| Progressive Calendar 11.28.05 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001 tc.umn.edu)
|
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| Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 04:20:19 -0800 (PST) | |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 11.28.05
1. Roseville land grab 11.28 8pm
2. Poetry salon 11.29 6:30pm
3. Picket forecast 11.30 11:30am
4. James Baldwin/free 11.30 1:30pm
5. Tackling torture 11.30 6pm
6. Matriarchy 11.30 6:30pm
7. IRV house party 11.30 6:30pm
8. DFA book club 11.30 7pm
9. Susu poetry 11.30 7:30pm
10. Kucinich/CTV 11.30 8pm
11. James Ridgeway - Pandemic just another opportunity for profit
12. Doug Thompson - Ain't no free speech allowed in Dubya's America
13. GlobalResearch - Controlled demolition of World Trade Center Is
14. UNITE Union - Starbucks strike
15. ed - Knowletariat (poem)
--------1 of 15--------
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 15:00:59 -0600
From: Amy Ihlan <amyihlan [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Roseville land grab 11.28 8pm [ed head]
Eminent Domain Ordinance For Roseville
From the discussion at last Monday's council meeting, it appears that the
council is likely to try to approve the use of eminent domain in Twin
Lakes before the end of this year.
This Monday night, November 28, I will urge the council to adopt an
ordinance restricting the use of eminent domain for economic development
(as is proposed for Twin Lakes). I have submitted some possible policies
that could be included in the ordinance (see memo pasted below for more
information).
Public input on this issue is critical -- otherwise, the council majority
will almost certainly go ahead and condemn most of the property in the
Twin Lake area, even though there is no legitimate public use or purpose
for doing so. This will set a frightening precedent for the unfettered
use of eminent domain for future redevelopment in Twin Lakes and elsewhere
in Roseville.
Please come to Monday night's meeting if you can, and speak out on this
issue. The eminent domain discussion is currently scheduled to begin
shortly after 8 pm. If you can't attend, but are concerned about this
issue, please contact council members and let them know where you stand.
Thanks for your help!
Amy Ihlan {Roseville city Council]
MEMORANDUM
to: Members of the roseville city council
from: Amy Ihlan
subject: PROPOSED POLICIES ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN
date: NOVEMBER 22, 2005
---
Since it appears that the council will push ahead to vote on the use of
eminent domain in the Twin Lakes development very soon, I would like to
propose the following policies to be incorporated in a city ordinance
governing the council's use of eminent domain for
development/redevelopment. These could be adopted individually, or in
combination.
Proposal #1
Eminent domain shall not be used for private commercial development or
redevelopment.
Proposal #2
Eminent domain shall not be used for retail developments including
stand-alone stores of 50,000 square feet or more, or for "shopping
centers" as defined in city zoning code.
Proposal #3
1.. Eminent domain shall not be used for private commercial development
or redevelopment, unless:
1.. the project creates living wage jobs for all workers (as defined
by a minimum income of 130 per cent of the federal poverty guidelines
for a family of 4);
or 2.. at least 30% of the proposed project area consists of new
public facilities (including community centers or other public
buildings, dedicated parks or open space conservation areas);
and 3.. independent economic, fiscal, and environmental impact
studies show that the public benefits from the project outweigh public
costs.
2.. Eminent domain shall not be used for housing development or
redevelopment unless:
1.. the project includes at least 50% affordable housing; or
2.. at least 30% of the proposed project area consists of new public
facilities (including community centers or other public buildings,
dedicated parks or open space conservation areas), and the project
includes at least 10% affordable housing.
3.. The removal of blight or clean-up of environmental pollution shall
not be sufficient to establish a public use or purpose justifying use of
eminent domain for development or redevelopment.
4.. If property taken by eminent domain is not used for the purpose for
which it was condemned, the property shall be returned to its former
owners.
=ed comment=
[As a resident of Roseville, I have watched this deveoping diasater for
the last two years.
The Roseville city Council has five members, one of them the mayor. Three
of the five are for a wholesale giveaway of millions of dollars and prime
acres to misdevelopers, for the Twin Lakes big box misdevelopment.
The mayor two years ago ran on a platform AGAINST it. Shortly after he was
elected he declared he was for it. Since then the Gang of Three has pushed
aside master plans, normal procedures, objections by large numbers of
residents, etc. It's clear to me thay don't give a second thought to
citizens, small business etc - they aim to ram this smelly deal down our
throats for reasons perhaps best understood by abnormal psychology.
This is the most outrageous misuse of government I've ever seen here. It
fits in well with the BushCo criminals nationally, or the Pawlenty pirates
state-wide. It's part of the spectacular bursting of the capitalist
pustule - stinking puss everywhere you look or smell.
Now the Roseville Gang of Three want to use eminent domain to take land
from legitimate owners, and hand it over on a plate to these undeserving
misdeveleopers.
Amy Ihlan, one of the two rational members of the Roseville City Council,
has proposed limits on the use of eminent domain. She will present several
options (see above).
My guess is the Gang of Three will shamelessly reject all limits, impose
NO conditions on the misdevelopers, and complete the rape of the land and
the city with smug smiles.
And they mean to do it in the remaining MONTH of the term of one of the
Gang of Three, and in the dark of Thanksgiving and Christmas, favorite
times for smelly deals.
This whole thing is more proof that capitalism is rotting from the head
down. Either we the bottom 98% recapture government from the piratical
elite, or we can kiss just about everything we need and love goodbye. -ed]
--------2 of 15--------
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 17:17:56 -0600
From: patty guerrero <pattypax [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Poetry salon 11.29 6:30pm
The Conversational Salon this week, Nov 29, is for you to bring a poem,
of no special poet, to share or to just come and listen.
Salons are held (unless otherwise noted in advance):
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Mad Hatter's Tea House,
943 W 7th, St Paul, MN
Salons are free but donations encouraged for program and treats.
Call 651-227-3228 or 651-227-2511 for information.
--------3 of 15--------
From: Welfare Rights Cmte II <welfarerights [at] qwest.net>
Subject: Picket forecast 11.30 11:30am
Picket and Press Conference at November Forecast
Wednesday, November 30th, 11:30am
At the Minnesota State Capitol (room 15G or 123)
The forecast is at noon, we will be outside the room to get our message out
to the politicians as they go in.
Join the Welfare Rights Committee as we picket the State of Minnesota
"November Forecast" presentation at the State Capitol, November 30th.
The Forecast is where the Pawlenty administration predicts whether the
state will be in a budget surplus or budget deficit. No matter what the
forecast says, we know that the state budget has been seriously 'out of
balance' for poor and working people in this state! The cuts to welfare,
healthcare and childcare since 2003 are horrible for us - meanwhile the
wealthiest in this state have not had to sacrifice a thing!
Earlier in November, Gov. Pawlenty STOLE a $13 million dollar welfare
'bonus' from the federal government. Although he is using it for energy
assistance, we say it's wrong to pay for one poor peoples program by
robbing from another! Furthemore, the $13 million is nothing compared to
the $130 million that is needed to begin to meet our needs for low-income
fuel assistance- money that SHOULD come from the state's General Fund. We
demand that every dime of that money go back into the welfae budget to
undo some of the devasting cuts we are dealing with.
---
Welfare Rights Committee
310 E 38th St #207, Mpls MN 55409 ph:612-822-8020 fx: 612-824-3604
primary email - welfarerightsmn [at] yahoo.com
secondary email welfarerights [at] qwest.net
--------4 of 15--------
From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: James Baldwin/free 11.30 1:30pm
Note from Lydia Howell: DON'T MISS this one man play about one of the
GIANTS of the 20th century: JAMES BALDWIN had enormous courage to be his
whole true self from the 1950s onward as an OUT proud BLACK GAY MAN. His
writngs are extraoridnary - his 2nd novel "Giovanni's Room" had a Gay
theme in 1956! His writings about racism remain relevent for today. Don't
miss this chance to seee a FREE performance of this one-man show about
James Baldwin.
"Race. Politics. Sexuality. James Baldwin's essays, novels and ideas
endure. So does his influence." Tony-nominated Calvin Levels brings his
play "James Baldwin * Down From the Mountaintop" to Minneapolis Community
and Technical College for a free show on November 30 at 1:30pm in the
Whitney Fine Arts Theatre.
Baldwin's life "chronologically told" by Levels reveals his "terrible
honesty, vulnerability, iron will," and "his first sexual experience."
Whitney Theatre at MCTC
November 30, 1:30pm
FREE
MCTC students, staff and faculty as well as the public
Presented by MCTC's English department's Commonground Project whose
mission is to illuminate the voices of social relevance. For more
information, contact: Melissa Reid (612) 659-6000, ext. 4025; (612)
759-1749; or, melissa.reid [at] minneapolis.edu
--------5 of 15--------
From: Lynne Mayo <lynnne [at] usfamily.net>
Subject: Tackling torture 11.30 6pm
On the LAST Wednesday in November, the 30th, we will have an evening
meeting: 6pm
Mpls West Bank
North Country Coop Tea Room - they keep the thermometer low
1929 South Fifth Street
(across the street from St. Martin's Table)
(I think of it at the corner of 20th and Riverside Ave.)
338-3110
--------6 of 15--------
From: Samantha Smart <speakoutsisters [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Matriarchy 11.30 6:30pm
Wednesday November 30 Amazon Bookstore 6:30-8pm
Samantha Smart will report back from attending the Second World Congress
on Matriarchal Studies in Texas - information from Africa, Asia, India,
New Zealand, Mexico, Panama, Finland and north amerikkka....hear about the
international movement to reinstate a matriarchal gift economy....Tunisian
Amazons....liberating the repressed matriarchal from the grips of
patriarchal capitalism....hills as breasts and islands that are pregnant
women - it is all good!
ps: The Whistle Stop Coffee Shop series will re-emerge in early 2006 -
would you like to lead a 2-hour discussion on an empowering topic, sharing
your unique information, brilliance, creativity and perspectives with
sisters and brothers? Please respond to me with your:
1. Name
2. Topic title
3. Favorite coffee shop
4. Date & time for your talk
Samantha Smart speakoutsisters [at] earthlink.net
--------7 of 15--------
From: Rebekah Smith <smithrebekah [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: IRV house party 11.30 6:30pm
House Party for IRV
Wednesday, November 30, 6:30-8:30pm
3606 Harriet Avenue South, Minneapolis
RSVP: MplsCharter [at] FairVoteMn.org.
Contact: Jeanne Massey, 612-850-6897
Info: www.fairvotemn.org/minneapolis.
Donations accepted but not required.
There is an exciting charter amendment campaign gearing up to adopt
Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) for Minneapolis elections. Come and find out
how Instant Runoff Voting can improve Minneapolis elections, all about the
campaign and how you can become involved. And don't miss the election!
We'll demonstrate how IRV works with an actual election to determine the
favorite dessert of the night (That's right - favored by an actual
majority!) . Join us for appetizers, desserts and wine (non-alcoholic
choice available). If you can't come, but would like to attend a future
house party or event, or help out on the campaign, please let us know and
we'll follow up with you. If you can't come, but would like to attend a
future house party or event, or help out on the campaign, please let us
know and we'll follow up with you.
--------8 of 15--------
From: noelle901 <joyeux [at] visi.com>
Subject: DFA book club 11.30 7pm
Democracy for America Book Club
Book: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of
Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Wednesday, November 30 at 7pm
Dunn Brothers Café, 201 3rd Avenue, Minneapolis
Our goals are:
- To have fun, chatting and debating with other
progressive folks!
- To help each other to become better informed
- To strengthen community among progressives and promote networking
For further information, please contact Drea at
Mplsprogressivebookclub [at] yahoogroups.com.
--------9 of 15--------
From: Susu Jeffrey <susujeffrey [at] msn.com>
Subject: Susu poetry 11.30 7:30pm
Giving Thanks
A reading with Susu Jeffrey, Roy McBride & Maureen Skelly
Wednesday, November 30, at 7:30pm
Café Tempo, 42nd & Grand Avenue South, Minneapolis
"Poetry is the language of the soul."
--------10 of 15--------
From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Kucinich/CTV 11.30 8pm
We got word this morning that Congressman Kucinich is scheduled to appear
Wednesday night, (November 30th) on CNN's Larry King Live.
I assume that this is subject to rescheduling should some other breaking
news item happen this week - but it is on the schedule as of this moment.
If we get any updates, they will be posted on our forum here:
http://www.kucinich.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5013
--------11 of 15--------
Pandemic just another opportunity for profit
BUSH HELPING BUILD DRUG PROFITS OVER SAVING LIVES
JAMES RIDGEWAY, VILLAGE VOICE - The answer to a bird flu pandemic is not a
passive first-world population riveted to the TV, watching one person
after another drop dead across the world as sickened birds fly closer and
closer and finally land in our midst.
The answer lies in effective communication at all levels among different
nations, through their medical establishments, scientists, and spotters,
so that as soon as sick or dead birds are found, the birds in surrounding
areas can be culled. This is a job for the World Health Organization,
which is part of the United Nations, the organization Bush and his
ambassador, John Bolton, are determined at all costs to wreck. . . The
overall effect of a pandemic in Asia will be to drive small poultry
farmers out of business and open the way for U.S.-style industrial chicken
farming, with ownership concentrated in the hands of a few. . .
A serious effort to stave off a pandemic means stopping the pharmaceutical
companies from scaring people to make more money. It is by now well-known
that the drug companies provide huge sums of cash to politicians $133
million to federal candidates since 1998, according to the Center for
Public Integrity, with upwards of $1.5 million going to Bush, the top
recipient. The industry operates an elaborate lobby in Washington that in
2004 spent $123 million and employed an army of 1,291 lobbyists, more than
half of whom were former federal officials. The industry's sales machine
aims to bypass doctors with TV and other advertising aimed directly at the
patient, appealing to his or her judgment over that of a physician. . .
With no vaccine in sight, the U.S. government, along with others, is
belatedly stocking up on Tamiflu, a drug that supposedly offers some
defense against bird flu. But last week Japanese newspapers told how
children who were administered Tamiflu went mad and tried to kill
themselves by jumping out of windows. In a cautionary statement the FDA
noted 12 deaths among children, and said there are reports of psychiatric
disturbances, including hallucinations, along with heart and lung
disorders. Roche, the manufacturer, is quoted by the BBC as stating that
the rate of deaths and psychiatric problems is no higher among those
taking its medication than among those with flu. The company is increasing
Tamiflu production to 300 million doses a year to meet demand.
There are other reasons people are leery of Tamiflu. Given the rip-offs in
Iraq and after the hurricanes, people are understandably interested in
knowing just who is going to get rich off the plague. Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld, himself former CEO of drug company Searle, currently owns
stock in the one company that owns Tamiflu patents to the tune of at
least $18 million. Rumsfeld says he understands why people might question
his holdings, but selling them would raise even more questions. So he is
hanging on to what he's got.
A flu pandemic could mean a reduction in travel. A recent Citicorp report
says likely economic losers would include airlines (such as British
Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France), insurers like AXA, and luxury-goods
conglomerates such as Richemont.
The report adds: "Winners could include drug makers such as Gilead
Sciences, Roche, Glaxo Smith Kline, and Sanofi-Aventis. Other possible
winners are hospital chains such as Rhoen Klinikum, cleaning-products
makers such as Henkel, Ecolab, and Clorox, as well as home entertainment
companies such as Blockbuster and Nintendo." . . .
With a worldwide market estimated at more than $1 billion, there's big
money in a flu plague. Kimberly-Clark's Chinese subsidiary is already
ramping up manufacture of new lines of medical masks, wipes, and
hand-washing liquids, according to Business Week, with consulting firms
Kroll and Booz Allen Hamilton selling flu preparedness advice to companies
and governments. "Crisis is an opportunity as long as you see it first,"
Pitney Bowes's Christian Crews tells the magazine.
If all Bush wants to accomplish is to see the drug industry make more
money, any fight against the flu will be uphill.
http://villagevoice.com/news/0547,mondo1,70251,6.html
--------12 of 15--------
Ain't no free speech allowed in Dubya's America
By DOUG THOMPSON
Nov 24, 2005, 07:10
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7691.shtml
In George W. Bush's America, protest and free speech are illegal acts.
Just ask those arrested Wednesday for staging a peaceful protest
against the Iraq war near the President's ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Camping on the same land that antiwar mom Cindy Sheehan used to stage
her highly-publicized protest in August, the activists quickly ran
afoul of a new county law, hastily passed at the White House's urging,
prohibiting public gatherings.
That's right. The public no longer has a right to protest the
President's policies on public land near the President's home in
Crawford.
"The ordinance was very plainly meant to prevent people from protesting
in front of Bush's ranch," Dave Jensen, a 54-year-old former Marine
told reporters. "We feel that's a First Amendment issue. It's
intentionally designed to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of
assembly."
But the First Amendment doesn't mean much to cops in Texas or the Bush
administration as a dozen protestors, including Daniel Ellsberg of
Pentagon papers fame along with the sister of Cindy Sheehan.
Such arrests, says Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, is just another example
of how the Bush administration seeks to stifle debate on the Iraq war.
"What kind of debate are we willing to have? The White House showed
exactly what kind of debate it wants on future of Iraq - none," Obama
says. "We watched the shameful attempt to paint John Murtha - a Marine
Corp recipient of two-purple hearts and a Bronze Star - into a coward
of questionable patriotism. We saw the Administration tell people of
both parties - people who asked legitimate questions about the
intelligence that led us to war and the Administration's plan for Iraq
- that they should keep quiet, end the complaining, and stop rewriting
history."
History shows us that government attempts to silence its citizens leads
to tyranny. America, however, has a long and proud history of rising up
against tyranny - something the White House should remember as it
continues to try and stifle lawful protests guaranteed by the
Constitution.
Protesting in public is "a traditional way for Americans to support
their political views," says Julya Hampton, legal program director of
the American Civil Liberties Union. "When governments try to establish
legal obstacles to such protests they clearly violate the First
Amendment," she adds.
So the protestors who gathered at Crawford this Thanksgiving did so
lawfully, exercising their rights as Americans to express their views
on their government.
"We are proud to be here," Dede Miller, Sheehan's sister, said. "This
is just so important. What we did in August really moved us forward,
and this is just a continuation of it."
A few hours later, police arrested Miller along with 11 others.
Ray Meadows, the McLennan County commissioner who sponsored the
ordinance to restrict free speech, admits he did so at the White
House's urging.
"Of course I did," he bragged to a county resident when asked at a
public hearing on the ordinance. Meadows later claimed the White House
didn't have anything to do with ordinance, claiming he proposed it to
protect "property owners." Of course, Bush is also a property owner.
But Ellsberg, whose leak of the infamous "Pentagon Papers" to the New
York Times is credited with helping turn public opinion against the
Vietnam war, says the White House cannot control the will of the
American people.
"Those of us who finally saw through the Vietnam War saw through this war,
and all the actions that were necessary to end the Vietnam War will be
necessary here," Ellsberg said in Crawford on Wednesday. "I think the
American people will get us out of this (war)."
--------13 of 15-------
9/11 Theologian Says Controlled Demolition of World Trade Center Is Now a
Fact, Not a Theory
October 21, 2005
GlobalResearch.ca
In two speeches to overflow crowds in New York last weekend, notable
theologian David Ray Griffin argued that recently revealed evidence seals
the case that the Twin Towers and WTC-7 were destroyed by controlled
demolition with explosives. Despite the many enduring mysteries of the
9/11 attacks, Dr. Griffin concluded, "It is already possible to know,
beyond a reasonable doubt, one very important thing: the destruction of
the World Trade Center was an inside job, orchestrated by terrorists
within our own government."
On Oct. 15th and 16th, New Yorkers filled two venues to hear the prominent
theologian and author of two books on 9/11 give a presentation entitled
"The Destruction of the Trade Towers: A Christian Theologian Speaks Out."
Dr. Griffin has continued to blaze a trail of courage, leading where most
media and elected officials have feared to tread. His presentation went
straight to the core of one of the most powerful indictments of the
official story, the collapse of the towers and WTC 7.
Dr. Griffin included excerpts from the firemen's tapes which were recently
released as a result of a prolonged court battle led by victim's families
represented by attorney Norman Siegel and reported in the NY Times. He
also included statements by many witnesses. These sources gave ample
testimony giving evidence of explosions going off in the buildings. A 12
minute film was shown for the audiences, who saw for themselves the
undeniable evidence for controlled demolition.
Dr. Griffin listed ten characteristics of the collapses which all indicate
that the buildings did not fall due to being struck by planes or the
ensuing fires. He explained the buildings fell suddenly without any
indication of collapse. They fell straight into their own footprint at
free-fall speed, meeting virtually no resistance as they fell - a physical
impossibility unless all vertical support was being progressively removed
by explosives severing the core columns. The towers were built to
withstand the impact of a Boeing 707 and 160 mile per hour winds, and
nothing about the plane crashes or ensuing fires gave any indication of
causing the kind of damage that would be necessary to trigger even a
partial or progressive collapse, much less the shredding of the buildings
into dust and fragments that could drop at free-fall speed. The massive
core columns - the most significant structural feature of the buildings,
whose very existence is denied in the official 9/11 Commission
Report - were severed into uniform 30 foot sections, just right for the
30-foot trucks used to remove them quickly before a real investigation
could transpire.
There was a volcanic-like dust cloud from the concrete being pulverized,
and no physical mechanism other than explosives can begin to explain how
so much of the buildings' concrete was rendered into extremely fine dust.
The debris was ejected horizontally several hundred feet in huge fan
shaped plumes stretching in all directions, with telltale "squibs"
following the path of the explosives downward. These are all facts that
have been avoided by mainstream and even most of the alternative media.
Again, these are characteristics of the kind of controlled demolitions
that news people and firefighters were describing on the morning of 9/11.
Those multiple first-person descriptions of controlled demolition were
hidden away for almost four years by the City of New York until a lawsuit
finally forced the city to release them. Dr. Griffin's study of these
accounts has led him beyond his earlier questioning of the official story
of the collapses, to his above-quoted conclusion: The destruction of the
three WTC buildings with explosives by US government terrorists is no
longer a hypothesis, but a fact that has been proved beyond a reasonable
doubt.
It's important to note that Dr. Griffin is one of many prominent
intellectuals - including the likes of Gore Vidal, Howard Zinn, Peter Dale
Scott, Richard Falk, Paul Craig Roberts, Morgan Reynolds and Peter
Phillips - who have seen through the major discrepancies of the official
explanation of 9/11 and have risen to challenge it. These brave
individuals represent the tip of an ever-growing iceberg of discreet 9/11
skeptics. Indeed, 9/11 skepticism appears to be almost universal among
intellectuals who have examined the evidence, since there has not yet been
a single serious attempt to refute the case developed by Dr. Griffin and
such like-minded thinkers as Nafeez Ahmed and Mike Ruppert. As for the
general public, polls have shown that a strong majority of Canadians (63%,
Toronto Star, May '04) and half of New Yorkers (Zogby, August 2004) agree
that top US leaders conspired to murder nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11/01.
How, then, can the mainstream US media continue to ignore the story of the
century? Perhaps the best answer was given by Dr. Griffin himself in the
conclusion of his talk, and is worth quoting at length:
"The evidence for this conclusion (that 9/11 was an inside job) has thus
far been largely ignored by the mainstream press, perhaps under the guise
of obeying President Bush's advice not to tolerate "outrageous conspiracy
theories." We have seen, however, that it is the Bush administration's
conspiracy theory that is the outrageous one, because it is violently
contradicted by numerous facts, including some basic laws of physics.
"There is, of course, another reason why the mainstream press has not
pointed out these contradictions. As a recent letter to the Los Angeles
Times said:
"'The number of contradictions in the official version of . . . 9/11 is so
overwhelming that . . . it simply cannot be believed. Yet . . . the
official version cannot be abandoned because the implication of rejecting
it is far too disturbing: that we are subject to a government conspiracy
of 'X-Files' proportions and insidiousness.'
"The implications are indeed disturbing. Many people who know or at least
suspect the truth about 9/11 probably believe that revealing it would be
so disturbing to the American psyche, the American form of government, and
global stability that it is better to pretend to believe the official
version. I would suggest, however, that any merit this argument may have
had earlier has been overcome by more recent events and realizations. Far
more devastating to the American psyche, the American form of government,
and the world as a whole will be the continued rule of those who brought
us 9/11, because the values reflected in that horrendous event have been
reflected in the Bush administration's lies to justify the attack on Iraq,
its disregard for environmental science and the Bill of Rights, its
criminal negligence both before and after Katrina, and now its apparent
plan not only to weaponize space but also to authorize the use of nuclear
weapons in a preemptive strike.
"In light of this situation and the facts discussed in this lecture - as
well as dozens of more problems in the official account of 9/11 discussed
elsewhere - I call on the New York Times to take the lead in finally
exposing to the American people and the world the truth about 9/11. Taking
the lead on such a story will, of course, involve enormous risks. But if
there is any news organization with the power, the prestige, and the
credibility to break this story, it is the Times. It performed yeoman
service in getting the 9/11 oral histories released. But now the welfare
of our republic and perhaps even the survival of our civilization depend
on getting the truth about 9/11 exposed. I am calling on the Times to rise
to the occasion."
--
Dr. Griffin's speech given at the University of Wisconsin earlier this
year, entitled "9/11 and the American Empire," was broadcast twice on
C-SPAN. In late September Dr. Griffin was asked to give expert testimony
at hearings sponsored by Cynthia McKinney and the Congressional Black
Caucus investigating the 9/11 Commission Report. He is currently Professor
Emeritus at Claremont at the Claremont School of Theology, California.
--------14 of 15--------
UNITE Union
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0511/S00182.htm
Worlds First Starbucks Strike Spreads To 10 Stores
WORLD FIRST Scoop Video: Unite Launches SupersizeMyPay, Targets Starbucks
For the first time globally, Starbucks got a taste of Union today. Unite
launched its SuperSizeMyPay.Com Campaign today with a crowd of about 100
people gathered to send a message to Starbucks and other fast-food and
cafe outlets to give their workers a fair deal. Worldwide, this is the
first time a Union has picketed Starbucks.
Workers from stores across Auckland walked off the job today to join the
world's first Starbucks strike, held on Auckland's counter-culture cafi
strip, Karangahape Rd, New Zealand.
What began as a small protest by workers from one store became a city-wide
strike when Starbucks workers heard that managers would be brought in to
cover the shifts of the striking K'Rd workers.
"What began as an event to highlight the poor conditions of low pay and
minimum wage workers turned into a show of solidarity and strength between
Auckland's Starbucks workers," said Simon Oosterman, SuperSizeMyPay.Com
campaign coordinator.
"More than 30 workers spontaneously walked out from 10 different Auckland
Starbucks stores to join KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonalds employees, and
around 150 other supporters outside the K'Rd store," he said.
"Starbucks workers continued their solidarity despite being threatened
with being sacked for abandonment of shift if they did not return after
one hour," said Mr Oosterman.
"The only people being abandoned are Starbucks workers."
Daniel Gross, co-founder of the Starbucks workers union in New York, said
the strike was an important step towards changing working conditions for
those in the fast-food sector all over the world.
"The Kiwi Starbucks workers are making a stand for baristas around the
world. We get paid what amounts to a poverty wage and there are no
guaranteed hours. Starbucks have record turnovers every year, but none of
that money makes it into the workers pockets," said Mr Gross.
"This is a signal that minimum wage workers from around the world are fed
up with living on the poverty line," he concluded.
Mr Oosterman said that multinational companies are taking advantage of
people in vulnerable situations.
"Our campaign isn't just about fair pay at work, it's about social
justice. Poverty-wages are increasing the gap between rich and poor and
increasing other social inequalities. The majority of low paid and minimum
wage workers are women, Maori, pacific islanders, disabled, youth,
students and new migrants," he said.
The Starbucks strike was a first step in a campaign to raise public
awareness of these issues, and will be taken to the Grey Lynn festival and
the Santa Parade this weekend.
--------15 of 15--------
Rich corporations
invade the U. Profs sink to
knowletariat.
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- David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
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