[act-ma] 3/7 - March 17 Press Conference; 3/12 - Occupation of Washington Begins; 3/9 - Hector Rivas Memorial

Mon Mar 5 19:31:40 PST 2007

in this email:

1) 3/7 - March 17 Press Conference
2) The Occupation of Washington Begins - 1 More Week
3) Get on the Buses for March 17
4) 3/9 - Hector Rivas Memorial - One Year Later the Struggle for Justice 
Continues
------------------------------------------------------------------------

*1) March 17 Press Conference*
*PRESS CONFERENCE*

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:*  
Chuck Turner, Boston City Council, District 7 - 617-635-3510, 617-427-8100
Jonathan Regis, ROSA7053 - Rosa Parks Human Rights Day Comm. - 857-204-7357
Rachel Nasca, Women's Fightback Network - 617-524-1535
Peter Cook , Troops Out Now Coalition - 617-522-6626

*WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 10:00am BOSTON CITY HALL - PIEMONTE ROOM*
** 
*BOSTON ANTIWAR ACTIVISTS TO JOIN FORCES WITH TEAM UNITY TO ANNOUNCE 
PLANS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MARCH 17 RALLY/MARCH ON THE PENTAGON TO DEMAND:*
** 
*BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN!
DEFUND THE PENTAGON - $$$ FOR AIDS, JOBS, HEALTHCARE, HOUSING AND 
EDUCATION!*

City Councilors Chuck Turner, Charles C. Yancey, Sam Yoon, and Felix 
Arroyo, who make up Team Unity, together with a coalition of supporters 
including labor, human rights, anti-war, youth, community leaders and 
activists will host a press conference Wednesday, March 7, 2007 to 
further publicize a Boston City Council resolution opposed to the war 
and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and to announce plans to 
participate in the March 17th rally/march on the Pentagon.

On March 17 tens of thousands of people will take to the streets of 
Washington DC to demand "Bring ALL the Troops Home From Iraq and 
Afghanistan", "Defund the Pentagon - $$$ for AIDS, Jobs, Housing, 
Healthcare and Education". 

On February 14th, by a vote of 8-3, the Boston City Council passed a 
resolution to support a withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan 
and to cut the military budget in order to have the resources that are 
needed at home.  The cuts in local and federal funding for schools, 
housing, youth workers and HIV/AIDS programs are all detailed in the 
resolution.

People will be participating in this demonstration from over 200 cities 
throughout the country.  In Boston buses will depart from Roxbury 
Community College at 10:30pm on Friday, March 16.  For more bus 
information contact the Troops Out Now Coalition at 617.522.6626, visit 
http://www.iacboston.org or http://www.bostonrosaparkshumanrightsday.com.

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the war and occupation of 
Iraq and Afghanistan has cost the people more than $357 billion.  
Besides this financial burden, the war has cost the lives of over 3000 
U.S. GI's, over 650,000 Iraqi people and impacts millions more.  The 
2007 Pentagon budget may exceed 500 billion to perpetuate this so-called 
"war on terrorism", while jobs, health care and education are being 
divested.  In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on February 1967:

/"The security we profess to seek in foreign adventures we will lose in 
our decaying cities.  The bombs in Viet Nam explode at home: they 
destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America...Poverty, 
urban problems and social progress generally are ignored when the guns 
of war become a national obsession."/

Dr. King's words resound with the cries for support from our cities 
today.  With its tremendous focus on the war, the government has 
neglected its own people.  Today, there is broad support across the US 
for Congress to vote against funding the Pentagon and to take a firm 
resolve to not support this war effort.

Locally the March on the Pentagon has been endorsed by Chuck Turner, 
Boston City Council; Tony Van Der Meer, Co-Chair Boston Rosa Parks Human 
Rights Day Committee; Dorotea Manuela, Co-Chair Boston Rosa Parks Human 
Rights Day Committee; Boston Workers Alliance; The Most Rev. Filipe C. 
Teixeira, OFSJC; USW L. 8751, Boston School Bus Drivers; Boston Troops 
Out Now Coalition; Women's Fightback Network; Rev. Franklin Hobbs, 
Director Boston HIV State of Emergency Comm.; Greg-eugene, Chair Boston 
Bayard Rustin Committee; MLK Jr., Bolivarian Circle; New England Human 
Rights Organization for Haiti; ROSA 7053; Voices of Liberation; 
Stonewall Warriors; Boston Stop the Wars Coalition; International Action 
Center; Chelsea Uniting Against the War
------------------------------------------------------------------------
***2) The Occupation of Washington Begins - 1 More Week*
*Encampment to Stop the War
March 12-19+
*
*Blog* <http://encampmenttostopthewar.blogspot.com/>
	*Volunteer* <http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml>*
* 	*Donate* 
<https://mail.action-mail.org/Redirect/troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml>*
* 	*Endorse* <http://troopsoutnow.org/mar12endorse.shtml>*
* 	*Encampment MySpace <http://www.myspace.com/encampmenttostopthewar>*

*Let us know if you are coming to the Encampment*: 
http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml

Dear Friend:

*O*ver the past few days,  response to the call for an *Encampment to 
Stop the War* has been overwhelming.  Students, antiwar activists, 
veterans, military families, community organizers, and trade unionists 
are coming from all over the U.S. to join the Encampment.

Soon, Congress will be asked to vote on President Bush' request for 
another $245 billion for the war in Iraq.  *This will be, in effect, a 
vote to continue the war.  *The current Congress was elected with a 
mandate to stop the war, and the antiwar movement must be in DC to hold 
them accountable for their actions. 

The Encampment to Stop the War will start in one week - March 12 - and 
there is an enormous amount of work to be done in a short period of 
time.  We have an opportunity in the next few days to have a major 
impact, if we work together--here's how you can help:

    * *Let us know if you are coming to the Encampment.*  Use the
      Volunteer form at http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml. 

    * *Volunteer at the Encampment *- we will need hundreds of
      volunteers during the week of the Encampment let us know how you
      can help (logistics, security, medical, greeter, etc) -
      http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml

    * *Donate to to help with the enormous costs of the Encampment *-
      http://troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml.  *If you are not able to
      come to the encampment, help send a youth activist to the
      Encampment to the week- donate for transportation and housing
      costs here <http://troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml>.*

    * *Get the word out *-- forward messages to your email lists, list
      serves, etc.  Download leaflets from http://www.iacboston.org
      <http://www.iacboston.org/> and take them to your school,
      workplace, union hall, community center, or your church, mosque,
      or other place or worship.

Please check the blog <http://encampmenttostopthewar.blogspot.com/> for 
daily updates on logistics, program, actions, and other Encampment updates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*3) *
Can't participate in the encampment? Come to Washington DC for the
March 17 Rally/March on the Pentagon <http://www.iacboston.org/#031707>

*Reserve/purchase a seat on the March 17 buses today!* 
<http://www.iacboston.org/031707/m17.html>

Tickets are $55 + $5 suggested donation to assist those who can't afford 
the full price
Buses will depart from the Roxbury Community College parking lot (corner 
of Cedar St. and Columbus Ave.) at 10:30pm on Friday, March 16 and 
return early in the monrning on Sunday, March 18 (the T will most likely 
not be running)

*
Download March 17 Flyer
* <http://www.iacboston.org/031707/031707_flyer_2.pdf>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*4) Hector Rivas Memorial*
*ONE YEAR AFTER THE DEATH OF HECTOR RIVAS THE STRUGGLE
AGAINST CORPORATE NEGLECT CONTINUES*
** 
*FRIDAY, MARCH 9 - 6:00PM
FREEPORT ST. BUS FACILITY*

It has been one year since corporate negligence caused the death of 
Hector Rivas, a mechanic for the Boston Public School buses.  To 
commemorate the life of Hector Rivas, demand justice and to defend the 
health and safety of workers, students and the community there will be a 
special meeting held at 6:00pm on Friday, March 9 at the Freeport St. 
Bus Facility - Dorchester Ave. and Freeport St.

On March 9, 2006, Hector Rivas, a veteran mechanic for the Boston Public 
School buses and a United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1596 member, died 
while at work as a result of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from a First 
Student service truck.  An Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
(OSHA) investigation found that workers at the Freeport Street Bus yard 
location were exposed to high CO levels.  On April 18, another BPS bus 
mechanic, Miguel Camacho, suffered a shattered pelvis resulting from an 
accident involving an illegally modified airlift.  On Tuesday, November 
14th, 19 persons including students and bus drivers were sent to the 
hospital following the collision of three city of Boston School buses 
resulting from failed antilock braking systems.  Members of families, 
the workers, the students and the communities want to hold First Student 
and the Boston Public Schools department accountable.

for more information contact - 617-524-3507

-- 
*******************************************
Troops Out Now Coalition

Boston:
617-522-6626
iacboston at iacboston.org
http://www.iacboston.org

National Office:
212-633-6646
http://troopsoutnow.org 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://act-ma.org/pipermail/act-ma_act-ma.org/attachments/20070305/82b90752/attachment.html>