http://www.thesitch.com No justice. No Peace. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:45:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 The Sitch highlights the activism of ordinary people in Rochester, NY as well as around the country. The online blog, TheSitch.com, is home to reports and analysis of politics and grassroots efforts. No justice. No Peace. Adriano Contreras http://www.thesitch.com/photos/blog_header_2009.pnghttp://www.thesitch.com The Sitch, activism, anti-war, students, working class, socialist, revolutionary no Adriano Contreras admin@thesitch.com http://www.thesitch.com/viva-palestina/2010/01/a-fine-morning-in-syria/ http://www.thesitch.com/viva-palestina/2010/01/a-fine-morning-in-syria/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:30:04 +0000 Adriano Contreras http://www.thesitch.com/?p=2680 http://www.thesitch.com/viva-palestina/2010/01/a-fine-morning-in-syria/feed/ 2 The convoy wasnt all serious business. Long periods of waiting for negotiations or departures lead to some fun moments. During these times, peoples personalities got to shine and the experience of travel produced further bonding. Click the image below to check out the clip from Syria Ingrid and David On A Fine Morning In Syria Outside Damascus, Syria | The Sitch http://www.thesitch.com/politics/2009/08/state-capitalism-in-russia-by-brian-lenzo/ http://www.thesitch.com/politics/2009/08/state-capitalism-in-russia-by-brian-lenzo/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:44:17 +0000 Adriano Contreras http://www.thesitch.com/?p=2163 http://www.thesitch.com/politics/2009/08/state-capitalism-in-russia-by-brian-lenzo/feed/ 0 Brian Lenzo is a member of the International Socialist Organization. He recently gave the final talk in a 3-part series on the Russian Revolution in which he talked about state capitalism after the counter-revolution in Russia. Click below to check out an MP3 of Brians talk. STATE CAPITALISM IN RUSSIA 54MB http://www.thesitch.com/viva-palestina/2009/07/journey-to-gaza/ http://www.thesitch.com/viva-palestina/2009/07/journey-to-gaza/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:37:24 +0000 Martin Smith http://www.thesitch.com/?p=1758 http://www.thesitch.com/viva-palestina/2009/07/journey-to-gaza/feed/ 1 Martin Smith is a war veteran with Iraq Veterans Against the War. On July 15, 2009, he made his way into the Gaza strip as part of the Viva Palestina-US convoy spearheaded by George Galloway. preparing the vehicles. we rented these vehicles, which carried the medical supplies we purchased in Cairo and delivered to a hospital in Gaza. ready to leave! This banner reads Free Palestine! We sang "Allel al Koffeyye," a Palestinian national song, over and over. Listen to it below. It was so loud that the CD made the stereo system crackle with distortion. The song in Arabic translates roughly as: Raise Your Koffeyye (or also loosely translated as the Koffeyye is the Life). When the signal is given, we will fight and it will sound like thunder. LISTEN TO Allel al Koffeyye Lyrics: Hold up your kuffiyah and wave it high Sing folklore songs Shake your shoulder gently Let the bullets make it more exciting Hoist the flag over Ramallah and Nablus Your headdress is a symbol of dignity, honor and determination Your first bullet unfolds a saga of long struggle When it comes to rights, we turn the earth up side down We planted the orchard with figs and olive trees And at home we have wheat and lemon Oh homeland, we are waiting for your signal to march And then we light our houses with victory Hold up your kuffiyah and wave it high Sing folklore songs Shake your shoulder gently Let the bullets make it more exciting Hold up your kuffiyah and wave it high Sing folklore songs Shake your shoulder gently Let the bullets make it more exciting * kuffiyah – traditionally a symbol for Palestinian nationalism. We also listened to Ween ala Ramallah Our spirits were high. These two women were amazing and always giggled at me when i tried to speak to them in short broken Arabic phrases. Their presence and enthusiasm kept everyones spirits high. Egyptian side of Rafah crossing. These protesters hold a banner which reads, End The Siege of Gaza! People show up here every day and are denied crossing. We witnessed these protesters being shoved and pushed by the Egyptian riot police, as we watched in horror from the bus. yet again...the Egyptian authorities check our passports in one of many more times to come. Karen, a Team Leader who resides in Austin, TX, worked on a project in which American children made greeting cards for us to then share at a Gaza orphanage. Other members brought soccer (footballs) for the children as well. Viva Viva Palestina! Yo Go Gurl! Cynthia McKinney led chants and danced when we were at the crossing point for over two hours waiting, as the Egyptian authorities delayed our entry so that we entered in the dark at nighttime. Our chants were so loud that they echoed throughout the building. But after five minutes of our persistence, we were then allowed to begin crossing. As George Galloway said with his usual dry wit, "Well, that certainly worked!" Final gate from Egypt to Palestine Palestinian youth drum corps: This was our first sight when we made the crossing. This steel wall built by Israel was our second sight. This wall was created with the intention of Israel tightening its control over the Rafah crossing. The Wall at Rafah Anti-Zionist rabbis joined our convoy. They received very positive attention, but their presence was very startling and unsual in both Egypt and Palestine. Pandemonium erupts as we exit the bus. We head for a press conference, and the shouting, cheering, and tears are overwhelming. Viva Palestina! We are all thrilled to have finally crossed the border. It is a moment of great solidarity! These two children held a banner to greet their brother who was a part of our convoy and was reconnecting and meeting his family as he returned to Palestine. Palestinian boy The "Jersey Boys!" These guys were a part of our [...] http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2009/04/eyewitness-to-occupation-featuring-matthis-chiroux-alaa-majeed-raja-abdulhaq/ http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2009/04/eyewitness-to-occupation-featuring-matthis-chiroux-alaa-majeed-raja-abdulhaq/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:49:38 +0000 Adriano Contreras http://www.thesitch.com/?p=998 http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2009/04/eyewitness-to-occupation-featuring-matthis-chiroux-alaa-majeed-raja-abdulhaq/feed/ 1 Eyewitness to Occupation was the evening plenary on March 28th at the East Coast Conference of the Campus Antiwar Network. This fantastic panel included Matthis Chiroux a war resister, Alaa Majeed an Iraqi female journalist and refugee, and Raja Abdulhaq who is a Palestinian activist in New York City. Matthis Chiroux on Afghanistan, the War on Terror and resistance. Enjoyed Matthiss take on Afghanistan and the War on Terror? Check out the 6-Part series 6 Reasons To Oppose the War in Afghanistan, youll find Reason #1 here. Alaa Majeed on her role as a journalist and life in Iraq For more on everyday life in Iraq under occupation, check out Dahr Jamails book Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches From An Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq from Haymarket Books Raja Abdulhaq sums up Israeli occupation and legitimacy of Palestinian resistance You can learn more about Palestine by checking out HaymarketBooks.org and Sherry Wolfs talk on Justice for Palestine from this past February http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2009/01/voices-of-a-peoples-history-rochester/ http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2009/01/voices-of-a-peoples-history-rochester/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:32:09 +0000 admin http://www.thesitch.com/?p=542 http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2009/01/voices-of-a-peoples-history-rochester/feed/ 0 The International Socialist Organization held a fundraiser for the Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC) titled, Voices of a Peoples History. Its name derives from the book by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. It is a collection of letters, speeches, poems, journal entries, and essays of people involved in the struggle of changing this country for the better. CERSC projects include: Haymarket Books publisher and bi-monthly magazine International Socialist Review (ISR) The event took place at the Underground Railroad Cafe on 480 W. Main Street in Rochester, NY. Take a look for yourself. http://www.thesitch.com/politics/2009/01/road-to-winter-soldier-now-showing/ http://www.thesitch.com/politics/2009/01/road-to-winter-soldier-now-showing/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:13:19 +0000 admin http://www.thesitch.com/?p=508 http://www.thesitch.com/politics/2009/01/road-to-winter-soldier-now-showing/feed/ 0 The Sitch Presents: Now Showing at RoadtoWinterSoldier.com Running Time: 19 minutes and 39 seconds Available on DVD with over 2 hours of extra features The Story Coupled with the brutality of war and its unjust consequences, many veterans have returned home and resisted redeployment. The Road to Winter Soldier documents Bryan Caslers struggle with resistance and in organizing with Iraq Veterans Against the War. In working to strengthen the veteran-arm of the anti-war movement. Caslers efforts become focused on putting on a Northeast Winter Soldier; a day of education and veterans testimony culminating in an action at the VA clinic which just so happens to be closed on weekends. Bryan Casler Bryan served in the United States Marine Corps from 2002-2006. He served in both Fallujah and Babylon, Iraq. He did a tour in the United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan as well as serving in Japan. He currently lives in Rochester, NY where hes attended both Monroe Community College and the Rochester Institute of Technology. In 2007 he cofounded the Rochester chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. From the Filmmaker The Road to Winter Soldier is a tribute to one of the many people involved in changing the world that the history books leave out. As well as to highlight the fight of our brothers and sisters in Iraq Veterans Against the War who have returned from the realities of war to come home to a government that neglects them when they need healthcare and arrests them when they find the courage to resist and speak out. Adriano Contreras 30 seconds Road to Winter Soldier no http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2008/12/42nd-street-the-world-free-free-palestine/ http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2008/12/42nd-street-the-world-free-free-palestine/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:09:52 +0000 admin http://www.thesitch.com/?p=408 http://www.thesitch.com/politics/activism/2008/12/42nd-street-the-world-free-free-palestine/feed/ 1 Here is a video I shot and put together from the rally.   Hundreds of marches in different cities around the world made known their solidarity with the oppression of the Palestinian people. A people who for the last 60 years have seen nothing but displacement, racism, and pillaging. In the United States, the ANSWER Coalition along with dozens of community groups sponsored marches in cities across the United States. In New York City, after nearly 4,000 people marched on Sunday afternoon, over 2,000 hit the streets again after work in front of the Israeli Consulate on 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue. For 2 hours local organizers spoke over a loud speaker about the history of occupation in Palestine, the USs vested interest in the Middle East, and a call to action regardless of whoever is in the White House. Classic anti-war chants were retooled to fit the anti-occupation and pro-Palestinian fervor. Michael Letwin of New York City Labor Against War spoke of major Union Leadership and its contribution to the assault, as well as, the need for the fight to continue until the current seige is over and the blockades are broken. Folks from the ANSWER Coalition hyped the crowd up, providing some of the most motivational and intense solidarity and chanting Ive ever witnessed at any demonstration. Members of various ethnicity were out in support. Among the the Palestinian flags were enormous Dominican and Puerto Rican flags. Student groups, a rabbi, and a local progressive church pastor spoke out in solidarity. Across the street around 40 Zionists tried their best to defend Israels aggression with signs that read Israel Must Defend Itself and Hamas is the Terrorist. The media came out and covered both sides, although the video on WPIXs article online spends nearly the entire video focusing on the counter-protest and one of its speakers. ANSWER Coalition has sponsored another rally in Times Square on January 3rd, 2008 at 1PM. The Sitch Gaza, ANSWER