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Do It. http://click.topica.com/aaabgUbz8SnrbAjwjxa/OmniSky ============================================================ __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 26 January 2001 Vol. 5, Number 5 (#507) __________________________________________________________________________ Book/Movie Reviews: Robert Rozett and Shmuel Spector (ed.), "Encyclopedia of the Holocaust," in association with Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority Rightwing Crime In the News: Charles Feldman and Stanley Wilson (CNN), "Man charged in Jewish community center shootings to plead guilty today," 24 Jan 01 David Rosenzweig (Los Angeles Times), "Furrow to Plead Guilty in Slaying, Anti-Semitic Attack: The deal, expected to be finalized at a hearing today, would let the white supremacist avoid the death penalty for the murder of mail carrier Joseph Ileto," 24 Jan 01 Jill Serjeant (Reuters), "White supremacist pleads guilty to shooting spree," 24 Jan 01 What's Worth Checking: 10 stories -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK/MOVIE REVIEWS: Encyclopedia of the Holocaust Robert Rozett and Shmuel Spector (ed.) in association with Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority Encyclopedia of the Holocaust is a comprehensive, authoritative one-volume reference that provides reliable information on this ignoble and frightening episode of modern history. It features eight essays on the history of the Holocaust and its antecedents, as well as coverage of such topics as the history of European Jewry, Jewish contributions to European culture, and the rise of antisemitism and Nazism. The essays are followed by more than 650 entries on significant aspects of the Holocaust, including people, cities and countries, camps, resistance movements, political actions, and outcomes. More than 300 black-and-white photographs from the archives at Yad Vashem bear witness to the horrors of the Nazi regime and at the same time attest to the invincibility of the human spirit. Coverage includes * Essays, such as "The Contribution of European Jewry to Modern Culture," "Nazi Ideology and Its Roots," "The Nazi Rise to Power and the Nature of the Nazi Regime," "The Destruction of the Jews," "On Being a Jew in the Holocaust," "The Allies and the Holocaust," and "The Aftermath of the Holocaust and Its Influence on Present-Day Society' * People, including Adolf Hitler, Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Goebbels. Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, Anne Frank, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Elie Wiesel, and David Ben- Gurion, among others * Places, such as Poland, France, Hungary, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Denmark * Camps, such as Auschwitz, Dachau. Treblinka, Bergen-Beisen, and Buchenwald * Events, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Death Marches. the Eichmann Trial, the Bermuda Conference, and the Slovak National Uprising * Organizations, such as the Gestapo, the War Refugee Board, the World Jewish Congress, the International Red Cross, and the United Nations War Crimes Commission In addition, there are entries on such topics as American Jewry and the Holocaust, Denial of the Holocaust, Films on the Holocaust, the Holocaust in Music, Nazi Propaganda, Youth Movements, Museums and Memorials. Hardback; 276 x 219 mm; 528 pages 300 illustrations 1-57958-307-5; November 2000; £65.00 See http://www.fitzroydearborn.com/holocaust.htm for full details and an order form. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIGHTWING CRIME IN THE NEWS Man charged in Jewish community center shootings to plead guilty today Charles Feldman and Stanley Wilson (CNN) 24 Jan 01 LOS ANGELES, California -- Buford O. Furrow Jr., the accused shooter in a hate crime that left a postal carrier dead and five others wounded at a Jewish community center in 1999, will plead guilty to murder and other charges Wednesday, U.S. Attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said. Because of the plea agreement, Furrow will not face the death penalty but will serve a term of life in prison without parole, a law enforcement source told CNN. Furrow, a 38-year-old avowed white supremacist, was indicted by a federal grand jury last year on charges of murder and firearms violations stemming from the killing of U.S. Postal carrier Joseph Santos Ileto. Furrow expressed no regrets According to the indictment, Furrow expressed no regrets over the August 1999 shooting death of Ileto and the wounding of five people at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. In the 61-page indictment, Furrow told authorities he would not have killed Ileto if the Filipino-American mail carrier had been white. Furrow also said he targeted the Jewish Community Center because of his hatred of Jews. A federal grand jury returned a 16-count criminal indictment against Furrow that included charges he committed an act of terrorism and that he was motivated by religious and racial hatred. In addition to murder charges stemming from the Ileto killing, he faced a dozen other charges including hate crimes violations stemming from the shooting rampage at the North Valley Jewish Community Center's day-care facility west of downtown Los Angeles. The three federal counts included: Murder of a federal employee of the United States which carries a potential death sentence. * Use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death, which also carries a potential death sentence. * Possessing a firearm in violation of his parole as a convicted felon -- he served five months for threatening two mental hospital nurses with a knife. * The shooting rampage at the community center occurred August 10, 1999, as dozens of children were playing. Five people were wounded, including three young children. All five survived and have since recovered from there wounds. Furrow then allegedly carjacked a sedan belonging to a waitress and killed Ileto, a Filipino-born postman. Federal authorities called his murder a hate crime, inspired by the victim's race or nationality. The gunman eluded a massive manhunt in Los Angeles, abandoned the stolen car and took a taxi to Las Vegas -- an $800 trip -- where he turned himself in to FBI authorities the next day. Authorities say Furrow admitted shooting Ileto and wounding five people at the Jewish community center as a "wake up call" to anti-Semites and hate groups. It is unclear whether newly-elected Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley will try to seek the death penalty on other related charges against Furrow if the case is brought to state court. - - - - - Furrow to Plead Guilty in Slaying, Anti-Semitic Attack: The deal, expected to be finalized at a hearing today, would let the white supremacist avoid the death penalty for the murder of mail carrier Joseph Ileto David Rosenzweig (Los Angeles Times) 24 Jan 01 In a deal that would spare him a possible death sentence, white supremacist Buford O. Furrow Jr. has agreed to plead guilty to murdering a Filipino American mail carrier and seriously wounding five people at a San Fernando Valley Jewish community center in a 1999 shooting rampage. Furrow, a 39-year-old mechanic from Washington state, would receive a mandatory life prison sentence under terms of his agreement with federal prosecutors. Because there is no provision for parole in the federal criminal justice system, he could be expected to spend the rest of his days behind bars. "We are very relieved that we were able to persuade the government that death was not an appropriate resolution of this case," chief federal public defender Maria E. Stratton, whose office is representing Furrow, said Tuesday. Stratton said defense lawyers and prosecutors concluded independently that Furrow was suffering from serious psychiatric problems. U.S. Atty. Alejandro N. Mayorkas declined to comment Tuesday. Furrow, who has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest in the Aug. 10, 1999, hate-crime attacks, is expected to enter his plea at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Nora Manella this morning. He had been scheduled to go on trial in April in the slaying of postal worker Joseph Ileto, a capital crime, and the wounding of a receptionist, a teenage counselor and three children, ages 5 and 6, at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills. In the community center shootings, Furrow is charged with violating the victims' federal civil rights. Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, who approved the decision last year to seek the death penalty against Furrow, was reportedly briefed about the plea negotiations before she left office last week. The families of the four children shot at the Jewish Community Center declined to comment Tuesday night. The families of Ileto and the community center receptionist could not be reached. Furrow, a follower of the racist and anti-Semitic hate group Aryan Nations, has a history of violent emotional outbursts. Last October, his team of federal public defenders filed a sealed notice with the court of their intention to raise a mental illness defense during his trial. Although Furrow has agreed in writing to plead guilty, there is a possibility that the deal could unravel when he appears before Manella. According to former acquaintances, Furrow is given to sudden mood swings. From time to time, he has threatened to fire his lawyers but later recanted. Since his arraignment more than a year ago, he has declined to attend any pretrial proceedings. Before accepting his plea, Manella must be satisfied that Furrow reached his decision freely. She is required to ask the defendant about his emotional state, whether he is under the influence of any drugs or medications that might impair his judgment, and whether he was pressured in any way to sign the agreement. She also must remind him of his constitutional rights. Only then would he be allowed to enter a guilty plea. When he surrendered in Las Vegas a day after the shootings, Furrow told FBI interrogators that he wanted his rampage to serve as "a wake-up call to America to kill Jews." Furrow had driven to Los Angeles from his home in Washington state in a van loaded with an assortment of weapons and all of his personal belongings, according to law enforcement accounts. Over a period of days, he allegedly scouted out several Jewish institutions for attack, including the Museum of Tolerance, the Skirball Cultural Center and the University of Judaism. He reportedly told the FBI that he decided against attacking those facilities because security was tight, and that he finally settled on the North Valley Jewish Community Center where, according to the 16-count federal indictment, he entered a building and fired more than 70 rounds before fleeing. Authorities said Furrow then drove to a nearby shopping center, where he abandoned his van and stole another vehicle at gunpoint. A few hours later, he happened upon Ileto, 39, delivering mail in a residential neighborhood of Chatsworth. Furrow allegedly walked up to Ileto, thinking he was Latino or Asian, asked him to mail a letter and then opened fire with a handgun. Ileto was hit by nine bullets. He died at the scene. In a 61-page court affidavit, FBI agents said that Furrow admitted wanting to kill nonwhite law enforcement officers, and that he prepared himself by packing a fully automatic rifle loaded with steel-core, armor-piercing ammunition on his journey from Washington. Even while behind bars, the government charged, Furrow has continued to threaten to kill nonwhites, including a Latino inmate and several guards at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is housed. Furrow was said to have threatened violence against his former wife, vowing to deliver her son's head to her on a platter. The federal public defender's office tried unsuccessfully to have Furrow's confession suppressed, but Manella denied its motion. An only child, Furrow is the son of a retired Air Force enlisted man. He grew up around military bases in the West. Classmates at various high schools and community colleges described him as a loner. In 1989, he showed up at the Aryan Nations' World Congress at the group's 20-acre compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler said Furrow volunteered for guard duty and bought a uniform that he wore proudly. During a similar meeting in 1995, Furrow met and became romantically involved with Debra Mathews, the widow of Robert Mathews, the founder of the Order, a neo-Nazi group. Mathews died in a 1984 shootout with authorities after a murder-robbery rampage. Butler presided at Furrow's wedding in 1996. He and Debra Mathews parted about a year later. Mathews complained to friends that Furrow, unable to keep a steady job, had grown sullen and angry. In October 1998, he was admitted to a Kings County, Wash., psychiatric institution. Released after two weeks, he tried to commit himself to a private facility. While being interviewed, he became angry and threatened staff members with a knife. Police were summoned and Furrow was arrested. He eventually pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months in jail. He was released in May 1999 with time off for good behavior. Three months later, he packed his possessions and headed south to Los Angeles. - - - - - White supremacist pleads guilty to shooting spree Jill Serjeant (Reuters) 24 Jan 01 LOS ANGELES -- White supremacist Buford O. Furrow pleaded guilty on Wednesday to shooting up a suburban Jewish center in 1999, as prosecutors disclosed his initial target had been the international headquarters of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a prominent Jewish organization. But the 39-year-old mechanic was deterred by stringent security at the Wiesenthal Center and sought the easier target of the Jewish community center in the quiet suburbs of the city. He later fled to Las Vegas and scoured phone books for synagogues to continue his avowed "wake up call to America to kill Jews." "There is a sense of irony here ... this is a man who set out to do our institution harm but at the last minute was deterred by God," Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Reuters. Los Angeles is the international headquarters of the Center, a research and educational institute aimed at combating bigotry and anti-Semitism and a leading campaigner in the fight to bring former Nazi leaders to justice. Prosecutor Michael Gennaco told reporters Furrow considered the center his "crown jewel." New details of the August 1999 shooting were revealed by prosecutors following a plea bargain in which a smiling Furrow admitted 16 charges, including the murder of a Filipino-American mail man, but avoided the death penalty in exchange for life imprisonment without possibility of parole, release or pardon. "He will never walk the streets again. Today Furrow admitted he committed these heinous crimes with the insidious motive of racial bigotry and religious intolerance," U.S. Attorney Alejandro Mayorkas told a news conference. Mayorkas said the plea agreement had the full support of the family of murdered mail man Joseph Ileto and the victims and families of the Jewish center shootings. Furrow, from Olympia, Washington, will be formally sentenced on March 26 Mayorkas said the decision not to seek the death penalty was motivated by Furrow's history of psychiatric illness dating back 10 years and three hospital stays for problems including homicidal and suicidal tendencies. Relatives of Ileto sobbed quietly at the back of the courtroom on Wednesday as prosecutors described how Furrow had shot the mailman more than nine times "because he was angry that Mr Ileto was enjoying federal employment without discrimination on account of race, color, religion or national origin." Furrow was seen smiling and chatting with his lawyers, his hands and ankles shackled. "We are extremely relieved that there is closure in this case and we will not have to go through a (trial)," Ileto's brother Ismael told reporters afterward. Ileto also called on President George W. Bush to take the lead in ensuring the passage of hate crime laws "so that no other family or community will ever have to go through the sorrow and loss that we have." Jewish leaders said justice had been served by the decision. "He's going to spend the rest of his life behind bars...Here is a person who is going to be deprived of the fullness of life. He will have more than an ample opportunity to reflect on his deed," said Rabbi Hier. "The Simon Wiesenthal Center was the primary target he (Furrow) had selected," prosecutor Gennaco told reporters. "When he got there he was concerned at the tight security and then undertook to find a new location." Furrow fled to Las Vegas after the shootings. "The next morning, in Las Vegas, (he) looked up 'synagogues' in the phone book and considered continuing his crime spree," court documents released on Wednesday said. "However because his picture was being broadcast on national television stations and because he believed he had already succeeded in making the statement he wished to make, (he) decided to 'get it over with' and turn himself in to the FBI." After his arrest law enforcement officials documented Furrow's history with white supremacist and anti-Semitic groups. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S WORTH CHECKING stories via <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/story7/> via International Action Center, "J20 Lawsuit Challenges Government Repression," 15 Jan 01, "[The International Action Center issued the following statement from Teresa Gutierrez, Larry Holmes and Brian Becker at a Washington news conference Jan. 15. Holmes and Becker announced a major lawsuit against government interference with the rights of J20 protesters.] We are grateful to the Partnership for Civil Justice and the National Lawyers Guild for filing a lawsuit on behalf of those who plan to organize protests at the Jan. 20 inauguration of George W. Bush." <2041.txt> Mumia Abu-Jamal, "To J20: Build A Revolutionary Movement!" 13 Jan 01, "As the U.S. presidency changes hands, many, perhaps millions, feel in their guts that American democracy is in peril. Many feel that they are witnessing the inauguration of a great naked thievery, and that their election was stolen from them. I can understand those feelings. I really can. But it may surprise you to know that I don't agree. For the truth is, both major presidential candidates were millionaires and despite what they said, both were auditioning for jobs for the rulers. And the rulers, the mega-rich, have never had much use for democracy. American history is the struggle for democracy, one that is far from finished as Florida taught us. It is struggle between planters and landless, between property and poverty, between rich and poor, between capital and labor." <2042.txt> Miranda Kennedy via PART, "Arrests at WBAI New York City," 24 Jan 01, " At roughly 5:30 p.m., about 40-50 peopled gathered in the downstairs lobby of 120 Wall St.--listeners and local advisory board members--who were trying to go upstairs to the station to hold a scheduled meeting. (Please see release below for background). There was a restricted list on the ground- floor lobby of the building today; only producers with programs were allowed in." <2043.txt> Will Lester (AP), "'New Democrats': Gore Lost By Not Being Republican Enough," 24 Jan 01, "A group of moderate Democrats contends Al Gore's populist presidential campaign wasn't aimed at the suburban residents, moderates and upper middle class whites he needed to defeat George W. Bush. The Democratic Leadership Council, "new Democrats" who helped propel Bill Clinton to power with a centrist appeal, have released an analysis that highlights several reasons it thinks Gore was unsuccessful against eventual winner Bush - most significantly his steady appeals to the working class." <2044.txt> Norman Solomon (Creators Syndicate), "The Narrow Separation of Press and State," 25 Jan 01, "It was a remarkable comment that passed without notice. After interviewing the new White House chief of staff, a network anchor bade him farewell. 'All right, Andy Card,' said CNN's Judy Woodruff, 'we look forward to working with you, to covering your administration.' If major news outlets were committed to independent journalism, Woodruff's statement on national television Jan.19 would have caused quite a media stir -- as a sign of undue coziness with power brokers in Washington. But it was far from conspicuous. Woodruff's remark was matter-of-fact. Warm collaboration is routine. Many reporters work closely with each new crew of top government officials. Leading journalists and spinners in high places are accustomed to mutual reliance. That's good for professional advancement. But the public's right to know is another matter." <2045.txt> Reuters, "Controversial U.S. Military School Reopens," 17 Jan 01, "The U.S. Army School of the Americas, long assailed as a training ground for dictators and assassins, on Wednesday reopened as a new institute with a new name, even as protesters contended nothing about it had changed. Rudy de Leon, U.S. deputy secretary of defense, officially unveiled the new school, now dubbed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, at the Fort Benning army base in Columbus, Ga., about 107 miles southwest of Atlanta." <2046.txt> Doug Saunders (The Globe & Mail), "Bush's Christian Guru Marvin Olasky Aims to Reshape America: Opponents Fear Reversal of Country's Principles," 13 Jan 01, "Marvin Olasky won't be in Washington next Saturday when George W. Bush becomes president, taking the oath of office on a Bible used by his father at his inauguration and also used at the nation's first presidential inauguration of George Washington in 1789. Mr. Olasky isn't one for big parties and hoopla. But the writings of the little-known Texas professor -- ideas that would break down the traditional barriers between church and state -- will be on the lips of many members of the new Republican ascendancy, including its leader. The phrase "compassionate conservatism" tripped off Mr. Bush's lips hundreds of times during the campaign. It sounded, to most observers, like something aimed at appeasing moderate voters. But to fundamentalist Christian conservatives, it signified the beginning of a radical public-policy experiment, one that is neither glib nor moderate." <2047.txt> Nathan Newman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (Organizers' Collaborative ), "How Southern Violations of States Rights Caused the Civil War," 18 Jan 01, "The comments of Interior Secretary nominee Gale Norton talking about the "loss" of states rights due to the Civil War just once more highlights the lie that the Civil War was fought over states rights, rather than fought to preserve slavery. In fact, if anything, the Civil War was caused by Southern States using their control of the Congress and the Supreme Court to use federal law against Northern states which resisted slavery within their own territory." <2048.txt> American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, "ADC Concerned by Stigma Against Arab-American Political Discourse," 24 Jan 01, "The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation’s largest Arab-American membership organization, is troubled by the delegitimization of Arab- American political discourse associated with the cancellation of a radio program in Washington, DC. In late December, the owners of WWTL radio, based in Walkersville, Maryland, canceled the 'Freeway Radio' (broadcast in English) and 'Al-Hilm Al-Arabi' (in Arabic) programing of Mr. Hikmat Beaini. The programming consisted mainly of political discussions and call-in programs and was also broadcast in Detroit and Chicago." <2049.txt> FAIR, "Ignoring Reality At the Inauguration: New York Times Stresses "Legitimacy" Over Democracy," 22 Jan 01, "The New York Times editorial the day after George W. Bush's inauguration ('A Vision of Unity,' 1/21/01) predicted, based on the inaugural address, that Bush could 'lift the nation to a new era of inclusion and social justice,' and found room to describe how 'the gloomy light of a winter's day was offset by splashes of color like Laura Bush's blue coat.' But it didn't find space to mention the most striking feature of the 2001 inauguration: that it occurred amidst widespread and angry protests rejecting the legitimacy of Bush's claim to office, the likes of which have not been faced by any modern president."<2050.txt> * * * * * 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 ------------------------------------ Want $50 in free calls? 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