Clandestines, Kultur Shock and More... 017 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 5
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TWICE THE ARTS IN ACTION: PAGES 16-18 Clandestines, Kultur Shock and more... 017 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 5 IN DEFENSE OF THE LAND ATENCO • SOUTH CENTRAL • BLACK MESA • KLAMATH RIVER • BARRIO 23 DE ENERO indybay.org NEWSMAGAZINE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER Table of Contents divine strake test cancelled 2 7 fisherman: damn the dams! e.f.f. sues at&t over n.s.a. surveillance 2 8 a different disaster in new orleans yes men vs. haliburton, clowns vs. recruiters 3 9 forced relocation at black mesa border activists face 15 years in jail 3 10 the fight for the south central farm modesto uncovers dow’s dirty laundry 4 12 atenco, oaxaca, & the other campaign pg&e leaves retreats from hunters point 5 14 bolivarian barrio 23 de enero pedestrian war zone in frisco streets 6 16 ultra arts in action super section JUNE-JULY TWO THOUSAND SIX free ILLUSTRATION: TIM PHOTO: REZ The Yes Men Burn HAlliburton MEdIa prankStErS Spoof disaStEr prOfIteerS The Yes Men—a group of “media reduce our carbon emissions by 70 per- the Renaissance and the Great assassins” who impersonate corporate cent within the next few years [in order Deluge gave Noah a monopoly spokespeople to spotlight greedy behav- to avoid global catastrophe] . Doing of the animals, so tomorrow’s ior-- have struck again. In May, a man that would seriously undermine corpo- catastrophes could well lead to claiming to be a representative of Halli- rate profits, however, and so a more for- good - and industry must be burton gave a presentation at the “Cata- ward-thinking solution is needed.” ready to seize that good.” “thE SUrvIvaball is designed to strophic Loss” conference for insurance The conference attendees peppered In an interview with Democ- ProtEct thE corPoratE MaNager No company leaders at the Ritz-Carlton the duo with questions. One asked how racy Now! following the stunt, MattEr what MothEr NatUrE throwS in Amelia Island, Florida. The phony the device would fare against terrorism, Bichlbaum explained, “We were his or hEr waY.” spokesperson told conference-goers that another whether the array of embedded targeting Halliburton because spokesperson for Dow Chemical. He Halliburton had come up with a new technologies might make the unit too they’re the most iconic example of com- said Dow was taking responsibility for invention, the SurvivaBall - an orb-like cumbersome; a third brought up the is- panies profiting from global warming, the Bhopal chemical disaster—forc- inflatable suit that would keep corporate sue of the unit’s cost feasibility. climate changes, and even natural di- ing the company to remind the world managers safe from global warming. “The SurvivaBall builds on Halli- sasters like in New Orleans.” it did not take responsibility for the Introducing the “gated community burton’s reputation as a disaster and The Yes Men hoax comes less than disaster and that there was no com- for one,” Fred Wolf (aka Andy Bichl- conflict industry innovator,” said two years after a Yes Men member ap- pensation fund set-up for the victims. baum) said, “Scientists agree we must Wolf. “Just as the Black Plague led to peared on the BBC claiming to be a More info at www.yesmen.org s a v e l i v e s — g o t o J a i l ! StUdEntS face 15 yEarS For helpIng dyIng immigrantS No More Deaths volunteers walked 75 miles through the Sonora Desert to bring awareness to the increasing number of migrant worker deaths in the deserts of arizona Rebel clownS Two college students in Tucson, Arizona Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss are ap- parently meant to be the first victims of an Arizona law against helping undocu- confront us miliTary mented immigrants. They are facing up to 15 years in prison on felony charges for the volunteer work they did last summer with the No More Deaths coalition to help “Army of Fun” undocumented immigrants in the Arizona desert. Check www.nomoredeaths.org to see how you can support individuals arrested for engaging in humanitarian work or Invades join the struggle to prevent more people from dying in the desert. Downtown Help Wanted designers Oakland Join thE Writers editors Recruitment PhotograpHers Center Photo: [email protected] Action CoConspirators Having been the target of numer- cLOWN TRIES TO GEt ARMY GUY TO ous recent anti-war demonstrations, the tUrN FROWN UPSIDE-DOWN Oakland Military Recruitment Center Major Mischief reports: “We went to on Broadway at 21st Street met a dif- see if us clowns could fly big planes and ferent type of adversary in June. The drive big cars too, but the army people JUNE-JULY 2006 Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown were too serious and tried to kick us out. Army (CIRCA) invaded and occu- Once we played some games and ex- Come to our plained consensus to them, they were a next meetings: pied the military recruitment center in little happier with us. We decided their thursday, June downtown Oakland for about 45 min- army was boring and set up our own 29 & July 13; 2940 utes until they were forced out by city recruiting table for the ‘Army of Fun’ 16th st. #216 @ police. Perhaps in fear of another inva- FAULT LINES Capp st. sion of clowns, the center shut down for outside while the rest of us tried to get the day following the action. them to laugh.” (www.clownarmy.org) 03 indymedia NewsWire THE DIRTY SIDE OF by Harmony Dawn Niles police attack protestors DRY CLEANING at port of Olympia During the last two weeks in May, THE CITY OF MODESTO TAKES ON INDUSTRY GIANT DOW CHEMICAL a series of protests and police actions gripped the port of Olympia, Washington a widely used dry cleaning chemical endangers the health of workers, customers, and as Stryker mechanized infantry units pre- pared for deployment to northern Iraq via neighbors, and pollutes our environment. the City of Modesto wins $175 million in the port. 37 demonstrators were arrested punitive damages from the chemical’s makers. during the confrontations that included street blockades of Stryker convoys arriv- Harold Beard told a manufacturers of dry ing from Ft. Lewis and actions at the port itself, which succeeded in breaching the San Francisco Superior cleaning machines, and security fence around the staging area as Court jury that during his the manufacturers and well as delaying the initial vehicle convoy. years working for Half- distributors of PERC. Thurston County Sheriff, Olympia Police, ord’s Cleaners in Modesto Defendants placed and Coast Guard units unleashed multiple he threw the “muck” from the blame for Modesto’s rounds of OC spray, pepper bullets, tasers, their dry cleaning ma- contamination problems and billy clubs in their coordinated at- chines into the back lot tempts at disrupting the protests. on the city — citing their behind the store. He nev- aging sewer system and er thought he was doing late-enforcement of waste anything unsafe; he and disposal regulations. co-workers had done the They claim Modesto is same thing at other dry only looking for a chunk cleaners. of cash. “This is not a This “muck” from dry personal injury case,” said cleaning machines con- Mark Turco, counsel for tains a chlorinated clean- PPG Industries. “There ing solvent, perclorethyl- public drinking wells last year and pass is no personal tragedy ene (PERC). PERC —identified as a on redevelopment projects. here. All this case is about is the fi- probable carcinogen under California nancial cost.” Modesto has traced the pollution to Prop 65— has contaminated one of faulty waste disposal at local dry clean- Dow spokesperson Scot Wheeler The high tech Stryker brigades have every ten drinking wells in California. been a pet project of Defense Secretary ers. But the plaintiffs contend that li- called the verdict “baseless,” and, in Rumsfeld and exemplify his push to change Eighty five percent of dry-cleaning ability ultimately lies with those who written statements, both Dow and the US military into a heavily technology operations throughout the state use sold and marketed the chemical with- Vulcan have promised to appeal the dependent, quickly deployable, and slim- PERC. Experts estimate that 70 per- out disclosing its dangers or giving safe decision. They complain that the pu- mer force capable of intervening globally cent of it ends up in the environment, handling instructions. nitive damages exceed the 9 to 1 ratio on short notice. polluting our air, soil and groundwa- suggested by the U.S. Supreme Court. During the trial, Modesto’s Coun- www.portland.indymedia.org ter. The ground water under Halford’s sel Duane Miller cited internal com- The Recorder says Modesto is just boasts PERC levels over 3 million getting started. They report that the Students on the Barricades: pany documents from Dow Chemical, parts per billion (ppb); drinking water city’s lawyers are pursuing PERC- Chile, germany, greece which labeled PERC a “red-flag com- standards do not allow over 5 ppb. related damage claims against more and nicaragua pound” as early as 1965, recognizing In 1998 the EPA put Halford’s that it had “certain severe pollutional companies. Students are protesting in countries all onto their Superfund clean-up list— a around the globe to demand free education characteristics” and was “persistent” Other towns may be inspired to fol- for everyone. IMC Athens reports that 320 list of hazardous waste sites requiring in the environment. Yet a 1975 Dow low suit. “The precedent is there,” says academic departments (75% of all depart- urgent attention. The government’s Material Safety Data Sheet states: “In Phil Wyels, an assistant chief counsel ments) are occupied by students in Greece.