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[multiple items] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Terrorist Attacks Transform Protest http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-1185550,00.html Thursday September 20, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - Demonstrators who planned to protest the now-canceled meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are still coming to the nation's capital this month. Now their protests will be about war and racism. The global financial organizations called off this year's annual meetings after last week's terrorist attacks. Groups representing most of the expected protesters also canceled their demonstrations, many citing a need to respect victims of the attacks. But the New York-based International Action Center and other groups still intend to assemble thousands of protesters across from the White House on Sept. 29. ``We are demonstrating because of the imminent danger of a wider war, one that could result in the deaths of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands more people in addition to the victims of the tragedy on Sept. 11,'' said organizer Richard Becker. He said the protesters also oppose the backlash against Arabs and Muslims and the Bush administration's efforts to expand police powers following the attack. While Becker said the group has a permit for the rally and march, it is uncertain whether increased security around the White House will allow it to go forward. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said he had to consult with the National Park Service before commenting. The park service didn't immediately return calls seeking comment. District of Columbia Police Chief Charles Ramsey said he has no problem with the protesters as long as they're peaceful. ``But it remains to be seen how they would be welcomed if they come to the city under the circumstances,'' Ramsey said. He said police would be watching for other demonstrators who, angered by challenges to the appearance of American unity, might clash with the anti-war protesters. Police have blamed anarchists for much of the violence at anti-globalization protests during the past few years. A Washington-based anarchist group, the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, has announced plans for a separate anti-war march on Sept. 29. Before the terrorist attacks, police had said they expected as many as 100,000 protesters and wanted help from other jurisdictions, including New York City. Ramsey said his force, along with federal authorities, should be able to handle the scaled-back demonstrations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anti-Capitalist Convergence Issues New Call to Action Note: This is the official version of the revised call and will contain changes that are more current than versions floating around the Internet or on paper flyers. This is version 2.1. The Anti-Capitalist Convergence is continuing our mobilization in Washington DC September 24 through October 1. We are calling for a march against the growing capitalist war on Saturday morning September 29th and invite all those interested in creating a world free from terror, hate, racism, poverty and war to demonstrate our unity and vision for a better world For the past 5 months we have been organizing a mass mobilization against the fall meetings of the IMF and World Bank because of their role in enforcing global capitalism. In the process of this organizing we have been working to strengthen our community by making the connections between capitalism and issues local to dc. We had been planning a large, diverse and beautiful protest and were optimistic that these demonstrations would be a groundbreaking step for the Anti-Capitalist movement. Like most people we were shocked by the events of September 11th and stopped mid-action, mid-thought, our lives interrupted and forever changed. The enormity of this crisis has affected us all. The IMF and World Bank have cancelled their meetings and many groups have called off their events. The political climate in the United States has severely changed, emotions are running high and the country is extremely tense. In recent days we have seen the militarization of our city, increasingly blatant racist attacks and blind patriotism. Media hysteria and government rhetoric are pushing people to unite through religious bigotry and nationalism. Security, particularly here in Washington, DC, has been heightened as the country prepares to go to war. The US government has failed to recognize the interconnectedness of all the forms of violence. Bombing, encouragement of dictatorships, sweatshops for benefit of US corporations, third world debt, world hunger or lack of shelter and healthcare are all forms of violence. The fear and desperation that grows from poverty and oppression is crucial to any understanding of violence throughout the world. 35,000 people die from starvation each day even though there is enough food to feed all. Terror is still terror whether it is from death from starvation, fear of enslavement by corporations or fear of bombs or airplanes falling. Until we understand the violence of our economic, military and foreign policies, we will continue to foster the conditions that make this kind of terrorism possible. We demand that no more terror or violence be perpetrated in our name. We are a movement devoted to social justice. There is no justice to be found in retribution, war, racism, corporate globalization or capitalism itself. We condemn any and all retaliation and religious persecution of Arab, Arab American and Muslim peoples and we oppose any attack on our constitutional rights. We will not hand over our civil liberties to the greater good of the State. We strongly see the need to come together and act on our visions of the world we want to create and not on our fears. Though we came together against the Bank and Fund what we came together for is even more important now. We want to continue to mobilize, though we are all uncomfortable carrying forth in the way we planned. The tactics that were ideal to the original situation will not have the same effects at this time. We are no longer calling for militant blocs. We will take action to inspire, motivate and demonstrate that a world based on needs not profit; a world of mutual support; a world free from oppression is possible. This is a time to come together in true solidarity, in a way that supports all those working for a better world. Our plans include a convergence week starting with the opening of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence Welcome Center on Monday, September 24. All week long we will engage in skill shares, art, organizing meetings and outreach. At a time when many people think that war is the answer to violence talking to our neighbors will be a revolutionary act. We plan a Community Dialogue with people about what is happening in the world by asking them Why? We will continue to make connection between critical local issues like the lack of housing and healthcare and global capitalism. On Saturday morning we will hold Anti-Capitalist March Against Hate. That afternoon we will establish our Temporary Autonomous Zone to support and provide for ourselves in a caring and inclusive way. It will be a hate free zone, a war free zone, and a capitalist free zone. We encourage everyone to make a contribution whether it be a class for the free school, offering basic medical support, drumming, clothing swap, skill shares, performance, strategic discussions, food and more! Saturday evening we are extending an invitation to friends and neighbors to join together in a "Food Not Bombs" Community Dinner. When the state's pro-war rhetoric claims that "America takes care of it's own" yet spends billions on a war when many of its people go to sleep hungry and homeless it's time for a change. We want to model that change. We urge people to take action together in Washington DC. Taking action at home is equally important, however. If you cannot come to Washington, organize an action, talk to people in your neighborhood or set up your own autonomous zone. People are rising up everywhere saying no to hate and no to war. Join with anti-capitalists and other around the world as we take action for justice! http://struggle.ws/stopthewar.html UPDATED INFO ABOUT ANTI-CAPITALIST CONVERGENCE Convergence week: September 24 through October 1 Website: http://www.abolishthebank.org/ Website (english): http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/ Phone: 703-276-9768 General: info@abolishthebank.org Housing: housing@abolishthebank.org Local Issues: local@abolishthebank.org Media: media@abolishthebank.org Outreach: outreach@abolishthebank.org Funds: funds@abolishthebank.org Food: food@abolishthebank.org Legal: legal@abolishthebank.org Medical: medical@abolishthebank.org Arts/Action: arts@abolishthebank.org Ride Board: rides@abolishthebank.org Request Housing: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/request_housing.php Offer Housing: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/offer_housing.php Maps: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/maps.html Eating guide: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/guide.html Outreach Materials: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/outreach.html Events: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/events.html Ride Board: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/transit.html Free Skool/Workshops: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/freeskool.html Local Issues Working Group: http://www.primate.net/%7Echagall/acc-local/ Donate: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/donate.html Child Care: http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/childcare.html Next Public Meeting in Washington Sunday, September 23, 7:00 PM Location: For Location call 703-276-9768 Ext. 7 Anti-Capitalist Convergence Welcome Center It's about time to announce the Anti-Capitalist Convergence Welcome Center. The Welcome Center will open at 10am on Monday, September 24th and be open daily from 10am to 9pm from the 24th to October 1st. This is not a place to hang out or store your belongings. This space will used by the ACC to disseminate information about the Anti-Capitalist Convergence. Stop by to receive updates on protests and various actions during the Anti-Capitalist Convergence. From the welcome center we will be directing folks to protests, meetings, trainings, skillshares and workshops throughout the city. You will also be able to find out how to secure housing for your stay in DC and be directed to food servings by Seeds for Peace and various Food Not Bombs groups throughout the week. For information on anything concerning the Anti-Capitalist Convergence stop by the ACC Welcome Center at 15th and Irving Streets NW. One block from the Columbia Heights Metro stop on the Green Line. We need volunteers, contact: abolishthebank@hotmail.com if you can volunteer to staff for a shift or two during the convergence or call 703-276-9768 This space is NOT open to media or law enforcement. ------------------ Anti-Capitalist Convergence Principles of Unity (These are as adapted from CLAC and CASA's principles of unity. Two groups that organized for the FTAA protests in Quebec City.) *We are opposed to capitalism. We fundamentally reject a social and economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and exchange. We reject a system driven by an exploitative logic that sees human beings as human capital, ecosystems as natural resources, and culture as simply a commodity. We reject the idea that the world is only valuable in terms of profit, competition and efficiency. *We reject the ideology of neo-liberalism, whereby corporations and investors are exempt from all political and social measures that interfere with their so-called "success". *We are anti-imperialist, opposed to patriarchy, and denounces all forms of exploitation and oppression. We assert a worldview based on the respect of our differences and the autonomy of groups, individuals and peoples. Our objective is to globalize our networks of resistance to corporate rule. *Respecting a diversity of tactics, we support the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging between popular education to direct action. *We are autonomous, decentralized and non-hierarchical. We encourage the involvement of anyone who accepts this statement of principles. We also encourage the participation of all individuals in working groups, in accord with their respective political affiliations. *We organize with a regard for security culture, keeping in mind the constant repression and infiltration of political movements by the state. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A new peace movement emerges Students rally Thursday; peace gathering set for Sept. 30 By Eric Pianin THE WASHINGTON POST Sept. 20 — Ending their silence after a week of mourning the victims of terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, a broad range of religious leaders, social activists, entertainers, student organizations and business leaders are publicly beginning to urge President Bush to show restraint in his response and to carefully calibrate the use of U.S. military power. 'We must not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on even more loss of innocent life.' — NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES AS PART OF the budding peace offensive, over 1,200 members of the National Council of Churches and a diverse coalition — organized by Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover and Rosa Parks — issued strong statements yesterday noting that, while the attacks' perpetrators should be brought to justice, wholesale military action would incite more terrorism, not end it. Demonstrations and teach-ins are planned on scores of campuses today, and some of the groups that had geared up to protest the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington are joining forces, instead, in plans for a peace gathering here on Sept. 30. Some protesters bring a special moral force to their argument. Judy Keane, whose husband, Richard, was killed in the World Trade Center during last week's attacks, spoke out against military retaliation during a prayer vigil that she helped organize near her home in Wethersfield, Conn., Sunday evening. The event drew more than 5,000 people. "The World Trade Center was in retaliation for something else, and that was the retaliation for something else," she said in a telephone interview yesterday. "Are we going to continue this in perpetuity? We have to say at some point, okay, let's find another way of doing this." Businessman and CNN founder Ted Turner argued against a military solution yesterday at the United Nations as he delivered a $31 million check to cover part of the United States' U.N. dues. "We should not, I don't think, go around and indiscriminately start bombing countries that we suspect the terrorists are in because there are terrorists everywhere, here in the United States," he said. "What were [Oklahoma City bombers] Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh but terrorists?" The statement by the National Council of Churches declared: "We must not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on even more loss of innocent life." The coalition of more than 100 people organized by entertainers Belafonte and Glover and civil rights legend Rosa Parks said in a separate letter: "Our best chance of preventing such devastating acts of terror is to act decisively and cooperatively as part of a community of nations within the framework of international law." Organizers say there is a fast-growing network of peace activists who will likely outnumber the demonstrators who rallied during the Persian Gulf War a decade ago. Student groups are planning peace demonstrations on 105 college campuses in 30 states across the country today. More than 1,000 students and community members from nine Boston-area schools are expected to participate in noontime rallies that will converge in a march from Boston to Harvard Yard, while close to 3,000 are expected to march and mourn on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. "There's pretty much a consensus among students in this group [that] we want to prevent the continuation of the cycle of violence by averting war," said Brad Hornbake, 22, a senior at Emerson College in Boston. Meanwhile, the Washington Peace Center, a pacifist and human rights group, is planning a major "peace event" in Washington on Sept. 30 as an alternative to the canceled meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Organizers stressed that the event will not involve any of the "confrontational tactics" that were used during previous meetings of the international agencies. "We don't want the violence here to be perpetrated somewhere else," said Maria Ramos, a coordinator of the event. "The U.S. has the moral high ground now ... This is a time for building alliances based on law and strengthening international tribunals [for] cross-border terrorism." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LOUD AND CLEAR, WE MUST SAY NO TO WAR! http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=11961&group=webcast by Paul Kotheimer, Urbana, IL IMC Wed Sep 12 '01 address: 218 West Main Street, Suite 110; Urbana, IL 61801 phone: (217)344-8820 info@urbana.indymedia.org ...Loud and clear, we must say NO to war, and where better to say it than on the streets of Washington, DC, on September 28th-30th, as planned? (article 1) On the evening of September 10th, oddly enough, I had been re-reading "The Diary of Anne Frank." The play tells of the Fascist crackdown on the Jews in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation, and of its effect on the life of one 13-year-old diarist and on the lives of her family. The thoughts I had after reading the play were these: Crackdowns, worse than any I might be able to imagine, have been happening for centuries, and have been particularly fierce in the past 50 years. Violence breeds violence. There is a convoluted line of causality connecting the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews were victims, to the West Bank and Gaza today, in which a few leaders plus billions of dollars in war money make an apartheid state possible. One person can only begin to understand the systemic logic which governs such a line of causality. On the morning of the 11th, I woke up to the news, which by now billions of people worldwide have heard: The World Trade Center, a pair of 110-story skyscrapers, twin symbols of global economic power and U. S. centrality in that power -- in which as many people work on an average Tuesday as live in my entire town -- collapsed to the ground after having been struck by hijacked commercial airliners. A third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, the nerve-center of U. S. military might -- another seemingly inexorable symbol of U.S. hegemony, patriarchy, murderous violence... Thousands of people, as a direct consequence of these actions, are dead today. I do not yet know how to grieve over this, except (numbly) to add September 11, 2001, New York City, to a list which I, as a news-reader and activist, keep somewhere in my brain. The list includes Oklahoma City, Baghdad, Tel Aviv, Grenada, Liberia, Kosovo, Viet Nam, Hiroshima, Dresden. My mental list includes, also, hundreds of thousands of isolated incedents of murder and terror which cannot claim a date "which will live in infamy." This mental list, as I inventory it, seems to extend to the horizon of my capacity to remember. Activists against global capital and U. S. violence here in the Midwest are aware of the imminent possibility of the escalation of violence worldwide, and especially of the convenient use of "counter-terrorism" as an excuse to usurp First Amendment freedoms, institute police state tactics in our civic centers, silence dissent in general and at every level, and drum up popular sentiment for full-scale worldwide war. The simple phrase, "Second Pearl Harbor," repeated often enough, is powerful propaganda, as it obscures what followed the first Pearl Harbor: a protracted war on every inhabited continent of the globe, two cities devastated in atomic bomb blasts, major European city-centers firebombed with conventional weapons, millions upon millions dead. Is this what anyone wanted? Is this what we will be told to want in the coming months? The movement for direct action against globalized capital, which took its quantum leap in Seattle in November-December 1999, spawning the Independent Media Center Movement, has moved along a steady upward trajectory, through Washington, DC, in April 2000, against the political party Convention meetings in Philly and DC last summer, back to Washington for S26, and then to Quebec City and Genoa this year. The sheer numbers and level of organization and skill among direct action demonstrators has increased geometrically during this past 20 months. The shout-out to oppose the IMF and World Bank in DC at the end of this month still stands. Top officials at the Bank and the IMF were quoted yesterday as saying that perhaps they would postpone or cancel their annual September meeting in Washington, in the aftermath of the attacks on the Twin Towers in Manhattan and the Pentagon in DC. Activists against global capital, however -- regardless of changes in the date of the World Bank/IMF meetings -- have momentum toward amassing in the capitol of capital on September 28-30. Fundraising, co-ordination of affinity groups, plans for creative direct action, travel and hospitality arrangements, trainings and workshops for medics and media producers are all in progress. The opportunity presents itself to demonstrate that the Work Machine (run by corporate capital worldwide and fuelled in large part by U.S. consumers), and the War Machine (operated in the interest of corporate capital worldwide and funded overwhelmingly by U.S. taxpayers) are ONE AND THE SAME MACHINE. Up until the morning of September 11th, thousands of small clusters of students, rank and file union workers, religious groups, environmental advocates, singers, puppeteers, Radical Cheerleaders and other activists for the globalization of justice have been planning to amass in Washington, DC, at the end of September 2001. I want to advocate strongly that we STAY OUR COURSE toward that action, adding to our cause the simple and powerful message: WE SAY NO TO WAR, unconditionally and unequivocally! I'll be here at the IMC audio workstation, doing home support for local participants who go to DC. I hope to be turning your phonecalls and uploaded audio into a radio-braodcast document of our movement for global justice and peace at this crucial time at the onset of the new century. The 20th Century was one of mechanized murder and misery. Let us organize ourselves so that the 21st century becomes one where the call for PEACE is loud and clear. Solidarity, Paul Kotheimer IMC Audio Geek and Writer <urbana.indymedia.org> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FREE RADICAL: chronicle of the new unrest by L.A. KAUFFMAN http://www.free-radical.org [to subscribe, write freeradical-subscribe@lists.riseup.net] ALL HAS CHANGED . . . #19 (Sept. 17, 2001) It's now official: In the wake of the September 11 disaster, the IMF and World Bank have indefinitely postponed their planned late-September meetings, and the raucous street protests that were to greet them have effectively been canceled. (At this writing, the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, the more radical of the two organizing coalitions, has still not decided what it's going to do.) There still will be teach-ins and at least one large interfaith vigil in D.C. that week. Meanwhile, the International Action Center -- front group for the Stalinist Workers World Party, with a long history of supporting murderous dictators like Nicolae Ceausescu, Saddam Hussein, and Slobodan Milosevic -- is planning to go forward with a September 29 "March Against War and Racism" in Washington. I suspect a lot of other groups may sign on, because there's a widespread desire to do something. But you won't catch me supporting a "peace march" organized by a bunch of authoritarian opportunists who have no problem with slaughter, so long as it's committed by their pet tyrants. Excuse my angry tone: I'm awash in emotion today. For days after the World Trade Center was destroyed, I was in numb shock and responded with frenetic action -- going to hastily called meetings; handing out thousands of leaflets for Friday night's massive peace vigil in Union Square; putting up posters all throughout Midtown Manhattan and, yesterday, the just-opened part of the Financial District. With exhaustion, the tears have finally come, mourning mixed with rage at what has happened and fear about what's to come. Today is supposed to be the day when people begin returning to normalcy, but there's nothing normal about life now in a city where the newspapers scream "CRUSADE!" and "WAR!" on their front covers, where fighter jets fly overhead and military vehicles prowl the streets, where Arabs and Muslims are being harassed and beaten, where lampposts and bus shelters remain covered with heartbreaking "missing" posters bearing photos of people who will not be found alive. When the wind from Ground Zero catches you, this city smells of war and death. The first meeting I went to, held outdoors in Union Square because our usual meeting spot was in a restricted zone, had to quickly decamp when the horrible smoke began blowing north, overpowering us with its toxic stench. ("I left Kosovo to get away from that smell," a woman told a friend of mine.) Several friends and I had caches of gas masks in our apartments, many covered with rhinestones and glitter, that we were planning to distribute at the D.C. protests. When the call went out that rescue workers urgently needed respirator masks, we donated them all, first pulling off the festive decorations that were now so inappropriate. So much is inappropriate now that just one week ago made political sense. Some of it is darkly comical: Just two days before the World Trade Center was reduced to rubble, people were meeting here to plan direct action against the Financial District in November, when the World Trade Organization was scheduled to meet in Qatar. (No word yet on whether the WTO meeting will even take place; the direct action, needless to say, will not.) More broadly, the September 11 attacks definitively interrupted the unfolding logic of the movements for global justice. The IMF/World Bank protests in D.C. were going to be simultaneously broader, more diverse, and more intense than any demonstrations in recent U.S. history. The AFL-CIO was pouring unprecedented resources into the events, mobilizing its membership on a massive scale, and faith-based and non- governmental organizations were activating thousands of people who had never come to a globalization protest before. Meanwhile, more and more people were embracing the philosophy of "diversity of tactics," shifting away from the strict nonviolence guidelines that have been the hallmark of large-scale direct actions for two decades, and agreeing to respect those who chose to engage in more confrontational or property-destroying tactics, so long as they didn't directly endanger other protesters. "Diverse tactics" are clearly off the table for the time being, especially in New York and Washington, where the sound of breaking glass connotes death and devastation, and the masked uniform of the Black Bloc will only inspire fear. And with the world's greatest symbol of global capitalism having been reduced to a smoldering mass grave, it's going to be difficult for a while to present anti-capitalist critiques in a way that will resonate broadly, and not seem to justify an unjustifiable atrocity. Our movements' vision of global justice is needed now more than ever; we will simply need to take great care in presenting that vision in a way people can hear. In the meantime, a huge upsurge of activism for global peace is already well underway. All a round the United States, meetings to discuss progressive responses to September 11 have been overflowing. Groups everywhere have thrown themselves into organizing everything from rapid-response teams to counter racist attacks to antiwar teach-ins and rallies. Here in New York, we were all astounded and inspired by the thousands and thousands of people, of every race, class, and age, who converged on Union Square last Friday night to stand for peace. I know that one part of the deep mourning I feel is for the global justice movements as they were before those planes crashed into the Twin Towers: steadily growing in scope and influence, increasingly occupying a central place on the global stage. We were blown off that stage on September 11, and the context for our ongoing activism is now utterly transformed. Action is essential: May it be prudent, strategic, and effective. * * * FREE RADICAL: chronicle of the new unrest is a column on the current upsurge in activism, written by L.A. Kauffman (lak@free-radical.org). It appears about once a month. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Washington, DC; where we could use a nice juicy Chandra Levy revelation right now http://www.sinkers.org/mf-editorial091701/index.html 09.17.01 an editorial by Mike Flugennock. "When the shit hits the fan, you'll be sittin' on the can, when the whip comes down!" --stones. Well, I'll be dipped in shit. They've actually gone and done it, and believe you me, kids, Monkeywrench Grrl is plenty pissed off. After reading in Alexander Cockburn's column the other day about the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth and the Fuck Us...uhh, Ruckus Society caving in to the wave of fascist hysteria consuming this nation and backing out of the fall actions here in DC, I hoped and hoped like hell that our own MGJ would take a chance and show some backbone at a time when it was desperately needed. Looks like I expected a little too much. After what was reportedly a wailing and acrimonious spokescouncil, the MGJ decided that the lives of Americans were, after all, more valuable than the African, Iraqi, and other lives in the Global South and Third World being destroyed by the US Corporate State through war, economic sanctions, or loan sharking. At a time when courage was vital to the survival and continuation of the movement for peace and freedom around the world, MGJ chose to cut and run, almost breaking its neck to get to the head of the line in front of the AFL-CIO. Claiming a concern for the lives of the workers in the Morgan Stanley offices at the WTC, the International Rivers Network has suddenly gotten cold feet about protesting against the abuse and poverty being by Morgan Stanley around the world. To fall silent while Morgan Stanley and other financiers continue to enable the deaths of thousands in Africa, Asia, China and elsewhere, while global capitalism continues to cause the deaths of thousands more, while George Duh Duh Duhbya Bush prepares to slaughter thousands and thousands more people -- in your name and mine, and in the name of six thousand or more souls who can't speak for themselves -- is flat-out fucking sad. Have the American lives at the Morgan Stanley offices suddenly become more worthy of our sorrow than the thousands of lives lost in Africa every day, or the quarter-million Iraqi lives brutally snuffed out during Gulf War v1.0, the million Iraqi lives taken since then by US economic sanctions? I'm sure that the Third World populations MGJ is supposedly speaking out for will be thrilled to the goddamn' bone to hear that one. I'm insulted at the request that I abandon my work for the struggle against the economic brutality, political tyranny and mass murder being committed by the US Corporate State against the Third World, abandon my work against the US State's destruction of civil liberties "in light of the events of September 11". At a time when it couldn't be more important to protest and speak out, MGJ expects me to stand by while IMF/WB economic violence continues, while US State preparations for genocide abroad and deeper repression at home continue. What gall -- what fucking gall. Because I knew I wasn't going to be physically in town for this, I put untold extra time and effort into doing the largest amount of the best work of my life -- late nights, all-nighters, workgroups, postering, video -- so that I could leave some of myself behind in spirit, so that when my wife and I were on our second honeymoon next week, on our tenth anniversary -- a trip scheduled over a year in advance, by the way -- we could go into a cafe or a bar and look up at the TV and see my friends and comrades in the street, carrying my work with them, and feel proud. Instead, it seems I've donated artwork to a mobilization of mice. While Duhbya and Cheney and Corporate America prepare to commit mass murder in my name, in your name, in the names of the people lost at the Pentagon and WTC, MGJ decides not to protest? While claiming to defend "democracy", the US Corporate State is preparing to strip away what liberty we have left, and the MGJ decides not to speak out against it at a public assembly? Keep that shit up, and the only right you'll have left is the Right To Remain Silent. Saturday afternoon, while dropping my car off to be worked on, they had the TV on in the front room, broadcasting the latest "news" on the latest preparations for mass murder by the US Corporate State in our name. From New York City, the Chairman of the Port Authority talked with stern gusto about the "eradication" of "terrorists" and the countries who host them. How dare MGJ expect us, in the face of this overtly fascist and jingoistic bloody-shirt waving -- at the most vital time of all to resist and speak up -- to turn tail and run for cover, to betray fighters for peace, freedom and justice around the world, and abandon our streets and airwaves to pickup-truck patriots and professional politicians singing "God Bless America"? How fucking dare they. Eugene Debs, imprisoned for his courageous stand against WWI, and Carlo Guiliani, murdered by fascist Carbinieri -- poor Carlo, not even six months dead -- are turning over in their graves at the thought of this betrayal of our movement by fair-weather liberals. A large dissident public response is vital in order to halt the fascist mob mentality, the racist violence, and the threat to our own liberty and to the lives of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of innocents whose murder is, at this moment, being planned in the name of the WTC and Pentagon victims, with our money. Luckily for all of us, the ACC and the IAC -- the only outfits in this town with any cajones, it seems -- are still solidly "on" for actions on the 29th. Our Mobe is ready to hit the streets to fight militarism, racism and facism. How about yours? "We Can Do It!" Mike Flugennock Washington, DC 09.16.01 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: wb50years@igc.org Subject: (50 Years) Changes in September Mobilization Sunday, September 16, 2001 The 50 Years Is Enough Network is shocked and deeply saddened by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We unequivocally condemn these heinous actions. Our hearts and prayers are with the victims, survivors and their families. The 50 Years Is Enough Network has consulted with colleagues around the U.S. and the world in the days since the September 11. We regret not being able to announce our plans regarding the events scheduled for the end of September before today. We are changing our plans for the mass mobilization in Washington, scheduled for September 25 to October 4, to coincide with the scheduled annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. We are in agreement with other coalition partners that this is not an appropriate time for street demonstrations against these institutions. We will, however, go ahead with planned educational activities. Last night we joined with our allies in the Washington-based host coalition for many of the September events, the Mobilization for Global Justice, in agreeing to cancel all street actions -- protests, demonstrations, civil disobedience, direct action -- focused on the IMF and the World Bank. This decision does not encompass any actions that may be planned in response to military or other aggressive actions taken by the U.S. government. All reports indicate that the IMF and World Bank will be canceling or postponing their joint annual meetings. The U.S. Treasury Department is the official host of those meetings; it is expected to coordinate with the boards of the two institutions to announce such a course of action as early as tomorrow. We agree with the view expressed by the AFL-CIO that this is not the time for "another round of closed-door meetings behind tall fences," and hope that the institutions will not now magnify the lack of accountability and transparency that have already done so much damage to their performance and reputation. The "traveling teach-in" sponsored by the 50 Years Is Enough Network together with Essential Action, the Center for Economic Justice, and Jubilee USA Network was already underway at the time of the September 11 attacks. Speakers from South Africa, Haiti, Zimbabwe, India, and now Panama, are addressing audiences interested in the IMF, World Bank, and corporate globalization around the United States. Most of the communities hosting events have indicated a desire to proceed as planned. We hope that our current speakers will soon be joined by others from Senegal, Ghana, and Tanzania, but that depends on the capacity of airlines to catch up with their disrupted schedules. For more information on the traveling teach-in, see <www.essentialaction.org> or contact Monica Wilson at 202/387-8030 or <mwilson@essential.org>. The "Ending Global Apartheid" teach-in, sponsored by the same organizations as the tours as well as Global Exchange and International Rivers Network (which has announced its intention to pull out of most events), will likewise go on as scheduled, beginning with an opening plenary the evening of Thursday, September 27, and continuing through Friday and Saturday, September 28-29. The reduced number of speakers who will be able to attend, together with the anticipated drop in attendance, have prompted us to abbreviate and re-structure the schedule. The price of tickets will correspondingly drop (with refunds offered to those who have already purchased tickets). Please visit <www.essentialaction.org> for further details, or contact Monica Wilson (see above). The changes in our plans in no way reflect a shift in the positions of the 50 Years Is Enough Network or its members or partners on the policies of the IMF and World Bank, nor on the imperative to challenge and change those policies. Our eight demands of the institutions (see <www.50years.org/=====) remain our challenge to the decision-makers of the global economy, and will be the gauge by which we measure any policy decisions made, with or without the benefit of an annual meeting. We acknowledge, however, that the political landscape has changed dramatically and suddenly, and that protests at this moment of uncertainty could be counter-productive. Part of our intention in re-structuring "Ending Global Apartheid" is to provide space for activists from around the U.S. and the world to begin to discuss and grapple with the new situation we all find ourselves in. We encourage people to come to Washington, DC at the end of September if they still wish to. We believe there will be plenty to interest and occupy economic justice activists who make the trip. 1) the full address for the website listing the 50 Years demands is <www.50years.org/s28/demands.html> 2) The Religious Working Group on the World Bank and IMF and the Jubilee USA Network are proceeding with plans for an interfaith service and vigil on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 2001. For more information and updates, www.jubileeusa.org and www.religiouswg.org 50 Years Is Enough Network 3628 12th Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20017 USA tel: +1-202-463-2265 fax: +1-202-636-4238 email: <50years@50years.org> web: <www.50years.org> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Come to DC on September 29!!! WAR AND RACISM ARE NOT THE ANSWER Sat., Sep. 29, 12 noon, Lafayette Park International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) - a new anti-war coalition - has secured permits for Lafayette Park, the White House sidewalk and for a mass march to the Capitol for Saturday, September 29. Please see the Call and signers below. Email back to sign on and get involved! Join a New Anti-War Coalition: International A.N.S.W.E.R. [Act Now to Stop War & End Racism] Please join us in signing this call: We join with people all over the world in condemning the horrific killings of thousands of persons in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences are with those whose loved ones were lost or injured on September 11, 2001. At this moment, we would all like to take time to reflect, to grieve, to extend sympathy and condolences to all. But we believe that we must do more. We must act now. We are assembling International A.N.S.W.E.R. to call for worldwide rallies against war and racism. On September 29, there will be a national march and rally at the White House in Washington DC, as well as marches on the West Coast of the U.S. and around the world. We call on all people of conscience and progressive organizations to take up this call and organize rallies around the world. Unless we stop President Bush and NATO from carrying out a new, wider war in the Middle East, the number of innocent victims will grow from the thousands to the tens of thousands and possibly more. A new, wider U.S. and NATO war in the Middle East can only lead to an escalating cycle of violence. War is not the answer. We must also act against racism. Arab American and Muslim people in the United States, in Europe and elsewhere, as well as other communities of color, are facing racist attacks and harassment in their communities, on their jobs and at mosques. Anti-Arab and anti- Muslim racism is a poison that should be repudiated. The U.S. government is attempting to curb civil liberties and to create a climate in which it is impossible for progressive people to speak their mind. The Bush administration is attempting to take advantage of this crisis to militarize U.S. society with a vast expansion of police powers that is intended to severely restrict basic democratic rights. On September 29, tens of thousands of people had planned to demonstrate against the Bush administration's reactionary foreign and domestic policy and the IMF and World Bank. In light of the current crisis, with its tragic consequences for so many thousands of people, we have refocused the call for our demonstration to address the immediate danger posed by increased racism and the grave threat of a new war. We call on people to demonstrate around the world on that day. Now is the time for all people of conscience, all people who oppose racism and war to come together. If you believe in civil liberties and oppose racism and war, demonstrate on September 29 in front of the White House and around the world. October 12-13 will be International Days of Action Against War and Racism. We urge all organizations internationally to join together at this critical time and take action. Initial Signers: -Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General -Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop, Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit -Al-Awda, New York and New Jersey -Barbara Lubin, Exec. Director, Middle East Children's Alliance -Jews Against the Occupation -Rev. Lucius Walker, Pastors for Peace -Nania Kaur Dhingra, Sikh Student Organization, George Washington University -Chuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator, Nicaragua Network -Karen Talbot, International Center for Peace & Justice -Committee for a Democratic Palestine -Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa -Howard Zinn, Author -Michael Parenti Ph.D., author of Against Empire -Ben DuPuy, former Deputy Ambassador-at-Large, Haiti -Teresa Gutierrez, Co-Director, International Action Center -Martin Espada, Poet -Sakhi for South Asian Women -Women for Afghan Women -Michele Naar-Obed, Plowshares activist, Jonah House, Baltimore -Pam Africa, International Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal -Tom Hansen, Mexico Solidarity Network -Michel Collon, author and journalist, Belgium -Heidelberg Forum Against Militarism and War, Germany -Italian Tribunal on NATO Crimes in Yugoslavia -Maryland Green Party -Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild -Helena Papadopoulos, Center for Comparative Study of Law and Society, Lebanon -Elmar Schmaehling, Retired Admiral, German Navy -Wolfgang Richter, President, European Peace Forum -Nino Pasti Foundation, Rome, Italy -Information-Post on Militarism, Tobias Pflueger & Claudia Haydt (Germany) -Ricardo Juarez, Pasamontańas -New Communist Party of the Netherlands -African Immigrant and Refugee Coalition of N. America -Dominican Workers Party, NY -Ray LaForest, Labor Organizer, 1707 AFSCME -Kriss Worthington, Berkeley City Council -Leonora Foerstal, Women for Mutual Security -Asha A. Samad, Human Rights Center -April 25 Movement of the Dominican Republic, NY -Njeri Shakur, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement -Michel Shehadeh, Los Angeles 8 Case Respondent -Muslim Student & Faculty Association -Marco Frucht, Editor and Publisher, Activist Times -Leslie Feinberg, Transgendered author, Co-Founder, Rainbow Flags for Mumia -Kadouri Al Kaysi, Committee in Support of Iraqi People, NY -Minnie Bruce Pratt, writer and ant-racist activist -Vieques Support Campaign -Mitchel Cohen, Green Party USA, Brooklyn Greens -Milos Raickovich, College of Staten Island, CUNY -Carlos Eden, Raweshrar Project for Indigenous People--Chile -Jamie York, Cuba Advocate Newsletter, MT -Brian Barraza, Association of Mexican American Workers (AMAT) -Justin Vitiello, Professor, Temple University, Philadelphia -John Kim, Veterans for Peace, NYC Chapter -Mahtowin Munro & Moonanum James, United American Indians of New England -SAFRAD Somali Association -Arab Cause Solidarity Committee, Madrid, Spain -Korea Truth Commission -Congress for Korean Reunification -Struggle Against War Coalition, Italy -Trades Union International of Building and Wood Workers, Finland -LEF Foundation, St. Helena, CA -SEIU Local 1877, Bay Area, CA -Vanguard Public Foundation, San Francisco -Consuela Lee, musician -Bohemian Grove Action Network, Sonoma County, CA -Sonoma County Free Press (CA) -Susan E. Davis, co-chair, NY Local, National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981 -James Lafferty, National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles -Campaign Against Racism & War, Oberlin, Ohio -Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist -Dr. Pol De Vos, President, Anti-Imperialist League, Belgium -Refuse and Resist -Klaus von Raussendorff, Anti-Imperialist Correspondence, Germany -Dr. Bert De Belder, Coordinator, Third World Medical Aid, Belgium -Dr. Jean Pestieau, Professor, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium -Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, California -Klaus Hartmann, President of World Union of Freethinkers, Germany -California Prison Focus -Sally Davis, President, AFSCME 1072 -Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director, Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy -Sandra Robertson, Georgia Citizens Coalition on Hunger -Freedom Road Socialist Organization -Al-Awda Massachusetts (Palestinian Right to Return Coalition) -Radio Arabiyat, Boston, Mass -Vanessa Marques, Portuguese-American Relief for Palestine -Rima Anabtawi, Al-Awda Coordinating Committee -Committee to Defend Amer Jubran and Palestinian Free Speech Rights -Steven Gillis, Executive Board, USWA Local 8751, Boston School Bus Drivers -Falco Accame, former president, Defense Commission, Chamber of Deputies, Italy -Gerry Scoppettuolo, Director of Education, So NH HIV/AIDS Task Force International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) National Office: 39 W. 14 St. #206, NY, NY 10011 (212) 633-6646·iacenter@iacenter.org·www.iacenter.org Washington DC Office: 1247 E St. SE, Washington, DC 20003·(202) 543-2777 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bush can't stop D.C. protests, organizers say Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Sept. 13, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper CAMPUSES ARE ABUZZ: BUSH CAN'T STOP D.C. PROTESTS, ORGANIZERS SAY By Workers World Washington, D.C., bureau Organizing for fall protests against the right-wing Bush program, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has picked up momentum here in Washington since the beginning of the school year. District of Columbia colleges are currently facing a housing shortage and so are offering college students free room and board if they defer their admission for a year. Over 100,000 college students have come to Washington, D.C., in the last week to attend school. Workers World spoke to protest organizers who have spent the last month getting the word out about the protests. Organizers from the International Action Center have attended several first-year college orientations and leafleted during the first week of classes. They are promoting a demonstration to "Beat Back the Bush Attack" on Sept. 29, drawing a connection between globalization abroad and at home. "In the past two weeks, we've been to American University, Howard University, George Washington University, University of the District of Columbia, University of Maryland, University of Virginia at Charlottesville and more. The schools have been swamped with students. Just standing outside of the bookstore entrance at one school, we were able to pass out hundreds of flyers in less than an hour," said Sarah Sloan, youth coordinator for the IAC. Mervyn Marcano, a Baruch High School student from New York City who spent his summer organizing for the protests, found a great response. "At each of the schools, we've met many students who are interested in organizing for the demonstrations. Our hope is to set up organizing centers on all of these college campuses to bring more people to the protests. Students are interested in handing out flyers, hanging up posters, and holding organizing meetings on their campuses." Staff people from the IAC reported hundreds of calls from interested people who have received leaflets, seen posters in their neighborhoods or on their way to work, or have seen press coverage of the event. Kelly Morrison, a staff organizer from the national office of the IAC in New York City, spoke of a similarly positive response nationally. "Coordinating outreach nationally has been extremely successful. We have helped set up almost 100 organizing centers, from Maine to Florida to Texas and California. People are organizing buses, vans and car caravans, and coming by plane and train to attend the protests. "Since the government's announcements of plans to restrict the protests by building a huge exclusion zone, there has been an increase in interest. When people around the country find out that the DC police and the federal government want to deprive tens of thousands of people of their First Amendment right to protest, they become interested in all of the protests taking place against the IMF, World Bank and Bush program." ORGANIZERS: 'THE PROTEST WILL CONTINUE' IAC organizers released a statement addressing concerns about police and government attempts to prevent demonstrations. "The IAC believes that the fight for free speech and the right to protest has become an added dimension to the protests against the IMF, World Bank and Bush administration," said the statement. "Those coming to the protests from around the country should know that activists in Washington, D.C., have formally initiated a legal and political struggle against the D.C. police over their attempts to deprive tens of thousands of protesters of their First Amendment rights." On Aug. 20, the Partnership for Civil Justice--on behalf of the IAC, the Latin American Solidarity Conference, 50 Years Is Enough Network, and the Kwame Ture Work Study Institute and Library--filed a complaint for injunctive relief against the Washington police and federal agencies. The legal action is based on the authorities' intent to refuse march permits to protest organizers and to declare a "no-protest zone" in downtown Washington during the Sept. 29- 30 IMF and World Bank meetings. This zone includes areas for which protesters already hold permits. The statement continued, "We consider the exclusion zone to be illegal and invalid. We intend to fight all police attempts to restrict demonstrations in the courts and in the streets. "No matter what, there will be a mass assembly of tens of thousands of demonstrators in Washington, D.C., on September 29. "National and Washington, D.C.-based groups organizing for the September 29-30 protests include the Latin American Solidarity Conference, Anti-Capitalist Convergence, Mobilization for Global Justice, AFL-CIO and the National Coalition for the Dignity and Amnesty of Undocumented Workers. "Please stay in touch with the IAC for updates on the logistics." To reach the International Action Center, call (202) 543- 2777 or email iacenterdc@yahoo.com in Washington. There is an email listserve that will include all logistical and political updates; updates can also be found at www.beatbackbush.org and www.iacenter.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Protesters meet to consider response to US attacks Mon, 17 Sep 2001 Anti-capitalist protesters are to meet to discuss the implications of a war against the terrorists responsible for the attacks on America. More than 1,000 anti-capitalists, environmentalists and peace campaigners are expected to meet in London on Saturday next week to discuss their response to any military action. The event, Counter Conference, takes place on September 29 - the day before the Labour Party conference is scheduled to start. A spokeswoman for Globalise Resistance, which is organising the anti-capitalists' event, said speakers would be discussing alternative retaliation methods to war. The event is taking place at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith from 10.30am to 5pm. Members of Globalise Resistance were present at the riots during the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, earlier this year. See this story on the web at http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_401208.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: "Action Center" <actioncenter@action-mail.org> Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2001 Subject: [IAC] Support Free Speech lawsuit vs. DC Police Join the Free Speech Lawsuit!!! Sign on to the lawsuit today by filling out an online affidavit: http://www.beatbackbush.org/affidavit.html The International Action Center is making a unique request to every progressive activist to fill out an affidavit in support of the legal challenge to the "wall." In Washington, D.C., where huge protests are planned for the end of this month, the police are attempting to suppress the free speech rights of the demonstrations by announcing that they will erect two miles of nine-foot-high fencing all around the White House and IMF/World Bank area, precisely the area where the International Action Center holds permits and several groups have planned demonstrations. Thus, the International Action Center along with others have filed a groundbreaking lawsuit: "the International Action Center, et al. v. Washington, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, et al." This legal action seeks to enjoin the police from doing something that has never been done before: The Washington, D.C. police's attempt to revoke the people's right to have a mass assembly of progressive demonstrators to redress grievances right in front of the White House, IMF and World Bank. The lawsuit is being filed by the Washington, D.C.-based Partnership for Civil Justice. The other plaintiffs include the Latin American Solidarity Conference, Fifty Years is Enough Network, Kwame Toure Work and Study Institute and others. We request that all of the people who plan to attend the Washington, D.C., demonstrations or who wish the mobilization's success to fill out the affidavit online by following the link above or pointing your browser to: http://www.beatbackbush.org/affidavit.html This way, the lawsuit has not only the voice of the plaintiffs but the voice of thousands of individuals who want to take a stand for their First Amendment rights. The affidavit is very simple and easy to fill out. Time is of the essence. This is a true people's lawsuit. We can win in the court because justice is on our side and because we are mobilizing the power of the people. Please take just a few moments to fill out and submit the online form today in order to support this important initiative! This is not the first time in the history of the United States that the First Amendment and free speech rights are under attack, but many believe our movement is at a turning point and that is why we hope as many people as possible can show support for this movement and sign an affidavit. If the police succeed in denying the right to protest in the central area of DC during the week of planned demonstrations, it will be a significant erosion of free speech rights. The police authorities are heading down a slippery slope and we must mobilize ourselves to defend our rights to free speech and assembly. NOTE: Filling out an online affidavit is voluntary and, once submitted, will be transmitted to the International Action Center and the Partnership for Civil Justice. It will be used solely for the purposes of supporting the legal action "IAC, et al. v. CHIEF RAMSEY, et al.," described above. If you have questions about this lawsuit or how to fill out an affidavit, please call (212)633-6646, email iacenter@iacenter.org, or visit our Web sites: http://www.beatbackbush.org http://www.iacenter.org http://www.mumia2000.org Send replies to iacenter@action-mail.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: RRProd@aol.com Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 Subject: Re: IMF/WB -- DC - continued...(4) Please go to www.RichterVideos.com for information about several relevant videos that colleges and universities should acquire quickly, to show to students who plan to come to the September 29-30 demonstrations. And please alert your email and other lists about this resource. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE IMF AND WORLD BANK PROTESTS Tens of thousands of people plan to be in Washington, DC at the end of this month to protest the unfettered free-market policies pushed by the IMF and the World Bank. To help cover and encourage these activities, The Nation has created an IMF/World Bank Protest Page. We'll be collecting a variety of online information in this space, including media resources; activist info; links to the main protest groups and relevant archival articles. So check it out at: http://www.thenation.com/special/2001imf.mhtml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: "Soren Ambrose" <soren@50years.org> Subject: (50 Years) DC teach-in: ending global apartheid Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 ending global apartheid a teach in for action on the World Bank and IMF Washington, DC, September 27-29, 2001 Plenary Sessions include: Democratizing Development: The Case Against Structural Adjustment; Our World Is Not For Sale; and Ending Global Apartheid: Another World Is Possible. And A Conversation about peace with Howard Zinn at All Soul's Church Action Sessions on: Reparations and Debt, World Bank Bonds Boycott, Legislative Actions, HIV-AIDS & Intellectual Property Rights, Labor & Sweatshops, Fighting Privatization Locally and Globally, Environment & Indigenous Rights. Featuring leading activists and campaigners from around the world, including: · Chie Abad, former sweatshop worker in Saipan (Philippines) · Tania Arosemena, Civil Society Initiative for the Environment (Panama) · Salih Booker, Africa Action (U.S.) · Dennis Brutus, Poet, Jubilee South Africa, anti-apartheid activist (South Africa) · Bertha Caceres and Felix Dominguez, Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras · Camille Chalmers, Haitian Platform for Advocacy for Alternative Development-PAPDA (Haiti) · Harry Clerveau, Central Union of Electricity Workers of Haiti (Haiti) · Marie Dennis, Chair of Religious Working Group on the IMF and World Bank (U.S.) · Kevin Danaher, Global Exchange (U.S.) · Demba Dembele, CONGAD (Senegal) · Molly Dhlamini, Student Union For Christian Action (S. Africa) · Jonah Gokova, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt & Development (Zimbabwe) · Vineeta Gupta, Insaaf (Justice) International (India) · Naomi Klein, author of No Logo (Canada) · Aggripina Mosha, Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (Tanzania) · Trevor Ngwane, Anti-Privatization Forum (South Africa) · Njoki Njoroge Njehu, 50 Years is Enough (Kenya/U.S.) · Daisy Pitkin, Campaign for Labor Rights (U.S.) · Marie Shaba, Tanzanian Association of NGOs (Tanzania) · Robert Weissman, Essential Action (U.S.) · Daphne Wysham, Sustainable Energy & Economy Network (U.S.) · Howard Zinn, author, A People's History of the United States (U.S.) Thursday, September 27: 7 pm, Opening Event with Naomi Klein, Salih Booker, Njoki Njoroge Njehu at National Baptist Memorial Church, 16th St and Columbia NW. Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29: Plenaries and Action Sessions 9 am - 4 pm, at National Baptist and Casa del Pueblo Methodist Church, 1459 Columbia Rd. Rd., NW, Washington, DC Tickets are $5 for Thursday night opening session, $15 for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, or $10 for students for all three days. Tickets can be purchased at the door. For the full schedule and more information, visit www.essentialaction.org/wbimf or call Monica Wilson at (202) 387-8030 Presented by: Essential Action, 50 Years Is Enough Network, Global Exchange, Center for Economic Justice/World Bank Bonds Boycott, Jubilee USA Network ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 From: rcaplan@igc.org Subject: Update on DC events Dear Alliance Activists, As you have probably already heard, the plans for the permitted rally sponsored by the AFL-CIO and others on Sunday, September 30, have been cancelled. The following educational events are going forward: * Ending Global Apartheid: A Teach-In for Action on the IMF and World Bank, Sept. 27-29, will go forward. For more information, see www.essentialaction.org/wbimf * The Mobilization for Global Justice will proceed with its plans for a Peoples' Summit, to be held from Sept. 26 - Sept. 29. For more information and updates, visit www.globalizethis.org The Religious Working Group on the World Bank and IMF and the Jubilee USA Network are proceeding with plans for an interfaith service and vigil on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 2001. More plans may emerge. For more information and updates, www.jubileeusa.org and www.religiouswg.org Also, I was able to attend the Saturday evening spokes council meeting of the Mobilization for Global Justice and would like to add that MGJ agreed to shift its resources to support the efforts by the Washington Peace Center, the American Friends Service Committee and the Religious Working Group. This is different from the plans by the International Action Center to continue their street protest on Saturday, but to redirect it from opposing a broad range of Bush policies to opposing war and racism. As far as I know, these are the only street protests which have not been cancelled. Living in DC, I can tell you that this city is on heightened alert and very jittery, fearing further attacks. It is my personal opinion that street demonstrations in DC at this time are not a good idea. This does not preclude other expressions such as processions. In fact we had more than a thousand people participate in a candlelight procession Friday evening with good cooperation from the police. The statement from 50 Years Is Enough follows. May we become strengthened as a movement in this time of terror and tragedy. May we find ways to speak to the root causes of violence in these days of heightened patriotic fervor. May we seek peace and justice for all. In Alliance, Ruth ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mobilization for Global Justice For Immediate Release: September 16, 2001 Contact: Robert Weissman, 202-387-8030, 202-904-4068 (cell) Steve Kretzmann, 202-497-1033 (cell) Celia Alario, MGJ Media Office: 202-969-1593 Mobilization for Global Justice Cancels its Call for Street Demonstrations Against World Bank/IMF at End of September Street Demonstrations Postponed; Peoples' Summit, Educational Events to Continue; Coalition Calls for End to Cycle of Violence Washington, DC -- Participants of the Mobilization for Global Justice (MGJ) are shocked and deeply saddened by last week's terrorist attacks. We express our deepest sympathies for the victims of this tragedy, their families, friends and communities. We unequivocally condemn these horrific attacks, and we call for an immediate end to the cycle of violence. We urge all leaders to seek justice in this situation rather than revenge. In this time of grief, the MGJ is postponing the nonviolent demonstrations against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) our coalition was planning to host later this month. We choose this course of action regardless of the plans of the World Bank and IMF, and we respect other organizations that choose a different path. MGJ is proceeding with plans to co-sponsor the Peoples' Summit, an educational forum and teach-in scheduled for September 26th-28th, which will include issues that have been brought to the forefront this past week. We extend our invitation for people to come to Washington DC for the Peoples' Summit and for the Interfaith Service for Justice and Restoration on September 29th. We also encourage groups working around the world for peace and global justice to organize teach-ins, educational events and vigils in their own communities. Our decision to postpone was made out of respect for the victims of this tragedy. However the policies of the World Bank and the IMF remain unchanged, and the MGJ, as part of a global movement, will continue its efforts to hold these institutions accountable for their role in structuring an unjust and inequitable global economy. Our commitment to global justice demands no less. The MGJ stands committed to achieving social, racial, economic and environmental justice, which we see as the only path to a lasting peace. During these difficult times, we call on people in the U.S. and around the world to stand firm against all racist persecution of Arab and Muslim peoples. Furthermore we oppose any opportunistic attack on our constitutional freedoms and Americans' civil liberties. Despite the disheartening acts of hatred we observed last week, we believe that another world is not only possible, but more necessary than ever. _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold