> WW News Service Digest #200 > > 1) "Battle of Seattle" Anniversary > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 2) Activists, Youths Pledge Fight to Revive Socialism > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) Stop Plan Colombia > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 4) Jobs Threatened by Downturn > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 5) Jeb Bush's Racist Conspiracy to "Deliver Florida" > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 6) Free Leonard Peltier & Mumia Abu-Jamal > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 14, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >"BATTLE OF SEATTLE" ANNIVERSARY > >On Nov. 30, some 4,000 people rallied and marched in >downtown Seattle to say "No to corporate globalization." > >The activists were commemorating the anniversary of last >year's "Battle of Seattle" at the World Trade Organization >conference. They also raised slogans in solidarity with the >1,000 striking workers at the Seattle Times and Seattle Post- >Intelligencer newspapers. > >A huge contingent of cops used pepper spray and stun >grenades against the protesters. After 11 hours in the >streets, the demonstration was surrounded by police, who >arrested 150 people. > >But protesters vowed that this type of repression will only >breed more resistance. > >Solidarity actions marking the birth of the anti- >globalization movement were held around the world. >-- by Jim McMahan > >- 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: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 21:46:25 -0500 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Activists, Youths Pledge Fight to Revive Socialism >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 14, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >WORKERS WORLD PARTY CONFERENCE: ACTIVISTS, YOUTHS >PLEDGE FIGHT TO REVIVE SOCIALISM > >By Gery Armsby >New York > >Activists representing many struggles, from Seattle and >Huntsville, Texas, to Buffalo, N.Y., and San Diego, Calif., >gathered in New York Dec. 2-3 for the annual Workers World >Party conference, entitled "The Socialist Answer to >Capitalism." There they had an opportunity to deliberate >about their recent efforts in the class struggle and to >review WWP's contributions. > >Much of that discussion centered on the need to revive the >fight for socialism in the United States. > >Many young activists and revolutionaries who attended >learned about WWP in the fight against racist police >brutality, the death penalty and the criminal injustice >system. They were drawn to the conference by a desire to >learn how to step up the fight against racism and capitalist >exploitation by applying a revolutionary Marxist >perspective. > >Larry Holmes, a member of WWP's Secretariat, opened the >conference by appraising last year's "Battle of Seattle," >the Million Family March and Redeem the Dream mobilizations, >and the upsurge in the labor movement as harbingers that >"something is coming--something big." > >While he warned against "crying wolf" at the recent downward >economic trend, Holmes also pointed out that the "lesson of >the cry-wolf fable is that the wolf finally showed up." > >He said preparations must be made now for an inevitable >capitalist crisis. This means helping to lead people to >break away from the Democratic Party, which Holmes described >as the "box that our movement is locked away in." He called >for "making the fight for socialism a living force in the >struggle." > >Gloria La Riva, WWP's 2000 vice presidential candidate, >echoed Holmes' sentiments about the need to revive the >revolutionary socialist current. Secretariat member Fred >Goldstein said that in the election morass the party's task >is to "show that in spite of the fact that the Republicans >have a different social base and are more to the right, both >parties are deadly enemies of the workers and the >oppressed." > >Microphones were then opened up for discussion. Many >comments from the floor came from relative newcomers with >stories to tell about why they were drawn to the struggle >for socialism. > >YOUTHFUL CROWD DISCUSSES SOCIALISM > >A lunchtime discussion brought together a predominantly >youthful crowd to discuss what socialism is. Over sandwiches >and soda participants shared their experiences in WWP. > >Derrick Duncan talked about what it was like for him, a >young Jamaican immigrant living in Brooklyn, when he met an >organizer from WWP who gave him a copy of Workers World >newspaper. "It took me awhile to come to a meeting," he >said, "but I soon found out these people were for real, like >family in the struggle." > >Magda Miller from Los Angeles gave a moving account of how >working mothers like herself are constantly prevented from >making strides under capitalism, no matter how hard they try >to advance themselves through education. > >A second series of plenary talks followed, focussing on the >class struggle within the United States. WWP Secretariat >member and presidential candidate Monica Moorehead set the >tone by examining the Marxist view on fighting racist >repression. There were also reports from various union >struggles and the recent election campaign. Many comments >from the floor reflected the deep commitment of those >present to fight against every feature of class oppression. > >Julius Sykes from Buffalo said, "Racial profiling and police >brutality is such an epidemic, we really should call it what >it is--and that's racist profiling." Several speakers >reaffirmed the demand for reparations to the African >American community. > >Naomi Cohen from New York drew a thoughtful comparison that >"the oppression of women in capitalist society today is so >wide, so deep, so broad, and so old that it's like the air. >We breathe it in every second of every day, and yet we don't >see it." > >Kaz Suzat, assistant chapel chair of a union local at one >of the striking Seattle newspapers, said that as "an out >trans person on the job, it's amazing to experience what a >strike can do for building solidarity and unity. People who >never talked to me now come up to me, pat me on the back and >call me brother." > >CHANTS OF 'DOWN WITH PLAN COLOMBIA!' > >Saturday's final plenary session gave conference attendees a >chance to discuss, learn about and express their solidarity >with people's movements around the world in struggle against >imperialism. Representatives from the Korea Truth Commission >and the Al-Awda Palestine Right of Return Coalition, as well >as a former political prisoner from Turkey, were present in >the hall and received thunderous standing ovations. > >Secretariat member Teresa Gutierrez presented the first of >three plenary talks on the international situation. She >focused on the armed struggle in Colombia, where she >recently visited representatives of the FARC--the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-as part of an >International Action Center delegation. > >She explained that "we cannot leave this meeting without a >resounding condemnation of Plan Colombia." Plan Colombia is >the multi-billion-dollar Pentagon plot to destroy the FARC- >led guerrilla movement in that country. > >Gutierrez urged everyone to bring the critical issue of Plan >Colombia to the counter-inaugural protest planned for Jan. >20 in Washington and left the podium with a cry for "victory >to the guerrilla movement in Colombia!" Those in the >conference hall rose to their feet and a group of militant >lesbian, gay, bi and trans youths began to chant "Abajo, >abajo, abajo al Plan Colombia!"--"Down, down, down with Plan >Colombia!". > >Other plenary talks, by Secretariat member Sara Flounders >and National Committee member Richard Becker, covered the >struggle in Palestine and socialist Cuba's fight against the >40-year-old U.S. blockade. A wrap-up by Secretariat member >and WW editor Deirdre Griswold discussed the counter- >revolutionary devastation faced by workers in former >socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR. > >DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUDAISM AND ZIONISM DISCUSSED > >Day two of the conference opened with workshops on a range >of topics. Several attendees said they chose workshops in >areas they knew little about in order to familiarize >themselves with a new area of struggle. Others were drawn to >workshops based on excitement generated by the plenary >talks. > >Participants in a workshop about building solidarity with >Iraq and Palestine had a lively exchange about the new >Intifada in Palestine, clarifying the difference between the >world's Jewish people and the Israeli state. The >multinational group of activists discussed anti-Semitism as >well as anti-Arab racism in the U.S. The apartheid settler >regime is built on the political ideology of Zionism--not >Judaism. Israel is a partner of U.S. imperialism in the >suppression of the Palestinians' right to their homeland. > >This workshop also discussed the upcoming fourth Iraq >Sanctions Challenge organized by the IAC for Jan. 12-19. The >trip will defy U.S./UN sanctions by delivering medical aid >to Iraq as an act of friendship and solidarity with the >Iraqi people, who suffer 250 deaths each day under >sanctions. > >A workshop on Puerto Rico, Cuba and Colombia included >newcomers as well as long-time supporters of the struggles >in Latin America and the Caribbean. In interviews with >numerous conference-goers Workers World learned that many >were eager to learn more about the FARC and looked to WWP as >their only source for information about the revolutionary >situation in Colombia. The WWP literature table completely >sold out of pamphlets about the FARC. > >Union organizers and labor activists met and strategized in >a stimulating workshop entitled "Labor Today." Participants >represented labor struggles coast-to-coast and it was widely >observed that there is a new mood among the rank and file of >many unions. Union members are "generating enough steam" to >push a more combative agenda, some speakers noted. > >At a workshop geared to help build WWP, members and >supporters dedicated themselves to the task of building a >revolutionary party. They raised suggestions and discussed >obstacles for improving the organization, including >recruitment and outreach efforts. > >'ALL OUT FOR JAN. 20' > >The workshop titled "Free Mumia--End the Racist Death >Penalty" was heavily attended and focused on efforts to >build the Jan. 20 counter-inaugural protest in Washington. > >Imani Henry, a national organizer for Rainbow Flags for >Mumia, said, "It was great to see in this workshop so many >of the people I have met in the last year at demonstrations >like the Million Family March, R2K in Philly and the June 22 >protest to save Shaka Sankofa. Some of them are folks I was >in jail with--people like Rebecca Finkel, who was arrested >for trying to save the life of an innocent man. It is really >good to see someone like that here." > >Workshop participants resolved that they would make it their >number-one priority to spread the call: "All out for Jan. >20!" > >A final plenary summarized the workshops and included a >brief discussion led by Workers World managing editor Leslie >Feinberg on the need for a strong Party newspaper. The floor >then reopened for interventions from participants. > >Mary Kay Harris, an organizer for Direct Action for Rights >and Equality in Providence, R.I., is a fighter for community >control of the police. She told how she met WWP in 1996, >shortly after her teenage son was brutally attacked by a >Providence cop. > >Harris said, "I began protesting, speaking out, attending >press conferences, even marching against police brutality, >the prison-industrial complex, sexism, racism, capitalism." >She described a recent struggle in her community to win >justice for a Black off-duty police officer who was gunned >down by white cops. > >Paula Randisi, who met WWP in San Diego, spoke of the >struggle against police and border-patrol brutality in that >community. Over the last 18 months San Diego cops have >killed eight unarmed people, she reported. She concluded, "I >believe racism is the root of every injustice in this >world." She told WW that the conference made her much more >interested in learning about socialism. > >The conference was dedicated to the memory of WWP members >Key Martin and Ellen Andors, both long-time organizers and >media activists with the Peoples Video Network, who passed >away this year. Secretariat member Brian Becker gave a >special salute to Ted Dostal, 94, whose illness prevented >him from attending this year's conference as he has for the >past 41 years. > >The two-day meeting ended with a group of conference >organizers and participants leading chants in support of >political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier and >a call to organize for the Jan. 20 counter-inaugural. > >- 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: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 21:46:26 -0500 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Stop Plan Colombia >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 14, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >EDITORIAL: STOP PLAN COLOMBIA > >t is encouraging news that the International Action Center-- >which has done such good anti-war and anti-sanctions work >with regard to U.S. aggression against Cuba, Iraq and >Yugoslavia--has opened another front in the fight to stop >U.S. imperialist aggression. The visit by former U.S. >Attorney General Ramsey Clark and three of his associates to >the liberated areas of Colombia extends a hand of popular >solidarity to another region. The group's plans for an >eyewitness report meeting Dec. 12 in New York gives the >movement an opportunity to broaden its opposition to >Washington's plans for a new Vietnam-type war in the 21st >century. > >Last summer, when President Bill Clinton and the U.S. >Congress authorized $1.3 billion for "Plan Colombia"--most >of it to buy military equipment for the Colombian army--this >amounted to a declaration of war against the people of Latin >America. Specifically, it declared a U.S. war against the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC- >EP) guerrillas who have liberated a region of Colombia the >size of Switzerland. > >According to the Pentagon's public-relations spokespeople, >it never intervenes to protect and expand the interests of a >handful of billionaire bankers and oil magnates who exploit >the world's workers. No, it intervenes to "stop aggression," >to "defend human rights" and in the Latin American region to >wage a "war on drugs." According to the Clinton >administration's big lie, the FARC-EP and other guerrillas >are partners with Colombian drug cartels--and that's why the >U.S. must give massive military aid to the Colombian army. > >A story in the Dec. 5 New York Times, without meaning to, >debunks this big lie. It reports on and virtually extols the >anti-guerrilla exploits of the so-called United Self-Defense >Forces (AUC), though it admits this scurrilous gang is made >up of drug-cartel enforcers armed by right-wing forces in >the Colombian army. Even as it describes these hoodlums' >massacre of Colombian peasants, it alleges that they have >become an effective arm against the guerrillas. > >Anyone who remembers the history of the Pentagon in Vietnam >and El Salvador knows that this AUC is another version of >the death squads used by the CIA to murder and intimidate >the masses. Especially since these masses would of their own >free will choose to live in a Colombia liberated by the FARC >rather than one subordinate to Washington, its puppet > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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