News and Views from the People's Struggle
Insurgents are continuing to mount attacks across Iraq, targeting oil pipelines, military installations and U.S. troops, along with American-trained Iraqi police and guardsmen. As of late February more that 1500 U.S. troops died. Ten times that number were wounded. Reports indicate more than 100,000 Iraqis have died since the invasion.
Minneapolis, MN - At the annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Pride festival here, there was a unique marriage of causes: The struggle against war in Iraq tied the knot with the struggle for civil rights for the GLBT community at home. In a creative act of solidarity, the Anti-War Committee marched under the banner, “I do say no to war!” and offered same-sex couples the chance to ‘Commit to Peace’ and each other, in a ceremony led by an ordained minister.
To mark the third anniversary of the war, and now occupation, of Iraq, people around the globe marched, calling for U.S. troops to leave immediately. In Chicago, 10,000 protesters faced off against 1500 police in full riot gear during their evening march on Michigan Avenue on March 18. This was the first time in three years that organizers were able to get a permit to march on Michigan Avenue.
May 1 marks International Workers Day around the globe. Here in the U.S., immigrants’ rights coalitions called for a National Day Without An Immigrant, advocating no work, no school and no buying to show the impact that the immigrant community has. Millions of undocumented workers and their supporters took to the streets.
Abu Dis, Palestine – Inside a Hunger Strike Solidarity Tent, one of the many erected across Palestine to back the 4500 political prisoners on hunger strike who are demanding decent treatment from Israeli authorities. These women are refusing food in solidarity with their imprisoned husbands, sons and brothers. Many of the women have more than one family member in prison. In almost every city or village, five to fifteen people participated in the hunger strike. The strike came to a successful end in early September when the Israeli authorities gave in to a number of the demands.
#AbuDisPalestine #AbuDis #News #Palestine #HungerStrike #MiddleEast
Minneapolis, MN - 250 people protested here to defend the people of Gaza and Lebanon July 20. The demand was made to stop spending tax dollars to occupy and destroy Palestine and Lebanon.
Protesters looking for change in 2007
St Paul, MN – New Year’s Eve, an evening typically shared and celebrated with our loved ones was overshadowed this year as the death toll of U.S. soldiers serving in the Iraq war reached 3000. About 300 protesters gathered in Minneapolis at the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul on the evening of Jan.1. It was one of 300 other organized events across the country.