Boston Mobilization

The Mobilizer
The mobilizer 2.1 10-1-2004 Mobilizers: This September MOBE hit the ground running. We’re excited to welcome new interns including people from U-Mass Boston, Lesley, Berklee, Emerson, Boston University (of course), and members of different Boston communities. We’re so amped – and with the election in November and the impending construction of the BU Bioterrorism Lab, Boston Mobilization is working at a fever pitch. No doubt it’s a transition period, but we’re staying busy: scheduling and attending events, developing activities and workshops, and continuing the dedicated pursuit of justice through political activism. MOBE would like to give a shout out to all our supporters! We have to thank everyone who donated money during our financial crisis this summer. Because of the amazing reaction we received, we are now confident that Boston Mobilization is still a vital political organization. As a result of the donations, MOBE is now in the process of making a long-range development plan – anyone interested in being involved in the process, please contact Eve Lymann at the Boston Mobilization Office. In the meantime, donations are still in demand! If you’re passionate about any of the projects and issues in Mobilizer, please either donate online or send a check to: Boston Mobilization 971 Commonwealth Avenue, #20 Boston, MA 02215 All donors during our summer crisis were part of a drawing. Congratulations to Jake Pizzuto, recipient of a pair of premium Red Sox Tickets, and Elizabeth Bouvier, recipient of a year’s membership to the Museum of Fine Arts. MOBE would like to thank its faithful board of directors for donating these prizes. - Uncommon Knowledge: - Youth Empowerment Project MOBE’s Youth Empowerment Project is prepared to lead workshops at Boston area schools and community centers, getting honest and serious about everyday problems we face. These workshops create an open forum to discuss the concept of racism, its origins, its impact on society, and how it affects everyone on the personal to institutional level. We are training new members every week and developing a new Sexism workshop. - WeVote! Project In October, we take it to the streets! MOBE, in conjunction with Critical Breakdown and the League of Pissed Off Voters, now has access to a van and a sound system! Thanks to the National Hip Hop Project for Civic Engagement, we’re unleashing Project Van Votes on the weekend of October 9th. We’re cramming MCs, DJs, Breakers, and Spoken Word artists into the van and cruising block to block from Brighton to Jamaica Plain. We’re bringing the ruckus and the forms you need to vote this November. For more information on Project Van Votes, read the Featured Project article. In other WeVote! project news, our mission to register as many people to vote as possible is in full swing. We’re going on road trips every weekend to swing states, and we’re having a blast. Last weekend, members of the WeVote! project and the League of Pissed Off Voters, went up to New Hampshire for an awesome time hanging out with Granny D, who’s running for U.S. senate. - Grassroots Media Project If you’re surfing the web in search of a constantly updated, always informative, must-see website, check us out at: www.bostonmobilization.org Our new webmaster Nicole Levitz has our website up and running, with more in depth coverage of MOBE’s projects and the political issues they affect – make use of our new election watch wepbage under “resources,” for links and data on every swing state. Every issue of the Mobilizer will be online. And don’t miss the mind-blowing quote of the moment. The current quote comes from Hermann Goering, who said the following during the Nuremberg trials: People don\\\'t want to go to war... But after all, it\\\'s the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it\\\'s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it\\\'s a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a parliament or a communist dictatorship... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to greater danger. It works the same way in any country. If you have any suggestions for “Quote of the Moment,” please email us at: contactusbostonmobilization.org - No Biolabs in Boston! While on the subject of leaders attempting to silence the people, Boston University held a forum about the BSL4 Lab on September 23, 2004. This forum was promised to students last year after over 750 students presented a petition to the administration requesting it. Members of MOBE undertook direct action aimed at prospective students. The forum was supposed to be held last year but it was cancelled at the last minute when BU realized that Klare Allen had been invited to be on the panel. This year, students had nothing to do with the planning of the forum. It was underpublicized, left off the BU event calendar, and restricted to BU students only. Although only about 30 BU students attended, less than 1% of the BU student body, members of MOBE, the Peace and Justice Project, and other groups against the Biolab were present. The speakers were Dr. Klempner and Dr. Ozonoff with Dean of students, Dean Elmore, moderating. Dr. Klempner, Associate Provost for Research at the BU Medical Center and Lead Investigator for the federal grant permitting the lab, delivered a watered down power point presentation that began with the simple and insulting question: “What is an infectious disease?” Klempner presented a glossed over image of a Biolab that would benefit the university, the medical community of Boston, and advance research on infectious diseases. It was a repetition of the lies and omissions that the Boston University Administration has stated in defense of the Biolab. Dr. Klempner provided students with an issue of Boston University Medicine, which sidestepped the dangers of such a facility and the injustice of the facility’s proposed location. Dr. David Ozonoff, Professor in the Environmental Health Dept. at the BU Medical Center and a leader in opposition of the BU Lab at the Medical campus, countered Dr. Klempner’s presentation with his “Top Ten Reasons To Oppose The Biolab.” This speech outlined the strong case against the Biolab, acknowledging the dangers of its location, the community that has united against it, and the link between the federal grant and public and private groups interested in the research of biological weapons. After both presentations, the professors had an opportunity to comment on each other’s remarks, as well as participate in a question and answer session. Dr. Klempner insisted that BU had held around eighty meetings with community members, three or four meetings with Alternatives for Community and the Environment (ACE), and was planning to have another forum soon. Dr. Klempner also denied the connection between the Biolab and money from the Homeland Security Budget. Dr. Ozonoff countered these statements by asking why BU administration had so often refused to have these forums open to the public. Dr. Ozonoff went on to mention that the only modern biological weapon attack on the U.S. used anthrax that had been produced in labs similar to the proposed Biolab. Many thanks and accolades to Dr. Ozonoff, for his effective and compelling speech. In closing, it is important to note that none of the questions posed by students supported the Biolab. Attached at the end of Mobilizer is a copy of Dr. Ozonoff’s speech. Pepe Abola Intern at Boston Mobilization - Current Activities Boston Mobilization is always on the hunt for new interns/volunteers to become part of our tradition of political activism. If you, or anyone you know, are passionate about making a difference in Boston and the world as a whole, check out www.idealist.org for more information and descriptions of each position. Volunteers: 1. Community activist (http://www.idealist.org/orgs/82764:29#volunteering) Internships: 1. Videographer and editor 2. Webmaster/online journal editor 3. Youth Empowerment intern 4. Activism intern 5. Tech genius 6. Non-profit management (http://www.idealist.org/orgs/82764:29#internships) - Events: Boston Mobilization is organizing a house party with Howard Zinn, tentatively scheduled on November 16, after the election – more info to come. Project Van Vote takes it to the streets on October 9th. For more information read the featured project. Stay updated about Boston Mobilization by checking the website, we’ll be posting new events frequently. - Featured Project: In the 2000 Presidential Elections only 34% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 chose to vote. Now, four years later, we are living through the consequences of our lack of initiative. Young people across the nation are organizing to take back the vote and prove that apathy is not the path we will choose this time around. What do young people really do best? Put simply, we play. With this in mind the National Hip Hop Civic Engagement Project, the League of Pissed off Voters, Critical Breakdown and Boston Mobilization are coming together to storm the streets of Boston and register young voters--by van. What is Project Van Votes? The Van Votes Project is a combination of hip hop artists, DJ’s and spoken word poets who are using their creative talents to call out to young voters by way of loudspeaker and the mobile Vote Van. What is the goal of Project Van Votes? The goal of Project Van Votes is to harness the talents of hip hop artists, DJ’s and spoken word poets to register young people to vote. More specifically: Saturday, October 9th Project Van Votes will be taking to the streets of Boston in an effort to register 100 young voters. Who should be involved? · Groups that promote the participation of youth in political engagement and the electoral process · Hip hop, spoken word, Dj’s and any artists with creative and political focus How can you help? Spread the words…tell any groups or individuals that may want to be involved about Project Van Votes and our need for their support. We also want to know of good gathering spots for youth which our supporters feel should be hit with the van and any other information that may lead to this being a success. Lastly we are still in need of some artists… These include: · Two spoken word artists · One hip hop artist · Visual Artists to help with decorating the van Who do you contact for further questions or involvement? Alison Ramer Boston Mobilization Boston League of Pissed Off Voters Vanvotes@yahoogroups.com or alisoncarmel@comcast.net (425) 466 0248 Thank you for your time and support. We look forward to making this project a success and the 2004 elections empowered by youth. Alison Ramer - Featured Intern: In less than a month, Alison Ramer, one of our new MOBE interns, has become a prominent voice at Lesley College and here at Boston Mobilization. A Seattle native, Alison organized numerous protests against the War in Iraq. She is a member of the League of Pissed Off Voters, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, the Lesley Action Student Coalition, and of course MOBE. Whether or not she sleeps (she claims to get 3 to 5 hours a night) remains to be seen. Over the summer, Alison attended the Republican National Convention, and she was happy to provide us with a travelogue of that experience. - Alison Ramer at the Republican National Convention The summer of 2004 harbored more than a whirlwind of hurricanes along the Eastern Coast. The Republicans attempted to stomp the blue skies out of New York as well. The decision to host the Republican National Convention in New York City created a wave action no one sat back for. Luckily weather beaten New Yorkers weren’t giving up their skies without a fight and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. When New Yorkers got word that the Republicans were going to rain on their parade a network of organizations, coalitions, committees and individuals gathered to “take back the streets” and show the Republicans just how unwelcome they really were. Starting my journey with one of many conferences offered, I launched myself into a network of active leaders and participants. Many progressive groups held educational conferences and workshops with speakers from across the globe. The speakers not only addressed the failings of our current administration but the downfalls of the progressive movement and where we are headed. A unifying pro-active tone amongst the conferences had been established as it worked to propel us into the upcoming weeks and beyond. Although I haven’t been to New York in quite some time it wasn’t hard to acclimate myself amongst the active left of NYC. The People’s Guide, a standard map and calendar for active left followers, was the center of communication amongst event-planners protesters, media, tourists, natives and friends. The handy foldable map illustrated the streets of New York, landmarks, subways and high profile locations for meetings and events supporting the counter convention around NYC. On the flip side was a calendar of upcoming events (republican and counter convention events alike) a list of cheap eats, boarding houses and points of exploration. Not only was this available in glossy shiny map form but also as the center page of the 500,000 copies of circulated Indymedia newspapers. Circulation of information was incredible. Weekly galas were held at St. Mark’s Church (local leftist church) in the evenings to allow people to pick up mass amounts of fliers, stickers and information to distribute in the upcoming week. Tablers were ready and active to get you involved in one of the many organizations created around the convention and other imminent issues. The wealth of information sprang from party invitations to street medic meetings and “know your rights” trainings. The people of New York were prepared for everything to come in more ways than one. Personally the first group I became involved with was the A31 Day of Direct Action and their Spokescouncil. The group was made up of a wide variety of a little over a hundred individuals who formed Affinity and Working Groups in response to a call for civil disobedience and direct action. Many voices were heard as groups of clowns, pagans, anarchists and gardeners formed. The range of interests and groups were as vast as the movement itself but was missing a voice that I am a strong supporter of, a student and youth voice. With this hole existing, I volunteered to become the spokes-leader of the youth in NYC and any youth group that came to the convention in hopes of protest. Through the long grueling spokes meetings we made democratic decisions about all aspects of August 31 and what we envisioned it to be. We organized to have street medics, legal observers, free food, safe spaces, housing, media outreach and much more. To communicate we were avid email list service users and text message recipients as we piloted the new list serve technology for cell phones. We worked to anticipate what the streets may have looked like as more than 10,000 New York City cops, high-tech weapons and 60 federal agencies stormed our streets and how we should react in a peaceful but disruptive manner. In one meeting we discussed the difference between “converging” on Madison Square Gardens over “surrounding.” As the argument was democratically pummeled one brave activist put it simply as to say, “surround? We’ve already got them surrounded.” And that we did. When the republicans stampeded their way into New York City hundreds of thousands of protesters were there to greet them. The real kick off of the weekend for youth was the Books Not Bombs Youth Convergence, organized by the largest and growing progressive youth group in America, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition. This group of young visionaries organized a convergence of activities and workshops that promoted issues important to youth and how students could become involved in politics. I was lucky enough to be able to join in as a member of the team and help organize any last minute chaos that erupted amongst the well plan and carried out convergence. When all was said and done, more than 600 youth attended the convergence putting us over expected numbers of attendees and making it a huge success. After the Youth Convergence put us into full swing, the United for Peace and Justice March the following morning pulled us into the whirlwind beginning to take flight. With a powerful Youth Welcoming Committee feeder march and a Books not Bombs youth contingent amongst the slew of over 500,000 protesters, the voice of young people was strong and alive. The array of attendees contributed to the success of the march as strollers and wheelchairs mingled amongst the overwhelmingly peaceful crowd. After peacefully passing Madison Square Gardens, hundreds of people walked to Central Park for an afternoon of uninterrupted relaxation, games and community building. Monday brought protests by Still We Rise and The Poor People’s March, marches supported by workers and poorer New York Citizens. Mostly peaceful these were extractions of success as well. Unfortunately I was in meetings with the NYSPC recapping our Youth Convergence and Contingent as we discussed where NYSPC would go from here and how the youth voice played a role in the larger movement. The meeting was well conducted and facilitated, a prime example of the organizations serious tone and their rising level of involvement. As for A31 and the upcoming Day of Direct Action, I was speaking on behalf of youth at national press conferences and on radio and television interviews across the globe. Learning how to use the media as a tool for outreach was an incredible lesson on its own but being able to represent youth in our fight for youth empowerment and recognition was phenomenal. The movement gained more and more strength as August 31st approached and on the morning of the A31 all actions broke free of chains and the Republicans were truly surrounded. Throughout the day people around the city engaged in acts of civil disobedience from sign hanging to die-ins and virtual sit-ins. Thousands of protesters created a roar of presence throughout the city and overtook Herald Square, Union Square, the Public Library and numerous corners as the nights went on. The real fire began to spread when a group of 200 students, myself included, marched down Park Avenue uninterrupted for ten blocks taking back the streets with words of rage and emotion. “Who’s streets? Our Streets!” we shouted as Park Ave. became a place to pour our emotions and voice our opinions. The energy was irrupting with excitement and overwhelming power until we were charged by over four hundred NYPD. We threw our hands up in submission and shouted “peace” as we disassembled and ran onto the sidewalks. Suddenly from behind a forceful blow hit me across the back and I dropped to the ground. The police had begun violently forcing the already submissive students to the streets and beginning a series of massive arrests. With so much emotional tension I broke into tears as I sat watching my friends be beaten and arrested. Then to my surprise a police officer stopped when he saw me crying, lifted up his mask and lead me out of the crowd. I was the only student to not be arrested in a group of over 200. As the police officers loaded the students into the buses I stood in tears with crowds of citizens that had left their restaurants, clubs and homes to view the commotion on the streets. People were furious as they had watched the police brutality and arrests of young students unfold before them. To make things more difficult here I was having been lead out and feeling saved as well as left behind and alone. For all of my peers that had been exploited and sent to die in Iraq how could I do anything less than walk down a street in protest? The rest of my night quickly became filled with media interviews, telephone calls and organization of jail solidarity as I used my get out of jail free card to help my fellow youth. Within seconds that night I was taught what white privilege is and what it means to be a girl and cry. It really is unfair the way the justice system works, even if it’s in your advantage. At midnight the last Spokescouncil meeting was held for all attendee’s who weren’t arrested or injured. We recapped the day and spoke of the different struggles that shaped our ground breaking day in history. With all the hard work we had put in and the months, if not years of planning for some, the day had come off as an overwhelming success. The student movement and March on Park Avenue was noted as being the flame that lit a movement of taking back streets all along Madison Square Garden. The monumental place we now held in the history of our people’s struggle was true and lasting and I was so blessed to be a part of it. Although their were also many other events that were not mentioned in this article it should be known that the creative and collaborative work of many individuals and organizations in this movement was overwhelmingly positive and showed how a movement as presumably fractured as the left can come together and create real change when the call is great. It only leaves you thinking how can we make that call? And when will we decide that we can overcome our differences because the need is that great? - The Top Ten Reasons To Oppose The Biolab By Dr. David Ozonoff I have spent more than forty years in medicine and public health and because I am committed to the public health mission I was an initial supporter and proponent of the lab. But for the same reasons I came to oppose it. My time for presentation is short so I can only summarize my thinking. I hope the question and answer session can address them further. Here are my Top Ten Reasons for Opposing the Lab: #1. The Proposed Laboratory is not meant to pursue a public health agenda I supported the lab because I saw a need for work on new and emerging infectious diseases that threaten our citizens but even more often afflict people in far away places who have few resources and fewer people who care. I have come to the conclusion that the proposed laboratory is not meant nor is it suited to pursue a genuine public health agenda. An examination of the Request for Proposals (the RFP) to which BU responded tells the story clearly. NIH monies for this project come from President Bush\\\\\\\'s Homeland Security Budget specifically related to defense against bioterrorism. Indeed the primacy of the counter-terrorism objective is repeatedly emphasized in various NIH documents. The NIH RFP explicitly states that the objective is to contribute to NIAID\\\\\\\'s biodefense research agenda, an agenda which supports \\\\\\\"basic research and the translation of that research into products that can counter bioterrorism worldwide\\\\\\\" (NIAID 2002a). The lab will be directed to concentrate its work \\\\\\\"on those agents that pose the greatest risk\\\\\\\" for bioterrorism. But these agents are not usually agents of most interest to general public health. A good example is inhalational anthrax. While cutaneous anthrax continues to be a problem in other parts of the world, the deadly form of inhalational anthrax requires the spores to be specially weaponized if it is to pose a threat to populations. Similarly, there is also likely to be a concern with new and novel constructed pathogens. In essence, this laboratory is meant to be a counter-bioterrorism research and development facility. The line between offensive and defensive work will be hazy and ambiguous. #2. Potential for secret research on campus Scientific work that cannot be published, disseminated and replicated lies outside the norms of accepted scientific practice and cannot contribute to a public health purpose. But NIH has stated its intention to work with the public and private sector to combat terrorism, with its primary \\\\\\\"partner\\\\\\\" in the public sector being the US Army. Partnership, here, means sharing resources and facilities for \\\\\\\"basic and translational research for bioterrorism defense\\\\\\\" (NIAID 2002d). The Army and other named partners (DOE and CIA) all conduct classified research. Moreover the scarcity and cost of BSL-4 labs lead NIH to make them available to scientists from other federal agencies for their own projects. There is no University policy prohibiting carrying out classified sponsored research. And while NIH and BU scientist\\\\\\\'s work at this lab may be unclassified (although we have no written assurance this will remain the case for the 20 years of NIH oversight), the work of partners or other agencies that use the lab may not, and likely will not, adhere to this. #3. Drains resources from other important objectives In general terms, it is clear that as money for social objectives, including scientific research, becomes tighter, increasing the size of one slice of the pie will make others smaller. This is explicitly true for constructing biomedical research facilities, where, buried in the recently signed $5.6 billion bioterrorism bill was an obscure provision that funds biocontainment facilities by eliminating federal funds for construction of other biomedical facilities. According to NIAID Director Tony Fauci, this was done as an \\\\\\\"incentive\\\\\\\" to get universities involved in research on defenses against biological weapons. I guess an incentive was necessary because this objective is not normal for public health oriented researchers. Moreover, the BU facility is a 3:1 matching grant. This means BU and BMC will have to expend $50 million to get the $120 million construction grant. This very large sum of money could more fruitfully be applied to other institutional needs. The scientific resources created will not benefit most BU or area scientists who do not do infectious disease research and the status of foreign nationals still remains a question. #4. Foreseeably would make all of us less safe The only existing population attacks, the anthrax attacks, came from within the bioweapons lab establishment. Anthrax spores are widely dispersed in the natural environment, but weaponized anthrax spores are only available from weapons laboratories. The creation of weaponized, new or novel pathogens, even if only for defensive purposes, makes them available to terrorists for the first time. #5. Environmental Justice From the standpoint of the local community, a laboratory with armed guards and questionable activities is a Locally Undesirable Land Use, a so-called LULU. This is a low-income community of color already overburdened with environmental problems. The entire laboratory project was planned without community input. The community is not unorganized and has been working on community development and urban planning issues for many years. This project completely by-passed this process. There is no compelling reason to have the lab in this neighborhood other than convenience of the scientists and the relative powerlessness of the community. #6. Project has created serious rift with community Community opposition is broad and deep. The reason you had to show your BU ID to get in here tonight is because relationships with the community are at an all-time low. This is the community that we, at the School of Public Health, see out our windows and among whom we work on matters of mutual interest in public health. The poor public relations are a matter of deep concern to me and many of my colleagues. #7. No effective civilian oversight There are currently no state or local laws or regulations that guide siting of facilities such as this. Existing biosafety committees will have the task of oversight. These committees vary widely in their effectiveness and diligence, but they are also creatures of the institution. If this lab is built and begins to operate, we are calling on BU to establish two independent oversight committees, with effective teeth and broad representation, one to hear worker complaints, respond to accident or safety concerns and monitor whether any secret or classified research is being done on the premises; and the other composed of independent scientists to advise and monitor the research agenda to assure it remains faithful to public health principles and norms. #8. Local health and safety issues of unknown magnitude Understandably, given the nature of the agents involved, there has been much discussion about the prudence of building such a facility in a high density urban area. In discussing the Taiwan SARS outbreak that originated in a BSL-4 laboratory, Dr. Karl Johnson, Dr. Klempner\\\\\\\'s guest here tonight, is quoted as saying that \\\\\\\"an argument could be made that the single biggest risk for a new SARS outbreak comes from virus laboratories rather than civet cats in China. The [Taiwan] event certainly says the world virology community now has two strikes, so how many strikes are you going to them? I don\\\\\\\'t want to see strike three for Godsakes.\\\\\\\" Accidents do happen in failsafe facilities (SARS, anthrax, Challenger, TMI). Nor is there a workable surveillance system in our community to detect a failure in time. #9. Its economic impact will be minimal Few jobs will be created in the community and the skill level required is unclear. #10. It may violate the Biological Weapons Convention or give the appearance of violating it In 1975 the United States, along with more than 100 other countries, became a signatory to the Biological Weapons and Toxins Convention, an international treaty that outlaws the research and development on biological agents for offensive purposes. It applies both to public and private parties, unlike many other treaties. Operations of the US self-described biodefense laboratories and industry have pushed at least to the limits, and according to many, past the limits, prescribed by this international treaty. The construction of several new facilities, expressly for so-called biodefense activities, will further strain the credulity of the international arms control community in this regard. It is worth noting that the BWC contained no means for verification. In 2001, shortly after his inauguration and prior to September 11, President Bush announced that the US would not pursue strengthening of the BWC through verification provisions. The constraints on private industry were major reasons for this.