Chicago, IL- After months of avoiding organizers planning the protests against the NATO and G8 Summit next spring, Mayor Rahm Emanuel finally got an earful Dec. 13. Thirty people from the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda (CANG8) packed a meeting of the Public Building Commission (PBC), which Emanuel chairs. Joe Iosbaker, Andy Thayer and Newland Smith of CANG8 all spoke to the commissioners and pressed the demands for permits to march on the summits of bankers, generals and politicians.

The United States and its Western allies, along with reactionary pro-U.S. Arab regimes in the Middle East, are doing everything in their power to bring down the government of Syria. They have imposed sanctions that harm the Syrian people. They interfere in Syria’s internal affairs, with the aim of spreading disorder and chaos. Behind these attacks there is the steady drumbeat threatening foreign military intervention.

Chicago, IL – The U.S. State Department and City of Chicago officially announced Dec. 8 that the May 2012 meetings of NATO and the G8 will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago.

*Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from the United National Antiwar Coalition.*

Fort Benning, GA – Over 4000 people gathered here, Nov. 19, at the [School of Americas Watch](http://www.soaw.org) protest of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Despite the change of name from School of the Americas (SOA) to WHINSEC, the legacy of half a century of training in counterinsurgency techniques, psychological warfare and interrogation tactics continues to this day in places like Colombia and Honduras.

Chicago, IL – Mayor Rahm Emanuel has again refused to guarantee the First Amendment right to protest in Chicago.

Grand Rapids, MI – Chanting “Condi lied, people died!” 40 people with Occupy Grand Rapids protested outside Devos Place, Nov. 16. Inside, Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State under the Bush administration, spoke at a $100 per plate Republican Party fund raising dinner. At the entrance to the event, Occupy protesters put a giant puppet of former Secretary of State Rice on trial for her war crimes against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Inside, a small gathering of Republican die-hards heard Rice promote her new book in which she defends the U.S. wars and occupations.

Los Angeles, CA – Activists gathered outside the Los Angeles courthouse Monday morning, chanting “FBI don’t scare me, we’ve got solidarity,” as they rallied in support of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes. Over 40 supporters packed the courtroom as Montes’ case began the ‘discovery’ phase. “We are demanding the communications, documents, and information that shows the collaboration of the FBI and LA County Sheriffs,” said Montes outside the hearing.

Tampa Florida, August 27-30, 2012

Fight Back News Service is circulating the call to march on the 2012 Republican National Convention. A massive protest that will coincide with the opening of the convention will take place August 27, 2012, in Tampa, Florida. Organizers of the protest have set up the web site: http://marchonthernc.com Demand Good Jobs, Healthcare, Affordable Education, Equality and Peace Say NO to the Republican Agenda Money for human needs, not for corporate greed

Minneapolis, MN – About 150 gathered at People’s Plaza, the site of OccupyMN for a rally, Nov. 11, demanding “Money for human needs, not for war.” The protest, on Veteran’s Day, included speakers from Veterans for Peace, the Anti-War Committee, Women Against Military Madness, and others.

Chicago, IL – The Occupy Chicago movement and the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda (CANG8) came together 150 strong, Oct. 26, to defend the right to protest against war and corporate greed.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 500 people marched here, Oct. 15, to mark the tenth year of the U.S. war in Afghanistan with a call for an end to the occupation and for U.S. troops to be brought home now.

Minneapolis, MN – The Hennepin County Government Plaza – known now as the People’s Plaza – sprouted several tents on the evening of Oct. 15. At this writing, dozens are risking arrest to defend protesters’ rights to have safe and warm shelter for overnight stays at OccupyMN. Since the occupation began on Oct. 7, county officials have said that no tents or shelters would be allowed.

Boston, MA – Students and union workers met at Dewey Square, Oct 10 and marched, 10,000 strong, all over downtown. All the groups identified as the 99% and had agreed to march together on Columbus Day. The occupiers made a point to call the day Indigenous People’s Day, an acknowledgement of the colonial terror associated with Christopher Columbus.

Milwaukee, WI – More than 3000 people marched here, Oct. 15, as a part of the Occupy movement, which began about a month ago on Wall Street in New York. At 11:00 a.m. in Milwaukee’s Zeidler Park, protesters gathered to stand against continuing cuts to education and public services carried out by Governor Scott Walker and to stand against rampant corruption in the powerful financial sector.

New York, NY – “We are determined to remain united and to stay,” states Tracy Molm, a participant in Occupy Wall Street. Molm is one of the 1000+ protesters in Zuccotti Park Thursday night, Oct. 13. City authorities say they will start ‘cleaning’ the park Friday morning.

Milwaukee, WI – On Oct. 8, over 100 people rallied and marched against the continuing U.S./NATO occupation of Afghanistan. The event was organized to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, which began in October of 2001.

Washington, DC – Protesters converged on Washington, D.C. the weekend of Oct. 8-9. Events organized by October 2011/Stop the Machine and Occupy D.C. were held at Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square. Thousands marched and rallied over the weekend to demand good jobs for all, an end to war and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq and increased taxes on the rich.

_Protest demands “Drop the charges now” at LA courthouse _

Los Angeles, CA – Chanting, “Drop the charges now,” more than 60 supporters of veteran Chicano leader, Carlos Montes, rallied outside the LA Courthouse here, September 29, for a protest that coincided with a preliminary hearing, where the government outlined their case against him.