INTERNATIONAL POLITICS GREAT BRITAIN:

INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN ENGLAND:





The London Metropolitan police have jumped on one of their critics, the website 'Fitwatch' (no longer operational for reasons that will become plain below) which was originally set up 3 years ago to oppose heavy handed tactics on the part of London police. The recent development comes in the wake of student demonstrations against English government austerity measures which ended in occupation of Conservative Party headquarters. With egg all over their faces for failing to anticipate the level of militancy amongst some of the demonstrators the police have reacted with a show of bravado by flailing out at their critics. Things haven't turned out as well for themas they expected. Here's a brief report on this incident from the eGov Monitor.


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Police Ire Forces Shut Down Of Fitwatch Website - But The Offending Post Unsurprisingly Is Now On Various Websites


The Metropolitan Police has forced the suspension of the Fitwatch website last evening arguing that it was "being used to undertake criminal activities".

The website has been suspended, however, unsurprisingly, the particular blog post has now been published on thousands of websites across the internet beyond the Met's jurisdiction.

The move came following a blog post was published on the Fitwatch website which gave advice to students who were afraid of police action against them following their protest and occupation of the Millbank complex last week, the Guardian reported today.



Following the protest, the blog post on Fitwatch advised students to stay calm, and not hand themselves over to the police as well as change their appearances. In addition, it asked those who are worried about being arrested to stay away from similar protests planned later.

The website's hosting company, Justhost.com was approached by the Met's public order branch C11 to request the site be removed - following which a more formal request came from the Met's e-crime unit, which argued that the blog was providing "guidance" to offenders.

The letter seen by the Guardian says: ""We hereby request [you] de-host this website for a minimum period of 12 months. The website is providing explicit advice to offenders following a major demonstration in central London. The demonstration was marred by violence and several subjects have already been arrested, with a major police operation under way to identify and arrest further offenders."

An acting detective inspector, Will Hodgeson authorised the action against the website, according to the letter.

Fitwatch was set up in 2007 to campaign against what it saw as heavy handed police tactics of the Met's Forward Intelligence Teams - who take photographs of people participating in protest.

If nothing else, this decision was not thought through at all - and once again proves that police forces do not really understand how the internet works. In fact, it could be argued by taking the action, the police ensured that the particular blog post gets massive publicity and is published on various sites around the world.
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As is argued above the police merely ended up with yet more egg of their faces through their actions as the advise given went viral and began appearing on blogs and websites across the world. Always ready to do her little bit Molly reproduces the article below courtesy of the Another Green World blog. For the life of me I cannot see any counselling to commit a criminal act in what follows. Actually it seems quite akin to what some police officers do when they retire ie set up a business to counsel people on how to get out of their traffic tickets. As a point of interest you can read more about this case and other incidents of internet censorship at the Committee To Protect Bloggers website.
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16 Nov 2010
Banned Fitwatch article here, please re-blog.
THIS IS THE BANNED FITWATCH ARTICLE
I DON'T CONDONE DROPPING FIRE EXTINGUISHER BUT PROTEST IS ESSENTIAL....any way on to the banned.

The remarkable and brilliant student action at Millbank has produced some predictable frothing at the mouth from the establishment and right wing press. Cameron has called for the ‘full weight of the law’ to fall on those who had caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage to the expensive decor at Tory party HQ. Responsibility is being placed on ‘a violent faction’, after the march was ‘infiltrated’ by anarchists.

There are an encouraging number of initiatives to show solidarity with the arrested students – something that is vital if they are to avoid the sort of punitive ‘deterrent’ sentences handed out to the Gaza demonstrators. A legal support group has been established and the National Campaign against Cuts and Fees has started a support campaign. Goldsmiths lecturers union has publicly commended the students for a ‘magnificent demonstration’.

This is all much needed, as the establishment is clearly on the march with this one. The Torygraph has published an irresponsible and frenzied ‘shop-a-student’ piece and the Met are clearly under pressure to produce ‘results’ after what they have admitted was a policing ‘embarrassment’.

51 people have been arrested so far, and the police have claimed they took the details of a further 250 people in the kettle using powers under the Police Reform Act. There may be more arrests to come.

Students who are worried should consider taking the following actions:

If you have been arrested, or had your details taken – contact the legal support campaign. As a group you can support each other, and mount a coherent campaign.

If you fear you may be arrested as a result of identification by CCTV, FIT or press photography;

DONT panic. Press photos are not necessarily conclusive evidence, and just because the police have a photo of you doesn’t mean they know who you are.

DONT hand yourself in. The police often use the psychological pressure of knowing they have your picture to persuade you to ‘come forward’. Unless you have a very pressing reason to do otherwise, let them come and find you, if they know who you are.

DO get rid of your clothes. There is no chance of suggesting the bloke in the video is not you if the clothes he is wearing have been found in your wardrobe. Get rid of ALL clothes you were wearing at the demo, including YOUR SHOES, your bag, and any distinctive jewellery you were wearing at the time. Yes, this is difficult, especially if it is your only warm coat or decent pair of boots. But it will be harder still if finding these clothes in your flat gets you convicted of violent disorder.

DONT assume that because you can identify yourself in a video, a judge will be able to as well. ‘That isn’t me’ has got many a person off before now.

DO keep away from other demos for a while. The police will be on the look-out at other demos, especially student ones, for people they have put on their ‘wanted’ list. Keep a low profile.

DO think about changing your appearance. Perhaps now is a good time for a make-over. Get a haircut and colour, grow a beard, wear glasses. It isn’t a guarantee, but may help throw them off the scent.

DO keep your house clean. Get rid of spray cans, demo related stuff, and dodgy texts / photos on your phone. Don’t make life easy for them by having drugs, weapons or anything illegal in the house.

DO get the name and number of a good lawyer you can call if things go badly. The support group has the names of recommended lawyers on their site. Take a bit of time to read up on your rights in custody, especially the benefits of not commenting in interview.

DO be careful who you speak about this to. Admit your involvement in criminal damage / disorder ONLY to people you really trust.

DO try and control the nerves and panic. Waiting for a knock on the door is stressful in the extreme, but you need to find a way to get on with business as normal. Otherwise you’ll be serving the sentence before you are even arrested.

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM:

FREE KARIM AMER:

Karim Amer is an Egyptian blogger who has fallen afoul of the authorities in that country for daring to publish opinions critical of both Islam (which Islam ?) and the Egyptian government. The latter rather than the former is probably the reason that he has been sentenced to four years in prison. There is an internet petition calling for his release. Here's the story and appeal.

KAKAKAKAKA
Free Egyptian Blogger Karim Amer
Target: President Hosni Mubarek
Sponsored by: Care2.com

One of the luxuries of the internet is that it's a forum of expression. And in this forum, anyone should be able to contribute to a discussion and speak their mind.

But Karim Amer, a young blogger from Egypt, was sentenced to four years in prison for this very act.

Amer was charged with publishing material critical of Islam and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarek and imprisoned, despite the fact that he acted within his universal right to peaceful freedom of expression. Amer claims that while imprisoned, he has been beaten at least twice under the supervision of a prison officer.

All people should have the freedom to peacefully express their opinions. Tell the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek to free this prisoner of conscience and accept all people's right to the freedom of expression.
deadline: Ongoing...
Goal: 15,000
15,222
signatures so far!

KAKAKAKAKA

THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to Hosni Mubarek, President of Egypt.

KAKAKAKAKA
Dear President Mubarek,

Karim Amer is a blogger who was sentenced to four years in prison for publishing material critical of Islam and Egypt on the internet. At the time of his arrest in 2007 he was 23 years old.

Amer's actions are within his universal right to peacefully express his opinion, regardless of whether those opinions are critical of religious or political figures and ideals. While imprisoned, he has been beaten multiple times by a fellow prisoner and a prison guard, under the supervision of a prison officer.

[your comments will be inserted here]

All people should have the freedom to peacefully express their opinions. Free Karim Amer and accept all people's right to the freedom of expression.

Sincerely,
[Your name here]

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

FOR A FREE INTERNET:

For those familiar with recent history it is, of course, a truism that the internet began as a melding of the authoritarian needs of the US military and the libertarian needs of the international scientific community Despite the nonsense spewed out by many so-called 'anarchists' in the USA there is no more libertarian enterprise afoot in the world today than the scientific enterprise-decentralist, internationalist, egalitarian, without dependency upon a central authority. And, for those who wish to be fashionable, without any of the "isms" that right thinking graduates of political science departments are taught to consider as heresy deserving of the modern equivalent of witch hunting. Well, there is always the "law of unintended consequences" and in a few short decades the internet became what it is today, far outside of the control of the military and far removed from the concerns of science.

Today there are those who want to reign in this anarchic enterprise, to establish corporate and governmental control over it. Governmental attempts to censor the internet are the merest tip of the iceberg. The real threat to internet freedom comes from corporate control. To read more about this threat see Noam Chomsky on 'Microsoft and Corporate Control of the Internet' and the Canadian website 'Save Our Net.ca'. There are. of course, thousands of other examples that I could adduce. The following, from the Petition Site, is an online campaign to promote internet freedom. I have to admit that it is rather 'empty' in that it fails to identify the enemies of such freedom, but it may still be worthwhile for public awareness of the issue. Here's the pledge that they would like you to take. The first thing to do is to educate yourself about who exactly is the enemy of internet freedom. See One Web Day to sign the pledge.

IPIPIPIPIPIPIP

Free the Internet and End the Digital Divide:

Sponsored by: OneWebDay
The Internet belongs to everyone, yet all over the world, government regulators as well as powerful corporate entities, are making important decisions about the future of the Web. Are you at the table ?

The Web is a vital resource, but many people around the globe cannot breach the barriers to access.

Right now, governments, corporate entities and technical elites decide the fate of the most powerful, inclusive communications platform ever created. They're making decisions about who will have access, at what speeds, and at what price. They're deciding how to invest in training and education in 21st century communications.

Even the principles that make the Web an open platform for the creativity of every user are in question. The global economy is in crisis, and the open Internet is a pathway to economic opportunity. Everyone should have access, and everyone should help in deciding the future of the Web.

Sign the pledge to free the Net and increase Internet access to all citizens around the world!
The Pledge:
I pledge to work to extend access to the Internet -- the open, free Internet -- to all, across boundaries of place, culture and class.

IPIPIPIPIPIPIP

Very nice, but it should have a lot more content than that-Molly.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-SERBIA:

STATEMENT OF THE ASI ON ARRESTS OF ITS MEMBERS:

Molly has given a brief report before on recent arrests of members of the Serbian Anarcho Syndicalist Initiative (ASI) on trumped up charges. The following is a statement of the ASI on these arrests transmitted via a rather convoluted process that may actually be both necessary and effective. The original source is a blog set up via a Greek site Squat.gr. Given the recent actions of the Greek government I don't know how wise this is, but I'm sure that there will be many others to stand in line (myself included) if charges are brought against the Greek site. ASI Solidarity is hosted on this site. The following came to Molly's attention via the Anarkismo website. They, in turn, sourced it from the Polish anarchist news service Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej. As per my usual impolite fashion I have edited the following post for English grammar- as best I can. The Serbian ASI, by the way, is the Serbian branch of the anarchosyndicalist international, the IWA-AIT.

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Statement of Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative on Arrests of their Members:

On September, 4th 2009 District Court in Belgrade decided that arrested members of ASI will be held for thirty days in detention. Our comrades are accused of an act of international terrorism.

The Union Confederation “Anarcho-syndicalist Initiative” found out about the attack on the Greek embassy, and of the organisation that took the responsibility for this act, through the media.

We used this opportunity to remind the public once again that these methods of individual political struggle are not the methods of anarcho-syndicalism, quite the contrary – we proclaim our political positions publicly and through our work we seek to bring the masses to the syndicalist movement and all the libertarian and progressive organisations.

Wanting to brutally suppress its fiercest critics the state, through its mechanisms of repression, acted with banal logic and identifies as suspects those who explicitly stated their libertarian beliefs, and by their imprisonment ends the case and gives a false picture of its efficiency to the public.(a very important point. If you can't get the perpetrators as least get scapegoats-Molly )

The unscrupulous actions of regime’s organs can be observed from the first moments of arrest, unlawful searches of their apartments, intimidation of their families to the extreme charges of international terrorism.

Given the fact that we do not support the acts of now famous anarchist group “Crni Ilija” (Black Sun) we still cannot characterise what happened as “international terrorism”, because terrorism, by definition, entails threats to the lives of civilians, whereas in this case no one was even hurt and only symbolic material damage was done.

It is clear that this state produced farce is just one way of intimidating anyone who decides to point out the injustice and hopelessness of contemporary society.

In times of general social numbness individuals reach for the most unbelievable, sometimes even self-destructive, actions in order to break through the media blockade and to put their case in the centre of attention – let us remember the workers who cut off and ate their own fingers, or, for example, the unlucky, distressed man who threatened to activate a hand grenade in the building of the Presidency of Serbia – that is, trying to shed some light on their problems in a broader social space.

Lets not allow them to persuade us that one symbolic act of solidarity, even if expressed in a certainly bad manner, together with any other act of rebellion of those who are left with no rights should be treated as an antisocial act and an act of terrorism.

We express solidarity with the arrested comrades and their families and demand the truth about this case!

FREEDOM FOR ANARCHO-SYNDICALISTS!

ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST INITIATIVE

Sept. 5, 2009

Sources:

http://cia.bzzz.net/statement_of_anarcho_syndicalist_in...mbers

An independent blog (not affiliated with ASI) covering the news regarding the arrests in Serbia with updates in English and Greek:

http://asisolidarity.squat.gr/

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MOLLY NOTES:

The exact "offense" with which the members of the ASI are charged is really one of doing nothing but reporting an act of vandalism without saying that the vandals might actually have something to complain about. From the point of view of the Serbian state it did not matter that the ASI explicitly condemned the tactics of the vandals. As in many other states across the world the government is only satisfied with total agreement with their own way of describing the motives of either "terrorists" or even minor vandals. The apotheosis of this was the insistence of the US government that terrorist attacks on the USA were because "they hate us for our freedoms". This, of course, is silly, but it was (and is) believed by a large segment of the American population who cannot understand how bombing people gets them pissed off.

What the ASI was charged with was something that I have certainly done many times on this blog-despite my determination to not give any publicity to the nutters in the USA who have identity crises and think they can solve them via vandalism-ie report an incident, decry the tactics used but remind the reader that there are real social issues behind the "incident". I've done this over and over, and other rational leftists-anarchist and otherwise- have done it to the tune of millions of times over the years. Others, not even leftist, have also committed this "crime" to the tune of tens of millions". It's what is called reality outside of the ambitions of a state to give only its own point of view. If for no other reason the comrades of the ASI deserve everyone's support because they are simply telling the truth.

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FURTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:

The ASI Solidarity site has published a caution fregarding possible solidarity actions. Due to the present legal situation of the imprisoned comrades it is wise that others refrain from actions other than publishing the ASI statement for the moment.

AMERICAN LABOUR-LOS ANGELES:

FREE SPEECH FOR SOME:

Now I must admit that anyone who makes a living from giving orders to anyone else has to be an A-hole, at least during working hours. Some, however, go over and above the degree of A-holeishness required and set themselves up for an induction to the Anal Hall of Fame. Such are the owners of the 'Vermont Hand Wash', strangely enough located in the city of Los Angeles California. I'm sure that simply naming a car wash on one end of a continent after a state on the other side indicates pig-headishness over and above the usual. Or am I missing something ? Does the state of Vermont have some sort of marketing connection to either car washes or "hands" ? Your guess is as good as mine. Up here in the frozen north nobody names a business after another province. The British Columbia Head Shop ? The Alberta Quick Oil Change ? The Newfoundland Fish Market ? Never, never, never.

In any case, abandon your previous conceptions of what lengths bosses will go to. Read the following article from the AFL-CIO Blog with at least two beer at the ready.

ALALALALALALAL
Justice for Car Wash Workers Too Radical for L.A.:
by James Parks, Aug 19, 2009


Looks like a billboard supporting workers’ rights is too controversial for the corporate hacks who seem to run Los Angeles.

The billboard, outside the Vermont Hand Wash in downtown L.A., carried this “radical” statement: “Wash Away Injustice! Support Carwash Workers.” Before it was unveiled, the Vermont Hand Wash, one of the most notorious anti-worker car washes in the city, pressured CBS Billboard to pull it down before a rally took place in support of car wash workers who are fighting to join a union to improve conditions in the industry. Never mind that the language and design of the billboard had been approved in advance.

As the workers took down the sign, car wash workers and their supporters chanted, “Shame on you!” and “Don’t take it down!” The rally, with hundreds of workers in the Los Angeles area joining AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, members of Congress and local union, clergy and community leaders for the unveiling, carried on below the symbolically blank billboard.

Henry Huerta, director of the Community-Labor-Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) campaign, said:
"We came here today to unveil a billboard with a message to Angelinos to “Support Carwash Workers” in their struggle against exploitation by the owners of this carwash. Unfortunately, the company that owns this billboard caved to pressure from the Pirian family. They have violated our First Amendment Rights to Free Speech and are complicit in this employer’s violation of workers’ rights to Free Association. SHAME ON CBS BILLBOARD! AND SHAME ON THE PIRIAN FAMILY!"

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed criminal charges against Benny and Nisan Pirian, the owners, and Manuel Reyes, manager of the Vermont Hand Wash, with 220 counts of criminal misconduct altogether—including conspiracy, witness intimidation, grand theft, brandishing a deadly weapon, failure to pay wages and failure to comply with wage orders of the state’s Industrial Welfare Commission regulating workplace conditions.

Vermont Hand Wash worker Pedro Guzman said:

"We have suffered retaliation and intimidation by the owner, Benny Pirian. He took us into his office and interrogated us about our union activities. And he even offered to compensate me if I would work on his side against the union and my companeros. But I would never do that. Our struggle continues with the incredible support from unions, students, faith groups, old people, and young people, all of them willing to come out and sweat under the sun to show us their solidarity."

Sweeney told the crowd the car wash workers’ struggle is a perfect example of why the Employee Free Choice Act is needed. (Molly Note- the official unions in the USA seem to always promote the Employee Free Choice Act as the be all and end all salvation of the American labour movement. I think that an objective comparison to the civilized world in which similar legislation is in place shows that it hardly reduces the difficulty of organizing by any significant amount.)

"These workers have gone through hell trying to form a union to win just living standards.
No worker should face that treatment in this country we share. In America, every worker should enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of association.

In America, every corporation should be held accountable to the law. In America, every worker should be free to join a union and bargain for a better life."

Last year, the mostly immigrant car wash workers throughout Los Angeles formed the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee (CWOC) of the United Steelworkers (USW) to raise their standard of living, secure basic workplace protections and address the serious environmental and safety hazards in their industry.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) also issued a complaint in June alleging that Vermont’s management targeted and then fired three workers because of their organizing activities.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) reminded the audience the state’s Car Wash Worker law, passed in 2003, is set to expire this year if it is not reauthorized by the legislature. The law requires all car wash operators to register with the state as a means to promote good labor practices. Chu, who helped pass the law as a member of the state assembly, called on California regulators to reauthorize and fully enforce the law. (Time for another Molly Note here. If this law was so effective then why didn't it prevent the present abuses at the Vermont hand Wash ?????. This seems like rather special pleading to me. Is legislation some magic answer ?)

The effort to gain justice for the “carwasheros” is being led by CLEAN, a coalition of more than 130 organizations, including labor unions, immigrant rights organizations and environmental and worker health and safety advocates, working to improve working conditions in the car wash industry.

Huerta said the tragedy is that although the Pirians are among the worst offenders we have encountered in the industry, they are not alone.

The exploitative treatment of workers is rampant throughout this industry. Carwashes are simply sweatshops operating in plain site.

But with support from unions and the community, carwash workers from across the city are building a union and building a movement—for respect, dignity, and fairness on the job.

CANADIAN LABOUR:

NO SMILIES ALLOWED:

This is the sort of lawsuit that springs either from malignant optimism or, more likely, a simple desire to use the courts as an instrument of harassment. Either that or it was thought up at a "too many martinis lunch by Walmart's lawyers. For some time the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada have had a website Walmart Workers Canada. To say the least the site is critical of Wal-Mart. The Big W, rather than answering the criticisms, or perish forbid actually make their workers' lives better and allowing them to unionize is trying to kill the union's freedom of speech by using the courts. What they want to censor will astonish you. Personally I hope against hope that the judge levies all costs against the plaintiff in this obviously vexatious lawsuit. Here's the story from the Wake Up Walmart site.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
Stop Walmart's War on Free Speech:‏
Remember when Walmart tried to restrict usage of the ubiquitous yellow smiley face? Well, the company's legal team is it again.

Walmart has filed an injunction against a website critical of its Canadian business practices, and their "legal basis" will outrage you. Walmart wants to stop WalmartWorkersCanada.ca from using the word "Wal-Mart" either "alone or with other words... in a color scheme of blue, white and gold." Even more ridiculous, the company wants to restrict the usage of circular shapes on the group's website!

If Walmart has its way, "an oval, circular or semi-circular design" will be off limits to groups critical of its business practices. We're sure you agree--this is simply too bizarre for words.
You can take a stand against Walmart's censorship threat. It takes just a few seconds to put the pressure on Walmart to respect freedom of expression.
Tell Walmart to respect free speech: sign our petition today

If we let Walmart set the standard for free speech online, there is no telling where the company's absurd demands will end. Can you imagine a world where Walmart has exclusive rights to blue, white, gold, and abstract geometrical shapes? Rest assured that Walmart can.

Please take a moment to show your solidarity for the activists at WalmartWorkersCanada.ca. Sign our petition today, and don't forget to show your support online by hosting a banner on Facebook, MySpace, or your blog.
Help stop Walmart's war against the freedom of expression online
Thanks for all that you do,
The Team,

WakeUpWalMart.com

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL

Yup, that's the honest truth. Walmart would like to be able to control not just the ubiquitous smiley face but even colour schemes and geometrical shapes. There is now a Facebook group dedicated to opposing this bizarre attempt. See the Save the Circle facebook group. Yes folks the circle will become an endangered species if WalMart has its way. If you like sign the following petition against this act of corporate craziness by going to THIS LINK.

THE PETITION:

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL

We, the undersigned, jointly demand that Walmart adhere to the ideals of free expression.
Walmart must respect the sanctity of free speech, and must not unduly interfere with groups expressing their views with regard to Walmart, though they may be critical of Walmart's business practices.

The frivolous demands levied against WalmartWorkersCanada.ca, restricting the use of color schemes and shapes, are contrary to our most basic ideals, and must be retracted at once.
Signed,

CANADIAN POLITICS:

RESCIND THE BAN ON GEORGE GALLOWAY:

The horribly "dangerous" goof pictured to the left is British MP George Galloway. He was been expelled from the British Labour Party after more than one occasion of making kissy face with any number of dictators. At present he masterminds (if that word is applicable) a very minor English political party called 'Respect'. Respect is devoted to squaring the circle by trying to create the illusion of a coalition between jihadists and leftists.

That's all fine and good. Goofier things have been tried by many others besides "rubber man" pictured above. What makes this situation unique is that GG has been banned from entering Canada by our Conservative government. On the grounds of "being a threat to Canada's national security". Well, I doubt that the leftist court jester pictured above is a threat to anyone's security. I also have no doubt that he is just as much a thug as he has been portrayed as. Being disgusting, however, is a far cry from being a national security threat.

The following is a story from the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, come to Molly's attention via the Statewatch website. Molly agrees with this, without any illusions about Mr. Galloway's character. To my mind this is a direct attack on freedom of speech and little else. It shows the desires that lurk within the federal Conservative caucus.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Press Release: British MP banned from Canada: Ottawa must reverse shameful decision:

OTTAWA – March 20, 2009 – The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group is calling on Ottawa to reverse its decision and allow well-known British MP and peace activist, George Galloway, to enter to Canada.

“The Canadian minister for Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney has the discretionary power to issue a permit allowing Mr. Galloway to enter Canada,” said Roch Tassé, national coordinator for the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. “Barring a British member of Parliament who doesn't share our government's views is embarrassing and shameful: this is clearly censorship and an attempt to stifle freedom of opinion and freedom of speech.”

A minister's spokesman told reporters in the U.K that the Respect MP is inadmissible on national security grounds because of his views on Afghanistan and the presence of Canadian troops there. He warned that he would be turned away if he attempted to enter the country.

Galloway is due to speak at a public forum Resisting War from Gaza to Kandahar, hosted by the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, at a downtown church on March 30, 2009.

Responding to the news, the MP said he would fight the ban: “This decision, gazetted in Rupert Murdoch’s Sun, is a very sad day for the Canada we have known and loved – a bastion of the freedoms that supporters of the occupation of Afghanistan claim to be defending.” Please see full story at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/20/george-galloway-banned-canada

The ICLMG is a pan-Canadian coalition of civil society organizations that was established in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The coalition brings together 38 NGOs, unions, professional associations, faith groups, environmental organizations, human rights and civil liberties advocates, as well as groups representing immigrant and refugee communities in Canada.

Information : Roch Tassé – 613-241-5298

CANADIAN LABOUR/POLITICS:

BC UNIONS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH:

Way out west in BC the Liberal (Lotus Land speak for extreme right wing conservative- dialects do differ across Canada) government has introduced a bill barring third party discussion of political issues in the run-up to an election. Several other Canadian jurisdictions have passed similar legislation, but this bill is unique in that it puts the clamps on freedom of speech for about six months prior to an election. Not just during the campaign itself. A coalition of unions out BC way have come together to oppose this muzzling of the public. See the following for more details and also for how you can join the campaign against this atrocious bill.

......................................

Unions launch Bill 42 fightback website

JUST SHUT UP !!!!
That’s what Bill 42, the Election Amendment Act, amounts to. The law imposes extreme limits on organizations who want to talk about important issues such as climate change, health care, public schools, the Olympics, child care, transit, affordable housing, public private partnerships, and many more. From December of this year until the May, 2009 provincial election, these topics will be off limits.

Today, the BC Federation of Labour and seven affiliates including CUPE BC, launched a new website (http://www.justshutupbc.com/ ) and ad campaign targeting the BC Liberals’ election gag law. The website offers information on how the new law limits freedom of speech. It also encourages readers concerned about the new law to send an e-mail http://www.justshutupbc.com/take-action to Attorney-General Wally Oppal, Premier Gordon Campbell, NDP Leader Carole James and their own MLA to express opposition to Bill 42’s undemocratic restrictions on free speech in B.C.

ANARCHIST THEORY:

AGAINST COLONIALISM AND FUNDAMENTALISM:

The following article from the Anarkismo website was written by a Muslim with sympathies for freedom of speech. It speaks of the way to chart a "middle-course" between support of America's imperial adventures and the desires of America's fundamentalist opponents, supporting neither but advocating against both colonialism and fundamentalism. No doubt a lot more could be said on this subject.

............................................

Against Colonialism and fundamentalism…

It is a big question for us, Muslims who consider freedom as our main aim or our main principle of life, where we stand in the conflict between what can be defined as neo-colonialist policies of the capitalist west and Islamic fundamentalism. In brief, my answer is that I think we must stick to our main principle: that is freedom, away from both.

No doubt that we would not accept, under any excuse, any violation or denial of the freedom of thought, consciousness and speech; let it be against muslims or any other groups. But this position will change at the same moment that such a criticism becomes a justification of occupation or racism.

It is clear that those cartoons, about prophet Mohammad, tells more than just a simple and just criticism of brutal and intolerant Islamic fundamentalism; in fact, this is a part of a broader campaign that aims to confirm that Muslims are backward people; and to justify that colonialism is a necessary project designed to civilize these people; which in a way, resembles "God supports segregation" that could be seen in US and South Africa's streets before the triumph of the human rights movement.

It is not surprising that such an argument was repeated also by Bush's administration. People in the west, like anywhere else, are ready to defend their freedom more than the profits or greed of capital.

On the other side, fundamentalists promote denial of others' basic liberties, non-Muslims and even Muslims, as a prerequisite of resisting neo-colonialism. Totally the contrary, the antidote of colonialism is freedom, not a reactionary repression. Defending the freedom of speech or press is not equal to supporting the Iraq war or occupation, or neo-colonialism, which badly needs such racist arguments as its basic justification. It is also right that resisting this colonialism does not mean imposing Islamic religious dogmas on others.

INDIA/THE NETHERLANDS:

CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN:

CLOTHING BOSSES CONTINUE LEGAL ATTEMPTS TO SUPPRESS SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGNS:

Since 2005 local organizations in Bangalore, India have tried to publicize and correct unfair labour practices on the part of the jeans manufacturer Fibre and Fabrics International and its subsidiary Jeans Knits Pvt. Ltd.. Abuses alleged include high work pressure, forced overtime, physical and psychological abuse, overwork without pay and failure to provide contracts. This company provides jeans for G-Star, Armani, RaRe, Guess, GAP, Mexx and others.

The company responded with legal action against both local Indian organizations and their international supporters. They obtained a court order against local people in July 2006, banning them from commenting on the company's labour practices. This injunction was extended in February of this year, and the court case surrounding it continues to drag on. FFI also succeeded in obtaining injunctions in a local court against international supporters of the Indian workers, but for obvious reasons these are hard to enforce. In response the company has managed to convince a judge in Bangalore to issue arrest warrants against 7 staff members of the Clean Clothes Campaign in the Netherlands and their internet providers Antenna and Xs4all.

The supporters of the Indian workers are being accused of "cybercrime, racist and xenophobic activities and slander".

In response the Clean Clothes campaign has redoubled its efforts to convince customers of FFI to cease ordering from this source until they clean up their act. They have also launched an online campaign to protest this attempt to muzzle free speech. To join both campaigns and to read more go to http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/07-09-27.htm#action . To follow this campaign and others maintained by the Clean Clothes Campaign see the link above.

Molly Note:

If the reader looks again at the list of charges he or she will notice the "racist and xenophobic" part. Molly has always opposed any and all laws putting limits on freedom of speech no matter what their "good leftist, progressive intentions". Far too many so-called leftists see nothing wrong with such attempts to legislate social morality and in fact are quite supportive of them. If, however, you fail to see the immorality of such laws you might be persuaded that they are a bad idea because they provide ever ready tools for others to use for purposes that you don't agree with. The actions of the Indian courts are hardly the only example or even the last of 10,000 examples from across the world. In other words if you can't support freedom from the basis of morality you might consider supporting it from the basis of practicality.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH UNDER ATTACK:

LABOUR START FIGHTS BACK:

As reported last September 8th here at Molly's Blog (see'Labour Start Under Attack') the online labour solidarity site Labour Start has been the subject of threats on the part of the management of the Fremantle company. Labour Start initiated a campaign of support for the home care workers employed by Fremantle, and the bosses didn't take kindly to this intrusion on their domain. They won a Pyrrhic victory, forcing Labour Start to remove the campaign from their main site, but Labour Start retaliated by opening the campaign again within hours at a new site in a different country. This site, 'We Will Not Be Silenced', has continued the campaign, and now the management of Fremantle has over 12,000 letters in their email box supporting their workers and Labour Start. Labour Start has also launched a Google ad campaign of support for the workers.

Molly reproduces the latest press release from Labour Start below:

"A little more than a week ago the Fremantle Trust tried to close down Labour Start by threatening our internet service provider (ISP), claiming that it was hosting "potentially libellous" material. We're pleased to report that after thinking about it for three or four days, our ISP realized that our online campaign was not libellous and informed us that it could be back on line. This was picked up by the media and labelled a "web campaign victory".

In the meantime we didn't sit around waiting---we moved the whole campaign over to a web server in Australia (at a considerable expense of time and money), and that is where it is staying. And we've turned up the heat on Fremantle. If you search on Google for the term 'Fremantle' you're likely to see our ad in the upper right corner of the page. (or not---Google won't show it every time). Our ad has been shown nearly 152,000 times---that's tens of thousands of people who have seen a loud and clear message which reads, "Fremantle-Stop Bullying,start talking. Barnet care workers deserve more".

In the last week since Fremantle tried to silence us, another 4,000 of you have sent off messages to its chief executive, Carole Sawyers. With over 12,000 messages now in her inbox, we've broken all records for a Labour Start campaign. Sawyers has written some of you presenting Fremantle's case, and had this to say about our online campaign: "I can honestly say that we have not bullied or intimidated Labour Start into removing the content about Fremantle. I sent a polite email request to Mr. Lee asking that he remove it, informing him that the information was inaccurate, misleading and potentially libellous. I copied this information to Labour Start's ISP, who requested them to remove the information pending further investigation".

Think about that for a minute. She "copied this information" (which was untrue) to our ISP, knowing what English libel laws are like, knowing full well that the ISP would almost certainly order us to take down the campaign rather than risk facing legal action. This was not an attempt to persuade Labour Start, politely or otherwise. It was a blatant attempt to stifle dissent , to shut down criticism of an employer so used to bullying its workers that it doesn't realize what it is up against here.

This week the workers at Fremantle are going on strike once again, and will be coming to the company headquarters to protest. They are not alone. They go there knowing that they have the backing not only of their union, Unison, and of the British trade union movement, but of tens of thousands of organized workers around the world. They have asked me to convey their thanks to all of you.

Eric Lee

Molly urges her readers to go to the Labour Start site and to the We Will Not Be Silenced site and give support to this campaign.

HOW FREE IS THE USA?:

NOT VERY MUCH:

While reading the September 17th edition of Time Magazine Molly came across an interesting item in their 'Dashboard' section. Entitled 'How Free Is Your Country ?' it has a world map that gives a visual about how various countries size up on the 'Voice and Accountability' indicator of the Worldwide Governance Indicators project. Think the USA is the "land of the free" ? Guess again. This indicator is a measure of how free citizens are to voice their opinions and select a government. The World Governance Indicators actually compare 212 listed countries on six different parameters ie

Voice and Accountability

Political Stability and Absence of Violence

Government Effectiveness

Regulatory Quality

Rule of Law

Control of Corruption

On most of these indicators(except for one-more on this later) the USA scored fairly high, but in no case was it the top country or even close. The 'Voice and Accountability' section measures basic parameters of democracy and freedom of speech. In this field the USA has dropped from a rank of 22nd in 2005 to the level of 35rd in 2006, a reflection of both increased distrust of public officials and further restrictions on freedom of the press. Most West European countries score as "freer" than the USA as do Australia, New Zealand and Canada (at the 12th ranking). Some of the countries that beat the USA, however, are interesting. Italy ! Hungary ! Chile ! Now, I can see that there may indeed be more freedom of speech in Italy. Probably a heck of a lot more. But is it possible that Italians distrust their government less than Americans do.

If you examine the indicators two things strike you. One is that this is not a set of biased estimates by some obscure left wing think tank. The estimates are produced by the WORLD BANK INSTITUTE, an outfit that nobody in their right mind could accuse of "left wing biases". The second is that each estimate of the six parameters is produced by integrating a number of different reports from up to 24 different organizations. The estimates vary from organization to organization. What the world Bank has tried to do is draw a composite picture. Some "in house' groups such as Freedom House or Global Insight Business Conditions and Risk Indicators give the USA much higher ratings than say the Economist Intelligence Unit which puts the USA down at position # 83 rather than 35. The Gallup World Poll puts it even further down the list at position # 106. The latter is, of course, biased, but no less so than such things as Freedom House. All told those outfits that have the least to lose or gain by their opinions, other than the fact that they are selling them as "the truth" to those who depend upon them for business decisions, tend to cluster around the aggregate estimates that the Governance Indicators bring out as the best opinion.

There is one of the indicators that is particularly damaging to American self perceptions, perhaps even more so that pricking the balloon of America's preeminence in "freedom", something that most of us foreigners doubted in the first place. Being the 35th freest country in the world is still a fairly high score. Where the USA really scores low is on the 'Political Stability and Absence of Violence' indicator. Here the USA comes in at the 89th place. This has fallen tremendously in the last 7 years. All other indicators have also fallen, but none so dramatically as this one. It should be noted that the Gallup World Poll played no part in compiling this particular index. This is not the perhaps biased general world public opinion that the USA is a violent country both domestically and internationally. This is the estimate of people who have to base business decisions on such estimates.

Anyways, the WGI isn't just about the USA and its trials and tribulations. Drop on over to see how your own country and others rate on this yardstick.

LABOUR START UNDER ATTACK:

The online labour solidarity site Labour Start has come under attack by the Fremantle Company. In response to their campaign for solidarity with the north London home care workers employed by this company(See Molly's Blog, August 31st 'Support the Fremantle Workers') over 8,100 people wrote letters of protest to Fremantle.

The company responded first by firing the union representative for the workers, Andrew Rogers. They then threatened legal action against Labour Start, accusing them of "libel". The chief editor of Labour Start, Eric Lee, responded that if the company follows up on its threat and sends a registered letter in the mail that he will immediately put it up on eBay and ask Labour Start's supporters to bid on it.

The Fremantle company then tried another tactic. They contacted the Internet service provider for Labour Start and threatened to take legal action against them unless they shut down the campaign for solidarity with the home care workers. The ISP contacted Labour Start and gave them a deadline of noon yesterday to remove the campaign or the entire Labour Start site would be shut down. Despite last minute negotiations with the ISP and the support of the Unison union whose workers are at the centre of the dispute the ISP refused to budge.

The people at Labour Start removed the campaign as of yesterday, but this is not the end of the story. They immediately revived the campaign with a different server in a different country in nine different languages. The new site is called We Will Not Be Silenced (http://www.wewillnotbesilenced.org ), and it continues the campaign for solidarity with the Fremantle workers. If you haven't yet signed on to this solidarity campaign spare a moment and drop by there. Labour Start has also started a Google ad campaign to further pressure the company. This, of course, costs money and Labour Start is in need of donations. See the Labour Start website (now without the Fremantle campaign) to find out how you can donate.

HELP PRESERVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH ! SUPPORT LABOUR START AND 'WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED '!

WHEN TELLING THE TRUTH IS AN OFFENSE:

Molly has recently come upon an interesting item on the Saskatchewan blog Shagya's Blog about a high school student in Wayota, Saskatchewan, who was suspended from school for the simple fact of countering the propaganda doled out by the teachers in the school about marijuana. Molly has heard reports about this on the radio and being as she was unlucky enough to grow up in Saskatchewan eventually intended to blog about this herself. But Shagya has said it all. The student involved is an honours student who has now gone to China to study there (no..he's not Chinese; he's just smart). The social control as opposed to education function of the school system could not be more plainly expressed than it is here. No place for intelligence in school. Go to Shagya's blog for the full story. Brings back bad memories of Molly's own ancient high school experiences with the Jesuits. Some of those black coated bastards could punch real good.

CHINA: NO NEW INTERNET CAFES THIS YEAR:

An article in the China Daily reports that the Chinese government has decided to ban any new internet cafes from opening through the rest of the year. China has the world's second largest population of internet users with 137 million people online and will likely surpass the USA within two years.

While expressing much concern about internet pornography, gambling and violence the present Chinese government is much more concerned about access of its people to ideas the government finds "subversive". The government is concerned that internet cafes are "improperly renting out their licences" and "failing to register the identities of their users" (yes, that is the law in China).

Go to the article above to read more.

Local Elections and Other Atrocities:
Winnipeg, along with the rest of Manitoba, will be holding its municipal elections this October 25th. Me...I will be out of town, and I can't say that I'm weeping big tears about the matter. The field for mayor of Winnipeg holds four candidates, all equally unappealing. The front runner and likely victor is the incumbent Sam Katz. He stands as the "right wing" candidate though his record as either a tax-cutter or a spending-reducer is marginal to non-existent. What he excels at is glad handing in the fine old political tradition and conspiracy in same. When the recent affair of turning part of Winnipeg's Forks historic location over to be part of the parking space for his ballpark he had the grace to step out of council chambers for the vote. But when it was suggested that there was a certain amount of "influence" that he had on other council members to sway their vote there was "great shock and indignation" that such a thing could even be suggested. Perish the thought !!! This from a man who does his damnedest to get his "friends" elected to other council seats, forming an "unnamed Party" over and against the "unnamed Party" of the NDP oriented councillors. The Green Party who are also running candidates in some wards have the best take on this. Part of their platform is that candidates should be free to declare their Party orientation. It would be a considerable step forward from the present wink-wink, nudge-nudge system where everybody is quite determined to lie about an obvious reality.
Actually Sam Katz would make a truly magnificent Mayor if he would apply 1/10th of the sort of business acumen to running the city as he has in running his own financial affairs. In the last civic election which Katz won against a full slate of about 9 (I think) candidates. One radio station took it upon themselves to look up the legal records of the various candidates. Katz totalled more lawsuits than all the other candidates combined. He had been a regular for many years in sueing others and being sued in turn in a wide variety of different matters. A lawyer could make a decent living by only representing Sam Katz.
I had a recent conversation with a couple who are active members of the Conservative Party here in Winnipeg, people who might be assumed to have some sympathy for the mayor. They do, insofar as they dislike the other candidates more. But the three of us came to an agreement about two matters. One is that Katz is definitely!!! the most intelligent candidate in the race, and the proof is......he'll never get caught. The second is that Katz is standing proof that a person can never become rich by investing their money wisely. You only become rich by investing other peoples' money wisely .....and then never paying them back.
The other candidates in the race deserve little mention. One, Ron Pollack, is a joke candidate, and the only person who can't get the punch line is himself. Another, Chris Hasselriis, is the ultimate "fashion lefty". He oozes "slick" from the top of his fashionable haircut to the soles of his fashionable shoes. He actually has a "platform" of sorts which is to promise as much as he can to everybody that he thinks of as fast as he can. An occasional idea of his such as abolishing the business tax might seem "appealing", but what would replace the lost revenue of $60 million dollars is a matter of great silence. Should the waters of the sea part and Hasselriis gets elected it would be likely that this cut would go the way of Sam Katz's similar promise 4 years ago. In sum Hasselriis seems like the sort of person who has never heard of a way of spending money that he couldn't love.
Hasselriis has been labelled a "libertarian socialist" by some of the local media. Cough !, Gack !, Choke !. Such a label robs the term of all possible meaning. He is actually too much even for the local leftists, and one has to say that their taste buds are pretty jaded. So another more traditional leftist candidate, Marianne Cerilli, has entered the race. If Hasselriis has never met an expenditure that he couldn't love Cerilli has never met a tax that didn't spark romantic interest on her part. Once more, some of her platform may be superficially appealing. Putting an extra tax on big box stores certainly gets my "spite vote", though the surrounding RMs will undoubtedly take up the slack. Opposing the new hog processing plant in St. Boniface is also a winner in my books, though getting this reprieve through the process of electing a Mayor hardly solves the problem of the availability of city coffers to private interests in a structural sense.
This can be seen from a deadly silence about a certain question that follows from another one of her promises...that city funds won't be available for Winnipeg's professional football team. Fine and dandy from my point of view. Let all sports teams rise and fall on their own ability to generate income from fans. OK, but she justifies this by stating that the interest in the football team is only an interest of a "minority". Maybe, but she has made no noises whatsoever about city support for "high culture" and the not-so-high culture of the local arts scene. Minorities ???
Could it be be that Cerilli's regard for certain "white-wine socialists", to use an old cliche, is so strong that she thinks that one of these is equal to 20 "football boors" ? Even Katz won't touch this one with a ten foot pole.
Enough of the other candidates. On to the atrocity. Despite being the obvious front runner Katz has been searching around for an "issue" that makes his campaign look less like the shuffling of a herd of zombies. He has found it in a proposal to ban the sale of spray paint to anyone under 18 years of age. This would presumably cut down on the amount of graffiti around the city. He also wants to make it an offense for anyone under 18 to even possess a can of spray paint. A law prohibiting sale of spray paint to minors would likely survive a constitutional challenge, but one prohibiting possession would not. The mind boggles. "Sheriff Wyatt Katz" determined to clean up the crime of downtown Dodge City- I mean Winnipeg- by barring the dangerous weapons of spray cans from the hands of the young hoodlums. "All right kid, this is the police. Drop that can and come up with your hands up or we'll start shooting".
The sad part is that this lead weight will likely float. Mercifully it will attract only those who would have voted for Katz anyhow, even if he was proven to be the AntiChrist. About the same number of people who would believe that the city should drop support for the football teams but keep support for artists, real and pseudo. The majorities lay elsewhere.