State court ruling on Central Park rally due this afternoon
A Manhattan judge is set to rule today on whether anti-war activists can hold a 250,000-person rally on Central Park’s Great Lawn.
A Federal judge on Friday ruled against a permit in the park for both ANSWER and UfJP, so I doubt a state judge would rule contrary to that.
The spontaneous reaction to the Judge’s decision and the widely publicized response to the Judge ruling from the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition spokesperson – that “Thousands of people are coming, and many of them intend to be in Central Park, and we believe that it is their right to be in Central Park” (from August 24 NY Times front page story) – has made it as clear as day to the authorities that the denial of permits for the August 28 and 29 demonstrations was a huge miscalculation.
Even unnamed police officials are now being quoted in the media that the Mayor and the city made a mistake by denying the permits because the people are likely to assert their free speech rights and descend on Central Park. This is a sign that the powers that be are getting nervous.
ANSWER will have a permitted march Thursday Sept 2 in NYC, starting at the Israeli embassy and ending at Madison Square Garden as Bush is being coronated, in addition to being involved in many other events and organizing.
Not In Our Name
Check their calender of events for the protest week. If no permit is granted for a Central Park rally, it’s a given that many protestors, including NION members who often participate in civil disobedience, will march to the park anyway.
Guerrilla dancing in the NYC streets
Plans evolve to dance in the streets during the Republican Convention, from John Perry Barlow
From their listserv
MfA is coordinating 69 workshops, 16 concerts, and 10 Street Action Teams of 10-20 volunteers at key locations throughout the city. We are also coordinating the political outreach efforts for over 90 of the Imagine Arts Festival events taking place next week. If only 15 people come to each training, we will send over 1000 volunteers back to their home states with the tools, skills, and connections to activate their communities and decide which way the election will swing.