----- Original Message ----- From: "Explo Nani-Kofi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > PICKET IN SUPPORT OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, AFRICAN-AMERICAN > JOURNALIST ON DEATH IN THE USA FOR 19 YEARS. > > THERE IS A MASS DEMONSTRATION IN WASHINGTON DC, USA, > IN SUPPORT OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL TO COINCIDE WITH GEORGE > BUSH'S INAUGUARTION AS PRESIDENT OF THE USA ON 20 > JANUARY 2001. > > THERE ARE SUPPORTING EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AT > VARIOUS EMBASSIES AT THE SAME TIME. > > YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PICKET OUTSDIE > THE US EMBASSY, GROSVENOR SQUARE, LONDON W1, ON > SATURDAY 20 JANUARY 2001 FROM 11AM TO 1PM > > *************************************************** > > X-From_: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Dec 31 06:06:15 > 2000 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: "Jan 20 endorsers"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 23:40:11 -0500 > X-Distribution: Moderate > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Subject: 11 reasons to protest @ Bush's inauguration > Jan. 20 > Reply-to: "Jan 20 endorsers"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Priority: normal > > ELEVEN REASONS TO PROTEST AT BUSH'S INAUGURATION ON > JAN. 20 > > On Saturday, Jan. 20, 2001, thousands of people will > march and rally to > protest at George W. Bush's inauguration in > Washington, D.C. and San > Francisco. We will be demonstrating against the > incoming Bush > administration and its racist, sexist, militaristic, > anti-labor and pro-big > business policies. Bush claims to be a "compassionate > conservative," > but his real "compassion" is reserved for the giant > pharmaceutical, oil, > banking and other corporations. > > We call for a profound social transformation, to a > society where > people's needs come before profits, where every person > has the right > to a good-paying job, decent housing, healthcare, > education, childcare > and a clean environment. We cannot rely on the > Democratic Party -- > Clinton led the charge in demolishing social welfare > programs, bombing > Yugoslavia and keeping the deadly sanctions against > Iraq -- or on the > corrupt corporate elections. > > Only a mass people's movement can bring real change, > as has always > been true. Jan. 20 can be an important step in > building this movement, > one which links together workers, students, people of > all nationalities, > women, lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered > people, > immigrants, the disabled, seniors and youth. > > There are many reasons to join the Jan. 20 > Counter-Inaugural protests. > Here are a few: > > 1.) Bush will become President only due to massive > racist > disenfranchisement and voting fraud. Not only in > Florida, but across the > country, African American votes were > disproportionately thrown out. > Hundreds of thousands of potential voters, especially > in Black, Latino, > Native American and poor white communities, have been > permanently > disenfranchised (forbidden to vote) for ever having > been convicted of a > felony. In predominantly African American > neighborhoods from Atlanta > to Chicago to Miami, outmoded technology and > intimidation led to votes > being disqualified 20-25 times as often as in > adjoining white suburbs. > Afraid to be accused of rocking the boat, the > pro-system Democratic > Party leadership refused to raise the issue of racism > during the re- > count process. > > 2.) Gov. Death is moving to Washington. As governor > of Texas, Bush > presided over more executions -- 152 -- than took > place in the other 49 > states combined during that time. The death penalty is > racist and anti- > poor -- it must be abolished. On Jan. 20, we will call > for freedom for > death row activist, author and prisoner Mumia > Abu-Jamal, Native > American leader Leonard Peltier, and all political > prisoners. Bush and > his chief law enforcement official, Attorney > General-designate John > Ashcroft, are rabidly pro-execution. Ashcroft has also > been posed as a > glorifier of the Confederate slaveowners during the > Civil War in recent > news articles. He has a warm relationship with the > infamously > reactionary Bob Jones University, which has banned > interracial dating > and which last year awarded Ashcroft an honorary > degree. Ashcroft is > also on record opposing all government-funded drug > treatment > program, calling people trapped in drug addiction "the > lowest and the > least." How "compassionate" can you get? > > 3.) We must mobilize now to defend women's right to > choose. The > new Bush administration is anti-women and anti-choice. > Women's right > to abortion and birth control, was won in the streets > and it must be > defended in the streets. Bush and his Attorney General > John Ashcroft > are both on record as favoring a constitutional > amendment banning > women's right to choose. Bush and Ashcroft are > "pro-life," but only until > birth, after that they're "pro-death." (See point #2). > Ashcroft is > opposed to abortion even in cases of rape, incest or > where a woman's > life is in danger. > > 4.) We need funding for universal healthcare, free > education, > affordable housing, heat and light, childcare and > union jobs, not for the > Pentagon. In the richest economy that has ever > existed, the basic > needs of the entire population could easily be met. > Instead of going to > meet human needs, however, hundreds of billions of > dollars annually > are spent on destructive and wasteful militarism. The > U.S. already has > a bigger military budget than the rest of the UN > Security Council > combined. Now, Bush wants to vastly increase military > spending > including building the so-called "National Missile > Defense System" > (NMDS). The NMDS is really an offensive, rather than > defensive, > system, and is an essential element in a first-strike > nuclear war > strategy. The Pentagon, which has spent a > mind-boggling $4 trillion on > nuclear weapons to date, has always refused to > renounce the first- > strike use of nuclear weapons. A major obstacle to > nuclear war has > been the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): > the idea that if > one country launched its missiles, it too would be > destroyed by a > nuclear counter-attack. The appeal of a "missile > defense system" to the > nuclear war strategists in the Pentagon is that the > NMDS could shoot > down most of the incoming missiles, thus making it > feasible to launch a > first-strike nuclear war. This horrific plan would > mean hundreds of > billions in new profits for the military-industrial > corporations, while > threatening the whole world with destruction. Both > Bush and his new > Secretary of Defense (War) Donald Rumsfeld are ardent > supporters of > NMDS. > > 5.) The genocidal sanctions on Iraq must be ended. > New Secretary of > State Colin Powell, in his first speech, talked of > "re-energizing the > sanctions on Iraq." The sanctions/blockade has already > taken more > than 1.5 million Iraqi lives, half of them children > under the age of five. > Powell, Vice President Dick Cheney, James Baker and > other George W. > advisors launched the Gulf war 10 years ago during the > regime of > George Bush I. Clinton carried on the sanctions and > bombing > throughout his eight-year term, and now the new Bush > team wants to > further step up the war against Iraq. > > 6.) Stop U.S. intervention in Colombia & all of Latin > America. The > incoming Bush national security team wants to escalate > U.S. > intervention in Colombia beyond even Clinton's Plan > Colombia. And it's > not just Colombia -- there is also the threat of wider > intervention in > Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and > Argentina, where people > are rising up against the domination of the IMF, World > Bank and U.S. > corporate domination. We must act now to stop a new > Vietnam War in > Latin America. > > 7.) The incoming Bush administration is filled with > viciously > homophobic bigots who want to turn back the clock on > gains won by > lesbians, gay men, and bisexual and transgendered > people. Bush is > allied with the bigoted religious and non-religious > extreme right who > want to deny equal rights to lesbians and gay men, and > force them > back into the closet. > > 8.) The Forty Years War against Cuba must end. Bush, > like the nine > presidents before him, wants to turn Cuba back into a > colony of the > U.S. as it was before the 1959 revolution. It is time > to end the blockade > and aggression against a small neighboring country and > let Cuba live in > peace. > > 9.) The Bush administration wants to speed up > environmental > destruction for the sake of corporate profits. Under > Gov. Bush, Texas > ranked 50th among states in air quality and 1st in > toxic polluters, toxic > releases, carcinogens in the air and 13 other > polluting categories. Bush > put polluting industry representatives in charge of > the state's Natural > Resources Conservation Council (Texas' version of the > EPA). Bush and > his new Interior Secretary Gale Norton want to open > the Arctic National > Wildlife Preserve to oil drilling, just a hint of what > is to come unless we > mobilize now. Norton advocates "self-auditing," > meaning allowing > corporations to monitor themselves on whether they are > meeting > environmental requirements. > > 10.) Support an independent homeland for the > Palestinian people. The > U.S. has given Israel hundreds of billions of dollars > in aid over the past > 50 years, aid used to repress the Palestinians. The > U.S. government > and Israel are acting as a team against the > Palestinians. There will be > no peace in the Middle East until there is justice for > the Palestinian > people. > > 11.) End U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico -- U.S. Navy > out of Vieques! The Bush > administration's plan for military expansion includes > keeping the island of > Vieques as a bombing range. Many Puerto Rican people > have been killed or > injured, and the environment and economy of Vieques > have suffered > much destruction. Now is the time to support the > Puerto Rican people > in their struggle to get the Pentagon out. > > Volunteers and donations urgently needed! > Call, write or email us today. Checks can be written > to "IAC/Jan. 20 > Mobilization." > > January 20th Counter-Inaugural Mobilization > > International Action Center > 39 West 14th Street, Room 206 > New York, NY 10011 > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > web: http://www.iacenter.org > CHECK OUT SITE > http://www.mumia2000.org > phone: 212 633-6646 > fax: 212 633-2889 > *To make a tax-deductible donation, > go to > http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org > > ____________________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk > or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie >
