Phyllis Bennis Talks to Austin Activists on Strategies to End the Israeli Occupation 1 of 2

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Phyllis Bennis is a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. She appears as commentator/analyst on PBS, NPR, BBC, and CBC. She's the author of "Before & After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the September 11th Crisis" and "Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today's UN." Her latest books are "Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" and "Challenging Empire."

Phyllis Bennis is not new to the political scene. Her knowledge of Arabic language and culture go hand in hand with her in depth understanding of Middle East politics.

On a humid, steamy, summer evening on July 10 in Austin, Bennis enjoyed a (mostly) vegetarian feast with local Austinites. She shared her analysis of how the deadly raid on the Mavi Maramara by the Israeli Navy has changed the public opinion so dramatically in our nation, and in Israel.

Bennis outlines how to organize a successful newspaper campaign through persistent credible and respectful relationship building. She explains how campaigns can strengthen often divided community organizations, uniting them under the umbrella of a group effort such as a Campaign to stop Contracts with the Caterpillar Corporation (for a city or a university). The Caterpillar Corp. sells the D9 earthmover to Israel exclusively. The D9 is no ordinary bulldozer: it is more than 13 feet tall and 26 feet wide, weighs more than 60 tons with its armored plating, and can raze houses in a matter of minutes, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. In addition to being retrofitted to hold heavy machine guns and in some cases grenade launchers, many D9 bulldozers are now driverless and can be operated by remote control, according to a March 2009 article in The Jerusalem Post. UT Austin and the city of Austin have not yet cancelled their contracts with the Caterpillar Corporation.

Bennis primary goal is to end the U.S. Occupation of Palestine. She says she thanks Pres. George W. Bush for the way he spoke about his 30 billion dollar commitment to Israel because an amount that phenomenal drives home the important point that the USA, although in dire need of economic revitalization, healthcare and jobs, is sending 30 billion dollars to Israel.

Bennis appears frequently as a commentator/analyst on U.S. and international television and radio programs, including "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer," the CBS "Morning Show," NPR's "Diane Rehm Show," CNN, and the BBC. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, Middle East Report (MERIP), The Philadelphia Enquirer, The Nation, Middle East International Baltimore Sun, Christian Science Monitor, Le Monde Diplomatique (Paris), TomPaine.com, New York Newsday, Soera (Amsterdam), Papeles (Madrid), die Tageszeitung (Berlin), Mother Jones, Third World Resurgence (Malaysia), and many other publications.

Jeff Zavala and Grace Alfar of ZGraphix have collaborated to produce this exclusive video of this engaging evening at the home of Dr. Jensen of UT Austins Journalism Department featuring Bennis.

Special thanks to Grace Alfar for filming Phyllis Bennis.

Produced by Jeff Zavala.
This is a ZGraphix production.
http://zgraphix.org

Workers Defense Project Files Class Action Lawsuit to Collect $120,000 in Unpaid Wages

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AUSTIN, TX - After nearly a year of failed negotiations three construction workers are filing a class action lawsuit for an estimated $120,000 in back wages owed to them and other workers on the job. The workers who performed plaster work at Gables Park Plaza and 21Rio luxury condos say they were regularly shorted on pay and never received overtime - even though they commonly worked 60 or more hours a week. The workers are filing suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act in federal court against the Dallas-based company, Greater Metroplex Interiors (GMI) to recover their wages. GMI hired Capoera Construction to provide workers on the project, but Capoera disappeared after three of the workers were killed in a construction accident.

"We often worked up to 70 hours, six days a week with no rest breaks. We were denied overtime pay and were not paid at all for our final weeks of work. We simply want what is fair, and what we are owed" stated Filimon Salas, a plaintiff who was at the 21 Rio site last summer when three of his co-workers were killed on the job after a faulty scaffold collapse.

The workers in the case decided to file suit after unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a settlement with contractors and owners of the buildings. Yet, more than a year later the workers have still not been paid in full for their honest work. "These workers have tried to negotiate in good faith to recover what is legally owed to them, yet no one has wanted to take responsibility for these clear violations of their right to be paid for their work," said Craig Deats, one of the attorney's representing the workers in the case.

Attorneys in the case have filed a class action suit to allow more plaintiffs to join later. According to Deats there appear to be many more employees who worked on these buildings without receiving full wages but who are unaware of or possibly afraid to enforce their rights.

"With Austin construction workers having a one in five chance of not being paid their wages[1], we are not surprised that these violations have occurred," said Patricia Zavala of Workers Defense Project. "However, we believe that builders and contractors can do more to ensure safe and equitable working conditions." Zavala explained that builders have a unique opportunity to ensure that Austin is built sustainably- including for the workforce.

Workers Defense Project is a local organization dedicated to improving working conditions for low-wage workers in construction and other industries. http://workersdefense.org

What: Press Conference Announcing Class Action Lawsuit
When: Tuesday, October 19th 9:15am
Where: Gables Park Plaza 115 Sandra Muraida Way, Austin, TX. 78703.

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Produced by Jeff Zavala.
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Palestine Solidarity Activists Protest Zionist Propaganda 2 of 2

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Signs reading Stop Israeli Terrorism and No Occupation = No Rockets could be seen outside Garrison Hall on Monday as about two dozen protesters showed up to voice their disapproval of an on-campus talk bypro-Israeli speaker Noam Bedein.

Pace Davis, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the organization that held the protest, said that this was another episode in a trend of framing responsive actions of Palestinians as unprovoked violence.

These presentations garner uncritical support of Israel, Davis said. We want to draw attention to the narrative of the suffering in Gaza and other Palestinian territories; suffering that is often ignored.

Bedein, an Israeli native, served for three years in the Israeli Defense Forces as a sergeant for an artillery scout unit along the Lebanese border and later as an emissary for The Jewish Agency in Boston. After returning to Israel, Bedein started the Sderot Media Center, where he provides briefings in Sderot and the Western Negev for foreign diplomats, government officials and student groups.

The world doesnt know the story, said Zach Garber, president of Texans for Israel, who sponsored Bedeins talk. You never hear what people in Israel have to deal with. We want to raise awareness of the tragedies that take place in the city of Sderot that borders Gaza. People have died and the economy is horrible.

Before the event, members of the pro-Israeli group handed out fliers countering the sentiments of the protesters.

We dont talk to incite anything, Garber said. We just want to open up dialogue about what is happening in the Middle East.

Every year, the pro-Palestine group protests the Israel Block Party, a fair held in the spring on the South Mall that celebrates Israeli culture and accomplishments.

We need to look at Israels role. We have to see [Palestinian violence] as a product of their occupation, said Dickie Fischer, co-chair of the pro-Palestine group.


This event was organized by The Palestine Solidarity Committee http://mideastsolidarity.wordpress.com

This is a zgraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org

Palestine Solidarity Activists Protest Zionist Propaganda

Click to Play

Signs reading Stop Israeli Terrorism and No Occupation = No Rockets could be seen outside Garrison Hall on Monday as about two dozen protesters showed up to voice their disapproval of an on-campus talk bypro-Israeli speaker Noam Bedein.

Pace Davis, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the organization that held the protest, said that this was another episode in a trend of framing responsive actions of Palestinians as unprovoked violence.

These presentations garner uncritical support of Israel, Davis said. We want to draw attention to the narrative of the suffering in Gaza and other Palestinian territories; suffering that is often ignored.

Bedein, an Israeli native, served for three years in the Israeli Defense Forces as a sergeant for an artillery scout unit along the Lebanese border and later as an emissary for The Jewish Agency in Boston. After returning to Israel, Bedein started the Sderot Media Center, where he provides briefings in Sderot and the Western Negev for foreign diplomats, government officials and student groups.

The world doesnt know the story, said Zach Garber, president of Texans for Israel, who sponsored Bedeins talk. You never hear what people in Israel have to deal with. We want to raise awareness of the tragedies that take place in the city of Sderot that borders Gaza. People have died and the economy is horrible.

Before the event, members of the pro-Israeli group handed out fliers countering the sentiments of the protesters.

We dont talk to incite anything, Garber said. We just want to open up dialogue about what is happening in the Middle East.

Every year, the pro-Palestine group protests the Israel Block Party, a fair held in the spring on the South Mall that celebrates Israeli culture and accomplishments.

We need to look at Israels role. We have to see [Palestinian violence] as a product of their occupation, said Dickie Fischer, co-chair of the pro-Palestine group.

This event was organized by The Palestine Solidarity Committee http://mideastsolidarity.wordpress.com

This is a zgraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org

Palestinian-American Poet Suheir Hammad - Of Refuge and Language

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Def Jam poet Suheir Hammad reads her new poem on Hurricane Katrina: "Evacuated as if criminal // Rescued by neighbors // Shot by soldiers // Adamant they belong // The rest of the world can now see // What I have seen // Do not look away // The rest of the world lives here too // In America"

Also Etan Thomas from the Washington Wizards performs some spoken word.

This took place in Washington D.C. on September 26, 2005.

Women in Black Standing for Peace in Austin

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Women in Black was inspired by earlier movements of women who demonstrated on the streets, making a public space for women to be heard - particularly Black Sash, in South Africa, and the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, seeking the "disappeared" in the political repression in Argentina. But WIB also shares a genealogy with groups of women explicitly refusing violence, militarism and war, such as the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom formed in 1918, and the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp in the UK and related groups around the world opposing the deployment of US missiles in the eighties.

Beginnings in IsraelWomen in Black as we know it today began in 1988 in Israel. In 1987, 20 years after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian intifada began. In response Israeli Jewish women began to stand in weekly vigils in public places, usually at busy road junctions. Starting in Jerusalem, the number of vigils in Israel eventually grew to almost forty. In the north of Israel, where the concentration of Arab communities is greatest, Palestinian women who are Israeli citizens were also active in Women in Black groups. Many local WIB groups made contact with women across the Green Line engaged in support work, e.g. visiting Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Establishing a formula for actionAt WIB vigils, women carried placards saying "End the Occupation" and closely related messages. The focus was quite precise, in order to be able to draw in a wide group of women. The vigils were predictable: same site, regular intervals. The women wore black. Although they were not particularly silent in most Israeli locations, as they have become in some countries since, there was no chanting. They were seen by, and provoked reactions from, many passers-by on foot and in vehicles, some of whom heckled and abused them, both in sexualized terms ("whores") and for their politics ("traitors"). Their policy was not to shout back but to maintain silence and dignity.

In other countries, including Canada, the USA, Australia, and many European countries, Women in Black vigils soon began to be organized in support of those in Israel. In Berkeley, California, for example, Women in Black has been standing weekly since 1988. In the UK at this time, women (mainly Jewish, with Palestinians and others) picketed the offices of the Israeli state airline, El Al.

To read more about the history of Women in Black please visit: http://www.womeninblack.org/en/history

This is a zgraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org

Protest for a Death Penalty Free Austin

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 A group of protesters including ProfessorD.us from The Dope Poet Society gathered at the steps of the Travis County Courtroom to speak out against the death penalty.  
 
An inquiry into whether Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongly executed was postponed today after state District Judge Charlie Baird announced that he needed some time to review a motion for his recusal from the case and to allow lawyers for Willinghams family to respond.  
 
Baird reset the case for a week from Thursday in his Travis County courtroom.  
 
The recusal motion was made by Navarro County District Attorney Lowell Thompson, whose office successfully prosecuted Willingham in 1992. Thompson was in court and said he would return next week.  
 
Baird said that prior to the hearing he was delivered a letter form Caren Burbach, general counsel for Gov. Rick Perry, declining Bairds invitation for the governor or someone from his office to participate in the Willingham hearing.  
 
In the letter, Burbach questioned whether Baird had the jurisdiction to hear Willinghams case and noted that multiple levels of state and federal court upheld Willinghams conviction.  
 
The petition and hearing appear to be improper collateral attacks upon a final judgment against a man found guilty of murdering his three children, Burbach wrote.  
 
Baird said from the bench that these were pretty much exactly the same proceedings that we engaged in on behalf of Mr. Timothy Cole, who the governor later recognized and who was posthumously pardoned by the governor.  
 
After a hearing last year, Baird issued the first posthumous DNA exoneration to Cole, who died while serving a prison term for a rape he did not commit. The Dope Poet Society is a politically charged hip hop group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Their music is characterized by clever and sometimes controversial lyrics. ProfessorD.us (formerly Professor D) is the lead vocalist of the group, known for his tongue twisting, rapid fire rap style. The group has been active since 1995 and has toured around the world. They have also performed and collaborated with some of the most influential artists in Hip Hop including Public Enemy, Dead Prez, Jeru the Damaja, and Boot Camp Click.  
 
Professor D changed his name to ProfessorD.us with the release of his 2008 album, Third World Warriors Vol.1, which lists the artist as "ProfessorD.us - The Dope Poet Society".  
 
To hear more music by The Dope Poet Society please visit: http://www.ProfessorD.us  
 
This is a zgraphix production. Produced by Jeff Zavala. http://zgraphix.org

Dignity Not Detention National Day of Action in Austin 1 of 2

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Human rights groups around the country participated in a National Day of Action yesterday to mark the one-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration Customs and Enforcement's (ICE) 2009 detention reform announcement. Activists called for an end to the human rights abuses in detention centers, the restoration of due process in the enforcement of immigration laws, and the implementation of cost saving alternatives.

Marking the first anniversary of the Obama Administration's announced intent to reform the immigration detention system, today's actions are part of the "Dignity, Not Detention: Preserving Human Rights and Restoring Justice" campaign led by the Detention Watch Network.

Year One Report Card, a joint report released today by human rights groups, reveals that many who are detained still suffer egregious human rights violations while in custody. Immigrants continue to be jailed for months or even years under substandard conditions. Mistreatment by guards, grossly deficient medical care, use of solitary confinement, and limited access to family and counsel remain persistent problems.

Last year, ICE promised to move away from the sprawling network of jails and prisons it uses to detain immigrants toward a less punitive model and take concrete steps to improve conditions of confinement for the nearly 400,000 people detained each year. But according to the report, the agency's reform agenda has been compromised by a growing detention population, internal opposition to reform by local ICE officials, and the expansion of ICE enforcement programs like 287(g), Secure Communities, and the Criminal Alien Program (CAP) that rely on local law enforcement agencies to channel more and more immigrants into the detention system.

"What the Year One Report Card shows is that the steps the Obama Administration has taken this year are not enough to bring about meaningful changes in the lives of immigrants," said Emily Tucker, Policy and Advocacy Director at Detention Watch Network. "Until ICE limits detention to only those rare cases where it has been shown necessary to ensure public safety, the human rights crisis in the U.S. immigration detention and deportation system will persist."

Participants in the National Day of Action called for the restoration of human rights within the detention system, and an end to programs that indiscriminately channel immigrants into the detention and deportation system. Coordinated educational actions occurred across the country in cities including Austin, TX, Freehold, NJ, Minneapolis, MN, Seattle, WA and Trenton, NJ.

To view the Year One Report Card please visit: http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-6953888/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kZXRlbnRpb253YXRjaG5ldHdvcmsub3JnLw==

To learn more about the Dignity Not Detention Campaign please visit: http://detentionwatchnetwork.org
and http://www.grassrootsleadership.org

This is a zgraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org

Dignity Not Detention National Day of Action in Austin 2 of 2

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Human rights groups around the country participated in a National Day of Action yesterday to mark the one-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration Customs and Enforcement's (ICE) 2009 detention reform announcement. Activists called for an end to the human rights abuses in detention centers, the restoration of due process in the enforcement of immigration laws, and the implementation of cost saving alternatives.

Marking the first anniversary of the Obama Administration's announced intent to reform the immigration detention system, today's actions are part of the "Dignity, Not Detention: Preserving Human Rights and Restoring Justice" campaign led by the Detention Watch Network.

Year One Report Card, a joint report released today by human rights groups, reveals that many who are detained still suffer egregious human rights violations while in custody. Immigrants continue to be jailed for months or even years under substandard conditions. Mistreatment by guards, grossly deficient medical care, use of solitary confinement, and limited access to family and counsel remain persistent problems.

Last year, ICE promised to move away from the sprawling network of jails and prisons it uses to detain immigrants toward a less punitive model and take concrete steps to improve conditions of confinement for the nearly 400,000 people detained each year. But according to the report, the agency's reform agenda has been compromised by a growing detention population, internal opposition to reform by local ICE officials, and the expansion of ICE enforcement programs like 287(g), Secure Communities, and the Criminal Alien Program (CAP) that rely on local law enforcement agencies to channel more and more immigrants into the detention system.

"What the Year One Report Card shows is that the steps the Obama Administration has taken this year are not enough to bring about meaningful changes in the lives of immigrants," said Emily Tucker, Policy and Advocacy Director at Detention Watch Network. "Until ICE limits detention to only those rare cases where it has been shown necessary to ensure public safety, the human rights crisis in the U.S. immigration detention and deportation system will persist."

Participants in the National Day of Action called for the restoration of human rights within the detention system, and an end to programs that indiscriminately channel immigrants into the detention and deportation system. Coordinated educational actions occurred across the country in cities including Austin, TX, Freehold, NJ, Minneapolis, MN, Seattle, WA and Trenton, NJ.

To view the Year One Report Card please visit: http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-6953888/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kZXRlbnRpb253YXRjaG5ldHdvcmsub3JnLw==

To learn more about the Dignity Not Detention Campaign please visit: http://detentionwatchnetwork.org
and http://www.grassrootsleadership.org

This is a zgraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org

Moonflower Baraka

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Moviemiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan or the Chicana/o Student Movement of Aztlan (MEChA) invites you to the celebration and reclamation of the so called "Columbus Day." We believe that the celebration of this "holiday" oppresses and reinforces historical racism, sexism, homophobia and genocide toward indigenous peoples and other people of color. For these reasons, in this day we reclaim our roots, our ancient ceremonies and our red blood. This day Native American, Indigenous and mestizo sisters and brothers unite to celebrate our connection to the mother earth and the four directors of ab-yala. Join us! Oct. 11, 2010
We will have:
Mexica/Chichimeca Danzantes
Spoken Word
Drum Circle
Open MicThis event will be on the UT ;Campus in the West Mall, near 23rd and Guadalupe.

Moonflowers must be among the most beautiful of flowers as well as one with a very romantic name.

Imagine sitting in your garden on a warm summer evening, a full moon overhead and beautiful moonflowers blooming nearby with their fragrance wafting on a light breeze.

The moonflower opens in mid to late afternoon and blooms right through the night. Its lovely fragrance and large flowers attract night flying insects, like moths, to pollinate it.

When the sun rises in the morning, the moonflower dies. It is replaced by another one the same afternoon until all the buds have flowered and then died as the sun's rays strike them.

This is a ZGraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org

Winter Soldier in Austin March to City Hall

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Veterans from all service branches who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan who are from Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma publicly share their experiences of War . The Winter Soldier hearings first took place, in 1968 in Washington, DC. during the Vietnam conflict. In 2008, a coalition of activists reformed to hold the Bush administration accountable by presenting a second Winter Soldier hearing in Baltimore, Maryland. Now, in 2009, Winter Soldier comes to Austin, Texas! Many peoples hopes have been ignited by the election of the first black president, who was seen as an anti-war candidate. Since election day, it has become apparent that there is no sweeping change in foreign policy on the way. Similarly, at home there is the urgent need to address issues of injustice facing people of all colors, creeds, nationalities, genders, sexualities and social status. This action aims to bring activists from all backgrounds together to resurrect an anti-war movement for real change. For that reason we want to build a city wide coalition that unites around local demands. We are relying on ourselves, not politicians or their advisers, to determine the direction of our nation.http://ivaw.org/austin

Black Power & Chicanismo - Lessons from Yesterday for the Struggles of Today

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A presentation/film by Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan and ¡ella pelea! on the historical traditions of Black and Brown liberation movements and their relevance for our contemporary struggles against budget cuts and for immigrant rights.

This is a zgraphix production.
Produced by Jeff Zavala.
http://zgraphix.org