-Caveat Lector- [radtimes] # 199 An informally produced compendium of vital irregularities. "We're living in rad times!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send $$ to RadTimes!! --> (See ** at end.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: --Dancing with Teargas in our Eyes --D.C. police gear up for IMF protests --Scotland Yard prepares for week of anarchy --UK plans may criminalize online protests --Number of Major Strikes Doubled in 2000 --Quebec City: A Turning Point for Activists --Washington Prepares for Protesters --World Bank Protests Begin Quietly --No Protesters at World Bank Meetings --Rally organizers say no civil disobedience planned in Washington --Cops provoked riots: rights league --Black Blocs led the fight --FTAA Zine =================================================================== Dancing with Teargas in our Eyes http://www.interlog.com/~command/quebec.htm by Gary Morton I headed into the Quebec OQP-2001 March with seven people from Tao Toronto (tao.ca). The Plains of Abraham were sunny at noon with a crowd building till about 1.30. In spite of all the hype about how protesters should dress, the people showed as a mixed crowd - casual and eclectic with costumed and alternative elements. The drumming and dancing began there and continued as the march poured out into the streets. Then we reached Rene-Levesque Blvd and confusion took over. A split developed with the main parade heading straight through to link up with a union parade, and anarchists with the other half heading for the wall and the riot police. Having lost my friends in the mob I ended up at the fence, getting embroiled in a long encounter with the police. Shooting photos led to my being gassed badly about 10 times. This battle raged all day long and into the night. It was still underway when we left at ten p.m. Perhaps you've heard of the new world order bombing Iraq and Yugoslavia into submission -- this time their aim was to bomb protesters and a large portion of downtown Quebec into submission. They opened fire on us with tear gas rockets and water cannons and the thoom and thud of the fire echoed across the city hour after hour. Riot cops sent exploding canisters into streets, fields, down steep alleys -- everywhere -- choking those up front and even ordinary citizens and residents in the downhill streets. There weren't any brave groups of cops dashing out to make arrests. When they came out to charge and try to pincer us it was always with huge marching columns of riot guys that boomed out more tear gas rockets. Like in Iraq, they were afraid to risk a man, but had no problem with bombing everyone in town. Protesters ran through the smoke with endless energy tossing the canisters back at police. The crowd drummed and pounded on everything -- metal flag poles, guard rails, snare and other drums -- sending out an eerie din of war that reached its peak in the night below the underpass -- where a huge crowd danced wildly as the battle continued at the top of the steep ravine. In the spotlights riot cops and protesters clashed, huge curtains of gas floated and canisters came right down the ravine side and exploded, leaving some people overcome while others continued to dance furiously in the night and firelight with tears in their eyes. In the afternoon I ran from scene to scene. Incredible stuff was happening everywhere. Arriving at one spot I saw a guy run up and grab the fence, only to have a gas canister fired into the chain links explode in his face to send him flying to the pavement. Medics dragged him up an embankment and I watched them treat his bleeding face and arms. A few minutes later they were gone and I lobbed rocks and a beer bottle down on the riot cops then ran off down an alley with tear gas canisters exploding at my heels. In a different area I met up with anarchists in heavy gear going up a narrow street and watched as they set a building inside the fence on fire with Molotovs. At times people ran in panic on many of the streets as gas firing riot cops charged. Protesters fought their way back to the start point of the conflict. Tremendous waves of gas hit us there and the huge police columns came back out and caused a panicked run to the downhill streets. When the cop columns halted cheerleaders faced them at the front, creating the odd scene of smoke and riot cops preparing to rush girls dancing in tartan skirts. Protest drummers knocked out a steady beat, a Quebec City resident blasted Pink Floyd's - All in All Your Just Another Brick in the Wall from his balcony, and when it ended we were running downhill through exploding gas. In the lower streets and downtown groups of protesters were everywhere in circles - sitting, standing, crowding roadways. Yet the only violence came with the police. I saw small fires, almost no property damage -- wrath was reserved for the police and the wall, and each time the riot cops came the protesters showed the courage that the police didn't have. People took tremendous risks grabbing the bombs, running in to throw anything they could at the cops, preventing them from getting a soft crowd they could surround and arrest. One guy had a whole column of cops crush him. It continues in the night. Soon the cops will goose step to the bottom to claim arrests and victory. And it will be democracy again - where bombs rule, and the new world order is victorious. You can only dance with teargas in your eyes. Fuck the FTAA! Gary =================================================================== D.C. police gear up for IMF protests <http://www.msnbc.com/news/564708.asp> Authorities meet with leaders of anti-globalization groups WASHINGTON, April 26 - Police in riot gear are conducting drills in preparation for hundreds of protesters expected in Washington for this weekend's spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. ASSISTANT CHIEF Alfred J. Broadbent of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department said about 1,000 demonstrators are expected to be in the city specifically to protest. As head of the department's 656-member special services command, Broadbent has been meeting with leaders of organizations opposed to the international lending institutions. Most have permits to demonstrate Sunday in two small parks near the institutions' headquarters. "They tell us there are protesters who come that they cannot control," said Broadbent, "anarchist groups" that Broadbent said constitute "our primary concern." Police are making distinctions between "peaceful protesters" and those who wear gas masks or carry baseball bats or crowbars, he said. "There are a minority of individuals who come to protest with the intent of conducting unlawful behavior, and we will not tolerate that," said Broadbent. Protesters will be arrested, he said, for damaging property or bombarding police with rocks, bricks and bottles as was done in Quebec last week and at other gatherings in recent years in Prague, Seattle and in Washington as activities that could warrant arrest. All 3,550 officers will be on duty at the weekend. Arrangements have also been made to have a D.C. Superior Court magistrate available to arraign anybody arrested. As an extra precaution, the U.S. State Department has designated both financial institutions as temporary diplomatic missions, which will involve the Secret Service in their security. =================================================================== Scotland Yard prepares for week of anarchy <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_259270.html> Thu, 29 Mar 2001 Scotland Yard is bracing itself for a week of anarchy in London if the general election clashes with planned May Day riots. Security surrounding politicians is being stepped up amid fears they could be the targets of Irish terrorist attacks, Metropolitan Commissioner Sir John Stevens says. Officers are preparing to tackle a significant number of violent anarchists planning to descend on London in the first week of May during a prolonged anti-capitalist protest. Sir John said intelligence suggested activists would target police, government buildings and commercial institutions on May Day and the following days. The disruption caused by their activity would make it easier for terrorists to attack and things would be further complicated if the General Election were called on May 3, the commissioner said. "Obviously in the run-up to the election security will be heightened," Sir John said. "There's bound to be an emphasis on personalities, whether they are Conservative, Labour, be they government ministers or not." Sir John said police were preparing for all forms of attack, including the possibility of a major lorry bomb. Last year's riots caused massive disruption and thousands of pounds worth of damage was done to property, including the Cenotaph. Dozens of people were arrested. A date for the General Election has yet to be decided. =================================================================== UK plans may criminalize online protests GILC Alert Volume 5, Issue 2 March 29, 2001 Experts fear that new British legislation will erode free speech rights on the Information Superhighway. One of these proposals is actually contained within amendments to a Criminal Justice and Police Bill. The plan would, in theory, criminalize the sending of hate mail by electronic means. Violators may be thrown in jail or forced to pay fines of 6000 pounds. Free expression advocates are worried that the law's vague standards will deter online protests, particularly against prominent figures such as corporate executives. These fears were heightened after comments from British Home Secretary Jack Straw: "These new measures are designed to help prevent two tactics used by ... individuals-protesting outside employees' and directors' homes and sending intimidating mail. We want to ensure that all types of threatening messages are covered-including those by text messaging and email." Meanwhile, a recently enacted British law, the Terrorist Act 2000, is also receiving negative reviews. Section 12 of the law contains language that bans people from merely expressing "support" for any "proscribed organization"; indeed, these provisions specifically state that "support ... is not restricted to the provision of money or other property." Similarly, the Act also bars people from attending and speaking at any "meeting ... to encourage support for a proscribed organization or to further its activities." A number of observers worry that this statute could be applied to stifle online gatherings such as newsgroups and chat rooms. To read the text of the "Malicious Communications" amendment to the Criminal Justice and Police Bill, see <http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200001/cmstand/f/st010306/pm/10306s01.htm> See Graeme Warden, "Government to ban 'hate emails,'" ZDNet UK, Feb. 22, 2001 at http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/7/ns-21127.html The text of the Terrorism Act 2000 (section 12) is available at http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00011--c.htm#12 Read Kieren McCarthy, "Newsgroups can be terrorists too," The Register (UK), Feb. 20, 2001 at http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/8/17073.html =================================================================== [See website for chart] Number of Major Strikes Doubled in 2000 <http://www.laborresearch.org/dis.shtml?strike00.txt> Mar. 29, 2001 Rebounding from a record low in 1999, the number of strikes involving more than a 1,000 workers doubled last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In its annual strike activity report, the DOL recorded 39 work stoppages last year involving at least 1,000 workers, compared with only 17 in 1999. High-profile strikes by workers at Verizon, television commercial actors, Boeing engineers and janitors in Los Angeles were among the 39 work stoppages that put an estimated 394,000 workers on the picket line. Amid a booming economy and low unemployment, workers and their unions were in a relatively strong position last year to strike for better wages, benefits and working conditions. But viewed in a historical context, the strike has become an infrequently used weapon for unions in labor negotiations. Between 1947 and 1982, the number of strikes involving more than a 1,000 work regularly surpassed 200. For example, in both 1950 and 1974, peak years for strike activity the DOL recorded 424 major strikes. See table The major strikes that did take place last year were influenced by very specific conditions, such as the Service Employees' (SEIU) nationwide "Justice for Janitors" campaign and the union's general response to restructuring in the health care field; the Teamsters fighting union busting efforts in the grocery industry; workers fighting for fair contracts in the aerospace and telecommunications industry under conditions of tight skilled labor markets. While every strike has specific conditions, overall strike activity is influenced by the strength or weakness of the labor market. With less than 10% of the private sector work force represented by a union, the strike weapon, by necessity, must be applied more judiciously than in past periods. And as employers have grown more aggressive in their use of permanent replacement workers to break strikes, workers face the real threat of losing their jobs or being locked out if they walk off the job over wages and benefits. There are exceptions, however. A well-organized strike that has strong member support can still be effective. But this kind of strike requires local unions to have a strategic plan and a strong member organizing structure in place. Leading workers to the picket line without a clear plan of action is a risky move that may only embitter workers if the strike ends in failure. The successful SEIU janitor strikes in Los Angeles and Chicago, for example, were supported by a long-term strategy. As part of its ten-year "Justice for Janitors" campaign, the union had negotiated contracts to expire around the same time. This allowed the union to wage a broader campaign that unified workers and helped generate increased public and community support. When janitors went on strike in Los Angeles last year, the union had a clear plan of action that resulted in a strong contract victory for 8,500 members of SEIU Local 1877. As Local 1877 President Mike Garcia put it, "We have reinvented labor's most powerful weapon, the strike." =================================================================== Quebec City: A Turning Point for Activists <http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0425-02.htm> by Stuart Laidlaw Published on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 in the Toronto Star Tension can be addictive. Fear of free trade may have brought protesters to the streets in Quebec city last weekend, but something else kept them there. As inspired by the fence surrounding last weekend's Summit of the Americas as they were angered by it, protesters refused to leave when asked by police. They were curious about what would happen next, the tension building as they waited for the police to disperse them, often with tear gas. Strangely, the gas at times offered some relief from the tension. Maybe that's because anticipation is more powerful than action. Maybe it's because of the moments of humanity that followed every volley of gas. Strangers offered water to flush out eyes. Shopkeepers and homeowners did the same, with some even opening their washrooms to protesters. Others blared music from their windows so the protesters could dance to something other than the incessant beating of drums. In one incident, as I tried to get near the water cannon, I found myself overcome by tear gas and stumbled into a doorway hoping to find a pocket of fresh air. Instead, the door swung open and a strong arm grabbed me by the shoulder and dragged me in. A kid in army fatigues whacked me on the forehead with the heel of his palm, pushing my head back and to the side. His thumb forced open my eye. With the other hand, he sprayed a jet of water into my eye. He did the same to my other eye. There wasn't a moment's hesitation. Before I could mumble much more than a quick "thank you," he had finished his cigarette, put on his gas mask and was back out the door. Late Saturday night, a team of paramedics suddenly showed up at the corner of Côte d'Abraham and Côte St.-Genevieve and began treating protesters for tear gas out of the back of their ambulance, but had to give up the effort when a gas canister landed nearby. Everyone on the street those two days had similar stories. Throughout it all, the protesters were convinced they were winning. Each time the fence came down, it was a victory. Each time a politician inside the fence talked about democracy or human rights, it was a victory. Victory is what you make it. Take the final communiqué issued from the summit, which devoted more space to democracy and human rights than trade. For the protesters, that, too, was a victory. But the ultimate impact of Quebec will not be limited to democracy clauses or commitments to preserve human rights and the environment. It will be in the unity and organizational skills acquired by the activists. Organizing the People's Summit and arranging transportation, lodging and food for thousands of protesters from across Canada and the U.S. has taught these young activists organizational skills they will continue to use for years to come. To pull it off, they needed all the help they could muster, so they made lasting connections with other activists — connections made stronger by the bonding that comes with experiencing tear gas together and flushing each others' eyes out. With each protest, the ties among activists have become stronger and the determination to bring about change has grown. On the buses home, protesters traded stories of what they saw and experienced, bonding in shared moments that will become part of this country's history. The attacks on the fence even helped forge bonds between the peaceful activists and the anarchist Black Bloc, resulting in a bit of a rapprochement after the trashing of Seattle left a black eye for many on all demonstrators. One sign in the crowd during Saturday's peaceful march read, "God Bless the Kids in Black." That's because the fence was equally hated by all the protesters, from the most pacifist to the most militant. So when the Black Bloc — likewise showing a higher degree of organization and preparation than was evident in Seattle — tore the fence down, the crowd cheered. Some even helped. The crowd also cheered every time a Black Bloc member, in gas mask and leather gloves, picked up a tear gas canister and threw it back behind police lines. By focusing most of their anger at the fence, the Bloc members rebuilt some of their support among the wider group of protesters. There were some acts of violence, but they were shut down quickly by other protesters. As well, the Bloc did not seem to be displaying the same randomness of attack that the anarchists had in Seattle. This time, they were focused on the fence, and it defined for them where and how to act. At the closing day of the People's Summit, a day after Black Bloc members had toppled several sections of the fence, Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said reporters had been asking her what she was going to do with these kids who seemed so determined to take direct action. "The real question is, what the hell is Jean Chrétien going to do with these kids?" After Quebec, and the lessons learned and the bonds forged by the activists, answering that question could be a lot tougher. ------------ Stuart Laidlaw is a member of The Star's editorial board. =================================================================== April 25, 2001 Washington Prepares for Protesters By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) -- Police in riot gear are conducting drills in preparation for hundreds of protesters expected in Washington for this weekend's spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Assistant Chief Alfred J. Broadbent of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department said about 1,000 demonstrators are expected to be in the city specifically to protest. As head of the department's 656-member special services command, Broadbent has been meeting with leaders of organizations opposed to the international lending institutions. Most have permits to demonstrate Sunday in two small parks near the institutions' headquarters. ``They tell us there are protesters who come that they cannot control,'' said Broadbent, ``anarchist groups'' that Broadbent said constitute ``our primary concern.'' Police are making distinctions between ``peaceful protesters'' and those who wear gas masks or carry baseball bats or crowbars, he said. ``There are a minority of individuals who come to protest with the intent of conducting unlawful behavior, and we will not tolerate that,'' said Broadbent. Protesters will be arrested, he said, for damaging property or bombarding police with rocks, bricks and bottles as was done in Quebec last week and at other gatherings in recent years in Prague, Seattle and in Washington as activities that could warrant arrest. All 3,550 MPD officers will be on duty at the weekend. Arrangements have also been made to have a D.C. Superior Court magistrate available to arraign anybody arrested. As an extra precaution, the U.S. State Department has designated both financial institutions as temporary diplomatic missions, which will involve the Secret Service in their security. ----------- On the Net: World Bank boycott group: http://www.worldbankboycott.org World Bank-International Monetary Fund opposition group: http://www.50years.org District of Columbia Police Department: http://www.mpdc.org World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org International Monetary Fund: http://www.imf.org =================================================================== World Bank Protests Begin Quietly Friday, 27-Apr-2001 by DERRILL HOLLY, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Temporary steel barricades were in place Friday, and uniformed District of Columbia police officers were in position as demonstrations against the economic policies of two international finance organizations got under way. About 25 demonstrators picketed near the headquarters of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the first of what they have billed as ``militant but nonviolent'' protests. The protesters contend that policies requiring citizens of poor countries to pay for health care, housing and other basic needs undermine the survival of millions. They also allege that lending policies benefit multinational corporations intent upon exploiting the poor in underdeveloped nations. Although the half-hour protest featured loud chants of ``International Misery Fund,'' there were no arrests, and demonstrators chatted with police as they gathered their posters and placards before leaving. ``The same set of concerns that brought people out on the streets last April still exists,'' said Robert Weissman, co-director of Essential Action, one of several groups involved with Mobilization for Global Justice. He said cancellation of all foreign debt and changes in development policies remain their goals. Although Weissman is relieved that no one was arrested, he expressed concern about MPD's plans to deploy 1,500 officers -- about 40 percent of the force -- for IMF security duty. ``They're going to have substantially more people on the streets than we are,'' said Weissman, adding that only a few hundred are expected to show up at a Sunday rally in two small parks on Pennsylvania Avenue -- three blocks from the White House. Nonetheless, on Friday afternoon security officials erected a double row of high fencing along the White House's north gate. Friday's demonstration was also watched via a live video feed at the headquarters of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department more than 15 blocks away. In the past three weeks, technicians have installed a new command and control center to improve public safety communications during large-scale operations. =================================================================== No Protesters at World Bank Meetings Saturday, 28-Apr-2001 by LARRY MARGASAK The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dozens of police patrolled around metal barricades and tactical units stood by as world finance leaders convened their spring meetings Saturday without street protests. The barricades closed off a six-block area of downtown surrounding the separate World Bank and International Monetary Fund buildings, a minor inconvenience on blocks with no tourist attractions. More annoying was the closure to pedestrians of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, where visitors like to snap pictures. The stretch is normally closed to vehicles. Except for visitors with White House tour tickets, pedestrians were kept away because finance ministers and central bank governors gathered at Blair House, a government guest house across from the president's residence. ``We came down here to see and now we cant get in there at all,'' said Laura DiPietro, 20, of New York City. She gave a thumbs down gesture and added: ``Boo.'' Dennis Fox and his wife Laura came to Washington from St. Louis for a lawyers' convention and were headed toward the White House when they ran into the newly erected fence. ``We were totally surprised,'' Laura Fox said. ``We love seeing the White House. We always take a trip down this street to see it when we're here and now we can't.'' Opponents of the financial institutions obtained permits for a demonstration Sunday afternoon in two small parks across the street from the World Bank and IMF buildings. Organizers said they planned no civil disobedience that would get themselves arrested. Promising a noisy demonstration that will include puppets, music and street theater, the protesters are demanding cancellation of poor countries' debts to the institutions. They seek an end to conditions the institutions impose along with their loans, and blame the institutions for replacing free health and education programs with privately run operations that charge user fees to the poor. Some of the organizations have run a campaign, with some success, to convince unions, governments and private investors to boycott World Bank bonds. The peaceful streets Saturday contrasted with the thousands of demonstrators who fought pitched battles with police at a North American trade conference in Quebec last weekend, and with the large numbers of demonstrators who disrupted downtown Washington at last year's World Bank-IMF spring meetings. ``It's nothing compared to last year,'' Washington police chief Charles Ramsey said. Police-escorted motorcades brought officials to the financial buildings, swinging open a metal gate at a spot where individuals with credentials also could walk through. Some newspaper vending machines have been removed from the barricaded area, along with some mail boxes. =================================================================== Rally organizers say no civil disobedience planned in Washington By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer The Associated Press , April 26, 2001, Thursday WASHINGTON -- World Bank opponents said a rally Sunday will stress issues, not civil disobedience, and avoid the pitched battles with police that dominated demonstrations in Quebec last weekend. The afternoon demonstration will be noisy with puppets, street theater, music and chants timed to greet participants as they leave the spring meeting of the bank and the International Monetary Fund, organizers told a news conference Thursday. The demonstrators will be in two small downtown parks across the street from the meeting, oases in a sea of high-rise office buildings in downtown Washington. They'll be demanding cancellation of the debt of poor countries served by the institutions, an end to conditions that accompany loans and a boycott of World Bank bonds. They will not be planning on their own arrests, the organizers said. Last weekend in Quebec, as 34 leaders of the Americas negotiated a hemispheric trade accord, tens of thousands of protesters marched through the city's streets peacefully, while thousands of others confronted police lines, taunting officers and attacking the 2.3-mile fence ringing the summit site. More than 400 people were arrested and at least 46 police officers and 57 demonstrators were injured, none seriously. District of Columbia police, who had running battles with protesters at the spring meetings a year ago, have been drilling in riot gear to prepare for the worst. "Our goal is to have no arrests, allow them to protest, yell as loud as they want to yell, do whatever they want to do but at the same time let the meetings take place on schedule," police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said Thursday. Assistant Chief Alfred J. Broadbent said this week he makes a distinction between "peaceful protesters" and those who carry baseball bats or crowbars. The organizers, from groups that have protested against the financial institutions for years, said if anyone shows up with such equipment on Sunday, it won't be from their organizations . "There may be some things on the margin. You can't control everything," said Rob Weissman, of Essential Action. Njoki Njehu, of the 50 Years Is Enough Network, said the rally will not be violent. "We do not intend to engage in infractions with the police. There is no civil disobedience planned. No one is planning to be arrested," Njehu said. At the news conference, the World Bank-IMF opponents said the world's poorest countries are suffering from bank policies that go along with institutions' financial aid. They complained about the deregulation and private takeovers of social programs for the poor, including education and health care, and spoke of a sellout to multinational companies that they contend will destroy forests and the environment. Last week, IMF spokesman William Murray said, "We don't object to protests and criticism. We do have problems with disruptions of our meetings and attempts to prevent us from having productive discussions." Murray said the institutions have moved toward some of protesters' goals but made clear that other demands will not be satisfied. The protesters' goal of full debt cancellation will not be met, Murray said, but 22 of the poorest countries were granted relief on two-thirds of their debt last year. =================================================================== Cops provoked riots: rights league CHARLIE FIDELMAN, The Montreal Gazette, Monday 23 April 2001 Intense waves of tear gas and the use of water cannons and plastic bullets in a show of police muscle played a key role in provoking the violent bedlam that hit Quebec City on Saturday, human-rights observers say. "Police went too far. It's a form of repression," said Andre Paradis, head of the Ligue des Droits et Libertes, which had teams of observers monitoring events surrounding the Summit of the Americas. The watchdog group said it deplored what it called an unjustified switch in police tactics around the security perimeter yesterday. The tougher tactics were in stark contrast to the "calm and restraint" shown on the first day of the summit, it said. "More police muscle and intense, very intense tear gas is a factor that contributed to what happened later," Paradis said, referring to the violent clashes and a rash of bonfires, broken windows and other property damage inflicted in the lower part of the city early yesterday morning. Right from the beginning of Saturday's confrontations, police use of tear gas was escalated from the day before, league member Sam Boskey said. Tear gas was used long before some protesters tore down parts of the chain-link fence, piercing the security perimeter briefly in at least two areas, he said. Waves of tear gas and water blasts drove protesters down residential streets. "It was a mop-up operation" by the police, Boskey said. Radicals Denounced But the group also denounced the "5 per cent" of protesters who lobbed Molotov cocktails, bricks, bottles and other projectiles over the fence at police. A large majority of the thousands of people in the streets were protesting peacefully, singing songs and chanting, Paradis said. But because of the police tactics, "many were severely injured, including one man who had an emergency tracheotomy after being hit with a (plastic) bullet in the Adam's apple," he said. The continuous firing of plastic bullets and tear-gas canisters, directly and at close range, was "unjustifiable and dangerous," Paradis said. He cited the shooting of a demonstrator with a stun gun as an act of police brutality. "He was lying in the street and he posed no threat." There was also direct gassing of people trying to help the injured, he said. The group also expressed concerns about the treatment arrested demonstrators received at Orsainville prison. People who had been exposed to tear gas were made to strip, in full view of police and visitors, while getting a change of clothes, said league member and Universite de Montreal criminology professor Jean-Claude Bernheim. And some protesters seeking legal aid were denied access to lawyers for up to 24 hours, Bernheim charged. Some of those arrested were detained in a bus for up to 10 hours, while others were confined to prison cells with up to five others, he said. The league will be compiling a report in the coming weeks, Paradis said. It also expects to decide shortly whether to file complaints with police, the provincial justice minister or the Quebec Human Rights Commission. =================================================================== Black Blocs led the fight by ALLISON HANES, The Montreal Gazette, Monday 23 April 2001 They were the elite commandos of the protest. Their appearance was greeted by some with cheers of "Black Bloc! Black Bloc!" Their actions were denounced by many as "stupid" and "Rambo-like." Black Blocs left an indelible mark on Quebec City this weekend. Black Blocs are not organized groups, but a protest strategy that involves the formation of "affinity groups" that work alone or in concert with others. They frequently, but do not necessarily always, engage in vandalism, as witnessed at the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle, when they first emerged on the public radar. The affinity groups were the main agitators behind most of the ugly clashes between police and protesters at the Summit of the Americas. Clad identically, usually in black, they would suddenly appear at hot spots to ratchet up the action - by attacking the security perimeter that drew the wrath of all protesters, or hurling bricks and bottles at lines of riot cops - then disappear, leaving peaceful protesters to face down advancing police. On Friday, they tore a gaping hole in the security wall, which sparked a 12-hour street fight. On Saturday, marauding Blocs, armed with two-by-fours, repeatedly marched to the front lines, taunted police to get the tear gas flying, then left. Yesterday, seven people were arrested in an attempt to distribute Molotov cocktails and rocks they were carrying in garbage bags to stir things up in Parc de l'Amerique Francaise on what was otherwise a tranquil day. "We're not sure whether they were going to use them all or hand them to other protesters, but we intervened very quickly in any case," said Surete du Quebec Inspector Gaetan Labbe. David Graeber, an American activist and anarchist who has participated in Black Blocs in the past, was taken aback by the ferocity of the Bloc activities he witnessed in Quebec. "It was weird this time," he said, before fleeing the city out of fear of being nabbed by police. "It was a lot more rowdy than I was expecting." Graeber has said Black Bloc actions are usually governed by a complex moral and ethical code, distinguishing between the personal property of individuals and the private property of corporations. For the most part, this held true. Vandalism in Quebec City was mostly targeted at corporations: Shell Oil and CIBC had their windows smashed. But a car was set on fire and one city resident's fence was ripped up. Among peaceful protesters who took to the streets of Quebec, reaction to the confrontational tactics was mixed. "I don't think it was always justified, but it was understandable," said Bernard Grondin, who protested within the perimeter since his home is inside. "I think we need a variety of tactics," said Karen Topper, a disability-rights worker from Vermont. "The criticism of Seattle and some other protests down in the United States was that people were rattled at being caught off guard and not knowing what the level of action will be. But people go out of their way here to make sure everyone knows what is going to happen." Indeed, Blocs used red and black flags to signal to the crowd their intention to escalate action - to call them into battle or warn them to stand back. Still, many fellow protesters denounced their tactics. Wayne, a college professor from Toronto, said the violence takes the focus off the message that demonstrators deserve to be part of the summit process. "It's stupid. We lose public support and credibility," he said. A Black Bloc busted up a CIBC branch on the corner of Rene Levesque and Turnbull St. Saturday. A grandmother from Manitoba jumped in their path to fight them back. "We yelled at them and tried to stop them," said Christine Burrows. "Some young women drummers came and helped us." "It's the worst thing they can do, because it gives all us demonstrators a bad reputation," added her husband, Sel Burrows. "It wrecks days of work we've done." On the steel frame of the shattered bank window, someone wrote in black marker: "We're sorry, we tried to stop them." =================================================================== FTAA Zine From: "FTAA Diary" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 Hi, This is our chance to help inform the broader population that was misled by the mainstream media about the recent FTAA protests. Websites are terrific but we need to get the word out to those who don't check alternative news. The FTAA Diary is a thorough but easy to download and reproduce account of what really happened at the FTAA summit. We are emailing you as someone involved in Indy Media with the hope that you will help get the word out. We are proud of this zine, the stories it tells and the healing it has helped the contributors achieve. We are also excited about the possibilities. If each of use can even pass out a few of these we could fundraise thousands for FTAA legal defense efforts. Here's what you can do: *Forward this link to whoever you know: www.geocities.com/ftaadiary *Link to this site from your webpage *Print off the dairy and share it with friends and family *Add your own stories to the diary *Distribute it around local alternative shops, or if you are able to get free or discounted copying, hand it out to passerbys on the street. The mainstream media has let this issue drop off the radar. We will not do the same. Lets share our stories, lets help one another heal and lets help raise funds for those who so desperately need it. "After the clouds clear and the fence comes down, here stands a generation radicalized, which is part of a population outraged by what they experienced in Quebec or shocked by what they heard from those who came here. We are the first generation in this country that knows the taste of teargas. They have attacked us with the worst they have and it has only strengthened our resolve…." -- From the FTAA Diary (more inside) In solidarity, The FTAA Diary Collective www.geocities.com/ftaadiary =================================================================== "Anarchy doesn't mean out of control. It means out of 'their' control." -Jim Dodge ====================================================== "Communications without intelligence is noise; intelligence without communications is irrelevant." -Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC ====================================================== "It is not a sign of good health to be well adjusted to a sick society." -J. Krishnamurti ====================================================== "The world is my country, all mankind my brethren, and to do good is my religion." -Thomas Paine ====================================================== " . . . it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds . . . " -Samuel Adams ====================================================== "You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results." -Gandhi ====================================================== "The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable." -H.L. Mencken ______________________________________________________________ To subscribe/unsubscribe or for a sample copy or a list of back issues, send appropriate email to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. ______________________________________________________________ **How to assist RadTimes: An account is available at <www.paypal.com> which enables direct donations. If you are a current PayPal user, use this email address: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, to contribute. If you are not a current user, use this link: <https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=resist%40best.com> to sign up and contribute. The only information passed on to me via this process is your email address and the amount you transfer. Thanks! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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