BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW! VOTE YES ON N!
Prop. N committee meets Thursday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m
GLOBAL EXCHANGE OFFICE
2017 MISSION STREET, SUITE 303
(NEAR 16TH & MISSION STREETS)
GET ON THE BUS FOR THE MILLION WORKER MARCH
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2004
Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King III
have endorsed the Million Worker March on Washington
on October 17.
FOR MORE INFO:
Publicity Committee
111 Clayton Court Vallejo, CA 94591
phone: 707.552.9992 fax: 707.552.9993
mobile: 707.694.5699 email: rbs1@pacbell.net
http://antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org/index.htm
ALL OUT NOV. 3RD, 5 PM, POWELL AND MARKET STREETS, SF
END THE OCCUPATION! OUT OF IRAQ NOW!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) The Million Worker March: The War against Workers
[col.written 10/2/04] (c) 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal]
2) Million Worker March Update
SPEAKERS & IMPORTANT BUS PARKING INFORMATION
3) A Labor Activism Alert from the Cultural Workers Consort...
4) FROM LYNNE STEWART'S TRIAL BLOG
Justice for Lynne Stewart!
Notes from the trial...
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
From: "Larry Felson"
5) IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA
6) CIA using Jordan as torture base
"US interrogators are known to threaten some detainees
with shipping them off to Jordan if they don't co-operate"
Wednesday 13 October
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5EE4504C-E30E-41C4-A83A-C7ED1CC4AE80.
htm
7) PALESTINE EYEWITNESS: Attack on Gaza
Kim Bullimore, West Bank
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/602/602p24.htm
8) Death Toll from Israel's Gaza Offensive Rises to 100
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters)
Thu Oct 14, 2004 05:44 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6498923&src=eD
ialog/GetContent§ion=news
9) FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY great events!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) The Million Worker March: The War against Workers
[col.written 10/2/04] (c) 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal]
Almost all of us, from wherever we have come, have something vital in
common: we are engaged in the world of work.
Some of us are members of unions -- as am I, a proud, card-carrying member
of the National Writer's Union, which is affiliated with the United Auto
Workers.
Some of us, perhaps a majority, are not members of a union, and yet, as
so-called "contingency workers"; as temps, as part-timers, as on call
workers, as workfare, as day laborers, as prison laborers, we are people who
are workers, who add social good; and --all-- of us are catching hell!
That's because wherever there is a war against wages, that means a war
against workers.
If we speak the truth, it doesn't matter who wins the White House; workers
are catching hell. That's because the only choices before the American
people are corporate choices; a thin narrow slice between two, quite similar
"brokerage parties", who sell their souls to the highest bidder.
Think of it this way; the last president supported by vast labor votes was
William Jefferson Clinton. And how did Clinton reward labor support? By
passing NAFTA, and opening the door to the globalist monster that is sucking
the life-blood from most working families across the nation. The drastic
loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, and the resultant drop in wages, can be
traced to the NAFTA bill.
That's why a Million Worker March is now necessary; to break through the
corporate gibble-gobble that now dominates the coming elections. Corporate
candidates covered by corporate media for corporate interests. It's no
wonder it's so slimy. It's also no wonder that the word "workers" rarely, if
ever, crosses the lips of the corporate candidates. It's no wonder that the
word "union" sounds like profanity when they mention it.
It is only the workers that can or will defend the interests of workers:
-- Universal Healthcare for ALL people;
-- A national living wage and livable retirement benefits;
-- Bring about democracy to the shop floor, so that decision about work are
made by those who labor;
-- Taxation that is progressive, on corporations and the wealthy, and
relieves the burdens on the working class and poor;
-- An End to Wars waged for Corporate America, like Iraq!;
-- The immediate revocation of --all-- anti-labor pacts, like NAFTA, FTAA,
the WTO, and CAFTA!;
-- The repeal of Taft-Hartley!;
-- Repeal of the so-called "PATRIOT ACT"!;
These are but some of the demands motivating the Million Worker March, but
it can't be all of them. Workers actually build this society; it is they,
and only they, who can re-build it.
This means a resurgence of the labor movement that is truly revolutionary --
that does not "settle" for it's slice, but changes the social order --
completely. The union movement has a history of exclusion that worked
against its own class interests; what if --what IF-- --all-- of those people
we mentioned a few moments ago -- part-timers, on-calls, perma-temps, and
yes -- prison laborers -- were actually unionized? It would add
immeasurably, to the power of Labor, and add to the power of unions,
generally, as a social force in the social order! In a phrase, this is
win-win. Social transformation is possible, but only -- ONLY -- with social
organization!
When people organize, broadly, and as a social force, then you will hear
those political whores speak the word "union" like they are speaking of a
lover! Our esteemed ancestor, the great escaped captive, and abolitionist,
Frederick Douglass once said, "Power concedes nothing without demand." He
was right then; he is right now. Labor must unite to force this corrupt
political system to yield. We, all of us, will be able to construct new
realities, not merely demand them.
Or else, we will be choosing the same monkeys to sit over us, as they betray
us, forever. That time must end. Thank You!
-- Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mr. Jamal is author of "WE WANT FREEDOM: A life in the Black Panther Party"
(Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2004)
http://www.mumia.org
Visit http://www.millionworkermarch.org
for information on the demands and list of endorsers
http://www.chicagofreemumia.org
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
2) Million Worker March Update
SPEAKERS & IMPORTANT BUS PARKING INFORMATION
The Million Worker March is only 4 days away. Momentum is
building for this historic event.
Activists and groups: Are you busy e-mailing &
phone-banking to "get people on those buses?"
For detailed information, see
http://www.antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org
***The Rally
Arrangements have been made with the Washington D.C.
Metropolitan Police for buses to drop passengers off on
Virginia Ave. just North of Constitution Ave. This is in
close walking distance to the Lincoln Memorial, 22nd and
Constitution Ave. NW.
Bus greeters will be stationed at Virginia Ave. to give
information to participants as they arrive. Bus pick up
will be at the same location - Virginia Ave off of
Constitution.
Buses can park on Virginia Ave on a first come basis and
on Ohio Dr. off of Independence Ave., which is on the
South side of the Lincoln Memorial.
Volunteers are needed to help greet the buses, set up,
security and with a variety of other tasks. There will be
a "Volunteers Meeting" on Friday, October 15, 7 P.M. at
St. Stephen Church, 1525 Newton St. NW. There will be work
sessions throughout Saturday.
The Pre-Rally and entertainment will begin at 10:30 am.
The main Rally will begin at 12 noon at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, DC. (The Lincoln Memorial is
located between Constitution and Independence Aves. and
between 22nd and 23rd St. The closest metro stop is Foggy
Bottom on the blue/orange line. The Foggy Bottom exit is
at 23rd and I Sts. NW. From the exit walk south on 23rd
St.)
Maps, housing information, maps, and other helpful
information are available at:
http://antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org/logistics.htm
***Speakers Include:
Actor Danny Glover; entertainer and activist Dick Gregory;
Rev. Jesse Jackson; Brenda Stokely, President, AFSCME
District Council 1707; Clarence Thomas, co-Chair MWM;
Chris Silvera, Teamsters National Black Caucus; Ralph
Schoenman, Chair: Communications, MWM; Roger Toussaint,
President, Transport Workers Union, Local 100; Donna
Dewitt, President South Carolina State Federation of
Labor; Mike Hoffman, Co-Founder, Iraqi Veterans Against
the War; and more.
***Discussion & Organizing Tents
The main event on Oct. 17 is of course the rally on the
steps of the Lincoln monument.
- But thereÂ’s moreÂ… Oct. 17 will not only be a big rally,
but also a genuine opportunity for activists from many
different struggles, and many different parts of the
country (and the world), to share information and ideas
with each other, and talk about strategies to carry our
movement forwards.
- In Order to facilitate this processÂ… we will have
Discussion & Organizing Tents near the Lincoln Monument
on Oct. 17.
- The tents will be situated close enough to be accessible
to all who come to the rally, but far enough away so as to
not interfere or compete with it.
- Each tent will be issue-based. A partial list of issues
includes:
-WorkersÂ’ Rights (i.e., organizing, contracts,
health/safety issues)
-Anti-War
-Global Women’s issues/the “invisible worker”
-Youth
-Housing
-Reparations (i.e., domestic/international)
-National Health Care For All
-The Corporate Agenda (i.e., free trade agreements,
outsourcing, sweatshops)
-International Solidarity (i.e., Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela,
Iraq, Palestine, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Brazil,
Columbia, The Philippines, Korea etc.)
-Repression, racism, violations of civil liberties, the
“Patriot Act”, civil & human rights
-Immigrant Rights
-Quality/Free Education for all
-Criminal Injustice system/political prisoners
-Environmental issues & environmental racism
-Labor Media
-Veterans
***MWM Solidarity With Hotel Workers March
Hotel workers are currently on strike or locked out in San
Francisco, on strike in Atlantic City, and preparing to
strike in both Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
Participants in the Million Worker March are invited to
participate in a march from the rally to the Hotel
Washington, one of the hotels where workers may be on
strike soon. The march will take place in the late
afternoon, and it is optional for MWM participants as many
will want to remain at the main rally, or in the
discussion and organizing tents.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
**Get the Word out!
1) download leaflets from
http://antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org/pdfdownload.htm
and take them to your school, workplace, house of worship,
union, and community organization.
2) Link to the Anti-war for the Million Worker March
Website :
http://antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org/index.htm
3) Forward this email to your email lists
**Donate!
We need help with the enormous expenses involved with
organizing buses for this massive mobilization of working
people. You can donate online at:
http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org/
http://antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org
October 17 Washington DC
Anyone can subscribe.
Send an email request to
AntiWar4theMillionWorkerMarch-subscribe@organizerweb.com
To unsubscribe AntiWar4theMillionWorkerMarch-unsubscribe@organizerweb.com
Subscribing and unsubscribing can also be done on the Web at
http://www.organizerweb.com/mailman/listinfo/antiwar4themillionworkermarch
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
3) A Labor Activism Alert from the Cultural Workers Consort...
Friends,
Here is some updated information on Sunday's historic event----
THE MILLION WORKER MARCH. I am proud to add that I WILL BE
AMONG THE MUSICAL PERFORMERS ONSTAGE for this amazing workers'
action. The organizers of this event have proclaimed their belief in the
of music and the rest of the arts as an important tool in organizing.
Here, Here! At present the full list of performers is incomplete, but I am
told that it will run the gamut from Hip-Hop to Folk, World Music to Pop,
and beyond---an assemblage that is representational of the body of
working people and activists in the throngs of marchers. Beisdes my
own set of Labor songs, some other confirmed performers will include
NYC singer-songwriter Judy Gorman and southern chorus, The Fruits
of Labor, among so many more. These cultural workers will be coming
from all points, as will be the marchers themselves. Let's really rock
DC, sisters and brothers. It is high time that the workers have a loud
voice they can call their own.
In Solidarity,
John Pietaro
-----Forwarded Message-----
From: NYCLAW
Sent: Oct 13, 2004 7:08 PM
To: LaborAgainstWar
Subject: [NYCLAW] Million Worker March Info
1. Get Your Bus Tickets Today & donate to help others march
2. Volunteer at the MWM
**Get Your Bus Tickets
There is still space on the buses to Washington, DC--don't
miss this historic opportunity!
The ongoing debates have made one thing clear--working
people must have their own voice in Washington, DC. We must
speak for ourselves and raise the issues that matter to
us--issues like health care, a living wage, affordable
housing, and bringing the troops home now.
Our voice in the debate will be heard on Sunday, October
17 in Washington, DC, at the Million Worker March.
There are only two days left to get your bus tickets for the
October 17 Million Worker March in Washington, DC. Buses are
leaving from throughout New York and from across the
country. Tens of thousands of working people, students,
veterans, and activists will gather at the Lincoln Memorial
to say, "We need jobs, healthcare, & a living wage, not
war!"
Get your bus tickets today!
Stop by 39 W. 14th St. in Manhattan (between 5th & 6th
Aves.) Tickets are $35 round-trip, are leaving from
locations throughout NYC, including:
39 W. 14th St. (Manhattan)
96th St. & Broadway (Manhattan)
125th St. & A.C. Powell (Manhattan)
178th St. & Broadway (Manhattan) Queensboro Plaza (Queens)
Grand Army Plaza (Brooklyn) Journal Sq. (Jersey City, NJ)
Call 212-633-6646 for more information.
We want to provide as many buses as possible so that youth,
students, and working people can make their voices heard on
October 17. Your donation will help make this possible.
You can donate to help cover the costs of buses online at:
http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org or by mail (make checks
payable to: Anti-War4MWM/IAC, and send to 39 W. 14th St.
#206, NY, NY 10011)
http://www.Antiwar4theMillionWorkerMarch.org Donate:
http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org
Volunteer with the MWM!
We will need hundreds of volunteers to make the March a
success.
In the next few days, come by 39 W. 14th St. #206 to help
with making signs & banners, packing supplies, and many
other tasks. The office will be open from 10am to 6pm
through Saturday.
Volunteers are needed in Washington to help greet the buses,
set up, security and with a variety of other tasks.
If you can go to DC early, there will be a "Volunteers
Meeting" on Friday, October 15, 7 P.M. at St. Stephen
Church, 1525 Newton St. NW. There will be work sessions
throughout Saturday. Call 202-232-0057 or 212-633-6646 for
more information.
If you are arriving on Sunday, you can still volunteer to
greet buses, staff tables, hand out literature, clean up
after the demo, and many other tasks. Check in with a MWM
table at the rally to find out how you can help.
For logistics (transportation, bus drop-off, maps, housing,
speakers list, etc.)
http://www.antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org/logistics.htm)
Anti-War 4 the Million Worker March
http://antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org
October 17 Washington DC
The International Action Center http://www.iacenter.org mail
to:iacenter@iacenter.org
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
4) FROM LYNNE STEWART'S TRIAL BLOG
Justice for Lynne Stewart!
Notes from the trial...
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
From: "Larry Felson"
Thu, 14 Oct 2004 07:40:18 +0000
Dear Friends, Comrades, Supporters:
Sorry I haven't been faithful to the Blog but the onslaught of the
government has kept us busy at the barricades (2004 style).
In the four month smear, they have presented Bin Laden on
video and in translation by NY Times reporter Judith Miller
(herself now in the clutches of persecutor US attorney Pat
Fitzgerald in connection with the White House outing of the
CIA agent wife). We have also had endless newspaper articles
found in FILES in my office, found in my co-defendant's study
where he was preparing his dissertation and in the garage of
my other co-defendant.
On the final day of the trial and "faithfully" reported by all
the media they played a conversation between Sattar and
a Reuters reporter on September 24,2001. In this, she asks
him about a "link" between Bin Laden and my client, Sheik
Omar. A french reporter, interviewed Bin Laden(when? where?
How? who?) and was told that he was influenced by Sheik Omar's
words in 1996, THEREFORE... The Judge dutifully and dully
repeated the admonition to the JUry, "Bin Laden is not part of
this case. He is not a co-conspirator. This is not offered for the
truth". Supporters in the audience have been wondering so why
is the jury hearing this at all???? There is an answer to that
question and it's the same answer to why we are in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
Following this scurrilous presentation--and these young
prosecutors were all but high fiving each other, Tigar (the great)
made argument to dismiss all the charges--read it on the web
site. It lifted all our bruised spirits and got us ready for this
week to come!
Now, on Wednesday, October 13, I will take the witness stand.
Tigar and I will have discourse on my life and lawyering and the
Sheik's. case. I will be there for probably a week at least. They will
be ugly on cross examination...but untutored. I have the WILL to
do this but I need endurance and stamina. Part of that will be
supplied (no pun) by the people in the audience ...fellow stugglers
for decades, new believers, friends dating from elementary and high
school, my beloved family meaning Ralph, children, sister,
grandchildren (12 going on 13). All who see my fight as their
fight--standing on the brink of disaster in this USA and no way
to go but forward to victory.
Thanks -- too weak a word--for all the heartfelt greetings.
I went to the YMHA in Manhattan to hear Adrienne Rich read
her poetry ... these are things that sustain me and my optimistic
view that there can be a world of difference and diversity where
the poets (and lawyers!) are not the warriors. Keep me in your t
houghts and hearts
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
5) IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA
SUMMARY
The economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United
States of America against Cuba is the longest in history. According
to figures updated in 2004 by the Cuban National Statistics Office,
69% of the population living in our country was born after 1959,
thus, approximately 7 out of 10 Cubans have been born and lived
under the unilateral sanction regime of the US embargo.
Last year, 179 Member States voted in favor, 3 against (including
the United States) and 2 abstained. This proved the international
community's nearly-total rejection towards the US Administration's
genocidal policy against Cuba
For thirteen consecutive years, Cuba will submit to the
consideration of the UN General Assembly the draft resolution
entitled: "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and
financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against
Cuba". The Assembly will debate and take action on this draft on
Thursday, 28 October 2004.
CUBA CANNOT EXPORT TO THE US
Cuba cannot engage in any kind of sales to US entrepreneurs.
Cuba could export to the US, for example, from 10 to 15,000
tons of nickel per annum, no less than 1,000 tons of cobalt and more
than 2 million tons of cement.
CUBA FROM THE US CANNOT IMPORT (ONLY FOODSTUFFS AND ON AN
EXCEPTIONAL BASIS)
Our country must engage in cash-related purchases, without
the possibility of accessing financial credits, not even private
ones.
US companies must engage in cumbersome bureaucratic
formalities to procure the license authorizing them to sell their
products to Cuba.
Cuba cannot use its maritime fleet in such trading
operations. Transportation must take place on US or third-country
vessels after procuring a license to that end.
Cuba has to pay to US companies through banks based in third
countries because it is not allowed to establish direct banking
relations with the US.
Within five years of the lifting of the travel ban, our
country could be receiving 5 million American tourists and revenues
amounting to US$ 7 billion per annum.
The sanctions imposed for traveling to Cuba can be up to 10
years in prison and penalties of US$ 1 million for corporations and
US$ 250,000 for individuals.
Cuba is compelled to engage in third-country currency
operations, even though its major import and export items are quoted
on the world market in that currency. This causes huge economic
losses on account of the ups and downs of the US dollar against the
currencies of the country's main trading partners.
CUBA DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS EITHER TO INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
AGENCIES.NO SINGLE CREDIT HAS BEEN RECEIVED IN THE LAST 45 YEARS
According to preliminary information, only in 2003, the
Inter-American Development Bank loaned nearly US$ 9 billion in
credits to Latin America, while the World Bank lent another US$ 5
billion.
THE TORRICELLI ACT ( adopted 1992 )
It prohibits trade with subsidiaries of US companies based
in third countries.
It sets forth that third-country vessels are forced to wait
no less than 6 months to call at US ports after having called at
Cuban ports, under the threat of being "blacklisted."
THE HELMS-BURTON ACT (adopted 1996)
Title III: It sets forth the celebration of trials in US
courts of law against third-country businesspeople who engage in
deals with Cuba.
Title IV: It prevents entry into the US for those company
officials, CEOs and their families who engage in business deals with
Cuba.
SECTION 211.
Another poorly worked out legislative plan
It allows Bacardi Co. to steal the "Havana Club" rum
brandname for the US market.
It prevents third-country companies from filing suits with
US courts of law over trademark and patent violations if these are
related to business deals in Cuba.
THE SO-CALLED "PEOPLE TO PEOPLE" ENGAGEMENT,
FORBIDDEN BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
The Government of the United States sets aside this year US$ 28.2
million to broadcast to Cuba a total of 2,233 weekly hours through
radio and TV.
Between 1984 and 2003, the US spent US$ 432 million on operations
connected with Radio and TV MartÃ.
Only through USAID, the current budget sets aside a total of US$ 7
million to finance the fabrication of an "opposition" within Cuba.
Last 6 May, the US Government announced, with a lot of media
publicity and the direct involvement of the Administration's highest-
ranking officials, new measures to further tighten its aggressive
and hostile policy towards Cuba.
WHAT DID BUSH SAY THEN?
"This strategy fosters the spending of money to help organizations
protect the dissidents and promote human rights. It is a strategy
that fosters a clear voice in speaking the truth to the Cuban people
through Radio and TV MartÃ. It is a strategy that will prevent the
regime from taking advantage of the tourists' hard currency and the
remittances to the Cubans that underpin the repressive regime. It is
a strategy that says that we are not waiting for the day of freedom
in Cuba; we are working for the day of freedom in Cuba."
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION FOR ASSISTANCE TO A FREE CUBA
OBJECTIVE: TO OVERTHROW THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT
AND FULLY ESTABLISH ITS TOTAL CONTROL ON CUBA
The report issued has 6 chapters. The first chapter is the one which
lists the strategy and the specific measures that the Commission
recommends for its immediate implementation to topple the Cuban
Government. Key elements of this "new strategy" would be:
1. Increase in support for the groups acting at the service of
the US.
2. Increase in the international campaigns against our country.
3. Tightening of the subversive and misinformation actions
against Cuba.
4. Adoption of new measures to affect the Cuban economy.
5. Undermining what they have called the "regime succession"
plans.
MAIN MEASURES 6 MAY 2004
1) To set aside US$ 59 million in the next 2 years to finance
actions aimed at destroying the Revolution. Such funding would be
used, inter alia, to:
a) Increase the funding for internal subversion activities and
search for new ways to engage governments, third-country NGOs and
international organizations in those efforts. The US$ 7 million of
the current budget now adds another US$ 29 million, for a grand
total of US$ 36 million aimed at financing the so-called "internal
opposition" in Cuba.
b) Expand the anti-Cuban propaganda campaign. To enhance
towards the interior of Cuba the direct broadcasts of the so-called
Radio and TV Martà by means of a C-130 airplane. Towards the
outside world, another US$ 5 million would be earmarked to
disseminate a negative image of our country. (as a country that
violates human rights, engages in espionage against third parties,
fosters subversion in Latin America and conducts other actions
labeled as threats to the national security of the US)
2 ) Prohibition for the Cubans living in the US to send remittances
and packages to their relatives in Cuba if these are "government
officials" or "members of the Communist Party."
3-To reduce the visits to Cuba by those Cubans living in the US.
Elimination of the general license for a trip per annum and
limitation of family-related visits to one every three years under
a specific license and only for close relatives.
4-To limit the recipients of remittances and packages to direct
relatives of Cubans living in the US. (DEFINED EXCLUSIVELY AS
GRANDPARENTS, GRANDCHILDREN, PARENTS, BROTHERS
AND SISTERS, WIVES AND CHILDREN)
While the Cuban Government is more flexible about the visits of
immigrants, the US Government increases the obstacles! What are
they afraid of?
5-To continue restricting the granting of licenses for educational
travels and academic exchanges to US citizens and institutions
through more stringent regulations than those existing today. These
new restrictions include:
Limitation of educational exchanges,
Elimination of the general license for travels by athletes,
Removal of the specific license for cultural clinics and
workshops,
Elimination of the fully hosted traveler category,
Revision of travel permits on private aircraft, etc.
6. To reduce the maximum limit of money to be spent by a Cuban-
American visiting their family in Cuba, from US$ 164 to just US$ 50
per day.
7. Implementation of "covert" activities against anyone
bringing money to relatives in Cuba from Cubans based in the US.
Rewards are even offered to those denouncing or reporting the
illegal sending of family remittances.
8. To make a more serious assessment about whether the
enforcement of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act is deleterious to
US interests or if such enforcement could expedite the fall of the
Cuban Revolution.
(TO AUTHORIZE THE CELEBRATION OF TRIALS IN US COURTS OF
LAW AGAINST THIRD-COUNTRY BUSINESSPEOPLE ENGAGED IN
DEALS WITH CUBA, WHICH HAD NOT BEEN ENFORCED UNTIL NOW)
9. To firmly apply sanctions contained in Title IV of the Helms-
Burton Act – prohibiting the granting of visas to foreign investors
based in Cuba.
10. To neutralize those companies engaged in economic activities
with the external sector. To run investigations on Cuban and foreign
companies trading with Cuba.
11. To deploy an offensive for third-country governments and
NGOs to join the US policy aimed at destroying the Cuban Revolution.
Mr. Noriega was particularly emphatic in his appeal for other
countries to support those efforts.
12. To support actions in third countries to discourage tourism
towards our country.
13. To continue denying visas for Cuban officials who must
travel to the US.
14. To continue denying visas for Cuban officials who must
travel to the US.
15. Appointment of a "Coordinator for the Transition in Cuba" at
the State Department level. In practice, he would be the future "US
pro-consul" in our country
The measures announced are also a violation of the human rights of
the Cuban-born citizens living in the US, who are seeing the
imposition of new and draconian restrictions to travel to their
country of origin and send economic assistance to their relatives in
Cuba.
THESE MEASURES DISREGARD:
The real interests of the American people and the
overwhelming majority of the Cubans living in the US.
The real interests of most members of the US Congress.
The real interests of the extensive sectors of that country
that are looking forward to a normal relation with Cuba.
The standards and principles of International Law.
In sum, what is being proclaimed is the plan of annexation of Cuba
to the US and the return to the Republic of the Platt Amendment!
An escalation that not only attempts to stifle the country
economically, but that also intends to create conditions enabling
the legitimacy of the "regime change" policy in Cuba.
The Cuban people relies on the fact that the international
community, in circumstances in which the US government irresponsibly
threatens its rights to life, development, peace and self-
determination, will stand firm and clearly to favor the ending of
the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on them.
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6) CIA using Jordan as torture base
"US interrogators are known to threaten some detainees
with shipping them off to Jordan if they don't co-operate"
Wednesday 13 October
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5EE4504C-E30E-41C4-A83A-C7ED1CC4AE80.
htm
The US Central Intelligence Agency is holding al-Qaida suspects in
a secret Jordanian jail where they are subjected to interrogation
methods banned in the United States, an Israeli newspaper said
on Wednesday.
The Haaretz newspaper said at least 11 men held incommunicado
in Jordan include Khalid Shaikh Muhammad, the alleged mastermind
of the attacks on New York and Washington, and Hanbali, accused of
being al-Qaida's ally in southeast Asia.
"Their detention outside the US enables CIA interrogators to apply
interrogation methods banned by US law and to do so in a country
where cooperation with Americans is particularly close, thereby
reducing the danger of leaks," Haaretz said.
But a Jordanian security official dismissed as "totally baseless" the
story, which attributed its information to international intelligence
sources. A CIA official in Washington declined to comment.
The Jordanian official, who declined to be named, said: "The
allegations that surface every now and then that the US runs secret
detention centres in the kingdom are totally baseless and seek
to undermine the country's favourable human rights image abroad."
International human rights groups have accused the United States
of circumventing guidelines on interrogation by shipping al-Qaida
suspects to allied states where such legal scrutiny is lacking.
Washington insists its interrogators operate within the law.
Previous claims
US officials say incommunicado detentions in secret locations are
essential for security and that many suspects held have provided
valuable intelligence that has foiled planned attacks.
Jordan is seen as a key ally in the US-led war on terror.
In "Rumsfeld's War", a book drawing on declassified Pentagondocuments,
Washington Times correspondent Rowan Scarborough said Jordanian
interrogators had helped US counterparts in handling al-Qaida
suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"US interrogators are known to threaten some detainees with
shipping them off to Jordan if they don't cooperate," Scarborough
said.
"Like other Middle Eastern countries, Jordan uses physical means
to coerce confessions and vital intelligence information," he added.
Reuters
All International news articles and news are available at
http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/internationalnews/2004-07
Messages before 2004 are available at (this site is an archive only, s
o please do not try to add your address)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internationalnews/
Please visit also: www.apm-ram.org
Please see also: http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/
International News
[Zionism is Racism, Anti-Zionism is not Anti-Semitism]
Please read and feel free to forward, print, and publish.
We would like to apologize for any repeated messages, and any
typing or grammatical errors.
We act because we believe in this quote: " You can fool some of
the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time,
but you cannot fool all of the people all the time"
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7) PALESTINE EYEWITNESS: Attack on Gaza
Kim Bullimore, West Bank
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/602/602p24.htm
Seven days after the Israeli military campaign in the northern Gaza
region began on September 28, 100 Palestinians - one third of them
under the age of 15 - have been killed, while more than 300 civilians,
including more than 80 children, have been wounded, 168 houses
have been demolished, along with kindergartens, dozens of grocery
stores, schools and olive groves. Electricity has been cut off and tens
of thousands of people have been left without drinking water.
The Israeli offensive, which began on the night of the fourth anniversary
of the second Palestinian intifada (uprising), has been carried out in one
of the most populated regions of Gaza. In the past six days, more than
2000 Israeli troops, accompanied by 200 Israeli tanks, dozens of apache
helicopters and armoured bulldozers have entered Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya
and Beit Hanoun refugee camps which are home to more than 250,000
Palestinians.
The offensive also began within days of Yom Kippur, the Jewish festival
of atonement. In a gross misappropriation of Jewish religiousity, the
Israeli government has dubbed the operation Days of Penitence.
Medical staff in Balsam Hospital in Beit Lahia have reported severe food,
medical and blood shortages, while the staff at Al Awda hospital in
Jabaliya have reported that their medical emergency supplies have
been exhausted as a result of the high number of causalities.
According to the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, which is based
in Jabiliya, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has denied the Ministry of
Health access to the government clinic in Beit Hanoun, and denied all
requests for access. Since the start of the offensive, the IDF has
refused to allow United Nation Works and Relief Agency (UNWRA)
medical staff access to their clinic to assist with causalities.
IDF spokespeople have publicly claimed that the offensive is in response
to the death of two children killed by a Hamas rocket attack upon the
Israeli township of Sderot. However, a number of commentators in
Israel have argued that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, under
pressure from the extreme right because of his Gaza "disengagement"
plan, is exploiting the death of the children to pursue his own agenda.
Sharon's Gaza "disengagement plan", announced in February, was
designed to relieve international pressure on Israel, which had ratcheted
up because of its construction of the Apratheid Wall. The plan was
designed to give the impression that Israel was working towards peace
without giving into "terrorism", while allowing Sharon and his
government to annex and consolidate more territory in the West Bank.
Despite all the hue and cry by right-wing opponents of "disengagement",
the plan concedes little.
Under it, "disengagement" was not to be immediate or unilateral,
instead it was to take "one or two years" to complete and would merely
involve shifting the path of the Apartheid Wall east to a new security
line within the Occupied Territories. This would take in more illegal
settlements then the original path, and would not result in the immediate
dismantling of those illegal colonies outside the new path, instead they
would be relocated.
In addition, the plan would exclude Palestinians from the negotiating
table, in favour of Washington-Israel talks. In return for
"disengagement", the US would be asked to recognise the Apartheid
wall, as well as the illegal colonies of Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and
Gush Etzio, annexing further sections of the West Bank. Within
days of the announcement of the plan, however, the number of
settlements to be moved dwindled from 17 to include only the
"most isolated" colonies, with the evacuation of the Katif block,
the biggest colony in the Gaza being postponed indefinitely.
In an interview in April with the Progressive magazine, Uri Avnery,
a former Knesset member and founding member of Israeli peace
organisation Gush Shalom, claimed that the plan would result in the
incorporation of 55% of the West Bank into Israel. At the same time,
Avnery argued, the Gaza "will become a giant prison camp, cut off
on all sides. It will have no seaport or airport and be cut off from its
only neighbour, Egypt. There will be no entering the Strip or leaving
it except through Israel. Much as now, Israel will be able to cut off
the supply of food, raw materials, water, fuel, gas and electricity,
as well as the exit of workers and goods. Israel will also be able to
invade the Strip at any time in order to 'prevent terrorist actions'."
Sharon's plan might have meant little, but that did not stop other
right-wing parties, the extreme right within his own party and
extremist settler groups and rabbinical leaders condemning it.
In early September, more than 20,000 settlers rallied in Jerusalem
to protest the plan. Many of those attending the rally warned that
civil war was inevitable and that there would be violent clashes
between settlers and Israeli security forces should the plan go ahead.
Other settlers at the demonstration carried signs calling Sharon
"a dictator" and "traitor".
Three days prior to the demonstration, 185 former members of
the Israeli government, senior reserve officers in the IDF and other
prominent Israeli professionals signed a petition declaring
disengagement "a national crime, a crime against humanity and
is a revelation of tyranny, evil and arbitrariness meant to deny
Jews their rights... [that] lays the groundwork for the ethnic
cleansing of Jews from their homeland". A number of the signatories
to the petition went on to publicly accuse Sharon of Nazism and
anti-semitism.
Given this pressure, Sharon is particularly wary of appearing to
give in to Palestinian militants. According to Israel's daily newspaper
Ha'aretz , an October 3 statement by Israeli "defence" minister Shaul
Mofaz argued that "the aim of the [Gaza] operation is `to send a
clear message that Israel will not tolerate terrorist operations during
the disengagement', hints at the pressure by the right of the
opponents of the disengagement plan, who are taking advantage
of the suffering of the Sderot residents".
The Gaza offensive allows Sharon to continue to pose as the
"strongman" of Israeli politics at home, while propagating the
fantasy that Israel is seeking peace - and is the victim in the conflict.
Washington is quite happy to continue to foster this. US Secretary
of State Colin Powell told the New York Times that "Israel's action
in Gaza in relation to the rocket attacks was a legitimate response".
The offensive also allows Israel to maintain its military and economic
stranglehold on the Gaza. On October 3, Sharon and Mofaz
separately described the Gaza offensive as "open-ended", saying
that the IDF would establish a "buffer zone" to "spare Israeli towns
from rocket attacks" and ensure that "there is no withdrawal under
fire next year".
The current offensive is merely a continuation of military operations
that have taken place since Sharon first announced plans for
"disengagement". For the past six months, the IDF has been
systematically demolishing houses and olive groves in Beit Hanoun
and Beit Lahiya. In addition, hundreds of houses have been
demolished along the Philidelphi corridor near Rafah, ensuring
that Israel will control the border between the Gaza and Egypt.
As the US prepares to veto a UN motion condemning the Israeli
offensive and the illegal collective punishment of civilians, the
humanitarian crisis in the Gaza continues to grow. Sharon's strategy,
if allowed to proceed, will ensure that there is no road to peace and
the continued construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and the
further illegal annexation by Israel of a further 55% of the West Bank.
[Kim Bullimore is a member of the Socialist Alliance and is currently
working with the international human rights and solidarity group,
the International Women's Peace Service in Palestine. Visit
From Green Left Weekly, October 13, 2004.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.
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8) Death Toll from Israel's Gaza Offensive Rises to 100
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters)
Thu Oct 14, 2004 05:44 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6498923&src=eD
ialog/GetContent§ion=news
GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes killed five Palestinians in Gaza
Thursday as the Palestinian death toll rose to 100 in a 16-day-old
army offensive aimed at crushing militants behind rocket salvoes
into Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is seeking a decisive triumph
over militants to overcome rightist opposition to his plan to
"disengage" from conflict with Palestinians by evacuating all
Jewish settlers from Gaza and a few from the West Bank in 2005.
Missiles killed two Hamas gunmen in the sprawling urban
Jabalya refugee camp in north Gaza, stormed by more than 200
tanks and troop carriers after a Hamas rocket killed two toddlers
across the border in Israel on Sept. 29.
Helicopters backing up a separate army raid into Rafah refugee
camp in Gaza's far south fired three missiles, killing two militants
and a civilian man of 70, local medics and residents said. A woman
was seriously wounded.
Military sources said Israeli forces targeted gunmen who had just
launched an anti-tank rocket at troops operating to uncover tunnels
used to smuggle in weapons from Egypt.
Officials with the U.N. agency caring for Palestinian refugees said
Israeli armored bulldozers demolished about 30 houses, leaving
about 40 people homeless, before the armed forces withdrew at
around daybreak from Rafah.
The cinderblock camp is, like Jabalya, a frequent tinderbox in the
four-year-old Palestinian revolt against Israel.
Israeli forces often raze Palestinian buildings they say harbor
militants who fire at them or, in Rafah's case, camouflage
smuggling tunnels. Palestinians and human rights groups denounce
the practice as collective punishment.
SWATHE OF DESTRUCTION
Israeli troops rooting around for elusive Hamas rocket squads
in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, next to Jabalya, also left
a trail of destruction Thursday.
About 20 houses were wrecked or seriously damaged while
tanks had broken up asphalt roads, squashed cars and taxis,
churned up dozens of hectares (acres) of olive and citrus
groves, and knocked out electricity and telephone lines.
Israel's north Gaza incursion, its biggest inside the desert
territory since the Palestinian uprising began, has killed at
least 59 militants with most of the other 41 dead believed
to be civilians, medics say.
Israel says the great bulk of Palestinian dead were gunmen.
Three Israelis and a Thai farmworker in one of Israel's
isolated Jewish settlements in Gaza have also been killed.
Gaza militants have cranked up gun, rocket and mortar
attacks of late, hoping to portray any Israeli retreat from
territories occupied in the 1967 Middle East war as a victory.
Sharon is determined to batter them into quiescence first
and intends to hold onto swathes of the West Bank with most of
the 240,000 settlers as a tradeoff for dumping smaller Gaza.
Polls show most Israelis support Sharon's strategy,
regarding Gaza as too costly in lives and money.
But nationalists inside and outside Sharon's fraying
right-wing coalition see any pullback as appeasement of
"Palestinian terrorism," and hard-line settlers planned a
series of street rallies around Israel later Thursday.
Sharon, trying to erode rightist resistance before an Oct.
25 parliament vote on "disengagement," has promised to press on
with the campaign against Hamas rocket teams.
(c) Copyright Reuters 2004
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9) FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY great events!
[Short listings followed by full event details below:]
FRIDAY, Oct. 15th 5:30pm-10pm Global Exchange Open House
SATURDAY, Oct. 16th 4pm-7pm Prop N Fundraising Party
@ Canvass Gallery
SUNDAY, Oct. 17th Jailbirds' Afternoon Delight - A Benefit to raise
funds for legal expenses for June Brashares' case from her action
at the RNC and Terry Baum's Supreme Court case.
Come join us at the 16th Annual Global Exchange Open House!!
Friday, October 15th, 2004 5:30pm-10:00pm
Global Exchange's office, 2017 Mission St., #303, San Francisco
(near the corner of 16th & Mission Streets, across from the
BART station)
Meet our amazing staff, board, and wonderful members,
supporters, and neighbors. Join us for free food, drinks,
music, dancing and an exciting drawing.
Program:
5:30 Self-Guided Office Tours with refreshments, a video
presentation from the Human Rights Awards, meet staff and
learn about GX programs and ways to get involved.
6:30 Welcome by GX founders: Kevin Danaher, Medea Benjamin,
and Kirsten Moller (with updates on the Global Citizen Center
and Medea's new book!)
6:45 Greetings and Program Updates by GX staff
7:30 Music/Dancing
9:00 Prize Drawing of a trip for two in Mexico on one of
our Reality Tours, great theatre tickets, and gift certificates
from area restaurants and more!
Double your donation to GX! All donations made throughout
the evening will be matched (up to $10,000) by the Global
Exchange Board of Directors.
Also the Global Exchange Online Store presents their first
ever...WAREHOUSE SALE!!
One night only--get all your holiday shopping done at the
Open House with Fair Trade items up to 50% off.
Visit www.globalexchangestore.org for more store
and product information.
To purchase raffle tickets or volunteer please contact
Mary at 415-558-6930.
* * * * * *
Join us at a Fundraising Party for Prop N!
Saturday, October 16th 4:00pm to 7:00pm
At:
Canvas Gallery, corner of 9th Ave & Lincoln Drive
(at the edge of Golden Gate Park), San Francisco
Great Music and Refreshments!
Along with special guests:
Medea Benjamin (Global Exchange), Howard Wallace
(Vice Pres., SF Labor Council), Susan Galleymore
(Motherspeak), Ann Roesler (Military Families Speak Out),
A Representative of CODEPINK, Matt
Gonzalez, President, S.F. Board of Supervisors, and
others to be announced.
Come learn more about Prop N among friends and activists.
YES ON N!
Proposition N on the November 2nd ballot declares:
"It is the Policy of the people of the City and County of San
Francisco that: The Federal government should take
immediate steps to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and
bring our troops safely home now."
If you cannot attend, but would like to make a donation
or otherwise help out with the campaign, please contact:
Bring Our Troops Home Now Committee (David Looman, Treasurer)
325 Highland Ave., San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel. 415/861-0318 web: www.yesonn.net
JAILBIRDS' AFTERNOON DELIGHT! - A Benefit for June Brashares'
& Terry Baum's Legal Expenses
Sunday, October 17th 3:30pm-5:30 pm
At:
Terry's house, 547 Douglass Street, (betweenn 21st &
22nd Streets), San Francisco
Public Transit: 35 & 48 bus. Relatively easy parking
June Brashares infiltrated the Republican National Convention
with a banner stating "Bush Lies, People Die" during George
Bush's speech and the New York police are throwing the book at her.
Terry Baum is suing to get her name on the ballot as the
Green candidate for Congress, and has gone all the way to
the Supreme Court.
These two strong women need your support in their
challenge to those who would silence them - and silence all of us!
Join them for coffee, dessert, and wine.
If it's sunny, we'll be in the garden.
Hear their stories, and see their arrest videos.
Other jailbirds invited to speak.
DONATIONS REQUESTED.
RSVP: (415) 701-0133
# # #
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