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Beverly Hills, November 13th: In support of disappeared Haitian grassroots activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, 30+ people gathered in front of the Brazilian Consulate to publicly launch a 24-hour rolling fast.
At least 12 of us had red ribbons on our arms signifying our commitment to forego eating. (Additional fasters, who couldn’t be there, pledged to wear red ribbons as well). Those who could not commit to fasting helped by their mere presence and holding signs to educate the Brazilian Consulate and passersby. (There has also been a call to sign a petition for Pierre-Antoine’s release, which can be accessed
here. )
Throughout the event, we caught the attention of motorists, and there was steady honking. People on tour buses looked at us with interest, as did pedestrians, some of whom stopped to talk to us. There was no overt police presence.
From the newswire:
Message to Brazil: Help Find and Release Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine by Ross Plesset
Activists Drive CIA Agents off UCSB Campus SANTA BARBARA, November 14, 2007 - The CIA was scheduled to hold an “infosession” for students interested in jobs with the agency. Right as the session began, four activists entered the room and began to demonstrate waterboarding, a torture technique used by the CIA. After only one minute of the waterboarding demonstration the room was plunged into chaos by a group calling itself the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army.
The Rebel Clowns, joined by several dozen antiwar organizers took over the meeting room and began passing out information on the CIA’s use of illegal torture techniques and literature related to the agency’s long history of subverting foreign governments, assassinating foreign leaders and subverting democracy.
The CIA agents fled the room but were pursued by a crowd of protestors chanting, “C-I-A, Go Away!” The agents were caught totally off-guard by the direct action. Protestors were overheard shouting to the escaping agents never to come back to UCSB. From the Newswire: CIA Expelled from UCSB Campus by Richard McChesney
The Semi-Tropical Spiritualists’ Tract is a hidden oasis amidst humankind’s wholesale assault on nature. “This is an uninterrupted space from Elysian Park all the way through to our hill,” says Cheryl Parisi, a resident of 25 years. “So all the wildlife is able to traverse from Elysian Park; up along the ridge, which you can see [from] Riverside; and they just come straight into this whole open area. So it’s really magnificent: there are hawks, owls. (We have an owl in the neighborhood.)” The area also has protected trees, including California Black Walnuts.
Cindy Ortiz, another long-time resident, says that one of her neighbors can hear coyotes being born every spring. She herself witnesses another spring phenomenon: “the carpet of morning doves as [they’re] feeding.”
However, this wildlife corridor would be truncated if developer and landowner Henry Nunez implements his plans for 15 two-story homes on two acres in the hillside at Allesandro and El Moran streets. This project has faced harsh opposition by neighbors, and. . .
From the newswire:
Hidden Oasis Threatened by Development by Ross Plesset
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