendar 2008: NOTE: UPDATED

OLYMPIA:
Noon Mayday Rally —Sylvester Park (Legion & Capitol Way, Oly)
2 PM Olympia March

TACOMA: (NOTE: UPDATED)
7 PM Working Families, Not War program—1911 Pacific Ave. Washington State History Museum, Tacoma
8:30 PM Candle-light Vigil at Federal Courthouse, 1717 Pacific Ave.

Background:

PRESS RELEASE: POLICE BRUTALITY AT KNOLL AID.
Today a peaceful celebration in defence of public space at [the University of British Columbia] was violently quashed by the RCMP. This press release was written on April 5th at 1 a.m. with limited available information. All the events discussed herein have been either captured by camera or can be corroborated by multiple eyewitness accounts.

Four protesters were arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" after members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) staged a mock-raid with Jason Hurd, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).

On February 28th, UC Santa Cruz workers represented by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, and backed by students, demonstrated for justice, dignity and a fair working contract. The demonstration, aided by the sunshine, was organized by AFSCME and the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice. Over 350 people took part in the largest demonstration of the school year in support of UCSC's most underpaid workers.

This Saturday, February 23rd, fired worker Deon Furtick will be protesting to get his job back along with concerned Harvest Co-op members, and supporters from the Industrial Workers of the World. The picket will be outside a meeting of the Harvest Co-op's board of directors, at the Paulist Center, 5 Park Street, from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Harvest board members are having a day long "retreat" to develop "long term objectives and hopes for the board's work and Harvest" (http://www.harvest.coop/board/agenda01_08.pdf).

Workers assembling the Ford Focus at a plant near St. Petersburg have been on strike since 20 November -- a rare event in a country where most strikes are of very limited duration. They are demanding that Ford negotiate their wages and conditions, but Ford is refusing to do so. Instead they've reacted by escalating the conflict, leading to the injury of one worker by police. Ford does recognize unions in many countries -- probably in your country -- so it's especially important to put pressure on the global management of the company.

According to an e-mail received by facilitator@tacomasds.org, this direct action was inspired by recent actions in Olympia by many activists, including Tacoma and Olympia SDS chapters.

The CIA was scheduled to hold an “infosession” for students interested in jobs with the agency. Right as the session began, four activists entered the room and began to demonstrate waterboarding, a torture technique used by the CIA. After only one minute of the waterboarding demonstration the room was plunged into chaos by a group calling itself the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army. The Rebel Clowns, joined by several dozen antiwar organizers took over the meeting room and began passing out information on the CIA’s use of illegal torture techniques and literature related to the agency’s long history of subverting foreign governments, assassinating foreign leaders and subverting democracy.

the whole indybay post