AMERICAN LABOUR:

HELP THE UNITED FARM WORKERS IN 2009:

Well, it's definitely the Holiday Season, and the requests for funds are coming fast and furious. One worthy cause, of course, is the American United Farm Workers, whose campaigns have often been mentioned here at Molly's Blog. A worthy cause indeed, and if you have a few spare shekels send it their way. Here's the pitch....

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Will You Make a New Year's Resolution to Help Farm Workers?:
As we enjoy the holiday season and look forward to the New Year, I want to ask you to consider making a New Year’s resolution that lasts all year long. Can you commit to make a monthly gift of $10, $15 or more to help the UFW organize farm workers? If it's not possible at this time, can you make a single gift to help us make a difference to the people who put food on your table?

It has been an exciting year for the United Farm Workers. We've been out there daily fighting for farm worker rights and we’ve been winning. We're thrilled to tell you that a 1.68 million dollar settlement was reached for a sex discrimination case against the Tulare County grape grower Kovacevich 5 Farms. The 2006 lawsuit involved six female applicants who said they were turned away by K-5 solely because of their gender. This is a great victory for all women in California and the country who labor in the agricultural industry. We expect the award imposed to K-5 farms will set an important precedent and show other growers that blatant discrimination will not be tolerated.

UFW organizers are out in the fields fighting for farm workers on a daily basis. In 2008, our efforts have gotten hundreds of workers their jobs back after unjust firings. We’ve been instrumental in getting workers paid thousands of dollars in lost wages. Just in the San Joaquin Valley alone, workers have gotten more than $60,000 of wages unjustly kept from them.

Due to the UFW's organizing and litigation, one on the San Joaquin Valley’s largest growers--Sun Pacific--has stopped the process of making workers to take their grape trays home and washing them without being paid for their time. As forcing workers to do this unpaid labor is a common practice, this action sets a president for all grape growers.

We've accomplished a lot, but there is still more to do. This past summer, six farm workers' deaths have been investigated because of heat-related causes. The UFW is doing everything we can to ensure that no more farm workers fall victim to the heat. The laws written to protect them are not enforced, as the state clearly does not have the capacity to do so. We introduced legislation to correct this problem; however the governor did not sign the bill. The UFW is committed to continue our fight until a law is passed to give farm workers the tools they need to help themselves.

In spite of these difficulties, we are excited by our legislative opportunities for next year. We have great hopes for the Obama presidency. President-Elect Obama’s appointment of longtime friend Congresswoman Hilda Solis to run the Department of Labor can make a huge difference to farmworkers.

Please help us bring justice to the fields by making your monthly pledge or a single gift. No amount is too much or too little. Even a few dollars a month will help us get stronger and take advantage of the opportunities ahead.

Thank you and Si Se Puede!

Please make your monthly pledge or your single gift today!

Let's all come together to help farm workers this holiday season.

Please share this e-mail with your friends.
Check out our website at: www.ufw.org and keep up with the latest news.

CANADIAN LABOUR/CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-EDMONTON:

EDMONTON IWW LECTURE NEXT MONTH:

Coming next month, January 23, 2009, a lecture by Roy Adams, sponsored by the Edmonton IWW. Here's the announcement...

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Roy Adams Talk:
The Edmonton General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World is announcing a public talk by Roy J. Adams, Professor of Industrial Relations (Emeritus) at McMaster University. Roy will be speaking at the Ukrainian Centre, 11018 97 Street NW in Edmonton on January 23, 2009 at 7:30 PM.

Professor Adams is the author of over 150 professional publications and numerous popular works as well. A founder and current Steering Committee Chair of the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights in Employment whose mission is to promote awareness, understanding and respect for core labour rights as human rights, his current research focuses largely on the implications for Canada of international human rights developments. His 2006 book, Labour Left Out: Canada's Failure to Protect and Promote Collective Bargaining as a Human Right, presaged the Supreme Court's 2007 Health Services decision constitutionalizing collective bargaining. He is a frequent contributor on labour issues to the online magazine Straight Goods, as well as to Our Times and International Union Rights.

Roy's "passion is workers' rights and in particular the right to organize and bargain collectively and the failure of Canadian governments (including most certainly Alberta) to secure and effectively promote that right. I am keen on talking about that stuff to anyone who'll listen."

For more information please contact Steve Nixon 780.984.9070

AMERICAN LABOUR:

SOLIDARITY WITH OAK HARBOR TRUCKERS:

The following from the United Students Against Sweatshops seems to be for students only (see the letter below). If you are one of those gatherers in the vineyards of knowledge help out if you can, and think of the truckers when you sip your next cup of java.

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Tell Concordia Coffee: Too Cold:
Concordia Coffee supplies coffee and espresso machines to numerous major universities including Harvard, Princeton, Purdue, the University of California, and Stanford. They pride themselves in providing the machines and supplies that make warm specialty coffees for college students.

But when the striking truck drivers from Oak Harbor, who carry their merchandise, asked them for support they threw them out in the cold. Oak Harbor truck drivers have been out in the cold for over two months and have had their healthcare benefits cut along with having to deal with intimidation and strike-breaking from the company.

Tell Concordia Coffee: You're coffee company is too cold for college students! Tell me more

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following message to the management of Oak Harbor.

Subject: Concordia Coffee: Too Cold!
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
I am writing as a college student to express concern over Oak Harbor truck drivers, who carry Concordia Coffee merchandise through the northwest.

On Monday September 22, 2008 Oak Harbor Freight Lines workers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho were forced to strike in protest of Oak Harbor's violations of America's labor laws, as well as hostile efforts by company representatives to intimidate workers.Rather than correcting these violations by negotiating with its employees in good faith, Oak Harbor's owners have hired a notorious strike breaking consulting firm, imported teams of professional strikebreakers and attempted to permanently replace workers in an effort to coerce and scare loyal long-time employees.

A report done by the International Labor Rights Forum found substantial evidence indicating that Oak Harbor has violated International Labor standards by, among other actions, discriminating against minorities and women in its hiring practices, pursuing a premeditated plan to permanently replace employees engaged in a lawful strike, employing a labor contractor that has behaved in a grossly unethical manner toward replacement workers it has provided to Oak Harbor, and by inflicting significant hardship on retired employees through the termination of health insurance contributions.

Several socially responsible companies, including Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) and Urban Outfitters, have suspended their relationship with Oak Harbor until the company finds a just and lasting resolution to the ongoing labor dispute.Unfortunately, when Oak Harbor drivers came to Concordia Coffee about the problem, they were told that Concordia Coffee didn't care.

That's cold.I urgently request that that Concordia Coffee join with other socially responsible companies by letting Oak Harbor know that if it wants to carry Concordia Coffee products, it needs to resolve its labor dispute and treat its employees fairly.
Sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE INSURRECTION IN GREECE:

Sooner or later you have to give your own opinion. Molly is "semi-familiar" with Greece, having visited the country a few years back, having a slight acquaintance with the language, and having followed events in that country for some years. I do not claim to be an "expert", and neither do I claim any precognition as to how events will play out in that country, with its complicated politics and with the inability of other countries to intervene at this time. All these caveats, however, don't say that one can't apply common sense to what is happening in Greece now, particularly insofar as it has "world importance" outside of the borders of Hellas- which indeed it does. Here are a few of my preliminary thoughts. Further developments may prove these right or wrong.

NEW FORMS OF REBELLION:

What is unique about the present rebellion in Greece, as compared to other previous uprisings in Europe, is the role of present technology in its development. After the original police murder the first protests were brought together within hours via such things as text messages. people gathered to protest without any organization that claimed to give out the call. This is, of course, very anarchistic, but what it does, in reality, is merely compress the "time frame" that has been evidenced in previous rebellions across the world. All previous revolutions have been the work of ordinary, non-aligned people rather than the work of conscious revolutionary organizations. Even the Russian Revolutions were, at first, a totally spontaneous uprising. The October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power depended on their alliances with other forces such as the Left SRs and the anarchists, and this "revolution" would be better described by the term "coup d'etat" rather than "revolution". The actual "revolution" that the Communists set about forthwith to destroy was being made in the factories, the regiments and the rural estates of Russia by the people themselves. The "signals" were carried more by foot than by any other method. Trains and telegraphs, of course, spread the rebellion faster than word of mouth could, but the speed was still much slower than it is today.

This has meaning which has to be taken account of. The immediate success of the Greek rebels has, perhaps, given them an illusion of effectiveness that isn't justified by subsequent events. The best illustration of this is the call for an international day of solidarity on the 20th of this month. this was given with a very short notice. The illusion was that if, protests could be organized in Greece within hours that they could be similarly spread internationally within a day. The call was responded to, but, outside of Germany and France, it gathered few numbers and those only from the anarchist activist "scene".

The whole point is that the apparent success of the rebellion in Greece is predicated on a technology that has its limitations. It allows immediacy, but it also fosters the illusion that considered thought is unnecessary, and allows the participants to imagine that their own situation is the same as others. These sort of illusions can be forgiven when radical politics is a matter of "game-playing". they are unforgivable in situations where real goals are at stake.

THE NEW AND THE OLD:

The rebellion in Greece is already passing into history, and it will be compared to other such events in European history in the past half century. How does it compare to such events as the French uprising of 1968, Solidarnosc in Poland in 1980-81 and the Romanian Revolution of 1989. In one sense it is best equivalent to the latter. The first two had positive programs ie an idea of what was to replace the old order. The latter, much more violent than the events in Greece today, was also an inchoate uprising with no clear goals, and, of course, it was taken advantage of by those who had such goals. Nowadays in Greece those who would want to use the rebellion as a stepping stone to power, the socialists and the communists, have, like in France in 1968 been appalled by what has been unleashed. They are presently doing their best to restrain the movement, and have pretty much abandoned their own power seeking goals. The sheer persistence of the movement has astonished them and also frightened them. it has escaped their control.

The closest equivalent in modern history to what is happening in Greece today is France in 1968. The differences are instructive. In Poland in 1980-81 the rebellion was a trade union one, by definition a rebellion of the average person, of the population as a whole. In France in 1968 the rebellion was triggered by students, as a caste separate from the general population. Yet, the working class joined in, inspired by the goal of "self-management". Today in Greece this goal has barely been articulated. No doubt the phrase has been debased in the past few decades. It is presently one of the ideological shibboleths of those who have absolutely no intention of ever implementing it in reality, of social democrats, of Trotskyists, of communists and even of the most vicious and dictatorial of all- the Maoists. All of them use it as a slogan, but none of them mean it. They all try and confuse the matter, as the present Caudillo in Venezuela does, by pretending that control by state bureaucrats is the same as that of control by the workers themselves in an enterprise. No...it is fucking not, and that is obvious !!!!

Yet, no matter how long the young people in Greece can "hold out" and continue with their protests they cannot succeed unless the general population joins in. Quite unfortunately the present movement in Greece is very much driven by disgust with the present government, and, unlike France in 1968, there are few indications of a positive idea of an alternative. This will condemn the movement to eventual defeat, no matter how heroic it may be. This is where the movement fails- its lack of a program.

THE NEED FOR ORGANIZATION:

As I have said "revolutionaries don't create revolutions". Such events are far beyond the control of sects and parties. They happen when a population is really and truly fed up with an intolerable situation. What "revolutionaries" (amongst whom Molly does not count as belonging) can do, however, is to provide a clear idea of "what to do" to the people during such times as the people themselves rebel. This is predicated on a long period of organization before such uprisings and clear and careful thought as to the perennial question of "what is to be done". It also depends on a clear and non-rhetorical idea of what is possible or not in a given situation and time. It also depends on recognition that you may get half-way there and be much further ahead than if you go for an end goal that is unachievable.

In Greece today there are organizations that have presented something of a "final goal" ie the anarchosyndicalist ESE and the Greek platformists. What they have failed to do is present anything like a way in which movements can be advanced towards such final goals and how temporary gains can be stabilized even if they fall short of the final goal. They have also, and this is no fault of their own, considered how rebellions of "triggers" such as the students can be generalized into the full gun of a revolution. This is hardly the task of small groups, such as anarchists outside of Spain are today. It is, however, something to think about for the future. Hopefully the present events in Greece will lead to a deepening of the anarchist understanding in that country and a growth of those anarchist organizations that can actually point to a realistic way forward. At the present time Greece is in the vanguard of the struggle for a libertarian society. What is needed is time, organization and clear thinking.

No doubt the political horizons of many participants in the protests in Greece today hardly go beyond putting handcuffs on Greece's admittedly brutal police or, at best, forcing the conservative government to be a little less brutal in its policies. Having seen the Greek riot squads marched up and down streets uselessly Molly has little respect for their "size" as compared to the average Canadian cop, but I'm sure that they make up what they lack in stature by sheer meanness if they can corner an isolated victim- but I also have to admit that they aren't great at maintaining formation when it really matters.I sit in wonder as one or two cops chase a group of rioters down a street. Stupid, stupid. stupid. It's a tribute to the ineffectiveness of the rioters that more don't get taken down. But these, of course, are sheerly military comments. Politics are what counts. In this our Greek comrades are both brilliant and deficient. Hopefully we can learn from them, and they will learn from what they are doing now. That is for the future.

More thoughts later as the situation develops.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-TORONTO/MONTRÉAL:

SHOES FOR BUSH:

Pity poor Emperor George Bush II. As he tries desperately to "define his legacy" he is not only detested across the world but also ridiculed. The photo above pretty well sums up the general feeling of world opinion in regards to this man. It is the Emperor's misfortune to leave the throne not on a note of fear and awe but rather one of ridicule, and one man, the Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, has pointed out that the Emperor has no clothes. This in front of the whole world. The actions of this journalists have made him a folk hero in countries both Muslim and otherwise, and solidarity demonstrations have been held across the world demanding his release from the Iraqi jail where he is being held.

Canada is no exception in this matter, and anarchists have been prominent in organizing the events in this country. To say the least this sort of action captures the public imagination with a far more favourable light than play-acting at Black Blocs. Here's the story of recent demonstrations held in Montréal and Toronto in solidarity with al-Zeidi. All that Molly can say is that Bush is a "shoe-in" for the most unpopular man in the world today. From the Toronto Sun...

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Protesters shoe Bush in effigy:
At T.O. and Montreal rallies
By JESSICA MURPHY AND TAMSYN BURGMANN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Anti-war protesters held a symbolic shoe toss yesterday in support of jailed Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi.

About 40 protesters in Toronto and Montreal braved the cold to let fly in front of their respective U.S consulates.

In Toronto, a dirty pair of sneakers was stuck toe up in a high pile of fresh snow, protesters clutched red and aqua-blue flip-flops with messages like "Shame on Bush" and "Bush out/Mass Killer" scrawled on the soles and embraced the comedic side of al-Zeidi's actions.

Dressed in a Santa Claus suit and white beard, Hicham Safieddine handed out the shoes as "gifts."
'BIT HUMOUROUS'
"I thought I'd do something a little bit humorous, not every protest has to be serious," he said. "It's a non-violent form of our protest against the fact we still have an occupation in Iraq; we still have people dying."

Demonstrators in Montreal pelted a black-and-white photograph of George W. Bush with boots, shoes and slippers and denounced the U.S. war in Iraq and the NATO-led war in Afghanistan, before marching to a downtown Canadian Forces recruiting station.

"Today is an act of humour in a sense but it's also a profound situation and context," activist and journalist Stephan Christoff told the Montreal crowd.
DROP OBJECTIVITY
Organizers also urged local journalists to ditch their veneer of objectivity by lobbing footwear at the image.

"We want to break this ideal that journalists stand in this world of objectivity, stand in this world where opinions don't exist," Christoff said.

Amir Khadir, who was elected to the legislature in this month's provincial election, was one of the first to chuck a shoe. He said al-Zeidi's actions were simply an expression of rage at the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by the war.

"I represent the deep sentiment of thousands of members of assemblies all over the world," he said. "Bush has denied democracy and lied to millions of people. He deserves no respect."
Since the incident, the journalist has become a sort of global folk hero. News reports say the Turkish shoemaker who made al-Zeidi's shoes has been flooded with 300,000 orders for the model. They're considering renaming it the "Bye-bye Bush."

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-RUSSIA:

RUSSIAN UNIONS-STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE:

As the Russian state gradually devolves into a situation of "Stalin without social security" Russian trade unions have had a difficult time of surviving, pitted as they are against both an increasingly authoritarian state and a class of bosses who have yet to forget their Mafia origins. The class war is at its brutal worst in Russia. here's one commentary from the AFL-CIO Blog on what is happening there today.

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RUSSIAN FREE TRADE UNIONS UNDER ATTACK:
Russian trade union leader Alexei Etmanov has been physically attacked twice for trying to build a democratic union of autoworkers.



Tim Ryan of the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center reports on growing violence in Russia against labor activists seeking to create democratic unions.

Over the past several years, the government of Vladimir Putin has consistently and deliberately shut down one avenue after another of free expression, pluralism and democracy in Russia.

The single bright spot that points the way toward a future for the Russian people is a democratic, independent union movement—one of the few survivors of the past decade’s attacks on political opponents and nongovernmental (NGO) organizations. But the survival of independent unions is threatened. The experience of Alexei Etmanov shows why. Etmanov is a highly respected and charismatic leader of Russian autoworkers and a welder at the Ford Motors plant in St. Petersburg. In November, criminals attacked Etmanov twice in one week.

Says Etmanov:

"I was walking home after my shift late at night when I was attacked by three people. They did not say anything; they just started to beat me. This tells me that it was not just an attack by thugs. The following day we received an anonymous phone call, and the caller said, “If you continue with your activities, we will kill all of you.”

Etmanov does not know who specifically threatened him, “but I can tell you for sure that there are people who do not like it that we demand from the employers that they observe Russian labor laws.”




A couple of days later, he was attacked again. He was walking up the steps of his apartment building and realized the staircase light at his floor was off. Just then, he was attacked with a cut-off metal pipe. He fired shots from the rubber bullet pistol he had started to carry recently. The attacker ran downstairs where he was captured by union activists waiting by the apartment building. But before they could stop him, the attacker swallowed his mobile phone chip to prevent them from learning his identity.




Etmanov is no stranger to tough situations. He has withstood pressure from the plant management and local authorities, but he knows that now he is being confronted by criminals. There is no doubt that these attacks are the result of the incessant fight that he and his union are undertaking for the rights of workers.




The Interregional Trade Union of Auto Workers he heads includes local unions representing workers at Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Toyota and other auto assembly plants and parts manufacturers in Russia where unions are fighting for better wages and working conditions. Etmanov is under attack from those unhappy about the growth of free trade unions in numbers and in strength.




The worsening economic situation in Russia heightens the unionists’ concern over their leaders’ safety. A wave of mass layoffs at Russia’s leading companies is gaining strength against a background of assurances in the controlled media outlets about Russia’s “political stability.” Wage arrears are growing at an alarming rate. Real wages are falling. Inflation is skyrocketing. The global economic meltdown created by the U.S. financial markets is exacerbating and fueling this trend.




Boris Kravchenko, president of the Russian free trade union center VKT, says:




"Russian authorities are clearly concerned about losing credibility and having to face huge crowds of the unemployed. The resources of the multi-billion dollar Stabilization Fund that have been accumulated over the years of high oil prices are being invested in the banks that are “close” to the government and used to support state corporations. Workers are forgotten as industry leaders and bureaucrats (who have invested money in large enterprises) are concerned about keeping up their high-profit margins. Several NGO and union activists as well as independent journalists have been physically assaulted in November. The authorities are working to neutralize their potential opponents in the future confrontation that can be brought about by mass unrest. There is little doubt that the strength of this opposition to the government’s actions will grow and reach a critical point."




Russian free trade union leaders clearly are facing a serious and building threat. Criminalized capital and corrupt bureaucrats see free trade unions and their leaders as the principal threat to their authority.




Russian free trade unions need international solidarity now more than ever, because their survival and the survival of Russian civil society depend on it. The Russian government must receive a clear signal that the international trade union movement is closely following the developments in Russia and will firmly insist on the observance of fundamental trade union rights in Russia. Alexei Etmanov and his union activists—not those who attempt to silence them—are contributing to the future of the Russian people.




For those who think that highlighting these developments is endangering them, the unions want the world to know that they are patriotic, that they are working for the benefit of Russian workers in a global economy, and that they see that a prosperous Russia is the Russia of the future—for themselves and for their children.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-THAILAND:

AGAINST CENSORSHIP IN THAILAND:

The following is from the Asian Anarchist Network, and it deals with the matter of censorship in Thailand, a struggle that is unfortunately all too common across the world.

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Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) releases 2008 blocklists - 1,303 new websites CENSORED!‏:
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand:
กลุ่มเสรีภาพต่อต้านการเซ็นเซอร์แห่งประเทศไทย
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008 MICT secret Thai blocklists
http://facthai.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/2008-mict-secret-thai-blocklists-1303-new-websites-blocked/
2008 Thailand blocklist statistics
http://facthai.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/2008-thailand-blocklist-statistics-1303-new
2008 Blocklist Analysis: 1,303 new websites censored:
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) has just received secret blocklists leaked from Thailand's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. We know they're secret because each one is stamped
ลับ!
Under conditions imposed by the Computer-Related Crimes Act 2007, no website may be legally blocked without a court order. In fact, this pesky legal stipulation is not rigorously adhered to and both the Royal Thai Police and the more than 100 Thai ISPs typically block as they wish.

However, the leaked blocklists, dated June 27 (nine webpages), July 21 (19 pages of 403 webpages), August 1 (four pages of 63 webpages), December 1 (24 pages of 400 webpages), December 8 (24 pages of 400 webpages) and 28 further undated webpages, are accompanied by court orders detailing applications of the Ministry which authorise most of the websites censored. The court orders to ISPs cite reasons of lese majeste and national security and are dated June 27, August 1, August 25 and December 9 signed by ICT ministry officers Thanit Prapatnan

ธนิต ประภาตนันท์ and Aree Jiworarak อารีย์ จิวรรักษ์.
Blocked websites are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, the European Union, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Vietnam.

Court orders are not customarily sealed from public view. In fact, maintaining such documents via an open judicial process as a matter of public record is a crucial democratic cornerstone. However, these court orders authorising web-blocking are the first to come to light under the new cybercrime law.

Every site requested for blocking has the stated reason of lese majeste, however, it is obvious that many sites were blocked for quite different reasons. It would appear, in fact, that the court did not examine each site before issuing its order but instead relied on MICT's judgement.
Although we have not yet found the opportunity to examine each website censored, as in the past, an eclectic mix of censorship has been revealed resulting in overblocking of many benign webpages.

Along with the obligatory YouTube videos and their mirror sites alleged to be lese majeste in Thailand, numerous blocks to Thai webboard pages, particularly at popular discussion sites, Prachatai (45 separate pages) and Same Sky (56 separate pages). Of course, all webboards in Thailand, including Prachatai and Same Sky, moderate all threads and discussions and self-censor to avoid closure. It is interesting that bureaucrats still find reasons to censor.

Also blocked are weblogs referencing Paul Handley's unauthorised Biography of Thailand's King Bhumibhol, The King Never Smiles, and its translation into Thai along with Thai Wikipedia entries.

The webpages of respected Thai Buddhist social critic, Sulak Sivaraksa who is currently on bail for his fourth accusation of lese majeste, and Matthew Hunt, respected Thai journalist, anticensorship activist and FACT signer, are also blocked as are pages of the respected international newsmagazine, The Economist.

A total of 860 YouTube videos have been blocked, far in excess of the blocking conducted by The Official Censor of the Military Coup; a further 200 pages mirroring those videos are also blocked.

Curiously, "bum fight movies", Hillary Clinton's campaign videos, and 24 Charlie Chaplin videos have also been blocked, perhaps due to their Web location at Clown-Ministry.

While we may never learn the real extent of government Internet censorship, these blocklists provide us some perspective for analysis in the current ultra-Royalist social climate.

Typically, web censorship in Thailand is conducted in secret. We think there is a right to know inherent in a free society. We call for transparency and accountability in government and freedom of expression, freedom of communication and freedom of association as fundamental human rights.

On December 21, a new ICT minister was appointed to Cabinet, Ranongruk Suwanchawee. He must be held accountable for censorship.
--000--
Box 31, Udomsuk Post Office
Bangkok 10261 Thailand
http://facthai.wordpress.com
telephone. +66-7-976-1880

email. facthai@gmail.com
----------- -------

Website / เว็บไซต์ :

<http://facthai.wordpress.com>

Petition / คำร้อง :

<http://thailand.ahrchk.net/fact_petition/>

ไม่ประนีประนอม!

NO CENSORSHIP!

NO COMPROMISE!

Contact details / ติดต่อ :

CJ Hinke (English)

email: <facthai@gmail.com>

tel. [+66] (0)87-976-1880

Skype: unblocktheplanet

CANADIAN POLITICS/CANADIAN LABOUR:

A GOVERNMENT WITH GUTS:

I can scarcely believe it. A government with guts ! If there is one set of rulers that could be described by this phrase in Canada today it would be the government of the Province of Newfoundland, headed by Premier Danny Williams. The Premier is no stranger to firm stands. Because of the policy of the federal government of Sneaky Stevie Harper Williams openly campaigned for an "anything but Conservative" strategic vote in the last federal election, and his campaign paid off in spades. Unfortunately Newfoundland is hardly a heavy hitter in the federal boxing ring. The entire province has fewer people than the city of Winnipeg. But it at least showed Sneaky Stevie that people will fight back if pushed too far.

Speaking of pushed too far ,timber giant AbitibiBowwater recently announced that they were closing up shop in their Grand Falls-Windsor mills, putting 750 workers out of job. The Premier retaliated with a premptory nationalization of Abitibi's other assets in the province, assets that were granted over 100 years ago on the presumption of Abitibi's ancestor company continuing to provide employment to the people of Newfoundland. To me this seems only just. If you enter into a contract with another individual, promising certain things in return for other things, and if the other party to the contract reneges on it then you certainly don't have to continue giving the things you promised in exchange. The contract is null and void. Corporate America (Abitibi is American) thinks otherwise, but I guess they are too used to pillaging with a blank cheque.

The following is an article from the Globe and Mail on this story. You may also find other comment on this matter at Eugene Plawiuk's La Revue Gauche blog. Molly's feelings...there is no reason that the mill couldn't reopen as a producers' co-op with government loan guarantees, municipal, provincial and, by some miracle tied to public opinion, federal as well. The physical assets should be frozen so that the company cannot strip them any further in the weeks to come. The Newfoundland government has shown courage in going as far as it has. It's time to show even more and go the extra mile in defense of the workers and community concerned.

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Newfoundland seizes assets of AbitibiBowater:
Government responds to impending mill closing by ordering forestry giant to surrender timber and water rights, hydro plants
OLIVER MOORE
With reports from Konrad Yakabuski and David Ebner
December 17, 2008
Forestry giant AbitibiBowater was stunned and warned of a possible NAFTA challenge after Newfoundland and Labrador moved yesterday to take over its hydro assets and resource rights.

Premier Danny Williams announced legislation to enforce the change four days after the company says the provincial government sent it an e-mail demanding that it "surrender forthwith entitlement to [all] resources" in the province.

Company spokesman Jean-Philippe Côté said the message from Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale arrived after hours on Friday and demanded a response by midday on Monday.

Mr. Côté said AbitibiBowater sent a reply, suggesting that a working group be created to address issues related to the pending shutdown of a money-losing mill in central Newfoundland. Then came Mr. Williams's bombshell.

"Abitibi has reneged on the bargain struck between it and the province over the industrial development of the province's timber and water resources for the benefit of the residents of the province," the Premier told the legislature yesterday.

The legislation, which was rushed through the House after the Opposition raised no objections, would give the provincial government control of AbitibiBowater's timber rights, water rights and hydroelectric plants. The company will receive unspecified compensation for physical assets taken over.

The cash-strapped company had been hoping to sell the hydro assets, along with assets in Ontario and Quebec, to help make a crucial debt repayment in March. But any legal dispute with the province would likely drag on well past then.

Mr. Côté called yesterday's legislation a "destabilizing precedent [that] opens the door to some potential Canada-U.S. trade issues."

The company is legally a U.S. entity, which could make the province's move vulnerable to a challenge from Washington under the North American free-trade agreement.(More reason to abrogate the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement-Molly)

The Premier quoted century-old documents to the legislature. He cited a 1903 letter from the president of the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company Limited, a predecessor to AbitibiBowater, and a 1905 lease agreement to argue that the company's rights were dependent on operating a mill in the province.

He said that cabinet has the right to determine compensation.(How about NONE-Molly)

"If there's no agreement, we will in fact impose an agreement," he said, according to The Canadian Press. "Under the legislation, cabinet will have the power to say, 'Here's the formula, here's what the compensation is, here's your cheque.' "

Other companies operating in Newfoundland shrugged off the legislation, including Petro-Canada, which has stakes in the offshore oil projects Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose and a piece of the proposed $7-billion Hebron operation.

"[It] is a different sector ... and Petro-Canada enjoys a good relationship with the government of Newfoundland," company spokeswoman Andrea Ranson said.

Husky Energy Inc., majority owner and operator of White Rose, said the Abitibi situation has no impact on its business. It is expanding in the province, and in September committed to spend $130-million exploring and drilling off Labrador.

The paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor is to close in March after unionized workers twice rejected restructuring plans that involved some contracting out. Hundreds of jobs will be lost as a result.

There was no indication that yesterday's legislation would prevent those losses. But Gary Healey, a Communications, Energy & Paperworkers representative at the mill, called it "an early Christmas gift."

"If Abitibi's not interested in staying in the province, at least we have something to offer," he said. "But losing the big employer in central Newfoundland is not what we want. I'm sure if Abitibi wanted to reconsider their plans, they'd be listened to."

Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Rex Barnes had a similar reaction.

"We would hope that Abitibi would reflect on what's just happened and come to a resolution with the unions to work this out," he said.

Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Healey was thinking about a possible move to Alberta. Yesterday's announcement isn't a cure-all, he said, but at least it shows the government is on the workers' side.

Without a mill, the local market for wood will be limited, giving the timber rights little immediate value. But the government's move is still logical, said Keta Kosman, publisher of Madison's Lumber Reporter.

"In the best-case scenario, where somebody comes along and is interested in the mill, the rights will be held by the government," she said. "If nothing happens and those trees are just left, then they're more valuable when this finally turns around."
*****
AbitibiBowater's Newfoundland assets:
Less than two weeks after AbitibiBowater Inc. announced it would close its century-old Grand Falls-Windsor newsprint mill, the Newfoundland and Labrador government has tabled legislation aiming to expropriate the company's other assets in the province.
LOGGING RIGHTS
Crown land administered by AbitibiBowater
MILLS
Stephenville (Closed December 2005)
Annual capacity: 193,000 tonnes
Grand Falls-Windsor (Closing March 28, 2009)
Annual capacity: 213,000 tonnes
HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS
-Grand Falls
Capacity: 61 megawatts
-Star Lake
Capacity: 18 megawatts
-Exploits River
Capacity: 37 megawatts

AMERICAN LABOUR:

THE SOUR CORE OF THE BUSH BAILOUT APPLE:

Workers in the USA as well as here in Canada have been praying (as illustrated above), hoping and demanding an auto bailout from their governments for the past two months. Be careful what you wish for as you just might get it. It comes as little surprise that the recent bailout pushed through by the Bush administration in the USA has all sorts of conditions that impact the workers in the auto sector while leaving management and stock holders with only vague threats rather than actual concessions. The following article from the AFL-CIO Blog tells about these conditions for the bailout. Doubtless the Canadian bailout will be equally as demanding of working people. Molly would say that such treachery should be a learning experience for the people involved and that future bailouts be predicated on actual take-overs, to one degree or the other, of enterprises thus given government money, take-overs by producers' cooperatives of the enterprise concerned. It seems only just that, if you are going to give up income and benefits that you get some sort of share in the profits of the enterprise that you have sacrificed for, and also that you get some sort of control to assure that the money isn't blown away as it was before.

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Bush’s Auto Industry Loans Come With Unfair Conditions for Workers:


Religious leaders and union members held a candlelight vigil Thursday in Detroit to call on the government to support autoworkers and prevent the collapse of the auto industry.(See photo-Molly)



After letting the auto industry hang for weeks following the refusal by Republican senators to approve a loan to help automakers get through the end of the year—and a day after Chrysler said it will shut down all 30 of its North American plants for at least one month, putting 46,000 employees out of work—George W. Bush announced his administration’s offer to automakers today.

Bush says he’ll give automakers $17.4 billion in emergency bridge loans. Some $13.4 billion would be available this month and next—$9.4 billion for GM and $4 billion for Chrysler. Ford Motor Co. has said it does not need immediate help.

But the loans include some unfair burdens on workers, according to the UAW. Union President Ron Gettelfinger says workers are pleased that the Bush administration has acted to provide the urgently needed emergency bridge loans but that the workers should not be singled out for unfair conditions. Says Gettelfinger:

'The [bridge loans] will keep the doors of America’s factories open, keep Americans working and prevent the devastating economic consequences for millions of Americans and thousands of businesses that would have resulted from a liquidation of operations by one or more auto companies.

All stakeholders—management, directors, bondholders, suppliers, dealers, workers—will have to participate in shared sacrifices to help the industry move forward. '

Pointing out that autoworkers already have made concessions and sacrifices, Gettelfinger says:

"'While we appreciate that President Bush has taken the emergency action needed to help America’s auto companies weather the current financial crisis, we are disappointed that he has added unfair conditions singling out workers.

We will work with the Obama administration and the new Congress to ensure that these unfair conditions are removed."

Bush said the rescue package gives the automakers three months to come up with restructuring plans to become viable companies. If they fail to produce a plan by March 31, the automakers will be required to repay the loans immediately.

Emptywheel reports on Firedoglake that the Bush loans will force union workers to accept the terms of a pay cut amendment introduced by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), which would have required the UAW to accept deep concessions.

The Bush-imposed terms require that U.S. auto companies pay wages similar to those of transplant auto manufacturers by Dec. 31, 2009. As emptywheel says:

"Bush is demanding that the UAW lower wages plus pensions to the level of Japanese wages plus pension (though since they have very few retirees, their pension number is basically zero). Alternately, they could lower this number by basically picking the pocket of a bunch of seniors, by taking away pension money those seniors already earned while they were still working. But one or the other will have to happen."

The Bush loans leave some room for the Obama administration to modify the terms. The automakers may deviate from the financial targets, provided that the companies report why they did so.

Some of the auto plants could be shut down into February, according to published reports. Ford will shut 10 North American assembly plants for an extra week in January, and GM will temporarily close 20 factories—many for the entire month of January—to cut vehicle production.

When Senate Republicans blocked the $14 billion emergency bridge loan needed to keep the auto industry operating, they knew it could cost between 3 million and 5 million jobs.
Experts predict that if even one of the Big Three automakers goes under, some 3.3 million jobs will be lost and the entire supply chain for all car makers, including foreign-owned plants in the United States, will be seriously disrupted.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

MORE NEWS FROM INSURGENT GREECE:

The following reports are via the Occupied London Blog. They tell the story of what happened earlier today as the Greek riots enter their second week. One thing not mentioned below but reported in the "mass media" reports that follow this post is an attack on a records keeping company that held the records of credit card and other debtors. Apparently all records of debts were lost. This seems to be following the classical pattern of the French Revolution- "first burn all the records". Another thing to mention is that the Occupied London Blog has a map of worldwide solidarity actions with the Greek insurgents. What struck Molly on looking at this map is the upcoming action in Nuuk Greenland. To say the least the events have touched a nerve in places that you wouldn't first think of. The Occupied London Blog also has an extensive list in print of the worldwide solidarity actions.

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Neighbourhood demonstrations across Athens; more anarcho-transportation actions and radio station occupations; demo at point of assassination set to start :
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The plan for today was for many small demonstrations to take place around the entire city of Athens, so that this decentralised action could bring the city to a standstill. There were demonstrations in the neighbourhoods of Gyzi, Peristeri (were the second student was shot), Chaidari, Petralona, Nea Smyrni, Victoria, Vyronas, Illion (that’s tomorrow) and in the cities of Thessaloniki, Heraclion and Larisa.

Fresh “anarcho-transportation” actions took place at the metro stations of Brahami and Ayios Antonios. In the last few days, many stations around the city have been visited by small anarchist groups that sabotage the vending machines, handing out leaflets (”the self-organisation of the passengers will bring the end of the ticket inspectors”…)

At least four more radio stations were occupied today (”Best,” “En Lefko”, “Athina 9.84″ and “Republic 100.3″; texts against state violence and in solidarity with the arrestees of the riots were read.

Responding to a callout by the Athens Polytechnic occupation, we will be gathering at the point of Alexis’ assassination in the next couple of hours. We’ve been reading the reports from the solidarity actions across the world. Keep them coming. The states murder the people but tonight, a night against state murders, is a night of the people. This is our night.

800 SCHOOLS AND 200 UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS OCCUPIED:NATIONAL THEATRE PREMIERE STOPPED; INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY DAY IS HERE:
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The premiere of the national theatre in Athens was interrupted by around one hundred people tonight - they took the stage and held out a banner reading “everyone to the streets”. The text distributed to the audience and actors read, among others: “now that you’ve deactivated your mobile phones, it’s about time you activated your consciousness”. Once hitting the streets, the crowd quickly formed an impromptu demonstration through central Athens - by the time we had reached Omonoia Square, our number had doubled and seemed enough to scare off the ten or so Zeta force policemen (motorcyclists) who drove off at our sight. The cast and director refused to continue the play, in solidarity with our struggle. Yesterday, a similar action took place at the Athens concert hall.

Mainstream media report that around 800 high schools and 200 university departments around the country are occupied by their students.

On the dawn of December 20th, a full fortnight from the day of Alexandros’ assassination: today is the international day of action against state murders. Once again, we will be on the streets - yet today we won’t be alone… Thousands and thousands across the world are joining us.

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MORE REPORTS FROM THE MASS MEDIA ON EVENTS IN GREECE:

***Greek youths continue riot spree

***Rioters clash anew with Greek police in Athens

***Rioters attack credit firm, Christmas tree

CANADIAN LABOUR-QUÉBEC/SASKATCHEWAN:

GUNNING FOR THE BIG "W"-MORE WAL-MARTS ORGANIZED IN CANADA:

The last few days have brought news of yet more Wal-Mart stores being unionized across the country. Seems that the Kingdom of Cheap is being forced to give a few Christmas presents early this year. First of all, from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union(UFCW) the story of how 150 workers in Hull, Québec have won their legal battle for representation.

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Another Wal-Mart unionized in Quebec:
After three-and-a-half years of legal wrangling, over 150 Wal-Mart workers in Hull, Que., have become the latest Canadian “associates” to join the union.
Over 150 Wal-Mart workers in Hull, Que., have become the ninth group of Canadian "associates" to join the country's largest private-sector union after a Dec. 17 decision by the Quebec Labour Board awarded bargaining rights for the Hull location to the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW Canada).

"After nine times, the message coming from Wal-Mart workers in Canada to Wal-Mart executives in Bentonville, Arkansas, couldn't be louder or clearer: Canadian Wal-Mart workers want to be union members," says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley.

"Hopefully, this decision will help Wal-Mart to understand that Canada is a place where labour rights are human rights, and where people take their rights very seriously. Hopefully, Wal-Mart won't squander another chance to prove its critics wrong, and it will take this opportunity to show the world that it believes in human rights by sitting down with these Hull workers to negotiate a contract in good faith," said Hanley, making reference to Wal-Mart's past practice of closing stores or departments shortly after becoming unionized.

The Dec. 17 decision affects the Hull main store, and comes three-and-a-half years after the union originally made an application for certification. The store's adjoining Tire & Lube Express was certified as a separate bargaining unit in 2005. The labour relations process for the main store was drawn-out by several legal challenges put forward by the company.

According to Louis Bolduc, executive assistant to the UFCW Canada National President, negotiations for the two Hull Wal-Mart units will commence as soon as possible, but bargaining dates have yet to be scheduled.

UFCW Canada is Canada's largest private-sector union with over 250,000 members coast to coast.

/For further information: Guy Chenier, President UFCW Canada Local 486 (819) 777 – 8822 /

For more information, please contact

Derek Johnstone, UFCW Canada National Communications Dept., UFCW CANADA

Primary Phone: 416-675-1104 ext. 222

Secondary Phone: 416-720-8858

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

Well, that`s down east, across the river from the seat of power of Canada`s High Priest of Hell (Hell-Hull, get it ) Sneaky Stevie Harper. Meanwhile out here in the west, which the first European explorers said was territory unfit for settlement (you can believe it when the windchill goes to -45), those busy little beavers of the UFCW have unionized the Wal-Mart in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Here's that story, from the Market Wire, via the UFCW. Eventually, if this trend holds, Wal-Mart's tactic of closing down stores will be ineffective as they will take too large a hit to their profits by having to close too many outlets.

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Wal-Mart in Weyburn certified as UFCW Canada unionized store:
"Weyburn is yet another example of Wal-Mart workers in Canada coming together and demanding their rights to bargain collectively," says UFCW Canada National President Hanley.
A Wal-Mart store in Weyburn, Saskatchewan has been granted union certification by the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (SLRB) after years of Wal-Mart legal wrangling and delays, including two Wal-Mart applications to the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn the process.

"Justice has finally arrived for these Weyburn workers, in spite of Wal-Mart's endless attempts to thwart the workers from exercising their constitutional right to have a union," says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.

"The time has come for Wal-Mart to end the stalling tactics and begin respecting worker rights and Canadian law. They are not above it."

The written decision delivered by the SLRB on Monday, comes almost five years after UFCW Canada Local 1400 applied to the SLRB to represent workers at the store, located about 115 kilometers southeast of Regina.

Determination hearings into the application began in April 2004 after a majority of the workers at the Weyburn Wal-Mart indicated their support to form a union.

Those hearings dragged on for 19 months as a series of Wal-Mart legal challenges interrupted the proceedings, including a Leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada to stop the process. The court declined to hear the case.

The labour board hearings finally concluded in December 2005, but before the SLRB could render a decision Wal-Mart again filed to go to the Supreme Court - this time challenging the authority of the SLRB to rule on the application. Again the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. That was in April 2007.

A change in the makeup of the SLRB caused further delay, but finally this week the original board members who heard the case ruled in favour of the application.

"I want to welcome our newest members and congratulate the workers for standing up to Wal-Mart and fighting for their rights," said Paul Meinema, President of UFCW Canada Local 1400. "This has been a long-time coming and it is a victory for them and for all Wal-Mart workers."

Applications for two other Saskatchewan Wal-Mart locations are also before the SLRB. UFCW Canada also represents Wal-Mart workers at three locations in Quebec where the process leading to first contracts is underway. In Saskatchewan, UFCW Canada Local 1400 is in the process of contacting Wal-Mart to also commence first-contract bargaining for the Weyburn store.

"Weyburn is yet another example of Wal-Mart workers in Canada coming together and demanding their rights to bargain collectively," says National President Hanley. "It's high time for Wal-Mart to start respecting Canadian traditions and the Charter rights of its workers, and to get to the table without further delay to bargain a first contract in good faith."

UFCW Canada is Canada's largest private-sector union with over 250,000 members coast to coast.

/For further information: Paul Meinema, President UFCW Canada Local 1400

(306) 384-5787
www.ufcw.ca/

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But we shouldn't forget our fellow workers down USA way. Some may think that Molly hardly ever turns her face southward, except to spit, but the struggle is the same as there. Remember the tragic case of the Wal-Mart employee trampled to death in a "shopping stampede" on the Friday after American Thanksgiving ? What a coda to the decline of the American Empire. The family of the poor man is sueing Wal-Mart. The Wake-Up Wal-Mart organization is raising funds for the family to carry their legal battle forward. The following is that story and how you can help. By the way, another useful site in the battle to hold the world's largest retailer responsible for all the harm it does is Wal-Mart Watch.

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They Lost a Son, Help Give Them Justice‏:

The tragic story of Jdimytai Damour, a Wal-Mart worker originally from Jamaica, will stay with you forever.

It has been all over the news. Damour was trampled to death while shielding a pregnant shopper from a Black Friday stampede at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY. When we heard the news about Jdimytai, we were utterly shocked. Even today, we can't believe Wal-Mart let this happen.

At Jdimytai's Wal-Mart, lack of preparation and aggressive marketing turned Black Friday into a crowd-control nightmare. Early that morning, a throng of 2,000 shoppers swarmed at the store's front entrance. They grew agitated. Though Jdimytai Damour was given no crowd control training, though he had no security experience whatsoever, management put him in front of the surging crowd of shoppers just before the doors opened. Not long after, he was pronounced dead.

The Damour family lost a son. We could never hope to fill that void in their lives, but we can help them fight for justice in the courts and for change at Wal-Mart. We are dedicating this year's Holiday Worker Fund to the Damour family's legal expenses, but it's still not enough. YOU can change that.

The Damour family deserves justice: help us reach our goal of 150 new donations before the New Year

Several people were injured in that early morning crush, but none fared worse than Jdimytai. Now, the only support for the Damours will come from family and activists like you. They are relying on us.

Donating helps, but it isn't everything. The Damour family also needs your moral support. You can use our website to send the Damours some words of encouragement and consolation. It will take only a few seconds (longer if you like) to help Jdimytai's family take heart in the coming New Year.

Please show your support for the Damour family by writing a few words of encouragement.

The tragedy in Valley Stream demands change. Show your support for the Damour family and let Wal-Mart know America won't stand for irresponsible retailing.

It's time for Wal-Mart to put safety before sales.

Thank you for all that you do, and happy holidays and a safe New Year to you and your loved ones.
The Team,

WakeUpWalMart.com

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

MORE DEMONSTRATIONS AND OCCUPATIONS IN GREECE:

The insurrection continues to develop in Greece, with more demonstrations and occupations of both media outlets and another union office. Here's the latest from the Occupied London Blog site via the Anarkismo website, both continually updating the news from Greece.

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Reports from the Athens demonstration:
Reports from yesterdays demonstrations in Athens. A student is shot on the eve of protests, the police are using new and stronger tear gas and five more radio stations and one more TV station are occupied.

Student shot in Peristeri, Athens

Last night (Weds), a 16-year old student was shot and injured in the area of Peristeri, Athens, close to his school. The 16-year old was sitting with about ten more students, discussing future mobilisations. The shot came from a person unknown, though it is near-certain that this would be either an undercover cop or a fascist. The police only issued a statement hours later. When the 16-year old’s co-students returned to the point of the assault to collect the bullet’s shell, another bullet was shot at them.

---

Student demo heavily tear gassed in Athens

The big student demo in Athens is being heavily tear gassed. The cops are using a new type of stronger gas. Most of us have retreated in the law school. A money transfer van is on fire. People have entered a nearby church, ringing its bells at every tear gas shot, adding a slightly surreal touch to the scene.

From: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

---

We just came back from the demo in Athens. The cops were, once again, extremely provocative: Tens of tear gas canisters and stun grenades were shot directly into the crowd. It seems like the newly ordered tear gas supply for the police is here.

People in Athens have been demonstrating and/or rioting for 13 consecutive days and nights.

Meanwhile, occupation of media outlets is spreading across the country: Today, the municipal radio of Tripoli, “Nea Tileorasi” TV in Chania, Politeia FM in Sparta and “Star FM” and “Imagine 897 FM” in Thessaloniki were occupied.

The “Labour Centre” (trade union building) of Patras was also occupied today, in protest against the sold-out leadership of the trade unions, demanding an indefinite general strike now.

From: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

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MORE NEWS FROM THE MASS MEDIA ON THE SITUATION IN GREECE:

**Those Greek Riots

**'Greek Syndrome' is Catching

**Greek police brace for more riots

**Riots smashing platitudes in Greece

Molly will continue to present "mass media" stories on the events in Greece as they develop. What strikes me so far is how few of the stories have been of American origins. The above is the exception, where two of the four are from the USA. This carries on a grand tradition of almost deleiberate ignorance of the rest of the world on the part of the US news media. Another thing that strikes me is how many of the mass media stories publsihed so far have contained the warning that the Greek protests will spread to other countries. One can only hope so. It's not a certainty.