> WW News Service Digest #150 > > 1) Letter from John Does at CFCF > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 2) Whiose Streets? Our Streets! > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) Anti-Racist Solidarity in a Philly Jail Cell > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 4) R2K: Capitalist "Democracy" Bares its Teeth > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 5) Philly: Supporters Aid Jailed Activists > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 6) Socialist Candidates: "Organize ...to Free Mumia!" > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 7) Protesters Unmask Democratic Convention > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 8) 86,000 Workers Strike Telecom Giant > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >VOICES OF RESISITANCE: LETTER FROM JOHN DOES AT CFCF > >We are 24 male prisoners currently held at Curran-From hold >Correctional Facility for our participation or attempted >participation in the Aug. 1 non-violent direct actions against >the Republican Convention in Philadelphia. The carefully >choreographed conventions of both major parties have nothing >to do with democracy. They are corporate-sponsored pageants >designed to legitimize a system of corporate class rule that >crushes the human spirit and that is destroying the planet. >The criminal justice system of cops, courts and prisons that >targets poor and working-class people in general and people of >color in particular is a cornerstone of a system that serves >the rich and maintains their rule. > >Our actions in the streets of Philadelphia were intended to >shine a light on the incarceration of 2 million people in the >U.S., on the systematic use of police brutality to terrorize >whole communities, on the racism and cruelty of the death >penalty, on the many political prisoners, including Mumia Abu- >Jamal, who are caged for their commitment to social justice. >Our actions were aimed at disrupting the Republican Convention >to the best of our ability. While we're sorry for any >inconvenience we may have caused the people of Philadelphia, >we are proud of what we did to expose this rotten system. > >>From the moment of our arrest we have experienced and >witnessed the workings of a system designed to dehumanize >people. Many of us were brutalized in the course of >arrests. Some of us were beaten or pepper sprayed after we >were handcuffed. In jail as many as nine people were packed >into cells designed for two people. People with dietary >restrictions went without food for up to 48 hours. In some >cases our hands and feet were cuffed together and some of >us had our cuffs so tight that we lost feelings in our >hands or bled as a result. > >We were denied the opportunity to meet with our lawyers >prior to arraignment and were arraigned in a courtroom >closed to the general public with the exception of select >members of the capitalist media. We were arraigned with a >court appointed public defender serving as counsel despite >our explicitly and repeatedly stated desire to be >represented by our own counsel who were denied access to >the proceedings. We were charged with a variety of >misdemeanors and in a few cases with felonies. Our >individual bails have been set at between $10,000 and $1 >million. Many if not all of the charges against us are >either greatly exaggerated or completely falsified. > >At Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility we have been placed >in a special pod where we have little contact with other >prisoners. While we regard our conditions here as dehumanizing >we recognize that we are receiving special treatment such as >extra food. So far we have not been beaten or physically hurt >by personnel here. > >Throughout this process we have sought to resist and stand >in solidarity with each other to the best of our abilities. >Almost all of us have refused to give our names. Many of us >have had to be physically dragged through the various stages >of this process. We have kept our spirits high through singing >and chanting and pounding on our cell walls. We developed >systems for communicating with each other and for reaching >decisions by consensus. Many of us ripped the bracelets >intended to identify us off our wrists. We resisted >fingerprinting and attempts to photograph us. Some of us have >refused food. In jail we stripped naked to make our processing >more difficult. In the course of all this we have discovered >strengths we never knew we had and have built a wall of >solidarity based on profound love and respect for each other. >We have drawn particular strength from the proud defiance of >the sisters whose loud voices we have heard and whose acts of >resistance we have occasionally been able to witness. While >our access to information is restricted we are aware of the >efforts of those on the outside to assist us. We love you all. >We are in here for you and know that you are out there for us. > >We believe that our experiences so far strongly vindicate us >in our decision to take powerful action to expose the >brutality and injustice of the so-called criminal justice >system. As we go through this process we are learning >personally of the mistreatment people experience every day in >this country. As a group of mainly white and mainly middle >class men we know full well that the treatment routinely >received by poor people, people of color, and other >marginalized people is much worse than what we have received. > >While we have had little contact with other prisoners, that >contact has been overwhelmingly positive, they know why we are >here and they let us know in many ways that they support our >actions and respect our commitment and solidarity. In turn we >are learning from them about the workings of the prison and >their own traditions of resistance. They have our respect, >admiration and solidarity. So far the efforts of some >personnel to cultivate distrust and antagonism between us and >the other prisoners have failed. > >We are political prisoners; we are being held on >outrageous charges, in many cases with no foundation >whatsoever in our actual actions; our bail figures are far >out of proportion even for the crimes we are falsely >accused of; we are here because of our political commitment >and because we dared to defy the corporate powers that be >as they were attempting to give a veneer of popular support >to the rule of the few. > >We call on those who support us to continue to put pressure >on the Philadelphia authorities to win our quick release. We >urge you all to continue to organize protests on our behalf >and to write and call the mayor's office, the prosecutors and >the prison authorities to demand: 1. Our immediate and >unconditional release on our own recognizance; 2. That all >charges be dropped, and; 3. That prisoners with dietary >restrictions (vegans and vegetarians) be provided with >adequate food that they can eat. > >Call these officials and let them know that you support our >demands: District Attorney Lynne Abraham, (215) 686-8701; >Mayor John Street, (215) 686-2181; City Solicitor Ken >Trujillo, (215) 683-5003. > >Thirty of us have gone on hunger strike to win these >demands. We want everyone to know that we are in good spirits >and remain strong in our solidarity. We come from a variety of >backgrounds and perspectives, but we are united in our >commitment to genuine democracy and an end to corporate rule >in general and to the criminal injustice system in particular. > >Free Mumia Abu-Jamal & all political prisoners! > >Stop police terror! > >Tear down the prison industrial-complex! > >End the death penalty! > >Write to us: > >John Doe "JD" Professor > >John Doe ODB > >John Doe Wolfman > >John Doe 6010 "Dinger" > >John Doe "That's not good for business" > >John Doe Slick > >Camilo Viveiros Jr. > >John Doe 6013 Christopher Hartley > >John Doe Mac > >John Doe Mango > >John Doe "B.A." > >John Doe Sparky > >John Doe Flea > >John Doe "Hank H. Parts" > >John Doe "Wisp" > >John Doe Tennessee/Jimnikov > >John Doe Buckshot > >John Doe GOD > >John Doe Switchblade > >John Doe Ms. Pac Man > >John Doe Zeke > >JD Lovebug > >J.D. Kowbone > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 01:23:57 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Whiose Streets? Our Streets! >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >WHOSE STREETS? OUR STREETS! > >By Imani Henry > >Tuesday, Aug. 1. It was absolutely exhilarating to take >the streets of Philadelphia and hold them for over two >hours. No permit, no negotiations with the police. If they >said left, we went right, carrying the International >Action Center banners demanding "Not one more lynching," >"New trial for Mumia" and "Justice for Robert Brown and >Thomas Jones." > >We started with about 40 people on the sidewalk. Soon >there were a few hundred. Larry Holmes was chanting on the >microphone and people just started to join us, taking >placards and chanting with us. Soon we captured the >street, seizing hold of intersections and marching against >the flow of traffic. > >At one point we surrounded a group of Republican >delegates boarding a bus. We faced off against riot police >and held the block so they could not move. > >We provided support to those courageous young activists >who were locking down buildings and creating blockades, so >the cops could not brutalize them. Other affinity groups >used our march as an escape route, joining up with us for >a while, then running off to get to another blockade site. > >It was fortunate that the banners carried such a strong >anti-racist message. The police raided the warehouse >holding the puppets and signs the R2K forces had prepared. >We were able to help by giving the day's activities an >open political expression. > >But most of all, everyone saw the march as a victory--a >mobile action that shut down the streets in defiance of >racist repression and the death penalty. > >At JFK Blvd. and 15th St., right in front of City Hall, >several of us from the IAC shut down the intersection in >the name of Shaka Sanfoka and Mumia Abu-Jamal. Joined by >other protesters, we battled police on bicycles, whose >newest tactic is to ram their bike wheels and handles into >people. > >It took them over an hour to arrest us. Meanwhile, >hundreds of people chanted for the freedom of Mumia. > >There's nothing like chanting "Whose streets? Our >streets!" and knowing for a fact that the streets belong >to the people. > >[Imani Henry is a national coordinator of Rainbow Flags >for Mumia.] > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 01:23:57 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Anti-Racist Solidarity in a Philly Jail Cell >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >REPORT OF A PARTICIPANT: ANTI-RACIST SOLIDARITY IN A >PHILLY JAIL CELL > >By Larry Holmes > >When I was arrested in Philadelphia with many of my >comrades on the evening of Aug. 1, I met lots of wonderful >activists who had come from around the country to protest >the Republican Convention. > >One of the few virtues of being stuck in lockup is that it >gives you plenty of opportunity to talk. Many of the >protesters in the jail under the Philadelphia police >station had come to town to participate in a day of direct >action against the death penalty, the prison-industrial >complex, and to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. > >But others had not come to demonstrate specifically on >anti-racist issues. They were most concerned about the >general evils of world domination by U.S. transnational >corporations, as represented by the Republican Party. > >The long hours in lockup gave me an opportunity to talk >with my fellow cellmates--most of them young, white, >idealistic, good people. (The mostly Black and Latino young >people who usually occupy the cells in the Roundhouse were >moved to the county jail to make way for anti-GOP >protesters.) > >My comrades and I talked for hours about the importance of >linking our actions to the issues that most affect the >Black and Latino communities of Philadelphia. > >We talked about how the recent, savage videotaped beating >of Thomas Jones and the summary execution of Robert Brown, >both at the hands of Philadelphia cops, made an anti- >repression, anti-racist message most relevant and necessary >at the moment. > >We talked about Mumia Abu-Jamal and Shaka Sankofa and the >need to show solidarity with the struggle of prisoners and >the nearly 4,000 residents of death row. > >During a cellblock meeting involving about 120 arrested >protesters, four demands were proposed and agreed upon. >First, the right to see our own lawyers; second, the right >of leaders not to be isolated from the rest of the >prisoners; third, that bail be dropped; and fourth, that >all charges be dropped or reduced. > >Someone proposed that those who could, go on a hunger >strike in support of these demands. My comrades and I >suggested that we make the hunger strike in solidarity with >the 2 million-plus prisoners residing in concentration >camps across the country. > >This proposal was unanimously approved and the hunger >strike was dubbed "Hunger for Justice." > >On Aug. 3, we learned that supporters outside the prison >would be gathering at 9 p.m. to hold a rally for those of >us inside. Although we were all tired, having slept and >eaten little over the past 48 hours, we decided to chant as >loud as we could, to sing as loud as we could, to bang on >the metal jail walls and metal jail cots, in the hopes that >if we stomped our feet and chanted loud enough, our >supporters outside might hear us. > >Commencing at 9 o'clock sharp, we started chanting, "Brick >by brick, wall by wall, we're gonna free Mumia Abu-Jamal." > >Then we chanted, "The cops say get back, we say fight >back. The guards say get back, we say fight back.. Death >row. Bush. the Democrats." and on and on. > >We chanted the "41 bullets" chant in memory of Amadou >Diallo. We sang "Solidarity Forever" and other protest >songs from the civil rights and Black liberation movements. > >Although no one had had a decent meal or brushed their >teeth for more than two days, we all felt a lot better and >a lot closer by the time 10 o'clock rolled around. > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 01:23:58 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] R2K: Capitalist "Democracy" Bares its Teeth >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >R2K PROTESTERS RESIST AS CAPITALIST "DEMOCRACY" >BARES ITS TEETH > >By Fred Goldstein > >The "great" U.S. system of capitalist democracy showed its >sharp teeth in Philadelphia this past week as the >government violated virtually every legal and >constitutional right of hundreds of protesters. > >Despite high levels of repression and tactical setbacks, >however, the new movement that began with last year's >protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle >showed its vitality, its determination to fight the system, >and its ability to expand its politics of resistance to >make the struggle against racism a centerpiece of the fight >against global capitalism. > >The program of the Aug. 1 direct actions was against >racism, the prison-industrial complex, the death penalty >and for the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal. A similar offensive >is planned for Los Angeles. > >The government mounted a three-pronged attack on the new >youthful, anti-capitalist, anti-racist resistance movement. >This consisted of a COINTELPRO-type undercover operation, >the unleashing of the brutal Philadelphia police and prison >guards, and a star chamber court process. The big-business >media was a vital part of the operation as it >systematically censored the anti-racist political message >of the demonstration. > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
