Gainesville, FL – The Coalition to End the Meal Limits NOW scored a major victory for homeless and poor people’s rights here, Aug. 25, as the city commission unanimously voted to change the controversial meal limit ordinance imposed since 2008. The ordinance, which limited how many hungry people Saint Francis House could feed to 130 a day, was changed to allow everyone meals during a three-hour period. The poor and hungry will no longer be turned away from Saint Francis House while plenty of food remains simply because 130 people ate before them.
Los Angeles, CA – More than 60 people joined a spirited picket line here at the Criminal Courts Building, Aug. 12, to demand all charges against veteran Chicano leader and anti-war activist Carlos Montes be dropped. Montes previously appeared in Alhambra Court July 6, where he declared himself not guilty of six felonies relating to California’s firearm laws.
The recession ain’t over yet, fears of a ‘double-dip’ rise
San José, CA – On July 29, the Commerce Department released its report on Gross Domestic Product or GDP for the Second Quarter (April to June) of 2011. GDP, which measures the value of goods and services produced in the United States, rose at only a 1.3% annual rate, much slower than most mainstream economists expected. Even worse, the First Quarter (January to March) economic growth was cut from an earlier estimate of 1.9% to just 0.4%.
*Fight Back News Service is circulating the following letter from U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) on the repression directed against anti-war and international solidarity activists.*
St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota government shutdown ended July 20 at 9:00 a.m., after Governor Mark Dayton signed a slew of budget bills – the biggest ones passed in the wee hours of that same morning. Many say that Gov. Dayton compromised too much and too soon, leaving poor and working people paying the price for the $5.2 billion budget deficit.
Detroit, MI – 60 people met at an African-American community center on July 16 to discuss the growing movement for the right to free speech, to organize and for civil liberties for all. The National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) organized the event titled, “Resisting Profiling, Preemptive Prosecution, and Prisoners Abuse – a hearing to confront repression of human rights and civil liberties by the criminal justice system.”
St. Paul, MN – Service Employee International Union (SEIU), Healthcare Minnesota and SEIU Minnesota State Council President Julie Schnell condemned the budget compromise reached July 14 by Governor Dayton and GOP legislative leaders.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution that was adopted by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) Executive Board in July 2011. More statements supporting the anti-war, international solidarity and trade union activists under attack by the FBI can be seen at StopFBI.net.
St. Paul, MN – On July 13, members of the Welfare Rights Committee rolled out a huge banner on the steps of the Minnesota state capitol building. The Republicans have pushed the state into a shutdown, throwing more than 22,000 state employees out of work and causing dramatic cuts to state services. The banner reads, “Tax the rich! No cuts to poor and working people!”
Los Angeles, CA – Supporters of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes gathered on July 6 at the Alhambra courthouse in East Los Angeles. Montes appeared in court to enter a plea of not guilty to six felony charges that were filed after a SWAT team and FBI agents raided his home on May 17. More than 60 people came out to picket and rally in his defense at the court and packed the courtroom during the hearing.
Saint Paul, MN – Over 50 people attended a press conference here to stand in solidarity with Carlos Montes, July 6, at the weekly Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge Peace Vigil. Marie Braun, organizer of the weekly actions on the bridge that spans the Mississippi River, said, “We are focusing today on opposition to the FBI raids and ongoing investigation of peace activists here and around the country and we stand in solidarity with them and Carlos Montes.”
Milwaukee, WI – A dozen members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) marched in Independence Day parades for the fourth year in a row over the July 4 weekend. The group of student and youth activists entered parades – without registering – in Whitefish Bay and Shorewood, which are in the midst of a heated recall campaign against Republican State Senator Alberta Darling.
Fight Back News Service is circulating this call to action from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Carlos Montes, of Los Angeles, has been a progressive activist for decades, most recently with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. At the behest of the FBI, Los Angeles sheriffs violently raided Montes’ home on May 17, seizing crates of political items unrelated to the charges. Montes goes to court on trumped up charges on July 6. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is organizing a national movement to defend him.
“We’ve got to stay strong and be ready for whatever the government throws at us next.”
Fight Back! interviewed Jess Sundin, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, on the latest developments in the case of the anti-war and international solidarity activists who were raided by the FBI and who received subpoenas to appear in front of the Chicago grand jury headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Sundin is among those whose home was raided Sept. 24, 2010. The editors of Fight Back! urge our readers to forward this important interview as broadly as possible.
St. Paul, MN – Members and supporters of the Welfare Rights Committee gathered on the steps of the state capitol building here, June 30, unfurling a huge banner reading “Tax the rich! No cuts to poor and working people.” Unless Democrat Governor Mark Dayton goes along with the Republican plan to slash the social safety net, the government will shut down at midnight.
Oakland, CA – About 75 people came to the June 16 rally here to denounce the arrest of Carlos Montes in Los Angeles, and the grand jury subpoenas which are being resisted by 23 other anti-war and international solidarity activists in the Midwest.
Gainesville, FL – A dozen protesters gathered here, June 16, to speak out against the political repression of Carlos Montes, a longtime immigrant and Chicano rights activist. The rally was put on by the Gainesville Committee to Stop FBI Repression and took place in front of the local FBI office. Carlos Montes’ home was raided by Los Angeles sheriffs and the FBI on May 17 and he is facing trumped up charges. The raid on his home is linked to the raids on other anti-war and international solidarity activists that started on Sept. 24, 2010.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the FBI offices here, June 16, to demand that the charges be dropped against veteran Los Angles Chicano activist Carlos Montes. Protest organizers blasted the growing attacks by the FBI and other police agencies on anti-war, international solidarity and progressive political activists.
Chicago, IL – Chicago activists, including those from the immigrant rights and Chicano movements, rallied at the Dirksen Federal building on June 16 in solidarity with veteran Chicano activist, Carlos Montes. Montes was raided by the Los Angeles County Sherriff and FBI on charges of a firearm code violation. They seized his personal effects and over 40 years worth of political movement documentation.
