Worcester

Washington Post:

George Clooney and several of his activist colleagues were arrested and taken away in handcuffs outside the Sudan embassy on Massachusetts Avenue in on Friday morning.

Before their arrest, the assembled group of congressmen, religious leaders and cultural icons spoke about the humanitarian crisis faced by hundreds of thousands of Sudanese who have been prevented from receiving international aid by president Bashir.

Worcester’s Rep. Jim McGovern was among those arrested.

More at Amnesty International.

Last week, Rep. McGovern introduced the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012, “To require the development of a comprehensive strategy to end serious human rights violations in Sudan, to create incentives for governments and persons to end support of and assistance to the Government of Sudan, to reinvigorate genuinely comprehensive peace efforts in Sudan, and for other purposes.”

See also: McGovern’s 2006 arrest at the Embassy, McGovern’s 2009 arrest at the Embassy, various Darfur posts on this blog, Darfur Genocide on Trial, Protesting/Landscaping at the Embassy

This week’s 508 is a panel discussion about Sunshine Week and government transparency.

The panelists are Mike Benedetti, Thomas Caywood, Jeremy Shulkin, Kevin Ksen, and Mauro DePasquale.

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Mentioned: Sunshine Week petitions to the City Council, Bootleg 2008 Worcester City Council video archives

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Nice T&G article about Catholic Worker and Pie & Coffee contributor Scott Schaeffer-Duffy’s love affair with running:

He vividly remembers the date — Feb. 11, 2009 — when his mission to fitness began. That April, he ran in the Jay Lyons Memorial 5K and finished in a most-respectable 31 minutes, for a first-timer among the 50-59s. He was in the process of dropping 48 pounds from his 6-foot frame, yet he was now driven to drop his times considerably as well.

Michael Boover, Catholic Worker and theology professor, reflects on the rich wisdom of Bernard of Clairvaux, Julian of Norwich, and other mystics.

March 7
7:00 pm
SS. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker
52 Mason Street
Worcester, MA 01610

Refreshments to follow.

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Tracy Novick.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week, we talk about the HX Library and transparency in Worcester government with Michael Morisy, Jen Burt, Nicole Apostola, Jeremy Shulkin, and Kevin Ksen.

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(Posting this because I know someone is going to ask me about this otherwise.)

St Peter’s: 7am, noon, 5:15pm, 6:30pm (Spanish)
St Andrew’s: 9am
Clark: 2:30pm

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Susan Gately, Jim Kersten, and Brendan Melican.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Chris Robarge of the Citizens Advisory Council (and ACLU) talks about Worcester Boards and Commissions. Also: sharpening a Ka Bar Fighting Knife
with a Spyderco Sharpmaker and a Chef’s Choice 130.

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Also: FYC closing, Occupy/Tea Party protest against the NDAA.
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I was in downtown Worcester at the federal courthouse this afternoon for the first of four (!) hours of an NDAA protest organized by Occupy Worcester.

Interest in this event skyrocketed a couple days ago when the local Tea Party encouraged members to take part.

Things began with Occupy Worcester mic checking the Bill of Rights:

The big Tea Party contingent hadn’t arrived by the time I left; most of the 30-40 people were familiar from past OW events.