Thurs., 7/28, 7 PM: L.A. Rising Concert Outreach - Orientation & Organizing Meeting

Prisoners at Pelican Bay End Hunger Strike. . . The Struggle Against the Inhumanity of Solitary Confinement Continues  [Read  here ] Call for International Day of Protest  and Solidarity  [Click here ].   Thursday, July 28th, 7 pm  Join Us for an Orientation and  Organizing Meeting for Outreach at the  L .A. Rising Concert   L.A. Rising! One of the most  radical concerts in years, is this  Saturday at the Coliseum and  will feature Rage Against the  Machine, Muse, Rise Against  and other great artists. It will  bring  together tens of  thousands of progressive,  radical and revolutionary youth;  we aim to support this important  cultural gathering, and reach out to the youth with  BAsics, Revolution newspaper, and this movement  for revolution.  Help bring forward a new wave of  revolutionaries and emancipators of humanity!  If you've got a ticket, look for our booth in the "Re- education Camp." We'll have a banner that says "A  Better World Through Revolution."  Or join one of the  teams that will be snake-dancing through the crowds.  If you don't have a ticket, you can still play an  important role reaching people in front of the  Coliseum with teams that will be catching people  entering and leaving the concert.  * Come to this orientation and organizing  meeting; * Donate [ here ] to help cover the cost of  promotional materials for the BAsics book and  the bookstore; * Help spread the word on Facebook and other  ways to reach concert-goers with the message  that they should check out  BAsics  at the  concert site and at the bookstore booth; and  help take out the revolution while they are at the  concert. Read the article in the new issue of Revolution   newspaper:    Out to the summer concerts and festivals with  BAsics, "This is something my generation  needs" [ here ].               ___________________________________ We'll also be discussing BAsics, From the  Talks and Writings of Bob Avakian.  We'll focus on Chapter 6, "Revolutionary Responsibility and Leadership" - bring your favorite quotes to read and discuss.

Check out these YouTube videos from  some of the major bands who will be  performing at the L.A. Rising concert,   to get a sense of their music and the  kinds of youth these artists will attract:   MK Ultra (MTV Exit:  Muse: Some Things Cost More Than You Realise)   Rise Against - Hero Of War                             Rage Against the Machine               Killing in the Name               (live Woodstock '99) THE SYSTEM HAS NO FUTURE  FOR THE YOUTH...THE REVOLUTION DOES This is the message on shirts we will be  selling at the concert to raise much- needed funds for \ the bookstore and to  plant a revolutionary pole in the mix. Join a team to help sell these shirts.  If you are going to the concert, get one  and wear it to help popularize the  movement for revolution!   $10 special concert price.

Sunday, July 24th, 3 PM = Discussion of BAsics - Chapter 5

BAsics Discussion - Sunday, July 24th, 3 pm Getting into BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob  Avakian - discussion of Chapter 5, "Morality, Revolution and  the Goal of Communism." "The whole point of principle is that you have to fight for it when it is not easy to do.  There is no need for principle if the only time it is applied is when it doesn't matter." - BAsics, Chap. 5, #3   "'Western morality' - and, for that matter, the dominant morality in all parts of the world, wherever society is marked by class division and exploitation, patriarchy, and others forms of oppression - has always been a rationale and justification for oppression." - 5:4 "The 'Bible Belt' in the U.S. is also the Lynching belt." - 5:5 "Religion is the doctrine of submission - blind obedience; Marxism of rebellion - ever more conscious rebellion. - 5:14 You can't change the world if you  don't know the BAsics.

Memo from RCP Publications: Get BAsics  into your Library The word from librarians is that patrons (people who use the library)  asking that a specific book be carried is one of the main ways libraries  will buy it for their shelves. Anyone can do this by filling out a simple form.   All you need to know is the title of the book and the author. Take a few  minutes, go to your local library and tell them you want to request the  library get a book for you and then ask for BAsics, from the talks and  writings of Bob Avakian. Think of all the people who will then be able to check out BAsics. If  someone is homeless and hangs in the library, he or she can read it  there. Teenagers after school can discover it on the shelves. Anyone  who can't afford their own copy can check out a copy at the library. In  any neighborhood, you can help make BAsics available to thousands  of people as word spreads that "you can't change the world if you don't  know the BAsics." Now is the time to do this. Volunteers on behalf of RCP Publications  took BAsics out in a big way at the recent national convention of the  American Library Association (ALA) in New Orleans, letting thousands  of librarians know about BAsics. This is one way to get BAsics into  libraries, but often it is not enough, especially with all the cutbacks - it  also takes library users to go into their local branch and request it before  the library will seriously consider buying the book. Now many will  recognize BAsics given the buzz at the ALA. New Orleans TV coverage  of the ALA showed volunteers in BAsics T-shirts as part of their coverage,  and important ties were made with librarians from all parts of the country,  who work in public libraries, prisons, and university and college libraries.

Get BAsics Out on YouTube!

Get BAsics Out on YouTube Join Carl Dix, Herb Boyd, Rev. Earl Kooperkamp, and  Nicholas Heyward Sr. in spreading the BAsics.  Check their contributions out on YouTube:  Herb Boyd reads BAsics 1:3 BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian is a new book of quotations and short essays that speaks powerfully to questions of revolution and human emancipation. This book has to go viral!   One important way to spread the word way beyond those who already are tuned into the revolution is to get quotes from BAsics up on YouTube.  ...Here's how YOU can make this happen... Read on...

Emergency Meeting to Support Pelican Bay Prisoners' Strike - Tues, 7/19, 7 PM

Emergency Meeting to Support Prisoners' Hunger Strike Tues., July 19th, 7 PM Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Enters Third Week - Outpouring of Support Urgently Needed! Prisoners at the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison have been on a hunger strike since July 1- demanding an end to what amounts to torture and brutally inhumane conditions. The weekend of July 2-3, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reported that 6,600 prisoners, in 13 different prisons, refused food in solidarity with the strike. And there has been growing support on the outside from people who are demanding that the CDCR meet the prisoners' demands.    On the 13th day of the strike, alarming, urgent reports started coming out that the medical condition of some of the prisoners was at a severe crisis. Mediators in contact with prisoners reported that some of the strikers had lost 25-35 pounds.  According to a July 13 press release from Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity, a source with access to the medical condition of the prisoners, who asked to remain anonymous, said the health of the hunger strikers was quickly and severely deteriorating - that some were in renal failure and had been unable to make urine for three days; and some had blood sugars measuring in the 30 range, which can be fatal if not treated. Legal representatives who visited prisoners in the Pelican Bay SHU on Tuesday, July 12, reported that many prisoners were experiencing irregular heartbeats and palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath and other respiratory problems; some were suffering from diagnosed cardiac arrhythmia. There were reports that prisoners at Calipatria State Prison and Corcoran, on a hunger strike in solidarity with the prisoners at Pelican Bay, were also in a dangerous medical condition...  Now think about this: Hundreds of prisoners, right now, are willing to die for these basic and just demands. They are doing everything they can, in the most isolated, inhumane conditions, to refuse to be treated like animals. And because of this, a light is being shined on the torture and inhumanity going on behind these prison walls. We can't say "We didn't know."    So the question is: What are people on the outside going to do? People have the moral responsibility to act in a way commensurate with the justness of the prisoners' demands and the urgency of the situation...   Ask yourself this: What would it mean if people on the outside don't stand up and do everything they can to make sure these prisoners don't die, to really fight for these prisoners to be treated like human beings? What would this say about our humanity? But also, what will it mean if hundreds and thousands of people do stand up together, wage a determined struggle for the just demands of these prisoners, and in this way, assert our own humanity?    ...The demands of the prisoners are completely just. And an incredibly powerful statement is being sent out from behind the bars at Pelican Bay, joined by many in other prisons throughout the country. These prisoners are demanding to be treated like human beings, asserting their humanity and challenging everyone to respond with their own humanity. There is an urgent need for people from all walks of life to speak up with courage and determination to wage a fight to force the CDCR to meet the prisoners' just demands.    Read entire new article here.      - Check here for daily updates: www.revcom.us - Come by Revolution Books to pick up copies of REVOLUTION newspaper to distribute and help spread REVOLUTION's coverage and analysis of this extremely important struggle.

Statements from Prominent People in Support of Prison Hunger Strikers Nawal El Saadawi, Cairo, Egypt: I condemn the horrific conditions under which those prisoners live in the USA. We have a common global struggle against all types of class race genderand religious oppressions, including American-European imperialisms and neocolonialisms. We live in one world dominated by the same military police capitalist patriarchal system. We need to fight together. Unity is power globally and locally. Our Egyptian revolution is winning till today because of our unified power of millions (women men and children from all sectors  of the society) who are staying in Tahrir Square day and night, and in all streets and squares all over Egypt from Aswan south to Alexandria north, and Suez Canal cities and villages. In solidarity (Nawal El Saadawi is a renowned Egyptian novelist, doctor, and feminist activist. She has been involved in the 2011 uprising in Egypt.)  Susan Sarandon: I support the inmates of Corcoran State prison, pelican bay, and other prisons in their demands to end the inhumane policies of SECURITY HOUSING UNITS. I recognize their humanity and stand with them. Read many more here , and help get more prominent voices heard.

Orientation and Planning  Meeting for LA Rising concert Thurs., July 21st, 7 PM Want to connect up BAsics, revolution and communism with a whole new generation of young people?  Bring your ideas on how to make a major impact with BAsics and Revolution newspaper among the tens of thousands of people at the LA Rising concert on Sat., July 30th, featuring Rage Against the Machine, Muse, Rise Against and other bands.

Sunday, July 17th: Join us for a FUNraiser for "Summer of Trust"

FUNraiser for the Summer of Trust Sunday, July 17th,  3 - 6 PM           Revolution Books             5726 Hollywood Blvd. (Just west of Wilton, Hollywood  exit off the 101, 3 blocks west of the  Hollywood/Western redline station) $5-10 donation at the door   Frequent flyer miles needed to send  LA activists to Germantown, MD   Enjoy dramatic readings from The Vagina Monologues, poetry, art, music, refreshments and prize drawings.   (Donate now to "Summer of Trust" via PayPal,  by clicking on the 2nd button on this blog,  near the top, right-hand corner)   Make this Summer a Turning Point for the Right to Abortion Against the backdrop of a wave of anti-abortion legislative assaults, Operation Rescue has announced plans for a "Summer of Mercy 2.0" targeting the brave and outspoken Dr. LeRoy Carhart in Germantown, MD, July 31-August 7. Operation Rescue is the same organization that hounded Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, KS, for years (until he was assassinated by one of their associates in May '09). Their original "Summer of Mercy" in 1991 shut down access to the Dr. Tiller's clinic for six weeks and resulted in 3,400 arrests, they are invoking this alarming history again in their "Summer of Mercy 2.0" event.  In honor of Dr. Tiller who lived by the motto, "Trust Women", we are building for the Summer of Trust.  Pro-choice activists and organizations are joining together to mount a serious and determined showing of public support for Dr. Carhart and the Germantown, MD, clinic, and the legal right to choice.  Join us in Los Angeles on July 17th to raise funds for two important efforts: 1) Send young people from L.A. to join the frontlines of the struggle in Maryland for the Summer of Trust; 2) Support Revolution Books as a center for the movement for revolution.  Learn more about this crucial struggle, and participate in an afternoon of spoken word, dramatic readings, an art auction, and music. Download, print and distribute this flyer - bring others to this important fundraiser event (click flyer below): Go to SummerOfTrust.com  for more info. Hear this new message from Dr. Carhart: Summer Celebration of Choice Co-hosted by World Can't Wait L.A.

Update 7/14/11: Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Call to Action!

Received in an email:

Update 7/14: Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Call to Action!

URGENT! DISTRIBUTE 

FAR AND WIDE!

Actions in Los Angeles and Southern California: 

ENCAMPMENT SOLIDARITY WITH PELICAN BAY PRISONERS HUNGER STRIKE! KRST Unity Center of Afrikan Spiritual Science 

FRIDAY, July 15th, starting at 1:30 pm; and ALL DAY Sat., July 16th, beginning at 1pm

7825. S. Western Ave., LA, CA 90047

For info: 213-840-5348 California Prisoners Hunger Strike Action Network; Call 714-290-9077 if you have a family member or friend incarcerated and want to get involved in Action Network. 

Outreach to family members of those incarcerated: 

MEN'S CENTRAL JAIL

BE THERE ON FRI., JULY 15th, 11 am TO 3 pm

441 Bauchet St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

For info: 213-840-5348 

INFO/STRATEGY SESSION Southern California Library 
Be there on Friday, July 15 from 6pm-8pm, 6120 S. Vermont Avenue 

Greetings Everyone, 

COME TO THE ENCAMPMENT SAT., JULY 16 AT 1PM 

The Encampment is where people come to express support for the prisoners on hunger strike in Pelican Bay SHU and other CA prisons; where prominent voices of conscious make appearances and convey their solidarity; it is a space where people congregate for a 24 hour solidarity hunger strike and fast and take up other forms as well that draw public awareness to this battle.  This Encampment is where families of those incarcerated, and everyone, find community and support and where all this amplifies the voices of the SHU prisoners and galvanizes societal-wide mobilization and support for their just demands.

WE WRITE WITH URGENCY!!
As of July 14, Thursday morning, this report:

"Legal representatives made visits to Pelican Bay SHU Tuesday and interviewed a number of hunger strikers. Each prisoner explained how medical conditions of about 400 hunger strikers in the SHU are worsening. [Read on] 

We are making an INTERNATIONAL CALL OF ACTION to take a stand in support and solidarity with all men that are on hunger strike across California State Prisons to end the inhumane and torturous conditions in Pelican Bay's Security Housing Unit (SHU).

We need EVERYONE!  TIME IS OF ESSENCE!  If you are an artist, actor, public figure, family of an incarcerated loved one, lawyer, academic or organization please make a statement and come out publicly in support of their five core demands. Urge the CDCR to begin NEGOTIATIONS NOW!!

For a full list of prisoners 5 core demands click [here].

Friday, July 15th, The Michael Slate Show, 10 to 11 am, KPFK radio

We Recommend - Received in an email: THE MICHAEL SLATE SHOW Friday, July 15th  10 - 11 AM, KPFK, 90.7 FM Or Listen Live at kpfk.org This week on The Michael Slate Show:   Three brothers killed in their home in a nighttime  NATO raid in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, 2010.   ROBERT PARRY on War and More War, the continuing influence that neo-cons are exerting because of their control of key media like the New York Times and Washington Post. See his article at Consortium News.  ____________________________________ GAIL DINES on porn culture and the continuing vilification of the victim in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. Gail Dines is professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Wheelock College and chair of American Studies, and the author of Pornland: How Pornography Has Hijacked out Sexuality.  ____________________________________    DOLORES CANALES, the mother of a prisoner in the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU), where a prisoner hunger strike is entering its third week. For more on the hunger strike, see the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition.    ____________________________________ Check out articles on the Pelican Bay Hunger Strike from Revolution at revcom.us:    We are Human Beings! by Li Onesto Pelican Bay Prisoner Hunger Strike Update: July 14, 2011    Hunger Strikers Inspire Solidarity Actions Inside and Outside Prisons "The conditions at Pelican Bay may shock the public..." Letter from a prisoner.

Emergency Meeting to Support Pelican Bay Hunger Strikers - Thurs, 7/14, 7 pm

[Post on Facebook, Twitter, websites, send to e-lists - spread the word, bring others!] Today, Thursday, July 14th, 7 pm at Revolution Books / Libros Revolución Emergency Meeting to Support Pelican Bay   Prisoners' Hunger Strike -  now in it's 13th day According to advocates working on behalf of prisoners on hunger strike at Pelican Bay State Prison's Security Housing Unit (SHU), medical conditions for many strikers have deteriorated to critical levels, with fears some prisoners could start to die if immediate action isn't taken.   Prisoners at Pelican Bay have been on hunger strike for nearly two weeks and have been joined by thousands of other prisoners throughout California's vast prison system. Some of their main demands revolve around health conditions in Pelican Bay's Security Housing Unit, while the entire California prison system is under federal receivership due to grave health conditions throughout its facilities.  Read here for a 7/13/11 update on the strike. Join us for an emergency meeting tomorrow night to discuss the situation for the hunger strikers, and what can be done to spread the word and build support as an important part of building a movement for revolution. _________________________________________________  Also check out lead article from Revolution #239:  We are Human Beings! And an email we received from the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund (PRLF) Director: PRLF just received this letter, postmarked July 8, 2011, from one of the hunger strikers in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at California's Pelican Bay prison. He is also one of 49 subscribers to Revolution newspaper at Pelican Bay State Prison, thanks to the generous donors to Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund. The letter's last sentence: "Prisoners are tired of the decades long white torture that is often hidden from the public eye and which is now being heard nationwide with the strike - with nothing to lose and a world to win!" [Read full letter here.]