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Link:  http://indymedia.us/en/2009/12/39732.shtml

Indymedia.us is happy to announce that we've managed, after nearly a year of legal action on our behalf by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to successfully fight back against a bogus subpoena request issued by the FBI in conjunction with a grand jury investigation. The request demanded we turn over all IP address logs for a day in June of 2008 - not only did Indymedia.us object to this blatantly illegitimate and overly broad request, but, per accepted Indymedia best practices, we do not keep such logs in the first place, in order to maximally ensure the privacy of our site users.

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 November has been quite a month for change here at Grand Junction Alternative Media (GJAM).  GJAM is the umbrella media group for such projects as The Red Pill, CUNTastic, The Peep Show, Vignettes: Glimpses of Culture, Confluence Books, and more.   At the beginning of this month the collective, after a many month-long process, have changed the name of GJAM to Confluence Media Collective.  CMC will be continuing all of GJAM's media projects, except one, Confluence Books storefront will be closing at the end of November.  We are sad to have to close the storefront, and we are looking into becoming a mobile infoshop to bring radical literature to all the small radical communities around the region.  On Friday 13th of this month CMC held its first Variety Show, highlighting CMC's many artist, writers, and activists. In the coming months look for the variety show to come to a radical community near you soon. 

CMC is always looking for new co-conspirators.  Get in touch with us. gjredpill@hotmail.com or visit our website: www.gjredpill.org.  Many of our books, zines, and DVD's are for sale on our website.

 

From the newswire: "On Tuesday, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign kicked off its first day with a successful blockade at the home of Lenise Forrest, a community member and mother of two. At 9AM on November 17, supporters began arriving to blockade the house from eviction, and with the increasing police presence circling the block, many people were wondering what would happen next.

Supporters were prepared to stand between Lenise's family and the police to prevent the eviction of the family. Then, just as the corporate news arrived, the police suddenly disappeared. After the press conference the police stayed away most of the time, and the threat of eviction dwindled. In all, the eviction blockade turned out to be not a clash with police, but instead a great community building event in which people from all parts of chicago came together in solidarity.

Read more | Watch video | Anarkismo.net coverage

Two banners were dropped on the University of Illinois campus by a group of anonymous activists in the early morning of November 20th in solidarity with the UC occupations and the UC strike. This banner drop follows a three day strike in the UC college system, national and international solidarity actions with UC, and the recent local success of the Graduate Employee’s Organization in obtaining a fair contract.

One banner, hung off the English building, reads “Education is NOT for Sale. Support the UC strike.” The International Students Movement's statement “Education is not for sale” speaks to both the UC strike and the continuation of the fight against the privatization of public education in an attempt to make college more accessible. Another banner that briefly hung off the Alma Mater, alluding to cuts in the state budget and the continued pay disparity between administrators and other workers at the university, read “Chop from the Top. Solidarity with UC.”

 

I’ve already commented on the split before, but ODOT just keeps doing more to prove that they’re a villain and are hostile towards the revitalization of our urban core and all the hard work that is being done.

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After two days of picketing in stormy weather, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) emerged victorious. The GEO called a strike on Monday, November 16, after contract negotiations broke down over the issue of tuition waivers for out-of-state graduate students. Their strike is an example of how sheer people power can push back against the growing corporatization of public education.

In recent years, the University of Illinois has been racked with several scandals, most notably the “clout-gate” scandal in which well-connected students gained admission while more qualified students were turned away. As a result, the president, chancellor, and almost all of the Boart of Trustees were forced to step down. The so-called “global campus” was shut down, but only after incurring millions of dollars in debt. A proposed Academy of Capitalism and Limited Government Fund was opposed by faculty for its lack of oversight. A decade after it was founded, the research park on south campus has become home to multinational corporations like Caterpillar and the stealth military contractor SAIC with little benefit to the university.

Recently a story about Ms. Pignotti entitled “Monica Pignotti Introduces the PIGNOTRON” was published in the open newswire of COIMC. COIMC was contacted by Ms Pignotti via email and her request to remove the article follows.

Subject: Complaint about libelous harassing posting about me on
Colorado Indymedia
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:28:51 +0000
From: pignotti@att.net
To: webmaster@coimc.org

 

I want to make you aware that a person who has been cyberstalking me by
placing literally hundreds of false postings and ads all over the
internet about me has posted the following ad on your website that is
libelous not only of me, but also of my university. See:xxxxxxxxxxxx

Of course, there is no "PIGNOTRON". This is a libelous smear of my name
and my institution, Florida State University. Please remove this posting
or I will be consulting the university's attorneys.

Thank you,

Monica Pignotti

When COIMC receives a request to un-publish an article we on the editorial board post the request after evaluating weather the request has merit. It is the consensus of the COIMC editorial board that this request does indeed have merit and so the story on the open news wire about Mrs Pignotti has been removed for violation of the COIMC editorial policy (you can find our editorial policy at http://colorado.indymedia.org/no... ) specifically the two paragraphs bellow.

Posts which are obviously incorrect or misleading. This includes attempts to spread disinformation or to impersonate another individual. For example, if you post an article written by someone else and with your byline this is misleading and will be deleted.

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The November episode of Chicago Independent Television features extensive on-the-ground coverage of the protests and violent police response to the grassroots protests against the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. We'll also join a Chicago protests in Hyde Park against the war in Afghanistan on the war's eighth anniversary.

Read more about Episode 52 | CIMC TV Podcast | CIMC Video Page | CITV on YouTube

Despite the rain and cold, hundreds showed up on Monday, November 16, 2009 to join picket lines thrown up around several buildings on the quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After negotiations broke down over the weekend, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) called for a strike. They have been without a contract for more than three months.

In the morning, picket lines were set up at all entrances of Gregory Hall, Foellinger Auditorium, Davenport Hall, the Foreign Languages Building, and the English Building. Hundreds of classes were cancelled across campus and all of the classes in the English Building were called off. GEO members marched in circles and joined in chants that could be heard from inside the buildings. The GEO drum corps travelled to each building to keep the picket lines inspired with live drumming. A trombone player joined them playing to the tune of the 1980s pop song, “I Want Candy,” which GEO members adapted to, “I Want Contract!”