Palestine Solidarity in the Face of FBI Repression: With Hatem Abudayyeh

Thursday, December 16 - 7:00pm - Union Room 191

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174924415851425

Recently targeted by the FBI and subpoenaed to a Grand Jury in Chicago for challenging U.S. foreign policy in Israel/Palestine, SDS will host Hatem Abudayyeh of the Palestine Solidarity Group. He will speak about Palestine solidarity activism in the United States, as well as the FBI harassment faced by those who speak out against Israel's criminal occupation of Palestine. Abudayyeh is also the Executive Director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), a community based organization that helps empower Arab Americans and Arab immigrants.

Grassroots Organizing in an Era of Economic Crisis

Thursday, December 2 - 7:00pm - Bolton Hall Room 150

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110369839029970

Milwaukee SDS will host a panel discussion with members of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP). STOP is a grassroots organization in Chicago building leadership in the fight for human rights to racial and economic justice. The event will feature Wilie Rodgers, board member of STOP and co-founder of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers.

STOP currently fights against gentrification and displacement, for better quality housing, against cuts to health care for the poor, against human rights abuses in Chicago's youth detention center, against budget cuts to and attempted closure and privatization of mental health clinics and more.

Milwaukee SDS Condemns FBI Harassment of Anti-war Activists

On September 24th, the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force raided the homes and seized items (such as computers, cell phones, documents, etc.) belonging to anti-war and international solidarity activists in Minneapolis and Chicago in an attempt to find evidence of “material aid to foreign terrorist organizations.” These raids on members of Students for a Democratic Society, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera are part of a trend of repression of those who disagree with the U.S. government’s international policies and the violation of our rights as part of “the war on terror.”

Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society believes that attacks on people in this country for their ideas is a gross violation of civil liberties and constitutional rights and must be ended. We call on President Obama and Attorney General Holder to immediately:

• Stop the repression against anti-war and solidarity activists
• Immediately return all confiscated materials (computers, phones, documents, etc.)
• Cancel the Grand Jury against anti-war activists

We urge everyone to call President Obama and Attorney General Holder to voice these demands.

• President Obama: (202)-456-1111
• Attorney General Eric Holder: (202)-353-1555

The Milwaukee chapter of SDS stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters across the country in the face of FBI repression and recognizes these searches and seizures for what they are, an attempt to silence the voice of the movement against U.S. wars and occupations and to harass and intimidate those who stand in solidarity with people around the globe who resist U.S. imperialism. We recognize that the activists involved have done nothing wrong, and we urge all citizens to show solidarity with those individuals targeted by the U.S. Government and to speak out against FBI repression.

U.S. Intervention in Colombia, Oct. 28

Tom Burke, co-founder of the Colombia Action Network and a recent target of the FBI for his political activities, will be speaking at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7:00pm in Bolton Hall B46 on the topic "U.S. Intervention in Colombia."

Burke will be talking about U.S. foreign policy in Colombia, the School of the Americas, and Plan Colombia.

Burke is a long-time trade union and Latin America solidarity activist. He helped launch the Boycott Coca-Cola campaign in the 1990's, organized delegations to Colombia, and is outspoken in the media on U.S. foreign policy in Colombia.

Burke was recently subpoenaed, along with around a dozen other international solidarity activists, to a Grand Jury in Chicago, for what many consider to be a repressive move on the government to intimidate international solidarity activists who challenge U.S. foreign policy.

This event is being hosted by Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society. It is free and open to the public.

For more information, see:

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126070680782239

Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society:

http://www.mkesds.com

Stop FBI Raids

http://www.stopfbi.net

Colombia Action Network

http://www.colombiasolidarity.org

National Day of Action to Defend Public Education

Video from the UWM march on October 7th

FBI Raids Spark Protest in Milwaukee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FBI Raids Spark Protest in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, along with over 30 other cities, to protest Oct. 5th

A protest is planned outside the Federal Building (3rd St. and Wisconsin Ave.) in Milwaukee, WI, on Oct. 5th, 5:45pm, as part of a national day of action against the FBI raids on seven homes and an anti-war office. The raids took place on Friday, September 24, 2010 and targeted antiwar and solidarity activists in the Midwest. Thousands have already come together across the country in protest of the FBI raids.

"Across the country, organizations and individuals are standing together to protest the United States government’s attempt to silence and criminalize anti-war and international solidarity activists," commented SDS organizer Natasha Morgan.

Morgan, a student activist in Milwaukee, was one of the activists contacted by the FBI, although her home was not searched.

The protest is planned by the Milwaukee Activist Defense Network, a newly-formed network of activists that includes members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Peace Action, MEChA, and many other organizations in Milwaukee.

Tuesday's protest will have three demands: 1) End repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists!; 2) Return all materials seized in the raid!; and 3) Stop the Grand Jury Subpoenas of activists!

For more information on the FBI raids, please see http://www.stopfbi.net.

Contact:
MilwaukeeSDS@gmail.com

Milwaukee SDS Condemns FBI Repression

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Milwaukee SDS Condemns FBI Repression

September 24th, 2010 - This morning, several doors were broken down at homes of well known anti-war activists across the country in a large FBI raid. SWAT teams raided the home of a Minneapolis SDS leader, and the FBI has been intimidating SDS members in Milwaukee, Chicago, Los Angeles, and North Carolina. The FBI is looking for evidence linking activists to "material support of terrorism.” Several activists have had papers, CDs, and cell phones stolen among other items; as well as being issued subpoenas to appear before a federal grand jury.

No arrests have been made – make no mistake, this is a fishing expedition by the FBI. The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation.
Grace Kelley, an SDS leader from the University of Minnesota, said “SDS at the U of M condemns the terror tactics used by the FBI to silence activists who organize against wars and for peace here in Minneapolis as well as across the nation.”

We urge all progressive activists to show solidarity with those individuals targeted by the U.S. Government. Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse - just say “No”.

Milwaukee SDS opposes U.S. support for the occupations of Palestine, Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. We ask for your support in standing against this absurd government intimidation of anti-war activists. SDS will not be intimidated as we continue to call for an immediate end to the U.S. occupations!

For more information contact; Kas Schwerdtfeger, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee SDS: 262.893.2806

http://www.startribune.com/galleries/103733819.html?elr=KArks8Lcac_QE77DyPDiUeLcac_jE77DyPDiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/9/24/activists-denounce-fbi-raids-anti-war-and-solidarity-activists-homes

Join SDS for the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.

This is a follow up to the March 4th national protest where thousands of students, teachers, and school staff took to the streets and student unions to protest budget cuts and tuition hikes. Education is a right! Join us on October 7th at 12pm in Spaights Plaza at UWM

Time for a New Chancellor – An Open Letter from SDS

Chancellor Santiago’s surprise announcement that he will leave UWM comes in the midst of intense public backlash over his “Master Plan” to privatize education at UWM. While the growing movement against Santiago’s corporate agenda was not calling for his resignation, it unilaterally rejected his plan to further privatize the university, and to balance the budget on the backs of students and workers. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) views the Chancellor’s decision to leave UWM as a blow to the agenda of privatization, and an opportunity for the university to pursue free public education.

During his stay, Santiago stubbornly refused to meet with students and workers on serious issues such as racism, sexism, budget cuts, and his autocratic “Master Plan.” Over the summer, SDS led a successful campaign that pressured Santiago to drop the bogus charges against the 16 people who were arrested at a protest outside his office in March. In 2009, SDS pressured the Chancellor to sign onto an anti-sweatshop program for the UWM bookstore. We continue to be part of a growing student movement that has spread the education rights movement internationally, and we will participate in the October 7th National Day of Action for Education Rights with these demands for a new university Chancellor:

1 Fight for Free and Accessible Higher Education
- Reject the "Master Plan."
- End the privatization of our education.

2 Chop From the Top
- Budget cuts to UWM must come from the salaries, benefits, and perks of the Chancellor and high level administrators.

3 Transparency Now
- The Chancellor must hold quarterly open meetings with students, faculty, workers, and campus organizations.
- Have the approval of the AFSCME Local 82, MGAA, & TAUWP unions.
- The Chancellor’s tax records must be made available to the public.

4 Fight Racism & Sexism
- Side with students against openly racist, sexist members of the Student Association.
- Support the DREAM Act, and access to scholarships for undocumented students.
- Support a UWM Boycott of Arizona over the passage of SB1070 and HB2281.
- Protect resource centers for minorities, LGBTQ, women, and other oppressed groups.
- Protect ethnic studies programs and that were fought and won during the civil rights period.

5 End UWM Support for War
- No collaboration with war profiteering corporations such as Oshkosh Truck and DOW Chemical.
- Boycott university relations with apartheid Israel.
- No CIA, FBI, DHS, NSA, or Military recruiters on campus.