Truth, Torture, and the American Way
SUNY BUffalo's Forum on Torture brought Jennifer Harbury, author of Truth, Torture and the American Way, as well as Ezat Mossallanejad, author of Torture in the Age of Fear on Novermber 15.
"Forum on Torture, in the spirit of true democratic discussion and expression, features diverse speakers who together will provide a plethora of knowledge bases and critical analyses in an effort to enable attendees to comprehend their own theoretical, ethical and pragmatic positionings in relation to torture," states the Forum on Torture website.
Howard Zinn, writing about Harbury's book stated, “The word ‘torture' has always brought to mind the Gestapo, or the gulag. Jennifer Harbury shocks us as she confronts us with our own nation's record of torture and brutality, from Latin America to Vietnam to Iraq. She tells the story of her husband's disappearance, torture, and murder in Guatemala, but also presents the testimonies of other torture victims, with the C.I.A. a shadowy, ominous presence. Their stories make us feel shame at the betrayal of our most cherished values, but Harbury is undaunted, believing we must expose the truth and demand that our government not respond to the terrorism of 9/11 with the terrorism of the secret torture chamber."
Listen to Harbury and Mossallanejad now! The lecture will also be aired by Lyn Gerry's Unwelcome Guests.
Additional Information: Washington, DC IMC: Getting Arrested to Stop Torture || DN!: Jennifer Harbury on Why Guatemalan Villagers Refuse Military Aid in Mudslide, Remembering Decades of Torture and Massacres || SUNY Buffalo Forum on Torture || The Memory Hole || CHAIN OF COMMAND: How the Department of Defense mishandled the disaster at Abu Ghraib by Seymour M. Hersh || Torture Forum Presentation-Jennifer Harbury || .MP3 hosted by www.radio4all.net
Trash 'N' Turkeys: The Next After-Mass Event!
November twenty-fourth. That's right—the day after Thanksgiving. The day after the day some of us will be sitting on couches somewhere patting our freshly stuffed bellies. The day after hundreds of thousands, if not millions of turkeys are culled and slaughtered to overfeed folks. It's the day we start the mad dash off to the stores to make sure we get enough—Is there ever enough?—consumables for those we care about over the holiday season.
These themes—the waste of uncontrolled mass consumption and the mass consumption of other living creatures—will be highlighted at the next Rochester Indymedia After-Mass screening.
What: Screenings of Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage and PETA Investigation Footage from the Butterball Turkey Farm as well as a special presentation by Jenna Calabrese, VeganOutreach Northeast Coordinator
When: Friday, November 24, from 7-9PM
Where: St. Joseph's House of Hospitality at 402 South Avenue
Why: After event for Rochester Critical Mass—Ride Daily & Celebrate Monthly!
Refreshments will be served. St. Joe's is wheelchair accessible. Discussion to follow screenings.
The documentary Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, "Explores the history and politics of garbage, a substance both hidden and omnipresent." It is directed by Heather Rogers and is 19 minutes long. We will also be having a guest speaker from Vegan Outreach talk about the mass slaughter and consumption of turkeys as well as screening the latest PETA investigation from the Butterball Turkey farm. Jenna Calabrese is the Northeast Coordinator for Vegan Outreach , and will be working at universities in this area through November 26th.
Additional Information: Check out The Afterlife of Garbage an NPR interview with Heather Rogers, Director of Gone Tomorrow. || Enough, Anti-Consumerism Campaign || Buy Nothing Day || Steal Something Day || The Rebel Sell: If we all hate consumerism, how come we can’t stop shopping? || Institute for Social Ecology || Common Natures, Shared Fates: Toward an Interspecies Alliance Politics by Stephen Best
In Syracuse: Oaxaca Solidarity Event on November 20th
Attention Central, Upstate and Western New York, and all surrounding areas:
Attention all Latin@, indigenous and the many other communities of people in struggle:
This is a CALL TO ACTION against the violent repression of Mexican social movement in Oaxaca.
In response to the ongoing struggle, November 20th has been designated an international day of solidarity for the people of Oaxaca.
In Syracuse, New York, there will be a gathering in Hanover Square followed by a march through downtown Syracuse and a candle light vigil. We are inviting members of many groups and communities in the Syracuse area as well as individuals and groups from surrounding areas such as Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Ithaca and Binghamton. We are all connected in a web of struggle, this is the message we are sending to people all over the world.
What: Solidarity action with the People of Oaxaca
When: Monday, November 20th, at 4:30 PM
Where: Hanover Square in downtown Syracuse, NY
For detailed directions and information, please go to SyracuseOaxaca.co.nr. If you would need somewhere to stay one or two nights, please contact Richard Vallejo at rancidreligion13@hotmail.com or 315-436-5105.
For ongoing coverage of the situation in Oaxaca, please check www.indymedia.org and www.narconews.com. You can also check out Rochester Indymedia.
On the march in a new world, -Your friends in Syracuse Oaxaca Solidarity in Syracuse!
Character Assassination by Local Corporate Media
I first heard about the Reverend Joy Powell when I was helping to organize an October 22nd Anti-Police Brutality Day event. Joy’s name came up because she has done a lot of work in the Rochester community raising awareness about stopping violence by both police and gang members as well as advocating for the victims of this violence.
You can imagine my surprise when I found out that the woman we wanted to have speak against police brutality at our function wouldn’t be able to make it because, well, she was in jail—charged with felony assault and burglary.
This of course lead to a frantic search on the internet for the basic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. My roommate and I came upon a video news clip dated October 11th, 2006 on WROC-TV Channel 8’s website [Quicktime video: Hi-Res or Low-Res]. From the outset you could feel the one-two punch coming. Maureen McGuire set the stage for us. “The news is not good for a well-known Rochester community activist who often takes to the street decrying violence. As News-8 was the first to report the Reverend Joy Powell is now herself charged with a savage attack on her own cousin,†stated McGuire.
Read the rest of the article here.
Joy Powell's Anti-Violence Activism: Gods Holy Outreach Ministries to Bring Local Donations to Hurricane Victims || Lashedica Mason Campaign Press Conference || Rally at the Rochester Police Department || D&C article titled: Vigil held for slain teenager || Joy Powell's Message to the Grassroots
Tim Wise on the Power of Privilege
Tim Wise, anti-racist activist and author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, spoke about white privilege on November 6th to a packed auditorium as part of the annual Four Freedoms week held at St. John Fisher College.
[From the lecture…] It's a matter of really good advice when somebody stands up in front of you and is proclaimed to be an expert on something whether it is an outside speaker like myself, or whether it is a professor in one of your classrooms, or whether it's a politician or a talking head on a television show trying to tell you what to think about something, that it's probably a good practice to get into to asking yourself, if not out loud to others, why is it that I'm listening to this person and not any number of other people to whom I could be listening.
Regardless of the issue, not just race and racism, but the reality is that the person in front of you is not necessarily the most qualified person to give the talk.
Virtually any person of color in this country could get up on this stage or any other… and give this talk or one very, very close to it and have it be every bit as expert, in fact quite a bit more so, because folks of color, unlike myself as a white man, have to understand what racism is as a matter of survival.
Truth is either true or it's not. It is not any more true because I say it; it is not any less true because a person of color says it.
All of those accomplishments [read at Wise's introduction before speaking] are not about my superior intellect or my superior ability they are indeed about being white and almost no other thing. Were I not white I would not be here standing in front of you giving this talk this evening. How do I know that? Well it's really very simple… You see I've been doing anti-racism work for sixteen years… Want to hear more? Check out this link for hour one and this link for hour two c/o Rochester Indymedia Audiophiles.
Want to know more about Tim Wise? Check out his website at www.TimWise.org
Thanks to Tim Wise, St. John Fisher College, and Radio4all.net.
Rochester Indymedia: New, Improved, and Functioning!
As our most dedicated readers are aware, the Rochester Independent Media Center website has been down for some time. We switched our server and our site is now hosted from its new home in Ontario, Canada. As well as switching our server we also did a few software upgrades—and BAM(!)—we have a functional and new(ish) site. Hopefully the site's new look and upgrades will make it easier to navigate and easier to publish articles.
Click here to publish an article.
Click here to upload media.
Click here to publish a link to the Other Press.
Please review our editorial guidelines here.
If you find any SNAFUs, issues, bugs, or just have questions please email the Rochester Indymedia Collective at imc-rochester-editorill@lists.indymedia.org.
Want to join a DIY-journalism collective? Have an organization that is under-represented in the media? Want to create your own media? Come join us! We meet regularly at 7pm every Tuesday, at the TV Dinner Space at 1115 East Main St., Office 368 (3rd Floor).
Find out about important updates and features here!
Paramilitaries Enter Oaxaca: NYC Indymedia Journalist Killed
On Friday, October 27, truckloads of pro-government paramilitaries opened fire on a barricade in the outskirts of the Mexican State of Oaxaca, which has been under local control for the past five months. The gunmen killed five people, including US Indymedia journalist and cameraman Bradley Roland Will, aka Brad Will. According to La Jornada, Will died before reaching the hospital. Among the dead were also: Emililio Alofonzo Fabian (professor), José Alberto López Bernal (nurse), Fidel Sánchez GarcÃa (construction worker), and Esteban Zurita López. Seventeen are reported wounded, including a photographer from the newspaper Milenio Diario, who was at Will's side.
The teachers strike, which began in June of 2006, initially demanded "school uniforms and shoes for all students, more scholarships, and an increased budget for school buildings and equipment," according to an In These Times article published on August 21. Striking teachers and other groups have formed the APPO - the Popular Assembly of the Oaxacan People - and have called for the removal of the governor of state Ulises Ruiz of the PRI.
Since these murders took place, friends of Brad Will and others in solidarity with the people of Oaxaca have made these additional demands:
1. Ulises Ruiz out of Oaxaca!
2. Immediate withdrawal of the occupying federal forces from Oaxaca!
3. Immediate and unconditional freedom for all detainees!
4. Justice for all murdered compañeros and punishment of guilty parties on all levels!
There is a long history of Mexico using government sponsored paramilitaries to repress social movements, including a massacre of hundreds of students in Mexico City in 1968. As reports of protesters surrounded by armed government forces and police continue to pour in, activists in cities around the world are planning protests at Mexican embassies in outcry against the violent aggression against the people of Oaxaca.
Will, age 36, had worked with Indymedia Centers in New York, Bolivia and Brazil, and is believed to be the first Indymedia journalist to be killed while reporting.
Oaxaca Updates: NYC Indymedia || Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) || Oaxaca IMC || Mexico IMC || CML Mexico || Radio APPO (mp3 for Winamp) || transliteration of Radio APPO || The Narco News Bulletin || La Jornada || Por Esto - Titulares de Hoy: A Struggle Oriented Newspaper with constant Oaxaca updates (En Espanol) || Indymedia US || Global IMC || Friends of Brad Will || Indy Bay IMC || deleteTheBorder
Multimedia: Last footage from Brad Will in Oaxaca || Friends of Brad Will Shut Down the Mexican Consulate in NYC || The Battle of Radio Universidad / " Batalla por Radio Universidad" || Multimedia de la rebelión popular en Oaxaca || Chicago Stands with Oaxaca || I Really Like the Cops by Brad Will || DN!: Brad Will 1970-2006: Friends Remember Indymedia Journalist and Activist Killed in Oaxaca || Indymedia On Air: Brad Will and Oaxaca || radiozapote || Photos from the battle in Oaxaca || Radio Planton (Oaxaca) || Radio Sabotaje || Brad Will Slide Show
Additional Information on Brad Will and Oaxaca: Death in Oaxaca: Brad Will's Last Communiqué || Special Edition of the Indypendent: Death of a Journalist: Remembering Brad Will || Teacher Rebellion in Oaxaca || Solidarity and Press Statements on Oaxaca and Brad Will's Death || Testimonials and Tributes to Brad Will || The New York City Independent Media Center responds to the death of Brad WILL || Statement by the Family of Brad Will
TAKE ACTION! Sign a Letter for Press Freedom || Sign a Letter in Support of the People of Oaxaca || Join the Electronic Blockade of Mexican Embassy and Consulate Websites || Send a message to Congress to STOP THE VIOLENCE IN OAXACA! || Send a message to the Mexican Government to STOP THE VIOLENCE IN OAXACA! || Donate
Of Hell Houses and Bicycles...
Just in time for Halloween, Rochester Indymedia, in conjuction with TV Dinner, will be screening the documentary Hell House after Critical Mass!
What: A FREE screening of the documentary Hell House
When: Friday, (TONIGHT!) October 27th, at 7PM
Where: St. Joseph's House of Hospitality at 402 South Avenue
Dress: Costumes if ya got em, but not required!
Why: This is a Rochester Indymedia / TV Dinner after event for Critical Mass
Homepage for Film: Hell House: The Documentary
Discussion to follow; refreshments will be served. St. Joe's is wheelchair accessible.
"Hell Houses are the evangelical Christian church's answer to a haunted house, a Fundamentalist fright night meant to scare the bejesus out of any nonbeliever. These houses of horrors don't rely on the traditional gimmicks of ghosts and goblins. Instead they recreate scenes that graphically depict such modern-day evils as botched abortions, AIDS-related deaths, fatal drunk driving crashes, date rapes, and drug-induced suicides." —From AKPress.com
Rochester Critical Mass meets at the Liberty Pole at 6PM. Rides are slow moving and open to all levels of experience. You can also meet at the U of R clocktower at 5:30PM.
O22: 11th Annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation
October 22 is the National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality and Rochester won't be left out!
What: Screening, Speak-out, and Open Mic against Police Brutality and state repression
When: Sunday, October 22, 2006; 6-9PM
Where: Friends Helping Friends, 333 Child Street, Rochester, NY
Come hear speakers, musicians, artists, and fellow Rochesterians as we speak out against police brutality and state repression in Rochester and around the
United States.
A screening of "CopWatch: A know your rights training video" will also be shown with discussion afterword. Rochester Food Not Bombs will be serving a meal.
Speakers: TBA
Music: TBA
For more info check out:
the October 22nd Coalition
Liberate Rochester
This event was organized by members of the Rochester Anarchist Forum, Rochester Indymedia, and Rochester Food Not Bombs.
Please consider asking your group to cosponsor or table at this event. The event is open to all who care about discussing this important issue.
Contact Andy at 585-305-1594 for more info.
The National Day of Protest was initiated by a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals. We came together out of our concern that the peoples resistance to Police Brutality needed to be taken to a higher level nationwide.
The National Day of Protest aims to bring forward a powerful, visible, national protest against police brutality and the criminalization of a generation. It aims to expose the state's repressive program. It aims to bring forward those most directly under the gun of Police Brutality AND to also reach into all parts of the society--bringing forward others to stand in the fight against this official brutality. And the National Day of Protest aims to strengthen the peoples' organized capacity for resistance in a variety of ways.
Video c/o YouTube: Stop Police Brutality: Inspired by the Stolen Lives Project || Brutal police arrests in NYC, at the 2004 RNC Critical Mass || Video 1 from "Policeman Attacks People in a Club for a Nosie Complaint" || Video 2 from "Policeman Attacks People in a Club for a Nosie Complaint"
Additional Information:
October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation || Stolen Lives Project || October 22nd Coalition--NYC || Police brutality and excessive force in the New York City Police Department: A report by Amnesty International || Stonewalled – Still Demanding Respect! Amnesty International's Campaign to End Police Brutality Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the U.S. || Bad Cop, No Donut! || The Brown Watch || CopWatch || Houston IMC: Policeman Attacks people in a Club for a Nosie Complaint: bass guitar is smashed || Miami IMC: AFL-CIO Rally Urges Florida Atty Gen Crist Probe of Police at '03 FTAA SUMMIT || Chicago IMC: Report Nails Chicago Police for Torture, But Says They Can't Be Prosecuted || Trial By Fire: The SHAC 7 and the Future of Democracy
Root Force Road Show Rolls into Rochester
Root Force: Demolishing Colonialism at its Foundations
An Innovative Participatory Presentation
When: Friday, October 20, 2006, 7pm
Where: Indymedia/ TV Dinner Space
Hungerford Building; 1115 East Main St #368
Enter through door #1
Contact: Chris at 585-489-5796
more info: Root Force Website
What is Root Force?
The Problem:
The Earth is being killed. We are losing cultural and biological
diversity at Astounding Rates,and despite all our efforts,these rates are only
accelerating. The Earth is being murdered by a global system that tortures and murders every human or nonhuman that it cannot dominate. This system kills hundreds of thousands a year in wars for oil and water. It tortures millions of nonhuman animals a year in laboratories and factory farms. It destroys indigenous communities, dispossesses small farmers, enslaves workers in fields and factories, and poisons every living thing with chemicals and radiation.
The question is, what are we going to do about it? Root Force is an innovative campaign making the connection between ecocide and Genocide, creating a framework in which diverse actions target those who enable oppression. this can be achieved by focusing on specific, winnable projects in Latin America. We invite you to come and support Root Force on our road tour.