i have been working with the los angeles portion of the tour. both speakers are very vocal in their opposition to the occupation and very clear in their analysis. their calm and articulate courage is inspiring. yesterday they met with los angeles labor leaders and activists at two different locations. they have answered many questions brought to them. they have two more appearances in los angeles; at 4 pm today they will be addressing the california teachers' association, hosted by the peace and justice caucus, at the hotel boneventure. and at 7:30 they will be at an open forum at UTLA.
so far the tour has been inspiring and dynamic. i would encourage everyone to attend. bring your contentious questions! labor federations are conglomerates of many local, state and national organizations. it is quite common for the leadership of one member organization to hold positions in contrast to the greater body, the larger federation. they also have factions of varying influence and power within each organization. red-baiting by stating that unions are arms of the communist party should fall on deaf ears to the readers of this list. this is old litany. furthermore, the afl-cio, the federation to which all of the signatories of the following letter, are members, often has help positions that are pro-imperialist and pro-colonialist (even working hand in hand with the cia to thwart popular labor movements around the world.) it is highly enmeshed with the democratic party but that hardly diminishes the legitimacy of individual members, factions, tendencies, locals or other affiliates who each may take positions in opposition to the prevailing position. it would be wrong to imply that litwin et al support the positions of the afl-cio simply because they are members of or even leaders of member organizations. we still honor strikes and boycotts of the member organizations. as workers, we still organize the members within these organizations and push for better policies on all levels of organizations. unions are not factions in and of themselves, they have as their main purpose the organization and representation of their members and often the positions taken by these organizations represent the more dominant factions, to assume then that there is plurality is GUILT BY ASSOCIATION. to accuse any of these workers of being in collusion with the occupation is easy from the comfort of the occupier but could very well put hashmeya in physical danger when she returns to her occupied and war torn country. providing a list of quotes by others in her federation as an attempt to smear hashmeya's character without providing a single quote of hers to support the accusation that she supports the accusation is the most simplest example of guilt by association. to think that we can honestly talk about the occupation of iraq without considering the situation of labor, of the working men and women and the impact the occupation has on their lives is preposterous. it is comfort, it is theory without practice, it is simplistic (real human interactions are much more complex) and it assumes to support a resistance without taking into account the voices of the very people we claim to support. no one working on this tour is trying to limit discussion or debate or dissent. responding to these outrageous accusations does not limit dissent. it is in fact part of the dialogue. i will be updating the web page later today or tomorrow with photos of the tour. hope to see you at tonight's event! emma rosenthal mletwin2001 wrote: > USLAW leadership's overheated defense of the General Federal of Iraqi > Workers (GFIW) <http://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2007/06/87029.html > <http://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2007/06/87029.html>> is > unpersuasive. > > It consists largely of an angry tirade against New York City Labor > Against the War (NYCLAW), which is accused of spreading > "misinformation," "malicious, red-baiting characterizations," > "unprincipled attacks," "put[ting] courageous [GFIW] labor leaders in > grave danger," "breed[ing] confusion and division," and "destructive > baiting." > > This litany of name-calling speaks volumes about USLAW leadership's > intolerance for dissent. But how does it address -- let alone refute > -- the fully-documented evidence about GFIW's support for U.S. > occupation of Iraq? > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LaborAgainstWar/message/2593 > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LaborAgainstWar/message/2593>> > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LaborAgainstWar/message/2264 > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LaborAgainstWar/message/2264>> > > Indeed, the *only* evidence contained in USLAW's response is a > declaration, signed by GFIW's predecessor (IFTU) during the 2005 U.S. > Iraq labor tour, that calls for "the war and occupation to end." > > But this proves only that, when expedient, GFIW can talk vaguely > antiwar talk -- not that it walks the walk. How is that any different > from Democratic politicians who vote to fund the war they claim to > oppose? > > Again, we ask trade unionists and antiwar activists to reject attempts > to silence those who report facts freely available to anyone who cares > to look. Critically assess the unchallenged evidence posted above. > Challenge GFIW's representative and tour sponsors to honestly answer > questions such as the following: > > 1. Did Abdullah Muhsin, GFIW International Representative, state that, > "If the American troops leave, Iraq will become a bloodbath and turn > toward the dark ages"? (Philadelphia Citypaper, January 31, > 2007, > http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/02/01/occupational-hazards > <http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/02/01/occupational-hazards>) > > 2. Did Wishyaar Hamad Haji, a member of the secretariat of the Iraqi > Kurdistan Teachers' Union, a GFIW affiliate, tell trade unionists in > the U.K. that "troops out now would be a 'catastrophe' without first > building up the capacity of the Iraqi security forces, for which he > wanted training from British troops"? (GFIW, April 19, 2007, > http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/archives/000932.html > <http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/archives/000932.html>) > > 3. Why did Hassan Juma'a Awad, leader of the Iraq Federation of Oil > Unions (which just conducted a major strike), state that the IFTU/GFIW > "[does] not oppose the occupation but are linked to their stooge > regime"? (Socialist Worker, March 11, 2005, > http://www.socialistworker.org/2005-1/534/534_06_EwaJasiewicz.shtml > <http://www.socialistworker.org/2005-1/534/534_06_EwaJasiewicz.shtml>) > > 4. Does the GFIW agree with Raid Fahmi, member of the Central > Committee of the Iraqi Communist party, that, "It's not possible to > call for an immediate [U.S.] withdrawal"? (Political Affairs, November > 25, 2006, > http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4453/1/32/ > <http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4453/1/32/>) > > 5. Does the GFIW agree with Hameed Moussa, head of the Iraqi Communist > Party, that Bush's "surge" is a "positive" plan that "will succeed > despite of challenges and difficulties"? (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, > February 25, 2007, > http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1269172.php > <http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1269172.php>) > > 6. In what statement has the GFIW ever called for an *immediate* end > to the U.S. war and occupation? > > * * * > > NYCLAW Co-Conveners > (Other affiliations listed for identification only): > > Larry Adams > Former President, NPMHU Local 300 > > Michael Letwin > Former President, UAW Local 2325/Assn. of Legal Aid Attorneys; Former > member, USLAW and UFPJ national steering committees > > Brenda Stokely > Former President, AFSCME DC 1707; Co-Chair, Million Worker March > > -- "I must fight with all my strength so that the little positive things that my health allows me to do might be pointed toward helping the revolution. The only real reason for living." -Frida Kahlo emma rosenthal is a disabled artist, writer, educator, reiki practitioner, activist and consultant, living in southern california. emma rosenthal po box 26382 los angeles, ca 90026 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 818-404-5784 emma's web page: http://home.earthlink.net/~emmarosenthal http://home.earthlink.net/~cafeintifada http://home.earthlink.net/~theweproject emma.s blogs: In Bed With Frida Kahlo: Daily indignities, small insurrections and honest musings from a life of infirmity and rebellion http://inbedwithfridakahlo.blogsource.com/ Emma Rosenthal: A blog of political essays, letters and news. http://emmarosenthal.blogsource.com/ http://cafeintifada.blogsource.com/ Uniting Art with Critical Consciousness http://cafeintifadafilms.blogsource.com/ Film reviews: A resource for activists and educators [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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