Published Features
On a bitter cold Tuesday evening here
in St. Louis, 150-200 people marched and rallied outside a speaking
engagement for former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The event
was funded by Washington University (specifically the College
Republicans, part of the school's tuition-financed Student
Union), which paid Gonzales $30,000 for the occasion. This
payment came amidst protest
from both students and law school faculty.
Other Media coverage: Post-Dispatch,
Fox,
KMOX,
Kevin Johnson was convicted for 1st degree murder recently and has recieved the death sentence for the shooting of a Kirkwood cop. The following report, reprinted from the current Confluence (online: stlconfluence.org or pick up hard copy at locations around St. Louis) gives another view of this story.
Monster in the Media, Hero in the Streets: the Saga of Kevin Johnson
Before his trial, before the release of any evidence to the public, the mainstream media convicted Kevin Johnson of killing a cop. Why does the "innocent until proven guilty" standard only apply to police who shoot and kill people, and not the other way around? (See Jeremy Robinson article in current Confluence.)
Byline: St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America End human rights abuse in Latin America! Don't let your tax dollars fund corruption and torture training.
The SOA is a military training ground in Fort Benning, Georgia that teaches how to conduct torture, assassination, and other violent actions. The academy has been open for more than 60 years, and each year the cry to close the SOA gets louder. Learn about this human rights atrocity and how to stop it. This is a podcast of an event sponsored by The St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America(IFCLA), recorded on November 9, 2007 at Mokabee's coffee house. The keynote speaker is Tina Busch-Nema who was imprisoned for two months after being arrested in an act of civil disobedience at the annual protest outside Fort Benning. Marilyn Lorenz of the IFCLA also speaks, and a staged reading, "I Will Never Be Silenced, Testimonies of hope from Colombian Women," is performed. Live music from John McClellan & Atlas Dropped The Ball.
"Let's Close The SOA!" Nov. 9, 2007 St. Louis Local Protest to Close The School of The Americas held at Mokabees Coffee House Keynote Speaker:
Tina Busch-Nema
Band: John McClellan & Atlas Dropped The Ball
IFCLA Coordinator: Marilyn Lorenz
Event Co-coordinator: Margaret Murphy
MC: Emily Piro
DJ/Soundboard: Ryan Kohl
Filmographer: Jon Michael Ryan
Podcast: Peter Jones
Staged Reading:
"I Will Never Be Silenced"
Testimonies of hope from Colombian Women
Produced by American Friends Service Committee & The Fellowship of Reconciliation
adapted by: Emily Piro
Cast:
A - Madre -> Katie Cushwa
B - Madre, Debora -> Erica Irwin
C - Madre, Joven -> Margaret Murphy
From ZMag: An interview with Zaki Baruti
Zaki Baruti interviewed by
Don Fitz
October 25, 2007
The contemptuous demotion of a fire chief ignited unified opposition in St. Louis' Black community. Previously fragmented groups have pulled together whether their focus has been on police violence, employment opportunities, school closings, eminent domain or childhood lead poisoning.
Hundreds of black and dozens of white St. Louisans gathered on the steps of City hall on Sunday October 21 to show their support for former Fire Chief Sherman George and begin steps to recall the mayor responsible for demoting him - Francis Slay. Zaki Baruti is a veteran organizer against police violence. He was one of the rally's organizers.
Update: Rally 11/18 for Racial & Social Justice
Don Fitz: When fire chief Sherman George refused to make promotions within the Fire Department, Mayor Slay demoted him in early October. Why was there such an outcry in the Black community?
Recording of an Ethical Food Panel presented by Washington University in St. Louis Students for Fair Trade and Amnesty International. Learn about how the food you eat affects the wider world around you! Representatives from Kaldi's coffee, the Kallari fair trade chocolate association in Ecuador, Bon Appetit(Washington University's dining services provider) speak about making a difference by buying local and/or fair trade food. A recurring theme is how the care taken in growing food affects the quality.
Podcast of Ethical Food Panel at Washington University in St. Louis, Kaldi's, Kallari, Bon Appetit Speakers:
Nikki Spencer, Amnesty International
Julia Baskin, Students for Fair Trade
Bon Appetit:
Rick Turner and Dan Connif
http://diningservices.wustl.edu/
Kallari:
Jake Levitas and Mason Earles
http://www.kallari.com/
Kaldi's
Mike Marquart and Andrew Timko
www.kaldiscoffee.com/
http://transfairusa.org/
Byline: Candace Furniss & digger This is a preview from the new Confluence, due out in late October. Look for it in locations around St. Louis.
Reggie Clemons has sat on death row since his 1993 conviction for the Chain of Rocks Bridge tragedy. However, many significant and troubling questions linger about who actually committed the crime for which Reggie was convicted.
Reggie was convicted of accomplice liability for the murders of Julie and Robin Kerry two years beforehand. The events of that night and the trial of the four young men charged with the murders received much media attention at the time. Three of the four (including Reggie) tried for the crime were African -American The victims, who were pushed off the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge to their deaths, were both white.
Byline: coverage of bannering by Keith Baugh Six years and counting since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, a "litany" of questions regarding the events of that day remain unanswered. 9-11 Truth has grown into a global movement, while in the U.S., elected officials across the spectrum ostracize anyone who questions the "official story" of 9-11. Many grassroots organizations are sprouting as a result. One such group is the St.Louis 9-11 Questions Group a member of the Meetup.com organization.
http://9-11.meetup.com/4/
On August 19th, 2007 as a capstone event for their yearly conference, Veterans for Peace held a March to the Arch in St. Louis, MO. After the event, Adam Kokesh and Ian Lavallee of Iraq Veterans Against the War (ivaw.org) talked a bit about the war in Iraq, and what can be done about it.
See attached video by Stone Soup Media.
Byline: Ben West and Scottie Addison Recording of interview with Tina Richards of Grassroots America made during Veterans for Peace Convention in St. Louis in August 2007.
Interivew with Tina Richards, 8-17-07, by Scottie Addison and Ben West See attached audio.
|
.jpg "staged reading \"I Will Never Be Silenced\" at St. Louis Local Protest to Close The School of The Americas")
