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On May 25, 2007 Andrew Card faced hundreds of boos and catcalls as he was given an honorary degree during the graduate school commencement at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.Before the commencement, over a hundred protesters staged a rally and press conference outside the Mullin Center on the UMass campus. Hundreds more students and faculty who opposed the honorary degree would later protest inside the hall.Card, former Bush Administration Chief of Staff and chief salesman for the invasion of Iraq as head of the White House Iraq Group, faced signs calling him a war criminal. People are now calling on UMass to rescind the honorary degree. (more…)

Students and activists from UMass/Amherst and Western Massachusetts say why they’re excited about the upcoming conference: “SOCIALISM 2007: Socialism for the 21st Century,” being held at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare, June 14-17, 2007. See http://www.socialismconference.org for more details.

SOCIALISM 2007 will bring together socialists and activists who are involved in struggles across the country–from opposing the war to organizing against the death penalty–and share a vision of rebuilding the left.

Join John Pilger, Amy Goodman, Dahr Jamail, Dave Zirin, Anthony Arnove, Sharon Smith, Laura Flanders, Dr. John Carlos, Jeff St. Clair, IVAW’s Kelly Dougherty, and a host of other speakers at Socialism 2007, and participate in the discussion over the future of radical and socialist politics in the 21st Century.

Last summer, some 1,500 people turned out for Socialism 2006 in New York City.

Student comments were videotaped on May 17, 2007 at the Campus Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Many thanks to Mike, Rachel, Tony, Sarah, Gary, Dustin and Tristan for their comments, and to Jason for helping to organize the video.

See coverage of previous years’ conferences at http://www.traprockpeace.org/ with video on this channel - http://www.youtube.com/TraprockPeace?TV

video © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved. Websites may embed the video. Other uses require permission; charles@traprockpeace.org

Newsflash: Members of the UMass faculty senate voted 31-0 to oppose an honorary degree for Andrew Card. The vote was not ‘official’ as it missed a quorum by 1 member.Action Announcements at UMass - May 21, 23, 25thOn May 15, 2007, hundreds of students, faculty and staff protested the decision by the University of Massachusetts to give an honorary degree to Andy Card, and former head of the Bush Administration’s White House Iraq Group. Students held a rally outside the Whitmore administration building. When they went to enter the building, they found that the university had closed it. They then marched to the graduate school administration building and held a sit-in. They marched across campus back to the Whitmore building, and heard from a university spokesperson - standing outside - who said that the university had not changed its mind. Students then marched around the administration building, symbolically knocked on the locked doors, and held a rally, with students taking turns speaking out.Please call and tell Chancellor John Lombardi what you think - 413-545-2211.Previously, on May 10th, more than 300 faculty, graduate and undergraduate students marched to Chancellor Lombardi’s office and demanded that University of Massachusetts administrators revoke the offer of the honorary degree.Students are planning followup protests. See an article by UMass student Charles Peterson that gives background and covers the May 10th protest at http://www.socialistworker.org/2007-1/632/632_15_NewsAndReports.shtmlThis video was edited into two parts for YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/TraprockPeaceTVVideo recorded and edited by Charles Jenks. © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved.

Petition to Revoke Offer of Honorary Degree to Andrew H. Card, Jr.

Please see Part 2 below.On May 15, 2007, hundreds of students, faculty and staff protested the decision by the University of Massachusetts to give an honorary degree to Andy Card, and former head of the Bush Administration’s White House Iraq Group. Students held a rally outside the Whitmore administration building. When they went to enter the building, they found that the university had closed it. They then marched to the graduate school administration building and held a sit-in. They marched across campus to the Whitmore building, and heard from a university spokesperson - standing outside - who said that the university had not changed its mind. Students then marched around the administration building, symbolically knocked on the locked doors, and held a rally, with students taking turns speaking out.Please call and tell Chancellor John Lombardi what you think - 413-545-2211.This is Part 1 of the video coverage, up to, but not including, the statement of the university spokesperson to the end rally. Due to storms, we had difficulty uploading this part. See Part 2 - already uploaded to YouTube - for the university statement and the rest of this protest. We will also upload a higher quality single video of the protest to Google.Previously, on May 10th, more than 300 faculty, graduate and undergraduate students marched to Chancellor Lombardi’s office and demanded that University of Massachusetts administrators revoke the offer of the honorary degree.Students are planning followup protests.Parts 1 and 2 (many other videos) are available at http://www.youtube.com/TraprockPeaceTVVideo recorded and edited by Charles Jenks. © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved.

Petition to Revoke Offer of Honorary Degree to Andrew H. Card, Jr.

On May 15, 2007, students, faculty and staff protested the decision by the University of Massachusetts to give an honorary degree to Andy Card, and former head of the Bush Administration’s White House Iraq Group. Students held a rally outside the Whitmore administration building. When they went to enter the building, they found that the university had closed it. They then marched to the graduate school administration building and held a sit-in. They marched across campus to the Whitmore building, and heard from a university spokesperson - standing outside - that the university had not changed its mind. Students then marched around the administration building, symbolically knocked on the locked doors, and held a rally, with students taking turns speaking out.Please call and tell Chancellor John Lombardi what you think - 413-545-2211.This is Part 2 of the video coverage, from the statement of the university spokesperson to the end rally. Due to storms, we had difficulty uploading the longer Part 1 (which we were able to accomplish on May 16th.) We are also uploading a higher quality single video of the protest to Google.Previously, on May 10th, more than 300 faculty, graduate and undergraduate students marched to Chancellor Lombardi’s office and demanded that University of Massachusetts administrators revoke the offer of the honorary degree.Students are planning followup protests.Video recorded and edited by Charles Jenks. © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved.

On Mother’s Day - May 13, 2007 - Frances Crowe tells story from a previous Mother’s Day protest of 25 years ago. She was speaking with Sunny Miller, Executive Director of Traprock Peace Center.Frances Crowe is a prominent peace organizer and pacifist. She was a co-founder of Traprock Peace Center. She urges Traprock to “carry on” as it faces of challenge of having to relocate after 27 years.Video © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved.

Andy Jacobs, former Indiana Congressperson, decried the unconstitutional and illegal war against Iraq and exposed the bi-partisan sellout of the US to foreign investors. Foreign investment - and US budget deficits - have financed US wars, including the war against Iraq. This sellout - started during the Reagan administration - rescinded tax withholding from foreign investments. This reduced interest rates, but also led to a skyrocketing of foreign debt. Most media - such as Washington Post and the Today Show - chose to remain silent on this sell-out. See Time article.Jacobs further examined the unconstitutional abdication of war powers authority by Congress in October, 2002. Unilateral war making by rulers is the most oppressive of the kingly oppressions, said Jacobs.Jacobs, a Koren War veteran, spoke on April 18, 2007 on “US Policy in the Middle East: Diplomacy, Foreigh Debt and War Powers.” He spoke in the General Pershing Room of the War Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana. He shared the podium with Scott Ritter, former Major of the US Mariens and former UN Chief UNSCOM Weapons Inspector in Iraq. See Ritter’s talks at http://www.youtube.com/TraprockPeaceTVThe program was sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Indiana Chapter #49, Indianapolis Peace House & Plowshares, Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center, and Traprock Peace Center.Moderator: Pierre AtlasPolitical Science Professor and Director of Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian CollegeVideo recorded and edited by Charles Jenks; © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved. Contact: charles@traprockpeace.org

Student activists from the University of Wisconsin, Madison say why they’re excited about the upcoming conference: “SOCIALISM 2007: Socialism for the 21st Century.” being held at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare, June 14-17, 2007. See http://www.socialismconference.org for more details.

SOCIALISM 2007 will bring together socialists and activists who are involved in struggles across the country–from opposing the war to organizing against the death penalty–and share a vision of rebuilding the left.

Join John Pilger, Amy Goodman, Dahr Jamail, Dave Zirin, Anthony Arnove, Sharon Smith, Laura Flanders, Dr. John Carlos, Jeff St. Clair, IVAW’s Kelly Dougherty, and a host of other speakers at Socialism 2007, and participate in the discussion over the future of radical and socialist politics in the 21st Century.

Last summer, some 1,500 people turned out for Socialism 2006 in New York City.

Student comments were videotaped on May 4, 2007 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Many thanks to Chris Dols and Elizabeth Wrigley-Field for their organizing (and for their comments), and to all the students who participated.

See coverage of last year’s conference.with videos on TraprockPeaceTV

video © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved. Websites may embed the video. Other uses require permission; contact charles@traprockpeace.org