December 3rd, Eugene: Benefit for Green Scare Defendants

Please forward to friends & interested contacts...

On Sunday, December 3^rd, supporters of “Green Scare” defendants will host “For our Friends, For the Future,” a fundraising evening of speakers, film and music in Eugene, Oregon.

[Event posters: http://socialwar.net/.pdf%20files/D3benefitposter1.pdf

and: http://socialwar.net/.pdf%20files/eventposter2.pdf ]

When? Doors at 8PM, Sunday, December 3^rd

(Speakers begin promptly at 8:30, then short films at 10PM and music at 10:30)

Where? Sam Bond’s Garage, 407 Blair Blvd (Eugene, OR)

What? Speakers Kristian Williams (author, American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination) and Lauren Regan (Civil Liberties Defense Center), music from Mood Area 52 and Peter Wilde, plus films and more!

How much? $5 - $50 suggested donation to benefit “Green Scare” defendants and grand jury resistance.

About the Event Speakers:

South End Press author Kristian Williams will travel from Portland to speak at the event. Kristian Williams is the author of American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination (2006) and Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America (2004). He speaks widely about US state violence and human rights abuses domestically and abroad, and has published in a wide variety of national print and online venues, including CounterPunch, AlterNet.org, The Progressive, Dissent, LA Daily Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, In These Times, and the collection We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism (2003). Williams is a member of Rose City Copwatch in Portland, Oregon.

Joining Kristian Williams is attorney Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center. She is a public interest attorney specializing in environmental law, civil rights and criminal defense. She is also the founder and executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, a nonprofit organization that strives to protect and educate the public as to their civil liberties and constitutional rights. She has successfully represented political activists in both civil and criminal litigation. The Civil Liberties Defense Center assists activists in curtailing government encroachment upon their right to protest, defends activists in court, assists with political prisoner issues, and monitors current governmental attempts to restrict civil liberties and dissent.

About the Musical Performers:

Mood Area 52: Michael Roderick founded Mood Area 52 in 1998 as a Piazzola inspired neo-tango ensemble. Since then the group has incorporated Eastern European influences, original polyglot vocal material, and Waitsian cabaret tunes. The lineup has changed, but their emphasis on nuanced, nostalgic, and harmonically surprising music has remained consistent. Mood Area 52 has performed with Naim Amor, Chuck Palhnuik, The Damo Suzuki Network, Rasputina, The Tin Hat Trio, Slowpoke, Amy Denio, Devotchka, and many other national acts. More information: www.rocketboyarts.com/mood_area_52

Peter Wilde: Peter Wilde is an original folk performer and a Eugene, Oregon live favorite. In a sign of Peter’s songwriting skills and ever-growing influence, Number One Records has released the tribute CD, “Hold Me Up to the Light: A Tribute to Peter Wilde” featuring 29 of Peter’s songs performed by other artists. If you haven’t already checked out one of Peter Wilde’s powerful sets, don’t miss this opportunity! More information: www.peterwilde.net

Why this event? The Eugene event compliments an “International Day of Solidarity with Green Scare Indictees, Detainees, and Political Prisoners” organized by the website greenscare.org. The Eugene event takes place mere days before the one-year anniversary of the first arrests from the FBI “Operation Backfire” against environmentalists and animal advocates. That anniversary will be marked on four continents with solidarity events.

The term “Green Scare” refers to the federal government’s expanding prosecution efforts against animal liberation and ecological activists, which is strikingly similar to the “Red Scare” of the 1950s. The phrase is typically meant to include not just the cases from the “Operation Backfire” indictments, but also the cases of the SHAC7 (shac7.com), Eric McDavid (supporteric.org) and Rodney Coronado (supportrod.org), as well as recent repressive legislation such as the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which attempts to turn activists into “terrorists.”

“On November 9, the last of the District of Oregon Backfire defendants took federal plea deals but refused to provide information on anyone else,” says one event organizer, “The government will attempt to put a ‘terrorist’ jacket on these compassionate people during sentencing. Briana Waters still faces serious federal charges in Washington State and asserts her innocence on all counts, while in Oregon Jeff Hogg was jailed from May 18 to November 15 for refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury related to these cases. We refuse to deal with the latest repression in a piecemeal manner; we support those who are innocent, but we also support the ‘guilty,’ and all those who suffer repression without having been accused of any crime. This event is about coming together, standing by our friends and communities, and refusing to be intimidated into silence.”

All proceeds from this event will go directly to support Green Scare defendants and grand jury resistance.

This event also honors murdered journalist Bradley Will (1970-2006, see friendsofbradwill.org)

More “Green Scare” case information: cldc.org and greenscare.org

Further event information: femmemilitia@gmail.com