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.
Mark Burton is the lawyer for Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera. Palmera is a political prisoner of the U.S., currently held in the Florence, Colorado supermax prison. Mark Burton is one of the few people allowed to visit and communicate with him. There is a campaign to Free Ricardo Palmera so he can take part in ongoing Colombian peace talks happening in Cuba. Ricardo Palmera is popularly known as Simón Trinidad in Colombia. For more information see www.FreeRicardoPalmera.org.
Few events expose the utter hypocrisy of U.S. politicians’ grand words about democracy so starkly as their praise for the recently deceased King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. For decades U.S. imperialism and all the imperialist powers have given political, military and diplomatic support to the corrupt feudal family that rules Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of oil.
Minneapolis, MN – As 2014 comes to an end, we pause to look back at some of the most important Fight Back! stories of the past year. 2014 has seen an upsurge in many struggles – and Fight Back! has been there on the front lines with on-the-spot reporting and timely analysis.
We celebrate the release of the Cuban Five – political prisoners held by the U.S. government for 16 years. Their freedom also marks a positive change in relations between the U.S. government and Cuba. Many anti-war and international solidarity activists who worked towards their release are raising their glasses to toast this victory!
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization is pleased to present the Main Political Report, voted on and passed at our 7th Congress in the summer. The three sections – the U.S. Economy, Domestic Political Report and the International Report – describe the societal conditions in which we organize and struggle for a new society. These documents, debated and revised over many months, provide a basis for understanding the basic conditions of life, the forces in motion in society, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the movements for social change and revolution. We ask you to read, comment, discuss and share them. Improving our understanding of how society works will strengthen our leadership of mass groups and positively impact the people’s movements.
Moscow, Russia – One of the largest circulation newspapers in the world is Stars and Stripes, produced by the U.S. Department of Defense. On Dec. 10, it ran an article about the latest anti-Russian war game held by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The article, titled “NATO Land Command Fully Operational, Says Commander” cites Lt. General John Nicholson and declares this “NATO’s largest training exercise since the end of the Cold War.” NATO was created as an anti-Soviet military alliance of U.S. and it’s junior partners.
Eric Garner was an African American man who was murdered by a white cop with the New York City Police Department. The medical examiner ruled the killing a homicide. The video that shows Eric Garner being choked to death in the street – strangled as a gang of police jumped him – has been viewed by tens of millions. You can hear his last words, “I can’t breathe.” Still, on Dec 3, a white-majority grand jury let the killer cop and his accomplices walk free.
Los Angeles, CA – Carlos Montes formally announced his intention to run for the District 14 seat in Los Angeles City Council at a campaign kickoff event held at his campaign office on Nov. 8. Surrounded by family, friends and supporters, Montes spoke to the need for progressive activism in City Hall to address the many issues facing the people of Los Angeles. Montes’ announcement was met with cheers of “Sí, se puede!” from members of the crowd, which included teachers, labor leaders and students.
Fight Back! is reposting the following article on holiday cooking. Steff Yorek is a member of Cooks for a Cause – a group of cooks who do labor-donated fundraising dinners for progressive causes such as Palestine solidarity and immigrants rights.
On Nov. 24, a Ferguson grand jury decision cleared police officer Darren Wilson of the murder of Michael Brown. Michael Brown was an 18-year-old African American youth shot and killed by the white police officer as he walked to his grandmother’s house in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9. Witnesses stated that Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands up in the air when officer Darren Wilson shot and killed him. With blatant disrespect to Michael Brown, his family and the neighborhood, the police left his body lying in the middle of the street for hours after the police killing.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 17 statement from Scott Williams. We remind all progressive activists to not speak with the FBI.The FBI came looking for me today at my family’s house
Milwaukee WI – For the first time in Milwaukee's history, an African American woman is running as a socialist candidate for the office of Milwaukee county sheriff. The following is an interview that that Fight Back! conducted with Walker. For more information about her campaign, see Angela N Walker for Milwaukee County SheriffFight Back! asked Angela Walker to describe her campaign. Here is her response:
Fight Back News Service is urging all progressive organizations to sign the following statement. To add your organization to the statement, please email [email protected].The statement reads in part: “The undersigned organizations support the democratic rights of the Rasmea Defense Committee, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and other organizations to organize broad, public support to drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh.”
¡Por un movimiento militante y de masas para la liberación!
El 17 de Julio, luego de haber ahorcado a Eric Garner, un Afroamericano padre de seis hijos, los agentes de la policía de New York decidieron revisarle los bolsillos antes de llamar a la ambulancia. Tres semanas después, el oficial Darren Wilson en la ciudad de Ferguson, Missouri mato de seis disparos al joven Michael Brown, dejando su cuerpo tirado en la calle sin llamar por ayuda médica. Por más de una semana la policía se negó a liberar el nombre del oficial Wilson y se rehusó a entregar el reporte oficial. Todo esto demuestra que también pretenden encubrir la verdad sobre el asesinato de Michael Brown.
