IN THIS ISSUE:

Secret ICE Detention Centers

Criminalization of the Homeless in Grand Junction

Top Ten Movies to Watch this Winter

War is Peace: Obama Sends More Troops to Afghanistan

March For No More Deaths on The Streets of Grand Junction

Cointelpro: Black Panther Coloring Book

The Boogers: Music Review

Foreclosures Way Way Up in Mesa County

Read and/or Download This Issue at:

http://issuu.com/gjredpill/docs/...

A rule change by the Colorado State Department of Corrections could mean offenders with already long sentences, mostly for drug offenses, will be incarcerated longer. Under the new rule, which went into effect on October 1st, 2009, prisoners required to participate in DOC's intensive 9 – 12 month therapeutic community program for drugs and alcohol will not be eligible to do so until they are within 8 years of their mandatory release date.

Under Colorado statute, prisoners are eligible for early release (discretionary parole) after serving 50% of their sentence, and receive 10 days a month earned time if they are charged with a non-violent offense. Violent offenders receive only 6 days a month 'earned time', and are required to serve 75% of their sentences before being paroled. For a non-violent offender serving a 30-year stretch, that means that he or she is parole eligible after 12 years, if they have complied with all conditions of confinement.

In practice, however, such discretionary paroles are seldom granted. Even the Governor's plan to rease prisoners 6 months before their mandatory release date has run into fierce, and very public, opposition from the parole board itself, which remands prisoners to their mandatory release dates more than 90% of the time. On a 30-year sentence that means spending 23 years behind bars.

The Red Pill has been active on the Colorado Indymedia site now for about five years.  Never it that time have we ever seen any censorship or suppression of debate. But today we are very concerned that photos attached to the announcement that Bash Back's 2010 Convergance is going to be held in Denver have been removed, and comments disabled. We would like to see a full explanation of why the photos were removed, and comments reactivated on that post. That is not too much to ask for an open publishing site that is supposed to be non-hierarchical. 

Thank You

bashbacknews.wordpress.com

bash back denver is pleased to host the twenty-ten bash back! convergence from may twenty-seventh to thirtieth.

rsvp > www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=408915865626
more pics > boulevardier4eva.wordpress.com

have pics 2 trade? > bashbackdenver |at| gmail |dot| com

see you in denver
<3 <3 <3

bb!
 

myspace.com/bashbackdenver

There's one last chance to start a full power community radio station in the Grand Junction area!  The FCC has set aside specific frequencies across the country from the commercial bandwidth to be used for non-commercial community broadcasting.  One of these very rare licenses will broadcast into Grand Junction, and will reach over 200,000 people in the area.  Applications for this new station will be accepted February 19th-26th, 2010.  Now is definitely the time to get an application together if you think your group/organization might be interested!  We've worked a lot with different organizations in the past to build radio stations to use as a tool for organizing, from farmworkers unions to environmental groups to civil rights groups. What do most of these organizations have in common? Using radio as a tool to make change! This is a HUGE opportunity, and is a great way to get really involved in media activism!  Please contact the Prometheus Radio Project ASAP if you think you might be interested or just want to find out more : megan (at) prometheusradio.org  OR 215-727-9620 x0

The 2010 Wild Roots Feral Futures will take place for a seven-day duration, a quarter moon cycle, from June 19th-26th (from the First Quarter Moon on the 19th through the Summer Solstice on the the 21st to the Full Moon on the 26th) in the foothills of the mighty and wild San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado.

We are looking for folks of all sorts to join us and help facilitate workshops, conflict resolution and management, direct action and medic trainings, wild food walks, and much more! We will be focusing on many things, including but by no means limited to anarchist theory and praxis, rewilding, ancestral skills, indigenous solidarity, direct action, forest defense, security culture, civil disobedience, hand to hand combat, survival skills, evasion tactics, green anarchism, anti-civ, post-civ, star watching and navigation, maps and orienteering, shelter building, and whatever YOU care to bring and provide. But we need everyone's help to make this as safe, positive, and productive a space as it can be. Our own knowledge, skills, and capacities are limited. We need YOUR help!

Roles we REALLY need filled:

• Kitchen! (we've reached out to Everybody's Kitchen and Seeds of Peace)

• CRAM team (conflict resolution and management: we need people of diverse gender/sexual orientations who know how to give support to survivors of sexual assault and to people with PTSD)*

Yesterday evening a group of conscience-driven souls gathered in a glowing room inside a Unitarian Church on 14th and Lafayette in Denver, Colorado, to hear a dark and passionate reading and to send support, solidarity, and prayers to the people undergoing the ongoing blockade of Gaza, Palestine, by the Israeli government, and in continued protest of Israeli war crimes during the siege of Gaza nearly a year ago, which a United Nations commissioned report by Richard Goldstone, the South African jurist in recent headlines, documents in detail.

The indoor vigil and march to the capitol, under the title Peace and Justice for Gaza, December 31, 2009, was organized by the Social Action Counsel of First Unitarian Society of Denver in concert with the many marches, demonstrations and vigils held around the world this week on the one-year anniversary of the siege, and drawing pressure-building attention to the ongoing blockade, described by the Goldstone report as "collective punishment."

The pamphlet handed out at the indoor vigil, which included the program for the evening's activity, in recognition of the violence of denying medication and food to civilians as a form of 'collective punishment' condemned the blockade and siege as one in the same.

"The law is clear. The conscience of humankind is shocked. Yet, the siege of Gaza continues. It is time for us to take action!"

The words used are those of the global call to action for human rights and justice for Gaza, taken from the Gaza Freedom March pledge, circulated online by International Solidarity Movement (ISM): palsolidarity.org

In the newest edition of The Nation there's a story profiling the existence of 186 Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Sub-Stations were people are "Disappeared."      

National List of Detention Centers
http://www.jacquelinestevens.org...      
           
The Nation Article. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100104/stevens

From the Nation..."According to Aaron Tarin, an immigration attorney in Salt Lake City, "Whenever I have a client in a subfield office, it makes me nervous. Their procedures are lax. You've got these senior agents who have all the authority in the world because they're out in the middle of nowhere. You've got rogue agents doing whatever they want. Most of the buildings are unmarked; the vehicles they drive are unmarked." Like other attorneys, Tarin was extremely frustrated by ICE not releasing its phone numbers. He gave as an example a US citizen in Salt Lake City who hired him because her husband, in the process of applying for a green card, was being held at a subfield office in Colorado. By the time Tarin tracked down the location of the facility that was holding the husband when he had called his wife, the man had been moved to another subfield office. "I had to become a little sleuth," Tarin said, describing the hours he and a paralegal spent on the phone, the numerous false leads, unanswered phones and unreturned messages until the husband, who had been picked up for driving without a license or insurance, was found in Grand Junction, Colorado (emphasis ours), held on a $20,000 bond, $10,000 for each infraction. "I argued with the guy, 'This is absurd! Whose policy is this?'" Tarin said the agent's response was, "That's just our policy here.""

Here are known substations in our region.

Today in Denver, we have cause to celebrate as one warm body became secure in its relative freedom--the sort of freedom that reminds us of what we still must do in order to be free. Yesterday morning Ariel Attack plead to Class 2 Misdemeanor (Criminal Mischief) in return for the dropping of the original Felony charge, and the court set the sentence at 11 months (?!?) of unsupervised probation and full payment of $5,600 restitution, allowing Ariel to stay on the streets and in the arms of friends. This is much better than the possible 2-6 year bit they were facing. The restitution had to be paid in full and up front (by taking out a loan) for the deal to go through.

A year unsupervised is not a bad deal considering the circumstances of Ariel's arrest and their refusal to name the 'accomplice'. In case you're just tuning in, Ariel was involved in an attack against the Colorado Democratic Party Headquarters in August by means of hammers and the resulting media clusterfuck. We feel there has been a lot of luck mixed up in this situation, but we'll publish a narrative of the events so that anarchists out there can see if there's anything they can learn. Look out for that in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, friends close by and far away are feeling the cold grip of state repression, and the struggle continues. There are two Denver-based anarchists facing felony charges and massive legal fees, and we extend our solidarity to Jeff and Noah, along with Carrie and Scott, David Japenga, the RNC8, all of our imprisoned comrades; the list is far too long to finish.

While Ariel's legal battle has wrapped up, we are making one last request for donations to help cut away at Ariel's debt--about $6,000--and we still have some of these fly Hammer Time t-shirts to move. Friendsofariel@riseup.net to get hooked up.

We smashed up a Wells Fargo bank last night in Fort Collins, Colorado.  We don't really need to explain our reasons--you probably already know them.  But we'll share a few things.

We are enemies of capitalism. 

We are sick and tired of people being locked in cages.

Wells Fargo is the single largest investor in the Geo Group, which owns many I.C.E. detention facilities--private prisons--around the U.S.  The Geo Group and Wells Fargo profit from imprisoning people in Colorado.

We want smashed prisons and the destruction of capitalism, not just windows--the question is how do we create moments in which insurrection is possible?

We are everywhere.

Strength to us all!

Oly Hackbloc to Lead Security, Communications Workshops Next Week

"This holiday season you have the chance to give a great gift to someone you love. That gift being security and peace of mind. This is a great chance for you to hone your skills and develop them if you feel overwhelmed by the topic. Two year ago I took Ringo's workshop and have taken one since then. Thats two and this one will be my third."

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, December 22nd and 23rd, the Olympia Hackbloc (on tour!) will be leading a workshop series on security culture, computer security, encryption, and anonymity. These workshop is targeted towards activists, journalists, and members of the general public. We will also be giving a workshop on using Twitter as a communications system for actions. This system was used during the most recent RNC and the last two rounds of Port Militarization Resistance.

All participants will receive digital copies of the presentation materials. To help cover costs, participants are asked to bring $5 with them or donate whatever they feel is fair. Nobody will be turned away because they don't have money. For more information about Hackbloc, please see the Oly Hackbloc website at http://www.olyhackbloc.org or the main Hackbloc site at https://www.hackbloc.org.

1. Security Workshop

Tuesday Dec. 22nd 5-8PM
Wed Dec. 23rd 1-2PM
700 Kalamath St
Unlike many other workshops put on by radicals, this one will start on time so don't be late.

Today we learned that an anarchist comrade and dear friend of ours has been arrested on two charges at the ongoing Cop15 actions in Copenhagen, Denmark and will be held without possibility of bail for at least three weeks. Solidarity in the form of letters of support (free to send), as well as legal donations, is urgently needed.

 Grassroots Homeless Organization to March for No More Deaths on the Streets of GJ

Local grassroots organization, Housing First! No More Deaths!, will be holding a March for No More Deaths on the Streets of Grand Junction on December 20th. The march will gather at 1pm at Whitman Park and march at 1:30pm to Hawthorn Park. At 3pm at Hawthorn Park the Grand Valley Coalition for the Homeless will be having their annual memorial for those who have died in our community without homes.

“We need to be both sad and angry,” said HF! NMD! organizer Mallory Rice. “That’s why were marching.”

With the economy sinking to new lows, a record number of foreclosures in the community, and a tightest job market in years homelessness is a problem that is not going away.
In 2008, sixteen people died houseless in Grand Junction. In 2007, eleven people died. Many died alone in the cold on the streets of downtown.

“Homelessness is an issue that is not going away. The city has tried to ignore and police away homelessness, and it hasn’t gotten any better. Its time the city becomes part of the solution not part of the problem,” said HF! NMD! organizer Jacob Richards.

Many who will be marching have lost friends and family to the streets of this city. Many are marching in their friend’s memory. Many facing full shelters and the cold streets are marching for their very lives.

“When is the city going to do something?” asked HF! NMD! member Towtruck.

“Cities that have become proactive about the issue of homelessness are seeing amazing results using housing first models,” said Richards. “The real solution for Grand Junction’s homeless problem is housing. We hope the city will soon step up to its responsibility.”

The Durango chapter of High Country Earth First! (Colorado) is calling upon ecodefenders to contact officials and rally at the December 8th, 10th, and 15th meetings in Pagosa Springs to oppose the Village at Wolf Creek and the legislative land exchange (more information below).

Unlike our compromise-based counterparts, whose paper-wrenching efforts we do not take for granted, Earth First! takes the stance of NO COMPROMISE! which in turn means NO VILLAGE AT WOLF CREEK! We are prepared to take direct action to stop development if and when it goes forward. We hope you will join us, if you can, and stand in solidarity with us if you can't. SPREAD THE WORD!

12/8 Rally at Archuleta County Court House: Oppose Legislative Land Exchange at Wolf Creek!

12/10 Rally at Pagosa Springs Town Hall: Oppose Legislative Land Exchange at Wolf Creek!

12/15 Rally at Archuleta County Court House: Oppose Legislative Land Exchange at Wolf Creek!

May the forest bewitch you,

— High Country Earth First! (Durango) & Ancient Forest Rescue

Stay in touch! earthfirstdurango@riseup.net

http://groups.google.com/group/southwestearthfirst

PS if you are on Facebook (yeah yeah) please help us spread the word!

The Archuleta BOCC is tentatively scheduled to vote on whether to support the Legislative Land Exchange at Wolf Creek on Tuesday, December 15th at 1:30pm at the County Court House BOCC public meeting.

The USHRN Land and Housing Action Group is calling for a month of direct actions throughout the country, commencing on May Day 2010 (May 1st, 2010) to reclaim our homes and communities from the banks, speculators, and gentrifiers. Join us by organizing actions in your city and region, designed to meet your own local conditions and needs. We also ask everyone who supports this initiative to spread the word and help the campaign reach the critical mass necessary to effect change.

Building a Movement

A severe housing crisis exists in the United States. All across the country, despite courageous struggles against divestment, land speculation and gentrification, public housing communities are being permanently displaced as developments are razed to the ground. Millions of families have been dispossessed of their homes, wrongly evicted and displaced from their communities by the escalating foreclosure crisis. Homelessness is escalating to levels unseen since the 1930’s as a direct result of the various forces of displacement stated above and economic dislocation from increased automation, deindustrialization, and the globalization of production.

Historically oppressed peoples and women are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis. Working class African Americans in particular are being devastated by the destruction of public housing, evictions from foreclosures, the record loss of home equity, and spiraling homelessness.

Denver, CO – This morning, approximately fifteen local citizens, representing a diverse coalition of groups, demonstrated at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (DPHE) to demand the denial of the Cherokee coal plant’s permit to pollute. The early morning protest greeted DPHE employees as they arrived for work and called on the department to close down Cherokee. Protestors did a ‘die-in’ in front of the building’s main entrance to highlight the grim consequences that coal has on our lives and those of future generations. At the same time, other activists in hazmat suits roped off the area with “Global Warming Crime Scene’ tape and chanted against coal plants.

The recession was long underway when the stock market crashed last September—it had been going on for nine months already as all who follow such things know. Yes September the month when the government nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac followed shortly by the investment house Merrill Lynch was forcibly merged into Bank America; the next day Lehman Brothers crashed and people like me cheered. This was quickly followed by the nationalization of AIG—the worlds largest insurance company—which unlike Lehman Brothers was considered “to big to fail.” Credit froze and orders for goods as well as investments halted, trade slowed dramatically, and unemployment started to soared. Yes the recession was here and fast looking like it might rival the great depression of the 1930's.

So far in this recession the US economy has lost more then 6.7 million jobs. Do the math and you'll see that comes to 11,600 jobs a day for nineteen months. As an anarchist my heart sang with joy for I know well that if it all comes down we will have a chance at building something better. I read with no small glee, as the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) stated that the whole made in the labor market was actually even bigger. They pointed out that to keep up with population growth the US economy needs to add about 127,000 jabs a month just to stay even. So over the nineteen months of this economic catastrophe that comes to an astounding 2.4 million more jobs. Now add that to the 6.7 million lost and you find we have 9.1 million fewer jobs then before this mess started. The EPI predicts that by the end of next year more then one in three workers (thats more then 50 million people) will have experienced either a spell of unemployment or underemployment!

Last week the Denver Police Department made a mass arrest of 34 black youth and it seems like nobody has blinked an eye.

The 34 suspects were rounded up because, according to the cops, they are suspects in a series of downtown muggings.

Last we heard, 30 of those individuals have been charged with things like assault and robbery--many of them felony charges. The police did not make it clear how they identified and rounded up the suspects, but "most of [them] told police they were associated with either the Rollin' 60s Crips gang or the Black Gangster Disciples gang." The police keep dossiers on gang members; apparently they used their lists to round up individuals, throw them in jail, and begin interrogations.

All this ought to raise some kind of resistance from radicals who are also tracked by the police.

Anarchists, especially, should take notice when this shit goes down, cause we're in gangs ourselves. It's true. All it takes is a crew of folks who have each others' backs to be a gang. Our forms of social organization are atypical, and they are our greatest strength.

Paul Perez is hoping he lives long enough to have his day in court. Over 27 months ago Perez, a prisoner in the Colorado Dept. of Corrections, was taken to Arapahoe County Jail to answer a petty theft charge on which he eventually pled guilty to a misdemeanor. While he was at the jail waiting to go to court Perez, 40, began to experience abdominal pain and asked to be seen by the nurse.

After examining him, and taking x-rays of his intestines, medical personnel at the jail became convinced that Perez was suffering from acute appendicitis and needed to be transferred to the hospital immediately. So, at 2 am that night (this was in October 2007), the by now worried prisoner was shackled and transported by sheriff’s deputies to Denver General Hospital – the public hospital serving the city’s poor of all descriptions, including prisoners.

There he was placed, naked, on the examination table and a camera inserted in his rectum. The results were inconclusive. The on-call surgeon, who by this time was already at the hospital and prepared for surgery, decided to perform exploratory surgery on Perez.

That, however, is not what Perez claims he was told. Instead, Perez claims he was told that if he didn’t consent to surgery immediately he would be dead “within 30 minutes” from a ruptured appendix. Now terrified, Perez claims he was not permitted to call his family and signed the consent forms only under extreme duress.

It gets worse.

by: Tom Gomez

On any given day, more than a third of Colorado's over 22,000 prisoners have already finished serving their sentences. They are parole violators, returned to custody for violating their conditions of release. Very few Colorado prisoners will get out before they complete their sentences. An offendor is eligible for such early release or discretionary parole, after serving 50% of their sentence on a non-violent crime. In practice, however, more than 90% of prisoners in Colorado will serve their full sentence.

Despite that fact they are still subject to the provisions of the state's harsh mandatory parole statute under which 70% will return to prison. Now with Colorado reeling from the effects of the recession, and the legislature planning to address the issue of sentencing reform for the first time since the mid 90s, many prisoners are hoping that legislators re-think the state’s mandatory parole law which subjects them to as many as 5 years of close supervision, and up to 30 additional conditions of release.

Typically, these can include: not operating a vehicle even if you have a license, not associating with anyone who has a criminal record including family members, and having a full-time job. They can include a plethora of mental health/impulse control/anger management/drug and alcohol programs and counseling. All of which the paroled prisoners – most below the poverty line, with few skills, and already obligated to pay child support, restitution, court costs and fines – can expect to pay up to an additional $75 a week for.