RETURN of SDS P5 • BURNING with ECSTASY P14 • STUY TOWN

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RETURN OF SDS p5 • BURNING WITH ECSTASY p14 • STUY TOWN GETS STIFFED p3 THE INDYPENDENT Issue #93, September 21 – October 11, 2006 A FREE PAPER FOR FREE PEOPLE REBEL SPIRIT Mexico rises up against a corrupt system. Reports from Mexico City, Oaxaca and East Harlem, p8

A delegate to Mexico’s National Democratic Convention, which installed a parallel “government in resistance.” PHOTO: JOHN GIBLER www.indypendent.org 2 SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT Amy Wolf andJenYuson Matthew Wasserman, StevenWishnia, Xavier Tayo, ErinThomp Schneider, Stern, Andrew Reynoso, GabrielRiocabo,Ann Powers, Nogueira, Donald Edgar Mata,Yoni Ana Mishal,NikMoore, DianeMason, Martin, Gary Martin, Ula Kuras,JessicaLee,F. Timothy A.K. Gupta, Giambrone, Lauren Freeman, Karen Karen Freeman, Davidson, Ryan Ellen Susan Chenelle,OrlyClergé, Campbell, JessieCarpenter, AntrimCaskey, Benitez, JedBrandt, Charlie Bass,BennettBaumer, Betty Chris Anderson, VOLUNTEER STAFF: editorial process. intheentire welcome yourparticipation forlength,contentandclarity. We articles of participation. we unteer support, Asanor office. orjusthelp take photos site, tape eventsandrallies, and distribute The IMChasanopendoor. You canwrite WHAT CANIDOTOGETINVOLVED? similar missions. andindividualswith organizations from subscriptions, donations,grantsandads thedriveofprofit. people, awayfrom backinthehandsof and creativity placing themeansofcommunication nicate. We espouseopendialogueand and spacetothoseseekingcommu- mediatools and ecosystemsbyproviding individuals,communities issues affecting We seektoanalyze self-representation. media tofacilitatepoliticalandcultural using a community-basedorganization and accuratecoverageofissues.We are in-depth progressive, ethic byproviding tional networkofvolunteermediaactivists. Independent MediaCenterisaninterna- theworld, 120 citiesthroughout than With autonomouschaptersinmore WHAT ISINDYMEDIA? NEW YORKCITY The print team reserves therighttoedit The printteamreserves The Indypendent anewmedia The IMCseekstocreate [email protected] MEDIA CENTER INDEPENDENT NYC: nyc.indymedia.org GLOBAL: indymedia.org U.S.: us.indymedia.org self-publish articles totheweb, self-publish articles indypendent.org P NY, NY10276 Mauricio Quintero, Frank Mauricio Quintero, .O. Box1417 Irina Ivanova,Ruth E-mail for Web Mail ganization relying onvol- ganization relying The Indypendent is fundedbybenefits, Fu, Neela Ghoshal, encourage allforms Kazembe Balagun, Dunsmuir, Paneth, Nicholas son, LizTillotson, Mike Burke,Alex update theweb- Antonio Golan, John Tarleton, us run the us run Kelton, , video- Sierra election analysis Brooklyn Politics: LETTER TOTHEEDITOR I n utrladpltclbo ncnrlBoky.POO AP PHOTO: ing aculturalandpoliticalblocincentralBrooklyn. David Yassky form- oftheinfluxwhiteyoungurbanprofessionalswhoarenow hopedtotakeadvantage who wasbackedbythecityrealestatecom- her torunforpresidentin1972. ing abroadpoliticalbasethateventuallyled for thebenefitofhercommunity, whilecreat- woman toCongress.Chisholmusedtheseat elected ShirleyChisholmasthefirstCarribean result ofthe1965Voting RightsAct,the11th Crown Heightsriotsin1991.Createdasa munity wheremanystillbearthescarsof that carrymeaningincentralBrooklyn,acom- didate: He’s whiteandJewish,twosignifiers district’s BlackandCaribbeancommunity. by acollectivesighofreliefformuchthe development project.Buthervictorywasmet stituents, shealsosupportstheAtlanticYards council. Muchtothechagrinofhercon- record inherfive-yeartenureonthecity Una Clarke,andhas,atbest,alackluster didate DavidYassky’s 26percent. cent ofthevote,justaheadinsurgent can- trict onSept.12.Clarkecameinwith31per- in centralBrooklyn’s 11thCongressionaldis- squeaked outaDemocraticprimaryvictory B Y In contrast,Yassky isapoliticalcentrist Her opponent,Yassky, wasnoordinarycan- Clarke isdaughterofformerpoliticalscion Democratic machine,Yvette Clarke declining fortuneoftheBrooklyn n aracemarkedbyracialtensionsandthe K AZEMBE B ALAGUN any Israel, no matter how small, would have been wouldhave small, how nomatter Israel, any a afteritscre- with theinvasionofIsraelimmediately Guptafindsnofault either. recognized aslegitimate upduringthesameperiodshouldnotbe carved Iraq, etc. Egypt, Lebanon, ofSyria, thenthestates ism, ofastate? people deserving Jewsaren’ta Or isitbecauseGuptafeelsthat “real” morelegitimacy thesecountrieshave that thanIsrael? longago it becausethesegenocidalactivitieshappened Is theirindigenousinhabitantsordisplacedthem. nated eitherextermi- that or othercountries, Brazil, Zealand, New Australia, Canada, against waged are boycotts Nor ofitsindigenouspopulation. genocidal treatment legitimacythe UnitedStates’ despiteits asanation refusestoaccept nooneintheUnitedNations However, intheircreation. displaced thelocalpopulation have that some importantcriticismofall “settler states” Guptaraises A.K. 10), (Aug. ofZionism” “A BriefHistory In it asarightfulmemberofthecommunitynations. financialbackingofIsrael)anddelegitimizing (and U.S. There isadifferencebetweencriticizingIsraelipolicies ISRAEL SMEARS AK GUPTA inb h ntdNtosi 98 Itseemsthat in1948. tion bytheUnitedNations If IsraelismerelyaproductofEuropeancolonial- Norman, oneofthemostpowerfulmenin When BrooklynDemocraticheadClarence larly inAfricanandCaribbeancommunities. tion: thequestionofpoliticalpower, particu- commented onYassky’s campaign. in awhitecommunity,” oneWyckoff resident rity measuresattheprojects. who accompaniedYassky totoutnewsecu- one washurt,includingMayorBloomberg detail caughtthefructose-glazedmissile.No Ironically, apoliceofficerservingsecurity chocolate donutwashurledathiscontingent. W Y Y ning intheprimary. Congressman MajorOwens,werealsorun- Owens, sonofthedistrict’s retiring State SenatorCarlAndrewsandChris T white supportandadividedBlackvote. with hopesofsailingtoWashington on cal blocincentralBrooklyn. who arenowformingaculturalandpoliti- influx ofwhiteyoungurbanprofessionals project). Hehopedtotakeadvantageofthe panies (healsosupportstheAtlanticYards wo otherAfrican-Americancandidates, assky’s runaspureopportunism.During assky’s campaignswingthroughthe Still, abiggerquestionloomedinthiselec- “They wouldn’t letaBlackcandidaterun Many intheBlackcommunitydenounced He movedthreeblocksintothe11th, yckoff Gardenshousingdevelopment,a THE CHANGINGSAME benefits from U.S. economic, political, diplomatic diplomatic political, economic, benefits fromU.S. most that asthecountry the actionsofIsraelistate, WhileIcanactivelyoppose Ibelieveisirrelevant. what I madenocommentastothevalidityofIsraelbecause delegitimizestheIsraelistate. ofZionism,” Brief History itentails. that asheputsit, activities,” of withallthehistory “genocidal Israel isasettlerstate, Heiswillingtoadmitupfrontthat Kassner. mend Mr. whichiswhyIcom- opposing sidestofindagreement, topicssuchasZionismit’s heated In debating hardfor GuptaReplies A.K. be expressed within its pages asfact. be expressedwithinitspages suchananalysisto allowed have editors ofIndymedia the that anti-Semitic perspectiveandIamdisappointed Thisisindeedan oftheworld. exist amongthenations hasnorightto only JewishandHebrew-speakingstate theplanet’s toexistbetraysaprejudicethat country lesslegitimacy Israelhasany other a waythat thanany insuch of theJewishpeople(andnotonlyfromEurope), too biganencroachmentonthevast Arab world. lost thewar. the communitymayhavewonbattle,but congresswoman inthedistrict.Itseemsthat November, Clarkeissuretobecomethenext opponent inthegeneralelection happy withthestatusquo.Without areal ing thattheBrooklynmachineismorethan trification. Yet Clarke’s victoryleavesonefeel- schools, healthcareandever-increasing gen- ates toradicalsinorderworkonissueslike unity ofBlackactivistsrangingfrommoder- become thestaginggroundforabroader Green Partyballot. as indicatedbyhisattemptstowinthe too independentfortheBrooklynmachine, attractive candidate.Yet Owenswasabit gressives, whichwouldhavemadehiman candidate ofchoiceformanywhitepro- trification. Inaddition,Owenswasthe campaign andisavocalopponentofgen- Owens. Owensranonastrongantiwar of thiswasthelacksupportbehindChris sive candidatesallaround.Aclearexample the Yassky threatwithoutfieldingprogres- machine wasonlyconcernedwithdefeating but noneagreed. where oneofthecandidateswoulddropout, trict. AlSharptonattemptedtobrokeradeal maintain thegainsofcivilrightsindis- major drawwashowtodefeatYassky and tion, housingandpolicebrutality. Still,the called. Amongthemanytopicswereeduca- Brooklyn EmpowermentConventionwas the firsttimeinmanyyears,aBlack provided theimpetusforpoliticalunity. For shift amonglocalDemocraticpoliticos. mary inthe11thsignalsatremendouspower the Democratsdon’t wintheHouse),pri- (Major OwensandpossiblyCharlesRangelif impending retirementoftheoldguard and theOwens,fightforturf.With the Boylands outofEastNewYork, theClarkes Godfather tem thatlookslikeascenefrom that meansthecontinuationofalegacysys- gain apositionofsomestability. InBrooklyn staid politiciansaredroolingatthechanceto led toafeedingfrenzyinwhichtraditionally ter inNewYork City. overall weakeningoftheBlackpoliticalcen- on embezzlementcharges, itrepresentedthe the NewYork Stateassembly, wasconvicted uiul,M.Ksnrscnldsteatce “A Kassner’s concludes thearticle, Mr. Curiously, To One wouldhopethatthiselection Progressives fearedthattheBrooklyn Fear oflosingthistraditionalBlackdistrict Te

a ttack Zionism, the national liberation movement liberation thenational ttack Zionism, rm limitsforcitycouncilmembershave . Various families,suchasthe continued onpage15 —MICHAEL KASSNER The THE INDYPENDENT SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 3 Plaza. Arriving an hour Hammarskjold ust days after United For Peace and Justice (UFPJ) issued a Peace ust days after United For thatPresident they would protest startling declaration speech to the United Nations,Bush’s “permit or no permit,” eet Forward olice officers waited at street, either side of 47th signaling “We got to get a message to that son of a bitch! We are seri- We got to get a message to that“We son of a bitch! “I stopped counting after 28 arrests…” said the partially-blind friend Charles Rainford,Runyon’s a spry 81-year-old, was Although 16 antiwar activists were arrested in a separate Pratt student,As an alternative to what 20-year-old Dan don’t believe we need a permit to march,”“We said John Keeping with the ethos of SDS, as which Cronan described P Not knowing what else to do, they decided to march to Grand “I’ve actually never turned around so many at times a march,” That the protest eventually joined the larger, more subdued want out of the pens and into the streets,”“We said Mirisola, imes Square recruiting station. ifth Ave and ended at Dag ifth more than 1,000 antiwar protesters made their way to the UN on more than 1,000 antiwar protesters made their the morning of Sept. 19. ous about this! No more killing!” said Marie Runyon, 91. The silver-haired,Assemblywoman is now former longtime activist and a member of the Granny Brigade for Peace. Last fall, she was one “peace grannies”of 18 arrested when they tried to enter the T Runyon, who has been arrested for everything from protesting the Diallo shooting. to tenant evictions to War Vietnam the walking alongside her. “I think we all need to protest…[Bush] is the worse thing to happen to this country in 200 years.” Ave.,action in front of the UN at 44th and 1st the UFPJ march characterized a day of protest thatfar cry was a from the wholesale civil disobedience threatened in the week. earlier Officially permitted by the NYPD at minute, the last much of the march happenedof traffic-clogged in the far left lane Midtown barricades at streets before ending in a rally behind Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. Mirisola, and old”“tired called the antiwar movement, members of the newly-reconstituted Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), also embarked upon their own, unpermitted protest that day. Cronan, University and co-founder of the new a senior at Pace SDS chapter at his college. its name from the legendary Taking l960s student antiwar movement (see p. 5), the new SDS has 163 chapters nationwide. in January, Launched the new SDS represents the hope by students that can resurrect the they power of the 1960s student movement. “standing up to unwanted authority” the group marched in a winding and sporadic sidewalk parade that began at 42nd and F before the larger, permitted UFPJ antiwar march was schedule to arrive, the crowd of 50 protesters, many freshman at their first antiwar protest, faced what looked like a large, cage. empty that the students would either have to keep moving or enter the gleaming, silver barricades. The crowd stalled, trying to decide between marching or being penned. Central. barricaded and prevented from following any Frequently direct route to the UN the students came face-to-face with the in a city adept atlimitations diverting, of democracy dispersing and caging political expression. Vacek,said Davey junior from Pratt Institute. a 20-year-old UFPJ rally and ended within the safety of the barricades only heightened some marchers sense of frustration. SDS chapter.who was a founding member of Pratt’s don’t “We want to be pushed around.” contributed to this report.Tarleton (John the full version, For see indypendent.org.) Marie Runyon, 91, a member of the Granny Brigade for Peace, marches against the war. PHOTO: MAURICIO QUINTERO F THOMPSON BY ERIN J

TUY TENANTS: Met Life maintained a whites only policy at Stuyvesant Early tenant advocates and Communist Party members “The Hendrix family came to live one summer at the apart- apartment The Hendrix family later moved into Lorch’s “They barricaded themselves in the day of the eviction late husband, Franz, and other tenants took turns Lehman’s led by future Supreme Court Justice The NAACP, “They cleared the area of the poor and put in the middle and Peter Rent-regulated tenants at Stuyvesant Town “Best-case scenario? I want to stay in my apartment and con- own, excluding African-Americans from living at the Middle class Middle class my ass! MET LIFE TO S then barred from owning housing, to develop limited-divi- dend housing. The next hurdle was the 11,000 people hud- dled in tenements in the old gas house district. Using slum- clearance laws (which were first backed by progressives), Met Life cleared an entire neighborhood to build homes for II. But War the middle class ready to move on after World there was one catch. T complex. Committee to End Discrimination at formed the Tenant discrimination and challenged Met Life’s Stuyvesant Town policies by having African-American families stay in their apartments while they were away on vacation or work. and that established a black presence,” ment of Jesse Kessler, resident Lee Lorch. says former Stuyvesant Town and Met Life responded by red-baiting the tenant committee. Lorch lost successive teaching jobs at City College and Penn State because of his early integration activism, and other tenant activists faced eviction. resident notices,” said Rosel Lehman, a Stuyvesant Town since 1948. sleeping over at apartments with black families for protec- tion. Like many white tenants advocating for integration, both Rosel and Franz Lehman identified with their African- American neighbors through their leftist leanings and experience as Jews during the rise of the Nazis. Both Lehmans fled Germany in the mid-1930s. Marshall, lost court cases to integrate the complex, Thurgood but the tenant committee had success stopping evictions, and in 1950, forced Met Life to drop its segregation policy and give the Hendrixes and other black families leases. In 1951, the City Council passed a law barring racial discrimination in integration moved at any publicly assisted housing. However, pace for decades, and today those first families and a snail’s other middle-class residents may face a similar fate as the gas- tenants. house district’s class, now they’ll take out the middle-class and put in the rich,” says Lorch. will still be protected even if a new owner Cooper Village buys the complex, but the dismantling of affordable housing continues one apartment at a time. tinue to pay rent stabilized rent,” says Soni Fink, a tenant association board member and 45-year resident of the complex. metcouncil.net for more info. Visit Bennett Baumer is a tenant organizer.

voice AUMER

B ENANTS’

eal-estate moguls salivated and pundits pondered how hot the housing market could get when the Met Life insurance company announced Stuyvesant Town-Peter ENNETT

B In order to build the complex in the late 1940s, Met Life “Stuy Town set the mold for urban redevelopment. The gov- set the mold for urban redevelopment. “Stuy Town Met Life advertises the market-rate apartments as “luxury” Though tenants are anxious about a possible sale to a large Purchase by a tenant-led group of investors seems unlikely “Stuyvesant Town was built with every subsidy known to “Stuyvesant Town City Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, along with other “We are better off with our destiny in our own hands,” says “We The asking price is an astronomical $5 billion, and the

illage Tenant Association. He is a second-generation illage Tenant Y bid to buy the sprawling complex. PHOTO: BENNETT BAUMER Councilmember Dan Garodnick wants Met Life to consider a tenant Councilmember Dan Garodnick wants Met Life language in a bill to allow insurance companies, which were poor people,” said tenant historian Roberta Gold. teamed with city development czar Robert Moses to draft turning it over to Met Life with large-scale displacement of turning it over to Met Life with large-scale ernment gave a huge gift to Met Life, condemning the land and complex that many tenants referred to as “projects.” and charges thousands of dollars for them—not bad for a thousands of dollars and charges matic right to renew their leases, for example. protections as rent-regulated tenants; they don’t have an auto- protections as rent-regulated tenants; they don’t ket will bear. Also, market-rate tenants do not enjoy the same ket will bear. deregulated and the landlord can charge as much as the mar- deregulated and the landlord can charge apartment reaches the $2,000 decontrol threshold, it becomes cost of remodeling work to the monthly rent as well. Once an every time someone moves out, and they can add 1/40 of the receive a 20 percent increase in a rent-stabilized apartment through vacancy increases and remodeling work. Landlords turning rent-stabilized apartments to market-rate rentals as Met Life’s. The insurance company has been aggressively as Met Life’s. “Anything is a possible – realistic is subjective,” says Doyle. the same business plan will surely be corporation, any buyer’s Cooper Village residents are better off than most city renters. Cooper Village given the enormous price tag, even if Stuyvesant Town-Peter ant bid even if it has the highest bid.” man,” Garodnick said. “Yet, Met Life will not consider a ten- man,” Garodnick said. “Yet, tenant-led bid. mental officials and tenants that they would not entertain a apartments. However, Met Life has communicated to govern- apartments. However, private-sector investors” could help the tenants buy their pension funds, governmental funds and “socially conscious Stuyvesant Town resident. Stuyvesant Town elected officials, is floating the idea that private and public V a mix of their own money and governmental funds. Cooper Al Doyle, president of the Stuyvesant Town-Peter together and talking about buying the housing complex with tain climate, the majority middle-class renters are banding rent-stabilized apartments to maximize profit. In the uncer- Manhattan – was on the block. 25,000 tenants wonder if any buyer would quickly deregulate 14th to 23rd streets and First Avenue to Avenue C in to Avenue 14th to 23rd streets and First Avenue B – the apartment complexes stretching from Cooper Village R 4 SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT P Post media analysis racy, that meansthegreatgameofpolitics. game oforganization –andinamassdemoc- in thesummerof2001: Democratic PartyactivistTodd Gitlinwrote many progressives;asex-60’s radicalturned left haslongbeenasourceoffrustrationfor instinct amongsegmentsoftheAmerican sion towin.Theabsenceofsuchakiller B roots” –theleadingleftyblogs( there canbelittledoubtthatTasini wasseenearlyonbymuchofthe“net- funded comparedtoLamont,thevoteisn’t justaboutthewar. Butintheend, liberal thanLieberman,Tasini ranapoorcampaign,Tasini wasvastlyunder- mary? Anumberofexplanationshavebeenoffered–Clintonis(slightly)more who recentlytoppledSen.JoeLiebermaninConnecticut’s Democraticpri- to therapturousembraceofNedLamont,millionairecableTVexecutive eral blogospherereactedwithagiantyawn. double hisexpectedpercentageofthevotewith17percent–mostlib- bid tounseatDemocraticSenatorHillaryClinton–andyetstillmanaged When anti-warcandidateJonathanTasini soundlylosthisSept.12primary L L t S Y “The rightalsotendstowininthegreat Why thedifferencebetweenchillyreceptionaffordedTasini asopposed i e C ) thatdominatetheliberalwingofinternet–asa“loser.” h HRIS b blogs istheirpragmatism,pas- the mostpowerfulliberalpolitical erhaps thedefiningcharacteristicof a e i v A r NDERSON l e e a e s l

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r not about“takingastand”or“expressing politics: “Ibelievestronglythatpoliticsis Bouldin hadthistosayabouthisvisionof bluntly, mer of2006.Closertohome,andevenmore Moulitsas in tism,” wrote wasn’t aboutideology, itwasaboutpragma- The netroots“crashingofWashington’s gates then, thereseemstobeanewreasonhope. as fanatical–aboutwinning.” beat themuntilitisjustasserious–yes, Our sidelikestohavefun...theleftwillnot e i For pragmaticprogressiveslikeGitlin, o s , r o MyDD e t Daily Gotham i

n f o The Washington Post , g Daily Kos Eschaton Goes DowntotheMachine The Barron ofBrooklyn Iraq War and U.S. intervention in intervention Iraq War andU.S. moneyisn’teverything.” that showed We “We launchedamovementnow. have BarrontoldtheCanarsieDigest. free,” had almost200peoplewhoworkedfor in2008. torunagain vowed quickly a formerBlackPanther, Barron, New York’s 10thCongressionalDistrict. in primary hotly contestedDemocratic R Barron hasbeenafiercecriticofthe impressivecampaignand “I ranavery t incumbent Edolphous Towns in a lostto12-term Barron narrowly adical citycouncilpersonCharles contributor Michael , the s founder Markos Huffington in thesum- I didn’t blogaboutTasini.” And ready toseriouslychallengeSenatorClinton. that Tasini didn’t havetheinfrastructure on, butIdidsomeresearchandconcluded about Tasini: “IhadinterestinTasini early behind theLamontcampaign,hadthistosay MyDD the month leadinguptotheprimary. Atriosof diary abouttheDemocraticcandidatefor on the written aboutTasini inthepastfewmonths Lieberman) campaign. became theLamont(orrather, theanti- comparison forthenear-holy crusadethat cally denigratedhiscandidacy, especiallyin either ignoredTasini entirelyorsystemati- with theexceptionof this pragmaticoutlook.Mostleftyblogs, blogosphere andthepotentialcostexactedby ing-to-win mentalityofmuchtheliberal thing else,thatdemonstratesboththeplay- in thenameofashort-termelectoralstrategy. netroots maybesacrificingalong-termvision however, thattherealismofmuchliberal about winning.” feelings” orothersuchtherapeuticdrivel;itis zation representingtheso-called“liberal perhaps theleadinginternet-basedorgani- Despite thenumerous“memberdiaries” It wasTasini’s candidacy, asmuchany- Some longtimeprogressiveactivistsfear, Eschaton , oneoftheprimemoversandshakers F BoreumHill, Brooklyn, parts ofDowntown and Midwood, MillBasin, ClintonHill, Hills, Cypress Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Canarsie, and includes EastNew York, acrossBrooklyn sional Districtsprawls The10thCongres- 15 percentofthevote. Assemblymember RogerGreenreceived cent ofthevotetoBarron’s 38percent. forslavery.reparations also calledonthegovernmenttopay V Daily Kos ort Greeneand Williamsburg. nzea at n aetn.Hehas HaitiandPalestine. enezuela, Unofficial results gave Unofficial resultsgave Towns 47per- blog ignoredTasini entirely. , therewasno“featured” — Huffington Post Hudson Rivera MoveOn.org , , steady decline? temporarily arrestedtheDemocrats’slowbut Clinton eraandsimplybethankfultohave likely, willtheyrepeatthemistakesof levers ofgovernment?Or, asseemsmore loyal criticsoncetheirpartygrabsholdof eral activistsoftheinternetremainharshbut early asthiscomingNovember. Will thelib- and returnstopoliticalpower–possiblyas Democratic Partyfinallyendsitslosingways politics willcomeifandwhenthe just allaboutwinning.” W ological atall,”Moulitsastoldthe into thelatestJesseJackson,butI’mnotide- Democratic Party. “Theywanttomakeme was poisedtoseizethemantleof 2004 election,theelection-mindednetroots John Kerry’s losstoGeorge W. Bushinthe profit. Screwthem.”) make today:“Theyaretheretowagewarfor 2004, acommenthewouldcertainlynever contractors intheIraqicityofFalluja dismissal ofthemurderfourAmerican (Makos Moulitsasisfamousforhisblunt Democrats andaffectedasemi-radicaledge that simultaneouslyspoketomainstream position asoneofthefewonlinewebsites advanced interactivetechnologies,andtheir bination ofsavvyanti-warrhetoric, to theIraqWar, poweredbyapotentcom- exploded inpopularityduringtherun-up the election-focused, win-at-any-costpoliticsof internet-based nichemarkets. themselves earlyonintheemergence ofanew adopters,” i.e.sitesthathaveestablished of webtraffictoclusteraround“first proportionate cloutbecauseofthetendency handful ofkeysiteshavecometodis- force inDemocraticPartypoliticsanda The NewDemocraticParty Elites secure aMoveOnendorsement). didate endedupwinningenoughvotesto mary pittingTasini versusClinton(nocan- before theyheldalast-minutememberspri- months ofpressurefromtheirmembers wing” oftheDemocraticParty, resisted ashington Monthly The keyforthefutureofnetroots-based When thedustsettledinaftermathof These sites,whichemphasizepragmatic, The internethasbecomethedrivingnew Daily Kos For morewritingbyChrisAnderson,check: indypendent.typepad.com/academese and relatedblogslike GARY MARTIN in January2006.“I’m MyDD , SEPTEMBER 21 - OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT 5 —JED BRANDT — Columbia Strike – Chicago DNC irst National March Against the irst National March F studentsforademocraticsociety.org ort Huron Statement P – Martin Luther King assassinated. Over ort Huron, Huron Michigan and adopt the Port P

Matt Wasserman is a founder of Reed College SDS. Matt Wasserman entagon and its racist treatment of the of residents ewer than 100 people attend the first SDS convention SDS TIMELINE June, 1962 – Statement. Huron Statement The power lies of the Port in the ideal of participatory democracy, in which people thattake part in making decisions affect their lives. oriented towardMost early SDS activity was civil rights in the South, where the Student Nonviolent Coordinating a key role in inspiring SDS, Committee (SNCC) played by example. both philosophically and April 17, 1965 – F at Vietnam War Vietnam War in Washington, D.C. War Vietnam SDS assembles over 20,000 against the and begins its meteoric growth. Refusing to exclude communist sympathizers or members, SDS breaks with “parent”its organization, League the for Industrial Democracy. April 4, 1968 100 cities erupt in rebellion. is in the air. Revolution From April 23-27, 1968 ties with the close Protesting both the university’s P Morningside Heights neighborhood, 700-1,000 rebel- of lious students take over and occupy a number vio- campus building for five days before they are out by 1,000 cops.lently cleared National SDS pro- “two, ceeds to issue a public statement calling for three, many Columbias.” Aug. 19-25, 1968 Confrontations occur between Chicago anti- police and war protesters during the Democratic National Convention. Under the direction of Mayor Richard Daley, not only anti- police in many cases indiscriminately club war protesters, but also bystanders, neutral observers and reporters all on prime-time national television. Liberation 1969 — Women’s publishes Grand Coolie Damn,Marge Piercy a powerful indictment of male domination Left. in the New Many and women involved in SDS became leaders Liberation Movement. Women’s activists in the 1969 – SDS splits final national chaos convention ends in factional SDS’s between strait-laced Maoists and the weed-smoking Weather bomb throwers who would become the Underground, an urban, guerrilla army that clandestine took its name from a Bob Dylan song. March 6, 1970 — Weatherman Village town- killed in a Greenwich Weatherman Three house when bombs they were making exploded pre- maturely. Underground carried out hun- Weather The dreds of non-lethal bombings of high-profile corporate and governmental targets over the next six years before peetering out. May 6, 1970 — Student Strike 1,000 campuses go on strike against government killings at Kent and Jackson State, the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. For more information, The Olympia, Washington chapter was the main group The Olympia, Washington Discussing the events and aftermath of the uprisings of has significantly broadened the starting demographics of its historical progenitor with an enormous number of chapters at community colleges, state universities and high schools. behind the blockade of Stryker tanks being shipped to Iraq the most militant and promising anti-war this summer, Hundreds of students, many from action of the last year. College braved pepper gas and arrests to actually Evergreen Pace University SDS obstruct the war effort. In New York, claimed credit for scaring pro-war Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton from making an appearance. 1848, Marx claimed, “the tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.” In the next line, he adds that in the course of “creating something that did not exist before,” revolutionaries “conjure up the spirits of the past to their service... in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language.” The new SDS has donned its costume; not a “second time farce.” hoping it’s here’s KID CITIZEN PHOTO: ashington State students block- :W ort of Olympia, in May. Washington ABOVE ade a Stryker deployment through the P Dozens were arrested in the first major direct action to resist a military deployment to Iraq. SDS members from played a Tacoma Evergreen College and leading role. group SDS promises to be. We need group SDS promises to be. We participatory On the student front, the new SDS is the best bet. There’s The core SDS concept of participatory democracy provides As of its founding conference this summer at the United Students Against Sweatshops continue to wage important fights. But unlike their counterparts on the right, they have been unable to join their movements into a coherent political struggle. The sum of “the movement” is less than its parts. and enormous potential out there, but it is unorganized without outlet; expressing itself in anti-Bush t-shirts, rather The missing link than substantial challenges to power. resistance is exactly the between discontent and organized kind of that are capable of naming, analyzing and organizations Bush’s W. fighting the system that lies beneath George that enable any group of committed actions. Organizations students can join and play a conscious role. a means of uniting disparate struggles as part of a broader, decentralized movement where students learn along the way. The involvement of a number of old SDS stalwarts gives the new SDS an edge in confronting, understanding and tran- scending the legacy of the original student New Left. University of Chicago, SDS claims over 160 chapters. the new SDS chapters, While there are Harvard and Yale The signature organization of the 1960s student left has been reborn of the 1960s student left has The signature organization ASSERMAN W hree decades after its storied meltdown, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is back. And it’s into a country that looks strangely the reemerged

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When the anti-corporate globalization movement burst on not that nothing is happening. Local collectives It’s

Y sds B same. The United States is bogged down in another unpop- the corporatization of the university continues, ular war, people of color are fighting to be treated as full citizens. Yet two things are conspicuously missing: the widespread rebellion that goes by the catch-all name of “the ‘60s,” and mili- like the Black Panthers and SDS tant, mass organizations that were on the frontlines of the struggle. famous Battle of Seattle the disruption to the scene in 1999’s summit proved that direct Organization Trade of the World action still has the ability to win the hearts of a generation. the failure of Then September 11 changed the game. With protest movements grew mori- mass marches to stop the war, fear- bund, unable to regain its early momentum in the new, based climate of the Bush administration. like Common Ground in New Orleans or the Rights Union in Philadelphia, and Kensington Welfare Critical Resistance and like single-issue organizations T commentary 6 SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT a Then us fromthemiddleofthistug-of-warandgetafairdeal. willemergetofindawayremove amediator My hopeisthat willlikelylastlongerthanourjobs. Boardprocessthat Relations Labor stuckinastall-riddledNational on thepicketline, whilewelinger lockedhorns, The networkandtheunionhave programmingtohelpthemrideoutalong cheap WGA strike. thenetworkwillmaintainasourceof Ifnot, strike. be partofthat Ifrealitywritersarepartofthe WGA wewill happens. chip ifthat couldbeamajorbargaining itturnsout, Realitytelevision, bility. strikeisadistinctpossi- andanindustrywide networks in2007, The itsmastercontractwiththe WGA willbe renegotiating power. andthushasweakenedtheguild’s work for WGA members, us. incentive forthenetworktodigitsheelsinagainst thereisanevengreater however, Withthe WGAw, other unions. beenabletoorganizewith have editors onsomerealityshows, like Afewpositions, beenabletounionize. writershave show oftraditionallyscriptedshows. remainsafractionofthat shows thecosttomakethese risen, Whilerevenueshave programs. forthe2005-06seasonwerereality the top20televisionshows Nineof areamainstayoftheindustry. realityshows years later, Fourteen free-for-all andworkingconditions. intermsofwages becamea Theshows thought reality TV wouldbearoundlong. noone 1992 andkickedoffthereality it, TV genreasweknow camealongin When “The Real World” generally non-union. are largelybecausetheseshows for theentertainmentindustry, industry. Conceding willopenaPandora’s boxfortheentertainment inexpensivebenefits? over 12peopleseekingrelatively Whyallthisresistance Brothers) isadamantlyopposedtothis. a mergerbetweenUPN’s CBSand parentcompany Warner ThenewCWnetwork(whichisbornof enjoy. ers inourindustry We oth- areonlyseekingthebasicbenefitsthat seventh season. success ofahighlyprofitable whichisabouttostartits TV show tothe We contributedgreatly have tured storiesinscriptform. struc- andcreate tellers whotakehundredsofhoursfootage representation. theywantunion that signedcardsindicating over 1,000have residualsand Althoughnootherreality goneonstrike, TV writershave credits. minimums, wage pensions, health insurance, We andbasicbenefitssuchas askforafairwage (WGAw). ask toberepresentedbythe Writer’s Guildof America West Bites Reality first person T Yet itis. movement. industry-altering thecenterofapotentially tobeat candidate fashion boot-camphardlyseemsalikely ting agroupofwannabemodelsthrough features that A realityshow Tyra Banksput- BY MICHELEMILLS TELEVISION WRITERSSTRIKE op Model an fairdealsdon’tseemtobemuchinfashionthesedays. gain, So the12ofusarecaughtbetweenarockandhardplace. hasresultedinlesscovered ofrealityshows The proliferation Noreality inreality Unionization TV isstronglydiscouraged. becomeasignificantsourceofrevenue have Reality shows wearestory- While reality TV writersdonotwritedialogue, nJl 1 thetwelve-personwritingstaffof On July21, eaetefrtraiyT rtr og nsrk.We became thefirstreality TV writerstogoonstrike. America’s Next

LEO GARCIA A going tobuildupasubstantial nestegg and encouragementtosaveif they’re ing thatworkersdesperatelyneedadvice eases theserules,withsupportersargu- ment advice.ThePensionProtectionAct pants toalsoofferthembroaderinvest- retirement accountsfor401(k)partici- made itdifficultforfirmsthatmanage lion Americanworkershave401(k)s. efit whentheyretire.Morethan45mil- but withnoguaranteedminimumben- employers chippinginacontribution, savings account,sometimeswith sions. 401(k)sgiveworkersaretirement that’s quicklyreplacingtraditionalpen- services to401(k)plans–thevehicle has madebillionssupplyinginvestment financial servicesindustry, too,which tional pensionplanstoday. lion workersandretireesareintradi- companies gobankrupt.Some44mil- wise beonthehookshouldanyofthese traditional pensionplans,wouldother- because thegovernment,whichinsures gressional sponsorsofthebillcontend, houses inorder. Taxpayers benefit,con- an additional10yearstogettheir serious pensionshortfalls,weregifted decades. Airlines,whichhaveespecially retirees goingoutthenextseveral the moneytopayallbenefitstheir meaning theyaren’t projectedtohave plans arenowseriouslyunderfunded, within sevenyears.Manyemployers’ percent oftheirlong-termliabilities sion planstotheirworkerscover100 that offertraditional,guaranteedpen- United States. affects everyworkingpersoninthe Pension ProtectionActof2006,andit The troublesomeinfantwasthe domestic policylegislationindecades. one ofthemostmomentouspieces B Y Previously, conflict-of-interestrules The billprovidesabigboosttothe Briefly, thebillcompelscompanies E RIC Congress inAugustbirthed mind-numbingly, foryears, fter adebatethatgroundon L AURSEN Retirement in Bush’s 2001tax-cutbill. butions, whichwasuppedfrom$11,000 $15,000 limitonannual401(k)contri- to retireon.Italsomakespermanentthe reforms inthe1970sandincluding the dating backtothelastroundof pension years. Congress,throughlegislation touting 401(k)sasthesolutionfor financial servicesprovidershavebeen to beonlyacoupleofdecadesaway. substantial assetsonceretirementlooks but theystillneedtoaccumulatesome likely toremainperipateticforlonger, about retirement.Today, workersare their 40sand50sstartedtothink traditional pensionswhentheyreached tated towardstablerjobsthatoffered leged whitesinthe1950s.Theygravi- change jobsthanveterans,evenprivi- workers werealwaysmoreproneto Benefit ResearchInstitute,younger According tostudiesbytheEmployee up inatraditionalplanyoucan’t. you cantakewith–benefitsbuilt the timesheretires.A401(k)account change jobsfrequentlybetweennowand ment: Apersoninher20sislikelyto it wasinthedaysoflifetimeemploy- proponents say. Theworkplaceisn’t like much goodtoyoungerworkersanyway, of them.Buttraditionalpensionsaren’t easier forcompaniestopullmoneyout undermine healthyplansbymakingit expensive tomaintain.Itactuallycould sions, becausethebillmakesthemmore to wantscraptheirtraditionalpen- bill. Companiesstillhaveeveryreason and the93senatorswhovotedfor ance premiums? keeping upwithrentorhealthinsur- too busyrepayingcollegeloansorjust they can’t contributemuchsincethey’re sion, orwhohavea401(k)towhich ably don’t haveajobthatofferspen- workers intheir20sand30s,whoprob- What doesallthismean–especiallyfor DISMAL RECORDOF401(K)S Mutual fundcompaniesandother But weretheolddayssodifferent? Not muchatall,sayGeorge W. Bush

LEO GARCIA Insecurity THE NEWPENSIONRULES NEED TO WORRY ABOUT WHY YOUNGER WORKERS 401(k) plans’assets. still makesupanaverage23percentof Associates showedthatcompanystock last yearbyconsultantGreenwich fraction ofwhattheylost.Yet asurvey to netthe20,000ex-employeesonlya Ken Lay, thelateEnronCEO,arelikely pany andthisAugustwiththeestateof last yearwiththedefunctenergy com- 401(k)s withcompanystock.Settlements sands ofemployersthatloadeduptheir Fortune innovative company”(accordingto financially preparedforretirement.” most oftheiremployees“are/willbe of companiesinthesurveyagreedthat rates above90percent.Only13percent less thanaquarterreportedparticipation workers participateintheir401(k)s,and that onlyabout70percentoftheir recent studybyDeloitteConsultingsaid mal. Fullyone-thirdofemployersina workers tobuildupassetshasbeendis- shoulder moreoftheresponsibility. the retirementbusinessandworkersto encouraging employerstogetoutof Pension ProtectionAct,hasbeen determine itschancesofsurvival. zation, theNovemberelections willhelp W benefit becomesmorecrucialthanever. the onlytrulyguaranteedretirement unable tosave,SocialSecurity’s roleas more. With hard-pressedworkers ers simplydon’t want toofferthemany- based pensionscanberevived–employ- there’s muchchancethatemployer- private investmentaccounts. tially dissolveintoasystemofvoluntary of hisproposaltoletSocialSecuritypar- testing thewatersforarevivalnextyear Bush signeditintolawjustashewas build upassetsontheirown.Ironically, leaving employeeswithlittleabilityto traditional pensionobligationswhile encourages employerstosloughofftheir maybe evencaringforthemyourself. costs forceyoutostepinhelp– elder care,andskyrocketingmedical when yourBabyBoomerparentsneed the pressuremaybecompounded If you’reaworkerinyour20sor30s, cash afterpayingtheirlivingexpenses. Americans saidtheyhavenospare ACNielsen survey, 22percentof biggest debtorsociety. Inarecent the UnitedStatesintoworld’s Americans’ abilitytosaveandturned and housinghavedestroyed crushing costofhealthcare,education workers. Buttheevidenceisthat firms thatsellinvestmentproductsto the answer, tobesuppliedbythesame Education andprofessionaladviceare lawmakers generallythinkso. firms, employers,andconservative ment decisions?Financialservices pation ratesand,often,poorinvest- Are workerstoblameforlowpartici- A RECIPEFORDISASTER Then there’s Enron.“America’s most But therecordof401(k)senabling Few long-timeobserversbelieve Thus, thePensionProtectionAct ith Bushagainstumpingforprivati- magazine) wasjustoneofthou- THE INDYPENDENT SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 7 The 2004 . Los Angeles Arizona Daily Star reported Sept. 17. The National As a result of their study, the scientists also Nat’l briefs ANNOT CHARGE USER FEES ANNOT imes http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/videos.html GOVERNMENT OUTSOURCES COUNTER- TERRORISM SERVICES “war on terror” and the War The Iraq has created services thatsuch a demand for clandestine all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies have been forced to outsource to contractors, The T Counterterrorism Center, created in 2004 to efforts,focus on counter-terrorism reports that more than half of its employees are not U.S. government employees. LOCAL COPS CONNECT LOCAL TO FEDERAL DATABASE Boston is the trial city for a new plan to equip state and local police with access to a new federal database, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release Sept. 14. The database will merge two main federal fingerprint databases, DHS data on foreign including visitors to the U.S. Bureau of and the Federal Investigation (FBI) fingerprint identification system.The FBI program is part of the National Crime Identification Center, main criminal the nation’s database. The program is designed to help local law enforcement authorities detain individuals flagged in the system for immigration violations. DRIVERS LOSE PRIVACY Meanwhile, that in a Michigan case challenging by running privacy police violated a defendant’s his license plate without probable cause, leading to his arrest,Appeals the 6th Circuit Court of ruled on Sept.Amendment does 5 that the Fourth not protect motorists from computer checks even if there is no cause for heightened suspicion. JUDGE RULESFOREST SERVICE C A federal magistrate ruled that the U.S. Forest Service violated its congressional authorization by charging fees to use trails, picnic areas and campgrounds outside of developed recreational areas, reported the SCIENTISTS FIND DIEBOLD VOTING SCIENTISTS FIND DIEBOLD MACHINES VULNERABLE scientists ana- Princeton University computer electronic voting lyzing a 2002 Diebold “malicious soft- install machine were able to ware” capable all of the of modifying auditing mechanisms machines’ records and so that could be detected. no voter fraud a In Sept.“independent security study” 13 AccuVote-TS, of Diebold’s which was published on a Princeton University website, the scien- “vulner- tists described the Diebold machine as able to a number of extremely serious attacks and credibility of that undermine the accuracy the vote counts it produces.” discovered that the access panel door on machine can be opened AccuVote-TS Diebold’s with a generic key used that can be bought on the Internet.key is used “The exact same widely in office furniture, electronic equipment, jukeboxes, and hotel minibars,” on his Princeton Professor Edward Felten wrote Princeton blog, freedom-to-tinker.com. The voting machine will be used AccuVote-TS 2002 in as many as half of the 357 counties using Diebold equipment in the 2006 elections. Recreation Access Tax “user fee”Recreation Access Tax program has been heavily a criticized since it was begun as trial program in 1996 atthe the behest of American Recreation Coalition, a strong lobby- ing group comprised of more than 100 companies and organizations linked to the outdoor recreation market. More than 4,500 national in the program. forest sites have been included “Our people don’t prepare for the future, prepare “Our people don’t He founded Operation LIFE, an organiza- A believer in revolution, Shakur sup- In the wake of his execution, Shakur’s work they all started and hoped his supporters on the outside would continue working for their release. you know?” Shakur said. “It took us damn near thirty years to recover after we lost have to set it up so that things Malcolm. We will continue even if they take us out, cause what they’re going to do.” you know that’s tion and newsletter to improve conditions in anti-violence and out of prison. He organized concerts, events, meetings, provided guid- ance and support, networking, strategic planning and visioning for a number of different He also served as the Minister organizations. of Human Rights for the New African Black a recently-formed organization Panther Party, that works in line with the principles of the original Black Panther Party. ported all conscious people and all prisoners, especially political. He knew that the conditions he suffered and the judicial railroading he received were inseparable from poverty, from poor education, from criminalization, from racism and white supremacism and capitalism. He knew that the astronomical rates of poverty and incarceration around black people were not a glitch in the system, even if some black people bought into that where we go wrong, believing myth. “That’s that simple shit,” he said on Aug. 29. “The on track to ride system is on track… it’s over us.” wife and support coordinator Debbie Frazier feels it is important to continue to show his innocence and to bring light to have the inherent flaws in the system. “We what we’re going to keep working, that’s just going to keep to do,” she said. “We’re free working, for him, for the others. We’ll his name.”

Hasan al-Shakur with his wife, Debbie Frazier, October 2005. taken in early WWW.HASANSHAKUR.COM Shakur’s life reads like a textbook case of life reads Shakur’s Shakur’s lawyer did not mount a defense to Shakur’s marred by prior complaints of misconduct, and he was investigated by the State Bar and placed on probation for three years shortly case. after trying Shakur’s black ghetto existence, “I always felt more comfortable in the ghetto, you know?” he But, in his said, eyes clear as spring water. Shakur transformed nine years on death row, prison himself into a political organizer, I met Hasan six activist and revolutionary. years ago when I helped to found the Texas Human Rights Coalition, a prisoner family an organizer, group. Shakur was organizing institu- and worked to build organizations, tions and more importantly other people’s capacity for leadership. He worked with a number of dynamic prisoners on death row in prison. Shakur the Polunsky Unit of his Texas knew that these men would continue the evidence linking Frazier to the scene of the crime, the district attorney relied on the coerced confession to convince a nearly all-white jury that this young black defendant was, in fact, guilty of killing a white mother and child.” show any mitigating circumstances, the fact a drug addicted that he had an abusive father, mother he loved dearly who overdosed when finish the 7th he was 15, or that he didn’t grade. He did not work to show Shakur as a career was human being. The attorney’s it’s on track to ride over us.” on track to ride it’s

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“The videotaped ‘confession’ became the There was considerable doubt about Shakur was sentenced to death in October His execution occurred less than one hour “Whether they murder me or not on Friday,

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Penalty on Aug. 31, 2006. “With no physical Penalty on Aug. 31, 2006. “With National Coalition to Abolish the Death for a lawyer. smoking gun,” wrote the prosecution’s question Shakur, despite his obvious desire question Shakur, afford one, I would.” The officer began to attorney, to which he responded, “If I could attorney, informed the 20-year-old of his right to an informed the 20-year-old videotaped interrogation, the officer year deal in return for his confession. In the the interrogating officer, and promised a 30- the interrogating officer, coerced confession. He was intimidated by dence linking him to the actual killing was a his arrest. However, the only substantial evi- his arrest. However, Nutts were found with Shakur at the time of Possessions belonging to a neighbor of the ical evidence at the scene of the crime. Shakur’s conviction. There was a lack of phys- Shakur’s

chamber gurney. August 31, while strapped down to the death innocence for another nine years,” he said on nine years and I will continue to profess my very end. “I’ve professed my innocence for tained his innocence in the murders until the killing Betsey and Cody Nutt, but main- of 1998, at the age of 21. He was convicted of jury misconduct during his original trial. the actual murder, and an affidavit detailing the actual murder, dant Jermaine Herron was the one to commit davits stating evidence that Shakur’s co-defen- davits stating evidence that Shakur’s appeals and requests for reprieves, based on affi- prisoner executed this year. after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected three the Associated Press. He was the 20th Texas they slid the needle into his arm, according to forever, and tried to get her to smile even as forever, her to stay strong and that he would love her had been there to support him. Shakur told wife and support coordinator Debbie Frazier when he was pronounced dead, while only his T family cheered The victim’s the state of Texas. ancestors are gonna be proud,” he tells me. ancestors are gonna be proud,” he tells his face cracked right down the middle. the I’m telling you, watch what Ima do, written sliding down Hasan’s skin like tears, written sliding down Hasan’s behind the cages, and it looks like ‘Pepsi’ is behind the cages, and it looks like ‘Pepsi’ reflects the light from the vending machines execution date set. The glass between us execution date set. The glass between the 31st. I am visiting someone who has an the 31st. I am visiting someone who has his ear. It is Aug. 29, just a breath away from his ear. Hasan sits in a cage, the telephone pressed to Hasan sits in a cage, the telephone pressed year-old. Visiting is only through glass, and Visiting year-old. guards, he retains the youthful face of a 15- guards, he retains the youthful face of a eyes. Despite towering over the prison in white. He has a little ‘80s afro and solemn Derrick Frazier, aka #999284, is dressed all Derrick Frazier, HUNTSVILLE, TX.—Hasan Shakur, aka HUNTSVILLE, TX.—Hasan Shakur, B We

Hasan Shakur’s Last Words Last Shakur’s Hasan first person Sept20_p8_9.qxd 09.20.06 3:19 AM Page 1

MEXICO “This has been the year of living quixotically on the Mexican Left, of dreaming up new ways of organizing and protesting and of taking these new ways into the streets.” OAXACA ON THE BRINK POPULAR REBELLION SPREADS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO: “IF WE DON’T WIN, THEY WILL BE COMING FOR US.” Mexican Leftist to Lead “Government in Resistance” SAYS ONE YOUNG PROTESTER.

JOHN GIBLER REPORTS FROM surrounding streets were filled to capacity JAMES DARIA REPORTS FROM and most indigenous states with over 60 alive and fortify public support for the MEXICO CITY with over a million “delegates” there for the OAXACA DE JUÁREZ, MEXICO percent of the population being of native protests. The radio stations occupied by National Democratic Convention. origins. The Oaxacan state government, protesters endlessly repeated the battle cry n July 29, Antonia Acevedo Perez, 59, Billed grandiloquently as a National he people of Oaxaca are waiting anx- which has been controlled with mafia-like of Oaxacans: “Ya Cayó, Ya Cayó, Ulises Ya locked up the Star Eatery – a lunch stand Democratic Convention, López Obrador’s LEFT: iously to see if Ulisses Ruiz Ortiz, the efficiency since 1929 by the Party of the Cayó” (He Has Fallen, He Has Fallen, Ooutside a popular market in Oaxaca City gathering leaves much open to criticism. López A supporter of López Obrador shouts against electoral fraud Tstate’s embattled governor, will be Institutional Revolution (PRI), has been Ulises Has Fallen) and the song – and left for the nation’s capital. She was among Obrador and his inner circle laid out the at a Sept. 1 rally in Mexico City. PHOTO: JOHN GIBLER forced out of office in talks between the fed- able to force allegiance by a policy of repres- “Venceremos” (We Shall Overcome.) After tens of thousands who left their homes and jobs choices, leaving the million or so participants eral government and the Popular Assembly sion or reward in which those who obey years of mistreatment, poverty and the in rural Mexico not to head to the border or seek to vote only yes or no on either/or issues. The BELOW, COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP: of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), a broad- receive economic perks and those who dis- depopulation of rural communities due to employment in bigger cities, but to defend their “voting” itself was carried out by hand raising, Two members of APPO protect a street blockade in Oaxaca based social movement that emerged this obey go to “jail or the cemetery.” migration, the general populace was ready votes. On July 30, in what became the largest violating one of the principle tenets of electoral City. PHOTO: LUIS ALBERTO CRUZ HERNANDEZ; summer out of a failed attempt to crush a Filling the vacuum left by a discredited for change. political mobilization in the country’s history, democracy: the option of vote secrecy. The mil- striking teachers union. state government that is unable to meet in “For a long time nobody said or did any- more than two million people took to the streets lion or so “delegates” represent less than one Masked wrestlers play out the conflict between Felipe “Can you imagine what is going to hap- public buildings now blockaded by out- thing. It was only the teachers who stood up of Mexico City to demand a vote-by-vote recount percent of the population. Moreover, the differ- Calderón and Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the protest pen to us if Ulises doesn’t fall,” says raged citizens, APPO claims to be the voice for us,” Emma explains. “But we never did of the 41 million ballots cast in the July 2 presi- ences between the choices were mostly sym- encampment on Reforma Avenue on Aug. 6, 2006. PHOTO: Emma, a twenty-something secretary, of the people and their organized political anything about it. We never knew what to dential election. bolic; whether, for example, one calls López JOHN GIBLER; mother-to-be and daughter of a retired expression. However, it could not endure do. We didn’t think change was possible.” After months of illegal campaign tactics Obrador Coordinator or President in teacher. “We’ll all be screwed. It will be so without the decisive participation of the against him and serious anomalies in the official Resistance, his plans will be the same. On Aug. 1, more than 3,000 women from the Popular much worse than before.” general populace. “I JUST WANT IT TO BE OVER WITH” vote count, the center-left opposition candidate, López Obrador and the Convention organiz- Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) marched through Located in the rugged mountains of Now over three months have passed and Andrés Manuel López Obrador, alleged fraud ers blatantly ignored the vote of the people Oaxaca de Juárez banging on pots and pans to demand the southern Mexico, Oaxaca (pronounced RED DAWN there seems to be no end to the conflict. and initiated a series of massive marches and when it came to the membership of the ouster of Gov. Ulisses Ruiz Ortiz. PHOTO: JOHN GIBLER “whuh-hahk-uh”) is one of Mexico’s poorest A clear example of this has been public reac- Living behind barricades and trying to protests in Mexico City. At the July 30 march National Commissions of the government in tion to the 70,000-strong state teachers earn a living in a collapsed economy in a and protest gathering, López Obrador called for resistance. Point number ten on the “ballot” union. Every year the union goes on strike in lawless city suddenly overrun with crime his supporters to set up encampments down sev- was the approval of 30 members for three dif- May leaving emptying classrooms through- and insecurity has created doubts among eral major avenues and the Plaza de la ferent commissions – the leadership of the out the state empty and filling the streets of the people as to the probability of Ruiz Constitución, or Zócalo, the symbolic heart of movement. Voters were asked to approve all 30 the capital with protesters. Traditionally, the Ortiz’s departure. Popular participation Mexican politics, and to stay there until the fed- with a single show of hands. The crowd unani- union and the state government both flex has fallen lately and putting up with dis- eral electoral court granted the vote-by-vote mously supported the proposal with their hands their political muscles until an agreement is turbance has become a natural part of life. recount. Thousands of people from every state in in the air, while shouting in unison: “No Ímaz! reached concerning wages, hours and condi- Excesses committed by the leadership of the country, and from every neighborhood in No Ímaz! No Ímaz!” Carlos Ímaz, discredited in tions. The people, normally apathetic to the the APPO and their continuing radical Mexico City, heeded his call, covering the a national bribery scandal in 2004, was on the demands of the union, quietly put up with discourse in times of dialogue and relative Zócalo, Madero, Juárez, and Reforma avenues ballot for the Civil Resistance Commission. But the inconveniences involved. “The teachers peace have created a widening gap with the plastic roofing of large, white tents. López Obrador and his organizers waited for the only fight for their own personal benefit at between the “masses” and the supposed But the court denied a full recount, and shouting to die down, and then moved on with- the expense of the children and their educa- “vanguard” formed by the diverse social instead, on Sept. 5, certified the results of the out so much as addressing the issue. tion” was a refrain I repeatedly heard. forces coalesced into the APPO. election and declared right-wing Felipe The symbolic power of the convention itself, This year was different. At first, “At first it was something really beauti- Calderón Hinojosa of the National Action Party however, is significant. López Obrador is able to Oaxacans stood by and watched as Ruiz ful,” Emma says, referring to the bonds of (PAN) president-elect. The court’s ruling chided mobilize massive numbers of supporters – too Ortiz undertook public works that unity and solidarity built among the people President Vicente Fox from the PAN for ille- many for the state to attempt a police or mili- destroyed much of the cultural patrimony in opposition to the government. “Now I gally campaigning on behalf of Calderón and tary repression – and his emphasis on address- of this colonial-era city as a pretext to divert just want it to be over with.” acknowledged the illegal use of slanderous tele- ing endemic poverty and the marketing of public money to the campaign of the PRI’s Fatigue has befallen even the teachers. In vision advertisements calling López Obrador “a influence in the government resonates deeply presidential candidate and other lesser- many of the barricades protecting occupied danger for Mexico,” but failed to make public with millions upon millions of Mexicans. known politicos. More brutal than his pred- radio stations and their antennas, the num- the results of an official recount of 9 percent of But López Obrador is not alone in calling ecessors, Ruiz Ortiz maintained order ber of teachers who turn out has signifi- the ballots, further fueling the widespread belief people out of political complacency. This has through a campaign of repression and cantly dwindled. The teachers, whose strike that the election had been stolen. Calderón is Perez from Oaxaca said after registering for the “That is the big question,” she answered. been the year of living quixotically on the harassment against social organizations and pay is normally protected under Mexican scheduled to be inaugurated on Dec. 1. convention at a sign-up table on the edge of “When you hold a speech before 2 million Mexican left, of dreaming up new ways of the press. The tide turned when Ruiz Ortiz labor laws, have now gone nearly a month Amid the hundreds of protesters who had the Zócalo encampment. “We, the poor, are people that is one thing, but how do you organizing and protesting and of taking these tried to violently repress the annual teach- without pay and the effect on morale is gathered outside the guarded courthouse to going to be with our president, hence the con- hold a convention? Thus, what this is all new ways into the streets. Since Jan. 1, the ers’ strike with riot cops and tear gas. On huge. Some teachers are looking for part- await the ruling, Lilia Mogel, a hairstylist in vention, hence the resistance.” about is a founding act, and the convention Zapatista Army of National Liberation has set the morning of June 14, now known as the time work to make ends meet. “I can’t her early 40s, covered her face in her hands and will continue for the months or years neces- out on a nationwide listening tour called The Red Dawn, teachers mounted a counter- believe the apathy even among my fellow wept. She stepped back from the swarms of GOVERNMENT IN RESISTANCE sary. The point is not to begin and wrap Other Campaign (see p.10) where offensive against the attack, regaining con- teachers. It is scary being out here, sleeping reporters and photographers and leaned against The ambition behind the National Democratic everything up on the 16th. It will be the Subcomandante Marcos has traveled as the trol of the city’s central plaza and winning here at night because you never know when the wall. “They mocked our votes,” she said. Convention is staggering: nothing less than founding act of a New Republic. Then the anti-candidate, calling out the voices of the the hearts and minds of a generally apa- they will come for us. It is scary but even “Just because we are poor, they ignored us.” naming an alternative president and setting in work will begin.” underdogs of the Mexican left to share their thetic and powerless populace. scarier is the thought that this guy doesn’t motion the overhaul of the three branches of The convention organizers set out to regis- stories of organizing and resistance. Also, in Waking up to a city filled with tear gas go,” explained Yadira, a single mother and TWO MEXICOS: RICH AND POOR government. López Obrador spoke in the ter more than a million “delegates,” more Oaxaca, a radical teachers union protest and violence, the people took charge of the teacher manning the barricades in El Millions who supported López Obrador’s grandest of terms in the days before the con- than twice the number of people that can be exploded into an unarmed grassroots uprising situation through collective action. Rosario neighborhood. focus on addressing poverty and uprooting cor- vention, saying that it would mark “the aboli- packed into the Zócalo. The delegates, after Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz unsuccess- Suddenly, everyone was against Ruiz Ortiz. Oaxacans are waiting on word from Mexico ruption share Mogel’s outrage and her opinion tion of the regime of corruption and privilege” proudly wearing their registration badges, fully tried to break up the teachers’ encamp- People were mobilized throughout the state City where movement leaders have traveled to THE INDYPENDENT that the poor in Mexico are objects of scorn and and serve as the foundation of a new, “legiti- were asked to vote on whether they recognize ments with teargas and truncheons on June 14. by the teachers union and a heterogeneous initiate formal talks with the federal govern- derision for the nation’s politicians. The presi- mate government.” But he also backtracked a “the government of usurpation,” whether The teachers and outraged citizens shut down mix of social and political organizations. As ment to resolve the crisis. If the conflict isn’t dential campaigns drew attention to sharp class bit. “What would it mean in practice if the they will create a government in resistance or the state government and took over statewide seemingly everyone in Oaxaca has a family resolved soon, it will continue until December divisions in Mexico, which the post-electoral convention decides to build a new govern- a national civil resistance coordination com- television and radio stations in a continuing, member who is a teacher, a tidal wave of when Ruiz Ortiz will have fulfilled two years conflict has exacerbated. ment?” he asked during a recent speech. “A mittee, and whether they will elect a president, pitched battle to oust Ruiz Ortiz. resentment against the government grew as in office and his allies in Oaxaca’s state legis- Now, after six weeks of camping out in the protest against the usurpation.” a government chief, or a coordinator. During a López Obrador has pulled the largest numbers a total of five “megamarches” were organ- lature can choose a successor instead of having SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006

THE INDYPENDENT streets, López Obrador and his supporters are Jesusa Rodríguez, an accomplished actress and recent speech in the Zócalo, when López Obrador of people to his mobilizations, but has failed to ized with the largest reaching the astonish- to call statewide elections. raising the stakes. They called for a National theatre director, is López Obrador’s Master of listed these options, the crowd chanted, without allow them to take proactive roles in the move- ing number of around 300,000 people, or Should Ruiz Ortiz and the PRI hold onto Democratic Convention on Mexican Ceremonies for his daily speaking events in the hesitation: “Presidente! Presidente! Presidente!” ment beyond standing in the sun and the rain, one out of ten people who live in the state. power, it is clear who will bear the brunt of Independence Day, September 16, during Zócalo and one of the main organizers of the con- filling encampments and raising their hands. In the ensuing weeks, radical social the coming tide of repression: the same which more than a million “delegates” were vention. One day last week, in between meet- A MILLION IN THE STREETS I asked Acevedo Perez what she hoped to see movements of workers, peasants, students, common people who rose up in joyous defi- convoked to vote on forming a “government in ings, cell phone calls, handing files and papers to On Sept. 16, the Zócalo housed the forces of come out of the convention. women and others aligned with the teach- ance against an unjust government believ- rebellion,” naming López Obrador their “pres- helpers and introducing actors on stage, she sat two different Mexicos. At 9:20 a.m., President “What we hope for is to improve Mexico,” she ers literally kicked out the state governing in their personal and collective capacity ident in resistance,” and laying the foundation, down for a brief interview. I asked how were they Fox watched as over 20,000 soldiers held an said, “to no longer be trampled on by the rich, ment by blockading public buildings and to affect change. “They know who we are. they claim, for a New Republic. planning to organizing the discussions and vot- Independence Day parade in the Zócolo, emp- those that invalidated our votes. We want the repelled paramilitary style attacks by bar- They know who has been helping,” SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11 “There are going to be two presidents here, ing of more than a million people packed into tied of its tents and protesters only the night people to choose their government. Without the ricading the city. The government violence explained Emma. “If we don’t win, they 9

8 one for the rich and one for the poor,” Acevedo the Zócalo and surrounding streets. before. But by 6:20 p.m., the Zócalo and all people, a president is nothing.” helped to maintain the spirit of resistance will be coming for us.” 10 SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT I los deabajo immigrants fromaroundtheworldandwhitegentrifiershave 100,000 people,halfofwhomareLatino.Newwaves homeland, PuertoRico,acentralconcern. (Puerto RicanNewYorkers) andtheindependenceoftheir New York Young Lords’centerofgravitywereNuyoricans Proudly inclusiveoftheirLatinoandBlackneighbors,the residents andwonthetrustrespectofcommunity. extensive dialoguebetweentheYoung LordsandElBarrio’s of theBlackPanthers,campaignwasoutgrowthan in EastHarlem.Inspiredbythecommunityserviceprograms B Z Y north of the country andtheborderwithUnited States. north ofthecountry continuingtothe listeningtour, thetruncated Marcos reinitiates take upthefightforreleaseofpoliticalprisonerswhile to commanderswouldsoontravel ofZapatista Atenco to delegation Marcossaidduringaspeechin a Atenco that Mexican Independence Day, 16, AtmidnightonSept. oned duringthecrackdown. tostayinMexicoCityfightforthelibertyofthoseimpris- vowed AftertherepressionMarcossuspendedtourand Campaign. amemberoftheOther based People’s Front inDefenseofLand, andimprisonmembersoftheSanSalvador text tobeat Atenco- sellersasapre- marchofinformalflower policeusedatiny state whenfederaland repressed fourmonthsintothetouronMay4, political parties. independentof touniteandmoveforward, and ideasofhow andaskingpeopletosharetheirstoriesofresistance country pullingintotheforgotten cornersofthe alldayeveryday, week, sevendaysa ground experiencewastirelessandinspiring, Theon-the- stop. every streamsofparticipantsat and steady drewlargecrowds alsokickedoffinJanuary, campaigns that called theOtherCampaigntodistinguishitfrompresidential Thetour, andoustthecorruptpoliticalclass. to uprootcapitalism movement whichcallsforanational from theLacandonJungle, underdogs (losdeabajo)oftheMexicanLeft. storiesofsocialrebellionfromthe and big-cityslumstogather rugged journeythroughMexico’s mostmarginalizedruralvillages a listeningtour, rebel leaderandscribehittheroadonanational the bootsandfatigues, pen; clad inhistrademarkblackskimask, traded hisassaultrifleforanotebookand Subcomandante Marcos, F theNorth thedaythat American 1994, 1, rose upinarmsonJan. set outfromtheLacandonJungleforsecondtimesincethey 1theZapatista Liberation Army ofNational MEXICO CITY—OnJan. More than35yearslater, ElBarrioishometomorethan ree Trade Agreement took effect. This time their military chief, Thistimetheirmilitary ree Trade Agreement tookeffect. EWL SLOWLY WE WALK Sanitation Departmenttomakemorefrequentpick-ups launched a“garbageoffensive”toforcetheCity’s n thesummerof1969,NewYork Young LordsParty RJ M The Other Campaign and many ofitsmemberswerebrutally The OtherCampaignandmany SixthDeclaration His sojournwasinspiredbytheZapatistas’ apatismo inElBarrio ACCANI —JOHN GIBLER ment thatespouses“leadingbyobeying.” evolved overthepast12yearsintoagrassroots,socialmove- army inthesouthernMexicanstateofChiapasthathas Panther PartybuttheZapatistas–anindigenous-basedrebel radical referencepointandinspirationisnolongertheBlack Movement forJusticeinElBarrio(MJB)isemerging. The residents livebelowthepovertyline.Itisherethat to theU.S.CensusBureau,nearly40percentofElBarrio’s that matter),makeuptheLatinofaceofElBarrio.According many ofwhomlackU.S.citizenship(oranylegalstatusfor languages, Arabic,andseveralAfricanlanguages. foreign language,followednowbyChineseandotherAsian changed thefaceofElBarrio.Spanishisstillitsmostspoken having tobeunderoneleader.” together andthatthepeoplethemselvescanfightwithout decisions forElBarrio?We’ve learnedthatwecanfight humility, “We arebutoneorganization. Howcanwemake member summeduptheimportanceofConsultawith duced itsorganization andthe reasonsfortheConsulta.One Y declaration toreadwhilewaitingfortheforumbegin. copied newsarticleaboutMJB,andcopiesofaZapatistas’ ing oftheConsulta.Theyreceivedbottledwater, aphoto- the sparsebasementofSt.Cecilia’s forthefirstpublicmeet- del Barrio.” hensive communityconsultationprocesscalled“LaConsulta another way,” Caletresaid. “Other Campaign”( They havefocusedmuchoftheirattentionontheZapatistas’ around theworldtobetterunderstandtheirownstruggle. MJB beganstudyinglocally-basedsocialjusticemovements grown to180membersin16buildings.InAugustof2005, housing systeminElBarrio.Throughthiswork,MJBhas mortgage lendersandcityinstitutionstochallengetheunjust court actions,protestsanddirectactionsagainstlandlords, keep fighting.” building thatmeetmonthlytomakedecisionsonhow ings,” saidVictor CaletreofMJB.“We haveleadersfromeach social justiceandagainstallformsofoppressioninElBarrio. grant-led, community-basedorganization thatwouldfightfor founding membersdecidedtomakethegroupintoanimmi- Cecilia’s endeditsinvolvement. their landlordstocleanupact.Atthatpoint,St. Haro workedwiththeresidentsandtheysuccessfullyforced a Mexicanimmigrantorganization inspiredbytheZapatistas. Zapatista NetworkUnitedinStruggle(orAZULSpanish), 106th St.hiredJuanHaro,afoundingmemberofthe addressing theirgrievances,theSt.Cecilia’s ChurchonE. organize againstabusivelandlords.To supportthemin MJB wasbornin2004whenresidentsofElBarriobeganto BUILDING AMOVEMENTINELBARRIO oung childrenwereinvitedtodrawandplay. Increasingly, immigrantsfromMexicoandelsewhere, Through aninternalconsultation ofitsmembership,MJB Rotating betweenmaleandfemalemembers,MJBintro- On July23,about30residentsofElBarriotrickledinto This summer, MJBlauncheditslatestinitiative,acompre- “The OtherCampaignhasgivenusthemagictouchtofind Over thepasttwoyears,MJBhasemployedmediatours, “What wearedoingisorganizing ourselves,havingmeet- W ith residentsinfivebuildingsorganized, HaroandMJB’s See sidebar ). T nnsi lBri tn pfrterrgt.POO COURTESY OFMOVEMENTFORJUSTICEINELBARRIO PHOTO: enants inElBarriostandupfortheirrights. interest expressedateachforum. cation itwillprioritizebasedonthelevelofcommunity tion laws.MJBwilldecidewhichproblembesidegentrifi- on belowminimumwagejobsandthethirdimmigra- overnight justtoreceiveservice).Thesecondforumwillbe Mexican Consulate(includinghavingtowaitinline problems, startingwiththeproblemofpoorserviceat Community dialogueswillbeheldforeachofthesethree tion laws;and3.)poorserviceattheMexicanConsulate. jobs thatpaybelowminimumwage;2.)proposedimmigra- participated. Thethreeleadingproblemstheyidentified:1.) Barrio wascompletewith782residentsofElhaving Consulta. booths MJBwassettingupinElBarrioaspartofthe information onthelocationandhoursofpublicvoting out totheirfriends,familyandneighbors.Theflyersprovided MJB. Beforeleaving,attendeestookstacksofflyerstohand the topthreeproblemstheywouldliketoseeaddressedby lot withtheirname,phonenumberandaddress,circled but, rather, attempttofightalltheseproblemssimultaneously. others thoughtthattheyshouldnotpickjustoneproblem expand itsorganizing beyondthebordersofEastHarlemand ing tomakechange.SomepeoplethoughtthatMJBshould addressed ElBarrio’s problemsandthepossibilityoforganiz- as mistreatmentreceivedfromintermediarycompanies. sending moneybackhome($4-5fora$100remittance)aswell portation, proposedimmigrationlaws,andthehighcostof mum wage($6.75perhour),thehighcostofpublictrans- Consulate, policeabuse,jobspayinglessthanthestatemini- treatment inthehospitals,badserviceatMexican other thangentrification:sexualharassmentofwaitresses,mis- had generatedalistoftheeightbiggestproblemsinElBarrio adapted fromanearlierversionthat appearedatnarconews.com. Childcare Collectiveandpublishes zapagringo.com.Thisarticleis RJ MaccanilivesinBrooklynwhereheorganizeswiththeNYC continues towalkandlistengrow. cation inNewYork City’s ElBarrio,theOtherCampaign fighting foranarrayofcausesinMexicoorhaltinggentrifi- and preparingforsurprisingresultstomorrow. Whether for JusticeinElBarrioisdialoguingwithitsneighborstoday Like theYoung LordsofEastHarlem’s past,theMovement with flashyadvertisementsbut,rather, throughlistening. Chicago, HoustonandEastHarlem. states, andacrosstheborderallwayuptoLosAngeles, Zapatista communitiesinChiapas,throughMexico’s 32 Southeast Mexico,thecampaignhastraveledfrom Other Campaignwasannouncedfromthemountainsof “Walking, weask questions.”Inlessthanayearsincethe bering: “We walkslowlybecausewearegoingveryfar”and There aretwoZapatistasayingsthatwellworthremem- scream forjusticecomingfromMexico’s OtherCampaign. presidential elections,ithasbecomemoredifficulttohearthe Amidst thedincausedbyelectoralfraudinMexico’s recent ISLISTENING THE STRUGGLE Stage twooftheConsultadelBarrioissettobegin. After amonthofvoting,thefirststageConsultadel When theforumconcluded,eachattendeefilledoutabal- Empowered tospeak,nearlyeveryoneinattendance The OtherCampaigngrowsnotbycaptivatingitsaudience SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT 11 more oil, gas, and mineral exploration. orld briefs shrinking ice fields might open up the ing rates. James Hansen, NASA climate mechanisms to nomi- omen in Beijing, China, enezuelan president Hugo Chavez proposed the ahrenheit). Unknown arctic islands have been ourth World Conference on World ourth W ARCTIC ICE SHEETS CONTINUE TO RECEDE Arctic NASA researchers recently reported that to surpassing the record low sea ice is close in 2005, decades of increases in continuing melt researcher, stresses that governments have less than a decade to act to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in order to limit the increase in global temperatures to 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees F exposed and polar bears continue to drown. The arctic to Environmental justice activists are planning an alternative forum to coincide with the meeting of energy and environmental ministers of the most powerful nations plan in Mexico City Oct. 3-4 to change. discuss climate CHAVEZ PROPOSES BANK OF THE SOUTH CHAVEZ V creation of the Bank of the South Sept. 15 at the 14th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Cuba. The proposed bank would finance development projects in the global south as an alter- Bank (WB) and World native to funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Loans from WB and IMF,the dominated by rich global north nations, structural adjustment have included requirements such as privatizing national resources and cutting social programs. Chavez challenged the 118 attending nations to act quickly to establish the new bank. don’t “We Bank World accept the kind of development the or International Monetary Fund wants to push on us to change our hopes, our souls and our pain,” Chavez said. OF WORLD NGOS ANNOUNCE BOYCOTT BANK, IN SINGAPORE IMF MEETING The Singapore government arrested, deported, banned, or interrogated from 16 50 activists World countries as they attempted to attend the Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting Sept. 19-20, reported Inter Press Service. The authoritative of a actions led to the declaration boycott of the meeting by 164 non-governmental organizations from 16 nations to show solidarity with those activists who have been denied freedom of speech. FEMALE CANDIDATE JOINS RACE FEMALE CANDIDATE FOR UN’S TOP POSITION Latvian Vike-Freiberga became President Vaira the United Nationsfirst woman to run for Secretary she would join the General when she announced race Sept. 16. The position is filled by the U.N. according to recommendationsAssembly General from the Security Council, dominated which is by its five permanent members: the United States, China, Russia, France, and Britain. The 61-year old global governing body has been criticized for its lack of gender balance, with only 16 percent of undersec- retary positions held by women. Media The Women’s Center noted that after more than a decade after the U.N. F W no nate women for the Secretary General have been established.

. NIK MOORE NIK Forced Migration Review Israel’s ‘center of life’ policy seriously Israel’s or two-story buildings, while adjacent Israeli housing units may have up to eight floors. and Palestinians must go through a complex to time-consuming administrative process obtain a building permit. These cost around $25,000 - a considerable obstacle as Palestinian incomes are significantly below those of Israelis. Palestinians obtain a dispro- portionately small percentage of the building permits issued every year by the Jerusalem Only 7.5 percent of the homes Municipality. legally built during the period 1990-1997 belong to Palestinians. CENTER OF LIFE In 1995 the Israeli Interior Ministry intro- duced a new regulation requiring Palestinian residents to prove they had continuously lived and worked in Jerusalem during the preceding seven years. The standard of proof demanded is so rigorous that even persons who have never left Jerusalem have difficulties meeting it. Palestinians who fail to prove that their ‘center of life’ is Jerusalem risk having their residency status revoked and their requests for family reunification and child registration rejected. The number of Jerusalem residency ID cards confiscated after promulgation of the ‘center of life’ policy rose by over 600 percent. outskirts, to which Suburbs on Jerusalem’s many East Jerusalemites had moved as a result of earlier discriminatory policies, were declared to be outside Jerusalem, thus removing the residency rights of over 50,000 people. In order to defend their claims to residency and the social rights which go with it, some 20,000 Palestinians munici- returned to live within Jerusalem’s pal boundaries. affects Palestinians’ entitlement to health and social benefits, to family reunification, child registration and membership of the Israeli national insurance scheme. The ‘center of life’ is verified for each annual renewal of spouses’ residence permits. Thousands of Palestinian children born in Jerusalem of parents who do not both hold a Jerusalem ID have been denied registration and are unable to exercise their basic rights, including their right to education. While the ‘center of life’ policy had been officially discontinued, the outbreak of the Al Aqsa intifada in September 2000 led to its reactivation. Since May 2002, Israel has refused to accept appli- cations for family unification and refused to register the children of permanent residents who were born in the OPT. Originally published in estrict the ment of Palestinian neighborhoods. TPS has been used to r Jerusalem permanent residency status dif- Between 1967 and 1994 Israel confiscated Planing Scheme (TPS), another The Town develop Palestinians are only permitted to build one- rule. The Israeli government conducted a census of the Palestinian population living new administrative bound- within the city’s aries and granted permanent residency status to the Palestinian residents of the annexed areas. They were entitled to become Israeli citizens provided they agreed to swear allegiance to the State of Israel. Mass refusal to recognize Israeli sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem meant that only 2.3 percent of Palestinian Jerusalemites became Israeli citizens. The others became permanent residents of Israel subject to Israeli law and jurisdiction, just as foreigners who voluntar- ily settle in Israel. fers significantly from citizenship. Permanent residents of Israel are entitled to live and work in Israel without special permits, to receive social benefits from the National Insurance Institute and to vote in local elections. Permanent residency is not automatically granted to the holders’ chil- and permanent res- dren or spouses, however, idents, unlike Israeli citizens, do not enjoy the right to return to Israel at any time. 24.8 square kilometers of land in East Jerusalem, 80 percent of it belonging to Palestinians. Land expropriation is continu- a mere 7 percent of the area of ing. Today East Jerusalem remains available to Palestinians. Confiscated land has mostly been used for the construction of Jewish settlements and settlers’ bypass roads, in violation of international humanitarian law pro- hibiting an occupying power from transfer- ring part of its own population into territory it has occupied. The Jerusalem Municipality has expediently used zoning restrictions to establish ‘green areas’, supposedly set aside for environmental and recreational purposes, but actually deployed as a tactic to remove the land from Palestinian use and create a reserve for Jewish housing. key instrument of ‘quiet transfer’, restricts building permits in already built-up areas, the only areas available for Palestinian use. encour-

to reduce the

uction of the Wall in and uction of the Wall

UEGO ansfer’

fter victory in the 1967 Six Day Israel annexed East Jerusalem war, - that part of the city that had been rces Completing

LODIE

E est Bank and Gaza. est Bank and, as such, subject to military Under the post-1967 plan designed by Their support of the Palestinian claim to

Y W Jerusalem in 1967, remained residents of the boundaries, or who happened to be outside who were left outside the new municipal lages was incorporated into Jerusalem. Those but land belonging to several Palestinian vil- lated Palestinian areas were not included, of Jerusalem’s total population. of Jerusalem’s Israeli military commanders, heavily popu- Jerusalemites represent around 30 percent approximately 230,000 Palestinian in Palestinian neighborhoods. Today the in Palestinian neighborhoods. Today aging the growth of Israeli settlements

lives increasingly intolerable and Palestinian population by rendering their Palestinian population by rendering Until the constr natory regulations ensure the numeric superiority of Jews. were pursued through a series of discrimi- form the city’s population structure and form the city’s around East Jerusalem, these objectives implemented policies designed to trans- four decades, successive governments have ereignty over the whole city. For almost ereignty over the whole city. a demographic battle to secure Israeli sov- this sector of the city. Israel has engaged in this sector of the city. constituted the majority of residents in that at the time of occupation Palestinians East Jerusalem was bolstered by the fact W be an occupied territory, thus akin to the be an occupied territory, consistently considered East Jerusalem to tory. The international community has tory. hibiting the forcible acquisition of terri- mental principle in international law pro- tion, arguing it is a violation of the funda- tion, arguing denounced this act of unilateral annexa- the United Nations, has continuously tal’. The international community, led by tal’. The international community, declared to be its ‘united and eternal capi- thus became Israel’s largest city and was largest thus became Israel’s had been part of the West Bank. Jerusalem had been part of the West an additional 64 square kilometers which British Mandate in 1948 - together with under Jordanian rule since the end of the

B described as ethnic cleansing. permits of Palestinian Jerusalemites and to Judaise the city have been permits of Palestinian Jerusalemites and to Judaise the city have graphic structure of annexed East Jerusalem. Policies to revoke the residency graphic structure of annexed East Israel is close to implementing a long-term plan to transform the demo- Israel is close to implementing

A East Jerusalem

Annexation of Annexation

Fo Tr Occupation Israeli ‘Quiet 12 SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 THE INDYPENDENT A loyal totheU.S.-installedKabulregime. Afghan economyandkeepslocalwarlords one else’s problem.Drugmoneyfuelsthe London can’t keeppretendingthisissome- and NATO. Washington, Ottawaand last yearalone.Whoisresponsible?TheU.S. the world’s heroin.Productionsurged 20% narco-state Afghanistannowsupplies92%of “terrorists” bytheSoviets. “freedom fighters”bytheWest, andbranded Many areformermujahadeenoncehailedas mer primeministerGulbadinHekmatyar. ance forcesunderJalalladinHakkaniandfor- Pashtun tribalwarriors,andnationalistresist- led byMullahDadullah,otherclansof growing coalitionofveteranTaliban fighters co-operation. national stabilityisimpossiblewithouttheir Afghanistan’s ethnicmajority;long-term ence, isafool’s mission. Pashtuns are phobia, warlikespirits,andloveofindepend- rance toblame. resistance. Theyhaveonlytheirownigno- they aresurprisedbyintensifyingTaliban and bedestroyedbyU.S.airpower? guerillas wouldbestupidenoughtositstill ful claimsreallybelievetheTaliban’s veteran advance toTaliban forces? know theireverymoveistelegraphedin body counts?Don’t NATO commanders less search-and-destroymissionsandinflated anyone remembertheVietnam War’s fruit- Surprised? “we weresurprisedtheenemyhadfled.” British andCanadiancommandersadmitted already killingan“estimated500Taliban.” Panjwai andZahri.Theycrowedabout late Taliban forces“surrounded”around manders boastedtheywereabouttoannihi- quickly drivenfromthearea. American andNATO forceswouldbe W Iraq arealreadylargely controlledbyanti- nonsense. HalfofAfghanistanandathird void certaintobefilledbyextremistsare risons fromAfghanistanorIraqwillleavea invasion aimedtodestroy,” Senlisfound. ated thesafehavenforterrorismthat2001 sis ofstarvationandpoverty. Afghanistan issuffering“ahumanitariancri- southern half.AccordingtoSenlis, Afghanistan” andnowcontrolsthatnation’s reported theTaliban is“takingback Council, whichfocusesonAfghanistan,just wishful thinking,orcrassjingoism. governments andmediahasbeenuntrue, told aboutthisuglylittlewar. B Afghan War Wo ‘The West’ Y The UN’s anti-narcoticagencyreports What theWest calls“Taliban” isactuallya Attacking Pashtuns,renownedforxeno- U.S., BritishandCanadianpoliticianssay Did Canadianofficersmakingsuchfanci- “Good Morning,Afghanistan!”Doesn’t After astormofbombingandshelling, Last week,CanadianandBritishcom- We Claims thatwithdrawingWestern gar- “U.S. policiesinAfghanistanhavere-cre- The respectedEuropeanthinktank,Senlis Much ofwhatwe’vesofarbeentoldbyour estern resistanceforces. E RIC re itnotforomnipotentU.S.airpower, Afghanistan, itistimethetruthbe soldiers continuetodiein s Canadian,AmericanandBritish This articleisfromCommonDreams.org M ARGOLIS n’t Win into thedeepsouthforjournalists. point foranumberofsomewhatscaryforays sands offleeingsouthernersandalaunching of thecity. Itwasastoppingpointforthou- beach/hotel compoundonthesouthernend world residedattheResthouse,acomfortable television station.Mediafromaroundthe of Tyre workingasaninterpreterforaBritish month-long warinthesoutherncoastalcity TYRE, Lebanon—IspentmostofLebanon’s to realizethatIsraelwouldsparenoone. ing inhabitantsofthesouthwerebeginning on thetenthdayofwarjustasremain- of thesouth,wasrelentless.IarrivedinTyre ing, buttheassaultoncivilians,particularly flip-flopped oftenanditsgoalskeptchang- ing bysea. of usupfearingthattheIsraeliswereinvad- raid atthecity’s northernendthatkeptmost was bombed.Therealsothecommando idential buildinghousingtheCivilDefense arrived atthebeginningofwar, atallres- the middleoftownwasleveledandbeforeI lages aroundit,butasix-storybuildingin B Y Ty The shapeofthewarbecameclearwithin It istruethatIsrael’s militarycampaign red n eaie.Sil ei eemndt tyi oe.Tuy ei h aeo u onr.I saiditbetter.couldn't have heisthe face ofourcountry. Truly, heisdetermined tostayinpower. Still, friends andrelatives. sexualharassmentandofferingparoletoconvicted Heisbeingaccusedofembezzlement, the people. withthewarasanexcuse. thelaststrongholdsofsocial-welfareestablishments, tear down This week’s discussionsintheIsraeliKnessetaboutnextyear’s wewill that budgetareanindication areleftwithnothing. ontheotherhand, Thepeople, enough newmilitaristiconeswillreplacethem. butsoon Iwouldliketoseeallthesehigh-rankingpeoplestepdown, debts madeduringthewar. Israelisaregettingprosecutedbybanksandotherbigcompaniesfor Many aid. tions ongettingthat withrestric- homeswithnoaid, onbothsidesarestilllivingindestroyed Many Israel andLebanon. Harshaccusations. Moshe Ya'alon thesoldierskilledinthiswardiedfornothing. hassaidthat andformerChiefofStaff accusedof corruptbehavior, ChiefofStaffDanHalutzwasalready enough. thefightingwell ofchiefofficersbecausetheydidnotmanage There arecallsfortheresignation enoughtimetofight. themilitary isaboutthegovernmentnotallowing The protestofthewarnow I'mwiththefewwhodon't. Now protested thewar. Iwaspartofthefewthat onlyafewweeksago, lous plotunfolds?Duringthewar, canbefoundtounderstandthewaythisridicu- explanation What tohate. favorites are everybody's afterall. Israeldidn'twinthiswar, perhaps that PrimeMinisterEhudOlmertwasforcedtosay ofthewar. investigation soldiers demandinganational withhundredsofreserve bytheIsraeliconfessionofdefeat, overHezbollah–shortlyfollowed victory theIsraeligovernmenttoannounce Thisconcessionallowed expect Israeltoreactashardtheydid. Hezbollah leaderHassanNasrallahwasquicktoadmithedidnot TEL lostthiswar. AVIV—Everybody B Ev R Y eport fromIsrael eport B What seems ironic to me is the story of our president Katasv, who is the formal representative of whoistheformalrepresentative ofour president Katasv, seemsironictomeisthestory What bothin Us-thepeople, somethingismissinghereinthisgenerals’wartakingplace. Once again, theyexpressoutloud. what Itdoesn'tmatter There isaconstantthemetothewaypeoplethink. Y re wasnotattackedasmuchthevil- Y sedyshr stdyhnigi h oncrl,andOlmertDefenseMinister Amir Peretz esterday’s circle, heroistodayhanginginthetown ILAL ONI M erybody LostThisWar ISHAL E iigtruhwr POO SERENE ASSIR/IRIN) (PHOTO: living throughwar. CHILDREN INTYRE L -A MINE suffer traumafromtheordealof possessed buttheyatleastsubjectedIsrael, smart anddestructiveastheonesIsraelis south. Theserocketswerecertainlynotas and streakoutofsightinanarcheaded katyushas wouldmakeatremendousroar a dailydoseofrockets.Hizballah’s another lineoffighterssentnorthernIsrael break throughthem. air powerandnoamountofarmorcould fighters atthefrontwereunmovedbyIsraeli the momentnevercame.TheHizballah low thesouthwholeastheydidin1982.But ance fightersinthebordervillagesandswal- would punchthroughthethinlineofresist- moment whentheIsraelimilitarymachine days, ifnothours.Ikeptwaitingforthe simply rolloveritopponentsinamatterof many previousoccasionswhenIsraelwould edly murderedintheircars,vansorbuses. of themandthosewhofledwerecold-blood- lowed. People’s homesweredestroyedontop paign ofterroragainstciviliansquicklyfol- weapons fromreachingHizballah.Acam- was imposed,allinthenameofpreventing bombarded andanair, seaandlandblockade from theairporttobridgesandroadswere the firstweekorso.Lebanon’s infrastructure Further backintheareaaroundTyre, But thiswasnotaone-sidedwarasonso in SouthLebanon Defiance F in SouthLebanon Defiance F ear and ear and on Left Turn will dreamofdeprivingthemitagain. grow stronger. Nopower, howevermighty, sion theirloveforlandonlyseemsto and liveindignity. With eachIsraeliaggres- much justtoreturntheirprecioussouth goodwill ofothers.Theyhadsacrificedso in publicparksdependingonthecharityand had enoughoflivingonschoolfloorsand them ontheotherenddidnotmatter. They and madetheirwayhome.Whatawaited their makeshiftmattressesontopofcars dreds ofthousandssouthernersloaded nearby, andthen…silence. whizzing throughtheairbeforeitlanded the ceasefire.ItwassocloseIcouldhearit landed tenminutesbeforethedeadlinefor operation. Irememberthelastbombthat the border, thegoaloftheirmonth-long make ittotheLitaniRiver18milesnorthof mighty Merkavatanksinalastditcheffortto losing dozensofsoldiersandover50their matter. Perhapstheyhadenoughafter coming outoftheUnitedNationsforthat ceasefire agreementoranykindofresolution ended. NeverbeforehasIsraelabidedbyany what hadhappened. her sometimetorealizewhereshewasand child, hermouthwhitewiththirst.Ittook women, onebarefootanddazedcarryingher bullets andbombs.Iranintoagroupof having spentnearlythreeweeksdodging seemed toemerge fromundertherubble the fliesweremerciless. dogs roameditsstreetsforscrapsoffood,and Jbail wasoverwhelming,hungrycatsand smell ofdeathinthebordervillageslikeBint we sawwasunimaginabledestruction.The opportunity togosurveythedamage.What campaign fortwodays.Journaliststookthe the Israeliswereforcedtosuspendtheirair than 30childrenwerekilledinanairattack, the dismembered! supplies totheBeirutport–bandagesfor to Lebanonhadthegalldelivermedical Around thesametime,USambassador rush twoplaneloadsofbombstoIsrael. nance wasdroppedthatWashington hadto the murderofitspeople.Somuchordi- intensified theirdestructionofLebanonand day afterday, thelunaticsinTel Aviv only And astheIsraeligroundoffensivefaltered was atplayinthesheerscaleofattack. Israeli soldiersandthatsomethingmore proportion toHizballah’s captureoftwo Israel’s responsewascompletelyoutofall terror theyunleashedonLebanon. for thefirsttimeever, toafractionofthe Bilal El-Amineisfounderandformereditorof The smokehadbarelyclearedbeforehun- We As wewalkedamongtheruins,people After theQanamassacre,inwhichmore Most Lebanesecouldeasilyseethat electricintifada.net.

could barelybelieveitwhenthewar magazine. Thisarticleorginallyappeared The A String Hustling FEMA: JUVENILE’S RESPONSE TO SURVIVING KATRINA

BY STEVEN WISHNIA no government/ Niggaz killing niggas and them bitches is loving it/ Fuck Fox News, I don’t lis- or the last 25 years, right-wingers have ten to y’all ass/ Couldn’t get a nigga off the roof been hectoring America’s poor to stop with a star pass.” On the other hand, it’s ulti- Fdepending on government handouts and be mately depressing. It’s one thing to see things as self-reliant. So they might like the opening lines they are with clarity and rage, but is the only of New Orleans hip-hop artist Juvenile’s way out one that’s carcinogenic to the commu- response to Hurricane Katrina: “It’s crunch time nity? No possibility of revolution or solidarity? now, fellas, no time to be cryin’ for mama.” On Is this the result of the nation being hammered the other hand, the particular style of entrepre- for 25 years with the pervasive and obsessive cult neurship endorsed in the track, “Get Ya Hustle of the market? On,” isn’t exactly legal: “We take the Pyrex and “The truth came out and the answer is: They then we rock with it, roll with it.” In fact, it’s a ain’t gonna give a fuck about us,” Juvenile told ghetto Halliburtonism, a low-budget leveraging AllHipHop.com last winter. But asked if the of government funds for personal profit: album signified a new era of political-mindedness Everybody needs a check from FEMA for him, he answered, “I’m not like that. All So he can go score him some cocaina you’re gonna catch me doing is telling my people, Get money! I ain’t gotta ball in the Beemer ‘Get what the fuck you gonna get and get it right I’m just trying to live, I lost it all in Katrina now,’ man.” The track – added to the Reality Check album I suppose this is the same debate that’s been after the flood – has got plenty of bounce, jeep- roiling the more conscious factions of the hip- ing along off an ascending four-chord groove, hop world ever since N.W.A. blasted outta and Juvenile raps with a fine mix of rhythmic Compton a generation ago with a dealer- punch and flow. Leftists will appreciate the financed demo and a vial of verbal AK-47s. denunciations of politicians as hypocrites and the Still, “Get Ya Hustle On” is catchy as fuck. I angry observations of the post-flood chaos: put it on a mix CD segueing into Marvin Juvenile “We’re starving, we’re living like Haiti without Gaye’s “Inner City Blues.”

BOOKS during the Vietnam War. I.F. Stone’s Robert Fisk, Eduardo Galeano, Weekly, Ramparts, the Texas Observer Arundhati Roy and Amira Hass. and the Village Voice muckraked. I.F. “Izzy” Stone started out as a Amy and Seymour M. Hersh exposed the My newspaperman and was a reporter Lai massacre; the New York Times and editor at the then-liberal New printed the Pentagon Papers. York Post, The Nation and P.M., a Izzy Make Today the dissenters are dispersed left-leaning New York daily that – Hersh, Amy Goodman, Alexander expired in 1948. When he couldn’t Cockburn, the Independent Media get a job at the height of the Red Center movement, commondreams.org, Scare in the early 1950s, he founded Waves alternet among a myriad of other I.F. Stone’s Weekly. With the assis- websites and blogs. tance of his beloved wife Esther, he STATIC: GOVERNMENT LIARS, Two new, iconoclastic books are of ran it from 1953 to 1971. “You may MEDIA CHEERLEADERS, AND interest and importance with regard just think I am a red Jew son-of-a- to the problems of protest and hon- bitch,” MacPherson quotes him as PEOPLE WHO FIGHT BACK est reporting in America. They are telling wary colleagues, “but I’m BY AMY GOODMAN Static: Government Liars, Media keeping Thomas Jefferson alive.” AND DAVID GOODMAN Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight A four-page newsletter, I.F. Stone’s HYPERION BOOKS, 2006 Back by Amy Goodman and David Weekly built a circulation of more Goodman and All Governments Lie: than 70,000. It challenged orthodox ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE: The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist politics in America, the Vietnam I.F. Stone by Myra MacPherson. War, the military establishment, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF Amy Goodman, host of Democracy conventional reporting. REBEL JOURNALIST I.F. STONE Now!, a daily one-hour radio and Stone was a unique and exceed- I.F. “Izzy” Stone PHOTO: MICKEY ADAIR BY MYRA MACPHERSON television show broadcast on more ingly imaginative reporter. He didn’t SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2006 than 400 stations across the coun- develop his scoops from anonymous try, is a valiant journalist; David, sources but out of government an investigative reporter, is her records, transcripts and agency averick journalists are brother. They previously authored a reports, all of which were publicly uncommon in U.S. his- best-seller, The Exception to the Rulers. available but seldom consulted. Mtory. By 1950, most had In Static, they document the hor- One of the exquisite ironies of THE INDYPENDENT become domesticated, falling into rors, the atrocities, the deceptions Stone’s life is his journey from pariah line as publicists for official policy of the George W. Bush era – presi- to acclaimed oracle whose curmud- and the corporate mass media. They dential lies, torture incorporated, geonly genius is eventually embraced traded in what may have remained news reports funded and falsified by the journalistic establishment of their independence for pay raises, (they quote Joseph Goebbels, Nazi that once shunned him. benefits, and social status. propaganda minister, “The truth is MacPherson does an excellent job SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 Precedents for protest have the greatest enemy of the State”). – she brings Stone and his times always been too few. There were the Their research is extensive, and and his work and his views to the muckrakers (Ida Tarbell, Lincoln their findings are shocking. front. Anybody can learn a great Steffens, Ray Stannard Baker) in They go on to recount the travail deal about history and the practice McClure’s, Everybody’s, and other of Iraq War critics – Cindy of journalism from her book. publications from about 1902 to Sheehan; Iraq Veterans Against the —DONALD PANETH 1912. Muckraking was continued War; the Denver Three, who in small liberal magazines – The upstaged Bush at a speech before Donald Paneth is the author of The New Republic and The Nation – and his supporters – and conclude with Encyclopedia of American Journalism. in George Seldes’ newsletter, In expressions of encouragement and He began his career as a journalist with 13 Fact. It experienced a major revival hope from authors Alice Walker, the New York Times in 1944. The Ecstasy of Exile

BY NICHOLAS POWERS heard about Katrina,” she said. how I share it with others. “People said in that hippie way, it Nearby a young woman stood BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada— was meant to be.” Her eyes flashed, stiffly. I remembered the crosses “Welcome home!” He shouts. We “I was like what the fuck is wrong and said, “Here,” and put the last hug and I look at Burning Man, a with you.” We shook our heads. I pill in her palm. She smiled, “You city rising in the vast Nevada gave her a pill, if we could not totally read me.” desert. I came here to pour out the believe in joy we could induce it. I leaned in, “Remember the story last water from New Orleans. A On the climactic sixth night of the of Jesus feeding the masses.” She year of rage and sadness sloshed festival, when burners set fire to a nodded. “Maybe it wasn’t a physical inside me and I hoped the desert giant wooden effigy, I took half a pill. miracle. Maybe he had them split would soak the last of it away. But After the Man blazed and crashed I bread until each had a useless bit and was it possible to “come home?” circled the inferno. My friend from realized they sacrificed hunger for I had seen a city be flooded and New Orleans sat and stared into the togetherness. No one was left out. a people made homeless. How fire. I hoped it burned away her Maybe that was the real miracle.” could I let go of pain where no one memory of the flood. She hugged her thanks. The wanted to be reminded of it? I I walked to Nexus, one of the ecstasy had worn off but a stronger went to Center Camp, a gigantic large clubs. The mild glow of joy reached through me. I gave tent where the sun beamed on ecstasy forced me to feel my body. It away the pills that could numb my New Agers entwining limbs in left me knowing I have this small exile. It left in my mind a self- slow dance. A woman leaned to gasp of time on earth and the only image I could believe in and while Pyronauts, fire performers, in front of the Man on the night of the Burn. PHOTO: me. “Why can’t this be the real meaning it can have comes from dancing, I held myself like home. ABJECTPHOTO BM 2006. world,” she paused. “Is the real world even real?” Attendees often describe the event as truth and the outside as illusion. It is easy to feel this in an The Sex Column empty desert used as a stage to act BY AMY WOLF out fantasy. Of course, fantasy is the refusal of separation. Hidden desires are acted out in hopes of revealing the true self. It is allowed even demanded. “Don’t be a spectator” is shouted by anyone who sees you watching rather than doing. Cybersex Goes Burners speak of the event with religious intensity. The feeling of truth comes from this rare unity but it is a unity created by escaping differences not overcoming them. Mainstream The real world separation from ethnic poor is finalized in the isolation of the desert. It is relevant because Burning Man borrows from cul- ithout life’s shouldn’ts, wouldn’ts with many of the male players choosing female tures of color, to the point of being and couldn’ts to hold them back, avatars, this is no digi-sausage fest. Female a form of minstrelsy. Wpeople have a lot more sex, experi- gamers are drawn toward an exploratory expe- Near my camp was a Hare ment with orgies, furries, bondage and of rience, “one that is on your own terms and not Krishna site where whites with course, own their own businesses. In Second Life, predefined,” says Ruberg. It’s like going into a Hindu face-paint swayed and a popular online world, chatting, courting, neighborhood video store that just happens to chanted. “We’re all one cosmic fucking, and some all-American entrepreneur- have a huge porn room in the back. consciousness,” I was told. They ship replace the slaying and conquering com- Kelly Rued is the founder of Black Love smiled sweetly and fed me. Their mon to other multi-user digital experiences. Interactive and is launching Rapture Online, sincere kindness eroded my guard. Some describe MMOEGs (Massive Multi- an alternative to Second Life, in 2007. “Our I felt a genuine openness. Our con- player Online Erotic Games) as places to “try design team is all women,” Rued says, “so that versation turned to New Orleans. I out” fetish curiosities. They give the freedom to might explain the broad, multi-faceted view of tried to say how it divided our try on new skins, genders, bra-sizes, strap-ons, eroticism in Rapture Online. There will be nation but heard “we’re all the same harnesses, pony-gear or just walk around plenty of romance, fantasy and story, which is cosmic consciousness.” totally naked. You can also opt to be a gender- rare in explicit sex gaming.” A SNAPSHOT OF SECOND LIFE: Users create the It sounded less a profound truth less and genitalless cube. Probably the biggest draw for both genders characteristics of their online personas, or avatars. than an escape from pain through Bonnie Ruberg, a cyber and gender sexpert, is the fulfillment of all the things you should- denial. Like the many attendees warns that treating the online experience as a n’t, wouldn’t and couldn’t do. In SL, users have with dread-locks and saris, they “trial” space creates a false hierarchy that privi- created a prostitution economy where hundreds wore a mask of color. They enjoyed leges real over online behavior. Your online per- of avatars will give you a steamy lap dance and There is an argument that when we get the freedom of otherness without sona behaves differently and wants different a BJ for what in U.S. dollars could buy you a engrossed in living in a cyber world, we forgo the burden of history and the things than the player at the keyboard. This dog at Grey’s Papaya. But tip well, because that living with the breathers. Cara Mia DiMassa exposure to power that real people separation is what enables the escape, the fan- prostitute might own the cyber brothel you’re wrote in the Times that in many ways, we’ve of color endure. tasy and ultimately the fulfillment of the expe- being serviced in. become what historian Daniel J. Boorstein The next day a friend gave me rience. That’s why many players have numerous Although you can strap yourself naked to a warned about in 1961: “the first people in his- two pills of ecstasy. “If you don’t avatars (online personalities) with different rotating board surrounded by broken glass, vio- tory to have been able to make their illusions so THE INDYPENDENT find what you’re looking for,” he wants, needs and gender. lence in Second Life is a no-no. You can experi- vivid, so persuasive, so ‘realistic’ that they can said, “these will help you forget One resident of Second Life (SL) interviewed ment in fantasy rape, but you cannot actually rape live in them.” you tried.” I pocketed them, by Ruberg said her only reason for participat- another character, because the programming does And that was 1961. Copious blogs are still walked around and found an art ing was to run a small gallery in which she not support it. “You cannot take full control over dedicated to the question of realness. Is sex installation with rows of crosses for could show her paintings (the program allows another Avatar. You always have the option to fly with your avatar guy “really cheating?” Are soldiers killed in Iraq. A veteran you to place still images in the businesses or away,” explains Kyle Machulis of Nonpolynomial these online relationships less real? Nick Yee kneeled and wept. homes that you create). Although this artist is Labs. When entering the game for the first time, asked these questions in an online survey. One Once, the Christian cross was a in the minority, the fact that sex is optional in one must agree to abide by significant bylaws. 30-year-old male answered, “the fact of physi- symbol of sacrifice to me. Now it Second Life is a big draw. Ruberg suggests that They forbid intolerance, harassment, assault, dis- cal separation is only a minor limitation; can a seemed an empty icon. I needed SL’s “appeal is the open-endedness.” closure, indecency and disturbing the peace. blind person not make friends? So why should

SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 communion and found a Common Second Life has a higher female to male player While in Sociolotron (a hardcore BDSM it be that because we cannot physically see or Ground activist. We had met in ratio than your typical MMORPG (Massive MMOEG), you can be enslaved, raped and get touch the people in the game with us, we can-

14 New Orleans. “I was here when we Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), and STDs, in Second Life you can only get pregnant. not interact in a meaningful way?” FILM scious Behind the Music episode (oxy- moronic, I know), complete with flashy transitions, interviewees both J. Lennon relevant (Bobby Seale, Tariq Ali, G. Gordon Liddy) and irrelevant (Geraldo Rivera, Ron Kovic), and, vs. T. Dick thanks to Ono’s involvement, fantas- tic music. Excepting Liddy, it’s a love-fest from frame one, with every- THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON one chiming in on Lennon’s brilliance (2006) while deftly ignoring his infidelity, DIRECTED BY DAVID LEAF glibness and Springsteen-esque abuse AND JOHN SCHEINFELD of the working-class-origins card. Still, the real prize here is archival lush with all the drama of an footage of Lennon himself, that illicit affair, John Lennon’s increasingly rare rock star who, Fgradual decision to “leave” the despite his faults, offers an articulate Beatles for Yoko Ono remains a voice for change, and who cuts major cultural event in American through the film’s unrepentant ass- history. With poor Ono still blamed kissing with a genuine sense of for the dissolution of perhaps pop focused commitment. Unlike many music’s greatest songwriting team, of his contemporaries, Lennon actu- the political significance of this deci- ally did raise awareness about key sion is too often overshadowed – as is issues of the era (especially Vietnam), Ono’s role in Lennon’s increased and his Gandhi-inspired pacifist awakening as an activist. A rebel and stance was so noble it looks almost virtual orphan practically from birth, quaint today. As one interviewee Lennon had an innate mistrust of comments, Lennon always sacrificed authority and a knack for provoca- his own image for the greater cause, PHOTO: IAIN MACMILLAN tion, traits that once filtered through refusing to bother with what other Ono’s gift for performance art, people thought of him as long as turned them into major figures on they got the message. Try and imag- glow in 1960). Thankfully, the obvi- the political world stage, equally ine greedy Paul McCartney (the ous connection to Patriot Act sur- loved and despised. George Lucas of music) ever even veillance is mostly unspoken, save The new documentary, The US vs. considering this… for condescending doc whore Gore John Lennon, all too briefly touches Talented, witty, photogenic, con- Vidal who thinks we’re too dumb to LETTERS on Ono’s influence while, rather fident, Lennon was in many ways the catch on. Smartly folding concrete unsurprisingly, reinforcing Lennon as anti-Nixon, so it’s not terribly peace slogans into catchy melodies TO THE EDITOR the ultimate counterculture icon. shocking to learn how the disgraced while staging (with Ono) unforget- Starting with the inception of the president and his cronies put con- table “performances” like the leg- Lennon/Ono relationship, the film certed effort into tapping his endary bed-in, Lennon deserves a (cont. from page 2) examines Lennon’s life as a self-con- phones, trailing his car, and eventu- considerably more provocative film and military support, the nature of sciously political artist whose high ally starting deportation proceed- than this crowd-pleasingly safe one. Israel should be left to those who profile and very public demonstra- ings. (One can imagine Nixon —CHARLIE BASS are members of that entity, those tions led to an eventual investigation watching Lennon at peace rallies and for whom it claims to represents by the Nixon administration, the on TV while remembering a pasty, The U.S. vs. John Lennon is currently and those who it oppresses. FBI, and the INS. Co-produced by sweaty visage that literally paled in playing at Landmark Sunshine Theatre Mr. Kassner seems to have a bar- VH1, this plays like a socially con- comparison to JFK’s brill cream at 143 E. Houston St. baric vision for humanity: no one should stop Israel from exterminat- ing or displacing Palestinians bluestockings today just because some historical radical bookstore | activist center crimes have not been addressed. fair trade cafe Presumably this might-makes-right 172 ALLEN ST. • 212.777.6028 FILM standard should be applied to all bluestockings.com carefree youth and coming to terms La Tengo, which is instrumental in other state-sanctioned crimes. All $$ is suggested, not required with adult responsibilities. The film setting the film’s subdued, melan- That is the “national liberation” Forest is as much about the current politi- choly mood. of which he speaks. The history of Fri. Sept. 22 @ 7PM - Free cal and social climate as it is about Zionism is one of exclusivism, Reading: "Bitchfest: 10 Years Of its character. This may be one reason Old Joy opens at the Film Forum on racism and colonialism in ideology Bitch Magazine" with Lisa Jervis and why director Kelly Reichardt avoids Sept. 20. and in practice. And there are many, Andi Zeisler. Covers everything from Green Blues pre-scandal Martha Stewart to the radical transformations in the two —ANTONIO GOLAN many Jews who have and continue "gayby boom". OLD JOY (2006) men, as well as any clear-cut resolu- to oppose Zionism and its equation tions at the end. with all Jewish peoples. Mon. Sept. 25th @ 7PM - Free DIRECTED BY KELLY REICHARDT Peter Sillen’s cinematography is It’s sad that Mr. Kassner has to Reading: Kelly Kerney "Born Again" KINO INTERNATIONAL outstanding, especially his use of rely on myths and the tired anti- The wild times of a young Pentecostal in Indiana. color. The greens of the forest Semitism charge. There is little dis- scenes that make up the bulk of the agreement among historians on the Wed. Sept. 27th @ 7PM - Free ld Joy is the story of two film serve to really immerse the founding of Israel. The United States Authors with Lewis DeSimone, E.M. friends who embark on a viewer. Even the scene where Will threatened and pressured other Kahn, and Bill Valentine. A story of weekend camping trip to and Kurt set up their tent in a nations to support a division of Neal and Zach, passionate lovers torn apart by mental illness. . . emo- O THE INDYPENDENT escape from their everyday lives in small dump, where people have Palestinian lands. Only six percent of tional decent after the violent death present-day Portland, Oregon. deposited old kitchen appliances the lands were owned by the of his partner of twenty-one years. Kurt, played by alt-country singer- and a sofa, makes the forest look Zionists but they were granted over songwriter Will Oldham, is a care- appealing. In addition to the cine- 50 percent. Then, before the British Fri. Sept. 29th @ 7PM - Free free drifter-type for whom this trip matography of the wilderness, the mandate ended in 1948, Israel with "Jokes and the Unconscious" With Diane DiMassa and Daphne Gottlieb is an opportunity to reconnect with varied colors of Portland’s land- its superior military force, invaded readings from the graphic novel by his old friend Mark (Daniel scape also stand out. Reichardt Palestinian lands. The “invasion” by slam poet Daphne Gottlieb and SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 11, 2006 London). For Mark, the trip is a makes the monotony of Mark’s sub- Arab states came only after Zionist "Hothead Paisan.” temporary retreat from his subur- urban neighborhood seem some- forces seized by force dozens of ban life and imminent fatherhood. what intriguing. Palestinian towns, villages and cities Sat. Sept. 30th @ 7PM - $5 - $10 Discussion: Breaking the Silence. This is not a story of two charac- While the pace is at times too and expelled more than 200,000 A short video produced by young ters undergoing a life-changing slow due to the lack of action, Old Palestinians from their lands. israelis whom have decided to speak experience, but rather a snapshot of Joy makes up for this with a subtle Only through an honest inquiry out about a crime they committed about the nature and practices of while in the service of the israeli two lives at a particular moment in complexity that departs from the army. Discussion to follow the time. It is the type of minimalist predictable Hollywood narratives Zionism and Israel can understand- screening. flick likely to resonate with its audi- that sometimes make their way ing be reached for a settlement of

the Israeli-Arab conflict. 15 ence who, like the protagonists, are even into independent filmmaking. Will Oldham in Old Joy also torn between memories of their Also of note is the soundtrack by Yo Sept20_p16.qxd 09.20.06 3:19 AM Page 1 COMMUNITY CALENDAR september

MON SEPT 25 Judson Memorial Church, 239 Thompson St. SUN OCT 8 7pm • Free 201-200-1985 • www.citybelt.org 1--8pm – $10 plus any size bag of READING: "BORN AGAIN." unwanted clothing W/novelist Kelly Kerney. The trials of a 7pm • Free SWAP-O-RAMA-RAMA young Pentacostal. READING: W/STEWART FLORSHEIM & A giant clothing swap and series of do-it- Bluestockings RICHARD MICHELSON, both award win- yourself workshops in which a community 172 Allen St at Stanton • 212-777-6028 ning-poets. Florsheim is the editor of explores reuse and creativity through "Ghosts of the Holocaust," an anthology the recycling of used clothing. Once TUES SEPT 26 of poetry by children of Holocaust sur- inside all of the materials for creativity 7pm • Free vivors, & "The Short Fall From Grace." and all the clothes you can carry are READING: Michelson's most recent book is "Battles free. All ages welcome! CHILD SOLDIERS & CHILD SLAVES. and Lullabies," he is the author of sev- 3rd Ward 195 Morgan Ave. Brooklyn W/Jimmie Briggs (journalist covering eral other children's books. www.3rdwardbrooklyn.org Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Colombia and Bluestockings author of Innocents Lost: When Child 172 Allen St at Stanton • 212-777-6028 THURS OCT 5 Soldiers Go to War) & Patricia McCormick 7:00 - 10:00pm • FREE (award-winning journalist; researcher in SAT SEPT 30 MONTHLY VOLUNTEER MEET-AND-GREET BBQ Nepal & India). 12:30pm • Free Join Time's Up! volunteers at our backyard Housing Works Bookstore Cafe GETTING DIRTY WITH THE GOWANUS garden BBQ. Come and check out the 126 Crosby St. • 212-334-3324 CANAL Time's Up! space and learn how you can get Tour NYC's dirty secret on an in-depth involved in Time's Up! and make a differ- Army of None WED SEPT 27 ride around what was formally one of ence in your community and the environ- Illustration by David Hollenbach (davidhollenbach.com) for The Indypendent 7:30pm • $3; $6 incl. dinner at 7pm. Brooklyn's finest tidal estuaries. ment. New volunteers welcome. Bring DISCUSSION: "WHAT'S THE SCOOP IN Meet at 12:30pm on the Brooklyn side of snacks and/or grillable food to share. Vegan INDYPENDENT.ORG THE FEMINIST PRESS?" what feminist the Williamsburg Bridge; or meet at 1pm at and meat options available. Bring your own magazines are saying about war & occu- Grand Army Plaza. Rain Date: Sunday, Oct 1. plate and utensils to help prevent waste! pation, the growing assault on reproduc- Time's Up! Space at 49 E. Houston St. Order this 12” x 18” Indypendent exclusive poster in one of three easy ways! 1) visit SUN OCT 1 www.indypendent.org and order online 2) call 212-221-0521 or 3) email tive rights, environmental abuses, indigenous women's struggles & more. 2--9pm – Free SUN OCT 8 [email protected]. $10 for one, $15 for two or call for super cheap bulk prices. Freedom Hall, 113 W 128th St. EVENT: NY/NJ AREA BLACK PANTHER 2:00pm • FREE 100 percent of profits go toward printing the newspaper. 212-222-0633 • www.radicalwomen.org PARTY 40TH ANNIVERSARY. GREEN APPLE DOWNTOWN CYCLING-- Location TBA. ADULTS THUR SEPT 28 Contact [email protected] for Explore the Garden District, greenways THE INDYPENDENT SAT SEPT 23 1:00-8:00pm • $15 location and other information. and riversides, composting, solar power has open meetings every Tuesday at 7pm 2pm • $35 for bus from NY NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT STRIKE and green buildings. Easy ride but can- FORUM: ON THE CUBAN 5 ASSESSMENT CONFERENCE TUES OCT 3 celled if pouring. RSVP to apple@green- [email protected] at W/attorney Leonard Weinglass, Francisco Panels, workshops, discussion and 6:30--8:30pm – Free map.org. Related maps are at 4 West 43rd St., room 311. Join us! Letelier (son of Chilean diplomat Orlando amazing speakers. An event not to miss. TALK/BOOK SIGNING: VOICES OF www.GreenAppleMap.org. Starts and ends Letelier), Livio Di Celmo (brother of Roger Toussaint, Barbara Brown, Juan RESISTANCE: MUSLIM WOMEN ON WAR, at the Temperance Monument in Tompkins Fabio Di Celmo, killed by a terrorist bomb Gonzalez and Stanley Aronowitz among FAITH & SEXUALITY. W/editor Sarah Square Park, near Avenue A and 9th St. THURS SEPT 21 in Havana in 1997), Jose Pertierra many others. Joseph Murphy Institute, 25 Hussain & authors, Aisha Sattar, 6pm • Free (Venezuela's attorney in Luis Posada W. 43rd St. 19th Fl. • 212-827-0200 Chaumtoli Huq, Maryum Saifee, Munerah ONGOING FORUM: "RACIAL PROFILING POST 9/11: Carriles extradition request), family mem- Ahmed Sherien Sultan, Z Gabriel Arkles. Thurs Sept 21- Oct 19 • 9/21- Opening at THE EVOLUTION OF SANCTIONED bers of the victims of the Cubana air- 5:30-8:30pm • Free A woman mourns the death of a cousin 7pm, Tues and Thurs 6-8pm, Suns 1-3pm PREJUDICE." W/Cynthia Deitle plane bombing in 1976, many others. DISCUSSION: WILL I GET FIRED FOR killed in a suicide bombing, a transsexual EXHIBIT: "REMEMBERING WHAT CARE (FBI special agent, Civil Rights Squad), George Washington University, in DC. THIS? Teaching Controversial Issues in remembers w/fondness the donning of FORGOT." New Orleans culture & revival. King Downing (ACLU), Anthony Gair (co- [email protected] the classroom. A NyCORE sponsored the veil he no longer wears as a Muslim with Ida C Benedetto, Roger Benham, Kyle counsel of Amadou Diallo), Udi Ofer Bus Info: 212-633-6646 panel discussion on what educators can man. Bravo, Christopher Cardinale, Pat Cassidy, (NYCLU), Faiza Ali (CAIR-NY civil rights do to address both historic and current CUNY Grad Center, 365 5th Ave, room 9204 Dave Crusoe, Ze daLuz & others. At ABC director), Shayana Kadidal (Center for SUN SEPT 24 issues of social (in)justice. (photo ID required). No Rio, 156 Rivington St. • 212-254-3697 Constitutional Rights). 6pm • Free NYU, Pless Hall 3rd floor lounge, 212-817-7570, [email protected] Kimmel Center, room 914 PROTEST: SEN. SCHUMER'S SUPPORT 82 Washington Square East • Childcare 60 Washington Sq St. FOR WAR. available with RSVP • www.nycore.org THUR OCT 5 Meet at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, fol- Noon • Free FRI SEPT 22 lowed by a procession through Park 7-10pm • Free Visit ACTION: WORLD CAN'T WAIT STRIKE, 7pm • Free Slope ending at Schumer's apartment DISCUSSION: MILITARY RECRUITING & RALLY, MASS MEETING. Massive strike, indypendent.org, and READING: "BITCHFEST." W/LISA JERVIS building at 7pm for speakers and to read THE GROWING RESISTANCE W/IN THE w/support across country. Meet in Bryant & ANDI ZEISLER. Highlights from Bitch names of dead. ARMED FORCES. W/peace activist & Iraq comment on the articles Park, march to UN, then to Union Sq for cul- Magazine’s first 10 years. [email protected] veteran Jose Vasquez, Anthony Arnove, in the paper. Bluestockings Peter Laufer Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg minating rally. Volunteer: 212-969-0772, 172 Allen St. at Stanton • 212-777-6028 and Book signing. 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