Arun Gupta

Template:TOCnestleft Arun Gupta is a contributing editor for the Indypendent.

Letter to Judge Thapar asking for leniency for the Oakridge 3

Arun Gupta signed a letter dated January 9 2014 asking for leniency for the "Oakridge 3":

January 9, 2014

The Honorable Amul R. Thapar United States District Judge 800 Market Street, Suite 130 Knoxville, TN 37902

Dear Judge Thapur: The Defending Dissent Foundation is a 53 year old civil liberties organization that recognizes the value of dissent in a vibrant democracy. As such, we regard the actions of Sister Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli on July 28, 2012 as nonviolent civil disobedience in the finest American tradition. Therefore, we respectfully request that you exercise your right to judicial discretion in sentencing these three individuals. The Defending Dissent Foundation takes no position on nuclear weapons facilities or the content of the protest, but it is clear that the three sought to call attention to an issue of national importance and, through symbolic action, voice their concern and opposition. Their goal never was to harm anyone, and no one was harmed. The fact that the three were able to find their way into the facility and reach the uranium storage unit reflects the abysmal security system of the facility. These activists should not be held liable for the closure of the plant for two weeks to address security lapses. It should not be a factor in their sentencing. Non-violent civil resistance and civil disobedience have long played an important role in our democracy, bringing important issues to the public sphere and advancing our society toward justice, freedom and peace. Like others who have undertaken such action, Sister Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli are willing to serve time in jail, which they have done without complaint. However, to sentence the three to terms of up to twelve years would be an injustice. In your October 1, 2013 Memorandum Opinion and Order you wrote, “Of course, the defendants’ non-violence will be relevant at sentencing, since the Court must account for both the “nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics” of the defendants… Given the obvious differences between the defendants and the paradigmatic saboteur, those factors surely will be worthy of discussion”. We applaud your wisdom and insight and strongly encourage you to sentence the three with downward departures from the sentencing guidelines.

"The Van Jones Effect: Right Wing Frenzy, Inside/Out Strategies and Red Scare"

"The Van Jones Effect: Right Wing Frenzy, Inside/Out Strategies and Red Scare" Wednesday, 16 September 2009, 19:30 The Brecht Forum.

Jed Brandt, Rosa Clemente, Harmony Goldberg, Arun Gupta, Randy Jackson, Jee Kim, Terry Marshall, Lenina Nadal.

The anti-communist screed launched by Glenn Beck forced forced Van Jones to resign as advisor to President Obama. While Beck’s media maelstrom is reminiscent of the 1950s “Red Scare,” it also reveals the deep fissures in American society. The country is facing off in terms of race and class, with Obama playing the Janus head to both the progressive forces that put him in office and a reinvigorated right.

In the background is the very real possibly (and dare say, hope) of a rising radical force that can push Obama to the left and reshape domestic and foreign policy.

Tonight’s activist panel looks at the ways in which the Van Jones effect opens up crucial questions to radical left forces How do radical left forces interact and relate to this administration? How do we push on critical issues like health care? How did the right wing capture momentum? How does the left get its groove back?

Left Forum 2009

Political Economy of the Globalized Food System:

• Nancy Romer, (Chair) - Psychology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Food Conference
• Max Fraad Wolff, International Relations, New School University
• Arun Gupta, "The Indypendent"
• Jason Borenstein

Left Forum Advisory Board

In 2009 the Left Forum Advisory Board included Gilbert Achcar, Tariq Ali, Ashanti Alston, Anthony Arnove, Robin Blackburn, Barbara Bowen, Jack Bratich, Rose Brewer, Renate Bridenthal, Michael Brie, Stephen Brier, Stephen Eric Bronner, Paul Buhle, Joseph Buttigieg, Luciana Castellina, Angela Dillard, Stephen Duncombe, Hester Eisenstein, Barbara Epstein, Deepa Fernandes, Hector Figueroa, Harriet Fraad, Josh Freeman, Barbara Garson, Heather Gautney, Marvin Gettleman, Arun Gupta, Jack Hammond, David Harvey, Gerald Horne, Boris Kagarlitsky, Robin D. G. Kelley, Christine A. Kelly, Peter Kwong, Joanne Landy, Jesse Lemisch, Michael Lowy, Nivedita Majumdar, Manning Marable, Randy Martin, Liz Mestres, Susan O'Malley, Cathy Mulder, Leo Panitch, Christian Parenti, Thomas Ponniah, Barbara Ransby, Michael Ratner, Jan Rehmann, Gerardo Renique, Rainer Rilling, Colin Robinson, Nan Rubin, Roger Salerno, Stephen R. Shalom, Neil Smith, Richard Smith, Meredith Tax, Eleni Varikas, Victor Wallis, Joseph Wilson.

Campaign for Peace and Democracy

Gupta is listed as an endorser of the Campaign for Peace and Democracy, as of March 15, 2010.

Portland DSA Facebook group

Members of Portland Democratic Socialists of America public Facebook page, as of September 24 2017 included Arun Gupta.

External links

• Campaign for Peace and Democracy website

References

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