(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

NEW YORK — In November of 2006, City Council member Melissa Mark Viverito spoke out against police commissioner Ray Kelly’s parade permitting rules. Mark Viverito felt the rules would violate the civil rights of activists. Ironically, on Sunday she faced a large contingent of protesters - permits in hand - at her own front door. Calling Viverito a “serpent” and a “sellout”, members of Movement for Justice in El Barrio visited her luxury townhouse to express their outrage with her support of the 125th Street rezoning plan. To many of the protesters Mark Viverito seemed to personify the gentrification going on in Harlem.

According to her website, “Melissa Mark Viverito made history in November 2005 by becoming the first Puerto Rican woman elected to serve District 8 on the City Council” in 2005. District 8 includes Manhattan Valley, East Harlem, and part of Mott Haven in the Bronx.

Council Member Mark Viverito was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She worked for 1199 SEIU in New York City before being elected to the City Council. Her campaign promised greater transparency in city government. But by 2008, Mark Viverito and her constituency were estranged. On April 30th, Viverito and 41 other City Council members approved a controversial rezoning plan that will bring condominiums and 21 story skyscrapers to Harlem’s historic 125th Street. Only two members of the council, Charles Barron and Tony Avella, voted against the plan. Speaker Christine Quinn called in police to remove protesters from the council chambers when tempers flared in response to the vote. The vote was seen as a victory for real estate developers and was supported by Mayor Bloomberg.

Standing against the gentrification of East Harlem is a grassroots organization called Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio (Movement for Justice in El Barrio). MJB is a self described organization of “immigrants and low-income people of color” who have made their views known and presence felt.

In an effort to avoid being displaced from their neighborhood, members of MJB have filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against property investment giant Dawnay Day Group. The London based firm has a stated goal of increasing the rent sharply in its 47 Harlem properties. MJB alleges that Dawnay Day Group has conducted a campaign of neglect and tenant harrassment in an attempt to force the current residents out so that it may raise the rent. In its suit MJB argues that Dawnay Day has charged current residents “thousands of dollars in false fees” as part of its efforts to drive out low income residents.

In the battle for the soul of East Harlem, Movement for Justice in El Barrio has kept up the pressure on Dawnay Day Group and those politicians, including Mark Viverito, who vote against the interests of their poorer constituents. Complementing its lawsuit and a well run media campaign, MJB has taken to the streets to get their message out.

On Sunday a large contingent of MJB and its supporters rallied at 116th Street and Lexington Avenue - not far from Mark Viverito’s office. The rally was the first stop in what MJB called a “March for Dignity and against Displacement.”

The second stop was the home of City Council member Melissa Mark Viverito.

Carrying signs that said, “Harlem no se vende” (Harlem is not for sale), “We will not be moved” and “El Barrio will not be sold”, the protesters marched down Third Avenue to Viverito’s home. Mothers, fathers and young children held vigil outside the townhouse as activists spoke out against Viverito’s support of gentrification. Protesters spoke through a makeshift bullhorn - a rolled up sign - pointing out that, in addition to voting for the rezoning of 125th Street, Mark Vierito also voted for the Columbia University expansion into West Harlem. The announcement was met with jeers and boos.

The final stop of the protest was the Vertical City realty office on Third Avenue and 99th Street. Here protesters spoke out against the ongoing gentrification of their neighborhood - Vertical City rents Dawnay Day Group’s East Harlem properties. Several speakers vowed to defeat those who would gentrify Harlem as other demonstraters held signs that said, “estamos en la lucha” - we are in a struggle.

(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

View Photos/Videos From The Action…

NLN Video

(L to R) Elaine Brower, Nat Good of NLN, Bill Perkins and Eric Adams
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

NEW YORK – On Sunday, August 17, 2008, a press conference was held to announce the joint cooperation of State Senators Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn, 20th Dist.) and Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan, 30th Dist.), to introduce in the upcoming January 2009 State Legislative session, a resolution to stop the federalization of the New York State National Guard.

The two Senators joined with Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and Peace Action New York State in front of the Times Square Military Recruiting Center on W. 43rd Street and Broadway to declare “We will call on Gov. David Paterson to use his authority to challenge calls from the federal government to use the New York National Guard for service in Iraq.”

Outside the Recruiting Station in Times Square Senator Adams said “The Governor has the power to decide if our National Guard troops are to be used on a federal level.” “Our resolution will call on him to do just that.”

Started in Vermont by a local state legislator Representative Fisher of Lincoln, working directly with attorneys from The Liberty Tree Foundation for Democracy, the campaign picked up nationally. The campaign is based upon the legal authority that the “2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force” or (AUMF) issued by Congress, based on UN resolutions, has expired. The conditions set forth in this AUMF stipulated that (1) “Iraq poses an imminent threat to the security of the United States by having weapons of mass destruction; and, (2) “Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat to the security of the United States and its allies.” These conditions have been met, there is no “national emergency” allowing the use of our state militia any longer, so therefore it should cease and desist.

Not only does the federalization of any state’s National Guard units pose a security risk to that particular state since they cannot respond to a natural disaster or other situation where they are required as by law, but the equipment taken to Iraq, never returns. Each State is required to spend millions of dollars to replace necessary armaments to protect its citizens. Currently, New York State is facing a grave fiscal crisis and budget deficit.

State Senator Bill Perkins looks on as war resister Matthis Chiroux speaks out.
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Participating national organizations include: AfterDowningStreet.org, Cities for Peace, CODEPINK, Courage to Resist, LIBERTY TREE Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, Military Families Speak Out, Peace Action, U.S. Labor Against the War, Women Legislator’s Lobby, Women’s Action for New Directions, and more.

Participating state campaigns: New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, CA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, RI, VT, and others. For more information, please see www.nysavetheguard.com and www.bringtheguardhome.org.

View Photos/Videos From The Action…

Organizers relax after the Freeze
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

NEW YORK – On Wednesday, August 6th, commemorating the 63rd year of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima, the World Can’t Wait called together a group of New York activists to demand “No Attack on Iran!” at the Whitehall Street Ferry Terminal in downtown Manhattan. Knowing that this administration, as well as both presidential candidates have declared that “no options are off the table, including a nuclear strike” on Iran, about 60 people gathered outside the terminal at 5:00 PM to get ready to “freeze” inside at 5:30 PM.

Like the two others before it, this “freeze” action message focused on informing commuters about the current aggression which could lead to a strike on Iran. The unifying message “No Attack on Iran!” was displayed on t-shirts, banners, posters and messages affixed to clothing.

This 3rd action was set to the backdrop of a more conservative crowd, or at least that is what we thought. Staten Island has been portrayed as the most conservative borough in the City, and the audience we targeted could prove to be a tough bunch.

Heading up the escalators, activists picked a spot to stand in, and when the signal was given, the sound of a “lunchroom” whistle, compliments of a member of World Can’t Wait, everyone froze in position for 5 minutes. Police remained totally unfazed by the action, although they were warned ahead of time and expected us.

(Photo: Donyal Svilar / NLN)

Commuters, on the other hand, were surprised, and honestly did not know what to make of these people who were not rushing to catch the next ferryboat home. Some shouted supporting our message, some took fliers that were held in frozen hands, others stopped to take pictures, but none were confrontational.

Some people in the group participating in the action were members of Peace Action of Staten Island and Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) of Staten Island, about 8 residents of the borough. We were very surprised by the positive reactions we received, and stunned that the police did not even wander over to watch!

At 5:35 PM, once again upon our signal, all started chanting “NO ATTACK ON IRAN!” to the commuters who were then boarding the ferry. The terminal resonated with the chanting, and it continued until the boat loaded, and we were left standing relatively alone. Everyone cheered and applauded, felt uplifted by the small event, and hope to do it again soon!

View Photos/Videos From The Action…

(Photo: Oren Ziv / Active Stills)

RAMALLAH, West Bank — 23 demonstrators were arrested yesterday as they protested in front of the house of Colonel Aviv Reshef, commander of the Israeli army regiment stationed in the Ni’ilin region. Reshef resides in Zichron Yaakov, in Israel’s Haifa district.

The demonstrators were arrested while protesting the shooting of two minors in Ni’ilin last week. The two – Ahmed Mousa, 10-years-old, and Youssef Amireh, 17-years-old, were shot and killed by the Israeli border police. The shooting of Mousa is being investigated by the Israeli Police Internal Affairs Bureau and the Israeli Defense Force.

The demonstrators, who were standing on the sidewalk at the time of their arrest, were beaten and detained. Police continued beating some of the demonstrators after they were detained. Witnesses report that the beatings continued inside the police vehicles.

The 23 will remain in custody for the night and will appear before a judge today.

Ten year old Ahmed Mousa was killed by a border policeman in Ni’ilin on Tuesday, July 29th. He was shot in the forehead from a short distance, while on his family’s land — posing no threat to security forces.

On Wednesday, July 30th, only hours after Mousa was buried, Youssef Amireh was shot in the head by a border policeman sitting inside an armored jeep. He was shot as he stood in a yard in his own village. Amireh was not involved in the ongoing clashes between Israeli security forces and local residents. Two rubber coated bullets, shot from a distance of ten meters, struck Amireh in the head, leaving him clinically dead. After five days in a vegetative state, Amireh died from his wounds.

Amireh was buried on 4 August. The funeral procession can be seen on YouTube.

Amireh is the twelfth Palestinian and seventh minor to be killed protesting the wall; thousands of others have been wounded, many seriously. From its inception, the popular struggle has met with severe military violence, despite its civilian and unarmed nature.

Anarchists Against the Wall said that, “in a place where an army allows itself to kill unarmed demonstrators day after day, we are not surprised that demonstrators protesting this acts are beaten up and arrested. Reshef is directly and morally responsible for the murders in Ni’ilin, and we will continue to demand his accountability, as well as continue to stand together with the people of Ni’ilin”.

Oren Ziv and Bill Templer contributed to this article

View Photos/Videos From The Protest…

Mike Morice, Tom Good and Nathaniel Good of MDS enjoy a dry moment
(Photo: Red Dragon / NLN)

NEW YORK — Although pouring rain diminished the expected turnout yesterday, a number of activists heeded the call to protest a potential U.S. attack on Iran.

Filing into Times Square the protesters carried anti-war signs, banners - and umbrellas. After a rally the crowd made its way down Seventh Avenue as pedestrians looked on. A few jeered, many cheered and some joined the procession. Near the midpoint of the march - the sun came out.

Among those who took part in the march were members of the Granny Peace Brigade, Iraq Veterans Against The War, Veterans For Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Movement For A Democratic Society, the Green Party, CodePINK, World Can’t Wait and the Peoples Organization for Progress.

View Photos/Videos From The March…

Palestinian mourners watch the funeral procession for Ahmed Moussa
(Photo: Anne Paq / Active Stills - (c) 2008, activestills.org, not for commercial reuse)

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli troops mortally wounded another Palestinian youth Wednesday - shortly after the funeral of 10-year-old Ahmed Mousa who was shot an killed by Israeli border police on Tuesday. The shootings happening in the West Bank village of Nilin, near what Palestinians call the “apartheid wall”.

An interview with Hindi Mesleh of the Nilin Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall on Democracy Now! (1 Aug 2008) gives direct commentary from the struggle in Nilin and reaction among villagers to the killing of 10-year-old Ahmed Hussam Yusuf Mousa on Tuesday, July 29th. Video footage of the demonstration is available at YouTube. The interview also discusses the mortal wounding of 17-year old Yousif Amira by soldiers of the Israeli Border Patrol, “Mishmar haGvul”, in a demonstration following young Ahmed’s funeral on Wednesday, 30 July. The funeral procession for Ahmed began in the city of Ramallah and proceeded westward 25 kilometers to the village of Nilin, where numerous soldiers were positioned in battle readiness at the entrance to the village. They opened fire with tear gas and sound bombs at the mourners, as seen in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84_ePTW6wEE

Villagers were angered by the presence of the heavily armed Border Patrol at the village entrance the entire day.
[see https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/9398/index.php ]

17-year-old Yousif is clinically dead after being shot by Israeli soldiers
(Photo: Anne Paq / Active Stills - (c) 2008, activestills.org, not for commercial reuse)

Yousif was shot twice in the head at close range by rubber-coat steel bullets, destroying his brain. He has been pronounced clinically dead and lies in a coma in hospital in Ramallah.

On 1 August, enraged villagers dismantled the barbed wire barricade placed by the Israeli military on their lands to prevent them from entering the site where bulldozers are active — the same barrier that little Ahmed was near when his friends tried to tear it apart on the day he was killed. A number of villagers were injured in the four hours of confrontation that erupted over the villagers’ determined action to destroy the barbed wire barrier. Five Palestinians and two international activists were injured by rubber-coated bullets. {1}

In the Democracy Now interview, Hindi Mesleh said, “I don’t know the reply of the army. There is no reply. I don’t know what the excuse they will come up. There is no excuse. Whatever the child was doing, throwing stones or whatever, there is no excuse, and there is no right to kill a nine-years-old child or seventeen-years-old child when they are in a protest. The question is, like—the question is, why these children? They are in the protest because they’re aware of what’s happening and what’s going on in their village. They’re protesting against stealing their lands, killing their brothers, shooting at their houses, invading their village.”

View Photos From The Funeral…

Reprinted from BeyondChron.

Markos Moulitsas’ new book, Taking On the System, is not really about political blogs. One would expect the founder of Daily Kos to write about the netroots (and his book offers plenty of anecdotes about how they’ve changed politics), but it’s really a guide for how ordinary people can make an impact in the 21st Century. Moulitsas writes about how the Internet has democratized the process – making old gatekeepers like party bosses, media moguls and even record companies less powerful and relevant than before. But modeling himself after the late Saul Alinsky, Moulitsas offers plenty of pragmatic advice for political activists – like “stay on message,” “how to handle your enemies,” and “pick your battles” – that was applicable in an earlier era. In the 21st Century, however, more can play this game. Taking On the System is a resource for progressives hopeful about November – but anxious about how to keep that momentum going in an Obama Administration.

The impact Daily Kos and other blogs have had is so well established that anyone picking up Taking On the System will probably be familiar with it already. But what Moulitsas argues is that he’s really no one special: any citizen can use the Internet to bypass the traditional gatekeepers who once decided which political candidates were legitimate, what wisdom was conventional and even which songs became hits.

Activists don’t need to hold press conferences and hope the media shows up – they can create their own media with a blog. Political candidates getting started don’t have to kowtow to the same rich donors – if they have a compelling grass-roots message, the netroots will embrace them. Even musicians don’t need to be “discovered” by recording executives to make it big – now they can use social networking sites like MySpace.

It’s not about destroying the gatekeepers, says Moulitsas. It’s about using the Internet (along with a compelling product) so you can simply by-pass them. “Technology has unlocked doors and facilitated a genuine democratization of our culture,” he writes. You don’t need anyone’s permission to start an online movement: it was ordinary people who stepped out of their comfort zone to recruit Jim Webb for the US Senate, create MoveOn, and launch an annual blogger convention that culminated with Netroots Nation.

What activists need to understand, said Moulitsas, is what technology medium is most effective in their time period at getting out a message that will influence conventional wisdom. Gandhi used newsreels to push the narrative that the British were exploiting the Indian people. Television helped dramatize the civil rights movement in the 1960’s that galvanized a country to its cause. But the era of mass visual rallies that grab attention on the evening news are over, he says. Another thousand people in the street just isn’t news today.

In fact, Moulitsas is very critical of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan – because she too quickly fell into the obsolete model of ‘60s protest no longer conducive for the digital era. After activists spent years marching in the streets against the Iraq War without changing public opinion, Sheehan’s plea to meet President Bush in Crawford, Texas put on a human face that most Americans could relate to. But once Camp Casey became a circus for every left-wing group, it devolved into the same type of ineffectual protest we’ve all seen before.

Continue Reading…

11-year-old Ahmad Husam Yousef Mousa lies dead
(Photo by: Oren Ziv / Activestills.org - used with permission, not for commercial reuse)

RAMALLAH, West Bank — An 11-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed in the West Bank village of Nilin on Tuesday, July 29th.

In a tragic sequel to continuing resistance to the separation wall being built in the West Bank, 11-year-old Ahmad Mousa was fatally wounded by a member of the Israeli Border Patrol as he sat with friends. The shooting occurred during the violent dispersion of a demonstration against the wall. More than 18 Palestinians were wounded in the incident.{1}

According to Nilin’s anti-wall committee, Mousa and a group of his friends were sitting quietly under an olive tree when a Border Patrol jeep drove up and a Border Police member, operating under the command of the Israeli Defense Force, took aim at the seated boys from a distance of about 30 meters. He fired a single shot, striking Mousa in the head. Mousa died a short time later while en route to Ramallah Hospital.

This brutal act was apparently an attempt to frighten and intimidate the resistance. Mousa’s death is the most tragic incident in many months of sustained protest at Nilin village.

YNetNews.com is reporting that the IDF and the Police Internal Affairs Bureau are investigating the shooting. {2}

{1} http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3574981,00.html (Hebrew)
{2} http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3574986,00.html (English)

Thomas Good contributed to this article.

Meaghan Linick-Loughley of SDS (foreground - with mask)
(Photo: Asahi)

TOKYO — A photograph of an SDS New York member recently appeared on page one of Asahi, one of Japan’s oldest and largest newspapers with a circulation of 8 million.

Meaghan Linick-Loughley at a counter-recruitment action
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Steve Harrison at a meeting of the Young Democrats
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — City Councilman Mike McMahon and community activist Steve Harrison addressed a meeting of the Young Democrats of America on Sunday. Conservative McMahon and progressive Harrison are vying for the Democratic nomination and the right to challenge Republican Party control of New York’s 13th Congressional District. The two congressional hopefuls were each given fifteen minutes to present their respective positions.

McMahon spoke first telling the YDAers that, “we need change, we need change we can trust.” He noted that Staten Islanders are “stuck in traffic..paying too much for gas…paying too much for food.” Making an appeal to the “can-do spirit” of Americans, McMahon argued that “it’s about sending someone to Washington that you can trust, you guys all know me, you know my family.”

McMahon said that the primary election on September 9 is about, “sending someone to Washington that you can trust personally, and morally, but also to do the job, to work hard. You know the City Council. You may not agree with me on everything but you know I went to work everyday, I rolled up my sleeves, put my nose to the grindstone and got things done.”

McMahon listed as his accomplishments, “saving recycyling” in New York, preventing the reopening of the Fresh Kills landfill and working to keep nurses in public schools.

Addressing the issue of why voters should choose him over Harrison, McMahon argued that, “The important thing is that we send a Democrat into this race who can win this race.”

Comparing his positions with Harrison’s, McMahon said that, “when it comes to the issues we pretty much agree.”

But The New York Times’ Jonathan Hicks disagrees.

Political labels aside, there are stark differences between the two. Mr. Harrison opposes capital punishment, while Mr. McMahon supports it. The councilman favors nearly all means of addressing the nation’s energy problems, including offshore drilling, something Mr. Harrison opposes. Mr. McMahon supported Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ultimately unsuccessful congestion pricing plan, while Mr. Harrison opposed it.

On the Iraq war, Mr. Harrison has demanded an immediate withdrawal of American troops, while Mr. McMahon said he supported “a responsible redeployment of our troops in Iraq.”

Hicks, Jonathan P. (2008, July 28). Despite Fossella’s Exit, Unity Eludes Democrats. The New York Times, retrieved July 28, 2008.

Making the argument that, “this [race] is the front line - in our own backyard”, McMahon emphasized the importance of winning while downplaying his positions on the issues. Positions that haven’t played well with progressives.

“This race is about putting a Democrat in office,” McMahon said.

Harrison disagrees. “I think I represent your values,” he told the Young Democrats. Harrison argued that it’s not enough just to get a Democrat in office. It is important to get a progressive elected.

“This week if you watched ‘President Obama’…there is no question that he is restoring our standing in the world even before he becomes president. What he needs is progressive democrats to support him in the Congress and that’s why I’m running,” Harrison said.

Harrison argued that it is questionable that a conservative or centrist could even win in the 13th CD, pointing out that those Democrats who have done the best in the past have been progressives. He noted that in 2002, the last time a centrist ran, the Democrats got only 28 percent of the vote. When Frank Barbaro ran in 2004 he got 41 percent and Harrison himself got 43 percent in 2006, despite being outspent $1.7 million to $130,000 by Republican incumbent Vito Fossella.

Harrison hammered out his positions in detail, starting with, “I am a progressive Democrat”.

He reminded the audience that, “I have been against this war from the beginning.” Harrison, a co-author of the responsible plan to end the war, said he is for withdrawal while he argued that McMahon favors leaving “residual troops” in Iraq.

Harrison proclaimed that, “I believe in diplomacy with Iran” and “I oppose the death penalty”. He also voiced his opposition to nuclear power and offshore drilling for oil, arguing for solar, wind and geothermal energy. His assertion that the move to green energy has “to be done in a very short period of time” was met with applause from the Young Democrats.

In a question and answer period Harrison told the crowd that, “I oppose NAFTA, CAFTA…any AFTAs at all” and that the U.S. should help Mexico develop its economy rather than outsourcing American jobs there.

Harrison also affirmed his position on gay rights, stating that, “I am in favor of same sex marriage.” In addition to support from peace groups Harrison has also picked up endorsements from gay rights groups such as Stonewall Democrats and Lambda.

In response to the last question of the evening, Harrison said that he would look into Dennis Kucinich’s “Department of Peace” proposal, adding that “it sounds good!”

View Photos/Videos From The Event…