Indymedia Global Network

Worcester will be hosting two Transgender Day of Remembrance (TransDOR) events this month.

Both will fall on Friday, November 20th, 2009.

There will be a non-denominational memorial service held at All Saints Church, 10 Irving Street, at 6:30PM. (Parking lot is off Pleasant Street.) The memorial service will feature guest speaker Raven Kaldera.

There will also be a reception and open mic hosted by the Transcending Boundaries Conference. The reception will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 35 Major Taylor Boulevard from 8-11pm.

Please contact Jesse at jpack25@yahoo.com for more information.

The porch of Stone Soup burned earlier tonight. The Worcester Fire Department contained the fire before there was major damage. The incident is under investigation.

[Full article]

A $10 million lawsuit has been filed by Worcester attorneys Robert Scott, Esq. and Héctor E. Piñeiro, Esq. on behalf of a “John Doe” Worcester resident, charging civil rights violations by the Worcester Police Department and others. The lawsuit, originally filed on July 17th, 2009 and amended on Oct 20th, 2009 returns us to the Summer of 2006 when the Worcester Police Department’s decision to bring the Fox TV Show “Cops” to Worcester led to a major community outcry and the eventual dis-invitation of the Cops TV film crew.

The lawsuit presents the following summary, “This is an action for money damages and other relief arising from the unjustified warrantless invasion of plaintiff’s home on the night of July 19, 2006, by officers of the Worcester Police Department and cameramen of the television show "Cops," during which the officers awakened the plaintiff & menaced him with guns as he lay naked and uncovered on his bed, and the cameramen trained bright lights and video cameras on the scene”.

Community activists originally brought this incident and allegations forward to City Manager O’Brien and Chief Gemme for review, but the community’s concerns were ignored. At that time the plaintiff was attempting to retrieve the video tape, but was stymied by the police cover-up.

[Full article]

At the Grace Conference Room, University Center,
at Clark University

7:00 PM

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

19:00

jueves, el 5 de noviembre, 2009

Mexico Solidarity Network Presents:
“Autonomous Education” from Chiapas to Mexico City:
Urban-Zapatista Links with Patricia Hernandez

Mexico Solidarity Network Presenta:“Educación Autónoma” de Chiapas a la Ciudad de México, D.F.:Enlaces Urbano-Zapatistas con Patricia Hernández

[Full article]

October, 2009

An Open Letter to the Worcester Community,

The announcement over 2 years ago that the City wanted to close our 9 pools angered many in our community. Maybe it upset you. We organized families, teenagers and friends from all Worcester neighborhoods, naming ourselves “Save Our Poolz”. From that beginning, Save Our Poolz worked to teach our leaders how important Worcester’s pools were to our children, families and neighborhoods. We surveyed over 600 neighbors who overwhelmingly (94%) said they wanted pools, not spray facilities. We talked to other cites. We talked to people who build pools. We believe, as so many Worcester residents do, that Worcester’s pools and parks are extremely important and Worcester needed to develop a plan to save them.

[Full article]

In 2004, then-Gov. Romney established the "Commonwealth Fusion Center," making our state part of this national effort to centralize and expand the government's ability to collect and retain personal information on anyone, for the professed purpose of preventing terrorism.

According to the ACLU of Massachusetts which is organizing support for the legislation introduced by Senator Chandler, Senate Bill 931 will prohibit law enforcement from collecting information about individuals' political and religious views, associations, or activities, unless it relates directly to a criminal investigation".

[Full article]

Serious about Peace?
Afternoon of Dialogue on Conscientious Objection and ceremony to become a Conscientious Objector

Friday, October 30, 2009 3:30pm - 6:00pm
Fishbowl Room, 2nd floor Dana Commons, Maywood St.
Clark University, Worcester, MA

If you believe peaceful alternatives to war exist, consider becoming a Conscientious Objector and sign Worcester and Clark's own National Registry for Conscientious Objection.

Join in an afternoon of Dialogue on War Resistance, learn about the history of Conscientious Objection in the US and globally, and hear local CO's (Conscientious Objectors) stories about resisting the Vietnam war.
After Dialogue will be a short break with REFRESHMENTS, followed by the signing ceremony, in which YOU can take your stand for peace.

The National Registry is a national campaign, begun by the Peace Abbey, to promote peacemaking as a practical ideal: a way of living in the present that represents our best hope for the future. It seeks to inspire peace and justice in society by inviting peacemakers everywhere to register their conscientious objection to violence, and in so doing, to share with others their commitment to a peaceful world. The intent of The National Registry for Conscientious Objection is to emphasize one’s absolute dedication to peaceful living and to peaceful resolution of conflict. It is only by committing ourselves to peaceful living that peace will in fact prevail, in our lives and on the planet.

For more information or if interested in becoming one of first 25 people to sign the Registry contact Emily Luhrs eluhrs@clarku.edu

Sponsored by Clark Difficult Dialogues, Clark Newman, Clark Peaceworks, Worcester Catholic Worker House, Members of Worcester Center for Nonviolent Solutions, and The Peace Abbey
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Organizers and residents in the Elm Park Community School Neighborhood celebrated today the renovation of the new Elm Park Community School Soccer Field. The school field had been worn away from frequent use by school students, neighbors playing soccer and WPI sports teams to the point it was frequently referred to as “the dustbowl”. Community organizing by Worcester World Cup and Cultural Exchange Through Soccer leaders successfully focused attention to the field’s deplorable condition.

Today the ribbon cutting ceremony’s microphone echoed with praise for organizers’ hard work, commitment, enthusiasm and “pushing” the City to get the field done. Although true, these words produced a strange feeling for many of the same community leaders and residents in the crowd, whose exact same work, commitment, enthusiasm and “pushing” to have Worcester’s pools repaired has been mostly ignored rather then praised.

[Full article]

Free and Open to the Public

WEDNESDAY SEPT 30 2009

7:30-9:30 PM

Location: JEFFERSON Building, Room 218, CLARK UNIVERSITY

Sponsored by: Clark Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Have you ever wondered what you should do when stopped by the police on the street? In your car? At your house? When and what are the police allowed to search? What are YOU legally allowed to do (or not do)?

Clark Students for Sensible Drug Policy, along with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild Street Law Clinic, will lead a workshop that will give participants a better understanding of their constitutional rights.

We will be discussing searches and seizures, civil disobedience, and how your constitutional rights transfer to the Clark campus.

There will be a Q&A portion at the end of the event. This is your chance to ask the speakers any question you may have regarding your rights. If, for any reason, you do not feel comfortable asking your question at the event, please email it to CLARKSSDP@GMAIL.COM. You will remain anonymous!

In response to the growing community interest in acquiring skills for conflict resolution, and access to educational resources in peace, conflict, and nonviolence studies, the new Center for Nonviolent Solutions will launch on Saturday, October 17, 2009 during a celebration at the Worcester Public Library, Saxe Room, from 9:30-11 a.m. The free and open event includes appearances by Congressman James McGovern, and by Colman McCarthy, nationally known journalist and lecturer, and the announcement of a community survey on the subject of nonviolence.

“We are excited to launch the Center at our upcoming event, when we will celebrate the work of the many existing groups in the Worcester region that encourage nonviolent solutions to conflict every day,” according to Michael True, Chair of the Board, CNVS. “At our public event we look forward to informing local civic, religious, and public school system leaders about the purpose and proposed action plan for the Center, as well as to announce the provocative results of our recently completed community survey”

[Full article]