Just coming off of four glorious days of Ruckus network Round-Up gathering.

I often wonder if people in other lines of work have the kind of experience I had on Sunday. I was standing in the closing circle of the Round-Up, and feeling the collective power of the people around me – their conviction, their vision, their sacrifices.

In the coming year we are poised to do the work we were created for – home defenses and occupations, climate and eco-justice actions, play a useful role in the fight against the Tar Sands, do action consultations and support and most of all, kick ass memorable actions – at the US Social Forum and on a frontline near you…

Now the staff is heading up the mountain to flesh out what we will be doing as a leadership team to advance these well-rounded dreams. Wish us luck!

It’s totally fitting to me to be heading into our Ruckus Network Round-Up the week that the world celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.

I remember the first time I learned of MLK’s work. I’m sure most of the Ruckus network remembers…for me it was formative. I was in elementary school, and it was an explanation of the holiday. As an ARMY brat, I had learned of bodies and duty in a way that was defined by violence. To hear that the human body and voice and mind could be used to improve the human condition, through nonviolence, for love?

I’ve never been the same.

There are so many moments of hopelessness at this time in history, and I write from that place now…this is a hard time to have faith. The crises and inequalities in the African American community are actually worse by the numbers…. Internationally, Haiti is the latest point of black crisis to illicit our grief and our donations, and stands as New Orleans did, current proof of how unstable our infrastructures are, built on the sands of tokenization, racism, inhumane foreign policy and capitalist gain.

What is over the mountaintop for us? What is a promise land for all of us who labor and struggle and organize and unify and dream of better lives for ourselves and those we love?

It is not vision alone. We have learned the limitations of vision without action. Our lack of collective power now stems from the space between those who say they share the dream of King, and those willing to share the practices, or invest in the practices. King’s legacy inspires us because there are so many strategic, successful actions in it. If he had simply been a marvelous orator, he would have lacked the credibility that his tireless and incendiary action earned him.

When I doubt the power of nonviolent work, of actions speaking louder than words…when I feel angry and like the boundaries of civil society need to be pushed, I remember that one of my other heros, Malcolm X, was coming around to seeing King’s vision by the end of his life. Theirs is a great tale of the commitment to finding a path to strength, equality, power and righteousness – for black people and for all people. It is also a reminder of how dangerous it is to make that commitment, to stand with those most oppressed, with your people, and let nothing turn you away from what you know is right.

And people who have made that level of commitment in their lives, to continually stand with those most oppressed, to stand for justice…that’s who I get to sit with this week, that’s how I get to honor King’s work right now, today.

What a legacy. What an honor to know our work carries some piece of that torch forward through history.

Thank you Martin Luther King, Jr., and all those you stood with, for inspiring a generation of direct action.

Hey folks, check this call out from the folks in the Olympic Resistance Network. Get involved…any way you can!

CONVERGENCE FEB 2010

ALL OUT AGAINST THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES! The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver & Whistler, on unceded Indigenous land, from February 12-28 2010. We call on all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, housing rights, labour, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anti colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. We are organizing towards a global anti-capitalist and anti-colonial convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games. * BASIC SCHEDULE: The basic plan thus far is: – Conference and People’s Summit on Wed Feb 10- Thurs Feb 11 – Fri Feb 12: Take Back Our City! “Welcome” the 2010 Olympic Torch with Free Games, Free Speech, and Free Food! Beginning with a festival at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 3 pm, followed by a parade and protest to BC Place Stadium. Details, including childcare arrangements, at: http://2010welcoming.wordpress.com/

- Autonomous days of action on Sat Feb 13 and Mon Feb 15 including

anti-corporate actions, rallies to oppose militarization, and more.

- On Sun Feb 14th, we will be standing with the 19th Annual Women’s

Memorial March to honour all the missing and murdered and women in the

DTES (this is not an anti-Olympic protest). Details at:

http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/

We will also be updating our website with additional anti-Olympic events

occurring during the month of February:

http://olympicresistance.net

or

http://no2010.com

* LOGISTICAL INFORMATION:

We are working to coordinate the logistics to host this convergence. For

information on billeting (whether you are in need of billeting or can

provide billeting), travel and border information, legal updates, food and

childcare arrangements, community spaces, welcome package, and more,

please check

http://olympicresistance.net

frequently for updates.

* SUPPORT THE CONVERGENCE AND GET INVOLVED!

1) Sign-up for our low-traffic list (1-2 emails per week) to stay updated

on upcoming events, meetings, and actions. Please email

olympicresistance@riseup.net

and ask to be added to our announcement list.

2) If you are part of another group (artist, activist, community, union,

campus etc) and are planning any kind of activity or event to oppose the

Games during Jan-Feb 2010, please do let us know so we can stay in touch.

3) Host an anti-Olympic educational on your campus or at your next

conference. Or invite a speaker to your next meeting to discuss what your

group can do. We are able to provide educational materials including

films, tshirts, comics, buttons, stickers and more!

4) Get involved in the Olympic Resistance Network or other anti-Olympic

groups in your neighbourhood or campus. The ORN has regular General

Meetings on Sundays as well as many committees.

5) Spread the word about the convergence! Forward this notice to your

contacts, join our facebook group

(

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22399134613&ref=ts

), download

posters and flyers about the convergence from our website and pass them

on!

6) Please donate! Hosting this convergence requires significant funds,

including legal defence funds. You can donate securely through PayPal on

our website:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/send-us-money

or cheques

can be made out to Olympic Resistance Network and mailed to ORN, 6 – 1857

Kitchener St, Vancouver, BC, V5L 2W5. Email

ornfundraise@riseup.net

to

arrange direct deposits or other queries.

* WHY OPPOSE THE GAMES:

The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place on unceded Indigenous land. Far

from being simply about sport, the history of the Olympics is one rooted

in displacement, corporate greed, and repression. As Olympic promoters and

sponsors seek to present their sanitized corporate brand image to the

world, the real impacts of the Games are apparent to everyone:

* Expansion of sport tourism on Indigenous lands

* Increasing homelessness across the province and especially in

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

* Misdirected public spending and debt totaling $6 billion while funding

for the arts, educations, and health care are suffering cutbacks

* Corporate bailouts and corporate profits for companies with some of the

worst social and environmental records.

* Threats to basic civil liberties and free speech

* Union-busting and vulnerable working conditions for migrant labour

* Unprecedented destruction of the environment

* Unparalleled $1 billion police and security spending that is turning our

city into a militarized zone.

Watch: Eight Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Winter Olympics:

http://vimeo.com/4872922

Congratulations to all our comrades in Black Mesa and the many many supporters who have worked on this issue throughout the year.

repost:

Black Mesa Wins! Peabody’s Coal Mining Permit Revoked