From sarae at alumni.uwaterloo.ca Thu Jun 3 05:58:17 2004 From: sarae at alumni.uwaterloo.ca (Sara Ehrhardt) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 08:58:17 -0400 Subject: [news] Enron Traders Caught On Tape Message-ID: > from CBS News > http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml > ------------------------------------------------- > > Enron Traders Caught On Tape > > June 1, 2004 > > (CBS News)? When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line > into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron > energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales > reports. > > "Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the > massive fire. > > Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy > deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard - on audiotapes > obtained by CBS News - gloating and praising each other as they > helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis. > > "He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money > from California to the tune of about a million." > > "Will you rephrase that?" asks a second employee. > > "OK, he, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a > million bucks or two a day," replies the first. > > The tapes, from Enron's West Coast trading desk, also confirm what > CBS reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, > traders deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut > down. > > "If you took down the steamer, how long would it take to get it back > up?" an Enron worker is heard saying. > > "Oh, it's not something you want to just be turning on and off every > hour. Let's put it that way," another says. > > "Well, why don't you just go ahead and shut her down." > > Officials with the Snohomish Public Utility District near Seattle > received the tapes from the Justice Department. > > "This is the evidence we've all been waiting for. This proves they > manipulated the market," said Eric Christensen, a spokesman for the > utility. > > That utility, like many others, is trying to get its money back from > Enron. > > "They're f------g? taking all the money back from you guys?" > complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys > stole from those poor grandmothers in California?" > > "Yeah, grandma Millie, man" > > "Yeah, now she wants her f------g money back for all the power you've > charged right up, jammed right up her a------ for f------g $250 a > megawatt hour." > > And the tapes appear to link top Enron officials Ken Lay and Jeffrey > Skilling to schemes that fueled the crisis. > > "Government Affairs has to prove how valuable it is to Ken Lay and > Jeff Skilling," says one trader. > > "Ok." > > "Do you know when you started over-scheduling load and making buckets > of money on that? > > Before the 2000 election, Enron employees pondered the possibilities > of a Bush win. > > "It'd be great. I'd love to see Ken Lay Secretary of Energy," says > one Enron worker. > > That didn't happen, but they were sure President Bush would fight any > limits on sky-high energy prices. > > "When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He > won't play this price-cap b------t." > > Crude, but true. > > "We will not take any action that makes California's problems worse > and that's why I oppose price caps," said Mr. Bush on May 29, 2001. > > Both the Justice Department and Enron tried to prevent the release of > these tapes. Enron's lawyers argued they merely prove "that people at > Enron sometimes talked like Barnacle Bill the Sailor." > > > Enron Tapes Anger Lawmakers > Part 2 > > During California's rolling blackouts, when streets were lit only by > head lights and families were trapped in elevators, Enron Energy > traders laughed, reports CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales . > > One trader is heard on tapes obtained by CBS News saying, "Just cut > 'em off. They're so f----d. They should just bring back f-----g > horses and carriages, f-----g lamps, f-----g kerosene lamps." > > And when describing his reaction when a business owner complained > about high energy prices, another trader is heard on tape saying, "I > just looked at him. I said, 'Move.' (laughter) The guy was like > horrified. I go, 'Look, don't take it the wrong way. Move. It isn't > getting fixed anytime soon." > > California's attempt to deregulate energy markets became a disaster > for consumers when companies like Enron manipulated the West Cost > power market and even shut down plants so they could drive up prices. > > There was quick reaction in Washington to the Enron audiotapes first > aired by CBS News last night, and the tapes have become part of the > debate over the President's massive energy bill. > > "People were talking about market manipulation. People were talking > about schemes, people were making jokes," said U.S. Sen. Maria > Cantwell, D-Wash. > > "While the president would like to have an energy bill, I'd like to > have an energy bill that protects consumers," said Cantwell. > > Consumers like Grandma Millie, mentioned in one exchange recorded > between two Enron employees. > > Employee 1: "All the money you guys stole from those poor > grandmothers in California? > > Employee 2: "Yeah, Grandma Millie man. > > Employee 1: "Yeah, now she wants her f-----g money back for all the > power you've charged right up, jammed right up her a-for f-----g $250 > a megawatt hour." > > It's clear from the tapes that Enron employees knew what they were > doing was wrong, and now lawmakers are responding. > > "I will offer an amendment to compel the Bush administration t oget > off the dime and get back this money that has been stolen," said Rep. > Jay Inslee, D-Wash. > > Another taped exchange between different employees regarding a > possible newspaper interview goes like this: > > Employee 3: "This guy from the Wall Street Journal calls me up a > little bit ago?" > > Employee 4: "I wouldn't do it, because first of all you'd have to > tell 'em a lot of lies because if you told the truth?" > > Employee 3: "I'd get in trouble." > > Employee 4: "You'd get in trouble." > > Eventually, the lies unraveled and traders scrambled. > > "I'm just -- f--k -- I'm just trying to be an honest camper so I only > go to jail once," says one employee. > > Two Enron traders, from the office where the tapes were made, have > admitted manipulating energy prices and pled guilty in court. Another > goes on trial in October. Former Enron chief Ken Lay is the only top > company official who has never been charged with any crime. > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ADVERTISEMENT -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 8393 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: yhoo0504_testa_300250a052604.gif Type: image/gif Size: 19745 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 21 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: l.gif Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- > > > 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 the Yahoo! Terms of > Service. > > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 573 bytes Desc: not available URL: From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] David Gilbert book launches, June 8,9,10 Message-ID: <20040604181703.25156.qmail@resist.ca> David Gilbert's new book NO SURRENDER from Abraham Guillen Press/Arm The Spirit launches in the following cities. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/2/165037/5917 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Stan Hagen Chased out of DTES! Message-ID: <20040604191711.31022.qmail@resist.ca> Wednesday, June 02, 2004 Stan Hagen, the BC Liberals' Minister of Human Resources, was chased out of the Downtown Eastside today by the APC Welcoming Committee, made up of residents and supporters. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/2/154820/1459 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Gallery Shut Down by Violence and Threats Message-ID: <20040604191711.31019.qmail@resist.ca> SAN FRANCISCO -- She got death threats after she displayed controversial paintings of US forces in Iraq at her San Francisco shop. Now, some believe, someone's anger over an artist's work has led to an attack on both a gallery owner and free speech. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/4/01750/94480 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] June 12 International Day of Solidarity with Jeff 'Free' Luers Message-ID: <20040604191712.31025.qmail@resist.ca> June marks the fourth year that our friend and comrade, Jeff "Free" Luers has been imprisoned and held captive by the state. Sentenced to 22 years and 8 months for burning three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at Romania Chevrolet in Eugene, Jeff has continued to be active in prison and fight back with his words and inspiration. This June 12, we aim to strengthen his efforts by promoting a day of action and solidarity with Jeff throughout the world. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/5/31/22112/3907 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Torture in a Florida Jail: & quot; Whatever We Want to do With You& quot; Message-ID: <20040604191711.31020.qmail@resist.ca> by Mark Dow; Nth Position; June 03, 2004 The US immigration service (formerly the INS, or Immigration & Naturalization Service) holds some 23,000 people in custody. Many of these prisoners are contracted out to private prisons and local jails. At Florida's Jackson County Jail in 1998, INS inmates described the regular use of "shock shields" against INS and state prisoners. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/3/23146/50660 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Wanted: 100 000 signatures by June 21 Message-ID: <20040604191711.31018.qmail@resist.ca> Only the sheer force of numbers from concerned citizens will stop the British Columbia government from pushing through its anti-environmental and anti-democratic Working Forest Initiative. Our goal is to get 50 - 100 000 signatures on our petition by June 21, at which time we'll hand them into the government. Working Forest Overview | Online Petition | Working Forest.Org URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/4/73457/03581 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] History of World War II Reconsidered Message-ID: <20040604191712.31032.qmail@resist.ca> Proponents of the current "War on Terror," including the U.S.-led aggression in Iraq, like to draw historical parallels between World War II and the situation today. Thus, every enemy of the U.S. and its allies is "a new Hitler" and every solution short of war and violence is denounced as "appeasement." However, as the article below makes clear, for the U.S. WW II was far from the "good war" it's claimed to be in the press and popular media. Furthermore, and similar to U.S. support for Saddam Hussein in the 1970's & '80's, the U.S. government and business assisted Hitler in his rise to power and only turned against Nazi Germany after Hitler declared war on the U.S. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/5/31/04216/3099 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Mayor Bloomberg Endangers 100, 000's of Protesters' Safety For A Lawn Message-ID: <20040604191712.31026.qmail@resist.ca> By Kirsten Anderberg (www.kirstenanderberg.com) To see a blueprint of what is going on in NYC right now, in preparation for the Republican National Convention (RNC) in 2004, you need look no further than Daniel Walker's official report to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, released (impressively, as far as timeliness goes) in late November, 1968, after the August 1968 protests and police riots in Chicago. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/5/31/181945/926 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 4 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] On Jeff "Free" Luers: Firebombing vs. driving SUV's Message-ID: <20040604191712.31028.qmail@resist.ca> By Kirsten Anderberg (www.kirstenanderberg.com) I understand why people are driven to firebomb new SUV's on sales lots, I am not clear why people are driven to buy and drive them though. Jeff "Free" Luers was sentenced to an excessive 22 years in jail for firebombing 3 SUV's which means he is being sentenced for his political beliefs, not his actions, according to all case precedence... URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/5/31/18183/0650 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 6 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 06 Jun 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Top Ten Reasons Not to Vote Conservative Message-ID: <20040606181704.3818.qmail@resist.ca> Conservatives start from the view that services should be offered by corporations and believe that only when the private sector fails should government step in. The Conservatives would impose a law banning federal deficits, removing one of the key tools governments have to respond when markets fail or the economy slows down. In the past, Harper counseled a strategy of "calculated ambiguity" so that voters couldn't really tell what the Reform party stood for. Now, like then, the Reform/Conservatives are being cagey about their plans to slash public services and axe social spending. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/5/03134/40558 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 8 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Provincial Government Sues Homeless In B.C. Court of Appeal over $100 Message-ID: <20040609051704.27061.qmail@resist.ca> The Provincial government has appealed to B.C.'s highest court to avoid paying $100 each to a group of homeless people who showed up in court after the injunction at Woodwards. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/8/134455/9109 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 8 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Toronto's mayor begins summer social cleansing Message-ID: <20040609051704.27060.qmail@resist.ca> OCAP On Thursday May 27th, people living under the Bathurst Street Bridge watched their homes bulldozed and destroyed by a large crew of city workers, flanked by police from numerous downtown police divisions. What was once a small community is now surrounded by tall fencing. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/8/215846/4551 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 8 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Did Reagan End the Cold War? Message-ID: <20040609051704.27063.qmail@resist.ca> by William Blum; June 08, 2004 Ronald Reagan's biggest crimes were the bloody military actions to suppress social and political change in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Afghanistan, but I'd like to deal here with the media's gushing about Reagan's supposed role in ending the cold war. In actuality, he prolonged it. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/8/162039/5218 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 8 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Interfor vs. the Elaho Valley: 4 years later, the court case continues Message-ID: <20040609051704.27062.qmail@resist.ca> Released on appeal in 2000, two forest defenders are again facing down the logging multinational at the BC Court of Appeals in Vancouver. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/8/211721/4004 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 8 23:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 06:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Police cars torched in troubled Kanesatake Message-ID: <20040609061703.31807.qmail@resist.ca> CBC ; 28 May 2004 KANESATAKE RESERVE, QUEBEC - The chief of the troubled Mohawk community of Kanesatake has postponed a meeting with his opponents, after four police cars were set on fire early Friday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/8/2251/97324 From christoff at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 11:17:08 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 11:17:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] {Montreal} WEDNESDAY JUNE 16th: Demonstration in Solidarity with the Palestinian Refugees & the Ayoub Family Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 09:56:22 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal [Please post & forward widely] DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE AYOUB FAMILY & PALESTINIAN REFUGEES FACING DEPORTATION FROM CANADA "We Ask the World: After being expelled from our country more than half a century ago, do we not have the right to live in peace, security, dignity and respect like others?" - Khalil Ayoub, Th?r?se Boulos Haddad and Nabih Ayoub, N-D-G Church. ======================================> WEDNESDAY JUNE 16th, 5:00-7:00 PM Riding Office of Jean Lapierre Quebec Lieutenant of Liberal Party of Canada 3333 Queen Mary Rd. (corner Decelles av.) Metro Cote-des-Neiges ======================================> The Canadian government's forced deportation of refugees to inhumane and violent conditions, in breach of its international obligations, such as in the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon, has sparked a growing social movement of refugees and their supporters, who are demanding the respect of their basic right to justice and dignity. This movement is defined by the self organizing of directly effected refugees, such as the Ayoub family, who are struggling against the growing attacks and criminalization of their communities. According to the official statistics of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, there have been more than 50,000 deportations of refugees during the past 5 years. Despite this growing reality faced by refugee communities, the current federal elections campaign has completely ignored the fundamental questions posed by this growing movement. The countless human tragedies created by Canada's policies in regard to refugees in the midst of our society, have been completely swept aside. Therefore, within the context of these elections, a demonstration will be held in front of the riding office of Jean Lapierre, the Quebec Lieutenant of Paul Martin, to demand from the Canadian government an immediate end to the deportation of the Ayoub family and all other stateless Palestinian refugees. For over 4 months, the Ayoub family - Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Th?r?se Boulos Haddad, 62 - has been in sanctuary in the basement of the Notre-Dame de Gr?ce Church, without having even received an acknowledgment of reception from Citizenship & Immigration Canada following their application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds. The Ayoub family was expelled from Palestine in 1948 and has since endured wars, massacres, a life of statelessness and systematic discrimination in a 56-year-old refugee camp in Lebanon. They came to Canada to claim refugee status in hope of finding security and an end to their suffering, only to be confined to the basement of Notre-Dame de Gr?ce Church in Montreal, as they continue to face forced deportation to the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El-Helweh in Lebanon. For more than one year, stateless Palestinian refugees have been receiving, one after the other, deportation orders from Canada without any serious consideration given to the violence, poverty and persecution which defines life in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon and to the military occupation which plagues daily life throughout Occupied Palestine. We must stand united against the injustice faced by the Palestinian refugees who are set to be deported from Canada in the coming weeks. Your support, solidarity and participation are urgently needed! The demands of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees are: 1. To stop the deportations of the Palestinian refugees from Canada, 2. To grant them permanent residency on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds. This demonstration is organized by: The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees The Palestinian Refugee Support Committee of the Notre-Dame de Grace Church. Info: 514.591.3171 / refugees at riseup.net ----------------------- _______________________________________________ SAN mailing list SAN at masses.tao.ca https://masses.tao.ca/lists/listinfo/san From ron at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 18:10:54 2004 From: ron at resist.ca (ron) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 18:10:54 -0700 Subject: [news] list reminder Message-ID: <40C7B51E.2050001@resist.ca> hi folks, just a reminder that this list should not be used to send announcements of upconming events. events can be submitted via http://calendar.resist.ca/ thanks, ron From skisby at web.net Wed Jun 9 12:14:14 2004 From: skisby at web.net (Steve Kisby) Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 12:14:14 -0700 Subject: [news] Green Party Files Full Slate Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20040609121414.02e79e60@pop.web.net> http://www.greenparty.ca/index.php?module=article&view=204 Media Release For Immediate Release GREEN PARTY FILES FULL SLATE Montr?al, Wednesday, 9 June 2004 ? For the first time in its history, the Green Party of Canada will run a full slate of candidates in Canada's 308 electoral districts for the June 28th election, announced leader Jim Harris today. Harris was reacting to the news that all 308 Green Party candidates had been approved by Elections Canada, following the close of nominations on Monday. Since 1867, there have been numerous parties with ambitions to national status running in federal elections. Out of them, only 4 (the Green Party among them) have achieved a full slate. Ironically, in the 2004 election four parties are running a full slate, but only three of these parties are allowed to participate in the upcoming leaders' debate. "The Green Party's achievement means that all Canadians from Newfoundland to British Columbia to the North will have an opportunity to join us in building a new political voice in Canada," said Harris. "Canadians who have voted with their couches in the past by choosing none-of-the-above can now vote for a political vision of hope and sustainability." Harris drew specific attention to the fact that 25 per cent of the party's candidates are women and over 10 per cent are under the age of 25. Three candidates are 18. There are two aboriginal candidates running and one M?tis. For one-on-one interviews with Jim Harris, please contact Van Ferrier at 514.844.4364. - 30 - For more information: Van Ferrier Media Relations Green Party of Canada (514)844-4364 van.ferrier at elf.mcgill.ca From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Whose Dream? Message-ID: <20040610051704.16654.qmail@resist.ca> Maybe it was destiny. As the nation commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, gays and lesbians launched a new chapter in their own struggle for equality. But the black clergy that lit the fire for change half a century ago is now out to dampen that flame, at least where same-sex marriage is concerned. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/5/28/155532/901 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Racism in the U.S. Military: & quot; The Arab Mind& quot; Message-ID: <20040610051704.16657.qmail@resist.ca> In a speech (in May)......George Bush congratulated himself on having removed "hateful propaganda" from the schools in Iraq. Perhaps it is now time he turned his attention to military schools in the US. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/9/171230/1451 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Report from Wild in the Streets Message-ID: <20040610051704.16656.qmail@resist.ca> On the last day, three people were arrested during an anarchist march against the recent police "crackdown" on Commercial Drive, the Community Policing Centre in Grandview Park, and the "Police State" in general. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/9/18846/93367 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Federal Government Threatens Kanehsatake with & quot; Assault& quot; Message-ID: <20040610051704.16655.qmail@resist.ca> As Kanehsatake readies itself once again, it asks that all those who have shown the community support and solidarity over the past weeks and months prepare themselves also, in the case of an attempted invasion. At this time people are being asked to make those arrangements that would allow for immediate response should it be deemed necessary. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/9/0315/98884 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 22:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Vocational Schooling Versus Profession Training: The Poor Versus The Elite Message-ID: <20040610051704.16658.qmail@resist.ca> It is my firm belief that vocational and community colleges and Associate Degrees were created first and foremost as a way for white men with property, to keep universities and professions insulated for themselves, while making the underclasses believe they were getting "equal opportunity education" and an equal opportunity within the job market. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/6/91150/13133 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 23:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 06:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Harper Tories military budget doubled Message-ID: <20040610061703.21376.qmail@resist.ca> The Edmonton Journal 2004 ; May 31, 2004 ; Sean Gordon OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives will promise millions of dollars more for the military -- one of several platform planks they plan to announce in the second week of the federal election campaign. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/9/222754/3022 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 23:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 06:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Canadian firms urged to build space weapons Message-ID: <20040610061703.21375.qmail@resist.ca> The Ottawa Citizen ; Mon 31 May 2004 Page: ; David Pugliese Canadian companies should concentrate on developing space weapons and other "kill vehicles" if they want to win lucrative contracts for the U.S. missile defence shield, a federal government report recommends. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/9/223038/8859 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 9 23:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 06:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Venezuela Leader to Face Recall Referendum Message-ID: <20040610061703.21374.qmail@resist.ca> Thursday, Jun 03, 2004 ; By: Martin Sanchez - Venezuelanalysis.com Caracas, Venezuela. Jun 3 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Based on preliminary data, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced today that opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez managed to collect enough valid signatures to demand a recall referendum against on his rule. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/9/223413/0452 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 10 18:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 01:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Ronald Reagan - Dead at Last! Message-ID: <20040611011706.20744.qmail@resist.ca> [editor's note, by ron] Anyone have a source for this? (F)acts are awkward things and while often ignored do not change. And the facts are Reagan was a disaster not only for the world, but also for America. Indeed, if by "America" it is meant the majority of the population, then Reagan must be considered one of the most anti-American Presidents of the last century. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/0279/88894 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 10 19:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 02:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Wayuu Indians go to war against Colombian government Message-ID: <20040611021703.26036.qmail@resist.ca> 27.05.2004 ; By Jhony Valetta ; ANNCOL Soldiers burned two children alive in a Wayuu village and killed others with chain saws. Now this indigenous community from northern Colombia has decided to go to war. "We are going to apply our own law, because the justice of the courts only serves to help the assassins", declared a Wayuu spokesman. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/1892/44667 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 10 19:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 02:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] War on terror is hell on rights, Amnesty says Message-ID: <20040611021703.26037.qmail@resist.ca> Globe and Mail ; May 26, 2004 ; By Estanislao Oiewicz U.S. President George Bush's war against terrorism has undermined international justice and made the world a more dangerous place, Amnesty International says in its annual report released Wednesday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/18536/9644 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 10 19:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 02:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] UN: trade rise is hurting poorest Message-ID: <20040611021703.26035.qmail@resist.ca> The Guardian ; Friday May 28, 2004 ; Ashley Seager An increase in international trade for the world's poorest countries has not led to any real reduction in poverty in those countries, the United Nations said yesterday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/181143/136 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] FTQ affiliates vote in favour of general strike Message-ID: <20040611071703.20173.qmail@resist.ca> Montreal Gazette ; Wednesday, June 2, 2004 ; By Roberto Rocha Thousands of local unions are willing to storm the streets in a general strike if the Charest government proposes more bills to relax labour laws, the Quebec Federation of Labour announced Wednesday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/233431/507 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Update on Situation in Kanehsatake Message-ID: <20040611071703.20172.qmail@resist.ca> >From OCAP ; Wednesday June 9th, 2004 As of late yesterday afternoon, it appears the RCMP and Surete de Quebec (Quebec Provincial Police) have refused to offer Jimmy Gabriel "protection" should he choose to return to the community. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/03349/3464 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Federal Judge Declares 'Partial-Birth' Abortion Ban Unconstitutional Message-ID: <20040611071704.20177.qmail@resist.ca> NOW Media Relations ; June 1, 2004 "I applaud Judge Hamilton for acting in the best interest of women and rejecting a terrible law that infringes on women's rights and criminalizes a safe abortion procedure," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Women and their doctors must be allowed to make medical decisions that are free from the interference and agendas of politicians." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/231811/451 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] UN agency condemns Israeli tank fire on Palestinian school in Gaza Strip Message-ID: <20040611071703.20176.qmail@resist.ca> >From electronicintifada.net ; UN News, 2 June 2004 ; Peter Hansen Calling it a "violation of the sanctity" of schools, the main United Nations relief agency helping Palestinian refugees today condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Israeli tank fire that hit a school in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, wounding two 10-year-old boys. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/232248/768 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] =?iso-8859-1?q?Don=92t_be_conned_by_Harper_and_Martin_on_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?medicare?= Message-ID: <20040611071703.20174.qmail@resist.ca> CBC Radio Commentary ; June 2, 2004 This election may go down in history as a contest between two accomplished fraud artists. Paul Martin and Stephen Harper are both promising to save medicare. For sheer gall these pledges deserve an award. What they don't deserve is to be taken seriously because history shows both men are committed to the privatization of medicare. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/233141/729 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Visitors Beware: Accenture's US-Visit Venture Message-ID: <20040611071703.20175.qmail@resist.ca> http://montages.blogspot.com The Department of Homeland Security awarded Accenture a contract -- estimated to total $15 billion -- for US-Visit, a program for "virtual borders" tracking entries and exits of all visitors to the United States. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/232631/208 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 11 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Execs bar Green Party from leaders' debate Message-ID: <20040611071704.20181.qmail@resist.ca> From: Parti Vert du Canada ; (Montreal, Thursday 27 May 2004)--"Exactly when was a consortium composed of five broadcast executives anointed with the right to determine which Canadian political parties should participate in the leaders' debate," asked Green Party of Canada leader Jim Harris today. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/10/23158/6664 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jun 11 10:12:06 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 10:12:06 -0700 Subject: [news] Secondary Illiterates: The Crisis of Education in Western Industrial Countries Message-ID: <40C9E7E6.3090001@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/26898.php Secondary Illiterates: The Crisis of Education in Western Industrial Countries by Robert Kurz . Friday June 11, 2004 at 09:22 AM mbatko at lycos.com "European literacy and the schooling of society were not generous civilizing gifts to people but part of that process described as `inner colonialization'.. Infrastructural institutions are not market enterprises but overall social conditions of the market economy.." SECONDARY ILLITERATES The Crisis of Education in Western Industrial Countries By Robert Kurz [This article originally published in: Folha March 2004 is translated from the German on the World Wide Web, http://www.krisis.org.] In the history of colonialism, the West represented itself as the superior civilization in relation to the rest of the world in the cultural sense and not only technically and economically. The western ideologues of the 19th and first half of the 20th century spoke of "the white man's burden" that he took on himself to delight the world with his blessings. First after the 2nd World War, a criticism of "eurocentrism" began in the western intelligentsia. The independent cultural achievements of the "others" were discovered after their accomplishments were thoroughly destroyed over several centuries. This was an acknowledgment for the museum and the guilty memory. De-colonialization obviously did not bring any renewal of the old, long eviscerated cultures that are still instrumentalized today for an ideological identity. Instead the post-colonial social movements and states of the South oriented themselves in the western model in every way, beginning with the political category of the "nation" to the modern civil or middle-class legal form and administrative rationality. The campaign of literacy and the installation of a school- and educational system according to western standards were part of that emulation. On first view the literacy and educational offensive were great emancipatory achievements. Who would deny that the elementary cultural equipment of reading and writing are indispensable prerequisites for civilizing progress? How can the mediation of knowledge and education be than positive? The substance of knowledge and the form of mediation are central. In this regard, the genesis of the western educational system was in no way completely emancipatory. European literacy and the "schooling" of society were not generous civilizing gifts to people but part of that progress described in the critical literature with the term "inner colonialization". The outward subjugation of the world by the West went along with an inner preparation of western people as "material" of capitalist exploitation. The intellectual training and conduct orienting all of life in "abstract labor" (Marx) and universal competition were important and went beyond forceful disciplining. Both the institutional forms of education "for the people" and the mediated themes served this goal of "internalizing" a capitalist job profile. The "higher" education for the youth of the middle class elite is only seemingly different. The rising generation for the executive floors in the economy, politics and culture should receive the most universal knowledge and be encouraged to philosophical reflection beyond capitalism's immediate practical demands. In Germany, Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) even created a neo-humanist educational ideal that understood the universal development of the mind as an end-in-itself that should not be degraded to a functionalist "training" for pre-given goals. However educational ideals of this kind were not oriented to criticism but to the intellectual indulgence of a middle class that had not completely delegated its self-confidence to the functional mechanisms "of the system" or allowed itself the luxury of a supposedly "pure" education, research and cultural self-image. The post-colonial states of the South reproduced the western ideals of education, both the functionally reduced education for the "people" and the higher, "pure" education for the elites. This occurred along with the rest of the capitalist institutions. The education offensive of the nations in the so-called 3rd world reached its limits just as the paradigm of "equalizing modernization" collapsed since the 1980s in the process of globalization and the world crisis of the 3rd industrial revolution. A modern education with respected schools, universities, research institutes and cultural institutions can only be financed when the corresponding national economy is competitive on the world market. In expanding regions of the world, the school system and education dissolve together with the economy. As there are "ghost factories" that fall below the standard of the world market, only exist nominally and hardly produce anything, there are also "ghost schools" and "ghost universities" where there isn't real teaching and research any more. The rate of literacy declines not only in Afghanistan and Somalia. Education shares this fate with most other infrastructures or public services. A certain economic logic underlies the problem. By their nature, infra-structural institutions like the postal service, water supply, public health system and education are not market enterprises but overall social conditions of the market economy. Seen economically, infra-structural institutions entail business costs, communal costs, dead costs or "faux frais" (Marx) of capitalist reproduction. Businesses presuppose certain qualifications including the most elementary ability to read and write for workers found on the labor market. This base qualification does not arise by nature (although it is treated like a natural, free resource by businesses). Social expenditures are necessary. Businesses can only calculate their immediate operational costs. By their nature, they are not competent for aggregate social costs. Therefore the state usually assumes the operation and costs of infrastructures including education. This is a secondary, derived financing. Capitalist market incomes (profits, wages, fees) are taxed by the state to carry on the public services with this siphoned-off money. The development of productive forces produces a fatal connection that was hardly considered in the past. The more the production of businesses becomes mechanized and the greater the share of practical capital (technology), the higher becomes the degree of socialization and the greater the importance of the infrastructure, education and training. Under the aspect of private capitalist calculation, the actual goal, the operational production for profit, is frustrated so to speak by the overall social framing conditions. The communal social costs or "dead costs" (from an operational standpoint) increase disproportionally. In this way, a chronic financing problem arises for the growing and necessary infrastructures. In other words, the degree of socialization produced by capitalism opposes capitalism itself. This problem is a special manifestation of a secular crisis. In the 3rd industrial revolution of microelectronics, this problem intensifies in the course of a structural crisis of the markets. On the operational plane, a large number of workers are made superfluous since no re-absorption is possible any more through expansion of the markets. The state can tax wages less and less and in addition must finance the unemployment. At the same time transnational corporations in the process of globalization escape the fiscal grasp of the state in the "oases" of countries that do not tax or hardly tax foreign investors. The long precarious indebtedness of the state machine explodes. Financing public services and infrastructures is put in question although the practical demands on these areas grow through the same 3rd industrial revolution. Thus we face an intensifying inner contradiction of the system. In a quasi-natural course of this crisis, both capacities of production and public sectors are idle or shut down for lack of profitability or "financing". The state machine is increasingly reduced to a restrictive management of people and resources, to its role as a power structure. The costs for domestic and foreign "security" rise continuously while costs for infrastructure provisions are driven down. In other words, the anti-social, anti-civilization barbaric core of the modern age appears as the "civilizing surplus" like medicine, care, education, culture and so forth successively disappear. While the West under the leadership of the US produces a new crisis-colonialism and ideologically invokes the "rescue of civilization" motif, it denies itself in its own inner conditions through an anti-civilizing development. Education and the cultural institutions decay in western countries today similar to the crisis regions of the South. Bearers of education, training and culture in this part of the world are mostly the communes and provinces. For these lower levels of state administration, the financial crisis in the West is just as advanced as for central states of the 3rd world. In the schools, the plaster falls from the walls and teaching aids are out of date. Resources for training are eliminated. Whole series of the cultural niche production are liquidated. The Sunday addresses of politicians on the necessity of an education offensive in the "global competition" stand in crass opposition to reality. Young persons are dismissed from schools and universities who cannot master the essential cultural equipment and the larger connections. They are "secondary illiterates" who read and write scantily while not understanding and using the contents. Despite universal compulsory education, primary or complete illiteracy is advancing even in the US and Germany. Politics and administration react stereotypically to the crisis contradictions with paradigmatic measures. As in all other areas, the first paradigm is called "privatization". However private schools, private universities and other private educational institutions active in marketing are obviously not public infrastructures but are oriented in a minority of a solvent clientele. Student fees are raised in public schools and universities and teaching aids are no longer free. The second paradigm is closely related to this tendency, namely intensified propaganda for an elite education. Practically this means that normal schools and normal universities go to seed to concentrate state resources on a few elite institutions. These conditions that have long been usual in the US are now spreading in the whole western world. Nevertheless the intellectual level of the whole society inevitably falls when education depends on ability to pay. Private stipends cannot compensate for the loss in universal public services. The social reservoir in intellectual gifts is wasted. The third paradigm disables the apparent crisis management, namely the functionalist reduction of education and research to immediate economic commercialization. Schools and universities are allied more directly and strongly to "the economy, guided by operational criteria and adjusted substantively to market conformism. The motto - Whatever you study is always business management - is seemingly true! Economic totalitarianism has come to education. This means that the cultural self-indulgence of the capitalist elites disappears together with the last remnants of the Humboldt educational ideal. The capitalist elites reduce themselves to "functional idiots of the system". The intellectual capacity for distance, the prerequisite for governing complex processes, dissolves. The new "elite" denies itself. What happens to the fallow intellectual potential of society that can no longer be recalled? When education for the great multitude is crassly driven down, its past function of disciplining also becomes defunct. A "secondary illiteracy" occurs along with a "subversive intelligence" that no longer follows the demands of economic totalitarianism. The capitalist crisis management of education and knowledge could unintentionally bring about a new intellectual counter-culture. http://www.mbtranslations.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 news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 13:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 20:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] Is There A Legal Age for Political Dissent? Teens at Protests! Message-ID: <20040613201713.2016.qmail@resist.ca> By Kirsten Anderberg (www.kirstenanderberg.com) Teens and Protests...should we be sharing nonviolent protest training with them? Are protests age-rated events? Should a street medic treat a teen without parental consent? Much like sex ed for teens, these topics are thorny... URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/5/22/123220/092 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 13:17:13 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 20:17:13 -0000 Subject: [news] Canada's Billion Dollar P3 Boondoggle Message-ID: <20040613201713.2018.qmail@resist.ca> What the Liberals and Conservatives Don't Want You To Know: A Public-Private-Partnership (P3) is at the heart of cost overruns at the Canadian Firearms Centre. COMMENT By Eugene Plawiuk URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/11/141344/473 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 14:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 21:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Huntingdon council passes teen curfew Message-ID: <20040613211703.7452.qmail@resist.ca> The city council for a town called Huntingdon (in Qu?bec) passed a 10:30pm curfew this week for youth under 16 in an effort "to stop teenage vandalism." This story first came up a few months ago, when this city council was planning on making the curfew applicable to youth under 18. The fact that this curfew now exists means that this decision now has the potential to legally back any other city councils who are interested in doing the same thing. It also seriously infringes on the rights of youth, and reflects Canada's move towards a stronger police/surveillance state. No curfew is "watered-down"! Who is next? June 8, 2004 STORY SOURCE: Anne Sutherland, The Gazette URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/11/145559/712 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 19:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 02:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] Statistics reveal shocking baby-death rate in Surrey Message-ID: <20040614021708.32475.qmail@resist.ca> The Province ; Wednesday, June 9, 2004 ; By Don Harrison Three per cent of pregnant Surrey women never see a doctor before giving birth, contributing to an infant-mortality rate higher than the provincial average. Poverty is to blame. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/13/18485/2331 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 19:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 02:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] Israel's use of torture Message-ID: <20040614021709.32476.qmail@resist.ca> ZNet ; Mideast ; June 8, 2004 ; by Mustafa Barghouthi The pictures of American soldiers torturing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq have shocked the world. To the Palestinian people however, these photographs of hooded or naked figures come as no surprise. For the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have served time in Israeli prisons, the pictures only bring back memories of their own torture. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/13/184214/776 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 19:17:08 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 02:17:08 -0000 Subject: [news] Torture and killings have doubled under US-backed president Message-ID: <20040614021709.32477.qmail@resist.ca> The United States plays a primary role in the massive violation of human rights in eastern Colombia, says Colombian human rights advocate Yenly M?ndez. In the Department of Arauca, killings and torture have doubled under the current US backed president Alvaro Uribe. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/13/183839/937 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 13 23:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 06:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Zimbabwe plans to end private ownership of land Message-ID: <20040614061704.17097.qmail@resist.ca> BBC "Ultimately, all land shall be resettled as state property. It will now be the state which will enable the utilisation of the land for national prosperity," he said. Private ownership of land is not allowed in many African countries. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/13/224916/995 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 14 00:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 07:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Health Care costs more, delivers less at investor-owned private for-profit hospitals Message-ID: <20040614071704.20620.qmail@resist.ca> Canadian Medical Association Journal ; June 7, 2004 TORONTO, June 7, 2004 - Canadian governments would pay an extra $7.2 billion in annual health care costs if Canada switched to investor-owned private for-profit hospitals, according to a major study to be published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) tomorrow. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/13/23921/8705 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 14 00:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 07:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] G8 harmony shattered, as France and US again at loggerheads over Iraq Message-ID: <20040614071704.20619.qmail@resist.ca> channelnewsasia.com ; 10 June 2004 G8 harmony shattered, as France and US again at loggerheads over Iraq SEA ISLAND, United States : The United States and France clashed again over Iraq, their new harmony on post-war strategy dissolving over NATO's role, just a day after they reached detente on a new UN resolution. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/13/232156/405 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 14 13:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 20:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Fears over Gulf War chemicals Message-ID: <20040614201703.22190.qmail@resist.ca> 'Fears over Gulf War chemicals' More people may have been exposed to chemical warfare agents during the 1990 Gulf War than previously thought, a report says. The US government revealed in 1996 that some people may have been exposed to chemicals when troops destroyed a stockpile of agents in southern Iraq. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/14/12610/2811 From sarae at alumni.uwaterloo.ca Wed Jun 16 15:43:32 2004 From: sarae at alumni.uwaterloo.ca (Sara Ehrhardt) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 18:43:32 -0400 Subject: [news] (no subject) Message-ID: <984E5C18-BFE6-11D8-B05A-000A95EAFBF0@alumni.uwaterloo.ca> from : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/ RTGAM.20040616.wcodobbin0616/BNStory/specialComment/? query=Murray+Dobbin The Greens are right, right? By?MURRAY DOBBIN Globe and Mail Update POSTED AT 6:51 AM EDT Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004 It is intriguing to watch the coverage of the Green Party in the federal election because the conventional wisdom -- that it will take votes from the NDP -- is confounded by the party's actual policies. While the analysis is likely correct, a look at Green policies reveals that this party is really a Conservative alternative, not a social democratic one. Its fiscal, economic and even environmental policies would be a near perfect fit for the old Progressive Conservative party. In fact, the Greens are led by a former Tory, Jim Harris, and under his direction have become the quintessential small government, pro-market party. Their social analysis says virtually nothing about the structural causes of poverty, and their solutions borrow from both the former PCs and the Alliance. They talk about how a Green government would "enhance the existing network of . . . school nutrition . . . and food-bank programs . . ." to eliminate hunger in Canada. Those who study poverty with a view to ending it see food banks not as a solution, but as a symbol of everything that is wrong with the way governments approach poverty. The party is committed to smaller government in a way that no other party is, except the new Conservatives. With respect to the devastated federal public service -- characterized by massive downsizing, unprecedented stress levels, completely inadequate staffing to carry out department mandates and years without real increases in pay -- the Green Party has a single response, and it sounds a lot like Stephen Harper's: "Reform the public sector to be more responsive and accountable." This is union busting by another name, and seems to promise the continuation of the right-wing assault on government employees. If you want the public service to be "responsive," the logical solution is to return it to functional staffing levels. The Greens' fiscal policies are among their most reactionary and problematic. They toe the Bay Street line by promising to "lower taxes on income, profit and investment, to promote increased productivity and job creation." As for addressing the problem of chronically high unemployment, the party takes a page out of Paul Martin's book of maintaining extremely low inflation -- Greens will still fight inflation by putting people out of work unless unemployment rises above 10 per cent. These policies have been notable failures for the past 15 years -- lowering wages, increasing the productivity gap with the United States and creating mostly low-wage jobs -- and certainly have no place in the platform of a party that pitches its appeals to social democrats. Any increase in revenue from promised Green taxes on "harmful activities" would be neutralized by lowering income taxes, the most progressive and fair taxes we have. The Greens also call for an increase in property taxes, a regressive tax. They are committed to using surpluses to ". . . reduce the national debt." In other words, the party is to the right of all the major parties, which are now committing billions for spending on social programs that Canadians say they want. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Green platform is the lack of any commitment to using government legislation or regulation to accomplish core environmental goals. Here are just a few examples: "The Green Party will: Empower [bioregional] stewards to seek intervenor status in legal actions that impact the health of the ecosystem; . . . work with local environmental groups to reduce pollution levels in the air, water and soil; promote sustainability through education; and monitor the diversity of species, the levels of pollution and the health of the ecosystem."These are not the actions of a government committed to using its mandated power to actually protect the environment. The party also supports the corporate sector's position on self-regulation: "The Green Party will assist and encourage Canadian companies to attain ISO 14000 certification, the international standard for management." The ISO 14000 has been almost universally condemned by the international environmental movement as ineffective and unreliable. Those Canadians thinking of voting Green because they believe it is progressive had better do their homework. There is more to this party than the user-friendly name would suggest. Murray Dobbin is author of Paul Martin: CEO for Cana -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 5142 bytes Desc: not available URL: From pnbrown at vcn.bc.ca Wed Jun 16 23:20:15 2004 From: pnbrown at vcn.bc.ca (Paul Browning) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 23:20:15 -0700 Subject: [news] Fw: The Greens are right, right? Message-ID: <044801c45433$27883640$6401a8c0@PAUL> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Murray Dobbin" To: Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 2:19 PM Subject: The Greens are right, right? > Globe and Mail > Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004 > The Greens are right, right? > > By MURRAY DOBBIN Globe and Mail Update > > > It is intriguing to watch the coverage of the Green Party in the federal > election because the conventional wisdom -- that it will take votes from the > NDP -- is confounded by the party's actual policies. While the analysis is > likely correct, a look at Green policies reveals that this party is really a > Conservative alternative, not a social democratic one. Its fiscal, economic > and even environmental policies would be a near perfect fit for the old > Progressive Conservative party. > > In fact, the Greens are led by a former Tory, Jim Harris, and under his > direction have become the quintessential small government, pro-market party. > > Their social analysis says virtually nothing about the structural causes of > poverty, and their solutions borrow from both the former PCs and the > Alliance. They talk about how a Green government would "enhance the existing > network of . . . school nutrition . . . and food-bank programs . . ." to > eliminate hunger in Canada. Those who study poverty with a view to ending it > see food banks not as a solution, but as a symbol of everything that is > wrong with the way governments approach poverty. > > The party is committed to smaller government in a way that no other party > is, except the new Conservatives. With respect to the devastated federal > public service -- characterized by massive downsizing, unprecedented stress > levels, completely inadequate staffing to carry out department mandates and > years without real increases in pay -- the Green Party has a single > response, and it sounds a lot like Stephen Harper's: "Reform the public > sector to be more responsive and accountable." This is union busting by > another name, and seems to promise the continuation of the right-wing > assault on government employees. If you want the public service to be > "responsive," the logical solution is to return it to functional staffing > levels. > > The Greens' fiscal policies are among their most reactionary and > problematic. They toe the Bay Street line by promising to "lower taxes on > income, profit and investment, to promote increased productivity and job > creation." As for addressing the problem of chronically high unemployment, > the party takes a page out of Paul Martin's book of maintaining extremely > low inflation -- Greens will still fight inflation by putting people out of > work unless unemployment rises above 10 per cent. These policies have been > notable failures for the past 15 years -- lowering wages, increasing the > productivity gap with the United States and creating mostly low-wage jobs -- > and certainly have no place in the platform of a party that pitches its > appeals to social democrats. > > Any increase in revenue from promised Green taxes on "harmful activities" > would be neutralized by lowering income taxes, the most progressive and fair > taxes we have. The Greens also call for an increase in property taxes, a > regressive tax. They are committed to using surpluses to ". . . reduce the > national debt." In other words, the party is to the right of all the major > parties, which are now committing billions for spending on social programs > that Canadians say they want. > > One of the most remarkable aspects of the Green platform is the lack of any > commitment to using government legislation or regulation to accomplish core > environmental goals. > > Here are just a few examples: "The Green Party will: Empower [bioregional] > stewards to seek intervenor status in legal actions that impact the health > of the ecosystem; . . . work with local environmental groups to reduce > pollution levels in the air, water and soil; promote sustainability through > education; and monitor the diversity of species, the levels of pollution and > the health of the ecosystem."These are not the actions of a government > committed to using its mandated power to actually protect the environment. > The party also supports the corporate sector's position on self-regulation: > "The Green Party will assist and encourage Canadian companies to attain ISO > 14000 certification, the international standard for management." The ISO > 14000 has been almost universally condemned by the international > environmental movement as ineffective and unreliable. > > Those Canadians thinking of voting Green because they believe it is > progressive had better do their homework. There is more to this party than > the user-friendly name would suggest. > > Murray Dobbin is author of Paul Martin: CEO for Canada? From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 15 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Canada: Spain in Reverse Message-ID: <20040615191712.4138.qmail@resist.ca> Scary news from Canada, which is on the verge of an electoral fascist takeover. The Conservative party of Stephen Harper is headed for a win in the elections of June 28. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/14/185831/435 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 15 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Sea Shepherd Moves Patrol to Cocos Island, Costa Rica Message-ID: <20040615191711.4137.qmail@resist.ca> With the Costa Rican long-liner Kendy under arrest and the interception of the Ecuadorian seiner Ancon at Darwin Island, the message has gone out that it is not safe for poaching in the north of the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Therefore, the Sea Shepherd conservation research ship Farley Mowat departed today for Costa Rica's Cocos Island. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/15/64643/7273 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 15 12:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 19:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Bush government blasted over memo advising on torture Message-ID: <20040615191711.4136.qmail@resist.ca> Globe and Mail ; June 10, 2004 ; By Alan Freeman Washington -- Leading human-rights advocates accused the Bush administration of making "a mockery of international human-rights law" after the disclosure of an internal government memo that claims President George W. Bush is not bound by laws and treaties banning the use of torture. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/15/11549/2589 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 09:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] World military spending close to $1 trillion in 2003 Message-ID: <20040616161711.8876.qmail@resist.ca> Jun 9, 2004 ; http://www.cbc.ca/news Stockholm---The world spent nearly $1 trillion US on weapons in 2003, with the U.S. accounting for almost half of the total, according to a Swedish research institute. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/9027/26751 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 09:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Miami TV Invites Terrorists to Talk Openly About Attacks on Cuba and Venezuela Message-ID: <20040616161711.8877.qmail@resist.ca> June 11, 2004 ; CounterPunch Cuban television tonight broadcasted remarkable segments of a one hour program on Miami TV Channel 41 in which known paramilitaries from the Florida based Comandos F4 (www.comandosf4.org) organization openly spoke of their preparation for an armed attack against Cuba. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/85123/8028 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 09:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Council will hold public hearing on Hastings slot machines Message-ID: <20040616161712.8879.qmail@resist.ca> Vancouver Sun ; June 9, 2004 ; By Maurice Bridge and Ayesha Bhatty Vancouver city council voted Tuesday to hold a public hearing on a proposal to allow slot machines at Hastings racecourse. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/83728/0916 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 09:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] New RAV offer will stick all B.C. taxpayers with the bill Message-ID: <20040616161712.8878.qmail@resist.ca> newswire.ca ; Canadian Union of Public Employees ; June 10, 2004 Burnaby, BC, June 10 /CNW/ - Today's provincial government offer to save the RAV by taking it over is an act of pure desperation that will stick it to all British Columbia taxpayers for decades, says CUPE BC. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/84344/4648 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 09:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Ratings row over Moore Iraq film Message-ID: <20040616161712.8880.qmail@resist.ca> BBC ; 14 June, 2004 The US distributors of Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 are to appeal a decision by US censors to give it a restrictive rating. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/81416/5518 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 09:17:12 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:17:12 -0000 Subject: [news] Bolivia Threatened by Mob Rule Message-ID: <20040616161712.8883.qmail@resist.ca> United Press ; June 7, 2004 ; By MARTIN AROSTEGUI LA PAZ - Bolivia appears inexorably headed towards chaos as radical unions and peasant organizations carry out their threat to blockade the capital. The death of an army officer at a roadside ambush has exposed serious divisions within governing circles as another eight members of the security services and several anti government protestors are reported wounded in shooting incidents throughout the country. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/8749/38620 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 10:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 17:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] The final UN resolution on Iraq's interim government Message-ID: <20040616171705.15636.qmail@resist.ca> Institute for Policy Studies ; 10 June 2004 ; by Phyllis Bennis The new U.S.-UK draft resolution endorses Iraq's interim government as "sovereign" and credentials the U.S.-dominated occupation forces as a UN-mandated "multinational force." It is designed to provide international legitimacy for the continuation of the U.S. occupation and control of Iraq, while stating that "the occupation will end" by June 30, 2004. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/92621/3666 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 10:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 17:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Pre-state Zionist proposed eugenics progam to improve reproduction Message-ID: <20040616171705.15635.qmail@resist.ca> Haaretz ; June 16, 2004 ; By Tamara Traubmann A shocking new study reveals how key figures in the pre-state Zionist establishment proposed castrating the mentally ill, sterilizing the poor and doing everything possible to ensure reproduction only among the ?best of people.? URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/93713/4477 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 16 10:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 17:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Document warns Guantanamo employees not to talk Message-ID: <20040616171705.15637.qmail@resist.ca> USA Today ; 12 June 2004 ; By Toni Locy Washington - Military and civilian employees at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were warned recently not to talk with attorneys who represent detainees held there, according to a document prepared by the legal office of the Army-led task force that runs the facility. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/9458/41255 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] U.N. to Caterpillar: Stop selling bulldozers to Israel Message-ID: <20040617191703.20626.qmail@resist.ca> CBC ; June 16, 2004 Geneva ? A U.S.-based company has been warned by a United Nations expert not to sell bulldozers to Israel because of the way the Israeli army is using them. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/11554/0249 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Permit system to cross separation barrier is racist Message-ID: <20040617191703.20625.qmail@resist.ca> btselem.org ; 16.6.04 ; New B?Tselem Report: Since October 2003, Israel has implemented a new permit system in the enclaves it created between the separation barrier and the Green Line. As a result, Palestinians without a permit are denied the right to work their lands to the west of the barrier. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/11597/8490 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Israel plans new West Bank settlements Message-ID: <20040617191703.20627.qmail@resist.ca> aljazeera.net ; 15 June 2004 Israel is considering building thousands more homes in West Bank settlements, in line with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to keep large chunks of the territory but give up Gaza. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/11518/6519 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Mapuche families evicted from ancestral lands by Benetton Message-ID: <20040617191703.20629.qmail@resist.ca> 10TH June 2004 Despite Benetton's much hyped media campaigns, claiming to be a company committed to promoting the needs of the poor and dispossessed Benetton's treatment of the Mapuche is far from philanthropic. Scratch beneath the gloss of their often beautiful & poignant media campaigns and you'll find a company committed to putting profit before people. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/113528/358 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The Greens are right, right? Message-ID: <20040617191703.20630.qmail@resist.ca> Globe and Mail ; By MURRAY DOBBIN ; June 16, 2004 It is intriguing to watch the coverage of the Green Party in the federal election because the conventional wisdom -- that it will take votes from the NDP -- is confounded by the party's actual policies. While the analysis is likely correct, a look at Green policies reveals that this party is really a Conservative alternative, not a social democratic one. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/112453/610 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] British court rules against 'Islamic' dress Message-ID: <20040617191703.20628.qmail@resist.ca> aljazeera.net ; 15 June 2004 A 15-year-old Bangladeshi Muslim schoolgirl living in Britain has lost a legal battle for the right to wear Islamic dress in class. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/11485/4076 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Reagan and Amnesia Message-ID: <20040617191704.20631.qmail@resist.ca> It's not for nothing that the elimination and distortion of popular historical memory has always been a central project of totalitarianism. The accurate and widespread understanding of the past is critical for effective popular government. Like an individual who loses her memory, a citizenry that lacks a rich and truthful record of prior experience is easy prey for authoritarian misleaders, who write their special "elite" interest into the great narratives that provide meaning and direction to shared human experience. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/16/134742/744 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 12:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 19:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Safer Sex Kits: Respect Your Bodies Today Message-ID: <20040617191704.20636.qmail@resist.ca> By Kirsten Anderberg (www.kirstenanderberg.com) Everyone having sex nowadays should be familiar with safer sex practices. But really, there are few places that offer "safer sex classes," and most of the places that do, you will not stumble upon in the mainstream. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/12/13843/3864 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 17 17:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 00:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Refugee support agency shelters fugitive in church Message-ID: <20040618001703.21449.qmail@resist.ca> Chris Johnson; Vancouver Sun, June 17, 2004 Amir Kazemian, 39, says he'll hang himself before he allows officials to deport him to Iran. Amir hides behind a church door, nervously looking through the mail slot to see if police are coming to deport him back to Iran, where he says he and his father were jailed and tortured. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/17/13450/2276 From christoff at resist.ca Fri Jun 18 13:39:42 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 13:39:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] MONTREAL: The Gazette: Demonstrators call on Lapierre to stop deportation of three Palestinians Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 13:23:08 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal The Montreal Gazette article below reports on a recent demonstration in Montreal, organized in solidarity with the over 100 Palestinian refugees facing deportation from Canada and the Ayoub family who have been in sanctuary in the NDG church basement for over 4 months. The demonstration was held within the context of a campaign to fight against Palestinian deportations from Canada. For more than one year, stateless Palestinian refugees have been receiving, one after the other, deportation orders from Canada without any serious consideration given to the violence, poverty and persecution which defines life in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon and to the military occupation which plagues daily life throughout Occupied Palestine. We must stand united against the injustice faced by the Palestinian refugees who are set to be deported from Canada in the coming weeks. Your support, solidarity and participation are urgently needed! If you would like to support or get involved in the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, contact: refugees at riseup.net / 514 591 3171 / http://refugees.resist.ca ---- Demonstrators call on Lapierre to stop deportation of three Palestinians By: Naomi Carniol Montreal Gazette Lapierre target of refugee demo: Urged to intervene. Candidate called upon to stop deportation of three Palestinians "Solidarity with the refugees," the crowd chanted last night outside the office of Jean Lapierre, the federal Liberal Party's Quebec lieutenant. The group called on Lapierre to intervene to stop the deportation of three Palestinians who applied for permanent residency in Canada on humanitarian grounds - and figure the federal election campaign is a good time to crank up the pressure. No one from Lapierre's office, which appeared to be closed, came out to speak with the demonstrators. Organizers estimated more than 300 people were present. Three weeks ago, representatives of Notre Dame de Grace Church and the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees wrote to Lapierre, seeking his aid. Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nahib Ayoub, 69, and Therese Boulous Haddad, 62, have been holed up in Notre Dame de Grace Church since January. They face deportation to a refugee camp, the supporters said. But Lapierre never answered the letter, parish chairperson Claire Doran said. Rabie Masri, a member of the coalition, said Lapierre must get involved. The Liberal Party talks about democracy, "but even though society has spoken over and over in support of these refugees, their voices keep getting shut down," Masri said. "Within the context of federal elections, the issue of refugees and refugees rights isn't being dealt with properly," he said. "We're asking Lapierre to take a humanitarian approach and stop the deportations." At the protest, organizers handed out Lapierre's phone number and urged people to call him about the plight of Palestinian refugees. "There are over 40 Palestinian refugees in Montreal who are facing deportation," Masri said. But the protest wasn't just about refugee claims. It was also about a Palestinian homeland. Masri explained that Palestinian refugees face deportation to refugee camps in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. "The camps are 56 years old," he said. "Refugee camps are not supposed to be permanent." Nicolas Sayegh, president of the Canadian Palestinian Foundation of Quebec, said: "The real issue isn't whether refugees are accepted into Canada on humanitarian grounds, but whether Palestinians are given back their land so then they can go back and live in harmony and respect." Members of the group Palestinians and Jews Unite agreed with that sentiment. "We know the majority of Jews in Canada and Montreal ... support the politics of Israel and try to silence criticism of Israeli politics," one member said, and so dissenting Jews won't dare to speak out. To Sayegh, it was eye-opening to find out there were Jews who supported the Palestinian cause. "I've been here for 30 years and it's just now I realize that people of different denominations, Canadian Christians, Canadian Jews and Canadian Muslims, are united behind this humanitarian cause." ncarniol at thegazette.canwest.com ------------------ From ishaq1823 at telus.net Sat Jun 19 20:55:51 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 20:55:51 -0700 Subject: [news] Hip Hoppers and Black Panthers in the Holy Land Message-ID: <40D50AC7.30306@telus.net> Hip Hoppers and Black Panthers in the Holy Land Ethiopian Jews often live in refugee camps reminiscent of those in which Palestinians are confined. Ethiopian Jews say they are often referred to as "primitives," that their Jewishness is regularly questioned and they are often made to go through conversion rituals despite being born and raised Jewish. ...In 1996, relations between the Ethiopian community and the Israeli state hit a low point, when it was discovered that Israeli hospitals regularly threw out all blood donated by Ethiopians for fear that it was contaminated by AIDS. Hip Hoppers and Black Panthers in the Holy Land By Hisham Aidi Last week, the Jewish affairs weekly, The Forward, reported that a leading Conservative rabbi in Israel was charging two Orthodox kibbutzim in Israel with discrimination after they refused to admit two Ugandan Jews to their Hebrew language programs. The director of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Rabbi Andrew Sacks, alleged that the two East Africans -- members of the Abayudaya community of 600 Ugandans whose forefathers embraced Judaism in 1919 -- were not allowed into the classes because they were black. "We have had a myriad of problems with the Interior Ministry in regards to persons of color," Sacks stated. "Virtually every Conservative convert that was a person of color was immediately suspect." The incident sparked a lively discussion in Israeli newspapers about race and discrimination in Israeli society, and about the increasing, well "blackness" of African Jews in Israel. At the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, in an area known locally as Little Africa, one often sees Ethiopian Jewish teenagers milling around, sporting baggy jeans, Kangol hats, sports jerseys, voguish hairstyles - African braids, Rastafarian dreads, bald heads - and the occasional yarmulke. The Ethiopian youth, many of whom are often suspected of petty crime and drug use, are an indicator to many social critics that Israel is developing a new kind of underclass. They're also another example of how marginalized, disaffected youth of color the world over increasingly look towards African Americans, American black culture and the Civil Rights struggle when trying to make sense of their own predicaments. The link between African America and Israel's African Jewry is more than a matter of shared style and global popular culture. In Operations Moses and Solomon in 1984 and 1991, over thirty thousand Ethiopian Jews were airlifted from their East African land of birth to Israel. Eleven years hence, and despite government policies of affirmative action (such as tuition-wavers for Ethiopian university students, and favorable mortgage terms) the situation of Ethiopian Jews, who make up one percent of the Israeli population, remains grave. A report earlier this summer in the Christian Science Monitor stated: "The gap between black and white Israelis seems, with some exceptions, to be growing. For Ethiopians, it is visible in impoverished neighborhoods, soaring unemployment, and the highest high-school dropout rate of any Jewish group in Israel. Twenty-six percent of Ethiopian youths have either dropped out or do not show up for classes most of the time, raising concerns that the community's current difficulties may become chronic. Drug use, including glue-sniffing, is on the rise, and criminal activity, hardly known among Ethiopians before they came to Israel, has been growing." Ethiopians, according to various reports, are the poorest of Israel's Jews: 77 percent of Ethiopian adults are unemployed, and 72 percent of Ethiopian immigrant children grow up in families that are living below the official poverty line. Cultural differences, illiteracy, poverty and discrimination have contributed to the current predicament of the Ethiopian community. So has the fact that Ethiopian Jews often live in refugee camps reminiscent of those in which Palestinians are confined. Many of the Ethiopians were initially placed in mobile caravan communities on the periphery of cities, and many have yet to relocate (or be relocated) to urban areas. Mayors shamelessly urge the Israeli government to keep Ethiopian immigrants away from their municipalities. Masha Aroshes, an official from the Rishon LeZion municipality, told the Christian Science Monitor that Ethiopian families were not welcome in her municipality: "They are going to a neighborhood which the mayor has been trying very hard to improve. It is just starting to flower. Adding another 35 Ethiopian families is not right. It impacts on the education level." Ethiopian Jews say they are often referred to as "primitives," that their Jewishness is regularly questioned and they are often made to go through conversion rituals despite being born and raised Jewish. Habad, one of Israel's orthodox religious groups, does not recognize the Ethiopians as Jews and does not allow their children into its kindergartens. Ethiopian Jews also complain of discrimination in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), and note that Ethiopians have the highest suicide rate in the army. In 1996, relations between the Ethiopian community and the Israeli state hit a low point, when it was discovered that Israeli hospitals regularly threw out all blood donated by Ethiopians for fear that it was contaminated by AIDS. Ethiopian youths rioted, and the race row was commemorated by Ethiopian groups such as Dreams in rap style lyrics ("You distanced us from society as defectives / But more than anything / you drew a conclusion / when you threw away our blood like dry leaves"), as the search for Ethiopian Jewish cultural identity leading increasingly not towards Israel but transatlantic, to African American and Caribbean identities. Rahamim Elazar, the director of Israel's Radio Amharic, says the marginalization of Ethiopian youth in Israel has led to a sense of solidarity with African Americans and West Indians. "When you see their behavior in terms of haircut, dress, and jewelry, it's entirely different than what we are used to," Elazar explains. "Black people in Israel don't feel they are part and parcel of the Israeli public or society, so they are trying to relate to African-Americans or Jamaicans." To understand the particular "blackening" of Ethiopian Jews, one must examine the schism between Jews of African and Middle Eastern origin (called "Mizrahi") and the Jews of European ancestry (called "Ashkenazi"). In March 1971, riots erupted in the Musrara neighborhood in Jerusalem, home to Jews of North African (Mizrahi) origin. The riots were led by a group of unemployed, disenchanted North African (mostly Moroccan) youths who were protesting the neglect of the Labor government and the purported racism of the Ashkenazi political class. Calling themselves the Black Panthers, this local youth organization, which began with demands for better schools and extra-curricular services in their neighborhood, would become one of the most powerful and militant radical groups in Israeli politics whose legacy and influence would reshape the country's political landscape. The Israeli Panthers evocation of the rhetoric and tactics of the American freedom struggle was obvious. The Israeli Black Panthers borrowed their name from the American Black Panthers, and the symbol of the panther and the fist was displayed on every banner and T-shirt. They sported Afros, and adopted black nationalist concepts and expressions such as "white power," "masters and slaves" and "police state," applying them to the Mizrahi/Ashkenazi dynamic. The Panthers also borrowed the tradition of uncompromising, aggressive protest, bringing together thousands in rallies in Jerusalem throughout 1971. At one rally in Zion Square, Jerusalem, the Panthers burnt an effigy of then Prime Minister Golda Meir, and declared: "We are warning the government that we will take all necessary means against show trials of the Panthers...a state in which half the population are kings, and the other half are treated as exploited slaves - we will burn it down." The Panthers rhetoric was controversial and polarizing: They claimed the Ashkenazi state was racist and that darker-hued Jews of North African were the victims of Zionism just like the Palestinians - a comparison considered the utmost treason by many Ashkenazi's. Golda Meir responded to claims of racism by blaming the victims: "They brought discrimination with them. Back in the countries they came from, there was discrimination against them...They are not very nice boys." Then, in an eerie echo of events on the other side of the Atlantic, Black Panther "uprising," as it has been called, would fizzle out after a year, as state authorities granted some concessions and encouraged Panther leaders to run for seats in the Knesset. Because of their incendiary rhetoric and bad-boy image, the Panthers never gained widespread electoral support, but they did electrify and mobilize the Mizrahi electorate who bolted from the Labor Party. The absence of non-white votes lead to the so-called Upset of 1977, when the Labor government was dislodged from power after three decades by the even more conservative (and some would argue, xenophobic) Likud, an unintended to the Mizrahim's newfound political muscle. Speaking by telephone from Tel Aviv, Dr. Sami Shalom Chetrit, a professor of cultural studies at Hebrew University who has written extensively on the influence of African-American ideas on Israeli politics, told Africana that the smaller (and more recently arrived) Ethiopian community has yet to develop a political movement on a par with the North African Mizrahi: "The Ethiopians feel rejected by Israeli society. They've adopted African-American and Caribbean styles, and they feel more at home with the [non-Jewish] African immigrants. But any protest has been local, it's not a movement yet." Like the North African youths in the 1970s, the Ethiopians say they inhabit "the other Israel" - not the promised land of which their parents spoke. Nadav Haber, a lawyer/activist who works with Ethiopian youth, however, points to differences between yesteryear's Black Panthers and todays's Afrocentric Ethiopian youth: "Unfortunately, the African-American influence is quite superficial, coming mostly through MTV. Ethiopian kids do not understand English - 81 percent study in schools that don't teach English, so how can they be influenced by Malcolm X or Martin Luther King?" Government officials emphasize that in 2002 there are 1,500 Ethiopians in universities, compared to a 100 in 1997, and that $600 million has been earmarked for a nine-year job-training and educational program for Ethiopian immigrants. Activists like Haber are unfazed. "They receive mortgages to buy houses, but the mortgage plans send them to the poorest neighborhoods, like in the city of Lod, a drug center that is now 50 percent Ethiopian. There's a lot of anger at the establishment. Crime is growing rapidly. Very soon in all Ethiopian families there's going to be someone with a criminal record. And the sad thing is that there is no public discussion of this" At street level, though, Ethiopian youth and other disaffected Israeli teenagers congregate regularly at Tel Aviv clubs such as The Soweto and The House. In May, a "hip-hop dance protest" was held in downtown Tel Aviv bringing together some 1000 youths calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. The rally was held under a gigantic banner that read, "Get out of the territories so we can get out of our houses," and included performances by Arab and Jewish rap groups. Born in American inner cities, hip-hop and the language of the black freedom struggle have traveled to the other side of the world, bringing together youths of different background to call for peace and social justice in one of the most troubled areas of the world. First published: September 23, 2002 About the Author Hisham Aidi is a writer living in New York. http://Ethiopian Jews say they are often referred to as ___\ 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 Jun 19 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The RAV is dead! Victoria sulks Message-ID: <20040620051704.21129.qmail@resist.ca> Vancouver Sun ; June 19, 2004 ; By Jeff Lee There will be no money from the province for a cheaper alternative, minister says B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon pronounced the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver transit line dead Friday after the TransLink board narrowly voted for the second time against proceeding with the $1.5-billion project. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/19/215423/331 From news at resist.ca Sat Jun 19 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Bushes, Clinton and the War Crimes Left Behind Message-ID: <20040620051704.21130.qmail@resist.ca> by Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha Given repercussions over Abu Gharib prison, it isn't surprising that Washington recently asked the UN Security Council for another one-year extension on its war crimes exemption for self-styled "peace-keepers"(in fact aggressive war criminals). The prison abuse scandal is just the iceberg's tip of Geneva Convention violations by the United States, and closer inspection could send Bush Jr. and Bush Sr., not to mention Bill Clinton, straight to the courtroom docks. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/19/95956/0254 From gflett1 at shaw.ca Sun Jun 20 18:29:32 2004 From: gflett1 at shaw.ca (Gordon Flett) Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 18:29:32 -0700 Subject: [news] IWW Strike Support Committee Report - June 2004 Message-ID: <037501c4572f$37fca480$d3ae5418@vc.shawcable.net> IWW Strike Support Committee Report - June 2004 1. 100 members of CEP Local 1129 have been on strike against the Norampac 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. Support at their picket line, which runs 24/7, is much needed, and much appreciated. 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. Since they are welcoming our comments, messages telling them they should get back to the bargaining table with their employees would be quite appropriate, plus this is a recycling plant that is shut down, so this is also hurting the environment. 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 been on strike for 29 months now, since January 24, 2002. They are attempting to improve workplace health & safety conditions, while asking for modest increases in wages and benefits. 12 members have crossed their own picket line and are scabbing on their fellow workers, thereby prolonging the strike, as the owner refuses to negotiate. WCB inspectors have found numerous violations in the plant and Modern Auto was fined $12,000 and ordered to correct the violations. Picket support is badly needed 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 show the boss 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. 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 IWW IU 450 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 12:17:09 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 19:17:09 -0000 Subject: [news] The Last Prisoners of the Cold War: The Grenada 17 Message-ID: <20040621191709.28802.qmail@resist.ca> The invasion of Grenada, more than 20 years ago, presaged many of the events that blowback on the US today: unilateral warfare, official deceit about the motives for war, a massive military moving against an imagined foe, stifling the press, leaders proclaiming their guidance from God, denials of human and civil rights, systematic torture and subsequent cover-ups-and a hero who refused to go along. Many of the players in the Bush administration who promise perpetual war today cut their teeth on the invasion of Grenada. It is more than worthwhile to review the events that lead to the upcoming trial. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/1469/34229 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 13:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Quotable quotes from George Walker Bush Message-ID: <20040621201705.4407.qmail@resist.ca> Submitted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha He can be reached at mohammad at resist.ca ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We will weed out terrorism with all our might. We just need to make sure we bring our fertilizer with to sow the seeds of tomorrow. There will be a bad smell. We all make bad smells from time to time????????? URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/103022/783 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 13:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Why did Bush really go to Baghdad at Thanksgiving? Message-ID: <20040621201705.4408.qmail@resist.ca> By Sidney M. Willhelm Online Journal Contributing Writer June 18, 2004???Matthew Cooper of TIME Magazine recently broke the news that George W. Bush takes great pride in possessing and showing off Saddam Hussein's pistol at the White House. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/10174/3862 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 13:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] The Lebanese Armageddon in the new Iraq Message-ID: <20040621201705.4409.qmail@resist.ca> Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha With so much discordant and conflicting Lebanese influence in Iraq, indeed Armageddon must have been relocated from the plains of Palestine to the Lands between the Two Rivers, a la Lebanese! So much for stability in Iraq. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/94244/9314 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 13:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Palestinian suicide bombers, Israeli paranoia ..... Message-ID: <20040621201706.4410.qmail@resist.ca> Zeeshan Hasan The fact is that the attention focused on suicide bombing by the Western media largely ignores the brutality and hopelessness of Israeli occupation which causes it. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/82840/4742 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 13:17:05 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:17:05 -0000 Subject: [news] Let the Bush bashing begin...!..... Message-ID: <20040621201706.4411.qmail@resist.ca> Printed on Thursday, June 17, 2004 By Raff Ellis YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States) (YellowTimes.org) -- It is claimed, if confidential reports from the inner sanctum are true, that nothing infuriates GW Bush more than the growing throng of so-called Bush haters. That fairly large numbers of people are feeling so deeply negative about our president is emblematic of the polarization that continues, and indeed seems to have intensified, since the closing days of the previous administration. I say continues because no one could possibly forget the final days of the Clinton presidency when bashing Bill became such a popular pastime that it threatened Yahtzee as the parlor game of preference. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/8921/46762 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 13:17:06 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:17:06 -0000 Subject: [news] IWW Strike Support Committee Report - June 2004 Message-ID: <20040621201707.4415.qmail@resist.ca> IWW Strike Support Committee Report - June 2004 The HEU weren't the only ones on strike in B.C. There are always people out on the lines who need support. 100 members of CEP Local 1129 have been on strike against the Norampac 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. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/20/182914/976 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 14:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 21:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] 11 Arrested in Steal-A-Thon Message-ID: <20040621211704.11717.qmail@resist.ca> Police arrest 11 in steal-a-thon BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER By Jeremy Ashley Monday, April 26, 2004 - 10:00 Local News - A new protest tactic used by a local activist group landed 11 members in a jail cell Friday, including the groups leaders. An investigation into the Tenant Action Group is continuing following the arrest of 11 members on charges of 'counseling to commit theft, at an east-end grocery store Friday evening. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/131855/414 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 14:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 21:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Arrest Made in Arson Case Message-ID: <20040621211704.11716.qmail@resist.ca> Kahnawake Eastern Door Keneth Deer Joseph 'Joey' Daye, 39, turned himself in to Investigator Warren White of the Kahnawake Peacekeepers on Wednesday. Daye has been charged with intentionally or recklessly causing damage by fire or explosion to the property of James Gabriel. Police say that he turned himself in to the Surete du Quebec detachment in Oka after an arrest warrant was issued last Friday. He was released on condition that he appear in court on June 17 in St. Jerome. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/132414/039 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 21 14:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 21:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Mayor Millers Bash Gets Bashed Message-ID: <20040621211704.11718.qmail@resist.ca> Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Social Cleansing Mayor Picketed by OCAP On June 17, the leading lights of Toronto Mayor David Miller's election campaign gathered at an exclusive Rosedale residence to be thanked for their efforts. OCAP was there to deliver a different message and picketed the place to the outrage of the assembled developers and labour bureaucrats. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/21/131237/098 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Mon Jun 21 22:33:52 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 22:33:52 -0700 Subject: [news] No charges in Frank Paul death Message-ID: <40D7C4C0.7080805@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27218.php No charges in Frank Paul death The Crown has decided not to lay charges in the death of Frank Paul, the aboriginal man dumped in an alley by Vancouver Police officers in December 1998. No charges in Frank Paul death WebPosted Jun 18 2004 02:46 PM PDT vancouver.cbc.ca VANCOUVER - The Crown has decided not to lay charges in the death of Frank Paul, the aboriginal man dumped in an alley by Vancouver Police officers in December 1998. The 47-year-old Mi'kmaq man from New Brunswick died of exposure. He had been held that night in the police drunk tank, but was later dragged outside into the alley, still highly intoxicated. Solicitor General Rich Coleman had forwarded the case to Crown lawyers for a review. And they have now decided charges are not warranted. This was the fifth time the Crown has looked at the case. Crown spokesperson Geoff Gaul says a review of new evidence - two new witness statements - determined no criminal charges should be laid. "Is there sufficient evidence that we could prove on a criminal standard, beyond a reasonable doubt, that somebody was culpable for Mr. Paul's death. "And the conclusion of all five assessments is that no, we can't prove it." says Gaul. The solicitor general has already rejected a call by the Police Complaints Commissioner for a public inquiry. http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/24950.php Mysterious Death of Native Artist: Anthany Dawson It's not that Nancy Dawson hates the police or wishes them any ill will, she just doesn't like to look at them. Witness this morning's turn of events, as she headed out to attend the local gathering marking International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/03/23322.php Gerald Kaboni In the past few years, Victoria police have killed several Native and poor people, including Anthany Dawson and Gerald Kaboni. Since the BC Liberals and Gordon Campbell came to power Victoria police have struggled against the excluded class (poor and working people), giving the rich and middle-class the space to create a new path for the capitalist movement in Victoria. http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2002/10/8537.php Was Gerald Kaboni murdered by Victoria police Was Gerald Kaboni murered by police? I have evidence turned down by the coroner's office that he was. Police give me run around on releasing critical evidence report. Chief of police hides out behind police immunity. ? At what point will people say," This is enough". I am tired of being harassed by police who are no better then the worst criminals they say they are protecting us from. No more. I know for sure police and media are silently reading this channel. Let them come out and state what hidden instruction they are receiving and who they protecting. Police Chief denies public interview with Mayoral candidates. Who and what is he hideing? -\ ___\ 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 Tue Jun 22 01:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 08:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] No Charges Laid in Frank Paul's Murder Message-ID: <20040622081704.2332.qmail@resist.ca> WebPosted Jun 18 2004 02:46 PM PDT vancouver.cbc.ca sent to !RESIST! by Ishaq The Crown has decided not to lay charges in the death of Frank Paul, the aboriginal man dumped in an alley by Vancouver Police officers in December 1998. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/02816/6369 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] International summit to highlight climate change Message-ID: <20040622171703.5510.qmail@resist.ca> SOURCE: CBC North IQALUIT - Nunavut organizations hope International Polar Year will draw more attention to changes happening in the Arctic. Inuit groups hope that issues such as melting sea ice and climate change get discussed The event, which brings together Polar researchers from around the world, is held only once every 50 years. "There's different birds coming to the land. People that are hunting and fishing, they're falling through the ice and it's going to catch up to the south," URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/3506/46121 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Privately funded rocket successfully carries man to space Message-ID: <20040622171703.5511.qmail@resist.ca> SOURCE: Montreal CBC Mon, 21 Jun 2004 MOJAVE, CALIF. - A pilot has flown the first privately financed manned rocket beyond the Earth's atmosphere and returned safely. "SpaceShipOne" could now compete for the Ansari X Prize, a $10-million US reward for the first three-member team to launch a spacecraft to an altitude of 100 kilometres, return to Earth and repeat the flight within two weeks in the same vehicle, without government or military funding. The goal of the prize is to promote private space flight. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/4825/98603 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Crew quick to contain Kugluktuk oil spill Message-ID: <20040622171703.5509.qmail@resist.ca> SOURE: CBC North Jun 21 2004 A fuel line running through the middle of the community of Kugluktuk in Nunavut burst, spilling 2,000 litres of contaminated diesel fuel into the ground. This CBC story focuses on what a "good job" the clean up crews did, calling this disaster for the small community a "learning experience". The article barely mentions that the small town now must deal with cleaning this mess up or its long term effects on the soil. It also does not look at the poverty present in many small northern communities which prevent them from paying for essentials such as replacing old pipelines. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/3438/39247 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] None of the above! - About federal green leader, Jim Harris Message-ID: <20040622171703.5512.qmail@resist.ca> Harris is a former Conservative, and more or less, a business consultant. Here is some info off the Green Party Website: Jim Haris' clients include Agilent Technologies, Association of Research Libraries, Barclays Bank, Centra, Certified Management Accountants, Columbia Tristar Pictures, Deloitte & Touche, European Snack Food Association, International Association of Business Communicators, IEEE, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Munich Re, NEC, Saba, Society of Professional Engineers, TNT Worldwide Express, the UK Cabinet Office and Zurich. His new book, Blindsided! is a #1 international bestseller and is published in over 80 countries worldwide. Mr. Harris' second book, The Learning Paradox, was nominated for the National Business Book Award in Canada . Books for Business ranked it as one of the top-10 business books in North America. Mr. Harris also co-authored The 100 Best Companies to Work for in Canada - a Canadian bestseller that sold over 50 000 copies. Read for yourself URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/2380/83097 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] BC Seniors Set Out to Save Public Health Care Message-ID: <20040622171703.5513.qmail@resist.ca> SOURCE: http://www.columbiajournal.ca/04-05/seniors.html by Marco Procaccini In the wake of a mass strike against health care cuts, rollbacks and layoffs, a recent report claiming BC's current health policies are failing senior citizens, the death of a Kootenay man from his local hospital's lack of resources and the proposed sell-off of the Medical Services Plan, BC Seniors are setting out to enlist the support of community and public interest organizations to officially endorse the preservation of the universal public health care in Canada. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/24226/1232 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Health-Cut Revolts Flare Across B.C. Message-ID: <20040622171704.5526.qmail@resist.ca> Citizens fighting hospital hits are targeting politicians, the public and, as a last resort, the courts. SOURCE: www.TheTyee.ca Mon, Jun. 21, 2004 By Janet French You may have seen them in your neighbourhood. Lawn signs reading "We're watching you" and "How many surgeries were cancelled today?" are creeping across B.C. Signs that reflect anger over cuts to health services are just one tactic adopted by groups formed across the province in the past two years. Groups in the Interior, on Vancouver Island, and in the Lower Mainland are taking creative approaches to their advocacy because, they say, negotiating with the government and its agencies alone is a waste of time. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/347/17457 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Groups fight to stop medical records from going south Message-ID: <20040622171704.5517.qmail@resist.ca> CBC, Jun 21 2004 VANCOUVER - A coalition of privacy and health advocates has launched a campaign urging the provincial government not to contract out administration of the Medical Services Plan to an American firm. The Campbell government is considering turning administration of MSP to Maximus - a U.S. corporation that manages government services. See www.righttoprivacycampaign.com for more info URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/25112/1289 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Postie suspended for expressing political view in Liberal office Message-ID: <20040622171704.5527.qmail@resist.ca> PRESS RELEASE - Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) 2004-06-17 http://www.cupw.ca/pages/document_eng.php?Doc_ID=687 Letter carrier Rick Letendre landed a week's suspension without pay following a complaint from British Columbia Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Lorne Mayencourt. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/22110/7936 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Fox News Fascist & the Final Solution Message-ID: <20040622171704.5530.qmail@resist.ca> The virulent racism and fascist mindset of (Fox News host Bill) O'Reilly is also pervasive within the US military. The racist contempt of the Iraqis and blatant disregard for civilian lives by US troops in that country is disturbingly common. One need only look at the systematic torture at Abu Ghraib for confirmation, not to mention US troops murdering Iraqis by deliberately firing into crowds of unarmed protesters, dropping large bombs in urban neighborhoods, slaughtering wedding parties, engaging in collective punishment, house demolitions, kidnapping, torture, and firing into vehicles filled with civilians at military checkpoints. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/14630/3809 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 22 10:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Bridging the education gap (aka - segragated skools for first nations youth?) Message-ID: <20040622171704.5529.qmail@resist.ca> SOURCE: The Prince George Free Press June 17, 2004 This fall the provincial government will have to decide if it wants to support the concept of delivering education with an aboriginal focus in a separate secondary school. The Prince George school district, with strong support from the local aboriginal community, has proposed such a school. The government's decision will have profound effects on education in the British Columbia. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/22/2305/09531 From skisby at web.net Tue Jun 22 15:32:16 2004 From: skisby at web.net (Steve Kisby) Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 15:32:16 -0700 Subject: [news] UBC Challenged Over Plan To Build Towering Skyscrapers Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20040622153216.01d23700@pop.web.net> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 21, 2004 UBC CHALLENGED OVER PLAN TO BUILD TOWERING SKYSCRAPERS The Wreck Beach Preservation Society Argue Legal Errors Invalidate Development Permit The Wreck Beach Preservation Society (WBPS) has retained A. Cameron Ward and Company to help them in their battle against the siting and heights of the four 20-storey towers UBC is calling the Marine Residences. A letter was sent today calling for an immediate meeting with the WBPS, our lawyers and UBC officials. The WBPS letter calls for a proper public consultation process, given the serious flaws and the half-hearted, rushed efforts by UBC at public notice and public consultation. This greatly-flawed consultation has the effect of rendering the develoment permit invalid. UBC has declined to consider alternative locations for these towers on campus, despite the threat of erosion posed by situating a major housing development on the edge of the foreshore cliffs adjacent to Pacific Spirit Regional Park. After pile driving on the tower site farthest-removed from the cliffs on June 21, 2004, sand movement at the slide site immediately below the project was noted by Wreck Beach users! These cliffs above Wreck Beach fall into a special "environmental protection zone" within the Park. The GVRD Board of Directors had to resort to passing a motion requesting UBC to demonstrate how it is protecting the cliffs and foreshore of the Park, in accordance with the Official Community Plan and other planning documents. However, despite this expression of concern from regional government, UBC has refused for months to release copies of environmental studies that it claims demonstrate that the foreshore cliffs will not be affected by the development which yesterday's slide has conclusively given lie to! It has also not produced any plans for preserving eagle habitat adjacent to the development. UBC was reminded of its legal commitment to respect adjacent parkland under the OCP, the Park Management Plan and the Cliff Erosion Mitigation Plan. Copies of the letter have also gone to GVRD, and to the Musqueam Nation. This latest round with UBC reflects the absolute commitment of the Wreck Beach community to mitigate the Marine Residence project in that location and at those heights. We seek a negotiated resolution to an untenable proposal. Additional information: Lara Tessaro of A. Cameron Ward and Associates: 604-688-6881 JudyWilliams, Chair, WBPS: 604-856-9598, Cell: 604-308-6336, judyw at wreckbeach.org James Loewen, VP, Media Relations, WBPS: 604-689-9697, james3d at shaw.ca From ishaq1823 at telus.net Wed Jun 23 03:23:05 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 03:23:05 -0700 Subject: [news] "[NBPP-National] "ASSATA": ASSATA (full article) Message-ID: <40D95A09.7040504@telus.net> re: "[NBPP-National] "ASSATA": ASSATA SHAKUR" http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27287.php ASSATA SHAKUR http://www.assatashakur.org/index.htm On May 2 1973, Black Panther activist Assata Shakur (fsn) JoAnne Chesimard, was pulled over by the New Jersey State Police, shot twice and then charged with murder of a police officer. Assata spent six and a half years in prison under brutal circumstances before escaping out of the maximum security wing of the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey in 1979 and moving to Cuba. http://www.assatashakur.org/index.htm ASSATA SHAKUR by Assata Shakur On May 2 1973, Black Panther activist Assata Shakur (fsn) JoAnne Chesimard, was pulled over by the New Jersey State Police, shot twice and then charged with murder of a police officer. Assata spent six and a half years in prison under brutal circumstances before escaping out of the maximum security wing of the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey in 1979 and moving to Cuba. Table Of Contents Introduction Distortions And Lies The Tradition The Interview Assata Poster Sekou Odinga Sundiata Acoli Marilyn Buck Silva Baraldini The Prison Industrial Complex Assata Speaks (audio) Message To My Sistas Remembering A Revolutionary Closing Remarks Assata's Forums Introduction My name is Assata ("she who struggles") Shakur ("the thankful one"), and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government's policy towards people of color. I am an ex political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the 1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black liberation movement, the student rights movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black Panther Party had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI's COINTELPRO program. because the Black Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black people, J. Edgar Hoover called it "greatest threat to the internal security of the country" and vowed to destroy it and its leaders and activists. In 1978, my case was one of many cases bought before the United Nations Organization in a petition filed by the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice, exposing the existence of political prisoners in the United States, their political persecution, and the cruel and inhuman treatment they receive in US prisons. I was falsely accused in six different "criminal cases" and in all six of these cases I was eventually acquitted or the charges were dismissed. The fact that I was acquitted or that the charges were dismissed, did not mean that I received justice in the courts, that was certainly not the case. It only meant that the "evidence" presented against me was so flimsy and false that my innocence became evident. This political persecution was part and parcel of the government's policy of eliminating political opponents by charging them with crimes and arresting them with no regard to the factual basis of such charges. On May 2, 1973 I, along with Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike, supposedly for a "faulty tail light." Sundiata Acoli got out of the car to determine why we were stopped. Zayd and I remained in the car. State trooper Harper then came to the car, opened the door and began to question us. Because we were black, and riding in a car with Vermont license plates, he claimed he became "suspicious." He then drew his gun, pointed it at us, and told us to put our hands up in the air, in front of us, where he could see them. I complied and in a split second, there was a sound that came from outside the car, there was a sudden movement, and I was shot once with my arms held up in the air, and then once again from the back. Zayd Malik Shakur was later killed, trooper Werner Forester was killed, and even though trooper Harper admitted that he shot and killed Zayd Malik Shakur, under the New Jersey felony murder law, I was charged with killing both Zayd Malik Shakur, who was my closest friend and comrade, and charged in the death of trooper Forester. Never in my life have I felt such grief. Zayd had vowed to protect me, and to help me to get to a safe place, and it was clear that he had lost his life, trying to protect both me and Sundiata. Although he was also unarmed, and the gun that killed trooper Forester was found under Zayd's leg, Sundiata Acoli, who was captured later, was also charged with both deaths. Neither Sundiata Acoli nor I ever received a fair trial. We were both convicted in the news media way before our trials. No news media was ever permitted to interview us, although the New Jersey police and the FBI fed stories to the press on a daily basis. In 1977, I was convicted by an all- white jury and sentenced to life plus 33 years in prison. In 1979, fearing that I would be murdered in prison, and knowing that I would never receive any justice, I was liberated from prison, aided by committed comrades who understood the depths of the injustices in my case, and who were also extremely fearful for my life. The U.S. Senate's 1976 Church Commission report on intelligence operations inside the USA, revealed that "The FBI has attempted covertly to influence the publics perception of persons and organizations by disseminating derogatory information to the press, either anonymously or through "friendly" news contacts." This same policy is evidently still very much in effect today. On December 24, 1997, The New Jersey State called a press conference to announce that New Jersey State Police had written a letter to Pope John Paul II asking him to intervene on their behalf and to aid in having me extradited back to New Jersey prisons. The New Jersey State Police refused to make their letter public. Knowing that they had probably totally distort the facts, and attempted to get the Pope to do the devils work in the name of religion, I decided to write the Pope to inform him about the reality of' "justice" for black people in the State of New Jersey and in the United States. In January of 1998, during the pope's visit to Cuba, I agreed to do an interview with NBC journalist Ralph Penza around my letter to the Pope, about my experiences in New Jersey court system, and about the changes I saw in the United States and it's treatment of Black people in the last 25 years. I agreed to do this interview because I saw this secret letter to the Pope as a vicious, vulgar, publicity maneuver on the part of the New Jersey State Police, and as a cynical attempt to manipulate Pope John Paul II. I have lived in Cuba for many years, and was completely out of touch with the sensationalist, dishonest, nature of the establishment media today. It is worse today than it was 30 years ago. After years of being victimized by the "establishment" media it was naive of me to hope that I might finally get the opportunity to tell "my side of the story." Instead of an interview with me, what took place was a "staged media event" in three parts, full of distortions, inaccuracies and outright lies. NBC purposely misrepresented the facts. Not only did NBC spend thousands of dollars promoting this "exclusive interview series" on NBC, they also spent a great deal of money advertising this "exclusive interview" on black radio stations and also placed notices in local newspapers. DISTORTIONS AND LIES IN THE NBC SERIES In an NBC interview Gov. Whitman was quoted as saying that "this has nothing to do with race, this had everything to do with crime." Either Gov. Whitman is completely unfamiliar with the facts in my case, or her sensitivity to racism and to the plight of black people and other people of color in the United States is at a sub-zero level. In 1973 the trial in Middlesex County had to be stopped because of the overwhelming racism expressed in the jury room. The court was finally forced to rule that the entire jury panel had been contaminated by racist comments like "If she's black, she's guilty." In an obvious effort to prevent us from being tried by "a jury of our peers the New Jersey courts ordered that a jury be selected from Morris County, New Jersey where only 2.2 percent of the population was black and 97.5 percent of potential jurors were white. In a study done in Morris County, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, 92 percent of the registered voters said that they were familiar with the case through the news media, and 72 percent believed we were guilty based on pretrial publicity. During the jury selection process in Morris County, white supremacists from the National Social[ist] White People's Party, wearing Swastikas, demonstrated carrying signs reading "SUPPORT WHITE POLICE." The trial was later moved back to Middlesex County where 70 percent thought I was guilty based on pretrial publicity I was tried by an all white jury, where the presumption of innocence was not the criteria for jury selection. Potential jurors were merely asked if they could "put their prejudices aside, and "render a fair verdict." The basic reality in the United States is that being black is a crime and black people are always "suspects" and an accusation is usually a conviction. Most white people still think that being a "black militant" or a "black revolutionary" is tantamount to being guilty of some kind of crime. The current situation in New Jersey's prisons, underlines the racism that dominates the politics of the state of New Jersey, in particular and in the U.S. as a whole. Although the population of New Jersey is approximately 78 percent white, more than 75 percent of New Jersey's prison population is made up of blacks and Latinos. 80 percent of the women in Jersey prisons are people of color. That may not seem like racism to Gov. Whitman, but it reeks of racism to us. The NBC story implied that Governor Christie Whitman raised the reward for my capture based on my interview with NBC. The fact of the matter is that she has been campaigning since she was elected into office to double the reward for my capture. In 1994, she appointed Col. Carl Williams who immediately vowed to make my capture a priority. In 1995, Gov. Whitman sought to "match a $25,000 departmental appropriation sponsored by an "unidentified legislator." I watched a tape of Gov. Whitman's "testimony" in her interview with NBC. She gave a very dramatic, exaggerated version of what happened, but there is no evidence whatsoever to support her claim that Trooper Forester had "four bullets in him at least, and then they got up and with his own gun, fired two bullets into his head." She claimed that she was writing Janet Reno for federal assistance in my capture, based on what she saw in the NBC interview. If this is the kind of "information" that is being passed on to Janet Reno and the Pope, it is clear that the facts have been totally distorted. Whitman also claimed that my return to prison should be a condition for "normalizing relations with Cuba". How did I get so important that my life can determine the foreign relations between two governments? Anybody who knows anything about New Jersey politics can be certain that her motives are purely political. She, like Torrecelli and several other opportunistic politicians in New Jersey came to power, as part time lobbyists for the Batista faction - soliciting votes from right wing Cubans. They want to use my case as a barrier for normalizing relations with Cuba, and as a pretext for maintaining the immoral blockade against the Cuban people. In what can only be called deliberate deception and slander NBC aired a photograph of a woman with a gun in her hand implying that the woman in the photograph was me. I was not, in fact, the woman in the photograph. The photograph was taken from a highly publicized case where I was accused of bank robbery. Not only did I voluntarily insist on participating in a lineup, during which witnesses selected another woman, but during the trial, several witnesses, including the manager of the bank, testified that the woman in that photograph was not me. I was acquitted of that bank robbery. NBC aired that photograph on at least 5 different occasions, representing the woman in the photograph as me. How is it possible, that the New Jersey State Police, who claim to have a detective working full time on my case, Governor of New Jersey Christine Whitman, who claimed she reviewed all the "evidence," or NBC, which has an extensive research department, did not know that the photograph was false? It was a vile, fraudulent attempt to make me look guilty. NBC deliberately misrepresented the truth. Even after many people had called in, and there was massive fax, and e-mail campaign protesting NBC's mutilation of the facts, Ralph Penza and NBC continued to broadcast that photograph, representing it as me. Not once have the New Jersey State Police, Governor Christine Whitman, or NBC come forth and stated that I was not the woman in the photograph, or that I had been acquitted of that charge. Another major lie and distortion was that we had left trooper Werner Forester on the roadside to die. The truth is that there was a major cover-up as to what happened on May 2, 1973. Trooper Harper, the same man who shot me with my arms raised in the air, testified that he returned to the State Police Headquarters which was less than 200 yards away, "To seek aid." However, tape recordings and police reports made on May 2, 1973 prove that not only did Trooper Harper give several conflicting statements about what happened on the turnpike, but he never once mentioned the name of Werner Forester, or the fact that the incident took place right in front of the Trooper Headquarters. In an effort to hide his tracks and cover his guilt he said nothing whatsoever about Forester to his superiors or to his fellow officers. In a clear attempt to discredit me, Col. Carl Williams of the New Jersey State Police was allowed to give blow by blow distortions of my interview. In my interview I stated that on the night of May 2, 1973 I was shot with my arms in the air, then shot again in the back. Williams stated "that is absolutely false. Our records show that she reached in her pocketbook, pulled out a nine millimeter weapon and started firing." However, the claim that I reached into my pocketbook and pulled out a gun, while inside the car was even contested by trooper Harper. Although on three official reports, and when he testified before the grand jury he stated that he saw me take a gun out of my pocketbook, he finally admitted under cross examination that he never saw me with my hands in a pocketbook, never saw me with a weapon inside the car, and that he did not see me shoot him. The truth is that I was examined by 3 medical specialists: (1) A Neurologist who testified that I was immediately paralyzed immediately after the being shot. (2) A Surgeon who testified that "It was absolutely anatomically necessary that both arms be in the air for Mrs. Chesimard to receive the wounds." The same surgeon also testified that the claim by Trooper Harper that I had been crouching in a firing position when I was shot was "totally anatomically impossible." (3) A Pathologist who testified that "There is no conceivable way that it [the bullet] could have traveled over to hit the clavicle if her arm was down." he said "It was impossible to have that trajectory. "The prosecutors presented no medical testimony whatsoever to refute the above medical evidence. No evidence whatsoever was ever presented that I had a 9 millimeter weapon, in fact New Jersey State Police testified that the 9 millimeter weapon belonged to Zayd Malik Shakur based on a holster fitting the weapon that they was recovered from his body. There were no fingerprints, or any other evidence whatsoever that linked me to any guns or ammunition. The results of the Neutron Activation test to determine whether or not I had fired a weapon were negative. Although Col. Williams refers to us as the "criminal element" neither Zayd, or Sundiata Acoli or I were criminals, we were political activists. I was a college student until the police kicked down my door in an effort to force me to "cooperate" with them and Sundiata Acoli was a computer expert who had worked for NASA, before he joined the Black Panther Party and was targeted by COINTELPRO. In an obvious maneuver to provoke sympathy for the police, the NBC series juxtaposed my interview with the weeping widow of Werner Forester. While I can sympathize with her grief, I believe that her appearance was deliberately included to appeal to peoples emotions, to blur the facts, to make me look like a villain, and to create the kind of lynch mob mentality that has historically been associated with white women portrayed as victims of black people. In essence the supposed interview with me became a forum for the New State Police, Forester's widow, and the obviously hostile commentary of Ralph Penza. The two initial programs together lasted 3.5 minutes - me - 59 seconds, the widow 50 seconds, the state police 38 seconds, and Penza - 68 seconds. Not once in the interview was I ever asked about Zayd, Sundiata or their families. As the interview went on, it was painfully evident that Ralph Penza would never see me as a human being. Although I tried to talk about racism and about the victims of government and police repression, it was clear that he was totally uninterested. I have stated publicly on various occasions that I was ashamed of participating in my trial in New Jersey trial because it was so racist, but I did testify. Even though I was extremely limited by the judge, as to what I could testify about, I testified as clearly as I could about what happened that night. After being almost fatally wounded I managed to climb in the back seat of the car to get away from the shooting. Sundiata drove the car five miles down the road carried me into a grassy area because he was afraid that the police would see the car parked on the side of the road and just start shooting into it again. Yes, it was five miles down the highway where I was captured, dragged out of the car, stomped and then left on the ground. Although I drifted in and out of consciousness I remember clearly that both while I was lying on the ground, and while I was in the ambulance, I kept hearing the State troopers ask "is she dead yet?" Because of my condition I have no independent recollection of how long I was on the ground, or how long it was before the ambulance was allowed to leave for the hospital, but in the trial transcript trooper Harper stated that it was while he was being questioned, some time after 2:00 am that a detective told him that I had just been brought into the hospital. I was the only live "suspect" in custody, and prior to that time Harper, had never told anyone that a woman had shot him. As I watched Governor Whitman's interview the one thing that struck me was her "outrage" at my joy about being a grandmother, and my "quite nice life" as she put it here in Cuba. While I love the Cuban people and the solidarity they have shown me, the pain of being torn away from everybody I love has been intense. I have never had the opportunity to see or to hold my grandchild. If Gov. Whitman thinks that my life has been so nice, that 50 years of dealing with racism, poverty, persecution, brutality, prison, underground, exile and blatant lies has been so nice, then Id be more than happy to let her walk in my shoes for a while so she can get a taste of how it feels. I am a proud black woman, and I'm not about to get on the television and cry for Ralph Penza or any other journalist, but the way I have suffered in my lifetime, and the way my people have suffered, only god can bear witness to. Col. Williams of the New Jersey State Police stated "we would do everything we could go get her off the island of Cuba and if that includes kidnapping, we would do it." I guess the theory is that if they could kidnap millions of Africans from Africa 400 years ago, they should be able to kidnap one African woman today. It is nothing but an attempt to bring about the re-incarnation of the Fugitive Slave Act. All I represent is just another slave that they want to bring back to the plantation. Well, I might be a slave, but I will go to my grave a rebellious slave. I am and I feel like a maroon woman. I will never voluntarily accept the condition of slavery, whether its de-facto or ipso facto, official, or unofficial. In another recent interview, Williams talked about asking the federal government to add to the $50,000 reward for my capture. He also talked about seeking "outside money, or something like that, a benefactor, whatever." Now who is he looking to "contribute" to that "cause"? The ku klux klan, the neo nazi parties, the white militia organizations? But the plot gets even thicker. He says that the money might lure bounty hunters. "There are individuals out there, I guess they call themselves 'soldiers of fortune ' who might be interested in doing something, in turning her over to us." Well, in the old days they used to call them slave catchers, trackers, or patter rollers, now they are called mercenaries. Neither the governor nor the state police say one word about "justice." They have no moral authority to do so. The level of their moral and ethical bankruptcy is evident in their eagerness to not only break the law and hire hoodlums, all in the name of "law and order." But you know what gets to me, what makes me truly indignant? With the schools in Paterson, N.J. falling down, with areas of Newark looking like a disaster area, with the crack epidemic, with the wide-spread poverty and unemployment in New Jersey, these depraved, decadent, would-be slave masters want federal funds to help put this "n-word wench" back in her place. They call me the "most wanted woman" in Amerikkka. I find that ironic. I've never felt very "wanted" before. When it came to jobs, I was never the "most wanted," when it came to "economic opportunities I was never the "most wanted, when it came to decent housing." It seems like the only time Black people are on the "most wanted" list is when they want to put us in prison. But at this moment, I am not so concerned about myself. Everybody has to die sometime, and all I want is to go with dignity. I am more concerned about the growing poverty, the growing despair that is rife in Amerikkka. I am more concerned about our younger generations, who represent our future. I am more concerned that one third of young black are either in prison or under the jurisdiction of the "criminal in-justice system." I am more concerned about the rise of the prison industrial complex that is turning our people into slaves again. I am more concerned about the repression, the police brutality, violence, the rising wave of racism that makes up the political landscape of the U.S. today. Our young people deserve a future, and I consider it the mandate of my ancestors to be part of the struggle to insure that they have one. They have the right to live free from political repression. The U.S. is becoming more and more of a police state and that fact compels us to fight against political repression. I urge you all, every single person who reads this statement, to fight to free all political prisoners. As the concentration camps in the U.S. turn into death camps, I urge you to fight to abolish the death penalty. I make a special, urgent appeal to you to fight to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the only political prisoner who is currently on death row. It has been a long time since I have lived inside the United States. But during my lifetime I have seen every prominent black leader, politician or activist come under attack by the establishment media. When African Americans appear on news programs they are usually talking about sports, entertainment or they are in handcuffs. When we have a protest they ridicule it, minimized it, or cut the numbers of the people who attended in half. The news is big business and it is owned operated by affluent white men. Unfortunately, they shape the way that many people see the world, and even the way people see themselves. Too often black journalists, and other journalists of color mimic their white counterparts. They often gear their reports to reflect the foreign policies and the domestic policies of the same people who are oppressing their people. In the establishment media, the bombing and of murder of thousands of innocent women and children in Libya or Iraq or Panama is seen as "patriotic," while those who fight for freedom, no matter where they are, are seen as "radicals," "extremists," or "terrorists." Like most poor and oppressed people in the United States, I do not have a voice. Black people, poor people in the U.S. have no real freedom of speech, no real freedom of expression and very little freedom of the press. The black press and the progressive media has historically played an essential role in the struggle for social justice. We need to continue and to expand that tradition. We need to create media outlets that help to educate our people and our children, and not annihilate their minds. I am only one woman. I own no TV stations, or Radio Stations or Newspapers. But I feel that people need to be educated as to what is going on, and to understand the connection between the news media and the instruments of repression in Amerikkka. All I have is my voice, my spirit and the will to tell the truth. But I sincerely ask, those of you in the Black media, those of you in the progressive media, those of you who believe in truth, freedom To publish this statement and to let people know what is happening. We have no voice, so you must be the voice of the voiceless. FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS, Wish I could be there, Assata Shakur Havana, Cuba THE TRADITION (A poem by Assata Shakur) Carry it on now. Carry it on. Carry it on now. Carry it on. Carry on the tradition. Their were Black People since the childhood of time who carried it on. In Ghana and Mali and Timbuktu We carried it on. Carried on the tradition. We hid in the bush. When the slave masters came holding spear And when the moment was ripe, leaped out and lanced the lifeblood of our would-be masters. We carried it on. On slave ships, hurling ourselves into oceans. Slitting the throats of our captors. We took their whips. And their ships Blood flowed in the Atlantic and it wasn't all ours. We carried it on. Fed Missy arsenic apple pies. Stole the axes from the shed. Went and chopped off master's head. We ran. We fought. We organized a railroad. An underground. We carried it on. In newspapers. In meetings. In arguments and street fights. We carried it on. In tales told to children. In chants and cantatas. In poems and blues songs and saxophone screams, We carried it on. In classrooms. In churches. In courtrooms. In prisons. We carried it on. On soapboxes and picket lines. Welfare lines, unemployment Our lives on the line, We carried it on. In sit-ins and pray ins And march ins and die ins, We carried it on. On cold Missouri midnights Pitting shotguns against lynch mobs On burning Brooklyn streets Pitting rocks against rifles, We carried it on. Against water hoses and bulldogs. Against nightsticks and bullets. Against tanks and tear gas. Needles and nooses. Bombs and birth control. We carried it on. In Selma and San Juan. Mozambique, Mississippi. In Brazil and in Boston, We carried it on. Through the lies and the sell-outs, The mistakes and the madness. Through pain and hunger and frustration, We carried it on. Carried on the tradition. Carried a strong tradition. Carried a proud tradition. Carried a Black tradition. Carry it on. Pass it down to the children. Pass it down. Carry it on. Carry it on now. Carry it on TO FREEDOM! Assata Shakur "The Prison Industrial Complex" Greetings Sisters, Brothers, Comrades, Never in our history has critical resistance to the status quo been more important. The growth of the Prison Industrial complex has been appallingly rapid and the escalating repression that has accompanied it is totally alarming. What of future lies ahead of us? What are the implications of for our children? Those who are targeted as the victims of the Prison Industrial Complex are mainly people of color. They are Native Americans, Africans, Asians, and Latinos, who came from societies where there were no prisons and where prisons were an unknown concept. Prisons were introduced in Africa, the Americas and Asia as by-products of slavery and colonialism, and they continue to be instruments of exploitation and oppression. In the heart of the imperialist empires, prisons also meant oppression. The prisons of Europe were so overcrowded that European prisoners were sent to the colonies and encouraged to enslave and colonize other peoples. In England, during the so-called period of expansion, there were not only debtor's prisons for the poor, but also more than 200 crimes that were punishable by death. During the French revolution, the storming and destruction of the Bastille Prison, became a symbol for liberation all over Europe. And today, those of us whose ancestors were imprisoned in Slave forts like Elmina, or Goree Island, now find ourselves imprisoned in places like Elmira, Rikers Island, Terminal Island, Marion or Florence. The prisons that are being constructed In the United States today are more sophisticated than concentration camps like Auschwitz or Dachau, but they serve the same purpose. The profits from prison industries, and prison slave labor is surpassing the super exploitation levels of forced labor in Nazi concentration camps. The Prison Industrial Complex is not only a mechanism to convert Public tax money into profits for private corporations, it is an essential element of modern neo-liberal capitalism. It serves two purposes. One to neutralize and contain huge segments of potentially rebellious sectors of the population, and two, to sustain a system of super exploitation, where mainly black and Latino captives are imprisoned in white rural, overseer communities. People of color are easy targets. Our criminalization and villianization is an Amerikkkan tradition. The image of the dirty-lazy-shiftless- savage - backwards- good for nothing - darkies has been the underpinning of the racist culture and ideology, that dominates U.S. politics. One of the basic tenets of that revolution was that only rich, white men have the right to have a revolution, anyone else who struggles for one is a terrorist or a subversive. The truth of the matter is that oppressed people have, and have always had a great deal more to be outraged about than taxation without representation. Repression, torture, and beatings are as common in U.S. prisons today as they were on slave plantations. And political prisoners bear the brunt of this systematic brutality. Those who fight against oppression are thrown into dungeons, rather than those who perpetuate it. The prolonged torture of solitary confinement is being used, not only as a weapon against political dissent, but as a weapon against anyone who protests any of the injustices of the system. How can you fight against injustice, without demanding the liberation of political prisoners? Unfortunately, there are more young people behind bars because they have been inculcated with and are reproducing the values of this decadent capitalist system, than those who are consciously struggling to change it. During the 1960s, when the movement was at its height, the prison population was only a fraction of what it is today. Those who institutionalized the kidnapping of Africans, those who orchestrated genocide against Native Americans, those who plunder the treasures of the world, and who are responsible for the most heinous crimes on this planet, want to preach to us about law and order. Those who profit from human misery and deny us education, affirmation action, health care, decent housing, want to lecture us about morality. Many of us watch helplessly as our children imitate and internalize the greedy, ostentatious, culture of conspicuous consumption, practiced by those who oppress us. We watch the same people who import drugs into the country, who distribute them, in our communities, wage a war on us, in the name of fighting drugs. The Prison Industrial complex is not a distortion of modern global capitalism; it is part and parcel of that system. It is not enough to fight against the Prison Industrial complex; we must fight against the ideology that promotes it. Human beings are social beings and have a basic need to live in nurturing communities, instead of hostile ones. The people on this planet have an infinite potential to contribute to this planet and it is a crime to prevent us from doing so. The human beings who live on this planet have an unlimited ability to learn, to grow, to change, to be generous, to invent and to share. It is a crime to prevent young people from developing their talents. It is a crime to let individualistic values destroy the collective good. To those who rule this planet, we are all disposable. Our only value to them is the wealth that we are capable of producing. It is a system with no compassion, no love, and no faith. What kind of mentality is it that would classify a 5 year old as being incorrigible? What kind of system would try a 12 year as an adult? What kind of mentality is it that would sentence a 20-year-old to life without parole? How can a system claim to be nonviolent, while praising the death penalty inside its borders, and bombing and killing innocent people all over the world? This is a system that sells and promotes and exports violence. It is a system that would rather warehouse and murder its young, than cultivate them. In this grotesque world with its grotesque, cynical values, it sounds, naive, to believe in people, and believe in our ability to create a better world. But how can you believe in a future if you don't believe in people who are going to make it? How can you believe in human rights unless you believe in human beings? How can you say you believe in justice, without believing in social justice, political justice and economic justice for all people? The Prison Industrial complex not only destroys individuals; it destroys families and communities. If we do not destroy it, it will destroy us. I urge you to do everything you can to break these chains. Free All Political Prisoners! Free Mumia Abu Jamal! Assata Shakur, Havana Cuba "A Message To My Sistas" At this time I'd like to say a few words especially to my sisters: SISTERS. BLACK PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE FREE UNLESS BLACK WOMEN PARTICIPATE IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR STRUGGLE, ON EVERY LEVEL OF OUR STRUGGLE.I think that Black women, more than anybody on the face of the earth, recognize the urgency of our situation. Because it is We who come face to face daily with the institutions of our oppression. And because it is We who have borne the major responsibility of raising our children. And it is We who have to deal with the welfare systems that do not care about the welfare of our children. And it is We who have to deal with the school systems that do not educate our children. It is We who have to deal with the racist teachers who teach our children to hate themselves. It is We who have seen the terrible effects of racism on our children. I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT OUT TO EXPRESS MY LOVE TO ALL OF YOU WHO RISK YOUR LIVES DAILY STRUGGLING OUT HERE ON THE FRONT LINES. We who have watched our young grow too old, too soon. We who have watched our children come home angry and frustrated and seen them grow more bitter, more disillusioned with the passing of each day. And We who have seen the sick, trapped look on the faces of our children when they come to fully realize what it means to be Black in Amerikkka. And we know what deprivation is. How many times have We run out of bus fare, rent money, food money and how many times have our children gone to school in hand-me-down clothes, with holes in their shoes. We know what a hell-hole Amerikkka is. We're afraid to let our children go out and play. We're afraid to walk the streets at night. We sisters, We have seen our young, the babies that We brought into this world with such great hopes for, We have seen their bodies bloated and aching from drugs, scarred and deformed by bullet holes. We know what oppression is. We have been abused in every way imaginable. We have been abused economically, politically. We have been abused physically, and We have been abused sexually. And sisters, We have a long and glorious history of struggle on this land/planet. Afrikan women were strong and courageous warriors long before We came to this country in chains. And here in Amerikkka, our sisters have been on the front lines. Sister Harriet Tubman led the underground railroad. And sisters like Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, Sandra Pratt and our Queen Mother Moore have carried it on. Sisters, We have been the backbone of our communities, and We have got to be the backbone of our nation. We have got to build strong family units, based on love and struggle. We don't have no time to play around. A REVOLUTIONARY WOMAN CAN'T HAVE NO REACTIONARY MAN. If he's not about liberation, if he's not about struggle, if he ain't about building a strong Black nation then he ain't about nothing. We know how to struggle. We know how to struggle and finagle to survive. We know what it means, sisters, to struggle tooth and nail. We know what it means to struggle with love. We know what unity is. We know what sisterhood is. We have always been kind to each other, brought each other hot soup and biscuits. We have always helped each other through the hard times. Sisters, We must celebrate Afrikan womanhood. We don't want to be like Miss Ann. She can keep her false eyelashes and her false, despoiled image of womanhood. She can keep her mink stole and her French provincial furniture. We will define for ourselves what womanhood is. And We will create our own style and our own ways of dress. We can't have no white man in France telling Afrikan women what to look like. We will create our own New Afrikan way of living. We will create our own way of being and living our own New Afrikan culture, taking the best of the old and mixing it with the new. SISTERS WE HAVE GOT TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND OUR FUTURE WHEREVER WE ARE. AND WE HAVE GOT TO ORGANIZE OURSELVES INTO A STRONG BODY OF AFRIKAN WOMEN. Greetings Sisters and Brothers, As we move toward a new millennium, we must face a bitter truth. For African people born and raised in this country, the 20th century has meant the transformation and the continuation of the same greedy, racist policies that kept our ancestors enslaved. Our relationship with the U.S. government is still one of domination and forced subordination, using the cruelest forms of repression, the most sophisticated techniques of mind control, based on vicious lies and distortions. The U.S. government not only uses its military, economic, political and propaganda machinery to dominate and exploit black people and other oppressed people inside its borders, it uses the same system to try to dominate and exploit entire countries, and subjugate huge portions of the world's population. I don't have to talk about the terrible oppression our people are living under, you know that better than i do. Many of us who believed that we could work for change inside the system, have discovered that we were only working under it, the same system that denies us our basic liberties, our human rights and opposes our quest for social justice and human development. In the hostile reality that we are facing it is evident the only solutions are radical solutions - radical changes in the priorities, and in the political and economic structure of the U.S. government. More than at any other time in the last 20 years, millions of black people are crying out for change, for self determination, for principled leadership and for a genuinely democratic movement. I am elated and very proud that so many seasoned political activists have risen to the occasion and come together to try and meet the many challenges that we as a people are facing. Our commitment to social change represents our commitment to the future. We have an heavy historical duty that we must fulfill, but is a beautiful and noble task. It is not easy to build a growing, organized, sustained people's movement, but without such a movement the future of our children is in extreme danger. As in any struggle for social change, there will be many different opinions, and many different approaches. I hope that we have learned enough from the past to minimize our differences and to maximize what we have in common. I hope that we will leave our negativity and pessimism at home, and allow ourselves to be open, to be creative, to be open, to be understanding. I hope that we will differ with love, debate with kindness and take full advantage of the strength and the sweetness of unity. Let us call on the spirit of our ancestors. Let us be humbled by their strength, by their sacrifices and by the beauty and love that they passed down to us. Free all Political Prisoners, I send you Love and Revolutionary Greetings >From Cuba, One of the Largest, Most Resistant and Most Courageous Palenques (Maroon Camps) That has ever existed on the Face of this Planet. Assata Shakur Havana, Cuba BLACK POWER!!! TO DEFINE DEVELOP DEFEND THE BEST INTEREST OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY http;//www.afrocubaweb.com/assata.htm http://www.assatashakur.org/index.htm ___\ 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 Jun 23 08:54:41 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 08:54:41 -0700 Subject: [news] [NBPP-National] The New American Apartheid Part III: Jailing Minority Kids Message-ID: <40D9A7C1.4030107@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27301.php The New American Apartheid Part III by Ytzhak . Wednesday June 23, 2004 at 08:50 AM montfu65 at hotmail.com 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. 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). Examining these commitment rates, we discover that the racial differentials are similar to detention rates. Here we find that: ? The overall rate for black youths is four times greater than for whites; the Latino rate is about one and a half times greater than whites; ? Even when considering the offenses, these rates remain the highest for black youth in each case, with Latinos ranked second; ? In the case of drug offenses, black youths were more than six times more likely to be committed than whites and Latinos were more than twice as likely as whites to be committed. The ranking of both detention and commitment rates - blacks first, Latinos second, and whites last for each offense type - reminds us of a phrase heard repeatedly during the civil rights movement: "If you're white, you're all right; if you're brown, stick around; if you're black, stay back." It is apparent from the available evidence that juvenile detention centers and youth "correctional" institutions have become part of the "new American apartheid." What should be noted in particular is the rate differentials for drug offenses. Part of this must be explained by examining who is targeted for arrest in the war on drugs. Clearly, like their adult counterparts, black juveniles are the most heavily targeted. A comparative look bears this out. Whereas in 1972 white youths had a higher arrest rate for drugs than blacks, by the early 1980s (at roughly the beginning of the "war on drugs") the difference was reversed. By 1995 the change was incredible: the arrest rate for black youths was almost three times greater than for whites! During the period between 1972 and 1995 there was a more than 400 percent increase in arrest rates for black youth on drug charges. As the research by Jerome Miller (from his book "Search and Destroy") has shown, young black males have received the brunt of law enforcement efforts to "crack down on drugs." He notes that in Baltimore, for example, African-Americans were being arrested at a rate six times that of whites and more than 90% were for possession. In Miller's study of Baltimore, he found that during 1981 only 15 white juveniles were arrested on drug charges, compared to 86 blacks; in 1991, however, the number of whites arrested dropped to a mere 13, while the number of blacks skyrocketed to a phenomenal 1,304, or an increase of 1,416%! The ratio of black youths to whites went from about 6:1 to 100:1. Another study found that "black youths are more often charged with the felony when [the] offense could be considered a misdemeanor..." Also, those cases referred to court "are judged as in need of formal processing more often when minority youths are involved." When white youths received placements, such "placements" are most often "group home settings or drug treatment while placements for minorities more typically are public residential facilities, including those in the state which provide the most restrictive confinement." Another study found evidence of substantial increases in minority youths being referred to juvenile court, thus increasing the likelihood of being detained. But, cases of the detention, petition and placement of minorities nevertheless exceeded what would have been expected given the increases in referrals. There has been an increase in the formal handling of drug cases, which has become a disadvantage to minorities. This study concluded that: "Given the proactive nature of drug enforcement, these findings raise fundamental questions about the targets of investigation and apprehension under the recent war on drugs." As noted in a study of Georgia's crack-down on drugs, the higher arrest rate for blacks was attributed to one single factor: "it is easier to make drug arrests in low-income neighborhoods. Most drug arrests in Georgia are of lower-level dealers and buyers and occur in low-income minority areas. Retail drug sales in these neighborhoods frequently occur on the streets and between sellers and buyers who do not know each other. Most of these sellers are black. In contrast, white drug sellers tend to sell indoors, in bars and clubs and within private homes, and to more affluent purchasers, also primarily white." A recent publication by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention called Juveniles in Corrections noted that in 1999 minorities accounted for 65 percent of those placed in private juvenile facilities and 55 percent placed in public institutions nationwide. For drug trafficking, black youth accounted for 65 percent in juvenile institutions, compared to only 18 percent Latinos and 16 percent whites. The custody rates were given for each state and there existed wide variations. For the United States as a whole, the custody rate for black youths was 1,004 compared to a rate of only 212 for whites and 485 for Latinos. In other words, black youths are placed in custody (detention facilities and correctional institutions) at a rate that is about five times that for whites and more than double than for Latinos. Custody rates for blacks range from a high of 2,908 in South Dakota to a low of 87 in Hawaii. What is often overlooked in the discussion of these recent trends is the impact these "get tough" policies and the "war on drugs" have had on women. The next section will review some rather disturbing trends in the incarceration of women offenders. The Growing Incarceration of Black Women One thing that cannot be overlooked in any analysis of women, crime and criminal justice is the interrelationship between class and race. Indeed, the vast majority of female offenders, especially those who end up in prison, are drawn from the lower class and are racial minorities. One specific example of the role of class and race is demonstrated in a very detailed study of a sample of women offenders in a court system in New Haven, Connecticut. From a larger sample of 397 cases, this study focused in depth on a smaller sample of 40 men and 40 women who were sentenced to prison (that is, they went through all of the stages of the criminal justice process). Of the forty women, twenty-four (60%) were black, five (12%) were Puerto Rican and the remainder (28%) were white. Half of the women were raised in single-parent families, and only two of the women were described as growing up in "middle class households." Most of these women were described by Daly as having grown up in families "whose economic circumstances were precarious," while in about two-thirds of the cases their biological fathers were "out of the picture" while they were growing up. Only one-third completed high school or the equivalent GED (General Education Diploma). Two-thirds "had either a sporadic or no paid employment record" and over 80 percent were unemployed at the time of their most recent arrest. The most dramatic illustrations of the lack of chivalry toward black and other minority women comes from examining who gets sentenced to prison. And this has been, in recent years, a direct result of the "war on drugs. As already noted, there is little relationship between race and illicit drug use, yet blacks and Latinos are far more likely to be arrested and sent to prison. For women, the poor in general and blacks in particular have been singled out. While women constitute around 20 percent of all those arrested and only about six percent of those in prison, their numbers and their rate of incarceration has been dramatically increasing during the past twenty years. As of December 31, 2002, there were 97,491 women in federal and state prisons (compared to only 8,850 in 1976), constituting 6.8 percent of all prisoners, versus 3.6 percent in 1976. These latest figures represent an incredible numerical increase of more than 800% and their proportion among all prisoners increased by more than 75% during the past quarter century. Moreover, the incarceration rate of women went from 8 per 100,000 in 1975 to 60 per 100,000 in 2002, for an increase of 650%. If this is not bad enough, a large percentage of women sentenced to prison on parole violations have not committed any new crimes, but rather were returned for not passing their urine tests. Moreover, the proportion of women sentenced to federal prison has zoomed upward because of drug offenses. In 1989, 44.5 percent of women in federal prison were in for drugs, and this figure went up to 68 percent in just two years. (More than one-third of the women doing time in prison on drug charges had been convicted of drug possession.) About twenty years ago about two-thirds of women convicted of felonies in federal court were given probation, but in 1991 only 28 percent were. Further, the average time served for women on drug offenses went from 27 months in 1984 to 67 months in 1990. Overall, the proportion of women offenders in prison because of drug offenses went from 12 percent in 1986 to 32.8 percent in 1991. In fact, the percentage increase in women sentenced to prison for drugs have been much greater than for men sentenced for drugs. For instance, between 1987 and 1989 in the state of New York the number of women sentenced for drugs increased by 211 percent, compared to only an 82 percent increase for men. In Florida, during the 1980s admissions to prison for drugs increased by a whopping 1,825 percent; but for female offenders this increase was an astounding 3,103 percent! Much of the increase in women prisoners comes from the impact of mandatory sentencing laws, passed during the 1980s crackdown on crime. Under many of these laws, mitigating circumstances (e.g., having children, few or no prior offenses, non-violent offenses) are rarely allowed. One recent survey found that just over half (51%) of women in state prisons had one or only one prior offense, compared to 39 percent of the male prisoners. Thus, this society's recent efforts to "get tough" on crime has had a most negative impact on female offenders, as more and more are finding their way into the nation's prison system. As a matter of fact, largely because of the war on drugs, the number of new women's prisons has dramatically increased in recent years. Whereas between 1940 and the end of the 1960s only 12 new women's prisons were built, in the 1970s a total of 17 were built and 34 new prisons were built in the 1980s (latest figures available). These increases do not match the increases in women's crime as measured by arrests, except if we consider the impact of the "war on drugs" along with greater attention to domestic violence. During this period of time there has been a very dramatic change in the criminal justice system's response to female drug use (as it has for all illegal drug use) as well as domestic violence. In the latter case, such increased attention to domestic violence has led to an increase in arrests of women for both aggravated assault and "other assaults." The final part of this series will be devoted to an examination of the impact of the high incarceration rate of racial minorities on their families and communities. Go to Part IV The Impact on Black Families and Communities: http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=5755§ionID=30 https://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=5756§ionID=43 ___\ 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 Jun 23 08:56:18 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 08:56:18 -0700 Subject: [news] [NBPP-National] The New American Apartheid Part III: Jailing Minority Kids Message-ID: <40D9A822.1090107@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27299.php The New American Apartheid Modern prisoners occupy the lowest rungs on the social class ladder, and they always have. The modern prison system (along with local jails) is a collection of ghettos or poorhouses reserved primarily for the unskilled, the uneducated, and the powerless. In increasing numbers this system is being reserved for racial minorities, especially blacks, which is why we are calling it the New American Apartheid. The New American Apartheid Part I by Randall Shelden and William B. Brown; http://www.sheldensays.com; June 22, 2004 Modern prisoners occupy the lowest rungs on the social class ladder, and they always have. The modern prison system (along with local jails) is a collection of ghettos or poorhouses reserved primarily for the unskilled, the uneducated, and the powerless. In increasing numbers this system is being reserved for racial minorities, especially blacks, which is why we are calling it the New American Apartheid. This is the same segment of American society that has experienced some of the most drastic reductions in income and they have been targeted for their involvement in drugs and the subsequent violence that extends from the lack of legitimate means of goal attainment. An argument could certainly be made that blacks, especially males, are superfluous and expendable in American society (that is, they are not direct contributors to corporate profits). With constant corporate downsizing and deindustrialization during the past couple of decades came the elimination of millions of jobs that previously helped minorities to get out of poverty. Specific social control apparatuses have been deemed necessary to control human frustrations in the aftermath of diminished opportunities. The criminal justice system has been selected as the primary apparatus to apply social control mechanisms on the unskilled, the uneducated, the powerless and ethnic minorities. While residential segregation continues unabated, policies which reek of apartheid have risen along side of it. It is apparent that the criminal justice system has been engaged in a systematic attack on blacks and that going to jail or prison has become a common event in the lives of millions of racial minorities. The modern penal system accommodates the "new American apartheid." The most recent imprisonment data reaffirm this. At the end of 2002, blacks constituted 45.1 percent of the total prison population (with an incarceration rate more than seven times greater than whites); Latinos constituted 18 percent and whites only 34 percent. In other words, racial minorities made up two-thirds of the entire prison population. This in direct contrast to what it was in the 1930s, when whites were overwhelmingly the numerical majority of all prisoners, constituting around 70 percent of the prison population. Racial differences are also evident in jail incarceration rates. Blacks have consistently been found in jail at a rate of at least five times greater than whites during the past couple of decades. In 2002, the jail incarceration rate for blacks was 740, compared to only 147 for whites and 256 for Latinos. It is obvious from the examination of arrest and prison data that the groups being targeted by the criminal justice system are disproportionately drawn from the most marginalized populations. Blacks, particularly males, are especially vulnerable. For example, in 1995, according the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C., about one-third of all black males between the ages of 20 and 29 were, on any given day, either in jail, prison, on probation or on parole, a percentage that was up from 25 percent 1990. In some cities these percentages were even higher, such as Washington, D.C., where the figure was about 60 percent. For comparison purposes, data from the early 1990s revealed that black males were far more likely to be in prison or jail than in college! In California, in the early 1990s, blacks were imprisoned at a rate of 1,951 per 100,000, compared to only 215 for whites. (More recent figures are not available for this age group, but see the discussion about lifetime chances of going to prison, in Part II of this series.) Recent studies further elaborate on the negative impact of crime control policies on the black population. For example a study by sociologist Bruce Western and his colleagues examined the relationship between imprisonment (both jail and prison) and education and employment. Between 1980 and 1999, the percentage of white males from 18 to 65 going to prison or jail increased by less than one percent (from 0.4 to 1.0); for black men the percentage went up by 4.4 percent (from 3.1 to 7.5%). For young adult males (ages 22-30), the percentage in jail or prison went up by .9 percent for whites (from .7 to 1.6%), but increased by 6.2 percent for blacks (from 5.5 to 11.7%). When considering young adult males who dropped out of high school, the percentage going to prison or jail went from 3.1 to 10.3 among whites (up 7.2%), but went from 14 to 41.2 percent among blacks (an increase of 27.2%). In other words, a little over four out of every ten black high school dropouts ended up in jail or prison. (The reasons are many, but one is that many young blacks and Latinos are introduced to the juvenile justice system via detention at an early age. More about this in Part III of this series.) Moreover, among men born between 1965 and 1969, 22.3 percent of all black men but only 3.2 of all white men had prison records by 1999. Among high school dropouts, these percentages increased to 12.6 and 32.1 respectively. Among those with either a high school diploma or a GED, only 4.3 percent of white men and 23.5 percent of black men ended up in prison. For those who had at least some college, these percentages dropped substantially: only 1.1 percent of white males and 8.6 percent of black males had prison records by 1999. While education has an obvious impact, the black-white differences remain high. This same study also found that when tabulating the official unemployment figures, the government fails to include prisoners (curiously, the census bureau adds prisoners to many small towns around the country and the poverty status of such prisoners are added to the overall poverty rate for these same towns, resulting in qualifying for additional federal funding). Western's study also compared the employment situation for those in and those not in prison. Not surprisingly, when they included the imprisoned population the numbers changed dramatically for black males. For instance, in 1999, one-third of the black male population was unemployed (compared to 16% of the white males). Among high school dropouts between 22 and 30, these percentages changed dramatically: an astounding 70 percent of black males were unemployed (counting those in prison or jail), compared to 27 percent of white males. Having a criminal record, especially a prison record, has always been a barrier to seeking re-entry into society. In recent years it has become even worse, with many new laws passed in the past decade resulting in, among other negative impacts, the denial of public housing, welfare benefits, and the ability to obtain an education. Such laws impact millions, for according to recent estimates; about 13 million Americans are either serving time for a felony conviction or have been convicted of a felony sometime in the past. Moreover, a total of about 47 millions (one-fourth of the adult population) have some kind of criminal record on file with a federal or state criminal justice agency. Criminologist Jeremy Travis likens this to a form of "internal exile," the domestic equivalent to those convicts exiled in to the American colonies (and Australia too) during the 17th and 18th centuries. However, in these two cases they faced few barriers to participating in colonial life once they had served their sentence. This has become, in Travis' words, a form of "social exclusion." Such exclusions have further put a distance between "them" and "us" and, moreover, Travis notes that: "The principal new form of social exclusion has been to deny offenders the benefits of the welfare state. And the principal new player in this new drama has been the United States Congress. In an era of welfare reform, when Congress dismantled the six-decades-old entitlement to a safety net for the poor, the poor with criminal histories were thought less deserving than others....there was little hesitation in using federal benefits to enhance punishments or federal funds to encourage new criminal sanctions by the states." The ex-offenders that feel the heaviest brunt of this exclusion are racial minorities. Another criminologist, Todd Clear, has pointed out that in many urban, poverty-stricken neighborhoods as many as one-fourth of the adult male residents is either in prison or in jail at some time during the year. Part of the methods of controlling the surplus population is through legislation, which defines what a "crime" is and, moreover, through sentencing structures, defines what crimes are "serious." Many sentencing structures have a built-in class and racial bias. This is especially the case with drug laws, which have always targeted mainly the drugs used by minorities and the poor throughout history. The New American Apartheid Apartheid is a policy that produces systematic racial segregation or discrimination and is usually associated with pre-Mandela South Africa. The word apartheid was introduced to the world by South Africa in 1948. This term stems from the Dutch Aapart (which has the same English connotation), and "heid" (which translates as hood). The term was adopted to soften the image of the harsh racial segregation polices practiced by the South African government. World attention had focused on South Africa's segregation practices, and it was thought that through the substitution of the word apartheid for segregation, world attention would be diverted from their discriminatory practices. Soon after the adoption of that term, however, the world realized that nothing had actually changed in respect to the treatment of blacks in South Africa. There seems to be a pattern of contradictions by the United States concerning what is professed to be policy direction and what is actually supported by the U.S. government. America has always been a country that professes to place high value on children. However, in 1989, the United States refused to support G.A. Resolution 44/25, which was a product of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This resolution was for the adoption of basic rights of children, such as the right to life. As further evidence that the United States tends to differentiate between its public posture and its global voting record, the United States claims to be in favor of policing international criminals. Yet America refused to ratify the United Nations' recent attempt to create an International Criminal Court in Rome. In fact, prior to the call for votes, the United States requested a non-recorded vote on the matter of adopting the Statute establishing an International Criminal Court. More specifically, speaking to the issue of apartheid, in 1973, The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid debated the issue of apartheid as a crime against humanity, and therefore argued that apartheid should be treated as a crime against humanityBan international crime. To date, the United States has not yet ratified this resolution. American apartheid is alive and well, as racial segregation remains a common characteristic of virtually every of American city. Central cities now contain 80 percent of the urban non-white population, and one-third of the black urban population resides in the nation's ten largest central cities. There have been symbolic attempts to reduce racial segregation in American cities. We use the term "symbolic" because these attempts have often been either politicized and skewed to serve the interests of the elite or these attempts have been grossly under-funded to insure their failure. To illustrate, the Housing Acts of 1949, 1954, and 1965, provided federal funding to local authorities to acquire slum property and begin redevelopment of that property. In order to qualify for federal funds, local governments had to insure that affordable living accommodation would be provided for displaced families living in the redevelopment zones. The process used was commonly known as urban renewal, and sometimes referred to as "negro removal." The solution was high-density public housing. Today, these public housing projects are often referred to as the "projects." Raising slum areas and the construction of public housing often resulted in an overall reduction in living accommodations. In a study of black youth gangs in Detroit, it was noted that for that city there was a net loss of 31,500 homes between 1980 and 1987. Today, many blacks find themselves once again involved in a "negro removal" program - but rather than removed from one inner city slum area to a more high-density slum area, they find themselves removed from the inner cities entirely, and compartmentalized in America's prison industry. Most of the racial differences noted above, and also the dramatic rise in overall incarceration rates, can be explained by the "war on drugs," which was escalated during the mid-1980s, just about the time that the prison population started its rapid rise. Part II explores this topic. http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=5757§ionID=10 Randall G. Shelden and William B. Brown are Professors of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Western Oregon University respectively. They have written several books on crime and criminal justice. This essay is part of a forthcoming book on the prison industrial complex. Shelden may be contacted via his web site: http://www.sheldensays.com. A more detailed version of this series, including references and footnotes, can be found on this web site. http:www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=5758§ionID=43 ___\ 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 Wed Jun 23 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Women Workers Take on Wal-Mart Message-ID: <20040623161704.27420.qmail@resist.ca> Women Workers Take on Wal-Mart David Cavets, CP June 22, 2004 SAN FRANCISCO -- A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday approved class-action status for a sex-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that has become the largest private civil rights case in U.S. history. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/85520/1030 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 23 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Natives Thwart Capture of Orca Message-ID: <20040623161704.27421.qmail@resist.ca> Scott Sutherland, CP Wednesday, June 23, 2004 GOLD RIVER, B.C. (CP) - Luna, a rambunctious and dangerously friendly orca, again swam toward aboriginal paddlers Tuesday night, turning his tail on government scientists hoping to capture him. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/84926/5369 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 23 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Iraq's 'sovereign' government to have little control over oil money Message-ID: <20040623161705.27422.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=592 by Chris Shumway (bio) Jun 22 - A last minute spending spree by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and language in the UN Security Council resolution setting the conditions for Iraqi sovereignty appear likely to limit the interim government???s ability to exercise meaningful control over the country???s oil revenues. According to documents posted on its own web site, the CPA???s little-known Program Review Board (PRB) has quietly committed billions of dollars in Iraq???s oil revenues to new contracts that critics say will enrich US and British corporations while limiting the amount of revenue Iraq???s new interim government will have at its disposal when it assumes authority from the CPA on June 30. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/4644/97056 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 23 09:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Inventing Sovereignty.... Message-ID: <20040623161705.27423.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha By Tom Engelhardt, tomdispatch.com. Posted June 23, 2004. The new "Iraqi government" has indeed been granted sovereignty, but sadly only in the United States and by our media. Someone should tell the Iraqis. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/34619/7580 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 23 14:17:17 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:17:17 -0000 Subject: [news] Ontario Anarchist to Stand Trial Message-ID: <20040623211718.29939.qmail@resist.ca> Paul Quick will be on trial this week in Kingston for participating in a peaceful demonstration against the racist war in Iraq, imperialism and corporate profiteering, last March 22. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/122225/728 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 23 14:17:18 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:17:18 -0000 Subject: [news] Undemocratic Actions of the Chamber of Commerce Message-ID: <20040623211718.29940.qmail@resist.ca> CANDIDATES DENIED EQUAL ACCESS TO SPEAK Surrey BC June 21 - The local Chamber of Commerce in the federal riding of Surrey North has drawn the ire of two registered candidates - and the public -- for their refusal to allow Joyce Holmes of the Communist Party, and Roy Tyler Whyte of the Canadian Action Party a rightful seat at the advertised `all candidates' meeting held by the Surrey Chamber of Commerce and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/121027/921 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 23 15:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 22:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] They said, "this is America . . . if a soldier orders you to take off your clothes, you must obey" Message-ID: <20040623221703.8133.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,1245055,00.html We know about Guant??namo and Abu Ghraib but until now Bagram and America's secret network of Afghan jails have come under little scrutiny. In a major investigation, Duncan Campbell and Suzanne Goldenberg discovered a familiar pattern of violent abuse and sexual humiliation............ URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/9741/93635 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 24 00:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 07:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Does Israel Really Have No & quot; Partner for Peace?& quot; Message-ID: <20040624071703.28428.qmail@resist.ca> (T)ese revelations show that the secret assessment of the highest professional echelons of the Army Intelligence Department and Shabak (Israeli Security Service) were practically identical with the assessments published at the time by (radical Israeli Peace Group) Gush Shalom, which were met with total disbelief by the media and the public, including a large part of the "peace camp". To wit, that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Arafat, has never wavered from its readiness to make peace with Israel based on the creation of a Palestinian state on 97% of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which together make 22% of historic Palestine), with territorial compensation for the remaining 3% and sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Haram-al-Sharif ("Temple Mount"). The refugee problem would be solved by agreement with Israel (meaning: Israel will have a veto on any solution). URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/18587/2716 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 24 01:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 08:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Non-Status Algerians on Trial -- Fighting Criminalization of their struggle Message-ID: <20040624081704.32395.qmail@resist.ca> BACKGROUND INFO: -- A brief history of the Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians'struggle -- The story of the arrest on May 29th Almost one year to the day after the police attacked the unarmed protesters peacefully waiting in the immigration minister's waiting room, the people they brutalized will are being tried summarily in the Ottawa court. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/23/16436/7346 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 24 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Update on Vancouver Pig Department Message-ID: <20040624171703.8487.qmail@resist.ca> STORY 1: The Pigs are raiding all sorts of shops and bars in the Downtown Eastside as part of their ongoing war for gentrification. STORY 2: The Pigs who beat the innocent bystanders up at the Guns'N'Roses Riot are let off the hook. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/24/95041/3026 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 24 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Abortion Rights: A Timeline of Development Message-ID: <20040624171703.8486.qmail@resist.ca> Abortion rights: A timeline of developments CBC News Online | June 4, 2004 1892: Parliament passes Canada's first Criminal Code. It prohibits abortion as well as the sale, distribution and advertising of contraceptives. A significant number of women continue to seek abortions, according to news reports. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/24/95352/3505 From news at resist.ca Thu Jun 24 10:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 17:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Norwegian Labour Strike Threatens World Oil Production Message-ID: <20040624171704.8488.qmail@resist.ca> Norwegian labour strike threatens world oil production Written by CBC News Online staff Last Updated Wed, 23 Jun 2004 20:38:26 OSLO - A widening six-day strike by Norwegian oil workers threatens to cut the output of the world's third-biggest oil exporter by a quarter and could push up oil prices. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/24/9420/22271 From christoff at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 00:52:29 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:52:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] {Znet} Stateless and Deported: An Interview with the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:17:45 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal ZNet | Race Stateless and Deported An Interview with the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees by Justin Podur; June 24, 2004 {http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=5765} For over a year, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees has been working in Montreal to stop deportations against these members of an already stateless and oppressed community. The coalition's political campaign and case work has afforded some of the only protection and publicity for those few Palestinians who have managed to escape from the refugee camps in Lebanon or the occupied Palestinian territories. The Coalition itself is a part of is part of the Solidarity Across Borders Campaign, which brings to together various self-organized immigrant and refugee communities who are fighting for collectively for their status, against deportations and detentions. Members of the coalition visited Toronto to share their experience with Toronto organizers and community members in June 2004. Justin Podur (JP): Last year (1), the Coalition had begun its work, identifying over 100 Palestinians facing deportation. It was built up of community members, activists from No One is Illegal who had experience campaigning against the deportation of Montreal Algerians (2), and others, including Palestine solidarity activists. Can you describe the experience of the past year? Coalition (CADPR): The most searing experience of the year for us was the deportation of Ahmed Abdel Majid in November. He was one of the most active organizers. He was the first one to get a deportation order. He was deported to the United States, which was his point of entry, and is now in the refugee camp in Lebanon where he came from, Ein El Helweh, and trying to leave again. We learned a lot from that experience, about the lies the immigration authorities are willing to tell to make a deportation happen. We've learned a lot about the system: the dynamics, the politics between the Refugee Board, Immigration Canada, the Ministry of Immigration, the Minister herself, the lawyers, the consultants. JP: How does immigration policy work? CADPR: It doesn't work, in fact. Or, it doesn't work for the people who are most vulnerable. There is a battery of lawyers and immigration officials, politicians and their offices, a battery of forms and applications and laws. But when you need a straight answer to a simple question, you can't get one. You get inconsistent answers. We had a very hard time. People with language barriers, cultural barriers, financial barriers, find it nearly impossible to navigate this system. Immigration authorities also have a fortress mentality. They look for ways to close doors, and they give you bureaucratic answers out of some catalog. They use all this bureaucracy to hide from the human tragedies that their policies bring about. They are hiding from their own mistakes. The bureaucracy cloaks injustice. Let's get into some specifics. There are different officials working in different aspects of immigration. There are removal officials, enforcement officials, and intelligence officials. Within Immigration Canada there are different people dealing with refugee claims and with enforcement. The Minister herself is unaware of regulations and laws. Can that be accidental, when her ignorance helps serve Canadian foreign policy and economic policy? JP: How does immigration policy relate to foreign policy in this case? CADPR: Canada has a free trade agreement with Israel and business interests in Lebanon. It doesn't want to take a strong stand against the treatment of the Palestinians in the refugee camps or in the occupied territories, which is at the root of the problem here. Canada was one of the first regimes to recognize the partition in 1948 when the Palestinian refugee problem began. Canada was part of the 'refugee working group' of the Oslo accords of 1993, a body created to help the Palestinian refugees. There was a Canadian mission to the camps in Lebanon in 1997, and it stated part of the reality on the ground. It asked for funding increases for the UN refugee works organization, UNRWA, and discussed the humanitarian disaster of the camps. But UNRWA is still underfunded and it is the only body that offers anything to the Palestinians: they lack even the protection of the UN High Commission on Refugees. Many of us are active in the Palestine solidarity movement. One of us was talking on the phone to a Palestinian friend in a camp in Lebanon. We began talking about the right of return and resolving the Palestinian refugee problem, and he asked: "Why are you talking about 4 million refugees when your country won't even accept 100?" The fact is the refugees are a manifestation, on Canada's doorstep, of the occupation, displacement, economic and military warfare waged on the Palestinians, and it is something the Palestine solidarity movement has to deal with. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) travel advisory is a great illustration of the racism inherent in the system. DFAIT specifically warns Canadians against going to both the refugee camps in Lebanon and Occupied Palestine - even telling Canadians to leave the territories immediately, although that may be difficult due to curfews, closures, and incursions. Yet they see no problem sending non-citizens back JP: Let us go back to the deportation of Ahmed Abdel Majid. CADPR: He was born in Ein El Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon. In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees are barred from working in 78 professions, can't own or inherit property, and has no access to public services. He arrived in Canada in March 2001 and claimed refugee status. His claim was refused, so he lived underground without access to basic services. He worked with the coalition and helped other refugees. On November 4 2003 four Canadian Immigration agents picked him up outside his work, handcuffed him, and took him to detention. He called us. We went to the Immigration offices and got a meeting with Rene D'aoust, the head of removals. We explained why he shouldn't be deported to a life of statelessness and persecution. D'Aoust said - and the one of us who met him will remember this forever - "We know we are not dealing with cargo here, but the life of a human being." He told us we had to get a letter from the Minister of Immigration and that he wouldn't be deported for 48 hours. We had sympathetic Members of Parliament intervene. While we tried to get the letter, Ahmed was told he would have a detention hearing at 1pm on November 6. We went to the detention centre that morning, at 6am. He called us and told us about the hearing. Then at 8:30am he called us and told us that he was being released. Carloads of us went to the detention centre to greet him, assuming the Minister had intervened. About 30 people, mostly refugees themselves, went. We got there - and the security people called the police. The police told us we had to leave or we'd all be arrested. Just like that. We were confused - we thought we were going to pick Ahmed up. But we left, because we didn't want to be arrested and have more deportations come out of this. It turns out that while we were waiting outside, they were deporting Ahmed, and they were nervous because they didn't know that we didn't know that the deportation was happening. They had actually scheduled his hearing at 1pm, lied to him, and packed him off to a New York county jail, where the guards were abusive and where we had to go through a great deal of bureaucracy to get him released on a $10,000 bond. They lied to him, they lied to us, repeatedly, so that they could deport him as quickly as possible. JP: Immigration authorities violated sanctuary in order to violate Non-Status Algerian Mohammad Cherfi. There are Palestinian refugees living in sanctuary now too, correct? CADPR: There is a Palestinian family of 3 elderly people who have been in sanctuary since January 5, 2004. They are living in a church, again without access to health care services. The previous immigration minister had a policy of not negotiating with churches or claims of people in sanctuary. The current immigration minister has carried that forward. So these people, who have lived through multiple wars and horrors, are now living in a church basement in fear of deportation because the government won't negotiate. There is another case, of Ashraf, from Jenin. He had a deportation hearing and was released from detention on a $2000 cash and $2500 bond ticket. The judge was unusually sympathetic. Her job was only to assess whether or not he was a flight risk. Instead, she wrote in her judgement that if he is deported, he ought not to be deported through Israel. She recognized that he is from Jenin, and that if he lands in Israel the fact that he is from Jenin alone is enough to land him in prison for a very long time. So she wants him to be deported through Jordan straight into the West Bank. But Ashraf was denied a visa from Jordan. And then his Palestinian Authority passport expired. So now Canada wants to deport him but has nowhere to deport him to. He has to check in every Wednesday with an immigration officer. This has been going on for three months. These are examples of Immigration Canada's fortress mentality. On the few occasions when we have secured a meeting with the immigration minister's office, we were typically allowed to send a single member, under heavy security escort, after submitting to repeated searches. We would get to the office of some member of the immigration office, surrounded by security, and the person we were meeting would be visibly scared. One time, as one of us was being escorted to the elevator after the meeting, a security guard commented: "Well, that was quite peaceful," as if surprised. But it is demonstrative of the attitude of immigration officials towards Palestinians. It shows the stereotypes that they believe. Immigration and Refugee Board judges demonstrate these stereotypes in their judgements. IRB member Jeannine Beaubien Duque, for example, has written in her judgements statements like: "the violence of the Middle East is part of Israel's attempts at establishing secure political frontiers and preventing terrorist attacks on its territory," that "it is not the panel's duty to conclude as to the rightfulness or wrongfulness of the military activities of the Israeli authorities in the war stricken area", and that "many young men in their thousands volunteer to take part in martyr operations." These are the people that are deciding the fates of Palestinian refugees. JP: What have been the coalition's successes over the year? CADPR: We do a lot of work in our campaigns, contacting organizations, generating letters to the minister and the immigration authorities, holding rallies and demonstrations, we have a weekly picket at the immigration office, we have leaflets and petitions. We make an effort to make sure organizations supporting the coalition aren't just signing on, but giving support, time, resources, mobilizing people for actions. To go along with this political work, we have a legal strategy where we go case by case and file a Humanitarian and Compassionate claim (H & C) to land the refugees based on the persecution they would face if they returned and their integration into Canada and Quebec society. So we try to create pressure on all levels. It costs $550 to file an H & C, so we have to do fundraising. We save money in one place: we have found that our activists do a better job than lawyers who don't know the situation in Lebanon, don't take the time, don't have the time because they are overworked (partly because there is not enough of them, due to legal aid budget cuts). The H & Cs that are part of a political campaign have a much better chance of success. By fighting cases as part of a larger campaign, we have had some victories. One major one is, in spite of all of the difficulties of underground living, lack of access to services, fear, being hunted by the CIC, and the deportations and repression, the coalition has managed to maintain itself over this difficult year and continue its work. Another success is that now the authorities know that every single deportation is going to result in a battle. Every time there is a Palestinian who wants to fight deportation, that refugee will have support. There won't be a deportation without media, without publicity, without a battle. A concrete victory is the staying of the deportation of Osama Saleh, a Palestinian refugee from the West Bank whose claim was denied in 2002, whose 'appeal' was denied in April 2004, but whose deportation was stayed. None of us thought that would happen and we know it is because of the campaign. For more information on the Coalition against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, contact refugees at riseup.net ----------------------- From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 02:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 09:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Defending Quebec's Interests. Which Interests are those Mssr. Duccepe? Message-ID: <20040625091704.2373.qmail@resist.ca> Analysis and Comment by Eugene Plawiuk As the last week before the election winds up, the Bloc Quebecois clearly has the support of the majority of committed voters in Quebec. Gilles Duccepe the party leader has impressed political pundits and has even gained some popularity outside of Quebec for his stoic and stern single mindedness in attacking the Liberals and Paul Martin over the Adscandal. It is clear Quebec is a battle between Mssr. Duccepe and Mssr. Martin. Not for government but for being the official opposition. Mr.Duccepe has waged a valiant struggle to defend social democracy, not unlike the NDP. He has railed against the Liberals stealing of workers EI funds to prop up their surplus budget, he has defended Kyoto, he attacks privatization, heck he defends the gun registry when even the Liberals avoid that question. It is obvious to everyone except Mssr. Harper, that the Conservatives will gain no toehold in Quebec. And one reason is its current Liberal provincial government under Mssr. Charest. Charest like Harper was once leader of the Federal Progressive Conservatives. And like BC Premier Gordon Campbell, he now leads the provincial Liberals. His claim to fame is having led the federalist fight against the Quebec Sovereignty referendum. The Liberals in BC and Quebec are a strange creature being a common front of right wing conservatives, since there is no provincial Conservative party in either province, and right wing federalist Liberals. But the real influence on Mssr. Charest is Ralph Klein, of whom Mssr. Charest when leader of the federal PC's said; "Alberta sets the agenda for the rest of Canada". Mssr. Charest's Canada now includes Quebec, as his federalist slogan once proclaimed. But his Quebec will not be the PQ's Quebec or even Mssr. Duccepes Quebec. His will be Ralph Kleins Quebec. He has taken a page from the neo-liberal bible; Reinventing Government, (How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector, by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler), and has made clear that his agenda for Quebec is to have a revolution. Not a sovereigntist or even federalist revolution, but a Klein revolution. He has set the course to restructure the State to have it end its decades old tradition of being social democratic, whether under the Liberals or PQ. He intends to privatize and downsize government, as his mentor has done in Alberta. He has already challenged Quebec's unions, the strongest in Canada, he has faced them down in days of protest and watches as their resolve to hold a general strike crumbles before the onslaught of his neoliberal state. Which leads us to question Mssr. Ducepe's insistence that his party will act to defend Quebec's interests. Which interests are those Mssr. Duccepe? Mssr. Charests and his new neoliberal Quebec state? Mssr. Duccepe is a sovereigntist as is his party, so he proudly proclaims that his sole function in the Canadian State is to be in opposition to the federalist government and parties. He and his party will act to defend Quebec's interests. Except that his left social democratic platform conflicts with the current Quebec government. Say Mssr. Charest privatizes health care services, as he has announced he will, in spite of the Canada Health Act. Where will that leave Mssr. Duccepe and the Bloc? Like Albertan's who opposed Bill 11 and the Klein Revolution who did they have to turn to; Ottawa and the House of Commons. Provincial autonomy does not necessitate social democracy. Devolution of power to the provinces is not a recipe for sovereignty. But this is the game the Bloc likes to play. To equate sovereignty of Quebec with devolution of provincial powers is a dangerous game. With right wing governments in BC, Alberta and the Maritimes, and a quisling Liberal party in power in Ontario, who will act as a bulwark against the politics of privatization Mssr. Duceppe? Will the Bloc align with its left ally the NDP in proposing amending the Canada Health Act to prevent privatization? Or will it back pedal seeing Quebec as special, and fearful of increasing federal power, literally wring its hands as Mssr. Charest travels down the same road as Mr. Klein. Alberta and Quebec have long been political bedfellows, since the days of Peter Lougheed. Oh yes in red neck Alberta, Tories have bashed Quebec, it being the second favorite pastime after Ottawa (read Liberal) bashing, however whenever Alberta Premiers have been to Quebec they are like long lost cousins back patting and cozying up to Quebec. For whatever Quebec could get out of Ottawa, Alberta would be at the table too asking for more of its share too. Facing the Charest privatization revolution in Quebec places Mssr. Ducepe in the position that what may be good for Quebec may also be good for the rest of Canada. What irony, in winning in Quebec the Bloc may have to be more social democratic than sovereigntist, as the interests of Canadians and Quebecois are united in opposing privatization. ------------------------------------------- Eugene Plawiuk was Strategy and Communications Chairperson Alberta NDP for the 1997 and 2001 provincial elections. He is a member of the NDP Socialist Caucus Alberta. He lives and votes in Edmonton Strathcona. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/02018/8135 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Fri Jun 25 10:15:25 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 10:15:25 -0700 Subject: [news] [NBPP-National] THA' BITTER TRUTH Message-ID: <40DC5DAD.6070209@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27387.php Tha' bitter truth ...we are being "sentenced" - or should I say silenced - into extinction. The ...torment of poverty is causing us to take revenge upon ourselves and kill each other or self-destruct with chemical weapons dumped upon... (drugs). And the doors remain firmly closed against us to "freedom, justice and equality" in the world that is run by murderers and thieves. ...Instead of being made examples, we need to flip the script and make examples of those who have made examples of us. Instead of continuing to be injected by fear, we need to inject fear. Instead of wearing the label of "terrorist" ...we need to recognize who the real terrorists Tha' bitter truth by Paula Simon Some hard decisions confront us today. Millions of people throughout the world are perishing at the hands of racist aggression, both here and abroad. Economic, legal and physical chains are sending our people to early graves day by day. Our future is being rendered extinct. Our survival is an unbearable hell of existence. Our children are dying by the tens of thousands. Our men and our women are being captured and detained in torture cells and being given either a life sentence or a death sentence. Indeed, we are being "sentenced" - or should I say silenced - into extinction. The constant torment of poverty is causing us to take revenge upon ourselves and kill each other or self-destruct with chemical weapons dumped upon us by the tons (drugs). And the doors remain firmly closed against us to "freedom, justice and equality" in the world that is run by murderers and thieves. Since it is both obvious and clear that "they" aren't in any hurry to relieve our "pain and stress," maybe we need to take the initiative and relieve our own. We have been living in "shock and awe" for way too long. Instead of reacting to injustices upon injustices heaped upon us relentlessly by those who do not have any of our best interests at heart, we need to become proactive about our own survival needs. We need to play the game both offensively and defensively at the same time. Taking sucker punches to the head and below the belt and allowing ourselves to be shoved to the curb is not a fair fight. Bullies will always prey upon cowardly, fearful "victims." Striking death blows that hit the vital points of our opponents' weaknesses to bring them to their knees is the only way to dismantle their alleged strengths and shut them down. Elijah Muhammad once said you cannot expect the same man who dug a hole for the elephant and put him in it to have the desire to lift him out. Why do we expect the same system that created our inferior status, our human degradation, our destabilization, our imprisonment and death to have the capacity for mercy to release us from our oppressions? Could it be that we have internalized the great white lie that "white is right"? The history books do not agree with our delusions. The people we are looking to to show us mercy and give us justice and equality are the same people who murder, starve, imprison and subjugate millions of people throughout the world - and have done so for centuries. Only a fool wearing rose-colored glasses would think they will stop. A leopard does not change its spots. You cannot teach an old, vicious dog new tricks. Do you honestly think that the dogs who run this vicious, bloodsucking system give a damn about us? When did they ever do that? The bitter truth, the reality pill, is that as long as "they" continue to have power in this world, they will continue to oppress us as a people. Wake up and smell the coffee, eternal dreamers. Then take the coffee pot off the stove, spill the contents until it is empty, and break the pot and the coffee-maker. Check into reality and out of self-delusion. We not only need to dismantle the mechanisms and devices that perpetuate racist terror against us; we need to destroy the very lifeblood of those who perpetuate it. Just as "they" struggle relentlessly to keep us down, we must struggle relentlessly to bring them down. By any means necessary. Am I talking about waging warfare? Am I talking about engaging in revolution? Yes, I am. Piecemeal change has not proven effective. Liberation from oppression is not a board game won by taking steps after rolling dice. We can roll dice for centuries. We can take one step forward and two steps back and all it really amounts to is a non-stop shuffle marking time. Enough with the dancing to our enemy's offbeat tunes. Enough with endless compromise. It is time to take the upper hand and bring permanent defeat to any and all who stand against us. Oppressed people throughout the world have shed their blood to be free of imperialist oppression. Children have gone to the battlefields. But we have been quiet as church mice, hiding from the truth. They have shown us no mercy. In turn, they are fully deserving of no mercy from us. They have allowed us no measure of peace. It is time for them to know no peace. They have used every weapon imaginable against us. It is time to point every weapon at our disposable at them. All is fair in love and war. Signing treaties in the midst of battle is sure defeat. History has already shown us that "they" do not keep the promises they make. Ask any Native American. So why do we continue to ask for more promises to be made? If the schools that we send our children to do not educate our children, then shut them down and create our own educational system. If the laws that govern us create misery in our lives, then do not abide by them. If the taxes that we pay cause innocent people to die, then stop paying them. If the jobs we are given keep us in poverty, then stop taking them; create our own jobs. If the dollars we spend do not benefit us, then stop spending them. Create our own monetary system, our own medium of exchange. If they will not feed us, then take our land back and plant our own seeds. Elijah Muhammad said the same earth that grows wheat for the white man will grow wheat for the Black man. How many famines do we need to understand that truth? We are pawns because we choose to be. We are slaves because we refuse to do what we have to do to be free. Sundiati Acoli once said for those who fear the fight today for fear of the fight tomorrow, tomorrow comes anyway. We can either allow ourselves to be ruled by cowardice and fear, or we can conquer fear with courage and cowardice with fearlessness and resolve. Every human being living and breathing on this earth has the divine right to freedom, justice and equality. These things are not concessions to be meted out by our adversaries. They are not trophies to be won at social and political competitions. Our existence is not a game to be played by rules that calculate our defeat. When the African man, Jesus, went into the temple and turned over the tables of coins and commodities and condemned the rulers as robbers and thieves, he was speaking about the rulers of earthly kingdoms. We must do the same as he did. He faced death at the hands of his enemies and was resurrected into the kingdom of God, the Most High. Are we too blind to see the analogy? Or is our faith in ourselves smaller than a mustard seed. As a man thinketh, so he is. Thinking of ourselves a "minorities" keeps us in the category of being powerless. Thinking of ourselves as subjects keeps us in the category of being slaves. Thinking of ourselves as being at the mercy of an "undefeatable" foe keeps us in the realm of subjugation. Instead of being made examples, we need to flip the script and make examples of those who have made examples of us. Instead of continuing to be injected by fear, we need to inject fear. Instead of wearing the label of "terrorist" when we fight for freedom from terrorists, we need to recognize who the real terrorists are and pin the tail on the real donkeys. Millions of lives born and unborn are hanging in the balance. The useless suffering of millions of innocent people will continue until we get up off of our procrastinating asses and move forward to total and complete victory. We taught this world everything that it knows. Our acquiescence has given us nothing but hell. Compliance with treachery has awarded us the rough road. Only by taking the path not taken will we ever reach the "promised land" that God Himself has given to us. Remember, David, another African man, defeated Goliath with one stone to the dome. God is trying to tell us something every time He speaks. But we cannot "hear" the truth until we believe it. Our vessels must be emptied of lies before we can receive the sustenance of truth. Our ears must shut out the noise of confusion and deception before we can hear the clear tones of righteousness and begin to "do the right thing." I think I've said enough. It's time, warriors of truth and righteousness, to move. Email Paula Simon at paulasimon at sbcglobal.net . BLACK POWER!!! TO DEFINE DEVELOP DEFEND THE BEST INTEREST OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY ___\ 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 Jun 25 12:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 19:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Multipolar World will Soon Emerge Message-ID: <20040625191705.17385.qmail@resist.ca> By Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha About five years ago, I saw an Arab minister complaining that Arabs completely failed to anticipate the demise of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a unipolar world. He added that their being caught unaware left them exposed and unprepared now to do anything other than whatever the US dictated. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/112319/817 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 13:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Baqouba Sealed Off as U.S. Forces Lose Control of City Message-ID: <20040625201704.23223.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sihha As part of a coordinated offensive launched by Iraqi fighters today, clashes in Baqouba raged all morning. Dahr Jamail went there to cover the aftermath, and found sporadic firefights were still underway, but US troops had abandoned the city. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/114345/304 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 13:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Another Swine Report: COPWATCH MEDIA Message-ID: <20040625201704.23222.qmail@resist.ca> COPWATCH MEDIA REPORT a)BC RCMP target native candidate Frank Martin's campaign team. (www.mlpc.ca) b)Victim of police brutality sickened by Police Complaints Commission verdict. (CBC) c)Montreal Swine Shoot Man Dead (CBC) URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/12122/4546 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 13:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Rafah rebuilding will cost $45 million... Message-ID: <20040625201705.23224.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4F441323-4836-4A5F-9F0D-6E1269400BDF.htm Thursday 24 June 2004, 16:56 Makka Time, 13:56 GMT Nearly $45 million will be needed to re-house Palestinians made homeless by the Israeli army incursions in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said Thursday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/111325/549 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 14:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 21:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Media activists publish election edition of can-west flagship rag Message-ID: <20040625211703.30470.qmail@resist.ca> June 24, 2004 VANCOUVER - Returning from a two-year hiatus, Guerrilla Media (GM) unleashed a Vancouver Sun spoof today in response to the CanWest neo-conservative federal election blowjob. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/123840/067 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 14:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 21:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Paul Martin: the devil women know Message-ID: <20040625211703.30471.qmail@resist.ca> Great analysis of Paul Martin's role in undermining women's equality from Rabble. If the only choice for women in the federal election were Stephen Harper or Paul Martin, then Martin is certainly the devil we know. His reign as Canada's Minister of Finance represented 10 lost years for women's equality. The changes introduced by his budgets radically transformed Canada's post war social programs in ways that undermined women's economic and social rights. It's small wonder that the NDP is benefiting from the gender gap in women's voting intentions. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/12213/4435 From news at resist.ca Fri Jun 25 16:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 23:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Britannia Trial Ends, Pigs Win Again Message-ID: <20040625231704.9653.qmail@resist.ca> In the fall of 2002, after a cancelled appearance by Premier Gordon Campbell at the Britannia Community Centre, Vancouver cops attacked peaceful demonstrators, first by arresting and assaulting an elderly Minister dressed as clown and then, when the crowd protested, assaulting and arresting 8 others, including a 13 year old boy. Those arrested were taken to a nearby parking lot where some were threatened, and then finally taken to the City jail and charged with various offences. On Thursday, some of these folks received their verdicts. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/25/135531/541 From news at resist.ca Sat Jun 26 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Tipping Point in Iraq ... Message-ID: <20040626181703.20623.qmail@resist.ca> Posted-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha Published on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 by TomDispatch.com by Dilip Hiro There is no turning back from the Abu Ghraib photo scandal. No matter how hard President Bush and his senior aides try, they won't be able to restore the last bit of the fig leaf that once covered their illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. This is especially true, since the recent leaking of a legal brief prepared for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld in March 2003 arguing that, since the President safeguards national security, any ban on torture, even under American law, could not be applied to "interrogation undertaken pursuant to the President's commander-in-chief authority." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/26/94715/9404 From news at resist.ca Sat Jun 26 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Military Police Captain Tells of Efforts to Hide Details of Detainee's Death Message-ID: <20040626181703.20625.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/062604A.shtml By Jackie Spinner Washington Post Friday 25 June 2004 Baghdad - The company commander of the U.S. soldiers charged with abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison testified Thursday that the top military intelligence commander at the prison was present the night a detainee died during an interrogation and that efforts were made to conceal the details of the detainee's death. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/26/55322/4562 From news at resist.ca Sat Jun 26 11:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 18:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The Question Should Be: Why We Hate Them? Message-ID: <20040626181703.20624.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha ttp://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/June/24%20o/The%20Question%20Should%2 0Be%20Why%20We%20Hate%20Them%20By%20Bryant%20C.%20Mitchell.htm By Bryant C. Mitchell Arab News, June 24, 2004 After the disaster of Sept. 11, the common man in the Western world awoke from his spiritual slumber and was told that they needed to find the answer to what they were told was a fundamentally important rhetorical question: Why do they hate us? As a result, a frantic search began to find out any and all information they could about Islam and the Muslims. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/26/91111/2183 From news at resist.ca Sat Jun 26 12:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 19:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Nobody Kills like the KKKOPS Message-ID: <20040626191703.25472.qmail@resist.ca> a) Swine under fire for killing Jeff Berg (VAN) b) Swine under fire for killing elderly couple (VAN) c) Swine under fire for killing Neil Stonechild (SASK) URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/26/11430/2391 From pnbrown at vcn.bc.ca Sun Jun 27 21:36:51 2004 From: pnbrown at vcn.bc.ca (Paul Browning) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 21:36:51 -0700 Subject: [news] Fw: CHF BC News: Party platforms on affordable housing Message-ID: <007901c45cc9$88769070$6401a8c0@PAUL> ----- Original Message ----- From: To: "Paul Browning" Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 3:48 PM Subject: CHF BC News: Party platforms on affordable housing > The following is a message circulated by the Canadian Housing and Renewal > Association (CHRA) to members this week. > > It includes a very good summary of party platforms specific to affordable > housing. > > ------------------------------------------ > > "This is a good news, bad news story. > > First the good news: For the first time in over a decade, housing and > homelessness have been a big issue in a federal election campaign. A > majority of Canadians seem poised to vote for political parties that > support investment in social housing. > > Now the bad news: We could nevertheless end up with a government that > doesn't care about housing. > > I have a special and urgent request for you. Please take some time over > the next week to talk to others in your community. We are extremely close > to major progress on social housing and a housing-friendly House of > Commons. But only YOU can make that happen. Only YOU can work with others > to educate voters who care about housing and get them to the polls. > > Please share the information below. Go to www.chra-achru.ca for > information. > > Here's where the parties stand: > > CONSERVATIVES - Affordable housing is not a priority > > The Conservatives do not believe the federal government should help > communities and provinces build social housing. > > The Conservatives' list of infrastructure priorities does not include > housing. Nor have the Conservatives made commitments to continue existing > programs like the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) or > the Supporting Community Partnership Initiative (SCPI). > > The Conservative platform suggests the best way to help low-income > Canadians is by cutting taxes. But CHRA is concerned that existing > programs and social investments will be vulnerable to being cut in order > to pay for the proposed tax cuts. > > > LIBERALS - Expand existing programs and build housing > > Prime Minister Paul Martin announced $1.5 billion in new funding for > housing over five years in a dedicated fund that can only be used for > social housing. In addition, he will keep intact current funding for > programs that renovate aging housing (RRAP) and that help the homeless > (SCPI). > > CHRA estimates the Liberal commitment will produce a total of 35,000 to > 60,000 new units over the next five years. > > The Prime Minister has also promised to look at better ways to get more > housing built faster, like a national non-profit housing foundation called > "Housing Works" that has been studied by CHRA. > > > NDP - Putting housing front and centre > > NDP leader Jack Layton has made investment in affordable housing one of > his key messages, including underlining its importance during the national > leaders' debate. Mr. Layton's party will push for an ambitious investment > in social housing. The NDP platform pledges: > > - A 10-year national housing program to build 200,000 affordable and co-op > housing units, renovate 100,000 existing units, and provide rent > supplements to 40,000 low-income tenants. > > - Tax incentives to renovate buildings in downtown cores. > > - To use the profits generated by CMHC to underwrite low-interest > mortgages for affordable housing, and to change CMHC's mandate to > facilitate/fund community-based housing organizations. > > BLOC QU?B?COIS - Working for a 1% solution > > Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe has consistently made the case for > social housing and has argued that the Liberal government's proposed > five-year investment of $1.5 billion is insufficient. > > Mr. Duceppe has worked with social groups in Quebec to promote the 1% > solution - having governments invest one per cent of their budgets in > social housing. It is estimated that this would generate a $2 billion > investment over three years. > > > If you care about housing, you have just days to help elect a government > that agrees with you! Go to www.chra-achru.ca now!" > > Joyce Potter > President, CHRA > > ------------------- > > ...and visit CHF BC's Election Central page at > http://www.chf.bc.ca/pages/election.asp (which now includes a detailed > account of our June 17 Election Forum on Affordable Housing). > > > --------------- > You are receiving this message from CHF BC because you have joined this > email list. If you do not want to receive future email messages from CHF > BC, please let us know by sending an email to Scott Jackson > . > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From news at resist.ca Sat Jun 26 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Montreal garbage workers' wildcat strike ends Message-ID: <20040627051703.2814.qmail@resist.ca> About 80 Montreal blue-collar workers who walked off the job last week are back at work. Workers were protesting their colleagues' suspension. That suspension has ended, and now the protesters are back at work URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/26/173053/807 From christoff at resist.ca Sun Jun 27 21:35:56 2004 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 21:35:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [news] {UPDATE!} Montreal - Stop the Deportation of Shamim Akhtar & her Family to Pakistan! Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 21:27:18 -0700 (PDT) From: No One is Illegal Montreal TAKE A STAND AGAINST DEPORTATIONS! Stop the Deportation of Shamim Akhtar & her Family to Pakistan! The Akhtar family is facing deportation from Canada on Tuesday June 29th at 8 AM and it is only with your collective action and solidarity that this deportation can be halted. 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 In This Message: 1) Continue to Call / Fax 2) Funding Appeal 3) Background Information ============================> CALL / FAX / EMAIL CAMPAIGN ============================> ==> 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 news at resist.ca Sun Jun 27 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] The Robbery of Reconstruction Message-ID: <20040628051703.28185.qmail@resist.ca> Good news out of Baghdad: the Program Management Office, which oversees the $18.4bn in US reconstruction funds, has finally set a goal it can meet. Sure, electricity is below pre-war levels, the streets are rivers of sewage and more Iraqis have been fired than hired. But now the PMO has contracted the British mercenary firm Aegis to protect its employees from "assassination, kidnapping, injury and" - get this - "embarrassment". I don't know if Aegis will succeed in protecting PMO employees from violent attack, but embarrassment? I'd say mission already accomplished. The people in charge of rebuilding Iraq can't be embarrassed, because, clearly, they have no shame. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/27/92337/4400 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 27 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Greek anarchists march against the Olympics, beat back riot cops Message-ID: <20040628051703.28184.qmail@resist.ca> 250 individuals participated in today's march (June 27), that had been organised by the 'Assembly of Central Greece against the Olympic Games'. The course crossed the center of Volos and went also through the harbour, where a worker was accidentally killed yesterday. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/27/163734/571 From news at resist.ca Sun Jun 27 22:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 05:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] INTERVIEW: PAUL BREMER...Difficulties Dampen Coalition's Optimism Message-ID: <20040628051703.28186.qmail@resist.ca> Posted by-Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bremer27jun27.story By Alissa J. Rubin, Times Staff Writer BAGHDAD -- After 13 months in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III looks tired, his manner sober. Although always pragmatic, his tone upon taking charge of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority was marked by optimism. Now, as he prepares to hand over sovereignty Wednesday, it is matter-of-fact. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/27/9530/84495 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 28 13:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 20:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] Police and Protesters Clash and NATO Summit Message-ID: <20040628201712.6973.qmail@resist.ca> James C Helicke, CP Monday, June 28, 2004 ISTANBUL (AP) - Hundreds of protesters hurled firebombs and stones at police Monday as they tried to reach the conference centre where NATO leaders were meeting in Istanbul. Police used tear gas and water cannons to stop the crowd, and dozens of people were injured. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/28/124139/620 From news at resist.ca Mon Jun 28 13:17:11 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 20:17:11 -0000 Subject: [news] News Reports on the 'Security' Apparatus Message-ID: <20040628201712.6971.qmail@resist.ca> 1. Police Board Chair Caught Accepting 5,700 Rounds of Ammunition. (TORONTO) 2. Queens University Study on Surveillance Increases since 9/11 3. Terrorism Suspects Have Rights U.S. Court Rules. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/28/125227/779 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Mon Jun 28 19:46:05 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 19:46:05 -0700 Subject: [news] Canadian Terror: A Tragedy Of Ignorance Message-ID: <40E0D7ED.6020302@telus.net> at http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27434.php Canadian Terror: A Tragedy Of Ignorance The Canadian Government was supposed to oppose terrorism, instead it inflicted on us. The writer and his family got a first hand experience of the Canadian Government inflicted "terrorism." North American governments cherishing liberal democratic values were supposed to be opposing terrorism, not inflicting on their own citizens. Across the globe, by virtue of aggressive policy behavior, many democratic regimes are attempting to discard human rights and sabotage the effectiveness of human growth and civilizations. Canadian Terror: A Tragedy Of Ignorance Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D. Complicity of Canadian Government to Terrorize Muslim Citizens The Canadian Government was supposed to oppose terrorism, instead it inflicted on us. The writer and his family got a first hand experience of the Canadian Government inflicted "terrorism." North American governments cherishing liberal democratic values were supposed to be opposing terrorism, not inflicting on their own citizens. Across the globe, by virtue of aggressive policy behavior, many democratic regimes are attempting to discard human rights and sabotage the effectiveness of human growth and civilizations. People of knowledge and wisdom must realize that police action and armed assault do not produce peace, social harmony and justice, and for sure, guns and bullets destroy all living things. When people produce products and services, societies and nations grow and prosper. People and markets grow in freedom, not in fear. Canadian intelligence services are using the logic of power, whereas, in democratic Canada, people would prefer an argument based on the power of logic and facts. Being big does not frighten the enlightened masses. When the educated and responsible citizens are mistreated and portrayed as an evil, history calls it the beginning to end of the repressive era. President Harry Truman made a candid observation: "Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." North American citizens of Japanese origin waited half a century to see the official apology for their mistreatment by Canada and America during the 2nd World War. Should the Muslims be treated likewise? History sees nations by their actions, not by their claims. Could we, the people of living conscience, take specific intelligent and proactive steps to reverse the prospective historical blunders? Facts are known, but the political reasons for the police action are unknown. From all the available factual information, we believe that we were targeted because we are Muslim. The newspapers highlighted the religious and political derogatory in headlines, contents and ultimate objectivity. On March 29, the RCMP/CSIS anti-terrorist squad raided my family home in Orleans, Ontario (Canada), in search of "bomb-making" materials but found no evidence to support the accusations or reasons for the search warrant. A movie style attack with 40 plus masked gunmen accompanying international news media glitz, they smashed the doors, damaged other property, and arrested the family members at gunpoint, all to log in the proper entry data for the new Project Awaken. "Is your house booby-trapped?" "Where are the explosives?" asked the armed guards. My shaken son could not understand what was going on at that particular moment in time clock? Could it be a rehearsal scene from a violent Hollywood movie? Or may be there is some mix-up in the address that is why the armed squad are pointing guns at me? "Don't move, don't move," shouted the masked men. It must be unreal, thought my daughter, who was horrified and became numb by the masked intruders, who tied her hands behind and asked her to remain silent. My wife went to do grocery, not knowing, our children will not consume it at breakfast and lunch. There will be no time allowed to children to take foods, as this was the new law and order. The lady officers of the invading army picked her up from the store, and younger sons were called out of the classrooms. My wife in Ottawa, frightened and speechless woke me up in Arabia during the early morning hours on March 30, to inform that our house was under police raid. The female escort officer was Corpl. Sherdina; I asked her, what is the problem officer? She replied in cellular phone, "we have house search warrant for bomb-making material." No officer, I said, there must be something wrong, we are not the people in this kind of business. She promised, some senior officer would call me with more information. That did not happen until this day. Like the violent tornado, they destroyed in minutes, what took us years to build - the human dignity, social well being and living together in a civilized community of educated people. The law enforcement agencies follow the laws written in books for the human society. Legal stipulations are composed of paper and dry ink, do not have mind, heart and consideration on their own, but those who implement it, do. Our experience clearly shows that we were treated like the sub-human citizens living in 21st century Canada. The RCMP/CSIS armed raid was exact replicated action of the American troops behavior against the Iraqi civilians. Recently, Erich Murquardt (" US Prisoner Abuse Scandal", PINR, May 11, 2004), noted: "arresting authorities entered houses usually after dark, breaking down doors, yelling orders, forcing family members under military guard...further breaking the cabinets...insulting, taking aims with rifles..." But there was no war going on in Orleans (Canada), why did the RCMP/CSIS act like fighting in a war zone? Was this show of Armada force necessary to the public interest? Most of our immediate neighbors were outraged at the massive display of force, 40 plus RCMP armed squad, aiming loaded guns at the ordinary law-abiding citizens, just to implement the house search warrant for 8-10 hours. It defies the logic and necessity. Other voices of reason and concerns were loud and clear throughout the local neighborhood community. The Canadian Government requested Saudi Arabia to arrest me and she helped me to become helpless, and portrayed the academic in strategic studies and Western-Islamic civilizations as an alleged "terrorist" and "bomb-maker" on global TV networks. Those who saw and heard it, must have believed in it. My professional integrity and lifelines were cut into pieces. The Canadian supplied document served as the working charge sheet. It took two weeks of unpleasant captivity to be freed again without charges. The Canadian Government denies it ever asked for my arrest. The available documentary evidence speaks its own language of truth. Does the Canadian Government ever lie? Eric Hoffer must have felt the same sensitivity: "those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true." I have asked the Honorable Minister of Justice in Canada, to tell me the reasons for this unwarranted and unjustifiable RCMP raid against my family and human dignity, she has yet to reply. The Canadian Government was supposed to oppose the terrorism, not inflict on us. Some tragedies have no smoke or flames to describe the intensity. Our tragedy is explicitly an outcome of ignorance, misinformation and incompetence on the part of the intelligence police apparatus. Undoubtedly, the RCMP/CSIS are dismayed; we showed no confusing reaction to their aggressive and inhuman stunt against the law-abiding citizens. We are civilized people, not monkeys to imitate them. Our perspectives articulate logic, truth and integrity as the primary tools for public communication, enabling us to reason the unreason. Their contentions of "terrorism" and "bomb-making" continued to draw hollow laughter in academic circles, and are viewed by informed media as satirical staged soap opera, and their ambiguous explanatory assertions ignored by the well-informed public. With large number of masked gunmen on display, they wanted to make the spectators believe in their charge sheet, linking us to "terrorism", but they failed badly not to find any evidence to support the allegations. Their failure could be witnessed from the sound of the shackles they put on my son Momin's feet, to show an innocent and intelligent person of high moral and professional integrity, as guilty of something unknown. Interestingly enough, nobody knows including the government, what he is guilty of? To the public eye, a chained Momin Khawaja will portray the image of a threat to society. This image of Muslims is readily available in police warehouses to analyze the merits of Project Awaken as relevant and feasible. Canadians are well known being softhearted, sporty-spirited, friendly people with an appreciable sense of humor, complemented by their own brand taste of Canadian Molson bear. But when you ask a plain, non-satirical question from the responsible Minister or from the intelligence agencies, they may surprise you with a strange and non-conformant response to confirm the prevalent Peter Principle across the board. Ironically enough, it seems that the elite offenders do generate noticeable attention in the free news media including the political scripted popular CBC Canadian Farce. When the authorities are asked to comment on the public outrage against their unethical behavior toward the citizens, they carefully orchestrate one sentence of non-reactive humor, taking sanctuary in "no comments." Once Voltaire noted: "So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men." ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D. is an academic who specializes in strategic studies with interests in comparative civilizations, and author of "Muslims and the West: Quest for Change and Conflict Resolution.") ___\ 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 Mon Jun 28 20:01:37 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 20:01:37 -0700 Subject: [news] Launch of Iraq Handover Dossier Message-ID: <40E0DB91.9050502@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27459.php Launch of Iraq Handover Dossier The war in Iraq is part of the war on terror, yet ironically for a war that claims to concern itself with ending terror, it has brought terror to the people of Iraq and has fuelled terror throughout the world. We believe that the prospect of peace and stable government in Iraq, after the June handover, is minimal and that real control is expected to lie with the US ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, and his huge staff of 2000 diplomats, and not with the people of Iraq. Launch of Iraq Handover Dossier Available online now The war in Iraq is part of the war on terror, yet ironically for a war that claims to concern itself with ending terror, it has brought terror to the people of Iraq and has fuelled terror throughout the world. We believe that the prospect of peace and stable government in Iraq, after the June handover, is minimal and that real control is expected to lie with the US ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, and his huge staff of 2000 diplomats, and not with the people of Iraq. What we present here is our reasoned perspective. We know that many of you shared our discontent with the war on Iraq, and are sure that you hope at least to achieve some good from this terrible episode. Nevertheless, we conclude that the hand over of sovereignty this June is as much a lie as any of the lies that we have grown accustomed to during this war and the lead up to it. The evidence for this is presented in the chapters of this dossier, We do not conclude with a message of doom, but of hope, because, despite our perception that western style liberal secular democracy is failing in Iraq, the rule of law, representative government and accountability before the people are not the sole preserve of the west. Islam offers an alternative system of government, worthy of consideration, called Khilafah, which stands for the rule of law, representative government and accountability. Surface similarities notwithstanding, it is distinct, and so we present its main features in some detail in the final chapter. We recommend a real end to the occupation of Iraq, in order to allow the people of Iraq to realise once again the successful system of government that lasted thirteen hundred years. The occupation of Iraq by the British army in 1917 brought this system to an end and resulted in a century of failure. The Muslim community in Britain invite you to study, with an open mind, both our analysis and our vision for change. Dr Abdullah Robin To read the full version of the dossier: http://www.mindspring.eu.com/dossier/iraq_handover_dossier.pdf If you have any questions or comments regarding the content of this email please send them to info at mindspring.eu.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 news at resist.ca Tue Jun 29 03:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 10:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Iraqi Police Fight U.S. Troops that Trained Them Message-ID: <20040629101702.16195.qmail@resist.ca> by Damien McElroy * Sunday June 27, 2004 at 11:08 PM First Lt Omar is sworn to uphold the law and fight the insurgency that threatens Iraq's evolution into a free and democratic state. Instead, he is exploiting his knowledge of US tactics to help the rebel cause in Fallujah. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/29/22441/5119 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 29 03:17:02 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 10:17:02 -0000 Subject: [news] Anti-Imperialist Resistance to NATO Message-ID: <20040629101702.16194.qmail@resist.ca> (Atilim is a weekly revolutionary socialist newspaper published in Turkey) atilim.org, istanbul.indymedia.org The antiimperialists constructed barricades firstly in two main streets and collided with police for about one hour. The demonstrators repelled the police at first by a rain of stones, sticks and molotov coctails. The police ranks dissolved and they had to step back. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/29/24648/0759 From news at resist.ca Tue Jun 29 18:17:03 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 01:17:03 -0000 Subject: [news] Venezuela: In these times of scoundrels Message-ID: <20040630011704.485.qmail@resist.ca> Facing the situation created by the referendum of 8/15/2004 to recall the president, the Comision de Relaciones Anarquistas and its newspaper El Libertario call for a radical rupture with those candidates for authoritarian power, presenting to the Venezuelan people ways out of the actual crisis based on mutual aid, direct action and self-management. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/29/17258/2561 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Tue Jun 29 19:23:13 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 19:23:13 -0700 Subject: [news] Revolution is Bloody Message-ID: <40E22411.5000607@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27481.php Revolution is Bloody 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 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 the that 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. Revolution is Bloody by LY 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 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 the that 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 live with the overstanding that we have to be willing to be become martyrs and to realize that martyrs are special not because they are perfect nor that they are higher powers B.U.T. that they are flawed bruhs and sis (breathing clay) like us all on this earth -- who despite all that was against them stood up and perished for a principle = their peoples/culture. It does seem that everybody around the world are taking up mental and physical arms to fight for their freedome and culture as the once great fighters and griots of North Amerikkka akt like steppinfetchits in sagged drope gear and butterfly mcqueens inna thog and bare middrifts or those in afrikana jacked vines and centric headdress beg for a cut of the swag come the takeover of afrika (and the every growing middle-east -- which seems to be extending into afrika for the sake of corperate takeovers) or even the alterna crowd aktin like "anarchy" is the latest trend for the middle-classes and profits in this post hip hop wasteland. This was/is not a revoltuon; this is surrender with a spin doctored effect and north amerikkkan twisted logic and bravado -- where cowards are brave and brave people are punkass, where whores are worhipped and money is god and greed is good, where warriors/freedome fighters/revultionarys who are defending are terrorist and terrorist where suits and ties and are called liberators, deomocratic and civilized, where might makes right -- fuck quality it's about knocking out the suckers by any means necceSCAREY -- welcome to the terrordome of theivery -- come bite me. I have seen too many people murdered and demoralized in this land which is suppose to be so civilized. I have seen my fathers mind destroyed and my body and my friends raped and used, as has been our minds, and then discarded as worthless tools for the amusement and advancement of robberbarons and the fools they court. I have heaerd and seen people use our skin and class to advance their position witht he opppressors and danced onthe graves of our martyrs. I have seen too much cruelity (yet still not even enough -- to start) to make me reconsider the value of this wasteland as anything but currupt from the inside out and therefore in need of dismantling and not salvaging-- a place where incompetence, mediocrity, dirty tricks, distraction, hypocrisy, invasion and perversion rule and are keys to success and all must convert or die a slow and amusing spiritual and mental death and surrender is taken up as a battle cry. A place where passion is laughed at and mocked. Where children rhyme cruelity. I have seen my soul slip slowly into despair simply by the sight of this horror alone and what is more tragic I have seen the despair blanket the peoples around me as their spiritual physical corpses as piled up like so many rhowandan, african, Palestinian, Native holocaust images as the fatted ministries workers, corperate lackies and greed mongerers sit, laugh and plot for more bullying tactics against those who are percieved as weaker and defenseless in this their police state calling itself a free CIVI(LIE)zation = better than the rest-- B.U.T. are my bruthas defenseless against the shocktroops of this so called democracy or have they been convinced of this lie... ...and I wonder is this the beginning of a revolution or is it too late. I feel that there is no escape and after all these years I still don't know what's the price of a ticket. Will we have a dream of Malik or Poor Marcus, Peltier, Spies or Ashura realized They say that it's a hard and bad time for our Nation... It is a time for martyrs and it's time to fight for freedomes B.U.T. all we seem to get is a copping a plea and surrender. B.U.T. "...can't you show me nothing but surrender"? patti smith "Revolution is bloody,revolution is hostile,revolution knows no compromise,revolution overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way. And you, sitting around here like a knot on the wall, saying:'I 'm going to love these folks no matter how much they hate me.'No,you need a revolution." --Malik Shabaaz;Message to the Grass Roots http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27436.php http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/26/11430/2391 -\ ___\ 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 Tue Jun 29 22:26:13 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 22:26:13 -0700 Subject: [news] POV: fidel castro reply Message-ID: <40E24EF5.9010509@telus.net> POV: fidel castro reply ==================== Fidel's Response to Latest US Propaganda Onslaught Dear fellow Cubans: Two new infamies by the US government -that of including Cuba on another of those high-handed lists drawn up by the self proclaimed masters of the world and introduced in a State Department report published on June 14 accusing our country of involvement in the trafficking of persons to which they have added the disgusting slander that we promote sexual tourism and the announcement on the 16th of additional, cruel blockade measures to asphyxiate the economy that is our people's life support- oblige me to send a second message to the president of the United States. Mr. Bush: I must be calm but sincere. I have absolutely no intent to insult you or to launch personal attacks. But, it is cynical to include Cuba in a list of countries involved in the illegal trafficking of persons. And what is even more outrageous and abhorrent in this arrogant report that the State Department feels obliged to issue every year is the claim that Cuba promotes sex tourism, even with children. You are in a position to be informed that Cuba has signed two immigration agreements with the United States in the interest of family reunification. The US Administration failed to honor the first of these signed in 1984. Ten years later, instead of the 20,000 visas promised, only about 1,000, that is, 5 percent were issued every year. Following the immigration crisis that broke out in 1994, our country signed with the US government a new agreement which was expanded the following year and is still in force. In spite of this, and although its provisions have been basically met as regards the number of visas, they have not been met as regards the fundamental, inescapable obligation to avoid all encouragement to illegal emigration. With no justification whatsoever, the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act is still in place, implacable, and indeed, new incentives were added to it. This absurd and immoral Act has cost an incalculable number of lives, including the lives of many Cuban children. And it was as a result of this same law that the loathsome traffic in emigrants emerged using speedboats that come from Florida to points anywhere on our coastline. Cuba punishes these acts severely, whereas US administrations, for very well known political reasons connected with the state of Florida, have just crossed their arms. No country in the world has given as much physical and moral protection, as much health and education to its children as Cuba has. You should know that a higher proportion of children die in their first year of life in the United States than in Cuba. One hundred percent of children and adolescents in our country, including those afflicted by some kind of physical or mental disability, attend the appropriate schools and study. How can you claim to not know that, while in the United States there are, on average, 30 students to a classroom in Cuba the ratio is less than 20 and our educational results are better than those in any developed country? Our healthcare services have raised the life expectancy of each child from about 60 years in 1959, according to estimates, to 76.13 years today. In spite of the US blockade and the collapse of the socialist bloc, unemployment in Cuba is only 2.3 percent, which is several times lower than in your own country, the richest and most industrialized in the world. You should be ashamed of trying to economically asphyxiate the Cuban people, which blockaded and subjected to more than four decades of economic warfare, armed aggressions and terrorist actions, has achieved such feats. You can show us nothing like this in your own country. You are trying to strangle our economy and are threatening war against a country that has shown itself capable of having 20,000 doctors currently offering their services in 64 countries of the Third World. Your administration, in spite of possessing the resources of the richest power on earth, has not sent a single doctor to the most distant corners of these countries, as Cuba does. On your conscience, and on those of the leaders of the world's richest states, lies the genocide which is implicit in the death, every year, of more than 10 million children and tens of millions more people who could be saved. These deaths are the result of a vast assortment of pillage and robbery practiced against Third World countries through the unjust and no longer sustainable world economic order that the rich countries have imposed to the detriment of 80 percent of this planet's population. Someone should let you know about these problems and these facts, instead of constantly spreading intrigues and lies. As for Cuba, you allow yourself to be driven by the fanatical belief that your re-election in November depends on the support of a mob of well-known old terrorist ?migr?s and their descendents, a large section of whom were Batista's embezzlers and war criminals who sought refuge in the United States with their booty on their backs and their crimes unpunished. Others have grown rich through many years of service in acts of terrorism and aggressions that have cost our people much blood. These groups are increasingly discredited and their influence diminishes. Everyone remembers what happened in Florida, where they committed all kinds of electoral frauds -in which they are truly experts-- still you carried the state by only 518 votes. I do not wish to humiliate you by digging up this sordid and unpleasant subject. I will rather limit myself to telling you, with all sincerity, that the mistakes into which your commitments to this mob lead you may decisively backfire in the next elections. The American people are already bored with the embarrassing influence that these groups exercise over the foreign and domestic policy of such an important country. Your dependence on these groups will end up losing you a lot of votes, and not only in Florida, but all over the country. When you forbid Americans to travel to Cuba under the threat of brutal repression, you are violating a constitutional principle and a right of which your country's citizens have always been proud. Moreover, it shows political fear. As Cuba, with no hesitation or fear and with very few exceptions, opened its doors to masses of emigrants so they could visit their country of origin and, recently, authorized them to do so as many times as they wish through the simple procedure of renewing their passports every two years, you implement ruthless and inhuman measures against Cuban families that deeply offend their ancestral culture and traditions. It is indescribably cruel to forbid resident Cubans, nationalized or not, to visit their closest relatives for a period of no less than three years, even if these relatives are at death's door. Quite a few Cuban-Americans are already thinking of encouraging a punishment vote. For purely electoral reasons, and ignoring the Resolutions passed by almost all members of the United Nations, you have just adopted new, harsher economic measures against the Cuban people that the world public opinion and the immense majority of the US public find disgusting. The worst thing about your ridiculous, clumsy anti-Cuban policy is that you and your closest advisors have brazenly proclaimed your goal of forcibly imposing what you call 'political transition' on Cuba, if I die in office, a transition which you do not, of course, hesitate to confess you will try to hasten as much as possible. You are very well aware of what that means in the language of the mob. However, perhaps the most shameful thing you did was to announce that the first hours will be decisive, since the idea is to go to any lengths, under any circumstances, to prevent a new political and administrative leadership from taking charge of our country. This you would do completely ignoring the Cuban Constitution, the powers of the National Assembly and of our Party's leadership and the powers that the Constitution and the highest institutions of the people have bestowed -as it is the case all over the world- on those whose responsibility it is to assume this task immediately. Since this you can only do by sending troops to occupy key positions in the country, you are announcing your intention of launching a military intervention of our homeland. This is why, on May 14, I "hailed" you in advance for the role of Caesar you are playing; I took this from the gladiators who were forced to fight to death in the circus of ancient Rome. Today, I think it is only right to add a few more things. You should know that your march against Cuba will be anything but easy. Our people will stand up to your economic measures, whatever they may be. Forty five years of heroic struggle against the blockade and economic war, against threats, aggressions, plots to assassinate its leaders, sabotage and terrorism have not weakened but rather strengthened the Revolution. Forty three years ago the treacherous invasion by the Bay of Pigs was routed in less than 66 hours of relentless combat, against the estimates of brilliant experts. Some of us leaders of this Revolution went through that singular experience where a handful of men, who at first had only seven rifles, managed, using weapons taken from the enemy in battle, to defeat Batista's armed forces, which were equipped, trained and advised by the United States and which numbered 85,000 troops. In October 1962, a year and a half after the Bay of Pigs, not a single Cuban fighter batted an eyelash at the thought of the very real threat of a nuclear strike. Not a single inspection of our country was allowed, in spite of what the two superpowers had agreed. Dozens of years of dirty war sabotage and terrorism, in which many of your current friends from Miami played such an outstanding role, could not bring Cuba to her knees. The collapse of the European socialist bloc and of the USSR itself, which deprived us of markets, fuel, food and raw materials, added to a blockade made harsher by the Torricelli and Helms-Burton Acts and other measures did not break the Cuban people and what seemed impossible came to pass, we stood firm! This is something that is now in the blood and traditions of patriotic Cubans, who in the last war against Spanish colonialism, clashed with, wore down and virtually defeated 300,000 Spanish soldiers; it is the spirit of fighting against the impossible and winning. It is not my intent, Mr. President of the United States, to torment you or upset you with these memories. It is simply my desire to give you an idea of what Cuba is all about, of what a genuine and deep revolutionary process means and of what the people you look down to condescendingly is really like. Today, Cuba has the most cultured and politically aware population of all the countries in the world. Our people are not fanatics, our people defend ideas. This is not a country of illiterate or semi-illiterate people; it is a country where higher education is being made accessible to the whole population and where courage and patriotism are becoming common traits. Experience and knowledge go hand in hand with its dreams of a society where justice and humanism can prevail, something that you with your fundamentalism and your messianic ways will find very hard to understand. Today, we are not just a handful of men and women determined to win or die. We are millions of women and men with enough weapons and over two hundred thousand well-trained officers and chiefs who know perfectly well how to use them under conditions of modern, sophisticated warfare, and we have a huge mass of combatants who are equally well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of those who are threatening us, despite their enormous military resources and the technological superiority of their weapons. Under the present circumstances in Cuba, and in case of an invasion of our country if I cease to exist -either from natural causes or others- this will not in any way hurt our capacity to fight and stand firm. Every political and military chief at every level, and every individual soldier, is a potential commander in chief who knows what s/he must do, and in a given situation each person can become his or her own commander in chief. You will not have even one day, one hour, one minute or one second to prevent the political and military leadership of the country from taking charge immediately for the orders on what should be done have already been given. Every man and woman will be at his or her combat station without wasting a second. On May 14, in front of one million Cubans who marched past your Interests Section, I told you very clearly what I had to do and would do. That is my job. Today, I reiterate it and I suggest that you and your advisors do not come up with any vicious plan for vengeance against our people. Do not try crazy adventures such as surgical strikes or wars of attrition using sophisticated techniques, because you could lose control of the situation. Undesirable things could happen that are not good for the Cuban people or for the US people. You could shatter the immigration agreement and provoke a mass exodus that we would not be in a position to prevent and you could bring about an all-out war between young American soldiers and the Cuban people. That would be very sad. Yet, I assure you that you would never win that war. You will not find here a divided people, conflicting ethnic groups nor profound religious differences, nor will there be traitorous generals commanding our troops. You will find a people solidly united by culture, feelings of solidarity and social and human achievements that are unprecedented in history. You will not win glory with military action against Cuba. Our people will never give up its independence nor will it ever give up its political, social and economic ideals. Cuba showed full solidarity with the American people after the painful and unjustifiable attack on the Twin towers. That same day we expressed our point of view, which today is being confirmed with almost mathematical precision. War is not the way to put an end to terrorism and violence in the world. That tragic event has been used as a pretext to impose on the planet a policy of terror and force. Your measures against the Cuban people are an atrocious and inhumane act. Cuba can prove that you want to destroy a country whose medical services have saved and continue to save hundreds of thousands of lives in poor countries of the world, a country that could even save as many lives of poor US citizens, as the three thousands who died in the Twin Towers You surely know that 44 million people in the United States lack medical insurance and that at some point in a two-year period, 82 million Americans had no insurance and could not afford the astronomical costs of essential healthcare services in your country. A very conservative estimate indicates that many tens of thousands of lives are lost every year in the United States because of this, perhaps thirty or forty times the number that died in the Twin Towers. Someone should calculate this exactly. In a short five-year period, Cuba is prepared to save the lives of 3,000 American poor. It is perfectly possible today to forecast and prevent a heart attack that could be fatal and alleviate illnesses that lead inevitably to death. These three thousand Americans could come to our country accompanied by a relative and receive medical treatment absolutely free of charge. I wish to ask you a question, Mr. Bush, about ethics and principles. Would you be willing to give those people permission to come to Cuba on a program designed to save a life for every life lost in that horrendous attack on the Twin Towers? And, if they accepted the offer of those services and decided to come, would they be punished? Show the world that there is an alternative to arrogance, war, genocide, hatred, egoism, hypocrisy and lies! On behalf of the Cuban people, Fidel Castro Ruz June 21, 2004 ############################################# this is e-drum, a listserv providing information of interests to black writers and diverse supporters worldwide. e-drum is moderated by kalamu ya salaam (kalamu at aol.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 Wed Jun 30 03:53:50 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 03:53:50 -0700 Subject: [news] Fascist Mercenaries Come to Iraq Message-ID: <40E29BBE.2040209@telus.net> http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/27491.php Fascist Mercenaries Come to Iraq Previously, I posted an article about Blackwater employing fascist mass murderers and torturers from the so-called dirty wars against leftists in Latin America. Now, it seems that former members of South Africa's secret police, who tortured and killed black activists during apartheid, are also mercenaries in Iraq. Fascist Mercenaries Come to Iraq g?nderen: Posted by Gary Sudborough Sunday June 27, 2004 at 07:05 PM IconoclastGS at aol.com Previously, I posted an article about Blackwater employing fascist mass murderers and torturers from the so-called dirty wars against leftists in Latin America. Now, it seems that former members of South Africa's secret police, who tortured and killed black activists during apartheid, are also mercenaries in Iraq. Will Iraq's mercenaries be brought to book? By Lawrence Smallman Wednesday 23 June 2004, 15:47 Makka Time, 12:47 GMT Private security firms are costing Iraq billions of dollars Unaccountable and unregulated, the thousands of mercenaries currently operating in Iraq may not remain untouchable for much longer. US viceroy Paul Bremmer is to issue an order defining the status of foreign troops and workers in Iraq before 30 June, according to a senior official quoted by Reuters. But the multibillion dollar question is whether Bremer's decree will spell out the legal status of so-called private contractors. State and corporate secrecy protects more than 35 private security firms connected to the US and UK political establishments from accountability for their conduct. Yet these same military companies provide more support to the US-led occupation than the British army, with estimates putting their combined strength in excess of 20,000 individuals. Whether it is guarding pipelines, protecting US officials or even driving tanks - Iraq's continued occupation relies heavily on the private sector. Contracting military work to modern-day mercenary companies directed by prominent politicians, statesmen and security officials has become big business. David Claridge, a director of a London security firm, has estimated that Iraq contracts have boosted the annual revenue of British-based security firms alone from $320 million to more than $1.7 billion. Legal position With an absence of guidelines, accountability goes largely unregulated. It has become clear that some legal loopholes are so big that scandals such as at Abu Ghraib prison abuses can slip through. Private contractors in Iraq have signed agreements that provide them with immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. So Iraqi families without huge amounts of money will have little recourse to the rule of law should they suffer at the hands of thousands of heavily armed but unregulated mercenaries. Speaking to Aljazeera.net on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) spelled out the legal theory. "The state with authority over the military contractor remains responsible under international law for the contractor's actions," says HRW's Middle East director, Joe Stork. "Maintaining discipline of contractor employees is the responsibility of the contractor's management structure, not the military chain of command" US military field manual But mercenaries cannot be prosecuted under US military law except during declared war, according to the US military field manual. The manual adds: "Maintaining discipline of contractor employees is the responsibility of the contractor's management structure, not the military chain of command." Grey area Military contractors who are US nationals could be prosecuted by a US federal court under the War Crimes Act of 1996, but not so the numerous British, South African and one Israeli firm currently in Iraq. Additionally, contractors working for the US Department of Defense could technically be prosecuted under the toothless Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000, known as MEJA. MEJA was enacted in 2000 primarily to protect US soldiers and their dependents on US bases abroad, who became victims of crimes committed by military contractors with effective immunity from prosecution. But MEJA remains untested because the Defense Department has yet to issue the regulations necessary to implement it. Worrying trend The need for regulation has become clear. The British/South African company Erinys, which won a $100 million-plus annual contract to provide security at Iraq's oil facilities and pipelines, appears to employ people with worrying backgrounds. South African employee Francois Strydom, killed last January, had fought for the Koevoet pro-apartheid paramilitary in Namibia - according to Johannesburg's Mail and Guardian newspaper. Only regular soldiers have been questioned over Ghraib abuse Another employee, Deon Gouws, was a former member of the South African secret police, Vlakplaas, and was charged by the South African Truth Commission for murdering an anti-apartheid activist in 1986. A former South African judge, Richard Goldstein, has gone on the record as saying he knew of 150 former apartheid-era security operatives working as mercenaries in Iraq. And to date, only regular US and UK soldiers have been brought to book for the Abu Ghraib scandal. Friends in high places? It may be that the former diplomats who run these private military companies, and thus supplement their countries' troop deployments, are also able to protect themselves from prosecution. Former US president George Bush's Carlyle group is about as well connected to the political establishment as it is possible to be. Its subsidiary, Diligence, was founded by a former CIA director - William Webster. It is now owned by a former US ambassador, Richard Burt. Its deputy chairman, Joe Allbaugh, was the current president's campaign manager in 2000. Allbaugh has also founded another security firm, New Bridge Strategies, and signed a contract with Diligence. Similarly, the numerous British firms are equally well connected. ArmorGroup is directed by former British foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Aljazeera + Agencies http://www.theblackflag.org/iconoclast http://www.theblackflag.org/iconoclast ___\ 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 Wed Jun 30 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Bus riders condemn RAV Line and anti-democratic TransLink board Message-ID: <20040630181705.2468.qmail@resist.ca> "Why do they want to spend so much money on a Skytrain to the Airport, when I can't event catch a bus that will get me to work on time?!" This is the reaction of angry bus riders throughout the region to the news that TransLink will be revisiting the RAV line decision on June 30, 2004. Representatives from the Bus Riders Union will be attending the special TransLink meeting where TransLink will be voting yet-again on whether or not to move to BAFO (Best And Final Offer) on the RAV line. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/30/84025/6204 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 30 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] The New American Apartheid (Part I) Message-ID: <20040630181705.2470.qmail@resist.ca> Modern prisoners occupy the lowest rungs on the social class ladder, and they always have. The modern prison system (along with local jails) is a collection of ghettos or poorhouses reserved primarily for the unskilled, the uneducated, and the powerless. In increasing numbers this system is being reserved for racial minorities, especially blacks, which is why we are calling it the New American Apartheid. URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/30/0943/95811 From news at resist.ca Wed Jun 30 11:17:04 2004 From: news at resist.ca (Resist!ca) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 18:17:04 -0000 Subject: [news] Narratives of Imperial Conquest Message-ID: <20040630181705.2469.qmail@resist.ca> Three vignettes of imperial conquest: Phillipines 1901 - Brigadier General Jacob H. Smith, commander of the US Sixth Separate Brigade in the Philippines: "I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn: the more you kill and burn the better you will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in hostilities against the United States." Asked by an officer about the age limit of the "enemy combatants" he considered "capable of bearing arms," Smith replied, "ten years." Vietnam 1971 - Sergeant Scott Camile of the 11th Marine Regiment in Vietnam testified: "The way that we distinguished between civilians and VC [Vietcong], VC had weapons and civilians didn't and anybody that was dead was considered a VC. If you killed someone they said, 'How do you know he's a VC?' and the general reply would be, 'He's dead,' and that was sufficient." Iraq 2003 - "There was no dilemma when it came to shooting people who were not in uniform, I just pulled the trigger," said Specialist Corporal Michael Richardson in Iraq last year....."If they were there, they were enemy, whether in uniform or not. Some were; some weren't." URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/6/30/03026/1521 From ishaq1823 at telus.net Wed Jun 30 12:07:54 2004 From: ishaq1823 at telus.net (Ishaq) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 12:07:54 -0700 Subject: [news] The Dajjalic Empire Message-ID: <40E30F8A.9010204@telus.net> The Dajjalic Empire Zaina Ali "IF OUR PROFANITY OFFENDS YOU, LOOK AROUND YOU AND SEE HOW DESTRUCTIVELY SOCIETY IS PROFANING ITSELF. IT IS THE RAPE OF THE LAND, THE POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT, THE BETRAYAL AND SUFFERING OF THE MASSES BY CORRUPT GOVERNMENT THAT IS THE REAL OBSCENITY." MOVE "A confusion came about like nightfall covering the skies and became a widespread almost reaching the whole world" Al-Ahsaid Al sayid, Abd Al-Rahaman The time has come to arise from our deadned state and fight the real enemy, those who are fightinf against the Oneness of Allah. The evil system of dajjal(antichrist) and the wahabis/Nasibis fitna have joined forces just as the Holy Prophet(saw) and Imam Ali(as) predicated. "A people that will recite the quran will come out of the east, but it will not go past their throats. Everytime a generation of them is cut down the last one finds itself on the side of the antichrist." 1 When Imam Ali(as) killed a khawarij, someone said, praise be to Allah who has brought them down and relieved us from them. Imam Ali(as) replied: "Verily by the One whose hand is in my soul, some of them are still in the loins of men and they have not been born yet, and the last of them will fight on the side of the antichrist." Calmities and distresses have fallen upon the believers all over the world. The enemy is closing in on us from all sides. The situation in in Iraq, the murder and torture of innocents is deemed legitimate. The Bush admistration turns a blind eye to this mistreatment. "Soldiers complaints on abuse hit dead end. At least five soldiers objected last fall to abuses they saw at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. One demanded to reassigned, saying the behaviour he witnessed there ' made me sick to my stomace'. Up the chain of command, the non commissioned officers who heard such complaints did little to stop the mistreatment, according to U.S army records obtained by the associated press." The Gazette, Montreal, World A23, June 12, 2004 The following links would provide a better view of the real reason for torture and how the CIA is involved. http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/MCC406A http://www.infowars.com/iraq/casual_photos.html Future plans for Abu Ghraib are expressed in the following; "The U. S. Military has announced that after the restoration of "Full Sovereignty" to the interim Iraqi government it will continue to operate Abu Ghraib and hold between 4000 and 5000 Iraqi prisoners." http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/tort-j15.shtml Amazing they already know how many prisoners they will have at that time.(meaning the torture will continue on) "Federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted a contractor employed by the CIA who is accused of kicking and beating a detainee over two days at a military base in Afghanistan last June. The detainee died the next day. . The indictment on Thursday is the first against any civilian as part of the prisoner abuse scandal that now involves six investigations of military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq" http://www.iht.com/articles/525561.html Shifting our attention towards the Palestinians, The lust for Palestinian blood has led the the Israelis mad with vengeance. "Palstinians complain that Israeli forces even use police dogs or sharp tools to mutiliate bodies of Palestinians." In the same article it goes on ; " The Palestinian Information Center said in April(2004) that Israel used internationally banned arms to crush the Palestinian Intifada, adding that the 'army resorts to deadly force to disperse the protestors with means only used in a showdown with other armies'. On November 19, 2003, an arab Israeli lawmaker, accused the Israeli occupation orce of using a ' Banned Weapon', in a deadly raid in the Gaza Strip, which killed 12 people and injured 70 others." http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/20...article01.shtml As if what they weren't doing isn't enough to crush, humiliate, murder and torture the Palestinians and throw them out of their homes, The Israelis decided to use chemical ammo against them. Weapons contaminated with chemical ammo was used to takedown the Palestinians. The result of these chemicals weapons is such that the skin of the falls of once touched. The list goes on and on . One other thing that caught my eye was the radiation danger to the Palestinians civilians through the Dimona Reactor. Iran "The United States has felt that it's important for the IAEA to continue its pressure on Iran, to continue its investigation, its inspections, to continue finding things out about this program." http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2...article04.shtml "Bush said it was time for all governments in the Middle East to support Israel and the Palestinians as they strive to end their conflict. "This includes the governments of Syria and Iran," Bush said in a joint press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. "Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorism. This behavior is completely unacceptable," he said. Bush added that states which he said supported terrorism would be "held accountable" and that terrorism undermined the prospects for Middle East peace. " http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/20...article03.shtml Over Christmas 2003 there were FIVE major earthquakes across theglo07Th11:11 8.41n 82.84w 33.0 6.5 Panama-Costa Rica Border "MOVE'S WORK IS TO STOP INDUSTRY FROM POISONING THE AIR, THE WATER, THE SOIL, AND TO PUT AN END TO THE ENSLAVEMENT OF LIFE - PEOPLE, ANIMALS, ANY FORM OF LIFE. THE PURPOSE OF JOHN AFRICA'S REVOLUTION IS TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW CORRUPT, ROTTEN, CRIMINALLY ENSLAVING THIS SYSTEM IS, SHOW PEOPLE THROUGH JOHN AFRICA'S TEACHING, THE TRUTH, THAT THIS SYSTEM IS THE CAUSE OF ALL THEIR PROBLEMS (ALCOHOLISM, DRUG ADDICTION, UNEMPLOYMENT, WIFE ABUSE, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, EVERY PROBLEM IN THE WORLD) AND TO SET THE EXAMPLE OF REVOLUTION FOR PEOPLE TO FOLLOW WHEN THEY REALIZE HOW THEY'VE BEEN OPPRESSED, REPRESSED, DUPED, TRICKED BY THIS SYSTEM, THIS GOVERNMENT AND SEE THE NEED TO RID THEMSELVES OF THIS CANCEROUS SYSTEM AS MOVE DOES." MOVE R http://www.angelfire.com/ga/dregeye/move.html egion With thanks to Er"...all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security." United States Declaration of Independence In Amerikka we see the Dajjal system in full operation with the establishment of the Police State. http://infowars.com/enslavement.htm http://infowars.com/ secret-societies/in_your_face.htm Whoever speaks out against oppression and tyranny falls under the evil eye of the police and agents of the dajjal system. The system of conspiracy falls back in time throughout centuries. In Amerikka the line was crossed when the evil eye of Dajjal cast it's rays on the Move Oragnaization in 1978. "On Tuesday, August 8th, 1978, hundreds from the Ad-Dajjal's internal war machine(the Police), in bulletproof jackets and riot helmets, surrounded the 33rd street house of the Move Organization, a Philadelphia-bases, socio-spiritual movement for justice. Due to the groups continual, vehement demands for truth and liberation, and the systems well-warranted fear of an oppressed uprising in Philadelphia(and abroad), Mayor Rizzo (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and firearms) and COINTELPRO(counterintelligence Program) agents declared a war of suppression and destruction against these righteous Mujahidun(spiritual warriors). At approximately 7:00 am, Move was notified by bullhorn:" Uniformed officers will enter your house for the purpose of taking each of you into custody. Any resistance or use of force will be met with force." Police vehicules rolled in, to tear down Move fences, and smash their windows, and in the next hour, a total of 45 armed police officers entered and searched the house, to find that the Move members had barricaded themselves in the basement. Around 8:00 am, firarm pried off the boarded basement windows, and turned on the water canons. Move adults were seen wading in the rising water with their children in their arms, in danger of drowning. Abruptly, gunfire erupted as Dajjal's war machine opened fire on Move's men, women, children, and animals. In the short period of sustained gunfire, Officer John Ramp was, severally wounded. Three other policemen and several firemen wee also hit (one caption at a subsequent police meeting later noted that there was an excessive amount of unnecessary firing on behalf of the police personal then, when there were no targets, per se to , shoot at. One of the officer later admitted that he emptied his carbine into the very basement from which he heard screaming women and crying children.) After the gunfire subsided, tear gas was launched in. Whereupon Move adults began carrying their children out of the basement. They were immediately taken captive by angry cops." Arise and Bear Witness, By Riza Al-Tariq Abdulla Ammari This is but one case of police brutality, the Move organization has been targeted numerous times throughout the years for the simple reason of wanting to live a pure life, a life that we were created to live. Not the life that the antichrist,dajjal system, wants us to adopt. Police terrorism has become a worldwide phenomena , where everything, everywhere is under there watchful eye. As we move along throughout the world we see that the Amerikkans are imprinting or stamping the world with their one-eyed dajjalic system, a new world order were everyone is enslaved by them. "The United States government, at all levels has fallen under the control of the desperately wicked New World Order Clan. The events of Sept 11, mark the initiation of the final sick push of the illuminate to consolidate their own world order and transform earth into a prison planet." http://infowars.com/enslavement.htm Since 911, the Amerikkan public have been put under a panic fear type situation. Where they(the public) have no choice but to put their freedom in the hands of the Amerikkan Government. How they work in the the Government work on people's fears by first initiating it and then using brutal force to enslave them to the system. The Patriot acts 1 and 2 is a fine example of enslavement to the Dajjal System. The new Al-Qaida scare is certainly another jolt or reminder to those who want freedom against the system. That freedom of their rights means again being targeted by a similar threat as 911. Symbolism works good here and to the advantage of the System. Al-Qaida=911-which itself is a state of emergency. When in a state of emergency who do we call .....911. The Police! The Second Patriot Act Is Much Worse Than the First...And They Didn't Want You to Know About It...Until After They Had Sprung an Attack... http://www.infowars.com/HR_3162.html By analyzing some of the Al-Qaida operatives included for the future threat, we find that 2 of those operatives are not a threat at all. In fact they are in prison., locked up behind bars. I wonder how a woman sitting in jail, in pakinstan, be a threat to the security of the Amerikkans?...... Hmmmm something to think about. http://www.inteligent.org/news/2003/04/03/19/37-1.html This is in fact nothing more but a web to entrap the public. The terrorists are every where and the only one that can save us is the Amerikkan Goverement. Well isn't the Amerikkan Government behaving just like terrorists and worse.? "There can be no longer any doubt, Amerikka and state governments, megaglobal corporations are being merged globally into a colassam. This world government is hell bent on consolidating the resources of individuals, governments, sole-proprietorships, churches, charities, political parties, and armies under its unaccountable, unelected quasi-governmental bureaucracies, like the WTO, IMF, World Bank, Central Banks,i.e. US Regional Governorship (Federal Reserve). As individual as well as institutional resistance mounts to this modern megalomaniacal takeover, the control-freak psychotics of the CFR, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg Group are using all of their considerable influence to create a perceived enemy threat to the expanding paramilitary forces bristling at every layer of government. The new enemy, the new threat is, in reality, the lone individual simply trying to live his or her life who wishes to control their own destiny. Make no mistake, you are slated for dehumanization. http://www.infowars.com/police_state.html For seven long years, Bill Kristol agitated for a U.S. coup against Saddam Hussein, and argued that America should remake the world to serve its own interests. http://www.prisonplanet.com/archive_new_world_order.html A similar bill exists in the UK, Damned for catch all power. U.K Anti -Terror Bill. Another article that crossed my path while researching the Antichrist topic, which also perfectly describes the antichrist movement from the inward aspect, the so called Christianity. There is a Prophecy in the Islamic religion that the Dajjal will convert muslims or believers into Christians- Not the religion of Isa a.s but the religion of Paul, The Antichrist, Dajjal. "A german paper reported that the Vatican has been pumping huge amounts of funds into a very influential institution of the catholic church to halt the spread of Islam across the world. In a report headlined " A million against Muhammad." Welt am Sonntag said Sunday May 30, 2004, that huge amounts of money will be allotted to the congretion for the Evangelization of peoples, a reportedly secret organization, The report, prepared by Andreas Englisch, said the organization is now mainly concerned with stemming the rise reversion of Islam by tarnishing the image of Prophet Muhammad(saw)" http://islamonline.net/english/news/2004-0...article09.shtml More about the Antichrist and it's true nature can be found at www.taliyah.com In Smash the Crosses Series, Take The World Back. "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you." Paul:The AntiChrist, founder of Christianity(Romans 13:1-3) Now lets take a look at the Wahabi/Nasibi which are in fact members of the Taliban It is a matter of public record that the Pakistani intelligence agency (ISI) and the CIA have very close ties. Over the last two decades the two agencies worked together continuously in such activities as intelligence gathering, covert funding, and covert operations (which included drug smuggling). They worked together to train, fund, and arm the Mujaheddin forces that expelled the Soviets in the '80s. And in the late '90s, they worked together to help the Taliban consolidate power in Afghanistan. http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/index.html shia are assasinated in Individual gunshots , Bomb Blast in Imam bargahs & Mosque are a part of this agenda , shia & sunnis lived peacefully togother since centuries , so why this sudden 'U' turn has came , which is blowing lives on both sides , shia never hates othere sunnis , It is observed tht they had intercumunal mirrages , they are living in same areas , they are close to each others , if shia hurts in any part so fellow sunnis gathers arround to help them , it is witnessed in Hyderi Mosque blast , where hundreds of Sunni came forward to resque shia , & same shia have shown to them , There was peace & harmony in shia sunni , so why this furious battle is on in pakistan , they are living peacefully in India , even in Iraq where they are joined to drive out Coalation Allied forces of evil , Usa never wishes to see them close , so I personally wounder when Hyderi Mosque blast was carried out , so the scene of shia sunni unity was monitered there , it definately annoyed America so they planed to halt this love & careness relationship amongst shia sunni , so they targeted renouned sunnis schollar in karachi , within hours a blast was conducted in shia Imam Bargah , to air out this shia /sunnis clashes . Its been reported in media also tht the two blast carried out in karachi & respectively in Quetta , were of very modern Isreali technology , so shia/sunnis never got tht sources , thoose who made this furious & fatal attempts were undoutly Isreali agents disguised in Muslim . A plan to divide & destroy the theology, Dr.Michel brant And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits. And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is worse then bloodshed, and do not fight them at the sacred masjid until they fight with you in it. But if they do fight you in it, then slay them; such is the recompense of the kaffirin." Do not exceed the limits implies the following which is the instructions Prophet Muhammad(saw) ; 1. Do not kill any old person , any children or any woman"(Abu Dawud) 2. Do not kill the monks in the monastries. 3. Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship. (Musnad Ibn Hanbal) HMMMMM...... Weren't the wahabis/nasibis/salafis doing just that. At Least 12 Killed In Mosque Blast In Karachi File photo of earlier explosions in Karachi By Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent ISLAMABAD, May 31 (IslamOnline.net) - A massive explosion in a crowded Shiite mosque in the southern port city of Karachi Monday, May 31, killed at least 12 and injured more than 30 people, some of them seriously, police and hospital sources said. Initial reports said that a powerful bomb went off in Ali Reza Mosque in downtown Karachi during evening prayer when the mosque has most worshippers. Doctor Azmat Ali Abdi of National Hospital Karachi told IslamOnline.net that he had received six dead bodies and 12 injured with serious injuries. Another hospital close to the spot of the incident received another six bodies and many injured, Abdi said over phone. The doctor said the death toll is most likely to increase because many of the injured were in serious condition. Police officials were rushing to the place but they did not offer a comment on the causes of explosion. This is the third attack on Shiite mosques in Pakistan during the last month in which dozens of Shiite Muslims have been killed. On Sunday May 30, six people assassinated the most revered Pakistani scholar Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai as he drove out of his residence in the Binouri Town section of Karachi. A police guard was killed and at least 32 other people injured Wednesday, May 26, when two car bombs exploded near [AUTO EDITED]. buildings in Karachi. At least 13 worshippers were killed and around 100 others injured in a "suicide bomb attack" on a packed Shiite mosque in the city during prayers Friday, May 7. No one has claimed responsibility but police blames the attacks on radical Sunni Muslims. Both Shiite and Sunni sects of Muslims have been involved in sectarian violence in the country, especially in Karachi. Shiites form 20 percent of the country's 145 million population. Sectarian violence involving militants from the two sects have claimed more than 4,000 people over the past several years across the country. It is time to break the back of the proud and arrogant, to uproot the roots of the unjust. You have been at war with the shias simply because the love the 12 Imams(as) and the Ahlul Bayt of Prophet Muhammad(saw). Before you guys preach to others preach to yourself, it is time that you stopped listening to the shaytanic vibration and choose the true path that Allah has given us. QUOTE The term "shi'a" occurs eleven times in the Qur'an and the word itself is lexically derived from the Arabic verb sha'a - yashi'u meaning to spread, disseminate, divulge, publicize or become known. Of course one can spread either that which is good or that which is bad, just as the Qur'an speaks of both the "Hizb'ullah" and the "Hizb'ush-Shaiytan." However, the Qur'an speaks of the Shi'a as the "Partisans" of the Prophets in the following Ayaat: "And most surely Ibrahim was among the Shia of him (Nuh)" Al-Qur'an, Sura 37:83 ??????? ??? ????????? ?????????????? "And he (Musa) went into the city at a time when people (of the city) were not watching, so he found therein two men fighting, one being of his Shi'a and the other being his enemy, and the one who was of his Shi'a cried out to him for help against the one who was of his enemy" Al-Qur'an, Sura 28:15 ???????? ???????????? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ????????????? ????? ??? ????????? ??????? ???? ????????? ?????????????? ??????? ??? ????????? ????? ??????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????? Thus there is no room for believing that a Muslim can NOT be a Shi'i. There is no Muslim who should have a problem with this terminology; for to have a problem with it is to have a problem with the terminology of the Qur'an itself, and thus to have a problem with Allah ta'ala. ALL are of one Shi'a or another, just as one is either of the Hizb'ullah, or the Hizb'ush-Shaiytan. Similarly, one is either of the Shi'a of Abu Bakr or of Imam `Ali . Either one believes in the bida'a of democratically electing the Khalif, or they do not accept such bida'a and believe the Khalifa, the Imam is Divinely appointed. A Message to the Nawasib, Isa Adam Naziri Therefore i have come to the conclusion that it is the ones who hate shias the most , that have truely betrayed Prophet Muhammad(saw) and His Ahlul Bayt. For these are the ones Who have joined forces with the Dajjal forces. The Holy prophet (saw) said; " A people that will recite the quran will come out of the east, but it will not go past their throats. Everytime a generation of them is cut down another one will come until the last one finds itself on the side of the antichrist." Surely they who divide their religion into parts, and became shiyan(parties) you have no concern with them; Their affair is only with Allah, then he will inform them of what they did."6:159 It is people like you who preach false information to people and cause divisions among muslim brothers and sisters. The true enemies are the ones who cause divisions, for their real intent is to DIVIDE AND CONQUER! You kill, insult, and slander shias who are in fact your brothers and sisters in faith, for the only reason that they are in fact following the sunna of Prophet Muhammad(saw) and his Ahlul Bayt. Well you should read the following verse and take some lessons from it, "And whoever kills a believer intentionally his punishment is Jahannam; he shall abide in it , and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisment." Sura Nisa :93. In Islam Even the people who follow the past religions are given freedom to follow their beliefs as long as they don't harm anyone with it. How come shias are not allowed to follow their beliefs? Something to Think About! It is time you realized the errors of your way, because their are only two ways The Way Of Allah-Which is the True Way Or The way of shaytan Now that we are somewhat informed the question arises what shall we do ? How can we fight such an enormous threat, The Dajjalic Empire. It is time to awaken and break the back of the proud and arrogant, to uproot the roots of injustice that go far back in time. It is time that we stopped listening to the Shaytan in ourselves(the vibration) and fight against oppression and tyranny. Everyone should strive to better themselves throw off the shackles of enslavement of the dajjalic system and enter into the kingdom of Allah. The only way we can free ourselves and fight the enemy is by first purifying ourselves through an internal jihad. Then through an outer one can we defeat the Dajjalic Empire. For it is the batin that creates the reflection and makes the zahir. Through hardships, trials, and tribulations we achieve the desired success, the being that Allah wants us to be, the Insan Al-Kamil. Imam Ali(as) has stated that the true way" Is the balance of inner and outer." "The batin is that which gives profound understanding to the Zahir(outer) and disciplines it, and forges it slowly and painfully in the fire of zaat.(God's Essence). This hard process then leads to the creation of a being that has deep knowledge and strong conviction, One that truly understands the words of the master Ali(as), " Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor." http://www.mubai.cc/articles/art60.htm When we are ready with our inner and outer balanced then can we truly fight the enemy. Imam (aj) is waiting for us to achieve this level so that we can be ready for him. "The Imam is waiting for us" www.taliyah.org Never Give Up, Never Give in to To the forces of Evil. ___\ 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 skisby at web.net Wed Jun 30 16:05:02 2004 From: skisby at web.net (Steve Kisby) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 16:05:02 -0700 Subject: [news] Wholesome Undie Ride Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20040630160502.024dbbb0@pop.web.net> Public Service Announcement STREETS ARE FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR CARS Wholesome Undie riders say "Ladies and Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines!" On Sunday, July 18, the fifth annual Wholesome Undie ride will take to the streets of Vancouver. When: 12:00 Noon, Sunday, July 18, 2004 Where: Vancouver Art Gallery (Georgia Street Side) Slower, sexier, and smarter than the Molson Indy ?? the Wholesome Undie has all the thrills of Vancouver's loudest corporate spectacle, but it features riders on bicycles... dressed in their underwear! The Wholesome Undie will begin with a Briefing at the Art Gallery, after which the crack team of Undie Riders will roll through the street of downtown Vancouver. The ride will occupy the roadway, not blocking traffic, because WE ARE TRAFFIC. Undie Racers will re-claim the streets with their elegant, inexpensive, human-powered vehicles. Instead of the roar of combustion engines, they will serenade the city with ringing bells, songs and raps, and the whisper of fine lingerie. The Undie won't cause any pollution, since Undie racers emit only natural gas. Undie vehicles don't go as fast, but they go in style. This year's Wholesome Undie ride is hot on the heels of the over 750 strong June 25 2004 Wheels Critical Mass Ride. For pictures of past years rides and more details: http://vancouver.indymedia.org/undie THE REVOLUTION IS NOT MOTORIZED