Rallies for Abortion Rights, Affordable Housing

In Northampton on January 20 about 65 people attended an abortion rights rally, organizer Marisol Pierce Bonifaz told the Valley Post. The event was organized by the group Generation Ratify Amherst.

A major cause of climate change is overpopulation, according to:

www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/climate/

The average American produced about 15 tons of carbon dioxide last year. The average Ugandan produced about 0.1 ton. The average Swede produced about 4 tons. That data is from:

https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-metrics

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Teachers' Union Rally is Jan. 8

On January 8 in Westhampton, Massachusetts there will be a teachers' union rally. Westhampton borders Northampton. The rally will be at 5:30 p.m. outside 19 Stage Road in Westhampton. Details are at:

www.facebook.com/events/1365432547425203

500 People March 25 Miles

About 500 people marched 25 miles from Northampton to Springfield on December 16. They were calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The march was organized by a group that has a web site at www.jvp.org.

In Brattleboro, there will be a rally to demand politicians stop U.S. military aid to Israel. The rally will be on December 23 at noon at Pliny Park. JVP endorsed the rally.

95 Rally

In a victory for nature, farmland has been saved. Developers had planned to pave it. The land borders Brattleboro and the Connecticut river. It's in Dummerston, Vermont. It is 49 acres. The Dummerston farmland committee, appointed by the select board, led this effort. The deal was announced on December 14. Funding came from votes at the annual town meeting from 2003 until Covid. The meeting will resume in 2024. The next step is to convert the land to organic farming. More information is available via:

www.dummerston.org/boards/farmland.asp

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Northampton Rally is Dec. 3

In Northampton on December 3, there will be a rally to call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The rally will start at 12:30 p.m. outside city hall. It's being organized by the the Western Mass Coalition for Palestine. The coalition's members include the groups Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Code Pink, and the Western Mass Area Labor Federation. On November 24 in Hadley, Massachusetts about 100 people attended a rally for the same cause. Hadley borders Northampton.

Workers Win

In Greenfield about 60 people attended a rally to call on Biden and congress to stop funding Israel's war in Palestine. The November 4 rally was organized by a group that has a web site at www.traprock.org.

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Thanks to the work of environmental and affordable housing activists, 15 new apartments will soon be for rent in downtown Brattleboro. The apartments are at 47 Flat Street.

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Save the Forest

About 50 people in a town with a population of about 900 showed up for a meeting to save a forest. The meeting was in Wendell, Massachusetts on October 24. Wendell borders Montague, which borders Greenfield. A corporation wants to clear-cut 11 acres of forest to install a battery facility. The people who are fighting to save the forest can be reached via www.WendellForest.org.

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1,300 March, Rally; 57 Arrested

On October 25 in Amherst, 57 people were arrested for non-violent civil disobedience and about 600 marched. They were demanding UMass cut its ties with military contractors, and that Biden and congress stop funding Israel's war against Palestine. The protest organizers have a web page at www.instagram.com/umassdissenters/

160 Rally

A total of about 160 people attended rallies in Northampton and Greenfield calling on Biden and congress to stop giving billions of dollars to Israel's military. The USA does not fund Palestine's military. There were two Northampton rallies. They were on October 15 and 16. The Greenfield rally was on October 18. A dozen people were at the Greenfield rally, Anna Gyorgy told the Valley Post. She is part of a group that has a web site at www.traprock.org. The Northampton rallies were organized by the group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

Seven Arrested for Civil Disobedience

Seven people were arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience in Northampton on October 12. They were calling for peace. One of the people who was arrested was Paki Wieland. The Valley Post spoke with her by phone on October 11 about Israel and Palestine. “I don't condone any violence,” Wieland said. “What Hamas did was an act of desperation. I was in Gaza in 2009. The lives of (the 2.3 million) Palestinians there are terrible. It's like a prison. Now the Israeli army is killing civilians. In 2006, Hamas was elected to govern Gaza. Bush and Cheney refused to recognize them.