>Sahour on Oct. 28-29: > >"I have to admit that the Israeli artillery made us afraid. >Only fools do not get afraid when they are subjected to four >hours of bombardment. But what did it achieve? Did it make >us surrender? Did it make us weak? > >"We know that the aim of the Israeli bombardment is to >impose their terms on us by force. They want to translate >their force into political achievements. ... Are they really >trying to fool the world by showing that this is a war >between two armies? That's more than ridiculous. > >"We know how weak we are in terms of military capabilities, >but also we know how strong we are because we have a case >and a cause. We also know how weak they are because they are >simply wrong and evil cannot prevail. ... We will continue >to do our best to see that the occupation is over. The >quicker, the better." > >To read the delegation's daily reports and for further >information see the Web site www.iacenter.org. > >- 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, 2 Nov 2000 01:23:20 -0500 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] "Democracy Now!" Under Attack >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Nov. 9, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >PROTESTS GROW AS "DEMOCRACY NOW!" THREATENED BY >PACIFICA RADIO MANAGEMENT > >By Gary Wilson > >Pacifica Radio management is targeting Amy Goodman and the >nationally broadcast "Democracy Now!" program that she co- >hosts with journalist Juan Gonzalez. Goodman has been >threatened with being fired if she doesn't make changes >demanded by Pacifica management. This is only the most >recent move in a long series of actions taken by a >management set to throttle the only progressive radio >network in the United States. > >Several internal documents leaked in the last week of >October show that the aim of Pacifica management's threats >to Amy Goodman is political censorship of "Democracy Now!". >Pacifica's board of directors is dominated by officials with >close ties to the top powers in the Democratic Party. > >Pacifica management particularly objects to the coverage >being given to political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and police >brutality in general, as well as the "excessive coverage" of >the struggles in East Timor and the plight of political >prisoner Lori Berenson in Peru. > >Though not indicated in the leaked documents, many >supporters of Goodman believe that management also objects >to the program's election coverage, which is unfavorable to >Al Gore as well as George Bush and favorable to Ralph Nader. >Goodman was given a written reprimand for interviewing Nader >on the floor of the Republican Convention in Philadelphia. >Nader had been brought into the convention by MSNBC. The >"Democracy Now!" crew was then denied press credentials at >the Democratic Convention--presumably to prevent them from >interviewing Nader if he showed up there as well. > >A recent addition to the Pacifica board of directors is John >Murdock, a corporate attorney from the law firm of Epstein >Becker & Green, which specializes in helping clients >"maintain a union-free workplace." Murdock's law firm now >represents Pacifica management and he is rewriting the >bylaws of the Pacifica Foundation to make them fit the >board's new agenda. > >Pacifica management's new agenda can also be seen in its >blockage of national coverage of Fidel Castro's recent >speech at Riverside Church in New York. Pacifica's national >management in Washington attempted to put restrictions on >the planned nationwide broadcast by all Pacifica stations >and to impose its own host for the show. Local station WBAI >refused to go along. > >The Washington management then blocked the national >broadcast, and Castro's speech was heard only in New York. >WBAI is the home station for Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez and >"Democracy Now!". > >According to leaked documents, Pacifica management has >ordered Goodman to make drastic changes in her awarding- >winning program or face "disciplinary actions up to and >including termination." That management would threaten >Goodman may surprise many Pacifica supporters because >"Democracy Now!" is not only award-winning, it is the most >popular show on Pacifica nationwide. > >One of the changes demanded by management is that Goodman >provide a list by Friday of the next week's shows. This is >clearly meant to give management a means to censor the >shows. It is also designed to redefine the show, which has >built its popularity on its up-to-the minute alternative >insight into current news, including breaking news. No news >show like it, for example ABC-TV's "Nightline," decides its >schedule a week in advance. > >MANAGEMENT CAN'T STOMACH MUMIA COVERAGE > >A leaked letter to the Pacifica board written Oct. 18 by >Goodman reveals the dirty inside threats and comments made >by management, showing the political motives behind these >actions: > >"On Sept. 14 [Pacifica Program Director] Steve Yasko called >me to a meeting with Pacifica General Managers. KPFK Manager >Mark Schubb expressed his repeated criticism that audiences >don't want to hear graphic details of police brutality >before breakfast, or, as he said last year, 'before I have >my coffee.' > >"He criticized our coverage of Mumia Abu-Jamal, East Timor >and questioned why I asked Spike Lee about his affiliation >with Nike. Pacifica's Chief Financial Officer weighed in >with her criticism of American prisoner Lori Berenson in >Peru (we had just aired an exclusive interview with her that >received widespread national press). After the meeting, >Yasko took me into the hotel lobby and shouted, 'I am your >boss! I am your boss!'" > >The documents show that Pacifica management has been taking >hostile actions against "Democracy Now!" for the last year. >Goodman has made many attempts to negotiate with management, >but Pacifica management is not interested in negotiating. It >has only ultimatums: "I am your boss" is the negotiating >message. > >Goodman was finally forced to file a grievance through the >union, the American Federation of Television and Radio >Artists, charging Pacifica's management with "harassment, >gender harassment and censorship," along with other >violations of the union contract. > >PACIFICA RESTRUCTURING > >Since the early 1990s, national Pacifica management has >taken on a plan to make deep structural and programming >changes that have moved the Pacifica Radio network away from >its original, progressive community-based focus. Many of the >changes are geared to make Pacifica more like National >Public Radio, the corporate-backed "alternative" radio >network that has become so conservative that some have >started to call it the "National Republican Radio." > >Last year, Pacifica management flew from Washington to >Berkeley, Calif., to impose a gag order on the local >affiliate, KPFA. The Washington management had the police >come in and arrest staffers so that they could impose their >own programming. Then they ordered the station occupied by >security goons at a cost of $10,000 a day. > >The big protests in Berkeley over this action made many >people aware for the first time of what is happening at >Pacifica. > >Hundreds of people in five cities across the U.S. on Oct. 25 >protested the threats made to Goodman. More actions are >being planned. Readers wanting more information on the >struggle at Pacifica can find it on the Web at >www.savepacifica.net. > >- 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, 2 Nov 2000 01:23:20 -0500 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Candidates Find Growing Interest in Socialism >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Nov. 9, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >MOOREHEAD-LA RIVA CAMPAIGN IN WISCONSIN: >CANDIDATES FIND GROWING INTEREST IN SOCIALISM > >By Workers World >Milwaukee bureau > >As George W. Bush and Al Gore battle to determine which rich >white male will be the next chief administrator for the U.S. >ruling class, each blames the other's party for every >problem in the country. > >But in late October, two women--both of them workers and >union members, one African American and the other Chicana-- >brought a different message to the people of Wisconsin and >Illinois. The real problem, they said, is capitalism; the >solution is socialism; and the way to get there is through >mass struggle. > >>From Oct. 25-28, Workers World Party presidential candidate >Monica Moorehead and vice-presidential candidate Gloria La >Riva visited Milwaukee, Madison, Stevens Point, La Crosse, >Racine and the Menominee Nation reservation in Wisconsin, >along with Chicago in neighboring Illinois. > >Wherever they spoke--at meetings of students, workers, >community activists, homeless women and men, and even with >local media--they found a noticeably higher level of >interest and receptiveness than just four years ago, when >they made a similar campaign tour. In 1996, Moorehead and La >Riva received more Wisconsin votes than any other socialist >candidates. > >"I think it was the combination of the new youth movement >that exploded on the scene in Seattle, plus the openness to >new politics that is shown by the growth of the Nader-LaDuke >candidacies," said one Wisconsin WWP organizer. "Lots of >young people are opening up to activism and some are willing >to look at really radical solutions." > >This interest was shown by the sales of political literature >at campaign stops, such as Fidel Castro's "Capitalism in >Crisis," Workers World newspaper and "Introduction to >Marxism," a short study guide prepared by local organizers >for the tour. > >Several young people said they would like to attend classes >on Marxism and asked about attending the Dec. 2-3 WWP >national conference in New York. > >WISCONSIN'S PRISON CRISIS > >The tour began Oct. 25 with a Third Party Presidential Forum >at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The event was >sponsored by the UWM Progressive Student Network. It opened >with a presentation by Iyad Afalqa of the Muslim Student >Association, who expressed his organization's strong >solidarity with the intensifying struggle of the Palestinian >people for self-determination. > >Moorehead's remarks described the death penalty and the >prison-industrial complex's growth as two of the most >important forms of racial profiling in the United States. >The WWP campaign's focus is fighting racism and racist >repression. > >The prison issue has special meaning in Wisconsin, where the >prison population has doubled in the last five years--one of >the sharpest increases in the country. Wisconsin now >imprisons Black people at twice the national average and >leads the country in sending inmates to out-of-state >prisons. > >The incarceration rate for women is also increasing at an >astounding rate. It rose 12 percent between early August and >late September alone. > >La Riva described how she, as a young student of color, was >inspired by the militant struggle for affirmative action >that made it possible for her to attend Brandeis University. >After getting involved in the student movement, she made the >decision to devote her life to revolutionary activism. This >year she became the first North American to address a May >Day rally in Havana, Cuba. > >'NO KINDER, GENTLER CAPITALISM' > >Commenting on the growing support for Green Party candidates >Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke in Wisconsin, Moorehead >praised their strong anti-corporate message but explained, >"There is no such thing as a kinder, gentler capitalism." >That remark got the strongest applause of the evening. > >"Our party believes that only the independent mass struggle, >demanding fundamental change, can make the difference," she >said. > >Moorehead urged those in attendance to mobilize for the Jan. >20 counter-inauguration protest in Washington to demand an >end to the racist death penalty and freedom for political >prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. > >The next day, La Riva traveled to the University of >Wisconsin-Stevens Point campus for a meeting sponsored by >the Women's Resource Center and the Peaceful Activist >Organization. She also visited La Crosse, a multinational, >working-class city on the Mississippi River that's been hard >hit by recent plant shutdowns and layoffs. The Women's >Studies Department at UW-La Crosse sponsored the meeting. > >Moorehead was in Madison, the state capitol, that day, >giving media interviews and meeting with local activists. > >Wisconsin is one of a handful of states where Bush and Gore >are in a dead heat and the Nader vote could be a deciding >factor. On Oct. 26, the Democratic Party held a mass rally >at the State Capitol. Hundreds of Nader supporters gathered >nearby with signs and banners. > >Statewide Green Party coordinator Ben Manski invited >Moorehead to address the crowd. To strong applause, she >praised young Green Party activists for standing strong in >the face of mounting pressure to abandon their third party >bid. Moorehead emphasized the necessity to take up the fight >against racism here at home and against U.S. imperialist >intervention overseas. > >WELCOMED BY MENOMINEE NATION > >On Oct. 27 La Riva traveled upstate for a presentation at >the College of the Menominee Nation on the Menominee Nation >reservation. > >One student, commenting on the egalitarianism and >communalism of early Native societies, said that "Native >Americans were the first socialists." Another asked for a >copy of the "Communist Manifesto." A third said that, >although she had a master's degree, she had learned more >from La Riva's visit than she did during her entire >schooling. > >Meanwhile, Moorehead spoke at Chicago's New World Resource >Center at a public meeting sponsored by the local WWP >branch. There were presentations on the intensifying >struggles in Palestine and Colombia. > >President Bill Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak >are due in Chicago Nov. 13. WWP activists urged those at the >meeting to support a protest that day called by Arab- >American organizations. > >Oct. 28 began with Moorehead as the invited speaker at the >weekly meeting of Repairers of the Breach, an organization >of homeless and at-risk people that operates a day center on >Milwaukee's North Side. Moorehead's statement that jobs, >housing and health care are rights, and her call for a $15- >per-hour minimum wage, received strong applause and support. > >The next stop was a "Meet the candidates" meeting at the >International Building in the heart of Milwaukee's Latino >community, followed by a similar gathering at Sweet Black >Coffee, a new Black-owned poetry and jazz cafe in the >multinational Riverwest community. At both events, young >people expressed interest in hearing more about WWP's >socialist program. Sweet Black Coffee's program director >invited the organizers to come back often and hold similar >events. > >The tour ended with both candidates participating in a >Progressive Political Forum at Cross Lutheran Church, a >multinational, politically-active church in Milwaukee's >Black community. The forum, organized by the newly-formed >Committee for Community Politics, also featured local >representatives of the Green Party, Socialist Party and >Natural Law Party. > >During their visit the candidates were interviewed by local >and statewide newspapers, TV and radio. The Wisconsin >campaign effort is being coordinated by the A Job is a Right >Campaign, a Milwaukee-based organization of labor and >community activists. > >For more information on the Moorehead-La Riva campaign, >visit the Web site www.vote4workers.org. > >- 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) > > > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
