June 2008Today was the pre-trial hearing for the Worcester “rosary arrest” case. Note that I am a defendant in this case, and that while I will try to present a fair view of the proceedings, it will probably be biased.
The big news so far: the trial will be 9am, September 23, 2008.
Photos outside the courthouse.
Read the rest of this entry »
Please pray for the annual General Assembly of the United Reformed Church and the decadal Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion, both happening next month. I shall attend the former. Here is a prayer for the latter:
Pour down upon us, O God, the gifts of your Holy Spirit that those who prepare for the Lambeth Conference may be filled with wisdom and understanding. May they know at work within them that creative energy and vision which belong to our humanity, made in your image and redeemed by your love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(A message initiating discussion with fellow Green Party activist Dr Rupert Read:)
What do you think should/will happen after the Irish ‘no’ vote?
After the French and Dutch ‘no’ on the constitutional treaty, I thought they (the political élite) should drop ex-Part III (the neoliberal part) and demote the corresponding parts of the treaties into the acquis (which we can then work on/fight against with non-constitutional means, say in the European Parliament).
I suppose the corresponding thing now is to demote what would have become the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union into the acquis, and pass the Treaty on European Union (ex-Parts I and IV) plus the Charter of Fundamental Rights (ex-Part II).
I know that Daniel Cohn-Bendit wants a European Union-wide referendum: he said so at a speech in Oxford.
There will be a Tom Lewis retrospective from June 23-August 8, 2008, at the Worcester Art Museum. There will be a special reception July 10, 5-7:30pm, to coincide with the Catholic Worker National Gathering held in Worcester.
508 is a show about Worcester. Unsteady electricity from a storm earlier this week threatens to derail, then does derail, the show. Brendan Melican and Cha-Cha Connor appear briefly. Mostly it’s Bruce Russell.
There was a big storm in Worcester. Cha-Cha went to New England’s first trans pride march. Mike reads the InCity Times: both unconvincing arguments against a shelter at 62 Elm St, and Rosalie Tirella channeling Jean Teasdale on “Sex and the City.”
Watch out for the latest WordPress hacks; they got the Worcester Republican blog, they could get you too. Mike’s pre-trial hearing is Monday. The Toxic Soil Busters debuted a short film about their project last night. It’s Bruce’s birthday; call the hotline if you want to leave a birthday greeting to be played on the show.
Note: the Charter ads have returned in this week’s Worcester Magazine.
Extra note: this is the greatest Worcester blog post in history.
mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions
To get an e-mail each week alerting you of the new episode of 508, join the e-mail list:
We won’t share this list with others.
On Saturday 7 June, I marched with many Zimbabweans in Oxford before the extraordinary provincial meeting of the Movement for Democratic Change (United Kingdom and Ireland). Please pray for the presidential run-off in Zimbabwe on Friday 27 June, and help in any way you see appropriate.
Patrick Duffy was one of 25 confirmed today at St. Peter’s in Worcester. I was honored to be his sponsor.
I occasionally see an article about what baby names are popular, but never confirmation names. So for the curious, here were the confirmation names: Patrick, Marcella, Sophia, Anne, Dwayne, Beatrice, William, John (Pat Duffy’s), James, Arthur, Angelica, Andrew, Christopher, Emmanuel, Marie, Elizabeth, Mateo (first name: Matthew), Concepcion, Andre, Clare, Manami, Sebastia, Daniel (first name: Daniel), Thea, Del Transito.
(We weren’t allowed to pick confirmation names when I was confirmed. Yes, I’m still bitter about that.)
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel includes Brendan Melican, Scott Zoback, and Jeff Barnard.
We start by interviewing renegade blogger Marc Reece. John Wood and Karon Shea, if you want to give your side of the story you can contact us at pieandcoffee@gmail.com or leave a message at 508-471-3897. (Other listeners can drunk dial this number.)
Mike’s federal trial date is now up in the air; there’s a pre-trial hearing June 16. The Telegram & Gazette lost several reporters this week. (See Scott McLennan’s farewell column.) Charter ran no advertising in Worcester Magazine the week after WoMag ran an article critical of them; Scott Zoback comments. (John has fun trying to find someone at Charter who knows about their web monitoring plan.)
Taxi fares are going up. People are complaining about a proposed shelter on Elm Street. Jordan Levy’s blog is still kinda lame. The Grecian Festival should be awesome.
mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions
To get an e-mail each week alerting you of the new episode of 508, join the e-mail list:
We won’t share this list with others.
On Monday, June 16th at 2:30 p.m., five Roman Catholics, facing federal charges in the United States District Court at The Donohue Federal Building, 595 Main Street, Worcester, will argue for the right to put the Iraq War on trial.
The court requires two forms of ID if you want to enter the building.
The trial date had previously been set for June 17. After the judge rules on the defendants’ motions, a new trial date will be set.
In the first act of civil disobedience in Worcester for many years, they were arrested on March 19th, during Holy Week, after they entered the lobby of the same federal building in which they will be tried, knelt, and prayed the rosary for an immediate end to the Iraq War. At least five U.S. marshals and several Worcester police officers were called to the scene, but none of them interrupted the anti-war activists until they concluded their prayer with singing in Latin a hymn to the Virgin Mary and then reciting it in English.
They were charged with refusing a lawful order of a U.S. marshal and with obstructing the entrance to a U.S. courthouse, even though the activists positioned themselves so that no one was prohibited from entering the building. If convicted on both charges, they fact a maximum of $15,000 in fines.
At the hearing, the judge will hear arguments from the prosecution and the defense on motions they have filed to define the structure of the trial itself. The defendants will argue for the right to raise a necessity defense which excuses the breaking of lesser laws to prevent greater harm. The prosecution will argue for the exclusion of any reference to the Iraq War. The defense will argue for the right to introduce evidence and bring witnesses to substantiate their claim of necessity.
For months now, Charter Communications has been advertising in Worcester Magazine. They’ve bought the entire back cover and the bottom of the front cover, which must have made them one of the biggest advertisers.
Last week, WoMag ran a story about Charter’s controversial plan to monitor its internet users’ habits for commercial purposes. Both the New York Times and a Massachusetts congressman had previously noted this story, making it something of a big deal.
This week, a-la-ka-zam: No Charter ads in Worcester Magazine.
Compare and contrast: December 20, 2007 vs. June 5, 2008.
39 queries. 0.467 seconds.
