On Wednesday, July 11th, an anonymous Richmonder published an editorial that scathingly yet rightly criticized our Richmond IMC. Even though there's no lack of Richmond and Virginia news needing reporting, we have sorely fallen flat of our want and need to do so. Hopefully, we will be able to meet (or perhaps even exceed) our anonymous friend's challenge to shape up within three weeks. In the mean time, in case you haven't read last Wednesday's critique on our newswire, you can do so by clicking below on the title of post.
[ Site Maintenance is So Richmond ]

Although the radical right-wing Richmond Times Dispatch didn�t see fit to cover this colorful and energetic criticism of the Republican Agenda, you can find the story right here on Indymedia. There are also scores of pictures from Saturday morning�s march and rally published in the last couple days. Please read on, have fun with the pictures and audio clips and remember: DON�T HATE THE MEDIA� BECOME THE MEDIA!!!

This past weekend, activists from all over Virginia, and some from DC and North Carolina, held two days of creative protests at the Virginia Republican Convention. The protests, coordinated by the Virginia Justice Action Network, began on Friday night outside a $100 per plate Republican dinner at the Broad Street Marriott. As rain poured down and the streets flooded, Food Not Bombs served a free community meal huddling under an abandoned storefront awning and the Queer Liberation Front Queerleaders delivered cheers and public displays of queer affection in the face of the right wing delegates
[ [more] | [Virginia Justice Action Coalition] ]

With just one month before thousands of Republicans flood Richmond for the Virginia Republican Party Convention, citizens and activists around Virginia are finalizing their plans to protest this event.

This weekend, the Virginia Justice Action Coalition (VJAC) will host two events. On Friday, May 4, at 6pm there's a benefit dinner to raise funds for the upcoming protests. It will feature a vegetarian menu made up of donated dishes from local restaurants and really cool people. There is a sliding scale donation (5-20$), but, of course, no one will be turned away. On Saturday, May 5, from 7am to 2pm VJAC is having another yard sale full of lots of cheap yet wonderful things. To donate stuff to sell, call Robert at 359-9041. Both of these events are being held at 1208 W. Franklin. Also on Saturday, May 5, VJAC will be having its second to last general meeting at 5:30, upstairs in the VCU Commons.

In other convention-related news, the Coalition for Virginia Prisoners (CVP) has announced its full endorsement of the call for protests and direct action at the Virginia Republican Party Convention. Additionally, CVP is calling on "all those affected by the racist prison industrial complex to organize their friends, families, communities, and workplaces to take an active part in the protests."
[ VJAC event details | CVP complete statement ]

"I know that in 4 days I changed more than I have in the past year. All the theories and thoughts that have been kicking around in my brain came to a head that weekend. I couldn't even begin to describe how this has effected me...I don't even think that I know the full ramifications of my participation. Every day I find myself thinking things that I never would have before. I am already planning for the next protest. How can I help better? How can I be more prepared? What can I learn inbetween now and then to improve my skills as a street medic? How many people can I get to join that never would have dreamed of it before? If one protest has had such a strong effect on me, shouldn't we strive to get everyone involved? Our hearts are screaming at us to listen to them, how many people are still too scared to do it?"
[ read Camille's complete account | share your own FTAA story ]

As FTAA protests come to a victorious close in Quebec City and around the world, here's a summary of how Virginia participated in protesting against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.

In Harrisonburg, on Friday April 20, a group affiliated with the Progressive Coalition dropped a banner from the roof of the James Madison University dining hall, pictured here. This was just one of the many actions they took in order to spread awareness about corporate power and specifically about the FTAA. To read more, follow this link.

In Blacksburg, FTAA Unorganizing NRV issued a challenge to residents-at-large: "We want you to take it all off! That's right! Join us in saying 'no' to NAFTA, 'no' to the FTAA and 'no' to continuing corporate by saying 'no' to underwear on April 20th." Their aim is to encourage local residents to examine their daily consumer choices by questioning the conditions under which their underwear and other products were made. We have not yet heard how their challenge was met, but to read more, click here.

Old Dominion University held a forum on globalization on Thursday, April 19. Sponsored by the ODU Greens, the event included participants on both sides of the globalization debate. On the same day in Richmond, a forum on "The Second Conquest: Native Peoples and Globalization" took place and included speakers on indigenous rights and native women's economies.

For coverage of the protests in Quebec City and around the United States, the Richmond IMC recommends the following Indymedia sites:
[ Global Indymedia | Vermont Indymedia | DC Indymedia ]

With just under two months remaining until Republicans from across the state begin to converge at the Richmond Coliseum for their convention, activists are mounting forces for planned mass demonstrations surrounding the event.

A new alliance has formed called the Virginia Justice Action Coalition (VJAC) to prepare for this traditional display by the state�s ruling party and to plan rallies and actions bringing attention to issues including the death penalty, labor rights, racism, globalization, poverty, queer rights, women�s choice, education, and the prison-industrial complex.
[ read more... | Republican Party of Virginia | VJAC ]

The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an underground movement of autonomous cells dedicated to direct action in defense of the Earth, recently spiked a 300-acre tract of forest slated for logging in Westmoreland County.

Tree-spiking, the practice of driving nails into trees to prevent them from being cut or milled, originated with the Industrial Workers of the World and has been associated since 1984 with Earth First! However, it has been increasingly used in recent years by ELF, which was founded at a 1992 Earth First! gathering in Brighton, England.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ELF has caused over $37 million in damages against US targets alone since 1996. This is the first ELF action in Virginia.
[ read more... ]

BREF! Protests Staples in Its First Action

In solidarity with other environmental groups around the country, the newly-formed Blue Ridge Earth First! (BREF!) came out to protest Staples, an �office superstore,� this afternoon. At approximately 1:15 P.M., some BREF! activists dropped a banner reading �STUMPS: we�ve got that!� from the Staples roof, obscuring the all-too-familiar STAPLES logo. Others, surrounded by tree stumps, held signs and chanted in front of the entrance. Although there were police on the scene, they did not arrest anyone, and the most vocal opposition to the protest came from a group calling themselves �Tree Keepers,� who stood at the edge of the parking lot. Most shoppers, and even STAPLES employees, seemed to be in agreement with the message brought to them by BREF! ...

Mattaponi Tribe Calls For Campaign

The Mattaponi Indian Tribe has called for a month-long campaign in opposition to a proposed reservoir, culminating in a ceremony at the Bell Tower on the Capitol Square in Richmond on February 19.

The King William Reservoir has been rejected by the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as four independent government and private studies, on the basis that the City of Newport News, which requested the construction of the dam, does not need the water it would produce...

Blue Ridge EF! Founded

Blue Ridge Earth First! was founded by seven forest activists at the Virginia National Forest Protection Conference in Charlottesville on October 22.

Since its founding, BREF! has grown exponentially. It now has affiliates in Buckingham, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Hopewell, Lovingston, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Waynesboro, and Williamsburg...