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It was a night of ferocious joy at the Vista Theater in Hollywood, Wednesday, July 23, 2003.
Over 500 people packed the theater to see the premiere of David Zeiger's film, A Night of Ferocious Joy, about the first concert against the war. Laughter, tears, cheers, and thunderous applause accompanied the movie.
After the screening, hot discussion erupted during a panel discussion of speakers featuring: David Cross, Rickie Lee Jones, Rakaa Iriscience, Boots Riley, Ulises Bella & Wil-Dog, St. Clair Bourne, Hassan Hakmoum, Ami Motevalli, and filmaker David Zeiger. The title of the panel disucussion "Art During Wartime: Real Attacks, Real Response," could easily been changed to "Reform or Revolution," as the panel and the audience chimed in on the validity of voting in the upcomming 2004 presidential election. The panel was moderated by Connie Julian of the Artists Network of Refuse & Resist! See Photos.
Jerry Quickley brought the evening to a close with a powerful poem.
The film was presented by Displaced Films, International Documentary Assocation,
the Artists Network of Refuse & Resist, the Not In Our Name Project, and KPFK 90.7 FM.
Without going into detail about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, America has mislead its people onto the warpath throughout it's history. Another deliberate deception to urge Americans to accept the first Iraqi war under the first Bush administration was in the guise of a tearful fifteen year old girl. According to her now known to be false testimony before a Congressional hearing, Iraqi invaders were murdering infants in Kuwaiti nursuries by flinging them out of their incubators. Reporting for PR Watch, John Stauber, author of the newly released Weapons of Mass Deception writes "..that this testimony, which helped precipitate the first U.S. decision to go to war against Iraq, was the creation of the Hill & Knowlton PR firm, and the American people were duped into thinking that Saddam was a baby killer."
Aside from the lies about the purchase of Niger uranium, a host of other mendacious statements from the Bush administration have also gotten some press lately. Not the least of which is Bush's May 1, 2003 claim that the Iraqi war was then largely over. Now Soldiers are dying every day in what Bush's own Generals describe as a guerrilla war. In the mean time, There is much more deciet by the Bush administration coming to light.
Meanwhile Bush's fundraising efforts are met with protestors everywhere the pResident goes. The media watch dog group, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting has issued this media advisory on the subject.
The green party has issued a statement calling for Bush's impeachment and the return of our soldiers by the winter holidays.
Vote To Impeach has been calling for the ousting or censure of the pResident since long before the press and pundits have begun officailly recognizing george's duplicities.
The intersection of Hollywood and Highland was glowing with the light of candles and the voices of the people as aproximately 250 protestors stepped out to say no to Bush's war on our civil liberties, and the ongoing repression of immigrants and people of color in the United States.
Their messages rang out loud and clear:
Stop the Round-ups, Detentions, and Mass Deportations!
Stop Racial and Religious Profiling!
Repeal the Patriot Acts I and II!
Defend our Civil Liberties!
Speakers ranged from labor, lawyers, and librarians, to eyewitness acounts of the terror our government has unleashed on immigrants and their families, as well as anyone else with a voice of dissent.
See photos from the event: 1, 2, 3
For information on upcoming events around these issues contact Not In Our Name at (323) 462-6263, International ANSWER LA at (213) 487-2368, Refuse & Resist-LA at (323) 962-8084, or South Asian Network at (562) 403-0488.
UPDATE! Civil Liberties Defense Coalition Meeting!
This Thursday, at 7pm, the Civil Liberties Defense Coalition, including the ACLU, the Librarian's Union, anti-war and immigrants rights activists, will meet to discuss what to do about the encroachment of our civil liberties by the Patriot Act. Some in the group are calling for the Los Angeles City Council to make a bold and clear statement for a repeal of the Patriot Act. They will meet at this Thursday, July 24th at 7pm at the ACLU building on 1616 Beverly Blv.
"The FBI has the right to obtain a court order to access any records we have of your transactions." Those words mark notices posted by conscientious Santa Monica, California librarians. Similar notices have been posted in several other libraries across the southland. Those signs may be the only avenue of free expression left to our cities' curators when the inappropriately named USA PATRIOT Act rears its ugly head into the picture. Section 215 of the Patriot Act paves the way for law enforcement to peer into our reading habits and internet activity, not only at our nation's libraries but in bookstores as well. Furthermore, the act criminalizes anyone at any of those institutions who reveals that a warrant has been served on their patrons.
The Patriot Act, of course is far more of a threat to our civil liberties than the invasion of our privacy at libraries.
Ann Arbor, Michigan has recently joined 137 other cities and municipalities that have passed resolutions against the Patriot Act. A coalition of local activists are organizing the first candle light vigil in honor of our dead and dying liberties. Join together for an evening of resistence in a candlelight vigil
Saturday July 19th 2003, 7:30 pm Hollywood and Highland, Hollywood
For further information on this issue and the candlelight vigil contact: Refuse & Resist! (323) 962-8084, RandRLA@aol.com; South Asian Network (562) 403-0488; Not In Our Name, lanotinourname@hotmail.com, International ANSWER (213) 487-2368
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The SDIMC is switching over to the MIR software, and will be down until the end of July. (Feel free to post local SD stories to this newswire.)
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