Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

SATURDAY around 6:30PM at Puvungna in Long Beach, the Tongva Nation Dancers will have a singing and prayer gathering for the lives lost.

Other vigil and peace solidarity action organizers and participants are encouraged to post information to the Newswire.

The Muslim community is under increasing persecution. The Council on American Islamic Relations has a hate crime hotline.

The American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee has established a fund for the victims of the attack. Supporting this fund will help both the victims of the attack, and Arab-Americans.

It's been reported that the controversial footage of "Palestinians dancing" after the attack may be archived footage from 1991. Read more.

Adults and children are likely to suffer from trauma. The MEDLINE link includes information about coping.

[ Council on American Islamic Relations | MEDLINE: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder | LA progressives call for action about WTC ] While much of America experiences the shock and grief of terrorism, the corporate media apparatus has worked diligently to take advantage of this emotional situation and create a frenzy of hype, war, and untruth. Lacking any real context or truth, many Americans are predictably responding with high emotions, but very little understanding or knowledge of the larger context.

As the situation lurches toward more devastation, violence and deaths of innocents around the world, alternatives to the hype machine must be effective in offering a forum for calm reflection, for thoughtful analysis, for understanding and truth, and for building a sense of community outside the narrow definitions portrayed in the corporate media.

In the past few days, the IMC's open newswire publishing system has allowed a variety of voices to independently express ideas and share information outside these structures of corporate media. Some of these more recent voices on IMC and other outlets are highlighted in the compilation Thoughtful Analysis, Calm Reflection. Participation and sharing is encouraged by all.

[ Thoughtful Analysis, Calm Reflection ] "As African Americans we were not marginalized at these two conferences, although the U.S. government relentlessly attempted to do that to us."

Back home in Los Angeles, Dr. Horne reports on his experiences at the Durban, South Africa, World Conference Against Racism and its sister conference, the NGO Forum. Read the full report here.

[ full report | Indymedia South Africa ] Marc Cooper broke ranks with Pacifica management, blasting their behavior. This didn't mean he joined the Pacifica Campaign, which was treated to its own stream of invective. This reaction was precipitated by an alleged internal memo by him that was circulated to a bulletin board for discussing the Pacifica campaign, and the resignation of Steve Yasko, Pacifica's National Program Director.

[ The original leaked memo | Marc Cooper's response | Pacifica National Program Director resigns ]

The California State Legislature will vote this week on AB 489, a bill designed to ban predatory lending -- abusive mortgage lending practices that devastate low-income families and neighborhoods.

Many Assembly Members' votes are still undecided. “We may see a half dozen assembly members derail this important legislation in response to lobbying -- not to mention campaign donations -- from predatory lenders,” said California ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) Co-Chair Fannie Brown.

The Senate is expected to vote on Monday, September 10, and the Assembly on September 11 or 12. California residents who wish to lobby their Assembly Members should begin doing so Monday, September 10.

[ read more | ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) | ACORN press clips ]

Green Party's Denise Robb Nabs Endorsements