UGH. I’ve been seeing way too much crap from “nonviolent” activists (of which I consider myself one) as of late in advance of the global “March Against Monsanto” protests this weekend, but this statement by one Scott Milton really annoyed me and I had to respond.
My response is posted below….
Nine-year-old Asean Johnson calls out Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the closing of fifty schools that mostly serve communities of color.
This video brought me to tears! What an articulate, amazing young man. :)
P.S. Seriously, why does Rahm Emanuel have fangirls? Ugh, gross.
Amazing speech!
19 January 2013 - This is what the roof of one of our Occupier’s car looks like. Stickers stickers EVERYwhere.
Ann Sims protests the construction of a napalm plant in Redwood City, Ca
Photo by Erik Weber for Ramparts (1966)
Besides being a cool, historic photo, I love how this photo highlights how people in Redwood City have been raising hell for decades. :)
And it highlights how corporations/big business have long seen RWC as an arena for their assault on the environment, whether it be Cargill trying to fill in the bay, Sundt/Layton and HOK building a jail on a toxic site, or the Pauls Corporation driving out sustainable/affordable communities to build high-rise condos in the path of sea level rise.
People in RWC government and their friends say that protests and activism of the type that Occupiers practice is “not how we do things in Redwood City.” To those people, I point to Ann Sims and say: “Oh, really. You sure about that?”
Cool photo of Ann Sims protesting the construction of a napalm plant in Redwood City. Things have hardly changed. Now we’re fighting toxic jails and irresponsible waterfront development in Redwood City, among other things.
18 January 2013 - Huddling together for warmth at an ORWC GA (Occupy Redwood City General Assembly) in front of City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Rd.
So glad GAs are finally warmer now!
Leslie of Save Pete’s Harbor (SPH) speaks to the California State Lands Commission (SLC) at their 24 January 2013 special meeting. Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom was present in his capacity as an officer of the SLC.
In this video, Leslie explains why she has come to the SLC: because all local government bodies and agencies and elected officials whom we at SPH have reached out to have either refused or neglected to help the community of nearly two hundred boaters and RV residents at Pete’s Harbor (in Redwood City, California) who were evicted on 15 January 2013 by Paula Uccelli, a prominent local campaign fund donor and long-time friend of city, county, and state government.
SPH is a group of concerned citizens whose goal is to preserve the state-owned, outer portion of Pete’s Harbor in Redwood City, California as an environmentally friendly marina open to the boating public.
The SLC manages the submerged state lands at the outer harbor. Pete Uccelli placed a marina on these submerged state lands without the state’s permission and he was ultimately given clear title to land to which the state had some public trust right, title, or interest that was subject to uncertainty and dispute. SPH hopes that the SLC understands that Mr. Uccelli was only given a unique deal on the leases of these submerged state lands because Mr. Uccelli was providing a major service to the boating public by providing maximum feasible public access to these submerged state lands in Smith Slough.
Otherwise, Pete’s Harbor could not have happened at all. The SLC needs to understand that at a minimum, they must make sure that boater access isn’t decreased and that these submerged lands must be kept for a public access marina in keeping with the Commission’s own policy statement on the Public Trust Doctrine.
SPH is dedicated to ensuring that any development at Pete’s Harbor, such as the one currently proposed, responsibly mitigates all potential environmental impacts under CEQA and is fully compatible with a public (commercial) marina. Such impacts include the disruption of boating communities which require the building of replacement units in Redwood City to mitigate impacts to all recreational boaters, including liveaboards and cruisers.
Solidarity with Save Pete’s Harbor!
