Over 30 people came out today, despite the biting cold of 5 degree weather, to send a strong message to David Gantt: No to mayoral control. Gantt, a member of the New York State Assembly, has given strong support for Duffy's plan to eliminate the Rochester school board and replace it with mayoral control.

It was really inspiring to see so many people determined to not let their voting rights be taken away. I talked with several members of the crowd about just what motivates someone to walk in a picket line in the windy, freezing cold, Rochester winter.

The Community Education Task Force was formed as follow-up to a parent and community speak out held at the Rochester Museum & Science Center on January 9, 2010, which was attended by at least 150 parents, community activists and others.

It became clear to us that a large group of those who attended the September 9th speak out oppose mayoral control of the Rochester City School District.

• IMC Video of Press Conference
• Mayoral Control Press Conference Interviews (mp3 version) (ogg version)

About twenty local activists gathered in front of the Federal Building on January 6, 2010 in support of Viva Palestina! The Viva Palestina convoy numbers 500 and includes local student and film maker Adriano Contreras. It started in London, England in December. Led by Member of Parliament George Galloway, the delegation traveled through Europe to Egypt, where they intended to cross into Gaza on or around Christmas. The convoy consists of ambulances, trucks, buses and cars full of medical supplies and people. Galloway led a similar group to Gaza last summer, which was allowed to stay for 24 hours in the besieged territory. Viva Palestina is not affiliated with the Gaza Freedom March, led by the American group Code Pink. Both groups however share the common goal of a free Gaza.

In December, members of Genesee Valley Earth First! and others from Rochester participated in demonstrations against the Olympic torch relay in Canada. We did so because environmental destruction knows no borders, and the games have a sordid history of displacing the poor while legitimizing colonialism and authoritarianism. The torch relay itself was born in Nazi Germany to spotlight the fascist government’s supremacist propaganda.


Video: Interviews from Canada

On December 26, Dora “Alicia” Sorto Recinos was murdered in El Salvador—the second anti-mining activist killed in less than a week in the small community of Trinidad in the department of Cabañas. Sorto Recinos was eight months pregnant and carrying her two-year old child when shot after doing laundry at a nearby river. The child, who was also shot in the leg, is currently receiving medical attention. Sorto Recinos and her life partner, José Santos Rodríguez, were outspoken opponents of the El Dorado gold mine, which Pacific Rim, a Vancouver, B.C.-based company, is desperate to open despite widespread community and governmental opposition.

Three anti-mining activists from Cabañas have been assassinated—two in the last week: Alicia Sorto Recinos, Ramiro Rivera, Marcelo Rivera. Read the full article and take action!

Additional Information: Rights Action | Mining Watch | Who Killed Marcelo Rivera?