Demonstrators Demand End to Abuse at Erie County Holding Center
On Wednesday Afternoon, in the midst of a blizzard, about 30 Buffalonians came out to protest conditions at the Erie County Holding Center. Today's protest was exceptionally emotional as it comes the weekend after another inmate committed suicide, the 5th hanging suicide since 2007 and the 11th overall in the center since 2003. The inmate was a 26 year old heroin user in withdrawal named Dan Nye.
Indy TV #33: Community Education Task Force on Proposed Mayoral Takeover of Schools
Indy TV #33 deals with the issue of the proposed Mayoral Takeover of the Rochester city schools. Our roundtable consists of members of Community Education Task Force, which formed to oppose Mayoral Control and to put forward alternatives. Dan DiClemente is president of the Union BENTE (Board of Education Non-Teaching Employees. Ryan Acuff is with Rochester Students for a Democratic Society. Bishop Tillman is with Mission Consortium of Churches International.
We agree that there's a lot of issues with the education system, but the problem isn't that we need to have less democracy, but if anything we need more democracy and moves towards ways that empower the community more… more community control over schools not less. So moving towards different reforms such as non partisan elections, participatory budgeting, ways that the community can be more directly involved. -Ryan Acuff, SDS
I'm in opposition to Mayor Duffy being in control of the schools because he does not have the background… Neither have I seen the qualified consulting of people who can help him make such a decision of changing over one of the most important systems in Rochester… that system that trains and educates our children. -Bishop Tillman
Watch Show Here
Indy TV #33 Extra! Interviews with the Community Education Task Force
Barefoot Host Dawn Zuppelli Detained at Canadian Border
Rochester Indymedia journalist, Dawn Zuppelli, was interrogated and detained for over an hour by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) on her way to cover protests at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. Upon arriving at customs at the Vancouver International Airport, she and her colleague Ted Forsyth, also with Rochester Indymedia, were asked the obligatory questions as to why they were coming to Vancouver. Zuppelli was tagged for further interrogation and funneled off to a check point area sometime around 12:05AM on February 10. She was released sometime around 1:15AM. She was taken into a separate room with other agents and passengers. The room was outfitted with sterile metal desks, two sided mirrored window rooms, and plenty of customs officers donning bullet proof vests and latex gloves.
Additional Information: Indymedia Reporter Detained in "No Mans Land" on his way to Vancouver Olympics | Independent media reporter rejected at border - Feb 6
Opponents of Mayoral Control Picket David Gantt's Office
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.
Community Education Task Force Press Conference Opposing Mayoral Control of RCSD
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.
Local Rally in Support of Viva Palestina!
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.
OIympic torch protests: challenging a deceitful tradition
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
Anti-mining activist slain in El Salvador
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 RodrÃguez, 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?
Rochester's New Police Accountability Coalition
A new coalition is forming between many activist groups in Rochester to push for greater police accountability in the city. Initially started by Rochester Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the coalition immediately grew to include members from Activists Against Racism movement (AARM), Rochester International Socialist Organization (ISO), Rochester Against War (WAR), Rochester Declaration of Peace, and more. I talked with members of the coalition about why they joined, what their goals were, and how they view the police.
The name of the coalition is "RPAC", Rochester Police Accountability Coalition. To see what the group is about, come down to the next meeting, Saturday Dec. 12th, 2pm at the Flying Squirrel Community Space, 285 Clarissa St.
Antiwar Activists March In Response To Obama's Announcement
Antiwar activists numbering over 200 once again took to the streets of Rochester, NY to voice their disapproval of continued US involvement in Mideast wars. The march was called in response to President Barack Obama's announcement on December 1 that he was sending 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan