From: Macdonald Stainsby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: "George Snedeker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> PLEASE FREELY DISTRIBUTE AND POST January 28, 2002 The pilot issue of WAR TIMES, a new biweekly newspaper opposing the "war on terrorism," will roll off the press on February 14. (See the WAR TIMES prospectus and new list of national endorsers below.) Featuring an exclusive interview with Danny Glover and a letter to President Bush from Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, the premier of this bilingual, free publication will be distributed in several dozen cities across the country. But we need your help to extend WAR TIMES' reach even further and lay a durable foundation for long-term publication. Please join hundreds of other activists across the country by contributing in one or more of the following ways: ***Volunteer to distribute the pilot issue to your co-workers, friends, classmates, family and/or members of your organization. Contact us at < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>, EBC/War Times, 1230 Market Street, PMB 409, San Francisco, CA 94102, 510-869-5156, to let us know how many copies you would like and make arrangements to get a bundle to you. ***Make a tax-deductible contribution by sending a check to EBC/War Times at the address above, or sign up as a monthly sustainer with a pledge of $10/month or more. ***Volunteer your writing, photographic, or drawing skills when WAR TIMES goes into regular publication. ***Give us feedback on WAR TIMES' pilot issue so we can make changes and improvements for the first regular issue. ***Pass this message on to others who want to see a regular, accessible and hard-hitting anti-"war on terrorism" message reach hundreds of thousands of people in every community, constituency and region of the country. ***If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, come to the big WAR TIMES launch party, Saturday, Feb. 16, Noon- 4pm, Mandela Village/Youth Empowerment Center, 1357 Fifth Street, West Oakland, to discuss and strategize about the current "educational moment" and then fan out to distribute thousands of copies of this free paper all across the northern Ca lifornia (childcare provided but please RSVP; wheelchair accessible). With your help, WAR TIMES can hit the ground with tremendous momentum and make a difference at this perilous time for our country and the world. We hope to hear from you. Organizing Committee (organizations listed for identification purposes only): Jan Adams, former associate director, Applied Research Center Linda Burnham, executive director, Women of Color Resource Center Jung Hee Choi, Women of Color Resource Center Max Elbaum, former managing editor, CrossRoads magazine Arnoldo Garcia, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Adam Gold, STORM Rebecca Gordon, Seminarians for Peace Felicia Gustin, co-director, Speak Out Van Jones, national executive director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Elizabeth (Betita) Martinez, director, Institute for MultiRacial Justice Steve Williams, executive director, POWER Bob Wing, former executive editor, ColorLines magazine Partial List of Endorsers (organizations listed for identification purposes only) Karin Aguilar-San Juan, author and professor, Macalester College Michael Albert, Z/Znet Michelle Alexander, ACLU of Northern California American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, San Francisco Chapter Jane Bai, executive director, CAAAV--Organizing Asian Communities Frances Beal, national secretary, Black Radical Congress Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies Larry Bensky, KPFA Blase Bonpane, director, Office of the Americas Paul Buhle, author and teacher, Brown University Douglas Calvin, executive director, Youth Leadership Support Network Sue Chan, M.D., medical director, Oakland Asian Health Services Pamela Chiang, environmental justice activist Noam Chomsky, professor, MIT Kathleen Cleaver, co-director, Human Rights Research Fund Chris Crass, writer and activist Joy Crocker, Church Women United Hunter Cutting, executive director, We Interrupt This Message Malkia Cyril, We Interrupt This Message Barbara Dane, musician Gary Delgado, executive director, Applied Research Center Antonio Diaz, executive director, PODER Junot Diaz, writer Kim Diehl, co-director, Southerners on New Ground Hari Dillon, president, Vanguard Foundation Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author and professor of women's and ethnic studies Louise Dunlap, Writing for Social Change James Early, board chair, Institute for Policy Studies Michael Eisenscher, Labor Committee for Peace and Justice Kim Fellner, executive director, National Organizers Alliance Bob Forsberg, editor, Sequoia Interreligious Newsmagazine Frances Fox-Piven, author and professor, CUNY Graduate School Joseph Gerson, organizer and educator Fred Goff, Data Center Chester Hartman, executive director, Poverty & Race Research Action Council Francisco Herrera, cultural worker, Caminante Phil Hutchings, racial justice activist James Jennings, author and teacher, Tufts University Joo-Hyun Kang, executive director, The Audre Lorde Project Pam Kelly, director, Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community Hany Khalil, New York labor and community organizer Mel King, activist Yuri Kochiyama, activist Chris Kromm, director, Institute for Southern Studies Winona LaDuke, Indigenous Women's Network Nomy Lamm, queer writer/performer Gerald Lenoir, board member, HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County Julie Light, managing editor, CorpWatch Yolanda Lopez, visual artist Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, activist and author of Sweatshop Warriors Ying Lee, Peoples Non-Violent Response Coalition Brutha Los, artist/educator, Company of Prophets Barbara Lubin, executive director, Middle East Childrens Alliance Eric Mann, executive director, Labor Community Strategy Center Esperanza Martell, ProLibertad Sharon Martinas, Challenging White Supremacy Workshops Stephen McNeil, American Friends Service Committee Sara Mersha, executive director, Direct Action for Rights and Equality Juana Alicia Montoya, artist Richard Moore, executive director, Southwest Network for Economic and Environmental Justice Cherrie Moraga, author Iris Morales, educator and filmmaker Nancy Nadel, Oakland city councilperson Gus Newport, former mayor of Berkeley Peter Olney, Institute for Labor and Employment Samuel Orozco, Radio Bilingue Richie Perez, Justice Committee/National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights Eric Quezada, SF Mission District organizer Colin Rajah, executive director, Just Act Adrienne Rich, poet Bruce Richard, vice president, 1199 SEIU Wilson Riles, former city councilperson and progressive Oakland mayoral candidate Luz Rodriguez, co-director, Center to Support Immigrant Organizing David Roediger, labor historian Loretta Ross, executive director, National Center for Human Rights Education Seminarians for Peace Irwin Silber, writer Andrea Smith, Incite! Women of Color Against Violence Abdi Soltani, executive director, Californians for Justice Dona Spring, Berkeley city councilperson Students for Justice in Palestine Julia Sudbury, ethnic studies chair, Mills College Judy Talaugon, Chumash/Cebuano, Atajes Art & Cultural Resources Makani Themba-Nixon, The Praxis Project Anthony Thigpenn, Strategy Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education Mark Toney, executive director, Center for Third World Organizing Walter Turner, board president, Global Exchange Karen Wald, journalist Tim Wise, anti-racism activist and writer Helen Zia, writer and co-author of Wen Ho Lee's story Howard Zinn, historian and author of A People's History of the United States *************************************************************** Prospectus WAR TIMES A New, Biweekly Newspaper Opposing the "War on Terrorism" The terrorist attacks of September 11 marked the beginning of a new and frightening period in our history. Thousands of people died that day, and their families along with the country as a whole are still struggling to recover. But President Bush's response of "permanent war against terrorism at home and abroad" has further endangered the lives and liberties of millions of people everywhere. The world's most powerful nation has mercilessly bombed Afghanistan and is installing a neo-colonial government of its own choosing, although that country has never attacked the U.S. Millions of Afghans have been displaced and face starvation this winter. The administration has also green-lighted massive Israeli assaults on Palestine, and it threatens to attack Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, and other countries. The agenda seems clear: to remake the world in the rightwing image with little regard for human consequences. At home, we are seeing a wholesale attack on constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties, especially those of immigrants and other people of color. The administration has institutionalized racial profiling and is secretly rounding up thousands of Arab Americans and other people of Middle Eastern background. At the same time, it is giving billions to the military, offering huge bailouts and tax incentives to corporations and the wealthy while ignoring the hundreds of thousands of laid off workers, and cutting social services. All in all, we face a second, different kind of war, a domestic war, in which longstanding racism and inequity are multiplying. Both form part of a long-range strategy to turn the clock back on past gains and consolidate U.S. global domination. Peace, safety, and justice at home are more than ever linked to peace and justice abroad. To end the "permanent war," we need to build a mass movement against U.S. interventions abroad and link to it the struggles for social justice. The security and livelihood of people across the globe depend on success in this fight. AN EDUCATIONAL MOMENT Such a movement must be constructed step-by-step. After initial emergency actions in the wake of the first bombing of Afghanistan, we are all struggling to strategize how to build the movement, how to dig in for the long haul yet still prepare for emergencies. We are becoming aware of the twists and turns that this war may take, and trying to come up with successful responses. The majority of people in the U.S. appear to back the "war on terrorism" at this time. There is some opposition to some of the most extreme domestic measures, especially the military tribunals. Pro-war sentiment among African Americans is known to be less than solid. But overall Bush has won support and is currently eyeing new targets. The mainstream media in the U.S. have largely capitulated to the war drive, filtering their presentation of the news through "patriotism." Important stories and information are ignored, buried, or presented in a pro-war context. Some of the progressive press is doing a heroic job, especially over the Internet, but little of it is geared for outreach to new audiences. On the positive side, pockets of opposition have appeared across the country. There are signs of discontent over the economic effects of intensified militarism which are hurting a wide range of people here, from airport workers to students. And there are unusual openings for progressives to join the public discussion of U.S. foreign and national policy. This is an "educational moment," and the proposed new publication is aimed at maximizing our ability to take advantage of it. THE NEW PUBLICATION: A Voice of and for the Movement To broaden and deepen the fight against the Bush program requires compiling information and analysis, and putting them into the hands of large numbers of readers. To help meet this challenge, we propose the publication of a free, mass produced, biweekly, and nationally distributed tabloid-sized newspaper. It will be a valuable outreach and education tool for organizers on the ground and an entryway for new people into the peace and justice movement. It will complement existing publications and be backed by a modest Internet operation that would introduce people to the already developed anti-war Web presence. Content: War Times will present a view of the world that makes opposition to Bush's program urgent, vivid, and logical. To do so, it will be designed with an artistic sense, using photos, cartoons, and other graphic elements throughout. Overall, it must be popular, attractive, have flair, and utilize humor and poetry as well as information and analysis. It will be bilingual at least in part, beginning with Spanish. War Times is intended to track the development of the war at home and abroad, spotlighting the dire consequences of Bush's program for human beings and the earth. It will provide backgrounders, facts, and clear, readable analysis. It will report on the work of the developing peace and justice movement as well as anti-racist struggles, thus providing an important representation of the possibility, vitality, and importance of opposition. Articles will be based on reliable and widely accepted information sources, both domestic and international. Audience: Its audience will be those most open to criticism of the government's actions but not yet part of the movement against Bush's program of "permanent war." Currently this includes many peoples of color, students, women, and religious folk. War Times will work to reach more workers and labor movement people. It will change and grow over time, and link up with new communities. At the same time, the publication will keep the anti-war movement itself abreast of new developments, including news about movement activities around the country. Distribution: The newspaper will be free so that it can be widely distributed through drops, by organizations and individuals, and by bundle agents. The lead site for the project will be Northern California, but it will be distributed nationally. A pilot issue, scheduled to be published in February, will be used to launch the base for distribution as well as to build support. Finances: We estimate the first year's budget as just over $500,000 for a biweekly publication. We will seek foundation funding but expect most of the money to come from individuals and organizations. YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED The project is in its early stages and needs input at every level. To date, we have formed a talented, multi-racial and multi-generational group in the Bay Area to organize the project. We have received input from different people and have some initial fundraising commitments. We will publish a pilot issue by February 15 and use it to begin building a huge distribution system and to organize financial support. To give us your feedback, volunteer your assistance, make a tax deductible donation (check to EBC/War Times) or for more information, contact us at < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>, EBC/War Times, 1230 Market Street, PMB 409, San Francisco, CA 94102, 510-869-5156. _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
