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Indymedia.us and the EFF successfully fight back against bogus FBI subpoena

Indymedia.us is happy to announce that we've managed, after nearly a year of legal action on our behalf by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), to successfully fight back against a bogus subpoena request issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in conjunction with a grand jury investigation. The request demanded we turn over all IP address logs for a day in June of 2008 - not only did Indymedia.us object to this blatantly illegitimate and overly broad request, but, per accepted Indymedia best practices, we do not keep such logs in the first place, in order to maximally ensure the privacy of our site users. Also troubling was the fact that the indymedia.us sysadmin who received the subpoena was also bound by its gag order provision, making her unable to discuss the legal issue with the broader network of collectives cooperating on the indymedia.us site. We're happy that the EFF was ultimately able to get this demand for silence shown to be illegitimate as well --- one can only wonder how many ISPs silently capitulate to similarly broad and unconstitutional requests.

More information: From EFF's Secret Files: Anatomy of a Bogus Subpoena --- How the Government Secretly Demanded the IP Address of Every Visitor to Political News Site Indymedia.us | Interview with Indymedia sys admin Kristina Clair | Interview with EFF lawyer Kevin Bankston | List of previous incidents of legal repression of Indymedia centers | US-Behörde wollte illegal an Nutzerdaten von indymedia.us gelangen

G20 Finance Ministers fail to agree on Climate Change Finance Package

G20 Finance ministers failed to reach agreement on the financing required for a global agreement to stave off catastrophic climate change, according to WWF Scotland. The Finance Ministers of the G20 countries were meeting in St Andrews, Scotland on 6-7 November.

Outside the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St Andrews students and civil society gathered with an alternative summit on Saturday and Students Blockading the G20 meeting on the road to the Fairmont Hotel in an attempt to disrupt the G20 finance ministers as they arrived at their St Andrews hotel location. A rally occured in St Andrews to say 'Nae Tae G20.' on November 7. (Photos) The students were protesting against the G20's current policies regarding the economic recession.

Related: International investigation reveals multinational fossil fuel campaign to undermine Copenhagen
Indymedia Scotland | Nae Tae G20 in St Andrews | Climate IMC

Industrialised World Intransigence on CO2 emissions dooms Climate Negotiations

Africa abandons Barcelona's pre COP15 climate talks - Anger in the streets at rich nations inaction. Copenhagen Climate Treaty appears doomed - delays likely. Delay is not an option, delay kills.

This week (Nov 2 - 6) the Barcelona International Climate Change Talks are happening, five days of formal negotiations, in the lead up to COP 15 in Copenhagen in December 2009. Already Barcelona has seen a Manifestation in Barcelona streets - "The climate is not for sale" (Youtube vid | report), Outdoor film screening in city streets of Age of Stupid, TckTckTck wake up call for climate talks, Greenpeace banner drop (Youtube), Anarchist night greeting, Africa boycott U.N. climate talks (Grist report), Evening Water Lobby group targeted, and the Main entrance shut down by activists.

Conservation organisations have warned that the Copenhagen climate treaty threatens to subsidise the destruction of the world's remaining rainforests instead of financing their protection. In Indonesia Greenpeace established a Climate Defenders Camp to preserve Rainforest peatlands (Youtube Video). On October 24, 2009 people in 181 countries came together through 350.org calling for carbon emissions to be capped at 350ppm. It was the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history, at over 5200 events around the world, many of them reported on the Indymedia Network. (Photos)

See also: Barcelona IMC | Indymedia Ireland | Climate IMC
Climate Code Red: the Case for a Sustainability Emergency | Carbon Equity

Opposition to EDL Rally in Leeds, UK

On 31st October 2009 in City Square, Leeds, the English Defence League held a rally. The EDL is a nationalist, islamophobic organisation formed earlier this year and is widely viewed as racist.

A counter-demonstration was organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF). Participants described it variously as being dull, jubilant and tightly controlled. Meanwhile, other anti-EDL groups attempted to confront EDL directly. Reports suggest that at least two large groups attempted to reach EDL to confront them at City Square, but were turned back towards the UAF rally by police (see time-line for first-hand accounts).

Reports from the area around City Square were that most of the EDL supporters didn't go into their pen. Some were held between police lines and others regrouped on Boar Lane, before being brought back to the railway station by the police. Another group of EDL marched around the Albion Street area and responded violently when challenged about their inflammatory chanting.

BusinessEurope conference disturbed by climate activists

This morning (28th october) around 9:00am dozens of costumed activists have blocked all access to the Charlemagne Building in Brussels, next to the Commission’s HQ, where Business Europe, the EU lobby of bosses and industrialists, is supposed to hold their conference on Copenhagen and climate change and hear Barroso self-congratulate himself on green capitalism. Belgian activists retort: Our Climate Ain’t None of Your Business!

[press release(En/Fr) | report (fr) | fotos | 1 2 3 | Climate IMC report | Climate Justice Action]

Squatting ban in the Netherlands approaching

For the last three years a ban on squatting has been in preparation in Dutch politics. A new act that is to ban squatting in the Netherlands has passed through parliament on October 15th. Squatting empty houses that have been empty for over a year is currently still legal in the Netherlands. The new act, an initiative by the Christian Democrats, the Christian Union and the conservative opposition party VVD, is to make squatting a felony punishable by at least one year and up to three years of prison when refusing to evict. Despite strong critique from the High Court, the union of city councils and even the Amsterdam police force, the christian/rightwing majority in The Hague is pushing this law through.

Venezuela: Demarcation without land, criminalization and death for indigenous struggle

Struggle:
Old man Antonio used to say that the struggle is like a circle.
One can start anywhere.
But it never ends.
-Subcomandante Marcos

This past October 12 what we have been denouncing for a long time as the ethnocide and ethno-devouring strategy of the current State-government of Venezuela took place: Chavez’s ministerial team came to award so-called title deeds to three indigenous Yukpa communities in the Sierra of Perija, with the pretense to finish the process of land demarcation in the habitat belonging to these people. It is noteworthy the absence of President Chavez in an event long awaited in the Sierra since the year 2002, when, by constitutional mandate, the State was supposed to finalize the process of land demarcation in all the indigenous territories in the country. Instead, an enormous deployment of soldiers blanketed the event, supposedly for the security of the ministers (Interior and Justice, Indigenous People’s, among other functionaries present), and who, at the slightest sign of protest by those communities not favored by the event, went immediately into action to repress their demands. It was, in the end, an event by which the Yukpa had to forcefully accept the receipt of NOTHING.

Puerto Rico: Paro Nacional del Pueblo

- CMI-Puerto Rico

Más de 150,000 personas marcharon el día del Paro Nacional contra las políticas neoliberales del gobierno de Luis Fortuño y los ricos. Hoy por hoy el país se prepara para organizar la Huelga General.

Como parte de las actividades programadas para el día del Paro Nacional del 15 de octubre, hubo dos grandes concentraciones: la de la coalición Todo Puerto Rico Por Puerto Rico comandada por el liderato de la Coalición Sindical compuesta de sucursales de uniones burocráticas estadounidenses, y la del Frente Amplio de Solidaridad y Lucha comandado por la UTIER. Pero en el Expreso Las Américas, en el área del elevado que pasa por encima de la Ave. Roosevelt, se dio una tercera concentración de manera improvisada.

Ver foto reportaje

Además- Del Paro Nacional a la Huelga General (Foto reportaje de las marchas y concentración)

Solidaridad en Nueva York- Foto reportaje y Comunicado | Video de manifestación

Videos- Marcha en la Milla de oro y concentración en la Ave. Roosevelt | Tensión en el Expreso Las Américas | Entrevistas en el Expreso bloqueado | FMPR dice Presente en el Paro Nacional

Costa Rica: Popular March, For Dignity in the South

On Tuesday, October 6th, two years after the Fraud that decided the approval of the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S., a Popular March for Dignity in the Southern Region of Costa Rica was held. More than 150 activists marched from the entrance of the Indigenous Territory of Térraba, towards the center of the county of Buenos Aires. One step after another, they covered 13 kilometers in total. Different communities from all over the South face struggles against the expansion of pineapple plantations, the building of Diquís Hydroelectric Project, an international airport that would be built on the land of “Finca 9”, the plans to develop marinas and industrial tuna farms in Golfo Dulce and in favor of the Indigenous Autonomy Bill.

South Africa's Shackdwellers Under Violent Attack

DURBAN — On Saturday, September 26, about 40 heavily armed men ambushed a meeting of the Kennedy Road Development Committee of Abahlali baseMjondolo, South Africa's shack dwellers’ movement. The men were apparently shouting, “the AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for the amaZulu!” The ensuing violence has resulted in between two and eight deaths, and hundreds of homes burned. As of Sunday night only leaders of Abahlali baseMjondolo have been jailed --- many of whom are members of the movement's security team and some of the youth who were not present at the time of the attack. Many have fled the settlement and people's homes are being destroyed, including the home of Abahlali President, S'bu Zikode.

It is clear that the attacks have been on political and ethnic grounds, and there is growing concern regarding the involvement of local authorities including the police, ANC, and ward council. The violence appears to be a planned attempt to break this peaceful and democratic movement. Please read and sign a petition demanding an end to the violence.

More Info: Sept29 Press Release from Durban Action Against Xenophobia | Sept28 Video & Story from Media Mobilizing Project | Sept 27 statement from Abahlali baseMjondolo | | | UPDATES: South Africa’s Poor Targeted by Evictions, Attacks in Advance of 2010 World Cup from Democracy Now! | Armed Guards and Checkpoints As Repression Continues in Durban South Africa from MMP

Massive popular resistance as Micheletti dictatorship revives 1980's death squad

The Micheletti dictatorship in Honduras, which prominently includes 1980's death squad "Battalion 3-16" [1] [2] members Billy Joya [1] [2], Nelson Willy Mejía Mejía [1] [2] and Napoleón Nassar Herrera [1] [2], has suspended human rights since the 28 June 2009 coup d'etat, has "disappeared" at least three people, has extrajudicially executed nearly ten people, and has detained hundreds of people [1] (es) | [2] (en) (es) | [3] (en) (es). Despite this, unprecedented grassroots protests have culminated in the arrival on Tuesday 11 August 2009 in Tegucigalpa of over 70,000 (es) demonstrators and of thousands of others in San Pedro Sula, coordinating through the Front against the coup d'etat. The Front's 19th Communique states that unless the Micheletti regime resigns within the next few days and restores Zelaya to the presidency, then the Front will further extend massive civil disobedience actions (es) that have already paralysed the economy and will file for national and international criminal proceedings against those responsible for the extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations.

The mainstream Western media have with very few exceptions failed to report the participation of the Battalion 3-16 death squad in the Micheletti de facto government, they have not reported on "disappearances", they have severely underreported the number of extrajudicial executions, and they have almost entirely hidden the unresolved context of the 1980's death squads. The Zelaya government also contained death squad members (es), which CODEH and other Honduran local human rights organisations objected to. The Obama-Clinton-Lula so-called "Arias" plan has glaringly omitted any mention of whether or not it proposes to exclude death squad members from any "negotiated" coalition government.

PHOTOS: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
INDEPENDENT MEDIA: IMC Honduras | Front against the coup d'etat | Revistazo | Honduras Resists (en)+(es)
RADIO: Radio Liberada mirrors: [1] - [2] - [3] | Radio Es Lo Demenos | Association of Radios and Participating Programs of El Salvador
HUMAN RIGHTS NGOs: CIPRODEH | CODEH | COFADEH | COMUN/Honduras Laboral
SUPPORT GROUPS: Quixote Center | SOA Watch | Via Campesina | Honduras Resists! (support group)
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS SUMMARIES: COFADEH, 15 July (es) | FIDH and many others, 6 August, preliminary (en) (es) final | Quixote Center (en), 7 August (es)

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en	Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign Launches Campaign with Successful Blockade From the newswire: "On Tuesday, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign kicked off it... 22-11-2009 18:09 Chicago
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