bookmark_borderMarch Against Monsanto – Philadelphia, PA

According to protest organizers, “It is official everyone.On Saturday, May 24th March Against Monsanto Philadelphia will be at Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market . We will march through the streets of Philadelphia at the markets close (MARCH AT 3PM) !! I just got off the phone with Bob Pierson founder and director of Farm to City and he is delighted to have us. He informed me that the market is 100% non-gmo with a concentration on organic and local foods. March Against Monsanto Philly and GMO Free PA will have free information and GMO-Free swag available to the public fro 9am to 3pm. Food not bombs will be feeding the masses for free from 12 noon until we march. The march will start at 3pm and the march route will weave through center city as we distribute thousands of flyers to the sheeple. The march will end in Love Park with a moment of love and solidarity for all the awareness we have inspired!”

bookmark_borderOccupy Philly Events

Mon Feb 10, 6:00pm Act-UP Weekly Meeting – St Luke’s Church Basement – 330 S. 13th St Between Pine and Spruce

Tue Feb 11, 7:30pm Books Through Bars Packing Cafe – The A-Space 4722 Baltimore Ave

Sun Feb 16, 5:00pm Long Term Organizing MDU working group – Ethical Humanist Society, Rittenhouse Square

Tuesday, February 11, All day, The Day We Fight Back

On February 11th 2014 thousands of websites and tens of thousands of people will come together for a day of online protest mass surveillance.

Sign up to take part here: https://thedaywefightback.org/

What will happen on February 11th: If you’re in the US: Thousands of websites will host banners urging people to call/email Congress. Plans may change, but we intend to ask legislators to oppose the FISA Improvements Act, support the USA Freedom Act, and enact protections for non-Americans.

If you’re not in the US: Visitors will be asked to urge appropriate targets to institute privacy protections.

How to get involved

– RSVP and invite everyone you know to join.

– Go to https://thedaywefightback.org/ and sign up to take part.

– Scroll down and sign up to add the banner to your website.

– Join the discussion at http://www.reddit.com/r/thedaywefightback/

– Be creative, help spread the word however you can!

The People’s Hearing on Prison Expansion has been postponed due to unsafe driving conditions. The People’s Hearing on Prison Expansion is rescheduled for 1:00 pm on Wednesday, February 12th. This is the date of the Appropriations Hearing for the Department of Corrections, who, according to Corbett’s budget proposal, will receive an additional $78 million in the 2014-2015 budget. It is the first time that Pennsylvania has ever spent over $2 billion on the DOC budget with state funds. This will be a great time for us to come to Harrisburg with our own message that PA should build communities, not prisons. Pennsylvania is currently embarking on the second-largest construction project in state history by building two new prisons in Montgomery County.

The Hearing will still be in the Rotunda at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, and buses will be leaving at 10am sharp from the Youth United for Change offices at 1910 N. Front Street (Berks Station on Broad Street Line).

If you registered for the free buses to the People’s Hearing, please let us know if you can still make it on February 12th by emailing us at decarceratepa@gmail.com or calling (267) 217-3372.

If you have not registered for buses, please do so at the link below as soon as possible. Space is limited! http://decarceratepa.info/peoples-hearing-registration

Wednesday, February 12, 6:00pm – 8:00pm, ItAG Kickoff Event, Science Leadership Academy, 55 N. 22nd Street

Join TAG for the start of our annual Inquiry to Action Group series! Sign up for an ItAG in advance — some may fill up before the event!

Thursday, February 13, 6:00pm, May Day 2014 Planning Meeting, PhilaPOSH Office, 5th Floor of AFSCME DC 33 Bldg., 30th & Walnut Streets, Philadelphia

Cosponsored by PhilaPOSH and the Pennsylvania Labor History Society to o honor U.S. Labor’s “hidden history” of “May Day” – the Life and Death Struggle for human rights and the eight hour day – celebrated throughout the World.. ALL ARE WELCOME!

Please RSVP your attendance to Jimmoran2008@verizon.net

Thursday, February 13, 3:00pm, Rally to Raise The Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania, 200 South Broad St. Philadelphia, PA

195,000 Pennsylvanian workers suffer earning wages at or below $7.25/hour.
In fact, 140,000 of these workers earn wages below the Federal minimum wage and almost all of them are restaurant workers who live primarily off of tips. They earn only $2.83/hour in Pennsylvania.
These are economy harming jobs. Despite the best effort of these workers, many of them have to seek state or federal help for healthcare, food, housing and child care. In other words, your taxes are subsidizing the profits of corporations such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Olive Garden and Pizza Hut.
We need to turn these jobs into economy building jobs. That is why the Restaurant Opportunities Center is calling on Governor Corbett to abolish the tipped minimum wage.
Sign this petition- http://www.change.org/petitions/tom-corbett-raise-the-minimum-wage

Friday, February 14, 4:00pm Phila. PM Rush Hour Leafleting w/banners and signs at Bellevue Hotel, (SE PA Office of PA Gov. Corbett, head of PA Air Guard), 200 S. Broad Street, Broad & Walnut Streets, Phila., PA 19102/

YO Gov! Pull the Plug on Drone War Command Center…Not In Our Backyard (or anyone else’s). Bring whistles, noisemakers, and big hearts. Broad Street Subway Stop: Walnut & Locust.

Saturday, February 15, 10:00am – 9:00pm, KXL Pledge of Resistance Direct Action Training feat. Hands Off Appalachia Reportback! The MAAS Building 1325 Randolph Street Philadelphia, PA

Tens of thousands of people across the country have signed the CREDO KXL Pledge of Resistance. They will use civil disobedience to protest at the State Department if the Keystone XL pipeline is approved by the Obama Administration. But what happens after that? And what happens if Obama doesn’t approve the last portion of the KXL pipeline? Tar sands extraction will continue in Canada. Fracking will continue along the Marcellus Shale. The Mariner Pipeline is coming through our area, and vulnerable neighborhoods and the Schuykill River are still threatened by the Bakken Shale oil being transported across Philadelphia by rail.

This training will present tactics that go beyond those that are part of the planned action at the Federal Building as organized by CREDO and Rainforest Action Network, and trained by Earth Quaker Action Team. With trainers we will explore forming an affinity group for direct action, security culture and group roles, and fun with technical skills for extraction resistance.

But wait, that’s not all! In the evening, friends and comrades on the from UBS: Hands Off Appalachia Campaign will be giving a report back from their action in Stamford, CT in November. Folks from Hands Off Appalachia challenged UBS’s funding of mountain top removal coal mining with several actions targeting the UBS headquarters.

Saturday, February 15, 2:00pm, Lets Build $15 Now in Philly!, 112 N. Broad St. Philadelphia

Philadelphia is one the poorest large cities in the US. We have endured decades of cuts in public services, our neighborhoods left to rot, schools and firehouses are closed and our children thrown onto the street while the state spends hundreds of millions to build more and more prisons.

They tell us the city and schools are broke and we must all share the pain while billion dollar corporations like Verizon and Comcast use legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes. Walmart and McDonalds reap massive profits, but their employees are forced to work two or 3 part time low wage jobs and rely on public assistance to make ends meet.

But across the country low-wage workers are rising up, protesting, and striking for a $15/hour minimum wage! Lets get together to build a campaign in Philadelphia!! We’ve had enough – it’s time to fight!!

Saturday, February 15, 3:00pm, The Way Forward: Huey P. Newton Seminar 2014, Peace Spot, 1652 Ridge Avenue

A conversation with our Brother Comrade Tommy Joshua, leader of the Revolutionary Assembly.

With Special Guests: Brother Mujahid Abd Azeez, Chairman, Jr. LIFERs Committee and Brother Chaplain Mahdi El, Chief-Magistrate, International Interfaith Court

Special Performance by Iam Victorious, Pili X Music, The Radicans, Skurban Vintro Music

Donations Welcome. Sponsored by Dr. Huey P. Newton Ideological Institute , Revolutionary Assembly of Philadelphia and the Hip-hop The Hip Hop Party for the People

Wednesday, February 19, 5:00pm, Know Your RIGHTS – Know The LAW, OIC of America, Inc. 1415 North Broad Street, Suite 227

FLASH (Future Leaders Advancing Self Help) teams up with UATL! Come join us for a Know Your Rights/StopSnitching on Yourself (KYR/SSOY) training with Up Against the Law Legal Collective on Wednesday February 19, 2014 at 5 pm.

Up Against the Law Legal Collective is a collective of activists, organizers, law students, legal workers and lawyers. We have knowledge of the legal system, its value and limits, and how it can be used for and against us.

Up Against the Law Legal Collective feels there is a need for legal resources offered from an activist perspective. To this end, they provide legal and jail support, facilitate trainings on rights and legal issues, and make sure that the concerns and goals of activists/grassroots groups are heard in the legal community.

This training will consists of 6 parts: KYR in the streets, in your home, in your car, when you are in custody, online/internet/FB, and how to safely/effectively CopWatch (film the police).

This will be an interactive, role-playing, getting down to the dirty details of how to protect yourself legally during interactions with the police.

Please join us and bring friends! Please RSVP so we have a sense of size.

Wednesday, February 19, 6:00pm, DVLF Wonder Women Film Screening – Mountains that Take Wing,

First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2125 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Doors open at 6:00pm, Film Begins at 6:30pm. Donations accepted at the door. There are no ticket sales; we believe in giving as you can and helping how you can.

Wonder Women is a DVLF Committee focused on developing programming for LGBT Women and philanthropy. We are connecting and promoting women and facilitating opportunities for emerging leaders. Join us as we launch our film screening program with ‘Mountains That Take Wing’ (Featuring Angela Davis and Yuri Kochiyama), a 97 Minute feature with Community Discussion to Follow.

Thursday, February 20th, 6:00pm, Grassroots mobilizing and Electoral Campaigns, TBA

Ty Moore, Occupy Homes Minneapolis activist and Socialist Alternative candidate for Minneapolis City Council, will speak on building grassroots movements and independent electoral campaigns to fight the 1%.
At the national level, both the Democratic and Republican parties are controlled by big business. Working people will remain locked out of political power, left to protest on the sidelines, until we create our own political voice. one that refuses corporate donations, has genuine democratic structures, and is held accountable to our social movements.

Wednesday, February 26, Actions to Remember Trayvon Martin.

4:30pm, LOVE Park, 15th and JFK, This event honors the second anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s killing. It will involve a reflection, reading, single, and candle lighting, and a silent march for Trayvon and all the young people harmed by police officers, security guards, and vigilantes and fueled by a system of racially coded violence against people of color.

5:30pm, Malcolm X Park on 52nd and Pine Street, West Philadelphia. If you remember the tragic death of our brother Trayvon Benjamin Martin and are still sickened by the widespread acceptance of the Zimmerman verdict, please join PURP to rally against discriminatory violence against our generation!

bookmark_borderOccupy Philly Events

Mon Nov 25, 2013
6:00pm Act-UP Weekly Meeting – St Luke’s Church Basement – 330 S. 13th St Between Pine and Spruce

6:00pm DecarceratePA general meeting – Institute for Community Justice 21 South 12th Street, 7th floor, Philadelphia,

Tue Nov 26, 2013
7:30pm Books Through Bars Packing Cafe – The A-Space 4722 Baltimore Ave

Wed Nov 27, 2013
6:00pm Money Out of Politics working group/ Philly Rootstrikers – Friends Center

Sat Nov 30, 2013
11:00am Books Through Bars Packing Cafe – The A-Space 4722 Baltimore Avenue

Sun Dec 1, 2013
2:00pm PHARE/Wells Fargo working group – 1706 Race St.

5:00pm Long Term Organizing MDU working group – Ethical Humanist Society, Rittenhouse Square

Tuesday, November 26, 7:00pm, Fund Raiser and Discussion on the Unnatural Disaster of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Calvary Church, 48th & Baltimore

On Tuesday, November 26 at 7pm. join in a Fund Raiser and Discussion on the Unnatural Disaster of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The event will be held at the Calvary Church, 48th & Baltimore, with special guest speaker Christina Hilo from Gabriela, a Filipina women’s organization. Sponsored by the International Action Center. For information call 215-724-1618 or email phillyiac@gmail.com

Saturday, November 30, 12:00pm, Continue Sound the Demand…Stop the Drone War Command Center at the Horsham Air Guard Station, Horsham, Montgomery County, PA. Corner of Route #611/Easton Road & County Line Road.

Stop the killing…stop the drone war command center in Horsham. Stand up…Speak Out…Protest and Demonstrate! Music, Reading the names of U.S. drone strike victims and their stories, Bell-Tolling, Banners and Signs, Large Drone Replica.

For more information, background, nonviolent discipline, directions, and more, see November 30, EVENTS at www.brandywinepeace.com, (610) 544-1818

Tuesday, December 3, 6:00pm, Philly NetSquared, Friends Center, 1501 Cherry ST.

On our next Net Tuesday, December 3, we’ll take a time out for an organizational meeting.

After doing this every month since May of 2008, it’s time to reassess our leadership roles, re-evaluate our processes and reaffirm our purpose. This will not be a Net Tuesday “program”. Rather, it will be a working meeting to discuss the direction and future of Philly NetSquared.

Some of the questions we will address include: How can we make the best use of our volunteer leadership to avoid burnout? What is working well with our Net Tuesday programs, and what needs to change? What role does (or should) Philly NetSquared play in the Philadelphia community as distinct from other groups? How should we relate to the vibrant interaction among other local NetSquared groups around the world? What should be the role of the website (phillynetsquared.org)? Should we continue streaming and recording our events (with new information that the technological opportunities at the Friends Center are changing)?

This is an important meeting. Attendance will be limited, and RSVP’s via Meetup or Facebook are required. Attendees will be expected to contribute their most caring and creative thinking, so that we will leave with a renewed sense of purpose, direction and energy to carry us forward.

Thursday, December 5, 6:00pm, Strike Student Debt! – First General Meeting, Arch Street United Methodist Church, 55 N Broad St

We’re a new coalition of students and recent graduates committed to free education for all and the abolition of student debt. We believe a mass movement of young people can achieve this. Come to our general meeting to learn more about Strike Student Debt and our new organizing campaign!

Strike Student Debt! – Demands

1. Automatic enrollment in Income-Based Repayment (IBR) for ALL student debtors. Currently IBR is only available for federal student loans – it should be extended to private loans as well. We also want the repayment period to be reduced from 20-25 years down to 10 years before outstanding debt is canceled.

2. Restoration of bankruptcy protections for student debtors, which were stripped away as recently as 2005. Abolition of the “Brunner test” to qualify for bankruptcy by proving “excessive hardship” in paying student debts.

3. Reversing tuition hikes through increased federal and state funding for education. More Pell grants and scholarships, especially for students from working class backgrounds. We also demand budget transparency, so students know whether their tuition is being spent on education or on capital projects.

4. Release of employment, income, and debt figures for graduates of each higher education institution, 2 years and 5 years after graduation. A school’s data must be sent to each person receiving an application to that school, so they can decide with the full information whether it is in their best long-term interests to attend.

5. Our ultimate demand is the abolition of student debt and free higher education for all.

For more info, check out our tumblr at strikestudentdebt.tumblr.com.

Thursday, December 5, 12:00pm, Trysts with Destiny: Documentary film and the unfinished agenda of Indian democracy, 255 S. 36th Street.

The next South Asia Colloquium on Thursday, December 5th will feature Documentary Filmmaker Sanjay Kak, who will give a talk entitled “Trysts with Destiny: Documentary film and the unfinished agenda of Indian democracy” at 12 noon in 826 Williams Hall. Lunch will be served at 11:45 AM. This event is part of the South Asia Center’s Affiliated Faculty Lunch Series. AND don’t miss the film screening of “Red Ant Dream” and conversation with Director Sanjay Kak at 4:30 PM (December 5th) in 401 Fisher-Bennet Hall. You can read about the film and watch the trailer here.

Saturday, December 7, 12:00pm, Protest against Drone Warfare, 34th & Walnut.

Friends – As unending war continues, the United States’ drone bombings in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia are still killing unarmed and innocent civilians. We walk with banners showing a drone bomber and hand out leaflets to inform people on the street that this is being done in our names. We have walked monthly for over 4 years. We oppose the wars and all drone bombings, which are supported by drone surveillance.

University research around the U.S. keeps advancing and expanding the drone program. UPenn receives about $21 million dollars from the U.S. government, including money for this research.

We will do the Death Walk on Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm, meeting at 34th and Walnut, UPenn Campus. Please wear BLACK, we will bring plain white masks and will be sure to have some extra masks. Several people will hold signs and banners, two others will pass out leaflets. We will continue to carry signs opposing U.S. drone warfare and terrorism, which is the killing of civilians.

While walking in the manner of a Silent Death Walk we bring attention to the wars and the victims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and other countries where drones are used. This is street theater, thus we keep to the form of single file, silence, masks and black clothing. Our leaflet is intended to educate the public on U.S. drone warfare. Some of us will stand with signs and banners at the intersection of 34th & Walnut while others walk through the campus areas.

Events listed here include Occupy Philly related events as well as other social justice events. For more updates be sure to check the Occupy Philadelphia Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OccupyPhiladelphia. Your support is greatly appreciated!