protest

Anti-War Demonstration Planned at Pentagon Today

By ARLnow.com

A group called the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance is organizing an anti-war rally at the Pentagon at noon today.

Dubbed “Operation DISARMageddon,” participants are planning to demonstrate against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the military’s use of fossil fuels. Organizers aren’t saying exactly where and how they’re planning to protest, except that it will be “nonviolent civil resistance” and it will happen “around noon.”

“The U.S. military is the entity most responsible for destabilizing our environment,” a call to action on the group’s web site says. “There are innumerable reasons for this, including these examples: the exorbitant use of fossil fuels, depleted uranium weapons, worldwide transport of weapons and personnel, unlimited air travel, engagement in war and the possession, upkeep and transport of nuclear weapons.”

The call to action continues: “U.S. drone bombs continue to kill innocent people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other places around the world. Our military spending is out of control while we have no money to meet basic human needs here in the U.S. Torture and illegal indefinite detentions continue in Guantanamo, Bagram, and other places around the world… In the spirit and discipline of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, and others, and for the sake of humanity, for the sake of peace and justice, and for the sake of Mother Earth we must act now.”

Other groups said to be participating in the protest include Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, Witness Against Torture and WarIsACrime.org.

Egypt Unrest Results in APS Students Losing Their Teacher

By ARLnow.com

The protests in Egypt are hitting home for a group of Arlington Public School students.

The Egyptian government has cut internet service in response to the unrest.  As a result, Washington-Lee High School has temporarily lost its Arabic teacher, who teaches the class remotely from Egypt.

A “live” teacher has now been brought in to continue teaching the class.

APS sent the following letter home to parents yesterday.

January 31, 2011

Dear Parents,

The recent events in Egypt have caused a disruption in Internet communications and with the Skype sessions that our students have with teachers from the Arab Academy in Cairo.

We would like to inform you that our Arabic students will continue to receive uninterrupted instruction. The online course our students follow is housed in Herndon, VA and therefore students can access the online material at any time. Ms. Wasan and Ms. Mona, APS Arabic teachers will visit each school in person and continue to provide instruction to our students. This plan will be in effect until Skype communication with Cairo is restored.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Regards,

Pat Teske, Supervisor, Office of Instructional and Innovative Technologies Office

Hildi Pardo, Distance Learning Specialist, Office of Instructional and Innovative Technologies

Marleny Perdomo, Supervisor, World Languages Office

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Panel Discusses Energy Plan Options — The task force in charge of helping to craft a Community Energy Plan for Arlington met yesterday to discuss options for providing “district energy” in the county’s denser areas. District energy would centralize heating and cooling in an area, serving multiple buildings. One of the big questions posed to the task force by its energy consultant was whether the company that provides the district energy plant should be county-owned, a public-private partnership or privately-owned. More from TBD.

Gunston to Get New Field, But Board Cuts Canopies — On Tuesday, the board approved a $715,000 contract to replace the synthetic field turf at Gunston Middle School. But they stripped out $120,000 in funding that county staff had allocated for shade canopies over the bleachers. More from the Sun Gazette.

Hotel Protest in Crystal City Tomorrow — Workers are expected to picket in front of the Crystal City Sheraton tomorrow to protest supposed abuses of workers’ rights by the hotel’s parent company. The rally has the backing of local organized labor. More from dclabor.org

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Happy Columbus Day — Normally-clogged commuter routes are clear as government employees and many private sector workers have the day off to celebrate Columbus’ discovery of the New World. Arlington government offices are closed, as are all library branches. It’s expected to be the hottest Oct. 11 on record in the DC area, so if you have the day off, get outside and enjoy it.

Blue and Orange Line Cut in Two, No Major Problems — Commutepocalypse didn’t quite go the way some media outlets expected. More from TBD.

Savannah Might Not Want Brown Back — Former Arlington County Manager Michael Brown may not be wanted back in Savannah, after all. The Savannah Morning News has compiled a list of four “discoveries about city operations” that have occurred since Brown left for Arlington. Among them: “More than $2 million in pay raises and special merit increases Brown awarded each year for the past three years.”

Meaningless Real Estate Data — Home sales are down in Arlington, but only if you compare it to one year ago when the federal government was offering generous real estate tax credits. Median home sale prices are up compared to one year ago. More from the Sun Gazette.

Protests at CAIR Convention — The Council on American-Islamic Relations held its national convention at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Crystal City Saturday night. Outside the sold-out event, Tea Party leaders planned a protest against CAIR and Sharia law.

Flickr pool photo by Michael C. White

Southwest “Protest” Outside Rosslyn Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Southwest Airlines is doing some sort of protest/promotion outside the Rosslyn Metro Station this morning.

A tipster tells us that Southwest reps, armed with ID cards, free peanuts and a bullhorn, are promoting their “bags fly free” campaign.

Our tipster notes: “When asked if they would be flying into DCA, the response was ‘we’re trying.'”

Curiously, Southwest just announced that it’s acquiring AirTran Airways. Unlike Southwest, AirTran currently flies out of Reagan National Airport.

Hateful Group Coming Back to Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Those lovable optimists from the Westboro Baptist Church are coming back to Arlington next week to protest military funerals outside Arlington National Cemetery.

The Kansas-based church members, who also protest baseball games, breast cancer awareness motorcycle rides and high schools, will hold signs and yell hateful stuff outside the cemetery on the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 4 and Tuesday, Oct. 5.

They’ll also be coming to Arlington for Veterans Day (Nov. 11).

Dozens Protest Immigration Policies Outside Arlington DMV

By ARLnow.com

Nearly 100 people chanted slogans, held signs and beat drums outside the Arlington office of the Virginia DMV this afternoon, decrying tougher policies on immigrants enacted in the wake of a nun’s death in Prince William County.

The protesters, many of whom were affiliated with the Laborers International Union of North America and Alexandria-based Tenants and Workers United, were noisy but peaceful. Their hour-long protest was watched closely by a dozen Arlington County police officers.

The demonstrators were protesting two recent actions that they say amounts to a “war and persecution of Virginia’s immigrants.” Last week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell barred the Department of Motor Vehicles from accepting “employment authorization documents,” commonly used by immigrants, as proof of legal residency. Then this week, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency revealed a change in policy that will put illegal immigrants charged with DUI on the fast track to deportation.

Both policy changes come after a Benedictine nun was killed in a crash that police say was caused by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk. Carlos Martinelly Montano, 23, was awaiting a deportation hearing on two prior DUI charges at the time of the August 1 wreck.

While calling Sister Denise Mosier’s death “tragic,” organizers of the protest said the crash should not be used to “promote an anti-immigrant agenda that would effectively segregate immigrants from society.”

“Some people are going all out to turn Virginia into the next Arizona,” Tenants and Workers United Suyapa Hernandez said in a statement. “We will not stand for this… we must unite and fight back against policies that divide and weaken our communities.”

“Racist application of the rule of law and state resources is an unfortunate legacy in Virginia politics,” said John Liss, executive director of Tenants and Workers United. “From slave-owners of the old South to the life-long disenfranchisement of ex-felons and recent attempts to… detain and deny immigrants their basic civil rights, we are witnessing the struggle of the dominant class to maintain control as the demographics… in the Commonwealth change.”

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Kid Protesters Hopping Mad Over Uncle Julio’s Menu Item

By ARLnow.com

A group determined to kick frog legs off American menus came to Ballston over the weekend to protest in front of Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande Cafe.

Fifteen demonstrators, including two George Mason University students and eight elementary and middle school students, held homemade signs calling for Uncle Julio’s to stop serving frog legs.

“Uncle Julio: Stop driving frogs to extinction,” one young girl’s sign read.

The protest was organized by Save the Frogs, a California-based group dedicated to saving “the world’s remaining amphibian species.” This was the second time this year the organization held a protest outside the Ballston Uncle Julio’s. The non-profit has also demonstrated outside Uncle Julio’s restaurants in Maryland and Texas.

“America is on track to overtake France and Belgium to become the number one frog-eating country on the planet,” Save the Frogs founder and Manassas native Dr. Kerry Kriger said in a statement. “The frog leg trade is responsible for the spread of infectious diseases, the depletion of wild frog populations, and the spread of harmful invasive species”.

The CEO of Uncle Julio’s has previously denied that the chain’s frog legs come from an endangered species or are raised in an unhealthy environment.

Photos courtesy Save the Frogs

Marching For Immigration Reform

By ARLnow.com

Nearly a thousand people marched through Arlington today, following a six mile route from Alexandria to the White House for a May Day immigration reform protest.

The pro-immigration protesters held signs, quilts and American flags as they marched past Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon. Arlington police set up rolling roadblocks for the march, which was organized by the Alexandria-based group Tenants and Workers United.

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“Save the Planetarium” Petition Reaches 700 Signatures

By ARLnow.com

The “Save the David M. Brown Planetarium” online petition has tallied its 700th signature. The petition received 100 signatures yesterday, including that of former planetarium director Steve Smith, according to petition organizer Raphael Perrino.

Meanwhile, the Save the Planetarium Facebook page now has more than 2,900 fans.

On Monday, Perrino presented the petition to school board member Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez. “The meeting went very well,” Perrino said.

The fate of the planetarium is expected to be discussed at tomorrow’s 7:30 p.m. school board meeting. Perrino hopes to have between 20 and 40 people on hand for a rally.

Not everybody wants to see the planetarium remain open, however. In the budget recommendations it approved yesterday, the Arlington County Civic Federation voted in favor of shuttering the planetarium, as superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy has proposed.

Fisette: AG Making Virginia Look “Small and Backward”

By ARLnow.com

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s recent actions make the state look “small and backward,” Jay Fisette said to the 70 protesters who gathered on the steps  outside the George Mason University School of Law in Clarendon Tuesday.

They were there — in the words of organizer Cathryn Oakley — to “send Attorney General Cuccinelli a message.” That message: discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is wrong, no matter how you interpret the law.

“This is about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Fisette, chairman of the Arlington County board and Virginia’s first openly gay elected official.

Cuccinelli, a graduate of GMU law, was at the school to speak to a group students. He entered the building through a back door, away from the protest.

Along with GMU student leaders, Fisette was joined by Del. Adam Ebbin (D), Virginia’s first openly gay delegate, and Del. Bob Brink (D). Brink and Ebbin both represent parts of Arlington.

“Welcome to March Madness, Cuccinelli-style,”  Ebbin told the crowd . “We’re here to call Ken Cuccinelli on his fouls… no Virginian has been so out of touch with the realities of the 21st century.”

“Ken Cuccinelli is not only an embarrassment to our Commonwealth, but sadly he is an embarrassment to this institution,” Ebbin said.

Cuccinelli later told ABC7 that he is doing what voters elected him to do.

“I got more votes than anyone ever running for AG in Virginia history,” Cuccinelli said in the interview. “People of Virginia knew what they were getting when they elected me.”

More photos and raw video of some of the speeches, after the jump.

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