Axis of Justice

Supporting Veterans on Veterans Day

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:15:04 +0000

We received this message from our friends at Iraq Veterans Against the War and thought we’d pass it along. There’s also a response from Tom Morello after that:

Dear supporter

We are asking you to make a donation on veterans day to Iraq Veterans Against the War. Not much thought is given to the actual veterans who have been to war on veterans day but we must realize that they are a community that has been deeply scared by war. These scars can not always be seen but they are always there and IVAW is working to empower veterans and GIs to stand up to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from within the military. So on veterans day please go to ivaw.org/support and make a donation to a veterans group that is leading veterans!

Geoff Millard
Chair
Iraq Veterans Against the War
National Board Of Directors

Tom’s follow-up:

“I am honored to stand with some of my fellow musicians in donating all of my Veteran’s Day touring, record sales, and merchandise proceeds to Iraq Veterans Against the War. It is the epitome of courage for a soldier to stand up against an unjust war and that is exactly what these brave men and women have done. They have served their country bravely on the battlefield and now they are serving their country bravely at home by demanding an end to the US military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the heroic voices of these soldiers and veterans who cannot be denied and must not be ignored.”

Tom Performs at the WTF Festival

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:04:44 +0000

Tom Morello will be performing December 5 in Los Angeles at the WTF Festival, to raise money for politically-minded theater troupe, The Actors Gang. The festival will also feature many performances, discussions and film screenings. Information and tickets at wtffestival.theactorsgang.com

Tom Morello, Shooter Jennings & Friends at the WTF Festival

Saturday, December 5
8:30pm
Ivy Substation
Culver City, CA

Musicians Against Military Trauma Training

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:57:41 +0000

What do guitar god Tom Morello, System of a Down’s Grammy-winning vocalist Serj Tankian, seminal skate punk band Pennywise’s founding member Fletcher Dragge, hip-hop legend Chuck D, and peta2’s favorite vegetarian socio-political punk band Anti-Flag have in common? They all stand behind our campaign to end the military’s use of animals in trauma and chemical casualty training exercises. Every year, thousands of animals, including pigs, goats, and monkeys, are used in exercises organized by the Department of Defense. Current exercises include shooting, stabbing, and burning live pigs; cutting goats’ legs off with sharp shears; and poisoning monkeys with toxic chemicals—all to train medics on how to treat human injuries on the battlefield. These exercises are still being conducted on many military bases in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, despite the availability of superior non-animal methods.

In a recent campaign win, Bolivia’s president banned the use of all animals in military exercises after we broke an undercover investigation video showing Bolivian soldiers who were violently stabbing live dogs for trauma exercises—citing the U.S. Army as their influence in doing so! The U.S. and the rest of the world need to follow Bolivia’s lead and stop shooting, stabbing, poisoning, and mutilating live animals in trauma exercises now!

Read More & Sign Petition>

Rock Out and Fight Cancer in Hollywood

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:19:27 +0000

Tom Morello and a host of other popular artists will be performing acoustically at an upcoming benefit for the Pablove Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with cancer.

The November 21 concert will feature Tom Morello (aka the Nightwatchman), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Tom Gabel (Against Me!), Shirley Manson, Butch Walker, Jarrod Gorbel (The Honorary Title), Charlotte Martin, and more. Tickets go on sale October 31 at 10am via Ticketmaster.

Details below. If you can’t make it, but still want to support the Pablove cause, you can donate money to them via their website.

Pablove Foundation Benefit

November 21, 7:30pm
Avalon
1735 Vine St, Hollywood, CA
$35

Download: Flyer

Ani Difranco

Jake Sexton — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:07:39 +0000

Song: “Serpentine”

CD: Evolve

Long acoustic jam that chronicles a host of post-9/11 ills, with wit and melancholy.

Website: www.righteousbabe.com

The Surrogates

Jake Sexton — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:21:29 +0000

By Robert Vendetti and Brett Weldele

Graphic novel that inspired the movie, about a world in which humans spend all their time in their homes, using virtual reality technology to control idealized robot-versions of themselves to interact in the real world.

Buy This Book

Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle

Jake Sexton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:12:23 +0000

By Chris Hedges

A depressingly insightful look at the decline of people who can handle facts and complexity, and the rise of those who can only handle sensation and simplistic entertainment.

Buy This Book

Crude

Jake Sexton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:31:48 +0000

Director: Joe Berlinger

Mind-blowing documentary about a legal battle between rural Ecuadorian people against the oil giants who have poisoned them with their exploitation and greed.

More>

Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture

Jake Sexton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:19:24 +0000

By Thom Hartmann

Progressive talk radio host Thom Hartmann explores the devastating ways that our politics, economics, and consumerism are intersecting and magnifying in scope.

Buy This Book

Raided Activists Need Help!

Jake Sexton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:10:37 +0000

I’d say that this story was bizarre, if we didn’t see tales like it happening again and again. Activists in NYC had their home raided by the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force on October 1, apparently because one of the residents had been sending Twitter messages during the recent G20 protests in Pittsburgh. So the FBI came to the man’s house in New York and confiscated a ton of personal possessions of the man (Elliot Madison) and his housemates. I won’t be the first to point out that when protesters in a country like Iran use Twitter to inform and organize, Americans cheer, but when you do it in the US, you get a police boot through your front door.

Much scarier, the legal proceedings are becoming increasingly secretive. The residents’ possessions were seized, but law enforcement won’t say why or what the search warrant covered. How do you defend yourself when no one tells you the charges??? Civil liberties under Obama don’t seem much better than they were under George W. Bush.

The activists (who call their home “Tortuga”) are asking for help. Not only must they pay legal fees now and for what may become an expensive, Kafka-esque legal process, they must do so after having all kinds of personal possessions (including computers and phones) taken by the police. They’re asking for donations (you can go to their blog and click on the “here” link under the “Donation” heading). If you live near San Francisco, you can attend a benefit show for Tortuga House on October 23. They’re also asking folks to spread the word (let people know about their website, www.FriendsOfTortuga.wordpress.com..

More information about this situation on the Friends of Tortuga blog, this Democracy Now! interview, and this information from Elliott’s attorney here.