ON THE SHOW IN NOVEMBER 2011:

* MEDIA DEMOCRACY DAY 2011

We'll hear excerpts from Media Democracy Day 2011, an annual Chicago celebration and gathering about grassroots activist efforts to improve Chicago's media, including presentations from:

+ Steve Macek on the history of Chicago's media

+ Mitchell Szczepanczyk on the leading media democracy stories of 2011

+ Jeanette Foreman on collaborate community media efforts

* Plus, headlines from the worldwide Indymedia network.

LISTEN ONLINE TO THIS EPISODE:

chicago.indymedia.org/media/all/display/36379/index.php

LISTEN ONLINE TO PAST EPISODES:

chicago.indymedia.org/mod/info/display/radio/index.php

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From The Trenches airs on the 4th Sunday of each month at 6pm on WLUW 88.7 on Chicago northside radio:

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From The Trenches also airs on the immediately subsequent Thursday at 1pm on WHPK 88.5 on Chicago southside radio:

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RECENT HEADLINES FROM THE GLOBAL INDYMEDIA NETWORK

Polish activists challenge fascists in street showdown
Poland Indymedia featured breaking updates of a showdown in Warsaw involving Polish police, fascists, and antifascist activists, on Polish Independence Day, November 11, 2011. The day was beset with attacks and marches by ultra-right-wing factions, including skinheads, Nazis, and nationalist groups; responses by groups of hundreds of antifascist activists; and blockades and arrests by Polish police against both fascists and antifascists, including the deployment of tear gas, street fires, and an LRAD sound cannon. The protest has also gained international notoriety courtesy a video recorded by a camera-equipped flying robot set up by activists; the camera, known as "latajacykamara" (the Polish words for "flying camera"), showed Polish police attack demonstrators while the robot flew overhead.
pl.indymedia.org/pl/2011/11/54868.shtml
www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/17/warsaw-protester-launches-drone-to-spy-on-police/

California High School Protest Animal Cruelty at Circus
Santa Cruz IMC featured a story of high school students staging an animal rights protest in the California city of Watsonville. Quoting from the feature: "On November 8th, 2011, four students from Renaissance High School went to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds to protest against the way the circus treats their elephants. Students attending the protest joined other demonstrators from the bay area that were following the circus around to their performances. One protestor was assaulted while handing out flyers about the circus. "
www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/15/18699627.php

Free Radio Santa Cruz returns to the air
Santa Cruz IMC also featured the relaunch of a pioneering community radio station. Free Radio Santa Cruz, which has broadcast community radio since 1995, was evicted from its previous transmitter site in August, but the feature on November 4th reported that the station has found a replacement site and has relaunched on the frequency 101.3 FM in Santa Cruz.
www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/04/18697407.php

Video of Champaign [Illinois] Police Choking Black Youth While in Handcuffs
The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center featured a story dated November 21, 2011, headlined "Video of Champaign Police Choking Black Youth While in Handcuffs". Quoting from the feature: "On June 5, 2011 Champaign police choked a 20 year old [unnamed] African-American man in the back seat of a squad car while he was in handcuffs. His crime? Asking why he had been stopped, roughed up, and pepper sprayed while walking in campus town…This video release comes just weeks after 18 year old Calvin Miller showed up at city hall and bumps on the back of his head. Calvin said police beat him while in handcuffs…Unlike Calvin's case, the City of Champaign has refused to release the squad car video in the June 5th incident, but it was been obtained anonymously and posted [online]…The youth in this video submitted a complaint to the city; it was considered unfounded. After escalating pressure about police abuse, the City Manager and States Attorney have asked the State Police to review if there was misconduct. The State Police do not have a history of providing independent investigation that is trusted by the community. In a recent press conference, the City Manager refused to answer questions about the choking[.]"
www.ucimc.org/content/video-champaign-police-choking-black-youth-while-handcuffs
www.ucimc.org/content/black-youth-beaten-champaign-police

Occupy Efforts Worldwide Face Repression, Build Community
Independent Media Centers worldwide have chronicled the swirl of activity from and repression against the Occupy Wall Street movement, a sampling of which includes the following features. In Australia in late October, Occupy Sydney and Occupy Melbourne were both brutally attacked by police; in Melbourne, 95 people were arrested and one person was hospitalized after being kicked in the groin by police. Brazil Indymedia reported on the occupation by artistic and cultural groups of an building in Rio De Janeiro abandoned for 10 years and which occupiers plan to fill with workshops and cultural events. In San Jose, California, Occupy San Jose protests on the plaza at San Jose City Hall saw a raid destroy an Occupy camp and eight arrests; upon release, those arrested immediately returned to city hall to resume building the camp. In Los Angeles, Occupy LA marched on Fox News because of its ridicule of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Indymedia UK featured the establishment of Occupy Sheffield outside of Sheffield Cathedral, the most recent of 15 occupy efforts in the UK. Indymedia Ireland reported on the establishment of six camps comprising the OccupyIreland network. In Philadelphia, Philly IMC featured the establishment of OccupyGovernment.org, an attempt to elect Congressional representatives without the use of corporate money. In Atlanta, Occupy Atlanta joined forces with the Peachtree-Pine Taskforce for the Homeless to defend a homeless shelter facing encroachment and possible foreclosure from nearby institutions. Indybay reported on the now-famous police assault on the campus of the University of California, Davis, where police wantonly pepper-sprayed protesting students without provocation. Portland Indymedia featured a report on the assault by Portland, Oregon, police against the Occupy Portland encampment, including an alert of a musician and American Sign Language interpreter, Justin James Bridges, who was beaten unconscious by police without provocation. DC Indymedia featured the storming by Occupy DC of the offices of Bloomfield Office properties, the "owner" of Zuccotti Park, the home base of Occupy Wall Street, stormed on the same day that New York police raided the Occupy Wall Street encampment. And in Chicago, Occupy Chicago tried twice to occupy public space at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue. More than a hundred occupiers were arrested — including National Nurses United nurses for refusing to abandon their first aid tent to support protesters/occupiers in Grant Park. An emergency picket on City Hall which drew national attention demanded that all charges against protesters be dropped and the City end its refusal to grant public access to public spaces and end its attacks on civil liberties.
portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/10/411538.shtml
www.midiaindependente.org/pt/blue/2011/11/499778.shtml
www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/24/18694813.php
la.indymedia.org/archives/archive_by_id.php
www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/11/488057.html
www.indymedia.ie/article/100863
phillyimc.org/en/flushing-out-corporate-corruption-occupy-government
atlanta.indymedia.org/local/occupy-atlanta-and-peachtree-pine-taskforce-homeless-join-forces
www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/20/18700509.php
portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/11/412269.shtml
portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/11/412271.shtml
dc.indymedia.org/feature/display/132490/index.php
chicago.indymedia.org/feature/display/70461/index.php

PLEASE JOIN US!
If you're interested in contributing to From The Trenches, we'd love to hear from you. Our contact information is below.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Please submit any requests, tips, stories, or questions to the Chicago Independent Media Center:
773-384-8544
chicago.indymedia.org
or email us:
imc-chicago-audio (at) lists.indymedia.org