Beltway Area Indymedia

n Wed Nove 28, paid Smithfield spokesperson and cookbook author Paula Dan showed up at Books-a-Million in Dupont Circle for fans to sign her latest book. She was greeted by protesters from UFCW and the Justice at Smithfield campaign.
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Several people slipped inside with copies of the book(required for admission to the line) and when they got to the front confronted Paula Dean over her refusal to meet with any Smithfield workers except a few that management sent to her.

Earlier this week, members of Resistance and Solidarity conducted a preliminary reconnaissance trip to the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Dulles Airport in preparation for the demonstrations against the American Renaissance Conference.

February 22-24, the American Renaissance Magazine will hold their biannual white supremacist conference in Herndon, VA.

Confront Racist Terrorist Gathering near Dulles Airport!

In 2008, neo-nazis and racist bigots will be planning more racist terror at the American Renaissance Conference. On Feb 22-24, prominent white supremacists from the US and across the world will gather at the Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel to vent their hatred and spew their racist venom towards communities of color.

Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Coal River Mountain Watch, the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) and students from around the country shut down a Washington, D.C. Citi branch today by performing a theatrical “die-in” and delivering a bundle of coal to the financial giant. The protesters, in Washington for this week’s major youth climate conference Power Shift, called on Citi to stop funding the leading cause of global warming in the United States: coal.

http://understory.ran.org/2007/11/05/climate-youth-movement-convergences...

URGENT: Take Action for New Affordable Housing in Shaw!

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SEND A LETTER through our online form to
Mayor Fenty, Deputy Mayor Albert and Councilmember Evans

http://onedconline.org/parcel_42_action.htm

OR

Read below for more background...

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The notorious Inter-County Connector highway project is now in court, with oral arguments in the first lawsuit being heard Oct 1 and the second lawsuit Oct 29. The judge's decison could mean construction in November-or with appeals could mean three years of delays that could kill the highway good and dead!

The first lawsuit was filed by the Sierra Club, the Audobon Society, Friends of the Earth, and a couple who will lose their home if the highway goes through. It states that NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, was violated by an inadequate Environmental Impact Statement.

During a press conference on the steps of the Wilson building this week, Bill Harrod, a former manager with Check N' Go stated that he was sent out to black neighborhoods to market to minorities and sent to a black church to solicit the testimony (and payoff) of a minister. I have been able to verify that Mr. Harrod worked at the Check N Go office at 3182 Bladensburg Rd NE. This is the same office that had been protested several times before and the same one where the manager was attacked because of his seedy business practices.

On Sep 2, over 10,000 immigrants and supporter rallied and marched in Prince William County, VA to oppose the fascistic restrictions the county is attempting to impose on immigrants.

With so many participants, the original march plan on the Prince William Parkway bike path had to be revised. Marchers streamed out for at least half a mile, and as it was impossible to double the march back, everyone had to turn around in place to double back!

Audio: 3 min 30 sec
On August 29th, the campaign against DC's payday lending loan sharks visited the Check 'n Go outlet on 4011 S Capitol st in Anacostia. THis is a place where a loan of $400 can cost a borrower over $2,200 to pay back, at an interest rate of 550%!

As people gathered outside with signs protraying sharks and yelling through bullhorns, Check 'n Go emptied out. People were asked to call Marion Barry, the City Councilmember for Ward 8, asking him to vote for bill 17-132, the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act of 2007.

Last Thursday, Aug 23, Immigration agents sunk to a new low in fascism and brutality. While ICE was being protested at their headquarters, they sent agents to a SOCCER GAME at 11th and Irving sts for yet another roundup! ALL persons looking Latino were detained and ordered to show ID, whites allowed to leave.

Although their is NO LEGAL OBLIGATION to show ID in this kind of circumstance, ICE ignored the law, blocked all exists from the soccer fields, let all non-Latino people leave-and demanded ID from all people they judged to be Latino.

Audio:5 min

During afternoon rush hour on August 23, immigrants and supporters proteested at the very gates of ICE,responding to raids at the Smithfield plant, in DC-and to the arrest of Sanctuary movement activist Elvira Arellana in LA.

Elvira's arrest and near-instant deportatin were meant to "send a message" to immigrants who dare to resist. The Smithfield raid was no doubt meant to send a similar message to those who dare to stand up to slave labor and abusive workplace conditions.

Ricardo of Mexicanos Sins Fronteras spoke at the Fals Church event welcoming the Immigrant Solidarity Caravan. In a portion of his speech he called for the planned August 27-Sep 3 boycott of non-immigrant owned businesses in Prince William County. No Potomac Mills, No 7-11, no Wal-Mart-NADA!

Hundreds gathered in a field behind St Anthony's Catholic Church in Falls Church, VA, welcoming the Immigrant Solidarity Caravan as it arrived from Manassas.

This was one of several emergency actions called to oppose Prince William County's and other jurisdiction's fascist crackdown on immigrants.

The Immigrant Solidarity Caravan that originated in Prince William County stopped over at Lamont Park in Mount Pleasant on Saturday, August 18th. Despite the Dept. of Parks and Recreation's choice to refuse the caravan a permit, the event went off with none of the feared problems.
The cops and ICE stayed away, and even the MinuteKlan didn't deliver on threats to disrupt the caravan_at least not in DC where Froatz did 6 weeks in jail.

was wondering why it was so difficult to ride a bike in this hot and nasty weather. Well, satellite photos of the East Coast show a nasty cloud of smoke and haze over a large part of the East Coast.

Ozone alone read 121 yesterday for DC, yet the papers spoke only of Code Orange level alerts. There is fine particulates(smoke) and all thiat shit from coal-burning power plants upwind as well to deal with.

Today, Tuesday, July 30th, the immigrant community of Prince William County announced their response to the racist, anti-immigrant law passed by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors on July 10, 2007. Determined to force the Board of Supervisor's to rescind the xenophobic, unconstitutional legislation, which would deny county services to those who could not prove their legal status, and force county police to check the immigration status of anyone detained, representatives from the immigrant community today announced their plan to move forward Today's announcement came after a series of community meetings, drawing more than 3,500 people, in which the voices of the immigrant community were heard.

On July 13, dozens of angry district residents filled the ANC 2A meeting to express outrage at the recent abuse of emergency legislation at the hands of council member Jack Evans. In a sweetheart deal at the 11th hour, Evans gave away the West End Library, Fire Station and Police Station (some residents could care less about the police...but care about the land it stands on) to developer Eastbanc, also known as the "King of Georgetown."

Outraged residents came to the hearing to put Evans in his place. As Evans tried to spew his lies, the people were on hand to correct him.

Call to Action: Dignity, Autonomy, and Solidarity over Greed and Corporate Power!

Disrupt the IMF and the World Bank meetings: Washington DC, October 19-21, 2007
The misery forced on millions by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank is unacceptable and renders them illegitimate.

Don't say protest doesn't work-just the threat of another resident-organized Franklin Shelter protest was enough to get the DC government to begin installing air conditioning in the building over the weekend of July 21-22.
Audio: 3 min 53 seconds, 18 sec, 1 min 25 sec

The showdown between racist bigots and the immigrant community boiled over on Saturday, July 21 at 8 AM outside the day labor center near Gaithersburg.

The MinuteKlan and National Alliance(Nazis) only had maybe 15 people at their peak-and at one point only 10 while counterprotesters had over 25, outnumbering them 2 1/2 to one at one point.

Concerning the Racist-Anti-Immigrant Tide Sweeping the Empire
Author

We want to make this points first so we may finally be understood by white people and culture. This not intended for white people who are truly in solidarity with us, because there are many and we recognize and welcome that.