ANSWER Coalition organizer Karina Garcia helped lead a large protest against Jim Gilchrist of the Minutemen at Columbia University on Oct 4, 2006. Days after, he stormed off the air on Democracy Now when she debated him. She speaks about that, and of how the virulent racism and hatred of Minutemen needs to be confronted and stopped whenever it occurs because, like their predecessor the Ku Klux Klan, they have support within the ruling class who uses them for their purposes.

Danny Shaw, also an ANSWER organizer, spoke first about Bush’s recent trip to Latin America where he was met with large protests wherever he went and also about the March 17 March on the Pentagon.

Karina Garcia MP3 (16:41 min, 5.6 MB)

Danny Shaw MP3 (8:26 min, 2.8 MB)

Recorded in New Haven CT, 03/24/06 at an Immigrant Rights Forum sponsored by Unidad Latina en Accion and the ANSWER Coalition

Photo: ANSWER organizer Tahnee Stair, Karina Garcia. ULA Organizer Raul Rivera.

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Karina Garcia is Political Chair of Chicano Caucus at Columbia University and was a primary organizer of the anti-Minutemen protest that took the stage when Jim Gilchrist of the Minutemen attempted to speak there in October. A few days later on Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now, Gilchrist refused to debate her and hurriedly left the studio instead. She talks about how the Minutemen are just the KKK without the robes, how they have the support of some sections of the ruling class, and must be confronted and stopped.

mp3 (10:44, 3.7 mb)

Recorded at a Party for Socialism and Liberation conference in L.A. on 11/11/06.

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Juan Jose Gutierrez is founder of Latino Movement USA and a primary organizer of major immigrant rights marches, including the historic march of two million in L.A. on March 25. He talks about the struggle for amnesty and where the immigrant rights movement is headed now.

mp3 ( 11:36, 4.0 mb)

Recorded at a Party for Socialism and Liberation conference in L.A. on 11/11/06.

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Howard University student leader Eugene Puryear speaks on the movement for Black liberation and its relation to socialism, reparations, and the fight to right historic wrongs.

mp3 (12:33, 4.3 mb)

Recorded at a Party for Socialism and Liberation conference in L.A. on 11/11/06.

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Brian Becker is the National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition and a founding member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He discusses what the overwhelming anti-Bush and anti-neocon vote last Tuesday means for the left, and why we need to build a independent people’s movement to create real change rather than let that dissent be dissipated harmlessly by the Democratic Party.

Recorded at a Party for Socialism and Liberation conference in L.A. on 11/11/06. (More podcasts coming.)

mp3 (29:05, 10 mb)

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Besides indulging in the occasional odd blog I also podcast. In fact it was through podcasting that I came upon Polizeros Bob in cyberspace — ie: yours and mein host — in the first instance. Now I got myself an LA franchise.

Among my podcastables is VenSol: the Venezuela Solidarity podcast. VenSol carries reports from Caracas and audio generated by VenezuelaAnalysis

But the podcast also offers a great networking tool and my fellow podcastor Warwick Fry — who works out of NimFM Community Radio here in Australia — runs LatinRadical . In the latest edition, Warwick showcases his new song on Bono — the man from the band U2 — who is sponsoring a game which offers a Venezuelan invasion scenario. Since Bono is touring Australia next month the local solidarity community was keen to mark his visit with protests. What better way than with a song?

Latin American solidarity activism has been big time here since the early seventies when Chileans arrived in exile. Even the current president of Chile — Michelle Bachelet — spent part of her exile here.

So while we may be a world away, like so many world wide, Australians are looking to Latin America for lessons and inspiration. So we get to know a lot here about Yankee imperialismo too.

I was also helping out a new blog that one of the leading activists here has instigated: Bolivia Rising. So if you are keen on “the axis of Evo” maybe you’ll appreciate the translations archived there from the original Spanish.

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Bob Watada is the father of Ehren Watada, the first officer to refuse to serve in Iraq. He speaks of his son’s courageous choice not to participate in an illegal war based on lies, a war which violates the Constitution as well as the Geneva Conventions.

Bob served in the Peace Corps during the 60’s rather than go to Vietnam. He was a draft resister. Years later, he was Exec. Dir. of the Hawaii State Campaign Spending Commission, and his work exposed corruption and kickbacks that led to major politicians going to prison.

Hi style is low-key and relaxed. Then you realize he has a huge command of the facts, as he methodically makes his case that the Iraq invasion was based on lies and deception, is illegal, and must be opposed. He documents the multiple lies of the Bush administration as they pushed for war. I’d forgotten some of the lies, he hasn’t, as he calmly made a devastating case against the war. I’m sure some Hawaiian politicians underestimated this quiet man until they realized he just handed them their heads on a platter.

Bob is proud of his son, even with knowing that Ehren could get eight years in prison. He says Ehren is taking his principled stand for all of us, so that this insane war will end.

More info at ThankYouLt

mp3. (37:42, 12.6mb)

Recorded at an ANSWER LA Forum, Oct 3, 2006.

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Two informative podcasts from 8/25/06.

ANSWER LA Forum: People’s Victory in Lebanon
Imperialism and the “New Middle East”

Nader Abuljebain, Palestinian author and historian, National Council of Arab Americans.
History and political development of Lebanon.
mp3 (40:36, 13.4mb)

Muna Coobtee, Free Palestine Alliance, Steering Committee ANSWER LA.
Current developments in Lebanon.
mp3 (27:31, 8.91 mb)

[tags]Lebanon,Nader Abuljebain,Muna Coobtee[/tags]

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Opening statements by Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild.

The NLG and ANSWER LA will file multiple lawsuits and complaints against LAPD for their outrageous conduct during the anti-Minutemen protest on Saturday, including their unprovoked beating of demonstrators - even after they’d been clubbed and were lying on the sidewalk - and for not allowing ANSWER to have a constitutionally-protected protest on the sidewalk.

Some history. The NLG sued LAPD for their conduct during the 2000 Democratic National Convention police riot and were instrumental in forcing a consent decree upon LAPD as well as financial damages.

Muna Coobtee of ANSWER LA details the sequence of events at the protest.

Statements from three who were beaten without cause; they are Christen Westberry, Jose Villa, and Natividad Carerra. Westbury and Villa were viciously clubbed while lying on the sidewalk, as documented in the video.

Then came statements of support and outrage from:
Angelina Corona, Executive Director Hermandad Mexicana Nacional
Juan Jose Gutiérrez, Latino Movement USA
Richard Becker, West Coast Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition

Ending with discussion and questions.

mp3 (34:49,11.6 mb)

[tags]LAPD, police brutality[/tags]

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Our podcast of Richard Becker speaking about the crisis in Palestine on July 7 accidentally had the wrong url for the podcast.
Here’s the corrected url.

mp3 (48:30 min, 15.5 mb)

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Becker, the West Coast Coordinator for the ANSWER Coalition, has travelled to the Middle East many times. He spoke about the history of Palestine, how the Palestinians were driven off their land illegally by Israel wiith the backing of the US, the goals of the US and Israel, and the current brutal invasion of Gaza.

He has a huge command of the facts and eloquently details the history and the imperialist motives of the US that fuel the current crisis.

mp3 (48:30 min, 15.5 mb) Recorded at an ANSWER LA meeting on July 7.

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Juan Jose Gutierrez of Latino Movement USA details the birth and growth of the immigrant rights movement starting in 1968, continuing through the amnesty (signed by Reagan!) in 1986, to the huge, historic marches of March 25 and May 1 of this year.

Gutierrez was a major organizer of the massive anti-Prop 187 march in California in 1994, and played a leading role in organizing for March 25 and May 1. He discusses the history, the various groups involved, and where the movement is going, with a perspective and knowledge that comes from 38 years of organizing.

Recorded at an ANSWER LA Forum, 6/23/06

MP3 (54:28 min, 18.2 MB)

[tags]Juan Jose Gutierrez[/tags]

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Actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. endorsed Bill Paparian, who is running for US Congress as a Green, at Paparian’s primary night party at the Pasadena Hilton last night. As it turns out, they’ve been friends since high school.

Begley details why an environmentally sound approach is also economically sound in his endorsement of Paparian.

mp3 (7:53, 2.57 mb)

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Would it be all politicians were like Bill Paparian. He’s antiwar, a tireless worker to end the embargo on Cuba, active in environmental groups, and says George Bush should be impeached. He is a lawyer and former mayor of Pasadena, CA.

Perhaps the most moving part of his speech, recorded at his primary night election party at the Pasadena Hilton on June 6, was detailing why he became a lawyer. He and Ed Begley Jr. were classmates at Van Nuys High in the 60’s. Both studied acting. Paparian, although antiwar then too, joined the Marines out of a sense of duty, planning to resume acting. One day a black Marine was severely beaten by members of the KKK (who had an active chapter on the base.) He befriended the black Marine, began reading the manuals and rules of law, and helped him get an early release. He said, I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was my first client. Paparian decided then and there to become a lawyer so he could use the system to help people, something he continues doing to this day.

That’s the kind of lawyer we need in D.C. Paparian4Congress.com.

mp3 (28:43, 9.48 mb)

(full disclosure: I designed Paparian’s website and received a modest amount for doing so.)

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The Party for Socialism and Liberation: Recent accomplishments and outlook

PSL is a coalition partner of the ANSWER Coalition, both nationally and in Los Angeles. Thompson discusses the political and organizational goals of the party, recent events such as mass antiwar demonstrations and immigrant right marches where the party played an important role, as well as the outlook for the summer.

You may be surprised to learn how much PSL, who are action and results-oriented, is doing.

mp3 (16:26, 5.64mb)

Recorded at a Party for Socialism and Liberation meeting in L.A. May 26, 2006.

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Inside the Bolivarian Revolution

Gloria La Riva discusses recent developments in Venezuela, why the U.S. government is bent on overthrowing the revolutionary process and talks about what progressives and revolutionaries living in the U.S. can do to show solidarity with the Venezuelan people. Among other topics, she focuses on the major gains in education and health care there.

La Riva is a PSL leader from San Francisco and active in the Committee to Free the Five. She has travelled extensively to Venezuela and Cuba.

mp3 (49:05, 16.8mb)

Recorded at a Party for Socialism and Liberation meeting in L.A. May 26, 2006.

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To follow up our post of April 8, here’s a podcast of Chelli Stanley and John Harmer of The Tel Rumeida Project speaking at a ANSWER S.F. forum on April 15.

They lived in Tel Rumeida for several months, documenting the daily, violent attacks by extreme right-wing Israeli settlers upon Palestinians, often while Israeli military watched and did nothing.

And yes, they have the videos to prove it.

mp3 ( 40:07, 13.7 mb)

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Podcasting enters the political arena. The ruling party in Singapore has banned political podcasts during the upcoming election. In a bizarre coincidence, now hold on for this one, it is the opposition parties who use podcasting the most.

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Podzinger will create text transcriptions of podcast. Now there’s a new site, AudibleType, that will do the same. Plus it has an open API.

www.audibletype.com is a web based voice recognition system. The system allows for transcription of audio and video files to search engine friendly text! The system will transcribe your audio or video file for you and provide time indexing so that you can quickly navigate trough the relevant data. Audibletype is also working on an open-api so that others can develop and build “widgets” to take full advantage of the technology and service. It also comes with tools so that you can make good use of your content. You can even send it back to your blog.

Audibletype is currently inviting beta-testers to participate in our UI development phase. Check it out at www.audibletype.com.

I just signed up and will blog about what the site can do.

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The press conference was held Friday 3/24/06, the day before the massive L.A. march.

Speakers include Piolin (DJ), Javier Rodriguez, Jessie Diaz, Juan Jose Gutierrez (Latino Movement USA), Angela Sambrano (CARECEN), Mike Garcia (SEIU), Preston Wood (ANSWER), Gloria LaRiva (Committee to Free the Five), and others equally important whose names I can’t make out in the podcast, my apologies.

If what happened Saturday turns into a civil rights movement, this mp3 will become a historical document.

(It was recorded on the internal mic of my MP3 player, so the sound is variable.)

MP3 (43:41, 14.9MB)

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Director, Latino Movement USA, Gutierrez was an invited guest at the inauguration of new Bolivian president Evo Morales. He discusses the huge changes happening now in Bolivia with this inauguration the first indigenous President in Latin Ameria. In a special pre-inaugural ceremony held in a sacred area, Morales wore native garb and declared the “colonial period was over” as millions watched live on television. Later, he said capitalism was the problem.

Recorded at a PSL Forum in LA 03/10/06

MP3 (23:08, 8:05)

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Gloria La Riva is Coordinator, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five and active in the ANSWER Coalition. She just led a delegation to the World Social Forum in Venezuela where ANSWER. held a workshop on the U.S. anti-war movement. She also frequently travels to Cuba. She speaks about the increasing ties between Venezuela and Cuba, the US attempts to oust Chavez and Castro, and the gains in Cuba now that the “special period” is over.

Unemployment in Cuba, even according to the CIA, is 1.9%, they recently sent 1,400 doctors to the quake ravaged areas of Pakistan, impressive accomplishments by any reckoning.

Recorded at a PSL Forum in LA 03/10/06

mp3 (29:08, 10.0 MB)

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ANSWER organizer and PSL editorial board member Richard Becker speaks on the expanded US war drive in the Middle East, focusing on Iran, as well as Iraq, Syria, and Palestine.

From my scribbled notes:

“If you can’t solve a problem, expand it” — Donald Rumsfeld. This would seem to be the strategy the Bushies are following in the Middle East.

Democratic leadership is onboard with the war drive. It’s not that they lack backbone, they are being real Democrats. They are complicit. (The rank and file is not.)

Iran is surrounded by hostile forces, some of whom also have nukes. Why shouldn’t they have the right to defend themselves?

The US is pushing a proposal at the UN to set up a special court to investigate the bombing murder of Hariri in Lebanon hoping to target Syria. This would be the first time such a court was established, and with all the other murders and bombings in the world, the reasons for this are strictly to destabilze Syria, not for any altruistic purpose.

The rise of Hamas is due in part to the 50 year US policy of destroying secular opposition in the Middle East. The Hamas policy of providing hospitals and care plus the deteriorating economy led to their rise. They are anti-imperialist, and while certainly not Taliban, some of their policies are reactionary.

The antiwar movement needs to focus on all the issues, not just Iraq. “It’s not just one country or one war, it’s a system called Imperialism.”.

Recorded in LA 01/27/06 at a PSL meeting.

mp3 (53:39, 18.4 mb)

1 Comment »

Action alert by ANSWER Coalition.
U.S. government may free terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.
Demand: Bush, Extradite Posada to Venezuela!
No harboring of terrorist Posada!

Watch the video in Windows Media Format (15.1 MB) or QuickTime (7.5 MB). 6:18 minutes.

Extreme right wing CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles is wanted in Venezuela for bombing an airliner with innocents on board. He has boasted of blowing up hotels in Cuba. Sounds like a terrorist to me. He’s being held in the US on immigration violation charges, and the Bushies want to free him. The only reason he was held on the charges is because the public mobilized. It’s time to mobilize again.
 
More information

(He) is accused of being one of the masterminds of the bombing of a Cubana airliner back in 1976 with the loss of 73 innocent lives, including the Cuban junior fencing team. He was in a Venezuelan prison awaiting trial on that charge when he escaped in 1985. Venezuela long ago asked for his extradition and now has done so again.

He also bragged to The New York Times in a 1998 interview that he had ordered the bombing of a number of tourist hotels in Havana, acts which led to the death of an Italian tourist and the wounding of several other people.

And then in 2000, he was arrested in Panama, and later convicted of "endangering public safety" because of his involvement in a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro by blowing up a public auditorium where Castro was to speak before an audience of some 1,500.

On June 15, Venezuela again formally asked the U.S. government to extradite him to Venezuela. But it seems clear that the U.S. had — and has — no intention of extraditing him. The most likely thing is that he will remain in custody for a time under the illegal entry charge and will then be freed.

In other words, the Bush administration will then have given shelter to another terrorist, to join others such as Orlando Bosch, who has lived freely and unrepentant in Miami since 1989.

Wayne S. Smith
Sun-Sentinel (South Florida) October 27, 2005

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Resisting U.S. Aggression in the Middle East

Richard Becker, West Coast organizer for the ANSWER Coalition, spoke at an ANSWER LA forum on Jan 6 about Syria. He attended an international conference in Syria in December on Palestinians and the Right of Return. He speaks about the conference, on the increasing US threat to Syria, how Palestine, Syria, and the war in Iraq are related, and what the anti-war movement can do.

Becker, who has been an organizer for 30 years, has a huge command of the facts and details the history of the region and the US government’s attempt to militarily dominate it in this cogent, sometimes quite humorous talk.

MP3 (54:28 min., 18.7 mb)

3 Comments »