Tomorrow is May Day, The REAL labour day, where we celebrate the social and economic achievements of the international labour movement. One of the ways we celebarate is by signing the theme of the working class movement, the Internationale. The following is documentary on the development, history, and meaning of the Internationale.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Winnipeg Wobbly #4: May Day Special
Check out the new, Special May Day edition of our newsletter, the Winnipeg Wobbly! Included in this edition:**May Day: The REAL Labour Day
**Party Politics don't Work
**The Belgrade 6 are free!
**Report Back from Winnipeg Israeli Apartheid Week
**Selected Events from the MayWorks Festival
Flint Arthur: The Fascist Agenda of Immigration Reactionaries (FAIR)
Rachel Madow drew the connection between Arizona's recent anti-immigrant legislation and the Immigration Reform Law Institute and the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (FAIR). I'd like to explain a bit more about FAIR and their racist ties. This is largely based on a letter I wrote back in 2002.Years ago I went to a meeting held by the union (Washtech/CWA) on off-shoring and H1B Visa (guestworker program). I ran my mouth alot at that meeting and picked some fights; and I've been generally trying to counter some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric around the periphery of the union (not union-members; the union has abut 300 members, but an email list of interested folks is 15,000 subscribers--techies). Anyway, at this meeting a guy from FAIR (Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform) showed up.
I argued with him at the meeting; and we ended up on the subway together; and we argued some more. Somewhere over the course of the conversation, I said, "You sound like the American Patrol" (a notorious anti-immigrant vigilante group in the southwest). His reply, "The American Patrol are misunderstood"... so then Mr. FAIR went from the "crazy right-winger" category to the "suit&tie fascist" category in Flint's brain. In one 17-month period in 1999 and 2000, at least 30 incidents of vigilante violence were reported in a single section of the Arizona-Mexico border. One of the American Patrol's big projects was an unmanned surveillance drone.
Later on this Washtech+periphery email list someone posted a report from FAIR. So I decided to research these creeps. FAIR was one of the leading forces behidn California's infamous Proposition 187. FAIR is one of a dozen organizations founded by John Tanton. They vary in the extremes of their policy, but all are essentially either anti-immigrant think tanks, or anti-immigrant activist groups. All their funding comes largely from less than a dozen sources (mostly individuals). Groups like US English, American Immigration Control Foundation (AICF), Center for Immigration Reform, US Inc, NumbersUSA, the 21st Century Fund, Population-Environment Balance, and the Immigration Reform Law Institute, and even the American Patrol (Voice of Citizens Together). They are all tied together by a few people. US English and FAIR shared board members like Arnold Swarzenegger and Linda Chavez (who almost ended up as Secretary of Labor for the U.S., until it was revealed that she had an undocumented worker as her housekeeper that she irregularly paid).
Chavez (and many other prominent Republicans, including congressmen) eventually quit from FAIR's board when Tanton made several comments in a leaked memo that many thought was both racist and anti-catholic.
Tanton's also owns a publishing company The Social Contract Press. Which is the sole U.S. publisher for the book, Camp of Saints--'a lurid, racist novel written by Jean Raspail that depicts an invasion of the white, Western world by a fleet of starving, dark-skinned refugees.'
Some of FAIR's (and these other Tanton groups) money comes from the likes of Richard Mellon Scaife; founderof the Heritage Foundation. FAIR also has ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) and American Renaissance. American Renaissance is the white supremacist academic conference held in Virginia until it was recently shutdown by anti-fascists. Glen Spencer, from American Patrol, also spoke at that AmRen conference. Also at past AmRens: Mark Weber, a principal of the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review; White power web maven, former Klansman and ex-con Don Black; Gordon Lee Baum, "chief executive officer" of the CCC; and several members of the neo-Nazi National Alliance.
FAIR representatives went to Cullman, Ala., for a CCC-organized protest against a swelling local population of Mexican workers. The CCC also has a relationship with former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Some of the groups that endorsed Ashcroft for Attorney General: American Council For Immigration Reform, English First, and Council of Conservative Citizens. Ashcroft also did an interview Southern Partisan (a neo-confederate journal). Other Republicans with ties to the CCC: former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and Georgia Rep. Bob Barr. Someone else involved with the CCC? White Supremacist David Duke.
Cordia Strom, who was once FAIR's legal director, became a staffer for the House Immigration Subcommittee in 1996. Strom became counsel to the director and coordinator of congressional affairs for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Anyway, one of FAIR's major sources of funding is the Pioneer Fund, which also funds a number of anti-immigration and eugenisist studies. Pioneer Fund has been at many of the epic-center for race-based academic scandals. FAIR is pretty much the only "activist" group that the Pioneer Fund gives money, the rest of their money goes to providing grants that give academic justification to racism. Pioneer Fund also provided the money to found American Renaissance's parent foundation.
A bit of history of interest to wobblies and syndicalists... the Pioneer Fund was a setup in 1937 by Wickliffe Draper, a white supremacist textile factory capitalist who was in opposition to to Eastern and Southern Europeans migrating to the U.S. Why did Draper set this up? In 1912, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized the Draper Company at Hopedale after a four month strike. Since that time, Draper was desperately trying to use science to prove that others were genetically inferior so that he could return to the "old order". Further that his anti-immigant ideas were because immigrants might be more open to subversive activities or to be communists. This entire twisted web of anti-immigrant propaganda, anti-immigant lobbying in congress, the funding of academic racism in the U.S.... all things that have lead to 20,000 imprisoned immigrant "detainees", 148,000 people deported between September 11th 2001 and September of 2002, plans to deport 400,000 more, and the recent anti-immigrant law in Arizona --the money trail goes back to one white-supremacist capitalist who was bitter that he lost a strike to immigrant wobblies.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Letter from CUPW to Canada Post on Canada-Israel stamp
The following is a letter from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to Canada Post regarding the issuance of a joint stamp with Israel to "celebrate 60 years of friendship". CUPW has been on the forefront of labour solidarity with Palestine in Canada, and in 2008 was the first national labour organization in North America to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the apartheid practices of the state of Israel and in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
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- Canadian Union of Postal Workers letter to Canada Post, April 2010
- Photo: Palestinian children mourn the dead in Gaza, January 2009.
- Moya Greene
President and Chief Executive Officer
Canada Post Corporation
2701 Riverside Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0B1
I am writing to you on the eve of Canada Post issuing a joint stamp with Israel.
A recent article in Canada Stamp Detail said “Canada Post will issue the stamp “to celebrate Canada’s strong bilateral relationship with Israel – a friendship that spans six decades and is marked by shared values, common interests and strong political, economic, cultural and social ties.”
While CUPW is glad to see Canada Post taking on new and innovative ways to sell stamps, we are somewhat concerned that Canada Post is launching a stamp with Israel on the basis of “shared values”.
CUPW recognizes that Israel is a democracy and has taken steps to end discrimination against lesbian and gay citizens. However, we are puzzled about the concept of shared values with a country that has consistently ignored United Nations and World Court decisions in regards to the ongoing Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
A fundamental value is that all human beings have equal rights without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, and other categories. Sadly, in Israel there are still over 20 laws that discriminate against the Palestinian national minority on such basic issues as education, jobs, land ownership and access to public resources.
Israel is still building a “separation wall” around the West Bank. A number of human rights groups have found that approximately 80% of this Wall is being built on West Bank land that has been illegally confiscated. On July 9, 2004 this Wall was declared contrary to international law by the International Court of Justice. This Court cited Israel’s obligation to dismantle the Wall, and to pay reparations for all the damage caused by its construction. To date, the Government of Israel has refused to abide by this ruling, thereby ignoring an important value of adhering to the principles of International law.
Israel is continuing to build settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The construction of some of these settlements has been criticized by Barack Obama, the President of the United States. These settlements are illegal under international law. In the same July 2004 decision, the International Court of Justice declared that “Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to economic and social development. The continuing failure to live up to international law and respond to international pressure is a questionable value.
There are many United Nations resolutions which Israel is failing to live up to. One of the most important ones is UN resolution 242 which calls for Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied during the 1967 war, is based on the principle of “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war”. Disregarding United Nations resolutions is hardly a value which we want to uphold and endorse.
In the winter of 2008/2009, Israel carried out Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. A number of eminent people have concluded that Israel’s use of white phosphorous was unacceptable. Others, including jurist Richard Goldstone condemned Israel’s apparent targeting of schools, ambulances, and UN Institutions in Gaza. More recently, Israel’s participation in the blockade of Gaza has resulted in a serious undermining of living conditions. There have been desperately sad reports of increased child and maternal mortality as a result of this siege. Taking actions which result in the death or pregnant women and children is not an acceptable value.
The conditions of the Palestinian citizens in the West Bank is troubling for any one who holds the value of treating people with fairness and respect. John Dugard, the UN special envoy to Palestine reported that the rules governing the granting or permits which allow Palestinians to travel through the West Bank are constantly changing and create great hardship. In addition, Mr. Dugard reported that within the Palestinian territory there are highways solely for the use of Israeli’s. Palestinians are banned from these roadways. In addition, these checkpoints put lives in jeopardy in the west Bank as they often restrict quick access to hospitals. These are not conditions where respect is fundamental.
In light of these facts, CUPW is concerned that Canada Post is celebrating “shared values, common interests and strong political, economic, cultural and social ties.” with a country, whose Government has repeatedly failed to act with courtesy and sensitivity towards Palestinians.
Yours truly,
Denis Lemelin
National President
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
cc:
National Executive Board
Regions
CUPW Locals
Sauvons notre bureau de poste/Save the St. Boniface Post Office!
From the folks at CUPW...Canada Post has put it out there that the St.Boniface Post office at 208 Provencher could be closed because it isnt modified for handicapped clients.
Canada Post has also said that residents would have to go to Shoppers Drug Mart for postal services. This is unacceptable. There is non-exististant french services at Shoppers. 208 Provencher has been serving St.Boniface in French and English for over 100 years. To close this post office to the public would be an attack on the nature and character of St.Boniface and would further diminish the rights of the French speaking community. On April 29th join activists from the community and union to demonstrate against Canada Post from even thinking about closing our historic post office. The demo starts at 4PM at the St.Boniface post office at 208 Provencher Boulevard and there will be community and union speakers participating.
(see facebook event)What: | Rally to protest closure or relocation of historic francophone post office
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| When: | Thursday April 29 at 4:00 p.m.
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| Where: | 208 Provencher Boulevard in St. Boniface
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| Who: | Denis Lemelin, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Joanne Therrien, author of the book: Saint-Boniface |
Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black
I found this on another website. Although there isn't the same kind of reactionary movement here in Canada (yet) this article is one that cuts at the very nature of white privilege that is at the base of all western conservative movements.
Courtesy of Ephphatha Poet:
"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise
Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.
So let’s begin.
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.
Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.
Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.
Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister — who also works for the organization — defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchanan employed as Executive Director of his group, America’s Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.
Imagine that a black radio host were to suggest that the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding, or blamed a white president for a fight on a school bus in which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough—“living fossils” as he called them—“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.
Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recently at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.
Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage, predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Muslims and liberals, respectively. And it was Congressman Culbertson, from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.
Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh, when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up the New York Times.
Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.”
Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress.
In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?
To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.
And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.
Game Over.
So let’s begin.
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.
Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.
Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.
Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister — who also works for the organization — defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchanan employed as Executive Director of his group, America’s Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.
Imagine that a black radio host were to suggest that the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding, or blamed a white president for a fight on a school bus in which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough—“living fossils” as he called them—“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.
Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recently at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.
Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage, predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Muslims and liberals, respectively. And it was Congressman Culbertson, from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.
Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh, when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up the New York Times.
Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.”
Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress.
In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?
To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.
And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.
Game Over.
Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Wise has spoken in 48 states, on over 400 college campuses, and to community groups around the nation. Wise has provided anti-racism training to teachers nationwide, and has trained physicians and medical industry professionals on how to combat racial inequities in health care. His latest book is called Between Barack and a Hard Place.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Neo-Nazis, White Nationalists help to write Arizona anti-immigrent bill
The sponsor of Arizona's new "Papers, please" immigration is law is Republican State Sen. Russell Pearce, a politician who was caught on tape hugging a neo-Nazi. But if you want to meet the guy who's taking credit for writing the new law, that would be Kris Kobach, a birther who's running for secretary of state in Kansas. His campaign Website brags, "Kobach wins one in Arizona." He's also an attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of an immigration group called FAIR, the Federation for American
Immigration Reform.
FAIR was founded in 1979 by John Tanton, who's still listed as a member of FAIR's board of directors. Seven years after he started FAIR, Tanton wrote this, "To govern is to populate. Will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a group that is simply more fertile? As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night or will there be an explosion?"
For nine of the first years of FAIR's existence, the group reportedly received more than $1 million in funding from something called the Pioneer Fund. The Pioneer Fund describes itself as based "in the Darwinian-Galtonian evolutionary tradition and eugenics movement." For the last 70 years, the Pioneer Fund has funded controversial research about race and intelligence, essentially aimed at proving the racial superiority of white people. The group's original mandate was to promote the genes of those "deemed to be descended predominantly from white persons who settled in the original 13 states prior to the adoption of the Constitution."
Tanton's organization, FAIR, claims credit for writing Arizona's new immigration law. The link between Fair and the Pioneer Fund makes sense, especially after you read more of Tanton's writing, like this: "I've come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority and a clear one at that."
In 1997, John Tanton told the Detroit Free Press that America will soon be overrun by illegal immigrants "defecating and creating garbage and looking for jobs."
Today, FAIR makes a living off of suing local and state governments over immigration laws. Tucked inside Article VIII of Arizona's new law is a provision that if groups like them win their cases, a judge may order that the entity "who brought the action recover court costs and attorney fees" -- which could create a nice financial boon for an outfit once funded by people determined to advance an agenda of eugenics and a perpetual white majority.
Congratulations, Arizona. This thing is going to make you really, really famous for a really, really long time.
Arizona, A Police State For Immigrants
Arizona passes strict illegal immigration act
The bill directs police to determine the immigration status of noncriminals if there is a 'reasonable suspicion' they are undocumented. Immigrant rights groups say it amounts to a police state.
By Nicholas Riccardi
Arizona lawmakers on Tuesday approved what foes and supporters agree is the toughest measure in the country against illegal immigrants, directing local police to determine whether people are in the country legally.
The measure, long sought by opponents of illegal immigration, passed 35 to 21 in the state House of Representatives.
The state Senate passed a similar measure earlier this year, and Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to sign the bill.
The bill’s author, State Sen. Russell Pearce, said it simply “takes the handcuffs off of law enforcement and lets them do their job.”
But police were deeply divided on the matter, with police unions backing it but the state police chief’s association opposing the bill, contending it could erode trust with immigrants who could be potential witnesses.
Immigrant rights groups were horrified, and contended that Arizona would be transformed into a police state.
“It’s beyond the pale,” said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “It appears to mandate racial profiling.”
The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a “reasonable suspicion” that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person’s immigration status.
Currently, officers can inquire about someone’s immigration status only if the person is a suspect in another crime. The bill allows officers to avoid the immigration issue if it would be impractical or hinder another investigation.
Citizens can sue to compel police agencies to comply with the law, and no city or agency can formulate a policy directing its workers to ignore the law — a provision that advocates say prevents so-called sanctuary orders that police not inquire about people’s immigration status.
The bill cements the position of Arizona, whose border with Mexico is the most popular point of entry for illegal immigrants into this country, as the state most aggressively using its own laws to fight illegal immigration. In 2006 the state passed a law that would dissolve companies with a pattern of hiring illegal immigrants. Last year it made it a crime for a government worker to give improper benefits to an illegal immigrant.
Mark Krikorian at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that advocates tougher immigration enforcement, said the legislation was a logical extension of the state’s previous enforcement efforts.
“It makes sense that they would be the first to do it since they’re ground zero for illegal immigration,” he said.
Krikorian added that he doubted the law would be used much. “Obviously, their prosecutors aren’t going to go out and prosecute every illegal alien,” he said. “It gives police and prosecutors another tool should they need it.”
Opponents, however, raised the specter of officers untrained in immigration law being required to determine who is in the country legally. They noted that though the bill says race cannot solely be used to form a suspicion about a person’s legality, it implicitly allows it to be a factor.
“A lot of U.S. citizens are going to be swept up in the application of this law for something as simple as having an accent and leaving their wallet at home,” said Alessandra Soler Meetze, president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
The ACLU and other groups have vowed to sue to block the bill from taking effect should Brewer sign it. They note that a federal court struck down a New Hampshire law in 2005 that said illegal immigrants were trespassing, declaring that only the federal government has the authority to enforce immigration. Another provision of the Arizona law, which makes day laborers illegal, violates the 1st Amendment, critics contend.
The issue of local enforcement of immigration laws has been especially heated in Arizona, where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has taken an aggressive stance, conducting sweeps in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods to round up illegal immigrants.
His actions have drawn a civil rights investigation from the Department of Justice but strong praise from Arizonans. Other agencies have argued against Arpaio’s stance, saying that they need illegal immigrants to trust them enough to report crimes.
Brewer, a Republican, has not taken a public stance on the bill. She replaced Janet Napolitano, a Democrat who became President Obama’s Homeland Security chief last year. Napolitano had vetoed similar bills in the past. Brewer faces a primary challenge next month; most observers expect her to sign the measure.
Some Republicans have privately complained about the bill, which Pearce has been pushing for several years, but were loath to vote against it in an election year. The House was scheduled to approve it last week but the vote was delayed until Tuesday to give sponsors a chance to round up enough votes. It picked up steam after the killing late last month of a rancher on the Arizona side of the Mexican border. Footprints from the crime scene led back to Mexico.
In an impassioned debate Tuesday, both sides relied on legal and moral arguments.
“Illegal immigration brings crime, kidnapping, drugs — drains our government services,” said Rep. John Kavanagh, a Republican. “Nobody can stand on the sidelines and not take part in this battle.”
Democrats were just as passionate. “This bill, whether we intend it or not, terrorizes the people we profit from,” said Rep. Tom Chabin.
nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
New Donation button: Help Alex Fight for Justice!
On the blog here, we have put appeals to donations at the top of our sidebar. Now we are asking for people to Help Alex Svoboda fights for her justice.
Several years ago, Alexandra Svoboda was brutally attacked by the Providence Rhode Island Police Department at a peaceful Union Solidarity Rally held by the Providence IWW.
In the cruelest of ironies, she was then charged with assaulting the police officers who made the arrest, despite the fact that Alex is the victim. Her trial date is on April 26th 2010, and her friends are raising funds for her legal defense.
Please give what you can to this worthy cause, together we can help Alex fight for justice!
Note: The picture above is of Alex, after her arrest by the police.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Support Marie Mason!
This is a letter we here at Winnipeg Wobbly just recived. Marie Mason, one of the new steering
committee members of the GDC and a long-time IWW member and activist, is in need of some letters to help her win a nutritional vegan diet in prison.
We hope you can support this long-time IWW member in her struggle of getting healthy food and enforcing the federal bureau of prisons policy for an adequate vegan diet for all prisoners that need it.
--------
Hey everyone,
Marie's requests for an adequate vegan diet are still being denied by the
officials at FCI Waseca, despite the Federal Bureau of Prisons having a
policy ensuring an adequate vegan diet for inmates.
In response, we're asking people to write letters to the Director of the
BOP as well as the regional director, asking them to get Waseca to follow
the policy. The administration at Waseca seems to be more draconian in
several ways than the BOP in general, so we're hoping that pressure from
higher-ups will cause them to fold.
Using the sample letter below as a guide, please write a letter to both
the Regional Director and the Director of the BOP. The sample letter is
also attached to this email if you'd like to print it out. Sample letters
are also attached in PDF format.
Thanks for the continued solidarity as we keep struggling to ensure a
decent quality of life for Marie.
Struggle,
The Marie Mason Support Crew
Regional Director Mike Nalley
North Central Regional Office
Federal Bureau of Prisons
400 State Ave, Suite 800
Kansas City, KS 66101
Director Harley G. Lappin
320 First St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20534
Dear Director Lappin,
I am writing this letter concerning Marie Mason, #04672-061, an inmate
incarcerated at FCI Waseca. Marie has requested the prison provide her
with adequate vegan meals to meet her health and dietary needs in
accordance with Federal Bureau of Prisons policy. She has been repeatedly
denied this request.
Marie has been committed to a vegan diet in accordance with her personal,
moral and spiritual beliefs for many years. Marie is a Buddhist and
considers her diet to be an essential part of her life and spirituality.
While incarcerated at Waseca, Marie has remained committed to a vegan
diet, but has been unable to receive proper nutrition. She has been
experiencing bouts of dizziness, nose bleeds, fatigue, and severe pain in
her hands. All symptoms associated with an inadequate vegan diet.
I fear that unless the prison provides her with an adequate vegan diet,
she will remain malnourished and her health may continue to suffer.
I urge you to contact the officials at FCI Waseca and encourage them to
apply the Federal Bureau of Prisons policy that has been established for
ten years now ensuring that vegans incarcerated in the federal system are
provided with adequate nutrition that meets their personal and spiritual
needs.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
For the latest updates see www.freemarie.org
Israeli Apartheid Week organizers, supporters oppose legislative condemnation of IAW
WINNIPEG – April 14, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Israeli Apartheid Week organizers, supporters oppose legislative condemnation of IAW
Organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week in Winnipeg are saddened and disturbed by the plans by Progressive Conservative MLA Heather Stefanson to raise a private members motion condemning IAW in the Manitoba Legislature which is scheduled to be debated on Thursday. In a press release on her website, Stefanson made numerous false accusations against IAW and stated that “MLAs of all political stripes need to band together to eradicate [IAW]”. Organizers of IAW are hopeful that Manitoba MLAs will follow the example set by some NDP MPs who prevented a similar motion from being passed by Parliament.
Israeli Apartheid Week is an anti-racist event designed to educate people about apartheid as a system of oppression which Palestinians face on a daily basis, and promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the apartheid practices of the Israeli state which was initiated by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations and is now supported by hundreds of organizations around the world. Palestinians face many forms of racist discrimination on a daily basis in the Occupied Territories and Israel, including discrimination before the courts, restrictions on access to clean water, and a system of checkpoints, walls, and travel restrictions.
Last month’s Israeli Apartheid Week was the sixth one held since it was started at the University of Toronto in 2005. It was held in 60 cities in 2010, including Winnipeg for the first time. Events in Winnipeg discussed Israel as an apartheid state, as well as connections between gender discrimination and apartheid, Canadian apartheid and indigenous solidarity, and the freedom to speak and organize against apartheid on campus. The Winnipeg events were sponsored by ActLeft, the Canada-Palestine Support Network, and Independent Jewish Voices.
There were zero incidents of racism, threats or harassment during IAW at the University of Manitoba. The events put on during IAW not only upheld the University of Manitoba's Respectful Work and Learning Environment Policy and the Manitoba Human Rights Code, but were also opened with a statement opposing racism and other forms of discrimination. Minutes of the March 16th meeting of the University of Manitoba Board of Governors cited the University President stating that the IAW events had "proceeded as anticipated and were orderly" and that the University's position to not shut down IAW was the correct choice. Contrary to the fear-mongering by some individuals at the time, IAW turned out to be a positive discussion of the issues around Israeli Apartheid.
“Stefanson’s motion is a culmination of the smear campaign which has been waged against Israeli Apartheid Week,” said Brian Latour, spokesperson and organizer with the Winnipeg IAW Coordinating Committee. “This motion smacks of McCarthyism, and is an affront to freedom of speech and academic freedom in Manitoba. The intention behind Stefanson’s slander against Palestinian solidarity organizers is clear: to prevent IAW from occurring. This is a step towards drastically curbing free speech and criminalizing Palestinian solidarity organizing."
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Massey Energy & Don Blankenship: Million-dollar Tea Party sponsors
This is really sick, but it shows how the employing class are class consciousness, and they will fight any progressive worker out there.
Our hearts go out to the families of those lost miners, and look forward to the day where people like Don Blankenship gets whats coming to them.
(hattip Crooks & Liars)
Our hearts go out to the families of those lost miners, and look forward to the day where people like Don Blankenship gets whats coming to them.
(hattip Crooks & Liars)
Massey Energy & Don Blankenship: Million-dollar Tea Party sponsors
By karoli Tuesday Apr 06, 2010 9:00am
Meet Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy Company. Blankenship is also on the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce. In this speech above, he denies climate change, derisively refers to Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, and others as "greeniacs", and calls them all crazy. Watch the speech, you'll see. In his mind, "the greeniacs are taking over the world."
Massey Energy Company, Blankenship's highly successful strip-mining and mountaintop removal operation is the parent company of Performance Coal Co, where a tragic explosion occurred on April 5th. As of this writing, 25 miners have died and 4 more are still missing. Twenty-five families are without a loved one. Four more may discover they have lost someone they love too. 29 families in all, forever changed by one single, violent event in a coal mine. One single violent event in a coal mine run by a company so obsessed with profit it runs roughshod over employees' and neighbors' health and safety.
Here's something else about Don Blankenship and Massey Energy Company: Blankenship spent over $1 million dollars along with other US Chamber buddies like Verizon to sponsor last year's Labor Day Tea Party, also known as the "Friends of America Rally." Here's Massey's pitch. Note how he makes it sound like he isn't one of the corporate enemies of America.
The Friends of America Rally featured such notables as Sean Hannity, Ted Nugent, and Hank Williams, Jr., and was graced by Blankenship himself going off on a diatribe that seemed strange at the time, but has come to be commonplace these days. It concerned President Obama, Democrats, and any one who doesn't salute God, coal, and apple pie. Oh, and we're also going to 'steal their jobs,' if Hannity is to be believed.
Blankenship and Massey Energy spend millions to defend unsafe workplaces
Even while coal dust settles on nearby schoolchildren, there are lessons to learn from this disaster about Massey Energy in general, and Don Blankenship in particular.
It seems that Performance Coal's safety record is spotty, at best. From the Mississippi Business Journal:
Massey ranks among the nation’s top five coal producers and is among the industry’s most profitable. It has a spotty safety record.
The federal mine safety administration fined Massey a then-record $1.5 million for 25 violations that inspectors concluded contributed to the deaths of two miners trapped in a fire in January 2006. The company later settled a lawsuit naming it, several subsidiaries and Chief Executive Don Blankenship as defendants. Aracoma Coal Co. later paid $2.5 million in fines after the company pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges in the fire.
Massey and Blankenship also settled a lawsuit brought by the Manville Trust in 2007 with regard to workplace safety and environmental compliance.
The Manville Trust filed the case in July 2007 against company Chairman, CEO, and President Don Blankenship and certain other current and former officers and directors. The plaintiff sought several corporate governance reforms, specifically regarding environmental compliance and worker safety. Citing several incidents involving Massey Energy, including a major federal water pollution lawsuit, penalties for two coal miners' tragic deaths and other safety and environmental compliance problems, the lawsuit claimed that a "conscious failure" by the defendants to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations and other legal obligations posed a "substantial threat of monetary liability for violations."
Keep unions out, let teabaggers in
Don Blankenship inhabits a strange and bizarre world. In his world:
* It's fine for elementary school-age children to inhale coal dust while playing at school because Massey Coal "already pays millions of dollars in taxes each year".
* Blankenship truly believes that government regulation means "we all better learn to speak Chinese."
* He has absolutely no problem paying $3 million to elect state Supreme Court justice Brent Benjamin just ahead of a scheduled hearing of his appeal to overturn a large damage award for driving competitor Harman Mining Corporation into bankruptcy.
* Blankenship will spend millions to keep the Massey Energy's workforce non-union, is perfectly happy to discriminate against union workers even if it means being sued and losing, and might hate unions as much as he hates 'greeniacs'.
This is the same mine where the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled that Spartan Mining illegally discriminated against 82 UMWA members by refusing to hire them because of their union membership status.
“This settlement highlights yet again the treacherous and backhanded manner Massey treated the miners who had worked at the Cannelton mine for decades,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “While it was discriminating against these experienced miners because of their age or union status, the company was at the same time publicly crying about the lack of experienced miners in the coalfields.
“But it wasn’t that Massey couldn’t find experienced miners,” Roberts said. “They were there all along and wanted to work. It was that the company would rather break the law than allow its employees to have a strong voice at work and the tremendous benefits of a union contract.
Penny-wise, pound-foolish. An investment in experienced workers trained in state-of-the art safety measures combined with OSHA compliance and mine safety measures might have saved at least 25, and possibly 29 lives.
Instead Don Blankenship spent that money and more on a US Chamber of Commerce corporate-sponsored tea party to convince good, hard-working honest people to work against their best interests.
I hope those families take a large pound of flesh from him in return.
By karoli Tuesday Apr 06, 2010 9:00am
Meet Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy Company. Blankenship is also on the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce. In this speech above, he denies climate change, derisively refers to Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, and others as "greeniacs", and calls them all crazy. Watch the speech, you'll see. In his mind, "the greeniacs are taking over the world."
Massey Energy Company, Blankenship's highly successful strip-mining and mountaintop removal operation is the parent company of Performance Coal Co, where a tragic explosion occurred on April 5th. As of this writing, 25 miners have died and 4 more are still missing. Twenty-five families are without a loved one. Four more may discover they have lost someone they love too. 29 families in all, forever changed by one single, violent event in a coal mine. One single violent event in a coal mine run by a company so obsessed with profit it runs roughshod over employees' and neighbors' health and safety.
Here's something else about Don Blankenship and Massey Energy Company: Blankenship spent over $1 million dollars along with other US Chamber buddies like Verizon to sponsor last year's Labor Day Tea Party, also known as the "Friends of America Rally." Here's Massey's pitch. Note how he makes it sound like he isn't one of the corporate enemies of America.
The Friends of America Rally featured such notables as Sean Hannity, Ted Nugent, and Hank Williams, Jr., and was graced by Blankenship himself going off on a diatribe that seemed strange at the time, but has come to be commonplace these days. It concerned President Obama, Democrats, and any one who doesn't salute God, coal, and apple pie. Oh, and we're also going to 'steal their jobs,' if Hannity is to be believed.
Blankenship and Massey Energy spend millions to defend unsafe workplaces
Even while coal dust settles on nearby schoolchildren, there are lessons to learn from this disaster about Massey Energy in general, and Don Blankenship in particular.
It seems that Performance Coal's safety record is spotty, at best. From the Mississippi Business Journal:
Massey ranks among the nation’s top five coal producers and is among the industry’s most profitable. It has a spotty safety record.
The federal mine safety administration fined Massey a then-record $1.5 million for 25 violations that inspectors concluded contributed to the deaths of two miners trapped in a fire in January 2006. The company later settled a lawsuit naming it, several subsidiaries and Chief Executive Don Blankenship as defendants. Aracoma Coal Co. later paid $2.5 million in fines after the company pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges in the fire.
Massey and Blankenship also settled a lawsuit brought by the Manville Trust in 2007 with regard to workplace safety and environmental compliance.
The Manville Trust filed the case in July 2007 against company Chairman, CEO, and President Don Blankenship and certain other current and former officers and directors. The plaintiff sought several corporate governance reforms, specifically regarding environmental compliance and worker safety. Citing several incidents involving Massey Energy, including a major federal water pollution lawsuit, penalties for two coal miners' tragic deaths and other safety and environmental compliance problems, the lawsuit claimed that a "conscious failure" by the defendants to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations and other legal obligations posed a "substantial threat of monetary liability for violations."
Keep unions out, let teabaggers in
Don Blankenship inhabits a strange and bizarre world. In his world:
* It's fine for elementary school-age children to inhale coal dust while playing at school because Massey Coal "already pays millions of dollars in taxes each year".
* Blankenship truly believes that government regulation means "we all better learn to speak Chinese."
* He has absolutely no problem paying $3 million to elect state Supreme Court justice Brent Benjamin just ahead of a scheduled hearing of his appeal to overturn a large damage award for driving competitor Harman Mining Corporation into bankruptcy.
* Blankenship will spend millions to keep the Massey Energy's workforce non-union, is perfectly happy to discriminate against union workers even if it means being sued and losing, and might hate unions as much as he hates 'greeniacs'.
This is the same mine where the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled that Spartan Mining illegally discriminated against 82 UMWA members by refusing to hire them because of their union membership status.
“This settlement highlights yet again the treacherous and backhanded manner Massey treated the miners who had worked at the Cannelton mine for decades,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “While it was discriminating against these experienced miners because of their age or union status, the company was at the same time publicly crying about the lack of experienced miners in the coalfields.
“But it wasn’t that Massey couldn’t find experienced miners,” Roberts said. “They were there all along and wanted to work. It was that the company would rather break the law than allow its employees to have a strong voice at work and the tremendous benefits of a union contract.
Penny-wise, pound-foolish. An investment in experienced workers trained in state-of-the art safety measures combined with OSHA compliance and mine safety measures might have saved at least 25, and possibly 29 lives.
Instead Don Blankenship spent that money and more on a US Chamber of Commerce corporate-sponsored tea party to convince good, hard-working honest people to work against their best interests.
I hope those families take a large pound of flesh from him in return.
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