STATEMENT AND URGENT CALL TO ACTION

4 November 2005

Reference: Dorotea Mendoza
Secretary General, GABRIELA Network
secgen@gabnet.org, 1.212.592.3507

GABRIELA NETWORK CONDEMNS GANG RAPE OF FILIPINA BY U.S. MARINES, 
DEMANDS JUSTICE AND INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION,
PHILIPPINE JURISDICTION ON CUSTODY AND PROSECUTION,
AND FULL WITHDRAWAL OF U.S. MILITARY FROM THE PHILIPPINES

While we are appalled by the rape of a 22-year old Filipina in Subic,
former site of a US naval base, by six US marines last November 1,
2005, we are, sadly, not surprised.  Nor are we surprised that the
perpetrators are in the custody of the US Embassy in the Philippines. 
This case is indicative of the constant violence and violation of a
nation’s sovereignty perpetrated by the US military and US intervention
in the Philippines.  It is indicative of the US government pulling the
strings on Philippine affairs and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo.  It is indicative of Macapagal Arroyo kowtowing to US
interests, ignoring the safety and security of the very people she is
supposed to serve.

Indeed, Macapagal Arroyo continues to sell Filipinas and Philippine
sovereignty.  She has opened the Philippine archipelago for further
exploitation by welcoming George W. Bush and Company’s borderless,
never-ending so-called “war on terror.”  She has declared open season
on Filipino women by continuing the unconstitutional Visiting Forces
Agreement, entertaining 4,000 to 4,500 US troops in the Subic area,
among other regions, for army games with the Armed Forces of the
Philippines.

With this and charges of election fraud, corruption, and human rights
violations, Macapagal Arroyo is indeed unfit to govern.  And those who
assert this, those who dare resist, those who’ve been calling for her
ouster are harassed, disappeared, murdered—there’s been 117 political
killings in 2005 alone.

As women living in the US, we demand immediate prosecution and arrest
of the six US marine suspects, justice for the Filipina rape victim,
immediate and full withdrawal of US troops from the Philippines.

CALL TO ACTION:   

WHAT:  Emergency Rally.  Expedite prosecution and arrest of 6 US
marines.  Put US Marines suspects behind bars now.  Justice for
Filipina rape victim!  Stop US-Philippine military exercises.  Junk VFA
(Visiting Forces Agreement).  VFA = rape of the Philippines, rape of
Filipino women.

WHEN:  Friday, 4 November 2005, 8:30AM

WHERE:  in front of the Philippine Consulate, 3600 Wilshire Blvd.
(corner Kingsley), Los Angeles, CA

WHO:  organized by GABRIELA Network USA

PHOTO AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES.   ###


-------------
GABRIELA Network USA
A Philippine-US Women's Solidarity Mass Organization
PO Box 403, Times Square Station
New York, NY  10036
www.gabnet.org

Politics Mondays: Million More Movement: From Marching to Movement

by Horace Campbell

Introduction

The Million More Movement (MMM) made its mark on the USA by a massive demonstration in Washington, D.C, and the capital of the USA on Saturday October 15, calling for "regime change" in the USA. The marchers came from all parts of the country and sent a signal to all of the USA that they intended to build a new movement for the twenty first century. The estimated numbers of between 800,000 to one million demonstrators made radical demands on the US society for reparations and reconstruction. The immediate impetus for the call for repair, justice and break with its criminal past came from the massive outrage among African Americans over their treatment in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. But, the hurricane was simply the catalyst that galvanized all sections of the community to come out to make their voices heard for a change in the politics, economics and cultural policies of the USA.

The spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan said simply that this march was a precursor to a movement of black, brown, red and the poor. Wyclef Jean, the Hip Hop activist, put the words to song and wailed, this is not a March but a movement. The Civil Rights Era cry of "Black Power" was made many times; speakers identified with the need to move from marches to concrete organization, while recognizing the need for marches to register collective opposition to neo-conservative militarism.

Religious Unity and the Politics of Inclusion

The other major victory of this march (to be transformed into a movement) was to bring together peoples of different religious faith and spiritual leanings to oppose the manipulation of religious sentiments in the black community and in the wider society. The so- called war on terror has depended on driving differences between Christians and followers of Islam. However, by bringing together the top leaders of the AME Church, AME Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, various Baptist and other Christian groups, the Millions More Movement was bringing attention to the alternative to the mega-church conservative syndrome that is in bed with the neo-cons. Black people called on the god of justice and peace to repair the diseased spirit of the USA and the gods of racism, violence segregation and Jim Crow Jr. When the head of the Progressive National Baptist Convention pledged that the two million members would be behind the Millions More Movement, it was the clearest signal that the god of neo-conservatism and promise keepers was being challenged head-on. Christians, Muslims, Hebrew Israelites, Hindus, Rastafari, agnostics, nationalists, socialists, gays and lesbians, communists, men, women and youth came together in agreement that the time is now for us to make a break with this system of institutionalized racism. Because there were so many groups represented, there were many messages, and sometimes mixed messages relating to capitalism, but there was one voice when it came to racism, militarism and the injustice of the Gulf wars and the prison industrial complex.

What was also so significant was the introduction of Louis Farrakhan by his daughter. Her speech and eloquence was not isolated since it emerged in a context of the debate among Muslims all over America of the place of the women in the Mosque and in public spaces. The case of Amina Wadud and the question of whether women should lead in prayers continue to be hot button issues among Muslims in the USA. By publicly embracing the daughter of Farrakhan as a speaker, the Nation of Islam was extending its understanding of the politics of inclusion.

We are all related - Political Unity towards a united front

Clear Message – Katrina and the exploitation of Black Brown and working poor.

Prior to the hurricane, all over the country the conservatives and the corporate elements had been seeking ways to move blacks from the inner cities of the USA in order to take back prime properties. New Orleans was no exception. Under the power of eminent domain, the Supreme Court had given local capitalists the right to seize properties and turn them over to so-called private developers. More than two thirds of the residents of New Orleans were poor blacks. In private, the neo conservatives proclaimed that their god carried out the urban removal in New Orleans.

Corporate Crime or Criminal neglect?

There were a number of initiatives announced for marches and rallies in Louisiana at the end of October and in December. One real test of this movement, with its diverse constituency, will be whether there can be coordination between organizations such as the October 28 manifestations and the Institute of the Black World 21st century organizing the December activities to expose the crimes in the Gulf.

Two Gulf Wars

The call to bring the troops home now was underlined by many speakers, especially Damu Smith of Black Voices for Peace. In less than a minute, Damu Smith made the case for the withdrawal and yielded his place to a mother who had lost her son in the war. The voice of this black woman booming across the mall went to all the small towns, urban centers of the USA where the military recruiters had promised black youths a career in the army. Given the laws of unforeseen consequences, it was unclear whether this call for blacks to actively oppose the Iraq war could have the effect of expanding further the split in the US armed forces, eventually leading to breaking an already fragmented military structure. For while the Bush administration seeks to present an image of a strong military, there are many mothers in all communities who see their children being used as cannon fodder for the oil companies. The Black Voices for Peace and the black mothers share the anger of Cindy Sheehan. These mothers have been most forthright in arguing that their sons and daughters were sent to fight and die in an unjust war for reasons that have proven to be lies.

Will these revelations of lies and profiteering by the military industrialists lead to a split in the armed forces similar to the period of the civil war?

New Alliances necessary

The appeal to the youths in the military to oppose the war was probably one of the most radical features of this march. While the mainstream liberal peace movement has treated the question of the war crimes and torture in Iraq and Guantanamo gingerly, the black movement had no qualms in calling the war against the people of Iraq criminal. This resonated well with millions of youth across the country that are targeted as criminals and warehoused in the military, prison industrial complex.

Reparations and crimes against humanity

The word crime was used numerous times in this march. The clearest usage was when the charge of criminal neglect was leveled against the government. Other crimes, committed by the capitalist system, whether it was in relation to health, the environment, or test trials for drugs using Africans as guinea pigs, were also addressed. By speaking to the questions of crimes against humanity and reparations the Millions More Movement drew the attention and energies of the masses of people in the USA who have mobilized and will mobilize in support of reparations.

Reparations and Reconstruction in Africa

This message of Reparations was also echoed in the context of new efforts to divert attention from the global demands of the World Conference Against Racism in 2001. One such diversion is the present international campaign to Make Poverty History in Africa.

Louis Farrakhan addressed his comments specifically to Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom who had convened a special summit of the G8 in Scotland earlier this year, with the agenda to end poverty in Africa. Mocking the announced plans to give $50 billion US dollars worth of aid to Africa, Farrakhan spelled out the demand that Africa did not want aid but demanded reparations. He repeated the call for the cancellation of the African debt, apology for slavery, the return of cultural objects stolen from Africa and called for trillions of dollars to be invested in the building of roads, (from Cape to Cairo) the building of bridges, the building of water supply systems, the building of new energy and electrical systems and the construction of other infrastructure.

Miami Crisis Update
10/27/05

Miami is known for its night glow of bright neon lights. They are
supposed to represent all that is glitter and gold about the city. The
first night after Hurricane Wilma, the lights (or lack of) showed how
race space, and class were intertwined. On that night one could drive
over one of the bridges that connect the main land to Miami beach and
see what parts of the city were given priority (south beach and
downtown still shined) and what's parts didn't (Most of the mainland,
Liberty city, Overtown, North Miami).
And The Days Go On
Miami is experiencing its 5-day without power (Florida Power and
Lights reported in the Herald that 42% of the city has regained
power). I have been back in Miami for 4 days now. Luckily I was out of
town when the hurricane hit. I say luckily because I came back to see
that my apartment ceiling caved in from rain (right over where I
sleep-on the couch). After spending the last few days trying figure
out my housing situation, I took time today to help out with the
broader situation.

I volunteer with the Miami workers center. The Miami Workers Center
(http://www.miamiworkerscenter.org) is a strategy and organizing
center for low-income communities and low-wage workers in Miami-Dade
County. The Center organized teams of volunteers to go out into the
community to interview and document how folks were doing and assess
the crisis.
My Team was assigned to Ward Towers and Claude Pepper, two senior
citizens homes in North Miami. We were armed with clipboards and
fliers. On the back there was a list of emergency numbers that people
could call for help with hurricane related problems.
Our tasks were to dialogue with folks and document there stories,
assist in any emergency needs, and to let them know that the center
was open as a resource (the center is based in liberty city and just
regained power today).
The first thing I noticed about the two buildings was how nondescript
they were. It's as if the city didn't want to let anyone know that
elderly folk live there. The stories I heard once I got inside help me
see how the city makes the poor and elderly even more invisible than
just the buildings appearance.
The building is occupied by mostly by older black and Latina women.
They are experiencing their 5th straight day without electrical power.
The first 3 days they got no help at all. They did not have access to
an elevator until today. Because of this some people who lived on the
higher floors (the building is 16 Stories, 200 units) to sleep on the
first floor in the common room on hard steel chairs! One woman, who
has arthritis, lived on the eighth floor and had to walk up and down
the stairs. Needless to say here knees are causing her more pain as of
late. They did not receive any ice or water until last night. Many
folks believe this was because a couple of news stations came by and
did a story on them. Exposing the conditions. Windows were blown in
and apartments flooded. To date the city has done nothing about this
but board up some windows. Residents had to clean up the water
themselves. One Latina resident told us that a store around the corner
was price gouging, selling candles that usually cost $1.25 for $5!
But don't let these stories lead you to believe the elders in this
building were helpless victims. A man confined to a wheelchair told us
after the first 3 days of no help that the residents were discussing
sitting in the middle of the cross street and getting arrested. "How
would that look, the police arresting a 85 year old woman because she
wanted food and water and lights? How would that look!"?
An elder Black woman, Ms. Emma Brown, told us "The is no color here!
We all, all of us, helped each other out, as neighbors. All the
different people you see around you, we all worked together to help
one another. We didn't see color!" In a city that is known for its
racial tensions between Cubans (primarily) and Blacks, That's huge!
My team would not have been able to so effectively get folks stories
if it wasn't for Ms. Mae Catherine Smith. Ms. Smith is a member of
L.I.F.F.T. (Low Income Families Fighting Together, a initiative of the
Miami Worker Center) and a resident the Ward tower senior citizen
home. She took us around and introduced us to people. Explaining who
we were and what we were doing. You could tell that she was an
organizer within the building and people trusted her. She was breaking
down to folk how they could get help and what needed to be done. It
was her leadership that guided us this afternoon.
When we got back to the center to debrief with the other teams we
shared some of the stories we heard things we've seen.
Distribution Centers being mismanaged: no set times, running out of
supplies early, telling people wrong locations, no coordination
between agencies (county not knowing where or when federal was coming,
or military). Some officials at distributions center admitted that
they had know idea when the center would re-open or where.
People are not being able to get transportation to centers either. The
bus system is horrible in Miami and even if you have a car you will be
an in 2-mile line trying to get gas). No Spanish speaking cops in
largely Spanish speaking areas. To top it off the packages of food
that they are handing out to people is hardly anything to eat. The
items in one package were: Jell-O pudding, small package of cereal,
chocolate milk, and a small can of beeforoni)
The Miami Workers Center is planning on sending people out to spots
again tomorrow. Their work is proving to be essential in this time of
need.
All of the neighborhoods (Liberty city, Opa-locka, Allaphatta, and
Little Havana) that we investigated today were low-income communities
of color (black and Latino). In the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma these
resource depleted areas are still suffering from neglect. The hardest
hit being the elderly and women and children.
There are completely opposite stories going on in neighborhoods like
The Design District, Downtown, and South Beach. Places that are known
for being playgrounds for the upper classes had power and services
back on within 24hrs of the hurricane.
Race, Space, and Class (Gender and age as well) seem to come together
again.
This experience is showing (along with that of the Katrina victims)
that it's not a question of where hurricanes hits. It's a question of
where the resources are missed.
More updates to come..
P.S. more news can be found at
www.miami.com
Terry Marshall
Independent Researcher
BLOC Network (http://www.blocnetwork.org/)


 

Many Filipino children poisoned

Wednesday 09 March 2005 1:23 PM GMT

Initial results show the victims ate snacks made from cassava

Up to 28 primary school children have died from apparent poisoning after
eating the tropical food crop cassava in the central Philippine province of
Bohol, officials said. The students from the San Jose Elementary School in
the town of Mabini had eaten snacks made from cassava roots in their
mid-morning break before falling ill, officials said on Wednesday. Philip
Fuderanan, a spokesman for the mayor of Mabini, said 25 of 60 children who
had fallen ill and been taken to various nearby hospitals had died.

"As of 4pm, the number of casualties has reached 25," Fuderanan told local
GMA television. Eutiqio Bernales, mayor of the neighbouring town of Ubay
where most of the children were taken for treatment, said  medical workers
were numbering those dead at 28.

"In fact, I borrowed a dump truck to take back (to Mabini) the more than 20
bodies here," Bernales said, adding that shocked and grieving relatives of
those who died were being properly looked after.

Critical condition

Fuderanan said municipal health workers had rushed to the hospitals to carry
out tests on the surviving children, many of whom were in critical
condition.
"They had eaten food with cassava as an ingredient," Fuderanan said after
the initial results of an investigation by doctors.

"As of 4pm, the number of casualties has reached 25"

Municipal health authorities were investigating the incident, and radio
reports said two vendors who had sold the children the snack were being
questioned.

"We are trying to account for all the children who had eaten (the root
crop). We are checking them up to make sure that they are all right," vice
mayor of Mabini Ester Tabigi said. "Twenty-five did not make it and
expired," she said.

Cassava or manioc is a tropical food crop widely grown around the Asian
region. In many impoverished Philippine towns, it is a substitute to rice,
the staple food.

Toxic varieties

Cassava is traditionally boiled, or processed as ingredients for native
cakes and delicacies in the Philippines. Experts say that certain types of
cassava may contain substances that produce cyanide and are toxic to humans
if unprocessed. Doctor Nenita Po, who heads the state hospital in Bohol's
capital city Tagbilaran, about 100km east of Mabini, said doctors there took
in 13 patients. Two of those later died. A 68-year-old woman who reportedly
prepared the food that the children ate was among those still sick in the
Tagbilaran hospital, Po said. "When they arrived here they were vomiting,
complaining of abdominal pains and LBM (Loose Bowel Movement or Diarrhoea),"
she said.


You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/462935A1-417A-4F67-A765-3F673FE51B5C.htm



 

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Afrika Bambaataa       NYC's Hot 97 Under Fire Artists, activists accuse radio station of fueling hip-hop violence   New York's Hot 97 was the setting for two recent high-profile shootings, and now the radio station has become a target itself -- of artists and activists who charge that it promotes violence in the hip-hop community. On Friday, in the wake of the much-hyped February 28th shootout between associates of 50 Cent and the Game and the beginning of the Lil' Kim perjury trial involving a 2001 shootout, rappers Afrika Bambaataa, M1 of Dead Prez, Roxanne Shante and other members of the newly formed Hip-Hop Coalition held an anti-Hot 97 rally in New York's Union Square Park. "Hot 97 actively promotes conflict within our communities and among our artists," journalist and rally organizer Rosa Clemente told Rolling Stone. "We have to target [Hot 97's parent company] Emmis Communications, because they're fueling controversy between artists to get ratings." "The violence is sensationalized," added M1, "and I think more than anything they intend to benefit from it." The typically cryptic Afrika Bambaataa saw the rally as a chance to address a broader issue. "Many people are still being blind, deaf and dumb to what's going on due to the mind control of the masses of people," the Bronx rapper said before launching a diatribe aimed at corporate media. The Coalition contends that the recent incidents could have been prevented instead of promoted by the station's employees. The "Tsunami Song," Hot 97's parody of the December tragedy in South Asia, also drew criticism at the rally, with Queens councilman John Liu accusing the station of "insensitivity" to its listeners. The Coalition also voiced its list of demands -- which include the station airing anti-violence public service announcements and having its employees attend town hall meetings with community educators, parents and youth. A spokesman for Hot 97 refused to address the demands, telling Rolling Stone that the station is being targeted unfairly. "It's interesting that they single out Hot 97," he said. "Why not the artists that make the music, the record labels that produce the records, the record stores that sell them and then the consumers that buy them? . . . Hot 97 has been number one in the eighteen-to-thirty-four-year-old demographic for close to ten years, so obviously there are a whole lot of people that enjoy the station and feel differently. We only play what's out there: If the violence didn't exist in the song, they wouldn't hear it on Hot 97." TRACEY FORD

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		Hip Hop community joins protest of radio racism   Archive Recent Editions 2005 Editions Feb 19, 2005   Author: Dan Margolis People's Weekly World Newspaper, 02/17/05 11:20   NEW YORK — Protesters were on the street outside the office of Hot 97 here Feb. 14, the second day back on the job for suspended morning show deejays. The “Miss Jones in the Morning” crew on WQHT-FM sparked outrage last month when it played the “Tsunami Song,” a racist parody of “We Are the World” that made fun of the victims of last December’s South Asian tidal wave that killed almost 300,000 people. “We Are the World” had brought an array of stars together in the 1980s to aid victims of famine in Africa. “This is something that we’re just getting started with,” City Council member John Liu told the World. Referring to the Hip Hop station’s owner, Emmis Communications, Liu said, “Emmis needs to come clean because people are united against the kind of hatred that is put over our airwaves.” The company issued an apology and fired several people, including one disc jockey who said on the air he would start “shooting Asians.” Although Emmis also donated one week’s worth of paychecks of the suspended staff members to tsunami relief, many believe this was mere lip service and more needs to be done to seriously address the problem. The Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM), organizers of the rally, includes dozens of elected officials and community groups, among them the NAACP, the National Hip-Hop Convention, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 1707, and the teachers union. Although the people killed by the tsunami were mainly South Asian, Indonesian, and African, the song’s racial hatred is directed primarily at Chinese people. However, the anger and indignation has spread far beyond the Chinese community. The multiracial rally included representatives of the Latin American Integration Center, the gay and lesbian community, and several city council members. Out in full force were members of the area’s hip-hop community. Many speakers say they came to let the city and the world know that while Hot 97 claims to represent New York’s Hip Hop scene, racism and hate are not part of that movement. “I am here today protesting … as a young adult I’m speaking up,” said Jessica Edraza, a student from Vanguard High School. “They think that this is what young people want to hear and I honestly say this is not what I want to hear … not this negativity.” To drive home the point that hip-hop is about unity and respect for all races, the “godfather of Hip Hop,” Afrika Baambaata, took to the stage. “Hip Hop is for peace, unity, love and having some fun, and to organize many of the communities throughout the world,” said Baambaata. “This is just the first step. We are going to organize, organize, organize. First it’ll be Emmis, and any other stations that try to keep talking this hate or any type of disorder against any people on the planet,” he said. “We must stand against anybody that preaches hate, that teaches hate … [we must] try to make a change … and never give up the fight.” The rally had four demands of Emmis: termination for anyone involved in the song; donation of a week’s worth of corporate revenues to tsunami relief and local community organizations; establishment of clear, written corporate guidelines against racism and hate; and an ongoing dialogue with the community to implement long-term solutions to prevent hate speech from recurring. After an earlier protest (immediately after the incident), a number of companies, including New York Newsday and Sprint, withdrew their ads from Hot 97. “This is just one station and they’ve been doing this for a while, so we’re going to keep the pressure on here,” Baambaata told the World after the rally. But, he stressed, it’s a nationwide problem and plans are to continue “organizing people around the country about stopping this type of program that’s going on our airwaves and coming mainly to our youth.” dmargolis@cpusa.org     | Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |
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 52,000 Deaths Spread Across 11 Nations · Disease Could Double Death Toll, WHO Says · At Least 12 U.S. Citizens Said Killed · More Than 800 Killed on Sri Lankan Train


Relief Effort Under Way as Death Toll Rises By ANDI DJATMIKO, AP


BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Dec. 28) - Mourners in Sri Lanka used their bare hands to dig graves Tuesday while hungry islanders in Indonesia turned to looting in the aftermath of Asia's devastating tsunamis. Thousands more bodies were found in Indonesia, dramatically increasing the death toll across 11 nations to around 52,000.

Emergency workers found that 10,000 people had been killed in a single town, Meulaboh, in Aceh province at the northern tip of Sumatra island, the hardest hit region in Indonesia, said Purnomo Sidik, national disaster director at the Social Affairs Ministry.

Another 9,000 were confirmed dead so far in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and surrounding towns, he said. Along Aceh's hard-hit western coastline, villages were swamped up to the roofs, still unexplored by soldiers combing the area for survivors and dead. Refugees fleeing the area described surviving for days on little more than coconuts before reaching Banda Aceh.

''The sea was full of bodies,'' said Sukardi Kasdi, who reached the capital from his town of Surang.

With aid not arriving quick enough, desperate residents in Meulaboh and other towns in Aceh - a region that was unique in that it was struck both by Sunday's massive quake and the killer waves that followed - began to loot.

''It is every person for themselves here,'' district official Tengku Zulkarnain told el-Shinta radio station from the area.

In Sri Lanka, the toll also mounted significantly. Around 1,000 people were dead or missing from a train that was flung off its tracks when the gigantic waves hit. Rescuers pulled 204 bodies from the train's eight carriages - reduced to twisted metal - and cremated or buried them Tuesday next to the railroad track that runs along the coast.

''Is this the fate that we had planned for? My darling, you were the only hope for me,'' cried one man for his dead girlfriend - his university sweetheart
- as Buddhist monks held prayer nearby.

More than 18,700 people died in Sri Lanka, more than 4,400 in India and more than 1,500 in Thailand, with numbers expected to rise. Scores were also killed in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives. The giant waves raced nearly 3,000 miles to east Africa, causing deaths in Somalia, Tanzania and Seychelles.

And the toll was expected to continue to mount. A police official said 8,000 people were missing and possibly dead in India's remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located just north of Sumatra. So far, only 90 people were confirmed dead in the archipelago of 30 inhabited islands. The Indonesian vice president estimated that up to 25,000 could be dead on Aceh's western coastlines, bringing the country's potential toll up to 50,000.

Europeans desperately sought relatives missing from holidays in Southeast Asia - particularly Thailand, where bodies littered the once crowded beach resorts. Near the devastated Similan Beach and Spa Resort, where mostly German tourists were staying, a naked corpse hung suspended from a tree Tuesday as if crucified.

A blond two-year-old Swedish boy, Hannes Bergstroem, found sitting alone on a road in Thailand was reunited with his uncle, who saw the boy's picture on a Web site.




Luis Enrique Ascui, Reuters

A tsunami wave, triggered by an ocean-floor earthquake, is barely perceptible as it travels across the water, but its shoreline impact can be tremendous.


''This is a miracle, the biggest thing that could happen,'' said the uncle, who identified himself as Jim, after flying from his home country to Thailand to reach Hannes at the hospital were the boy was being treated. The boy's mother and grandmother were missing, while his father and grandfather were reportedly at another hospital.

The vacationing former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was evacuated by Sri Lankan military helicopter from the hotel he was trapped by flooding in the south of the country. In Thailand, Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova, who appeared on the cover of 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, was injured and her photographer boyfriend Simon Atlee was missing, Atlee's agent said.

So far, more than 80 Westerners have been confirmed dead across the region - including 11 Americans. But a British consulate official in Thailand warned that hundreds more foreign tourists were likely killed in the country's resorts.

Sunday's massive quake of 9.0 magnitude off the Indonesian island of Sumatra sent 500-mph waves surging across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal in the deadliest known tsunami since the one that devastated the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in 1755 and killed an estimated 60,000 people.

Amid the devastation, however, were some miraculous stories of survival. In Malaysia, a 20-day-old baby was found alive on a floating mattress. She and her family were later reunited. A Hong Kong couple vacationing in Thailand clung to a mattress for six hours.

In Sri Lanka, more than 300 people crammed into the Infant Jesus Church at Orrs Hill, located on high ground from their ravaged fishing villages. Families and childres slept on pews and the cement floor.

''We had never seen the sea looking like that. It was like as if a calm sea had suddenly become a raging monster,'' said one woman, Haalima, recalling the giant wave that swept away her 5-year-old grandson, Adil.

How to Help



Getty Images



Network for Good links you to organizations that are helping the disaster victims.
· Here's What You Can Do


Adil was making sandcastles with his younger sister, Reeze, while Haalima sat
in her home Sunday morning. Haalima said the girl ran to her complaining that
waves had crushed their castles, then came screams and water entered the
home. ''When we looked, there was no shore anymore and no Adil,'' she said.

Death was so widespread in Sri Lanka that the government waived rules
requiring an autopsy before burial. In Muslim villages in the east of the otherwise
Buddhist-dominated island, some survivors, lacking shovels, used giant iron
forks used for communal cooking and their hands to scrape out graves for several
dozen victims, half of them children.

''The toll is going up and I will not be surprised it reaches 20,000 to
25,000,'' said Nimal Hettiarchchi, director of Sri Lanka's National Disaster
Management Center.

Relief workers warned that survivors could face outbreaks of disease,
including malaria and cholera. ''Our biggest fear at the moment is the shortage of
drinking water,'' said Janaka Gunewardene, a director at Sri Lanka's disaster
management center, adding that waterways and well across Sri Lanka's northern,
eastern and southern coasts were contaminated, said.

A new danger emerged Tuesday: the floods uprooted land mines in Sri Lanka - a
nation torn by a decades-old war with Tamil separatists in the north. The
mines now threatened aid workers and survivors, UNICEF said.

The first international deliveries of food were being delivered to ravaged
areas, as humanitarian agencies - accustomed to disasters in one or two
countries at time - tried to organize to help on an unprecedented geographic scale,
across 11 nations.

The disaster could be history's costliest, with ''many billions of dollars''
of damage, said U.N. Undersecretary Jan Egeland, who is in charge of emergency
relief coordination.

A dozen trucks loaded with more than 160 tons of rice, lentils and sugar sent
by the U.N. World Food Progam, left Tuesday from Colombo for Sri Lanka's
southern and eastern coasts, and a second shipment was planned for overnight.

UNICEF officials said about 175 tons of rice arrived in Banda Aceh,
Indonesia, and six tons of medical supplies were to arrive by Thursday. Helicopters in
India rushed medicine to stricken areas. In Sri Lanka, the Health Ministry
dispatched 300 physicians to the disaster zone by helicopter.
 

HOW TO HELP

* To find out how to donate to World Vision, visit www.worldvision.org or call 888-562-4453.

* To find out about supporting Northwest Medical Teams, call
800-959-4325 or visit www.nwmedicalteams.org

* To make a donation to Mercy Corps, go to www.mercycorps.org

* Also accepting donations is Seattle-based World Concerns, which plans to provide water, sanitation and shelter in Thailand. Visit www.worldconcern.org

* My favorite for all crises is www.Oxfam.org. Effective, and smart use of money.

----------------------------------------------------------

For an updated list of disaster contacts, go to this URL:

http://voteowens.com/news/newsitem.php?section=ACM&id=2672&showcat=3&seq=6




Chris Owens
718-783-2347
chris@voteowens.com
www.voteowens.com
"A thinking people is a powerful people."

The politics of shopping

With the holidays upon us, some of us might wish to be mindful of whom we patronize relative to their 2000 Election Cycle political donations, as reported by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Shopping:
* Price Club/Costco donated $225K, of which 99% went to democrats;
WalMart, $467K, 97% to republicans;
K-Mart, $524K, 86% to republicans;
Home Depot, $298K, 89% to republicans;
Target, $226K, 70% to republicans;
Circuit City Stores, $261K, 95% to republicans;
Rite Aid, $517K, 60% to democrats;
Magla Products (Stanley tools, Mr. Clean), $22K, 100% to democrat
3M Co., $281K, 87% to republicans;
Hallmark Cards, $319K, 92% to republicans;
Amway, $391K, 100% republican;
Kohler Co. (plumbing fixtures), $283K, 100% republicans;
Warnaco (undergarments), $55K, 73% to democrats;
B.F. Goodrich (tires), $215K, 97% to republicans;
Proctor &Gamble, $243K, 79% to republicans;
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, $153K, 99% to democrats;
Estee Lauder, $448K, 95% to democrats;
Guess ? Inc., $145K, 98% to democrats;
Calvin Klein, $78K, 100% to democrats;
Liz Claiborne, Inc., $34K, 97% to democrats;
Levi Straus, $26K, 97% to democrats;
Olan Mills, $175K, 99% to democrats.

Spirits:
Coors, $174K, 92% to republicans; (also Budweiser - sd)
Gallo Winery, $337K, 95% to democrats;
Brown-Forman Corp. (Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Bushmills, Korbel wines - as well as Lennox China, Dansk, Gorham Silver), $644K, 80% to republicans;
Southern Wine &Spirits, $213K, 73% to democrats;
Joseph E. Seagrams &Sons (includes beverage business, plus considerable media interests), $2M+, 67% democratic;


Restaurants/food companies:
Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (chicken), $366K, 100% republican;
Outback Steakhouse, $641K, 95% republican;
Sonic Corporation, $83K, 98% democrat;
Tricon Global Restaurants (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), $133K, 87% republican;
Brinker International (Maggiano's, Brinker Cafe, Chili's, On the
Border, Macaroni Grill, Crazymel's, Corner Baker, EatZis), $242K, 83%
republican;
Triarc Companies (Arby's, T.J. Cinnamon's, Pasta Connections), $112K,
96% democrats;
Waffle House, $279K, 100% republican;
McDonald's Corp., $197K, 86% republican;
Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, Bahama Breeze), $121K, 89% republican;


Hotels:
Hyatt Corporation, $187K, 80% to democrats;
Mariott International, $323K, 81% to republicans;
Holiday Inns, $38K, 71% to republicans.

Choose Blue
Shop locally and shop BLUE

Use the US Post Office, not Fedex or UPS
Use the corner hardware store -- Home Depot is a huge contributer to the GOP.


Please send to like-minded friends and urge them to draw a line in the sand. 80% of annual! You can make a difference how retail business is done in the next three weeks!



M. Kathryn Langworthy
Divisional Manager for Educational Administration
Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10460-1099
718-220-5131
718-220-7968 (direct line)
 

FDA Approves Computer Chip For Humans
Oct 13, 2004
By DIEDTRA HENDERSON, Technology - AP


WASHINGTON - Medical milestone or privacy invasion? A tiny computer chip approved Wednesday for implantation in a patient's arm can speed vital information about a patient's medical history to doctors and hospitals. But critics warn that it could open new ways to imperil the confidentiality of medical records.

The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) said Wednesday that Applied Digital Solutions of Delray Beach, Fla., could market the VeriChip, an implantable computer chip about the size of a grain of rice, for medical purposes.

The news pleased investors. On Wednesday, Applied Digital shares were up $1.45, or 68.4 percent, at $3.57 on the Nasdaq Stock Market — near the middle of their 52-week range of $1.94 to $5.

With the pinch of a syringe, the microchip is inserted under the skin in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and leaves no stitches. Silently and invisibly, the dormant chip stores a code that releases patient-specific information when a scanner passes over it.

Think UPC code. The identifier, emblazoned on a food item, brings up its name and price on the cashier's screen. At the doctor's office the codes stamped onto chips, once scanned, would reveal such information as a patient's allergies and prior treatments, speeding care.

The microchips have already been implanted in 1 million pets. But the chip's possible dual use for tracking people's movements — as well as speeding delivery of their medical information to emergency rooms — has raised alarm.

"If privacy protections aren't built in at the outset, there could be harmful consequences for patients," said Emily Stewart, a policy analyst at the Health Privacy Project.

To protect patient privacy, the devices should reveal only vital medical information, like blood type and allergic reactions, needed for health care workers to do their jobs, Stewart said.

An information technology guru at Detroit Medical Center, however, sees the benefits of the devices and will lobby for his center's inclusion in a VeriChip pilot program.

"One of the big problems in health care has been the medical records situation. So much of it is still on paper," said David Ellis, the center's chief futurist and co-founder of the Michigan Electronic Medical Records Initiative.

As "medically mobile" patients visit specialists for care, their records fragment on computer systems that don't talk to each other.

"It's part of the future of medicine to have these kinds of technologies that make life simpler for the patient," Ellis said. Pushing for the strongest encryption algorithms to ensure hackers can't nab medical data as information transfers from chip to reader to secure database, will help address privacy concerns, he said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (news - web sites) on Wednesday announced $139 million in grants to help make real President Bush (news - web sites)'s push for electronic health records for most Americans within a decade.

William A. Pierce, an HHS spokesman, could not say whether VeriChip and its accompanying secure database of medical records fit within that initiative.

"Exactly what those technologies are is still to be sorted out," Pierce said. "It all has to respect and comport with the privacy rules."

Applied Digital gave away scanners to a few hundred animal shelters and veterinary clinics when it first entered the pet market 15 years ago. Now, 50,000 such scanners have been sold.

To kickstart the chip's use among humans, Applied Digital will provide $650 scanners for free at 200 of the nation's trauma centers.

In pets, installing the chip runs about $50. For humans, the chip implantation cost would be $150 to $200, said Angela Fulcher, an Applied Digital spokeswoman.

Fulcher could not say whether the cost of data storage and encrypted transmission of medical information would be passed to providers.

Ultimately, the company hopes patients who suffer from such ailments as diabetes and Alzheimer's or who undergo complex treatments, like chemotherapy, would have chips implanted. If the procedure proves as popular for use in humans as in pets, that could mean up to 1 million chips implanted in people.

The company's chief executive officer, Scott R. Silverman, is one of a half dozen executives who had chips implanted. Silverman said chips implanted for medical uses could also be used for security purposes, like tracking employee movement through nuclear power plants.

Such security uses are rare in the United States.

Meanwhile, the chip has been used for pure whimsy: Club hoppers in Barcelona, Spain, now use the microchip to enter a VIP area and, through links to a different database, speed payment much like a smartcard.

On the Net:
VeriChip: http://www.4verichip.com/index.htm
HHS: http://www.hhs.gov/
 

The Government Won’t Let Us Bring Darfur Witnesses Here

So We Want to Bring the Cameras to Them

To focus the media’s attention on this, and really put the heat on the President, we tried to bring some witnesses from Darfur to the United States as “Refugee Ambassadors,” but the State Department wouldn’t issue them any visas.  One employee actually defended the State Department’s position by saying that some of the refugees might be terrorists.  If it wasn’t so tragic it would be funny.

Well, if the government won’t let us bring witnesses to the media, we’ll bring the media to the witnesses.  Working with our friends at FaithfulAmerica.org, we have created a plan to send a camera crew, complete with a satellite uplink, directly into the refugee camps on the Chad/Sudan border.  From there we’d be able to get witnesses, aid workers, and human rights activists directly onto talk shows here in the States.  We’d also be able to have local experts appear in the studios, to comment on how our government can stop this.

Now we just need to raise the money to pay for this project.  We figure the cost, including crew, equipment, and satellite time, will be about $45,000.  If we raise any additional money, we’ll use it to continue pressing the government to do the right thing in other ways, such as an ad campaign.  But first we need to get the crew over there.

To help send a camera crew with a satellite uplink to the Darfur refugees, click here and give whatever you can:

http://truemajority.kintera.org/darfurdonation

We are all doing what we can to stop the genocide.  TrueMajority founder, Ben Cohen, was even arrested at a protest in front of the Sudanese embassy.  Now please do whatever you can.

Thanks for helping,

Andrew Greenblatt,

Online Organizer

Here is some background on what is going on in Darfur:

Over the last several months, a government-backed Arab militia in Sudan, called the Janjuweed, has been attacking black Africans.  The Janjuweed tactics are crude, but effective.  They enter a village and use terror to force everyone to leave their homes and crops.  Entire populations have fled to distant camps in the middle of desolate areas.  These desert camps are now surrounded and controlled by the Janjuweed, and anyone who tries to leave is raped or killed.  Unarmed international aid workers are turned away.  A total of 370,000 human beings are already dead, or in the late stages of dying, from starvation in these extermination camps.  The death toll could reach one million within the next few months.

Time is our greatest enemy.  Every day one thousand people are dying in these camps.  Currently, starvation is claiming the weakest—70 percent of the dead are children aged five and under.  As time goes on, the death toll will rise more quickly.  The United States needs to ensure that food aid is brought to the people of Darfur, along with the protection of an international military force.  Both houses of Congress have already passed resolutions calling this “genocide”, and have called on the President to act to stop it.  The problem is that the Bush administration is unwilling to take the decisive action needed to make sure that the food aid is safely delivered to those who need it most.  Instead, they are calling on the corrupt Sudanese government to disarm their allies, the Janjuweed, and allow food aid in.  To pressure the Sudanese government, the Bush administration is talking about using sanctions, a process that will take months—long enough to kill everyone currently starving in the camps.  That is why it is crucial that President Bush act now.

You can learn more at www.darfurgenocide.org.

                        DR. MALACHI Z YORK

Facing the Copyright Rap  Associated Press
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64884,00.html

1

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that rap artists should pay for every
musical sample included in their work - even minor, unrecognizable snippets
of music.

Lower courts had already ruled that artists must pay when they sample
another artists' work. But it has been legal to use musical snippets - a
note here, a chord there - as long as it wasn't identifiable.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati gets rid of that distinction. The court said federal laws aimed
at stopping piracy of recordings applies to digital sampling.

"If you cannot pirate the whole sound recording, can you 'lift' or 'sample'
something less than the whole? Our answer to that question is in the
negative," the court said.

"Get a license or do not sample. We do not see this as stifling creativity
in any significant way."

Some observers questioned whether the court's opinion is too restrictive,
especially for rap and hip-hop artists who often rhyme over samples of music
taken from older recordings.

"It seems a little extreme to me," said James Van Hook, dean of Belmont
University's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. "When
something is identifiable, that is the key."

The case at issue is one of at least 800 lawsuits filed in Nashville over
lifting snippets of music from older recordings for new music.

The case centers on the NWA song "100 Miles and Runnin," which samples a
three-note guitar riff from "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by '70s funk-master
George Clinton and Funkadelic.

In the two-second sample, the guitar pitch has been lowered, and the copied
piece was "looped" and extended to 16 beats. The sample appears five times
in the new song.

NWA's song was included in the 1998 movie "I Got the Hook Up," starring
Master P and produced by his movie company, No Limit Films.

No Limit Films has argued that the sample was not protected by copyright
law. Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records, which claim to own the
copyrights for the Funkadelic song, appealed the lower court's summary
judgment in favor of No Limit Films.

The lower court in 2002 said that the riff in Clinton's song was entitled to
copyright protection, but the sampling "did not rise to the level of legally
cognizable appropriation."

The appeals court disagreed, saying a recording artist who acknowledges
sampling may be liable, even when the source of a sample is unrecognizable.

Noting that No Limit Films "had not disputed that it digitally sampled a
copyrighted sound recording," the appeals court sent the case back to the
lower court.

Richard Busch, attorney for Westbound Records and Bridgeport Music, said he
was pleased with the ruling.

Robert Sullivan, attorney for No Limit Films, did not return a phone call to
his office.

 

Be informed!!!!!

Subject: Tom Joyner

Forwarded for your information.


Tom Joyner wants this information to reach his listeners...
You have probably heard of "NUD" as a result of the Tom
Joyner morning show related to CompUSA. NUD is the acronym
for a very subtle and little-known marketing term
specifically directed toward people of color.

NUD stands for Non Urban Dictate. These three words
essentially mean that a company is not interested in the
Black consumer. A NUD label means that a company does not
want their marketing and advertising materials placed in
media that claim an urban audience (black folks) as their
main target.

There are legitimate reasons for companies not using urban
radio. It may be that Blacks don't index high in certain
categories or that a company's strategy is to market to the
Black consumer down the road after they have established ! a
strong position in their primary target.

But NUD usually means that a company is not interested in the
Black consumer. Companies evade discrimination liability by
embracing it as theory rather than policy. As a service to
Black consumers, the Urban Institute will list all companies
that have a NUD policy. Armed with this information, we feel
that Black consumers will be able to make informed buying
decisions.

Companies with NUD policies:
a. Starbucks
b. Jos. A Bank
c. CompUSA
d. Weight Watchers
e. Keebler
f. Life Savers
g. Continental Airlines
h. Northwest Airlines
i. America West Airlines
j. HBO - Apollo Series
k. Paternal Importers
l. Calico Corners
m. OM Scott
n. Pepperidge Farms
o. Ethan Allen
p. Busy Body Fitness
q. Mondavi Wines
r. Builders Square
s. Don Pablo
t. Lexus
u. Aruba Tourism
v. Ciba Vision
w. Kindercare
x. Grady Restaurant
y. Eddie Bauer
Please forward this information on to any other consumer that
you consider a friend and advise them to do likewise.
Remember, we can't act wisely unless we are informed wisely.
The Urban Institute
2100 M Street, NW.
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 833-7200

"The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people"
African Proverb.





 

CYBER FEARS ON FED'S WEB PLAN
By HILARY KRAMER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 15, 2004 -- With little fanfare, the Federal Reserve will begin transferring the nation's money supply over an Internet-based system this month - a move critics say could open the U.S.'s banking system to cyber threats.
The Fed moves about $1.8 trillion a day on a closed, stand-alone computer network. But soon it will switch to a system called FedLine Advantage, a Web-based technology.

Proponents say the system is more efficient and flexible. The current system is outdated, using DOS - Microsoft's predecessor to the Windows operating system.

But security experts say the threat of outside access is too big a risk.

"The Fed is now going to be vulnerable in two distinct ways. A hacker could break in to the Fed's network and have full access to the system, or a hacker might not have complete access but enough to cause a denial or disruptions of service," said George Kurtz, co-author of "Hacking Exposed" and CEO of Foundstone, an Internet security company.

"If a security breach strikes the very heart of the financial world and money stops moving around, then our financial system will literally start to collapse and chaos will ensue."

FedLine is expected to move massive amounts of money. Currently, Fedwire transfers large-dollar payments averaging $3.5 million per transaction among Federal Reserve offices, financial institutions and federal government agencies.



Patti Lorenzen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Reserve, said the agency is taking every precaution.

"Of course, we will not discuss the specifics of our security measures for obvious reasons," she said. "We feel confident that this system adheres to the highest standards of security. Without disclosing the specifics, it is important to note that our security controls include authentication, encryption, firewalls, intru sion detection and Federal Reserve conducted reviews."

Ron Gula, president of Tenable Network Security and a specialist in government cyber security, said he's sure the Fed is taking every precaution. But no system is 100 percent foolproof.

"If the motive was to manipulate the money transferring, there are Tom Clancy scenarios where there are ways to subvert underlying technologies," Gula said. "For example, a malicious programmer can put something in the Fed's network to cause the system to self-destruct or to wire them money."

The biggest concern isn't the 13-year-old who hacks into the Fedwire and sends himself some money - it's terrorism.

On July 22, the Department of Homeland Security released an internal report saying a cyber attack could result in "widespread disruption of essential services ... damag(ing) our economy and put(ting) public safety at risk."

But the Fed's undertaking of this massive overhaul is considered a necessity.

"Our strategy is to move to Web-based technology because there are inherent limitations with DOS based technology and our goal is to provide better and robust product offerings to meet our customers' needs," said Laura Hughes, vice president of national marketing at the Chicago Fed, which has spearheaded this program.


The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

KISS YOUR INTERNET GOOD-BYE

By Servando González

NewsWithViews.com

In a short, but forceful article, Peter Sparacino pointed out that constitutional tools are no longer valid in our losing battle against a government out of control, rapidly becoming a totalitarian dictatorship. According to Sparacino, neither the ballot box, nor the jury box can be used to stop its advances -- not even the cartridge box. The only thing left to fight back, he states, is freedom of the press.

But, as media critic A.J. Liebling rightly expressed, freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. Though in theory the opportunity to own his own printing press was open to every American citizen, in practice just a few, and lately only the very rich and powerful, were able to own one.

Granted, the media monopoly was never total, and many small presses proliferated, but the big ones, later joined by the network TV channels, just played the game, giving the false image of independent thinking. But suddenly, less than ten years ago, a technological breakthrough changed the rules of the game in a radical way, bringing about what media guru Marshal McLuhan envisioned more than thirty years ago: the global village. This revolutionary new medium is the Internet.

The Internet is a totally new type of communication medium that has changed our lives. It allows for easy, fast, and cheap exchange of ideas in an optimum way. Thanks to the Internet, owning your own press is as cheap as $20 a month. Almost anybody can afford it.

As soon as the people realized the power of the tool they had in their hands, many began using the Internet not only to gather the information they wanted, but also to become themselves providers of information. Sites offering the most surprising, contradictory, interesting, and useful information mushroomed, soon to be followed by many offering not-so-useful, in-your-face, sometimes disgusting or plainly gross content. But, even with its nasty aspects, the Internet radically changed the way most of us get the daily news.

Initially, the powerful media giants, both in printed and TV form, ignored the Internet as a curiosity or a passing fad. But sites like the Drudge Report, NewsMax, or WorldNetDaily, just to mention a few of the most successful, soon began attracting more and more readers, while newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times began losing theirs. Soon after, the big TV networks experimented their own dramatic loss of viewers.

Faced with the strong, unexpected competition, the media giants joined the Internet bandwagon, but they were in for a big surprise. Contrary to the traditional printed media and TV, where money plays a cardinal role -- only the very rich can afford to hire the qualified personnel and promote and market the product -- the Internet seems to be a pure product of the human intellect. As the extraordinary success of the Drudge Report indicates, most people don't visit a site because it has a fancy design or is professionally made, but because it is a place where they can find provoking, non-mainstream ideas that make them think; exactly the type of thinking they were not able to find in the orchestrated, self-censored mainstream media. Consequently, a site made by a housewife right from her kitchen in Hot Springs, Arkansas, or by an almost unknown journalist from his home office in Oregon or Florida, can compete on equal footing with the New York Times. This is exactly how extraordinarily successful sites like the Drudge Report and WorldNetDaily were born. Like the Colt .44 in the Old West, the Internet became the great equalizer.

But the people who control the media monopoly were not going to see their power challenged without a fight. After their initial skepticism and scorn, and their failed attempts to extend their media monopoly to the Internet, they began a subtle process of infiltration. For example, I was surprised when, in June, 2001, the notorious Alexander Haig Jr. joined NewsMax's advisory board. It is probably only a coincidence, but lately NewsMax has become a sort of mouthpiece for the Republican Party and an uncritical provider of the Bush administration's propaganda. Its most recent no-brainer is a "boycott France" campaign. I stopped visiting the site several weeks ago. On the other hand, if only half of what I found in this article is true, perhaps NewsMax's problems have deeper roots than I thought.

There is a saying in Latin America: "A los periodistas se les paga o se les pega." ("Journalists: you buy them or you hit them.") I don't think it is much different here. I expect that after some unsuccessful attempts to derail some of the most successful sites, just to bring an example, the media powers will try to buy them. But, even though I don't think it would be easy for them to do it, and they may resort to strong arm tactics, the bottom line is that, because of its inherent characteristics -- the Internet is an off-shoot of the Arpanet, a military communications decentralized nodular network designed to survive a full scale nuclear attack on the U.S. -- the Internet is uncontrollable. It is a Hydra of innumerable heads.

They can keep buying and coercing people and eventually may get control over the most successful Internet sites, but other people will come forward, and their sites will rapidly become extremely successful. The attempts of the media monopolists to control the Internet the way they managed to get control of the printed press, the TV channels, and, most recently, am radio, will never be successful. Currently, they are extremely concerned about such a powerful tool in the hands of the American people. The Internet has become a growing obstacle to their plans.

Therefore, what will they do? Very simple: They will destroy it. The only solution to solve the Internet's growing challenge to the media monopoly is to shut it down and throw the key away.

How it will happen? One of these days, out of the blue, the Internet will be used for launching a devastating terrorist attack on the United States. Somehow, this cyberattack will cost the lives of scores of American citizens. In order to avoid more damage, the government, putting to good use the recently approved anti-terrorist laws, will shut the Internet down and ban the use of the Internet as we know it.

But most government agencies rely heavily on the Internet. How can they function without it? No problem. The replacement already exists; it is called Internet 2, reportedly a consortium being led by more than 200 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. But, contrary to the deceptive techno-babbling rhetoric, Internet 2 is nothing more than a controlled Internet, similar to the one currently in place in totalitarian countries like China and Cuba.

Internet 2 will be fully controlled by the state. In order to access it, or to have e-mail access, you must be a member of, or be affiliated to, any of the government-authorized organizations and have a sort of security clearance. Internet 2 will be out of the reach of the general public, and every person trying to have unauthorized access to Internet 2 will be charged with terrorist activities, and severely penalized

The unavoidable fact is that the Internet is incompatible with a totalitarian system of government. Therefore, either we are a bunch of delusionary paranoids, and what we see happening in this country is only a figment of our feverished imagination, and, consequently, the Internet will not be banned, or we are right, and it will disappear. Actually, the disappearance of the current free Internet will serve as a litmus test that will accurately mark our final loss of freedom.

The banning of the Internet, the cancellation of the Second Amendment rights, and the closing of our borders -- not to stop illegals from entering the country, but to stop Americans from fleeing it -- in exactly that order, will be important steps in the implementation of this evil plan.

In the meantime, hope for the best, and enjoy the Internet while you can.

© 2003 Servando González - All Rights Reserved