cannabisnews.com: Mobilization to Protest the Democratic Convention Mobilization to Protest the Democratic Convention Posted by FoM on June 05, 2000 at 14:15:17 PT Upcoming Event Source: D2KLA A Call for Celebration and Action for global, social, economic, racial, and environmental Justice! No more Business as Usual! From Selma to Seattle - let's bring the spirit to Philadelphia and Los Angeles this Summer! Join thousands of concerned people in Philadelphia and Los Angeles to let both the Republican and Democratic Parties know that business cannot continue as usual. We will come from every corner of the world united in our demand for a total change of priorities from the production of things to the caring for people and the environment. Join us in a series of marches, nonviolent direct actions and events leading up to and during the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, July 31 - August 3 and the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, August 14-17. We will celebrate and renew our resistance to: corporate globalization; militarism, poverty, starvation, sexism, racism, homophobia, environmental destruction; the prison industrial complex; genocide; undermining of organized labor, ageism, welfare 'reform'; persecution and deportation of immigrants, lack of decent and affordable healthcare, disintegration of public education, law enforcement corruption, brutality and state-sanctioned murder; exploitation of the disabled and all forms of oppression that divide people throughout the world. Human Needs Not Corporate Greed! The gap between the rich and those near or below the poverty line widens every day. Fewer and fewer corporations and the ruling elite are controlling more and more of the wealth, the media and the political process. Both the Democrats and the Republicans, controlled by corporate dollars, make the way for global exploitation by the multinationals. Politicians in both parties are more interested in serving special interests than in addressing the needs and wants of the people they are supposed to represent. For the rest of us, the dollar buys less than it did twenty years ago, we have less time with our loved ones, and the social safety net has been pulled out from under millions of us. Our health, healthcare, and education are in shambles and teachers, caregivers and service workers are underpaid. Insurance companies make billions out of people's misery and corporations are starting to control our schools. Housing and transportation are not affordable or accessible and rarely meets the needs of those who need it most, particularly those who are disabled. Homelessness is a major problem that continues to grow. Everyday our communities and youth are criminalized. Racial profiling is rampant. The US has the largest prison population in the world where women of color, 80% of whom are mothers, are the fastest growing population. The Three Strikes laws in several states feeds the prison industry and the death penalty disproportionately kills Black and other men of color. Immigrant communities are under attack and amnesty and benefits are not available to most. While hate crimes are on the rise, police continue to harass communities of color and the gay community. Those who want or need treatment for substance abuse are criminalized instead. Women lack pay equity and their unwaged work is not valued. Finding quality childcare is a challenge and those who care for our children receive wages that are insulting, or no wages at all. Mothers on welfare are being penalized and told that raising their own children is not work. Instead of prioritizing care for our children, the brutal demands of the global market have meant less time with them. Older people who could be enjoying a well-earned retirement, are forced to decide between medicines and food--most cannot afford prescriptions or alternative treatments. HIV positive people need full access to treatments and care of their choice. We need universal healthcare and not a healthcare and medical research industry whose commitment is to profits. Technology has leapt ahead, leaving most of us behind and rather than reducing our burden of work, people are working harder. While the economy is supposed to be booming, the majority of people are making less. Labor unions are under attack, jobs are being privatized, and workers who try to organize face ferocious opposition. The right to organize a union free from fear and intimidation does not exist.Mobilize for Global Justice: Indigenous peoples from Chiapas, Mexico, to the U'wa in Colombia, to the Dineh people in Arizona, to Bolivia, villages and pueblos throughout the world are under attack. Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and other countries of the Global South are suffocating under structural adjustment policies, third world debt and US intervention under the guise of the 'war on drugs'. Women and children are carrying the greatest burden of the so-called 'Third-World debt'. Reparations for slavery and theft of indigenous lands have never been paid. Through its politically motivated economic embargoes, the US has caused the hunger and suffering of millions. Military rape and mayhem have devastated entire countries, most recently in Eastern Europe. Instead of sustainable farming, we face an onslaught of genetically modified foods and damage from pesticides as mega-corporations take over the international food supply. Instead of showing respect for our environment, those in power have brought us to the brink of an environmental disaster. We are all under threat. None of us are immune. Instead of building positive international collaboration, governments bypass local communities and hire "professionals" to be used against the rest of us-- imposing their corporate solutions. Worsening economic realities are matched by increased military spending, militarization and the pouring of billions into the coffers of the arms merchants. Escalating racial, ethnic, gender and religious hatreds are fanned by an economy that glorifies the global market. It is the U.S. political leaders and their corporate sponsors who are controlling the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO that must be held accountable for this global suffering and environmental devastation. No More Business As Usual!A Festival of Resistence: In Los Angeles, we are powerful in our diversity and united in our commitment. We celebrate our differences and are working to cross the divisions among us. We are building a broad progressive movement that makes a way for all who are suffering to take action on their own behalf. We will raise our concerns, speak with a unified voice and demand a total change. People must come before profit. This is the beginning of the politics of the new millennium. Join us in our call to put an end to poverty, hunger militarism and the destruction of the environment. Join us in our call for economic, social, gender and racial justice. Join us in our call for peace and freedom. Join us as we march for our lives, our future and for the generations to come. Join us to make history in Philadelphia and in Los Angeles. Note that we will be discussing plans for the LA shadow convention at the LA NORML meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6th, 6 pm at Bruce Margolin's law office, 8749 Holloway Dr, West Hollywood. The meeting is open to all interested activists.In case people aren't aware, hundreds of people and organizations are planning mass protests for the Republican and Democratic conventions this summer. The Democratic convention is taking place in Los Angeles. On August 12, a cannabis march is planned, and August 16th's protest theme is police and prisons, another opportunity to bring attention to the abuses and violation of rights. Also, Ariana Huffington is planning a shadow convention to coincode with the Democratic Convention which will partially focus on the failed WOD. http://www.ariannaonline.com/http://www.overthrowthegov.com/The War On Drugs: Just Say No Morehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5922.shtmlI think it is important to get the our issues out there as much as possible. LA will be full of media from all over to cover the convention, in addition to hundreds of thousands of protesters converging from all over the US. It will be an excellent opportunity to get our message out to more people.I am in Orange County and, being disabled, I am unable to drive to LA to attend meetings, but if there are others on the list who would like to attend meetings and help plan, the web site is: http://d2kla.org It would be great to have our issues heard, and to network with others who could be allies in our cause. I've included a calendar of events happening around D2K.Calendar to Date:July 13-17 Ruckus trainingsAug. 5-13 Direct Action ConvergenceAug. 11-17 North American Anarchist ConferenceAug. 11-13 People's ConventionAug. 12 Millennium Marijuana MarchAug. 13 National Mumia MarchAug. 13 Global Exchange/RAN Action - pm in Santa MonicaAug. 13-17 National Homeless ConventionAug. 14 Mass March: Human Needs Not Corporate Greed, March for Our Lives8/15 - An Injury to One Is An Injury to All: Racial, Gender, Les/Bi/Gay/Trans and Environmental Justice8/16 - Police, Prisons, Criminalization of Youth (Schools Not Jails)8/17 - Global Economic Justice, Militarism and Immigrant Rights8/14-17 Shadow Convention - Ariana Huffington: Campaign Finance Reform,widening income gap, and the failed drug warDale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 canorml igc.orghttp://home.igc.org/~canorml2215-R Market St. #278San Francisco CA 94114Cannabis & Drug Policy Information:http://cannabisnews.com/information/ Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 05, 2000 at 21:06:34 PT Let's Hope and Keep Our Fingers Crossed Hi CongressmanSuet,That is ironic because I thought about the Freedom Train when this arrived in my e-mail. I never read anymore about the Freedom Train. The only reason I think this is on the up and up is because it came from Dale Gieringer. If it doesn't turn out I'm sorry and never wanted to mislead anyone. Let's hope it is time! I think it is time! It has been since the Democratic Convention way back when that anything big happened and we need this to happen very badly!Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by CongressmanSuet on June 05, 2000 at 20:24:49 PT: I really hope... this isnt anything like the "Freedom Train". Im still waiting up on the highway waiting for them to come thru... {you know I offered my 160 acre farm to those people as a respite and never got a response]. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: