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Use the 1-time promo code SAVTODAY http://click.topica.com/aaaaFjbz8SnrbAjwjxa/ContentVille ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Tuesday, 3 October 2000 Vol. 4, Number 80 (#473) __________________________________________________________________________ Latest Anti-Fascist Readings Action Alert: New York City: 10-17 Oct Web Site of Interest: Liberal watch George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography More New On the Homophobic Shooting Tad Dickens and Kimberly O'Brien (Roanoke Times), "Florida judge also required a mental evaluation after Gay forced his way into ex-wife's home: Gay ordered to surrender guns -- National activist groups call Roanoke's shooting one of the worst anti-gay attacks in U.S. history. Roanoke police clarify information about the shooting suspect's encounter with a Corned Beef & Co. employee," 27 Sep 00 Mary Bishop (Roanoke Times), "Pledges of money to help victims will be sought for every 5 minutes he protests today: Task force readies to face anti-gay activist -- Fred Phelps has announced plans to bring his "God hates fags" signs to today's funeral of 43-year-old Danny Lee Overstreet," 27 Sep 00 Andrew Donohue (Star Tribune), "Human Rights Campaign launches ads on hate-crimes bill," 27 Sep 00 Rightwing Quote of the Week: Sandy H., "Breaking News Halleluja," 1 Oct 00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LATEST ANTI-FASCIST READINGS: via <http://www.anti-fascism.org> The following new journals are now available: ACLU Newsfeed 15 Sep 00 Antifa Info-Bulletin 24 Sep 00 (#268) Rightwing Watch Online 25 Sep 00 Center for Democracy and Technology: Policy Post 29 Sep 00 (6:18) EPIC Alert 25 Sep 00 (7:17) Netaction Notes 28 Sep 00 (#62) Net Future 12 Sep 00 (#111) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACTION ALERT: New York City: 10-17 Oct Reclaim the Streets NYC - http://reclaimthestreetsnyc.tao.ca Dear friends, I'm helping to organize a delegation of the Continental Cry of the Excluded to New York City, from Oct. 10-17. The delegation will meet with UN representatives and participate in a number of events. Not all the participants will be in NY for the whole week. Some of them will only stay a few days. The delegation will be composed of Rigoberta Menchu (who will travel with one more person), Bishops Perez Esquivel and Pagura, Frei Betto, and representatives of social movements from Brazil, Mexico, and Central America. We need to find housing for the delegation, because the hotels we found so far are too expensive. People can stay in different places, since it's easier to arrange transportation than to arrange accommodations in NY. If you can help, please contact me or Martin, who is organizing the delegation in NY. His contact info is: Mart�n Longoria <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> tel: (212)473 3936 I'm including a description of the events. Thanks a lot for your help. -- Best, Maisa * * * * * CONTINENTAL CRY OF THE EXCLUDED The Cry of the Excluded is a massive grassroots campaign in the Americas that seeks to denounce situations of social exclusion and develop alternatives to the existing status quo. The Cry of the Excluded first took hold in Brazil in 1995, as a response to social inequality and as a result of increasing resistance to structure adjustment policies. Today, the Cry is organized in all countries of the Americas. The principal objectives of the Cry of the Excluded are to denounce social exclusion and the destruction of the environment, to strengthen the sovereignty of peoples, to invest in social programs and to struggle for the non-payment of the foreign debt. This year, between September 2 and 7, the Cry organized a Brazilian National Plebiscite on Foreign Debt, a popular referendum on the internal and external debt. This event mobilized nearly six million Brazilians and was supported by organizations throughout the continent. The Cry of the Excluded promotes "Unity in Diversity." This vision allows grassroots movements in various countries to organize on an individual and differentiated basis. These mobilizations include marches, debates, cultural events, photographic expositions, essay writing, etc. This type of organization seeks to build partnerships for the development of a continental grassroots project and to value local cultures. The Cry has supported, for example, the Jubilee 2000 Campaign for the elimination of Third World foreign debt, the Women's March, the Continental Social Alliance against the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas), and the March Toward the Border, organized by groups that defend the rights of Mexican immigrants in the United States. On October 12, a delegation of the Cry of the Excluded, composed of Nobel Peace Prize winners Adolfo P�rez Esquivel and Rigoberta Mench�, as well as religious leaders such as Frei Betto and Bishop Frederico J. Pagura, will make a presentation to the General Assembly of the United Nations in opposing the Colombia Plan and the American militarization of Latin America, the pressure of multinational corporations to produce and market genetically modified food, the exclusionary economic model proposed by the International Monetary Fund, and the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. The Cry will also seek the release of political prisoners Mumia Abu Jamal (African-American leader sentenced to death) and Leonard Peltier (Native American leader sentenced to life imprisonment). After the presentation at the United Nations, the Cry of the Excluded will stage a march to Union Square, in New York City, where a cultural celebration of the Dia de la Raza, in tribute to immigrants in the United States will be held. At the same time, candle-light vigils before the Embassies and Consulates of the United States will be organized throughout the Americas. Please join us in the Continental Journeys from October 12th to 17th in New York City: October 12th. Excluded Delegation speech in UN General Assembly and the "Voices against Exclusion" event. October 13th. Workshops about the struggle against poverty in the Americas and the joined movements against neoliberalism, October 14th. Amnesty for Undocumented Immigrants' March October 15th. World Women's March Demonstration in Washington DC October 16th. Ecumenical Vigil October 17th. World Women's March in at the United Nations in New York City For more information, please contact: Mart�n Longoria <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> tel: (212)473 3936 <www.movimientos.org/grito> or our Executive Office: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEB SITE OF INTEREST: Liberal Watch <http://www.liberalwatch.org/> [The formation of HateWatch to monitor and document the far right has spawned a series of rightwing groups that monitor other groups with the same ostensible honesty. -- tallpaul] "The purpose of this website is simple; to educate and inform. To expose the sickness and hypocrisy which is extreme liberalism. Logic and fact over daydreaming and degeneracy. Uncompromising morals over an "anything goes" attitude. This is why LiberalWatch.org was formed. We will continue to expose the blantant lies and hipocrisy of the liberal media and the most extreme of the liberal organizations." - - - - - George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography <http://www.tarpley.net/bushb.htm> see particularly Chapter 2: "The Hitler Project" and Chapter 3: "Race Hygiene" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE NEWS ON THE HOMOPHOBIC SHOOTING Florida judge also required a mental evaluation after Gay forced his way into ex-wife's home: Gay ordered to surrender guns -- National activist groups call Roanoke's shooting one of the worst anti-gay attacks in U.S. history. Roanoke police clarify information about the shooting suspect's encounter with a Corned Beef & Co. employee Tad Dickens and Kimberly O'Brien (Roanoke Times) 27 Sep 00 A Florida judge in June ordered Ronald Edward Gay to surrender all his firearms and submit to a psychological evaluation after a domestic incident with an ex-wife. Less than three months later, he still had at least one weapon - a black Ruger 9mm pistol. And police say he used it Friday night in what national activist groups say is one of the worst anti-gay attacks in U.S. history. Gay sat stone-faced Monday morning as a judge arraigned him on a first- degree murder charge for the shooting death of a Roanoke man at a downtown bar frequented by gays and lesbians. Gay remained in jail with no bail. Police say a man walked into the Backstreet Cafe on Salem Avenue late Friday, pulled gun from his black trench coat and fired at least eight rounds at scrambling patrons. Danny Lee Overstreet, 43, was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest. Six other people were wounded, two seriously. Gay, who police say confessed on videotape, reportedly had been distressed about his last name. Police did not find any anti-gay literature among his possessions, and they haven't found any information that he was linked with any anti-gay group, Roanoke police spokeswoman Shelly Alley said. Police found no other firearms among his things in searches at the Jefferson Lodge and at Roanoke Mountain Campground, where he recently had stayed, Alley said. Gay bought the pistol Oct. 25, 1999, at a Roanoke-area gun shop, according to a receipt he had in his pocket. Police would not name the gun shop. On Father's Day, June 18, Gay came into the Citrus Springs, Fla., house of Laura Ramsey, his fifth ex-wife, according to police and Citrus County, Fla., court documents. Gay, overdue on his child support, had not seen their 4-year-old son in three years when he forced his way in. She forced him back out, then he pushed her and threatened her and their son, "stating he would shoot us," according to court documents. He "just wanted to see his son," he said when he forced his way inside, according to Ramsey. On June 30, 5th Judicial Circuit Judge Barbara Gurrola issued a protective order requiring Gay to surrender his firearms and ammunition to Florida authorities. The order, however, only applied to Florida. The protective order also required Gay to have a mental health evaluation. It was not clear whether he reported for that evaluation, according to authorities in Citrus County. But he had been in and out of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem. Dr. Stephen Lemons said Gay last had been to the VA on April 26, but wouldn't say for what. On July 11, he called to say that he was leaving the area and wouldn't be back for a while, Lemons said. At the Roanoke City Jail early Saturday morning, Gay told Roanoke sheriff's deputies that he had been suicidal 15 times in the past, Sheriff George McMillan said. Gay said little at his hearing Monday. "Don't matter," he said when Roanoke General District Judge Julian Raney asked him whether he protested having cameras in the courtroom for the hearing. It probably won't be the last time he'll see them. And it's not likely that first-degree murder will be the only charge he will face, Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said outside the courtroom. Caldwell said he will seek grand jury indictments in October on six malicious wounding charges, some aggravated, and seven related firearms charges. "Of course, if anyone else dies, we'll be looking at a capital murder charge" for Gay, Caldwell said. Gay will not, however, face federal charges. Sexual orientation is not one of the protected categories under federal civil rights law. The U.S. Attorney's Office did forward news stories about the case for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to look into, said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Plagenhoef. Roanoke police clarified earlier information they released about Gay's encounter with a Corned Beef & Co. employee before the shooting. Police said Monday that the employee had no idea of Gay's intentions when he directed him to The Park, another gay bar farther up Salem Avenue from the Backstreet Cafe. The employee, whom police are not identifying, told investigators he was in an alley outside the restaurant when Gay approached him sometime between 11 and 11:30 p.m. and asked where the nearest gay bar was. The employee told him about The Park. It was then that Gay showed him his gun, saying he was going to "go waste some faggots," according to Lt. William Althoff. After Gay left, the employee went inside and called police at 11:37 p.m., Althoff said. Jason Hurd, an employee at Corned Beef & Co., said the person who told Gay about The Park was very upset. "He's taking some time off," Hurd said. After getting directions to The Park, Gay apparently headed up Salem Avenue. Police believe he heard music coming from inside Backstreet Cafe, and walked in and ordered a beer at the bar. Police had broadcast lookouts, based on a description from the Corned Beef employee, at 11:44 and 11:46 p.m. At 11:51 p.m., someone from inside Backstreet Cafe called 911 to report the shooting. After shooting for about 20 seconds, Gay walked out and headed toward the Virginia Museum of Transportation, Althoff said. There, he removed his black trench coat, wrapped his gun in it, and stuffed them in a trash can near the museum's front entrance, Althoff said. Witnesses told police they saw a man wrapping something in his coat, but didn't know what it was, he said. An officer apprehended Gay at First Street and Campbell Avenue within 10 minutes of the shooting. Inside the patrol car, the officer told Gay of his rights and asked him if he wanted to talk, Althoff said. A video camera inside the police car caught Gay's comments on tape. Gay told the officer he "came from the fag bar and blew them away." In interviewing Gay, detectives learned about his discomfort with his last name, Althoff said. Gay said he often was chided, and was bothered that his sons later changed their last names. "That was distressing that they were not going to use the family name," Althoff said. Roanoke police say Gay is 53, but, according to Florida court documents, he is 54. - - - - - Pledges of money to help victims will be sought for every 5 minutes he protests today: Task force readies to face anti-gay activist -- Fred Phelps has announced plans to bring his "God hates fags" signs to today's funeral of 43-year-old Danny Lee Overstreet Mary Bishop (Roanoke Times) 27 Sep 00 It was raining and chilly Monday night, but mourners still came to the candlelit door of the Backstreet Cafe. People have come every evening since Friday night, when a man police say was hunting homosexuals shot and killed one gay man and wounded six other people in the little bar. Monday night, mourners stayed almost all night outside the closed club. Few knew each other, but they were bonded in anger by the news that Fred Phelps was coming. Phelps, an anti-gay minister from Kansas, picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student brutally murdered in Wyoming in 1998. He has announced plans to bring his "God hates fags" signs to today's funeral of 43-year-old Danny Lee Overstreet. "I was so angry yesterday, my mother and all my friends were trying to calm me down," said Eddie Ratliff , a Web builder in Salem. Overnight, outside the cafe, Ratliff and others came up with a way, they say, to turn Phelps' visit into a positive thing. They're calling it a "Phelps-A-Thon." For every five minutes Phelps protests, the new Hate Free Roanoke Task Force is asking people to pledge a dollar amount toward the victims' medical expenses and for counseling of others in the club that night. Kathryn Marlow, 22, had heard of a similar counteraction at a Ku Klux Klan rally years ago and helped hatch the plan. The task force will post a pledge box near Phelps at the funeral in Vinton and at any other events where Phelps protests. A poster thanking Phelps for picketing will say, "Fred, you've already helped us raise" - followed by a blank space where the amount will be updated every five minutes. Tuesday, Marlow asked the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Lynchburg and First Baptist Church on Third Street in Roanoke for pledges. She also asked "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" for a mention. She hadn't heard back Tuesday night. Dan Hawes, a field organizer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, warned people at a meeting Tuesday not to say or do anything to Phelps. "In no way engage with him," Hawes said. "First of all, you're not going to change his mind, and it's going to provoke a lawsuit," which is how Phelps raises money, Hawes said. Cathy Renna, a regional spokeswoman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in Washington, has seen Phelps in action many times. "I think the bottom line," she said, "is to maintain a safe environment and to allow him his free speech, however vile that speech may be." Oakey's Funeral Service is in charge of Overstreet's funeral today at 6 p.m. at Oakey's Vinton chapel. Sammy Oakey, president of the funeral home, called Casper, Wyo., this week. He talked with the Episcopal priest who led Shepard's funeral about how to deal with Phelps and his band of picketers. "The main thing he said is to completely stay away from them." Phelps accused Roanoke police in a Tuesday fax of encouraging violence against him. Asserting his right to protest on public sidewalks, Phelps told the police that their statements in the news media "give us grave concern that you are either unable or unwilling to protect us." A police spokesman had no comment and noted that the funeral is in Vinton, not Roanoke. Investigator Craig Harris of the Vinton Police Department said three or four of its officers will be at the funeral, and that Roanoke County police and state police will be on call. Tuesday, the Roanoke Valley Ministers' Conference issued this statement about the shootings: "As people of faith, we recommit ourselves to be agents of healing and reconciliation, welcoming all as God's children. We envision a community that is inclusive, honoring our unique religious traditions, sexual orientations and cultural and ethnic differences." The Washington Post ran a front-page story on the Backstreet Cafe shootings Monday, and the Los Angeles Times published stories Sunday and Tuesday. Planetout.com, a gay and lesbian news service, continued to play the story as its lead Tuesday. The unitedagainsthate.org Web site included a color photo of Overstreet with its story. Two groups are collecting donations for the shooting victims: Marlow, of the Hate Free Roanoke Task Force, is taking pledges for the "Phelps-A-Thon" at 343-4494, or at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Donations to the task force also can be sent to Christ the Good Shepherd American Catholic Church, P.O. Box 3359, Roanoke 24015, with checks made out to the church but designated for the Hate Free Roanoke Task Force. Overstreet's co-workers at Verizon have set up a fund for his family. Checks, made out to the Danny L. Overstreet Fund, may be sent to First Citizens Bank, 1959 Valley View Blvd., Roanoke 24012. Donations are being accepted at all First Citizens branches. - - - - - Human Rights Campaign launches ads on hate-crimes bill Andrew Donohue (Star Tribune) 27 Sep 00 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A gay and lesbian political organization launched a four-day radio ad campaign in the Twin Cities on Tuesday targeting Sen. Rod Grams' opposition of federal hate-crimes legislation. The ad chastises the Minnesota Republican and GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush for "actively" opposing hate-crimes legislation. The legislation, which President Clinton has pushed Congress to pass in hopes of creating a lasting human-rights legacy, would allow federal law- enforcement officials to assist in crimes committed on the basis of race, religion, color, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity or disability. The language is attached to the Department of Defense authorization bill, which the Senate passed in June. This month, the House added its support by passing a nonbinding motion instructing its conferees to keep the language in the bill. But the day the House passed the bipartisan motion, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Republicans would try to keep the hate-crime language out of the final bill in the conference committee. The Human Rights Campaign says Grams is one of the most outspoken opponents of the hate-crimes legislation and has failed to comprehend the problem of hate-related violence in the United States. "The point here is to send a very clear message that opposition to common- sense hate-crimes legislation is simply bad politics," said David M. Smith, Human Rights Campaign spokesman. "This is an attempt to make it very clear that this is a mainstream issue supported by mainstream Minnesotans, and his opposition is out of the mainstream." Grams spokesman Steve Behm said Grams has always been a strong proponent of equal protection of the law for all people, but he is concerned that creating a special class of victims will lead to inequalities in the justice system. "Criminals should be prosecuted on the basis of their crime, not for their motivations," Behm said. Minnesota is one of 23 states that includes sexual orientation in its hate- crime laws. But supporters say they believe state and federal governments can further strengthen the laws. "Hatred of people because of who they are, where they worship or the color of a skin is the antithesis of what we stand for as a nation," said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. The Human Rights Campaign, along with a coalition of other human-rights groups, launched the ad campaign with a news conference Tuesday. The campaign includes radio ads in seven states, a TV ad in Washington, D.C., and a full-page ad in Tuesday's Washington Times. The Grams ad aired Tuesday on WCCO-AM and will run through Friday. Besides Bush, Lott and Grams, the ads also will focus on House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.; Rep. James Rogan, R-Calif., and Republican Sens. Spencer Abraham of Michigan, Slade Gorton of Washington and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIGHTWING QUOTE OF THE WEEK: For those who believe that fascism is only a thing of the past Breaking News Halleluja Sandy H. usenet post to alt.politics.nationalism.white, alt.politics.white-power, alt.revisionism 1 Oct 00 A "jewish man" was attacked, beaten and slashed today in Sunshine Park, Brooklyn, by two attackers who called him anti-semitic names. [Swine comes to mind]. The perpetrators are not identified at this point in time by the news as to their race, although, well, Brooklyn. . . . . you know. HEY JUDE, ain't your multicultural world just peachy keen? Police are calling it a bias crime. No crap, Sydney. See, Rosh Hashana CAN be fun! Tell your friends, tell the Cryps and Bloods, "Hey these heebs carry LOTS of cash." The article below my signature was for posting tomorrow, but fits in very well with 'why they are hated.' Jews have ruined most small towns across America. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the Israelis have executed 29 Palestinians in the last three days. "From the Chronicles of . . . . . .The Holy Grail" [enclosed article deleted -- tallpaul] * * * * * 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/> --- Support our Sponsor------------------------------------- Make eTour.com your Web start page, and you�ll see a different site matched to your interests every time you log onto the Web! 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