Chuck D, Brother Ali lead anniversary celebration

Minneapolis, MN – 200 community members successfully took over a vacant home in South Minneapolis the night of Dec. 6, for a veteran made homeless by foreclosure. They are demanding that the house be turned over to community control through a nonprofit, as the Occupy Homes movement marked its first birthday. Internationally renowned hip-hop artists Brother Ali and Chuck D of Public Enemy led the anniversary celebration.

Chicago, IL – The 20th Anniversary of People’s Thanksgiving was held here Dec. 1. Sponsored by Fight Back! newspaper, it included awards to a number of groups and individuals who had played prominent roles or waged big fights in Chicago this past year. 100 activists, including friends of Fight Back! and their families, gathered to celebrate what they are thankful for: another year of struggle and progress for the people. Together they raised almost $2000 to help publish Fight Back!.

Chicago, IL – The 20th Anniversary People’s Thanksgiving will be held here Saturday, Dec. 1. Sponsored by Fight Back! newspaper, the event honors fighters in the people’s struggle. This year, awards will go to:

Ft. Benning, GA – Meredith Aby, an anti-war leader from Minnesota, spoke out against U.S. political repression at the School of the Americas protest. Aby gave a presentation about the FBI raid on her home that happened because of her being an anti-war, Palestine and Colombia solidarity activist. 60 people attended, overflowing the room.

President Obama’s second term will mean more wars, cutbacks at home and attacks on our civil liberties. Obama has expanded U.S. military intervention in the Middle East – with the ongoing war and occupation of Afghanistan, merciless drone attacks killing thousands in Pakistan and Yemen, aggression against Syria and war threats against Iran. U.S. Special Forces and U.S. military advisors have a growing presence from Mexico to Africa, and worryingly there is a ‘pivot’ towards Asia that aims to bolster U.S. military power there.

New Orleans, LA – Community members rallied in front of the closed Louis Armstrong School in the Lower Ninth Ward here, Nov. 10, to save the building from being sold by the Orleans Parish School Board. The event was organized by A Community Voice, a group of community members who want to see the Orleans Parish rebuild and invest in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Newark, NJ – Hurricane Sandy struck the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area with full fury on Oct. 30. The region is the country’s largest and densest concentration of population. Sandy was the worst storm to hit it in recorded history.

Saint Paul, MN – On Nov. 6, Minnesotans voted down two controversial constitutional amendments that conservatives put on the ballot. An amendment that would have made gay marriage unconstitutional was defeated 51.2% to 47.6%. An amendment that would have put restrictive voter ID requirements into the state constitution – an effort to suppress voter turnout – was also defeated, 52.2% to 46.3%.

Tallahassee, FL – The people of Florida dealt a decisive blow to the right-wing agenda of Governor Rick Scott and the Republican legislature on Nov. 6. Voters defeated eight of the eleven constitutional amendments on the Florida ballot. Had they passed, it would have set the stage for more devastating budget cuts and anti-woman laws in the 2013 legislative session.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people, mostly Latino, marched through the Latino community today to encourage people to vote no on the Voter ID amendment and the anti-gay marriage amendment. The two proposed amendments to the state constitution will be on the Minnesota ballot Nov. 6. They are proposed and promoted by the right wing. Polls are very close for both amendments, so mobilizing people to turn out to vote against them is at a fevered pitch.

Oppose budget cuts, privatization and discrimination against women

In the November elections, Florida will be a major battleground in the people’s fight-back against budget cuts, the war on women and the struggle to protect the public education system. Eleven constitutional amendments will appear on the ballot for Florida voters. Every one of these amendments would hurt the people of Florida and help only the wealthy 1%. We urge all Floridians to vote “no” on all the constitutional amendments.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 30 people participated in a Bike Ride Against Political Repression here on a chilly morning Oct. 14. Riders collected pledges and raised over $1700.

Newark, NJ – In the face of ineffective, and even harmful, government measures to assist distressed homeowners, an effort has been launched by the People’s Organization for Progress (POP) and the Coalition to Save Our Homes (C2SOH) to demand criminal investigations of bank wrongdoing during the mortgage bubble. At its Oct. 4 meeting the following motion was passed unanimously:

Tres años después del fin oficial de la recesión, los tiempos difíciles económicos siguen. La ruina fiscal amenaza a muchos trabajadores. Uno de cada tres niños vive en una familia en que ninguno de los dos padres tiene trabajo de tiempo completo todo el año. Escandalosamente, los banqueros siguen aprovechándose de bonos después del rescate de los bancos financiado por el pueblo. Los ricos — el 1% — están viviendo vidas de lujo mientras los trabajadores tienen que luchar solo para sobrevivir y encontrar trabajo. La economía estadounidense está estancada y amenazada por la creciente crisis económica en Europa. La gente está frustrada por la crisis económica y legítimamente enojada con los políticos de los dos partidos.

Newark, NJ – A protest against predatory lending took place here, Sept. 15, at the Broad Street branch of Wells Fargo Bank. It was the joint effort of the People’s Organization for Progress (POP) and the Coalition to Save Our Homes (C2SOH).

Minneapolis, MN – About 200 people rallied at the Federal Building here, Sept. 24, to demand an end to the ongoing Justice Department investigation into anti-war and international solidarity activists.

Tampa, FL – About a dozen activists gathered outside of Sam M. Gibbons United States Courthouse here, Sept. 24, to mark the second year anniversary of the FBI raids against anti-war activists in 2010. These events and the subsequent grand jury investigation amount to nothing more than a witch hunt, with the aim of interfering with the anti-war movement. The protest demanded an end to the federal investigation of the peace activists.

Committee to Stop FBI Repression plans to step up resistance

Chicago, IL – Leaders of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) say they plan to step up the fight against political repression this fall. “The attempt by the Justice Department to jail anti-war and international solidarity activists, the frame-ups of Arabs and Muslims, the outrageous cases stemming from the NATO protests, and the coordinated attacks on the Occupy movement mean that we have our work cut out for us,” states Jess Sundin of the CSFR.

Chicago, IL – With signs reading, “Opposing war is not a crime,” and “Two years is too long,” 100 people gathered at the Federal Building here, Sept. 20, to protest FBI and U.S. Attorney attacks on anti-war activists that began with FBI Raids in September 2010. Altogether, seven homes were raided and 23 people were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury. The warrants and subpoenas alleged there was an ongoing effort to provide ‘material support’ for foreign terrorist organizations in the Middle East and South America.

Chicago, IL – Chicagoans are joining in a national week of actions organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (stopfbi.net) and the United States Palestinian Community Network (uspcn.org), calling for an end to the Department of Justice investigation into the anti-war and international solidarity work of 23 activists from the Midwest.