Protests

Demonstrators in Minneapolis raise voices in support of Iran protestors

The message on a Minneapolis street corner Wednesday was unmediated: VIVA IRAN. That and dozens of other slogans of the Iranian protest movement were carried on signs and on the mercifully cooler air that wafted through downtown, where a crowd of as many as 200 people gathered in a semicircle for urgent call-and-response chants.

South Carolina’s AWOL Sanford recalls Minnesota’s missing Gov. Perpich

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is due back at work today following a mysterious several-day absence. For Minnesotans whose memories extend to the 1970s, news of an AWOL governor evokes the early days of Gov. Rudy Perpich’s first term in office — days Perpich spent out of the office, whereabouts (then) unknown.

Twitter’s utility for protests, now evident in Iran, debuted in St. Paul during RNC

Iran has proven the headline prescient, even if the terminology needed tweaking: “The revolution will be Twittered.” That was the title of Tom Elko’s Sept. 9, 2008, Minnesota Independent post about how Twitter messages (technically, “tweets” that were “tweeted”) came in handy during protests outside the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Rallying to ‘End the Fed,’ group hasn’t felt heat over von Brunn

An “End the Fed” group that will rally today outside the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank hasn’t felt a backlash since Wednesday’s arrest of James von Brunn in the fatal shooting of a guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Von Brunn, who mixed anti-Semitism with antipathy for the Federal Reserve, served six years in prison for his 1981 attempt to take Federal Reserve board members captive.

Pelosi’s visit links her first Frisco days, recent Republican razzing over Gitmo

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to an American Indian jobs center in Minneapolis today carries special (if little-known) resonance with either end of her political career, from the time she arrived in what later became her California congressional district to the recent rightwing taunts she has taken over terrorism.

AM.MN: ‘Socialist’ label gets a workout at Austin immigration clash

It’s becoming a regular thing in Austin, as rival groups sparred over immigration in front of the Mower County Courthouse. Twenty anti-immigrant demonstrators led by a local National Socialist Movement activist squared off with 50 counter-protesters, including a Socialist Workers Party candidate for Minneapolis mayor. It’s the second anti-immigrant rally in two weeks and the Nazi group says [...]

‘Rybak won!’ — in Minneapolis and Moscow

“Rybak won!” It’s a cry that didn’t emanate far beyond the walls of Minneapolis’ Washburn High School, where on Saturday city DFL delegates endorsed the re-election of Mayor R.T. Rybak. But versions of that cry rang across Europe on the same day as the annual Eurovision song contest was won by a young Norwegian fiddler named [...]

Commencement-speech troubles like Obama’s won’t afflict Paulsen at St. Olaf — unless they do

Two graduation speeches that President Obama agreed to give are proving that, as someone once said, no good deed goes unpunished. Arizona State University decided to stiff him on an honorary degree at its graduation last night, and his actions on abortion-related issues have the University of Notre Dame in convulsions ahead of his speech [...]

As new Peace Project launches, antiwar groups hit stride, streets

With the recent launch of the Minnesota Peace Project and renewed activism around the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the local antiwar movement appears to be picking up steam.

Ellison arrested at Darfur protest

Rep. Keith Ellison was among eight activists arrested Monday morning at a demonstration outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington. The event was held to protest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s decision to expel 16 international aid agencies from the country. Reps. John Lewis (D-GA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Donna Edwards (D-MD) were also [...]