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GABE' S JOURNAL
A Rochester Activist's Journal depicting his observations and experiences in Palestine. Gabe is currently working with the International Solidarity Movement
in Palestine.
I awoke from my rooftop perch at 6:30 this morning, partly because my watch began beeping on schedule and partly because I felt cold - for the first time since my arrival in Palestine. I have been anxious to observe and document more on the difficulty of movement caused by the prison walls around Qalqilia, so I began the 15-20 minute trek to the southern gate (also called Habla Gate).
Full Story
Alexander Street Festival shut down early due to homophobia?
How many of us attended the "first annual" Alexander Street Festival
on Saturday night? (I see those hands raised out there.) For the most
part, it was a good time that was had by the thousands in attendance. It
is too bad that it had to end as it did.
Petroleum spill
WTO Talks Collapse
The 5th WTO Ministeral meeting at Cancun was quite eventful. Here's a round-up of what took place.
The first major demonstration was held on Thursday the 10th. Lead by the Campesinos, activists marched to the red zone, where police had errected a fence to prevent them from protesting at the location of the talks. Activists clashed with police as they tore parts of the fence down and attempted to get past the police line. The most dramatic action of the day, however, was done by Lee Kyung-hae, a Korean Farmer who climbed the police barrier, held up a sign saying "The WTO Kills Farmers" and then commited suicide by stabbing himself with a knife.
Links:
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Article by Lee Kyung-ha
Actions continued throughout the week and came to a peak on Saturday the 13th - the international day of actions against the WTO. Thousands marched again to the police line and this time the entire fence was torn down by a group made up of only women while punks, black blockers and others provided protection from the police. Meanwhile, other activists diguised themselves as tourists, snuck past the police blockades and disrupted the hotel zone where the meetings were taking place.
Demonstration at the fence,
Actions at the hotel zone:
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2
Meanwhile, inside the WTO, poor nations formed a tight alliance aiming to remove the rich nations' agriculture subsidies. Initially a group of 21 nations, they grew to be 22, then 23 large. When the US, EU and other large nations refused to give the G23 their demands, the G23 backed out of the talks causing the 5th WTO ministeral to collapse.
More Info
More links:
Summary of the week's events
Letters from Cancun by a Rochester activist:
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2
The Last Speech of Deskaheh
Levi Grand was selected in 1917 to fill one of the positions on
the traditional Cayuga council and given the ancient title name of
Deskaheh. After WWI, he journeyed to the League of Nations in Geneva to
file the grievances of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people. The following
is the text of his last speech.
(On the evening of March 10, 1925, suffering from a serious attack of
pleurisy and pneumonia, he made his last speech. It was before a radio
microphone in Rochester. Once more, and more forcefully than ever,
he hurled defiance at big nations who disregard the claims of smaller
peoples.)
Charges Against Some Peace Activists Dismissed
On September 3, 2003 charges that had been filed against a number of peace acivists were dismissed.
Rochester. In March of 2003 several peace protesters were arrested in front of the Kenneth Keating Federal Building in Rochester, New York while praying for peace. The protesters were trying to bring attention to the horror & destruction brought about as a result of the war against Iraq.
March for Human and Economic Rights
(August 04, 2003) Twenty-some of Rochester's poor decided
to stand out against poverty and the practices of the
href="http://www.monroecounty.gov/org658.asp?storyID=2831">Monroe County
Department of Human and Health Services (DHHS) on Monday. They met
at noon at the Liberty Pole to gather for a march and to present their
grievances to all who were willing to hear, stating, "It's time for poor
people in our community to unite and demand our rights to thrive and
live at a standard of Human Dignity, Respect, and Equality." The march
involved members of both Poor People United and the Rochester
Poor People's Coalition and proceeded from the Liberty Pole to the
DHHS offices at 691 Saint Paul Street.
Rochester Social Forum
(August 22, 2003) Rochester joins with movements throughout the
world in opposition to corporate greed and war. Groups will gather in
Rochester to learn, network and move toward actions that "make other
worlds possible."
(There is a link at the bottom of the article to the Rochester Social
Forum website, where you can find information on how you can get
involved.)
Diary of a Mad Grrrl
(August 01, 2003) ... this whole week I have felt as if someone
was going to jump out at me from behind a potted plant screaming
"Smile! You're on Candid Camera! The past 3 years have all been a horrible
mass hallucination perpetrated on you, and everyone else in this country,
by a few prankster scientists living in some shack in Wyoming! We don't
have a Supreme Court appointed ex-cokehead fratboy hick for a president,
we never had an entirely unjustified war, the Terminator is not running
for office, and Jennifer Lopez is not the most renowned celebrity of
our time! It's all been a cruel cruel joke!" Outside of the general
surreal-ness of my day to day life (which this week included waiting
on the cast of Deliverance, and seeing a grown man brought to tears and
tantrum for lack of coconut cream pie), I was also lucky enough to catch
El Presidente's press conference...
Pride Parade and Festival a Triumph
(July 19, 2003) A dynamic, upbeat Pride Parade and Festival, Cirque La Gay, drew a crowd of 10,000 as members of the GBLT community fearlessly showcased the complexity of human potential.
The parade from East Ave. to Manhattan Square Park featured 54 organizations, 800 people, from Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, Washington, DC, and Florida, noted founder and organizer David Kosel. We started eight years ago with a Gay Pride March. The events today have taken gay pride from a one-day event to a week-long celebration. Rochester Pride Week 2003 offered interfaith services, athletics, films, and social events.
HREF="http://www.rochesterimc.org/news/2003/07/777.php">More