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Following the recent massive wave of online censorship carried out by the Tunisian censor, targeting major social websites, such as the popular video-sharing websites, flickr, blogs aggregators, blogs, facebook pages and profiles, the anti-censorship movement adopted very creative, outspoken and brave tactics in protesting the online censorship. A censorship that is not only harming the country's average Internet users but is also affecting professionals whose work is relying on web 2.0 services and platforms, like youtube, flickr and other media-sharing websites.

FIVE anti-nuclear power protesters blocked the entrance to Sizewell power station today. Representatives from the People Power not Nuclear Power Coalition wearing arm tubes locked themselves on to concrete just under the barrier at the main entrance around 6.40am. The demonstrators brought big black barrels with them daubed with 'Don't Nuke the Climate'. Other protesters are also there in support.The group said they are demonstrating against the flawed government consultation on nuclear new build - which ends today - and the dumping of local democracy.

The Strike Committee and the Frente de Defensa de Espinar (Front for Defense of the Interests of Espinar District) did not accept the proposal made by the Prime Minister Javier Velásquez Quesquén, and resumed their strike, announcing they will take more radical actions, breaking the truce they had agreed  upon. The Espinar people do not agree with the projected usage of the waters of the Apurimac River in favor of draft-Siguas Majes II, so they are against the construction of the Angostura Dam, which (according to the villagers) would damage their water supply. Apart from halting activities in the city, protesters are taking control of bridges, and currently more than 3,000 people are blocking the road Arequipa-Juliaca, according to La Republica.

A Western Sahara activist on hunger strike in Spain's Canary Islands has been told to appear in court on public order charges, her supporters say.Aminatou Haidar has been refusing food at Lanzarote's airport since Sunday after being expelled by Morocco from the disputed territory. She is protesting at Spain's refusal to let her return to Western Sahara. Morocco controls most of the Western Sahara but Algerian-based separatists want a vote on independence. Ms Haidar was held by Moroccan authorities on Friday when she arrived in Western Sahara's main city, Laayoune - where she lives - on a flight from the Canary Islands. She was then sent back to the islands without her Moroccan passport.

As the debate in Congress continues over health care reform, activists are continuing to put the pressure on. In a new article at The Nation, Peter Dreier writes that momentum for reform is growing, with groups like Health Care for America Now (HCAN) and MoveOn having organized hundreds of protests in front of insurance company offices around the country, at the homes of insurance company CEOs, and at the annual conference for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) in Washington, D.C. over the last month, calling for a robust public option.Rather than simply providing an alternative to the private insurance, other organizations – like the California Nurses Association, Physicians for a National Health Program, and Mobilization for Health Care for All – have continued to fight for a universal single-payer health care system that would get rid of insurance companies altogether. Over the last month, more than 100 people have risked arrest at sit-ins at the offices of  insurance companies in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

MADISON, W.Va. - A Climate Ground Zero activist has been sentenced to 20 days in jail for blocking a road to a Massey Energy office during a mountaintop removal mining protest. The group has been committing acts of civil disobedience all year, many targeting Virginia-based Massey. Twenty-two-year-old Joseph Hamsher is the first to get jail time instead of fines. Hamsher pleaded guilty to conspiracy and trespassing in Boone County Magistrate Court on Tuesday, and will serve 10 days on each charge. A court official said Wednesday he could have been fined more than $1,800.

DAKAR, 28 October 2009 (IRIN) - Youths in the Guinea capital Conakry went on hunger strike on 28 October - one month after the deadly military attack on civilians – to call for political dialogue, an end to violence and the arrest of those who attacked demonstrators. “No to violence, no to injustice and impunity, yes to national unity, yes to peace and social tranquillity” is written on a banner hanging outside the Dixinn Port youth centre, where some 30 people gathered for the five-day hunger strike.

About 200 citizens, including health care providers and patients, supported Medicare for All, a single payer plan, by marching to the Aetna office in New York City on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. This video shows some of the marchers on their way from the downtown office of Bristol-Meyers Squidb to the office of Aetna, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies.The marchers were in solidarity with 17 who were arrested at the Aetna office earlier in the day, staging a sit-in in the lobby of the building to call for an end to insurance abuse and support real health care reform, Medicare for All.

On September 27th, the Mobilization for Health Care for All launched a national campaign of "Patients Not Profit" sit-ins at insurance company offices to demand an end to a system that profits by denying people care. We want the real "public option": Medicare for All, a single payer plan that cuts out the profit and puts patients first.Together, through this campaign, we can turn the tide and win the fight for health care for all. To succeed, we need to organize sit-ins in as many cities as possible in the month of October. The campaign began with the local leadership of Private Health Insurance Must Go (PHIMG) in New York City on September 29th and continued in Chicago on October 8th and in 9 cities across the country on October 15th. The next wave starts on October 28th and we will continue to organize actions in as many cities as possible until we win health care reform that ensures that the insurance companies no longer stand between the American people and the health care that we need. It's time to cut out the profit and put patients first with Medicare for All.

Sam Pullen, 31, was arrested on Thursday, October 15, in Los Angeles at a sit-in at the Blue Cross health insurance office. He is refusing to give information to police, vowing to stay in jail until Blue Cross stops denying care to those who need it most. He is being supported by the group Mobilization for Health Care for All, which coordinated sit-ins and rallies in nine cities across the country yesterday in which 54 people were arrested to end insurance abuse and win health care for all.Pullen was inspired to action by his mother, who was denied coverage for a lifesaving bone marrow transplant by Blue Cross when he was a teenager. Weakened by her cancer treatments, Pullen’s mother staged a one-woman sit-in at the insurance company office, resulting in the approval of the transplant that extended her life for years. Thanks to the transplant, she lived long enough to see Pullen reach 18 years of age.Here is Sam’s story.

TEGUCIGALPA/MANAGUA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 500 supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Thursday protested the martial law imposed by the post-coup government in this Honduran capital. The demonstration, gathering members of the union and peasants' groups, was staged outside the U.S. embassy, also calling for Zelaya's reinstatement. Participants told local media that the protest would continue until the martial law and curfew was lifted. There were also demonstrations outside the capital city.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged hunger strikers demonstrating against the treatment of 3,000 Iranian refugees in an Iraqi camp to end their protest. Hunger strikers outside the US embassy in London are demanding the US takes responsibility for Camp Ashraf. Residents of the camp say an Iraqi raid there in July left several people dead. Dr Rowan Williams says the situation at the camp is a humanitarian issue "of real magnitude and urgency", but adds there should be no more loss of life.

Citizen Initiative for Constant Light mobilized 30 million people in Turkey to turn off and on their lights to demand that the government act against corruption. The action resulted from public outrage after a car crash openly revealed connections between government, police and the mob. Turkey is a secular nation with a tradition of democracy. But it also has a tradition of human rights abuse. The influence of corruption extends throughout society through local patronage systems undeterred by any investigative reporting from a mass media industry, which is itself complicit in the corruption. As a result, the corruption issue has historically sparked only apathy and hopelessness in Turkish civil society.

The minimum wage system was introduced to the Korean labour market in 1988 as a buffer against income gaps. However it has not performed well as a buffer since the legal amount is set too low. Furthermore, it often served employers' interest to fix low wages. Its negative impact became even more obvious when the IMF crisis hit South Korea in 1997 and led to a rapid increase in the number of sub-contracted workers.

In 2001, the KWWAU conducted a nation-wide campaign to raise the minimum wage by making recommendations to the South Korean government and prosecuting the businesses that violated the minimum wage system.  The KWWAU conducted a survey on the condition of 528 subcontracted women working as cleaners in 107 companies in nine cities.  Through the survey, it emerged that 23% of the workers surveyed received less than the minimum wage (421,490 KRW /$409 US per month).

A 73-day protest involving thousands of people demonstrating over the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka has ended. The protest featured hunger strikes, mass sit-ins blocking central London roads and people throwing themselves into the River Thames. One of those involved, Ambi Seevaratnam said: "After 73 days, nothing has worked. The Tamils have been betrayed by the international community." Last month, a senior Metropolitan Police officer warned the long protest was diverting resources from other areas. Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said if it continued it would have a "long term" impact on crime. Police in London chose not to use force to clear the protesters, but maintained a 24-hour presence, with the cost of the operation exceeding £10m.

Residents living near the Faslane nuclear submarine base have held a demonstration against the ongoing peace protests there. People in Garelochead claim children have been prevented from going to nearby schools during recent anti-Trident protests. About 50 residents marched to the peace camp. A previous protest in April attracted about 120 demonstrators. The naval base is the home of the UK's Trident strategic nuclear deterrent. The submarines which carry the weapons system have been based on the banks of Gareloch for 25 years. The local people taking part in demonstration said they wanted the roads to be clear seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Brian Larkin, a spokesman for the steering group Faslane 365, said the anti-Trident demonstrators were sympathetic to locals' concerns over getting children to school during exam times. "We have urged the autonomous groups who are coming to the area as part of Faslane 365 not to block roads before 9am or between noon and 2pm". He added: "We will continue to organise blockades within our principles of non-violence because the nuclear weapons are still there, they are still illegal and immoral."

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6631441.stm

Otpor was formed on October 10, 1998 in response to repressive university and media laws introduced earlier that year. In the beginning, Otpor's activities were limited to University of Belgrade.In the aftermath of the NATO airstrikes against FR Yugoslavia in 1999 regarding the Kosovo War, Otpor began a political campaign against the Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. This resulted in nationwide police repression against Otpor activists, during which nearly 2000 were arrested, some beaten. During the presidential campaign of September 2000, Otpor launched its "Gotov je" (He's finished) campaign which would galvanize national discontent with Milošević and eventually result in his defeat. Some students who led Otpor used Serbian translations of Gene Sharp's writings on nonviolent action as a theoretical basis for their campaign.Otpor became one of the defining symbols of anti-Milošević struggle and his subsequent overthrow. By aiming their activities at the pool of youth abstinents and other disillusioned voters, Otpor contributed to one of the biggest turnouts ever for the September 24, 2000 federal presidential elections.Having succeeded in persuading a large number of the traditional electorate to abandon Milošević was another one of the areas where the smear-proof Otpor played a key role. Milošević had in the past succeeded in persuading the public that his opponents were spies and traitors, but on this occasion, it backfired, as the beatings and imprisonments during the summer of 2000 further cemented the decision to vote against the regime in many voters' minds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCrwX7rL_o

The World Economic Forum has drawn the ire of thousands of protesters representing a wide range of issues including workers rights, the environment and the US war on terrorism. The streets outside of the WEF had been relatively quiet, the only large protests being members of the Falun Gong movement holding silent vigils to call for an end to persecution by the Chinese Government. But on Saturday police helicopters circled the streets of midtown Manhattan as several large-scale marches converged near the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, the forum venue. Organisers of the marches had promised boisterous but non-violent protest, and there were few confrontations between police and protesters. A police officer told BBC News Online: "We have a massive show of force here. "With all that's happened here, I don't think that it is time to be messing with the New York Police." The New York Police had promised a zero tolerance policy for lawbreaking and quickly arrested two protesters during an anti-war demonstration in the morning. They were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking traffic near the hotel. But it was the exception during a day of colourful and enthusiastic protest. Protests began Saturday with an anti-war demonstration of some 2,000 people. Saturday's first large-scale protest, organised by a group called Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, saw several thousand demonstrators carrying placards calling for the US to end funding to Israel, not to broaden anti-terror action to Somalia, and to "Let Iraq live".  Later they were joined by a march of several thousand that began from Central Park and wound its way through the streets of midtown Manhattan to within blocks of the Waldorf-Astoria. Fifth Avenue shoppers dressed in designer fashions and fur were perplexed and slightly put out as they tried to navigate a route through the curb-to-curb carnival. In addition to the environmental and labour messages common to anti-globalisation protests, the Enron scandal was emblematic for many of the protesters of the dangers of corporate influence. Ironically shaking the tin, one protester begged for spare change for the bankrupt energy company. The police allowed the march to proceed with minimal interference, and the protesters rarely tested police lines. The colourful demonstrations of dissent included an anarchist cheerleading group. Their homemade sweatshirts called for "Pom poms not bomb bombs". Many of the protesters carried messages critical of the war on terror. Not only did they call on the US not to broaden its military campaign to Iraq and Somalia, but they also questioned domestic initiatives such as anti-terrorism laws passed in the wake of the attacks last autumn. Protesters also responded to criticism that somehow protest was inappropriate as the nation and New York City recovered from 11 September. One protester carried a placard which read: "I'm a patriot and I dissent."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1798204.stm

Something smelled funny as soon as it was proposed -- the union of a proud black university and a top Republican strategist and troublemaker credited with one of the most racist presidential campaign schemes of recent memory.But there it was in news accounts carried across the nation: Howard University names Republican Chairman Lee Atwater to its board of trustees. Atwater had just engineered the 1988 presidential victory of George H.W. Bush and had crafted the racist Willie Horton ad that helped seal his win. ... As a journalism student at Rutgers University, the news hit me and every black student I knew on campus like a ton of bricks. We were already a little depressed that Bush won and would likely continue the backward politics of the Reagan administration. But why, we wondered, would Howard University sell out and give Atwater a platform for his policies? Luckily, the Howard student body came to the rescue.A small protest of Atwater's appointment turned into a firestorm as Howard students took over the school's main administration building for a sit-in. After a tense four days, and with campus police threatening a violent takeover of the building, Atwater resigned. Later that year, Howard President James E. Cheek, who hatched the failed Atwater appointment, also resigned.Atwater died in 1991 of a brain tumor.The Howard University Alumni will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the student protests March 26 and 27 at the Blackburn Center on the Howard University campus. And it is an event well worth remembering. Those were days when university students seemed far more interested in providing a moral compass for school administration and government leaders than is the case now. Whether the issue was divestment of university holdings in apartheid South Africa or the appointment of a suspected racist to a leadership position at a black university, students wasted no time in making their voices heard. One hopeful sign was the overwhelming support President Obama received on college campuses across the country. Maybe that burst of activism will ignite another wave of student action like the one that saved Howard University from Lee Atwater 20 years ago.

http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2009/03/12/nonviolent-protest-anniversary-howard-students-told-atwater-no/

 

What is Non-Violent Resistance?Non-Violence is an alternative to either armed resistance or passive acceptance of the status quo. It is both a strategy and a philosophy which rejects violence as a means to promote change, and instead aims to change power relations through assertive acts of omission (refusal to do something) or commission (actively challenging the status quo). It is a method by which to change the minds of both the oppressor and oppressed so that a new reality can be built upon different perceptions of the ‘other’.