A-Infos (en) US, Boston: BAAM's 11th Newsletter

Newsletter now out and available for free download (in PDF). following this URL:
http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/205319/index.php This month's issue:
Eviction Blockades Stop Forclosures - pg 1; --- ICE Raids in Providence - pg 1;
International Workers Take On Starbucks - pg 3; --- The Safe Homes Initiative - 
pg 3; --- Obama Swings Right - pg 4; ------ Eviction Blockades Defend Working 
Neighborhoods, Stop Foreclosures by Jeff Reinhardt
Amidst the soaring cost of living and a national foreclosure crisis across the 
country, some residents in Boston are sticking up for their right to housing and 
to keep properties out of the banks’ hands. On Tuesday July 15, supporters for 
Roxbury resident Paula Taylor came together to stop the bank from evicting her 
and repossessing her house, in a technique called an “eviction blockade.” The 
action was successful and Taylor retained the right to live in her house.

The blockade was comprised of a crowd of over 60 people, including several who 
decided to lock themselves to the doorways. The crowd chanted and listening to 
speeches from City Councilor Chuck Turner as well as Steve Meacham, a tenant 
organizing coordinator from City Life/Vida Urbana.

While Taylor’s condo is still foreclosed, the bank has not claimed ownership of 
the house yet. Countrywide Financial, which has recently been purchased by Bank 
of America, agreed to give her another 30 days in her condo, and to meet with 
her. Taylor originally bought a subprime mortgage from Countrywide Financial. 
These mortgages have been at the forefront of the country’s lending crisis.

“Either someone will buy who wants a tenant, or, if someone who buys the home 
wants to move in, I will move out without a fight,” said Taylor in a statement 
made prior to the blockade. “But I am taking stand based on principle that I 
will not move out without a fight as long as the bank owns the property.”

“Their [the banks’] accumulation of property is growing week by week,” said 
Meacham. Once the bank leaves the property vacant, it is open for looting, as 
many people will strip the house of its copper wire and pipe for easy money. It 
also brings other property values in the neighborhood down with it.

“This is clearly a case where the bank doesn’t care what happens to a 
neighborhood,” said Jim Brooks, an activist with City Life/Vida Urbana, who 
chained himself to the front steps long before most of the protesters showed up. 
“We need to preserve this community.”

Once it was clear that the bank would not show, the crowd responded with 
jubilation as the activists who locked themselves to the structure took off 
their chains.

“The banks are so vulnerable now,” said Brooks. “They can’t afford the bad 
press, so they decided not to show up.”

City Life/Vida Urbana, a non-profit tenants rights association in Jamaica Plain, 
organized the blockade, as well as others this year in Dorchester and Roxbury. 
Since last September, eviction blockades like this one have been consistently 
successful in deterring the banks from repossessing housing and evicting 
residents. CLVU has been at the forefront of organizing with tenants and 
homeowners across Boston who are resisting evictions.

They have also helped influence politics at City Hall. On May 16, the City 
Council passed a bill for Just Cause Eviction Protection, sponsored by Chuck 
Turner, by a margin of 13-0. The bill was designed mainly to help renters whose 
landlords are being foreclosed by the bank. It gives these renters the ability 
to stay in their homes until the bank sells the property to a new owner, who can 
decide if they want new tenants or not. If no new owner is found, the tenants 
are allowed to stay in their homes for two years, and possibly longer upon 
mediation with City Hall. It also requires that the tenants be notified of the 
foreclosure, so they don’t continue to write rent checks to the old owner, which 
has happened often in Boston.

“Without a doubt, I think our actions helped to get that vote,” said Meacham 
after the blockade concluded Tuesday.

The recent rise in foreclosures is due to bad lending practices. So-called 
“subprime” mortgages, are risky deals made with high interest rates and lots of 
hidden charges and fees. Many people sign these loans without a full 
understanding of the consequences, but the banks have been equally dubious, 
since they often target people with bad credit histories and who probably are 
apt to take the loan. This has led many analysts to describe these loans as 
“predatory.”

As our country is nearing a large recession and foreclosures are on the rise, it 
is becoming more important for communities to empower themselves and fight back. 
While the federal government is more than willing to bail out big lenders like 
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is clear that they are not so enthusiastic about 
helping the people who actually lose their homes, and whose communities are torn 
apart. Solutions must come from local resources, and this is something that is 
well understood by the folks at CLVU and more and more by the members of Boston 
City Council.

Ultimately, it was the supporters at Taylor’s house on Tuesday that helped her 
keep her home. Future blockades are sure to happen, and any and all who want to 
stand up for tenant’s rights and preserve communities in Boston should show up. 
For information about future blockades contact City Life/Vida Urbana and visit 
their website at clvu.mayfirst.org.


ICE STRIKES PROVIDENCE, the People fight back

By Juice ~ Providence NEFAC

On July 15th, 2008 over 150 community members rallied at the Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown Providence where many immigrants 
were held after a raid that same today. The 30-plus detained janitorial workers 
were employed at six courthouses across Rhode Island. Many of the janitorial 
workers who were detained were in the midst of a labor dispute with their 
employers. A local militant workers association, Fuerza Laboral, had been 
organizing with the workers to get unpaid wages. (http://www.fuerza-laboral.org/)

The ‘La Red de Defensa’ rapid response network, set up by the Olneyville 
Neighborhood Association, went into affect, calling out hundreds of migrant 
people, union members, community groups, clergy and progressive individuals from 
all over the Providence area.

The protestors made human blockades at the exits of the facility, using direct 
action to delay and resist the transport of the imprisoned immigrant people. 
According to ABC, “12 of the detainees have been freed so far, and the rest are 
with ICE [Immigaration and Customs Enforcement] in Boston.” We made a strong 
show of community power and indignation to fascistic immigration policy. We will 
continue to stand together to resist the criminalization of immigrant people! 
Stay alert for updates on how to help bring justice for the detainees, and 
continue to resist the criminalization of immigrant people.

The local immigrant action coalition has set up a legal defense and aid campaign 
for the detainees and their families, many who have no source of income now and 
children to care for. You can help these families. More info here:
http://fairimmigration.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/update-providence-rhode-island-raids-how-to-help/


ONE YEAR Anniversary!

The BAAM newsletter staff would like to raise a toast to all of its dedicated 
readers. Next month (August) marks the 1-year anniversary of the 1st monthly 
Anarchist publication in Boston since Barricada. So happy birthday us! Our 
newsletter has learned a lot from our readership. We’ve changed or format since 
last August, extended our number of pages, and missed only 1 month of 
publication. We will continue on the same mission next year, providing news and 
views on the anarchist movement and relating social struggles.

Additionally, we are happy to announce: the launch of our Mail Subscription 
Program! For $12-15 dollars (sliding scale), you can have an entire year of BAAM 
Newsletters sent to your door. Plus, your subscription will ensure the future of 
the BAAM Newsletter. We will have a snail-mail address next month, but untl 
then, email Jeff at wordup@riseup.net for ordering information.


Taking a Global Stand Against Starbucks

by Sublett

On July 5th, protesters around the world mobilized for a global day of action 
against coffee giant Starbucks. The action was called by the Grand Rapids (MI) 
Starbucks Workers ́ Union and the Sevilla, Spain chapter of the 
Confederacion Nacional de Trabajadores in response to the unjust firing of two 
union organizers. Monica, a Starbucks worker in Sevilla and Cole Dorsey, a 
barista in Grand Rapids were both fired this spring for union activity.

Even before that, Starbucks was well known for mistreating their employees. Last 
March a San Diego judge ordered them to pay back $100 million in tips that had 
been illegally shared with managers. The company also settled unfair labor 
practices charges brought by the National Labor Relations Board in two separate 
incidents in San Francisco and Michigan. The charges included illegally firing 
employees for union organizing as well as threatening, bribing, and intimidating 
union members. Anti-Starbucks demonstrations took place in cities in North 
America, Latin America, Australia, and Europe, including the cities of 
Philadelphia, Belfast, Melbourne, Moscow, Vienna and many more.

Locally, seven people gathered to demonstrate at the Central Square Starbucks in 
Cambridge. For two hours they served organic free trade iced coffee, held up 
signs and handed out leaflets. One woman dressed in a white Marie Antoinette 
costume stood silently on top of a pedestal, holding a handful of leaflets in 
lieu of a fan. The coffee was provided by Food not Bombs, while the signs were 
obtained from the Boston Radical Arts Troupe prop library. Slogans included 
“Starbucks: Wage Slave Labor for Slave Trade Coffee” and “Starbucks Workers 
Deserve Better.”

The response from passers-by was generally positive. Nearly 300 leaflets were 
handed out, exhausting the available supply, and several pedestrians stopped to 
express their support. Even a couple of drivers yelled encouragement from their 
vehicles. Police harassment was minimal. One cop observed the protest from a car 
for about a half hour, but left without speaking to the demonstrators.

As a retail company that tries hard to project a socially conscious image, 
Starbucks is highly vulnerable to tactics that expose their true business 
practices. A campaign by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers aimed at increasing 
public awareness recently forced Burger King to agree to a wage increase for 
tomato pickers at their Florida suppliers. A similar effort targeting Starbucks 
could be equally effective.

The protests of July 5 sent an unmistakable message that Starbucks cannot 
mistreat their workers without consequence. If they continue their union busting 
attempts the worldwide backlash against them will only accelerate.
www.starbucksunion.org


Cops in Dorchester reaffirm our faith in the authorities to protect us from 
ourselves by Molly

Fourth of July celebrations linger in the night long after the smoke from the 
official fireworks dissipates.

As much as I dread the idea of celebrating some supposed independence with red, 
white and blue flags flying high and with the Boston Pops playing “God Bless 
America,” really, any excuse for people to celebrate with their neighbors and 
friends instead of working can’t be all bad. The streets around Codman Square in 
Dorchester were much like any other streets throughout the country. Parties, 
barbecues and music and people in the streets lighting off fireworks – illegal 
in Massachusetts but for one night where you can safely assume that your 
neighbors won’t be calling the police on you. Of course, that doesn’t mean that 
they won’t come anyway. Our pals in blue don’t get the night off.

The inevitable sound of police sirens wafted in through the open window at our 
less-patriotic gathering. Upon looking out it appeared that the blue lights were 
stopped in front of a house a block or two down the street. Since the police are 
well known for harassing the residents of Dorchester, many of whom are people of 
color, with illegal and violent tactics, some of us felt the need to go outside 
and keep an eye on the police.

A couple of us ran down the stairs and down the street to find five unmarked 
police vehicles and ten plain-clothes officers hanging around in front of a 
couple of apparently empty houses. A couple of them were walking around one 
house with a flashlight, and another was taking a picture of the house next 
door, but most of them were standing around talking and joking with each other, 
one of them holding his baton in his hands, no doubt reassuring himself of his 
superiority to all of the criminals who dare to attempt an existence in the 
neighborhood. We stood across the street assessing the situation and trying to 
figure out exactly what about these empty houses warranted a ten-strong police 
force.

A moment later the answer became apparent when a car driving down the road was 
stopped by five or six of them walking aggressively down the middle of the 
street with their flashlights shining through the windshield.

The cops opened the doors and forced the two black men from the car and while 
two illegally searched them, a couple more illegally searched the vehicle. 
Having been standing there the entire time, it was obvious that these men had 
done absolutely nothing to validate these actions. They weren’t speeding so the 
cops didn’t even have the right to pull them over at all, nevermind to search 
them and their car. The two of us had no idea what to do at this point.

There were neighbors on the other side of the street as well watching the 
spectacle – this show was just as much for them as for the two men in the car, 
to remind everyone that the authorities are always just around the corner and 
can detain us at anytime. The more we see it, the more normal it becomes, and 
the less illegal it seems. The police searched the car for about ten minutes, 
occasionally amusing themselves with comments about the fact that the two men 
were listening to classical music on the radio.

When they had finished fruitlessly violating their fourth amendment rights, they 
allowed them back in the car and my comrade and I decided to approach the men as 
witnesses in case they wanted to make a case against the police. They didn’t 
want to, so we backed off, they drove off, and we were left with the wrath of 
the police for daring to call attention to their abuse of power.

“What? You think that was police brutality or something?” says one of them. “No, 
but it was obviously illegal for you to stop and search them like that.” At this 
point they all get angry and really aggressive towards us. “What? You should be 
thanking us!... There is a gun in that house,” pointing to the house in front of 
which we are all standing, “and there was a kid that was run over down the 
street...,” as if this somehow validates their actions. “You should be thanking us!”

One of the cops was screaming in our faces at this point. He tries to tell us 
that they were speeding, and asks us what we do for work and says that he 
doesn’t come to our jobs and tell us how to do them. I repeat that what they did 
was illegal and my comrade tells him that our tax dollars pay his salary, which 
just infuriates him more. We decide to walk away at this point and they continue 
yelling and insulting us as we walk away. They say something about “his girl” 
referring to me and I get pissed and yell back that I’m not his girl and that 
just because I’m with a guy doesn’t make me anyone’s girl and we continue walking.

As we walk down the street we stop every car driving down who will talk to us to 
warn them about the cops down the street stopping people for no apparent reason. 
We walk around the block before going back to the party so that it’s not obvious 
what house we go into if they’re watching. Back at the party we recount the 
events and get more people to come out, everyone ditching their IDs this time 
and I grab a pen and paper which I should have done before. By the time we get 
down the street the gang of cops is gone and I’m kicking myself for not getting 
badge numbers or license plate numbers.

We walk around for a little bit to see if they moved somewhere else close by and 
we saw a number of unmarked cars drive past but that’s it. At one point there 
were about eight of us at the corner and an unmarked car stops to ask if 
“everything’s alright” and drives off. Something tells me that if there were 
eight black people standing at the corner it wouldn’t have been so benign an 
encounter.

As we make our way back to the house our spirits are lifted by the fact that the 
people came back out to the streets. Despite the harassment of the cops, the 
desire, the need to celebrate won out in the end. We lit some roman candles and 
other fireworks and cheered together as the sparks flew. The cheers and the 
spirit and the sounds of the pyrotechnics igniting and the smoke in the air are 
all somehow foreshadowing of a revolution yet to come; but it won’t come on it’s 
own and it won’t come if we let the cops harass our communities with these 
tactics and worse. It’s time that we all stand together and show them that we 
know who they’re out to protect, and it’s not us.

We should organize cop watches and, at the very least, every time you hear a 
siren or walk by a situation where there are police involved, stop, watch and 
write it down – get pictures or video if you can, just be careful not to record 
audio so that you can’t be charged with wiretapping. We need them to know that 
we’ll be holding them accountable for their actions.

The Safe Homes Initiative: Safe For Whom?

by Adrienne

This ‘initiative’ began in late March 2008. Despite overwhelming opposition-from 
community members, non-profits and elected officials alike, the Boston Police 
Department maintains that the ‘intent of this program is to save lives by 
recovering firearms from youth that would not otherwise come to the attention of 
the police.’

Hmm. And how do they go about doing this? By ‘seeking voluntary consent from 
their parents to allow police to search for illegal firearms.’ In words not 
taken from the BPD brochure on the program,* the BPD is conducting warrantless, 
unconstitutional searches inlow income neighborhoods of color, using the 
pretense of ‘consent’ from parents to waive their rights and ‘participate’ in 
the program to excuse their inexcusable intrusions. The atrocity of this program 
is intensified when one considers the demographics actually involved in Boston’s 
shootings. Says Lisa Thurau-Gray of the Juvenile Justice Center at Suffolk Law, 
‘If we know that the majority of shootings are not done by juveniles, then why 
are we searching only juveniles’ homes?’ Chairman Jamarhl Crawford, of Boston’s 
New Black Panther Party notes the ‘fundamental disrespect’ from the BPD, ‘Not 
one Black elected official supported this initiative, but the police department 
still wants to roll it out.’

A hearing took place in June at the City Hall about a ‘Resolution Regarding the 
Boston Police Department’ asking that the BPD ‘either add blanket immunity from 
prosecution to its “Safe Homes” program or ensure that the “consent to search” 
is indeed voluntary by making police visits to homes informational only, with 
parents being asked to call them if they would like for a search to be 
conducted.’ This modification would make the programonly slightly less 
atrocious. The police occupation of neighborhoods and streets is bad enough 
without extending their occupation into the private homes of people already 
subject to egregious state repression. May I also mention that, as of this 
writing, Boston has only experienced 33 homicides in 2008, as opposed to 
Philadelphia’s 165, LA’s 193 and New York City’s 250? Just sayin.


Obama’s Positions Change...

You’d Better Believe It!

By Jake Carman

While liberals, leftists and radicals alike flock to Barack Obama’s presidential 
band-wagon, wooed by the presumptive Democratic nominee’s slogan of “Change we 
can believe in,” and his “grassroots” campaign strategy, Obama himself has been 
doing a bit of changing: changing his positions, that is.

After decades of Conservative presidents—Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and G.W. 
Bush—the Democratic Party surprised the world by running both a woman (Senator 
Clinton) and a Black man (Senator Obama) as the top seeds for presidential 
nomination. This made perfect political sense as America’s working class, with 
economic collapse looming, the war dragging on, our civil liberties 
disappearing, and our few pro-worker, pro-union policies diminishing, could not 
tolerate another four years of the status quo. And while Hilary Clinton was 
clearly in the pocket of big business, Barack Obama stood out like a star, a 
politician cut from a different cloth: he took progressive stances on many 
issues, called for an end to the Iraq war, bitterly opposed NAFTA and other 
free-trade policies and championed change. Furthermore, Obama refused 
large-scale corporate funding toward his campaign, seemingly rejecting the heavy 
influences of money on the political world.

People saw Obama bringing true change and lent him their support to win the 
nomination. But since he won the Democratic ticket on June 3, Obama has turned 
to the right so fast our heads spun. During his race against Clinton, Obama had 
criticized Clinton for serving on the Wal-Mart board, and denounced other ties 
to corporations. Obama even expressed in his book The Audacity of Hope, his 
sympathies with Wal-Mart employees, “who hold their breath every single month in 
the hope they’ll have enough money to support their children.”

However, as Dave Lindorff wrote in his article for the Baltimore Chronicle, 
“Primary Over, Hillary Won,” after his nomination, Obama appointed “a team of 
political advisers straight out of the pro-corporate, pro-military mainstream of 
Clintonism,” led by Jason Furman, who Lindorff says is “best known to labor 
activists for... defending Wal-Mart as a ‘progressive success story’ and 
denouncing the efforts of union-backed groups like Wal-Mart Watch.”

Obama’s stance against NAFTA and free trade has given way to the vague language 
and double-speak so common with Democratic presidential nominees. It turns out 
that Obama isn’t so against free trade after all. In a June 19, 2008 article for 
The Nation, entitled “Obama Goes Soft on Free Trade” John Nichols quotes Obama 
who, when asked about his change of stance, said, “Sometimes during campaigns 
the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified... Politicians are always guilty of 
that, and I don’t exempt myself.” Nichols points out that Obama’s anti-NAFTA 
speech to Janesville, Wisconsin autoworkers led to his February 19 victory at 
the Wisconsin primary, which “proved to be a critical turning point for his 
campaign.”

After all of Obama’s talk about the Civil Rights Movement and peoples’ 
struggles, he turned to support Bush administration and FISA’s illegal campaign 
of domestic spying, constantly used against social justice movements. The Bush 
Administration has stopped investigations into the wiretapping program by 
claiming that phone companies, the enabler and the government’s secret ear, 
cannot be forced to surrender their records or face prosecution. Bush’s friends 
in congress wrote up a bill to legitimize his claim in June. Only 15 senators 
voted against the bill. Obama was not one.

Since his nomination, Obama has also taken strides to distance himself once and 
for-all of accusations that he is Muslim, or that he would work to help African 
Americans and other minorities. As Alan Maass writes in a June 28 piece for 
Weekend Edition, entitled “Obama Veers Right,” “The day after he claimed victory 
following the last Democratic primaries on June 3, Obama appeared before the 
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where he committed himself to an 
undivided Jerusalem, which isn’t even the position of the Bush administration.” 
Obama also called to end dialogue with Hamas and lent unconditional support to 
Israel’s military maneuvering against Iran. Next, Obama went after Black 
fathers. Maass continues: “At a Father’s Day speech, [Obama] renewed his 
blame-the-victim criticisms of Black men as being responsible for the problems 
of the Black community.” David Lindorff points out, “Barack was out there 
dissing black dads... charging them, as a class, with abandonment of their 
children... studies show that black fathers are no less likely to abandon their 
kids than are white dads.”

Lindorff also tackles Obama’s “flip-flop” on Iraq. Though the presidential 
nominee once vowed to end the war in 16 months, says Lindorff, “It’s getting 
harder and harder to see any light between Obama’s and Hillary’s positions on 
the Iraq War.” According to Lindorff, Obama’s newly weakened stance on the war 
is: “‘listen to the generals’ and that withdrawal would depend upon the 
situation on the ground.” Obama is looking more like Clinton, or even Kerry, 
each day. Don’t be surprised if his supporters pull out the old “Lesser of two 
evils,” line.

Well, regardless of his stances, he is still the people’s candidate, not another 
corporate candidate, right? What about his rejection of corporate funding, his 
grassroots campaign? After his nomination, that all changed too. As Lindorff 
writes, “Obama, after showing a remarkable ability to inspire tons of small 
donations...is greedily slurping from Hillary’s cesspool of corporate backers, 
now that she’s out of the way. Soon, he’ll be wallowing in tainted cash from 
Wall Street commercial and investment banks and hedge funds, telecom companies, 
defense contractors, Big Pharma companies, the HMO industry, and the 
entertainment industry. He’ll be owned like just about every other politician in 
Washington.” Obama’s changed? You’d better believe it!

So face it: Obama changed toward the right, change we didn’t want to believe in 
but should have expected. Let’s stop believing in changing a broken system, and 
start believing in change built by communities—in spite of politicians. Here’s a 
new slogan for the newly disillusioned: You want change? Make revolution.

In November, cast your vote or don’t, one piece of paper will not make the 
change we seek regardless of whose name is written on it. The actions we take 
each day, the communities we build, and the struggles we wage are the key to 
change, and change will only come if we all participate.

Fuck Corporate Philanthropy

By Adrienne

Long-time readers know that the hypocrisy inherent in corporate philanthropy 
makes me angrier than many things. Basically, scenarios wherein assholes who 
thieve billions in profits through injurious means seek to improve their public 
image by throwing a few bucks at a non-profit or making an empty gesture to 
alleviate some problem to which they contribute egregiously.

This paradigm manifests itself repeatedly. We’ve got beer companies who 
advertise with images of violent hetero-masculinity, but who go on to sponsor 
Corporate Gay Pride events with big rainbow banners [cough, Miller Lite, et 
al.]. We’ve got Levi’s, who closed operations in a small Texan town, ruining the 
lives and economic opportunities for its former workers, but then set up a 
relief fund for its own victims(1). Bank of America gave over $144 billion to 
the mining and burning of coal, unspeakably devastating to all forms of life, 
but by making lighter receipt paper for its ATMs was declared “green” by the 
Natural Resources Defense Council.

Two absurd and local instances of hypocritical corporate philanthropy recently 
made themselves known to the author. Walking down Harvard Ave, I was visually 
assaulted by a billboard promoting NSTAR’s Walk for Children’s Hospital Boston, 
which took place last month. What’s wrong with this picture? NSTAR is the 
largest energy company in Massachusetts and it is sourced heavily by burning 
coal (2). Burning coal is *fucking disastrous ***to human health— and children’s 
health especially. It increases cancer risk, is known to cause cognitive delay, 
not to mention hordes of respiratory issues, including asthma. I’m very pleased, 
of course, to hear that NSTAR raised $863,276.31 for the Children’s Hospital. It 
totally cancels out the fact that they’re sending so many children to the 
hospital to begin with, yes?

Meanwhile, NSTAR’s website further assures me that, beginning in July, customers 
can have their energy provided by wind power instead, for an additional $4-7 a 
month. When I went to pre-enroll for this service, I was told that my account 
would have to be verified to make sure that I meet all of their “NSTAR Green” 
requirements. Hmm.

The next day, a friend happened to cast a jaundiced eye upon the list of 
sponsors for the Massachusetts Society for the Protection of Animals’ annual 
Walk for Animals. Among the sponsors, though Domino’s Pizza strikes one as 
unlikely, none were quite so hypocritical and blatantly as Novartis (who, I see, 
sponsored this event last year as well). Novartis is a pharmaceutical company 
and one of the primary customers of Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract 
animal-testing company whose practices are exceptionally abominable, killing 500 
animals a day, engaging in outright abuse of animals, and exposed 5+ times for 
improper conduct on the job. So horrific are they that there’s an ongoing 
international campaign to get them shut down by any means necessary (3). 
Novartis must’ve read the part on the MSPCA’s website where it says that 8 in 10 
Americans report that corporate support of causes wins their trust in that 
company. Because if a company that hearts abusing, torturing, and killing 
animals throws a few bucks toward the MSPCA’s mission to have a significant 
impact in the lives of thousands of animals, then who are we to question their 
integrity?

So that’s why I hate corporate philanthropy. At least these reprehensible 
practices make it that much easier to illustrate why capitalism needs to be 
destroyed, like, 500 years ago.

[1] Read about this and more in Miriam Ching Yoon Louie. *SweatshopWarriors: 
Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory*. Cambridge, Mass: South End 
Press, 2001.

[2] Aviva Chomsky, “The Dirty Story Behind Local Energy,” The Phoenix, 1October 
2007,http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/48183-dirty-story-behind-local-energy/

[3] For more information about Huntingdon Life Sciences and the campaign against 
them, go to http://www.shac.net/


Calendar: Get Involved

Every Monday:
Open Mic Night at TJ’s Vegan Pizza, 7pm, 487 Cambridge St, Allston/ More info: 
www.myspace.com/scallywagglesopenmic

Papercut Zine Library meeting, 7:30pm, 45 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge

Every Wednesday:
Martial arts classes, 6pm, 45 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge

First Tuesday of Every Month:
BAAM meeting, 7pm, Lucy Parsons Center, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston

Second Tuesday of Every Month:
Anarchist Black Cross meeting (defense and prison abolition group), 8pm, 45 Mt. 
Auburn St., Cambridge

Second Sunday of Every Month:
Industrial Workers of the World meeting. 2pm, Lucy Parsons Center, 549 Columbus 
Ave, Boston

Every Friday:
Food Not Bombs free community meal, 4-6pm, Boston Common, Park St T-Stop

Upcoming:
July 29th
The Struggle for Abortion Rights in Ireland: Abortion is illegal in Ireland. 
Aileen O’Carroll, an Irish anarchist and member of the Workers Solidarity 
Movement talks about twenty years of pro-choice activism, outlines how struggles 
have been won and describes the battles that are being fought in the present 
day. Sponsored by NEFAC-Boston. Info: nefacboston@nefac.net. 7pm, at the Lucy 
Parsons Center, 549 Columbus Ave., South End, Boston.

July 31st
Solidarity Rally for Verizon Workers: The union contract for over 70,000 Verizon 
workers on the east coast expires at midnight on August 2nd. Join IBEW to rally 
for a fair contract before the deadline. 6:30 am at Verizon Headquarters, 185 
Franklin St., (Post Office Sq.), Boston, MA. Contact: IBEW Local 2222 at (617) 
929-6000 or visit www.ibew2222.org.

August 2nd
Benefit for the Boston Zine Fair and Conversions last show. 7pm at the Papercut 
Zine Library, 45 Mnt Auburn St, Cambridge, Ma.

August 4th
Protest Warmaker, Nancy Pelosi. More info: www.stopthewars.org. 4:30pm-7:00pm at 
the JFK Library, Boston, Ma.

August 5th
Film: Discovering Dominga. Living in Iowa, Denese Becker was haunted by memories 
of her Mayan childhood. A quest for her lost identity in Guatemala turns into a 
searing journey of political awakening that reveals a genocidal crime and the 
still-unmet cry for justice from the survivors. Directed by Patricia Flynn and 
Mary Jo McConahay. 60 min. For more information, call Jacob Carter at 
860-459-7428 or email guatcomboston@earthlink.net.

August 8th-9th
Anarchist People of Color (APOC) Northeast Gathering: Philadelphia, PA. Build a 
new vision for the future, and a new plan of action for today. We want to expand 
our understanding of race, class, gender, autonomy, and freedom - while 
attacking white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, and ALL borders, 
boundaries, and barriers. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA More 
info: northeastapoc@yahoo.com.

August 9th
Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) Prisoner Support Afternoon. Send literature and 
letters into prisons. 2pm at the Papercut Zine Library, 45 Mnt Auburn St, 
Cambridge, Ma.

August 9th
First city-wide planning meeting for the October 11 Anti-war demonstration in 
Copley Sq. 3pm at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave. Chinatown. stopthewars.org.

August 10th
Join the Providence IWW for the year anniversary of the police attack on our 
solidarity march in North Providence, RI., when IWW organizer Alex Svoboda was 
brutally maimed and she and Jason Fredmutter arrested. Come celebrate Alex’s 
recovery and our collective strength and organizing with music, food, and 
speakers. 2pm at Donigian Park (Valley St. South of Atwells) Providence, RI. 
Contact: ProvidenceIWW@gmail.com or 401-451-3320.

That Night, Concert to benefit Alex Svoboda’s legal defense and health fund, in 
Providence, RI. Bands include: Narvhal, Jake and the Infernal Machine, Clara 
Hendricks, Magpie, etc. 5pm at the Small Green House at the Corner of Governor 
and Williams St. Email: Avacado@riseup.net.

August 16th
Papercut Yardsale. Just like it sounds. All day, 45 Mnt Auburn St, Cambridge, Ma.

August 16th and 17th
New England Subregional Meeting of the Northeast Anarchist Network:
Day 1: New people and networking day: come share your 
projects/groups/aspirations/ideas about anarchy with the assembly while eating 
free food and meeting other anarchists. 11am- 6pm, followed by entertainment 
from the Network of Revolutionary Musicians.
Day 2: A more serious day of meetings. 10am to 4pm. Agenda will be announced 
closer to the date, but you can contribute: Email Laila at 
icefox212@hotmail.com. Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown.

August 22nd ‘Eyes of the Rainbow’- film about Assata Shakur. Discussion lead by 
Ashanti Alston and Kazi Toure 7pm at the Community Church of Boston 565
Boylston St.

August 23rd
Third Annual Sacco and Vanzetti Memorial March. Rally at Copley Square at 1pm, 
March to the North End at 3pm. Speakers and bands TBA. SaccoandVanzetti.org.
August 24th – 28th
Disrupt the DNC! Help disrupt the Democratic National Convention in Denver, 
Colorado More info: dncdisruption08.org.
Not in Denver? Protest the electoral process at home! Week 1: target the democrats.

August 30th
“Beyond Elections: Democracy without politicians” panel, featuring Ashanti 
Alston, ex black panther and BLA prisoner and anarchist author/speaker; Cindy 
Milstein, an anarchist activist and educator, organizer of the Renewing the 
Anarchist Tradition conference and board-member of the Institute for Anarchist 
Studies; James Herod, long-time anarchist thinker, and author of Getting Free: 
Creating an Association of Democratic Autonomous Neighborhoods and NEFAC speaker 
tba.
2pm at the Community Church of Boston, Copley Square, Boston, MA.

Sept. 1st – 4th
Shut Down the RNC! Crash the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, 
Minnesota. More info: nornc.org.
Not in the Twin Cities? Protest the electoral process at home! Week 2: Target 
the Republicans.

August 28th
The August Critical Mass. Bike Riders will meet around 5PM at Copley Place, on 
Boylston between Clarendon and Dartmouth and take the streets of Boston together.




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