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Rich White Men Throw A Fit: Boston Police and Firefighters Picket the Mayor’s Conference |
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by Jen Killham and Boston IMC, |
 Uninformed tourists enjoying a bite to eat in the Back Bay Monday witnessed an unusual spectacle. A synchronized, frat-like chant was coming from around the corner on Dalton St. It sounded “like a football game,” as one of the attendees of the Mayor’s Conference put it. But this was no Patriots game.
Rather, the aggressive chants were coming from the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPPA) and the Boston Firefighters Union. The BPPA has been working without a contract for over two years and the firefighters are also in contract talks. The riled up “public servants” took to the sidewalks and a portion of Dalton St. just outside the Sheraton Hotel where Mayor Menino was hosting some functions as part of the United States Conference of Mayors. The cops worked in shifts (switching roles between policing and picketing) from 7am until 11:30am and again at 5pm to 7:30pm. |
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29 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / DNC : Labor |
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Security on the T & Criminalization of Dissent for the DNC |
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by S. Eppler, |
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If Boston residents haven't realized that we live in a culture of fear - they will during the Democratic National Convention. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has released a "Security Statement" that outlines using fear tactics to allow police and transportation authorities to search bags and personal possessions during the Democratic National Convention. This policy comes on top of similar measures that the MBTA has announced that it is undertaking that allow other measures such as allowing "police officers to randomly search T riders' bags" to protect riders from "bombs" and "terrorism". The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyer's Guild (NLG) has provided a series of resources for people who are concerned about this violation of American rights. The NLG has provided a simple explanation of your legal rights while riding the T or other public transportation in Boston. |
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26 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / DNC : Human Rights |
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Another Boston and Another World are Possible: Gearing Up for the Boston Social Forum |
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by Matthew Williams, |
 From July 23-25, 2004, the weekend immediately preceding the Democratic National Convention (DNC), 3,000 progressive activists are expected to gather at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston for the Boston Social Forum (BSF) . Part of the World Social Forum (WSF) process, the BSF will consist of three days of panels, workshops, assemblies and networking. The organizers of the BSF have several goals--to showcase the ideas of the left while the mainstream media’s eyes are fixed on Boston, to allow activists to network, to help bridge some of the divides on the American left, and ultimately to begin to find a way out of the crisis the left faces in this country.
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles the Boston IMC collective is doing on the various organizing campaigns leading up to the Democratic National Convention. The first article in the series was on the Boston DNC Coalition.] |
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26 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / DNC : Organizing |
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June 20 Antifa Reportback - Confronting Neo-Nazi Fascists |
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by northeast antifascists, |
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On June 20, about 15-20 neo-nazi white supremacists decided to come hang out in Government Center during an Israeli Independence Day celebration. Since Northeast Antifascists had heard of them coming beforehand, we were also there for a little meet and greet. |
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24 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / Race |
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IndyBoston Interview: Dennis Kucinich |
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by Pete Stidman, |
 Boston, MA – In town today for the Pride march and a fundraising Brunch, the Congressmen from Ohio managed to squeeze a few minutes in for Indymedia. Congressman Kucinich has been focused on revitalizing the Democratic Party, but I was wondering how he felt about the electoral system as a whole so I asked a few pointed questions. His answers tended to return to a certain theme, as all politicians answers can be expected to do, but in between the proselytizing is an interesting admission or two about the general failure of our electoral system to encourage campaigns that are anything but poll driven, vote hunting, strategic exploits devoid of any heart, soul, or meaning. |
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12 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / DNC : Politics |
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Reportback: New England Regional Indymedia Gathering |
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by Pete Stidman, |
 GREAT BARRINGTON, MA- Deep in the Berkshire Mountains, out at the end of a dirt track, a strange call boomed. It was unlike any bird, frog or mammal ever heard. It was the call of the once rare, and now swiftly becoming plentiful, indymedia devotee. Odd the call was, something like a thunderous cross between a red tail and a member of the Mohawk tribe from way back (with just a twinge of the Boston brogue) and a steady beat. It sounded so distinct and so much more advanced than anything like an elephant or a donkey that one could forget that these animals ever existed, if it weren’t for the gathering’s focus on the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions. |
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08 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / Media : Organizing |
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“Baghdad to Boston” group brings it back to military recruiters’ door |
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by CW, |
 Boston, MA- Responding to the May 26th arrest of Joe Previtera, (for silently posing as an Abu Ghraib prisoner, see May 27 and June 1 postings below) the B2B group put out a call to converge on the military recruiting center this past Saturday, June 5th at 11:00 a.m. And converge we did!
We came prepared to express ourselves creatively. A woman dressed as the statue of liberty was blindfolded with the US flag. Another activist wore the infamous black shawl and hood from Abu Ghraib. A third person had on the orange jumpsuit of Guantánamo Bay, including heavy-duty earphones for sensory deprivation. The fourth was dressed in a dark suit and Rumsfeld mask—a nasty job, but someone had to do it. |
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08 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / Human Rights |
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MIT Police Harass & Arrest Leafletter |
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by Bill Cunningham, |
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Former city council candidate Aimee Smith was arrested at MIT Friday morning while handing out flyers about the South End's proposed Bio-Terrorism Lab. They distributed informational literature about the proposed "Bio-Safety Lab", a laboratory that can also be described as a BioWeapons Lab, to people arriving to attend the day's graduation ceremonies. Smith, a recent alumna of MIT, was with three other members of the Social Justice Cooperative, a recognized campus group, when she was arrested. |
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05 Jun 2004
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Filed under: News / Human Rights |
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