Sunday Blockade 20 June 2010
Posted by marisacat in California / Pacific Coast, Cuba, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Israel/AIPAC, Viva La Revolucion!.trackback
Victory at Oakland port: Israeli ship blocked from unloading — First ever boycott at US port in solidarity with Palestine
Full text by Gloria La Riva, from the only report Google News offered up…at Party for Socialism and Liberation dot com:
In a historic and unprecedented action today, over 800 labor and community activists blocked the gates of the Oakland docks in the early morning hours, prompting longshore workers to refuse to cross the picket lines where they were scheduled to unload an Israeli ship.
From 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., a militant and spirited protest was held in front of four gates of the Stevedore Services of America, with people chanting non-stop, “Free, Free Palestine, Don’t Cross the Picket Line, and “An injury to one is an injury to all, the apartheid wall is going to fall.”
Citing the health and safety provisions of their contract, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers refused to cross the picket line to report for duty.
Between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., an emergency arbitration was conducted at the Maersk parking lot nearby, with an “instant” arbitrator called to the site, to rule on whether the workers could refuse to cross the picket line without disciplinary measure.
At 9:15 a.m, after again reviewing the protests of hundreds at each gate, the arbitrator ruled in favor of the union that it was indeed unsafe for the workers to enter the docks.
To loud cheers of “Long Live Palestine!” Jess Ghannam of Free Palestine Alliance and Richard Becker of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) announced the victory. Ghannam said, “This is truly historic, never before has an Israeli ship been blocked in the United States!”
The news that a container ship from the Zim Israeli shipping line was scheduled to arrive in the Bay Area today has sparked a tremendous outpouring of solidarity for Palestine, especially in the aftermath of the Israeli massacre of volunteers bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza on May 30.
With 10 days advance notice of the ship’s arrival, the emergency “Labor/Community Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People” was set up. On Wednesday, 110 people from unions and community came to help organize logistics, outreach and community support. Initiating organizations included the Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition, the ANSWER Coalition, the Bay Area Labor Chapter of USLAW [US Labor Against War] , and the Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice.
This week, the San Francisco Labor Council and Alameda Labor Council passed resounding resolutions denouncing Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Both councils sent out public notices of the dock action.
The ILWU has a proud history of extending its solidarity to struggling peoples the world over. In 1984, as the Black masses of South Africa were engaged in an intense struggle against apartheid, the ILWU refused for a record-setting 10 days to unload cargo from the South African “Ned Lloyd” ship. Despite million-dollar fines imposed on the union, the longshore workers held strong, providing a tremendous boost to the anti-apartheid movement.
Among the many solidarity statements that came in anticipation of the protest were those of Palestinian and Cuban workers. The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions said, “Your action today is a milestone in international solidarity from honest and brave U.S. workers and trade unionists. Greetings to you from the trade unionists and workers of Palestine … from the trade unionists and workers trapped in Gaza.”
The Central of Cuban Workers (CTC) wrote: “Our people have lived for 50 years of an unjust and abominable blockade by the U.S. government, so we understand very well how the Palestinian people feel and we will always be in solidarity with their just cause. Today we send you our most sincere support. Long live the solidarity of the working class! End the Blockade of Gaza! Respect and justice for the people of Palestine!”
Today’s Oakland action, in the sixth largest port in the United States, is the first of several protests and work stoppages planned around the world, including Norway, Sweden and South Africa. It is sure to inspire others to do the same.
The goal is for a 24-hour shutdown of the docks where the Israeli ship is docked, so the protest is planned again for 4:30 p.m.
Bit by little bit… small bits..
BIIIG NYT article on the Big Mess in the Gulf [BMitG]…. I got onto thru the latest thread at The Oil Drum…
NYT link
***
The Oil Drum thread has several comments (at the top rght now) about the “dougr” comment from a few days ago… it apparently is getting around (appeared at Gawker), but i suspect what is getting out there is the trimmed, edited version that TOD posted as a stand alone.
The original, more complex comment made a lot more sense and was much more interesting.
It looks like it’s also getting mixed in with a separate comment from someone who may/may not be the same person that moderates the godlikeproductions.com site. I’m having trouble finding the original comment, but apparently it starts talking about methane clouds inundating Florida and stuff.
I doubt that the “dougr” post was from an actual oil/gas engineer, but rather from someone who spent a lot of time researching the technology and the history of the spill and made some pretty good logical deductions, most of which have turned out to be pretty accurate.
No doubt BP probably employs a PR firm to troll these types of posts already now that it has legs. Doubtful anything is going to make much sense from here on out.
”dougr” used some of the comment from God Like Productions, and in his original longer comment at TOD, he linked back to GLP… Some comments at TOD thought it might be the same person. I think that is possible, too.
Let me see if I can find my comment wtih the link to the thread that had the original comment a TOD… I was sorry to see them trim it down (killed the comment imo)
ts, here you go…
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593#comment-648967
it was left at 3:17 am, as at least my browser did not deliver me to the comment, it was about 2/3 of the way down the thread at the time.
hmm scammed this WSJ article from the Oil Drum thread as well:
what a shock!
And the other shoe drops…
More to come… Stay tuned!!
🙄 and more 🙄
Wapo:
Guaranteed to be useless.
🙄
thanks for the story from Oakland.
I just saw a report on it on the AM local news here, Paul Larudee, one of he 5 local/East Bay people of the Gaza / Turkish Flotilla was there.. Their objective was just a 24 hour shut down — probably why they got cooperation from the unions and the “instant mediator”. So the container ship will dock tday.
BI… Pretty rich for what I bet was a middle level geologist.
sigh.
Read more: LINK to BI
Catios! Plain, little-ish ones to big expansive ones…
From the Department of Pot.Kettle.Black.:
Land of the Free and the Brave:
They’re all owned by Israel and the Zionist Jews. OWNED.
Lock stock and barrel. (the barrel covering the repo’d silk panties)
In other Fuck You/Yeah Israel news,
East Jerusalem
Building PlanDEMOLITIONS AdvanceAnd Bibi is coming to see President Emanuel July 6th.
The shvartza will be there serving lemonade.
Till he’s waived out of the room.
It’s to LAUGH.
I am surprised the signatures were not unanimous… frankly. The House looks positively restrained… 298 out of 465…. (if my numbers are correct… or is it 435? gah) …. but only missing 17 senators…
We’re surrounded! The Epsteins AND the Connellys are out to get us. With an assist from the Clyburns..!!
Burn Out!!!!
Telegraph says Rahm goes in a few months……….. and AP says Orszag too.
Promise?
Of course Orzag is the only one who got anything done.
Henh.
TWT™! They Write Themselves! They really do!
Go Peter! Go Peter!
{ all cheerleader like}
Seriously tho it will have an impact on next year’s Obama Admin…
BEEFCAKE CALENDAR! TWT™! Look hot in pics too! They really do!
😆
Oopsie!
An’ ta tink,
They coulda trotted out Orzag for Fathers Day! EVERY DAY!
Okay I’m done. NTIM, the precious bodily fluids quite aside, LOL,
The Donks are skipping the Budget prior to midterms.
BW, I know, buuut…
With neither Management nor a Budget, who needs Orzag anyways?
Put him out to stud! Think of Future Generations! TWT™!
::
As for Rahmossad,
there’s the case to be made that he’d have to stay thru the midterms, and that he isn’t going to , ya know, fire himself. But, snake that he is, I could see him slithering out, in short order hissing that he tried to warn Ob and the Party yada ya…
Dude’s some kind of Holocaust survivor or sumpin.
That’s the story line they seem to be cobbling together, fuck the Pwogs , the Idealists are to blame, Party too far left, etc…
kida like what mcat says about Biden how he’ll be getting people to pick up his tab for his remaining years waxing on about “what might have been” “if only” and how he triiied™ …. How they all triiied™.
Bianna is quite entertaining… not up to the job of News Reader… and sometimes it is amusing. I suppose she will get better…………………………. eventually.
Our Society Is Turning Into One Giant Prison
New:
LINK
………………….. 🙄