Attend the Buffalo Public Schools Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, February 21
6:00-8:00PM
City Honors School Auditorium
186 East North St.
Parking available on the streets surrounding the school
All entrances to the building will be open
Read the complete article
6:00-8:00PM
City Honors School Auditorium
186 East North St.
Parking available on the streets surrounding the school
All entrances to the building will be open
Read the complete article
Town Hall Meeting: The People Must Set the Agenda
This coming Tuesday, The Buffalo Board of Education and Superintendent James A. Williams are “inviting” parents and the community for an “informational” presentation on the district’s 3-year Academic Achievement Plan, and present their vision for the future of Buffalo schools.
In the tradition of town hall meetings, Buffalo Forum is calling teachers, parents, students and all those concerned about education to attend this meeting and demand that their concerns decide the agenda and the direction of the public schools in Buffalo. It is the superintendent and the Board of Education who need to be informed!
All can see that the current administration is driving public education into the ground under the guise of “improving achievement” and “making schools safe.” Superintendent Williams has gone so far as to say violence and police in the schools is “how we live now.” We say no! He and the Board are closing schools against the wishes of the effected communities, rejecting any consideration of alternatives like eliminating debt payments and increasing funding.
We say: Demand an end to the attack on the youth, teachers and public education. Why not discuss freezing all district debt payments, freeing up millions for our schools, as a starting point for meeting the needs of the youth?
We say: Demand an end to the criminalization of the youth and the militarization of our schools. We reject the notion that increased police presence will contribute to solving the problems youth and teachers face. Why not discuss increasing funding to reduce class size, to build social and cultural programs for the youth?
We say: Reject the idea that teachers, their salaries, pensions and healthcare needs are the source of the problem. Why not discuss eliminating the undemocratic Control Board, and the Wall Street loansharks they serve, as a starting point for solving the problems?
Attend the meeting and demand your views be heard!
Read the complete article
In the tradition of town hall meetings, Buffalo Forum is calling teachers, parents, students and all those concerned about education to attend this meeting and demand that their concerns decide the agenda and the direction of the public schools in Buffalo. It is the superintendent and the Board of Education who need to be informed!
All can see that the current administration is driving public education into the ground under the guise of “improving achievement” and “making schools safe.” Superintendent Williams has gone so far as to say violence and police in the schools is “how we live now.” We say no! He and the Board are closing schools against the wishes of the effected communities, rejecting any consideration of alternatives like eliminating debt payments and increasing funding.
We say: Demand an end to the attack on the youth, teachers and public education. Why not discuss freezing all district debt payments, freeing up millions for our schools, as a starting point for meeting the needs of the youth?
We say: Demand an end to the criminalization of the youth and the militarization of our schools. We reject the notion that increased police presence will contribute to solving the problems youth and teachers face. Why not discuss increasing funding to reduce class size, to build social and cultural programs for the youth?
We say: Reject the idea that teachers, their salaries, pensions and healthcare needs are the source of the problem. Why not discuss eliminating the undemocratic Control Board, and the Wall Street loansharks they serve, as a starting point for solving the problems?
Attend the meeting and demand your views be heard!
Read the complete article
Keep Police Out of Our Schools: Use of Force Does Not Provide Safety
Various officials in Buffalo are taking action to increase use of force in the public schools and against the youth more generally. State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, for example, is calling for metal detectors at school entrances and armed police in all schools, patrolling the hallways. Already, police have increased their presence around four schools, Burgard, Grover Cleveland, Lafayette and Riverside. Already, for just one incident at Grover Cleveland, 23 police cars responded. It is now not unusual for youth to come to school and see 5 or 6 police cars at the school.
In addition, the incoming police commissioner is planning a crack down on curfew violations. Buffalo has a long-standing curfew against the youth, requiring youth 16 and under to be off the streets from 11pm-5am on weekdays and midnight to 5am on weekends. Police plan to take youth home and warn parents the first time, and then fine them (up to $200) after that.
In the many school districts that already have metal detectors, police or security guards in the schools, bag and locker searches, lockdowns, and so forth, there is no evidence that these measures provide safety or security. There is abundant evidence that they create a prison-like atmosphere where youth are treated like criminals simply for coming to school. It has given rise to police violence in the schools, such as the recent killing of an 8th grader by a SWAT team. Some of the more well-known examples of tragedies, like that at Columbine, took place where there were metal detectors and searches.
The notion that use of force brings security is the same one being used by President George W. Bush to justify the war on Iraq. The threat of force is now being used to justify bombing Iran. Increased use of police and their spy cameras to suppress the people and expression of their views is also being done in the name of “safety.” In each case, the people are being criminalized and the police are given authority to use force with impunity. The necessary result is increased violence against the people.
It is also the case that these measures serve to humiliate. Youth are daily being humiliated with bag and locker searches and police patrols in their schools. They are being trained to accept police dictate and to do so quietly. The fact that many are not is actually positive. The fact that youth are angry and rejecting this humiliation is positive. We do not want the next generation to be submissive and accepting of police dictate! The problems that do exist in the schools have far more to do with the social problems of poverty and the crimes of denying the right to education and a livelihood. Youth are not the problem and not the source of violence.
Security comes from the people and their struggle to defend their rights. Instead of funding more police, metal detectors and other means of repression, there should be increased funding for education, including arts and recreation for the youth. There should be increased wages to eliminate the high levels of poverty. Youth should be provide the space and assistance, in the schools, to organize, discuss and take up politics so that they can provide themselves with a bright future. These are the steps to increased security and safety.
Defend the Rights of Our Youth! No Police in the Schools!
Read the complete article
In addition, the incoming police commissioner is planning a crack down on curfew violations. Buffalo has a long-standing curfew against the youth, requiring youth 16 and under to be off the streets from 11pm-5am on weekdays and midnight to 5am on weekends. Police plan to take youth home and warn parents the first time, and then fine them (up to $200) after that.
In the many school districts that already have metal detectors, police or security guards in the schools, bag and locker searches, lockdowns, and so forth, there is no evidence that these measures provide safety or security. There is abundant evidence that they create a prison-like atmosphere where youth are treated like criminals simply for coming to school. It has given rise to police violence in the schools, such as the recent killing of an 8th grader by a SWAT team. Some of the more well-known examples of tragedies, like that at Columbine, took place where there were metal detectors and searches.
The notion that use of force brings security is the same one being used by President George W. Bush to justify the war on Iraq. The threat of force is now being used to justify bombing Iran. Increased use of police and their spy cameras to suppress the people and expression of their views is also being done in the name of “safety.” In each case, the people are being criminalized and the police are given authority to use force with impunity. The necessary result is increased violence against the people.
It is also the case that these measures serve to humiliate. Youth are daily being humiliated with bag and locker searches and police patrols in their schools. They are being trained to accept police dictate and to do so quietly. The fact that many are not is actually positive. The fact that youth are angry and rejecting this humiliation is positive. We do not want the next generation to be submissive and accepting of police dictate! The problems that do exist in the schools have far more to do with the social problems of poverty and the crimes of denying the right to education and a livelihood. Youth are not the problem and not the source of violence.
Security comes from the people and their struggle to defend their rights. Instead of funding more police, metal detectors and other means of repression, there should be increased funding for education, including arts and recreation for the youth. There should be increased wages to eliminate the high levels of poverty. Youth should be provide the space and assistance, in the schools, to organize, discuss and take up politics so that they can provide themselves with a bright future. These are the steps to increased security and safety.
Defend the Rights of Our Youth! No Police in the Schools!
Read the complete article
Upcoming Events
BUFFALO
COMMUNITY ACTION ORGANIZATION
“Rites of Passage” Celebration
Wednesday, February 22, 5:30PM
Pratt Willert Community
Center, 422 Pratt St.
Black history program honoring community persons for their dedication and commitment to the youth.
Call 881-5150 x4402
COALITION OF BLACK TRADE UNIONISTS CONFERENCE
February 24 and 25
Hyatt Regency, 2 Fountain Plaza
Free workshop by Bill Fletcher Jr. of TransAfrica Forum, United for Peace and Justice and Black Radical Congress,
Saturday, 10AM; Banquet, 7PM
Call 603-2243
BOOKS AND TALK TO SPARK A PRAIRIE FIRE
Chesa Boudin, speaking on Venezuela and youth activism
February 25, 3PM
Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen Street
Sunday, February 26, 3PM
Talking Leaves Books
951 Elmwood Ave.
call 881-1812
GERRY ADAMS
Sinn Fein President and Member of Parliament for West Belfast, Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17
DEMONSTRATE!
U.S. Out of Iraq Now!
Saturday, March 18, Noon
Lafayette Square, Downtown Buffalo
Part of world-wide actions on the third anniversary of the Iraq war
NIAGARA FALLS, CANADA
TROPICANA, DIRECT FROM HAVANA
World Famous Music and Dance Spectacular
Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
March 1-4 Matinee and evening.
Call 1-888-836-8118
ROCHESTER
REALITY OF WAR TOUR
Truth and resistance from the front lines
Not Your Soldier!
Wednesday, February, 22, 7PM
First Universalist Church
150 S. Clinton Ave.
Speakers include veterans, activists and the co-founder of Bring Them Home Now!
Call 256-3458
GET ON THE BUS
Stop Pataki’s State Budget
Tuesday, February 28
Call 325-2560
NATIONAL
WOMEN SAY NO TO WAR
March 8, International Women’s Day
White House and around the world
http://www.womensaynotowar.org
STUDENTS SAY NO TO WAR IN IRAQ
March 13-17 on campuses everywhere
http://campusantiwar.net
VETERANS’ AND SURVIVORS’ MARCH FROM MOBILE TO NEW ORLEANS
March 14-19
http://vetgulfmarch.org
Read the complete article
COMMUNITY ACTION ORGANIZATION
“Rites of Passage” Celebration
Wednesday, February 22, 5:30PM
Pratt Willert Community
Center, 422 Pratt St.
Black history program honoring community persons for their dedication and commitment to the youth.
Call 881-5150 x4402
COALITION OF BLACK TRADE UNIONISTS CONFERENCE
February 24 and 25
Hyatt Regency, 2 Fountain Plaza
Free workshop by Bill Fletcher Jr. of TransAfrica Forum, United for Peace and Justice and Black Radical Congress,
Saturday, 10AM; Banquet, 7PM
Call 603-2243
BOOKS AND TALK TO SPARK A PRAIRIE FIRE
Chesa Boudin, speaking on Venezuela and youth activism
February 25, 3PM
Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen Street
Sunday, February 26, 3PM
Talking Leaves Books
951 Elmwood Ave.
call 881-1812
GERRY ADAMS
Sinn Fein President and Member of Parliament for West Belfast, Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17
DEMONSTRATE!
U.S. Out of Iraq Now!
Saturday, March 18, Noon
Lafayette Square, Downtown Buffalo
Part of world-wide actions on the third anniversary of the Iraq war
NIAGARA FALLS, CANADA
TROPICANA, DIRECT FROM HAVANA
World Famous Music and Dance Spectacular
Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
March 1-4 Matinee and evening.
Call 1-888-836-8118
ROCHESTER
REALITY OF WAR TOUR
Truth and resistance from the front lines
Not Your Soldier!
Wednesday, February, 22, 7PM
First Universalist Church
150 S. Clinton Ave.
Speakers include veterans, activists and the co-founder of Bring Them Home Now!
Call 256-3458
GET ON THE BUS
Stop Pataki’s State Budget
Tuesday, February 28
Call 325-2560
NATIONAL
WOMEN SAY NO TO WAR
March 8, International Women’s Day
White House and around the world
http://www.womensaynotowar.org
STUDENTS SAY NO TO WAR IN IRAQ
March 13-17 on campuses everywhere
http://campusantiwar.net
VETERANS’ AND SURVIVORS’ MARCH FROM MOBILE TO NEW ORLEANS
March 14-19
http://vetgulfmarch.org
Read the complete article
Local Radio and Culture in Buffalo
WUFO: 1080 AM
IT’S YOUR TIME TO TALK
with Betty Jean Grant; Talkline: 837-1112
Mondays at 9AM
KIRKLAND’S KORNER
with Ted Kirkland
Tuesdays at llAM
EYE ON HISTORY
With Eva M. Doyle
Tuesday 12-12:30PM
WHLD: 1270 AM
SUBJECTIVE REALITIES
with Daire Brian Irwin
Mondays at 10AM
SPEAK EASY RADIO
with Theresa
Wednesdays at 10AM
CIVIL LIBERTIES RADIO
with John Curr, NYCLU
Thursday at 11AM
OPEN MIC POETRY
Tuesdays, 6:30-9PM
EM Tea Coffee Cup Café
80 Oakgrove St.
OPEN MIC BLUES
Tuesdays 8PM
Rich’s House of Blues
607 Jefferson Ave.
Read the complete article
IT’S YOUR TIME TO TALK
with Betty Jean Grant; Talkline: 837-1112
Mondays at 9AM
KIRKLAND’S KORNER
with Ted Kirkland
Tuesdays at llAM
EYE ON HISTORY
With Eva M. Doyle
Tuesday 12-12:30PM
WHLD: 1270 AM
SUBJECTIVE REALITIES
with Daire Brian Irwin
Mondays at 10AM
SPEAK EASY RADIO
with Theresa
Wednesdays at 10AM
CIVIL LIBERTIES RADIO
with John Curr, NYCLU
Thursday at 11AM
OPEN MIC POETRY
Tuesdays, 6:30-9PM
EM Tea Coffee Cup Café
80 Oakgrove St.
OPEN MIC BLUES
Tuesdays 8PM
Rich’s House of Blues
607 Jefferson Ave.
Read the complete article
City Closes Reading Room: Defend Right to Conscience
One of the more brutal attacks by city and county government has been the closing of many public libraries. People from the city and suburbs together resisted these attacks, rightly recognizing libraries as a vital resource and necessity for society. Despite repeated opposition by the people, the government robbed the public of 15 of their libraries.
In an effort to defend the right of the public to their public libraries and provide a public reading space, activists on the west side organized to open a public reading room where the Northwest Branch Library, on Grant Street, had been. The Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) well known for its positive programs and organizing efforts in the community, as well as other forces, including Arissa, worked together to organize and staff the reading room, from 12-5pm, Monday through Saturday. Materials were being organized, new donations were being made, and people in the community were looking forward to again having a public space for reading.
Arissa organized to provide staffing. Arissa has also been active on the west side opposing budget cuts, organizing film showings, organizing a radio program, and carrying out various educational activities.
The city blocked the efforts to restore this public space to the public and stopped the opening of the reading room. They used openly attacked the rights to free speech and conscience, and this attack must be vigorously opposed.
The city, which controls use of the building, decided that the youth active with Arissa would not be permitted to staff the reading room, forcing it to remain closed. The city, including Councilman for the area, Nick Bonifacio, specifically targeted one of the members of the group for his association with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). ELF has been branded by the government as a “terrorist” organization for its efforts to defend the environment. A number of arrests of members of the group have taken place recently. They are being charged now, retroactively, for actions carried out decades ago. The arrests are part of the broad government attacks now taking place in the name of the war on terrorism — better known by the people as the war of terrorism by the government.
The city expects people to automatically accept this attack, simply because the government has put the label of “terrorist” on an organization. Indeed, they expect people to accept that simply being associated with such a group is grounds for dismissal — in this case, dismissing volunteers!
How dare the city target the youth, or anyone, for their views! The right to conscience, to have and express one’s views, is central to the fight for rights. It is a necessity for human beings to be thinking human beings in society. The city has no right to target people for their views. Still less do they have the right to prevent people from volunteering, in a public place for the public benefit, because their views differ from the government’s. Yet this is precisely what is occurring.
Reportedly, Bonifacio is considering requiring a pre-screening check of anyone working for the city or volunteering for projects in city-controlled buildings. Given the circumstances of this case, he may well be considering including a “pre-screening” of people’s views and a blacklist of all those with views branded unacceptable by the government.
These attacks on the right to conscience and speech must be opposed by all concerned. They are not only crimes against the activists involved, like Arissa and MAP, put on public sector workers and public institutions in general, especially libraries. They are part and parcel of the government’s terrorism against the people, through spying, detention and collective punishment of all those the government decides are a “threat.”
We urge our readers and supporters to join us in demanding that the public reading room in a public library belongs to the public and government has no right to close it. Join us in organizing to staff the reading room. Let us together challenge the city to brand us all guilty by association!
Read the complete article
In an effort to defend the right of the public to their public libraries and provide a public reading space, activists on the west side organized to open a public reading room where the Northwest Branch Library, on Grant Street, had been. The Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) well known for its positive programs and organizing efforts in the community, as well as other forces, including Arissa, worked together to organize and staff the reading room, from 12-5pm, Monday through Saturday. Materials were being organized, new donations were being made, and people in the community were looking forward to again having a public space for reading.
Arissa organized to provide staffing. Arissa has also been active on the west side opposing budget cuts, organizing film showings, organizing a radio program, and carrying out various educational activities.
The city blocked the efforts to restore this public space to the public and stopped the opening of the reading room. They used openly attacked the rights to free speech and conscience, and this attack must be vigorously opposed.
The city, which controls use of the building, decided that the youth active with Arissa would not be permitted to staff the reading room, forcing it to remain closed. The city, including Councilman for the area, Nick Bonifacio, specifically targeted one of the members of the group for his association with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). ELF has been branded by the government as a “terrorist” organization for its efforts to defend the environment. A number of arrests of members of the group have taken place recently. They are being charged now, retroactively, for actions carried out decades ago. The arrests are part of the broad government attacks now taking place in the name of the war on terrorism — better known by the people as the war of terrorism by the government.
The city expects people to automatically accept this attack, simply because the government has put the label of “terrorist” on an organization. Indeed, they expect people to accept that simply being associated with such a group is grounds for dismissal — in this case, dismissing volunteers!
How dare the city target the youth, or anyone, for their views! The right to conscience, to have and express one’s views, is central to the fight for rights. It is a necessity for human beings to be thinking human beings in society. The city has no right to target people for their views. Still less do they have the right to prevent people from volunteering, in a public place for the public benefit, because their views differ from the government’s. Yet this is precisely what is occurring.
Reportedly, Bonifacio is considering requiring a pre-screening check of anyone working for the city or volunteering for projects in city-controlled buildings. Given the circumstances of this case, he may well be considering including a “pre-screening” of people’s views and a blacklist of all those with views branded unacceptable by the government.
These attacks on the right to conscience and speech must be opposed by all concerned. They are not only crimes against the activists involved, like Arissa and MAP, put on public sector workers and public institutions in general, especially libraries. They are part and parcel of the government’s terrorism against the people, through spying, detention and collective punishment of all those the government decides are a “threat.”
We urge our readers and supporters to join us in demanding that the public reading room in a public library belongs to the public and government has no right to close it. Join us in organizing to staff the reading room. Let us together challenge the city to brand us all guilty by association!
Read the complete article
Police Out of Our Schools! Security Comes From Guaranteeing the Rights of All!
- Transit Workers Discussion Group, February 8, 2006 -
Buffalo’s mayor and school superintendent recently announced that Buffalo police will have a greater presence in and around city public schools. This is being done with the claim that more police mean more security. There is little evidence, however, that police prevent violence in the schools or the communities. There are many examples, such as the most recent one of an 8th grader killed by a SWAT team, showing they are a main source of violence. Transit workers can also recall the brutal arrest and persecution of Cold Springs driver Elizabeth Taylor Oliver for standing against NFTA police brutality of a 15-year-old girl.
The monopoly media continues to focus on incidents that occur in the city schools, giving the impression that it is the youth who are violent. They do this without doing an ounce of investigation of what social problems the youth are facing in society. They do this without mentioning the culture of violence and impunity by government at all levels, including the criminal invasion and occupation of Iraq, leaving Katrina victims to die or to face homelessness, and police brutality in our schools and public transit systems.
As drivers in public transportation, in one of the poorest cities in the country, we are on the front line of many of the social problems that exist. We see it all: poverty, alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment, underemployed workers, cuts to social programs, seniors fending for themselves, and more.
Transit workers also deal with the youth and students on a daily basis, most of the time without problems. They recognize that when problems like assaults on drivers do occur, it is not a simple question, but a complex one.
The effort to reduce the many social problems faced by youth to law and order issues — where more and more police and harsher punishment are given as the answer — hides the crimes and violence of these social problems, like poverty. They also serve to pit the drivers against the youth, when drivers are there to serve the youth and public in general. Police and punishment mean increased violence and impunity, and do not protect either drivers or youth.
It is important to go into some of the specific difficulties that the youth are facing. In school, the youth are subject to random searches and humiliation. In some schools they are punished with “silent lunches,” where they are not permitted to talk in the cafeteria. In more and more schools students eat their lunch under watch by armed police, like prisoners.
While more funds go to police, more cuts in funding are made for teachers, books and other basic necessities of education. High schools have been closed, larger classes imposed, students lack basic resources and programs such as sports and art and more. Libraries have been closed as well. It is no wonder that students, rightly angered that their education is being decimated day in and day out, that their hopes for jobs are being limited to the military, that they are treated like criminals in their own schools, vent their frustrations after school and on the bus. Indeed, given the violence the youth face, it is to their credit that they usually strive to solve problems without violence.
Targeting social problems and increasing funding to education and all social programs is what will begin to solve the problems. Police brutality and impunity increases violence and insecurity. This is the experience here and across the country. Security lies with the people and standing together to defend the rights of the youth, teachers, drivers and all concerned.
Read the complete article
Buffalo’s mayor and school superintendent recently announced that Buffalo police will have a greater presence in and around city public schools. This is being done with the claim that more police mean more security. There is little evidence, however, that police prevent violence in the schools or the communities. There are many examples, such as the most recent one of an 8th grader killed by a SWAT team, showing they are a main source of violence. Transit workers can also recall the brutal arrest and persecution of Cold Springs driver Elizabeth Taylor Oliver for standing against NFTA police brutality of a 15-year-old girl.
The monopoly media continues to focus on incidents that occur in the city schools, giving the impression that it is the youth who are violent. They do this without doing an ounce of investigation of what social problems the youth are facing in society. They do this without mentioning the culture of violence and impunity by government at all levels, including the criminal invasion and occupation of Iraq, leaving Katrina victims to die or to face homelessness, and police brutality in our schools and public transit systems.
As drivers in public transportation, in one of the poorest cities in the country, we are on the front line of many of the social problems that exist. We see it all: poverty, alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment, underemployed workers, cuts to social programs, seniors fending for themselves, and more.
Transit workers also deal with the youth and students on a daily basis, most of the time without problems. They recognize that when problems like assaults on drivers do occur, it is not a simple question, but a complex one.
The effort to reduce the many social problems faced by youth to law and order issues — where more and more police and harsher punishment are given as the answer — hides the crimes and violence of these social problems, like poverty. They also serve to pit the drivers against the youth, when drivers are there to serve the youth and public in general. Police and punishment mean increased violence and impunity, and do not protect either drivers or youth.
It is important to go into some of the specific difficulties that the youth are facing. In school, the youth are subject to random searches and humiliation. In some schools they are punished with “silent lunches,” where they are not permitted to talk in the cafeteria. In more and more schools students eat their lunch under watch by armed police, like prisoners.
While more funds go to police, more cuts in funding are made for teachers, books and other basic necessities of education. High schools have been closed, larger classes imposed, students lack basic resources and programs such as sports and art and more. Libraries have been closed as well. It is no wonder that students, rightly angered that their education is being decimated day in and day out, that their hopes for jobs are being limited to the military, that they are treated like criminals in their own schools, vent their frustrations after school and on the bus. Indeed, given the violence the youth face, it is to their credit that they usually strive to solve problems without violence.
Targeting social problems and increasing funding to education and all social programs is what will begin to solve the problems. Police brutality and impunity increases violence and insecurity. This is the experience here and across the country. Security lies with the people and standing together to defend the rights of the youth, teachers, drivers and all concerned.
Read the complete article
Reject Bush Demand for All to Stand Behind the Military
President George W. Bush used his State of the Union speech to emphasize that the “only option” for the world is for all to “stand behind the U.S. military and its vital mission” to secure U.S. world empire. Targeting what he branded “failed states,” regions “overwhelmed by poverty, corruption and despair,” he emphasized that U.S. brutality and aggression will increase. He said the U.S. “will act boldly,” will “remain on the offensive,” and “will not retreat from the world and we will never surrender to evil.”
It is significant that Bush specifically directed the statement about standing behind the military to Congress. He said, “Members of Congress: however we feel about the decisions and debates of the past, our nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in its vital mission.” He also said that decisions about Iraq will not be made by “politicians in Washington,” — that is by Congress — but by the military. He added that he will not allow differences between Congress and the President to “harden into anger.”
Given the demand that Congress stand behind the military and that political decisions, such as waging war, are to be made by the military, it is not difficult to see that Bush is acting to replace the failed Constitutional arrangements with those that put the military at the center of all life. The arrangements of state are to be those of military rule and a Commander in Chief — with the powers to spy on, detain, torture, kill and wage war against all those who do not submit to this rule, whether at home or abroad. And this includes members of Congress.
Bush, and the factions he represents, are letting it be known that he will act to block opposition to his dictate within Congress before it “hardens into anger,” such as impeachment or similar actions. He is calling on the various factions within the ruling circles, represented in Congress, to unite behind him. His administration’s various comments, that those involved in leaking the National Security Agency (NSA) program and those calling for immediate withdrawal are “aiding the enemy” and a threat to “national security,” also indicate how he will target Congress and any officials that express differences.
Bush is giving this speech at a time when existing Constitutional arrangements, between the executive and Congress, between federal, state and local governments and police agencies, between the government and the people, have all failed. Given that in the past, when Constitutional arrangements also failed and the factional fights within the ruling circles led to civil war, Bush’s comments in this direction are important. He is calling on the opposing factions to unite behind him and support military rule as the “only option,” to prevent civil war and achieve world empire. Bush also gives every appearance of taking decisive action in this direction in 2006, which he said will be a “decisive year” that “determines the future and character” of the country.
Perhaps to emphasize the direction of a police state, even before Bush began to speak, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, invited by a Congressperson, was arrested simply for having a T-shirt that asked how many more must die in Iraq. As well, the wife of a representative who supports the war was escorted out for having a T-shirt that said, “Support Our Troops.” In this manner, the notion being imposed is the police agencies determine what, where and when expression of opinion is allowed.
Bush is taking the country and the world in a very dangerous direction. The more than five year U.S. war of terrorism against the peoples has made clear that this direction is not an option. It solves no problem, not the problem of security, not the problem of meeting the needs of the world’s peoples, not the problem of building fraternal relations. Arrangements of military rule can only take the U.S. and world backward, backward to the slavery and genocide the U.S. was founded on, backward to rule by military kings, backward to civil war and world war.
New arrangements are required and new arrangements are being built. It is the working class and people that are tackling this problem, as can be seen in the efforts in New Orleans to affirm the rights to return and rebuild, as can be seen in the fierce defense of rights here and worldwide, in the work to oppose war and aggression, in the demand to drive Bush out and bring forward governance where the people decide. This is the alternative.
Read the complete article
It is significant that Bush specifically directed the statement about standing behind the military to Congress. He said, “Members of Congress: however we feel about the decisions and debates of the past, our nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in its vital mission.” He also said that decisions about Iraq will not be made by “politicians in Washington,” — that is by Congress — but by the military. He added that he will not allow differences between Congress and the President to “harden into anger.”
Given the demand that Congress stand behind the military and that political decisions, such as waging war, are to be made by the military, it is not difficult to see that Bush is acting to replace the failed Constitutional arrangements with those that put the military at the center of all life. The arrangements of state are to be those of military rule and a Commander in Chief — with the powers to spy on, detain, torture, kill and wage war against all those who do not submit to this rule, whether at home or abroad. And this includes members of Congress.
Bush, and the factions he represents, are letting it be known that he will act to block opposition to his dictate within Congress before it “hardens into anger,” such as impeachment or similar actions. He is calling on the various factions within the ruling circles, represented in Congress, to unite behind him. His administration’s various comments, that those involved in leaking the National Security Agency (NSA) program and those calling for immediate withdrawal are “aiding the enemy” and a threat to “national security,” also indicate how he will target Congress and any officials that express differences.
Bush is giving this speech at a time when existing Constitutional arrangements, between the executive and Congress, between federal, state and local governments and police agencies, between the government and the people, have all failed. Given that in the past, when Constitutional arrangements also failed and the factional fights within the ruling circles led to civil war, Bush’s comments in this direction are important. He is calling on the opposing factions to unite behind him and support military rule as the “only option,” to prevent civil war and achieve world empire. Bush also gives every appearance of taking decisive action in this direction in 2006, which he said will be a “decisive year” that “determines the future and character” of the country.
Perhaps to emphasize the direction of a police state, even before Bush began to speak, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, invited by a Congressperson, was arrested simply for having a T-shirt that asked how many more must die in Iraq. As well, the wife of a representative who supports the war was escorted out for having a T-shirt that said, “Support Our Troops.” In this manner, the notion being imposed is the police agencies determine what, where and when expression of opinion is allowed.
Bush is taking the country and the world in a very dangerous direction. The more than five year U.S. war of terrorism against the peoples has made clear that this direction is not an option. It solves no problem, not the problem of security, not the problem of meeting the needs of the world’s peoples, not the problem of building fraternal relations. Arrangements of military rule can only take the U.S. and world backward, backward to the slavery and genocide the U.S. was founded on, backward to rule by military kings, backward to civil war and world war.
New arrangements are required and new arrangements are being built. It is the working class and people that are tackling this problem, as can be seen in the efforts in New Orleans to affirm the rights to return and rebuild, as can be seen in the fierce defense of rights here and worldwide, in the work to oppose war and aggression, in the demand to drive Bush out and bring forward governance where the people decide. This is the alternative.
Read the complete article
Letter on Bush's State of the Union Address: What’s So Dangerous About T-shirts?
- Buffalo Forum Activist -
President Bush’s recent State of the Union address is significant for reasons beyond the content of his speech. During the address, police removed two women on the basis of the content of their T-shirts. Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist, invited to the address by a Congressperson, was arrested for her T-shirt that asked how many more must die in Iraq. This, many will say, is to be expected. Yet, the wife of a representative who supports the war was escorted out for her T-shirt that read, “Support Our Troops.”
Taken together, these expulsions suggest that the government is moving beyond suppression of views or opinions it does not like, to identifying any activity designed to influence or represent public opinion as a potential “security risk.” It indicates at this time the government considers views — any views — as dangerous.
Having a view presumes a role for individual and collective conscience. Opinions, and acting to share them with others, presumes the right to form an opinion in the first place, and organize to share that opinion, to engage in persuading others of the merits of the opinion. Affirming one’s views about something like the Iraq war at a public event like the State of the Union affirms a role in governing not only for that individual, but also for the public as a whole since it is public opinion that is the object of such actions. In this way, the targeting of these two women by police for the public expression of their views is not only an attack on them, but on the public as a whole.
These opinion-forming activities affirm that struggles to influence public opinion are a legitimate political activity and, in fact, a right. They also affirm a role for the public and its opinion in governance. These rights are registered as freedom of speech and assembly in the U.S. Constitution.
Police stand as the legitimate use of force in a society. Putting police in charge of who can present what views at what time in a public arena is to replace public debate and deliberation with the use of force, including within Congress itself. By forcibly removing the two women, in the public gallary of House of Representatives, invited by members of Congress, the police forces were eliminating the role of public opinion in governance.
In particular, the U.S. Constitution set up arrangements where conflicts between the state and people, regarding freedom of speech and assembly, are sorted out by legislative bodies enacting laws and the courts, not the police. Police only come into play to enforce the decision of the courts. Notice how putting police in charge in this manner places them above the civil authority, above the elected officials and the public institutions they control, such as Congress.
Finally, placing police in charge of managing the expression of opinion suggests that the state now identifies as a threat any opinion-forming activity not authorized by the state. This has profound consequences. It means that individual conscience is identified as a threat. A conscience in a person or a people is necessarily a rejection of absolute authority or tyranny and a claim to think and to be.
The suppression of these two women’s opinions reveals how dangerous the present situation is. The views of people and their public expression are now deemed a security risk that warrant the use of force by police under executive command.
Evidence of the abject failure of the U.S. system of governance, this is nothing short of an open move toward tyranny, of open rule by the police and military forces over and against civilian authority and civilians themselves. It is in fact the government and their police that threaten the public, and the growing and strengthening of the poeples forces that can contend with this most dangerous and backward looking development.
Read the complete article
President Bush’s recent State of the Union address is significant for reasons beyond the content of his speech. During the address, police removed two women on the basis of the content of their T-shirts. Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist, invited to the address by a Congressperson, was arrested for her T-shirt that asked how many more must die in Iraq. This, many will say, is to be expected. Yet, the wife of a representative who supports the war was escorted out for her T-shirt that read, “Support Our Troops.”
Taken together, these expulsions suggest that the government is moving beyond suppression of views or opinions it does not like, to identifying any activity designed to influence or represent public opinion as a potential “security risk.” It indicates at this time the government considers views — any views — as dangerous.
Having a view presumes a role for individual and collective conscience. Opinions, and acting to share them with others, presumes the right to form an opinion in the first place, and organize to share that opinion, to engage in persuading others of the merits of the opinion. Affirming one’s views about something like the Iraq war at a public event like the State of the Union affirms a role in governing not only for that individual, but also for the public as a whole since it is public opinion that is the object of such actions. In this way, the targeting of these two women by police for the public expression of their views is not only an attack on them, but on the public as a whole.
These opinion-forming activities affirm that struggles to influence public opinion are a legitimate political activity and, in fact, a right. They also affirm a role for the public and its opinion in governance. These rights are registered as freedom of speech and assembly in the U.S. Constitution.
Police stand as the legitimate use of force in a society. Putting police in charge of who can present what views at what time in a public arena is to replace public debate and deliberation with the use of force, including within Congress itself. By forcibly removing the two women, in the public gallary of House of Representatives, invited by members of Congress, the police forces were eliminating the role of public opinion in governance.
In particular, the U.S. Constitution set up arrangements where conflicts between the state and people, regarding freedom of speech and assembly, are sorted out by legislative bodies enacting laws and the courts, not the police. Police only come into play to enforce the decision of the courts. Notice how putting police in charge in this manner places them above the civil authority, above the elected officials and the public institutions they control, such as Congress.
Finally, placing police in charge of managing the expression of opinion suggests that the state now identifies as a threat any opinion-forming activity not authorized by the state. This has profound consequences. It means that individual conscience is identified as a threat. A conscience in a person or a people is necessarily a rejection of absolute authority or tyranny and a claim to think and to be.
The suppression of these two women’s opinions reveals how dangerous the present situation is. The views of people and their public expression are now deemed a security risk that warrant the use of force by police under executive command.
Evidence of the abject failure of the U.S. system of governance, this is nothing short of an open move toward tyranny, of open rule by the police and military forces over and against civilian authority and civilians themselves. It is in fact the government and their police that threaten the public, and the growing and strengthening of the poeples forces that can contend with this most dangerous and backward looking development.
Read the complete article
Events Calendar
BUFFALO
REVOLUTIONARY ART OF HAITIAN VODOU
February 11, 7-9PM
El Buen Amigo/Latin American Cultural Center
114 Elmwood Ave.
Call 885-6343
THE 4TH ANNUAL WNY BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
February 11,18 & 25
Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre 639 Main St.
Opening Day & Reception
Saturday, February 11, 7PM
THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON
Free film screenings
Sunday, February 12, 7PM
271 Grant St.
Monday, February 13, 7PM
Paul Robeson Theater, African American Cultural Center
350 Masten Ave.
Contact Arissa: (716) 796-5460
BOOKS AND TALK TO SPARK A PRAIRIE FIRE
Chesa Boudin speaking on Venezuela and youth activism
February 25, 3PM
Rust Belt Books
202 Allen St.
Saturday, February 26, 3PM
Talking Leaves Books
951 Elmwood Ave.
Call 881-1812
GERRY ADAMS
Sinn Fein President and Member of Parliament
West Belfast, Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17
ROCHESTER
GET ON THE BUS
Stop Pataki’s State Budget
Tuesday, February 28
Call Metro Justice to reserve
your seat today
325-2560
REALITY OF WAR TOUR: TRUTH AND RESISTANCE FROM THE FRONT LINES
Not Your Soldier!
Wednesday, February 22, 7PM
First Universalist Church
150 S. Clinton Ave.
Speakers include veterans, activists and the co-founder of Bring Them Home Now!
Call 256-3458
NATIONAL
MARCH 18-19: GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR
No to U.S. War and Aggression!
Bring All the Troops Home Now!
Local Actions Nationwide
Now Being Organized—Join in!
Read the complete article
REVOLUTIONARY ART OF HAITIAN VODOU
February 11, 7-9PM
El Buen Amigo/Latin American Cultural Center
114 Elmwood Ave.
Call 885-6343
THE 4TH ANNUAL WNY BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
February 11,18 & 25
Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre 639 Main St.
Opening Day & Reception
Saturday, February 11, 7PM
THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON
Free film screenings
Sunday, February 12, 7PM
271 Grant St.
Monday, February 13, 7PM
Paul Robeson Theater, African American Cultural Center
350 Masten Ave.
Contact Arissa: (716) 796-5460
BOOKS AND TALK TO SPARK A PRAIRIE FIRE
Chesa Boudin speaking on Venezuela and youth activism
February 25, 3PM
Rust Belt Books
202 Allen St.
Saturday, February 26, 3PM
Talking Leaves Books
951 Elmwood Ave.
Call 881-1812
GERRY ADAMS
Sinn Fein President and Member of Parliament
West Belfast, Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17
ROCHESTER
GET ON THE BUS
Stop Pataki’s State Budget
Tuesday, February 28
Call Metro Justice to reserve
your seat today
325-2560
REALITY OF WAR TOUR: TRUTH AND RESISTANCE FROM THE FRONT LINES
Not Your Soldier!
Wednesday, February 22, 7PM
First Universalist Church
150 S. Clinton Ave.
Speakers include veterans, activists and the co-founder of Bring Them Home Now!
Call 256-3458
NATIONAL
MARCH 18-19: GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR
No to U.S. War and Aggression!
Bring All the Troops Home Now!
Local Actions Nationwide
Now Being Organized—Join in!
Read the complete article
Source of More Insecurity: Keep Police Out of Our Schools
Buffalo’s mayor and school superintendent recently announced that Buffalo police will have a greater presence in and around the city’s public schools. Initially, the police presence will focus on Burgard, Grover Cleveland, Lafayette and Riverside. Students arriving at schools the following day saw many squad cars at their schools. Superintendent James A. Williams emphasized that police in the schools is simply “how we live now.”
In addition to an increased police presence, inside and outside the schools, the police department’s nine-member Flex Squad, used for “trouble spots” will also be focused on city public schools.
There is little evidence that police prevent violence, in the schools or the communities. There are many examples, such as the most recent one of an 8th grader killed by a SWAT team, showing they are a main source of violence.
The problem is not individual police officers or simply their presence. Rather, it is a culture of violence and impunity by government at all levels. It is the orientation that says the violence of social problems, like poverty and widespread youth unemployment, is acceptable. As Williams says, this social violence is simply “how we live now.” More police does nothing to deal with these problems. How then can it stop violence?
Buffalo teachers know well that a main source of problems among the youth is the repeated attacks on the youth by government — such as the wrecking of their schools, the large classes imposed, the lack of books and basic resources. As well there is the high level of poverty, unemployment, and lack of recreational facilities. Targeting these problems and increasing funding to education and the needs of youth more generally is what will actually assist. Instead, these social problems are turned into law and order issues and the only solution given is more police and more repression. This is a dangerous direction.
More police in and around the schools will give rise to more violence against the youth, including police brutality and killings. This is what life is already telling, in Buffalo, in Florida, across the country. What is needed is to keep police out of the schools and increase funding for education and all social needs. What is needed is defending the rights of the youth and teachers.
Read the complete article
In addition to an increased police presence, inside and outside the schools, the police department’s nine-member Flex Squad, used for “trouble spots” will also be focused on city public schools.
There is little evidence that police prevent violence, in the schools or the communities. There are many examples, such as the most recent one of an 8th grader killed by a SWAT team, showing they are a main source of violence.
The problem is not individual police officers or simply their presence. Rather, it is a culture of violence and impunity by government at all levels. It is the orientation that says the violence of social problems, like poverty and widespread youth unemployment, is acceptable. As Williams says, this social violence is simply “how we live now.” More police does nothing to deal with these problems. How then can it stop violence?
Buffalo teachers know well that a main source of problems among the youth is the repeated attacks on the youth by government — such as the wrecking of their schools, the large classes imposed, the lack of books and basic resources. As well there is the high level of poverty, unemployment, and lack of recreational facilities. Targeting these problems and increasing funding to education and the needs of youth more generally is what will actually assist. Instead, these social problems are turned into law and order issues and the only solution given is more police and more repression. This is a dangerous direction.
More police in and around the schools will give rise to more violence against the youth, including police brutality and killings. This is what life is already telling, in Buffalo, in Florida, across the country. What is needed is to keep police out of the schools and increase funding for education and all social needs. What is needed is defending the rights of the youth and teachers.
Read the complete article
“Shoot to Kill” in the Name of Security
- A Buffalo teacher -
On January 13, an eighth grader at suburban Milwee Middle School, in Longwood, Florida, was shot by police and died two days later. The student, 15-year-old Christopher Penley, was chased, cornered in a bathroom and then shot by a SWAT team for bringing a plastic BB gun to school. He injured no one.
The police claim they did not know the toy was not a real pistol until after they shot Penley. Ralph Penley, the boy’s father, however, contacted authorities with his cell phone upon learning what was happening at his son’s school to notify them that the gun was not real. Mr. Penley came to the school, but he was not allowed to enter the school, nor were any efforts made for him to communicate with his son.
It is well known that loved ones play a key role in assisting police to safely end situations like this without the use of force. News reports claim there were police negotiators on the scene, but it is not clear that they were utilized.
All the norms of public safety and service were thrown out the window and replaced by deadly force as soon as the police arrived. Jim Pasco, the executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police said of the shooting: “These officers made a judgment when confronted by an armed individual and they did what they were trained to do, which is shoot to kill. I am not aware of any policy that calls for anything less than shooting to kill. It just isn’t done.” The message to all youth is clear: If you cross us, you will be killed.
The norm of non-violent conflict resolution, taught to every kid these days, is being eliminated. The norm of calling on loved ones for help, of negotiating without use of force is being eliminated. The norm of gathering accurate information, of calmly making informed, rational decisions is being eliminated. All of these norms are being replaced by police impunity.
This brutal shooting in a public school shows that government impunity, from the President on down, is impacting -local police and situations in our schools. And at a time when police are becoming more violent, school officials are calling to have more police in our schools! This will only mean greater insecurity and violence, as this and similar incidents show.
The police and the monopoly media have tried desperately to justify the shooting by claiming Penley pointed the BB gun at the officer who shot him. Since when does the safety of police officers come first? The police are duty bound to protect and serve the public, not themselves. It is their job to put their lives on the line for the public they have sworn to protect. Imagine a firefighter pointing to a burning building and saying, “I’m not going in there! I might get hurt!”
A sixteen-year SWAT team veteran, with full body armor, and armed to the teeth can’t get a BB gun away from an eighth grader? This was not protecting and serving, it was a cowardly execution. Anyone who has any familiarity with handling firearms, which this officer would have had vast amounts of, knows that a handgun is very difficult to shoot accurately, even for professionals, and even at shortened distances. Even if the pistol was real, there is no way an out-of-breath, scared kid with no weapons training, cornered in a school bathroom is going to be able to carefully aim, slowly squeeze off a shot, and actually hit a living, breathing, moving target all within the time it would have taken for the officer to calmly walk over and grab the gun out of the kid’s hand.
Impunity is the order of the day. For the people, there is no security with “increased security measures,” like police in the schools and shoot-to-kill orders as the accepted practice. The only source of real security for the people rests with the people themselves. We need to keep the police out of our schools!
Read the complete article
On January 13, an eighth grader at suburban Milwee Middle School, in Longwood, Florida, was shot by police and died two days later. The student, 15-year-old Christopher Penley, was chased, cornered in a bathroom and then shot by a SWAT team for bringing a plastic BB gun to school. He injured no one.
The police claim they did not know the toy was not a real pistol until after they shot Penley. Ralph Penley, the boy’s father, however, contacted authorities with his cell phone upon learning what was happening at his son’s school to notify them that the gun was not real. Mr. Penley came to the school, but he was not allowed to enter the school, nor were any efforts made for him to communicate with his son.
It is well known that loved ones play a key role in assisting police to safely end situations like this without the use of force. News reports claim there were police negotiators on the scene, but it is not clear that they were utilized.
All the norms of public safety and service were thrown out the window and replaced by deadly force as soon as the police arrived. Jim Pasco, the executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police said of the shooting: “These officers made a judgment when confronted by an armed individual and they did what they were trained to do, which is shoot to kill. I am not aware of any policy that calls for anything less than shooting to kill. It just isn’t done.” The message to all youth is clear: If you cross us, you will be killed.
The norm of non-violent conflict resolution, taught to every kid these days, is being eliminated. The norm of calling on loved ones for help, of negotiating without use of force is being eliminated. The norm of gathering accurate information, of calmly making informed, rational decisions is being eliminated. All of these norms are being replaced by police impunity.
This brutal shooting in a public school shows that government impunity, from the President on down, is impacting -local police and situations in our schools. And at a time when police are becoming more violent, school officials are calling to have more police in our schools! This will only mean greater insecurity and violence, as this and similar incidents show.
The police and the monopoly media have tried desperately to justify the shooting by claiming Penley pointed the BB gun at the officer who shot him. Since when does the safety of police officers come first? The police are duty bound to protect and serve the public, not themselves. It is their job to put their lives on the line for the public they have sworn to protect. Imagine a firefighter pointing to a burning building and saying, “I’m not going in there! I might get hurt!”
A sixteen-year SWAT team veteran, with full body armor, and armed to the teeth can’t get a BB gun away from an eighth grader? This was not protecting and serving, it was a cowardly execution. Anyone who has any familiarity with handling firearms, which this officer would have had vast amounts of, knows that a handgun is very difficult to shoot accurately, even for professionals, and even at shortened distances. Even if the pistol was real, there is no way an out-of-breath, scared kid with no weapons training, cornered in a school bathroom is going to be able to carefully aim, slowly squeeze off a shot, and actually hit a living, breathing, moving target all within the time it would have taken for the officer to calmly walk over and grab the gun out of the kid’s hand.
Impunity is the order of the day. For the people, there is no security with “increased security measures,” like police in the schools and shoot-to-kill orders as the accepted practice. The only source of real security for the people rests with the people themselves. We need to keep the police out of our schools!
Read the complete article
Police Gun Down Eighth Grader
On the morning of Friday, January 13, 15-year-old Christopher Penley of Winter Springs, Florida was shot by members of the local SWAT team. More than 40 officers were involved in cornering and isolating him in the bathroom of his public school. The school, with 1,100-students, was put in lockdown, like a prison (no one allowed in or out and all classroom and building doors locked).
Christopher had only a plastic pellet (BB) gun (a nonlethal weapon). He had not injured anyone. There were no other youth or teachers in danger at the time he was shot. There was a well-armed and trained SWAT team that had him surrounded and isolated when they shot him. Police claimed he pointed the gun at them and that this justified shooting him at point-blank range. As police themselves stated, there is no policy that “calls for anything less than shooting to kill.”
His parents, Ralph and Donna Penley, made an effort to intervene to talk with their son. The police prevented them from doing so. The Penley’s also repeatedly told police the weapon was a fake. It is generally agreed by family, school and church people who knew Christopher that if his parents had been able to speak with him, they would have been able to resolve the problem without violence.
Christopher Penley died from massive injuries to the brain, on Sunday, January 15. Family and friends held a vigil for him that day.
His family and the entire community are devastated and angry at his senseless killing and the clear police impunity to use violence. More than 200 mourners, including three busloads of students, crowded Northland Community Church for Christopher’s service.
Police continue to justify the -killing as a legitimate use of force. They refuse to admit any guilt, apologize, or offer any reparations. When students returned to classes on Tuesday, the school was filled with deputies and extra security officers. Already, as a daily occurrence, the school forces students to go through metal detectors and have their backpacks checked. Governor Jeb Bush, on Monday, January 16, emphasized that metal detectors, backpack searches and police in schools are not enough. “Quick and certain punishment” is needed, he said.
Read the complete article
Christopher had only a plastic pellet (BB) gun (a nonlethal weapon). He had not injured anyone. There were no other youth or teachers in danger at the time he was shot. There was a well-armed and trained SWAT team that had him surrounded and isolated when they shot him. Police claimed he pointed the gun at them and that this justified shooting him at point-blank range. As police themselves stated, there is no policy that “calls for anything less than shooting to kill.”
His parents, Ralph and Donna Penley, made an effort to intervene to talk with their son. The police prevented them from doing so. The Penley’s also repeatedly told police the weapon was a fake. It is generally agreed by family, school and church people who knew Christopher that if his parents had been able to speak with him, they would have been able to resolve the problem without violence.
Christopher Penley died from massive injuries to the brain, on Sunday, January 15. Family and friends held a vigil for him that day.
His family and the entire community are devastated and angry at his senseless killing and the clear police impunity to use violence. More than 200 mourners, including three busloads of students, crowded Northland Community Church for Christopher’s service.
Police continue to justify the -killing as a legitimate use of force. They refuse to admit any guilt, apologize, or offer any reparations. When students returned to classes on Tuesday, the school was filled with deputies and extra security officers. Already, as a daily occurrence, the school forces students to go through metal detectors and have their backpacks checked. Governor Jeb Bush, on Monday, January 16, emphasized that metal detectors, backpack searches and police in schools are not enough. “Quick and certain punishment” is needed, he said.
Read the complete article
Demand Reading Room Stay Open: Arissa in Need of Support
- Arissa -
As of this morning (Friday, February 3rd, 2006) at 11:30 am, due to pressure from [the Buffalo News], Buffalo City Council Member Nick Bonifacio, and sources unknown, Arissa is no longer involved in the reading room at the former NW Branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library building at 271 Grant Street in Buffalo’s West Side and those resources are closed to the public until further notice.
A lease agreement for the building was recently granted, with assistance from Buffalo City Council Member Nick Bonifacio, to the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) who Arissa has had a strong, long-standing and positive relationship with. MAP kindly opened its doors to organizations that it has partnered with in the past, including Arissa, and Arissa and MAP worked out an arrangement where Arissa would volunteer to run a reading room in the building, keeping the doors open to the public from noon to five pm, Monday through Saturday, fulfilling a responsibility that MAP was unable to take on in addition to the good community services they already maintain. Arissa has been in the building since January 30 alphabetizing and reorganizing the former library collection as well as receiving new donations from community residents.
Somehow, a private email sent out only to our mailing list of exactly fifty people made its way to the desk of the Buffalo News. The email stated that Arissa was to open a reading room to the public with a section of books focusing on social justice issues at the former library building in our neighborhood. Apparently this raised red flags to the Buffalo News because Arissa engages in “revolutionary” community -organizing.
On February 1, the Buffalo News contacted Bonifacio and MAP to do a story that aimed to discredit the work that Arissa does, and by association, the work being done by MAP and other organizations that are now operating out of the former library building. Later that evening, MAP, Bonifacio and Arissa met in an attempt to resolve the situation and the next morning, February 2, [a Buffalo News reporter] came to the library to interview MAP and Arissa. As the interview with Arissa progressed, the reporter stressed that Leslie James Pickering of Arissa has spoken in support of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) in years past and that Arissa has published a book on the ELF and a graduate study entitled “The Logic of Political Violence”, which is an ethical study on social change strategy.
The [Buffalo News] is clearly trying to capitalize on recent national exposure of arrests made on ELF actions and gain local credibility by creating inaccurate and tenuous associations between violence and Arissa’s community organizing efforts. This is not only propagation of misinformation, but it results in the re-closing of an important public facility for the community. This is exemplary of the current climate of repression and consequential fear being maintained by the government and media.
Arissa’s work is to develop a model of revolutionary community organizing in our neighborhood. Arissa has conducted a Community Needs Assessment Survey, organized a public forum on the Erie County Budget Crisis where two county legislators met with over fifty community residents, and has been holding monthly multi-media presentations covering topics such as the Black Panther Party, the Attica Prison uprising, Malcolm X, the Puerto Rican Young Lords, Assata Shakur and other similar topics focusing on social justice struggle for well over a year.
Arissa makes no attempt to hide or disguise our stance on the need for revolutionary change, and works to educate our community on this need and our ability to change the circumstances we suffer from. Arissa has been upfront in our belief that the closing of fifteen public libraries in our county is a crime against the peoples’ right to education, and in effort to preserve that right in our neighborhood, took on the opportunity to keep the facility open to the people as well as provide the additional resource of a collection of materials focusing on social justice related issues.
Arissa needs your support. We expect [the Buffalo News] article to be published very soon, possibly this weekend. Please watch for the article and promptly respond with letters to the editor expressing your support for Arissa and exposing this blatant repression. We are seeking counter articles covering this story from other local papers interested in supporting positive community organizing and exposing the Buffalo News. We are also still seeking donations of books and other materials of a social justice orientation for a public library in commemoration of Martin Gonzalez Sostre, which we still intend to open to the public at another location as it becomes available. Thank you to everyone who has made book donations so far and to everyone for your continued support.
Read the complete article
As of this morning (Friday, February 3rd, 2006) at 11:30 am, due to pressure from [the Buffalo News], Buffalo City Council Member Nick Bonifacio, and sources unknown, Arissa is no longer involved in the reading room at the former NW Branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library building at 271 Grant Street in Buffalo’s West Side and those resources are closed to the public until further notice.
A lease agreement for the building was recently granted, with assistance from Buffalo City Council Member Nick Bonifacio, to the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) who Arissa has had a strong, long-standing and positive relationship with. MAP kindly opened its doors to organizations that it has partnered with in the past, including Arissa, and Arissa and MAP worked out an arrangement where Arissa would volunteer to run a reading room in the building, keeping the doors open to the public from noon to five pm, Monday through Saturday, fulfilling a responsibility that MAP was unable to take on in addition to the good community services they already maintain. Arissa has been in the building since January 30 alphabetizing and reorganizing the former library collection as well as receiving new donations from community residents.
Somehow, a private email sent out only to our mailing list of exactly fifty people made its way to the desk of the Buffalo News. The email stated that Arissa was to open a reading room to the public with a section of books focusing on social justice issues at the former library building in our neighborhood. Apparently this raised red flags to the Buffalo News because Arissa engages in “revolutionary” community -organizing.
On February 1, the Buffalo News contacted Bonifacio and MAP to do a story that aimed to discredit the work that Arissa does, and by association, the work being done by MAP and other organizations that are now operating out of the former library building. Later that evening, MAP, Bonifacio and Arissa met in an attempt to resolve the situation and the next morning, February 2, [a Buffalo News reporter] came to the library to interview MAP and Arissa. As the interview with Arissa progressed, the reporter stressed that Leslie James Pickering of Arissa has spoken in support of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) in years past and that Arissa has published a book on the ELF and a graduate study entitled “The Logic of Political Violence”, which is an ethical study on social change strategy.
The [Buffalo News] is clearly trying to capitalize on recent national exposure of arrests made on ELF actions and gain local credibility by creating inaccurate and tenuous associations between violence and Arissa’s community organizing efforts. This is not only propagation of misinformation, but it results in the re-closing of an important public facility for the community. This is exemplary of the current climate of repression and consequential fear being maintained by the government and media.
Arissa’s work is to develop a model of revolutionary community organizing in our neighborhood. Arissa has conducted a Community Needs Assessment Survey, organized a public forum on the Erie County Budget Crisis where two county legislators met with over fifty community residents, and has been holding monthly multi-media presentations covering topics such as the Black Panther Party, the Attica Prison uprising, Malcolm X, the Puerto Rican Young Lords, Assata Shakur and other similar topics focusing on social justice struggle for well over a year.
Arissa makes no attempt to hide or disguise our stance on the need for revolutionary change, and works to educate our community on this need and our ability to change the circumstances we suffer from. Arissa has been upfront in our belief that the closing of fifteen public libraries in our county is a crime against the peoples’ right to education, and in effort to preserve that right in our neighborhood, took on the opportunity to keep the facility open to the people as well as provide the additional resource of a collection of materials focusing on social justice related issues.
Arissa needs your support. We expect [the Buffalo News] article to be published very soon, possibly this weekend. Please watch for the article and promptly respond with letters to the editor expressing your support for Arissa and exposing this blatant repression. We are seeking counter articles covering this story from other local papers interested in supporting positive community organizing and exposing the Buffalo News. We are also still seeking donations of books and other materials of a social justice orientation for a public library in commemoration of Martin Gonzalez Sostre, which we still intend to open to the public at another location as it becomes available. Thank you to everyone who has made book donations so far and to everyone for your continued support.
Read the complete article
Upcoming Events
BUFFALO
NICKEL CITY POETRY SLAM
Friday, February 3, 7PM
Albright Knox Art Gallery, Clifton Hall, Elmwood Ave.
$25 prize and a chance to be on the team representing Buffalo at the national competition this summer in Austin, Texas.
LIVING WAGE ACTION NATIONAL TOUR
Saturday and Sunday
February 4 & 5, 12-5PM
Park 440, North Campus, UB
“Find out how we can fight with campus workers to win Justice for Janitors”
UB Students Against SweatShops
W.E.B. DUBOIS AND BOOKER T. WASHINGTON DEBATE
Friday, February 10, 7-9PM
Buffalo Museum of Science
Presenters: Dr. Henry Taylor and George B. Alexander
Performances: Paul Robeson Theatre Troop and Njozi Poets
$25 Advanced tickets only
Call 510-3026 or 897-0442
Proceeds to benefit The Challenger
REVOLUTIONARY ART OF HAITIAN VODOU
February 11, 7-9PM
El Buen Amigo/Latin American Cultural Center
114 Elmwood Ave
Call 885-6343
THE 4TH ANNUAL WNY BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
February 11,18 & 25
Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre 639 Main St.Opening Day & Reception Saturday
February 11, 7PM
“The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till” with two short films “A Christmas Wish” & “The Male Groupie”
Saturday, February 18, 2PM, “Love Trap”
Saturday, February 25, 2PM, “Letter to the President”
Call (716)894-0914
Email: buffalodst@hotmail.com
THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON
Free film screenings
Sunday, February 12, 7PM
at former NW Public Library, 271 Grant Street
and
Monday, February 13, 7PM
Paul Robeson Theater, African American Cultural Center
350 Masten Avenue
Contact Arissa: (716) 796-5460
ROCHESTER
STAND AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR AND OCCUPATION!
Sunday, February 5, 12-1:30PM
Portland Ave and E. Ridge Rd., Irondequoit
HAMILTON
PHOTOJOURNALIST PRESENTING ON SITUATION IN WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP
Building HSC 1A6, McMaster University
Monday, February 6, 6PM
Suggested donation: $1-5
McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice
NATIONAL
MARCH 18-19: GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR
No to U.S. War and Aggression!
Bring All the Troops Home Now!
Local Actions Nationwide Now Being
Organized—Join in!
Read the complete article
NICKEL CITY POETRY SLAM
Friday, February 3, 7PM
Albright Knox Art Gallery, Clifton Hall, Elmwood Ave.
$25 prize and a chance to be on the team representing Buffalo at the national competition this summer in Austin, Texas.
LIVING WAGE ACTION NATIONAL TOUR
Saturday and Sunday
February 4 & 5, 12-5PM
Park 440, North Campus, UB
“Find out how we can fight with campus workers to win Justice for Janitors”
UB Students Against SweatShops
W.E.B. DUBOIS AND BOOKER T. WASHINGTON DEBATE
Friday, February 10, 7-9PM
Buffalo Museum of Science
Presenters: Dr. Henry Taylor and George B. Alexander
Performances: Paul Robeson Theatre Troop and Njozi Poets
$25 Advanced tickets only
Call 510-3026 or 897-0442
Proceeds to benefit The Challenger
REVOLUTIONARY ART OF HAITIAN VODOU
February 11, 7-9PM
El Buen Amigo/Latin American Cultural Center
114 Elmwood Ave
Call 885-6343
THE 4TH ANNUAL WNY BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
February 11,18 & 25
Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre 639 Main St.Opening Day & Reception Saturday
February 11, 7PM
“The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till” with two short films “A Christmas Wish” & “The Male Groupie”
Saturday, February 18, 2PM, “Love Trap”
Saturday, February 25, 2PM, “Letter to the President”
Call (716)894-0914
Email: buffalodst@hotmail.com
THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON
Free film screenings
Sunday, February 12, 7PM
at former NW Public Library, 271 Grant Street
and
Monday, February 13, 7PM
Paul Robeson Theater, African American Cultural Center
350 Masten Avenue
Contact Arissa: (716) 796-5460
ROCHESTER
STAND AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR AND OCCUPATION!
Sunday, February 5, 12-1:30PM
Portland Ave and E. Ridge Rd., Irondequoit
HAMILTON
PHOTOJOURNALIST PRESENTING ON SITUATION IN WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP
Building HSC 1A6, McMaster University
Monday, February 6, 6PM
Suggested donation: $1-5
McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice
NATIONAL
MARCH 18-19: GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR
No to U.S. War and Aggression!
Bring All the Troops Home Now!
Local Actions Nationwide Now Being
Organized—Join in!
Read the complete article
