SRLC Welcoming Committee BBQ, this Saturday!

Have you heard about the SRLC Welcoming Committee? We are a coalition of New Orleans individuals and groups (including the Committee to Save Charity Hospital) coming together to welcome the Southern Republican Leadership Committee to New Orleans by letting them and the world know what we think of Republican governor Bobby Jindal's ruthless assaults on Louisiana healthcare and education. We're throwing a big ol' Second Line on Friday, April 9th, at 5:30 at Lafayette Square Park, and we'd love to see you there.

In the meantime, please help us organize and plan, to make this the best event it can possibly be. You can find our meeting schedule, as well as lots of flyers and other info, at the SRLC Welcoming Committee website . We would love the involvement of more people and more groups. Our coalition is steadily growing!

We're meeting at the Rail, Friday at 4 pm and Monday at 8 pm, but more importantly, please join us Saturday at 2pm for a glorious time making and eating BARBECUE and also making but not eating SIGNS and BANNERS for the Second Line!

Please bring yourself, and as much banner/sign/craft supplies as you can gather, and also all your artsy friends and their supplies. This is a lovely thing to do on a Saturday!

Climate Ground Zero to speak at the Rail

Monday, December 14! 7:30 PM! Film, presentation, all type of thing. 
 Free & open to the publick...  Click image for larger flyer
One of the presenters writes:

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Climate Ground Zero doea non-violent direct action in west virginia against mountaintop removal in appalachia. climate ground zero uses a variety of tactics, from rallies and marches and sit-ins to lockdowns to mining equipment and tree-sits. we work to raise awareness and bring publicity to the issue of mountaintop removal and coal and its direct effect on carbon emissions and the growing climate crisis. mountaintop removal devastates both the environment and people of appalachia; it poisons the groundwater and headsprings for the rivers which supply drinking water for the entire northeast region, wipes out indigenous species, demolishes some of the oldest and most biodiverse mountains in the world, and brings countless health problems to the people who live near mountaintop removal and coal processing sites.

Much of climate ground zero's focus is presently on coal river mountain, the last untouched peak in the coal river valley. massey energy very recently began blasting on coal river mountain; we're working hard on actions to stop work and bring attention to sustainable wind energy as alternatives to coal. the coal river wind project aims to put wind turbines on coal river mountain instead of blowing up the mountain for coal; this would provide permanent, green jobs in contrast to the few short-term mining jobs that would be available in destroying the mountain for coal.

ClimateGroundZero.org
MountainJustice.org

The Only Good Cop Is A .................

On Saturday, November 7, 2009, the New Orleans Bookfair was in full swing, with blocks of tables full of local independent, radical, and alternative literature. A cop had been cruising the streets of the outdoor fair, stopping to stare at punk-looking musicians and the kids in the bouncey castle (pedophiles on the force?), making several passes as the otherwise festive day unfolded.
Like a hyena marauding at the edges of the event, he eventually pounced, stopping a bicyclist for riding the wrong way down the street, which was being harmoniously utilized by walking customers, bicyclists, musicians, and cars, all giving each other the space they needed. The officer stopped his car in the middle of the street, in the middle of the fair, and blocked traffic for over 30 minutes while he proceeded to slowly write a ticket to an unfortunate one of the dozens of people riding up and down the street on bicycles in both directions.
This cop was mistaken in thinking he could get away with his harassment of cyclists unchallenged, and soon a crowd gathered to witness and confront this blatant harassment. Chants began of "Stop Police Harassment" and "Riding a bike is not a crime," as bookfair attendees, neighbors, and onlookers joined in. Soon the lone cop was facing down a crowd of dozens, clapping, chanting, and exposing the routine function of the police as arbitrary bullies, enforcing the version of "law and order" they choose to enforce: against the poor, against cyclists, and against alternative cultures.
The cop was completely shamed, humiliated, and embarrassed, as not one person in the crowd of hundreds of onlookers supported his actions. He succeeded in further, and thanks to the spontaneous protest, very publicly, delegitmizing the role of the police in New Orleans for hundreds of people. The unemployed cyclist, who the cop no doubt saw as an easy target, was grateful for the support he received, and local anarchists pledged to stay in touch and bring a full courtroom to his hearing, as well as help him pay his ticket if he is convicted. Solidarity is our power.

His court date is set for December 23rd, and New Orleans bicyclists, anarchists, and anti-Prison Industrial Complex activists will be there to see this fight to its finish and show the cops that harassment of bicyclists and poor people in our city will not be tolerated.

To stay informed and get the details of the court-hearing, join the NOLA-anarchists email group:Send a blank email to nola-anarchists+subscribe@googlegroups.com