Madison, WI – Thousands of people spent the day rallying against so-called ‘Right to Work’ legislation, Feb. 24. The anti-worker law could pass the legislature as early as next week.

Milwaukee, WI – More than 300 workers gathered in freezing weather here Feb. 23, to rally against proposed ‘Right to Work’ legislation.

Milwaukee, WI – More than 300 union members and their supporters took to the streets here, Feb. 23, to protest an attempt by Republicans to push through ‘right to work’ legislation in the Wisconsin legislature.

Milwaukee, WI – More than 300 union members and their supporters took to the streets here, Feb. 23, to protest an attempt by Republicans to push through ‘right to work’ legislation in the Wisconsin legislature.

Milwaukee, WI – Republican leaders have announced a special session to pass the anti-worker ‘Right to Work legislation this upcoming week.

St. Paul, MN – 15 people braved the cold and wind to say no Cold War with Russia and no U.S. weapons to the Ukraine, Feb 18. The vigil took place on the Lake Street Marshall Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Detroit, MI – Chicago’s 68-year-old Palestinian community leader, Rasmea Odeh, is set to appear in a Detroit federal court for sentencing on March 12, following her conviction on a single charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. On Feb. 13 Federal District Judge Gershwin Drain issued an order denying two motions by Odeh’s defense team. One motion called for a new trial because of a number of legal errors in the court’s rulings in her November trial. Another called for the judge to set aside the jury’s decision altogether.

Tampa, FL – On Feb. 13 the Committee to Stop FBI Repression-Tampa held a sign-holding in support of Rasmea Odeh during the National Week of Action to Defend Rasmea Odeh.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Samidoun -Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Protest vigil and live stream speaking event planned for Feb. 13

Minneapolis, MN – Protests, speaking events and fundraisers are being organized across the U.S. as part of the growing national movement to win justice for Rasmea Odeh. Two events will take place in the Twin Cities on Friday, Feb. 13. First is the weekly Palestine Solidarity Vigil to Demand Justice for Rasmea, 4:30 to 5:30 at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues in Saint Paul, followed by a speech by Rasmea Odeh, via live stream, which will be at the center of an event running from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.

We, the Tallahassee Dream Defenders, call on the City of Tallahassee and the Tallahassee Police Department to end their police terror and over-prosecution against African American and poor communities. Over the past decade, The Tallahassee Police Department has been accused of over 24 cases of police violence and over use of force. They continue to oppress our communities through constant surveillance, violence, racist over-prosecution of African American communities, and stop-and-frisk like policies called ‘Weed and Seed Zones.’

Milwaukee, WI – Over 200 students, faculty, teaching assistants and workers rallied at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Feb. 4, in opposition to Governor Scott Walker's proposed $300 million budget cut. Governor Walker's cuts to the statewide system will force layoffs, fewer courses, the closure of departments and possibly some campuses. The proposed budget will place the UW system under the control of the governor-appointed Board of Regents instead of the elected state legislature.

Minneapolis, MN – Against a backdrop of the new U.S. war in Iraq, the bombing of Syria, the continued U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan and almost daily reports of U.S. drone attacks, a round of spring anti-war events has been called by a coalition of groups.

Professor Al-Arian is a Palestinian American civil rights and Palestine solidarity activist who was indicted in 2003 and put on trial for aiding the Palestinian resistance organization Islamic Jihad. At the time of his arrest U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft held a press conference announcing the professor’s arrest to the nation. In the U.S. war on terror, Sami Al-Arian was the big test case. The U.S. government spent more than ten years spying on Al-Arian and intercepting more than 400,000 phone calls. However the U.S. prosecutors could not get a guilty verdict from jurors on any of the 17 charges. After spending two years in jail while on trial and faced with another trial and more years away from his family, Al-Arian made a plea deal, agreeing to leave the country and going into political exile. Then U.S. prosecutors tried to use their power to punish Al-Arian. Instead of letting professor Al-Arian serve time and leave the country as agreed in negotiations, U.S. prosecutors demanded Al-Arian testify at a federal grand jury in Virginia, which he refused to do based on his agreement with the government. He then was charged with contempt and jailed. Since 2008 he has lived under house arrest and in 2014 the charges against him were dropped. He was deported in early February and now lives in Turkey.

Minneapolis, MN – Attorneys with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis obtained a copy of a warrant Feb. 2 from the Bloomington Police Department that grants police permission to seize private information from the Facebook account of well-known community activist Nick Espinosa.

Chicago, IL – Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at DePaul University held a fundraiser for Rasmea Odeh here, Feb. 3, with over 200 in attendance. Speaker after speaker rose to declare their support for Chicago’s legendary Palestinian woman activist. Odeh, who survived brutal torture and rape at the hands of Israeli prison guards, was put on trial by the U.S. Attorney in Detroit. She faces 10 years of prison and deportation at her March 12 sentencing hearing, for failing to reveal her 1969 conviction in an illegal, Israeli military court, when she applied for citizenship in the U.S.

Washington, DC – At a Feb. 3 press conference in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hong Lei, stated that China is against any meeting between President Obama and the Tibetan separatist leader, the Dalai Lama.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Feb. 3 statement from the Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Jacksonville, FL – 25 protesters gathered at Memorial Park at noon, Jan. 31 to call for an end to U.S. torture practices. The Jacksonville chapter of Veterans for Peace led the rally and demanded the immediate closure of the Guantanamo Bay military base as well as all U.S. torture ‘black sites’ around the world.

Wisconsin on front lines

Milwaukee, WI – Plans to introduce so-called ‘Right to Work’ legislation are threatening to make Wisconsin the 25th state to eliminate all union contracts with mandatory dues as part of employment. Right to Work laws, now covering 24 states, particularly in the South but even in relative union strongholds like Michigan, weaken workers’ rights to collectively bargain, leading to inferior contracts and lower rates of unionization.