INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ITALY:

ITALIAN POLICE OFFICERS EXONERATED IN ATTACK DURING GENOA G8:

There's justice delayed, and then there's justice denied. Seven years after the events in the Italian city of Genova where police brutally assaulted many protesters and even murdered one- Carlo Guiliani- the officers involved the officers involved are being cleared of charges that were laid against them. Here's a report from the British newspaper The Guardian about the case of two British citizens who were brutalized. The fundamental thing to note is that even though several members of the police were convicted none will have to serve any jail time- courtesy of a statute of limitations. Very generous that.

...........................
No justice in Genoa:
The G8 protesters were brutalised, yet the Foreign Office showed complete indifference
Matt Foot
The Guardian, Saturday November 15 2008

Rich Moth and Nicola Doherty had waited a long time for the verdict. But, seven years on, they have been sorely disappointed. On Thursday night, some of Italy's highest-ranking police officers, accused of masterminding a savage attack on peaceful G8 protesters, including Moth and Doherty, in 2001, were cleared of the charges against them.

More than 60 people were taken to hospital after the raid, several in comas. Yet none of the officers who carried out the beatings was even a defendant in the trial. All were masked, and none wore names or numbers during the raid. Only one has ever been identified.

In July 2001, Moth and Doherty travelled to Genoa to join 300,000 protesters in the huge anti-globalisation demonstration against the G8 meeting taking place there. On the Saturday night they decided to stay at the Diaz school, which the local council had given over to people travelling from out of town. But, as they were zipping up their sleeping bags, riot police battered down the front door and streamed in, lashing out indiscriminately.

The pair fled upstairs but there was no escape. As a riot squad walked down the dark corridor, methodically beating those cowering there, Rich lay on top of Nicola to protect her. Officers took it in turns to hit them with batons and kick them, leaving Rich covered with bruises and with a serious gash to the head, while Nicola sustained a fractured wrist.

But this week, after four years of legal wrangling, justice has not been done, The three judges handed out sentences of up to four years to some of the operational commanders, but none of them will have to go to jail, because their offences will expire under a statute of limitations early next year. So what was the verdict on this appalling episode of police brutality?

The five Britons injured in the attack, including Mark Covell, who was almost killed, Dan McQuillan and Norman Blair have tried to move on with their lives, but this decision leaves them without closure. The British government harps on about victims' rights but at the same time shows complete indifference to the plight of these people. Foreign ministers have ignored their letters and the current incumbent has refused to meet them. Presumably these are not the right sort of victim.

Back in July 2001, from the luxury of the yacht where the G8 summit took place, the then foreign secretary Jack Straw reminded us of the need to uphold the rule of law and insisted that he was certain the Italian judicial system would see justice done. These have proved hollow pronouncements.

During the byzantine trial process, the victims of this astonishing episode of police brutality have three times had to brace themselves to recount in court their dreadful experiences - each time the evidence given through tears. They even had the ignominy of facing serious charges that they themselves had been involved in violent disorder, allegations which were later found to be trumped up. The court has made a political decision which reflects more Silvio Berlusconi's return to office than the truth.

Anyone who spends two seconds looking at the video of the police riot at the Diaz school can see that it must have been ordered from on high. It is inconceivable that separate police squads from different parts of the country poured into Diaz school at the same moment and starting beating people without prior briefing and orders.

Rich Moth described the scene in the school that night with bleeding bodies strewn around as like the Crimean war. The sadness and travesty of this latest decision can only confirm the trusted phrase - no justice no peace.
• Matt Foot is the solicitor for both Richard Moth and Nicola Doherty

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

Here's another earlier take on the matter from Italy Magazine.

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

Genoa G8 verdict sparks row:
A long-awaited verdict on brutality against anti-globalisation demonstrators during the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa has drawn protests from leftwing MPs and victims.

' 'It is an absurd and disgraceful sentence, contrary to all the evidence and unworthy of a civilised country,'' said Communist party member Pino Sgobio after the Monday night verdict that acquitted 30 of 45 state officials.

Green party member Paolo Cento said the verdict ''supplies only a half truth and leaves wholly unpunished the political responsibilities for the handling of the G8 summit''.

He renewed calls for a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the events in Genoa and called for the crime of torture to be introduced into Italy's penal code, ''as Amnesty International has requested on several occasions''.

''If that crime had been on the books before 2001 the highly serious events at (the) Bolzaneto (detention centre) would certainly have been judged differently''.

The left-leaning La Repubblica daily spoke of ''a virtual whitewash,'' noting that requested jail terms were also cut by a third, to a total of 24 years, and that no one will serve time because of the statute of limitations.

Corriere della Sera quoted one of the victims, a 25-year-old at the time of her experience at Bolzaneto, as saying ''these are ridiculous sentences''.

''That day changed my life,'' she was quoted as saying.

But Fabrizio Cicchitto, Lower House whip for Premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party, praised the sentence as ''objective and balanced''.

Berlusconi, who last spring swept back to power for the third time, was in the first year of his second term in office when the Genoa summit was organised.

Cicchitto said the sentence proved there was ''no systematic operation of repression or torture but mistakes by some members of the police force''.

This was the line taken immediately after the sentence by Interior Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, also of the PDL, who said ''the action of individuals was assessed and the concept of collective guilt was abandoned''.

Of the 15 convictions, the longest term, five years, was given to Bolzaneto head Antonio Biagio Gugliotta, found guilty of forcing detainees to stand for hours in stress positions.

Instead of torture - which is not on the Italian criminal books - the other defendants were found guilty of ''abuse of authority''.

Deputy police chief Alessandro Perugini, caught on film as he kicked a teenager in the face, was given two years and four months; Giacomo Toccafondi, a doctor accused of scores of invasive and humiliating examinations, got 14 months; and Massimo Piggozzi, a policeman who splayed a protester's fingers to breaking point, received a term of three years and two months.

The trial judges ruled that 30 of the 45 defendants either ''did not commit the crime'' or, in their case, ''the crime did not exist''.

Italy's justice and interior ministries were ordered to pay two million euros in compensation - compared to the 15 million the victims had been seeking.

The trial of the 45 state officials opened in October 2005.

The defendants were charged with abuse, fraud, criminal coercion and inhuman and degrading treatment.

In total, 252 demonstrators said they were spat at, verbally and physically humiliated and threatened with rape while being held at the Bolzaneto detention centre.

The prosecution, which wrapped up its case in March, requested jail terms totalling 76 years for police officers, prison guards and doctors working at the centre.

Of the 252 demonstrators who claimed abuse, strong evidence emerged in at least 209 cases considered during the trial.

More than 300,000 demonstrators converged on Genoa for the G8 summit in July 2001.

During two days of mayhem, a 23-year-old protester was shot dead while attacking a policeman, shops and businesses were ransacked and hundreds of people were injured in clashes between police and demonstrators.
BOLZANETO ONE OF THREE TRIALS.
The Bolzaneto proceedings are one of three major trials to emerge from violence at the event.
In one case, 29 top-ranking police officials are being tried over a raid on a school used as sleeping quarters by protesters during the event. The charges include grievous bodily harm, planting evidence and wrongful arrest.

Most of the 93 demonstrators arrested during the operation were beaten, some seriously, and 63 had to be taken to hospital. Three people were left comatose(NB-Molly).

In December last year, another court convicted 24 Italians for their involvement in rioting at the summit.

This was the only trial against demonstrators in connection with the event. Although police arrested dozens of people at the time, all other proceedings collapsed for lack of evidence or were dismissed by judges during preliminary hearings.

A 2001 parliamentary inquiry exonerated the police of having used excessive force but stressed that magistrates were entitled to investigate any individual instances of alleged brutality.

Critics at the time accused Berlusconi's centre-right government of a whitewash.

A second enquiry was proposed last year after a top policeman changed his earlier testimony and said he had seen officers commit ''carnage'' during the night raid.

However, the proposal was dropped after two centrist parties joined the centre-right coalition in voting against it(Berlusconi dodges one thing after another-Molly).

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-TURKEY:

SUPPORT TURKISH LEATHER WORKERS:

Here's an appeal from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start concerning leather workers in Turkey who produce the leather for many high end products. Seems their employers begrudge them even a little prosperity.

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

Turkey: DESA leather workers fight for the right to have a union:

In April 2008, hundreds of workers at Turkish leather manufacturer, DESA, which produces for Prada, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, Aspinal of London, Nicole Farhi and Luella, decided to join Deri Is, the Turkish leather workers union. Since then 44 workers have been dismissed and a further 50 have been forced to resign from the union.

Workers have been fighting this denial of their right to organise through daily demonstrations outside the DESA factory in the Dzce Industrial Zone, facing constant repression and arrest from the local gendarmes. Emine Arslan, a union leader from another DESA factory in Istanbul(Sefaky), was offered a bribe to drop her case against DESA and to end the demonstrations outside the factory. When she refused, her family was threatened. Hours later her 11 year old daughter narrowly escaped an attempted kidnap by men on a motorbike.

Conditions at the three Turkish factories are appalling: Workers earn poverty wages, work long hours, and suffer from a variety of health complaints linked to poor health and safety conditions. They complain that there are not enough toilets for all the workers and those that exist are filthy. The only drinking water is from a hose on the toilet floor.

Despite the huge price tags on the products made by DESA workers, Prada, Mulberry and the others have refused to take action to support the right of DESA workers to organise and improve conditions. Contact them today to tell them: a union is a right, not a luxury.

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

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to DESA's high end customers.

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

THE LETTER

I am writing to express my concern at the ongoing harassment of workers at the DESA factories in Turkey, who I understand are making your products. Since April 2008, when workers decided to join the Deri Is union 44 workers have been dismissed and a further 55 have been forced to resign. One union leader has been threatened by the company and her eleven year old daughter narrowly escaped a kidnap attempt.

Union organising is right not a luxury. It is your responsibility to ensure workers making your products are able to exercise their right to freedom of association. Please take action today to ensure DESA immediately reinstates the dismissed workers with back pay to date of dismissal, halts the ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment, implements proper industrial relations, including recognised grievance and disciplinary procedures and starts to negotiate with Deri Is as a social partner.




I look forward to hearing what steps you have taken to ensure a positive outcome in this case,

AMERICAN POLITICS:

THE NEW YORK TIMES HOAX:

Moll has just received the following from the Bureau of Public Secrets. Great move, and the BOP's comments say how this is related to the concept of "detournement", popularized by the situationsists. Too bad that more of this sort of thing isn't done. It's a few light years ahead of the "strategy" of petty vandalism and set piece riot so beloved of the worst parts of the American anarchist movement and so glorified by some who are old enough to know better.

.................................
"New York Times" hoax:‏
I'm forwarding the two messages below, which I received yesterday. The fake New York Times "Special Edition" can be found at http://www.nytimes-se.com/ .

Regardless of critiques that might be made of the ideas in some of the imagined stories, the perpetrators of this scandal have pulled off a remarkable coup, a coup that may help to spread some salutary memes regarding social change.

The social changes envisioned in some of the articles could be accomplished even within the current social setup (in which case people will be contrasting these possible changes with the probably very different results of the new Democratic administration). In other cases, notably those involving economic matters, it will be evident that the imagined changes could not be effected under current conditions, but would require a fundamental transformation of the whole socio-economic system (in which case people might start considering what sort of transformation would be sufficient, and how such a transformation could be brought about).

But in both types of cases, an important first step is clearing away the existing clouds of habit and resignation, so that people are able to get some sense that things could be different. This "Special Edition" coup may help to do just that. As limited as the particular "solutions" suggested may be, they are presented with a freshness and good humor that may provoke people to start questioning supposed inevitabilities and encourage them to take the initiative rather than to remain in panic-stricken, passive-defensive positions.

Many of you will have recognized that this Times "Special Edition" is an example of the situationist tactic of "detournement". For information on this tactic, see these two articles:

"A User's Guide to Detournement"

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/detourn.htm

"The Situationists and the New Forms of Action Against Politics and Art"

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/11.newforms.htm .

Then compare and contrast the "New York Times" scandal with situationists' notorious "Strasbourg scandal", which helped prepare the way for the May 1968 revolt in France: "On the Poverty of Student Life"

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/poverty.htm

"Our Goals and Methods in the Strasbourg Scandal"

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/11.scandal.htm

*******************

*******************

November 12, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPECIAL TIMES EDITION BLANKETS U.S. CITIES,

PROCLAIMS END TO WAR

* PDF:

http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf

*For video updates:

http://www.nytimes-se.com/video

* Contact:

mail to:

writers@nytimes-se.com

Early this morning, commuters nationwide were delighted to find out that while they were sleeping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had come to an end. If, that is, they happened to read a "special edition" of today's New York Times. In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.

Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporate lobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the war.

The paper, an exact replica of The New York Times, includes International, National, New York, and Business sections, as well as editorials, corrections, and a number of advertisements, including a recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline. There is also a timeline describing the gains brought about by eight months of progressive support and pressure, culminating in President Obama's "Yes we REALLY can" speech. (The paper is post-dated July 4, 2009.)

"It's all about how at this point, we need to push harder than ever,"said Bertha Suttner, one of the newspaper's writers. "We've got to make sure Obama and all the other Democrats do what we elected them to do.After eight, or maybe twenty-eight years of hell, we need to start imagining heaven."

Not all readers reacted favorably. "The thing I disagree with is how they did it," said Stuart Carlyle, who received a paper in Grand Central Station while commuting to his Wall Street brokerage. "I'm all for freedom of speech, but they should have started their own paper."

* * *****

November 12, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

writers@nytimes-se.com

917-202-5479 /718-208-0684/ 415-533-3961

"SPECIAL" NEW YORK TIMES BLANKETS CITIES WITH MESSAGE OF HOPE AND CHANGE

Thousands of volunteers behind elaborate operation

* PDF:

http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf

* Ongoing video releases:

http://www.nytimes-se.com/video

* The New York Times responds:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/pranksters-spoof-the-times/

Hundreds of independent writers, artists, and activists are claiming credit for an elaborate project, 6 months in the making, in which 1.2 million copies of a "special edition" of the New York Times were distributed in cities across the U.S. by thousands of volunteers. The papers, dated July 4th of next year, were headlined with long-awaited news: "IRAQ WAR ENDS".

The edition, which bears the same look and feel as the real deal, includes stories describing what the future could hold: national health care, the abolition of corporate lobbying, a maximum wage for CEOs, etc. There was also a spoof site, athttp://www.nytimes-se.com/.

"Is this true? I wish it were true!" said one reader. "It can be true, if we demand it."

"We wanted to experience what it would look like, and feel like, to read headlines we really want to read. It's about what's possible, if we think big and act collectively," said Steve Lambert, one of the project's organizers and an editor of the paper.

"This election was a massive referendum on change. There's a lot of hope in the air, but there's a lot of uncertainty too. It's up to all of us now to make these headlines come true," said Beka Economopoulos, one of the project's organizers.

"It doesn't stop here. We gave Obama a mandate, but he'll need mandate after mandate after mandate to do what we elected him to do. He'll need a lot of support, and yes, a lot of pressure," said Andy Bichlbaum, another project organizer and editor of the paper.

The people behind the project are involved in a diverse range of groups, including The Yes Men, the Anti-Advertising Agency, CODEPINK, United for Peace and Justice, Not An Alternative, May First/PeopleLink, Improv Everywhere, Evil Twin, and Cultures of Resistance.

In response to the spoof, the New York Times said only, "We are looking into it."

Alex S. Jones, former Times reporter who is an authority on the history of the paper, says: "I would say if you've got one, hold onto it. It will probably be a collector's item."

HISTORY/ANTI-FASCISM:

MORE TO REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER:

Molly has already published an article on anarchist and labour memorials of deaths in the month of November, a contrast to the official Remembrance day ceremonies in the Commonwealth. Here's another article about a recent commemoration of such a death that occurred on November 11, 2007 in the Spanish city of Madrid. From the UK Indymedia site....

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

Mass Antifascist Demonstration in Madrid Remembering Carlos Palomino:
More than 2000 people demonstrated in Madrid on Tuesday 11th November in solidarity, remembrance and homage to Carlos Palomino, the antifa activist murdered exactly one year ago by a far right member of the Spanish army. The demonstration "Carlos, One Year Without You" marked the first anniversary of the 11th of November 2007, when Carlos Javier Palomino, a 16 year old active antifascist in the Madrid circles, died from the stab wounds caused by the fascist Josué Estébanez de la Hija.

A series of remembrance protests occurred throughout Spain, being Madrid where the biggest and most emotive one took place. As one of the banners in front of the demonstration read: "The best homage is to carry on with the struggle".

Video of the demo here which includes an emotive but combative speech by Carlos' mother (sp)Photo galleries one and two.Timeline of the demonstration (sp) here.

On that day, Carlos was on his way to an antifascist counter-demo to protest against a demonstration that had been called by the neo-nazi party Democracia Nacional (National Democracy) in the popular and very ethnically mixed Usera district of Madrid. In Legazpi tube station he encountered the professional soldier on leave whom quickly produced a knife and stabbed Carlos causing his death. His murder sparkled a series of protests around Europe, including a memorial in London's Jubilee Gardens organised by Antifa Britain and the Anarchist Federation.

This week's demonstration was the third large remembrance protest that has taken place in Madrid since Carlos' murder. Half a year ago, and following the call "Carlos Six Months Without You", hundreds took to the streets of Usera, the city's district where the fascists had tried to demonstrate the day Carlos was killed [Video and Photos] And the week that followed the murder one year ago, thousands took to the streets of Madrid despite heavy police repression [Video] and Barcelona [Video and Photos]

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

STILL MORE TO REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER:

There's a discussion going on over at the Anarchist Black Cat discussion board about other events in November worthy of commemoration. Here's a few items that Molly has gleaned from that thread.

-New Zealand, November 12, 1912. Frederick George Evans of the NZ Miners' Union beaten to death by police.

-USA. November 11, 1831. Rebel slave leader Nat Turner hanged by the state of Virginia.

-USA. November 22, 1922. Mexican anarchist leader Ricardo Flores Magon dies under suspicious circumstances while imprisoned in Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas USA.

-USA. November 29, 1919. Company goons attack the union hall of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in Bogalusa, Louisiana killing four organizers.

-USA. November 22, 1886. Between 30 and 100 striking black sugar workers were murdered in Thibodaux, Lousiana.

-Greece. November 14-17, 1973. Uprising against Greek military dictatorship begins in the Polytechnic School in Athens. many killed by the military during the course of the revolt. First public reappearance of the Greek anarchist movement after many decades.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-TORONTO:

OCAP BUILDS A WALL TO PROTEST A WALL:

The following notice is from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and describes what they are doing today to protest the Israeli separation wall and its Canadian contractors. Also to protest other local issues around real estate development in this country.

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

OCAP BUILDS CEMENT WALL AGAINST REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIAN PEOPLE‏:
For Immediate Release:

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

OCAP BUILDS CEMENT WALL AGAINST REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

OCAP demands immediate end to the settlements on Palestinian land, calls for building real affordable housing in Toronto.

Today, as part of the International Week Against Israel's Apartheid Wall, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has erected a reinforced cement wall in front of the Toronto building '50 On the Park' at 50 Portland St. (Bathurst and King) owned by wealthy real estate developer Leviev-Boymelgreen. Leviev-Boymelgreen is a developer in Toronto and Brooklyn and also builds illegal Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestine.

By building Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Boymelgreen is committing war crimes under International Law. Boymelgreen is expanding the illegal settlement of Mod'in Illit that is built on the land of the West Bank Palestinian village of Bil'in. 60% of Bil'in's land has been stolen by Israel in the expansion of settlements and by the building of the separation Wall. Bil'in is a village that is being strangled - made into an open air prison surrounded by settlements, Occupation forces and military, and enclosed by Israel's Apartheid Wall. This is a system of colonization and apartheid against the Palestinian people which has gone on for 60 years.

In Toronto and New York, Boymelgreen builds luxury condos in the place of real affordable housing, displacing poor and low-income people from our neighborhoods. On top of this, Boymelgreen is a bad boss to workers. Boymelgreen has unjust and unfair labour practices; underpays workers, puts them in dangerous working conditions, and denies the right of workers to organize in unions.

Today, OCAP sent a strong message to Boymelgreen to get out of Toronto, Brooklyn and Palestine. We hold Boymelgreen responsible for supporting Israel's ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people and we will not allow a corporation like Boymelgreen to build condos in Toronto.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty calls for justice for Indigenous and poor people from Toronto, to Brooklyn to Palestine. As an anti-poverty organization, we support the brave struggle of the Palestinian people against the Apartheid state of Israel. In Toronto we will continue to struggle for the right to real affordable and accessible housing. We will not be pushed, priced or policed out by wealthy real estate developers like Boymelgreen and the government policy that backs them up.

Build affordable housing NOT condos!

Free Palestine.

Fight to Win.

Modi'in Illit contract for Greenpark and Greenmount tha tLeviev-Boymelgreen is involved in:

http://adalahny.org/images/file/green%20park.pdf

For photos, visit www.ocap.ca

STUDENT MOVEMENT-GERMANY:

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS STRIKE IN GERMANY:

The following report is from the British anarchist communist site LibCom.

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

Germany: high school students strike:

High School students struck and marched across Germany yesterday in protest against classroom overcrowding, lack of teachers, and the pressure of examinations.

Some 100,000 participated in demonstrations across the country, walking out of classes and marching in over 40 cities. They protested for more permanent staff, smaller classes, and against a sped-up version of the school leaving exam, called the “turbo-abitur”. School students face intense exam pressure in Germany, where they are "streamed" at the age of 10 and selected to go to either a vocational or grammar school, often determining their prospects and chances in adult life. Demands that the pressure be relieved were made, and many teachers are also reported to be supporting the students' efforts.

A 10,000 strong protest march in Berlin ended with the invasion of the prestigious Humboldt University, where the conference room and terrace were occupied and draped with banners. There are reports of university staff battling with the students to defend statues of Hegel and Fichte, and of the university president Christoph Markschies barricading himself inside his office. 8,500 marched in Hanover, 8,000 in Stuttgart, and 6,000 in Hamburg.

The protests follow demonstrations by German university students in late October against the introduction of tuition fees, and student revolt in Italy, covered on Libcom here.

HUMAN RIGHTS-USA/VATICAN CITY:

SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIEST THREATENED WITH EXCOMMUNICATION:

Molly has often reported on the activities of the School of the Americas Watch here at this blog. Basically this is a non-violent coalition which aims to close down the "torture school" in Fort Benning, Georgia where Latin American military officers are "trained" by their imperial masters in the fine arts of counter-insurgency ie where to apply the electrodes. One of the founders and leading lights of this movement, Father Roy Bourgeois has been threatened with excommunication by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. To those of you who didn't grow up Catholic (and to many Catholics as well) this curial congregation is better known by its other name- the Holy Inquisition. Fr. Bourgeois has run afoul of the Vatican bureaucracy for his support for the ordination of women to the priesthood. See the story below. The following is from the National Catholic Reporter in the USA.

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

Roy Bourgeois threatened with excommunication :


Fr. Roy Bourgeois has been threatened with excommunication by the Vatican's Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith for his support of women’s ordination, according to a letter made public today.

The letter was written by Bourgeois and addressed to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. It was distributed via e-mail by Bill Quigley, a New Orleans lawyer who represents Bourgeois.

According to Bourgeois’ letter, which is dated Nov. 7, the congregation has given him 30 days to recant his “belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church, or (he) will be excommunicated.”

The letter indicates that Bourgeois received notification from the congregation Oct. 21.
Bourgeois, a priest for 36 years, attended the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska in Lexingon, Ky., Aug. 9 and preached a homily.
If Bourgeois is excommunicated at the end of 30 days, it would come just before the mass rally and protest against the U.S. Army’s School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga., that Bourgeois has organized for 19 years. In recent years, more than 15,000 people, many of them Catholic university students, have joined the three daylong rally and demonstration.

Bourgeois was not immediately available for comment. The text of Bourgeois’ letter follows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rev. Roy Bourgeois, M.M.

PO Box 3330,

Columbus, GA

31903

November 7, 2008
TO THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, THE VATICAN
I was very saddened by your letter dated October 21, 2008, giving me 30 days to recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church, or I will be excommunicated.

I have been a Catholic priest for 36 years and have a deep love for my Church and ministry.
When I was a young man in the military, I felt God was calling me to the priesthood. I entered Maryknoll and was ordained in 1972.

Over the years I have met a number of women in our Church who, like me, feel called by God to the priesthood. You, our Church leaders at the Vatican, tell us that women cannot be ordained.

With all due respect, I believe our Catholic Church’s teaching on this issue is wrong and does not stand up to scrutiny. A 1976 report by the Pontifical Biblical Commission supports the research of Scripture scholars, canon lawyers and many faithful Catholics who have studied and pondered the Scriptures and have concluded that there is no justification in the Bible for excluding women from the priesthood.

As people of faith, we profess that the invitation to the ministry of priesthood comes from God. We profess that God is the Source of life and created men and women of equal stature and dignity. The current Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women implies our loving and all-powerful God, Creator of heaven and earth, somehow cannot empower a woman to be a priest.

Women in our Church are telling us that God is calling them to the priesthood. Who are we, as men, to say to women, “Our call is valid, but yours is not.” Who are we to tamper with God’s call?

Sexism, like racism, is a sin. And no matter how hard or how long we may try to justify discrimination, in the end, it is always immoral.

Hundreds of Catholic churches in the U.S. are closing because of a shortage of priests. Yet there are hundreds of committed and prophetic women telling us that God is calling them to serve our Church as priests.

If we are to have a vibrant, healthy Church rooted in the teachings of our Savior, we need the faith, wisdom, experience, compassion and courage of women in the priesthood.

Conscience is very sacred. Conscience gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing. Conscience is what compelled Franz Jagerstatter, a humble Austrian farmer, husband and father of four young children, to refuse to join Hitler’s army, which led to his execution. Conscience is what compelled Rosa Parks to say she could no longer sit in the back of the bus. Conscience is what compels women in our Church to say they cannot be silent and deny their call from God to the priesthood. Conscience is what compelled my dear mother and father, now 95, to always strive to do the right things as faithful Catholics raising four children. And after much prayer, reflection and discernment, it is my conscience that compels me to do the right thing. I cannot recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church.

Working and struggling for peace and justice are an integral part of our faith. For this reason, I speak out against the war in Iraq. And for the last eighteen years, I have been speaking out against the atrocities and suffering caused by the School of the Americas (SOA). Eight years ago, while in Rome for a conference on peace and justice, I was invited to speak about the SOA on Vatican Radio. During the interview, I stated that I could not address the injustice of the SOA and remain silent about injustice in my Church. I ended the interview by saying, “There will never be justice in the Catholic Church until women can be ordained.” I remain committed to this belief today.

Having an all male clergy implies that men are worthy to be Catholic priests, but women are not.

According to USA TODAY (Feb. 28, 2008) in the United States alone, nearly 5,000 Catholic priests have sexually abused more than 12,000 children. Many bishops, aware of the abuse, remained silent. These priests and bishops were not excommunicated. Yet the women in our Church who are called by God and are ordained to serve God’s people, and the priests and bishops who support them, are excommunicated.

Silence is the voice of complicity. Therefore, I call on all Catholics, fellow priests, bishops, Pope Benedict XVI and all Church leaders at the Vatican, to speak loudly on this grave injustice of excluding women from the priesthood.

Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was assassinated because of his defense of the oppressed. He said, “Let those who have a voice, speak out for the voiceless.”

Our loving God has given us a voice. Let us speak clearly and boldly and walk in solidarity as Jesus would, with the women in our Church who are being called by God to the priesthood.
In Peace and Justice,

Rev. Roy Bourgeois, M.M.

PO Box 3330,

Columbus, GA

31903

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-COLOMBIA:

COLOMBIAN SUGAR WORKERS END STRIKE AFTER WINNING MOST DEMANDS:

Here's a brief notice from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) who have long supported their brothers and sisters in Colombia in their struggles about a recent victory.

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

Colombian Sugar Workers Call Halt to 56-Day Strike after Winning Most Key Demands:
The union has called an end to the 56-day strike by 18,000 Colombian sugar cane workers after companies employing some 75% of the workers agreed to their major demands on November 10.

SINALCORTEROS, the union which led Colombia's longest, toughest and highest profile strike in recent memory has expressed confidence that negotiations still underway with the remaining employers will shortly result in agreements following the pattern already set.

AMERICAN LABOUR:

BUSH ADMINSTRATION TRIES SNEAK ATTACK ON FARM WORKERS IN FINAL DAYS:

The clock is ticking on the final days of the reign of Emperor George II, but, like a presidential pardon for crooks that you are buddies with, the present administration is trying to do as much harm as possible before leaving office. This includes passing new "guestworker regulations" that will gut wages and working conditions for immigrants and American citizens as well. Here's the story from the United Farm Workers and what you can do to help prevent these regulations from being passed.

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

Stop Bush Admin. From Gutting Farm Worker Protections:
E-Mail the Department of Labor TODAY!
We expect the Bush administration’s Department of Labor to shortly announce new guestworker (H2A) regulations. These regulations, if adopted, will gut existing protections for both domestic and foreign farmworkers and represent a huge step backwards in protecting the hardworking people who put the food on our table.

The regulations will lower farmworker wages, make it easier for local workers to be discriminated against in hiring, and harder for farm workers to obtain decent housing (click here to see a four-page analysis of the regulations).

Numerous recent media reports document how the Bush Administration is making a last minute push to get these and other horrible regulations our before he leaves office.

Please join us in telling the Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Policy, Leon R. Sequeira not to issue these revised regulations. The American people spoke loudly on November 4th and said they had enough with the Bush Administration's anti-worker, anti-immigrant policies. Tell the Department of Labor to allow Congress and the next administration to address these issues.
Send your e-mail today.
http://www.ufwaction.org/ct/87zuCuF1qcJ_/takeaction

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

Please go to one of the highlighted links above or to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the American administration.

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

THE LETTER:

The American people spoke loudly on November 4th, and said we've had enough of the Bush Administration's tired policies and want significant change in Washington DC.

I urge the Bush Administration's Department of Labor not to issue revised H-2A regulations. These regulations will substantially worsen the quality of life for both domestic and foreign guestworkers by lowering wages, increasing discrimination in employment and making it hard for workers to find decent housing.

There are reasonable solutions to address farm labor issues. The planned H-2A regulation policies are inappropriate and wrong. Please allow Congress and the next Administration to address these issues. The change the American people voted for needs to start today.

ANARCHIST FILM:

SKIP TRACER:

Coming up tonight ! 'Skip Tracer' Gulp at the Trash Palace down Toronto way. From the Satan Macnuggit news service.

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

SATAN MACNUGGIT NEWS

NOVEMBER 2008

SKIP TRACER AT TRASH PALACE!

Friday, November 14, doors 8:30 – show 9:30

SECRET LOCATION – tickets @ Tequila Bookworm, 512 Queen St. W

Toronto

$5

This one is so good, we’ve actually previewed it! And you are in for a treat.

“Skip Tracer” is the standard bearer for the little-remarked “Vancouver New Wave”, a loose collection of out-of-nowhere arty winners from our West Coast compatriots. And it earns its reputation – deliberate without being static, seedy but full of empathy as well.

A tale of a ruthless debt collector who inflicts untold misery on Vancouver’s downtrodden masses before slowly seeing the error of his ways, this flick is funny, touching and horrifying, all in unpredictable combinations.

While the content may be typical 70s-Canuck street-level realism, the form is something else: controlled, austere, almost minimal shooting style, with a disarming undercurrent of surprise that never, ever topples into the dreaded ‘quirky’.

All you lowbrows can relax - there’s some nice sex and violence when you need it; plus, for the camp enthusiasts, tune in for just about the worst, cheesiest, least appropriate music score in the history of cinema! It’s like they pulled in the first passer-by and handed them a Casio. (Where’s Paul Zaza when you need him) But it doesn’t matter.

Take it from Greg, waaay back in Eclectic Screening Room #3: “If cinema had more artists like Zale Dalen who made films from the heart, on the edge, with a level head and a lot of nerve, the art form of the 20th century would be in a lot better place.”

Big screen or small, this movie does not come along every day, so catch this rare 16mm print before it disappears back down the Canuxploitation memory hole!

Plus the usual prizes, surprise shorts, vintage video games...and Episode Six of Bela Lugosi in “The Phantom Creeps”! How many times will Bela turn invisible? Whose car will blow up? Has that robot had a badly-needed enema?

Find out! (By the way, it’s a good week for Canadian movie fans – there’s a FREE 35mm screening of William Fruet’s “Death Weekend” at Innis Town Hall tonight! 7 pm –St. George and Sussex – check it out!)

Jonathan

Satan Macnuggit Popular Arts

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-POLAND:

CELEBRATION AND CONFRONTATION IN WARSAW:

While November 11 is Remembrance Day here in the British Commonwealth in Poland it is celebrated as Polish Independence Day. The joint was jumping in the Polish capital Warsaw as the local anarchists held a "counterball" to the official celebrations and confronted neo-fascists who attempted to stage a march. Here are the stories from the Centrum Informacji Anarchistcznej, a Polish anarchist news service.

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

Anarchist Counterball:
The anarchists' "people's ball" was held yesterday in Warsaw.
Nov.11, was Polish Independence Day. As the country becomes sick with more and more patriotism, the patriotic holidays are becoming more and more grandiose and grotesque. This holiday, the 90th anniversary of Polish independence, saw huge military parades, dozens of patriotic demonstrations and a presidential ball.

At a time when the government is preaching austerity to the people, when thousands of people are striking for better pay, when the government is attacking the health care and education systems, when early pensions and other benefits for working people are being done away with, and we are being told "we cannot afford this", the state wastes millions on shows of patriotism and attempts to show off its military might and present itself as a regional superpower. While millions suffer from lack of basic services, the president decided to throw a gala ball.

Presidents from the Visegrad countries, the Baltics, Balkans, Ukraine and Georgia came, as did high-ranking officials from other "aspiring" countries like Turkey. In short, the "B-list" countries are networking. Angela Merkel arrived for official ceremonies in the morning but did not stay for the ball, which featured all the typical luxuries, dashed with amazing Polish ultra-kitsch such as the strange chorale group Zakopower. (All we can say is the ball's 800 disgusting guests certainly deserved the torturous concert.) While the Presidents, the rich, powerful and elite were whining and dining, the anarchists decided to hold a counter ball - a people's ball.

Anarchists protested the arrogance of the politicians and their use of tax money, which was typical of the relation between those in power and those without. One of the many themes of the ball was the warning "Capitalism is sinking, enjoy your last dance" sent to the participants of the ball. Posters with the warning in many languages were put around the city.

Many would-be participants, who had taken part in an antifascist action were either blockaded by the police or waiting for people blockaded by the police. The ball was then attended mostly by people outside the movement, who danced to the DJs or samba band, watched fire shows, got a warm meal, anarchists leaflets and newspapers. Afterwards, people tried to move on to the official ball, but were stopped by the police. Some people went there anyway only to find that the anarchist ball, which was only a couple of hours long, had actually outlived the presidential ball. (Our guess is that people ran away after Zakopower.)

As a political protest, maybe the ball was a bit weak, but it was not a bad street party, made by the people, for the people and at a cost of a few thousand times less than the president's ball.
Some photos of the ball are here:

http://cia.bzzz.net/fotki_z_kontrbalu

http://www.wiadomosci24.pl/artykul/na_balu_u_anarchistow_nie_u_prezydenta_81109.html?ses_go=d9965123ac66a70560ead2a737d9b627

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

No Pasaran! Antifascist blockade in Warsaw:

On 11 November the extreme right group National Radical Camp (ONR) made a demonstration in the streets of Warsaw during the patriotic holiday. ONR is an antisemitic fascist group, which celebrates the pogrom in Myslenic like a national holiday, extreme nationalist and with contacts with other neonazi groups. ONR makes many demonstrations. They planned a large demonstration on 11 November in Warsaw. Antifascists decided to organize a blockade.

The crowd of antifascists was not very big because they divided into two groups: the antifascists who wanted to make hard action and antifascists who want to make public civil disobedience. These last decided to blockade the street of the fascist march.

About 150 people went on the blockade. It was half as many as the marching ONR. More antifascists patrolled the area. The antifascists jumped into the street with banners: NO PASARAN and WARSAW FREE OF FASCISTS. The atmosphere was very hot. Many police arrived to block the antifascists. There was a helicopter, a big water gun and many more police equipment . Police blocked antifascists and other people for three hours. The fascists had to stop their march, but then police protected them, escorting them on a different route. Some people of Warsaw yelled to police to let antifascists go and even some joined the blockade.

Nobody was arrested on action but police wrote the ID of everybody surrounded by cordon, so it is possible there can be court case in the future for participants.
Photos Wideo

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

WORKERS VERSUS NESTLÉ ACROSS THE WORLD:

The recent struggle for trade union rights amongst Polish employees of Nestlé (see previous item here at Molly's Blog) is hardly the only one occurring across the globe, as the corporation's behavior is pretty well the same the world over. Here's a story from the IUF about some current struggles that their affiliates are waging against Nestlé in several countries.

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

Indonesia, Peru, Brazil: Nestlé Workers Worldwide Demand Decent Work, Respect for Union Rights:

Share this article.

Union action is growing at Nestlé operations around the world as workers seek compensation for eroded purchasing power, a halt to growing casualization and respect for trade union rights, including the basic union right to collective bargaining with the world's largest food company.

On November 8, the IUF-affiliated Nestle Indonesia Workers Union - Panjang (SBNI-P) held another mass demonstration to raise public awareness of their struggle, this time in the heart of Lampung, Sumatra. The union has been struggling to negotiate a new collective agreement since late 2007. Management's response has been harassment, intimidation, forced transfers and threats against union officers. As they attempted in Perm, Russia, where international union pressure eventually forced management to back down, Nestlé is insisting that it cannot disclose (let alone negotiate!) the wage scale with the union for reasons of "commercial secrecy."

The IUF has submitted a complaint concerning Nestle Indonesia's consistently aggressive anti-union actions over the past year to the OECD National Contact Point in Nestlé's home country of Switzerland, since these practices breach the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.

In Peru, Nestlé management has also entered into conflict with the IUF's affiliate SUNTRANEP, which has been seeking to re-negotiate the collective agreement covering its membership at the Lima factory and the Chiclayo distribution centre since February of this year. The company has rejected the union's demand for a wage increase to cover inflation and intends to introduce new wage categories without negotiation, indicating that this has been imposed by Nestlé headquarters in Switzerland. In September, management attempted to entirely short-circuit the collective bargaining process by writing to the workers at home, urging them to accept the company's offer! Following numerous negotiating sessions, conciliation meetings and meetings under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour, a deadlock has been reached and the union is on strike.

In Brazil, IUF affiliated unions are mobilizing in support of their demand for a state-level agreement with Nestlé covering nine sites in the state of São Paulo. Hard hit by the rising cost of food and other necessities, the union demands include: a 40-hour workweek in all units: an end to contract and agency labour, with equal pay and conditions for all workers; and a real wage increase of 10%, with full compensation for losses due to inflation.

ANARCHIST MUSIC:

JOEY ONLY IN NORTHERN BC:

The following is an announcement from one of Molly's favourite anarchist musicians, the inimitable Joey Only. Read on to see where he will be in the next couple of days. Keep on playing Joey. the night is young.

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

JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND in northern BC (nov14-16)‏:
JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND -

Friday November 14th, 10PM

all night at THE ZOO in Fort St.James BC

JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND LIVE IN NORTHERN BC

ANNUAL SNOWBOOT BALL - THE ALPENHORN

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15th - SMITHERS BC

official opening of 2008-2009 Smithers ski season

JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND

Sunday November 16th, Prince George

at the Artspace, 7PM, $10

w/Geoff Dickinson, Amber Grey Dawn and Illiset Dissent

Joey Only and his all star Outlaws will be hittin up their staple(stompin' -Molly?) ground of northern British Columbia once again. For the second year in a row the Outlaw Band will be the entertainment for the official opening of the Smithers ski season. Saturday night in Smithers is a great way to spend the weekend despite the travel it takes to get up there. We like to visit you folks up in northern BC because you have always been good to us. This time we'll be sporting a little bit different look and sound with some new songs you haven't heard yet.

With me will be longtime Outlaw Band members Christina Zippy Zaenker (cello), Mike Zinger (steel guitar), Rowan Lipkovits (accordion) and Kenan Sungur (drums). But we have two new faces adding to a new dynamic in our sound with Tobias Mehler on upright bass and Jeff Andrew on fiddle. It will be a show to see indeed!!

www.myspace.com/xjoeyonlyx

www.joeyonly.com

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-HALIFAX:

DIRECT ACTION AGAINST POVERTY IN HALIFAX:

My editing of the links has given me the opportunity to revisit sites that I often ignore. One of them is the Autonomy and Solidarity site in Ontario. From these people comes a report from the Dominion Blog (see below for link) about recent action in the Atlantic city of Halifax over the closure of a shelter for the homeless just as winter is beginning to spread his chilly claws. For another take on this see the reports at the website of the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty. Also...there you will find instructions as to what you can do in solidarity.

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

Life threatening decision to close Halifax shelter gets direct action response:
Life threatening decision to close Halifax shelter gets direct action response

by Asaf Rashid, from The Dominion Weblogs,

November 8, 2008.
On Monday November 3rd, Halifax Coalition Against Poverty (HCAP) members and supporters occupied the Halifax office of Nova Scotia Department of Community Services (DCS) for deciding not to fund Pendleton Place, a “harm reduction” shelter located in the basement of St. Patrick’s Church in Halifax. The closure was a move that one local housing activist, Paul O'Hara, described as a “life and death” decision gone the wrong way, and many more have made clear there will be a high risk of serious injury or death on the streets of Halifax this winter as a consequence.

“As long as DCS will commit poor people in our community to death, HCAP will refuse to allow business as usual within the Department.", stated HCAP as the action was underway
During the occupation, HCAP members and supporters numbered over a dozen. At 10 am they entered the DCS offices, occupying the space and stating – with megaphones blaring – their opposition to the closure of the shelter and demands for affordable housing. The occupation lasted approximately an hour. One DCS employee who was particularly sought after was an upper level bureaucrat, Lynn Brogan, regarded as having been in the position to have prevented the closure of Pendleton Place.

At one point, a Department employee told the group that Lynn Brogan was not in the office. Later, they were told that she was in fact in the office and would come out to speak with the group, but by then the police had arrived and gave a ten-minute warning for the group to leave. Whether or not Lynn Brogan ever intended on coming out of hiding in her office is unknown, but the police time limit expired before anyone saw her and the group was made to leave the building under the threat of arrest and likely some police violence. The door leading outside was locked behind the group, then guarded by the police, limiting access or approachability to anyone else who may have needed the public services inside. There were no arrests in the end.
Background
DCS announced on October 21, 2008, that it would not be reopening Pendleton Place. For the past three winters, DCS has funded the shelter. It was initially opened in the winter of 2004/05, when anti-poverty groups created an uproar after Gordie Connors, a Korean War veteran, died on the streets of Halifax.

The decision to permanently close Pendleton Place, made just days before the shelter was scheduled to open for the cold season, was tied to the Department’s desire to focus provincial funds on Metro Turning Point and Berry House, two other homeless shelters in Halifax. The decision results in 16 new beds and extended hours at these shelters, but it is a deceptive move by the government. Although these shelters gained some services, there is a huge loss overall to the shelter system in Halifax. Just looking at the bed numbers, the loss is obvious. When it was in operation, Pendleton Place provided between 20 to 40 beds for homeless people.

“Whichever way you look at it, the decision not to reopen Pendleton Place is a cost cutting move by the provincial government which will take $150 000 out of the shelter system in Halifax.”, stated a pre-action notice by HCAP.

Losing Pendleton Place will produce a gap in the shelter system, particularly for individuals who are currently barred by court order from Barry House and Turning Point, homeless youth and those deemed to have addictions and behavioural problems.

Pendleton Place had a harm-reduction philosophy and a mandate as a “shelter of last resort”. As well, Metro Turning Point, Barry House and another shelter, Adsum House, all provide services that are genders specific. The only requirements to access Pendleton Place was for people to identify themselves as homeless and to be unable to access other shelters in the Halifax Regional Municipality. This openness was one of the reasons why many homeless would choose either Pendleton place or sleeping outside, according to Wayne McNaughton, long-time advocate for the homeless in Halifax. Some are intimidated just by the rigorous intake process of the other shelters.

“We recognize...both the need for (the shelter) and (that) the funds exist to create a diverse array of shelters, for men, for women, for families, for individuals who are using and for individual who are not; the government is simply lacking the will and common decency,” stated an HCAP member after the action.
Post-action update
Several HCAP members have been harassed by the police since the action, at least a couple receiving “Protection of Property” notices, barring them from being allowed on the property of the DCS office.

HCAP was one amongst several anti-homeless and anti-poverty groups, as well as individual advocates, devastated by the decision to close Pendleton. Of course, the most devastated are the users of Pendleton place, who are currently in dire straits as the days get shorter and the weather bites harder.

The action on November 3rd was only one step along the way in what can be expected to be a determined struggle to re-open the kind of shelter that Pendleton place was. But as HCAP pointed out in a leaflet handed out during the action, the struggle to re-open a shelter of last resort is part of a much larger struggle.

“We’re also demanding that everyone should have the right to housing. More shelters, more subsidized housing, and higher income assistance rates can alleviate suffering in the here and now but HCAP struggles for something greater: a world where peoples' right to housing is guaranteed and where shelter is not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit.”
More info about HCAP calls for action on this issue: http://www.hfxcap.ca/