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Click here: http://click.topica.com/aaaaubbz8SnrbAjwjxa/DiscoveryTravel ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 25 July 2000 Vol. 4, Number 60 (#445) __________________________________________________________________________ Web Sites of Interest: Art in the Struggle for Freedom: The posters, poetry and music of the Spanish Civil War Danny Yee's Book Reviews: ramblings of a pathologically eclectic generalist Book Review: Information Liberation: Challenging the Corruptions of Information Power News and Action On the Republican National Convention Introduction Demo Announcement: "March Against Police Terror," Philadelphia: 30 Jul Demo Announcement: "American Atheists protest this Sunday, July 30 at the Republican National Convention" International Action Center (press release), "Join the IAC In Philly: Protest Against the RNC," 22 Jul 00 Carl Dix (Black Radical Caucus News), "Taking to the Streets to Face Off with the Republican and Democratic Conventions," 21 Jul 00 Rightwing Quote of the Week: Crosstar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "From Virtuality To Reality," 22 Jul 00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEB SITES OF INTEREST Dear all, for anyone interested in information on the new film by Lincoln vet Abe Osheroff "Art in the Struggle for Freedom: The posters, poetry and music of the Spanish Civil War" ALBA has set up a link on its website: <http://www.alba-valb.org/announcements/osheroff2.html> Sincerely, Fraser Ottanelli - - - - - Danny Yee's Book Reviews: ramblings of a pathologically eclectic generalist <http://dannyreviews.com/> " ... I first became interested in the Spanish Civil War while researching an essay on anarchism written for first year philosophy (1987), but I can't remember the particular books involved. The two best books I have read on the civil war are Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War, a solid 1100 page history (Penguin 1977) and Ronald Fraser's oral history Blood of Spain ( reviewed). George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (reviewed) and Franz Borkenau's The Spanish Cockpit (reviewed) are first hand accounts from the Republican side. Judith Keene's The Last Mile to Huesca: An Australian Nurse in the Spanish Civil War (reviewed) is of more limited interest. "I have also seen Ken Loach's film Land and Freedom, which I recommend, though it only really conveys the perspective of a foreign volunteer; this film is what has sparked my recent (early 1996) revival of interest in the civil war. For the history of Spain subsequent to the civil war all I have read is Robert Graham's Spain: Change of a Nation (Michael Joseph 1984), a popular (but respectable) account of Spain's transition to democracy. Gerald Brenan's South From Granada (reviewed) gives some idea what life was like in rural Andalusia before the war." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK REVIEW: Information Liberation: Challenging the Corruptions of Information Power reviewed by Danny Yee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Information Liberation: Challenging the Corruptions of Information Power Brian Martin Freedom Press 1998 181 pages, references, index Starting with Acton's dictum that power corrupts, _Information Liberation_ explores the corruptions and abuses of information power -- and some of the ways of opposing and preventing them. Largely independent chapters cover topics ranging from the mass media to celebrity intellectuals, via defamation, copyright, and privacy, among others. (The only major topic not covered is direct censorship.) Martin by arguing that the concentrations of power produced by mass media are inherently corrupting. He urges a withdrawal from them in favour of alternative participatory media, and campaigns to undermine the influence of mass media by changing attitudes. This is followed by an extended argument, in the longest of the chapters, for the abolition of intellectual property. (This chapter is available online, though the rest of _Information Liberation_ is not, unfortunately.) In a chapter titled "anti-surveillance" rather than "privacy", Martin connects privacy concerns with power inequalities and advocates, as an alternative to relying on governments for protection, technical counter-measures (such as encryption), active surveillance disruption, and working to change institutions. A chapter on whistleblowing explores the ways in which free-speaking employees can undermine and challenge bureaucratic power, and the opposition they face. And a chapter on defamation laws argues that they serve to help the powerful silence criticisms rather than to protect reputations: "more speech and more writing" is a better way to do that. Here Martin restricts himself to examples from Australia, which (like the United Kingdom) has particularly defamation bad laws. Three chapters then cover issues in the production and evaluation of information. The first looks at the politics of research, arguing for the involvement of a wider range of people both in deciding research priorities and in carrying out research itself. The second argues for the value of simple ideas, suggesting that complex and abstract theories are often much less important to activists than simpler models and ideas, though the latter have their own dangers. And the third criticises the cult of celebrity intellectuals (especially those of the left). Martin's political stance is explicitly anarchist, which may perturb some: he occasionally suggests that the ultimate solution to a problem is the abolition of the state, while his focus on power inequalities won't endear him to most right libertarians. But as he himself stresses, overarching theories often matter less than practical guidelines and proposals -- and most of what he writes isn't dependent on commitment to any narrow political position. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND ACTION ON THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION March Against Police Terror Philadelphia: 30 Jul Demand Justice for Thomas Jones and Robert Brown Sunday, July 30 @ 4pm Gather at 20th St. and Ben Franklin Parkway March to Lynne Abraham's office When scores of Philadelphia police were captured on videotape beating (nearly lynching) Thomas Jones last week, and then just six days later shot to death Robert Brown, it served as a vivid reminder that police brutality and murder are not occasional and rare occurrences. This is a system of institutional racism and violence. The same Philadelphia cops who fired 42 bullets at Thomas Jones before nearly beating him to death and then killed Robert Brown were regularly criticized by African American broadcast journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal until the cops shot, beat and then framed Mumia in 1981. Last month, George Bush executed Shaka Sankofa (aka Gary Graham). Shaka was a proud revolutionary and freedom fighter. He was also innocent and this was well known even inside the racist Texas (in)justice system. Shaka Sankofa, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Thomas Jones and Robert Brown are connected. They are all victims of racism and police terror, which functions as a form of apartheid in the United States. Today's intensifying war by the police against Black and Latino communities--and the exponential increase of those incarcerated--is an extension of Jim Crow and lynch-law justice that dominated the political landscape of North America for more than three centuries. Instead of a war against the poor we need a war against racism. International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, Room 206 New York, NY 10011 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: www.iacenter.org CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE www.mumia2000.org phone: 212 633-6646 fax: 212 633-2889 - - - - - American Atheists protest this Sunday, July 30 at the Republican National Convention -- Philadelphia, Pa. JOIN the American Atheists contingent as we participate in the Unity 2000 demonstration this Sunday, July 30 at the GOP Convention in Philadelphia. We will march on behalf of First Amendment rights (including our right to demonstrate peaceably!) and the separation of church and state. We'll be speaking out against government funding of religion, "faith-based partnerships" between church and state, and efforts to bring back coercive prayer, Bible verse recitation and display of religious symbols in classrooms and government buildings. And we will be speaking out at the religious right's control of the GOP! * MEET US between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia in front of the McDonalds. * TRANSPORTATION UPDATE. Gridlock is likely, and there may be civil disobedience by some groups (especially antiabortion zealots) which will block traffic. Plan this in your itinerary. Consider taking the train if you are near a SEPTA (Pennsylvania) or NEW JERSEY TRANSIT station. Those of you living in the vicinity of the American Atheists Center can take the Amtrak #657 from MetroPark (Edison). * ACCOMMODATIONS Hotel and motel rooms in Philadelphia are sold out. We suggest that if you are traveling overnight and plan to stay in the vicinity, make reservations now in areas which are convenient to mass transit moving in and out of Philadelphia -- especially by rail. * RESOURCES. Check out http://www.atheists.org/nj for updates on the Sunday demonstration, and directions! You may also contact Dave Silverman, the AA National Youth and Family Director who is coordinating this action. Reach Dave through [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - - - Join the IAC In Philly: Protest Against the RNC International Action Center (press release) 22 Jul 00 "On this, one of the most important issues of our time, let us understand that there would've been no difference if there was a Democrat at the death-switch in Huntsville. Shaka Sankofa was killed by a deadly political system, not a political party." --Mumia Abu-Jamal on the lynching of Shaka Sankofa (aka Gary Graham) Dear friend, When Philadelphia police were captured on videotape beating (nearly lynching) Thomas Jones, and then six days later killed Robert Brown, it served as a vivid reminder that police brutality and murder are not occasional occurrences. These racist atrocities have sparked outrage all over the world, especially in Philadelphia. The protests at the Republican National Convention come at a time when the struggle against police brutality in Philadelphia is intensifying. Also at this time, we stand at a critical crossroads in the fight to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal and bring an end to the racist, anti-poor death penalty. In the coming weeks, the International Action Center and Millions for Mumia will be mobilizing in full force for mass demonstrations at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia from July 29-August 3, and the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles from Sunday, August 13 to August 17. The International Action Center/Millions for Mumia will be taking important initiatives as part of these protests, and will be participating in everything that is planned. We urgently need your participation and financial support to make these actions as successful as possible! Please take a few moments to read this letter and the following emails. Our East Coast offices will be focusing on the Republican Convention in Philadelphia. Following are emails with details of our plans. *We will have a militant contingent at the July 30 Unity 200 rally demanding "Not one more lynching--Avenge Shaka, Free Mumia, Justice for Thomas Jones and robert brown." Then, also on July 30, we will march and demonstrate against racist police terror to demand justice for Thomas Jones and Robert Brown beginning at 4 pm. (See following emails.) Buses will leave the IAC at 7 am and return that evening. Ticket purchase in advance is required. *We will be participating in the important Direct Action Against the Criminal IN-Justice System on Tuesday, August 1. There will be a demonstration at 4:30 pm at Municipal Plaza (15th and JFK, across from City Hall). The IAC will be affinity groups and contingents in all of the actions taking place that day. (See following emails.) Many of you have contributed in the past. Now we make an urgent appeal TO YOU to send as generous a donation as possible! We can MAKE THE DIFFERENCE with your support. Thanks and we hope to see you in Philadelphia or Los Angeles, In Solidarity, The International Action Center International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, Room 206 New York, NY 10011 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: www.iacenter.org CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE www.mumia2000.org phone: 212 633-6646 fax: 212 633-2889 - - - - - Taking to the Streets to Face Off with the Republican and Democratic Conventions Carl Dix (Black Radical Caucus News) 21 Jul 00 Both the Republican and Democratic parties' presidential nominating conventions are coming up, and many people are trying to figure out which candidate they should back. A lot of other people are taking a different approach to the major parties' political campaigns. Rather than deciding whether they should pull the lever for the elephant or the jackass, they're coming to Philadelphia during the Republican convention and LA during the Democratic convention to protest. People are going to be in the streets opposing global corporate greed, calling for freedom for Mumia Abu Jamal and an end to the death penalty, calling out how the authorities are putting the squeeze on the poor and more. This is what people need to be doing right now -- taking to the streets forging a movement that can take on the attacks coming down on the people and the global capitalist system that's responsible for those attacks. Not supporting one or the other political party that fronts for that system. A t-shirt being sold in Philadelphia concentrates an important part of the program of both the democratic and republican parties. It features a picture of the televised beat down of a Black man by Philly police under the words, "Republic National Convention Welcoming Committee." If you want another picture try the one of a grinning Governor Whitman of New Jersey (NJ) patting down an innocent Black man who was a victim of double racial profiling -- first by the NJ state police and then by a governor in search of a photo-op. If you can stomach one more such image, try the police scandal in L.A., with cops snitching on each other about how they brutalize and kill people and railroad innocent people to jail. A key part of the programs of both major political parties can be summed up in three words -- pigs, prisons and punishment. The video tape of Philly cops beating a Black man is completely in line with the history of the pig department in that city. After all this is the police department of Frank Rizzo who sicc'ed dogs on Black school children as they peacefully protested and forced Black Panthers to strip naked in the streets. And it was Philly cops who beat Delbert Africa again in front of TV cameras in 1978 as he surrendered after the first assault on the MOVE organization. In 1985, Philly cops, under orders from then Mayor Wilson Goode and with help from the FBI, dropped a bomb on an occupied house in the Black community, murdering 11 MOVE members, five of them children. Philly police were involved in railroading Mumia Abu-Jamal to Pennsylvania's death row thru bribing and intimidating witnesses to falsely accuse him of the murder of a cop and hiding evidence favorable to his defense. This same police department was caught framing up hundreds of innocent people and sending them to jail in the 1980's and '90's. Philly cops stole the lives of Moises DeJesus, Dontae Dawson, Anthony DiDonato, and countless other victims of police murder in the 1990's. This is the real Philadelphia story, and the televised beat down is only the latest chapter. A quick look at the candidates will show that this beat down is a fitting image for this election. On one side you have George W. "Baby Doc" Bush who has campaigned for president like he was running for chief executioner. This "compassionate conservative" has declared that all of the 135+ people executed in Texas since he became governor were guilty and deserved to be killed by the state. This included Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham) whose court appointed lawyer refused to put on the witness stand two eyewitnesses who swore that Sankofa wasn't the man who shot Bobby Lambert that night. He also didn't introduce evidence that proved that the gun Sankofa had when he was arrested wasn't the murder weapon. Sankofa's case isn't the exception. It's the norm. Most of the 3,000 plus people on death row are Black or Latino. Almost all of them are poor and couldn't afford adequate defense lawyers. with Bush as the nominee and Governor Ridge of Pennsylvania, who has signed one death warrant for Mumia and is itching to sign another one, hosting the Republican convention, you could call it an executioners' ball. As for Al Gore, he's declared that he wants to be the law and order president. He brags that he was part of the administration that put 100,000 more cops out on the streets. He could also brag about the repressive legislation that was passed on his watch. Now he's pledging to hire thousands more prosecutors nationwide to use that repressive legislation to put more people in jail for longer sentences. When asked about the execution of Sankofa, this candidate of the party we're told is the lesser of two evils would only say, "I'm a strong supporter of the death penalty." This should come as no surprise. A lot of people say that both the democrats and republicans are in the pockets of the rich. But it's even worse than that. These elections are a sham and a trap. They tell us that the elections are where the direction of the country for the next four years is going to be decided. Nothing could be further from the truth. The capitalist class that rules over us uses their elections to set the limits of allowable debate. And they use elections to suck people into endorsing the policies they're going to bring down on us and choosing which representative of the capitalists' interests is going to preside over the carrying out of those policies. That's why I've said for quite some time that their elections are a no win road. And that if you're serious about fundamentally changing things in this country and the world, it's going to come down to revolutionary war. I know there are those who say that talk of revolution isn't realistic. I say what's really unrealistic is thinking we can do anything good for the people by getting sucked into the capitalists' election shell game. Look at what's going down in the country and the world today. The cops are being given a green light to brutalize and kill, repressive legislation is being enacted, poor people are being warehoused in prison and on death rows across the country, a woman's right to have an abortion is under assault, the government is moving to suppress dissent. Capitalism's global chase after profits is forcing millions world wide to slave for pennies a day to make some rich man even richer and forcing millions more to starve. If you hate all this and more, then you need to be one of the people in the streets in Philly and LA during the conventions expressing your rage. And you need to stay in the streets beyond that, building resistance to these and other outrages this system brings down and forging the kind of movement we need to take all this on, a revolutionary movement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIGHTWING QUOTE OF THE WEEK: For those who believe that fascism is only a thing of the past From Virtuality To Reality Crosstar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 22 Jul 00 A prospect showed up at "Independence from Affirmative Action Day" festivities in Morristown, New Jersey on July 4, 2000. He wore dark glasses, was reluctant to give his name and related how he had only seen bits and pieces about "groups" on the Internet. Until then, his "activism" had been in his mind, not in reality. His curiosity quickly turned to zeal, however, when he saw Nationalists take the streets and win the day -- while Communists got maced and sent to the slammer. He immediately began to train himself to become a bonafide Nationalist and genuine activist, himself. One comes across many would-be activists on the Internet, who use the names of "political parties" or "groups" which have no personnel, offices or existence other than an e-mail address. There are would-be activists -- many of whom have valid concerns about injustice and oppression -- who use names and insignias of organizations long defunct or which never existed at all. Flight instruction can be simulated through "virtual reality." But a computer game is no substitute for the actual cockpit. Some would-be rightist-activists are mastering computer technology, but more as a lab experiment than practical activity. Virtuality can be useful as training, provided that the trainee moves quickly from the keyboard of simulation into the cockpit of social activism. Over the years there have been Rightist organizations of great significance. The America First Committee was such a leading association at the time of World War II. It had offices, finances, publications, speakers and a viable program. The Falange in Spain was so inspired, well- organized and blessed with heroic leadership that it replaced the entire government with itself and ousted the communists and all its political opponents from the country for an entire generation. The National Front in France has a similar apparatus which not only involves many in making reforms, but which has elected large numbers from its ranks to public office. The question for American Rightist social-activists is: Are you content to be just a burr under the saddle of your opponents? Or, do you plan to sit in the saddle of power and ride the white horse on to victory? Stalwarts should use techniques to empower Nationalists -- by changing attitudes, as well as mechanisms -- and to build the superstructure of The Nationalist Movement. * * * * * In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. __________________________________________________________________________ FASCISM: We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget. (No permission required for noncommercial reproduction) - - - - - back issues archived via: <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/> ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
