Please try to attend this important meeting, which will have major consequences for the future of Richmond's African Burial Ground and the rest of Shockoe Bottom:

Land Use Committee Meeting
3 pm, Tuesday, Feb. 21
Council Chambers (2nd floor)
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad St.
Richmond, Va.

New resolution seeks to eliminate term limits, reduce commission from 17 to 13 members, and make 8 of those 13 ex-officio. This will formally remove this commission's decision-making processes from public awareness or accountability.

Technical difficulties on today's DefendersLIVE. Please bear with us as our engineers work on it.
host, Ana Edwards

Monday, 20 Feb. at the Virginia GENERAL Assembly
11am SILENT VIGIL: STAND FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS
2pm RALLY at the BELL TOWER, more info at http://ping.fm/bgjhV

"Black-Red Relations Today: Racism, Genocide, Vital Statistics and Recovery" with Anita & Hugh Harrell of the Weyanoke Association.
This is a call in show between 12:20 and 12:40: 804.649-9737. From Nottoway to Cherokee, from Plecker to RACE: Are we really so different
From Genocide and Marginalization to Self-Determination? A conversation on the state of African American and American Indian history and relations.
with host Ana Edwards
defendersliveradio.blogspot.com

Resources/Links

www.weyanoke.org

http://ping.fm/es28H

http://ping.fm/DcEIL - Are Blacks Being Victimized Twice by the Cherokee?

From today's show...

Feb. 4: No War On Iran National Day of Action

12 - 1 pm at the Richmond Federal Courthouse 701 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219

Resolution on Iran Unanimously Adopted at the 2012 session of the Virginia People’s Assembly Richmond, Virginia, January 14, 2012: 

No War, No Sanctions, No Internal Interference in Iran!

Recently, the U.S. government has increased its threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The U.S. has declared Iran to be its enemy and has publicly stated that it will use all means possible, up to and including military attack, to stop the production of nuclear energy in Iran and to change its government.
To this end, the U.S. has:

1 - Used hacking to disrupt nuclear energy facilities in Iran
2 - Conducted covert operations in Iran
3 - Deployed spy drones to Iran
4 - Imposed draconian sanctions and embargo against Iranian oil exports, banking and trade
5 - Deployed U.S. nuclear supercarrier battle groups with destroyers and nuclear submarines to the Persian Gulf
6 - Threatened Iran with military attack
7 – Is about to hold the largest ever joint military exercises with Israel

The U.S. government has carried out these activities to weaken Iran in preparation for a military attack if Iran does not submit to its demands.
The U.S. government lied to the U.S. people to prepare them for an attack on Iraq, which caused the destruction of Iraq, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the deaths of 4,500 U.S. soldiers and injuries to many thousands more, in addition to more than $800 billion in war expenditures.
It is extremely important that we do everything in our power to stop another U.S. war in the Middle East. To this end, we, the 2012 Virginia People’s Assembly, demand:
No War, No Sanctions, No Internal Interference in Iran!

Co-Proposed by Simin Royanian, Co-Founder, Women for Peace & Justice in Iran; and
Phil Wilayto, Board Member, Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)

RIHD - Prison and Ex-Offender Legislation Alert

About the Bills  Download Copy Click Here:  CRC 2012 Focus.doc

Earned Second Chance – The focus on education and rehabilitative programs that include the Earned Second Chance legislation and the Volunteerism Tax Deduction as well as a

Focus on arts in the prison educational environment in order to provide tactile learning for those approximately fifty percent of inmates with specific learning disabilities. While we may

Not support the use of discretionary and often arbitrary parole; we do support a person’s ability to reduce their sentence through hard work and positive contributions to their community.

Ban the Box – Starting with legislation focused on removing barriers to ex‐offender employment, including the ‘Ban the Box’ approach, the campaign will promote equal opportunity in employment as well as developing healthy relationships with employers. All persons should have the right to support themselves and their families without remaining forever reliant on government and community handouts.

Restoration of Civil Rights – A focus on a complete and automatic restoration of voting rights upon completion of a term of incarceration. While a ballot resolution could not be put forward this year, we should challenge the right of the government to tax a citizen at any time while he is unable to vote under the law. A government should not be able to tax a citizen who is not permitted a stake in his own destiny.

Opt Out of All Bans on Drug Offenders – This focus will include legislation to finally

opt out of the TANF ban on formerly incarcerated person with drug offenses. In addition, since drug use and addiction is a medical and mental health issue, the campaign should stand against any and all bans that preclude former drug offenders from receiving any type of service, particularly when it has negative effects on their families. An ADA challenge might be made here. Government should not be allowed to punish individuals and their families for medical or mental health conditions.

Protecting Our Children – A multifaceted focus on keeping children in the juvenile system and not permitting unprotected transfers to adult court for a greater focus on restorative justice practices for youth. Also, a focus on mentoring and protecting children from the constant influx of violence needs to be legitimately addressed.  Children should be nurtured, and a government should not treat children as adults until such time as they can determine that they are adequately prepared to be instilled with ALL the rights and responsibilities that come along with adulthood.

Feb. 17:Virginia Immigrant People's Coalition Day of Action

• If these legislators get their way, this is what our state will look like:
  - Police would be empowered to demand to see immigration papers from any person that they suspect to be an immigrant;
  - Undocumented students would be banned from attending state universities, even if they are VA residents who have been paying taxes here for years;
  - Government issued ID would be required to vote, disenfranchising thousands of poor, elderly and African-American voters;
  - People who don’t speak English well and lose their criminal court cases would be required to pay for their interpreters.
• Si estos legisladores obtienen lo que están proponiendo, esto sería como nuestro estado luciría:
  - La policía tendría el poder de preguntar por documentos de inmigración si ellos sospechan que una persona es inmigrante.
  - Estudiantes indocumentados no podrían asistir a las universidades del estado, aunque sean residentes de Virginia y hayan pagado sus impuestos por anos.
  - Para poder votar, se requerirá una identificación dada por el gobierno de Virginia, afectando a muchas personas mayores, personas pobres y Afro-Americanos.
  - Personas que no hablen ingles y pierdan su caso en la corte criminal, tendrán que pagar por sus propios intérpretes.

Revolutionary Poet Warrior Woman Jayne Cortez at William & Mary's Muscarelle Museum on Feb. 9 at 7pm - http://ping.fm/heSsi

This week on DefLIVE: Jason Brown and Mark Carter of Occupy The Hood RVA join me to discuss last Saturday's Occupy The Hood RVA General Assembly and what the rising up of the Occupy The Hood movement means to the Occupy Wall Street movement and other campaigns for economic and social justice in the US. DefendersLIVE airs Monday at noon on 97.3 LP FM in Richmond VA and online at www.WRIR.org and is rebroadcast Tuesdays online only at 11 am and 1pm.