(July 13, 2003) “This is Bonnie to Security. We have some people here passing out something,” said a festival official into a cell phone about to kick out a handful of activists. After a few minutes of negotiations Bonnie proved to be a compassionate person as she directed the activists to a spot a few feet away, but on the other side of the gate, to continue their prank.
(July 10th) Cynthia Banas, a 72-year-old retired librarian has returned from Baghdad to tell her story. Banas was in Baghdad for six months, from October 2002, until the U.S. declaration that the war was over. It was her third trip to Baghdad as part of the Iraqi Peace Team. She has also served as a human rights observer in Haiti and Guatemala and has fasted for over 40 days to end the sanctions against the people of Iraq
HREF="http://www.iraqpeaceteam.org/pages/iraq_updates.html">Where is Madame Cythia by Kathy Kelly
Cythia will be speaking at two events this weekend along with Ed Kinane, fellow peace activist.
1- People’s Picnic Cookout and Speakout- Free food, hip hop beats and free stylin’ rhymes. Cynthia and Ed will break bread and tell their stories under a shade tree in the park with peace and hip hop activists.
Where: Jones Park, (north of Lyell, between Lake and Dewey)
At a meeting sponsored by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society on July 5, 1852, Fredrick Douglass delivered a speech that took aim at the pieties of the nation -- the cherished memories of its revolution, its principles of liberty, and its moral and religious foundation. The Fourth of July, a day celebrating freedom, was used by Douglass to remind his audience of the shame of slavery and liberty's unfinished business. A good read for July 4, 2003.
Four members of Poor People United, and a St Josephs Catholic Worker, joined The Kensington Welfare Rights Union for an encampment of poor and homeless families and supporters entitled “Bushville II”, on an open lot in North Philadelphia. This tent city will draw attention to the issues of poverty in America July 1st through 4th while fighting for economic human rights for all.
(July 3, 2003) This morning a group of activists, organized by the Rochester Committee on Latin America (ROCLA), loaded the Pastors for Peace truck en route to Cuba with over $2000 for medicines as well as boxes of prostheses, infant medications, computers and bicycles, all donated by members of the community.
HREF="http://www.rochesterimc.org/news/2003/07/721.php">Full Story
Rally To Be Held At East High School
Regents Testing Alert!!!
BOTCHED JUNE EXAMS DEVASTATE OUR KIDS!
Thousands Will Not Graduate Due to Flawed State Exams
Rally To Be Held At East High School
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
3:30 p.m.
Bring your friends, your enthusiasm, your voice and a banner!
The following are results of Commissioner Mills' Regents-for-all testing plan
--Thousands of children in New York State will not graduate this year due
to poorly-designed, unfair Math A Regents Exam. Preliminary results show
less than 30% of children across the state passed.
--Thousands of children in New York State failed the unfair, mean-spirited
Physics Regents Exam. Physics is taken by the top third of students across
the state. Preliminary results show only 50% of these top students passed
this horrendous exam.
--A corrupt State Education Department (SED) manipulates passing rates
for these exams with NO ACCOUNTABILITY to taxpayers, teachers or students. For additional information on the manipulation of test scores, check out the physics' links on this site.
We demand that the State Education Department make the following changes:
--All seniors who failed the Math A exam be exempted from this requirement
and allowed to graduate this year if they maintained a passing average.
--The SED immediately adjusts the rating scale of the Math A exam for all
non-seniors to be in line with other comparable Regents exams
--The SED immediately adjusts the rating scale of the Physics exam to be
consistent with the grading scale for the Earth Science and Biology exams
The entire community is invited to come out and celebrate Juneteenth on June 14, 2003. The celebration will take Place at the Flint Street Field (corner of Flint Street and Jefferson Avenue) --- 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM.
Juneteenth is the holiday observed by African Americans between June 13th and 19th to celebrate all Africans in the United States legally gaining
freedom. It is a celebration of African American history, in honor of the time period when the last enslaved African Americans received word that slavery had ended.
(June 10, 2003) “1 2 3 4, We won’t let you screw the poor,” chanted a crowd gathered in front of the County Office building this evening before the Legislature meeting. The homeless, were joined by social workers, advocates and activists to demand that the Department of Health and Human Services provide the mandated assistance to the poor.
HREF="http://www.rochesterimc.org/news/2003/06/655.php">Full Story
Rochester New York's City newspaper boasts that it represents the region's "alternative weekly." Yet, a recent report regarding three challengers of the status-quo within the local Democratic Party, clearly demonstrates the "alternative" paper's preference for the choice that is perceived as being closest to the mainstream.
A group of local activists, educators, health care workers, journalists and others met again on Friday to continue building a local forum for peace and rights. The two-hour meeting included a review of recent local activist events by participants, and an open facilitated discussion about political strategies and planning for future activities.
