Saturday, September 30, 2006

Author of sex predator law resigns from congress for prposiitoning children

I guess we should all feel safer knowing that sex predators are drafting the laws to protect children from, well, sex predators. Unlike the poor and unconnected though the law drafters aren’t looking at mandatory minimums, sex offender registration and civil commitment. The problem I have with draconian sentences is their unequal application.

And it is ironic that the Bill Foley authored is named after Adam Walsh, son of John Walsh the host of America’s Most Wanted. Prison Legal News and a newspaper in Florida and one in Alabama were the only ones to report, back in 1996 about Walsh senior’s cocaine and marijuana use and why his suit against Sears over the death of his son unraveled.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060929/pl_nm/usa_politics_foley_dc_4

Rep. Foley resigns House seat

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent1 hour, 41 minutes ago

Six-term Republican Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record) of Florida resigned from the U.S. Congress on Friday following reports he sent sexually inappropriate e-mails to underage congressional interns.

Foley, chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children, said he would resign immediately after ABC News reported he sent messages to current and former congressional pages with repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

"Today I have delivered a letter to the Speaker of the House informing him of my decision to resign from the U.S. House of Representatives, effective today," Foley said in a statement.

"I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."

Foley's decision to resign just five weeks before the November 7 congressional election complicated Republican efforts to retain control of the House of Representatives. Democrats must pick up 15 seats to reclaim a House majority.

Lawyers from both parties were examining Florida election laws to see if his name can be removed from the ballot in his Republican-leaning district, party sources said, but it might be too late.

Foley won re-election in 2004 with 68 percent of the vote and was favored to win in November over Democrat Tim Mahoney, a self-funding financial officer. President George W. Bush carried the district with 54 percent of the vote.

Foley was the author of the key sexual predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which Bush signed in July.

Foley, who represents a district in southern Florida, also was a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy.

Terrorism Task Force in Charlottesville

Terrorism Task Force in Charlottesville
Lisa Ferrari

September 28, 2006
It may surprise you to know that the war against terror is being fought right here in Charlottesville. The FBI has joined forces with local law enforcement to prevent terrorist acts in our area.
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Government officials have identified Charlottesville and the surrounding communities as a potential threat area for terrorists, which is why they formed a Joint Terrorism Task Force at the local Charlottesville FBI office.
After 9/11 the government began looking every where for potential threats.
“I would say we have serious potential threats to the community,” said Charlottesville Police Detective Brian O’Donnell, who is assigned to the task force.
In this area there is a nuclear power plant, various historical landmarks, technology based companies, and government research groups, all potential targets for terrorists.
“It’s the kind of area that one might consider a soft target, but it has a lot of infrastructure critical to the United States,” said FBI Special Agent Steve Duenas, who is also assigned to the task force as well.
Another reason why the Joint Terrorism Task Force is focused here: terrorists could easily hide in remote areas.
“The number of law enforcement personnel is smaller and the number of places where someone can be living and doing what they to do is higher,” said Duenas.
The FBI says there have been incidents in the area. In 2004 the Earth Liberation Front claimed they set fire to some equipment where Target now stands. Last year a leader of that movement, Stanislas Meyerhoff was arrested in Charlottesville and charged with a series of arsons on Vail Mountain in Colorado.
Four men were also arrested near Harrisonburg for allegedly financing terrorist groups overseas. However, the task force's main objective is to prevent terror acts.
“Our main goal is to gather intelligence to prevent acts of terrorism,” said Duenas.
There are seven investigators on the task force. They include representatives from many local law enforcement agencies including UVa, Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
The task force is not common to areas this size and members of the task force say they believe their job will only get harder.

Gerlach and Meyerhoff Arraigned on Vail

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/09/28/e2.cr.backfire.0928.p1.php?sectionfiltered=cityregion

Colorado arson suspects arraigned
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard
Published: Thursday, September 28, 2006
Two central defendants in a major federal probe of arson by environmental radicals were arraigned Wednesday in federal court in Eugene on charges stemming from the $12 million arsons at a Vail, Colo., ski resort in 1998.
Chelsea Dawn Gerlach and Stanilas Gregory Meyerhoff, each 29, are scheduled to enter pleas and be sentenced on eight counts of arson in the Vail fires on Dec. 14, when they are also to be sentenced for other arson-related crimes to which they pleaded guilty in July.
Under plea deals the pair made with federal prosecutors, both agreed to have the Colorado charges transferred to Oregon to be settled along with their other arson cases. The Vail crimes focused national attention on radical environmentalists who credit their attacks to the secretive Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front.
The Vail fires are one of 18 separate attacks charged to a group of 13 alleged co-conspirators that happened between 1996 and 2001. The case, dubbed Operation Backfire by federal investigators, is the largest-ever indictment of a radical environmental group.
Meyerhoff, 29, who has publicly renounced his involvement with ELF, earlier pleaded guilty to 54 charges related to seven separate attacks in a plea deal for a sentence of 15 years and eight months, according to court records.
As part of his deal, authorities in Michigan, Arizona, Washington, Wyoming and California will not prosecute potential cases against him, according to court records.
Gerlach pleaded guilty to 18 charges in five separate attacks. She has publicly apologized for the harm and fear created by her actions, which she said were motivated by "a deep sense of despair and anger at the deteriorating state of the global environment."
Gerlach will get a 10-year sentence under her plea deal unless the judge decides on a shorter term. Authorities in Wyoming, Washington and California agreed not to pursue potential cases against Gerlach, according to court records.
Of the 13 defendants, six have pleaded guilty, four face trial and three are currently fugitives.

CHILE’S POLICE CRACK DOWN ON ANARCHIST GROUPS

(September 29, 2006) Chilean police launched a new offensive against the various “anarchist groups” operating in Santiago this week in response to the Molotov cocktail launched at the La Moneda Presidential Palace during a September 10 protest march.

CHILE’S POLICE CRACK DOWN ON ANARCHIST GROUPS

In Wake Of La Moneda 9/11 Molotov Cocktail Attack

Santiago Times

(September 29, 2006) Chilean police launched a new offensive against the various “anarchist groups” operating in Santiago this week in response to the Molotov cocktail launched at the La Moneda Presidential Palace during a September 10 protest march.

The order to monitor the groups was issued by Judge Leonardo de la Prida, and the Special Investigations Brigade of the Chilean Civil Police (Bipe) is now actively creating a “register” of all anarchist groups operating in the country, documenting the groups’ leaders, members, ideology, financing, operating areas, and possible connections to foreign anarchist movements.

The new crackdown on Chile’s anarchist movement lead to a raid Tuesday in the San Ignacio borough of Santiago. Six young anarchists were arrested in a squatter settlement, and police said the group had Molotov cocktails in their possession. One of the arrested included a Spanish citizen, Miquel Balaguer, identified as being a leader in the Barcelona-based “okupa” movement.

Police Chief José Bernales said that police found evidence the group had participated in the violent marches that occurred on September 10 and 11 commemorating the September 11, 1973 military coup lead by Gen. Augusto Pinochet (ST, Sept. 11). The police suspect the group has connections with other anarchist groups, and evidence was found indicating the group had been planning violent actions for an upcoming October 9 protest march in support of Chile’s native Mapuche population.

The actions against the anarchist groups were widely criticized online in anarchist blogs and on the Indymedia independent media outlet. A group calling itself the “Platform for the Freedom of Anarchist Prisoners” issued an online press release on Wednesday and said, “Today they criminalize us just for being anarchists, for expressing an alternative political view, paradoxically in a country that prides itself by speaking of democracy and freedom of _expression.”

The group called for the release of the “26-S Anarchist prisoners” (alluding to the day they were arrested). At about the same time, the Chilean consulate in Barcelona was covered with graffiti urging the prisoners’ release.

While Chile’s mainstream media widely reported that Molotov cocktails were found during the house raid, anarchist activists argued that the objects found were simple household goods. In an article entitled “Witch Hunt in Chile,” Indymedia reported that the confiscated goods included empty bottles, common in any house populated by groups of university students; kerosene, used by several of the detained who are fire-jugglers; and sawdust, used to care for the many cats found in the house.

In addition to the materials that could be used for Molotov cocktails, the police carted away “subversive material,” including magazines, posters, banners and books.

A witness to the raid told Chile’s La Nación newspaper that the house was a “cultural center.” “They showed free movies there. I know one of the people that lived at the house. I never saw several of the people who were taken away; they may have been there for just a day or two,” the witness said.

The raid prompted fear in other squatter collectives around Santiago. The leader of the República 550 Cultural Collective, Alex Corvalán, filed a preventative lawsuit Wednesday before Chile’s Court of Appeals, seeking to protect the commune’s residents from police action. According to Corvalán, police asked to enter the center last week and were allowed in. Once inside, however, the police began to “interrogate” the residents.

“I think a serious attack against democracy is underway in Chile,” said the center’s pro-bono lawyer, Hugo Gutiérrez. “People are being persecuted for their ideas, for their beliefs, and that is not tolerable.”

The República collective was created in 2005, after a group of squatters known as Akí took over the abandoned building. Today, over 600 people from age 15 to 80, including ballerinas, acrobats, actors, human rights activists, and indigenous Mapuches, frequent the center.

“We are a group of professionals that have started a cultural project,” said one of the collective’s spokesmen, who is called Lobsang. “A lot of people come here to create and learn. We don’t want them to be bothered by the police bugging us.”

The actions against Chile’s anarchist groups come after the Bachelet government was widely criticized for being caught off guard by the student protests that rocked Santiago in May and June. After sacking her Interior Minister and appointing Belisario Velasco to the job, the government indicated it would use secret “informants” in order not to be caught off guard again (ST, Jul. 18).

Bachelet said it was the duty of the executive to be aware of pending social problems and to have all available information. “We are speaking of institutions approved by Parliament, of police forces that always work to find problems and solve them,” she said. “As the entire world wants us to better anticipate problems, that is what we are going to do.”

Last week, Velasco prohibited protest marches near the La Moneda Presidential Palace both in response to the Molotov cocktail and in anticipation of Monday’s health-care and student strikes (ST, Sept. 26).

“Today I could not authorize a march because there is no way to guarantee that no one will infiltrate the march to attack La Moneda, but this doesn’t signify a permanent movement backwards,” Velasco said. He said once the committee is able to identify the violent groups that infiltrate demonstrations to encourage vandalism of property and confrontations with the police, it will allow marches around the capitol building to resume.

Still, not everyone was pleased with the crackdown. Representatives of the Families of the Disappeared called the measures “unnecessary” and “insulting a right that the Chilean people achieved after many years of fighting and at huge costs” (ST, Sept. 25).

Velasco received widespread acclaim in Chile’s mainstream media after Monday’s strikes and marches were mostly peaceful in nature, and many argued the methods he implemented had proved successful.

SOURCE: LA TERCERA, EL MERCURIO, INDYMEDIA, LA NACIÓN
By Nathan Crooks (editor@santiagotimes.cl)


============================

9-11 VIOLENCE ROCKS SANTIAGO, CHILE

Santiago Times

(September 13, 2006) Violence erupted in several parts of Santiago Monday night, as protestors marked the 33rd anniversary of the September 11, 1973 military coup led by Gen. August Pinochet that plunged the country into 17 years of dictatorial rule. According to police, the violence peaked at 10 p.m. In perhaps the most tragic incident, a six-year-old child was shot in the head by a stray bullet while playing in his house.

Hooded protestors blocked roads and attacked power stations in the southern Santiago communities of La Pintana and Puente Alto. Widespread power outages were reported.

Traffic was blocked to the exclusive Santiago suburb of Huechuraba because of barricades set up on the Avenida Vespucio highway.

In Santiago’s Peñalolén borough, police faced off 100 protestors at the intersection of Tobalaba and Grecia. The conflict was broadcast live on TV, and protestors were seen firing semi-automatic guns into the air.

The six-year-old child who was shot with a bullet apparently fired into the air by the Peñalolén protestors. The bullet entered the second floor apartment in which the child was playing with its mother.

The child, identified only by the initials T. F. A. B., was taken to Santiago’s Clinica Alemana Hospital and operated on several times. By Tuesday morning the bullet had been removed, but the child remained in critical condition.

Santiago’s historic center borough was relatively quiet, as were the neighboring borough of Providencia and the eastern suburbs of Las Condes. Santiago Times staff reported empty streets along the normally busy downtown Ahumada and Huerfanos pedestrian boulevards. All businesses were closed early, and many were boarded up with plywood.

Metropolitan Governor Víctor Barrueto spent the night in a helicopter observing the violence. The helicopter overflights reminded many of the worst days of the Pinochet regime, when popular protests were similarly observed and threatened. Early in the day, over 79 were detained after protestors connected with the radical Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front took over the University of Santiago and resisted police with 90 Molotov cocktails.

Violent protests were also reported in Arica, Temuco, Valparaíso, and Concepción.

President Michelle Bachelet condemned the violence Monday, referring to a Molotov cocktail tossed at La Moneda during a Sunday march. “No one has the right to attack La Moneda,” she said. “The best way we can honor this tragic day is to commemorate it in a way that makes the country better. People didn’t give their lives for this country so that these kinds of attacks could occur” (ST, September 12).

Bachelet said that it was regrettable that there were “still people who don’t understand the sacrifice that was made to restore democracy to the country…. La Moneda was in flames 33 years ago, it’s something that should never happen again.”

The Sunday march turned violent as it proceeded from Santiago’s central Alameda boulevard, past the La Moneda Presidential Palace, and onwards to Santiago’s General Cemetery, where the remains of political opponents killed during the Pinochet era are buried. An anarchist group, identified by the initials CRA, tossed a Molotov cocktail at the Palace and also painted graffiti on surrounding buildings. The central headquarters of the BancoEstado bank was also attacked (ST, September 11).

The Santiago Times received unconfirmed reports that numerous U.S. franchises, most especially McDonalds and Burger Kings, were also attacked by vandals. National media did not confirm these reports.

September 11 was decreed a national holiday during the Pinochet regime and remained a holiday during the first years after Chile’s transition to democracy, thus giving protesters a day free to manifest their disapproval of the anniversary.

Following Chile’s return to democracy in the 1990’s, the day has been used by both Pinochet supporters and leftist activists to mark the most controversial event in modern Chilean history. In the early 1990’s, protesters were sometimes killed, but the intensity of the protests has calmed in recent years.

Forty-nine people were arrested in last year’s September 11 protests.

The September 11 commemorations come smack in the middle of a politically charged month in Chile that includes the anniversary of a failed attempt of Gen. Pinochet’s life (Sept. 10), which is celebrated by many, and the national independence holidays celebrated September 18 and 19.

SOURCE: LA TERCERA, EL MERCURIO
By Nathan Crooks (editor@santiagotimes.cl)

Friday, September 29, 2006

URGENT! support andy stepanian of SHAC 7

URGENT! support andy stepanian of SHAC 7

Very Urgent Donations Needed for SHAC-7 Defendant Andy Stepanian

SHAC-7 Defendant Andy Stepanian has located a great first amendment attorney who has represented members of MOVE, the Black Liberation Army, Republican National Convention arrestees, and many others, and has argued numerous times in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (where the SHAC-7 will appeal their convictions). However, Andy needs to raise $7,000 by THIS TUESDAY in order to be able to hire this attorney and file his appeal on time. Unlike many of the other defendants, Andy has had only a public defender up until this point. Having received the maximum possible sentence for his charge, it is extremely important that he have competent counsel to work on his appeal - otherwise we will not see Andy for another three years.

All donations need to be RECEIVED by this Tuesday, October 3, or Andy will not be able to hire this attorney (by Wednesday, he will be in jail). If you can donate, or if you can hold an emergency fundraiser in your area, PLEASE do so for Andy. All donations can be sent to the address below. For questions on the issue, or how to transfer money in time, please call: (603) 387-2018

Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to the "Animal Defense League," and all mailed donations should be sent to:
2119 South 16th St.
Apt. 2
Philadelphia, PA 19145

Thank you! For more info on the case, visit www.SHAC7.com

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Urgent Action on Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Needed RIGHT NOW!

Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act action alert

New federal law may pass TOMORROW that labels peaceful activism as "terrorism!"

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) is pending in Congress (HR 4239). Industry groups are pushing it through quickly and with little public scrutiny (fast-tracking it like the Patriot Act... first through the House of Reps, then through the Senate) before the Fall recess.
They plan to vote on this tomorrow, Friday, September 29 in the House.

This is the most important call yet because it affects our ability to help ALL animals!

We need to flood the lines with calls in opposition now!
Call the numbers below and tell them where you live to be connected to your local reps. Even if you are under 18 please call, you will be voting soon and they need to hear from all of us!
• Contact your House Reps now at 202-224-3121 to urge them to oppose HR 4239.
• Contact your Senators now at 202-224-3121 to urge them to oppose S 3880 (was S 1926).
• Contact co-sponsors Senators Inhof & Feinstein at 202-224-3121 to oppose S 3880.
• Forward this message to friends & social advocacy groups.

Details & Talking Points:

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act drastically expands the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992.

• AETA labels the tactics of Martin Luther King and Gandhi as “terrorism.” It spells out penalties for “an offense involving exclusively a nonviolent physical obstruction of an animal enterprise or a business having a connection to, or relationship with, an animal enterprise, that may result in loss of profits but does not result in bodily injury….” In other words any act that causes a loss of profits to animal-exploiting industries (like a reduction in meat consumption) can be treated as terrorism.
• AETA risks the prosecution of undercover investigators, whistle-blowers and other activists as “terrorists.” It defines “economic damage” as including “the loss of profits.” The extremely vague and broad sweeping language puts all animal advocates at risk. Causing the loss of profits is NOT terrorism. It’s effective activism. And even activists that are not prosecuted under the law will be affected by the extreme rhetoric.
• AETA is unnecessary. There are already laws to protect industries against illegal actions, regardless of who commits the acts.
All Americans should be concerned about this gross infringement on the first amendment. The term terrorism should not be used against peaceful social justice advocacy.

6 anarchists arrested after police raid a squat in Chile.

Santiago de Chile.
> In the morning of September 26th, special forces of the police broke into
> a squatted house located downtown, and six people, including a compañero
> from Spain, have been detained. Police say that molotov bombs and all the
> stuff required to prepare them were found in the place. Empty bottles (who
> doesn't have empty bottles at home?), kerosene (some of the people were
> jugglers and of course did fire juggling), sawdust (used for beds that the
> [black] cats in the house had), and of course "subversive material":
> zines, posters, banners, books, and videos and printed instructives to
> make molotov bombs. 4 bombs already made were found, according to the
> local CSI, who were there too. All the four bombs were supposed to be used
> in the protest organized for that day by the Nacional Association of
> Teachers and High School students organizations.
>
>
> This is a intelligence operation directed by the Vicepresident himself
> together with the A.N.I. (National Agency of Intelligence), a quite dark
> institution that resembles the ones that operated during the fascist
> dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Of course, this is just one part of the
> operation, they have been filming during protests, investigating activist
> groups, infiltrating grassroots movements. For the part of the media, we
> suddenly start to hear and see on television that "anarchists" or
> "anarchic groups" are responsible for all kinds of destructive actions
> during protests. This year has been tough for the public image of
> anarchists in Chile. What used to be "infiltrators" in protests, are now
> identified as "anarchists", which is, at least in the mass media, new.
>
> "A network of anarchists, activists has been dismantled", said the General
> Director of Carabineros (Police). "We've seen this for a long time, [these
> people] breaking into authorized protests, with their faces covered and
> molotov bombs". Belisario Velasco, the Vicepresident said "intelligence
> operations are being developed by the Police and the Investigation Bureau
> and some houses where molotov bombs are being produced already identified
> and will be raided soon".
>
> President Bachelet was satisfied with all the operation. She said that the
> government is "going to do whatever is necessary to preserve the rights,
> not only of those who want to express themselves, but also of the ones who
> want to live in peace and quietly".
>
> Regarding the spanish kid, Velasco said that "once he serves the sentence
> that the court might give him, he will be expelled from the country".
>
> This is what progressive democracy looks like.
>
> Please send this news to all the people, organizations and radical news
> websites you know.
>
> September 27th.
> Agencia Interlocal de Traducción Urgente.
> Interlocal Agency of Urgent Translation.

Eric McDavid's Birthday is on October 7!

Sacramento Prisoner Support
> September 27, 2006
> Eric's Birthday
> sacprisonersupport [at] riseup [dot] net
>
> Eric McDavid's Birthday is on October 7!
>
> Remember that sometimes it takes Eric's mail a while to reach him, so when
> sending birthday cards and wishes, please allow for some extra time (which
> means send them soon!). This birthday will not be an easy one - Eric will
> have been in jail for almost 9 months on October 7. Let's try to make it
> as good as we can from out here. Send him a card, your favorite poem, song
> lyrics, a beautiful picture - anything to help brighten his day. Thank you
> all for your continued support!
>
> Please see www.supporteric.org/howtohelp.htm for more information on
> writing eric.
>
> And visit www.supporteric.org for information and updates on his case.

She Is 6 To Today!

LA Protest: business as usual

A Plan for Very Civil Disobedience

Police and union will follow a script, which even specifies who will be arrested, in a march near LAX to organize hotel workers.

By Joe Mathews
Times Staff Writer

September 28, 2006

Four hundred people will be arrested early this evening for blocking Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport, in what could prove to be one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in the city's history.

At least that's how the script reads.

For much of this year, the national hotel workers union, labor leaders and immigrant groups have been planning today's protest. Marchers are supporting a drive to organize the mostly immigrant, nonunion workers employed at 13 hotels near the airport.

If the event goes as envisioned, organizers say, it will be a highly choreographed episode of street theater, timed for news broadcasts and peaceful enough to persuade but not enrage the public.

The Los Angeles Police Department has been involved at nearly every stage, advising organizers on how to proceed without endangering public safety. Experts say the close cooperation with law enforcement reflects a more powerful and mature labor movement, and a city government that is far friendlier to labor than its predecessors.

Organizers obtained a permit this week for 1,000 to 2,000 marchers. About 400 of them have signed forms pledging to be arrested and have taken a mandatory class that taught them how to remain calm even when screamed at or insulted.

The driver's license numbers and other personal information of those volunteer arrestees have already been passed on to the LAPD to expedite processing. (Police sent word that six of the volunteers should rethink their participation; though no official reason was given, the six may have outstanding warrants, union officials said).

For its part, Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers in Southern California, has arranged for parking, storage of the arrestees' car keys, lawyers to defend them, crews to clean up after the event and vans to pick up the protesters from jail.

Upon release from jail, expected within 24 hours, each protester will receive a meal (burritos and bottles of water) and a souvenir (their protest sign reading "I Am A Human Being").

"We don't want any surprises," said Paulina Gonzalez, a Unite Here staffer who is handling communications for the event. "We want nobody to get hurt. We want the most peaceful event possible."

Such cooperation would have been almost inconceivable less than a generation ago. Many labor leaders and police commanders remember a protest in Century City in June 1990, when more than 300 demonstrators marching in support of an effort to unionize janitors clashed with police in riot gear. More than a dozen people were injured.

Police officials say the current model allows them to speed up the booking process in a city that typically sees 500 arrests a day. Union leaders say that working with police allows them to keep members safe. Both sides are keenly aware of the public relations advantages of keeping the protest orderly and peaceful.

"The union is trying to present to us the people who are going to be arrested, so we can anticipate some of the booking," said LAPD Capt. William Hayes of the Pacific Division. "We can plan…. We don't want to impact the regular police functions."

Lou Cannon, author of "Official Negligence," a book about the LAPD, the Rodney King case and the 1992 riots, said Los Angeles police officers have a strong union and now "have more of a union consciousness than the general public."

"It's also that we're in an age where the police and the union are quite sophisticated," Cannon said. "There's something in this for both sides."

Peter Dreier, an Occidental College professor of politics who is an expert on cities and labor, said the union is seeking to maximize attention while minimizing disruption. The blocking of Century Boulevard will trigger media coverage of workers' concerns about low pay and expensive health benefits that could not be obtained in other ways.

"What they're trying to do is get a lot of publicity and make it a high-profile issue," Dreier said.

In the face of cooperation between the city and the union, the objections of hotels have fallen on deaf ears. Managers at the LAX Hilton alleged this week that the protest was part of an effort by Unite Here to intimidate workers so they would join the union.

Michael T. Pfeiffer, executive director of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, which represents 80 hotels, objected to the protest in a letter this week to the Police Commission. "There certainly must be a better location for the September 28 march than on Century Boulevard, the primary thoroughfare in and out of LAX," he wrote.

The commission granted the union's request for a permit for the protest the very same day.

That permit calls for a rally at 4:30 p.m. next to the Radisson Hotel, just outside the entrance to the airport. At 5:30 p.m., the union will begin a march east along Century, occupying three of the four westbound lanes.

Half of the protesters who have signed up to be arrested will stop outside the LAX Hilton and sit down in the street, an action that is designed to lead to their arrest beginning at 6:10 p.m. The other half will continue east before stopping and being arrested in front of the Westin.

According to the union, those arrested will include Los Angeles County Federation of Labor chief Maria Elena Durazo, leaders of several other unions, about 100 students being bused in from Southern California colleges, about 60 religious leaders, more than 100 community and immigrant activists, 100 relatives and friends of airport hotel workers, and assorted elected officials.

"I've never taken this action before in my life," said Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), chairwoman of the powerful Assembly Appropriations Committee, referring to what would be the first arrest of her life. "I feel that it's important to make a statement."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is not scheduled to attend. A spokesman said Villaraigosa supported the hotel workers but agreed that those who disobeyed the law and blocked traffic must be arrested.

In addition, Tony Dolz, a Republican Assembly candidate who is active with the Minutemen, said late Wednesday that he had obtained a permit for a counter-protest by the group, which opposes illegal immigration. Dolz said he considered the union protest, because of its proximity to the airport, "an act of domestic terrorism."

Union organizers have urged the airport-area hotel workers not to sit down in the street today, saying that federal labor law might not protect their jobs if they are arrested in front of hotels where they work. Workers have been encouraged to participate in the march.

On Monday night, 43 of those planning to be arrested gathered for nearly two hours of training at Unite Here offices near downtown Los Angeles.

As they entered, protesters were given several forms to sign, including one titled "Arrestees September 28th Action" and others authorizing a lawyer hired by the union, Erika Diaz, to represent them.

"Nelson Mandela spent most of his life in prison," said Glen Arnodo, a top staffer for Unite Here, as he welcomed workers. "We're going to spend one night."

Victoria Vergara, who works at the Bonaventure Hotel and has been arrested four times in protests, told the volunteers: "I'm willing to get arrested as many times as I can to improve working conditions for us."

The protesters also received a schedule, a primer on civil disobedience and a "Frequently Asked Questions" sheet with queries such as "Where Should I Park at LAX?" "What Do We Do to Get Arrested?" and "How Long Will I Be In Jail?"

The protest will be color-coded. Those planning to be arrested will carry yellow signs. Other marchers will carry white signs. Different colored armbands will announce whether a marcher is to be arrested in front of the Hilton or the Westin.

The Rev. Bridie Roberts, minister at Pico Union Shalom Ministries, a Methodist congregation, discussed nonviolence and asked anyone who intended to engage in "aggression" not to show up. With that, she asked the arrestees to pair off and stand nose to nose. Each person then took turns screaming at the partner.

Gustavo Licon, 26, who is active in the group MEChA at USC, bellowed at his friend and fellow student, Ana Valderrama: "Get out of my way! Let me get to the airport!"

The arrestees listened to presentations on the rally's logistics and the legal consequences of arrest. Questions abounded. What about the unpaid speeding ticket in Kansas? What about my unanswered jury summons?

Those who are wanted by the law for other infractions should not get arrested, Diaz said.

Diaz said the city attorney has indicated that arrestees will not have to go to court and will not be prosecuted as long as they are not arrested again in the next 12 months. (A spokesman for the city attorney said that although that is the general practice in such cases, there is no agreement with the union.)

Being on time is crucial, the arrestees were warned, and everyone must check in and put car keys in a brown envelope.

"If you don't check in, you're not going to get arrested," said Arnodo, the Unite Here official.

Other advice was specific.

Leave wedding rings at home. (Police have to remove jewelry and process it, which means you'll stay in jail longer.)

Don't carpool. (Arrestees will be split up and taken to three different police stations, so you may not have a ride back.)

Bring your family and loved ones (for moral support).

Their questions answered, the arrestees clapped and chanted "Si se puede." Spanish for "Yes, we can!" Then they walked upstairs to have their forms notarized.

Buju Banton "Violence to Gays" Reggae Not Cancelled For Thursday WOW Hall 9PM

Buju Banton "Violence to Gays" Reggae Not Cancelled For Thursday WOW Hall 9PM

"Dis is not a deal
Guy come near we
Then his skin must peel
Burn him up bad like an old tire wheel"

-- Buju Banton song "Boom Bye Bye" 1992
As of Wednesday evening Portland promoter Mike Thrasher had refused to cancel his booking of Buju Banton at Eugene's Community Center for the Performing Arts, better known as WOW Hall. Sally Sheklow and other gay and lesbian community members picked the WOW hall Tuesday. WOW hall staff, requested that Thrasher cancel the show. Thrasher refused. The WOW hall is requiring that Thrasher hire 10 extra security guards for the show. Thrasher indicated his willingness to hire the guards, even through the show might loose money. The Banton appearance in Seattle was cancelled after community protests. Banton played Portland's Crystal Ballroom Monday September 25 (Portland Human Rights supporters were reported "asleep at the wheel").

Besides the anti-gay song, reportedly still in his performances, Banton was one of the men charged in Kinston, Jamaica with the June 24, 2004 beating of six gay men. Banton reportedly paid a $50,000 fine but served no jail time for the violence.

The Eugene venue for the scheduled performance Thursday September 28 is a progressive community owned non-profit hall. The center, informally known as the WOW Hall, promotes its own shows but also rents the facility to outside promoters. The Banton show is such a rental.

At least some WOW Hall staff plans to support and even join protesters at the hall at 8th and Lincoln in downtown Eugene on Thursday. Its also possible than the artist himself, or Eugene police, might cancel the show if it becomes clear that the community is not inclined to tolerate performance artists who promote violence against gays.

October 5th demo day

OCTOBER 5: THERE IS A WAY! THERE IS A DAY!


Think of all the people who are deeply distressed over the direction in which the Bush regime is dragging the country—and the world... All the people who are outraged over the way in which this regime is arrogantly seeking to bludgeon into submission people in the Middle East, and throughout the world, while trampling on the rights of the people in the U.S. itself... All the people who care about the future of humanity and the planet we live on, and who recognize the many ways in which the Bush regime is increasingly posing a dire threat to this... All the people who are stirred with a profound restlessness by these feelings but are held back by the fear that they are alone and powerless; or who say that they wish something could be done to stop and reverse this whole disastrous course, but nothing will make a difference; or who hope that somehow the Democrats will do something to change this, when everyday it becomes more clear that they will not... All these people, who make up a very large part of the population of this country and whose basic sentiments are shared by the majority of people throughout the world...

Imagine if, from out of this huge reservoir of people, a great wave were unleashed, moving together on the same occasion, making, through their firm stand and their massive numbers, a powerful political statement that could not be ignored: refusing that day to work, or walking out from work, taking off from school or walking out of schooljoining together, rallying and marching, drawing forward many more with them, and in many and varied forms of creative and meaningful political protest throughout the day, letting it be known that they are determined to bring this whole disastrous course to a halt by driving out the Bush Regime through the mobilization of massive political opposition.

If that were done, then the possibility of turning things around and onto a much more favorable direction would take on a whole new dimension of reality.


For details go to: www.worldcantwait.org

The intelligence report cites "leftist" groups as a terror threat

Fron Salon.com today:

The intelligence report cites "leftist" groups as a terror threat

The now-declassified summary of the National Intelligence Estimate (PDF) on "Trends in Global Terrorism" focuses almost exclusively on Islamic extremists. But inserted at the very end is this one overlooked, though seemingly quite important, passage that identifies other terrorist threats:
"Anti-U.S. and anti-globalization sentiment is on the rise and fueling other radical ideologies. This could prompt some leftist, nationalist, or separatist groups to adopt terrorist methods to attack US interests. The radicalization process is occurring more quickly, more widely, and more anonymously in the Internet age, raising the likelihood of surprise attacks by unknown groups whose members and supporters may be difficult to pinpoint." It continues: "We judge that groups of all stripes will increasingly use the Internet to communicate, propagandize, recruit, train and obtain logistical and financial support."
Prior to 9/11, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil was in Oklahoma City, where Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal building in pursuit of his right-wing, anti-federal-government agenda. But there is nothing in the NIE findings about right-wing or anti-government groups. Instead, there is a rather stark warning about the danger of "leftist" groups using the Internet to engage in terrorist attacks against the United States. Is there any basis at all for that warning?
There have been scattered reports over the last several years that the Bush administration's anti-terrorism programs have targeted domestic political groups solely because such groups espouse views contrary to the administration's. That this claim about "leftist" terrorist groups made it into the NIE summary is particularly significant in light of the torture and detention bill that is likely soon to be enacted into law. That bill defines "enemy combatant" very broadly (and the definition may be even broader by the time it is enacted) and could easily encompass domestic groups perceived by the administration to be supporting a "terrorist agenda."
Similarly, the administration has claimed previously that it eavesdrops on the conversations of Americans only where there is reasonable grounds (as judged by the administration) to believe that one of the parties is affiliated with a terrorist group. Does that include "leftist" groups that use the Internet to organize? This NIE finding gives rise to this critical question: Are "leftist" groups one of the principal targets on the anti-terrorism agenda of the Bush administration, and if so, aren't the implications rather disturbing?
-- Glenn Greenwald

AP: Italian communists hail end of house arrest for woman convicted in U.S. for robbery

Italian communists hail end of house arrest for woman convicted in U.S. for robbery

The Associated Press

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

Rome: The remainder of a 40-year U.S. prison sentence for armed robberies and links to black militants, is now free thanks to a recent, nationwide amnesty, communist politicians announced Tuesday.

When Silvia Baraldini was transferred to her homeland Italy from a federal prison in Connecticut in 1999 to serve the remaining 23 years of her sentence, the deal included a condition that she not be released early.

But in 2001, Baraldini was transferred to house arrest while she was being treated for breast cancer for a few months. A court later extended the house arrest. A few years later she began working as a researcher for the city of Rome on women in the work world.

A cause celebre among the Italian left, Baraldini was convicted of robberies and attempted robberies in the United States, including a 1981 holdup of a Brinks truck. In 1983, then-federal prosecutor and future New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, won the long sentence for subversive association and other charges.

A guard and two police officers were killed in the holdup. Baraldini has said she had nothing to do with the crime. She was also convicted in the 1979 kidnapping of New Jersey prison guards to help convicted Black Panthers killer Joanne Chesimard escape from prison.

Baraldini, whose sentence was supposed to run out in 2008, benefited from a recent amnesty freeing inmates who had less than three years to serve on their sentences from Italy's overcrowded jails.

A communist leader, Giovanni Russo Spena, called freedom for Baraldini "a good day for democracy."

Support needed, friends in jail (Phils.)

Greetings!
This is Terry from MIP (Manila Infoshop project) . Since last year we have been receiving copies of the 4Struggle Magazine and we really appreciate the contribution you sent for the library.
Early this year in February, we have our hitch-hiker/backpacker friends bound for Sagada Mountain province arrested, tortured and illegally detained by the military and cops in Buguias Town in Benguet - they were forced to admit that they were members of the New People's Army (the communist party of the phils. armed/guerilla group) due to a raid at the camp believed to be perpetrated by NPA members. Kolektivs here in the Phils. doesn't have any legal assistance group to help us out, the area/region is a communist infested area so the Cordillera Human Rights Group immediately responded to the situation. However, the CHRA (Cordillera Human Rights) was a member organization under KARAPATAN (the national human rights/political prisoner support group of the National Democratic Front-CPP) so it was difficult for us to intervene with the case - the kids got a legal counsel courtesy of FLAG (free Legal Assistance Group) - this legal group is not purely commie, however the CHRA has people working inside FLAG and they recommended their comrade lawyers immediately to handle the case...
We have already visited the kids in prison (some of them were minor and 1 of them was a 14 year old girl) , minors were recently released under the monitoring of Dept. of Social Welfare - still we face problems b'coz even CHRA and the lawyers no longer gives updates to the prisoners (tho it is their right at least to know the status of their case...) ... mostly punk friends/kolektivs visit them in jail (visiting days only on weekends) their families and relatives mostly lives in remote provinces...some of them were as far as southern Phils. in mindanao region.
We want to help our friends becoz if the authorities found out that they are from anarchist kolektivs/autonomous groups they would probably suffer the consequences of actions they never did. The situation in the prison system (specifically in provincial areas ...) is tough - the area is located in one of the coldest part of Phils. and they were never given enough food.... they sleep on the floor or in a very small wooden bench about 4 inch. wide - inside each cell contains 25-18 prisoners.
Also, we have difficulties with CHRA as they refuse to provide details unless ur a close relative or parents of the detainees - some kolektivs/individuals would visit the CHRA office only to be not informed - as for the lawyers, they always give excuses and jumping conclusions as such as "no sched of hearing yet" ...for the last 4 months...and another couple of months... - one of the parents disclosed to us that CHRA had them signed papers as approval to only allow the CHRA to intervene on the case...they would not consult other human right/prisoner support groups ..(the parents had no idea at all what their kids got into... so they neither understand the consequences of allowing CHRA to handle the case xcept for the fact they xpect that FLAG is a free legal Assistance with lawyers for their kids..) - we have tried here locally to seek other human rights groups but they are not allowed to intervene (due to leftist dogma clouding their minds...) so finally, the Asian Human Rights group based in HongKong helped us out but they cannot also intervene... we felt at lost as we already have our friends inside the jail for political crimes they didn't commit and yet still they were being hostaged by the commies for not pushing thru with the campaign - they have all the xcuses of death threats (we also have that share...) against their group due to massive killings/assasinations of activists specifically in northern Luzon region - not to mention that Phils. is the 2nd to Iraq in terms of danger for the media (mostly journalists/radio broadcasters...)
We already made petition campaign and about 2 weeks ago we submitted a copy to the dept. of justice in manila.
The updates and infos can be found @ http://a-manila.org (Sagada 11 Campaign), don't hesitate to contact us for inquries on this campaign -
If there's any help/assistance you can provide to us, we have an informal prisoner support network and individuals working on these matters - do contact us.

Herman Wallace court news audio

Here's a link to an mp3 file from new orleans indymedia. News from
Herman's struggle.

http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2006/09/8782.php

www.angola3.org
www.jerichoboston.org

Jeff Hogg

Jeff Hogg is currently jailed for refusing to testify in front of a
federal grand jury being used illegally to build their case against
Green Scare defendants. Originally, the grand jury in Eugene was set
to end this month, and Jeff would have been freed. This grand jury
has now been extended until March, meaning Jeff could be held till
then. Jeff is a nursing student in a competitive program. Due to his
incarceration, his schooling has been put on hold indefinitely. He
has also lost his job working with autistic adults. His partner is
struggling to make ends meet. More fundraisers are needed to help
them keep their home. We had a very successful garage sale here in
Eugene, but more help is needed.

An appeal of the judge's decision to continue to hold Jeff has been
filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The final brief is due
on September 26th. Jeff has remained steadfast in his refusal to
cooperate with this grand jury, or any grand jury being used to
squelch freedom of speech and free association. It is our deepest
hope that the 9th ciruit court will agree and demand Jeff's release.

Your continued support of Jeff through this difficult time is sorely
needed. Please write to him, and consider holding a fundraiser on his
behalf. Print up the support flyers attached here and post them
everywhere. For info on how to donate to Jeff's support, email
gumbycascadia@riseup.net Write to Jeff at:

Jeffrey Hogg
1901 NE F St.,
Grants Pass, OR 97526
USA

Belgium: political trial against DHKP-C - AIC

Belgium: political trial against DHKP/C


Report on the TRIAL OF APPEAL IN BELGIUM
which took place from September 11th-19th, 2006

When law is ending and political prosecution takes over its place


DECISION: 7th NOVEMBER

Between 11th and 19th September (2006) one of the most spectacular trials against presumable members of the DHKP-C was handled before the court of appeal in Gent, Belgium. On 28th February, 7 of 11 defendants were sentenced with 4 - 6,5 years of prison. 4 of the 11 accused have been acquitted by the court, but the Federal prosecutor went into appeal for 9 of the accused.

Since end of February 3 of the defendants, Musa Asoglu (6,5), Sükriye Akar (4) and Kaya Saz (4) remain in the prison of Brugge under strong isolation conditions, despite of several court decisions saying that there was no reason to isolate them.

All three prisoners, and the spokesman of the DHKC Information Bureau in Brussels, Bahar Kimyongür just as Hasan Ekinci who was aquitted from the trial but again included by the appeal of the Federal prosecutor, were present at the courtroom with their lawyers on their side.

Following the demand of lawyer Fermon, also Taylan Tanay, lawyer from Turkey joined the trial. Furthermore over hundred 'prisoners' relatives', members of CLEA (Committee for the Freedom of _Expression and Association) and international delegations from Italy, Austria, England and Germany filled the courtroom.

During the trial, which continued for 7 days, also the defendants made statements. Bahar Kimyongür's lawyer Carl Alexander, stressed, that the accusations of prosecutor were completely untrue. "It is claimed that Musa Asoglu and Bahar Kimyongür confessed themselves to a bomb action of DHKC, during the press conference 'Resistanbul 2004' (a left alliance founded in relation to the NATO summit in Turkey), which took place on 28th June 2004.

But this claim has been completely proven wrong by video records from this press conference by IHA and AA (two official press agencies from Turkey). There are many other witnesses, just like a correspondent of the Italian News Agency, who could confirm that such a confession of an action wasn't the case. Furthermore, only 4 months after the incidents, the Ministry of Justice answered to a question about DHKC Information Bureau, that the activities of the bureau were legal and according to the law.

Musa Asogolu, for whom prosecutor Delmulle asks the highest sentence, is exactly tried in connection with the alleged confession to the action during the mentioned press meeting.

While Asoglu is tried for the Knokke case related to a criminal organisation, because of arms and false documents found there, in fact they aim to punish him after the anti-terror law. But the only argumentation for trying him after that law is the accusation to have confessed the action")... Prosecutor Delmulle wants to pave the way for a prosecution according to the "anti-terror law".

The lawyer on behalf of the Turkish state, Kris Vincke, spoke about the "geo-political position" of Turkey. He said for example, that "Turkey is under threat of communist dictatorships" and that "organisations like the DHKP-C, attempted to carry out its bloody actions against the Turkish state, in order to create a system, which is not democratic at all".

Musa Asoglu's lawyer, Jan Fermon defended: "A Belgian court is not in the position to make a decision on the struggle waged in another country. And even, if that foreign country isn't a state of law at all and this conflict takes place only within that country. This conflict is an internal problem of Turkey, into which a Belgian court isn't authorized to interfere."

Lawyer Fermon additionally mentioned the "state of necessity" according to the law in relation with the violent action forms by DHKC. He also leaned on reports of the human rights associations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or the European Court for Human Rights, defending that violent actions of a non-parliamentary, oppositional movement are inevitable. He also reminded to article 2 of the Human Rights Convention, that foresees the "right to resist against oppression" in the case of state terrorism.

But Fermon stated, that in any case, because this would be a political decision, the recent court shouldn't give a decision about it.

In his defense, Musa Asoglu said: "70% of the trials in Strasburg are in relation with the Turkish state. During the past 30 years 50.000 people died resulting from state terrorism.

Bahar Kimyongür stated: "Dear judge, the prosecutor is asking you to punish me and expects from you to restrict freedom of _expression and democracy in your country. In this sense the burden on your shoulders is heavy. Prosecutor Delmulle and the lawyer of the Turkish state Vincke, introduce DHKP-C as a dangerous, fanatic and terrorist organisation. On the other hand they introduce the Turkish state as a democratic and a state of law. Indeed, this is a democracy of their dreams! A democracy that they want to put into life in Belgium... A democracy, which tortures, constantly puts political prisoners under torture, that honours the torturers (...). Not to see this open reality, means absolute denial. Prosecutor Delmulle tries to write history another time, without a shame and his position demonstrates the political character of the trial."

Kimyongür also responded on the prosecutor's accusation, that the 'DHKP-C doesn't respect any different view': "The Turkish state tells its citizens, beginning from the childhood, until their period for army, ideas like 'Every Turk is born as soldier' or 'What a luck to those who can say I'm a Turk'. Just follow the subtitle of the biggest newspaper in Turkey, saying 'Turkey belongs to the Turks'. Totally in contrary, DHKP-C gives the chance to all minorities in the country, to speak about their national, religious identity. Musa Asoglu is Abaza, Dursun Karatas and Fehriye Erdal are Kurds, Sükriye Akar is Las, Zerrin Sari and Kaya Saz are Turkish. I am Arab. As an Arab, I have met with intolerance and fanaticism in the Turkish state. The friends of DHKP-C always showed respect to my nationality. "

The state prosecutor asked 10 years for Musa As oglu and Dursun Karatas (secretary general), 7 years for Bahar Kimyongür and 5 years for Kaya Saz, Sükriye Akar, Fehriye Erdal and Zerrin Sar i. He asks 3 years of prison and a fine of 2500-5000 Euros for Hasan Ekici and Irfan Demirtas, who have both been acquitted in the trial.

The court decision will be announced on 7th November 2006.

SUMMARIZE:

First of all: The trial is executed by an exceptional court. The judge, Freddy Troch, is a very controversial character; he violated the law on protection of data privacy 10 years ago by leaking data on political opponents to the Turkish government while the Federal procurator responsible for this case, Johan Delmulle, declared from the very beginning that he is going to make an example out of this trial.

By its political character, its exceptional measures taken during the hearings and the heaviness of the punishments, this trial is a danger for all democrats and progressive organisations and individuals. A confirmation of the condemnations given in February in appeal will strengthen the pressure on all forces who fight imperialism and even social injustice on European soil. Among the defendants there are well known left-wing political activists. They are accused of membership in a criminal association while two of them were also alleged to be members of a terrorist organization according to the new Belgian anti-terrorist law.

Eventually the trial caught the attention of the mass media, because of Fehriye Erdal, one of the accused. She worked in Istanbul's Sabanci Centre. The Sabancis are one of the most rich and powerful families in Turkey, ruling political an economical life in the country. In January 1996, Ozdemir Sabanci was killed in the Sabanci Centre in an attack claimed by a guerilla unit of the DHKC. Fehriye Erdal was literally hunted. Even the Turkish media reports that there are bounty hunters searching for her. That's why she went into hiding until she was arrested in Belgium in 1999.

Turkey immediately tried to gain influence over the Belgian legal system by carrot and stick methods. Eventually legal means and economic relations opened the door for Turkey to Belgium's courts. Turkey managed to take part in the case in a way which violates fundamental international and national laws. A state can't be joint plaintiff in another state. This backyard door, opened to Turkey by Freddy Troch, allowed Turkey to get all files related to the trial!

In addition the defense underlined that the DHKP-C is only fighting in Turkey, where its members are tortured, hunted and murdered by the Turkish government. At this point we have to recall the massacres like Sivas, Gazi and Ümraniye which took place in the 1990's, the several massacres in the prisons as the September 1999's massacre of Ulucanlar prison in Ankara, the 19th December 2000 bloodshed in 20 prisons of the country and the ongoing oppression against the Kurdish people. Turkey's lawyer did not deny what is happening in Turkey, but he explained that the Turkish government has its reasons for behaving in this way. Admitting all these cruelties had no consequences for the Turkish state. As we know, Turkey is a EU candidate... Delmulle and Troch were very committed to Turkey. Finally the judges sentenced 7 of the accused, 5 for their membership in a criminal organisation, 1 for his membership into a terrorist organisation and one for both.

This definition of terrorism mentioned in the new Belgian anti-terror law is so large and unclear that it allows various interpretations. Its base is cadre-decision of the European Commission in 2001, after the attacks against the twin towers. In this cadre-decision, there was also a list of so-called terrorist organizations, known as the "black list". This decision and the selection of the political and military organizations in that list were made secretly, without any debate and possibility for the concerned organizations to oppose this decision.

The DHKP-C was never considered as a terrorist organisation in Belgium until the verdict of February trial. Furthermore, in 1999 there hasn't been a "black list" introduced yet, except of the list of the US State Department. But now, with the new judicial weapons called anti-terror law, the Belgian authorities make all kind of abuses by turning this trial into a political process.

Indeed, this trial tried to condemn the ideology and the aims of the DHKP-C. The simple sympathy to this revolutionary movement is considered as terrorism, and is enough to be sentenced for years of prison. This happened to Bahar Kimyongur. Bahar Kimyongur was born in Belgium. He graduated in Archaeology and went to Turkey for excavations. There he learned about the state terror of the Turkish government.. . Since then, he has campaigned for democracy and human rights in Turkey. He has never used violence in his life. He organised a press conference about the NATO summit in Istanbul and also participated in the protest rally against the summit. Twice he made statements on television: Once about an incident in 1991, and once about a bomb which went off by accident in Istanbul. These were reasons enough to find him guilty of membership in a terrorist association. The anti-terror laws, based on fantasies make that possible. He had nothing to do with the events in Knokke. Just like another person convicted, who has been in prison since February 28, 2006: Sukriye Akar.

Sukriye Akar is a political activist, who actively opposes human rights violations in Turkey and seeks democratic rights there. Her particular interest is the cause of political prisoners. Her husband has been in one of the notorious F-Type isolation prisons of Turkey since 2001. She has several times met with European Parliament members and Turkey, which needs a clean bill of health to get into the EU, must see her as a thorn in its side. She is accused for no reprehensible act but only for her supposed presence in this house. At the moment she is held in Brugge prison in isolation conditions.

But that is not the end of it. For Delmulle's stroke of genius is that he has brought all files from DHKP-C proceedings all over Europe into this case. The new anti-terror laws makes it possible. The close connections between Belgium and Turkey make similar strokes of genius possible and allow classical penal laws to be basically ignored. Although that can only be decided by a court, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs told his Turkish counterpart that Fehriye Erdal would be extradited to Turkey, where she'll face certain torture and maybe death.

She was well advised to disappear underground a day before the trial ended. Now Belgium has decided that Fehriye Erdal can be be found guilty in Belgium of the 1996 Istanbul "murder of Sabanci". The law lets itself be bent, broken - and bought.

by "Turquie Rebelle"
Monday, 25 September 2006

One Charge Dropped in Israeli Torture Case: NLG Chicago

One Charge Dropped in Israeli Torture Case

Saturday, September 23 2006 @ 07:15 PM PDT
Contributed by: NLG Chicago
Views: 102
Human RightsProsecutors on Friday, September 22, dropped one of three charges against a Chicago-area man whose false confession under torture in Israel may be largely admitted against him in a Federal trial next month.



Muhammad Salah, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian birth, and husband and father, will stand trial with a codefendant beginning October 12, in a prosecution that until now has been portrayed as “the Hamas money-laundering case.”

But the U.S. attorney’s office dropped the charge of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, apparently in direct response to successful questioning of an FBI informer’s credibility by the defense.

The dismissed count relied heavily on the informer, about whom the FBI itself expressed doubts in a 2003 document, and Mr. Salah’s lawyers moved the court last year to dismiss it. They were turned down.

The government’s use of paid informers with dubious reliability in high-profile “terrorism” cases is under increasing criticism nationally, including in pending “Green Scare” cases in Oregon and California.

The remaining two counts against Mr. Salah are racketeering and making a false statement.

Mr. Salah denies aiding Hamas.

Until now, the mainstream media had habitually referred to Mr. Salah’s prosecution as the “Hamas money-laundering case.” With the main charge dismissed, the description preferred by civil libertarians and human rights advocates, “Israeli torture trial,” may gain mainstream acceptance.

In January, 2003, Israeli soldiers seized Mr. Salah, a Chicago-area businessman and U.S. citizen who was born in East Jerusalem, at a Gaza checkpoint. Mr. Salah stated his mission was to bring humanitarian aid to the families of more than 400 alleged Hamas activists who had been detained or deported to Lebanon without trial.

At the time, the detentions and deportations had come under international criticism as illegal.

According to an affidavit of Mr. Salah, Israeli soldiers blindfolded and handcuffed him, and beat, kicked, and struck him with rifle butts during an hours-long jeep drive to an interrogation center in Ramallah, West Bank.

Over the next 74 days, according to a defense pleading, Mr. Salah was “hooded, bound, deprived of sleep, housed in a refrigerator cell, threatened, physically abused, held incommunicado, and denied access to a lawyer until he made oral statements and signed written statements in Hebrew, a language he did not speak or understand.”

“The interrogation practices of Israel’s GSS [security service] have been well-documented and condemned by both Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch, the Israeli Supreme Court, and even the U.S. State Department,” Mr. Salah’s lawyers stated in a motion earlier this year to suppress the statements extracted under torture.

That motion was denied, and the false confessions were to be admitted against Mr. Salah. What effect the dismissal of the terrorism charge will have is not yet clear.

An Israeli military court sentenced Mr. Salah to five years in prison on secret evidence. Avigdor Feldman, a well-known Israeli human rights lawyer, represented him.

Mr. Feldman and other Israeli and Palestinian human rights advocates have stated that the kind of torture Mr. Salah endured under the Israeli security service was systematic during the time of his interrogation.

In two reports in the two years before Mr. Salah’s arrest in Israel, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem found that Israeli security service torture of Palestinians was “routine.”

During more than two weeks in March 2006, the Federal trial court in Chicago held a hearing on Mr. Salah’s motion to keep the tortured statements out.

In a move that drew disapproval of civil liberties groups and even the mainstream media, the court granted the government’s motion to close parts of the hearing under the Classified Information Procedures Act. Two Israeli agents testified in closed court, under false names, to deny that Mr. Salah had been tortured.

The public version of the court’s order admitting the false confessions contains omissions, or “redactions,” pursuant to the law, known as CIPA. The redactions appear to protect information about Israeli military and secret service actions.

Mr. Salah’s lawyers have criticized the current prosecution as “politically-motivated,” and pointed out that the U.S. indictment came 13 years after his arrest in Israel. When the trial begins in Chicago on October 12, almost nine years will have passed since Mr. Salah finished serving that foreign sentence.

In connection with the current prosecution, Mr. Salah is the first — and so far only — U.S. citizen named a “specially-designated terrorist,” a legal disability that places restrictions on his ability to associate, earn a living, and provide for his family.

According to mainstream media reporters present at the September 22 hearing, the government’s motion to dismiss count two of the indictment came after the defense renewed arguments that the government should disclose information about the informer, known as Jack Mustafa.

Defense attorney Michael E. Deutsch told the court that the defense was entitled to know whether Jack Mustafa had ever been arrested, had met with the Israeli Mossad, and had been paid by the FBI.

In response, government lawyers asked the court to dismiss the charge that relied on the informer’s testimony.

The material Mr. Salah’s lawyers sought is sometimes called “Jencks material,” after a landmark case involving two paid snitches in a McCarthy-era FBI investigation into alleged communist influence in a labor union.

A union organizer was accused of making a false statement when he signed a “non-communist affidavit,” then required under Federal labor law. The government planned on using the testimony of paid informers, and the trial court denied defense discovery motions for documents related to the informers.

In 1957, in a famous opinion by Justice William J. Brennan, the U.S. Supreme Court found Mr. Jencks’s conviction unconstitutional. The combined effect of that and similar decisions was to put a stop to political “Smith Act” prosecutions of alleged communists.

Mr. Salah’s defense team in the pending Federal trial includes long-time National Lawyers Guild member Michael E. Deutsch of the People’s Law Office in Chicago.

Mr. Deutsch’s colleagues will honor him at the NLG Chicago annual dinner, Saturday, November 11, for his “years of service as a people’s lawyer, and for consistently demonstrating the highest level of zealous advocacy and professional skill,” according an NLG Chicago statement.

Tickets for the dinner honoring Mr. Deutsch are available from NLG Chicago at 312-913-0039 and contact@nlgchicago.org.

*National Lawyers Guild, Chicago chapter: http://www.nlgchicago.org/index.shtml
*People’s Law Office: http://www.peopleslawoffice.com/
*18 U.S.C. 2339B: “Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations” – read the statute for yourself: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/18/parts/i/chapters/113b/sections/section_2339b.html
*Case No. 03 CR 978: Read the indictment for yourself:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/indict/2004/marzook_et_al.pdf#search=%22%2203%20cr%20978%22%22
*Shady informers also used in “Green Scare” prosecutions: http://greenscare.org/
*Israeli human rights group B’Tselem: http://www.btselem.org/English/index.asp
*18 U.S.C. Appendix III: “Classified Information Procedures Act” – read the statute for yourself:
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/laws/pl096456.htm
*Mainstream media story on use of CIPA in white-collar crime trial:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/25/ap/business/mainD8JN9K7G0.shtml
*Jenks v. U.S., 353 U.S. 657 (1957): Read the decision for yourself:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol;=353&invol=657
*John T. McTernan, NLG Luminary (argued Jencks in the Supreme Court):
http://www.nlgchicago.org/mcternan-about.shtml
*NLG Chicago “Current Local Litigation”: http://www.nlgchicago.org/litgat-node.shtml

ALF solidarity with SHAC 7

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Hardwick, Massachusetts, US - Twenty-three New Zealand white rabbits were liberated from a rural Massachusetts animal-testing laboratory owned by the Caprologics corporation. The raid was executed by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) who dedicated the action to the SHAC 7 defendants, that were recently sentenced to between one and six years in prison for conducting a protest campaign against another animal-testing company.
According to the ALF communiqué when the lab was finished experimenting on rabbits they would be "cut and left to bleed until their life has drained away" and then "thrown into the surrounding fields for coyotes to eat." On Thursday, a Cincinnati-based group called Stop Animal Exploitation Now filed a complaint against Caprologics with the US Department of Agriculture based on photographs taken during the raid and supplied by the ALF.
The ALF has claimed credit for liberating over a thousand animals in the past month alone, primarily in Scotland where a fish farm and a Highland farm that held wild boar were targeted.
From: bombsandshields.blogspot.com

Report on the TRIAL OF APPEAL IN BELGIUM

Report on the TRIAL OF APPEAL IN BELGIUM

which took place from September 11th-19th, 2006

When law is ending and political prosecution takes over its place

DECISION: 7th NOVEMBER

Between 11th and 19th September (2006) one of the most spectacular trials against presumable members of the DHKP-C was handled before the court of appeal in Gent, Belgium. On 28th February, 7 of 11 defendants were sentenced with 4 - 6,5 years of prison. 4 of the 11 accused have been acquitted by the court, but the Federal prosecutor went into appeal for 9 of the accused.

Since end of February 3 of the defendants, Musa Asoglu (6,5), Sükriye Akar (4) and Kaya Saz (4) remain in the prison of Brugge under strong isolation conditions, despite of several court decisions saying that there was no reason to isolate them.

All three prisoners, and the spokesman of the DHKC Information Bureau in Brussels, Bahar Kimyongür just as Hasan Ekinci who was aquitted from the trial but again included by the appeal of the Federal prosecutor, were present at the courtroom with their lawyers on their side.

Following the demand of lawyer Fermon, also Taylan Tanay, lawyer from Turkey joined the trial. Furthermore over hundred 'prisoners' relatives', members of CLEA (Committee for the Freedom of _Expression and Association) and international delegations from Italy, Austria, England and Germany filled the courtroom.

During the trial, which continued for 7 days, also the defendants made statements. Bahar Kimyongür's lawyer Carl Alexander, stressed, that the accusations of prosecutor were completely untruly. "It is claimed that Musa Asoglu and Bahar Kimyongür confessed themselves to a bomb action of DHKC, during the press conference 'Resistanbul 2004' (a left alliance founded in relation to the NATO summit in Turkey), which took place on 28th June 2004.

But this claim has been completely proven wrong by video records from this press conference by IHA and AA (two official press agencies from Turkey)

There are many other witnesses, just like a correspondent of the Italian News Agency, who could confirm that such a confession of an action wasn't the case.

Furthermore, only 4 months after the incidents, the Ministry of Justice answered to a question about DHKC Information Bureau, that the activities of the bureau were legal and according to the law.

Musa Asogolu, for whom prosecutor Delmulle asks the highest sentence, is exactly tried in connection with the alleged confession to the action during the mentioned press meeting.

While Asoglu is tried for the Knokke case related to a criminal organisation, because of arms and false documents found there, in fact they aim to punish him after the anti-terror law. But the only argumentation for trying him after that law is the accusation to have confessed the action")... Prosecutor Delmulle wants to pave the way for a prosecution according to the "anti-terror law".

The lawyer on behalf of the Turkish state, Kris Vincke, spoke about the "geo-political position" of Turkey. He said for example, that "Turkey is under threat of communist dictatorships" and that "organisations like the DHKP-C, attempted to carry out its bloody actions against the Turkish state, in order to create a system, which is not democratic at all".

Musa Asoglu's lawyer, Jan Fermon defended: "A Belgian court is not in the position to make a decision on the struggle waged in another country. And even, if that foreign country isn't a state of law at all and this conflict takes place only within that country. This conflict is an internal problem of Turkey, into which a Belgian court isn't authorized to interfere."

Lawyer Fermon additionally mentioned the "state of necessity" according to the law in relation with the violent action forms by DHKC. He also leaned on reports of the human rights associations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or the European Court for Human Rights, defending that violent actions of a non-parliamentary, oppositional movement are inevitable.

He also reminded to article 2 of the Human Rights Convention, that foresees the "right to resist against oppression" in the case of state terrorism.

But Fermon stated, that in any case, because this would be a political decision, the recent court shouldn't give a decision about it.

In his defense, Musa Asoglu said: "70% of the trials in Strasburg are in relation with the Turkish state. During the past 30 years 50.000 people died resulting from state terrorism.

Bahar Kimyongür stated: "Dear judge, the prosecutor is asking you to punish me and expects from you to restrict freedom of _expression and democracy in your country. In this sense the burden on your shoulders is heavy. Prosecutor Delmulle and the lawyer of the Turkish state Vincke, introduce DHKP-C as a dangerous, fanatic and terrorist organisation. On the other hand they introduce the Turkish state as a democratic and a state of law. Indeed, this is a democracy of their dreams! A democracy that they want to put into life in Belgium... A democracy, which tortures, constantly puts political prisoners under torture, that honours the torturers (...). Not to see this open reality, means absolute denial. Prosecutor Delmulle tries to write history another time, without a shame and his position demonstrates the political character of the trial."

Kimyongür also responded on the prosecutor's accusation, that the 'DHKP-C doesn't respect any different view': "The Turkish state tells its citizens, beginning from the childhood, until their period for army, ideas like 'Every Turk is born as soldier' or 'What a luck to those who can say I'm a Turk'. Just follow the subtitle of the biggest newspaper in Turkey, saying 'Turkey belongs to the Turks'. Totally in contrary, DHKP-C gives the chance to all minorities in the country, to speak about their national, religious identity.

Musa Asoglu is Abaza, Dursun Karatas and Fehriye Erdal are Kurds, Sükriye Akar is Las, Zerrin Sari and Kaya Saz are Turkish. I am Arab. As an Arab, I have met with intolerance and fanaticism in the Turkish state. The friends of DHKP-C always showed respect to my nationality."

The state prosecutor asked 10 years for Musa Asoglu and Dursun Karataş (secretary general), 7 years for Bahar Kimyongür and 5 years for Kaya Saz, Sükriye Akar, Fehriye Erdal and Zerrin Sari. He asks 3 years of prison and a fine of 2500-5000 Euros for Hasan Ekici and Irfan Demirtas, who have both been acquitted in the trial.

The court decision will be announced on 7th November 2006.

SUMMARIZE:

First of all: The trial is executed by an exceptional court. The judge, Freddy Troch, is a very controversial character; he violated the law on protection of data privacy 10 years ago by leaking data on political opponents to the Turkish government while the Federal procurator responsible for this case, Johan Delmulle, declared from the very beginning that he is going to make an example out of this trial.

By its political character, its exceptional measures taken during the hearings and the heaviness of the punishments, this trial is a danger for all democrats and progressive organisations and individuals. A confirmation of the condemnations given in February in appeal will strengthen the pressure on all forces who fight imperialism and even social injustice on European soil. Among the defendants there are well known left-wing political activists. They are accused of membership in a criminal association while two of them were also alleged to be members of a terrorist organization according to the new Belgian anti-terrorist law.

Eventually the trial caught the attention of the mass media, because of Fehriye Erdal, one of the accused. She worked in Istanbul's Sabanci Centre. The Sabancis are one of the most rich and powerful families in Turkey, ruling political an economical life in the country. In January 1996, Ozdemir Sabanci was killed in the Sabanci Centre in an attack claimed by a guerilla unit of the DHKC.

Fehriye Erdal was literally hunted. Even the Turkish media reports that there are bounty hunters searching for her. That's why she went into hiding until she was arrested in Belgium in 1999.

Turkey immediately tried to gain influence over the Belgian legal system by carrot and stick methods. Eventually legal means and economic relations opened the door for Turkey to Belgium's courts. Turkey managed to take part in the case in a way which violates fundamental international and national laws. A state can't be joint plaintiff in another state. This backyard door, opened to Turkey by Freddy Troch, allowed Turkey to get all files related to the trial!

In addition the defense underlined that the DHKP-C is only fighting in Turkey, where its members are tortured, hunted and murdered by the Turkish government. At this point we have to recall the massacres like Sivas, Gazi and Ümraniye which took place in the 1990's, the several massacres in the prisons as the September 1999's massacre of Ulucanlar prison in Ankara, the 19th December 2000 bloodshed in 20 prisons of the country and the ongoing oppression against the Kurdish people. Turkey's lawyer did not deny what is happening in Turkey, but he explained that the Turkish government has its reasons for behaving in this way. Admitting all these cruelties had no consequences for the Turkish state. As we know, Turkey is a EU candidate... Delmulle and Troch were very committed to Turkey. Finally the judges sentenced 7 of the accused, 5 for their membership in a criminal organisation, 1 for his membership into a terrorist organisation and one for both.

This definition of terrorism mentioned in the new Belgian anti-terror law is so large and unclear that it allows various interpretations. Its base is cadre-decision of the European Commission in 2001, after the attacks against the twin towers. In this cadre-decision, there was also a list of so-called terrorist organizations, known as the “black list”. This decision and the selection of the political and military organizations in that list were made secretly, without any debate and possibility for the concerned organizations to oppose this decision.

The DHKP-C was never considered as a terrorist organisation in Belgium until the verdict of February trial. Furthermore, in 1999 there hasn’t been a “black list” introduced yet, except of the list of the US State Department.

But now, with the new judicial weapons called anti-terror law, the Belgian authorities make all kind of abuses by turning this trial into a political process.

Indeed, this trial tried to condemn the ideology and the aims of the DHKP-C.

The simple sympathy to this revolutionary movement is considered as terrorism, and is enough to be sentenced for years of prison.

This happened to Bahar Kimyongur. Bahar Kimyongur was born in Belgium. He graduated in Archaeology and went to Turkey for excavations. There he learned about the state terror of the Turkish government... Since then, he has campaigned for democracy and human rights in Turkey. He has never used violence in his life. He organised a press conference about the NATO summit in Istanbul and also participated in the protest rally against the summit. Twice he made statements on television: Once about an incident in 1991, and once about a bomb which went off by accident in Istanbul. These were reasons enough to find him guilty of membership in a terrorist association. The anti-terror laws, based on fantasies make that possible. He had nothing to do with the events in Knokke. Just like another person convicted, who has been in prison since February 28, 2006: Sukriye Akar.

Sukriye Akar is a political activist, who actively opposes human rights violations in Turkey and seeks democratic rights there. Her particular interest is the cause of political prisoners. Her husband has been in one of the notorious F-Type isolation prisons of Turkey since 2001. She has several times met with European Parliament members and Turkey, which needs a clean bill of health to get into the EU, must see her as a thorn in its side. She is accused for no reprehensible act but only for her supposed presence in this house. At the moment she is held in Brugge prison in isolation conditions.

But that is not the end of it. For Delmulle's stroke of genius is that he has brought all files from DHKP-C proceedings all over Europe into this case. The new anti-terror laws makes it possible.

The close connections between Belgium and Turkey make similar strokes of genius possible and allow classical penal laws to be basically ignored. Although that can only be decided by a court, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs told his Turkish counterpart that Fehriye Erdal would be extradited to Turkey, where she'll face certain torture and maybe death.

She was well advised to disappear underground a day before the trial ended. Now Belgium has decided that Fehriye Erdal can be be found guilty in Belgium of the 1996 Istanbul "murder of Sabanci". The law lets itself be bent, broken - and bought.


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