From christoff at resist.ca Fri Jul 2 18:43:46 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 18:43:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] CKUT Radio: Indigenous Resistance at Kanehsatake Message-ID: CKUT Radio: Indigenous Resistance at Kanehsatake Listen to a one hour documentary produced at CKUT Radio in Montreal, which explores the ongoing indigenous struggle on the Mohawk territory of Kanehsatake. In recent months the indigenous community of Kanehsatake, located just outside of Montreal, Quebec has been a focal point for indigenous self-determination struggles in North America (Turtle Island). This 1 hour documentary highlights the recent developments of the political struggle of Kanehsatake, focusing on the ongoing efforts of Kanehsatake community members to resist a possible multi-police force invasion, combined of Provincial, Federal and Kanehsatake police. The community of Kanehsatake's resistance to this invasion and implementation of a largely unpopular Mohawk policing agreement, is viewed by many in Kahehsatake as an attack on indigenous self-determination. The documentary begins with speeches which were given at a solidarity rally held in Kanehsatake on May 20th, the rally brought together Mohawk people and supporters from across Quebec and Ontario. To listen / download the documentary on Kanehsatake visit: http://www.radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/1821.php To read an in-depth article about Kanehsatake visit: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=5556 ----------------------- From ishaq1823 at telus.net Thu Jul 1 12:04:23 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 12:04:23 -0700 Subject: [news] Imprisonment of the Body, Liberation of the Soul Message-ID: <40E46037.6090806@telus.net> Imprisonment of the Body, Liberation of the Soul By Osman Umarji Why Islam can liberate the souls of prisonsers: lessons learned from the life of Ahmed ibn Taymiyya "How many of us would be able to overcome our desires and resist the temptation of sin? How many of us even lower are gaze when we look upon something that we are not supposed to? The real prisoner is the one whose heart has been kept away from remembering his Lord, and the real captive is the one who has been captivated by his whims and desires.? This profound statement by the eminent scholar Ahmed ibn Taymiyya encapsulates the essence of Islam and applies to life today in the same way as it did when said over 800 years ago. How could a man who spent considerable time in prison away from his home and family be content at a time when most would be depressed? This was the remarkable personality of ibn Taymiyya, who liberated his soul from the physical confinement in which he spent six years of his life. He was born in 1263 CE (661 AH) in a socio-political context strikingly similar to that of the modern world. He was born in an age of great cultural and political upheaval?only five years prior to his birth, Baghdad was ravaged and mercilessly destroyed by the Tartars. Similarly today, Baghdad has once again been criminally destroyed by the American military. Raised with a deep hatred of oppression due to Tartar invasions that caused his parents to migrate to Syria, ibn Taymiyya unfalteringly stood for the truth, often holding opinions opposing those of rulers or other prominent organizations, and thus was many times forced unjustly into prison. Despite such setbacks, he persevered and used his time wisely to benefit himself as well as the world. Ibn Taymiyya was able to overcome the agony of unjustifiable sentences by correctly implementing Islam in his life. As he understood correctly, it was Islam that provided a means for the heart to exist in a state of tranquility and harmony albeit in a physically confined state. How is it that Islam liberates the souls of imprisoned individuals whereby they are able to think clearly, be content and progress in their personal development, and even be beneficial to the larger global community? The major Islamic concepts of optimism, accepting the decree of Allah (Qadr), and believing in the afterlife give hope and anticipation of good things to come to incarcerated Muslims all over the world, regardless of their conditions, duration of the imprisonment, or the loss of any worldly pleasures. Realization of these Islamic tenets applies both to people who actually committed a crime and repented for it, as well as to those who were wrongly imprisoned. In Islam, the ideologies of optimism and contentment with the decree of Allah go hand in hand. Consider the following verse about understanding the divine decree: ?No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a book before We bring it into being. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy. In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not exult [in pride] over what He has given you. And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful? (57: 22-23). Ibn Kathir relates in his commentary on the Holy Qur?an that Allah makes it clear in the first verse that He has complete control of all affairs in the universe and that He has recorded everything that will happen to anyone at anytime. Furthermore, Allah puts forth tribulations to people in order to test them; this assertion is found in many other verses and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad . The second verse then gives a beautiful reason why we should be cognizant of Allah?s plan for us: he has recorded everything that has happened and will happen to us, regardless of the time of occurrence. Allah shows us His mercy in telling us that, as He claims, ?In order that you not despair?.? This instruction to practice patience and gratitude helps bring a grieving inmate out of his misery as he understands neither to grieve over hardship nor to be arrogant of the good that has befallen him. In fact, when an individual understands that each trial is a test from Allah to see how strong his faith is, it then becomes easier for him to be content with life. How then did ibn Taymiyya understand this concept and allow his heart to be at peace? Reflecting upon the verse that was recited by ibn Taymiyya while entering the Citadel prison in Syria in 712 clearly shows his optimistic mindset, and that he was clearly not sad nor in low spirits: ?And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment? (57:13). Ibn Taymiyya felt that prison would be a safe haven for him, rather than what others would have considered a gloomy dungeon. How and why did ibn Taymiyya view prison in this way? Obviously he did not want to go to prison, as he always attempted to defend his opinions, yet he never complained when imprisonment did befall him. His greatest student and one of the foremost scholars in the history of Islam, ibn Al Qayyim Al Jawziyya, reported that ibn Taymiyya used to say, ?What on earth can my enemies do to me? My Paradise is in my heart and accompanies me wherever I go. My imprisonment is seclusion which helps me to worship Allah better, my killing is martyrdom, and my deportation from my country is seeing the world.? Ibn Taymiyya?s depth in comprehending and understanding how Islam freed him of complaining over any calamity or hindrance allowed him to maintain his composure and happiness. He also saw prison as a blessing which would allow him to engage in serene worship of Allah free from the distractions of life. If others were to also have such an understanding of life, they could not possibly be broken down or humiliated. Hence, physical confinement cannot truly confine anyone, as long as the heart and mind are free. A look into what ibn Taymiyya did while in prison demonstrates that he followed his thoughts with actions. While imprisoned in Alexandria in 709 AH, he met several philosophical thinkers. Although he had earlier been convinced of the flaws of the philosophers, while in prison he decided to write a refutation of logic, which he understood to be the ultimate source of the metaphysical doctrines espoused by the philosophers. Multiple scholars noted that the work he compiled, Refutation of the Logicians, was one of the most devastating attacks leveled against the logic upheld by early Greeks and their followers. Any subsequent lessons derived from his refutation goes back to Allah?s wisdom in having ibn Taymiyya spend time in that specific prison at that point in time. It is only through Allah?s will that ibn Taymiyya happened to meet people during his imprisonment with flawed philosophical ideas that led him to produce one of his greatest works. Evidently, ibn Taymiyya always understood this blessing, as he told his mother in a letter he wrote from prison in Egypt, ?Yet it was not our choice to be far from you. Had birds been able to carry us, we would have come to you. But the absent One [Allah] has his reason; and had you been able to look deeply into the affairs of the Muslims, you would not choose for me another place to the one I am in now.? This was the understanding ibn Taymiyya possessed of accepting the decree of Allah and optimism in Islam, and this ultimately allowed him to be effective to the ummah (Muslim community) and exalted in his character. Another assurance of peace of mind and further encouragement to an imprisoned individual to be productive is the realization that, after death, everyone will be held accountable for his or her deeds and be given a final eternal abode. If a person truly believes that he will be rewarded and granted Paradise if he abides by the bounds defined by Allah, he will be willing to do anything in this temporary life to achieve that goal, even if it means spending time in prison. Prophet Yusuf exemplified this trust in Allah, as he said: ?My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me. And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward them and [thus] be of the ignorant? (12:33). Here, Yusuf refers to his refusal to have illicit relations with his master?s wife as she tried to seduce him. In his heart, he truly believed that prison would be better for him than succumbing to the evil commands of the king?s wife. Only a God-fearing person who was aware of the rewards that Allah has prepared for the afterlife would be willing to make such a sacrifice and be content with it. Ibn Taymiyya was caught in a similar situation in 705 AH when he was confronted about his religious beliefs and subsequently put in prison. After a year in prison with much external pressure, he was offered to be set free if he renounced his beliefs. The offer was made to him as many as six times, but he always refused, saying, ?The prison is dearer to me than what I am asked to affirm.? Once again, ibn Taymiyya demonstrated his deep-rooted faith in Islam, as he knew Allah would reward him for adhering to his belief, even if it meant spending time removed from the freedom of this life. It is with this lucid vision and sincerity that ibn Taymiyya became one of the most liberated man in the world, despite his many years and eventual death in prison in 728 AH (1328 CE). Ibn Taymiyya?s experiences show that when one puts his whole trust in Allah, barriers?even prison walls?can be overcome. Although ibn Taymiyya lived over 800 years ago, his experiences are still applicable today; belief in Allah transcends time. Even in the past 50 years, incarcerated Islamic personalities such as Sayyid Qutb of Egypt and Imam Jamil of America prove the universality of Islam as a solution for all people until the end of the time. The lives of these individuals and countless other people hold valuable lessons; they show that Islam guides people to worship Allah and free themselves from their carnal desires and passions. It is only through such a divinely revealed way of life?manifested all over the world?that true liberation can occur. UMARJI is a fourth year Electrical Engineering major at UC Irvine. -\ -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From ishaq1823 at telus.net Thu Jul 1 19:14:30 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 19:14:30 -0700 Subject: [news] Autobiography of August Spies Message-ID: <40E4C506.4030101@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2003/07/15188.php Autobiography of August Spies The rebels were victorious at first, but against the united vassals of their oppressors they could not stand. At the foot of this mount they were defeated, down there, where you see that big rock, surrounded by magnificent oaks, the battle for freedom was fought and, alas, lost. No, it was not lost, it was merely interceded by a temporary victory of the enemy. Autobiography of August Spies "Barbarians, savages, illiterate, ignorant Anarchists from Central Europe, men who cannot comprehend the spirit of our free American institutions,"of these I am one. My name is August Vincent Theodore Spies, (pronounced Spees). I was born within the ruins of the old robbers castle Landeck, upon a high mountain's peak (Landeckerberg), Central Germany, in 1855. My father was a forester (a government administrator of a forest district); the forest house was a government budding, and served-only in a different form-the same purposes the old castle had served several centuries before. The noble Knight-hood of Highway robbery, the traces of which were still discernable to the remnants of the old castle, had passed away to make room for more genteel and less dangerous forms of plunder and robbery, as carried on in the modern dwelling under the present government. But while the people from old custom designate this and similar old ruins in the vicinity as `old Robber Castles," they speak with great deference of the present government buildings, in which they themselves are daily and hourly fleeced; they would even, I believe, fight for the maintenance of these lawful institutions. How greatly these "Barbarians" differ from the intelligent American people! Tell the Americans to fight for the maintenance of our commercial robbing posts and fleecing institutions- tell them to fight for the protection of the lawful enterprises of our Board of Trade men; Merchant princes, Railroad kings, and Factory lords-would they do it? Alas, more rapidly, I fear, than those "Barbarians from Central Europe, who cannot comprehend the spirit of our free American institutions." Viewed from a historic standpoint my birthplace is quite an interesting spot. And this is the only excuse I can offer for my selection of the place for said purpose. I admit I ought not have made the mistake, ought not have been born a foreigner, but little children, particularly unborn children, will make mistakes! However, I find no fault with such wise and intelligent men as Mr. Grinnell and His jury, for hanging men who were injudicious in the selection of their birthplace. Sins of this character deserve severe punishment; "society must protect itself against offenses of this kind." But speaking of castle Landeck. Follow me there, reader, on a bright and clear day. We make our way up the old tower. Take care, or you will stumble over the debris. That? Oh, that is a piece of an old torture rack; we found it in one of the subterranean walks, together with several pieces of old ugly weapons, once used to maintain order among the victims but why do you shudder? The policeman's outfit of to-day is not quite so blunt and barbaric, it is true, but it is as effective and serves the same purpose. So, now, take my hand, I'll help you on top of the ruin. Look out for the bats. These winged lovers of darkness have great resemblance with kings, priests and masters in general; they dwell in the ruins of the "good old times," and become quite noisy when you disturb them or expose them to the light; adders, too, made this place their favorable habitation in former years and rendered it very dangerous for any one to place his sacrilegious foot upon this feudal monument; we killed them. They were the companions of the bats and owls; their fate has given the latter much uneasiness, and tears were entertained that something terrible would happen-that the ghosts of the old ,noble knights' and 'noble dames' would come back and avenge the rudeless annihilation of the venerable reptiles, but nothing of the kind has transpired, I need hardly add that the work of renovation was greatly impeded by these venomous creatures; since their extermination we have made remarkable progress You smile! Oh, no, I am not speaking of those other reptiles you seem to think of. But here, we have reached the top. Great view, is it not! Over there, about thirty minutes walk from here, (west) you see another ruin like this; that is castle Dreieck, and over there an equal distance (southwest) you see another one, Wildeck. And now look down in the fertile valleys, the beautiful meadows and fields and flourishing villages! Of the latter you can count a dozen, all located around this mount; and do you know that all these villages and others which have been laid waste during the thirty years war"' were tributary to the robbers who ruled over them in these three castles? Yes, the people in these villages worked all their lives from early dawn till late at night to fill the vaults of those noble knights, who in return had the kindness to maintain 'Peace and order'for them. Par example: If one of these toiling peasants expressed his dissatisfaction of the existing order of things, if he complained of the heavy and unbearable tasks placed upon him, 'law and order' demanded that he be placed upon one of those racks you have seen a relic of, to be tortured into obedience and submission. 'Society had to protect itself against this class of criminals.' The noble knights had their Grinnells, Bonfields and Pinkertons as well as their descendants have them today; and while they were less civilized than their descendants of our time, they got along wonderfully well. To accomplish their beneficent objects, they did not even require the assistance of a Chicago jury. Many of the peasants were put to an ignominious death. Some of them would persist in their folly that it could not be the object of society nor the intention of Providence to have a thousand good people kill themselves in a laborious life for the glory, enrichment and grandeur of a few ungrateful, vicious wretches. Such dangerous teachings were a menace to society, and their promulgators were unceremoniously stamped out. Not more than 200 feet from where we stand there is a perpendicular (chasm) hole of volcanic origin; it is about 8 feet in length and 3 in breadth; its depth has never been ascertained. The saying goes that scores of girls were cast into this terrible abyss by the valiant Knights during their reign of peace and good order! It is said that these benevolent "respectables" of ancient times kidnapped the pretty girls of the villages, carried them like birds of prey to their lofty abodes, and then when they got tired of them, or found ,,something better," disposed of them in this way. Oh, I see, you shake your heads incredulously! Have you never seen the dumping grounds of the modern knighthood in our large cities-a similar abyss? No? It is more frightful than the one I have told you about; its name is prostitution. You don't believe the people would have borne all these outrages-? My friend, your rebellious spirit carries you away. The "orderly and good people" suffered these atrocities just as silently as our "law and order abiding workingmen" bear them today. I told you what happened to those who showed resistance! My words make you sad, turn you pessimistic? Let me show you something else. Look through these two mounts; can you see a tower in the dim distance-yes? At the side of this tower are yet to be seen the ruins of the first chapel built in the realms of the old heathen, but free and liberty-loving Germans. It was founded by one of the apostles of St. Boniface, in the eighth century; his name was Lullus. With this chapel and others that soon followed the poison of Oriental servilism, the gospel of man's degradation, resignation and asceticism was first introduced. The old Cherutker and Katten, who had in mortal combat thrust the Roman eagle to the ground, were less successful in resisting the mind infecting poison of pestilential Rome; it came flowing in incessantly through the channels of the Christian church. It is true, the healthy and robust Germans were not an easy prey to the pessimistic belief of a debauched and dying race-(Rome) they never have been good Christiansbut they became sufficiently infected to lose their consciousness and pride of manhood for a while, to fall into the despairing vagaries of the Orient, and as a natural consequence into serfdom. If life had no value, why then aspire to liberty? Friend, the ruins of yonder chapel is the monument of an epoch that gave birth to such robberburgs as the one we stand upon. The people would have raised these roosts to the ground long before they did, if the priest had not stood between them and "Law and Order." The priest is an essential indivisible part of the despot and oppressor; he is the conciliatory link between them and their victims. These two ruins, once sacred as the pedestals of social order, are prophetic monuments. Man will so stand upon the ruins of the present order and will say as you say now-"was it possible !" But now turn around-along this mountain chain, northeast, there, where the earth dips mistily into the horizon, the periphery of our view-do you see yonder gray spot, it looks like a small cloud? Yes? That's the Wartburg, you have heard of Wartburg. It was here, where Dr. Martinus Luther lived and worked, an instrument of the revolutionary forces; the revolutionary forces, my friend, that gradually had developed in these villages. It is our custom to attribute great movements to single individuals, as being their merit. This is always wrong and it was so with Luther. The Germanic race could not digest the Byzantinian philosophy as embodied in the Judaic and Christian teachings. The idea that this world was calculated to be simply a purgatory and our life a martyrdom was repulsive to them, was that servitude and despotism were growing from the seed of the new religion and developing, where once had been the habitation of liberty; developing at such a rate, that patience ceased to be a virtue. The rebellious spirit of the people. their animosity to the doctrine of self-abnegation, imposed upon them by the church, had been successfully calmed and suppressed by the priests for several centuries. But as the iniquties of the "nobility," and the domestic burdens of the people grew unbearable this spirit burst out in flames, and in Luther found a crystallization point. From the Wartburg then the mighty wave of the reformation rolled forth. It was the Occident struggling in self- preservation against the Orient. The love of liberty which had been lying spellbound in the people's heart for generations, now flowed out in lucid streams; the magic spell was broken But the "nobility," while they wanted liberation from the despotism of the Roman Church, they liked the privileges the latter had given them; the patent to rob the peasants of their labor too well-they scorned the idea of the common people aspiring to economic freedom. Was not "spiritual liberty," a change of certain religious notions, enough for any common man? Luther soon became the tool of these cheating knaves, and wielded his pen in condemnation of the objects contended for by the people. He denounced the true and brave leaders of the people, the fearless Thomas Muenzer and his associates, worse than the Pope had denounced him shortly before. And when the liberty-thirsty people finally took up their scythes and axes and forks, and drove the "noble Knights" from their robbers' roosts, it was Luther who brought about a vast conspiracy of the latter against the people. It is characteristic that now all religious differences were set aside and all petty tyrants combined to subdue the people. Papist or Lutheran, all were instantly united in the crusade against labor. (America at this time presents an analagous spectacle: Republicans and Democrats "embrace each other as Nectar and Ambrosia," wherever labor rises for emancipation.) Of course, the people were conspirators and incendiaries. Hear what Thomas Muenzer said:---Lookyou, the sediment of the soup of usury, theft and robbery are the Great, the masters. they take all creatures as their property, the fish in the water, the birds in the air; and the vegetation of the earth. And then they preach God's commandment to the poor; 'Thou shall not steal.' But this is not for themselves. They bone and scrape the poor farmer and mechanic until these have nothing left, then, when the latter put their hands on the sacred things, they are hanged. And Doctor Liar says, Amen! The masters do it themselves. that the poor man hates them. The cause of the rebellion they won't abolish, how then can things change to the better. And I say this, I am an incendiary-let it be so!" No, these words were not spoken in Judge Gary's court! You make a mistake, reader, the language is not modern, it's 400 years old And the man who used it was in the right. He interpreted the Gospel, saying that it did not merely promise blessings in heaven, but that it also commanded the equality and brotherhood among men on earth. The champions of law and order and Christendom chopped his head off. The rebels were victorious at first, but against the united vassals of their oppressors they could not stand. At the foot of this mount they were defeated, down there, where you see that big rock, surrounded by magnificent oaks, the battle for freedom was fought and, alas, lost. No, it was not lost, it was merely interceded by a temporary victory of the enemy. Fulle letter by Spies: http://www.dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/haymarket/augustspies.html ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Thu Jul 1 22:34:46 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 22:34:46 -0700 Subject: [news] 500 missing aboriginal women Message-ID: <40E4F3F6.1020109@telus.net> http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/03/118906.php 500 missing aboriginal women Over the past 20 years, approximately 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing in communities across Canada. Yet government, the media, and Canadian society continue to remain silent. This story was "missing" from most of the daily newspapers. It was in the Victoria Times Colonist and the Calgary Herald but does not appear to have been in other online newspapers. Posted by Victoria Status of Women Action Group. 500 Missing aboriginal women Canadian Press Chuck Stoody, Canadian Press Monday, March 22, 2004 Sandra Gagnon of Vancouver, who is campaigning to raise awareness of the hundreds of women who have vanished under mysterious circumstances, holds up a picture of her sister Janet. She has been missing for seven years. OTTAWA (CP) -- Sandra Gagnon will never forget the last words her sister spoke to her before she joined the ranks of missing or murdered aboriginal women. "I love you and I miss you much." "Miss you much" was a reference to one of her sister's favourite Janet Jackson songs, Gagnon recalled. That was on June 25, 1997. She hasn't heard from Janet Henry since. Henry's case is among hundreds to be highlighted in a new campaign, Sisters in Spirit, starting today with events across Canada. She was 37, a drug user and sometime prostitute living in a rough but tidy hotel room on Vancouver's squalid Downtown Eastside. She was also the mother of a daughter, now 19, and she was a cherished sister, said Gagnon in an interview from her Vancouver home. "Janet didn't end up there overnight. She had a life at one time. I never thought my sister would end up on drugs and on the streets." Henry's life fell apart about a year before she went missing, Gagnon said, when the man convicted of raping her got a six-month jail term. "I hate the court system for that." The Native Women's Association of Canada says it will spend a year urging Ottawa to spend $10 million to research what it estimates are 500 cases in the last 20 years where aboriginal women have been murdered or simply vanished. It will push for a national registry, a hotline, public education programs and a fund to accurately document cases. Victims who are poor, addicted and living on society's fringe have too often been neglected, said Gagnon. She will be among speakers scheduled for the campaign launch Monday in Ottawa. Events are also planned in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Charlottetown. "If it were middle class or high class women who'd gone missing I have a feeling that more would have been done for them," said Gagnon. "These were mothers, daughters, best friends." Kukdookaa Terri Brown, president of the Native Women's Association, says rumours about a pig farm at Port Coquitlam were played down as the number of missing women from the Downtown Eastside -- many of them aboriginal -- continued to climb. Robert Pickton now faces 15 first-degree murder charges as the largest homicide investigation in Canadian history continues. Gagnon fears her sister may have wound up there, but has heard nothing conclusive. Brown also cites how the disappearance of five native women along a lonely stretch of Highway 16 in B.C. barely caused a media ripple. Alberta Williams, Delphine Nikal, Ramona Wilson, Roxanne Thiara and Lana Derrick all vanished between 1988 and 1995 along what is now known as the Highway of Tears, she said. In all, the association says 32 aboriginal women are believed to have gone missing along the road between Prince Rupert and Prince George. Yet, in June 2002, the disappearance of a non-aboriginal woman named Nicole Hoar was front-page news, Brown said. "We want to keep the pressure on to bring about real change." RCMP Insp. Conrad Delaronde, of national aboriginal policing services, says any new measures to complement police efforts will be welcome. He examined 3,300 records of missing females to cull the number of missing aboriginal women over age 18. He came up with 107 across Canada, but said it could be higher. The Canadian Police Information Centre computer system does not require officers to denote ethnicity along with physical descriptions, he said. Delaronde, a Cree with roots on the Skownan First Nation in Manitoba, said the RCMP take each reported disappearance seriously. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure there's no discrimination of any form or bias toward any group of people. http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/story.asp?id=737D0C2D-44F0-452A-9BDE-F42E2FAF3DC4 http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/index.html ********************************************************** More from the Sisters in Spirit Campaign Over the past 20 years, approximately 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing in communities across Canada. Yet government, the media, and Canadian society continue to remain silent. In Vancouver, more than 50 women went missing in that city's Downtown Eastside. Sixty percent were Aboriginal, and most were young. These were poor women involved in the sex trade. They struggled with drugs and alcohol. Some suffered from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and many were victims of childhood sexual abuse. Every one of them grew up in a foster home. In other words, their lives bore all of the markings of the violence of colonization. But these women also had families, hopes, dreams. They left behind grieving communities -- grandmothers, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, and sadly, young children of their own. These young women had belonged somewhere and were loved. Questions remain. Why didn't the police react sooner -- especially when it was common knowledge on the street that women who went to the Port Coquitlam pig farm did not return? When the women were reported missing, why did the investigators focus on their lifestyles-as if to suggest that they somehow deserved what they got? And why is so little attention given to the reasons why Aboriginal women live such lives? In Vancouver, no bodies of the missing women have been found. But even when bodies are found, there is little effort to find the killers and to bring them to justice. Many disappearances and deaths of Aboriginal women simply go unreported. The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) has been gathering the names and stories of Aboriginal women who have disappeared - not just in Vancouver, but also in Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Fredericton, and so many other communities, large and small, across this country. http://generalsynod.anglican.ca/ministries/committees/acip/sistersinspirit/background.html ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jul 2 14:43:10 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 14:43:10 -0700 Subject: [news] Guidance to America and the World in a Time of Trouble Message-ID: <40E5D6EE.9050805@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27546.php Guidance to America and the World in a Time of Trouble Forty-four years ago, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me, "Brother Farrakhan, you cannot fathom the depth of Satan." Those of us who can't think like that would never believe that a human being was capable of planning the deaths of innocent people to further a political and an economic objective. ...Now, they are saying that President George W. Bush is the greatest friend that Israel has had of any president in this country. Well, if George W. Bush is their greatest friend, then how can he be an honest broker in a search for peace? hm_louis_farrakhan.jpg, JPG image, 164x198 Minister Louis Farrakhan Guidance to America and the World in a Time of Trouble By the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Updated Jun 22, 2004, 12:01 pm [Editor's note: The following text is taken from an address delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan during a world press conference held May 3, 2004 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.] In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. In 1997, a special interest group called The Project for a New American Century was formed. I have four letters in our possession, which you can get on the web site, that state the aim and the principle of this Project for the New American Century. The signers of this project were men and women who are now known as neo-conservatives. A letter was sent to President William Clinton on January 26, 1998 from this Project for the New American Century. In this letter, these neo-conservatives were telling President Clinton that he must attack Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein. The letter outlines exactly what was offered to President Clinton, which he rejected. Who are the signers of the letter? Elliott Abrams, Richard Armitage, William Bennett, Jeffrey Bergner, John Bolton, Paula Dobriansky, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Zalmay Khalilzad, William Kristol, Richard Perle, Peter Rodman, Donald Rumsfeld, William Schneider, Vin Weber, Paul Wolfowitz, R. James Woolsey and Robert B. Zoellick. In the original statement of aim by this group, Jeb Bush was a signer. These are called the "neo-cons" or the neo-conservatives. After President Clinton rejected this offer, these neo-conservatives sent a letter to Newt Gingrich, who was then the Speaker of the House, and to Senator Trent Lott. But in this, they criticized President Clinton for failing to adhere to their counsel. If you read this letter, you will see that what they said to the congressional leaders ultimately became the policy of President George W. Bush. After 9/11, they wrote a letter to President Bush, but before he entered the office of the presidency of the United States, George W. Bush was committed to regime change in Iraq. The objective of this group of neo-conservatives was to reshape American foreign policy. From their own statement of their principles, it reads: "Conservatives have not confidently advanced a strategic vision of America's role in the world. They have not set forth guiding principles for American foreign policy. We aim to change this." Dick Cheney signed it. Jeb Bush signed it. Donald Rumsfeld signed it. Paul Wolfowitz signed it, Elliott Abrams signed it. Gary Bauer, Elliot Cohen, Aaron Friedberg, Steve Forbes, Dan Quayle, Lewis Libby, Norman Podhoretz, Peter Rodman, Stephen Rosen, Henry Rowen, Vin Weber and George Weigel signed it. Some of these people were not in government at that time. They were on the outside looking in during President Clinton's administration. Some of them were, however, with the father Bush, Herbert Walker Bush. Now, when George W. Bush became the president, many of these people came into government. Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States; Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense; Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense; Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy; Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State; John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and Security; Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Chief of Staff and national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney; Richard Perle, former chairman of the Defense Policy Board at the Pentagon--and it's interesting that he had a nickname, titled "The Prince of Darkness." These neo-conservatives had in mind the destruction of Iraq. They thought that their idea was the right idea for the time, but every idea needs a vessel that will bring that idea to fruition. So, the neo-conservatives were shopping around for the right vessel--and they found that vessel in George W. Bush. When you read the book, "The Price of Loyalty" written about Paul O'Neill (former Treasury Secretary in the Bush administration), that book was correct, when he said President Bush came into office with a predisposition to remove Saddam Hussein. I said it to the president first, in my letters of warning. Now, out of his administration, are coming witness-bearers of the rightness of what I wrote to him. Richard Clarke, in his book "Against All Enemies," wrote: "President Bush was preoccupied with Iraq and was not focused on the war on terror." Thus, it becomes clear why Pres. Bush asked after 9/11, "Was there a tie between Iraq and al-Qaeda?" Even though the best information from the intelligence community said there was no link, according to Richard Clarke, President Bush continued to urge them to find a link. Why find a link? Because the aim was to destroy the regime of Saddam Hussein. Early on in the President's administration, he said, "My administration is committed to regime change in Iraq." I believe that President Bush did not know of 9/11 in advance. However, had he not been so preoccupied with the neo-conservative idea on Iraq, he might have been able to connect the dots of the many warnings that were coming to America from her friends around the world, and avoid the tragedy of 9/11. He might have been able to direct the FBI and the CIA to bring him whatever intelligence they had that would have allowed his administration to connect the dots. I believe that even though he didn't know, somebody knew. And those who knew, knew that if this happened, it would put President Bush and the administration in the position that would allow them to fulfill the aim of the neo-conservatives. You may not agree. You may ask, "Minister Farrakhan, do you think that anyone would be so wicked as to allow the deaths of 3,000 American and non-American citizens to pursue a political and economic objective?" Forty-four years ago, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me, "Brother Farrakhan, you cannot fathom the depth of Satan." Those of us who can't think like that would never believe that a human being was capable of planning the deaths of innocent people to further a political and an economic objective. This happened during the Kennedy administration when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was fixed on Cuba, Fidel Castro and a communist regime 90 miles from the American shore. It is written that some of his generals came to him suggesting that an American ship should be bombed in Guantanamo Bay and blamed on Cuba, so that the American press could whip up the American people into a fervor for war and it would justify America in a war against Fidel Castro, in order to remove that regime. President Kennedy rejected that advice. Do you remember the USS Maine? The Maine was a ship in the harbor of Havana. When someone wanted a war with Spain, the Maine was bombed in the Havana Harbor, killing those on board. The press whipped the story up as something that the Spanish did, thus the Spanish-American War was launched. Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines then came under the power and rule of the United States of America. Do you remember the Gulf of Tonkin? Another ship, which was supposedly involved in an altercation with a gunboat from North Vietnam. This was whipped up by the American press, and President Lyndon Baines Johnson deceived the American Congress and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was signed, committing 500,000 American soldiers to that area of the world. A political objective was won. And now, America is on a course that will be difficult for her to change. An economic objective was again won. The treasury of the people of America was raped. Over $100 billion gone and more to come, so that Halliburton and Bechtel and the war machine of America can profit from the suffering of soldiers, sailors and Iraqi people. Iraq has been occupied for over one year, yet we have not discovered any weapons of mass destruction. They cannot, with truth, tie al-Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. If you know anything about Osama bin Laden, he is what you would call "a religious zealot," who saw Saddam Hussein as a hypocrite who went away from Islam to follow the path of socialism. So there's no way that Osama would have been connected to Saddam. But the neo-conservatives wanted to make a case for war, and they did. The grief of the American people was manipulated, so that you would back your president in this evil misadventure. And now everything that I warned them would come to pass is now coming to pass. The coalition is falling apart. Every day, American soldiers are dying. Dying for what? No weapons of mass destruction, no tie or link to terrorism. "But he was a brutal dictator who killed his own people," they maintain. Well, that's a justification then to go to war with China or to go to war with any country on the earth, because there is no country, no leader who has not at some time killed some members of his own country. America killed some of her own citizens at Waco. Is that a predicate for war? Ari Shavit, a writer for the Daily Haaretz in Israel, had an interview with some of the neo-conservatives. He interviewed William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer. Mr. Shavit wrote: "The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neo-conservative intellectuals, most of them Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history. Two of the journalists, William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer say it's principle. But another journalist, Thomas Friedman, not part of the group, is skeptical." Mr. Shavit asked Mr. Kristol the question: "What is this war about?" This interview was published on May 4, a few days after President Bush's landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln saying, "Mission Accomplished." Mr. Kristol replied that, "At one level, it is the war that George Bush is talking about--a war against a brutal regime that has in its possession weapons of mass destruction. But at a deeper level, it is a greater war for the shaping of a new Middle East. It is a war that is intended to change the political culture of the entire region." Now, is that what your children are going to be asked to fight for? Because the neo-conservatives are now advancing a war with Syria, a war with Iran, and soon Sudan. I'm hoping that Muammar Ghadafi, though he has gotten rid of weapons of mass destruction and is on a course of rapprochement with America, I'm hoping that Colonel Ghadafi won't think that these neo-conservatives intend to be at peace with him. As long as that man lives, what is in his mind, they will consider a threat and they will ultimately work to remove him from power. Pakistan must be careful because Pakistan already has weapons of mass destruction. Now, Pakistan is an ally of the United States of America, but America has said that, if a radical regime comes to power in Pakistan, America will swoop down on Pakistan and remove all of her nuclear weapons. In reality, they do not want any Muslim nation to have weapons of mass destruction. Syrian President Bashir al Assad said recently, "I will get rid of mine when Israel gets rid of hers." Resolution 687 of the UN Security Council said, "No weapons of mass destruction should be in the Middle East." So no Arab nation has it, but Israel has enough weapons to destroy the whole Arab world. This is why there's no real movement in the peace process, because weapons of mass destruction on both sides in the Cold War produced detente. People have to sit down and talk when they both have the power of mutual annihilation. As long as one has that power and the other doesn't, then you'll get peace, but on the terms of the one with the greatest amount of arms. That's why there's no peace in the Middle East and there will not be any. But of even deeper concern to Muslims is another article by Mr. Jim Lobe called, "U.S. from Nation Building in Iraq to Religion Building." What does he mean, "religion building?" Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, says: "We need an Islamic reformation." Daniel Pipes, who was appointed by President Bush to the board of directors of the U.S. Institute for Peace, said that the ultimate goal of the war on terrorism had to be Islam's modernization. What America is seeking is actually to change Islam, to make Islam suitable and non-threatening to Western hegemony over the entire world. So, the war is not just against brutal dictators; the war, at the root, is against Islam. The government will not admit to that, but I see signs. In Iraq, when the Shiites asked for a popular election, knowing that they are 60 percent of the population of Iraq, they said they wanted an Islamic government. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said, "We will not have any of that." If they want an Islamic government that's not democratic, America will not tolerate that. In the neo-conservative idea, America must reshape the world in America's image or be shaped in the image of the world. That's at the root of the war, and that war will rage on. But I say to you that there's no way that I, as a Muslim, could countenance my children or grandchildren fighting a war against fellow believers in any part of the world. Once the American people understand the agenda of the neo-conservatives, you would be foolish to send your children to die for that which is against the best interest of America, but in the best interest of Israel. All of the agenda of the neo-conservatives was to bring President Bush in line with Israel and use the power of the American military to destroy the real and perceived enemies of Israel. Iraq never threatened America; could not threaten America. But as long as Saddam Hussein was alive, in their minds he was a threat to Israel. Syria is a threat to Israel. Iran is a threat to Israel. Anyone that does not believe in their justification of the State of Israel on Palestinian lands is an enemy that must be destroyed. Do you want your children to die for this? The former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before the war in Iraq, was patrolling the halls of Congress, lobbying American senators to send our children to die, really for Israel. Since Israel's existence, American taxpayer dollars have contributed over a $100 billion to maintain that state, and the neo-conservative idea was to bring President Bush totally in line with the ideas, the thinking, the policies of the Likud Party in Israel. Now, they are saying that President George W. Bush is the greatest friend that Israel has had of any president in this country. Well, if George W. Bush is their greatest friend, then how can he be an honest broker in a search for peace? 2004 FCN Publishing, FinalCall.com http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_1480.shtml ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: hm_louis_farrakhan.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 9931 bytes Desc: not available URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 3 00:42:09 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 00:42:09 -0700 Subject: [news] CKUT Radio: Indigenous Resistance at Kanehsatake Message-ID: <40E66351.3020800@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27548.php CKUT Radio: Indigenous Resistance at Kanehsatake by Stefan Christoff . Friday July 02, 2004 at 08:32 PM christoff at resist.ca 514 398 6788 ----------------- Listen to a one hour documentary produced at CKUT Radio in Montreal, which explores the ongoing indigenous struggle on the Mohawk territory of Kanehsatake. In recent months the indigenous community of Kanehsatake, located just outside of Montreal, Quebec has been a focal point for indigenous self-determination struggles in North America (Turtle Island). This 1 hour documentary highlights the recent developments of the political struggle of Kanehsatake, focusing on the ongoing efforts of Kanehsatake community members to resist a possible multi-police force invasion, combined of Provincial, Federal and Kanehsatake police. The community of Kanehsatake's resistance to this invasion and implementation of a largely unpopular Mohawk policing agreement, is viewed by many in Kahehsatake as an attack on indigenous self-determination. The documentary begins with speeches which were given at a solidarity rally held in Kanehsatake on May 20th, the rally brought together Mohawk people and supporters from across Quebec and Ontario. To listen / download the documentary on Kanehsatake visit: http://www.radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/1821.php To read an in-depth article about Kanehsatake visit: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=5556 http://www.ckut.ca ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 3 12:56:07 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 12:56:07 -0700 Subject: [news] [soa] If I Get Shot by the Police Message-ID: <40E70F57.20307@telus.net> http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/146789.php http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27563.php If I Get Shot by the Police Maybe the tempest of blue-on-black homicide hasnt rained down on you. ... burying hope with one hand and exhuming a twisted justice with the other. As a black man, whatever that means, Id better give you my take on things. If I get shot by the police, youll never hear it like it happened. If I get shot by the police, you should know that I wasnt a drug dealer, an ex-felon, or an addict. Better still, you should know that it doesnt matter. In my life, I met countless men and women whod been in each of those places. All had many things to teach me. Submitted by: Michelle Gross to Michael Novick ================================ *If I Get Shot by the Police By Adam Bahner *http://www.blackcommentator.com/95/95_guest_shot.html Maybe the tempest of blue-on-black homicide hasnt rained down on you. But the police slayings of unarmed black men that continue to grip America are a sinister eulogy; burying hope with one hand and exhuming a twisted justice with the other. As a black man, whatever that means, Id better give you my take on things. If I get shot by the police, youll never hear it like it happened. If I get shot by the police, you should know that I wasnt a drug dealer, an ex-felon, or an addict. Better still, you should know that it doesnt matter. In my life, I met countless men and women whod been in each of those places. All had many things to teach me. No matter what they say if I get shot by the police, I wasnt brandishing a firearm. I wasnt being aggressive. I may have been listening to music with a beat, but I wasnt a thug. I repeat: I wasnt a thug. Of course, nobody can be reduced to a slur. Who is a thug anyway? A boy-made-man by violent urban divestment? A boy whose image-world became a temple of saccharine Eurocentric consumerism? A boy who saw no intelligent visions of himself? An exile whose neighborhood was run-down, torn-down, rebuilt, and gentrified without him inside? Know that I tried to make a difference in these issues. I tried to add my nuts and bolts to Lowells scaffold of truth. If I get shot by the police, it wont be called a Musician Shooting,a Composer Shooting,or a Vocalist Shooting.The headlines wont say Orator Shooting,Scholar Shooting,Pianist ShootingSuperb Cook Shooting,or Loving Uncle Shooting.The headlines wont mention me at all. Theyll say Police Shooting,as though it makes no difference whether I was a man or a fire hydrant; as long as I got shot by a badge. Your television set wont say an author was shot by the police this evening.Only a man,a suspect,or a resident.I wont have an occupation, because that evokes dignity and worth. Only the police will be named by their occupation; to shoot defective humans like me. The newsreels will make real this fantasy. Dont buy the spin if I get shot by the police. I wont be gunned down,because gunning downaffirms the victim. Shootingaffirms the perpetrator. Police officers get gunned down,but others just get shot by them. Equal tragedy will get unequal rhetoric. Beware of this if I get shot by the police. publisher@ blackcommentator.com There will be no context if I get shot by the police. Ill be an anomaly. A trivia. A statistic. Time will pass. Ill be uttered at someones kitchen table during a TV commercial: Remember the guy they shot that year? No, the other one.Your local paper wont situate me in the history of police brutality. It wont be delivered with shrink-wrapped Cliffs Notes to the legacy of American ethnic cleansing. Every February, if I get shot by the police, I wont be acknowledged on the intercom at your local grocery chain. I wont appear next to sanitized, neutralized, and unrealized caricatures of Carver, Parks, and King. I wont be in the fifteen-second-spots on your local network affiliates that celebrate Black History. I wont be a topic as politicians remind us just how far weve come. The media will close-up the present as they trumpet closure of the past. You can bet on that if I get shot by the police. There will be no justice if I get shot by the police. My shooter will get paid administrative leave. Theyll rush before a conduct committee; union-approved with citizens removed. If they are exonerated, no charges will be filed. If they are reprimanded, no charges will be filed. If they are white, race wont be a factor. If they arent white, the question will be profane. Colleagues will give interviews, and be glad to have the officer back in action. Their family will be made a highlight of the difficult ordeal. I will be silent; beyond the chamber of fiction. A never-was-didnt-happen casserole in the atrophied kitchen of critical vision. A raindrop in the flooding genetic memory of some chocolate infant, unreal and unacknowledged in the tribulations of his tomorrow. http://www.blackcommentator.com/95/95_guest_shot.html http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/146789.php -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 3 14:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 21:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Privatizing Imperialism Message-ID: <20040703211703.6760.qmail@resist.ca> Within (Columbia), various private contractors, some of them intimately connected to the circles of power in Washington, work for the U.S. government.....Its contractors fumigate coca fields, operate airplanes and helicopters for the State Department, organize programs of alternative development, repair aircraft and evaluate intelligence information for the Colombian Ministry of Defense. This U.S. mini-army also provides pilots, technicians and almost every kind of personnel required to wage the war in Colombia, including administrative personnel. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/2/204938/4333 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 3 14:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 21:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The New American Apartheid (Part II) Message-ID: <20040703211703.6761.qmail@resist.ca> There is now little doubt that there is a close correlation between the "war on drugs" (and on "gangs") and the growth of the prison industrial complex. This "war" was officially launched by President Reagan in the mid-1980s when he promised that the police would attack the drug problem "with more ferocity than ever before." What he did not say, however, was that the enforcement of the new drug laws "would focus almost exclusively on low-level dealers in minority neighborhoods." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/2/17201/73489 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 3 18:10:19 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 18:10:19 -0700 Subject: [news] [NBPP-National] Revolutionary Thoughts: Message-ID: <40E758FB.4050604@telus.net> "Therefore, the obvious question is why are we so cowardly when we must fight white supremacy, yet so fierce when fighting for white supremacy?....we've died more in their behalf than in our own." Del Jones The Black Holocaust "In the fight to reach the top the oppressed have always been encumbered by the traitors of their own race, made up of those of little faith and those who are generally susceptible to bribery for the selling out of the rights of their own people. As Negroes, we are not entirely free of such an encumbrance. To be outspoken, I believe we are more encumbered in this way than any other race in the world, because of the lack of training and perparation for fitting us for our place in the world among nations and races. The traitor of other races is generally confined to the mediocre or irresponsible individual, but, unfortunately, the traitors among the Negro race are generally to be found among the men highest placed in education and society, the fellows who call themselves leaders. For us to examine ourselves thoroughly as a people we will find that we have more traitors than leaders, because nearly everyone who essays to lead the race at this time does so by first establishing himself as the pet of some philanthropist or another race, to whom he will go and debase his race in the worst form, humiliate his own manhood, and thereby win the sympathy of the 'great benefactor,' who will dictate to him what he should do in the leadership of the Negro race....The man who will compromise the attitude of his country is a traitor, and even so the man who will compromise the rights of his race can be classified in no other way than that of a traitor also. Not until we settle down as four hundred million people and let the men who have placed themselves in the lead of us realize that we are disgusted and dissatisfied, and that we shall have a leadership of our own and stick by it when we get it, will we be able to lift ourselves from this mire of degradation to the heights of prosperity, human liberty and human appreciation." Marcus Garvey The Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey "A culture with such neuroses is not a culture that will leave the rest of us alone unless we compel it to. We cannot expect the West to cure itself of its neuroses until it ceases to profit by them. Our duty to ourselves, as prime victims of these neuroses, is to see to it that the West ceases to profit by them. Which means that we must deny the West the benefits of its hegemony." Chinweizu The West and the rest of us "If someone commits a crime there is a great punishment. But if an elder commits a crime then the punishment is even greater." Wofa Kwasi Odaaku "To be ignorant of history is to be ignorant of what you are trying to do now. History will show you where we have been, how we arrived where we are, whether we have traveled the best routes, and it will indicate -- if we pause to reflect long enough -- the best route to travel on from this point in time." Chancellor Williams "When the leaders are wise, so are the people." Malagasy (Afrikan) Proverb "The cause of this insanity is in fact a disruption in the natural, harmonious relationship between the spiritual, material, conceptual, affective and connotative aspects of Black psycho-social and geophysical reality. One consequence of this disruption is a perceptual and emotional distortion. For example, insane Blacks deny their self and kind. Consequently, a Black who kills another Black does not realize his act is suicide and not homocide. Another consequence of this disruption is cognitive and political confusion. Here we find insane Black people deifying White people and dehumanizing Black people. Conceptually, Whites are viewed by insane Blacks as omnipotent and superior. Here we find Black people also denying our commonality and epitomizing our individuality. Politically, insane Black people believe that we should not unite, affirm and protect our own....As long as Black people respond to and accept (without question) White reality we will never be able to see, think, feel and act in a fashion that affirms and protects our being." Wade N. Nobles Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NBPP-National/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: NBPP-National-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: rand=902201705 Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 3 19:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 02:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Iraq's War of Liberation Message-ID: <20040704021711.25801.qmail@resist.ca> Before leaving the wreckage of his imperial mission, (outgoing US "Proconsul" Paul) Bremer had issued a string of edicts to tie the hands of Iraqi governments for years to come, including legal immunity for foreign soldiers and contractors. Perhaps the 2% of Iraqis who, according to the Bush administration's own polling, regard the US and Britain as liberators, are impressed. For most of the rest, a handover to a government protected by 140,000 US troops with a good deal less functional independence than the state of Alabama is a transparent sham. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/3/151410/8889 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 3 23:17:20 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 06:17:20 -0000 Subject: [news] & quot; Progressive& quot; Latin American Leaders Support the Coup in Haiti Message-ID: <20040704061720.9695.qmail@resist.ca> ABC of Opportunism By STAN GOFF After a coup d'etat planned, coordinated, and executed by the most reactionary elements in Haiti, with the substantial material support of the governments of the United States and its ever-obedient Dominican Republic, the proud nation of Haiti is again under foreign military occupation. The shameful fact, however, is that this time the occupation is being carried out by not only by the French, whose savage imperial history there is well known, and by the Canadians (perennial handmaidens of the US), but by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile--three nations who have themselves been victimized by the covert operations establishment of the United States, and governments who are making the now-specious claim that they are "progressive." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/3/222341/8080 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 4 11:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 18:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] New Iraqi Prime Minister has Ties to CIA Message-ID: <20040704181702.21623.qmail@resist.ca> According to Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA case officer who served in the Middle East, "Two facts stand out about (Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad) Allawi. One, he likes to think of himself as a man of ideas; and, two, his strongest virtue is that he's a thug." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/4/13945/47295 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 4 11:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 18:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] New Halliburton Waste Alleged Message-ID: <20040704181702.21622.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/070404D.shtml By Lisa Myers NBC News Thursday 01 July 2004 'It's just a gravy train' - Marie deYoung, former company auditor. The Pentagon has already awarded Halliburton Co., the controversial military contractor, deals worth up to $18 billion for its work in Iraq. But now former Halliburton insiders have come forward with new allegations of massive waste of taxpayer money. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/4/41632/47467 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 4 11:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 18:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] & quot; It's Illegal but it's our Right:& quot; Korean Workers Will Not Back Down Message-ID: <20040704181703.21624.qmail@resist.ca> July 3/4, 2004 It's Illegal, But It's Our Right Korean Labor Won't Back Down By GREG MOSES Twenty-five teachers from the Korean Teachers and Education Worker's Union (KTU), who were just released from jail Thursday evening, are planning to resume their protest Saturday with an overnight vigil near the Ministry of Education (MOE), says a KTU source, who was reached by telephone at the union's headquarters in Seoul. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/4/2437/88086 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 4 11:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 18:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Not Really a Puppet Government? Message-ID: <20040704181703.21625.qmail@resist.ca> June 12 / 13, 2004 Not Really a Puppet Government? Meet the New Iraqi Leaders By GARY LEUPP Former CIA officer Robert Baer recalls that a bombing during (the early 1990's) "blew up a school bus; schoolchildren were killed." In the mid-1990s, Baghdad claimed that terrorists had exploded a bomb in a movie theater, producing many civilian casualties; CIA officials state that (Iyad) Allawi's group was the only such organization engaging in bombings and sabotage at that time. It almost sounds as if the new Prime Minister has a background in terrorism. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/4/2145/11826 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 4 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Officer Groen Shoots Curtis McDonald Dead Message-ID: <20040704191703.26941.qmail@resist.ca> NEWS REPORTS FROM POLICE MURDER ON JUNE 19th in BELLEVILLE ONTARIO Police Chief Wayne Tremble reports that the victim was killed in a parking lot after the pursuit led officers to the scene. Paramedics arrived and performed C.P.R. on the man for several minutes, but to no avail. People close to the area when the bullets began to fly said McDonald was shot several times in the legs and upper torso. Witnesses also claim he wasn't armed. Authorities haven't verified any of these accounts. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/4/115040/3633 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 5 01:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 08:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Canada for Anti-Imperialists (Part I) Message-ID: <20040705081703.18536.qmail@resist.ca> Canada for Anti-Imperialists by Justin Podur; July 03, 2004 In most of (the) ventures (carried out by U.S. Imperialism), Canada has been openly supportive; in others, its support has been behind-the-scenes. What is the historical pattern of Canadian foreign policy? What is Canada up to today and why? Opposing imperial depredations is something everyone of conscience must do, but we can have more effect (can we?) over what Canada does, so it is important to know what that is: the record is mainly one of complicity, hypocrisy, and the occasional open crime. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/4/161223/5136 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 5 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The New American Apartheid (Part III) Message-ID: <20040705171703.23376.qmail@resist.ca> The New American Apartheid Part III by Randall Shelden and William B. Brown; http://www.sheldensays.com/; June 22, 2004 Jailing Minority Kids Growing numbers of African-American youths are finding themselves within the juvenile justice system. They are more likely to be detained, more likely to have their cases petitioned to go before a judge, more likely to be waived to the adult system and more likely to be institutionalized than their white counterparts. As noted in several studies, black youths are more likely to be detained than white youths, regardless of offense charged. Indeed, according to 2001 official data, no matter what the most serious offense charged happens to be, black and Latino youths are far more likely to be detained that whites. For blacks, the detention rate for all offenses is about five times that of whites and about double that for Latinos. For index crimes against the person, the black detention rate is just over 5 times greater than whites, while the Latino rate is about 2 and one-half times as great. The rate difference is the greatest for those charged with drug offenses: black youths are seven times more likely to be detained than white youths. The importance of being detained cannot be denied, for studies have shown that those who are detained are far more likely to receive the most severe final disposition. This last point is further underscored by commitment rates to youth prisons (2001 data). URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/5/43511/45309 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 5 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] U.S. accused of depleting Iraq fund.. Message-ID: <20040705171703.23377.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by - Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.money03jul03,0,5386955.story Money is intended for rebuilding use; international board plans to do audit By Mark Matthews Sun National Staff Originally published July 3, 2004 WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials in charge of the Development Fund for Iraq drained all but $900 million from the $20 billion fund by late last month in what a watchdog group has called an "11th-hour splurge." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/5/51759/95748 From christoff at resist.ca Mon Jul 5 12:33:50 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 12:33:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] {MONTREAL} Deportation Delayed! UPDATE ON SHAMIM AKHTAR & HER FAMILY Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 12:26:28 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal UPDATE ON SHAMIM AKHTAR & HER FAMILY Deportation Delayed! Keep up the pressure! Shamim Akhtar and her family's deportation has been delayed by Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC). At this time the family is in Montreal and continues to struggle against their pending deportation, with the support of the Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees. Your continued support, solidarity and action is essential in assuring that the deportation is halted. On Monday June 28, the eldest daughter Sadf was hospitalized at the Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Montreal. Sadf had been in and out of the hospital during the past couple of weeks with a health condition that has steadily worsened due to the stress and anxiety of her family's pending deportation. The attending emergency room doctor at Sacre-Coeur, decided to hold Sadf pending further tests and hospital investigations, forcing CIC to postpone the removal order. Rather than simply staying the deportation order in the face of clear evidence that the family faces serious danger, possible torture and death in Pakistan, CIC has left the family hanging. It is possible that when they receive their second removal order, they only will have 24-48 hours notice. The delay in the deportation has importantly given the time for the family's lawyer Stewart Istvanffy to take the case of the Federal Court of Canada to argue for a stay on the family's deportation until their refugee claim is reviewed. Also Citizenship & Immigration Canada is currently reviewing a second Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA), which if accepted will most likely mean the family is able to remain in Canada. Community pressure from Montreal and throughout North America must continue to overturn this decision. CIC's attempts to drag this fight on and force the family to concede will not succeed. We will continue to fight publicly against unjust deportations! The Akhtar family continues to be one of the most active families within the Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees and Shamim is one of the spokesperson of the Women's Committee. Their situation carries huge implications for the Action Committee, which has been fighting the pending deportation of hundreds of Pakistani refugees from Montreal for more than one year. Show your support and solidarity, send a letter or make a quick call to local CIC bureaucrats who have the discretion to stop the deportation. We are also asking people to specifically pressure Louise Martin, the officer who is reviewing the family's second PRRA. Call and politely demand that the family's second PRRA is immediately reviewed and accepted given the current situation in Pakistan, and in Karachi in particular, which has worsened in the past weeks. Anti-Shia groups have attacked mosques with suicide bombers, killing dozens of worshippers in Karachi as recently as May 7 and May 30, 2004. The city of Karachi is under a state of siege. In Solidarity, The Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees No One is Illegal - Montreal 514 812 0858 / noii-montreal at resist.ca In This Message: 1) Continue to Call / Fax 2) Funding Appeal 3) Background Information ============================> CALL / FAX / EMAIL CAMPAIGN ============================> ==> Call Louise Martin, the family's Pre-Removal Risk Assessment Officer and politely demand that the family's second PRRA is immediately reviewed and accepted given the current situation in Pakistan, and in Karachi in particular, which has worsened in the past weeks. Louise Martin {PRRA Officer}: Tel: 514 283 8171 Fax: 514 496 1882 Email: louise.martin at cic.gc.ca ==> LOCALLY it is crucial we pressure those officials who have the discretion to stop the deportation. Please be polite but firm in your demands to BOTH Directors at CIC Montreal: Cathy Chan {Assistant Manager, Investigations & Removals}: Tel: 514 496 1386 Fax: 514 496 1882 Anne-Marie Signori {Immigration Canada - Montreal}: Tel: 514 283 0226 Fax: 514 496 1882 Rene D'Aoust {Director of Removals}: Tel: 514 496 1238 Fax: 514 496 1882 Courriel: rene.daoust at cic.gc.ca ==> CC MESSAGES TO THE MINISTERS BELOW: Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1 Fax: 613 947 8319, Tel: 613 992 7774 E-mail: Minister at cic.gc.ca Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness c/o Solicitor General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6 Fax: 613 990-9077, Tel: 613 991 2924 E-mail: McLellan.A at parl.gc.ca DEMAND A STAY OF DEPORTATION ON HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS!!! ==> POINTS TO STRESS: - The danger the family faces in Pakistan given the rise in sectarian violence in the past month in particular - That IRB themselves have reports that affirm that the banning of the SSP as a terrorist organization has not led to a decrease in sectarian violence - The children's incredible participation and achievements in school and the community - Sameer is Canadian-born and it is the governments duty to ensure that he remains with his family in a safe environment =======================> URGENT FUNDING APPEAL! =======================> Over and above the extensive COST of lawyers' fees, we are trying to raise funds to cover the cost of materials, transportation and money for the family to survive in the US in the case they are deported. Your financial solidarity for the political fight against the Akhtar family?s deportation is extremely important. If you are able to donate money to help cover these costs, please make checks out to No One is Illegal Montreal with Shamim in the memo field. Mail Checks to: No One is Illegal Montreal C/o QPIRG Concordia 1420 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 404 Montreal, Quebec H3G 1K5 =======================> BACKGROUND INFORMATION =======================> Shamim Akhtar, her husband Naeem Khan, her daughter Sadaf Ali Khan (16 years old), daughter Sadia Ali Khan (14 years old), son Shan Ali Khan (12 years old) and son Sameer Ali Khan (2 years old) are facing deportation from Montreal, Canada on June 29, 2004. The family was refused as refugee claimants in Montreal in August 2002 despite the grave risk they face if deported to Pakistan, either directly or indirectly through the United States. In Karachi, Pakistan the family were the direct targets of the militant and sectarian organization Sipeh-e-Sahaba (SSP). Naeem was beaten and brutalized several times, including once with bicycle chains, while Shamim and her daughters were held at gun point in thier homes. The family came to Canada in the hopes of finding a more humane refugee determination system affording them the protection they sought and deserved. Their refugee hearing took place in August 2002. They were subsequently denied on patently unfair grounds. The judge ruled that there was no significant threat to their life, especially considering that President Musharraf had outlawed the SSP and that order had been restored. This is clearly contrary to the IRB's own reports (including US State Department reports that the judge misquoted) and given the reality in Pakistan this past month alone: at least two suicide bombings, numerous assualts, targeted killings and shoot-outs, with Karachi being held under curfew last week. The rise in violence is pervasive throughout Karachi, Lahore, Queta and other Pakistani areas. An Amnesty report confirms that ?President Musharraf banned five more organizations including the SSP, but most of these announcements were only inadequately implemented; the ban on sectarian organizations was not fully enforced. In the last three years have seen an upsurge of systematic targeted killings of people particularly in Karachi.? This can certainly be supported in light of recent serious violence in Karachi and Lahore over the past month. While in Canada, the family has been extremely involved in trying to raise awareness about refugees and about hundreds of others facing similar desperate situations. Their youngest son Sameer is Canadian born and it is the duty of the Canadian government to provide a stable and safe home for him in Montreal. Sadaf, their eldest daughter, is an extraordinary athlete and student, having won several gold medals at her school. Sadia was the best Science student in her class, while Shan has recieved gold medals on his track and field team. The children are fluent in English and French and their parents are hard working. DEMAND A STAY OF DEPORTATION ON HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS! JUSTICE FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES! From jkneen at magma.ca Tue Jul 6 14:19:04 2004 From: jkneen at magma.ca (Jamie Kneen) Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 17:19:04 -0400 Subject: [news] Boston group calls for boycott of PayPal and parent company eBAY Message-ID: Subject: Boston group calls for boycott of PayPal and parent company eBAY Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 23:41:31 -0400 From: info at leonardpeltier.org On this day of celebration of "freedom" and "democracy," the Boston Area - Leonard Peltier Support Group is calling for a boycott of PayPal and parent company eBAY. The modest funds raised through the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) and selected support group Web sites are used for public education programs, political and lobbying actions, and legal strategies undertaken on behalf of Leonard Peltier. We do these things to keep Peltier's hope for freedom alive. While such activities are likely inconvenient for the U.S. government, they are not illegal. On the contrary, these activities represent free exercise of our constitutional rights. We've come to expect interference with our Web-based services over the years, i.e., interruption of service at critical times, for example. However, last week, both the LPDC and the Boston support group received notification from PayPal (our Web site credit card verification and payment processing service) that we are in violation of its relatively new Acceptable Use Policy. Designating Leonard Peltier as being "notorious for committing murderous acts," PayPal has now deprived us of our online fundraising capability. Our accounts have been closed preventing us from receiving donations electronically and we have been told that our funds collected through the online service may be frozen for up to 180 days. What is PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy? Read it for yourself: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/use/index_frame-outside&ed=offensive Please note that PayPal doesn't monitor Web sites but depends on "members of the community" to bring alleged violations to its attention. We can only speculate as to who those "members of the community" were in this case. PayPal also claims to have done an exhaustive evaluation of the LPDC and Boston sites for "offensive" material. What did they find? * The announcement of Leonard Peltier's nomination for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. * The legal updates concerning Leonard's case, including information on Peltier's recent victory over editor Paul DeMain in a defamation lawsuit filed in 2003. * The position paper submitted by the Peltier legal team to the Committees on the Judiciary of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on official misconduct in Indian Country, in particular that against the American Indian Movement and Leonard Peltier. * Material to mobilize support for the release of hundreds of thousands of documents still withheld after 30 years by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, despite repeated Freedom of Information Act actions brought by Peltier's attorneys. * Announcement of Leonard's presidential nomination for the Peace and Freedom Party in California. * Political action materials as regards the upcoming presidential election, in general, and encouraging Indigenous and other U.S. voters to use their votes to help win Leonard's freedom, in particular. We consider this policy and PayPal's actions to be an attack on our political beliefs, interference with our right to participate in the "democratic" political process, and an intentional effort on the part of PayPal and its parent company eBAY to interfere with our (and your) constitutional rights. Such corporate actions -- as taken at the behest of the U.S. government, or not -- are an affront to activists everywhere and threaten our basic freedoms. We will NOT go away! Join the LPDC/BA-LPSG boycott of PayPal and its parent company eBAY. Spread the word to friends, family, colleagues and co-workers: * Don't use the PayPal service on Web sites you own or manage. (Note: Alternative resources are listed below.) * Don't donate to or purchase from sites that use the PayPal service. * Don't buy or sell / auction items using eBAY. Send them the message that we find THEIR policy and actions "offensive". An online petition also will be available for your signature in a day or two. THE LPDC IS IN URGENT NEED OF FUNDS. WE THEREFORE URGE YOU TO IMMEDIATELY SEND DONATIONS BY SNAIL MAIL. NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL. LPDC PO Box 583 Lawrence, Kansas 66044-0583 USA Thank you. ********************************************************** Subject: More on the PayPal/EBay boycott Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 23:03:26 -0400 From: info at leonardpeltier.org Joint communication from LPDC and LPSG Boston Greetings. We have received a mixture of responses to our announcement yesterday regarding a boycott of PayPal and eBAY. We hope this communication will address some of your concerns. Please be advised that the boycott was launched with Leonard's approval and only after extensive discussions over a four-day period between the Boston Area - Leonard Peltier Support Group, the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, and Leonard's lead counsel. Concurrently, negotiations were attempted with PayPal with no success. Once we were sufficiently convinced that the Committee, in particular, and the Peltier Network, in general, was under attack, we felt we had to take action. Integral to that decision is the fact that PayPal's action against the LPDC is not the only action taken against its fundraising efforts in recent months. We also believe this boycott is about much higher issues than just the survival of the Peltier Network. If it happened to us, it can happen to you. ANY organization with which PayPal takes issue can be shut down in the same manner. Whether an action taken independently by PayPal or at the request of an entity such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or even instigated by an individual bearing a personal grudge, we find PayPal's policies objectionable -- more than that, intolerable. The Internet has been a great equalizer, has it not? What kind of a message is PayPal sending to social, political, and environmental activists and people of color? The Internet is for some, but not "others"? We encourage you to peruse (link below) the "Acceptable Use Policy" instituted by PayPal. We ask you to decide whether or not a corporation that can and will deprive you and your organizations of the funds needed to fight for social justice should be granted the opportunity to do so, as well as the ability to receive any portion of those limited funds (user fees) -- in particular, when there are alternative services available to you. In short, ask yourself if PayPal is really your pal. As human and civil rights organizations, our mission is to combat various forms of injustice. When one of our organizations is singled out as PayPal has done with the Peltier Network, we must all stand together. As Sitting Bull said, "As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but all together we make a mighty fist." We apologize to anyone inconvenienced by our sudden call for a boycott of PayPal and eBAY. While Leonard Peltier is our primary concern, we also were concerned about the possible impact of our boycott on other activist organizations. This is why a list of alternative services was provided at the end of our communication yesterday. We were confident, in this electronic age, that affected Web sites would be able to adjust quickly. It would appear that our confidence was well- placed as we have been receiving messages throughout the day from activist organizations and related vendors that have already switched to other services. Many of you have suggested that we launch an online petition. A more aggressive approach was deemed advisable and, as noted in our original communication about this boycott, a boycott sign-up utility was prepared yesterday and will be accessible soon. We thank you for your comments and suggestions. In solidarity, The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee & The Boston Area - Leonard Peltier Support Group PayPal "Acceptable Use Policy": (click link or copy and paste to your browser search window) http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/use/index_frame-outside&ed=offensive INTERNET PAYMENT PROCESSING SERVICES Disclaimer: This list is provided for information only and does not mean to imply endorsement. Non-Profit: http://www.groundspring.org Business: http://www.nationalwebdepot.com/getpaidonline.html http://www.ikobo.com/ http://www.webmasterquest.com/members/hotlinks.php?ClickTo=28692 http://www.webik.com/ http://www.rogerbeta.com/stormpay.htm http://www.business.com/directory/internet_and_online/ecommerce/payment_solutions/ http://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/landing_pages/09.shtml?promocode=o215 Addendum: Please find a communication from one of our European supporters below. =+=+= INTERNATIONAL FORUM of VIPs for PELTIER =+=+= Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 11:41:44 -0700 To: kolahq at skynet.be, info at leonardpeltier.org From: John at CD Baby Subject: A note to Paypal ->please read and pass on To all... after reading the notice regarding the closure of the LPDC account on paypal..etc.. I have cancelled my paypal account and encourage others to do so.. please pass this on read below for my note to paypal peace John ------------------------------------------- I am a firm supporter of Leonard Peltier and find your obviously politically motivated, misguided decision to cancel the accounts for the "Leonard Peltier Defense Committee" and the "Boston Area Leonard Peltier Support Group" to be a hideous misuse of power.. I am deeply ashamed to have ever contributed to your companies. You dishonor us all by your actions. I will continue my support of Leonard with cash donations and will encourage everyone that I know to find alternatives to using the paypal system your actions are disgraceful John Steup --------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to lpdc-on at mail-list.com To unsubscribe, send a blank message to lpdc-off at mail-list.com To change your email address, send a message to lpdc-change at mail-list.com with your old address in the Subject: line To unsubscribe, click on the following web page. http://cgi.mail-list.com/u?ln=lpdc&nm=jkneen at magma.ca This message was launched into cyberspace to jkneen at magma.ca From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 6 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Canada for Anti-Imperialists (Part II) Message-ID: <20040706181704.24057.qmail@resist.ca> Canada for anti-imperialists, Part II by Justin Podur; July 03, 2004 >From local 'threats' to global 'threats' Desmond Morton, another completely mainstream and conventional historian, nevertheless makes a good point about the implications of Canada's military relationship with the US. The only plausible military threat Canada has ever faced has been the United states, and in Morton's words: "Canadians found that one good way to keep the peace is not to prepare for a hopeless war. Imagine if Canadians had dutifully assumed the old British defence burden... hundreds of thousands of Canadians would have spent their youth drilling and maneouvring for a war they could never win. Ottawa would have spent millions of dollars on defence, but it could never be enough. Alarmed at military threats on their border, Americans would have mobilized armies and matched cannon for cannon." (6, pg. 10) URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/5/231619/9328 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 6 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Forest Grove Residents Seize School Message-ID: <20040706181704.24056.qmail@resist.ca> Forest Grove residents seize school cbc.ca Jul 5 2004 11:33 AM PDT FOREST GROVE, B.C. - The B.C. Teachers' Federation is throwing its support behind a controversial protest in Forest Grove, B.C. Several dozen people in the community near 100 Mile House have taken over the Forest Grove Elementary School in a bid to prevent School District 27 from shutting it down. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/6/101220/0458 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 6 16:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 23:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] Two Views On FarenHYPE 9/11 Message-ID: <20040706231712.21424.qmail@resist.ca> 1. MY WILD FIRST WEEK WITH F-911, by Michael Moore. This movie has been like a dramatic shockwave through the United States, Moore recounts some of the amazing things that have happened. 2. FARENHEIT 9-11 A STUPID WHITE MOVIE, WHAT MICHAEL MOORE MISSES ABOUT THE EMPIRE, by Robert Jensen. An anti-imperialist critique on Farenheit 9-11. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/6/0535/93036 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 6 17:17:22 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 00:17:22 -0000 Subject: [news] Pig Forgets How He Killed Jeff Berg!! Message-ID: <20040707001723.29635.qmail@resist.ca> WebPosted Jul 6 2004 08:23 AM PDT cbc.ca Thomas handcuffed and dragged Berg, and he testified he tried to kick him three times - but he doesn't have a clear recollection of what happened next. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/6/164313/9088 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 6 17:17:22 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 00:17:22 -0000 Subject: [news] TORONTO PIGS IN DEEP SHIT!! Message-ID: <20040707001723.29636.qmail@resist.ca> NUMEROUS ARTICLES ON INVESTIGATIONS INTO TORONTO POLICE from CBC.CA Three separate investigations involving Toronto Police officers have rocked the department in 2004, raising questions about how the force polices itself. In one case, drug squad officers are alleged to have beaten and robbed suspected drug dealers. In another, plainclothes officers are charged with accepting bribes to help bars dodge liquor inspections. In the third, a group of officers who advocated on behalf of a drug-addicted car thief face internal charges. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/6/163949/5424 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 7 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] Canada Deports Children to Dangerous Countries Message-ID: <20040707171714.8292.qmail@resist.ca> Hardening attitudes toward refugees Immigration agents play hardball. Canada deporting refugee children to very troubled countries RICHARD GOLDMAN The Gazette Tuesday, July 06, 2004 Seventeen-year-old Sadaf Khan went to hospital in Montreal on election day after starting to cough up blood. Doctors think she might have bleeding ulcers. If you were in her shoes, you would probably be suffering from ulcers as well. At an age when Canadian children are expected to be facing nothing more traumatic than final exams and proms, Sadaf has had to assume the public defence of her parents and three younger siblings. Because of her fluent French and English, this award-winning student has been eloquently pleading at press conferences for someone from Immigration Canada to spare her family from deportation and a fate too awful to contemplate. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/7/04550/94281 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Wed Jul 7 12:01:53 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 12:01:53 -0700 Subject: [news] Welfare council condemns clawback Message-ID: <40EC48A1.20903@telus.net> http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/147371.php Welfare council condemns clawback Just who, is really screwing the government? Those in need or those without need? OTTAWA (CP) - Welfare rates in Canada are so low they can only be described as punitive and cruel, the National Council of Welfare says. With few exceptions, welfare incomes across the country deteriorated in 2003 through cuts, freezes and inflation, the council says in a report particularly critical of the clawback of the national child benefit. "Despite years of promoting the idea that we should move people from welfare into the workforce, Canadian welfare programs continue to throw up barriers," council chairman John Murphy of Canning, N.S., said Wednesday in a statement. "Welfare incomes are so low that people are forced to spend all their energy on daily survival. This completely undermines a person's chance to get back on his or her feet. "How do we expect people to go to job interviews and training programs when they can't even afford a bus ticket?" Murphy asked. The council came down hard on the clawback of the national child benefit, a mechanism that allows provinces and territories to reduce payments to parents on welfare. Newfoundland and New Brunswick opted out of the clawback from the outset, and more recently, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario decided to limit their clawback. "Some would argue that clawing back part of the national child benefit from parents on welfare creates an incentive to work," Murphy said. "At the National Council of Welfare, we simply have no patience for that argument. Of course, it makes sense to provide incentives to work. But taking money away from people on welfare, with incomes already horrifyingly low, makes no sense at all." The council is a citizens advisory body to the minister of Social Development Canada. It says a single parent with one child on welfare in Edmonton received $11,897 for the entire year. A couple with two children in Saint John, N.B., survived on $16,852. Couples with two children in larger centres had to make do with $18,063 in Montreal, $18,471 in Toronto, and $18,086 in Vancouver. The situation was worse for single people, the council says. A single person with a disability received $6,911 a year in Saint John. A single employable person received $3,383 in Saint John. In Vancouver that sum was $6,445. MEANWHILE OTTAWA -- TV JOURNALIST-turned diplomat Pamela Wallin billed taxpayers $800 a night for a spring stay in sunny Bermuda. Wallin, Canada's consul-general in New York, claimed $4,159 in expenses for the four-day trip to meet with government and business officials, including $1,280 for airfare, $2,391 for accommodation and $447 for meals. Ken England, a spokesman for Canada's consulate in New York, said Wallin's role includes diplomatic relations with Bermuda. Hotel prices are "astronomical" on the tropical island known for its luxury tourism, he said. "It's just a very expensive place to be, first and foremost," he said. "Hotels run in the range of $300 U.S. a night and it goes up from there." The consulate traditionally deals with the Fairmont Hamilton Princess because it's a member of the Canadian-owned hotel chain, England said. Wallin's Bermuda expenses were disclosed in travel and hospitality expense reports posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs website under new government rules. Over the past six months, the former CBC anchor spent $8,724 on travel and $20,419 wining and dining guests in Manhattan. Meanwhile Gilbert Parent, Canada's Ottawa-based ambassador for the environment, racked up $34,286 in travel expenses in the first half of 2004. ATTENDED CONFERENCES The former Liberal MP and House Speaker who met with criticism for his lack of expertise on environmental issues when he was handed the patronage post, made various speaking engagements and attended conferences abroad. Bruce Winchester of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said the public will likely wince with a "visceral negative reaction" to the high expenses. The Department of Foreign Affairs, which oversees diplomatic missions abroad, must show measurable results that prove value for money for taxpayers, he said. ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christoff at resist.ca Wed Jul 7 23:24:22 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 23:24:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] CKUT Radio: The Struggle Against Pakistani Deportations in Montreal Message-ID: CKUT Radio: The Struggle Against Pakistani Deportations in Montreal On Friday June 25th a solidarity demonstration was held outside of the Montreal offices of Citizenship & Immigration Canada in support of Shamim Akhtar & her family's struggle against deportation from Canada. Shamim Akhtar, her husband Naeem Khan and their four children continue to face deportation admits a public & political struggle against their removal. The Akhtar / Khan family was refused as refugee claimants in August 2002 despite the grave risk they face if deported to Pakistan, either directly or indirectly through the United States. In Karachi, Pakistan the family Shai Muslims were the direct targets of the Sunni Muslim militant organization the Sipeh-e-Sahaba (SSP). Naeem was beaten and brutalized several times, including once with bicycle chains, while Shamim and her daughters were held at gun point in their homes. This report features interviews conducted by CKUT Radio at the June 25th solidarity rally in Montreal and a speech given by the family's eldest daughter Sadaf Ali Khan at a workshop with the No One is Illegal Campaign of Montreal. For more than one year the Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees has been fighting the deportation of hundreds of Pakistani refugees from Canada. The highly public struggle against the deportation of the Akhtar / Khan family's deportation provides a clear case of the broader struggle of Montreal's Pakistani community and the urgent need for people from throughout Canada and the world to lead their support and solidarity. To listen / download the report visit: http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/1987.php To read more information about the Akhtar / Khan family and to get involved with supporting their struggle against deportation visit: http://www.cmaq.net/en/node.php?id=17488 ----------------------- From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 8 11:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 18:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] The New American Apartheid (Part IV) Message-ID: <20040708181709.17162.qmail@resist.ca> The New American Apartheid Part IV by Randall Shelden and William B. Brown; http://www.sheldensays.com/; June 22, 2004 The Impact on Black Families and Communities Although precise data are hard to come by, we can easily infer from the discussion in the first three parts of this series that recent developments have had a negative impact on black communities in general and families in particular. The inner-cities of America have been the most negatively affected by these changes. The movement of capital out of the inner cities ("capital flight") corresponded to the phenomenon of "white flight" and the exodus of many middle class minorities, the decline of the tax base for these areas and the increasing concentration of the poor were left behind. There has also been a corresponding decline in federal funding for social programs, particularly those targeting the urban underclass. This largely occurred during the 1980s with the dawn of a "privatization" movement, a system aiming to replace federal assistance with private sector methods of solving urban problems. Among the specific types of programs that suffered included aid to disadvantaged school districts, housing assistance, financial aid to the poor, legal assistance to the poor and social services in urban areas in general. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/7/134520/9152 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 8 11:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 18:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] Australia's Dark Secret Message-ID: <20040708181709.17163.qmail@resist.ca> Australia's Dark Secret First published in the New Statesman - www.newstatesman.co.uk by John Pilger; July 07, 2004 On a hot, steamy morning last February.....Thomas Hickey died. Seventeen-year-old Thomas, or "TJ" as he was known in the Aboriginal community of Redfern, was chased by police, lost control of his bike and was impaled on an iron fence. The police deny that version, and not a single Aborigine believes them. The Block is an Aboriginal ghetto where the police impose a siege; few Aboriginal youngsters walk down his street without being stopped; almost all of them have been arrested. Aborigines comprise less than three per cent of the Australian population, and 60 per cent of the inmates of the country's prisons; and once inside, many die by their own hand, and some are beaten to death. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/7/133916/8255 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 8 11:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 18:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] INVESTIGATING THE PIGS!! Message-ID: <20040708181708.17161.qmail@resist.ca> all articles found on cbc.ca except #9 from Ontario's 'Belleville Intelligencer' www.intelligencer.ca 1. Pig who killed Jeff Berg strangled black woman. 2. Edmonton Pig faces 15 charges. 3. NDP goof calls for more pigs. 4. Pigs over-react to pellet gun. 5. Immigration stops mom from attending wedding. 6. Pigs watching Montreal Mayor. 7. Seven Toronto Pigs face 51 charges. 8. Toronto Pig Shot 9. Belleville Pigs Investigated for Murder URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/8/10384/10911 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jul 9 04:51:34 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 04:51:34 -0700 Subject: [news] SKINHEADS IN EUGENE AND A HOOD NEAR YOU Message-ID: <40EE86C6.6010202@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27699.php SKINHEADS IN EUGENE AND A HOOD NEAR YOU COMING TO A HOOD NEAR YOU!!! While everyone is looking for terrorist (read; nonwhite kinda arab looking folk), niggers and natives (read: gangs and drug dealers) in their neighbourhood they just let all this pass em by...funny that. SKINHEADS IN EUGENE What Do You Do with a Broken Facist?: http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2003/08/16395.php author: Dandelion e-mail: ryceugene at yahoo.com The growing concern about skinheads in Eugene has increased recently. This is a call towards a vigilant community, and an educated community. We can not allow the violence and hate to spread it's message without resistance... This last weekend, while a friend was making late night fliers for a punk show in town he stumbled upon an unpleasant sight. Right in front of him, in full regalia (swastikas on arms, SS, ext, boots, the whole nine yards) was a group of four neo-nazis making fliers for distribution in town. Our friend, a small kid, said that all four where in their thirties, and in amazing physical shape (do not approach these individuals looking for a fight). They were making several fliers, and it looked like they were getting ready for distribution. This was at the Kinko's copy center in Eugene on the corner of 13th and Willamette, at about 4:30 pm on Sunday. This is the fourth instance that we have heard about through the punk scene in Eugene, and there have also been two reported instances of hate crimes committed by "Neo Nazi" white males in the thirties reported by the main stream media. This group is attempting to infiltrate our scene, and they are doing it violently. Everytime that they have come to a show, there has been a fight. They have also been actively targeting high traffic areas like malls, ext with their fliers, and have also been targeting places of worship, and the U of O campus. Be aware, and be community oriented. Keep your eyes open, and the solidarity strong. We can kick these fuckers out of our community, but we have to do it together. In solidarity the Revolutionary Youth Collective. http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/19716.php http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2003/10/17783.php http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/287517.shtml ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 9 10:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 17:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] More support for school protest Message-ID: <20040709171703.1622.qmail@resist.ca> FOREST GROVE, B.C. - Protesters occupying the Forest Grove school near 100 Mile House are getting more a boost from organized labour. The Canadian Union of Public Employees has declared its support, saying the B.C. Liberal government is gutting the infrastructure of small towns. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/94623/68071 From mstainsby at resist.ca Fri Jul 9 10:45:47 2004 From: mstainsby at resist.ca (mstainsby at resist.ca) Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 10:45:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] What's at stake in Venezuela Message-ID: <1385.65.95.34.92.1089395147.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> July 8, 2004 The Venezuelan Referendum The Truth About Jimmy Carter By JAMES PETRAS On August 14, 2004, Venezuelan voters will decide on a referendum, which has the utmost world historic and strategic significance. What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the energy world, the relations between the US and Latin America (particularly Cuba), and the political and socio-economic fate of millions of Venezuela's urban and rural poor. If Chavez is defeated and if the Right takes power, it will privatize the state petroleum and gas company, selling it to US multinationals, withdraw from OPEC, raise its production and exports to the US, thus lowering Venezuelan revenues by half or more. Internally the popular health programs in the urban "ranchos" will end along with the literary campaign and public housing for the poor. The agrarian reform will be reversed and about 500,000 land reform recipients (100,000 families) will be turned off the land. This will be accomplished through extensive and intensive state bloodletting, jailing and extrajudicial assassination, and intense repression of pro-Chavez neighborhoods, trade unions and social movements. The apparently "democratic" referendum will have profoundly authoritarian, colonial and socially regressive results if the opposition wins. Regionally, an anti-Chavez outcome will tighten the grip of US and Europe on Latin America's oil resources; the denationalization of the petroleum industry in the post-Chavez period will follow in the footsteps of Lula's privatization of Petrobras in Brazil, Gutierrez' privatization in Ecuador and the continuity of private foreign ownership in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Control of Venezuela's oil will heighten US control over world oil, decrease its dependence on the Mid East, especially with high intensity conflict in Iraq now, Saudi Arabia and Iran in the future. Equally important the US will eliminate the strongest opponent of ALCA--the free trade treaty--and pave the way for direct US control over the rules and regulations for trade and investment in the hemisphere. Strategically the US takeover of Venezuelan oil will have grave consequences on the Cuban economy as Washington will abruptly end exports and its client regime will likely break relations. Direct colonial control over Iraq and Venezuela, two of the top suppliers of oil will increase US global power over its competitors, while serving as an "object lesson" to potential opposition regimes. The "referendum" in Venezuela emerges as a major clash between the US and OPEC, US imperialism and Latin American nationalists, neo-liberalism and social nationalism, between US-backed authoritarian ruling elites and endogenous socially conscious urban workers, unemployed, small business people, landless rural workers and small peasants. These historical confrontations find their specific focus in the referendum. The events leading up to the referendum speak eloquently of the crass US intervention, the violent tactics of the elites, the rule or ruin strategy of the opposition, the unbridled totalitarian propaganda of the privately owned mass media. The opposition has backed a violent military coup (which was defeated); it organized a bosses' lockout that almost destroyed the economy (which ended in defeat); it organized a contingent of over 130 Colombian military and paramilitary forces with the aid of active Venezuelan officers to sow violence--that was aborted by Venezuelan intelligence. Equally ominous, in the campaign to secure signatures for the referendum, fraudulent identity cards were massively produced and distributed, tens of thousands of deceased, incapacitated and coerced had their signatures forged and thousands of signatures were written by a single hand. Opposition corruption and fraud was rife but the official international observers urged the Chavez government to accept them and proceed to the referendum. More ominously among the key voices that made their presence felt were the ubiquitous Jimmy Carter and Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch. The Unknown History of James Carter The two faces of imperial power include the iron fist military intervention and the "soft sell" of electoral frauds, intimidating diplomacy and democratic blackmail. Jimmy Carter is "the quiet American" of Graham Greene fame, who legitimates voter fraud, blesses corrupt elections, certifies murderous rulers, encourages elections, in which the opposition is funded by the US state and semi-public foundations, and the incumbent progressive regime suffers repeated violent disruption of the economy. Behind the simple and humane fa?ade, Carter has a strategy to reverse progressive regimes and undermine insurgent democrats. Carter and his "team" from his Center probe and locate weaknesses among insecure democrats, particularly those under threat by US-backed opponents and thus vulnerable to Carter's appeals to be "pragmatic" and "realistic"--meaning his barely disguised arguments to accept fraudulent electoral results and gross US electoral intervention. Carter is a quiet master in mixing democratic rhetoric with manipulation of susceptible democrats who think he shares their democratic politics. The international mass media feature his self-promoted overseas trips to conflictual countries and above all his phony "human rights" record. The mass media provide Carter with the appearance of democratic credentials. In fact, his frequent political interventions have been dedicated to sustaining dictators, legitimizing fraudulent elections and pressuring popular democratic candidates to capitulate before US-backed opponents. Carter has deliberately and systematically worked over the past quarter of a century to undermine progressive regimes and candidates and promote their pro-imperialist opponents. Today in Venezuela, faced with a referendum of dubious validity, backed by the most rancid reactionaries, Carter once again poses as a "neutral monitor" while working with the anti-Chavez opposition to first legitimate the referendum then to provide opportunities for its favorable outcome. Carter has said absolutely nothing about strenuous US funding of the opposition--a blatant violation of any democratic, electoral process -- activities which would be felonious in his own country, the USA. He calls for "fair reporting" by the hysterically anti-Chavez mass media, knowing full well that, with a wink of his eye, they have free rein to provide exclusively favorable coverage of the opposition and uniformly negative disinformation about Chavez. In exchange Carter secured from Chavez a promise to avoid compulsory national chain broadcasts. Carter refuses to recognize that the electoral playing field is not equal, yet under the guise of "free press" he defends the right of the media oligarchs to voice venomous lies, denying the electorate the right to hear both sides. Carter refuses to recognize the intimidating effects of US military maneuvers in the Caribbean, the belligerent statements of undersecretary of state of Latin American Affairs Noriega against Chavez and the hyperactivity of the US Ambassador Shapiro in support of the anti-Chavez forces. Above all Carter ignores the plots, fraudulent practices and paramilitary activities leading up to and beyond the referendum. Focusing on enforcing the Government's compliance with electoral procedures and ignoring the highly prejudicial context of the election, Carter is fulfilling his role of a "set-up man" for either an electoral victory of the opposition or in the event of a defeat, for a post-election pretext for violent coup. Carter's history provides an extremely useful context for substantiating these observations and affirmation. Carter Certifies a Stolen Election: Dominican Republic 1990 In 1993, I spent several hours interviewing Juan Bosch, the Dominican Republic's most notable democratic political leader. He told me that in the aftermath of the presidential elections of 1990, which he legally won, his opponent, the rightist, pro-US Juan Balaguer, engaged in massive theft, witnessed by poll watchers. Jimmy Carter headed the mission "monitoring" the election. Bosch presented Carter with a wealth of documents and testimony, witnesses and photos of Balaguer supporters dumping ballots in the river. Carter acknowledged the corruption and fraud, but urged Bosch to accept the results "to avoid a civil war". Bosch accused Carter of covering up to gain a US client. He led a march of 500,000 in protest. Carter certified Balaguer as the product of a "free election" and left. Balaguer proceeded to repress, pillage and privatize basic services. Haiti I: Carter the Smiling Blackmailer In 1990, Bertrand Aristide, a very popular former priest was leading in the polls with over 70% against a US-backed former World Bank functionary, Marc Bazin with barely 15% of popular support. Jimmy Carter, the self-styled neutral electoral monitor, set up a meeting with Aristide in which he demanded that Aristide withdraw from the elections in favor of the unpopular US candidate in order to avoid a "bloodbath". Carter did everything in his power to frighten Aristide and deny the populace its right to choose its president. Carter must have known in advance from his contacts with President Bush (Senior) that Washington was intent on preventing Haiti from taking an independent road. Eight months after Aristide's accession to the Presidency, a coup, backed by the US took place. Aristide was ousted and replaced and Carter's preferred candidate, Marc Bazin, was appointed Prime Minister, backed by a paramilitary terrorist group called FRAPH that instituted a "bloodbath" killing more than 4,000 Haitians. Carter and Bush, the quiet diplomat and the President with the iron fist worked in tandem, when the first failed, the latter stepped in. Haiti II: General Cedras--Sunday School Teacher--1991-94 With Aristide out of the way, the US-backed regime proceeded to massacre thousands of Haitian supporters of the former elected President. The key member of the governing junta was General Cedras. With thousands of Haitians fleeing his brutal regime and heading for Florida, Jimmyb Carter spoke in defense of the bloody General Cedras, "I believe and trust in General Cedras." Later Carter gushed, "I believe he would be a worthy Sunday school teacher." Carter later certified the respectability of the disreputable dictator on his way to exile--after emptying the treasury. President Clinton convoked a meeting with Aristide in Washington. A Congressional aide privy to the meeting told me that Clinton's aide handed Aristide a neo-liberal program and list of cabinet ministers and told him his return to Haiti was contingent on accepting Washington's dictates. After many hours of psychological pressure, threats and arguments, Aristide capitulated. Clinton allowed him to return. Carter welcomed the return of "democracy" -US style. Ten years later when Aristide refused to comply with threats from the US to privatize public utilities and break relations with Cuba (which was providing hundreds of doctors and nurses for Haiti's public health system), the US sponsored a paramilitary attack, followed by a US invasion. Aristide, the elected President, was kidnapped by US forces and flown--virtually blindfolded--to the Central African Republic. Carter did not protest the gross US intervention but questioned Aristide's election. Carter's criticism of Aristide (at a time when Aristide was a prisoner in the Central African Republic) provided a fig leaf of legitimacy for the US invasion, kidnapping, occupation and establishment of a murderous puppet regime. The US intervention in Haiti was seen in Washington as a "dress rehearsal" for an invasion of Venezuela. Nicaragua 1979: Part I--Carter and Somoza In June 1978, President Jimmy Carter sent a private letter to the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza lauding Somoza for the "human rights initiatives" while he criticized Somoza publicly. Carter had made "human rights" a centerpiece of his interventionist propaganda ( Morris Morley, Washington, Somoza and the Sandinistas, 1994, pp 115-116). This two-faced policy occurred during one of the bloodiest periods of Somoza's rule when he was bombing cities sympathetic to the revolution. Carter's rhetorical declaration of concern for human rights was for public consumption, his private assurances to Somoza encouraged the dictator to continue his scorched earth policy. Nicaragua May 1979 : Part II--Carter Proposes Intervention In June 1993 the Foreign Minister under the late Panamanian President Torrejos told me of President Carter's briefest regional meeting. It took place less in May 1979 less than two months before Somoza was overthrown. Carter convened a meeting of foreign ministers of several Latin American countries who were opposed to Somoza's dictatorship. President Carter entered and immediately tabled a proposal to form an "Inter-American Peace Force", a military force of US and Latin American troops to invade Nicaragua to "end the conflict" and support a diverse coalition. The purpose, according to the former Panamanian minister present, was to prevent a Sandinista victory, preserving Somoza's National Guard and replace Somoza with a pro-US conservative civilian junta. Carter's proposal was rejected unanimously as unwarranted US intervention. Carter in a pique ended the meeting abruptly. Carter's attempt to throttle a popular revolution to preserve the Somocista state and US dominance clearly belied his pretensions of being a "human rights" President. His legacy of using "Human Rights" to project imperial military power became standard operating procedure for Reagon, Clinton and both Bush presidencies. Afghanistan: Carter Finances the Invasion of Islamic Terrorists In the late 1970's Afghanistan was ruled by a nationalist secular regime allied with the Soviet Union. The regime promoted gender equality, free universal education for women and men, agrarian reform including the redistribution of feudal estates to poor peasants, the separation of religion and the state and adopted an independent foreign policy with a Soviet tilt. Beginning at least as early as 1979, the US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia orchestrated a massive international recruiting campaign of Islamic fundamentalist to engage in a "Jihad" against the "atheistic communist regime." Tens of thousands were recruited, armed by the US, financed by Saudis Arabia and trained by the CIA and Pakistani Intelligence. Pakistan opened its frontiers to the flood of armed invaders. Internally the displaced Mullahs, horrified by the equality and education of women, not to speak of the expropriation of their huge land holdings, joined the Jihad en masse. The Carter Presidency (and not Reagan) was responsible for the organization, financing, training of the Islamic uprising and the terror campaign which followed. Zbig Brzesinski later wrote of the US--Afghanistan campaign as one of the high points in US Cold War diplomacy--it provoked Soviet intervention on behalf of the secular Afghan ally. Even when confronted with the consequences of the total devastation of Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban and Al Queda and 9/11, Carter's former National Security Adviser, Brzesinski replied that these were marginal costs in comparison with a war which successfully hastened the fall of the Soviet Union. President Carter's intervention in Afghanistan initiated the Second Cold War, which was pursued with even greater intensity by Reagan. Carter backed a series of surrogate wars in Angola, Mozambique, Central American, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Carter was clearly an advocate and practitioner of the worst kind of imperial intervention and a master of public relations: he was an early practitioner of "Humanitarian Imperialism"--humane in rhetoric and brutally imperialist in practice. The Carter Factor: Venezuela 2002-2004 Nowhere and at no time does Jimmy Carter, the kindly-appearing human rights rhetorician, pose a more dangerous threat to democratic freedoms and national independence than he does today in Venezuela. With the ardent backing of the violence-prone opposition, Carter has frequently intervened in Venezuelan politics, presenting himself as a neutral mediator. At every step of the way Carter has moved to legitimate an opposition engaged in coups, uprisings, paramilitary terrorists and bosses lockouts devastating the economy. Carter convinced President Chavez to "reconcile" with the elite leaders and supporters of a violent coup which briefly overthrew his elected government. He continually pressured the elected President to negotiate and "share power" with an opposition even after he had won six national elections. Carter refused to recognize Chavez' electoral victories and constitutional mandates--instead he supported the opposition's demand for new unscheduled elections and then promoted the "referendum". Carter endorsed the referendum results pronounced by the opposition--even though there were gross electoral violations. He then exercised pressure on the National Electoral Council to accelerate its examination of votes--urging them to get on with the referendum. Carter never acknowledged hundreds of thousands of instances of voter fraud (as he refused to do in the case of Juan Bosch's stolen victory earlier) and fraudulent identity cards. Carter was acting in Venezuela as the "Quiet American"--one espousing high ideals while engaged in dirty tricks. The historical record is abundantly clear--Carter cannot be trusted to act as a "neutral observer". He has been and is today a partisan of US imperial interests and is not merely an "observer" but an active, insidious partner of US clients. He continues to defend and promote any political opposition or regime, any ruler or "coordinator" which will defeat popular movements and progressive governments. Carter is not a democrat! He is a lifelong partisan of the US Empire. He is especially dangerous as the Venezuela referendum approaches. The US is illegally providing millions of dollars to the anti-Chavez opposition via the National Endowment for Democracy and other "foundations". And the Carter Institute will be there to legitimate fraud and deceit: to question the questions for the referendum and the election if Chavez wins. Carter is especially likely to take advantage of some opportunist politicos who surround Chavez and are prone to make concessions to secure "democratic legitimacy" from the presence of this envoy of Empire. Carter fits into the larger strategy of US-backed coups and lockouts, paramilitary violence and support of Colombia's military threat. No one in the Chavez regime intent on an honest referendum can permit this pious hypocrite to play any role in Venezuela. An Afternote: Other Human Rights Mercenaries The US imperial state is mobilizing all of its organizational resources to defeat Chavez. In addition to Carter, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the National Endowment for Democracy and a small army of NGOs (local and international), are active on behalf of the US-orchestrated anti-Chavez campaign. "Human Rights" Director Vivanco is among the most blatant early interveners: Shortly after President Chavez concurred with the National Electoral Council decision to convoke the referendum, Vivanco announced a "report" in which he declared that Venezuela "was suffering a constitutional crisis that could affect its already fragile institutions". He accused the Chavez government of "purging and taking over the judiciary". He called for the "intervention of the US-dominated Organization of American States". To force the Chavez government to conform to his declaration, Vivanco demanded that the World Bank and IMF suspend aid directed at "modernizing" the judicial system. Over the past 3 years, HRW has followed the State Department's lead in attacking Chavez democratic credentials--overlooking his participation (and victory) in six free electoral contests and his generous acceptance of the dubious signatures backing the referendum. HRW totally ignored the vast voter fraud by the opposition, echoing the line of the opposition. HRW leaders are rife with former US officials including its recent recruitment of Marc Garlasco, a former Defense Intelligence Agency official, as a senior military analyst. HRW played a major role in demonizing Yugoslavia's President Milosovic, supported the US invasion of the Balkans and was silent over US war crimes, including the bombing of civilian targets, the KLA's assassination of over 2,000 Serb civilians and the ethnic purge of 200,000 non-Albanians from Kosovo. During the peace negotiations between President Pastrana and the FARC, which the US opposed and was keen on disrupting, Mr. Vivanco and HRW issued a "report" claiming that the FARC was violating all the terms of the peace negotiations--something no other human rights group on the ground in Colombia claimed--in order to pressure Pastrana to break negotiations and resume the military campaign, which he subsequently did. HRW, like the Carter Center, has already intervened on the side of the authoritarian US-backed opposition. It has smeared the independence of the courts to pressure it to conform to the opposition, it has rejected the democratic deliberations of the Venezuelan Congress and its vote on judicial reform, it has openly declared the government as illegitimate and it has already called for a US-backed intervention via the OAS. Watch out for the humanitarian interventionists! Their presence is extremely dangerous for the integrity of the electorate and Venezuelan independence. James Petras, a former Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, owns a 50 year membership in the class struggle, is an adviser to the landless and jobless in brazil and argentina and is co-author of Globalization Unmasked (Zed). He can be reached at: jpetras at binghamton.edu -- Macdonald Stainsby http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green In the contradiction lies the hope. --Brecht. From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 10 04:31:59 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 04:31:59 -0700 Subject: [news] [SOA] UNICEF Nigerian Polio Vaccine Contaminated with Sterilizing Agents Scientist Message-ID: <40EFD3AF.5040108@telus.net> UNICEF Nigerian Polio Vaccine Contaminated with Sterilizing Agents Scientist Finds Scientist says things discovered in vaccines are "harmful, toxic" KADUNA, Nigeria, March 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A UNICEF campaign to vaccinate Nigeria's youth against polio may have been a front for sterilizing the nation. Dr. Haruna Kaita, a pharmaceutical scientist and Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, took samples of the vaccine to labs in India for analysis. Using WHO-recommended technologies like Gas Chromatography (GC) and Radio-Immuno assay, Dr. Kaita, upon analysis, found evidence of serious contamination. "Some of the things we discovered in the vaccines are harmful, toxic; some have direct effects on the human reproductive system," he said in an interview with Kaduna's Weekly Trust. "I and some other professional colleagues who are Indians who were in the Lab could not believe the discovery," he said. A Nigerian government doctor tried to persuade Dr. Kaita that the contaminants would have no bearing on human reproduction. "...I was surprised when one of the federal government doctors was telling me something contrary to what I have learned, studied, taught and is the common knowledge of all pharmaceutical scientists -- that estrogen cannot induce an anti-fertility response in humans," he said. "I found that argument very disturbing and ridiculous." When asked by the Trust why Dr. Kaita felt the drug manufacturers would have contaminated the Oral Polio Vaccine, he gave three reasons: "These manufacturers or promoters of these harmful things have a secret agenda which only further research can reveal. Secondly they have always taken us in the third world for granted, thinking we don't have the capacity, knowledge and equipment to conduct tests that would reveal such contaminants. And very unfortunately they also have people to defend their atrocities within our midst, and worst still some of these are supposed to be our own professionals who we rely on to protect our interests." Dr. Kaita is demanding that "those who imported this fake drug in the name of Polio Vaccines...be prosecuted like any other criminal." The campaign to rid Nigeria of polio is in its fourth year. Officials there claim that all contaminated vaccines have been exhausted and replaced by uncontaminated batches. In a rhetorical conclusion to the interview, Dr. Kaita asked "What plans has the government put in place to help children who have been given these toxic and contaminated vaccines in case they start reacting to them?" This is not the first time UNICEF has been embroiled in a controversy over sterilizing agents in vaccines. LifeSiteNews.com reported that in 1995, the Catholic Women's League of the Philippines won a court order halting a UNICEF anti-tetanus program because the vaccine had been laced with B-hCG, which when given in a vaccine permanently causes women to be unable to sustain a pregnancy. The Supreme Court of the Philippines found the surreptitious sterilization program had already vaccinated three million women, aged 12 to 45. B-hCG-laced vaccine was also found in at least four other developing countries. See the related LifeSiteNews.com coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/oct/021 ___ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christoff at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 11:54:33 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 11:54:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] {Montreal} MONDAY JULY 12th: PACK the Federal Court Hearing! - Stop the Deportation of Shamim Akhtar & Her Family to Pakistan Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 11:33:44 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal STOP THE DEPORTATION OF SHAMIM AKHTAR & HER FAMILY TO PAKISTAN! Last Minute Stand: Pack the Federal Court Hearing! ==============================> Monday July 12th, 9:30am SHARP! Federal Court of Canada 30 McGill street Corner of De La Commune (Square Victoria Metro) ==============================> Shamim Akhtar & her family have appealed for a stay of their deportation order at the Federal Court of Canada. It is crucial that we pack the Federal Court hearing, as part of the ongoing public campaign in solidarity with the Akhtar / Khan family's struggle against deportation. A public display of the popular support, which exists for the Akhtar / Khan family's fight against deportation at the Federal Court is critical, as it will have an influence on the outcome of the Federal Court hearing. It is only with your active participation and support that this unjust deportation can be halted. It is crucial for us to show up in great numbers at the Federal Court! In this Message: 1) Deportation Date Issued 2) Urgent Funding Appeal 3) Background Information ================================> UPDATE: Deportation Date Issued ================================> The Akhtar family is now facing deportation are facing deportation from Montreal, Canada once again on Tuesday July 13th, 2004 at 8 am. Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC), has issued the latest deportation order for the Akhtar / Khan family within the context of a public campaign against their deportation, lead by the family, the Pakistani community and supported by many individuals, groups & organizations throughout Canada. Rather than simply staying the deportation order in the face of clear evidence that the family faces serious danger, possible torture and death in Pakistan, CIC is plowing ahead with this deportation. The Akhtar family is one of the most active families within the Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees and Shamim is key organizer and spokespersons of the Women's Committee of Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees. Their situation carries huge implications for the Action Committee, which has been fighting deportations from Montreal for over one year. It is still possible to win this fight against deportation, as many community groups, organizations and activists have been involved in the families struggle against the efforts of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to deport them. Outlined in the message below are concrete ways in which individuals, groups and organizations can support this struggle against deportation. It is only with your active participation and support that this unjust deportation can be halted! In Solidarity, The Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees No One is Illegal - Montreal 514 812 0858 / noii-montreal at resist.ca =======================> URGENT FUNDING APPEAL! =======================> Over and above the extensive COST of lawyers' fees, we are trying to raise funds to cover the cost of materials, transportation and money for the family to survive in the US in the case they are deported. Your financial solidarity for the political fight against the Akhtar family's deportation is extremely important. If you are able to donate money to help cover these costs, please make checks out to No One is Illegal Montreal with Shamim in the memo field. Mail Checks to: No One is Illegal Montreal C/o QPIRG Concordia 1420 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 404 Montreal, Quebec H3G 1K5 =======================> BACKGROUND INFORMATION =======================> Shamim Akhtar, her husband Naeem Khan, her daughter Sadaf Ali Khan (17 years old), daughter Sadia Ali Khan (15 years old), son Shan Ali Khan (13 years old) and son Sameer Ali Khan (2 years old) are facing deportation from Montreal, Canada on July 13th, 2004. The family was refused as refugee claimants in Montreal in August 2002 despite the grave risk they face if deported to Pakistan, either directly or indirectly through the United States. In Karachi, Pakistan the family were the direct targets of the militant and sectarian organization Sipeh-e-Sahaba (SSP). Naeem was beaten and brutalized several times, including once with bicycle chains, while Shamim and her daughters were held at gun point in thier homes. The family came to Canada in the hopes of finding a more humane refugee determination system affording them the protection they sought and deserved. Their refugee hearing took place in August 2002. They were subsequently denied on patently unfair grounds. The judge ruled that there was no significant threat to their life, especially considering that President Musharraf had outlawed the SSP and that order had been restored. This is clearly contrary to the IRB's own reports (including US State Department reports that the judge misquoted) and given the reality in Pakistan this past month alone: at least two suicide bombings, numerous assualts, targeted killings and shoot-outs, with Karachi being held under curfew last week. The rise in violence is pervasive throughout Karachi, Lahore, Queta and other Pakistani areas. An Amnesty report confirms that "President Musharraf banned five more organizations including the SSP, but most of these announcements were only inadequately implemented; the ban on sectarian organizations was not fully enforced. In the last three years have seen an upsurge of systematic targeted killings of people particularly in Karachi." This can certainly be supported in light of recent serious violence in Karachi and Lahore over the past month. While in Canada, the family has been extremely involved in trying to raise awareness about refugees and about hundreds of others facing similar desperate situations. Their youngest son Sameer is Canadian born and it is the duty of the Canadian government to provide a stable and safe home for him in Montreal. Sadaf, their eldest daughter, is an extraordinary athlete and student, having won several gold medals at her school. Sadia was the best Science student in her class, while Shan has recieved gold medals on his track and field team. The children are fluent in English and French and their parents are hard working. DEMAND A STAY OF DEPORTATION ON HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS! JUSTICE FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES! --------------- From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Hamilton electoral corruption Message-ID: <20040710191704.24226.qmail@resist.ca> CATCH News - June 30, 2004 Hamilton mayor accused of multiple election violations The mayor of Hamilton, Larry DiIanni, is being accused of dozens of violations of the Municipal Elections Act. A business-woman and former Dundas town councillor has formally asked for a compliance audit of DiIanni's election campaign. She has also requested an audit of eight other candidates in last fall's municipal election, including three sitting council members. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/143155/9495 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] OCAP Gets Ready to Take on McGuinty & Ontario Liberals! Message-ID: <20040710191704.24225.qmail@resist.ca> (Ontario Premier) Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals are having a BBQ: OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) is inviting itself! Meet in Allan Gardens (Sherbourne and Gerrard) Saturday August 28th, 11:00am Meal and Transportation Provided We will not allow the Liberal Party to gather in decadence while people's pockets are kept empty by their lies. We are issuing a call to all those McGuinty has kicked in the teeth to help us make August 28 a day he will wish he'd never marked on his social calendar. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/234352/5443 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Let the Olympic Games Die in the Land They Were Born Message-ID: <20040710191704.24228.qmail@resist.ca> http://www.geocities.com/anar_gr/english.htm Today, the olympics concentrate the state's effort to deepen its authority in society, repressing all those resisting its plans. But this campaign is not adequate to instill fear, discourage and deter the multiform expressions of social and class struggle. On the contrary, it is a condition highlighting the necessity to intensify and spread this struggle in every front the bosses are opening with their aggression and in every front they try to close to their account. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/11244/39548 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Urgent Action Needed to Stop Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal! Message-ID: <20040710191704.24232.qmail@resist.ca> For 22 years Mumia (Abu-Jamal) has lived, locked down under threat of death as the result of a fraudulent, politically driven frame-up. Mumia is a revolutionary journalist who has continued to write the truth from behind bars, inspiring a whole new generation of resistance -- in this country and internationally. He has never given up in despair or begged for a break. If Mumia is murdered by the state, he would be the first Black revolutionary legally executed for his political beliefs since the days of slavery, and this would accelerate the government's attempts to terrorize all who would resist. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/8/184938/1737 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Labour is Getting Suckered Message-ID: <20040710191704.24231.qmail@resist.ca> Capital and the state have the gloves off. There are no labour entitlements they feel bound to recognize and endorse. Class war is as brutal now as it was in the 1930s, and it will be won in the same way: whoever holds strongest and most resolute stands the best chance. In this kind of a contest labour is always disadvantaged, for capital and the state have much in their corner while labour only has its solidarity, its collectivity, its numbers and its productive power. But that is neither something to understate nor to squander. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/017/97993 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] So Much for Democracy Message-ID: <20040710191704.24227.qmail@resist.ca> So much for democracy by Robert Fisk; UK Independent; July 08, 2004 Seventeen months after the Anglo-American invasion in which President George Bush promised to bring democracy to Iraq, the country's American-approved Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, yesterday introduced legislation allowing the Iraqi authorities to impose martial law, curfews, a ban on demonstrations, the restriction of movement, phone-tapping, the opening of mail and the freezing of bank accounts. Military leaders may be appointed to rule parts of Iraq. A temporary reinstatement of Saddam Hussein's death penalty is also now probable. Already, therefore, Iraq has begun to look just like any other Arab country. But the insurgency, which the laws are supposedly intended to break, exploded in gunfire in the very centre of Baghdad just as the new legislation was announced. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/141424/7366 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Iraq: The Limits of Empire Message-ID: <20040710191704.24229.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.lefthook.org/Politics/Yu070204.html - By Mark Yu The U.S. occupation of Iraq is running into serious obstacles on several fronts. Photos documenting the use of torture at Abu Ghraib prison have torn the mask of legitimacy from the face of the civilian-military occupying force. While the torture itself could be treated as a mere aberration by U.S. politicians and commentators--overlooking the violence of the entire colonial enterprise in Iraq and ignoring similar abuse in prisons at home--the political impact of the photographs could not be so easily disregarded. The prison scandal, scandalous only because the perpetrators were caught in the act, has permanently disarmed the public relations effort to "win the hearts and minds" of the Iraqi people. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/7517/52297 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Police Call Phoenix Anarchist Group & quot; Terrorists& quot; Message-ID: <20040710191704.24230.qmail@resist.ca> By Byron Wells, Tribune http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=24235 Brian Tomasi's loathing of injustice motivates him to volunteer with labor organizers and help distribute food and clothing to the poor. According to the FBI's definition, the 30-year-old from Tempe can be considered a terrorist. Tomasi is a founding member of the Phoenix Anarchist Coalition, which meets Thursdays at the Gentle Strength Co-op, 234 W. University Drive, Tempe, Ariz. At a recent public terrorism awareness forum at the Tempe Public Library, Tomasi and other anarchists cringed to see law enforcement officials lump the Phoenix Anarchist Coalition with (the) white-supremacist National Alliance and militant Islamic groups. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/05356/63165 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 10 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Western Shoshone refuse federal money for their land Message-ID: <20040710191704.24233.qmail@resist.ca> "I'm not taking the money," said Carrie Dann, a tribal member active in the Western Shoshone Defense Project in Crescent Valley. "That land is sacred to us. This Earth is our mother. It's not for sale." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/8/14334/72950 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 11 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] You May be Under Surveillance by the RCMP Message-ID: <20040711171703.15211.qmail@resist.ca> MICHELLE SHEPHARD ; STAFF REPORTER ; Toronto Star A telephone conversation or casual meeting with someone under investigation by officers with the RCMP may be all it takes to be entered in a national security database. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/11/15753/2610 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 11 22:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 05:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] If I Get Shot by the Police Message-ID: <20040712051704.3400.qmail@resist.ca> By Adam Bahner ; http://www.blackcommentator.com/95/95_guest_shot.html Maybe the tempest of blue-on-black homicide hasn't rained down on you. But the police slayings of unarmed black men that continue to grip America are a sinister eulogy; burying hope with one hand and exhuming a twisted justice with the other. As a black man, whatever that means, I'd better give you my take on things. If I get shot by the police, you'll never hear it like it happened. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/5/2267/97963 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 12 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] What's at stake in Venezuela Message-ID: <20040712171703.19888.qmail@resist.ca> July 8, 2004 ; The Venezuelan Referendum ; The Truth About Jimmy Carter ; By JAMES PETRAS On August 14, 2004, Venezuelan voters will decide on a referendum, which has the utmost world historic and strategic significance. What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the energy world, the relations between the US and Latin America (particularly Cuba), and the political and socio-economic fate of millions of Venezuela's urban and rural poor. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/9/111721/8926 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 12 13:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 20:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] ICJ: West Bank fence is illegal, Israel must tear it down Message-ID: <20040712201711.7131.qmail@resist.ca> Haaretz ; 9/07/2004 ; By Aluf Benn The International Court of Justice ruled Friday in The Hague that the separation fence being built by Israel in the West Bank was in breach of international law, and called on Israel to tear it down and compensate Palestinians harmed by its construction. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/12/122719/185 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 12 13:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 20:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] PALESTINE: Knesset Member Hunger Strike v. Apartheid Wall Message-ID: <20040712201711.7130.qmail@resist.ca> International Committee for the Defence of Azmi Bishara At noon, 3rd July, 2004, Azmi Bishara, a member of Israeli Knesset, began a hunger strike in protest against the Israeli government's construction of the separation wall in the occupied West Bank and in the surrounding areas of Jerusalem. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/12/124013/745 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 12 14:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Britannia 9 Trial: Verdict and Sentencing Message-ID: <20040712211703.13172.qmail@resist.ca> Despite the crown calling for jail time to deter people from excercising their right to demonstrate, the judge handed down "Conditional Discharges" for those convicted in the Britannia 9 trial. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/12/132026/232 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 12 16:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 23:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] PIGS STRIKE AGAIN...more murders and more fuck-ups!! Message-ID: <20040712231703.25268.qmail@resist.ca> 1. Pigs Throw Man Off Bridge! Vancouver Pigs are pretending that a man fell out of their hand and off a bridge, but $20 says they intentially threw him. 2. Saanich Pigs Blow Away Fleeing Man! On Sunday Morning the Saanich Pigs killed an unarmed man infront of many witnesses, at a schoolyard, while people were in a church service nearby. 3. Genius Steals Victoria Pig Cruiser! URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/12/152224/529 From christoff at resist.ca Mon Jul 12 21:35:01 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:35:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] UPDATE: The Akhtar / Khan Family to be Deported TODAY! - Tuesday July 13th Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:17:42 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal UPDATE: The Akhtar / Khan Family to be Deported TODAY! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Support Gathering for Akhtar / Khan Family Tuesday July 13th, 7:45 am Citizenship & Immigration Canada (metro Bonaventure) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Akhtar / Khan family, including their Canadian-born son (2 year old Sameer Ali Khan) will be deported from Canada on Tuesday July 13th at 8 am, by Citizenship & Immigration Canada. The family's deportation comes after the Federal Court refused to stay their deportation on Monday July 12th. At the hearing, strong evidence and arguments were presented regarding the persecution and danger, which they would face in Pakistan, as well as in the United States. Although the family will be sent to the US on Tuesday, it is practically certain that they will ultimately be deported to Pakistan by the US government. They will be making comments to the media and saying goodbye to loved-ones in front of the Citizenship & Immigration Canada offices before presenting themselves for the deportation. Anyone who would like to show their support to the family is invited to gather in front of the CIC offices at 1010 St. Antoine west (metro Bonaventure) at 7:45 am on Tuesday July 13th. Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC), has issued the latest deportation order for the Akhtar / Khan family within the context of a public campaign against their deportation, led by the family, the Pakistani community and supported by many individuals, groups & organizations throughout Canada. In Struggle, The Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees No One is Illegal - Montreal 514 812 0858 - noii-montreal at resist.ca In This Message: 1) Funding Appeal 2) Background Information =======================> URGENT FUNDING APPEAL! =======================> Over and above the extensive COST of lawyers' fees, we are trying to raise funds to cover the cost of materials, transportation and money for the family to survive in the US in the case they are deported. Your financial solidarity for the political fight against the Akhtar family?s deportation is extremely important. If you are able to donate money to help cover these costs, please make checks out to No One is Illegal Montreal with Shamim in the memo field. Mail Checks to: No One is Illegal Montreal C/o QPIRG Concordia 1420 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 404 Montreal, Quebec H3G 1K5 =======================> BACKGROUND INFORMATION =======================> Shamim Akhtar, her husband Naeem Khan, her daughter Sadaf Ali Khan (17 years old), daughter Sadia Ali Khan (15 years old), son Shan Ali Khan (13 years old) and son Sameer Ali Khan (2 years old) will be deported from Montreal, Canada on July 13th, 2004. The family was refused as refugee claimants in Montreal in August 2002 despite the grave risk they face if deported to Pakistan, where they will ultimately be sent from the United States. In Karachi, Pakistan the family were the direct targets of the militant and sectarian organization Sipeh-e-Sahaba (SSP). Naeem was beaten and brutalized several times, including once with bicycle chains, while Shamim and her daughters were held at gun point in thier homes. The family came to Canada in the hopes of finding a more humane refugee determination system affording them the protection they sought and deserved. Their refugee hearing took place in August 2002. They were subsequently denied on patently unfair grounds. The judge ruled that there was no significant threat to their life, especially considering that President Musharraf had outlawed the SSP and that order had been restored. This is clearly contrary to the IRB's own reports (including US State Department reports that the judge misquoted) and given the reality in Pakistan during the month of May alone: at least two suicide bombings, numerous assaults, targeted killings and shoot-outs, with Karachi being held under curfew. The rise in violence is pervasive throughout Karachi, Lahore, Queta and other Pakistani areas. An Amnesty report confirms that "President Musharraf banned five more organizations including the SSP, but most of these announcements were only inadequately implemented; the ban on sectarian organizations was not fully enforced. In the last three years have seen an upsurge of systematic targeted killings of people particularly in Karachi". This can certainly be supported in light of recent serious violence in Karachi and Lahore over the past month. While in Canada, the family has been extremely involved in trying to raise awareness about refugees and about hundreds of others facing similar desperate situations. Their youngest son Sameer is Canadian born and it is the duty of the Canadian government to provide a stable and safe home for him in Montreal. Sadaf, their eldest daughter, is an extraordinary athlete and student, having won several gold medals at her school. Sadia was the best Science student in her class, while Shan has received gold medals on his track and field team. The children are fluent in English and French and their parents are hard working. JUSTICE FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES --------------------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/9rHolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ftaaott/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ftaaott-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 13 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] New York Anarchists Object to Cop's Using Them as an Excuse to Terrorize Public Message-ID: <20040713181703.22506.qmail@resist.ca> Recent statements by New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, reported in the New York Daily News ("Anarchy Threat to City: Cops fear hard-core lunatics plotting convention chaos", July 12), give us a taste of the kind of hysteria New Yorkers can expect in the weeks leading up to the Republican Convention in August. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/13/03228/0019 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 13 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Palestine & Israel: The Problem of & quot; Neutrality& quot; Message-ID: <20040713181704.22508.qmail@resist.ca> Neutrality in any conflict in which there is a gross imbalance of power is probably an impossibility and certainly immoral. Treading a middle path between one utterly powerless party and another party with total power, effectively removes all restraints on behavior by the powerful party. Yet this is the posture of those (Israeli and) American peace groups that put themselves forward as advocates for Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation. They take no position between the Palestinians and Israel, but only promote peace plans such as the unofficial Geneva Accord. without also taking action or even speaking out forcefully against Israel's occupation. The consequence is that these groups have given Israel the time and the license to devastate the land, begin its ethnic cleansing, and destroy any prospect for Palestinian independence. Their refusal to take a clear stand against Israel's oppressive policies is a statement that might makes right, that oppressive policies are acceptable, and most particularly that justice for Palestinians is less important than power for Israel. It is not historically true that both sides bear equal responsibility for creating the conflict; moreover, in the hopelessly unbalanced situation existing today, the two sides very clearly cannot bear equal responsibility for resolving the conflict. The failure to understand this indicates a wilful failure to acknowledge the actual situation on the ground. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/12/192327/134 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 13 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The Cost of Zionism Message-ID: <20040713181704.22507.qmail@resist.ca> by Jon Elmer and Uri Avnery; fromoccupiedpalestine.org; March 07, 2004 Jon Elmer: Israel's raison d'etre is to be a national safe haven for Jews of the world, yet we know now that Israel is the most dangerous place in the world for a Jew to live. Elsewhere you have written that Israel is a breeding ground for anti-Semitism internationally. How has Israel helped or hindered the security of Jews, both within Israel and internationally? Uri Avnery: There is a lot of irony in this: One of the reasons for setting up the State of Israel was to create a safe haven for the Jews of the world after the Holocaust, one place the Jews would be safe. But what actually happened - and it has been said before me by the late professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz - is that the one place in the world where the Jews are in danger is Israel. They are in danger of annihilation in the end, because if this war goes on, eventually weapons of mass destruction will be employed in the war between us and the Arabs. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/13/01442/7240 From gflett1 at shaw.ca Wed Jul 14 13:27:32 2004 From: gflett1 at shaw.ca (Gordon Flett) Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:27:32 -0700 Subject: [news] IWW Vancouver Strike Support Committee Report - July 14, 2004 Message-ID: <022601c469e0$fea2f620$d3ae5418@vc.shawcable.net> IWW Vancouver Strike Support Committee Report - July 14, 2004 Current Lower Mainland Disputes 1. 100 members of CEP Local 1129 have been on strike against the Norampac recycling papermill in south Burnaby since April 10 of this year. They are striking for the pulp and paper industry pattern settlement and against a series of company concession demands. Of 23 CEP pulp and paper locals in BC, theirs is THE ONLY ONE that has not achieved the pattern settlement. Further information on the dispute can be found at: http://www.cep1129.ca/ Two members of CEP Local 1129 were arrested on June 9 for blocking a truck carrying rolls of paper out of the plant. These two members plus their local president are currently back east, where they confronted Norampac management and spread their message to fellow workers. To read about their exploits go to: http://www.cep1129.ca/archives/Roadtrip.htm and http://www.cep1129.ca/archives/Roadtrip1.htm Support is requested at their picket line, which runs 24/7. To get to their line you have to get to Marine Way which runs parallel to the Fraser River in south Vancouver and south Burnaby. If you're coming from the west (Vancouver), go past Boundary Road and Byrne Road, then turn right on Marshland. Follow it until it turns into Wiggins St., at the end of which you will find the picket line. If you're coming from the east (New Westminster), Marshland is the first traffic light after you come down the s-turn from the Queensborough Bridge. For a map showing the picket line's location go to: http://www.cep1129.ca/images/millmap.gif On the company's "contact us" page on their website: http://www.norampac.com/cas/en/1_0/1_0_1/1_0_1_2/1_0_1_2_7.jsp they state: "You have something to tell us? Do not hesitate, we welcome your comments." Who can resist an invitation like that? Further contact information for Norampac is: 8255 Wiggins Street, Building B, Burnaby, British Columbia V3N 2V7 Telephone: (604) 521-0741 Fax: (604) 521-8671 Messages of support to the strikers can be emailed to: President at cep1129.ca __________ 2. The 46 members of USWA Local 2952 at Modern Auto Plating Ltd. in Vancouver have almost reached the two and a half year point in their strike, which began on January 24, 2002. All they want is basic improvements of horrific workplace health & safety conditions, while asking for modest increases in wages and benefits. WCB inspectors have found numerous violations in the plant and Modern Auto was fined $12,000 and ordered to correct the violations. 12 members heeded their master's voice and have crossed their own picket line and are scabbing on their fellow workers, thereby prolonging the strike. Such sad souls, oh me, oh my. No brains, no heart, they're much too shy! The Great Oz refuses to negotiate, content with this sorry lot as subjects, while his best workers patrol outside the Kingdom, glad they aren't inside it as things stand now. When the WCB inspectors pulled down the curtain, it wasn't a pretty sight! As always, picket support is requested at Modern Auto, at 60 East 5th Ave. (at Quebec St.), to bolster the spirits of these exploited, mostly immigrant workers from Eastern Europe, and remind them that they are not alone. They picket from 6:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday to Friday, and from 8:00 to 11:00 AM on Saturdays. Refreshments and food are always welcome, as are union/organization banners, flags, and signs. A special thanks goes out to the women of CEP Local 465, employed by the Health Sciences Association, who came out to the picket line on July 6, bringing flags, signs, food, refreshments, and most importantly themselves. Just what was needed to boost the strikers' spirits, and it's hoped others follow their shining example! Solidarity works! For further information about the strike, and/or about how you can help, please contact Local 2952 President Scott McRitchie at 604-525-7481. The company's # is 604-876-4161. Messages of support to the strikers can be sent to: lu2952 at telus.net __________ 3. Another long running dispute is the Unstrike (strike on the job) that the members of CAW Local 3000 commenced against Starbucks on May 13, 2002. The major issues are job security, concessions, and seniority, and Starbucks still refuses to negotiate. For further information go to: http://www.cawlocal3000.ca/units/starbucksgen.html . Messages of support to the Unstrikers can be sent to postmaster at cawlocal3000.ca . Please contact Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at hschultz at starbucks.com and tell him you support the union. And while you're at it, you can tell him you support the union in New York City too. Workers at a Starbucks in NYC are making history by unionizing the first store in the United States with the IWW, and they are currently awaiting their upcoming National Labour Relations Board certification election. For complete information on this struggle go to: http://www.starbucksunion.org/ . You can send messages of support to the members of the IWW NYC Starbucks Baristas Union to starbucksunion at yahoo.com . Meanwhile, the Unstrikers here are asking that we patronize only their unionized Starbucks locations: 2531 East Hastings Vancouver 1702 Robson Street Vancouver 811 Hornby Street Vancouver #150-1055 West Georgia Street Royal Centre Vancouver Vancouver 1752 Commercial Drive Vancouver 1015 Denman Street Vancouver 3451 Kingsway Vancouver 1095 Howe Street Vancouver 1641 Davie Street Vancouver 1395 Main Street Vancouver, BC #222-3645 Gossett Road Westbank, BC If you have a Starbucks card, that you maybe received as a gift, please use it up at one of the unionized Starbucks, otherwise it's a donation to the company. "AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL" IWW IU 450 ---------------------------------------- My Inbox is protected by SPAMfighter 922 spam mails have been blocked so far. Download free www.spamfighter.com today! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gelflingnaava at yahoo.ca Wed Jul 14 21:27:34 2004 From: gelflingnaava at yahoo.ca (Wendy Naava Smolash) Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:27:34 -0400 (EDT) Subject: link to - strikes are local events Re: [news] IWW Vancouver Strike Support Committee Report - July 14, 2004 In-Reply-To: <022601c469e0$fea2f620$d3ae5418@vc.shawcable.net> Message-ID: <20040715042734.3118.qmail@web54207.mail.yahoo.com> Gordon Flett wrote: IWW Vancouver Strike Support Committee Report - July 14, 2004 Current Lower Mainland Disputes 1. 100 members of CEP Local 1129 have been on strike against the Norampac recycling papermill in south Burnaby since April 10 of this year. They are striking for the pulp and paper industry pattern settlement and against a series of company concession demands. Of 23 CEP pulp and paper locals in BC, theirs is THE ONLY ONE that has not achieved the pattern settlement. Further information on the dispute can be found at: http://www.cep1129.ca/ Two members of CEP Local 1129 were arrested on June 9 for blocking a truck carrying rolls of paper out of the plant. These two members plus their local president are currently back east, where they confronted Norampac management and spread their message to fellow workers. To read about their exploits go to: http://www.cep1129.ca/archives/Roadtrip.htm and http://www.cep1129.ca/archives/Roadtrip1.htm Support is requested at their picket line, which runs 24/7. To get to their line you have to get to Marine Way which runs parallel to the Fraser River in south Vancouver and south Burnaby. If you're coming from the west (Vancouver), go past Boundary Road and Byrne Road, then turn right on Marshland. Follow it until it turns into Wiggins St., at the end of which you will find the picket line. If you're coming from the east (New Westminster), Marshland is the first traffic light after you come down the s-turn from the Queensborough Bridge. For a map showing the picket line's location go to: http://www.cep1129.ca/images/millmap.gif On the company's "contact us" page on their website: http://www.norampac.com/cas/en/1_0/1_0_1/1_0_1_2/1_0_1_2_7.jsp they state: "You have something to tell us? Do not hesitate, we welcome your comments." Who can resist an invitation like that? Further contact information for Norampac is: 8255 Wiggins Street, Building B, Burnaby, British Columbia V3N 2V7 Telephone: (604) 521-0741 Fax: (604) 521-8671 Messages of support to the strikers can be emailed to: President at cep1129.ca __________ 2. The 46 members of USWA Local 2952 at Modern Auto Plating Ltd. in Vancouver have almost reached the two and a half year point in their strike, which began on January 24, 2002. All they want is basic improvements of horrific workplace health & safety conditions, while asking for modest increases in wages and benefits. WCB inspectors have found numerous violations in the plant and Modern Auto was fined $12,000 and ordered to correct the violations. 12 members heeded their master's voice and have crossed their own picket line and are scabbing on their fellow workers, thereby prolonging the strike. Such sad souls, oh me, oh my. No brains, no heart, they're much too shy! The Great Oz refuses to negotiate, content with this sorry lot as subjects, while his best workers patrol outside the Kingdom, glad they aren't inside it as things stand now. When the WCB inspectors pulled down the curtain, it wasn't a pretty sight! As always, picket support is requested at Modern Auto, at 60 East 5th Ave. (at Quebec St.), to bolster the spirits of these exploited, mostly immigrant workers from Eastern Europe, and remind them that they are not alone. They picket from 6:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday to Friday, and from 8:00 to 11:00 AM on Saturdays. Refreshments and food are always welcome, as are union/organization banners, flags, and signs. A special thanks goes out to the women of CEP Local 465, employed by the Health Sciences Association, who came out to the picket line on July 6, bringing flags, signs, food, refreshments, and most importantly themselves. Just what was needed to boost the strikers' spirits, and it's hoped others follow their shining example! Solidarity works! For further information about the strike, and/or about how you can help, please contact Local 2952 President Scott McRitchie at 604-525-7481. The company's # is 604-876-4161. Messages of support to the strikers can be sent to: lu2952 at telus.net __________ 3. Another long running dispute is the Unstrike (strike on the job) that the members of CAW Local 3000 commenced against Starbucks on May 13, 2002. The major issues are job security, concessions, and seniority, and Starbucks still refuses to negotiate. For further information go to: http://www.cawlocal3000.ca/units/starbucksgen.html . Messages of support to the Unstrikers can be sent to postmaster at cawlocal3000.ca . Please contact Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at hschultz at starbucks.com and tell him you support the union. And while you're at it, you can tell him you support the union in New York City too. Workers at a Starbucks in NYC are making history by unionizing the first store in the United States with the IWW, and they are currently awaiting their upcoming National Labour Relations Board certification election. For complete information on this struggle go to: http://www.starbucksunion.org/ . You can send messages of support to the members of the IWW NYC Starbucks Baristas Union to starbucksunion at yahoo.com . Meanwhile, the Unstrikers here are asking that we patronize only their unionized Starbucks locations: 2531 East Hastings Vancouver 1702 Robson Street Vancouver 811 Hornby Street Vancouver #150-1055 West Georgia Street Royal Centre Vancouver Vancouver 1752 Commercial Drive Vancouver 1015 Denman Street Vancouver 3451 Kingsway Vancouver 1095 Howe Street Vancouver 1641 Davie Street Vancouver 1395 Main Street Vancouver, BC #222-3645 Gossett Road Westbank, BC If you have a Starbucks card, that you maybe received as a gift, please use it up at one of the unionized Starbucks, otherwise it's a donation to the company. "AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL" IWW IU 450 --------------------------------- My Inbox is protected by SPAMfighter 922 spam mails have been blocked so far. Download free SPAMfighter today! _______________________________________________ news mailing list news at lists.resist.ca https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/news ?It is better to light a candle than curse at the darkness? ?Proverb --------------------------------- Post your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 09:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 16:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] TransLink Steals Millions from Bus Riders for Privatized RAV Line Message-ID: <20040716161704.31665.qmail@resist.ca> July 13, 2004 The Bus Riders Union condemns TransLink's decision to increase fares and to proceed with a two billion dollar rail line from Vancouver to Richmond (the RAV line). The Bus Riders Union plans to wage a massive campaign to stop the fare increase which comes into effect on April 1, 2005. The campaign will be launched at a public meeting at the Vancouver Public Library (Central Branch, Alma Vandusen Room), on Saturday July 24 at 1 PM. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/13/175241/387 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] The War on Education in Iraq Message-ID: <20040716171713.5973.qmail@resist.ca> by Robert Fisk; UK Independent; July 14, 2004 The Mongols stained the Tigris black with the ink of the Iraqi books they destroyed. Today's Mongols prefer to destroy the Iraqi teachers of books. Since the Anglo-American invasion, they have murdered at least 13 academics at the University of Baghdad alone and countless others across Iraq. History professors, deans of college and Arabic tutors have all fallen victim to the war on learning. Only six weeks ago - virtually unreported, of course - the female dean of the college of law in Mosul was beheaded in her bed, along with her husband. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/15/161914/693 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] The General Strike Can Teach Unions How to Grow Message-ID: <20040716171713.5974.qmail@resist.ca> The following article, by U.S. Labour Journalist & Anti-War activist David Bacon, is an inspiring example of what working people have historically achieved through democratic organization and militant action. As Bacon explains: "The general strike and the creation of the ILWU (International Longshore & Wharehouse Worker's Union) had a ripple effect. Other workers saw dockers win a hiring hall, freeing them from the humiliating shapeup, when workers had to beg a job from a gang boss every morning. The workforce was integrated. Today Black, Latino and Asian workers are the majority in big ports like San Francisco and Los Angeles, and women drive huge container cranes. People called bums and derelicts in the 20s and 30s had some of the best-paying, most secure jobs in industrial America by the 50s and 60s. As a result, a wave of union organizing spread inland from the ports, a social movement inspiring everyone from department store clerks to farm laborers." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/15/14384/6645 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] Kanehsatake Mohawk Police Incident Under Investigation Message-ID: <20040716171713.5975.qmail@resist.ca> A Kahnawake man living in Kanehsatake was brutally assaulted by members of the Kanesatake Mohawk Police. The incident occurred on the evening of Thursday, July 1 in the town of St. Eustache. Shawn Hurley, along with his girlfriend Kim Gabriel and their two daughters, 8 and 11, were on their way to St. Hubert Barbecue in St. Eustache. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/15/135032/941 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] Temporary rail blockade only the beginning: First Nation Message-ID: <20040716171713.5972.qmail@resist.ca> PRINCE GEORGE - Some people from the Seton Lake First Nation say their temporary rail blockade Thursday was only the beginning of their fight for justice. It came one day after the $1 billion sale of B.C. Rail to Canadian National was finalized. Members of the Seton Lake Indian Band stopped one freight train south of Lillooet before lifting their blockade. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/16/9045/38616 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] U.S. Sowing Seeds of Civil War in Iraq Message-ID: <20040716171714.5977.qmail@resist.ca> The seeds of the Vietnam war were sown by the US installing a client regime in Saigon. And unless Bush and Blair are stopped by the American and British peoples, a similar catastrophe is in the making in Iraq and the wider Middle East. But it will not be a war of Arabs against Kurds, Sunnis against Shia or Muslims against Christians, but an equally devastating war between a US-backed minority (of all religions, sects and nationalities) against a similarly composed overwhelming majority of the Iraqi people. The killing fields of this war could eventually stretch from Afghanistan to Palestine. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/15/24455/9894 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] IWW Vancouver Strike Support Committee Report - July 14, 2004 Message-ID: <20040716171713.5984.qmail@resist.ca> Some things just never seem to end! Here are some details on 3 ongoing job actions in the Lower Mainland. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/14/141425/015 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] Anarchists attack immigrant detention centre in Italy Message-ID: <20040716171714.5976.qmail@resist.ca> On July 11th, a group of anarchists attacked the "Regina Pacis" immigrant detention centre in San Foca, Italy. The detained responded by trashing the centre and attempting to escape. One anarchist was arrested. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/15/132957/114 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] Japan school kids to be tagged with RFID chips Message-ID: <20040716171714.5985.qmail@resist.ca> By Jo Best ; news.com [S]chool authorities in the Japanese city of Osaka have decided the benefits [of using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags] outweigh the disadvantages and will now be chipping children in one primary school. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/14/93053/2157 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 16 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] The Cult of Power - From Leon Trotsky to Paul Wolfowitz Message-ID: <20040716171714.5982.qmail@resist.ca> OK. Before you get all mad about this heretical-looking title, imagine what would happen if a powerful neo-conservative applied the theory and principles of "permanent revolution" ... look familiar? Seymour Hersh has recently called (US Deputy Secretary of Defense) Paul Wolfowitz "the greatest Trotskyite of our times." Justin Raimondo goes into a very interesting exploration of this statement in this story from http://antiwar.com . URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/14/141028/719 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Tue Jul 13 12:59:55 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:59:55 -0700 Subject: [news] Mayor Apologizes, Invites Qaradawi Back To London Message-ID: <40F43F3B.1040306@telus.net> Mayor Apologizes, Invites Qaradawi Back To London http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2004-07/13/article02.shtml LONDON, July 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Apologizing on behalf of the people of London for the fuss that overshadowed the current visit by Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradawi, London Mayor invited the prominent Muslim scholar back to the United Kingdom next October. "On behalf of the people of London, I want to apologize to the Sheikh for the outbreak of xenophobia and hysteria in some sections of the tabloid press which demonstrated an underlying ignorance of Islam," Ken Livingstone said Monday, July 12, reported British daily the Independent. Attending the Pro-Hijab Conference, held at the Greater London Authority under his auspices, Livingstone said he was honored to invite Qaradawi back to Britain for another lecture tour, reported the Dehavilland web site Tuesday, July 13. Dr Qaradawi welcomed the invitation to attend the European Social Forum at Alexander Palace next October, where the issue of banning Hijab in some parts of Western Europe, will be one of the main themes. "I would like this invitation. I would hope to meet him (Livingstone) again." The London mayor praised Qaradawi as "a moderate scholar, held in respect throughout the Muslim world" who preaches tolerance and respect for others. He stressed that the veteran scholar does not hold the views which others had attributed to him, according to the Independent. Livingstone went on to say that "ignorance and misrepresentation" by the media might be due to the lack of members of staff on newspapers drawn from the ethnic minorities, making them unrepresentative of the population they serve. He suggested it was an issue he would look at during his term of office. "It is not the first time it has happened. Many of us have been victims of this in the past when the press write speeches that were not made from a meeting you never attended," he added. Livingstone also questioned Tory leader, Michael Howard's "knee-jerk reaction" to Qaradawi's visit. "The leader of the opposition, having been Home Secretary on the occasion when professor Al-Qaradawi came to this country five times and did not see it was necessary to ban him then, suddenly has a knee-jerk reaction to ban him now that we have a Labour Government," he added. In his address before the conference, Sheikh Qaradawi said plurality and diversity were necessary in society and pointed out that it was not just Islam that encouraged women to dress modestly - Judaism and Christianity had similar traditions. "If a woman can wear a mini skirt or a sleeveless top, why can't she wear a headscarf? Banning it is against religious freedom," he said. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has launched a vile campaign against Qaradawi's visit and presented an alleged "dossier" against him to police. However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concluded Friday, July 9, that there was no legal ground to prosecute Sheikh Qaradawi. "We have advised the Metropolitan Police that there is insufficient evidence that a criminal offence has been committed," ruled the CPS. Sheikh Qaradawi has condemned those who judged his works without having read them. Addressing 3,500 worshippers during Friday prayers in London's Central Mosque, the scholar said he was being misrepresented. He further accused some parties of the press of deliberately distorting his views without trying or even caring to read any of his books and lectures, or watching his frequent TV appearances. The controversy was sparked by a British MP, who urged Home Secretary David Blunkett to deny the renowned scholar access to London. Louise Ellman, Labour member for Liverpool Liverside, is a member of the Labour Friends of Israel group and had delivered several speeches before Israeli groups in London like Poale Zion. Last December, she triggered a similar row by using parliamentary privilege to claim that the MAB supported terrorism and promoted anti-Jews hatred. ________________________________________________________ Montreal Muslim News Network - http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From ishaq1823 at telus.net Tue Jul 13 18:27:20 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:27:20 -0700 Subject: [news] The New Plantation Message-ID: <40F48BF8.4090600@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27860.php The New Plantation I am not a black man. But these days, I can't imagine a riskier thing to be. Keep reading. This isn't about to become a competition of ranking oppressions, or an indictment of white people everywhere. People have it hard in this country, period. Poor people, Indian Nations, immigrants, and women of all backgrounds. It's a long list, and it's a damn shame. It is, in fact, an embarrassment of suffering in a nation with an embarrassment of riches. The New Plantation By Silja J.A. Talvi, Gadflyer Posted on July 9, 2004, Printed on July 13, 2004 http://www.alternet.org/story/19182/ I am not a black man. But these days, I can't imagine a riskier thing to be. Keep reading. This isn't about to become a competition of ranking oppressions, or an indictment of white people everywhere. People have it hard in this country, period. Poor people, Indian Nations, immigrants, and women of all backgrounds. It's a long list, and it's a damn shame. It is, in fact, an embarrassment of suffering in a nation with an embarrassment of riches. But speaking in purely statistical terms, this isn't a good time to be a low-income African American in the U.S. (when was it ever, you may rightly ask?), but especially if you're one of the nearly 900,000 African Americans sitting behind bars at this very moment. Already, the U.S. Justice Department itself projects that 32% of African-American men born in 2001 will spend time in prison. That's one in three black men, folks. One in three. And nearly every month, I come across another shocking new study, another class action lawsuit, or a straight-ahead government report that confirms another escalation in what amounts to a national phenomenon of mass incarceration. Nearly every month, I'm left staring at another staggering finding about the disproportionate impact of imprisonment on people whose skin tones largely range from brown to black. And every month, I'm left wondering what to do with the information at my fingertips. What new twist, what new angle on the facts will finally push the issue to the forefront? And, more to the point, who cares? Last month, a team of highly respected sociologists, Becky Pettit of the University of Washington and Bruce Western of Princeton University, published a new report in the American Sociological Review. The study, "Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in U.S. Incarceration," reported that African American men are more likely to end up in prison than to earn a bachelor's degree or even serve in the military. Pettit and Western, who have tackled related topics for many years now, sounded another alarm that should have made front-page news: Fully 60 percent of African-American male high-school dropouts born between 1965 and 1969 had been incarcerated by the time they reached their early 30s. Could the link between ethnicity, income, education and incarceration in the U.S. be any clearer? Fifty years ago, the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision resulted in the (gradual and hardly complete) desegregation of schools. The Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project set out to find out how much things had changed since then, where African Americans in the prison system were concerned. Here's what they found. In 1954, there were 98,000 African Americans in prison or jail. By 1974, that number had crept up to 153,500. By 1994, it had grown fourfold to 635,000. And in 2002, it had risen to a record high of 884,500. What's going on here? No one's denying that crimes are being committed. But the real, underlying questions are how we define criminal behavior; how we decide to punish that behavior; and why, in the face of declining crime rates, are prison numbers - especially for people of color - climbing year by year? Take California's ten-year anniversary of the "Three Strikes and You're Out" law earlier this year. The law was supposed to take care of the "worst of the worst," but it has been bad news all the way around. Men and women have gotten life sentences for shoplifting, for repeat petty offenses, and out of the very nature of their persistent and untreated drug habits. By the end of 2003, it had cost the cash-strapped state about $8.1 billion in incarceration costs. When the Justice Policy Institute decided to take an even closer look at the situation in a March 2004 report, Still Striking Out, they found something that made my head reel. The African American incarceration rate for Three Strikes was no less than 12 times higherthan that of European Americans. This is the kind of thing we need to be looking at. We need to look so hard into this that we actually figure out that there's a serious problem at hand. That we're playing with people's lives, breaking apart families (did you know that there are at least 1.5 million kids out there with parents in prison?), and, in essence, guaranteeing intergenerational cycles of crime and imprisonment. There's nothing like serious family instability to guarantee a kid's likelihood of ending up in trouble. Anyone who works in the "system" will tell you that, regardless of where they stand on the issue of prison expansion. But by their own admission, many of the editors I work with say that while the over-incarceration of African Americans is something they genuinely care about, they're having to push these kinds of "social issues" to the backburner. After all, we've got body bags coming back from Iraq, a November election to see if Bush can actually win (not steal) the presidency, and a budgetary deficit that has entered the realm of the surreal. All true, I know. But while we wait to see how the elections shake out, another few thousand African-American men get thrown behind bars. Another few thousand get released with a few dollars and a whole heap of shame, anger and alienation trailing behind them (if you're still under the impression that prison generally rehabilitates the people who get sentenced, I'd encourage you to spend just an hour talking with a former prisoner about what they really "learned" under lock-and-key). There's an inherent challenge in writing about these realities. People assume that I'm a bleeding-heart liberal who romanticizes the plight of prisoners. As someone who has sat face-to-face with child molesters, murderers and rapists - and as someone who has been victimized herself - I can tell you that is not the case. The thing is that I can see people as more than the nature of their crime, which is what gives me the ability to do this work in the first place. But why, people frequently ask about my work, do you focus on people of color in prison so much? White people go to prison too, you know! And these people are right about one thing: European Americans do go to prison. In many states, they're actually still the majority of people in prison. The fact is that many European-American men and women are unjustly imprisoned and harshly sentenced, and suffer degradations and cruelties that most Americans would be shocked to learn about (if only the mainstream press paid as much attention to them as to Abu Ghraib). Consequently, I write about them with as much passion as I write about anyone else who suffers an injustice in the criminal justice system, whether that's an European-American prison guard, a Native American chaplain, or a gay prisoner sold into sexual slavery. For me, it's a question of numbers and probability. And when the probability of a black man going to prison looks the way it looks right now, it's something that I'm more than likely to pay a hell of a lot of attention to, regardless of what news magazines or newspapers are interested in printing. This is a crisis, people. An absolute crisis on a national scale that deserves every bit as much attention as the war we're fighting overseas. Because this is a war, of sorts, of our own. It's a drug war; a war on crime gone awry; a twisted war on poverty that targets the poor for their choice to survive by the means that they have at their disposal. We don't need to make excuses. We don't need to look the other way when real crimes are committed. We don't need to romanticize the plight of prisoners to get it through our heads that the prison industrial complex has absolutely spiraled out of control. We're blind if we don't see what all of this is adding up to: Prisons are the new plantation. And this is a kind of bondage we've never seen before, with repercussions we're only beginning to grasp. ? 2004 Independent Media Institute. http://www.alternet.org/story/19182/ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Wed Jul 14 15:59:33 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 15:59:33 -0700 Subject: [news] [drumbeat-weekend_edition] Too Poor To Afford Justice Message-ID: <40F5BAD5.8020502@telus.net> Many Denied Right to Counsel http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/printer_071404J.shtml ************ Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Within forty years of ratifying the Federal Bill of Rights, the practice of plea-bargaining had become common in violation of the 5th and 6th Amendments. Under plea-bargaining, a person is denied a speedy and public trial by impartial jury and compelled to witness against himself to lesser charges without confrontation of witnesses or access to favorable witnesses, all without due process of law and often upon the advice of counsel. This is done merely to minimize the workload and expenses of the court. If a person should insist upon exercising his right to a trial, such a right will be turned into a punishment of harsher sentencing if the person should be found guilty. Exercising the right to not testify in the trial also weighs against the person rather than for him. The courts have therefore effectively nullified the 5th and 6th Amendments for any innocent persons unable to afford the competent legal counsel to be found not guilty. Djehuti Sundaka Members can access the egroups website any time and read the group's posted messages at: http://www.egroups.com/messages/Drumbeat-weekend_edition ... Many Denied Right to Counsel http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/printer_071404J.shtml ************ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Wed Jul 14 16:21:08 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 16:21:08 -0700 Subject: [news] REVIEW: movie--hijacking catastrophe Message-ID: <40F5BFE4.3020209@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27890.php REVIEW: movie--hijacking catastrophe As Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 cleans up in movie theaters nationwide, and with antiwar documentaries all the rage these days, I went to see another, less heralded account of how and why we were lied into war: Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear, & the Selling of American Empire, and it is (almost) everything I hoped Moore's opus would be. Narrated by Julian Bond (yes, that Julian Bond), this film zeroes in on a subject completely neglected by Moore: the key role played by the neoconservatives in agitating for and rationalizing the invasion of Iraq. REVIEW: movie--hijacking catastrophe ================================= "By helping us understand how fear is being actively cultivated and manipulated by the current administration, Hijacking Catastrophe stands to become an explosive and empowering information weapon in this decisive year in U.S. history." Naomi Klein KERRY AND THE 'ANTIWAR' LEFT 'HIJACKING CATASTROPHE' IS A GREAT MOVIE By: Justin Raimondo As Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 cleans up in movie theaters nationwide, and with antiwar documentaries all the rage these days, I went to see another, less heralded account of how and why we were lied into war: Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear, & the Selling of American Empire, and it is (almost) everything I hoped Moore's opus would be. Narrated by Julian Bond (yes, that Julian Bond http://www.naacp.org/leadership/bond.shtml), this film zeroes in on a subject completely neglected by Moore: the key role played by the neoconservatives in agitating for and rationalizing the invasion of Iraq. But before they let us see the movie ? it was some kind of a benefit for something called "No American Left Behind" ? the sponsors of this showing at San Francisco's Roxie Theater subjected us to endless harangues, "poetry" readings, and other "entertainment," which was so maddeningly predictable and boring that it was almost enough to send me running from the theater, screaming. First up was some guy who I thought I recognized ? hey, wasn't he panhandling outside the theater when I bought my ticket? At any rate, it was hard to tell, since he was wearing sunglasses and a cheap suit: he was supposed to be a CIA agent, ya see, and ?. Well, you had to be there, really, because this was the Left's idea of "humor" ? and was about as funny as one of Fidel Castro's three- and-a-half-hour marathon speaking jags. The MC ? a 20-something woman who said "Um," "Ah," and "you know" a lot, punctuated by bouts of baffling silence ? then stepped up to the microphone, to give us her take on things: yesterday, she mournfully informed us, was July 4th, but "it wasn't really a day for celebration." Hey, so what about all those fireworks they shot over the Bay, and those crowds of rollicking party-goers getting rowdy in the streets? Oh well, never mind, they were all probably evil reactionaries, because, as Ms. PC lectured us, "fireworks were inappropriate" when bombs were raining down on Iraq. Helloooooooooooooo! Earth calling San Francisco lefties ? the bombing of Iraq is (pretty much) over, but, aside from that, Independence Day is a celebration of an anti-imperialist war in which the Good Guys won. I realize they don't teach American History in schools anymore, but those feisty Americans, you may have heard, rose up, kicked out the British king, and started a country all their own?. Oh, well, never mind: I don't think this well-meaning and quite attractive Comrade Ninotchka had the faintest inkling of the true meaning of Independence Day, because in her very next breath she opined that the race for the White House "is a global election." I think the president's neocon advisors and cheerleaders would agree, to a certain extent: their perspective, too, is global in scope, albeit coming from a somewhat different direction, as the film we were about to see made all too clear. Oh, but they weren't going to let us see it quite yet. Not by a long shot?. Next up was a poetess of some energy, but little relevance and even less talent, who went into a long, convoluted rap about her grandfather and all his many problems, her father and all his many problems, all of which seemed somehow traceable to George W. Bush and those e-vile Republicans. Good lord, I thought, is there to be no end to this? Where in god's name is this mooo-vie?! I realized, then, with some alarm, that the organizers of this shindig had hijacked the audience ? and it was fast turning into a friggin' catastrophe that only got worse with the introduction of some guy named Dan Bern, who did a great imitation of Bob Dylan, except for the lyrics. His little ditty, "Talking Al Kida Blues" is all about how the 9/11 terrorist attacks weren't all that bad: "It was a beautiful day in New York town "Folks jogging, biking, walking 'round "When a couple of airplanes came around "Hit the big towers, knocked 'em down "Worst disaster on US soil ever! "Course, there's the Indians, a few million slaves...Enron...Anyway, it was worse than Pearl Harbor!" Ugh. Gee, I wonder if anyone in the World Trade Center (or even the Pentagon) ever owned a slave. Nah, probably not. And there were probably a few Injuns hanging around the WTC and/or the vicinity of the Pentagon that day. Oh, but don't bother Dan Bern with those messy little details: individuals don't fit into his moral calculus. We're all collectively guilty ? of being Americans. Bern had no sooner finished his clueless warbling when the audience burst into enthusiastic applause. That's when I started to act up, booing loudly. Heads turned. Well, let them turn, I thought. These people have to realize the evil of what they're applauding: there has to be some audible dissent. And, believe me, I know how to be audible?. Thankfully for everyone concerned, the warbling didn't go on much longer: after torturing us for what seemed like an eternity, the Commies in charge took pity and decided to show the movie. Yayyyyyyy! And it was great stuff: the opening shows clips of the president and his men l ying through their teeth about "weapons of mass destruction": "We know they're there," we're "certain" they're there, we've seen them as if with our very own eyes . There's something about a lie shot in black-and-white that underscores the venality and sinister motives of the liars. After enduring over an hour of pious generalities uttered with unbearable smugness, the opening shots of Hijacking Catastrophe were like a bracing splash of cold clear air let into a stuffy overheated room. This question is posed directly to the audience at the very beginning: Okay, so if "weapons of mass destruction" and Saddam's alleged hand in 9/11 were propagandistic illusions, then what were the real reasons we went to war? I'm not so sure that we get a single answer from the makers of this film, but we do get a few very interesting and sensible explanations, aside from the usual "it's all about oil" bilge. After flashing onscreen a quote from Goering about how to manipulate the populace into getting behind a war, the film segues straight into a rendering of the "Blueprint for Empire" ? and its authors. Rather than focus on anonymous forces, economic or otherwise, the film homes in on specific individuals, giving us an overview of the neoconservative faction embedded in this administration, and focusing on Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Particular attention is paid to the presentiment of the preemption doctrine outlined in Wolfie's 1992 memorandum, now infamous, in which the goal of global military hegemony was first advanced in government circles. With commentary from retired Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former Pentagon analyst, Chalmers Johnson, Norman Mailer, William Hartung, Immanuel Wallerstein, and a number other well-informed neocon-watchers, the story of how a small but very well-connected sect hijacked American foreign policy and pushed relentlessly for war with Iraq is told clearly and succinctly. Hijacking Catastrophe points to a key neocon group, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), founded in 1997, as the catalyst for much of what we are seeing unfold in Iraq today. Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz are all associated with PNAC, and, during the Clinton era, the group spent much of its energy issuing open letters signed by prominent neocons (in both parties) calling for war with Iraq and a more hardline anti-Arab, pro-Israel shift in American foreign policy. In 2000 PNAC issued a report predicting that their proposed "transformation" of U.S. military and diplomatic policy in the Middle East wouldn't come very quickly, barring the occurrence of "some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor." The neocons soon had their wish, and they moved quickly to take full advantage of the opportunity 9/11 presented. The Wolfowitz Doctrine of imperial preemption was a theory waiting for just such a catastrophe, and the hijacking of the American government was relatively easy under the circumstances. Col. Kwiatkowski goes into the details of how the architects of empire, acting under the rubric of the "Office of Special Plans," built a big lie with bits and pieces of isolated "truths." It wasn't "a failure of intelligence" that landed us in the Middle East quagmire, but a conscious deception carried out by highly placed government officials and their media amen corner: the neoconservative network. On the motives for the Iraq war, there is dissent in the ranks: some come out with the "war for oil" line, but Wallerstein and Tariq Ali concur that it isn't so much oil as an act of pure intimidation. The makers of this film seem to implicitly agree, as they analyze the methods and meaning of "shock and awe," which is, as they point out, "the practical application of the Wolfowitz Doctrine." There isn't a whole lot of oil coming out of Iraq, but there sure does seem to be a lot of intimidation going on over there, and so I'm with , Ali, and, I think, Chalmers Johnson on this one. As the latter puts it in the film: the invasion and occupation of Iraq was meant as an awe-inspiring "demonstration of imperial power." I suppose it's unavoidable that a requisite amount of leftist dogma is going to worm its way into a film of this kind, but Hijacking Catastrophe is remarkably free of this sort of nonsense: the worst naturally comes from Mailer, who smirks that the real role of government, rather than spying on U.S. citizens, is to act to "impede" the wealthy at every turn. President Mailer would declare Martha Stewart an "enemy combatant." Why am I not surprised? But Mailer's inanities take up only a few minutes of wasted footage out of a solid hour of hardcore factual reporting: Hijacking Catastrophe has the narrative tension of a good detective story, tracing the documentary evidence straight back to the neoconservative suspects in this case of the War Party vs. the American People. Abstract economic interests ? oil, Haliburton's profit margin, etc. ? don't explain the breadth and depth of the long-term campaign to drag us, kicking and screaming, into the Middle East with an army of 120,000 or so, at a cost of a hundred billion-plus and counting. As this excellent film points out, the blueprint for war was laid down a decade ago, by people who knew what they wanted, and who promulgated ideas that gained currency at the top levels of government. I really really like this movie, but it isn't without faults. Where Hijacking Catastrophe falls down is in its analysis of the Clinton years. They don't mention the Iraq Liberation Act, passed in the Clinton era, and with full Democratic party support, which first proclaimed "regime change" as a matter of official policy. Nor do they mention, even in passing, the pioneering role of the Clintonites in pushing the idea of "humanitarian" interventionism, as in Haiti, Bosnia, and the former Yugoslavia. The neocons may have been largely out of government during the Clinton years, but this is to ignore the neocon network inside the Democratic party. If the Weekly Standard is the flagship organ of the neocon GOPers, then its Democratic party equivalent is The New Republic, which has been practically the house organ of the War Party since the days of Woodrow Wilson. Two of the leading Democratic presidential primary contenders, Dick Gephardt and Joe Lieberman, vocally supported the decision to go to war, and continue to do so. All this goes politely unmentioned, along with the decades-long history of the neoconservatives, which is nowhere even touched on. Yet it's common knowledge they're all former "Scoop" Jackson Democrats, with their intellectual forefathers (Irving Kristol and Max Shachtman) coming straight out of the Trotskyist sects of the 1930s and into the Democratic party. Partisan politics and ideological prejudices are the enemies of truth, and, therefore, of good filmmaking. To the extent that Hijacking Catastrophe indulges in either, the camera lens seems to blur and the narrative tends to meander, and annoy. This movie was mercifully without these deforming characteristics, for the most part: it's just too bad I can't say as much about the rest of that evening. So you thought because the movie was over that they were going to let us go out in to the night with our own thoughts, unfiltered and unchecked for political correctness? Not so fast?. The 20-something mistress of ceremonies again took the stage. I don't remember if we had to listen to another poem about somebody's grandfather, at that point, although I believe so. I got out of there as fast as I could. Never have I needed a cigarette more. By the time I got back in they were already introducing the featured speaker of the evening: Medea Benjamin, activist and author, a founder of "Code Pink," a women's antiwar group, and a local Green Party luminary . I call her "Media" Benjamin, since she's so fond of publicity and has no trouble generating it in the lefty-liberal Bay Area. No protest against "Big Oil" or budget cuts is complete without media-savvy Medea stealing the spotlight and performing for the cameras, which is why the MC, in her introduction, averred that the speaker needed none (but gave one anyway). My last encounter with Ms. Benjamin had been at an antiwar rally early on in the Iraq conflict. She was standing around looking important as I told Alex Cockburn that I was curious why, since the platform was festooned with banners from the "Socialist Action League" and the "Workers Anarchist Collective," they had somehow neglected to have a single American flag on stage. Medea sneered and declared that she wouldn't want to see an American flag anywhere near the place. (Cockburn, by the way, agreed with me, and said he had always been very pro-flag.) All this as a precis to the astonishing content of Ms. Benjamin's speech, which had me sitting there open-mouthed, sputtering with disbelief. She wanted to create, she explained, a get-out- the-vote campaign on behalf of ? John Kerry. The only possible purpose of "progressive" politics at this point is to get George W. Bush out of the White House. Sure, she admitted, he has some ? uh, deficiencies. She didn't get too specific. Nowhere did she so much as mention his support for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Nor did she deign to acknowledge that he is campaigning on a promise to send more troops, and explicitly and vehemently opposes a U.S. withdrawal. But she held out the hope that we might build a "movement" that could "pressure Kerry." And "if they steal this election," she thundered, "we'll bring people out into the streets!" To the barricades for Kerry! That's Medea's battle-cry. I sat, and listened, in silence, except for an occasional sputter, as long as I could. Then I began to ? say things. Loudly. When she got to the part about how we must "pressure" Kerry, I suppressed a number of possible (and highly obscene) responses and, instead, let loose with a skeptical laugh. When she admitted that her hero Kerry "isn't perfect" I couldn't help but agree: "You got that right!" And when she looked at me, and complained that she could use some "respect" from me, I again repressed my Rabelaisian instincts and instead pointed out, in a calm and measured tone, that she is nothing but a shill for warmongers in the Democratic party and she ought to be ashamed of herself. Well, she didn't like that, and thought it was "rude" and "disrespectful" of me to say these things, to which my answer was: chill out, Medea, this is the "participatory democracy" you told us you wanted. That got her off on a tangent, and she went into this whole riff about how we can't really do anything ? except, of course, vote for Kerry ? until we "reform" the entire electoral process. First, by getting rid of the Electoral College, and then by allowing for proportional representation, "like in Europe." And all of this is to be supported with tax dollars: the parties, the campaign funding, everything. We need "minority voices," she wailed ? even as her Democratic party bosses were kicking Ralph Nader off the ballot in Arizona, and challenging his election petitions everywhere in a concerted effort to still that particular minority voice. Is Medea in favor of that? She never even mentioned it. Ms. Benjamin and her fellow Code Pinkos are worse than political whores. Their strategy boils down to selling out their alleged antiwar principles in pursuit of some vague opportunity to apply "pressure," with no rational expectation that it will have any effect ? or any indication of what this "pressure" will consist of. As the peerless Matt Taibbi put it in a wonderful article a bout how the Greens rejected Nader in favor of some unknown pro-Kerry California lawyer: "But this line of reasoning doesn't make sense for the Green Party. If you're going to suck a cock in a train-station lavatory, you ought to at least get something for it." So how did Kerry get the leftie "radical" Media Benjamin to stand on streetcorners for him? Do you think she's whoring just for the sheer fun of it, or is she somehow getting paid off? I'm not talking about money payments: that's too clean, too obvious, too direct, and far too traceable. What the Greens-for-Kerry "movement" provides is psychological payment via access to power, either real imaginary. I mean, how and why do the Medea Benjamins of this world ever think they'll be able to "pressure" Kerry into withdrawing from Iraq, or, for that matter, implementing any of the multitude of domestic projects they have in mind? They like to imagine they will have Kerry's ear, or the ears of his closest advisors. Power is such a strong intoxicant that even a saint ? or, perhaps, especially those who imagine themselves saints ? can fall victim to its temptations even by standing inproximity to it. So that even purely imaginary influence is enough to satisfy the aspiring power junkie. Another psychological pay-off comes with the illusion of dissidence: these "Greens" can still maintain the stylistic pretensions of "antiwar" protesters in the very act of supporting a pro-war candidate. But that's what you get with a party named after a color: all style, and no substance. Oh well, it was an evening well spent. In-person political combat is exhilarating, and fun, every once in a while, and this event sure did get my juices flowing. What I found absolutely outrageous is how this showing of Hijacked Catastrophe was itself hijacked by the Democratic wing of the War Party. This underscores the great danger that this election year poses for s o-called "progressive" activists, especially if the Medea Strategy winds up betraying ? and killing ? their own offspring, which is the antiwar movement. The horrible irony is that this represents not only a diversion away from the goals of peace in the Middle East, it channels the resources of the so-called "peace movement" directly into the ranks of the War Party. Medea Benjamin and her "progressive" ilk play on the sense of imminent crisis, and the panic of the American people, much as the War Party does, only in reverse. If we don't throw those neocons out of there immediately, terrible things will happen. Never mind principles, this is an emergency! Where have we heard all this before? Antiwar activists looking for immediate results are setting themselves up for disappointment, just as Ms. Benjamin and her cohorts are setting people up for a President Kerry likely to prosecute the war in Iraq as fiercely and unapologetically as Lyndon Baines Johnson prosecuted the war in Vietnam. Kerry's vice presidential pick, John Edwards, is no peacenik, either: Edwards consistently and aggressively plumbed for invading Iraq, echoing each and every lie told by this administration in the run-up to war, and has never changed his position. If Medea and her friends are so sure of their power to influence and "pressure" Kerry and the Democrats, then why didn't they "mobilize" in favor of a pro-peace Democrat for the vice-presidential slot? These people are all talk, and no action, that's why: they're fakes, frauds, and liars themselves, just like the neocons, only they're far less successful at it (for the moment, at any rate). When President Kerry puts more troops in Iraq, the blood they shed will be on his supporters' hands. For this reason alone, the antiwar movement should reject the Benjamin strategy of betrayal and impotence without hesitation, or regret. http://www.mediaed.org/videos/CommercialismPoliticsAndMedia/HijackingCatastrophe -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } Disclaimer | Privacy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Thu Jul 15 12:46:30 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 12:46:30 -0700 Subject: [news] [welfare poets] Puerto Rican Baseball Player Will Not Stand for War Message-ID: <40F6DF16.7030802@telus.net> Puerto Rican Baseball Player Will Not Stand for War http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ July 9, 2004Carlos Delgado on Deck Blue Jays Slugger Stands Up Against War By DAVE ZIRIN Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado is known throughout the baseball world as one of the most feared sluggers in the game. Last year the 32 year old All-Star hit 42 homers and drove in 145 runs. He has averaged almost 40 home runs a year over the last six seasons. With his imposing physical frame, baldhead and gold earring he is one of the most recognizable faces in the game. Lately he has put the baseball world on notice that he will use his fame to fight the US's war on the world. In a very sympathetic story on the pages of the Toronto Star, Delgado came public with the fact he won't stand on the dug out steps for God Bless America. "I never stay outside for `God Bless America,'" Delgado said. "I actually don't think people have noticed it. I don't (stand) because I don't believe it's right, I don't believe in the war." Delgado also made clear that we won't stand for the priorities of the US military machine "It's a very terrible thing that happened on September 11," he said. "It's (also) a terrible thing that happened in Afghanistan and Iraq. I just feel so sad for the families that lost relatives and loved ones in the war. But I think it's the stupidest war ever. Who are you fighting against? You're just getting ambushed now. We have more people dead now, after the war, than during the war. You've been looking for weapons of mass destruction. Where are they at? You've been looking for over a year. Can't find them. I don't support that. I don't support what they do. I think it's just stupid." Athletes have historically paid a steep price for standing up to the way sports is used to package patriotism and war. In the 1960s, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to go to Viet Nam. In 1991 Bulls guard Craig Hodges found himself black balled from the NBA after protesting the Gulf War at a visit to George Bush's White House with the champion Chicago Bulls. A similar fate befell shooting guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1998 when he refused to stand for the National Anthem. Delgado doesn't care. "Sometimes, you've just got to break the mold. You've got to push it a little bit or else you can't get anything done." . Delgado fortunately is aided by both his superstar status and the fact he plays in Canada where the media is less likely to take orders from the Pentagon and slam the slugger. But his resolve comes from a deeply personal place. You might say the issue of the US military's human toll hits home. Delgado is from Puerto Rico and has campaigned for years to end the U.S. Navy's presence in Vieques, an island that had been a weapons testing ground for sixty years. The Navy recently left Vieques, but it has also left behind an area with 50% unemployment, abnormally high cancer rates, and deep poverty. Delgado is now part of a movement to get the US government to clean up their mess. He sees the people of Vieques as another casualty in the war on Iraq, the guinea pigs for the weapons that have wreaked havoc throughout the Persian Gulf. "You're dealing with health, with poverty, with the roots of an entire community, both economically and environmentally," Delgado has said. "This is way bigger than just a political or military issue. Because the military left last year and they haven't cleaned the place up yet. The catalytic event for his activism was when a Vieques man, David Sanes, was the casualty of an errant bomb on April 19, 1999. Delgado wanted to act so his father hooked him up with 'an old Socialist Party pal' named Ismael Guadalupe. The high school teacher, "a leading figure in the island's protest movement", had spent six months in prison in 1979 for protesting on "Navy property" in Vieques. "He wanted to help out with more than just the situation with the Navy," Guadalupe, 59, said of Delgado. "He wanted to help the people there. He wanted to help the children." Delgado has done more than talk a good game. Together with singer Ricky Martin and boxer Felix Trinidad, took out full-page advertisements about Vieques in The New York Times and Washington Post. The full page ad included the names of fellow major league all stars Roberto Alomar, Juan Gonzalez, and Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez. Boxers John Ruiz and Felix 'Tito' Trinidad and golfer Chichi Rodriguez also signed on. Delgado didn't fear reprisals for his newspaper ads critical of the Navy in April of 2001. "What are they going to do, kick me out of the game? Take away my endorsements?" Delgado has put his money where his mouth is, donating $100,000 to youth sports, schools and activists on the island. He also travels to Vieques every January to run clinics, and bear gifts for the children. "You'll need millions and millions of dollars to clean Vieques up. So, we try to make (the money) as effective as we can. We make it work for kids. I can't clean up Vieques by myself. It's going to take a lot of people." You get the feeling Carlos Delgado wants to see a clean up far beyond the borders of Puerto Rico. Dave Zirin can be reached at editor at pgpost.com. His sports writing can be read at edgeofsports.com. ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Peace sells but who's buying?"\ Megadeth\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ Mutabartuka\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://loudandoffensive.com/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jul 16 00:52:28 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 00:52:28 -0700 Subject: [news] Ryan Anderson: A Man ahead of His Times Message-ID: <40F7893C.2090008@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/27964.php Ryan Anderson: A Man ahead of His Times "While I love my homeland, I believe the leaders have taken this horrible road. I have no belief in what the American Army has asked me to do. They have taken me from my family and sent me to die," ...But Anderson, a convert to Islam, said he would not fight overseas against "brother" Muslims. "I am very upset about that," he said. "I love my country, but I fear my government." SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER Video records soldier's plans to join al-Qaida Thursday, May 13, 2004 By MIKE BARBER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER FORT LEWIS -- Army Spc. Ryan Anderson talked with his lawyer and wrote on a notepad yesterday, but didn't look up at the screen showing an undercover video of his meeting near the Space Needle in February with two federal investigators posing as al-Qaida terrorist recruiters. In the 58-minute recording made inside a vehicle, with about a minute censored for security reasons, Anderson, 26, of Lynnwood is shown volunteering ideas on how to defeat U.S. military vehicles and kill soldiers, sharing military documents, making plans to desert and join al-Qaida, and his reasons for it all. "While I love my homeland, I believe the leaders have taken this horrible road. I have no belief in what the American Army has asked me to do. They have taken me from my family and sent me to die," Anderson said on the video, which was shown in a courtroom at this Army base yesterday. "I joined the National Guard because they said I won't go over and fight -- I will fight at home," he said. But Anderson, a convert to Islam, said he would not fight overseas against "brother" Muslims. "I am very upset about that," he said. "I love my country, but I fear my government." On the video, Anderson gives Jordanian ancestry on his mother's side of the family as a motivation for defecting, claiming he was sickened when fellow soldiers denigrated Arabs and Muslims without reprimand. "I believe you are what Americans would call al-Qaida," Anderson tells the agents. When they ask why they should trust him, he said: "If I walk away, I'm wanted in the country. It's called AWOL or desertion. If I leave, I cannot come back." Anderson, a member of a tank crew with the state National Guard's 81st Armor Division that deployed to Iraq in March, was arrested in February after he allegedly tried to pass information to undercover Army investigators. He is charged with five counts of trying to communicate with terrorists. Anderson seemed relaxed yesterday. He was dressed in a desert-camouflage uniform and wore black-rimmed glasses. He is appearing at an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury in the civilian legal system except that Anderson can be present and cross-examine witnesses. Recommendations will be made to Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano, Fort Lewis commander, who will decide whether to convene a court-martial and whether charges will carry the death penalty. Anderson, a 2002 Washington State University graduate in military history, was known to high school classmates in Lynnwood for his Christian and paramilitary enthusiasm and profuse letter writing to newspapers. Then he embraced his version of Islam and kept his ideas flowing on Internet forums. One Internet forum sparked the case against him. As the first witness, Shannen Rossmiller, a city judge in Conrad, Mont., described yesterday how she linked the name and e-mail address of Amir Abdul Rashid on the Web site to Anderson. Under questioning and cross-examination, Rossmiller said she is a member of 7/Seas.net, a group of seven amateur "counterintelligence" Web-surfing hobbyists tracking terrorist activity and providing information to the government. Its members include four in the United States, one in Australia, one in Indonesia and another in Canada, Rossmiller said. She told investigating officer Col. Patrick Reinert she saw a posting from "Rashid" after visiting a site that carries a graphic of Osama bin Laden and an American flag burning. She began a dialogue because "he was curious whether a brother fighting on the wrong side could join or defect." "Soon very soon I will have the opportunity to take my own end of the struggle to those who oppress us, to the next level," a message from "Rashid" read. Rossmiller played along for several months until January, performing a string of Internet searches to link Rashid to Anderson. She contacted the Homeland Security Department, which put her in touch with the FBI and U.S. Army Military Intelligence agents. Special agent Ricardo Romero from the 902nd Military Intelligence Group at Fort Meade, Md., testified that he met undercover with Anderson on Feb. 8 in Lakewood and Feb. 9 at the Seattle Center. Romero said he posed as an al-Qaida recruiter. He also contacted Anderson by cell phone text messaging, giving a Detroit area code because the city is home to many Muslim Americans. "I hope you aren't FBI or NSA (National Security Agency) or something," a cautious Anderson reportedly said. "If you are who you say you are and things go where I think they are going, I will be unwelcome in the only land I've ever known as home, never to see my parents again," another message says. In the undercover video, Anderson seemingly volunteers information freely, with little prompting, pulling his weapons card, military ID and others for Ramon to photograph. Talking in great detail, Anderson on the video produced literature about the M1A1 battle tank and how to defeat it and the kill the soldiers inside. Among those at Anderson's hearing was Capt. James Yee, 36, recently restored to duty at Fort Lewis after successfully defending himself in a court-martial that grew out of his arrest in September as a suspect in an espionage ring at Guantanamo Bay. Yee talked with soldiers and watched the proceedings but declined to comment. ? 1998-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/173124_anderson13.html ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 17 13:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 20:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The case for sanctions against Israel Message-ID: <20040717201703.1770.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ by Gerald Kaufman ; Monday July 12, 2004 ; The Guardian The bomb attack in Tel Aviv yesterday highlights the desperate need to achieve a peace settlement. It highlights, too, the futility of the wall Israel is building in Palestinian land, a wall condemned by the international court of justice last Friday and whose route was condemned by Israel's supreme court last month. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/16/11055/6094 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 17 17:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 00:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Prime Swine Reports!! Message-ID: <20040718001704.17454.qmail@resist.ca> 1. OPP OFFICER ARRESTED FOR DRUNK DRIVING demoted for smashing unmarked swine car... 2. TRANSEXUAL COP SEVERELY HARRASSED ON JOB toronto pigs can't control their homophobia... 3. PART OF ANARCHIST OWNED CAFE DESTROYS SWINE CAR!! flash flood hammers peterborough ontario... 4. PRO-PIG COLLABORATOR STILL TRYING TO CONTROL KANEHSATAKE jimmy gabriel attempts to set up shop in Oka... URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/17/16418/2075 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 17 17:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 00:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Howard Zinn on Memorial Day Message-ID: <20040718001704.17455.qmail@resist.ca> "Yes, World War II had a strong moral aspect to it--the defeat of fascism, (but) I deeply resent the way the so-called good war has been used to cast its glow over all the immoral wars we (the U.S.) have fought in the past fifty years: in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan. I certainly don't want our government to use the triumphal excitement surrounding World War II to cover up the horrors now taking place in Iraq." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/16/205558/596 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 17 17:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 00:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Gas Wars in Bolivia Message-ID: <20040718001704.17456.qmail@resist.ca> Like the rest of Latin America over the last 15 years, Bolivia has been subjected to neo-liberal policies designed to fail the poor and benefit the rich. Hypocrisy at the imperial centre and in the neo-colonial periphery about poverty reduction in Latin America has never been clearer or more obnoxious. In Bolivia, the US marionettes are now openly criminalizing legitimate protest in order to cover up popular rejection of their policies. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/16/204541/440 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 17 17:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 00:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Escort Duty at an Abortion Clinic Message-ID: <20040718001705.17457.qmail@resist.ca> Escort Brigade by Steve Ammidown; July 16, 2004 Steve Ammidown is a 29 year old office worker for a publicly traded company just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (who is) getting active because (he's) tired of being fed up. I was at "the (pro-choice) March" on April 25th, 2004. On that particularly warm spring day, I remember yelling a lot, holding signs and how sore my feet were by the end. But the thing that will stay with me always is that feeling- the feeling of being at a complete loss for words when I realized how many people were there. The feeling that, my god, maybe we young'uns weren't as apathetic as we had been so persistently painted. For a couple of hours that day, slogans were the only words that flowed easily out of my mouth. I just didn't have the vocabulary to express how I felt. As a guy, it's hard sometimes to have an opinion on women's health issues. I've never had an abortion, I have never had my insurance company decide to bill me more to see my gynecologist because he or she is considered a "specialist". I have never had to choose between birth control and food. All I could do was empathize, shake my head and donate what I could afford to organizations like Planned Parenthood. Anything else, I felt, would be viewed with suspicion or maybe even anger. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/16/20388/0738 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 17 22:34:50 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 22:34:50 -0700 Subject: [news] Hersh: US soldiers sodomised Iraqi boys Message-ID: <40FA0BFA.6090801@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28037.php Hersh: US soldiers sodomised Iraqi boys A US journalist who first revealed the scandal at the notorious Abu Ghraib detention centre says there are videotapes of American occupation soldiers sodomising young Iraqi boys at the prison. Hersh: US soldiers sodomised Iraqi boys by Saturday 17 July 2004 4:11 PM GMT New cases of abuse at Abu Ghraib continue to be revealed A US journalist who first revealed the scandal at the notorious Abu Ghraib detention centre says there are videotapes of American occupation soldiers sodomising young Iraqi boys at the prison. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration is holding the tapes of these acts. "The boys were sodomised with the cameras rolling, and the worst part is the soundtrack, of the boys shrieking. And this is your government at war," he told the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) earlier this month. There was "a massive amount of criminal wrongdoing that was covered up at the highest command out there, and higher," he added. US President George Bush claimed that the prison abuse scandal of US soldiers sexually humiliating and torturing Iraqi detainees was just "conduct by a few American troops". More evidence But new reports of abuse indicate that the intimidation tactics, including torture, may have been approved at the highest levels of government. Hersh first broke the story that shocked the world three months ago. Since then, new cases of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib have emerged. US soldier Jeremy Sivits - who was involved in piling naked inmates on top of each other - was sentenced to one year in prison and discharged from the army for his role in the abuse of Iraqi detainees. Top US government officials signed off memos approving torture He was the most lightly charged of the seven soldiers ordered to stand trial, although he is also accused of manhandling detainees. The now notorious photograph of naked Iraqi detainees forced to form a human pyramid of bodies and being sexually humiliated has outraged the world. Hersh's revelation follows a newly released 2002 Pentagon memo in which Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld personally authorised the use of dogs for intimidation, stripping prisoners of clothes and hooding them. Rumsfeld also ordered military officials to hold prisoners but not list them on prisoner rolls requested by the International Red Cross. According to Newsweek magazine, these memos and orders were signed by Rumsfeld, Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft. Anti-war poll In other news, a majority of Americans surveyed said that Washington should not have launched war against Iraq. Fifty-one percent of respondents in the New York Times/CBS News poll said Washington should have stayed out of Iraq, a jump from 46% in April, May and June. Sixty-two percent said the war, launched last year, was not worth the cost in lives lost. Down three percent from last month, 45% said the war was a good idea. And only 37% said they approved of Bush's conduct of the warm compared with 58% who disapproved. Aljazeera + Agencies By You can find this article at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E3C89C20-6A0A-48F9-9476-A72F4E00A426.htm -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sun Jul 18 14:55:40 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 14:55:40 -0700 Subject: [news] Roman Andreichikov: Dead in Custody Message-ID: <40FAF1DC.4010805@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28050.php Roman Andreichikov: Dead in Custody by TheTyee.ca . Sunday July 18, 2004 at 02:12 PM Did Vancouver police fail to save Roman Andreichikov's life? Or did they have a hand in killing him? The mystery may centre on a factor called 'excited delirium'. Dead in Custody TYEE SPECIAL REPORT Fri., Jun. 25, 2004 By Dee Hon TheTyee.ca "I can't breathe." Those, says a friend who watched in horror, were Roman Andreichikov's last words as he lay pinned to the floor of his Granville Street apartment. Three Vancouver police officers had piled themselves atop his body while another one stood by his side. One officer pushed Andreichikov's head down against the floor. Two officers bent Andreichikov's legs at the knees while they used their body weight to drive his ankles into his back. "If you're mumbling, you're still breathing," was one officer's reply, reportedly. Moments earlier, one of the officers holding Andreichikov's legs had shot him with a Taser - an electric stun gun that overwhelmed his nervous system with 50,000 volts of electricity. With his body in convulsions, the officers took hold of Andreichikov and bound his hands with cuffs. Then thirty seconds after Andreichikov gasped his final words, he drew his last breath. Roman Andreichikov died May 1, 2004 at the age of 25. Nobody yet knows for sure what caused Andreichikov's death. But the fact that the brawny personal trainer was Tasered and pinned while incoherently high on drugs places him at the centre of a complex controversy over how police should apply force to make arrests. Taser use by Canadian police forces has been decried by Amnesty International. Also, the positioning and restraint imposed by the officers just before Andreichikov's death is coming under concerned scrutiny across North America, with some researchers seeing links to a pattern of deaths in custody. Was it the cocaine in his body that killed Andreichikov? He had been using crack cocaine for several days and his irrational behaviour led his friend to call for an ambulance. Or did the police play a part in ending Andreichikov's life? Finding the answer becomes especially pressing in Vancouver where many mentally ill people reside, and where the population of crack and methamphetamine users is growing, causing police to resort more and more often to the techniques used to subdue Andreichikov, the Taser and aggressive physical restraint. Andreichikov's grief-stricken mother Diana is desperate to know why her son died. "He wasn't a criminal," she says. "Roman never hurt anyone in his life." The Vancouver Police Department isn't talking about the case while its major crime unit investigates what happened. The coroner's office automatically reviews every in-custody death, but it may take more than a year to complete its findings. Andreichikov's autopsy and toxicology reports have yet to hit the coroner's desk. Nor would the department answer more general requests. The Tyee asked for the VPD's written protocols for using Tasers and for dealing with mentally disturbed people, as well as related coursework required of officers. The department's spokesperson said the VDP was unable "at this time" to provide such information to The Tyee. Taser concerns Every year in B.C., people die in police custody - some years more than a dozen. Of those unfortunate few, perhaps two or three of them per year would have died much like Andreichikov did - shortly after struggling with police and being put in restraints. Sometimes the deceased were high on cocaine, methamphetamines, or some other stimulant when they died. Sometimes they were psychotic due to a mental disorder like schizophrenia. In other cases, they die stone sober. Two British Columbians - Terry Hanna and Clayton Willey - died in separate incidents last year after being Tasered and subdued by RCMP officers. Their cases are still under review but have added fuel to a growing firestorm over police use of Tasers. Amnesty International called on the Canadian government and others to suspend police use of Tasers until further review. Several police forces in the United States have already holstered their Tasers after public outrage sparked by a number of in-custody deaths. The manufacturer, Taser International, says the total number of deaths after Taser use now approaches 50. The company points out, however, that every autopsy report to date has listed a cause of death other than the Taser. None of the reports have found the weapon to be a contributing factor. Taser spokesperson Steve Tuttle says the weapons don't have nearly the power required to damage someone's heart. Hospital defibrillators generate 150 to 400 Joules of energy per pulse. The Taser generates a maximum of 1.76 Joules per pulse. "You do the math," Tuttle says. "We are nowhere near the threshold that would cause cardiac tissue to be affected." Even if Tasers contributed to in-custody deaths, the numbers wouldn't account for all the people who have died in restraints or shortly thereafter - a total estimated to be in the thousands. 'In-custody death syndrome' Deaths of people after restraint have been documented beyond B.C.'s borders: Ontario, The United States, Great Britain, Iraq. And people aren't just dying in police restraints. Children and teenagers have died after being pinned down by caregivers in group homes. Seniors have died in care homes after being restrained to furniture. Whether the deaths occur on the street, in jail cells, in group homes, seniors' facilities or in mental institutions, the death toll keeps mounting. A study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimates that between 50 to 150 people die in American health facilities each year shortly after being restrained. That's 500 to 1500 in the past decade. Other researchers estimate a similar number of people die after police restraint. What's killing these people - and may have killed Andreichikov - is known by names like in-custody death syndrome or police custody death syndrome. Most commonly, it's called either positional asphyxia, or agitated/excited delirium. Sometimes autopsies reveal the victims died from hypoxia - a lack of oxygen to the brain. Whatever force or restraints they experienced before they died kept them from being able to breathe. Hog-tie restraints, prone restraints and body-pressure to the back, chest, neck or abdomen have all proven potentially fatal. An Iraqi prisoner in the custody of U.S. navy commandos died last April from positional asphyxia. 'Excited delirium' a factor? When a person is killed by positional asphyxia, it's usually clear who did it. But when a person's heart stops beating before he or she stops breathing, they call it excited delirium and the blame game becomes more complex. Do police or caregivers contribute to such deaths when they restrain the victims, do they merely fail to stop the fatal effects of psychosis? Anthany Dawson died August 1999, after a violent struggle with Victoria police. Prior to his arrest, he had been seen lying on his back in the middle of a road screaming and hitting the pavement with his fists. He was mentally ill and psychotic. Five police fought to gain control of Dawson. Afterwards, they strapped him face-down to an ambulance stretcher where he struggled against the straps. He soon lapsed into a coma and died two days later in hospital. The police complaint commissioner's report on the Dawson case cited the work of San Francisco assistant medical examiner Steve Karch. In Karch's opinion, people who die from excited delirium are doomed regardless of what police do. The victims are delirious, adrenaline jacks up their heart rate, their hearts fail and they die. Such people are merely the victims of their own drug use. "If death occurs while the officers are trying to restrain the victim, the police will be assumed to be responsible," Karch says. But other researchers note that every excited delirium death is preceded by a forceful struggle with police. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal examined the deaths of 21 people due to excited delirium in Ontario. In all 21 cases, the deceased were forcefully restrained in a prone position, sometimes with pressure placed on the neck. Twelve of them (57 percent of the total) had a psychiatric disorder. Only a minority of them - eight out of 21 (38 percent) - had cocaine in their system. In other words, while other factors may vary, the use of forceful takedowns remains a constant element in excited delirium deaths. Larger American studies have corroborated these findings. Coroner: potentially lethal combo Vancouver coroner Sandy Barabe believes stimulant drugs and forceful restraint can combine for lethal effect. You panic automatically when you're squeezed so you can't breathe. Catecholamines - your body's fight or flight hormones - kick in to help you battle for air. That adrenaline surge spikes your heart and makes it race. "When someone is restrained or fighting - that's a well-known, documented phenomenon that causes cardiac arrest," Barabe says. Psychotic episodes due to illness or stimulant drugs like cocaine raise the heart rate too - and for a prolonged period of time. Experts believe the combined stresses of psychosis and fighting asphyxiation can overwhelm the heart's ability to function. "It's because you crank the system," Barabe explains. "It's like being in the maximum stress state and prolonging it." Cocaine and methamphetamine use is rising. Mental institution closures throughout North America have put far more mentally ill people back into the community. Even rising diabetes rates mean more people acting strangely because of missed insulin shots. "Police officers are more than ever being called on to deal with these situations," says the Justice Institute of B.C.'s deputy director of police training, Mike Trump. But police officers aren't mental health professionals. "We are not training police officers to be psychologists," Trump says. Police are taught to handle the situations as best they can. Taking control of the delirious So what's a police officer to do when taking a delirious person into custody? Use-of-force expert Sgt. Kelly Keith says a forceful takedown is never the primary option, regardless of a suspect's mental state. Keith trains police recruits at the Justice Institute. He says effective communication - an officer's command of "mental judo" - is always the first weapon of choice. But Keith says while police are trained to be aware of excited delirium, the issue only becomes of concern after the officers have used taken measures - forceful or otherwise -to gain control of the person. "You're not going to say, 'he may suffer from excited delirium, so we're going to use this force option because of this,'" Keith says. "That isn't going to happen. Control of the suspect has to be our first concern." Police are trained to make sure their detainees can breathe and to watch for warning signs after they've been restrained. But is that too late a time to be worrying about the person's health? Lawyer Phil Rankin is representing the Andreichikovs to help the family search for answers. He feels Vancouver police showed no concern for Roman's health and blames them for his death. "They killed him. It's that simple," Rankin says. "They didn't come there to kill him. But they came like stupid cops always do to everything. They always use force where brains would work." 'Great guy' with big muscles Rahim Hadani watched his best friend die in the hands of police that day. He was the one who made the fateful call to 911. Hadani remembers Roman as a fun-loving, easy-going guy with big muscles and an even bigger heart. The two of them saw each other almost every day whenever Hadani wasn't out of town on business. They loved to work out at the gym, ride motorcycles together and go out for spicy Thai lunches. "He was a great guy," Hadani looks back fondly, "a really great guy." But Andreichikov was not himself the day he died. Hadani returned from a trip to Toronto to find his friend pacing through the apartment picking his skin and mumbling incoherently. Hadani knew his friend recently started smoking crack again after quitting two years before. Hadani didn't share his friend's habit, but he wasn't concerned it was a problem. "It didn't bother me as long he kept his life in control," Hadani says. If Andreichikov got high one day, he never let it keep him from getting up the next morning to go to work. "He wanted to get off it again, but he didn't get that far," Hadani says sadly. Hadani tried to calm his friend down for an hour and tried to get him to go to bed. After Andreichikov threatened to jump from the fourth-floor balcony a couple of times, Hadani called for an ambulance. By the time someone buzzed the apartment, Hadani had Andreichikov seated on the couch where he sat holding the couch's arm and rocking. Hadani answered the door, but it was the police, and not the paramedics. They told Hadani it was standard procedure. Andreichikov's last minutes Four officers entered the apartment single file behind another officer who targeted Andreichikov with the Taser's aiming laser. After a short conversation during which police questioned Andreichikov about his last name and date of birth, the officers asked Andreichikov to scoot off the couch and lie face-down on the floor. He did as he was told. Andreichikov was a big man. As he laid face-down on the ground, his own body weight may have pushed against his torso making it hard for him to breathe. Researchers say this can be common for heavier people. For whatever reason, Andreichikov flipped over on his back after ten seconds lying prone. Hadani says his friend was incoherent but calm during time the police where there. "If the cops gave me the cuffs, I would have done it," Hadani recalls. But when Andreichikov flipped himself over the police reacted, firing the Taser probes into his leg. With that, Andreichikov began the final moments of his life. -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christoff at resist.ca Sun Jul 18 14:22:10 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 14:22:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] CKUT Radio: Guantanamo Bay - The Militarization of Law Message-ID: CKUT Radio: Guantanamo Bay - The Militarization of Law Listen to an interview with Shane Kadidal, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. The interview focuses on the recent US Supreme Court ruling, concerning the indefinite detention of hundreds of so-called "Enemy Combatants" from throughout the world at Guantanamo Bay. The June 28 2004, ruling outlined that the United States cannot order the indefinite detention of Guantanamo detainees without due process and that the detainees have the right to challenge the legality of their detention in court, according to the US Constitution and International law. The Center for Constitutional Rights, mounted the legal challenge, which brought the plight of those detained at Guantanamo to the Supreme Court of the United States. For those currently detained without trial at Guantanamo, the ruling is an important legal victory. The ruling is also a victory for the many international campaigns against the conditions at Guantanamo and against the "War on Terror", which the continued detentions at Guantanamo are a part. To listen / download the interview with Shane Kadidal visit: http://www.radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/2066.php To get more information about the Centre for Consitional Rights visit: http://www.ccr-ny.org ----------------------- From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 19 10:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 17:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Protestant group OKs divestment from Israel Message-ID: <20040719171705.12306.qmail@resist.ca> Forward ; July 16, 2004 ; By Eric J. Greenberg In an unprecedented victory for pro-Palestinian activists, leaders of the largest Presbyterian denomination officially equated the Jewish state with apartheid South Africa and have voted to stop investing in Israel. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/95549/5786 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 19 10:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 17:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] A pattern of aggression Message-ID: <20040719171705.12307.qmail@resist.ca> The Guardian ; August 14, 2003 Iraq was not the first illegal US-led attack on a sovereign state in recent times. The precedent was set in 1999 in Yugoslavia writes Kate Hudson URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/94328/6106 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 19 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Saddam could call CIA in his defence Message-ID: <20040719181704.19386.qmail@resist.ca> Inter Press Service ; July 2, 2004 ; Sanjay Suri Evidence offered by a top CIA man could confirm the testimony given by Saddam Hussein at the opening of his trial in Baghdad Thursday that he knew of the Halabja massacre only from the newspapers. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/10236/7223 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 19 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] NDP cosies up to business Message-ID: <20040719181704.19385.qmail@resist.ca> Vancouver Sun ; July 16, 2004 ; By Scott Simpson The B.C. New Democrats want to shed their confrontational past and form an unprecedented partnership with the province's business community, leader Carole James said Thursday in an address to some of her party's toughest critics. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/10438/8082 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 19 12:17:06 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 19:17:06 -0000 Subject: [news] Satellites will track 5, 000 of the worst criminals in Britain Message-ID: <20040719191707.27321.qmail@resist.ca> The Independent (UK) ; 18 July 2004 ; By Sophie Goodchild and Andrew Johnson Satellite technology will be used to track 5,000 career criminals who are responsible for one in every 10 crimes in Britain, the Home Secretary David Blunkett will announce tomorrow. The radical new technology, which has been developed in the US, will enable law enforcement officers to pinpoint the exact location of criminals who have been released early from prison and fitted with electronic tags. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/11755/9697 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 19 12:17:06 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 19:17:06 -0000 Subject: [news] US bank helped Pinochet hide millions: US Senate report Message-ID: <20040719191707.27322.qmail@resist.ca> Agence France Presse ; July 16, 2004 A respected American bank discretely helped former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to hide millions of dollars over an eight-year period, even after he was arrested in London in 1998 and a court froze his assets, a US Senate report said. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/11152/0778 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Mon Jul 19 16:13:46 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 16:13:46 -0700 Subject: [news] The Powerful Never Make Mistakes Message-ID: <40FC55AA.1010909@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28041.php The Powerful Never Make Mistakes by Marc Batko . Sunday July 18, 2004 at 06:23 AM mbatko at lycos.com Rejoice, you internationalistas, states are ennobled by justice, not by cowardice and fear. Rejoice, you critics, social criticisma nd prophetic criticism are correctives to one-dimensional delusions, leaven in a culture of resignation and helplessness. THE POWERFUL NEVER MAKE MISTAKES By Marc Batko The powerful never make mistakes; every disaster is only a learning experience, an unfortunate product of botched intelligence. Called to humility and interdependence, modern man in the Donald Duck culture is unable to see the deeper issues. Driven by shadow issues and wedge issues, we are tempted to trivialize quality of life issues. Criticism multiplies as the contradictions and lies of the unprovoked unilateral US war on Iraq plunge the country into a quagmire. The specter of unending war darkens and blurs the future. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. The Hitler mindset saw only the soldier as a model of courage. The huckster culture that imagines the market as a self-healing panacea falls for Maudeville's fable of the bees. Everyone pursuing self-interest is said to create the common good. In truth, the state has a social function and cannot be reduced to the power- and security state. The state is obliged to protect freedom of conscience and help those fallen under the wheel (cf. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics and Letters and Papers from Prison). The social market economy sees the limits of the market economy and the necessity of state intervention and regulation. The state should prosecute market distortions and cushion and support those injured or excluded by the market. In "1984", George Orwell warned that war would become a domestic necessity to divert the people from domestic economic collapse. Criticism and dissent would be expunged so people wouldn't even understand these words any more. Stripped of their individuality, people would be enveloped in newspeak (war is peace, freedom is slavery and truth is lies) and give birth for Big Brother. In Plato's allegory of the cave, people would accept the image rather than reality. The enlightened striving to unmask the fraud are chased out of the city. In "The Brothers Karamoazov", Dostoevsky prophesied that people would surrender their freedom for the Grand Inquisitor's promise of happiness. Today's Grand Inquisitor only promises unending preventive war and the Senate replied with a 515-page denunciation. Today's Grand Inquisitor promises distraction through a shadow or wedge issue and constitutional obfuscation, an amendment to take away equal protection and stylize marriage as a constitutional article rather than a civil religious affair of love. By a 50-48 vote, the Senate voided this constitutional amendment and obfuscation. Early Christianity protested against wealth and militarism. As dogs return to their vomit, might is right and the warrior mentality are modern forms of vomit dressed as self-defense. War is a racket and a false unity, a false religion, false consciousness and false security. Resistance is part of our nature as antibodies are part of our bodies. May we open ourselves to the rich tradition of resistance, to the resistance of historical victims of totalitarianism, to the resistance of nature and to the resistance of the Global South. Threatened with plutocracy, our state can choose the narrow way of democracy that includes economic democracy. Bewitched with the temptation of empire, we can plead for the republic with checks, balances and equal rights. Beguiled by myths of corporate beneficence and corporate personhood, freedom threatens to be reduced to property and contract. The simple things are complicated in a culture of war-tainment and infotainment. Increasing purchasing power creates full employment. Subsidies to corporations produce deficits. Under-consumption and the collapse of the domestic economy and domestic demand are consequences of the unbridled market luring corporations with deregulation, privatization and liberalized capital markets.. Rejoice, you internationalistas, states are ennobled by justice, not by cowardice and fear. Rejoice, you critics, social criticism and prophetic criticism are correctives to one-dimensional delusions, leaven in a culture of resignation and helplessness. http://www.mbtranslations.com ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Mon Jul 19 17:56:55 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 17:56:55 -0700 Subject: [news] Omnipresent Records site: present everywhere at the same time Message-ID: <40FC6DD7.4060002@telus.net> Dedicated to Elevating Musical Independence. Omnipresent (om-ni-pres'ent) adj.- present everywhere at the same time, widely or constantly met with. Dig the presence: from 8.bliss to Hurricane Angel w/Lord Patch: http://omnipresentrecords.com/showcase/artists/artists.php?media_id=8 shop for music ~ check the showcase ~ listen to the radio ~ meet the founder Founded in August 2004, Omnipresent Records is the 1st Independent Record shop of it's kind. Here Independent Labels and Artists can: * Sell their MP3 Downloads. * Sell their Retail CD's, Vinyl, DVD's, and Lyric Books. * Upload their own bio, press clips, and links to their official site. * Organize multiple releases by linking Omnipresent search page results to their official website. * Join Omnipresent Records Distribution. * Write their own Album descriptions. * Choose which songs are steamed. * Choose which songs are For Sale as MP3's. * Choose their own Retail selling price. * Choose their own URL (ie: www.OmnipresentRecords.com/artist). * Choose their own ____ at OmnipresentRecord.com email address. All Deals are Non-Exclusive. All Artists remain in complete control of their music. Are you an artist without the budget to press Retail CD's?? You can either Sell your MP3s, $0.99 USD/per download, in the "Showcase". Or Sell your entire Release as an official Album in the "Record Shop". Either as separate song downloads or as a full album download. Cover and all. (Steps to Selling your Album as MP3's from a CDR). Driven by heart, Omnipresent Artists are among the best, and most honorable the World has to offer. Underground Gems, Incredible finds, Limited editions. * Artists: Sell your music @ Omnipresent Records. * Buyers: Listen to music, buy songs, and post reviews. http://omnipresentrecords.com/showcase/artists/artists.php?media_id=8 http://omnipresentrecords.com/recordshop/ -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 02:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 09:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Elie Wiesel: Commissar or Madman? Message-ID: <20040720091703.10482.qmail@resist.ca> American Elie Wiesel is a distinguished and well-respected scholar and moralist, who is also a Holocaust survivor and former Nobel Laureate. As such, his views on issues of morality and ethics carry a lot of weight. However, as Mickey Z. notes below, Wiesel has also been a steadfast apologist for Israeli militarism and human rights abuses. In a recent interview in Parade magazine, he opines that "(The U.S.), for two centuries, has stood as a living symbol of all that is charitable and decent to victims of injustice everywhere...where those who have are taught to give back." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/171711/789 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 02:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 09:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Witnesses Charge New Iraqi PM with Killing Prisoners in Cold Blood Message-ID: <20040720091703.10483.qmail@resist.ca> Allawi shot inmates in cold blood, say witnesses by Paul McGeough; Sidney Morning Herlad; July 18, 2004 Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/19/154227/992 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 02:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 09:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] the KKKOP News...blunders, killers, and drinkers Message-ID: <20040720091703.10481.qmail@resist.ca> 1.Former Boxer Dies During Arrest Couldn't block a tazer blast...Ontario 2.Pig Shoots and Injures Knife Weilding Woman And do not charge her in the end...Alberta 3.RCAF Bombs Golf Tournament But the missile didn't blow...Yukon 4.Ottawa Jail in Lockdown For Fourth Day Searching every cell after overdose...Ontario 5.Pig Pleads Guilty to Drinking and Driving Lawyers Admits that Pig is a Drinker...PEI 6.Contact MP and Get Fantino Out TPAC Takes on Toronto's Biggest Pig...Ontario URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/1377/09845 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] =?iso-8859-1?q?The_Hand-Over_that_Wasn=92t=3A_How_the_Occ?= =?iso-8859-1?q?upation_of_Iraq_Continues?= Message-ID: <20040720161705.7545.qmail@resist.ca> July 2004 ; Foreign Policy In Focus ; By Antonia Juhasz The U.S. occupation of Iraq officially ended on June 28, 2004 , in a secret ceremony in Baghdad . Officially, ?full sovereignty? was handed from the Americans to the Iraqi Interim Government. But it was clear from the start that this was sovereignty in name, not in deed. First, there is the continued military occupation: 138,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines, plus 20,000 troops from other countries and an estimated 20,000 contractors, all fully under U.S. control and immune to Iraqi laws. Equally debilitating, however significantly less well reported upon, is the continued political and economic occupation by the Bush administration and its corporate allies. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/9043/29530 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Enforced Democracy: the Bolivian referendum Message-ID: <20040720161705.7546.qmail@resist.ca> Jennifer Whitney ; July 18, 2004 ; La Paz, Bolivia After a long day of tension, rumors, and ocasional provocations, Bolivian polling stations have closed and the counting of votes is underway. But the results are already known. Regardless of whether the "yes" vote or the "no" vote wins, Bolivia?s most valuable natural resource -- natural gas -- will remain in the hands of the transnationals. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/85154/9745 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 09:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Don't blame Arafat for Camp David failure Message-ID: <20040720161705.7549.qmail@resist.ca> The Guardian ; July 17, 2004 ; By David Hirst In his memoirs, the former US president Bill Clinton writes that the Camp David summit was the greatest failure of his career. And that, he says, was overwhelmingly Yasser Arafat's doing... There is one reason that, even if he believes this, he should not, even now, be so publicly proclaiming it. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/8324/91535 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Butler Report on WMD was watered down to protect Blair Message-ID: <20040720161705.7547.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Melissa Kite and Patrick Hennessy Downing Street secured vital changes to the Butler Report before its publication, watering down an explicit criticism of Tony Blair and the way he made the case for war in the House of Commons. The Telegraph has established that the disagreement between No 10 and Lord Butler's inquiry team centred on a passage in an original draft of the report about Mr Blair's statement to MPs in September 2002. The original passage drew a much clearer contrast than the final version of the Butler Report between the strong case for war made by Mr Blair and the weakness of the intelligence the Prime Minister received about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The changes secured by No 10 diluted the criticism of Mr Blair and helped Downing Street to mount its main defence - that the report showed that the Prime Minister was acting in good faith. A member of Lord Butler's team has disclosed to The Telegraph that changes were made at the behest of No 10. However, the inquiry member also revealed that on the day he published his report, Lord Butler was preparing publicly to distance himself from Mr Blair if asked at his only press conference whether the PM should resign. "It was not his job to bring down the Government," the inquiry member said. "But he was not going to back Blair either." The deliberately equivocal answer Lord Butler had prepared - which in the end he did not have to deliver because the question was not asked - would have stood in conspicuous contrast to his explicit request in his report that John Scarlett, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, should not have to step down from his new post as head of MI6. The attempts by the inquiry to make stronger criticism of Mr Blair in their report were hampered during an exchange of views between Lord Butler and Downing Street that began some 10 days before publication last Wednesday. Under the rules governing inquiries, any individual who has been criticised or fears he may be criticised has the right to be shown sections of the draft in advance with a view to giving a response. An inquiry member said: "This process was gone through. One or two things were changed. These were accepted by the committee." In the original draft a passage on page 114 contained stronger criticism of Mr Blair's Commons statement of September 24, 2002. The report as published stated, in one of very few direct references to Mr Blair's conduct: "The language in the dossier may have left with readers the impression that there was fuller and firmer intelligence behind the judgments than was the case: our view . . . is that judgments in the dossier went to (although not beyond) the outer limits of the intelligence available. "The Prime Minister's description, in his statement to the House of Commons on the day of publication of the dossier, of the picture painted by the intelligence services in the dossier as 'extensive, detailed and authoritative', may have reinforced this impression." In the original draft this last sentence was much stronger, expressing the opinion that Mr Blair personally masterminded the misleading impression left by the dossier. The passage is important because Downing Street maintained last week that the report at no point questions Mr Blair's "good faith". According to a member of the inquiry, however, the Prime Minister should not be regarded as in the clear. "The whole thing points straight to the man in charge . . . absolutely to where responsibility belongs, which is the Prime Minister, which is what we could not say." The disclosures will put further pressure on Mr Blair following the revelation that the earlier Hutton inquiry was not told about the withdrawal of key intelligence which formed the basis for claims made by the dossier. Downing Street admitted that MI6 withdrew some elements of the intelligence supporting the Government's case for war because it was unreliable, but decided not to tell the Hutton inquiry. Mr Blair's spokesman said that the intelligence service felt the withdrawal was "too sensitive" to be made public at that point. He said the Prime Minister had not been told and only became aware of the withdrawn intelligence because of Lord Butler's inquiry. The disclosure is contained in the Butler Report with other nuggets of new information which are emerging piecemeal. Members of the Butler inquiry have privately expressed frustration that the early reaction to the report included allegations of "whitewash", but they believe the evidence contained in it is damning. A Downing Street spokesman said: "Lord Butler gave the final copy of the report to the Prime Minister on Tuesday last week. There is only one Butler Report." Yesterday Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary, called on Mr Blair to resign because, he said, he had taken the country to war on a false premise. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/8481/68962 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 10:17:14 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:17:14 -0000 Subject: [news] France bars Sharon, cancels visit Message-ID: <20040720171714.14833.qmail@resist.ca> aljazeera.net ; Monday 19 July 2004 French President Jacques Chirac has informed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "he is not welcome" in Paris after he urged all French Jews to leave the country immediately. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/93231/9707 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 10:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] U.S. security priorities are driving policy decisions in Ottawa. Message-ID: <20040720171714.14832.qmail@resist.ca> rabble.ca ; By Paul Wainberg ; July 16, 2004 Earlier this month, for instance, CNN reported that police officers across the United States are carrying handheld wireless computers on which they can access private details from large commercial databases about anyone they encounter on their beat. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/94415/6792 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 10:17:14 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:17:14 -0000 Subject: [news] Butler Report on WMD was watered down to protect Blair Message-ID: <20040720171714.14834.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Melissa Kite and Patrick Hennessy Downing Street secured vital changes to the Butler Report before its publication, watering down an explicit criticism of Tony Blair and the way he made the case for war in the House of Commons. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/8481/68962 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 20 11:17:06 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 18:17:06 -0000 Subject: [news] Upcoming Downtime - Wednesday, July 21 & July 31 Message-ID: <20040720181706.24226.qmail@resist.ca> Hardware repairs and a move for the servers will require some downtime over the next while. This will affect the website as well as email services for those of you using resist.ca email accounts or lists. Read on for details. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/102152/162 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Tue Jul 20 18:46:11 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 18:46:11 -0700 Subject: [news] Police harassment of panhandlers escalates on the Drive Message-ID: <40FDCAE3.3010808@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28108.php Police harassment of panhandlers escalates on the Drive by an East Side resident ? Tuesday July 20, 2004 at 03:40 PM On Sunday, July 18, 2004, I stumbled upon at least five Vancouver police officers, with about as many police vehicles, arresting a man for panhandling at the corner of East 1st and Commercial, and detaining another person (handcuffing him while he was on his bike). Police harassment of panhandlers escalates on the Drive by an East Side resident July 20, 2004 On Sunday, July 18, 2004, I stumbled upon at least five Vancouver police officers, with about as many police vehicles, arresting a man for panhandling at the corner of East 1st and Commercial, and detaining another person (handcuffing him while he was on his bike). A small group of people were standing around, watching the cops's actions with disgust. The police gave the panhandler and the other person long lectures and eventually let the other guy go (all he did was ask the cops why they were arresting somebody for panning). The cops actually told the panhandler that he should "go to another country" if he didn't like the amazing social assistance programs that exist in this province (as the cop put it). Some guys yelled something at the cops as they drove by (seemingly some negative remark directed at the cops... hopefully this happens often!). The cops lectured the panhandler for a while longer and then "breached him out of the area", driving him in a wagon to some other location and letting him go, probably with a ticket fine. By the time he was about to be "breached" there were seven cops on the scene to deal with this "major crime". A second police wagon drove past on the other side of Commercial, and I couldn't help but feel that I was in "occupied territory". This event was only one case among many, as the Vancouver Police Department, Commercial Drive Business Association and the Grandview Park Community Policing Centre have been working together to crush panhandling on the Drive. Business "activists" have gone so far as to personally harass panhandlers and spread lies about them, and they've gone to Drive businesses and told them they'll be fined if they allow people to pan in front of their store (which is a complete lie, but hey, that's politics right?!?!). For months now, Vancouver cops have been "cracking-down" on the Drive, mostly arresting young Native kids for "dealing" or whatever. On June 6th, a bunch of anarchists had a rowdy march up Commercial Drive to oppose the escalated police presence and the cops attacked them and arrested three people. The rest of the group linked arms and circled together as onlookers shouted at the cops in support of the anarchists. This probably made further arrests undesirable for the cops at that point. The yuppification of the Drive was accomplished years ago, but the fact that poor and working class people still come to the area appears to be too much to deal with for some wankers. Just having to see a poor person is an unpleasant "inconvenience" for a yuppie, I guess. So, how can we fight the growth of police-state conditions of the Drive? Something that has been used in the past is a Cop-Watch program, which involved people following the cops around with cameras and documenting their activity in an attempt to limit cop violence. This may work to some extent, but is also very limited, since cops will always do what they have to do regardless of who watches them, you won't always be able to catch the cops in the act, and even if you do catch an abuse "on-film" it won't have any repercussions for the cops in the end (in court). Just look at the Frank Paul and Jeff Berg cases. The cops can get away with murder,with the full complicity of the courts. So maybe other tactics are in order. One such tactic could be the "escrache", popular in Argentina, through which people publically shame and insult politicians and military leaders by yelling, blowing whistles, banging on pots and pans and shouting words of contempt. A small or large group (preferably at least 8 to 10 people, or more) could easily organize to do this to the cops on the Drive and make their jobs hell. Of course, they'd be walking the boundaries of "obstruction", but if enough people could organize to do this and kept their distance from the cops, the action would be difficult to control. Our possibilities are mostly limited by our own lack of determination and commitment. But resistance is possible, if we choose to live a life without restraints. ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Police harassment of panhandlers escalates on Vancouver's Commercial Dr. Message-ID: <20040721171704.14661.qmail@resist.ca> by an East Side resident ; July 20, 2004 On Sunday, July 18, 2004, I stumbled upon at least five Vancouver police officers, with about as many police vehicles, arresting a man for panhandling at the corner of East 1st and Commercial, and detaining another person (handcuffing him while he was on his bike). URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/154240/151 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Crap Arrest of the Week #1 Message-ID: <20040721171704.14662.qmail@resist.ca> First in a series of often bizarre accounts of police (mis)behaviour and abuse throughout the world. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/19739/2022 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 10:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Spanish Anarchist Dies in Prison Isolation Unit Message-ID: <20040721171704.14664.qmail@resist.ca> Prison authorities say that Jos? Antonio Cano was found after hanging himself with a bed sheet in an isolation unit at the "Modelo de Barcelona" prison in Barcelona, Spain, on June 17th of 2004. His anarchist comrades say it was murder. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/142258/672 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] U.S. Provoking Naval Arms Race with China Message-ID: <20040721171704.14660.qmail@resist.ca> by Chalmers Johnson; July 20, 2004 "Quietly and with minimal coverage in the U.S. press, the Navy announced that from mid-July through August it would hold exercises dubbed Operation Summer Pulse '04 in waters off the China coast near Taiwan....Needless to say, the Chinese are not amused....So even before a carrier reaches the Taiwan Strait, Beijing has announced it will embark on a crash project that will enable it to meet and defeat seven U.S. carrier strike groups within a decade. There's every chance the Chinese will succeed if they are not overtaken by war first." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/20/211438/144 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 12:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 19:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Two Tent Cities in Ontario Message-ID: <20040721191704.30399.qmail@resist.ca> There are two Tent Cities taking place in Ontario this summer, one in Kingston and one in Ottawa. It is becoming very common action in Canada as every summer more and more cities have groups fighting homelessness. Here are two articles about the Ontario Tent Cities. 1.Kingston Coalition Against Poverty 2.Police Not Interfering in Ottawa (yet) URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/21/11724/5154 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 12:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 19:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] The KKKOP Hatin' Daily Message-ID: <20040721191704.30400.qmail@resist.ca> 1.MAN SHOT DEAD AFTER POLICE CHASE - Montreal 2.RACISM TAINTS MISSING WOMEN STUDY - WinniPIG 3.COURTHOUSE GAURDS KILL BOY - Edmonton 4.MAN WHO RAN OVER PIG CHARGED AGAIN! - Calgary 5.PRIVATIZING LAW ENFORCEMENT - WinniPIG 6.ESCAPED INMATE GETS MORE TIME - Regina 7.CHIEF JULIAN FANTINO UNDER ATTACK - Toronto 8.DETAILS OF CHARGES AGAINST PIGS - Toronto URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/21/11257/9986 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Wed Jul 21 15:06:59 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 15:06:59 -0700 Subject: [news] Zionist rogue state vows to defy international law, Canada now Israel's poodle Message-ID: <40FEE903.9010007@telus.net> Israel will defy UN vote against its barrier CBC- July 21 - CBC http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/07/21/israel_barrier040721 UNITED NATIONS - Israel vowed Wednesday to continue building its barrier across the West Bank, despite a UN General Assembly resolution demanding that it comply with a recent World Court ruling condemning the security measure. Canada abstained in the United Nations vote Tuesday evening, saying it did not believe the court should have delivered its ruling, given how highly volatile the Middle East is at the moment. A senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister said that despite the vote, Israel would continue building the 640-kilometre system of walls, fences and ditches because it is already carrying out its goal of diminishing the number of Palestinian attacks against Israeli citizens. "When all is said and done, it is simply outrageous to respond with such vigour to a measure that saves lives, and respond with such casual indifference and apathy to the ongoing campaign of Palestinian terrorism that takes lives," said Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. The General Assembly voted 150 to six in support of the resolution. The United States, Australia and Israel were among the six countries opposed to the resolution, which was drafted by the Palestinians and sponsored by the European Union. There were 10 abstentions, including Canada's. "Thank God that the fate of Israel and of the Jewish people is not decided in this hall," Gillerman said after the vote. "This resolution cannot but embolden those who are the true enemies of the Israeli and Palestinian people." The vote, like the ruling of the International Court of Justice, is not legally binding but is considered to have symbolic value. It could also lead to the matter being raised at the UN Security Council. A resolution there would be damaging for Israel's case, but is unlikely because the United States has veto power on Security Council resolutions. On July 9, the world court ruled 14 to 1 that Israel's West Bank barrier should be torn down because it violates international laws and infringes on the rights of Palestinians. The panel also recommended that Israel compensate individual Palestinians whose land was seized and homes and businesses that were destroyed during the construction of the barrier network. ________________________________________________________ Montreal Muslim News Network - http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 21 16:17:09 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 23:17:09 -0000 Subject: [news] UN advisor to Africa: stop paying back debt Message-ID: <20040721231709.25841.qmail@resist.ca> dominion paper ; July 21, 2004 Jeffery Sachs, special poverty advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, called on the developed world to cancel debts owing from developing African nations. Failing such action, Mr. Sachs recommended that the nations take it upon themselves to simply stop repaying them. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/21/15399/2522 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 22 08:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] USA Torturing Children in IRAQ Message-ID: <20040722151704.5602.qmail@resist.ca> 20th July 2004 ; t r u t h o u t ; By William Rivers Pitt A German TV magazine called 'Report Mainz' recently aired accusations from the International Red Cross, to the effect that over 100 children are imprisoned in U.S.- controlled detention centers, including Abu Ghraib. Seymour Hersh, the New Yorker reporter who first broke the story of torture at Abu Ghraib, recently spoke at an ACLU convention. He has seen the pictures and the videotapes the American media has not yet shown. "The boys were sodomized with the cameras rolling, and the worst part is the soundtrack, of the boys shrieking," said Hersh. "And this is your government at war." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/21/161536/359 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 22 08:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Israeli Double Standards Message-ID: <20040722151704.5605.qmail@resist.ca> "What would happen if a Palestinian terrorist were to detonate a bomb at the entrance to an apartment building in Israel and cause the death of an elderly man in a wheelchair, who would later be found buried under the rubble of the building?...And what would happen if a Palestinian were to shoot an Israeli university lecturer and his son in front of his wife and their young son?...But when (Israelis are) implicated and the victims are Palestinians, we prefer to avert our eyes, not to know, not to take an interest and certainly not to be shocked. Palestinian victims - and their numbers, as everyone knows, are far greater than ours - don't even merit newspaper reports, not even when the chain of events is particularly brutal..." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/12451/7314 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 22 08:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Mohawk's of Kanehsatake calling for renewed support Message-ID: <20040722151704.5603.qmail@resist.ca> The struggle for self-determination in Kanehsatake is far from over and the Mohawk community is asking for your support. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/21/153255/393 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 22 08:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Winnipeg Residents Try to Stop Insecticide Fogging; One Arrested Message-ID: <20040722151704.5601.qmail@resist.ca> Anti-fog retreat? Protesters may change tactics following arrest By CARY CASTAGNA AND ROSS ROMANIUK, POLICE AND CITY HALL REPORTERS Demoralized fogging opponents are reconsidering their tactics after one of them was thrown in jail following a protest early yesterday. "I don't know if anyone wants to do another demonstration, or hold off and watch the issue unfold," protest organizer Dave Nickarz told The Sun. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/0271/90282 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 22 08:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Selenium Conquers AIDS? Message-ID: <20040722151704.5604.qmail@resist.ca> The Institute of Science in Society ; 20/07/04 Sam Burcher reports on a nutritional hypothesis with possible implications for prevention and treatment of the global pandemic URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/21/1680/39665 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Daniel Freeman-Maloy reinstated to York University Message-ID: <20040723121703.18089.qmail@resist.ca> With all legal and political ground falling out from under them, York's higher-up administrators have just given up on their most recent attempt at political repression. Daniel Freeman-Maloy has been reinstated! URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/13341/2666 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Bolivia: Report on the Indigenous Struggle by the Qhepus Anarchist Collective Message-ID: <20040723121703.18091.qmail@resist.ca> (from Anarchist Information Service: http://www.ainfos.ca) Bolivia is a poor, backward country, turned into a colony of Yankee imperialism, where an insipid bourgeoisie uses this "nation" as its own property, rotating the country's governors between the members of its social class, and opening the doors of the country to imperialism and the transnational companies so that they can pillage the natural resources of the country however they feel fit. And this has already been going on for a long time. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/23/02523/9978 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Monreal company to close factory in Honduras under investigation for labor rights violation Message-ID: <20040723121703.18090.qmail@resist.ca> Information for this alert was provided by Maquila Solidarity Network On July 12, Gildan Activewear, a Montreal-based T-shirt company, announced that it would close its El Progreso factory in Honduras on September 30, 2004, a decision that will leave 1,800 workers unemployed. This decision was completely unexpected considering that the company is currently under investigations by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and Worker Rights Association (WRC) for labor rights violation. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/14244/7779 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] IMF-Backed Decolonization Message-ID: <20040723121703.18092.qmail@resist.ca> ZNet Commentary ; July 20, 2004 ; By Mandisi Majavu I find myself, invariably, having to explain whenever I'm discussing South African politics with a white person, especially white South Africans, that just because the government is black does not necessarily mean that as a black person, I share the same political ideology as the government. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/13508/1045 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Bigger breasts offered as perk to soldiers Message-ID: <20040723121703.18093.qmail@resist.ca> NEW YORK (Reuters) ; Wednesday, July 21, 2004 The U.S. Army has long lured recruits with the slogan "Be All You Can Be," but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers' dime. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/133419/922 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 06:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 13:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Last minute victory for Miriam Kutesa Message-ID: <20040723131703.21710.qmail@resist.ca> OCAP ; July 23, 2004 Miriam Kutesa, the woman from Uganda who was slated to be deported tommorow, received news today that she has been granted a Temporary Minister's Permit. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/23/51224/2225 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jul 23 13:27:29 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 13:27:29 -0700 Subject: [news] Kuwait targets leading rights activist Message-ID: <410174B1.2050708@telus.net> Kuwait targets leading rights activist by Friday 23 July 2004 1:18 PM GMT Lawmaker Walid al-Tabatabai (R) concedes rights abuse Kuwaiti authorities are looking to arrest a leading human rights activist Khalid al-Dosari on charges of recruiting young Arab Muslims to go to Iraq for fighting US occupation forces there. According to newspaper reports on Friday, one of four people arrested while trying to enter Iraq from Syria, named al-Dosari as having helped him in his mission. Al-Dosari who is spokesman of the Association of Victims of Torture and Arbitrary Arrest evaded an attempt by security forces to arrest him on Monday, the Al-Siyassa daily reported. However, al-Dosari charged on a website that authorities were after him because he had evidence of human rights violations by security services and was defending victims of abuse. Pressure Several Arab and international human rights groups denounced the failed attempt to arrest al-Dosari and deplored what they called the pressure exerted on "defenders of victims of torture and arbitrary arrest in Kuwait," Al-Siyassa said. US troops used Kuwait as launch pad for the invasion of Iraq The Paris-based Arab Committee for Human Rights (ACHR) has expressed concern over the attempts to arrest al-Dosari. In a statement received by Aljazeera, ACHR criticised Kuwaiti authorities of targeting al-Dosari. The statement said al-Dosari had been assaulted and called on Kuwaiti authorities to launch an investigation. The Geneva-based Karama (Dignity) Association for Defending Human Rights (KADHR), Hague-based Justice Organisation (JO) and the Paris-based Association for Defending and Assisting Defenders of Human Rights (ADADHR) have endorsed the ACHR statement. The organisations called on the Kuwaiti government to stop what they described as "harassment". Allegations true Speaking to Aljazeera, Walid al-Tabatabai, a Kuwaiti Member of Parliament and chief of Parliamentary Committee of Human Rights (PCHR) said the ACHR allegations were true. Dr Haytham Mana'a, the spokesman of the ACHR told Aljazeera that the committee had audio and video evidence of torture in Kuwait. "Pressure on those struggling against torture like al-Dosari must stop", he added. "Pressure on those struggling against torture like al-Dosari must stop" Dr Haytham Mana'a, spokesman, ACHR Meanwhile, Kuwaiti authorities have arrested several people on suspicion of involvement in recruiting youths to fight US occupation forces in Iraq following the extradition of four suspects from Syria. The interior ministry "received from Syrian security authorities four people arrested on charges of illegal entry into Iraq" from the Syrian border, the papers quoted a ministry official as saying late on Thursday. Ministry spokesman Adil al-Hashash said the four had confessed to the charges and informed on other people, some of whom were detained and found in possession of weapons as well as "maps and plans for (terrorist) operations." Some 25,000 US troops are based in Kuwait, which served as the main launching pad for the US-led invasion last year that ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Aljazeera + Agencies By http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B782F1C7-5EFC-47C4-92D0-EB29E4B9615C.htm Close -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 23 12:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 19:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] 9/11: The Pakistan connection Message-ID: <20040723191704.24893.qmail@resist.ca> The Guardian ; July 22, 2004 ; By Michael Meacher There is evidence of foreign intelligence backing for the 9/11 hijackers. Why is the US government so keen to cover it up? URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/23/113129/072 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jul 23 14:36:05 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 14:36:05 -0700 Subject: [news] Don't Believe the Hype: We're Living In a Police State Message-ID: <410184C5.90201@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28191.php Don't Believe the Hype: We're Living In a Police State ...the puzzle pieces begin to come together... We are not "looking out" for REAL "terrorists." We are looking out for those who may only "sympathize" with criminals. Basically, we are being asked to spy on our neighbors and report anything and anyone who does not fit into the cookie-cutter mold of Western Christianity. i'm like a lot of people i have met throughout the years. .... Yes, i "sympathize" with these concocted members of organized crime. When i see a police chase on the news, i generally "sympathize" with the guy fleeing arrest, provided he hasn't hurt anyone. Don't Believe the Hype: We're Living In a Police State by Abu Jamal In the Name of the One and Only God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful... It was a hot Summer night in August, 1992 when Don Carlson heard someone trying to beat down his front door. The sound boomed through the front room, amplified by the fact that it was empty. Carlson had recently lost all his furniture to his ex-wife and now the pounding was echoing off the stripped floor and walls of his suburban San Diego house. Fearing for his life, he grabbed his handgun and fired two shots at the door. Neither shot even went through. Then the pounding got louder and the door started tearing off its hinges. Terrified, Carlson spun around, dropped the gun, and ran out of the room. A bullet tore into his thigh and sent him sprawling across the hallway floor. Staggering into his bedroom, he scooped up his cordless phone and started dialing "911" as he fell into a corner. Two more bullets ripped into his back. One of them splintered and collapsed his lung. "Don't move or I'll shoot you again," yelled a voice. Carlson was blacking out and figured he was dead. Then a man identified himself as a federal drug agent. He and several other men grabbed Carlson, handcuffed him, and left him on the floor bleeding as they began tearing what as left of his house apart. "Why would they do this to me?" he muttered, barely able to breathe. Carlson was a law-abiding citizen, a computer company executive who had never been in trouble with the law before. However, none of that seemed to matter. It hadn't stopped the dozen or so U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs Service and San Diego police officers who broke in and shot him. They had been told he had 2,500 pounds of cocaine in the house. The tip came from an informant named Ronnie Edmond, an ex-drug dealer who was being paid $2,000 by the federal government to snitch on others in the drug trade. However, Edmond had lied about Carlson. He was no drug dealer. Edmond had picked the house because he thought it was empty and figured he could come up with another lie when the agents didn't find the cocaine. Don Carlson believes some of the agents who stormed his house back in 1992 wanted to kill him to cover up their mistake, but couldn't because so many different jurisdictions were there. "The only thing that saved me was that there were too many agents involved," he told the Post-Gazette for its series. As it was, Carlson spent the next eight weeks in a hospital hooked up to a respirator, then many more months in painful physical therapy trying to regain the use of his body. Although the government admitted he wasn't a drug dealer, they threatened to charge him with attempted murder for the shots he fired at the door in self-defense. Then a federal judge sealed the search warrant for the raid, preventing him from even learning why he had been targeted by the government in the first place. Carlson retained an attorney who filed a $20 million suit over the botched drug raid in December 1992. The government stalled, failing to even so much as respond to any court papers until ordered to do so by a judge. In 1995, after years of contentious negotiations, the government finally settled the case for $2.7 million. Carlson took the money and moved away from California to a gated community north of Dallas. He still has trouble breathing and a problem with his leg due to the gunshot wound. His doctor tells him the injuries will almost certainly shorten his life. Seven years after the raid, Carlson still could not believe he was almost killed because of a lying snitch who had cut a deal with the government. "[Edmonds] was a low-level street dealer, part-time criminal who created this thing to get money out of them," he told the Post-Gazette. For countless years, the line that "If you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to be afraid of" has been used by law enforcement officials to trick people into bowing to warrantless searches and interrogations without their lawyers present. Ex-President Clinton used a variation on this a few days after two disturbed teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot up Columbine High School on April 20,1999. Speaking to a group of students at Virginia high school, Clinton urged them to report any classmates who exhibit anti-social behavior. "They won't get in trouble if they didn't do anything wrong," he assured them. Clinton was dead wrong. Innocent people are routinely arrested, tried, convicted and sent to jail. Hundreds of convicts have been proven innocent and set free in the last few decades, including close to 90 who were sitting on Death Row waiting to be executed for murders they didn't commit. "With little money available to dig up new evidence and appeals courts usually unwilling to review claims of innocence (they are more likely to entertain possible procedural trial-court errors), it's impossible to know just how many other prisoners are living the ultimate nightmare," Newsweek said in its June 2000 Special Report. Even convicted killers who are not ultimately proven innocent frequently have their convictions overturned on appeal, according to a study conducted by a team of layers and criminologists at Columbia University. Led by law professor James S. Liebman, the study reviewed all appeals from 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, to 1995. It found that two out of three convictions were overturned on appeal. Seventy-five percent of those who had their sentences set aside were later given lesser sentences after retrials, in plea bargains or by order of a judge. Many of those released from Death Row in recent years were exonerated by the Innocence Project, a New York-based public interest law firm started by famed criminal defense attorney Barry Scheck. The organization used newly developed DNA tests to prove they didn't do the crimes of which they were convicted. Several of these former inmates appeared at the National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty, sponsored by a number of anti-death penalty organizations in early 1999. The conference examined many cases of innocent people who had been wrongly convicted of capital crimes and sentenced to death. In almost every instance, the conviction was based on perjured testimony from actual criminals seeking reduced charges or preferential treatment. Some snitches lied to avoid the death penalty for their own killings. In each case, it took many years for the wrongly-convicted defendants to clear their names. As University of California law professor Clifford S. Zimmerman put it, "Information mishandling and misconduct victimizes many innocent people. Examples of the resulting harm include: prosecutions based upon informant perjury; false arrests due to unreliable informants; non-disclosure of informant information by prosecutors in criminal proceedings; informant abuses promoted through rewards; and felonious activity committed with the knowledge and, at time, assent of the police and prosecutors." University of Oregon law professor Garret Epps is more blunt: "The truth is, everyone has something to hide. For most people, it's not a crime; it may be a health condition that could expose them to discrimination, and unfashionable political allegiance, a deeply held personal religious commitment, a painful family secret or jut a juvenile sense of humor. For each of us, there is something we choose not to share with people we do not know well. And when these personal foibles are stripped bare, the people exposed often feel a deep sense of violation and may lose friends, jobs or spouses." Theoretically, the Constitution and numerous Supreme Court rulings provide the necessary safeguards. Grand juries are supposed to double-check prosecutors, preventing them from bringing flimsy cases based on questionable testimony. Numerous Supreme Court rulings are intended to ensure that trials are fair and open. One of the most significant safeguards is the so-called Brady Rule, adopted by the Supreme Court in 1963. Under this rule, prosecutors must turn over to defendants any evidence which might help prove their innocence or show biases and criminal records of the witnessed used against them. However, in these days of interlocking computer databases, simply reporting someone to the authorities can destroy their lives. Consider what is happening to African Americans. The crack cocaine scare of the 1980's prompted police agencies across the country to build computer lists of African American gang members. The lists quickly expanded to include other, far more ambiguous categories, including gang associates, gang affiliates and even "gang affected" juveniles. Much of the information put into the computers was unverified gossip picked up during routine patrols. A mere accusation was all it took to open a file. If the police pulled over a car driven by a "suspected" gang member, all of the passengers became gang "associates." If a boastful teenager claimed to be in a gang, that's what the police accepted, with all of this brothers and sisters becoming "associates," "affiliates" or "affected" by his claimed membership. No one bothered to double-check the allegations; the information just went straight into the computers. This same system is in play now across the country. Even in the underground "Straight Edge" music scene in Salt Lake City, Utah, overzealous and over-armed Police form "Anti-Gang Taskforces." "Straight Edge" emerged in the early 1980's from the hardcore punk-rock music scene. Disenfranchised youth eschewed drug use, alcohol, smoking and promiscuity. This was viewed as "counter-culture" - an extension of its outgrowth of the punk scene - and became symbolized in the wearing of an "X" on the fist; as clubs that served alcohol wear these bands would play would put an "X" on the hand of anyone underage, in order to make it clear that no alcohol could be served to them. Straight Edgers began showing up to these venues already "X-ed up." From this different sub-categories would later emerge. However, in the mid, to late 1990's the "Anti-Gang" Salt Lake City Police would define this subculture as a "gang." Many of these "gang" members were completely non-violent people, many girls, even the daughter of the HEAD of the Anti-Gang taskforce was "Straight Edge." But ALL were lumped into this category and given the designation of "gang members." Similar rules were applied to these individuals as were applied to African American's in other cities. Perhaps it is because of Salt Lake City's notoriety for not having a large African American population. African descended peoples were not permitted into the Mormon priesthood until as late as June 9, 1978! So in the absence of this "external" enemy of the Police State, the Mormon Rangers; armed with assault rifles in each of their trunks, even Hummers and there very own "Anti-Gang Taskforce" - since gang violence is OBVIOUSLY such a rampant problem in Utah (note the sarcasm) - internalized their war on Freedom, and battle for "Total Information Awareness" (as the Bush Administration would later coin it). More recently, the Bush administration said on Wednesday, May 26th that it had credible intelligence suggesting that Al-Qa'ida is planning to attack the United States in the next several months, a period in which events like an international summit meeting and the two political conventions could offer tempting targets. Attorney General John Ashcroft said at a news conference that intelligence reports and public statements by people associated with Al-Qa'ida suggested that the terrorist group was "almost ready to attack the United States" and harbored a "specific intention to hit the United States hard." However, some intelligence officials, terrorism experts - and to some extent even Mr. Ashcroft's own FBI director, Robert S. Mueller III - offered a more tempered assessment, saying, "For the next few weeks we have reason to believe there is a heightened threat to the U.S. interests around the world.'' U.S. "interests" or the U.S.... which is it? The "interests" of the U.S. Government are very often not the "interests" of the American people. So are we being told that there is an imminent threat to OUR lives, or the lives of, perhaps, "Israeli's?" Frankly, there are many Americans who do not care about the latter, regardless of what the "interests" of the Bush Administration are. "There's no real new intelligence, and a lot of this has been out there already," said one administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "There really is no significant change that would require us to change the alert level of the country." John Ashcroft said the government did not have any information about where the terrorists might strike, and he said there was "extraordinary" security being put in place for events like a summit meeting of international leaders next month in Savannah, Ga., the Democratic convention in Boston in late July and the Republican convention in New York in late August and early September. So what exactly was the point? Ashcroft called for greater "public vigilance," especially in "looking out" for seven people sought by the FBI who are suspected of being Al-Qa'ida members or "sympathizers." Now the puzzle pieces begin to come together... We are not "looking out" for REAL "terrorists." We are looking out for those who may only "sympathize" with criminals. Basically, we are being asked to spy on our neighbors and report anything and anyone who does not fit into the cookie-cutter mold of Western Christianity. i'm like a lot of people i have met throughout the years. When i see movies like "Goodfellas" or "Heat," i have a strange "sympathy" for the main characters. Yes, i "sympathize" with these concocted members of organized crime. When i see a police chase on the news, i generally "sympathize" with the guy fleeing arrest, provided he hasn't hurt anyone. Why do i "sympathize" with them? It's anyone's guess isn't it? Maybe it's because i hate the Police State that is common to myself and that person on the TV screen SO MUCH that i sympathize with even criminals trying to elude capture from the Police State that i know also arrests, and in some cases frames, citizens whose only crime is political dissent. So for THIS should i be charged with money laundering? With extortion? With racketeering? With any number of charges related to organized crime? Of course not. "Sympathizing" with something does not imply guilt of said thing, anymore than it implies that Mick Jagger is the devil. The official said, there was "no real new intelligence." So does that mean that we just found out this information against these "suspects" based on "new FAKE intelligence?" What did we find it out from if there was "no real new intelligence?" Is the implication that we knew everything we know about these individuals before? Why then are we only now hearing about these dangerous "potential terrorists?" In reality, we are not being told to look out for SPECIFIC people at all. Of the seven people Ashcroft asked the public and law enforcement agencies to watch out for, the only one whose name had not been previously released was Adam Yahiye Gadahn, 25, who officials said is an American citizen from California. Adam Gadahn converted to Islam and is believed to have attended Al-Qa'ida training camps in Afghanistan several years ago, officials said. He is "thought" to have done "translation work for Al-Qa'ida" and was "associated" with Abu Zubayda, a senior Al-Qa'ida associate now imprisoned by the United States, they said. Remember those dubious categories, including gang "associates," gang "affiliates" and "gang affected" juveniles? Here they have popped up again; Doublespeak for the New World Order. Adam Gadahn was "thought" to have been an "associate" of Abu Zubayda, who was himself a senior "associate" of "Al-Qa'ida;" an organization ranking only 17th out of 20 before 9.11.2001 in terms of potential danger to the U.S. Interestingly "Al-Qa'ida" (the Base), was just the name of `Usama bin Ladin's old house; a meeting place for his particular "gang." Maybe someday Law Enforcement will catch on and start referring to the dangerous "Crib" terrorists (based on a group of criminals meeting at eat other's "Crib" before committing crimes). How do we know that Adam Gadahn is a member of "The Crib" or "Al-Qa'ida?" Is translating something now a terrorist act? Translating? We are not to believe he was translating any special information that would help to harm America citizens. We are not being asked to believe that he was translating plans to murder innocent civilians. No, he translated what were likely just pamphlets and small texts. Nothing that could do any more harm to American citizens than giving someone a paper cut, perhaps. Maybe these texts had nothing to do with killing Americans at all. Maybe... that is, MOST LIKELY they were merely political in nature; against the U.S. military presence in the Hijaz, Afghanistan and Iraq, or against the so-called state of "Israel." So because he translated something, because he agreed with the politics of some written words and then translated it for others to READ, for others to THINK about, he is now a card carrying member of a terrorist organization? This is a ridiculous and baseless claim. At least two of these seven terrorists identified by John Ashcroft as part of an "Al-Qa'ida cell" that is waiting to attack America this summer are already in jail. A respected website that holds databases on terror suspects lists Amer El-Maati as "incarcerated." http://www.trackingthethreat.com/db/ENT1711.htm Likewise, Aafia Siddiqui, a female former MIT student, was arrested in Pakistan over a year ago, according to NBC. http://www.intellnet.org/news/2003/04/03/19137-1.html The "cell" that these individuals are said to belong to doesn't even exist. The Abu Hafs al-Masri group was described by the Boston Globe as a "phantom organization." Their researchers could find no evidence that the group was real. Imagine that; dishonest Big Government. Who would have thought? http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/03/13/officials_group_tying_self_to_blasts_may_not_be_real/ Each time a new terror threat is announced or a terror suspect is "captured," we discover that they have either already been arrested or they have been dead for a year or more. That is, except for the 9.11 suspects; many of whom are alive and well in foreign countries (despite allegedly having blown themselves up in the fiery inferno of the World Trade Center and Pentagon). What's that, you are noticing some inconsistencies? Never mind that, the last episode of "Friends" is on the television. The "WB" has a new spin off of American Idol. What are you doing wasting time reading the paranoid delusions of a Thought Criminal who is probably a terrorist himself? Get back to the "real" world of Rueben Stutter and Clay Aiken. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. In his press conference, John Ashcroft cited a number of upcoming events that "could be" "potential" targets, including the Group of Eight economic summit on Sea Island, Georgia, and the Democratic and Republican national conventions in Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, respectively. If i was a gambling man, i'd wager everything i have that none of these WILL BE ACTUAL targets. Ashcroft also warned that terrorists may not have a typical look and that "the face of al Qa'ida may be changing." It "may be changing" or it "is changing." Please let us know Mr. Ashcroft. i don't want to worry about it if it is only a "maybe." Only if it is something which there is credible evidence of will i worry myself into a fit of orange and red alerts over it. If not then keep your mouth shut and stop trying to frighten the public into electing Bush. "Our intelligence confirms al-Qa'ida is seeking recruits who can portray themselves as Europeans," he said. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/05/26/terror.threat/index.html So never mind all of the years of justification for the racial profiling of Arabs and people traditionally thought to be Muslim. Now you should look at EVERYONE as a potential terrorist. Ashcroft said the group adapts quickly to new security measures and may be recruiting operatives in their late 20s or early 30s and "may travel with families to lower their profile." Again, never mind the "Homeland Security" paranoia of UNmarried Muslims - you know the ones who were supposed to be unmarried because they were going to blow themselves and others up at any moment - now you should also be suspicious of Muslims with families... Basically, just consider ANY Muslim a potential terrorist, right? Strangely, Ashcroft said in this same press conference that of these seven "all pose a clear and present danger to America" and "should be considered armed and dangerous." http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/05/26/terror.threat.transcript/index.html What "clear" and "present" danger do these individuals pose? What "clear and present danger" do Amer El-Maati and Aafia Siddiqui present to us behind bars, since both have been imprisoned long before Ashcroft told us to call in tips as to their whereabouts? What is "clear" about this danger? What is "present" about a danger that has already passed? What "danger" exactly does Adam Gadahn pose to us... "clearly" that is? Is he going to translate us to death? He is considered "armed and dangerous" with what? A pen and paper? A computer? Armed with "sympathy" for the enemies of the United States? What is the meaning of this then? CNN inadvertently illustrates this in their follow up news report which headlines "Thousands of tips received on suspected seven; FBI: 'Please keep them coming'." The report reads: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI has received more than 2,000 tips from the public in the 24 hours after a news conference asking for help in locating seven people Attorney General John Ashcroft called al-Qa'ida operatives. "'Many thanks for your help on locating those pictured below,' the FBI Web site said Thursday. 'Over 2,000 tips were sent by mid-afternoon today on tips.fbi.gov alone. Please keep them coming.'" http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/05/27/terror.threat/index.html So there are seven of these guys... Two of them are already in prison and were in prison before the press conference. So five of them really. From these five there yielded more than 2,000 tips. So that is 400 tips for each one of these people. Do you think that ANY of these tips was ACTUALLY related to the individuals in question? i don't. If they were then they certainly were not very good tips as the FBI is still left empty handed... except for those two suspects which they had all along. Furthermore, New York City and Los Angeles officials told Reuters that they had not been informed by the government of any terror threat, despite the fact that people like Ashcroft and Ridge are all over the media fear mongering about the inevitability of an attack before the election. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=KX1FUUUBRY3B2CRBAEKSFEY?type=domesticNews&storyID=5265538 So what is this all about? It is about a society of spies and snitches not unlike that of the Orwellian world of 1984 where political dissidents even feared talking in their sleep. It is about fear tactics that make people afraid to live. It is about a Big Brother, Orwellian, Ashcroftian Big Federalist Government that preys on the fear of terrorism it both orchestrates and brings upon itself by inciting the hatred of the world through its corrupt foreign policies, support for brutal regimes and dictators and use of weapons of mass destruction. It is about locking people up and throwing away the key if they "sympathize" with those who oppose the Bush Regime... that is, Administration. The 5th Amendment to U.S. Constitution reads: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Yet on June 9, 2002 Jose Padilla (`Abd'ullah Al-Muhajir), was transferred from control of the U.S. Department of Justice to military control. Since that time, Padilla has been held in a Navy brig in South Carolina. Padilla has not been charged with a crime, and does not have access to a lawyer in his detention. This is a clearly abominable violation of the democratic traditions purportedly upheld by the United States. This is a clear violation of the 5th Amendment, and a violation of the 6th Amendment (which reads): "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense." Padilla has been accused of plotting acts of terrorism, particularly the setting off of a "dirty bomb;" something which no one, no where has EVER even made so much as a prototype of. He has been accused of conspiring with members of... that's right, you guessed it, the Boogyman, catch-all, terrorist organization: al-Qa'ida, and planning to scout for that terrorist organization, using the benefits of his U.S. citizenship. President Bush has designated Padilla an "enemy combatant;" meaning that the Bush Regime can do whatever the Hell they want to and with him and there isn't a damned thing you can do about it... (unless you are a "terrorist" as well, in which case you're next). These are frightening accusations, and they may very well be true. However, accusations do not give the President the authority to lock someone away. According to the laws and traditions of the U.S., the way to determine who gets imprisoned is through the due process of a trial by jury. So much for that though. In this Brave New World, individual guilt is determined by the Administration. "Democracy" is brought to foreign lands by way of ousting an elected President and then APPOINTING a President that the Administration likes. Or for that matter, in this Brave New World, the President loses the popular vote by over half a million votes and is then APPOINTED to the Presidency by the Supreme Court! Jose Padilla may be a traitor and he may even be a terrorist. However, he was not captured in Afghanistan with a gun in his hand. He was arrested at Chicago O'Hare airport. If Jose Padilla can be held without criminal charges, strictly on the say-so of the President, then any American can be. That is tyranny and that is not the "America" many of us were sold in school. But prosecution for "terrorism" is not what the government has in mind for Padilla. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that Padilla may NEVER face trial. "Our interest is not in trying him and punishing him, our interest is in finding out what he knows." http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/11/dirty.bomb.suspect/ If he was REALLY planning on bombing Americans then why wouldn't we want him to be charged with a crime and be tried and punished? Obviously this admission makes it clear that this man never did ANYTHING, but obviously is being illegally detained by a Police State until he tells them the things that they want to hear. How did Padilla come to be in this situation that he finds himself in? The first tip about "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla came about two weeks before his May 8 arrest, U.S. officials said. Officials said the information came from senior al-Qa'ida operative Abu Zubaydah, who is being held in U.S. custody. Zubaydah provided a physical description of Padilla but did not name him, officials said. A U.S. official said that Zubaydah appeared to be giving out minimal information, apparently assuming that authorities would not be able to figure out whom he was describing. Perhaps the fact that he was shot in the testicles might have had something to do with the "minimal information" he was giving out? Or perhaps, just like Ronnie Edmond, he was making up a story to buy himself time, so when they found out that he was making the whole thing up, he could then just invent another lie. Maybe Jose Padilla is just like Don Carlson. How can we tell? We can't. That's why American Law has maintained the criteria of guilt that one is "Innocent until PROVEN guilty." If Padilla is guilty, then the government should prove it. They should at least bring charges and evidence against him. The fact that they have not PROVES THEIR guilt; that THEY are guilty of falsely and ILLEGALLY imprisoning American citizens based on nothing but the hearsay of a terrorist trying to save himself, taking the spotlight off of his own crimes and pointing it onto someone else that he could not even produce so much as a name for. U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials took the vague description from Abu Zubaydah and then questioned other captured al-Qa'ida prisoners; using an FBI database to find the names of the suspect and another man - believed to be Pakistani - who is being held in Pakistan in connection with the same alleged plot to attack targets in the United States. Once they had the names, U.S. officials then obtained photographs of the two suspects and showed them to Zubaydah. He confirmed they were the two men involved, officials said. http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/11/dirty.bomb.zubaydah/index.html That's all it took. That and a one page letter from the President stripping this American citizen of his Constitutionally "guaranteed" rights. All based upon hearsay from a man who is himself a criminal. A criminal who was shot in the testicles and blackmailed; "If you want some more painkillers, medical treatment, whatever, then you will give us some names, faces, anything" This is the world we are living in. There is no question as to the way things are. This is reality. The question is, what are you going to do about it? http://www.taliyah.org/articles/dbth2.shtml -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jul 23 15:29:26 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 15:29:26 -0700 Subject: [news] Genocide in Canada Message-ID: <41019146.2080703@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28192.php Genocide in Canada BC United Church source confirms program to systematically destroy documents related to crimes against First Nations inclucing rape, torture, murder, sexual sterilization, organ removal, and an organized pedophile and sex slavery network. http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/149245.php Genocide in Canada by The Executive New evidence that the United Church of Canada destroyed documents proving its crimes: 'Operation Clean Sweep' - for public circulation and reprinting - Vancouver, July 13, 2004: A highly placed, confidential source within the British Columbia Conference of the United Church of Canada has confirmed for a second time the existence of a program to systematically destroy documents related to crimes committed against Native people in that church's Indian residential schools and hospitals. These crimes include rape, torture, murder, sexual sterilization, organ removal, and an organized pedophile and sex slavery network involving senior church officials, politicians, judges and RCMP officers across B.C. According to the source, the program to destroy these documents was entitled "Operation Clean Sweep," and was initiated on February 8, 1996 as a result of a confidential directive from the General Council of the United Church of Canada in Toronto. The directive was issued by United Church General Secretary Virginia Coleman in the wake of the commencing (on February 3, 1996) of the first class action lawsuit against the United Church by fifteen native survivors of the notorious Alberni residential school, operated by the United Church from 1925 to 1974. The directive was labelled "Strictly Confidential," and was sent to church officials in B.C. It was prompted as well by the public statements of former United Church minister Rev. Kevin Annett and an eyewitness to murder at the Alberni school, Harriett Nahanee, both of whom had been quoted in the Vancouver Sun in December, 1995 as saying that native children were killed and secretly buried behind the Alberni residential school. According to the church source, "Ginny Coleman wanted the whole thing buried quickly, which is why she also came out to Port Alberni in March of 1996 to square things with the local Indian chiefs and get them on side. She told the chiefs that they'd never see a dime of church money for residential school settlements if they had anything to do with Kevin Annett and any investigation into the deaths of children in the church schools. She also made it clear that all documents related to these allegations had to be destroyed." Operation Clean Sweep resulted in the destruction of medical records concerning the organized and involuntary sterilization of non-Christian Indian men and women at the church's R.W. Large Memorial Hospital in Bella Bella, B.C., between 1929 and 1975, and possibly later. "A hospital administrator named Barb Brown arranged to have the sterilization records dumped in the ocean during March, 1996, and then again in July. All of the records contained annotated payment receipts from the Department of Indian Affairs in Ottawa, which was helping to fund the sterilizations. But it was church missionary doctors like George Darby who did the procedure, whose aim was simply to stop pagan Indians from breeding. That's what had Coleman and the other so worried, since they knew the sterilizations proved Genocide." According to the source, this destruction of evidence was not confined to the sterilization evidence. "It covered the whole gamut. Any correspondence that referred to the deaths of children while in church custody had to go. Any record of pedophilia by ministers - there was lots of that - it all had to be destroyed no later than April 30, 1996." By far the most disturbing revelation of this source is his confirmation of the official cover-up of a Native-run pedophile network involving church and government officials in B.C. "What really got Ginny and others scared was the kiddy sex ring shit coming out. Everyone in the old boys' network of B.C. Conference knows about it, since a lot of them are gay and pedophiles themselves. But the link to the Alberni residential school is what really prompted Clean Sweep, since there were living eyewitnesses suddenly suing the church who could testify that the pedophile ring got started out of that residential school in the 1940's, after the church was made legal guardian of the students there by the feds. "The point is, this shit is still going on, not just at the Vancouver Club. It pervades the whole system, and the church is just one cover for it." While confirming previous allegations made by Native eyewitnesses themselves, the source in question is the first non-native person, and United Church official, to explain the reason for the sustained cover-up and smear campaign against Rev. Kevin Annett engineered by the United Church since the spring of 1996 in regard to its residential school crimes. Former B.C. Conference secretaries Brian Thorpe and Debra Bowman, who helped coordinate Operation Clean Sweep, have refused to comment on the allegations of this source. No official of the national church has responded to our phone calls or e-mails. The source of these latest allegations is a senior United Church minister who retired several years ago and whose "extremely troubled conscience" prompted him to contact members of The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada. This new evidence has been forwarded to international police and human rights bodies, and to the world press, prior to further action. Issued by The Executive, The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada July 13, 2004 Vancouver, Canada http://canadiangenocide.nativeweb.org http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 24 13:02:06 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:02:06 -0700 Subject: [news] Accused terrorist loses 3rd bail bid Message-ID: <4102C03E.7080005@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28208.php Accused terrorist loses 3rd bail bid MONTREAL -- A former university student accused of being an Al Qaeda sleeper agent lost a bid today to be freed on bail -- the third such rejection since last year. Accused terrorist loses 3rd bail bid CANADIAN PRESS via Toronto Star - July 23, 2004 MONTREAL -- A former university student accused of being an Al Qaeda sleeper agent lost a bid today to be freed on bail -- the third such rejection since last year. In a 21-page ruling, Federal Court Justice Simon Noel said Adil Charkaoui remains a danger to the security of Canada. The judge rejected a defence request to release Charkaoui, 31, on $50,000 bail and keep him under constant supervision. "No condition or precaution could neutralize the danger to national security," the judge wrote. Charkaoui has spent more than a year behind bars after being detained on a rarely used security certificate that's the first step in the deportation process. The government says Charkaoui is an Al Qaeda sleeper agent who could carry out attacks at any time. Charkaoui denies any terrorist links and says he'll be killed if he's deported to hs native Morocco. But Noel said there isn't enough proof to allay fears about the danger posed by Charkaoui. The judge also rejected on Friday key testimony by a witness who trained in an Al Qaeda camp in 1998 -- the same time the Canadian government says Charkaoui trained there. The witness, Abdurahman Khadr, told the court last week he was in contact with all Canadians at the camp and never saw Charkaoui. Noel said it's possible the two never met. The judge has twice denied bail to Charkaoui, ruling in January the suspect "still constitutes a danger to national security or the security of others." Charkaoui has not been charged and hasn't been linked to any specific terrorist plots or attacks. But the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) says Charkaoui knew terrorists and that his photo was recognized by prominent Al Qaeda members, including jailed millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam. A number of character witnesses have testified in Federal Court on behalf of Charkaoui, a former University of Montreal literature student. ________________________________________________________ Montreal Muslim News Network - http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/subscribe ===================================================== Listen to Caravan every Wednesday from 2-3PM (ET): http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/caravan.htm htpp://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1... ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 24 13:58:43 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:58:43 -0700 Subject: [news] VPD score 3 in-custody deaths in 3 months! Message-ID: <4102CD83.3000702@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28206.php VPD score 3 in-custody deaths in 3 months! Although a pathology test HASN'T been completed, Spokesperson Sarah Bloor says there were lethal amounts of cocaine in Bagnall's system. She says police WAITED for those test RESULTS before telling the public about the incident. Man shot with Taser dies in custody WebPosted Jul 23 2004 03:37 PM PDT vancouver.cbc.ca VANCOUVER - Vancouver Police have released details about a man who died in their custody a month ago - after he was shot with a Taser gun. Robert Bagnall, 54, died June 23 after police were called to his hotel on Granville Street. Bagnall had locked himself in the bathroom of his hotel when police were called to the scene. They say he was combative, screaming and destroying hotel property. An officer from the Emergency Response Team used his Taser gun to subdue Bagnall. While he was being handcuffed, Bagnall stopped breathing and died on the scene. Police Chief Jamie Graham insists using the Taser was the right thing to do. "I would remind you that there has never been a coroner in Canada or the United States that has listed the Taser as the cause of death. In fact, in Vancouver we now use the Taser specifically because a coroner's jury recommended we deploy it to save lives." Now, Police are looking elsewhere for an explanation of Bagnall's death. Although a pathology test hasn't been completed, Spokesperson Sarah Bloor says there were lethal amounts of cocaine in Bagnall's system. She says police waited for those test results before telling the public about the incident. "We wanted the opportunity to get all the results back so that we could allow all the information to go out to you in its full capacity - so that you would know the lethal levels that existed, as well as what the officers did that night." Still, questions remain about the weapons. Amnesty International wants them to be banned and the Canada Safety Council says their safety should be reviewed. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Man falls to death following scuffle with police WebPosted Jul 12 2004 08:43 AM PDT vancouver.cbc.ca An unidentified man fell to his death from the Knight Street Bridge on Sunday following a police chase. Vancouver Police tried to pull a man and woman over because their car didn't have licence plates. But the driver sped off against oncoming traffic, sideswiping oncoming vehicles, finally coming to a halt after hitting another car. The chase then continued on foot. Police says an officer grabbed the man as he was trying to jump off the bridge and tried to pull him back to safety, but lost his grip. The man fell eight metres to the pavement below. The woman passenger who fled with the victim was taken into custody and later released. Police spokesperson, Const. Sarah Bloor says the man was known to police. The Richmond RCMP is investigating the incident, which is considered an in-custody death. ------------------------------------------------------ Roman Andreichikov: Dead in Custody http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/Dead+in+Custody.htm (Roman Andreichikov died May 3, 2004, after Vancouver cops shot him with a taser) "I can't breathe." Those, says a friend who watched in horror, were Roman Andreichikov's last words as he lay pinned to the floor of his Granville Street apartment. Three Vancouver police officers had piled themselves atop his body while another one stood by his side. One officer pushed Andreichikov's head down against the floor. Two officers bent Andreichikov's legs at the knees while they used their body weight to drive his ankles into his back. "If you're mumbling, you're still breathing," was one officer's reply, reportedly. Moments earlier, one of the officers holding Andreichikov's legs had shot him with a Taser - an electric stun gun that overwhelmed his nervous system with 50,000 volts of electricity. With his body in convulsions, the officers took hold of Andreichikov and bound his hands with cuffs. Then thirty seconds after Andreichikov gasped his final words, he drew his last breath... -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 24 08:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 15:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Anarchists in the U.S. Harassed in Run Up to Democratic and Republican National Conventions Message-ID: <20040724151703.16218.qmail@resist.ca> "Although things are tense, we will not back down, and will not be pushed into submission through fear..... Now is the time for all of us to fight their fear with our greatest weapon, our solidarity." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/23/221058/381 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 24 08:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 15:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Macho Politics Message-ID: <20040724151703.16217.qmail@resist.ca> Disdain toward females and gay people is often found in the same psychological bundle as enthusiasm for war. And (sexist and homophobic) epithets have long been part of pro-war verbiage, whether in private conversations or in media. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/04754/4548 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 24 08:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 15:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] 40 Workers Die for Athens Olympics Message-ID: <20040724151703.16220.qmail@resist.ca> Many workers have been killed - many more than the official death toll of 14, a Greek union representative said. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/23/12728/5399 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 24 08:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 15:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Army rations rehydrated by urine Message-ID: <20040724151703.16219.qmail@resist.ca> newscientist.com ; 19:00 21 July 04 More US military silliness... Would you eat food cooked in your own urine? Food scientists working for the US military have developed a dried food ration that troops can hydrate by adding the filthiest of muddy swamp water or even peeing on it. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/23/11474/8352 From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 24 08:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 15:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Neo-Cons Target Terrorism By Reviving Communism Foe Message-ID: <20040724151703.16221.qmail@resist.ca> lewrockwell.com ; by Jim Lobe A bipartisan group of 41 mainly neoconservative foreign-policy hawks has launched the third Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) whose previous two incarnations mobilized public support for rolling back Soviet-led communism but whose new enemy will be "global terrorism." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/22/134340/284 From christoff at resist.ca Sat Jul 24 15:27:47 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 15:27:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] CKUT Radio: Peace Under Fire - The International Solidarity Movement Message-ID: CKUT Radio: Peace Under Fire - The International Solidarity Movement Peace Under Fire is a recently published collection of written accounts, drawn from the web-logs and diaries of International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists, news articles, press releases and reflections of ISM members engaged in confronting the Israeli occupation on the ground in Palestine. During the past 2 years ago the ISM has brought hundreds of international activists to work in the occupied territories in campaigns of non-violent direct action targeting the daily workings of the Israeli occupation. To listen to an interview with Radhika Sainath ISM organizer and editor of the recently published book Peace Under Fire visit: http://www.beirut.indymedia.org/ar/2004/07/1500.shtml To get more information about the International Solidarity Movement visit: http://www.palsolidarity.org ----------------------- From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jul 24 20:47:03 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 20:47:03 -0700 Subject: [news] Cowboys and Indians: Perspectives on Message-ID: <41032D37.3060102@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28219.php Cowboys and Indians: Perspectives on ...a permanent...colonization, native reservations are benign forms of apartheid. Natives as a race have been systemically brainwashed through the use of reservations to be dependent on the State for its daily existence. If a race is more concerned about its daily subsistence, it is no longer concerned about righting the injustices of the past. It is no longer concerned about reclaiming its lands through political, legal, or, if necessary, military force. If a race is separated from the mainstream systems of power and knowledge, it is not able to right the injustices of the past through political, legal or military intervention. Cowboys and Indians: Perspectives on Patterns of U.S. and Israeli Colonization Alden C. Mayfield* The pattern of demonizing, conquering, colonizing, occupying and plundering another nation is still a sad reality in our post-modern age. Colonization is conveniently disguised in the noble rhetoric of United Nations legality, democratic jargon, and liberationist rhetoric. The history of the expansion of the U.S. is a clear example of this pattern of colonization. Israel as a strategic U.S. partner is also another example of this post-modern process of conquering, colonizing, and civilizing the uncivilized. While many experts argue that the present motives of the U.S. war in Iraq are meant to grant freedom to the Iraqi people, others argue that the U.S. is simply pursuing its agenda of global domination. This agenda of world domination is quite similar to the U.S.'s goal of its westward expansion as it demonized, conquered and colonized aboriginal lands in the present U.S. territories. As such the U.S. government in the guise of democracy and human freedom continues this pattern of demonizing, conquering, colonizing and forcing its enemies into economic and political submission with military threat in order to fulfill its own national interests. After all this is done in the noble cause of conquering and civilizing the "native savages," the U.S. government enriches itself on their natural resources. From the beginning of the American colonies to the present era, the U.S. agenda has always been dedicated to territorial expansion in order to control natural resources. The colonization of "native savages" is an obvious example of this imperialistic agenda. Modest estimations put the systematic slaughter of native aboriginals in the U.S. anywhere between 20 million to 30 million people. From the 1600s to the present time, the U.S. government has been systemically demonizing, conquering and colonizing American aboriginals and other indigenous peoples in order to dehumanize them into being pathetic individuals who are dependent on the State as they are placed on segregated lands with third-world living conditions. As a permanent form of colonization, native reservations are benign forms of apartheid. Natives as a race have been systemically brainwashed through the use of reservations to be dependent on the State for its daily existence. If a race is more concerned about its daily subsistence, it is no longer concerned about righting the injustices of the past. It is no longer concerned about reclaiming its lands through political, legal, or, if necessary, military force. If a race is separated from the mainstream systems of power and knowledge, it is not able to right the injustices of the past through political, legal or military intervention. In other words, reservations have systematically emasculated and dehumanized the aboriginal race in order to eradicate any future notions of nationalism, independence and Statehood. Reservations are essentially long-term tools of colonization in order to make natives powerless in reclaiming their lands for independent Statehood. As such, aboriginals on reservations are essentially powerless to reclaim their lands through legal or political institutions. These governments have succeeded in systematically eliminating the notion of natives reclaiming their lands through political, legal, or military force. Such native notions of nationalism, land reclamation, justice and political independence has been deliberately erased with the colonizer's marginalized vision of reservation existence. With this illegal existence of apartheid-reservations, all treaties signed between native tribes and Western governments are illegal and non-binding pieces of paper as they were created in times of illegal occupation. In other words, Canadian, American and Australian governments are still illegally occupying and enriching themselves on aboriginal lands. Such a pattern of demonizing, conquering, colonizing and illegally occupying Indian lands in order to civilize any Statehood ambitions and to control their natural resources has been applied to various places in the U.S. territories. The systematic colonization of Mexican, Hawaiian and Filipino territories is another clear example of the present relevance of American colonization. What are now Texas, New Mexico and California were once Mexican territories. The U.S. simply annexed these lands by demonizing, conquering, colonizing and permanently occupying these lands. In the process millions of Mexican aboriginals were systematically slaughtered in order to fulfill the U.S. policy of westward expansion and colonization in order to control their natural resources. Similarly, Hawaiians were demonized, conquered, colonized and subsequently occupied in order to control their natural resources and Hawaii's geo-strategic importance for military purposes. The same process occurred in the Philippine islands. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos were slaughtered in order for the U.S. to continue its westward expansion of colonization. It could be argued that military bases in Germany, Italy, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world are benign forms of U.S. colonization. The simple fact that U.S. troops are based in foreign lands is indicative of the fact that the U.S. government not only has influence on the political and economic aspects of those lands, but it has the added advantage of containing its enemies in other lands. Some would argue that native reservations are benevolent acts of Western governments. Indeed, the U.S. government could have exterminated all natives in order to control all their lands. Let's not forget that acts of aboriginal genocide have been committed in Canada, Australia and the U.S. Some would argue that aboriginals are satisfied with their reservation existence and are better off under the wise protection of their conquerors. This is another racist argument of ethnic cleansing that is also used by the Israeli government. If natives are satisfied with living conditions that are below that of third-world living conditions, that is a very sad existence with no future hope for their children. However, if natives understand that political independence and Statehood means first-world living conditions, they'll find more hope for their children. The present reservation systems in Canada, the U.S. and Australia deny aboriginals of billions and billions of dollars in land revenues. Like dogs living in a household, natives are literally given scraps from the tables of their conquering masters. A few hundred thousand dollars are given to the natives in order to make them a dependent race with no future ambitions of independent Statehood. From the perspective of the master, it would be unthinkable for a dog to rise up and reclaim its lands and dignity in the form of Statehood. The pet dog has been conditioned to be content with his doghouse, meagre scraps, and its master's rules. It would be an understatement to say that dogs are treated more humanely than aboriginals in their doghouse-reservation-like existence. As such, it shouldn't be surprising that this American pattern of colonization is being systematically and deliberately applied to the Palestinian occupied lands and Iraq. Despite American and British attempts to paint this conflict with Iraq in humanitarian-liberation jargon, this present day conflict in Iraq is not about Weapons of Mass Destruction, Freedom, Democracy or Human Rights. It is about colonization and occupation in order to control Iraqi oil fields. If the U.S. can control Iraq's oil fields, it can essentially control the world by strengthening the supremacy of its economy and military and thus destroying the OPEC cartel as it is now considering changing from the U.S. dollar standard to the Euro. If this war was really about true freedom, democracy and human rights, the U.S. and the UK would have gone to war with most Middle Eastern nations, including Israel, which is just as bad if not worse than Iraq. In following its traditional policy of demonizing its enemies (Saddam) through the media and unsuccessfully through the UN, the U.S. is now using military force to conquer, colonize and occupy Iraq in order to control its vast oil reserves and thus control the world. This pattern of colonization is a strategic part of U.S. foreign policy dating back to the 1600s. The only difference is that the U.S. now employs phony UN diplomacy and liberationist rhetoric to cover-up its real motives of colonization and global domination. It is now clear that U.S. policy in Iraq and the Middle East has always been regime change in order to control oil and the world. Unfortunately, the terrorist regime in Israel is an exception as it is protected by the U.S. We've entered into another era of American world colonization through political, economic and military force. This is a clear warning to any nation (except Israel) that dares to disagree with America's post-modern methods of colonization in order to control the world and enrich its own national interests. If the U.S. is really interested in freedom, democracy and human rights in the Middle East, it would treat both Iraq and Israel with the same standards. As far as I know, 30 years have passed since UN Security Council resolution 242 was passed ordering Israeli troops to completely withdraw from Palestinian occupied territories, but I don't remember the U.S. giving the terrorist State of Israel a 48-hour ultimatum. The State of Israel continues to mock the world and the UN as it continues to defy and dismiss close to 400 UN Security Council resolutions ordering it to withdraw from Palestinian occupied territories. Iraq has defied a few UN Security Council resolutions over the past 12 years, but all of a sudden the U.S. government (the same government that supplied the materials and technological know-how necessary to create weapons of mass destruction, the same government that turned a blind eye to Kurds and others being gassed by Saddam) is pleading intentional ignorance and mocking the world with lies of freedom and democracy for the Iraqi people as it wages an illegal war in Iraq. A few hours after stepping down from Blair's government, Robin Cook said that he quit because of "the West's double standard in dealing with Iraq and Israel regarding their violations of UN Security Council resolutions...30 years have passed since UN Security Council resolution 242 asked Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian occupied lands, but it doesn't seem that we are losing our patience over Israel ignoring the resolution," added Cook. The only thing the Iraqi people will get from the U.S. is a post-modern form of colonization in which the occupying power will control its natural resources and thus its future. That's the goal of the U.S. government. Don't be fooled by its hollow language of liberation. Don't believe George Bush when he says he "has no ambitions in Iraq." This American pattern of colonization and occupation has been systematically and ruthlessly implemented by the Israeli State. From the origins of the Israeli State in 1948, Western governments demonized Arabs as uncivilized terrorists who are unwilling to share their lands with the Jewish people. After this phase of demonizing Arabs as terrorists, Western powers under UN cover illegally justified this arbitrary form of institutionalized colonization as it partitioned Palestine. In the next phase of this colonization, Western powers trained, armed and organized Israeli militants who systematically slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. At gunpoint, many Palestinians were either forced to leave their lands or were killed. With this phase done, the process of illegal UN and Israeli colonization is now complete. The next phase of colonization is forced assimilation into apartheid-like reservations for Palestinians, but this phase of colonization has not worked as smoothly as the Israeli State had planned. Disobedient Palestinians are now demonized as terrorists who don't want to share their illegally occupied lands with the Israeli colonizers. For the past 40 or so years, the Israeli government has been unsuccessful in seeking to put Palestinians in apartheid-like reservations in order to erase their national aspirations of Statehood and in order to control their natural resources. In fact, the Israeli government's present policy of occupation and ethnic cleansing is a clear indication that their project of putting Palestinians on Western-style reservations has failed. Unlike the American and Canadian projects of aboriginal reservation existence in order to eradicate foolish notions of aboriginal independence and Statehood, the Palestinians have successfully resisted this hopeless reservation life under Israeli occupation. In short, Israeli policy is quite similar to Western policies of dehumanizing aboriginals on reservations in order to brainwash them into a dependent relationship: a master-servant existence. With this American-Israeli model of colonization and occupation of Palestinian lands, it is now easier to understand why the U.S. government gives unqualified financial, military, and diplomatic support to Israel's illegal and brutal occupation of Palestinian lands even though Israeli policies are against international law. If Israel, as Chomsky has cogently argued, is a strategic partner of the U.S. in the Middle East, the U.S. government will simply view illegal Israeli policies as necessary in order to dehumanize and control an indigenous race that needs to be civilized like "savage American Indians." The U.S. and Israeli States are afraid of aboriginal nationalism and democracy, as this would mean independent Statehood and the loss of billions of dollars in land revenues. The U.S. has a sad record of conquering and colonizing other aboriginal races. Since the U.S. government has been illegally conquering and colonizing aboriginal lands, it doesn't see any need to treat Iraq and Israel with the same standards under international law. Iraqis like Palestinians are uncivilized "savages" that need to be conquered and civilized. Israelis like Americans are the enlightened race that needs to enlighten the unenlightened aboriginals. As savages, Iraqis need to be civilized by American occupation in order to fully develop their oil fields. As a pioneer of colonization, the U.S. views Palestinians and Iraqis as "savage Indians" who are messing up their plans of colonization and world domination. The U.S. can easily control its Israeli client as it is really an extension of the U.S. military and the U.S.'s political and economic agenda in the Middle East. Iraqis and Palestinians are the modern-day "Indians" that need to be conquered, colonized, civilized and dehumanized on reservations in order to control their natural resources and to erase all foolish notions of Statehood. Since Israel as an extension of the U.S. military is allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction as a superior race, any race--especially indigenous (inferior) races--that foolishly dreams of Statehood is systematically, politically and economically marginalized by the organs of knowledge and power. The very fact that the U.S. government supports a pseudo-democracy like Israel and a war criminal like Ariel Sharon is indicative of America's concern for justice in the Middle East. If these methods of post-modern colonization don't work, the U.S. and Israeli governments simply resort to illegally confiscating lands, bulldozing homes, uprooting farmlands and families, assassinating political opponents with state-of-the-art military technology, shooting missiles into crowded residential areas in order to kill civilians, torturing political opponents without due legal and humanitarian processes, carpet bombing or sanctioning any disobedient nation, and excusing the killing of innocent babies, children, women and others as collateral damage, or as necessary in order to civilize the race and bend it to its national interests which is seen as world security and peace. But, if those being occupied dare to resist such injustice, they are systematically demonized as terrorists by the colonizers and their media organizations. "Let's civilize the crazy Indian by burning down his teepees, controlling his lands, exterminating his buffaloes, raping his women and killing his children," remarks the brave American cowboy. The pattern of American-style post-modern colonization continues its terrorist cycle in terms of freedom, democracy, and globalization. *Canadian scholar residing in Asia. From Palestine Times, April 2003 (http://www.ptimes.org) -\ ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 05:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Is the U.S. Planning to Attack Iran? Message-ID: <20040725121705.1289.qmail@resist.ca> July 23, 2004 ; By GARY LEUPP One day the headlined fact of significance was that the 9-11 Commission found no Iraq/al-Qaeda link. This was a blow to the Bush administration, especially its neoconservative contingent, which must realize that it has diminishing credibility, even as it struggles to stay in power and doggedly implement its Southwest Asia regime change agenda. The next day the headlined fact was that the same commission found that eight of the 9-11 hijackers had passed between Afghanistan and Iran between October 2000 and February 2001, with Iranian border guards' knowledge, and official orders to those guards not to stamp their passports... URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/25/210/48726 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 05:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Teamsters Strike at Coca-Cola Message-ID: <20040725121705.1290.qmail@resist.ca> Teamsters in San Diego, California, who produce and distribute Coca-Cola products for Coca-Cola Enterprises went on strike today to protest the company's demand to dramatically increase workers' health care costs. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/133233/179 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 05:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Greeks to poison up to 15, 000 stray dogs before the olympics Message-ID: <20040725121705.1291.qmail@resist.ca> By David Harrison ; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ Thousands of stray dogs will be poisoned ahead of next month's Olympic Games in Athens despite a campaign by the RSPCA to prevent their slaughter. The animal welfare charity says that the strays will be killed because the Greek authorities fear that the sight of packs of dogs roaming the streets will damage their efforts to use the Games to show the world that their country is modern and civilised. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/24448/0577 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 05:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Don't Let Coke Fire Union Workers in Colombia! Message-ID: <20040725121705.1293.qmail@resist.ca> Call Coca-Cola Now! Demand the End of Union Busting, Intimidation and Murder! Call or write Coke's Chief Executive Officer Neville Isdell today! URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/25416/6485 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 05:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] The Plight of strays in Greece Message-ID: <20040725121705.1292.qmail@resist.ca> Dogs (and cats, birds etc) are regularly poisoned, not only in Athens but all over Greece, including the islands. This is NOT a rumor . it is fact and photos of poisoned animals on the GARCANADA and other websites are proof of this. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/529/74848 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 06:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 13:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Israel Asper, Dan Freeman-Maloy and Sovietology Message-ID: <20040725131704.5025.qmail@resist.ca> By Macdonald Stainsby Dan Freeman-Maloy was summarily and without due process suspended from all campus activity at York University in Toronto last April. The nearly graduated, high-marks-earning 22 year old was charged with using a megaphone on campus (many other students were doing this, including Zionist-supporters). When Freeman-Maloy (a Jewish student who opposes Zionism and supports Palestinian rights) asked York University President Lorna Marsden (a Zionist and converted-through-marriage Jewish woman) for an appeal, the decision was said to be final-- interpreting that she could determine the suspension unilaterally and that no appeal could be granted. "Unauthorized sound amplification device", indeed! Well, Freeman-Maloy wasn't about to let his name become one of irony. He took the university to court. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/145652/566 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 06:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 13:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Canadian hypocrisy on Iran Message-ID: <20040725131704.5027.qmail@resist.ca> The Canadian government is using the (murder of Canadian citizen Zahra) Kazemi....(in Iran) as a convenient cover for its diplomatic game with the United States and Israel, whose now openly stated priority is to isolate the government of Iran before a mandated "regime change" in 2005 or 2006. Canada's unstated priority is to maintain access to US markets for our exports (2). Canada is playing its part once again, by giving the whole US operation a humanitarian gloss. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/235820/202 From news at resist.ca Sun Jul 25 06:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 13:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Elections even less credible (if that's possible) Message-ID: <20040725131704.5026.qmail@resist.ca> more Diebold posters. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/24/111657/605 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sun Jul 25 10:15:12 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 10:15:12 -0700 Subject: [news] Hardline Jewish threat to al-Aqsa Mosque Message-ID: <4103EAA0.2090305@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/28227.php Hardline Jewish threat to al-Aqsa Mosque Let's blaim it on the "extremist" groups sure: Israel's Public Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi has said hardline Jewish groups may be planning to carry out attacks on the two most sacred Islamic shrines in East Jerusalem. Hardline Jewish threat to al-Aqsa Mosque by Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank Sunday 25 July 2004 12:36 PM GMT Al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem is one of Islam's holiest places Israel's Public Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi has said hardline Jewish groups may be planning to carry out attacks on the two most sacred Islamic shrines in East Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are collectively known as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). Originally built in CE711 (AD711), al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam's third holiest place, after the two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia. Hanegbi said in a TV interview at the weekened that the goal of the potential attackers would be to thwart the Israeli plan for unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. But a former leader of an armed Jewish group that sought to bomb al-Aqsa Mosque in the late 1970s, told the Israeli state-run radio on Sunday the purpose of any "new action" would not have anything to do with the "disengagement plan". The Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday quoted officials in the domestic intelligence service, Shin Bet, as saying there was a possibility of Jewish hardliners trying to destroy al-Aqsa Mosque by crashing a radio-controlled plane into it. Some Jewish groups want to see a temple built at the mosque site There are numerous Millenarian Jewish groups in Israel dedicated to the destruction of the mosque to facilitate the "rebuilding" of the "Third Temple" on the site. Messianic Jews believe the destruction of the mosque and construction of the temple would expedite the appearance of a Jewish messiah, or redeemer, who would rule the world from Jerusalem and bring about the salvation of the Jewish people. Ultimate red line Muslim leaders in Palestine have warned of "unforeseeable consequences" and "horrible repercussions" all over the world in case "anything happened to al-Aqsa Mosque". "This is the ultimate red line. If Jewish terrorists embarked on such an act of sheer madness, they would trigger huge fires all over the world ... . Only God knows how the fires would be extinguished," said Kamal Khatib, deputy head of Israel's powerful Islamic Movement. Speaking to Aljazeera.net he said an attack on al-Aqsa Mosque would be viewed as an appalling provocation by the world's Muslim population. "If Jewish terrorists embarked on such an act of sheer madness, they would trigger huge fires all over the world" Kamal Khatib, Deputy head of Israel's Islamic Movement "If such a thing happened, God forbid, it would galvanise the world's 1.2 billion Muslims, and there would be a backlash and anger all over the world." Khatib said the Islamic Movement in Israel remained vigilant against the risk of an attack on the Islamic holy places in Jerusalem. "We send thousands of people to the Haram al-Sharif every day to make up for the barring by Israel of our people from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from accessing the mosque ... and we see to it that there are no loopholes in security arrangements," he said. Security pretext? The highest-ranking Muslim cleric in East Jerusalem, Shaikh Ikrama Sabri, says Jewish extremists are capable of doing the unthinkable. "We know quite well that they are conniving and coordinating their plans with the Israeli security establishment," he said. "We also know that the Israeli state uses the extremists as a supplemental tool to achieve its thinly disguised goals, including the destruction of Islam's holy places in Jerusalem." Clerics say Israel wants to gain a foothold inside the compound But in the present contest, Sabri cautioned, Israel may be trying to gain a "foothold" inside al-Haram al-Sharif compound under the pretext of "ensuring the security of the place". He said after the 1994 Hebron massacre, in which 29 Arab worshippers were killed by a messianic Jewish immigrant from Brooklyn, the Israeli army, in effect, took over the town's historic Ibrahimi Mosque and gave the bulk of the holy place to Jewish settlers. The "arrangement" then was justified by the Israelis on security grounds - to prevent a repetition of the massacre, Sabri said. He said the Israeli authorities knew the Jewish hardliners individually, but did not take action against them for political reasons. "Look, the police know them one by one, but the extremists have strong allies and supporters within the government, the Knesset and the security establishment, so much so that it seems as if they are the real rulers of Israel," Sabri said. Inspection tours? The Israeli police currently permit religious Jews to enter al-Aqsa Mosque compound despite strong objection from the Supreme Muslim Council, which is in charge of the administration of the holy place. Israeli officials, including security chiefs, say Jews have a right to visit the holy place they call Temple Mount just like anybody else. However, Waqf officials, who are entrusted with the upkeep of the holy sanctuary, say trips by Zionist zealots are not simple visits, but in fact "inspection tours" aimed at drawing up destructive designs on al-Haram al-Sharif. Their fears are hardly misplaced. On Sunday a Jewish rabbi allied with the messianic Gush Emunim movement which advocates the expulsion and extermination of non-Jews in Israel - told the Israeli army radio, Gali Tsahal, he fully supported the destruction of al-Aqsa Mosque. About 5000 people can worship in and around the historic mosque "This is more than a positive thing - this is a desirable thing, and I am looking forward to seeing these mosques reduced to ruins," said Yehuda Tzion, who in 1980 headed the underground Jewish group that had planned to bomb al-Aqsa. Tzion has urged the Israeli government to "send army bulldozers to the site and destroy these buildings once and for all ... and if the state is not willing to do so, let other Jews do it". One of the messianic Jewish groups that openly calls for the destruction of al-Aqsa is the Temple Mount Faithful, headed by Girshon Solomon. A few years ago, he told the Israeli television, with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background - that: "it is time this pagan edifice ceased to exist". Such highly provocative statements go unpunished in Israel as long as they are made against non-Jews. Aljazeera By Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank You can find this article at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AD9419A2-1061-48EA-A341-77ADC09047CB.htm Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sun Jul 25 11:17:21 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 11:17:21 -0700 Subject: [news] Black community in Halifax want compensation, and an apology for 40 year old Canadian terrorist on their community Message-ID: <4103F931.7060100@telus.net> see also: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/03/12/canada/un_pay040312 and http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-69-96/life_society/africville/ ============================================= Former Africville residents want compensation, and an apology Sun, 25 Jul 2004 -CBC http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/07/24/africville040724 HALIFAX - Former residents of a black community in Halifax that was razed nearly 40 years ago are still seeking compensation. "They owe us," said Gloria Grouse, at a reunion on Saturday for former residents of Africville. About 80 families were removed in 1967 to end a source of shame for the city. There was no running water, no sewage system, no garbage pickup, no public transportation and no paved roads in Africville. Residents blamed racism for the lack of services. The Africville Geneology Society has been fighting since 1985 for recognition of the injustice that was done, and a lawsuit has a been launched against the municipality. Politicians are beginning to talk about compensation. Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly wants to meet with provincial and federal politicians develop a co-ordinated plan. "We expect to see some progress really soon," said Barry Barnet, the provincial minister for African Nova Scotian affairs. But the three levels of government need "even more commitment" to resolve the compensation issue, said Irvine Carvery of the Africville Geneology Society. "I would like to see an apology be issued," she said. In March, a draft United Nations draft report said the razing of Africville deserved compensation. The community was settled in the early 1800s by black Americans who fled the U.S. during the war of 1812. ________________________________________________________ Montreal Muslim News Network - http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sun Jul 25 19:13:05 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 19:13:05 -0700 Subject: [news] North Korea rejects US offer as 'sham' Message-ID: <410468B1.9050902@telus.net> North Korea rejects US offer as 'sham' July 26, 2004 (Reuters) http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/25/1090693833459.html North Korea has dismissed US proposals for it to follow the example of Libya and scrap its nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and diplomatic recognition. It said the offer was "nothing but a sham". The US last month promised to give the impoverished communist country energy aid if it would commit itself to dismantle all its nuclear programs and begin a verifiable disarmament process. US officials have also urged North Korea to emulate Libya and trade away its nuclear arms and other dangerous weapons for better ties with the West. However, North Korea said that without immediate rewards for freezing its nuclear activities, "the landmark proposal made by the United States is little worthy to be considered any longer". The advice to copy Libya was "worse still", because it demanded unilateral disarmament by North Korea, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said. It described the US move as "a daydream". ________________________________________________________ Montreal Muslim News Network - http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net ___\ Stay Strong\ \ "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" \ --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as)\ \ "This mathematical rhythmatical mechanism enhances my wisdom\ of Islam, keeps me calm from doing you harm, when I attack, it's Vietnam"\ --HellRazah\ \ "It's not too good to stay in a white man's country too long"\ --Mutabartuka\ \ "Everyday is Ashura and every land is Kerbala"\ -Imam Ja'far Sadiq\ \ http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html\ \ http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/welfarepoets.html\ \ http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date\ \ http://www.dpgrecordz.com/fredwreck/\ \ http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/\ \ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THCO2\ } From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 26 07:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Canada Fires Government Scientists Who Criticized BGH Message-ID: <20040726141706.8597.qmail@resist.ca> organicconsumers.org ; Reuters ; July 15, 2004 Canada Sacks Three Whistle-Blowing Scientists WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The Canadian government fired three high-profile scientists to punish them for publicly challenging federal decisions on veterinary drugs, the scientists' union said on Thursday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/25/7856/69120 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 26 07:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Man's death after Taser jolt fuels growing safety debate Message-ID: <20040726141706.8596.qmail@resist.ca> Jeff Lee ; Vancouver Sun ; Saturday, July 24, 2004 For the second time in less than two months, Vancouver police are investigating the death in custody of a man shot by a Taser gun. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/25/15283/5086 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 26 07:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Danger - Free Speech Zone: Keep Out! Message-ID: <20040726141706.8599.qmail@resist.ca> >From Boston Indy Media: 25 Jul 2004 Last night, I had my first direct experience with the so-called free speech zone. It left me with one conclusion, whatever you do, do NOT go inside. It's not only a blatant offense to free speech, but it is highly dangerous and unsafe. I would suggest protesting anywhere in Boston but inside of it. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/61329/8887 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 26 07:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Popular dissent against the Olympic Corporate Games Message-ID: <20040726141706.8598.qmail@resist.ca> Dissent! is a network of groups and individuals taking action against the G8 in Britain in 2005. Our struggle against the globalisation of exploitation and capital means that we are in solidarity with the struggles of all the common people around the globe. Now the focus of the global bosses is the Olympic Games in Athens (Greece). URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/25/94259/0238 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 26 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Congress quietly keeps School of the Americas alive Message-ID: <20040726161704.23106.qmail@resist.ca> LA Weekly ; July 23 - 29, 2004 ; by Doug Ireland Remember how congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle deplored the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib as ?un-American?? Last Thursday, however, the House quietly passed a renewed appropriation that keeps open the U.S.?s most infamous torture-teaching institution, known as the School of the Americas (SOA), where the illegal physical and psychological abuse of prisoners of the kind the world condemned at Abu Ghraib and worse has been routinely taught for years. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/83140/8440 From news at resist.ca Mon Jul 26 10:17:22 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 17:17:22 -0000 Subject: [news] =?iso-8859-1?q?=26amp=3Bquot=3BCh=E1vez_must_die_like_a_d?= =?iso-8859-1?q?og=2C_because_he_deserves_it=26amp=3Bquot=3B?= Message-ID: <20040726171722.31747.qmail@resist.ca> July 28 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Venezuelan opposition leader, and two times country president Carlos Andres Perez (CAP), made a series of statements calling for violence and hinting at an eventual dictatorial period that the Venezuelan opposition must implement if current President Hugo Chavez is removed from office. "I am working to remove Chavez [from power]. Violence will allow us to remove him. That's the only way we have," said CAP in an interview published Sunday in El Nacional, a local newspaper. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/92612/9757 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 05:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Indigenous People of Latin America Declare Support for Venezuela's Chavez Message-ID: <20040727121703.32704.qmail@resist.ca> Quito, July 24, 2004 (Venezuelanalysis.com)--Today, the Second Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities closed with a declaration of support for the people of Venezuela and Cuba. According to Nicia Maldonado, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous people of Venezuela (CONIVE), indigenous people are backing the people of Venezuela and President Chavez because they see that concrete actions have been taken by the Venezuelan president to protect and promote the rights of indigenous people. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/18544/1929 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 05:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Racial Profiling at DNC: Man Arrested for Protesting While Brown Message-ID: <20040727121703.32706.qmail@resist.ca> by Steve Iskovitz; July 26, 2004 As the International ANSWER march reached the Fleet Center (site of the Democratic National Convention), the Secret Service detained for questioning a demonstrator apparently of South Asian (Indian or Pakistani) descent for "looking around"--a clear act of racial profiling. He has since been released. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/22568/1032 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 05:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Clouded by error and secrecy, court decision denies Charkaoui liberty Message-ID: <20040727121703.32705.qmail@resist.ca> Justice Coalition For Adil Charkaoui ; Montreal, 24 July 2004 Supporters of justice for Adil Charkaoui received a few surprises as they read yesterday's Federal Court decision to uphold the imprisonment of the 30-year old Montrealer. The decision followed an attempt by Charkaoui to clear himself of the suspicions that have fallen on him, in order to be released on bail. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/153130/570 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 05:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Crap Arrest of the Week #2 Message-ID: <20040727121703.32707.qmail@resist.ca> A couple who wore "Love America, Hate Bush" t-shirts to the president's 4th of July appearance were taken away in handcuffs on trespassing charges. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/153617/343 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 05:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Ten Reasons to Oppose All Olympic Games Message-ID: <20040727121703.32708.qmail@resist.ca> There are lots of reasons to oppose Olympic Games as we know them, not just the (2004) or (2010) games but all of them. A brief outline of ten reasons is given here. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/15266/8060 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 05:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Who Will Break this Strike? Message-ID: <20040727121704.32710.qmail@resist.ca> Faced with protesting (cops) at a recent mayor's conference, (Democratic Presidential candidate John) Kerry declined to cross the picket line to deliver a speech. What will happen at the DNC? URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/26/232154/922 From news at resist.ca Tue Jul 27 06:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 13:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] The Greater Part of the Revolution Remains Before Us Message-ID: <20040727131704.5097.qmail@resist.ca> counterpunch.org ; July 24 / 25, 2004 ; By RON JACOBS I was thumbing through the new AK Press catalog the other day and discovered that they had some copies of the 1974 statement from the Weather Underground for sale. This document, titled Prairie Fire -- The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism, was the result of the individual and collective experiences and analyses of Weather?s members. Its 1974 appearance in radical bookstores, food coops, headshops, college campuses and many other places that movement activists met was greeted with a combination of emotions throughout the Left. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/27/52256/9506 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 01:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 08:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Four held in Italian anti-anarchist swoop Message-ID: <20040728081712.6047.qmail@resist.ca> BBC ; Tuesday, 27 July, 2004 At least four people have been held in raids in central Italy on suspicion of having carried out a series of parcel bomb attacks. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/27/16618/3319 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 01:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 08:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Venezuela: So This is What Self-Determination Looks Like Message-ID: <20040728081712.6045.qmail@resist.ca> It is easy to read between the lines and see why President Hugo Chavez represents the worst nightmare of the United States and the global corporate imperialists. A 'developing nation' taking control of its own resources? Ending sweetheart deals with multinational giants? Plowing profits back into infrastructure and 'social revolution,' in effect using American and European oil investment dollars to bring prosperity to Venezuelans? Soliciting cooperation from multinationals on its own terms? A majority partner in deals with Chevron and such? No more bowing and scraping before anybody who knocks at the door? URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/27/181521/304 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 01:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 08:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Konstantly Korrupt Kops Message-ID: <20040728081712.6044.qmail@resist.ca> 1. FEATURE: The Horrible Taser Gun 2. Pigs Can't Fish For Evidence: Supreme Court 3. God Starts Jail on Fire 4. Peel Police Chief, PIG OF THE WEEK 5. Pigs Terrorize Kahnawake Native 6. Feds Still Support Kahnesatake Fascist 7. Pigs in Edmonton Kill Two Teenagers 8. Calgary Pigs Target Sex Trade Workers 9. Pigs Defeat Six Year Boy With Capgun URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/28/0418/89113 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 06:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 13:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] More Truckers Refuse to Brave Iraq Roads Message-ID: <20040728131704.22371.qmail@resist.ca> Tuesday July 27, 2004 11:46 PM (AP) ``Nobody wants to come here, it's not safe,'' Suleyman told The Associated Press in the cab of his 16-wheeler Mercedes at a wind-swept truck stop on the outskirts of Baghdad. Hitting home that point, black-masked, armed militants calling themselves ``The Group of Death'' threatened in a video Tuesday to sever the main highway linking Iraq to Jordan in 72 hours and target Jordanians to stop supplies from reaching U.S. troops. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/27/17575/9192 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 07:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Revolution is Bloody Message-ID: <20040728141704.27043.qmail@resist.ca> by Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite It is true we shouldn't be afraid of martyrdom, however, we should not be selecting and setting each other up for that position nor should we be afraid to hold up the images of our martyrs and shout out their names and certainly continue the fight and struggle. What is the trap of the west? to think, as Gil Scott Heron observed, that the Calvary always comes to save the day and that the hero lives to see the glory of that day. We have forgotten that it is about the future/the Culture/Sankofa not "the crazy house called ameriKKKAnada" and profits. So we are going to get martyrs. We have been willing to hide behind martyrs for political, financial and even artistic gain, B.U.T. we are going to have to live with the overstanding that we have to be willing to be become martyrs URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/27/202911/746 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 07:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Fascism goes mainstream Message-ID: <20040728141704.27042.qmail@resist.ca> By ABID ULLAH JAN Published: July 27, 2004 Anyone having doubts about the clear signs of Islamophobic-fascism gone mainstream must watch...members of the British National Party expressing anti-Islam feelings; read... read the 9/11 Commission's report,... Establishing a successful model of governance in the Muslim world is in itself sufficient to prove the 21st century fascists wrong in their words and deeds. It will most likely attract the western masses to rush to liberate themselves from their respective tyrannies. That's why the focus of the Islamophobic fascist campaigns is not to allow Muslims to establish an alternative model in the first place. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/27/202639/691 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 08:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 15:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] Young woman facing deportation granted last minute protection Message-ID: <20040728151709.32647.qmail@resist.ca> OCAP ; Tuesday July 27, 2004 Early this morning, minutes before a scheduled press conference, and just as the Federal Court was to hear a motion to stay removal, government lawyers notified the applicant?s counsel, Amina Sherazee, of the decision to grant her client, a 19 year old rape victim, protection in Canada. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/28/73941/4644 From news at resist.ca Wed Jul 28 08:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 15:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] Neo-Nazi's forced to retreat Message-ID: <20040728151708.32648.qmail@resist.ca> Posted to Student Activist Network by Socialist Alternative At 1:00PM on Sunday, July 25th, 2004, a militant brigade of 28 anti-fascists from Toronto, Newmarket, and Kitchener piled into a charter bus at Kipling subway station to travel to 111 Disco Road, where the Metro West Detention Centre is located, in order to confront Paul Fromm, Marc Lemire, and their bumbling band of bigots who were protesting the incarceration (and pending extradition to Germany) of Holocaust denier and far-right kingpin Ernst Zundel. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/28/71130/7530 From skisby at web.net Wed Jul 28 16:45:36 2004 From: skisby at web.net (Steve Kisby) Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 16:45:36 -0700 Subject: [news] WBPS Towers Press Release - Blimp Revisit Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20040728164536.00978170@pop.web.net> http://www.alternatives.com/prms/2004/wbps0727.pdf FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 GVRD PARKS WORKING WITH WBPS AND PSPS TO DETERMINE VISUAL IMPACT OF UBC TOWER HEIGHTS ON ADJACENT PARKLAND: Blimp to Revisit Visual Importance of Wreck Beach Views from the Beach, July 29 and Wreck Beach Supporters to Show Solidarity at GVRD Board Meeting July 30, 9am The Wreck Beach Preservation society (WBPS) will again demonstrate the visibility of the UBC Marine Residence towers from Wreck Beach by raising the Eye-in-the Sky Blimp to the 20-story heights of each of the four proposed UBC towers. The media are invited as witnesses on July 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the foot of Wreck Beach Trail #6. Judy Williams, Chair of the (WBPS) said Tuesday that "GVRD Parks is working with both the WBPS and the Pacific Spirit Park Society (PSPS) to revisit the visual importance of the heights of the UBC Marine Residence towers relative to the beach area of Pacific Spirit Regional Park." In this revisit of the April 10 Blimp demonstration, Williams said heights of the proposed towers from various locations on the beach will again be measured. This time, both UBC and GVRD witnesses will be present since the 200 witnesses of the April 10 raising were insufficient for UBC! The crux of the impasse between the WBPS and UBC is that UBC refuses to acknowledge the importance of recreational activities and socializing on the tidal flats between Point Grey and the North Arm Breakwater. "Part of the problem," Williams emphasizes, "is that WBPS filmed our blimp from low tide whereas UBC filmed theirs from the high water mark. UBC also did not initially raise their blimp to 20 stories, but only to the 18-storey height! UBC also told our Society that 'we would just have to get used to the idea of seeing high rises from the flats.'" NO! We do NOT have to get "used to seeing high rises" where Vancouver visitors have historically seen only pristine forested slopes by the sea! And this is the message that park users will take to the GVRD Board meeting of July 30, 9 a.m. when the WBPS presents a petition of over 13,364 (and still counting) names calling for the Board to consider options to persuade UBC to reconsider their grandiose schemes. "A number of persons concerned about the loss of forested cliff skylines above Wreck Beach are expected to attend in order to show solidarity against this ill-advised, and ill-planned UBC towers project," Judy Williams, Chair of the WBPS said Tuesday. "This obscenity against Nature must be stopped or mitigated! In the meanwhile, the WBPS continues to seek a meeting with UBC," Williams said Tuesday. Persons wishing to sign our online petition may access the petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/wreckbch/petition.html Contacts: Judy Williams, Chair: 604-856-9598/Cell: 604-308-6336 James Loewen, Vice Chair: 604-689-9697 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 29 08:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 15:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] One Hellhole under God: Why America is (suddenly) interested in Darfur, Sudan Message-ID: <20040729151704.25396.qmail@resist.ca> Why the Republican Party suddenly cares about Sudan--or at least pretends to. Of all the unlikely places for America to be getting involved in another war, western Sudan has particularly little going for it. Unless you count a few million potential candidates for the Christian missionary business, there's little to interest outside entrepreneurs. What the country has in extraordinary abundance is problems. And thanks to a surprising chain of events, it looks as though some of these problems now belong to the United States, too. The root cause of the Darfur conflict is actually ecological, with prolonged droughts and rapid desertification driving poor pastoral "Arabs" to take over the lands of even poorer settled "black" farmers. With extensive damage to the ecology throughout the region, what we see as ethnic conflict is really resource conflict at root, with religion even further down the list of factors. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/28/113814/091 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 29 08:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 15:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Humans crowding out other species Message-ID: <20040729151704.25393.qmail@resist.ca> Thursday July 22, 2004 ; The Guardian (UK) ; Tim Radford Touching the void As the human population explodes, other species are running out of food and space. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/73841/1220 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 29 08:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 15:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Jewish Settlements, Outposts Expanding Despite Pledges Message-ID: <20040729151704.25394.qmail@resist.ca> Growth Most Striking in Gaza Strip, Report Says By John Ward Anderson ; Washington Post Foreign Service ; Friday, July 23, 2004; Page A26 JERUSALEM, July 22 -- Jewish settlements and outposts are growing rapidly in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, despite Israeli pledges to the United States to stop the expansion of such communities and dismantle some of them, according to Israeli government statistics and a report released Thursday by settlement opponents. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/72631/0303 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 29 08:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 15:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Bush's head up his ass Message-ID: <20040729151704.25395.qmail@resist.ca> OK, i couldn't resist. NEWSWEEK reports that President Bush, appearing before a right-to-life rally in Tampa, Florida on June 17, stated: "We must always remember that all human beings begin life as a feces. A Feces is a living being in the eyes of God, who has endowed that feces with all of the rights and God-given blessings of any other human being." The audience listened in disbelief as the President repeated his error at least a dozen times, before realizing that he had used the word 'feces" when he meant to say "fetus." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/72224/2410 From news at resist.ca Thu Jul 29 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Florida officials: Some voting records wiped out Message-ID: <20040729161704.31253.qmail@resist.ca> CNN ; Wednesday, July 28, 2004 MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- A computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines, raising again the specter of election troubles in Florida, where the new technology was supposed to put an end to such problems. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/8512/15979 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 04:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 11:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Marie and the Ghosts Message-ID: <20040730111703.27404.qmail@resist.ca> Sometimes a trivial episode throws a revealing light on a grave public disease. A week ago, a young Frenchwoman called Marie Leonie caused an uproar. According to her, six youngsters "with a North African look" attacked her in a Paris train, grabbed her purse and, (wrongly) believing her to be Jewish because she lives in the well-to-do 16th arrondissement, tore her clothes and painted swastikas on her belly. And then, suddenly, the whole story collapsed. Not a single eye-witness came forward. The station cameras did not show any sign of the occurrence. It became known that the young woman had made false statements to the police in the past. Two days after the uproar, the woman broke down and admitted the truth: the whole thing was an invention. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/91350/7177 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 04:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 11:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] RIGHTS-CUBA: Door Opens for Sexual Diversity Message-ID: <20040730111703.27402.qmail@resist.ca> HAVANA, Jul 3 (IPS) - The semi-nude bodies of men interlaced in a passionate embrace seems to stun the Cuban audiences in every performance of ''The Life and Death of Pier Paolo Pasolini'', the play about the Italian filmmaker who was assassinated in 1975, and about discrimination, conventionalisms and mediocrity. Meanwhile, the government's National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX) has begun publishing on its Internet site a section on sexual diversity, which provides general information, posts public opinions e-mailed to the web site, and gives Cubans the opportunity to consult with experts. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/164858/431 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 04:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 11:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Bomber kills 70 police recruits Message-ID: <20040730111703.27403.qmail@resist.ca> 29 July 2004 ; The Independent (UK) ; By Robert Fisk in Baghdad Yet again, the Iraqi police - and their hordes of impoverished would-be recruits - were massacred yesterday, up to a hundred of them in the Sunni Muslim city of Baquba as they lined up, unprotected, along a boulevard in the hope of finding work. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/165633/497 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] OCAP: An Appeal for Emergency Donations AND Sustaining Solidarity Message-ID: <20040730121702.31905.qmail@resist.ca> OK folks, OCAP is in financial trouble again and they need your help! As one of the few radical direct action organizations out there making a real differnce on the ground, we need to do what ever we can to support the Coalition Against Poverty. We, as community organizers and activists, need to dig deep to help our comrades continue the struggle by kicking down a regular donation if it is at all possible. Show your support! URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/30/44711/5547 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Sherman Austin Released from Prison, But Still Facing Restrictions Message-ID: <20040730121702.31906.qmail@resist.ca> indymedia.org Anarchist and African-American political prisoner Sherman Austin was recently released from prison. However, he still faces severe restrictions on his liberty such as not being allowed to use a computer without government permission; as well, he is forbidden from associating with any "anarchist groups." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/143730/522 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 05:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 12:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Marie and the Ghosts Message-ID: <20040730121702.31907.qmail@resist.ca> A week ago, a young Frenchwoman called Marie Leonie caused an uproar. According to her, six youngsters "with a North African look" attacked her in a Paris train, grabbed her purse and, (wrongly) believing her to be Jewish because she lives in the well-to-do 16th arrondissement, tore her clothes and painted swastikas on her belly. And then, suddenly, the whole story collapsed. Not a single eye-witness came forward. The station cameras did not show any sign of the occurrence. It became known that the young woman had made false statements to the police in the past. Two days after the uproar, the woman broke down and admitted the truth: the whole thing was an invention. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/29/91350/7177 From news at resist.ca Fri Jul 30 07:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 14:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Annual Big Brother Award Winners Announced Message-ID: <20040730141702.7702.qmail@resist.ca> Wired News ; 01:30 PM Jul. 28, 2004 PT Cars that report your every false move to local law authorities. Huge databases with detailed information on every citizen. Companies that only honor privacy guidelines when it's profitable for them to do so. These were some of the winners of Privacy International's sixth annual U.K. Big Brother Awards, announced Wednesday. The awards are an annual attempt to publicly name and shame the government and private-sector organizations that have done the most to invade personal privacy in Britain. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/30/6032/65644 From skisby at web.net Fri Jul 30 14:37:28 2004 From: skisby at web.net (Steve Kisby) Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 14:37:28 -0700 Subject: [news] Electoral Reform Activists Disappointed With City Council Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20040730143728.00a322b0@pop.web.net> http://www.alternatives.com/prorep/fev-0729.pdf Media Release For Immediate Release Electoral Reform Activists Disappointed With City Council VANCOUVER -- July 29, 2004 -- With the passing today of the motion to formally have a city-wide referendum between the current at-large system and a straight wards system, the COPE dominated City Council is attempting to saddle Vancouver with the same flawed system we now have at the provincial and federal levels. A straight ward system is a first-past-the-post single member electoral district system. That system is a winner take all system that suffers from unbalanced -- and sometimes wildly unbalanced -- election results, a sense of wasted votes, and "vote splitting" where there are more than two parties or candidates. This type of system experiences lower voter turnout and more non-participation when compared to other voting systems that incorporate proportionality (proportional representation) or preferential voting (ranked ballots). "We are going from one bad system to another," said Steve Kisby, as spokesperson for the group. One of the dangers of rushing to a straight ward system before the provincial government has had an opportunity to implement the changes formally recommended by the Burger Commission, would be that the ward system would be implemented without the spending controls and financial reporting that have been widely called for. "City Council is asking voters to go to a straight ward systems without spending controls and financial reporting," said Steve Kisby, "The system they want to bring in would be even worse than what we have now provincially and federally." It is widely acknowledged that the provincial and federal system of wards is a flawed system, so much so that the provincial government enacted the Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform to examine other systems and make a recommendation to the voting public. That assembly has tentatively endorsed moving to a system that includes proportional representation. Fair Vote Vancouver is made up of voters who came together in response to Vancouver's Electoral Reform Commission. They believe a voting system should be measured on these four principles: Proportionality (where there should be a close correspondence between the percentage of votes a party or political affiliation wins and the percentage of seats it wins), Voter Choice (where comparatively you want a voting system that is better at presenting the choices that voters want, and encourages voters to vote sincerely, rather than strategically), Local Representation (where all regions in Vancouver should be fairly represented in City Council), and Every Vote Counts (where the voting system should accord equal weight to all ballots cast and should minimize the wastage of votes). A proportional wards system would meet the above principles, and moving away from first-past-the-post voting and to ranked ballots would be a dramatic improvement. Fair Elections Vancouver called on the Berger Commission, the Vancouver Electoral Reform Commission, to recommend in its report to City Council a system that it thinks is best for Vancouver, not just a system it believes can be done without a change to the City Charter. Background information can be found at http://www.alternatives.com/prorep and Fair Elections Vancouver can be contacted at prorep at alternatives.com -30- For more information: Steve Kisby, 604-323-0204 (phone), 604-645-2099 (pager), skisby at web.net From news at resist.ca Sat Jul 31 06:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Former Black Panther's extradition case opens Message-ID: <20040731131703.16079.qmail@resist.ca> A Toronto library assistant and former Black Panther accused of trying to kill a Chicago policeman in 1969 will face the first stages of an extradition hearing in a Toronto courtroom today, but maintains he is not guilty, his lawyer said late yesterday afternoon. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/30/113333/657