By Joe DeGeorge for HBML:
Author: Mike
508 #55: Round robin
508 is a show about Worcester. Due to technical limitations, this week’s show consists of various subsets of Kevin Ksen, “Diamond Dave” Maciewski, Brendan “Buck Paxton” Melican, and Bruce “Snow Ghost” Russell.
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This week in Worcester, the authorities shot a moose.
Image by Duncan A.
Kevin talks about protesting the “Spirit of America” pageant (though not the spirit of America) in 2004 and 2008. Mike critiques the new Worcester Magazine feature “Two minutes with …” and skims the InCity Times. Dave and Mike are saddened by Daniel Yarnie’s arrest. Brendan considers the City Council’s proposed anti-party ordinance. Mike goes negative on the library.
Mike is shopping only at local businesses for the next week. Brendan mentions Polar Classic Sodas.
Bruce is both unintelligible and entertaining.
Finally: tasers.
mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions
To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.
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We won’t share this list with others.
Celebrate St. Francis Day at Agape this Saturday
The Agape Community, in the woods about 35 miles from Worcester, has been more-or-less closed for the past year, while core members and residents Suzanne Belote Shanley and Brayton Shanley have been on sabbatical (their first in decades).
That sabbatical officially ends this Saturday with the annual St. Francis Day celebration.
The Raging Grannies at St. Francis Day in 2006
“Breaking the Silence: Unheard Voices in an Election Year”
Saturday Oct. 4, 2008
Promptly at 10 A.M. – 4 P.M. rain or shineMulticultural Voices: Youth Panel on Hope and Faith
Community Dialogue: Women of Faith and Election Year Politics
Demonstrations–solar energy, vegetable oil fueled car, straw-bale house, compost toilet, and organic garden.
Bring your lunch and a dish for the Pot Luck dinner.
Tribute to Tom Lewis – artist and member of Catonsville 9
Agape Community 2062 Greenwich Rd, Ware
413-967-9369 www.agapecommunity.org
peace@agapecommunity.org
Highly recommended. These folks let me take a retreat there this summer, for which I am very grateful.
River Sims moves his blog and other items
River Sims moves his blog
River Sims, of San Francisco’s Temenos Catholic Worker, writes the best Catholic Worker blog out there; it’s moved. This is great news, because the new blog has proper RSS feeds, etc.
River Sims in his apartment, with the infamous “Points for Jesus” t-shirt. Photo: Mike Benedetti.
Unreported story of the week
New Worcester Green Jobs Coalition forms.
Related:
- Thomas Friedman’s Argument For ‘Geo-Greenism’ is a good link to forward to friends who think “green jobs” are hippie nonsense.
- The Cringely Plan is short and provocative.
Continue reading “River Sims moves his blog and other items”
508 #54: Two questions
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Bruce Russell, Brendan Melican, and “Diamond Dave” Maciewski.
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We discuss Question One, which would eliminate the Massachusetts state income tax, and conclude it’s a bad idea. Question Two would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, and the panel supports it. (Here’s the study Brendan mentioned on “marijuana as a gateway drug.”)
We don’t know much about Question Three.
Next topic: How much can Bruce bench?
Bruce and Mike attempt to share an anecdote about Tom Lewis.
Despite his focus on serious issues, Tom was also known for a fine sense of humor. Just after his codefendant Father Phil Berrigan was sentenced to six years in jail for his part in the Baltimore Four, the judge asked Tom if he had anything to say before sentencing. Tom said, “No, your honor.†The judge pressed him, “These are serious charges, Mr. Lewis. Don’t you have anything to say?†Tom said, “No, I’ve said all I want to in my testimony.†But, when the judge persisted, “You could be sent to jail for years Mr. Lewis, are you absolutely sure there’s nothing you want to add?†Tom began to suspect that the judge wanted to scapegoat Phil as the priest mastermind of the protest and hoped Tom would make a last minute appeal for mercy, so Tom said, “Since you press me your honor, there is one quote which is important to me.†The judge leaned forward and said, “Yes, yes.†Tom straightened up and said soberly, “You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead. That’s from Laurel and Hardy, your honor.†The furious judge gave Tom six years too.
Mike talks about his federal trial and WCCA’s funding situation.
Brendan says the new wind turbine is worth checking out.
mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions
To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.
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.
Short video about “rosary trial”
For much more info, see: “Rosary†trial verdict: guilty of disobeying orders, not guilty of blocking entrance, $250 fine.
For a higher-quality video, download the mp4. If you’d like to use this video, there are Creative Commons-licensed versions in several formats.
“Rosary” trial verdict: guilty of disobeying orders, not guilty of blocking entrance, $250 fine
Five Roman Catholics, arrested March 19 in connection with praying for an end to the Iraq War in the lobby of the Worcester federal building, were today found guilty of one petty offense and not guilty of another.
Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman today found all five defendants guilty of failure “to comply with lawful direction of authorized individuals (U.S. Marshals)” and fined them the minimum penalty of $250.
They were not found guilty of the other petty offense, obstructing the entrance and impeding performance of duties by government employees.
The defendants in June 2008: Mike, Sandra, Ken, Scott, Roger
Three of the defendants, Michael Benedetti, Sandra McSweeney, and Roger Stanley, plan to pay the fine. Two others, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, said they could not pay the fine for reasons of conscience. There will be a hearing on their situation November 6.
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Activists fined for unauthorized vigil
- Video of the arrest used as evidence in the trial.
- Somewhat longer Telegram & Gazette article: “Kneelers guilty of minor charge: Two protesters refuse to pay $250 fines”
Update:
- T&G video of people marching to the trial (features the Jagerstatter prayer)
- Short video recapping the trial
508 #53: The law
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel includes Worcester Magazine’s Scott Zoback and Brendan Melican.
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Scott describes seeing some more Asian Long-Horned Beetles. Brendan points out the irony in this article about police details at construction sites:
One potential scenario could have city councilors taking up as soon as Tuesday a new municipal ordinance that would carve out an exemption from Mr. [Governor Deval] Patrick’s plan for Worcester police; such a move could proceed without a public hearing because it would not be the result of a recommendation from City Manager Michael V. O’Brien.
Detective Thomas G. Daly, secretary of police union local 911 and regional vice president of the New England Police Benevolent Association, expressed frustration with a recent Statehouse hearing on Mr. Patrick’s plan that he said was rigged against police. He and other Worcester officers attended, but were not able to testify.
Scott opines on the recent changes at WM and the upcoming changes at the T&G.
Mike talks about his federal “rosary trial” next week. An appropriate quotation from Nassim Nicholas Taleb: “Wear your best for your execution and stand dignified. Your last recourse against randomness is how you act — if you can’t control outcomes, you can control the elegance of your behaviour. You will always have the last word.”
We follow-up on the republished-then-unpublished InCity Times article that has caused some controversy, and spurred ICT editor Rosalie Tirella to e-mail vague legal threats to Worcester Indymedia. Relevant links at Worcesteria, Radioball, and Indymedia. We draw some slight parallels with the hacking of Sarah Palin’s e-mail account.
In sunnier ICT news, this week’s issue features a cover story on sometime 508 panelist Jesse Pack!
Brendan and Scott will be on WTAG radio Monday from 6-7pm, and will likely violate FCC regulations.
mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions
To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.
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.
Weird feuds and other items
The whole Dianne Williamson-Rosalie Tirella thing
I didn’t find the Dianne Williamson column that started the latest round in this feud very interesting; strange, because so many of the elements would normally appeal to me.
I re-read the column, and when I got to this phrase I found part of the problem:
. . . InCity Times, a small newspaper that purports to speak for blue-collar folks but is actually a vehicle for Ms. Tirella to practice her peculiar brand of yellow, slash-and-burn journalism . . .
This is incorrect. InCity Times is a small newspaper that speaks for blue-collar folks and a vehicle for Ms. Tirella to practice her peculiar brand of yellow, slash-and-burn journalism. And a couple of other things as well.
Williamson’s take is disappointing. Why reduce a fascinating, three-dimensional character to one?
Too often local writers do this, and it drives me crazy. They start with a complex, flavorful, spicy reality, then dilute it way down, punching it up at the last stage with cheap adulterants (in this case, personal rancor).
Also: RT’s offensive response to this article has been posted and removed from several websites, the latest being Worcester Indymedia.
Continue reading “Weird feuds and other items”
508 #52: Episode 52
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Tina Zlody, Jeff Barnard, and Brendan Melican.
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Tina talks about the upcoming arts festival stART on the Street, Sunday September 21, 2008, 11am – 5pm, Park Avenue, between Highland and Pleasant Streets, Worcester, MA.
We talk about agenda items for Worcester in the coming year. Jeff agrees with Jordan Levy that swapping out our old city councilors would be helpful. Brendan would like to see councilors focus on improving owner-occupancy rates rather than criminalizing hot dogs and marijuana. Mike would like city government to admit that it has a transparency problem, then fix the problem, perhaps beginning by making city meetings available on the web. (Related: Begging states to try to enforce ridiculous assertion that the law is copyrighted.)
Yesterday’s protest at Worcester’s Bank of America got complicated. Our friend Sarah Loy clarifies the situation of the local ACLU. The InCity Times is standing on the verge of getting a website. Comments from Worcesteria, Brendan, and Worcesterite. (Sometime this morning Rosalie began phoning around with legal threats–see the updated Worcesteria post.)
Mike recommends this video of a Bone Zone show.
In the new segment “Bruce Is Incorruptible,” Mike and Bruce Russell review Burrito Taylor’s Major Burritos.
Theme song: “Angels Soaring Past (I Realize It Now)” by Stale Urine.