-Caveat Lector- Title: Two Food Not Bombs Activists Arrested For Serving Free Food Date: 20-OCT-1999 Author: San Francisco FNB Source: The A-Infos News Service < http://www.ainfos.ca/> Type of article: Press release Reference: http://www.foodnotbombs.org The San Francisco City Government has apparently decided to resume aggressive enforcement of the 1989 Court Order against FNB [ Food Not Bombs ]. Please reply to <[EMAIL PROTECTED] confirm receipt of this press release. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 20,1999 Food Not Bombs Voicemail: + 1-415-675-9928 Two Food Not Bombs Activists Arrested For Serving Free Food. San Francisco- Police arrested two Food Not Bombs activists, Oct. 20th at 6pm in United Nations Plaza. FNB volunteers were distributing free food to low-income and no-income people in the plaza when the police arrived. The police surrounded the food and prevented homeless people from getting bread and hot soup. Food Not Bombs is a non-violent direct action group that shares free food to poor and hungry people around the world. FNB groups collect donated food and prepare meals in volunteers' kitchens. The meals are shared in public spaces to draw attention to the crisis of homelessness while an enormous amount of money and resources goes to military investment. In San Francisco, Food Not Bombs has experienced police harassment and political repression from the City government. FNB has shared hundreds of thousands of vegetarian meals with poor and hungry people since 1988. Over the years we have been arrested at least 1,000 times. In the last elections, the current administration of Mayor Willie Brown promised voters that he would cease arresting FNB members. Homelessness is the central issue in the upcoming mayoral elections; with this increasing harassment, Mayor Brown is demonstrating his approach. The arrest of the two food servers tonight, October 20th, is a clear indication of the basic disrespect of human and civil rights in San Francisco. An account from two eyewitnesses who were also serving food: FNB volunteers Jeff and Sasha were handcuffed together and arrested for serving food to hungry people without a permit after Officer Banta told them to stop serving and they continued. The large amount of soup and bread still remaining was also carted off by the police. People who were there to eat questioned the police on why the servers were being arrested, and the police said "for serving food without a permit." (The permit in question is no longer issued by the city, and has been used for years as a political tool for selective enforcement.) As legal observers, they took down the officers' names in order to contact their supervisors and file complaints about the ridiculousness of arresting people for serving free food. FNB members were able to serve food for ten minutes before police officers came to arrest us. There were about eight cops there, none of whom seemed to know why they were there or understand the situation. The police were roundly disrespectful to the community being served as well as the food servers, but their anger was met with a calm and nonviolent response. The police confiscated and photographed the soup and bread as evidence after arresting the servers. Food Not Bombs is continuing to build community support to end the political harassment of those who support the homeless community, and to make criminalization of poor people unacceptable. FNB will not reduce or restrict our servings, and we will not compromise our advocacy of the people who are under constant attack by the government of San Francisco. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
