July 25, 500 gathered in front of the Holocaust Memorial on Lombard Street to show that "Baltimore Stands with Israel." Across the street, behind steel barriers erected by the Baltimore Police Department, was a group of 75, protesting Israel's bombing of Beirut, and US complicity.

In a funky, eclectic white tent at Artscape across from the food court, a Baltimore art gallery presented a dozen artistic musings on how to re-think, revise, re-envision and re-use Baltimore's abandoned urban spaces.

Richard Perle is at it again! He tossed a hizzy fit when the Bush-Cheney Gang decided to have “talks” with Iran over their disputed nuclear program. The Mother of All Neocons implied President George W. Bush was a coward. He said the President “blinked” and that the Mullahs had “glared” him down. Perle has no shame! He helped to create the disaster which is the Iraqi War. Now, he wants to set the stage for a repeat U.S. performance with Iran.

The Maryland General Assembly has passed legislation to limit the proposed BGE increase to 15 percent in July 2006. A phase-in of the rest will occur in June 2007, a year away.

A monthly column of political commentary. This month we raise the question: "What is news?"

Baltimore Indymedia's and campbaltimore artist collective's collaboration, the "Indypendent Reader" is now available online. The first "Indypendent," printed on May 5th, focuses on urban planning in Baltimore.

CONTENTS:
* Gentrification Equals Racism to Me. By R.B. Jones
* The Creation of the Ghetto: An Interview with Glenn Ross
* Looking at Baltimore's Surveillance Cameras. By John Duda
* Housing Policy and Segregation in Baltimore. By Chris Gladora
* Looking at Community Power. By Howard Ehrlich
* Who's Driving Urban Redevelopment in Baltimore: Network Diagram
* Baltimore: A Conversation between David Harvey and Marisela Gomez
* The ABCs of Urban Revitalization—by Scott Berzofsky

See the Indypendent Reader

After first destroying all economic frontiers between nations, capitalism now resurects old cultural frontiers and religious and racial divides in order better to control working people everywhere. And so our world seems to be retrogressing to pre-Cold War national chauvinisms, pre-World War II racism, and pre-Enlightenment religious persecution. What is a progressive Labor response to these challenges of globalization?

Members of the United Workers Association took their struggle with Baltimore Orioles management for a living wage of $9.06 to RFK Stadium in Washington DC where the Orioles were playing the Nationals. Their goals include the establishment of a workers cooperative which contracts for cleaning services at Camden Yards.

Photographs: Creative Commons license: credit Sofia Silva