(from Noah)

It is with great pleasure that I write to annonce the next Flood Boston open organizing meeting. It will be held at MIT Building 4, First Floor, Room 149 (See map below for detailed directions) from 1:30-4pm.

Agenda: From 1:30 to 2 there will be refreshments and networking. Members of the affinity group that organized the recent Stop Spectra Action at State Street Headquarters will alos share some of their experiences and lessons. At 2, we will jump into an affinity group training before we get into action planning in break out groups for the remainder.

Be advised that the convening committee is hoping to transition to a spokescouncil model at the next meeting in early February. For this to work, it is important that people organize themselves into affinity groups. Please don’t be intimidated if this sounds unfamiliar or exclusive. We are committed to continuing to provide support for folks looking to join or form an AG of their own, as well as ways for individuals to participate in the spokescouncil.

If you are interested in helping to plan and facilitate Floodboston meetings and/or helping to develop our spokescouncil model, you are welcome to join the convening committee at our meeting immediately following the organizing meeting on January 11th. We are also meeting on Tuesday January 6th at the Lucy Parsons Center in Jamiaca Plain at 7 pm.

I am truly excited for a year of unprecedented resistance and solidarity!

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the convening committe

(click for full-sized image)

(from jslives)

Please spread the word far and wide about using this coming Saturday’s vigil and speak-out–every week, same time, same place; but different topics, against war and for social justice–to demand again that Gitmo be closed. The Saturday “regulars” have, like Witness Against Torture (which goes to DC every January), spoken out on this topic regularly.

Obama promised as a candidate and then at his first inauguration that he would close it down, even signed enabling legislation within his first two years. He continues to blame Republicans (for everything), but as Medea Benjamin said during one of his SOTU addresses–and as we’d all already said–he has the power, as commander-in-chief, to shut it down any time he chooses. Fourteen years of torture, solitary confinement, media blackouts on hunger strikes by those detained in the name of the “war on terror”? Too damn long.

Close it down! Add your voice to those of human-rights activists worldwide, next week.

(from Susan McLucas)

Next Sunday is the 14th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo. Those of us at the vigil yesterday decided that we will use our vigil next week to mark this occasion and push to close it down, once and for all! In Washington, Witness Against Torture is doing their annual demonstration in front of the White House and all around town. We will amplify their message and add our voices to the chorus of calls to close Guantanamo. We can be slightly happy that at least some people have been released recently but, of course, they all need to be let go, or else tried (though I don’t have much hope for a fair trial.)

We’ll have jumpsuits and plenty of handouts and will operate an open mic on the subject of closing Guantanamo.

We hope you can join us Sat, January 10 at 1pm (Park Street Station) . Please spread the word.

This weekend, the rebel economists at Adbusters will head to the American
Economic Association conference in Boston to challenge the dead-end
economic ideas of the 1%. As the largest annual gathering of economists in
the U.S., and a magnet for media attention, the AEA conference is the
perfect location to challenge the theories that fuel the financial
instability, climate chaos and market mayhem that are plaguing our
societies. From the workshops to the hallways, we’ll shake things up and
challenge the status-quo with the subversive memes and mind-bombs of a new
pluralist economics for the 21st century.

For our kick off demonstration at Copley Place on Friday evening at 5PM, we
need a few good radicals to gather with us and show solidarity with our
action. To pull the action off, we will have volunteer needs to be filled
starting in the early afternoon to early evening. Please contact us for
more details!

keith (AT) adbusters (DOT) org

(source: act-ma)

Stop Bombing Syria & Iraq

Ring in the new year — with a spirited rally against a new war!

Our war in Iraq destroyed that country and triggered the creation of ISIS.

Who knows what death and calamities our government’s bombing of Syria and Iraq might lead to — unless we stop it!

President Obama is seeking Congressional authorization to bomb ISIS not only in Iraq and Syria – but anywhere he wants.

Join us on New Year’s Eve 2014 for a First Night peace rally
anytime noon to 6pm Copley Square, Boston
Dartmouth street side of Boston Public Library

Bring your signs or help hold our banners

After 6pm we will join in the First Night Parade with banners & signs
http://justicewithpeace.org