Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap
Boycott-the-Gap: ***Birth of a New Campaign!!!***
Posted by Mary Bull (chalicenew@earthlink.net)
Saturday, May 24, 2003
Greetings, Forest Defenders & Social Justice Activists Around the World!
It's been 9 months since our last national/international newsletter! Many of the activists on this list have been involved in the anti-war movement--some as part of the MOURNING MOTHERS affinity group! With the U.S. OCCUPATION of Iraq, the Peace Movement is now entering a new phase, more overtly incorporating the anti-globalization issues that dominated the Save-the-Redwoods/Boycott-the-Gap (SRBG) agenda prior to the INVASION--specifically the corporate economic aggression that is destroying the environment, local economies, and worker & consumer rights worldwide, as evidenced by the RUINATION of the REDWOODS, for example. Similarly, we're now seeing US Corporations move into Iraq, greedy to control their oil and privatize their services. Another way of looking at this NEW MOVEMENT, is that STOPPING US Military Aggression--from pre-emptive strikes to Star Wars, from US military aid to Israel, Colombia, Indonesia, and other human rights violators to the School of the Americas--has joined OUR top priorities of creating Global Ecology and Global Justice!!!
P-L-E-A-S-E join in the National Week of Action Against BECHTEL and the Corporate Invasion of Iraq--if only to call your U.S. representatives and demand legislation that promotes Iraqi self-determination and humanitarian needs over corporate profits!!! Later this summer, join our SRBG SUMMER CAMPAIGN 2003 outlined below, and consider joining or clustering with our KILLER TOMATOES affinity group for high-spirited STREET THEATER in Sacramento June 20--25 to stop Corporate Domination of the World Food Supply (details below)!!! Finally, consider teaming with AGENTS X--our Agents of Transformation affinity group--in mass protests against the World Trade Organization in Cancun, Mexico, this September!!! ...In this action-packed email:
-Jun 1--5, Nat'l: PROTEST BECHTEL WAR PROFITEERING!!!
-Jun 5, 6: Internat'l Days of Action for JUSTICE in PALESTINE!!!
-Jun 20--25, Sac: MASS PROTEST Against GMOs & Agri-business!!!
-Jul/Aug, Internat'l: ****SRBG Summer Campaign 2003: JOIN US!!!****
-Sep 10--14, Mex: CANCUN, ANYONE??? STOP the WTO!!!
-Other Important Actions & Events:
---May 24: Global Day of Action Against Procter & Gamble!
---May 24, Oak: Celebrate Judi Bari Day!!!
---May 27, SF: IFG Teach-in & Screening on GMOs & Sac Protest!
---May 28: Support FREE SPEECH in Martinez: KNIT For PEACE!!!
---May 28, SF: SUSTAIN the Resistance: Benefit for Palestine!
---May 29, SF: Media Deregulation/Clear Channel Nat'l Day of Action!!!
---May 31, SF: NO WAR *OR* OIL: Protest FORD Motor Co!!!
***GAP SUCKS BUMPER STICKERS are still available!!! We'll send them to you FREE, while supply lasts!!! Email the number you want and your address!!!***
***NEWS FLASH: ***Big Court Victory Against Pacific Lumber!!!*** Visiting Judge John Goldman made headlines in the L.A. Times and elsewhere this week with his decision that the logging permits that proceeded from the Headwaters Deal are illegal (contact me for the articles)!!! Mendocino Activists were hoping for Goldman to rule in a recent lawsuit against the Gap/Fishers' Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC), but NO SUCH LUCK--the pro-timber judge we got ruled against the forest in a disgusting, but typical, miscarriage of ecological justice. The irony? ALMOST EVERY JUDGE in MENDO has worked for MRC or LP!***
***URGENT: California Activists, contact your state senator NOW and tell her/him to support Sheila Kuehl's Universal, Single-Payer Health Care Bill SB-921, which may be going to the floor on June 6!!! Health Care for All!!! To find out who your state senator is and how to reach her/him, check http://www.senate.ca.gov ***
Bechtel Protest Smorgasbord: Jun 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5!!!
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These anti-Bechtel/anti-Empire protests are focusing on humanitarian aid and Iraqi self-determination versus unaccountable corporate profiteering in the rebuilding of Iraq (nefarious Bechtel Corp just landed a $680 MILLION contract). In the Bay Area, contact the bottomliners listed below for each action or Antonia to plug into the organizing antonia@riseup.net. Here's the line-up of actions:
--->Sun, June 1, SF: Day of Religious Outreach. The plan is to leaflet places of worship on Sunday. Presente Marin (buph@igc.org 415-461-3662), Pax Christi (Peggy 510-849-4125), & Mourning Mothers (chalicenew@earthlink.net 415-731-7924) are bottomlining. Contact them to plug-in. MMs are taking Grace Cathedral--anyone is welcome to join us!
--->Sun, June 1, SF: Bechtel Teach-in! 7 pm, Unitarian Universalist Church
at Geary and Franklin. Focus will be on Bechtel, the Corporate Invasion of
Iraq and the Middle East and the drive for Empire. Co-sponsored by the Forum
Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church. SPREAD THE WORD!!!
--->Mon, June 2, Bay Area: Wake-up Call at Riley Bechtel's. Early morning, short action, at R. Bechtel's home (somewhere in the Bay Area). Contact Kristi (kristi@globalexchange.org) or Andrea (415-255-7296 ext 263) to get date/time/location and plug-in! Mourning Mothers will be there!
--->Tue, June 3, Day of Day of Direct Education and Outreach. The plan is to leaflet commuters at Montgomery BART, SF, and 12th Street BART, Oakland, during at least three shifts: (1) 7:30am-9:30am; (2) Noon-1:00pm; and/or (3) 5:00 - 7:00pm. Daniel is bottom-lining coordination (415-776-6138 daniel_stauber_2001@yahoo.com).
--->Wed, June 4: Day of Direct Education & Action at Congressional and Federal Offices. Demand legislation opposing the corrupt rebuilding process and corporate invasion; support real alternatives providing for Iraqi self-determination and humanitarian needs. To find out who your senator and House representatives are and get their contact info, go to http://www.house.gov/ or http://www.senate.gov/ . In the Bay Area, this day of action is being organized by Public Citizen and Global Exchange. Contact Kristi Laughlin at Global Exchange (415) 255-7296 kristi@globalexchange.org or Juliette Beck at Public Citizen 510-663-0888 or jbeck@citizen.org
--->Thu, June 5, Nat'l, SF: Mass Protest of Bechtel's World Headquarters, Offices, and Sites! Starting at 7:00 am at Bechtel World Headquarters, 50 Beale Street (Montgomery BART off of Market). A day of nonviolent direct action, rally, music, dancers, art, speakers, and community leaders fighting and winning against Bechtel. In Washington, DC: a protest at Bechtel's corporate offices. In Nevada: a protest at the Nevada Test Site (managed by Bechtel). NYC is also planning something. Other events in the works. In the Bay Area, Presente Marin is planning great stuff for the SF World HQ! Mourning Mothers will also be there! Contact Buff (buph@igc.org 415-461-3662) or Antonia (antonia@riseup.net ) to coordinate--or just show up!!!
***On the International Front, the Bechtel versus Bolivia Coalition is planning to run an ad in a Baghdad newspaper from the People of Cochabamba to the People of Iraq, warning them about Bechtel's horrendous track record in the area of water privatization!!!***
Mass Protest Against GMOs & Agri-business: Jun 20--25, Sacto!
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WHOOPPEEE!!! THIS IS BIG!!! VIA CAMPESINA, the International Farmers
Movement 40 MILLION STRONG, has asked everyone to mobilize for this event!!!
Lots of Mourning Mothers are abandoning their somber attire for BRIGHT RED
JUICY GMO TOMATO COSTUMES and high-profile fun ridiculing AGRI-BIDNESS and
their penchant for global ecological destruction via pesticides, herbicides,
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), industrial farming, and corporate
monoculture. ***Join the attack of the Killer Tomatoes on the Corporate
Slugs who invented them!***
At this event, the USDA and the corporations it represents, such as
MONSANTO, plan to wine, dine, and sell 180 ministers on mega-corporate
domination of the world's food supply--all in preparation for the World
Trade Organization Summit happening in Cancun, Mexico, in September!!! Our
response??? A festival of diverse resistance to Monsanto and friends. A FIVE DAY CONVERGENCE with workshops, education, action, and more!!! More info: www.sacmobilization.org.
Bay Area mobilization meeting schedule: Thursdays, 7pm, 5/29, 6/5, 6/12, with a Monday 6/16 spokescouncil. Meeting locations alternate btw SF (Art & Revolution, Redstone Bldg, 16th & Capp, SF) & the East Bay. Next meeting most likely at NION office, 1611 Telegraph, Oakland. St. Boniface (133 Golden Gate Ave in SF) will host the 6/16 spokescouncil. Our Sacramento counterparts meet every Tuesday.
To join the "KILLER TOMATOES" (unofficial name) AFFINITY GROUP, contact 415-731-7924 or chalicenew@earthlink.net. So far, we have been considering several vignettes:
1.) GIANT GMO CORN with Roundup-ready pollen--perhaps in a BELLOWS so
marked, filled with corn starch--chasing after a GIANT MONARCH BUTTERFLY
(pollen from round-up ready corn has contaminated milkweed and killed the
endangered monarch);
2.) Killer Tomatoes vs Corporate Slugs (Monsanto, et al)--by the way, the
original "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" 70s sci-fi spoof was filmed in
Sacramento ;-);
3.) ZAPATISTA GIANT FLIP BOOK--a poetic/magical theatrical in the style of
Bread & Puppet that tells the story of the Zapatistas--how free trade and US
corn dumping wrecked their regional economy, and how GMO corn has
contaminated their ancient strains;
4.) possible skit on Terminator Seeds, the Seed Police, and World Famine...
5.) Something special for GMO Tree Protest Day (June 24)??? We hear that EARTH FIRST! is already planning something special--connect with us!!! We have 12 TREE COSTUMES we can use!!!
Jul/Aug, Internat'l: ****SRBG Summer Campaign 2003: JOIN US!!!****
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JULY: PUBLIC EDUCATION & OUTREACH!!! The Call will be made to our International list--1500 activists world-wide--to leaflet Gap, Banana Republic, & Old Navy stores and educate the public about the Gap Boycott and the Fishers' License to Kill Endangered Species: In June 2002, the Fishers filed for exemptions from the Federal and State Endangered Species Acts so that they can kill endangered species and destroy their habitat with impunity on 240,000 acres--HOW'S THAT FOR GREEN FORESTRY???!!! They tout a Forest Stewardship Council "green label" that they bought in Oct 2001. In the BAY AREA, the FISHER OLD GROWTH Redwood STUMP will be making the rounds throughout JULY!!!
AUGUST: DEMOS! DEMOS!! DEMOS!!! ...Against HOME DEPOT, Eco-Timber, Scientific Certifications Systems, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and Federal & State Agencies. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A ***LOT*** of FUN but BITING street-theater around the lying skullduggery of the FSC and the Federal and State GIVEAWAY of our FOREST to BIG BIDNESS!!!
***PLEASE CONTACT ME TO BE PART OF IT: 415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net !!!!
Sep 10-14, Mex: CANCUN, ANYONE??? Protest the WTO!!!
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GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR: The SRBG CORE GROUP has just begun a discussion of the possibility of mobilizing for Cancun! I think it would be wonderful to go! I went to a couple of the WTO organizing meetings before the invasion and have not yet picked up that thread. If we go, I think we need someone (more than one would be great!) who speaks fluent Spanish to be part of our affinity group!!! We're brainstorming transportation, as well!!! Please email thoughts and ideas!!! We hear the Mexican NGO organizing has been awesome!!! More soon on this!
Sat, May 24: Global Day of Action Against Procter & Gamble!
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The 7th Internat'l Global Day of Action against Procter & Gamble, as P&G
continues to mislead consumers about its animal testing practices! An
internal memo leaked to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
(reported in London's The Independent, April 11, 2002) revealed how P&G
secretly lobbied the European Union to stall a popular proposal for a
European-wide ban on testing cosmetics and toiletries on animals. The memo
went on to explain that knowledge of their lobbying efforts for animal tests
should be kept secret and that "it was important that we were successful in
keeping P&G out of the media spotlight. It would be damaging to be seen as
the company lobbying to test on animals, against public opinion."
***Animals need your help!*** In Defense of Animals has developed NEW
educational stickers and other materials to urge consumers "Don't Buy The
Lie!" BOYCOTT PROCTOR & GAMBLE and tell them why: 1-800-542-1745. More info:
pg@pandgkills.com http://www.pandgkills.com/you/merch.html
www.uncaged.co.uk/pg.html www.buav.org/f_home.html
www.peta-online.org/feat/iams/ www.idausa.org/ir.html.
Sat, May 24, Oak: Celebrate Judi Bari Day!
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Judi Bari (the legendary redwood forest and labor activist who died in 1997) versus the FBI and OPD was going down in Federal Court while anti-war protestors were locked down at the Oakland Federal Building last year!!! The jury awarded Bari and Cherney $4.4 million! File this under recent victories for civil rights! Now the City of Oakland has just declared May 24 "Judi Bari Day." The First Annual Judi Bari Day of Oakland will be honored with a quiet gathering marking the 13th anniversary of the bombing at 11:30 AM TODAY at Park Blvd and MacArthur in Oakland, the site of the bombing, in front of Oakland High School. The public and media are invited to attend!
Tue, May 27, SF: IFG Teach-in & Screening on GMOs!
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New College Theater, 777 Valencia, 6:30 pm. RESISTANCE IS FERTILE! Stop Corporate Globalization of Our Food System! Come and learn what's going on in Sacramento this June and how to get involved! A screening of FED UP (a film by Bay Area Filmmaker Angelo Sacerdote) and a panel discussion: Anuradha Mittal, co-director, Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First); Ignacio Chapela, assistant professor - division of ecosystem science, University of California, Berkeley; Wenonah Hauter, Director, Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program at Public Citizen; Washington, DC.
Wed, May 28: SUPPORT FREE SPEECH IN MARTINEZ!!!
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A while back, AWESOME anti-war and social justice activist MICKEY McLICKER
was arrested while he and his son were having a KNIT-IN FOR PEACE, listening
to Noam Chomsky in front of Starbucks in Martinez!!! MICKEY wants to
re-enact the event that led to this violation of civil rights, with additional support!
11am--6pm, Main Street Plaza, between Starbucks and Bank of America on Main
Street, downtown Martinez. Bring food, stories, tapes, fun to share!!! YARN
& KNITTING NEEDLES WILL BE PROVIDED!!! Anyone who wants to carpool from the
Bay Area, contact 415-731-7924 chalienew@earthlink.net
Wed, May 28, SF: SUSTAIN the Resistance: Benefit for Palestine!
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Fellowship for Humanity Hall, 411 28th Street @ Telegraph in Oakland,
7:30pm--Midnight - all ages" A Tribute to Palestinian Liberation: An evening
of music, spoken word, poetry, cultural performances and dancing. As the
struggle in Palestine continues so does the need to continue to support
local and Palestinian organizations who are fighting for justice and
equality in Palestine!!! $10 - $20, no one turned away for lack of funds
Performances: Shabaaz (Qawwali dance fusion), Freedom Fighter Music (hip
hop), Mtoto Dance Ensemble (West African dance), Iron Sheik featuring Tarek
(spoken word/hip hop), Sandfly featuring Samir Moussa (rock/reggae/jam),
Marissa Ashkar (spoken word), Abdi Jibril and Philip Machingura
(percussion), Rima Chaudry (Calligraphy of Thought spoken word), DJ Atif.
Will benefit Union of Palestinian Women's Committees in Gaza, Palestine
which works to strengthen women's social, economic, political and cultural
role in Palestinian society and SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-Funded Aid to Israel
Now!), a local grassroots Palestine solidarity organization.
More info: www.sustaincampaign.org www.palwatc.org
Thu, May 29, SF: Deregulation/Clear Channel Nat'l Day of Action!
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5 PM RALLY, Clear Channel/KMEL Offices, 340 Townsend Street (between 4th and
5th Streets). The FCC is poised to approve the most dramatic changes to
media ownership regulations in decades. Leading the charge is FCC Chairman
Michael Powell, Colin Powell's son, who essentially declared war on
diversity in media at the same time that his father was spearheading the war
against Iraq.The Thursday before the June 2 FCC vote, media activists and
concerned citizens will protest at Clear Channel radio stations throughout the U.S.
with the message: No More Clear Channels! Stop the FCC Media
Giveaway! For more information, 415-575-5555, info@media-alliance.org
andrea@globalexchange.org, www.unitedforpeace.org.
Sat, May 31, SF: End Oil Dependency: Protest FORD Motor Co!!!
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12:00 Noon. Ford Dealership at Market and Dolores. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN FOR A LONG TIME!!! Now someone is finally bottomlining
it!!! ***NO WAR *OR* OIL!!!*** For more information, contact: Jason Mark, 415-558-9490,
jason@globalexchange.org. Or Christine Corwin, 415-398-4404.
Jun 5 & 6: Internat'l Days of Action for Justice in Palestine!!!
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In the Bay Area, actions are being planned for JUNE 6 by A Jewish Voice for Peace and Women in Black, 12--2pm, Montgomery and Market Street, SF. Here's part of the international call to action:
On June 5, 2003, the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Israeli occupation of
the West Bank and Gaza, we call for linked actions by Palestinian,
international, and Israeli peace groups to protest the escalating violence
against the Palestinian community and international human rights workers in
the occupied territories. We demand protection for Palestinian civilians and
for internationals, a moratorium on construction of the apartheid wall and
its associated land confiscations and home demolitions, and an end to the
occupation. United for Peace and Justice is initiating this call together
with Palestinian based, Israeli, and other international peace groups.
Committed convening groups include the Peace and Justice Studies Association
(PJSA), the International Womenıs Peace Service, and the International
Solidarity (ISM) Movement, which attempts to protect civilians and supports
the nonviolent resistance within Palestine, We seek and welcome endorsements
by all groups and individuals that support our points of unity. For Points
of Unity, Demands, and more: Starhawk at stella@mcn.org www.starhawk.org
http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/palestine.php Simona Sharoni at sharonis@evergreen.edu; 360-867-6196 ISM press office (Beit Sahur, Palestine): info@palsolidarity.org 972-2-277-4602. For a map of the wall, see http://www.gush-shalom.org/thewall/index.html.
_____________________________
***2002 was an AWESOME YEAR for the Gap Boycott Campaign, see the upcoming REPORT at http://www.gapsucks.org for highlights!!!***
For Peace, Democracy, Ecology, & Justice!!!
See You in the Streets!!!
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign
252 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net
FOR REDWOODS & WORKERS,
BOYCOTT GAP, BANANA REPUBLIC, & OLD NAVY! http://www.gapsucks.org
TO END INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM,
DISMANTLE THE PRISON-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! http://www.booksnotbars.org
FOR GLOBAL ECOLOGY & GLOBAL JUSTICE,
***END CORPORATE RULE!!!*** http://www.citizen.org http://www.ifg.org
http://www.canadians.org
For questions and comments please e-mail us!
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