ICELAND- PROTESTERS SHUT DOWN BANKS, POLITICIANS
Thousands stormed and shut down Hotel Borg, where PM Geir Haarde and others met to recap the events of 2008. Police in riot gear battled the crowd, spraying pepper gas at protesters, who retaliated with water balloons and fireworks. Several protesters were arrested.
The broadcaster’s television cables caught fire during the melee, interrupting the live broadcast 45 minutes into the program which traditionally runs for two hours. The program cut to commercials, followed by an announcement from TV Channel Stöd 2 that equipment had been damaged and the show would be suspended.
One police officer was sent to the hospital after being hit on the head with a brick.
Iceland has been rocked with protests ever since bad economic times hit the country. Citizens stormed the country’s Central Bank in a peaceful protest in early December.
EGYPT- RIOT POLICE BEAT PROTESTERS
Egyptian riot police used batons to beat opposition Islamists who tried to stage a rally in downtown Cairo on Friday against the seven-day-old Israeli offensive on Gaza, witnesses said.
Thousands of riot police were deployed in Cairo and other cities ahead of the protests called for by the Brotherhood, the strongest opposition group in the country.
"This will not prevent us from declaring our anger and expressing our solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood deputy leader, told Reuters. He said Egypt should break off diplomatic and economic ties with Israel.
Police also briefly detained a Reuters cameraman, confiscated his tape and prevented other cameramen from filming, witnesses said.
In the city of Ismailia, around 35,000 people demanded tough actions by Arab governments. "We demand the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador," read one banner.
At least 50 people were injured when baton-wielding police in Indian Kashmir fired teargas shells on Friday to disperse hundreds of Muslims protesting at Israeli strikes on Gaza, police and witnesses said.
Protesters in countries like Lebanon, Yemen and Iran have accused Egypt of cooperating with Israel by refusing to throw its border crossing with the Palestinian coastal strip wide open.
ISRAEL ARRESTS PROTESTERS
Twenty-one members of the "Anarchists Against the Wall" group were arrested Friday morning after they blocked the entrance to the Sde Dov Israel Air Force base in North Tel Aviv.
The protestors, wearing white masks and covered in fake blood, laid on the street and played dead. To remind pilots what happens when they push that button and drop those bombs from miles above.
PHILADELPHIA PEOPLES CONGRESS
Arrangements are now underway for a National Congress to be held in Philadelphia in February. The purpose of the Congress is to assemble representatives of the People of every state to discuss and debate not only the litany of violations the Constitution now being endured by the People, but to develop and commit to a practicable course of action to set straight our errant public servants, restore the Rule of Law and reclaim the Blessings of Liberty once more for our Republic and our children.
Delegates will assemble in Philadelphia at the Constitution Center across from Independence Hall. See www.constitutioncenter.org
AUSTRALIA PROTEST INTERNET CENSORSHIP
Hundreds protested in state capitals this month. ''This is obviously censorship,'' said Justin Pearson Smith, 29, organizer of protests in Melbourne and an officer of one of a dozen Facebook groups against the filter. The list of prohibited sites, which the government isn't making public, is arbitrary and not subject to legal scrutiny, Smith said, leaving it to the government or lawmakers to pursue their own online agendas.
''I think the money would be better spent in investing in law enforcement and targeting producers of child porn,'' he said.
Internet providers say a filter could slow browsing speeds, and many question whether it would achieve its intended goals. Illegal material such as child pornography is often traded on peer-to-peer networks or chats, which would not be covered by the filter.
''People don't openly post child porn, the same way you can't walk into a store in Sydney and buy a machine gun,'' said Geordie Guy, spokesman for Electronic Frontiers Australia, an Internet advocacy organization. ''A filter of this nature only blocks material on public Web sites. But illicit material ... is traded on the black market, through secret channels.''
DC ANTI WAR PROTEST MARCH 13-19TH 2009
IVAW will march on Washington DC. Several other groups are planning to hold sit down protest on major runways across the country freezing air travel for days. VoteStrike.com is asking members to protest locally infront of your reps personal residence or at local media outlets. Specific details and laws for holding your own local rally can be found here
There is also a 'Stay Home' strike called for the 13-19th no work, no school and no shopping. For a complete list of boycotts to end the war and those who profit from it go to
While we are glad to see some politicians talking about how they want the war to end, we've heard it before and know this will only happen because the people of this country keep raising their voices, keep taking action, keep pressuring their government to end this nightmare.
As the details of our activities in Washington, DC come together we will get word out through OpEdNews.com far and wide. Now, we ask you to take note of this call, mark your calendars for the whole week, and start making plans for your community's participation in what will surely be a timely and necessary mobilization.
Send this URL to all your friends, post it to forums, put it on your personal pages, http://www.votestrike.com There will be ZERO mainstream media discussion of this General Strike BEFORE it happens. ZERO. So, we must BE OUR OWN MEDIA and promote it. Link to this site from sites and blogs. Mention it with links in your comments on blogs. PROMOTE IT.
EL PASO PROTESTER ARRESTED, DEMONSTRATORS HARASSED
Judith Ackerman, the border resident against the border wall, was arrested Wednesday at about 2 p.m., by officers of the Texas Department of Public Safety (The Texas Rangers) at the construction site inside the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. "Ackerman was attempting to stop heavy machinery and equipment from entering into the park which is the only remaining spot of real wildlife in El Paso' border," said Carlos Marentes, writing on behalf of the border wall protesters.
A small group of border residents were in the area to show their support for Ackerman's action and to protest against the wall. The border wall contractor called for help to remove her. An impressive number of officers from the State, Federal, County and City law enforcement agencies arrived quickly to detain Judy and harass the rest of the demonstrators.
The border wall is more than 18 ft. high and the estimated cost is more than 7.5 million dollars per mile. Once completed, the wall will cover almost 70 miles from Sunland Park, New Mexico, to McNary, Texas. The cost of the wall is considered an offense by the people of El Paso, the Fourth Poorest City in the Nation. The construction of the border wall represents a serious threat to the already fragile ecosystem of the Rio Bosque.
Ackerman was released from jail. More arrests may occur since the demonstrators have expressed the commitment to continue the struggle to stop the construction of the border wall.
