Call for Anti-War Movement to Support May Day 2007
Dear sisters and brothers,
The struggle for immigrant workers' rights needs your active participation and solidarity. Remember May 1, 2006? Millions of immigrant workers from coast to coast walked off their jobs and rallied in just about every major city to demand full rights for undocumented workers.
The same thing is planned for May 1, or "May Day" 2007. Many of you who are reading this appeal probably have a good idea of why it's important for you as anti-war activists to be involved in the movement for immigrant workers' rights. Even so it's worth reviewing just a little.
To begin with, while we march against the war in Iraq, it's absolutely critical that we march against the war on the people right here at home. The level of institutional racism on the part of the capitalist system and government that resulted in massive death and continued suffering in New Orleans is part of a "war at home." So are the police murders of 23-year -old Sean Bell in New York City and 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in Atlanta several months ago.
When it comes to the government anti-immigrant raids that go on daily, calling it a war is no metaphor. No other word could describe it more accurately. Thousands of immigrant workers have been arrested over the past year alone. On the morning of March 6, an army of hundreds of heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI agents raided a leather factory in New Bedford, Mass., arresting and terrorizing 350 workers, many of them women whose children were suddenly left stranded. It's time that we UNITE and show by our actions that we are as angry about these raids as we are about the war in Iraq. When we do that, we are truly connecting the struggles against the war abroad and the war at home.
The main weapon that the government and the capitalist media are using to try to deter more people of all nationalities and races from demanding an end to these raids is anti-immigrant racism. When immigrants rally for their rights, and you look out at many of the big immigrant rights rallies and see a tremendous sea of people - including, however, very few people who are either white, or whom you usually might see at a big anti-war march - that's a sign that the divide and conquer with racism strategy is being used.
On May Day 2007, it is up to us to make sure that the anti-war movement shows up to stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with immigrant workers against these terrorist raids.
Another point is that it's so important that immigrant workers have chosen May Day as the day to boycott work and rally for their rights across the country. May Day is the day the workers in every part of the world rally and march to show their solidarity with the struggle of all workers everywhere. Even though May Day was born in the working class struggles of the 19th century right here in the U.S., up until recently May Day has not been widely observed in this country. But all of that's changing, in large part because immigrant workers are bringing May Day back to the U.S., along with its message of worldwide working-class unity and militancy and anti-racist, anti-imperialist and anti-war solidarity.
The anti-war movement must get behind May Day 2007 and build for it with the same passion and energy that we put into anti-war marches. If we do that, we will not only be solidarizing ourselves with immigrant workers, we will be helping to revive worldwide working-class solidarity in the country where it is most needed.
Anti-war movement- all out for May Day '07!
Signed by,
LeiLani Dowell, Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST)
Teresa Gutierrez, May 1 Coalition, New York City
Larry Holmes, Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC)
John Parker, March 25 Coalition, Los Angeles
Join us this May Day to STAND UP for Immigrants & ALL Workers Rights!
National May 1st Movement for Workers & Immigrants Rights
Charlotte May 1st Movement for Workers & Immigrants Rights
www.may1charlotte.info
may1charlotte@gmail.com
704.492.8527
Also see:
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
Racism & Brutality Exposed in Traffic Stops
Minorities fare worse in traffic stops
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Apr 29, 5:33 PM ET
Black, Hispanic and white drivers are equally likely to be pulled over by police, but blacks and Hispanics are much more likely to be searched and arrested, a federal study found.
Police were much more likely to threaten or use force against blacks and Hispanics than against whites in any encounter, whether at a traffic stop or elsewhere, according to the Justice Department.
The study, released Sunday by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, covered police contacts with the public during 2005 and was based on interviews by the Census Bureau with nearly 64,000 people age 16 or over.
"The numbers are very consistent" with those found in a similar study of police-public contacts in 2002, bureau statistician Matthew R. Durose, the report's co-author, said in an interview. "There's some stability in the findings over these three years."
Traffic stops have become a politically volatile issue. Minority groups have complained that many stops and searches are based on race rather than on legitimate suspicions. Blacks in particular have complained of being pulled over for simply "driving while black."
"The available data is sketchy but deeply concerning," said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau. The civil rights organization has done its own surveys of traffic stops, and he said the racial disparities grow larger, the deeper the studies delve.
"It's very important to look at the hit rates for searches — the number that actually result in finding a crime," Shelton said. "There's a great deal of racial disparity there." He called for federal legislation that would collect uniform data by race on stops, arrests, use of force, searches and hit rates.
"This report shows there are still disturbing disparities in terms of what happens to people of color after the stop," said Dennis Parker, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's racial justice project. He also said better reporting is needed.
Like the 2002 report, this one contained a warning that the racial disparities uncovered "do not constitute proof that police treat people differently along demographic lines" because the differences could be explained by circumstances not analyzed by the survey. The 2002 report said such circumstances might include driver conduct or whether drugs were in plain view.
Traffic stops are the most frequent way police interact with the public, accounting for 41 percent of all contacts. An estimated 17.8 million drivers were stopped in 2005.
Black, Hispanic and white motorists were equally likely to be pulled over by police — between 8 percent and 9 percent of each group. The slight decline in blacks pulled over — from 9.2 percent in 2002 to 8.1 percent in 2005 — was not statistically significant, Durose said, and could be the result of random differences.
The racial disparities showed up after that point:
_Blacks (9.5 percent) and Hispanics (8.8 percent) were much more likely to be searched than whites (3.6 percent). There were slight but statistically insignificant declines compared with the 2002 report in the percentages of blacks and Hispanics searched.
_Blacks (4.5 percent) were more than twice as likely as whites (2.1 percent) to be arrested. Hispanic drivers were arrested 3.1 percent of the time.
Among all police-public contacts, force was used 1.6 percent of the time. But blacks (4.4 percent) and Hispanics (2.3 percent) were more likely than whites (1.2 percent) to be subjected to force or the threat of force by police officers.
People interviewed described police hitting, kicking, pushing, grabbing, pointing a gun or spraying pepper spray at them or threatening to do so. More than four of five felt the force used was excessive, but there were no statistically significant racial disparities among the people who felt that way.
Two years ago, the Bush administration's handling of the 2002 report and its finding of racial disparities generated considerable controversy.
Departing from normal practice, the earlier report was simply posted on the statistics bureau's Web site without any press release announcing it.
The bureau's director at the time, Lawrence A. Greenfeld, appointed by President Bush in 2001, wanted to publicize the racial disparities, but his superiors disagreed, according to a statistics bureau employee. Greenfeld told his staff he was being moved to a new job following the dispute, according to this employee, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
This time there was a press release.
___
On the Net:
Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Apr 29, 5:33 PM ET
Black, Hispanic and white drivers are equally likely to be pulled over by police, but blacks and Hispanics are much more likely to be searched and arrested, a federal study found.
Police were much more likely to threaten or use force against blacks and Hispanics than against whites in any encounter, whether at a traffic stop or elsewhere, according to the Justice Department.
The study, released Sunday by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, covered police contacts with the public during 2005 and was based on interviews by the Census Bureau with nearly 64,000 people age 16 or over.
"The numbers are very consistent" with those found in a similar study of police-public contacts in 2002, bureau statistician Matthew R. Durose, the report's co-author, said in an interview. "There's some stability in the findings over these three years."
Traffic stops have become a politically volatile issue. Minority groups have complained that many stops and searches are based on race rather than on legitimate suspicions. Blacks in particular have complained of being pulled over for simply "driving while black."
"The available data is sketchy but deeply concerning," said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau. The civil rights organization has done its own surveys of traffic stops, and he said the racial disparities grow larger, the deeper the studies delve.
"It's very important to look at the hit rates for searches — the number that actually result in finding a crime," Shelton said. "There's a great deal of racial disparity there." He called for federal legislation that would collect uniform data by race on stops, arrests, use of force, searches and hit rates.
"This report shows there are still disturbing disparities in terms of what happens to people of color after the stop," said Dennis Parker, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's racial justice project. He also said better reporting is needed.
Like the 2002 report, this one contained a warning that the racial disparities uncovered "do not constitute proof that police treat people differently along demographic lines" because the differences could be explained by circumstances not analyzed by the survey. The 2002 report said such circumstances might include driver conduct or whether drugs were in plain view.
Traffic stops are the most frequent way police interact with the public, accounting for 41 percent of all contacts. An estimated 17.8 million drivers were stopped in 2005.
Black, Hispanic and white motorists were equally likely to be pulled over by police — between 8 percent and 9 percent of each group. The slight decline in blacks pulled over — from 9.2 percent in 2002 to 8.1 percent in 2005 — was not statistically significant, Durose said, and could be the result of random differences.
The racial disparities showed up after that point:
_Blacks (9.5 percent) and Hispanics (8.8 percent) were much more likely to be searched than whites (3.6 percent). There were slight but statistically insignificant declines compared with the 2002 report in the percentages of blacks and Hispanics searched.
_Blacks (4.5 percent) were more than twice as likely as whites (2.1 percent) to be arrested. Hispanic drivers were arrested 3.1 percent of the time.
Among all police-public contacts, force was used 1.6 percent of the time. But blacks (4.4 percent) and Hispanics (2.3 percent) were more likely than whites (1.2 percent) to be subjected to force or the threat of force by police officers.
People interviewed described police hitting, kicking, pushing, grabbing, pointing a gun or spraying pepper spray at them or threatening to do so. More than four of five felt the force used was excessive, but there were no statistically significant racial disparities among the people who felt that way.
Two years ago, the Bush administration's handling of the 2002 report and its finding of racial disparities generated considerable controversy.
Departing from normal practice, the earlier report was simply posted on the statistics bureau's Web site without any press release announcing it.
The bureau's director at the time, Lawrence A. Greenfeld, appointed by President Bush in 2001, wanted to publicize the racial disparities, but his superiors disagreed, according to a statistics bureau employee. Greenfeld told his staff he was being moved to a new job following the dispute, according to this employee, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
This time there was a press release.
___
On the Net:
Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Report on Charlotte Impeachment Day Rally
Charlotte, NC
The People Say Impeach Bush & Cheney NOW
by David Dixon
Some 25 people gathered at a busy intersection near Rep. Sue Myrick's office in the upscale Southpark area of Charlotte calling for the impeachment of President Bush & Vice President Cheney.
There was an overwhelming amount of support from passersby honking in response to a "Honk to Impeach Bush & Cheney" sign. It was incredible with the whole area being filled with honking horns and cheers of support at times throughout the rally. Almost every single person showed suppor by smiling, waving and flashing peace signs & raised fists. Even little kids were flashing peace signs at us.
We had the huge, bright pink CODEPINK "Impeach to Support Our Troops" banner covering a corner of the intersection. In addition to "Impeach Bush & Cheney Signs", others said "Impeach for Peace", one read "Impeach or Get 1776 Again" (referring to the founding revolution) and many more.
The demonstration was part of the April 28 National Impeachment Day actions (see http://www.a28.org/). It was called for in Charlotte by Action Center For Justice with participation from CODEPINK Charlotte, Charlotte Coalition For Peace & Justice, & the Islamic Political Party of America.
The event was ignored by the press, except for the local Fox affiliate, even though they were notified twice about the event.
Impeachment actions will continue in Charlotte with an upcoming Impeachment Teach-In featuring a leader of the national impeachment movement & a Mass Regional Rally featuring Gold Star Families For Peace, Iraq Vetarans Against The War, Veterans For Peace, World Can't Wait, Troops Out Now Coalition, national & regional Impeachment Movement leaders, & many others that will kick off the Charlotte Impeachment Summer Campaign.
For more information & to get involved contact Action Center For Justice at 704.492.8527 or see http://www.charlotteaction.org/.
Oct 18, 2006 Rally Against Bush in Greensboro(photo CODEPINK Charlotte)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
http://www.may19.info/
April 28 Forum on Ending Israeli Occupation
Forum with Ashley Wilkinson on Ending Israeli Occupation
When: Saturday, April 28th at
Ashley recently returned from
To read some of her journals from her time in
http://www2.blogger.com/www.ashleyinbethlehem.blogspot.com
In order to commemorate this anniversary, the
capital and give a clear message to our government: The World
ElBaradei: Iran Not an Immediate Nuclear Threat
ElBaradei: Iran Not an Immediate Nuclear Threat
Reuters
Reuters
Tuesday 30 May 2006
Monterey, California - Iran does not pose an immediate nuclear threat and the world must act cautiously to avoid repeating mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said on Tuesday.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the world shouldn't "jump the gun" with erroneous information as he said the U.S.-led coalition did in Iraq in 2003, nor should it push the country into retaliation as international sanctions did in North Korea.
"Our assessment is that there is no immediate threat," the winner of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize told a forum organized by the Monterey Institute of International Studies south of San Francisco. "We still have lots of time to investigate."
"You look around in the Middle East right now and it's a total mess," he said. ""You can not add oil to that fire."
The recent violent history in Iraq bears an important lesson for diplomacy with neighboring Iran, the diplomat said. "We should not jump the gun. We should be very careful about assessing the information available to us," he said.
The Bush administration led a coalition into Iraq in 2003 saying President Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found.
"I ask myself every day if that's the way we want to go in getting rid of every single dictator," ElBaradei said.
While it was unclear whether Iran ultimately intended to redirect its development of nuclear power into a weapons system, it was clear there was no danger of that right now, he said.
The five U.N. Security Council permanent powers and Germany, trying to curb Tehran's nuclear program, are planning to meet in Vienna on Thursday to try to finalize a package of incentives for Iran to halt uranium enrichment along with penalties if it keeps defying international pressure.
ElBaradei said he believed a majority in the Iranian leadership was still interested in a negotiated solution and normal relations with the world. The United States is pressing for tough U.N. sanctions if Iran does not comply.
"It would be terrible" to try to strengthen sanctions, which could force Iran to retaliate, he said.
"We have learned some lessons from North Korea," he said. "When you push a country into a corner, you are giving the driver's seat to the hard-liners there."
Scott Ritter on Preventing U.S. Attack on Iran
Scott Ritter on Preventing U.S. Attack on Iran
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/21753Scott Ritter recently met with the Iranian ambassador to the US in
NYC. He announced this on April 18th during his speech at the War
Memorial in Indianapolis. Ritter outlined a plan to prevent the US
from attacking Iran and to scuttle US attempts to plant a "missile
defense shield" in Europe. The two part plan would involve Iran
opening up its nuclear program for inspections along with an Iranian
call for a regional ballistic missile disarmament program that would
include Israel.
He said that the US has decided to attack Iran, but felt that the war
could be prevented by influencing public opinion, primarily European.
"The American public is not going to wake up over night, don't hold
your breath," he said.
Watch on TraprockPeaceTV at youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiZrWIVR69s
Coming: Q and A with Scott Ritter, with his discussion of media
"conspiracy" of silence, including its turning a blind eye to US
(CIA) funding of al-Qaeda associated groups in Lebanon to fight
against Iranian backed Hezbollah, as originally reported by Seymour
Hersh. (Now it appears that the US - in that it funds Pakistani
operations in the tribal areas - has been supporting Pakistani
military assistance for the Taliban in their efforts to kill Uzbek
militants. The Taliban have been attacking Uzbeks "because of their
reluctance to kill American troops."
See "Taliban All Over," The Economist, April 12, 2007.
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9008911
Why have US troops been dying in Iraq - we're told as part of a "war
against terror" directed at al-Qaeda - when the US has been funding
al-Qaeda in Lebanon? Why has the media been silent about this? And
why is the US supporting the Taliban's war against militants who do
not want to attack US troops?
The Scott Ritter program was sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Indiana
Chapter #49, Indianapolis Peace House & Plowshares,
Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center, and Traprock Peace Center.
Bill Moyers documentary Buying The War airs on PBS tonight at 9:00pm
Watch Bill Moyers documentary Buying The War online at http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html
Episode Detail: Buying the War - Bill Moyers' Journal
http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=200077&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=6473363
A new season of the series (which last aired in 1994) opens with a look at coverage of the run-up to the Iraq War by the mainstream media, whom critics have slammed for not sufficiently challenging Bush administration claims about Iraq's possession of WMDs and its possible links to Al Qaeda. Commenting are Dan Rather; Tim Russert (“Meet the Press”); Bob Simon of “60 Minutes”; former CNN president Walter Isaacson; and John Walcott, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers.
In the Charlotte area it will air on these cable channels WUNG 13, WNSC 15, UNCTV 200 & at 2am on UNC-ED 203.
And these broadcast channels WUNE 17, WUNE-DT 17.1, WNSC 30, WNSCD1 30.1, & WUNG 58.
Use this link for a station in your area airing the show http://www.tvguide.com/listings/setup/localizeus.aspx?RedirectUrl=%2ftvshows%2fmoyers-journal%2f200077
Support the Articles Of Impeachment on Cheney – take action at http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com/2007/04/support-kucinichs-call-to-impeach.html
April 28 National Impeachment Day
In Charlotte : Rally at 2pm near Rep. Sue Myrick’s office
Morrison Blvd & Sharon Rd.
www.CharlotteAction.org
Find or start impeachment action in your area : www.a28.org
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
Get involved - www.May19.info
Action Center For Justice
www.CharlotteAction.org
704.492.8527
Episode Detail: Buying the War - Bill Moyers' Journal
http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=200077&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=6473363
A new season of the series (which last aired in 1994) opens with a look at coverage of the run-up to the Iraq War by the mainstream media, whom critics have slammed for not sufficiently challenging Bush administration claims about Iraq's possession of WMDs and its possible links to Al Qaeda. Commenting are Dan Rather; Tim Russert (“Meet the Press”); Bob Simon of “60 Minutes”; former CNN president Walter Isaacson; and John Walcott, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers.
In the Charlotte area it will air on these cable channels WUNG 13, WNSC 15, UNCTV 200 & at 2am on UNC-ED 203.
And these broadcast channels WUNE 17, WUNE-DT 17.1, WNSC 30, WNSCD1 30.1, & WUNG 58.
Use this link for a station in your area airing the show http://www.tvguide.com/listings/setup/localizeus.aspx?RedirectUrl=%2ftvshows%2fmoyers-journal%2f200077
Support the Articles Of Impeachment on Cheney – take action at http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com/2007/04/support-kucinichs-call-to-impeach.html
April 28 National Impeachment Day
In Charlotte : Rally at 2pm near Rep. Sue Myrick’s office
Morrison Blvd & Sharon Rd.
www.CharlotteAction.org
Find or start impeachment action in your area : www.a28.org
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
Get involved - www.May19.info
Action Center For Justice
www.CharlotteAction.org
704.492.8527
Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment on Cheney
http://kucinich.house.gov/SpotlightIssues/documents.htm
Support Kucinich's Call to Impeach Cheney - All out for Impeachment Day Saturday
Kucinich Has Introduced Articles of Impeachment Against Vice President Richard Cheney
Congressman Dennis Kucinich has acted. It's time now for us to follow through by asking the rest of Congress to get on board with the American public, and by letting the media know where we stand.
Ask your Congress Member to support impeachment proceedings against Vice President Cheney:
http://tinyurl.com/yttnxq
Ask members of the House Judiciary Committee and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lead, follow, or get out of the way:
http://tinyurl.com/2ar8ch
T
ell the media that you support Congressman Dennis Kucinich's proposal to begin impeachment proceedings:
http://tinyurl.com/2cag7t
ell the media that you support Congressman Dennis Kucinich's proposal to begin impeachment proceedings:
http://tinyurl.com/2cag7t
Learn more at:
http://www.impeachcheney.org
http://www.impeachcheney.org
____________________
It's Time to Poll on Impeachment
After the Downing Street Memos proved George Bush lied about Iraq's WMDs, Democrats.com began lobbying corporate media polling organizations to include impeachment questions in their polls. For two years, those pollsters have contemptuously dismissed our requests. But now that Rep. Dennis Kucinich has introduced Articles of Impeachment for Dick Cheney, it is time for pollsters to include impeachment questions in every poll they take. You can ask them to here:
http://tinyurl.com/ys4yax
After the Downing Street Memos proved George Bush lied about Iraq's WMDs, Democrats.com began lobbying corporate media polling organizations to include impeachment questions in their polls. For two years, those pollsters have contemptuously dismissed our requests. But now that Rep. Dennis Kucinich has introduced Articles of Impeachment for Dick Cheney, it is time for pollsters to include impeachment questions in every poll they take. You can ask them to here:
http://tinyurl.com/ys4yax
____________________
Public to Demand Impeachment at Capitol on Wednesday
WHAT: Coalition statement in support of impeachment
WHEN: 12:00 Noon ET, Wednesday, April 25, 2007
WHERE: The Cannon House Office Building Outdoor Terrace, Washington D.C.
A group of prominent Americans will gather at the U.S. Capitol to speak in support of beginning impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney. Among them will be mayors, including Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City and John Shields of Nyack, NY; state legislators including Washington State Senator Eric Oemig; city council members, including Dave Meserve of Arcata, CA; and former government officials, including Daniel Ellsberg who released the Pentagon Papers; David MacMichael, a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and a member of the steering committee of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity; and retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, a career diplomat who quit in protest the day the war began.
Also participating will be authors, journalists, poets, and playwrights, including Chris Hedges, Justin Frank, Mark Kurlansky, John Nichols, David Lindorff, Gerald Stern, and Ann Marie Macari; actors, producers, and photographers, including Eunice Wong, and Kathy Chalfant, leading anti-war voices, including Andy Shallal, Cindy Sheehan, Tina Richards, Medea Benjamin, Bob Fertik, David Swanson, Debra Sweet, Kevin Zeese, Michael Berg, Carlos Arredondo, and Elaine Brower; and organizer of the national day of impeachment events coming up on April 28th Jacob Park.
Town Hall Forum on Impeachment Wednesday Evening
An open forum on impeachment will be held in a church Wednesday evening, featuring some of the speakers from the noon event: Rocky Anderson, Mayor, Salt Lake City; John Shields, mayor of Nyack, NY. Debra Sweet for World Can’t Wait-Drive Out the Bush Regime, Norman Birnbaum of Georgetown University, and Marcus Raskin, Institute for Policy Studies.
WHEN: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 25, 2007
WHERE: All Souls Unitarian Church, Pierce Hall, at 1500 Harvard Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
Learn more: http://www.impeach07.org
____________________
Events Are Scheduled Everywhere on Saturday
Find one near you:
When you join together with people on April 28, please plan to have with you stack of impeachment petitions, some pens, and some clipboards. Collect people's names and contact info on the petitions. Then use that list to organize future activist efforts locally, and also add the names to the national list. You can get the petitions and everything you need at:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition
____________________
Here Comes the Veto
The Democrats in Congress have watered their war funding bill down, so that it merely "sets a goal" to end the war. But Bush may follow through on his promise to veto it, and he may do so this Friday. When he does, our response should be to demand of Congress:
No New Supplemental
Impeachment Instead
Let your Congress Member know that you don't want a weaker or stronger or fancier war funding bill. You want impeachment:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/congress
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/congress
____________________
Happy Springtime (Bush Is Over)
Watch this amazing and inspiring video:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/21662
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/21662
All out for National Impeachment Day this Saturday
April 28, 2007
2:00 pm
Rally at Morrison Blvd & Sharon Rd
(Near Rep. Sue Myrick's office)
Charlotte, NC
Info: www.CharlotteAction.org or call 704.492.8527
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
http://www.May19.info/
On May 19th, 2007, Armed Forces Day, people will
set up information tables and hold events outside
every military recruiting office across the country to
tell the truth about military recruiters. Iraq War Military
Resister, Terri Johnson, who went AWOL from the Army
rather than be sent to Iraq, told the crowd at the
April 21 anti-war rally in Greensboro, NC that we
all needed to be at the recruiters offices to tell young
people the truth. This is the beginning of such an
effort and we will continue these activities on a
daily basis. Join us to help expose military recruiters
out of our schools and communities.
List your event on our website, click here.
Volunteer to help in your area, click here.
Get help organizing an event in you area, click here.
Endorse the May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day, click here.
The May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day was initiated
by the Action Center For Justice.
Donate: We need funds for printing thousands of leaflets,
postage, newspaper ads, and the costs of organizing the
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day to insure its success.
Click here to donate online or by mail.
Contact us:
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
www.May19.info
704.492.8527
The May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day was initiated
by the Action Center For Justice.
Donate: We need funds for printing thousands of leaflets,
postage, newspaper ads, and the costs of organizing the
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day to insure its success.
Click here to donate online or by mail.
Contact us:
May 19 National Truth About Recruiters Day
www.May19.info
704.492.8527
Hundreds Protest Wars & Torture, Demand Impeachment in Greensboro
Hundreds Protest Wars & Torture, Demand Impeachment in
http://home.earthlink.net/~norasbooks/Cindy%20Sheehan/index.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rashphoto/sets/72157600108407804/
Hundreds Protest Wars & Torture, Demand Impeachment
By David Dixon
April 28 National Impeach Bush & Cheney Day – Details at http://www.charlotteaction.org/
Donate – www.geocities.com/nomorevictims/support
http://www.charlotteaction.org/
704.492.8527
Impeachment Rallies Sat. - Kucinich starts Impeachment of Cheney
National Impeach Bush & Cheney Day
Rally at
(near Rep. Sue Myrick's office)
George Bush and Dick Cheney have lied the nation into a war of aggression, are spying in open violation of the law, and have sanctioned the use of torture. These are high crimes and misdemeanors that demand accountability. Bring signs, banners, etc
Info:
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will hold a news conference tomorrow afternoon to announce the introduction of articles of impeachment relating to the Vice President of the United States Richard B. Cheney. Americans around the country will take to the streets on Saturday in more than 100 locations to call for the impeachment of both Cheney and Bush.
KUCINICH TO SEEK CHENEY IMPEACHMENT: AMERICANS TO TAKE TO STREETS NATIONWIDE ON APRIL 28 TO DEMONSTRATE SUPPORT AND LAUNCH "IMPEACHMENT SUMMER"
Following on today's announcement by Rep.
Jacob Park, National Coordinator of the April 28 actions, said "George Bush
On April 28, a visit by George Bush to
For more information about the
Donate to support our events & actions at www.geocities.com/nomorevictims/support
www.CharlotteAction.org
704.492.8527
Vermont Senate approves impeachment resolution
Vermont Senate approves impeachment resolution
By
The vote came quietly in the Senate chamber, with no impeachment supporters in the room and no debate. The senate resolution was introduced by Sens. Peter Shumlin and Jeanette White, two Windham County Democrats.
Impeachment supporters have lobbied legislators to take up the matter, and this week were back in
__________
Report from citizen lobbying effort this week in
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/21535
Call by
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/21428
Explanation of how a state can petition the U.S. House to impeach:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resolutions
Representative Daryl Pillsbury (I. Brattleboro) introduced a resolution on
Background on Vermont Impeachment, including reports, videos, analysis:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/vt
Local organizer Dan Dewalt patrioticresponse@yahoo.com
Local organizing website http://www.vtimpeach.com
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/speakers
TELL THE MEDIA
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/1084
TELL CONGRESS
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition
TAKE ACTION ON APRIL 28
http://www.a28.org
Action Center For Justice
www.CharlotteAction.org
U.S. Releases Wanted Terrorist
Sun Apr 22,
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela will lodge a protest with the United Nations after the U.S. released a Cuban militant on bond, accusing Washington of letting a terrorist go free.
Escalation of Iraq War (surge) may become long-term
ANALYSIS
`Surge' may become long-term
Bush's justification for troop boost hinges on political progress in Iraq
ROBERT BURNS
Associated Press
Posted on Charlotte.com on Sun, Apr. 22, 2007
WASHINGTON --
The Pentagon is laying the groundwork to extend the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. At the same time, the administration is warning Iraqi leaders that the boost in forces could be reversed if political reconciliation is not evident by summer.This approach underscores the central difficulty facing President Bush. If political progress is not possible in the relatively short term, the justification for sending thousands more U.S. troops to Baghdad -- and accepting the rising U.S. combat death toll that has resulted -- will disappear. That, in turn, would put even more pressure on Bush to yield to the Democratic-led push to wind down the war in coming months.
If the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki does manage to achieve the political milestones demanded by Washington, the U.S. military probably will be told to sustain the troop buildup much longer than originally foreseen -- possibly well into 2008. Thus the early planning for keeping it up beyond late summer.
More than half of the extra 21,500 combat troops designated for Baghdad duty have arrived; the rest are due by June. Already it is evident that putting them in the most hotly contested parts of the capital is taking a toll. An average of 22 U.S. troops have died per week in April, the highest rate so far this year.
"This is certainly a price that we're paying for this increased security," Adm. William Fallon, the senior U.S. commander in the Middle East, told a House committee Wednesday. He also said the United States does not have "a ghost of a chance" of success in Iraq unless it can create "stability and security."
The idea of the troop increase, originally billed by the administration as a temporary "surge," is not to defeat the insurgency. That is not thought possible in the near term. The purpose is to contain the violence -- in particular, the sect-on-sect killings in Baghdad -- long enough to create an environment in which Iraqi political leaders can move toward conciliation and ordinary Iraqis are persuaded of a viable future.
So far the results are mixed, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week during a visit to Iraq that he wants to see faster political progress by the Iraqis. Analysis
Developments
in iraq
• The Fallujah city council chairman, a critic of al-Qaida who took the job after his three predecessors were assassinated, was killed Saturday.
• At least 38 people were killed or found dead elsewhere in Iraq on Saturday.
• Three U.S. soldiers were killed and six were wounded Saturday in separate attacks in Baghdad and southwest of the capital, the military said.
• Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prepared to begin an Arab tour today that will take him to Egypt, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Oman, his adviser Yassin Majid said.
in afghanistan
• A purported Taliban statement demanded the release of a number of the group's fighters and the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the freedom of two kidnapped French aid workers and three Afghan colleagues kidnapped April 3.
associated press
12 suspicious deaths reported at Salisbury VA Hospital
Congressmen grill VA execs about care
Lawmakers seek more info on revelations about Salisbury hospital
STELLA M. HOPKINS, PETER SMOLOWITZ & KAREN GARLOCH
Staff Writers
Charlotte.com posted on April 20, 2007
WASHINGTON --Lawmakers questioned VA officials Thursday about "serious inadequacies of care" at the Salisbury veterans hospital and demanded follow-up reports -- a strong signal they're not finished.
Federal investigators took too long to respond to a report of 12 suspicious deaths at the Salisbury VA, charged members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. They also complained that investigators didn't reveal findings of poor patient care and didn't verify the hospital made recommended improvements.
The 2005 investigation came six months after an anonymous complaint was referred to a VA team of inspectors.
"Come on, that's six months with 12 deaths," said California Democrat Bob Filner, the committee chairman. He directed that comment to Dr. John Daigh, who helps oversee VA health care inspections.
"We are talking about deaths of human beings -- people ought to be figuring out what is going on, do it fast and make corrections," Filner said.
Current and former leaders of the Salisbury hospital agreed there have been problems, but said they have been addressed.
"There were mistakes made, there were serious problems, and we think they have been corrected," said Dr. Sidney Steinberg, chief of staff at the Salisbury VA hospital who is also a surgeon who has been part of hospital management since 2001. He was the hospital's interim director until earlier this month, when the new director started.
Dr. Barbara Fleming, the VA's chief quality and performance officer, praised the Salisbury staff for a "phenomenal" turnaround. She said based on VA performance measures, the hospital is now among the top 25 percent of VA hospitals.
Committee members ordered VA officials to produce additional information, an investigation into patient care at the Asheville VA Medical Center.
Thursday's hearing, spurred by Observer articles over the past six weeks, was intended to bring tougher oversight to the nation's largest health care system. The Salisbury hospital is the main veterans medical center for the Charlotte area.
Investigation questioned
The VA is one of the largest federal agencies. Its 150 hospitals and 850 outpatient clinics nationwide are used by more than 5.5 million veterans a year who either can't afford private care or prefer a cheaper option.A key issue during Thursday's three-hour hearing: Last year, the VA closed its 2005 investigation without a second visit without a second visit, after the hospital said it made recommended changes.
At the hearing, VA officials gave their first public explanation of what they found after looking into the 12 deaths.
The Salisbury staff handled five cases correctly, according to a review by non-VA physicians. Five others were considered acceptable judgment calls. And in two cases, care was questionable.
The report from that investigation was not made public until the Observer obtained it last month. The newspaper also found that VA inspectors conducting a routine hospital inspection last year didn't know about the earlier report. The 2006 inspectors found more problems.
Chairman Filner said the two investigative teams should have known about each other's efforts, a lapse of coordination that he worries could be a systemwide problem.
In response to those concerns, the VA's Daigh told the Observer that last week he made sure his investigators have access to reports from other investigations.
"I made a mistake," Daigh testified. "We corrected the problem ...so we should not have the disconnect again."
The 2006 report found that a nurse had not properly monitored care for frail veterans the VA housed in private nursing homes. The report also said the nurse filed inaccurate patient reports, such as recording a patient in "stable" condition 12 days after he died.
The unnamed nurse has been disciplined and could be fired, according to a letter Wednesday from Daniel Hoffmann, regional VA director in Durham, to two N.C. congressmen, Republicans Howard Coble of Greensboro and Robin Hayes of Concord. The letter also said she is under investigation by the N.C. Board of Nursing.
"What the hell is she still doing there?" Filner asked.
Donald Moore, director of the Salisbury hospital from mid-2004 until last year, said he recommended firing her, but lawyers and human resources advised him that the nurse, who had an otherwise clean record for nearly 30 years, would likely prevail on appeal.
Thursday's hearing was requested by Hayes, Coble and Charlotte Democrat Mel Watt.
One committee member criticized a witness for focusing attention on buildings instead of patient care.
When Steinberg, the chief of staff, described the Salisbury hospital's new operating rooms and other capital improvements, Rep. Brian Bilbray, a California Republican, said:
"You can buy the most modern vehicle in the world, but if it's a reckless driver ...we're still going to have problems."
Stella M. Hopkins: 704-358-5173, shopkins@charlotteobserver.com; Peter Smolowitz: 704-358-5249, psmolowitz@charlotteobserver.com; Karen Garloch: 704-358-5078, kgarloch@charlotteobserver.com.
More Reports Sought
Several lawmakers asked for follow-up reports, including:
• Details of care for 12 patients who died and whose care the VA reviewed with outside medical experts.
• Details of contact, if any, with families of those patients who died. VA regulations require notification of care problems, but officials said Thursday that didn't happen in some cases reviewed at Salisbury.
• A report on what, if any, disciplinary action hospital officials took against doctors, nurses or other workers identified as providing poor care. Rep. Zachary Space, an Ohio Democrat on the investigative subcommittee, referred to "callous disregard by a bureaucracy" as he made the request.
• Bonuses paid to hospital management during the time they acknowledge problems. (The Observer requested this information earlier in the week.)
• A 2006 VA report on Salisbury under a systemwide internal quality review program.
Stella M. Hopkins
Sidebar:
Video Reporter Stella Hopkins on this issue
Archive Coverage of VA hospital issues
Timeline:
Aug. 30, 2004: Anonymous complaint to Office of Inspector General about more than 12 suspicious deaths at Salisbury veterans hospital over last two years.
June 9, 2005: Report from Office of Medical Inspector, after March inspection, finds care in certain surgical cases was "marginal at best, and in some cases, substandard."
Early March 2007: The Observer reported on that 2005 OMI report and a 2006 report by the Office of Inspector General, which found that a Salisbury VA nurse filed inaccurate reports on the health of veterans in nursing homes and listed one as being in "stable" condition 12 days after he had died. In a separate article, Donald Doering, former chief of nursing at Salisbury VA, said he was forced to step down in 2004 after urging top management to call a surgical "time out" to allow review of what might be causing unexpected deaths. The hospital has disputed Doering's account but provided no details.
March 21, 2007: Three N.C. members of Congress: U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, and Republicans Howard Coble of Greensboro and Robin Hayes of Concord: urged the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to hold hearings on Salisbury VA care.
April 1, 2007: The Observer reported on a 2001 survey by outside consultants, hired by the VA, which found sloppy patient records, poor tracking of drugs and IV solutions mixed in unsanitary areas. The hospital's infection rate had doubled in the previous year, the consultants said, but the hospital did not take "concrete actions to address this."
April 8, 2007: The Observer reported that the Joint Commission, a national accreditation organization, granted the Salisbury VA "accreditation with full standards compliance" in 2003, and renewed the accreditation in 2005, although it had no knowledge of the 2005 OMI report or that of the outside consultants.
April 15, 2007: The Observer reported that Dr. Paul Karmin, a former Salisbury VA radiologist, warned five years ago that pneumonia patients were at increased risk of dying because many weren't getting medicine promptly. VA officials said they have improved its pneumonia treatment times.
April 19, 2007: House Committee on Veterans' Affairs holding hearings on Salisbury VA care.
Lawmakers seek more info on revelations about Salisbury hospital
STELLA M. HOPKINS, PETER SMOLOWITZ & KAREN GARLOCH
Staff Writers
Charlotte.com posted on April 20, 2007
WASHINGTON --Lawmakers questioned VA officials Thursday about "serious inadequacies of care" at the Salisbury veterans hospital and demanded follow-up reports -- a strong signal they're not finished.
Federal investigators took too long to respond to a report of 12 suspicious deaths at the Salisbury VA, charged members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. They also complained that investigators didn't reveal findings of poor patient care and didn't verify the hospital made recommended improvements.
The 2005 investigation came six months after an anonymous complaint was referred to a VA team of inspectors.
"Come on, that's six months with 12 deaths," said California Democrat Bob Filner, the committee chairman. He directed that comment to Dr. John Daigh, who helps oversee VA health care inspections.
"We are talking about deaths of human beings -- people ought to be figuring out what is going on, do it fast and make corrections," Filner said.
Current and former leaders of the Salisbury hospital agreed there have been problems, but said they have been addressed.
"There were mistakes made, there were serious problems, and we think they have been corrected," said Dr. Sidney Steinberg, chief of staff at the Salisbury VA hospital who is also a surgeon who has been part of hospital management since 2001. He was the hospital's interim director until earlier this month, when the new director started.
Dr. Barbara Fleming, the VA's chief quality and performance officer, praised the Salisbury staff for a "phenomenal" turnaround. She said based on VA performance measures, the hospital is now among the top 25 percent of VA hospitals.
Committee members ordered VA officials to produce additional information, an investigation into patient care at the Asheville VA Medical Center.
Thursday's hearing, spurred by Observer articles over the past six weeks, was intended to bring tougher oversight to the nation's largest health care system. The Salisbury hospital is the main veterans medical center for the Charlotte area.
Investigation questioned
The VA is one of the largest federal agencies. Its 150 hospitals and 850 outpatient clinics nationwide are used by more than 5.5 million veterans a year who either can't afford private care or prefer a cheaper option.A key issue during Thursday's three-hour hearing: Last year, the VA closed its 2005 investigation without a second visit without a second visit, after the hospital said it made recommended changes.
At the hearing, VA officials gave their first public explanation of what they found after looking into the 12 deaths.
The Salisbury staff handled five cases correctly, according to a review by non-VA physicians. Five others were considered acceptable judgment calls. And in two cases, care was questionable.
The report from that investigation was not made public until the Observer obtained it last month. The newspaper also found that VA inspectors conducting a routine hospital inspection last year didn't know about the earlier report. The 2006 inspectors found more problems.
Chairman Filner said the two investigative teams should have known about each other's efforts, a lapse of coordination that he worries could be a systemwide problem.
In response to those concerns, the VA's Daigh told the Observer that last week he made sure his investigators have access to reports from other investigations.
"I made a mistake," Daigh testified. "We corrected the problem ...so we should not have the disconnect again."
The 2006 report found that a nurse had not properly monitored care for frail veterans the VA housed in private nursing homes. The report also said the nurse filed inaccurate patient reports, such as recording a patient in "stable" condition 12 days after he died.
The unnamed nurse has been disciplined and could be fired, according to a letter Wednesday from Daniel Hoffmann, regional VA director in Durham, to two N.C. congressmen, Republicans Howard Coble of Greensboro and Robin Hayes of Concord. The letter also said she is under investigation by the N.C. Board of Nursing.
"What the hell is she still doing there?" Filner asked.
Donald Moore, director of the Salisbury hospital from mid-2004 until last year, said he recommended firing her, but lawyers and human resources advised him that the nurse, who had an otherwise clean record for nearly 30 years, would likely prevail on appeal.
Thursday's hearing was requested by Hayes, Coble and Charlotte Democrat Mel Watt.
One committee member criticized a witness for focusing attention on buildings instead of patient care.
When Steinberg, the chief of staff, described the Salisbury hospital's new operating rooms and other capital improvements, Rep. Brian Bilbray, a California Republican, said:
"You can buy the most modern vehicle in the world, but if it's a reckless driver ...we're still going to have problems."
Stella M. Hopkins: 704-358-5173, shopkins@charlotteobserver.com; Peter Smolowitz: 704-358-5249, psmolowitz@charlotteobserver.com; Karen Garloch: 704-358-5078, kgarloch@charlotteobserver.com.
More Reports Sought
Several lawmakers asked for follow-up reports, including:
• Details of care for 12 patients who died and whose care the VA reviewed with outside medical experts.
• Details of contact, if any, with families of those patients who died. VA regulations require notification of care problems, but officials said Thursday that didn't happen in some cases reviewed at Salisbury.
• A report on what, if any, disciplinary action hospital officials took against doctors, nurses or other workers identified as providing poor care. Rep. Zachary Space, an Ohio Democrat on the investigative subcommittee, referred to "callous disregard by a bureaucracy" as he made the request.
• Bonuses paid to hospital management during the time they acknowledge problems. (The Observer requested this information earlier in the week.)
• A 2006 VA report on Salisbury under a systemwide internal quality review program.
Stella M. Hopkins
Sidebar:
Video Reporter Stella Hopkins on this issue
Archive Coverage of VA hospital issues
Timeline:
Aug. 30, 2004: Anonymous complaint to Office of Inspector General about more than 12 suspicious deaths at Salisbury veterans hospital over last two years.
June 9, 2005: Report from Office of Medical Inspector, after March inspection, finds care in certain surgical cases was "marginal at best, and in some cases, substandard."
Early March 2007: The Observer reported on that 2005 OMI report and a 2006 report by the Office of Inspector General, which found that a Salisbury VA nurse filed inaccurate reports on the health of veterans in nursing homes and listed one as being in "stable" condition 12 days after he had died. In a separate article, Donald Doering, former chief of nursing at Salisbury VA, said he was forced to step down in 2004 after urging top management to call a surgical "time out" to allow review of what might be causing unexpected deaths. The hospital has disputed Doering's account but provided no details.
March 21, 2007: Three N.C. members of Congress: U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, and Republicans Howard Coble of Greensboro and Robin Hayes of Concord: urged the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to hold hearings on Salisbury VA care.
April 1, 2007: The Observer reported on a 2001 survey by outside consultants, hired by the VA, which found sloppy patient records, poor tracking of drugs and IV solutions mixed in unsanitary areas. The hospital's infection rate had doubled in the previous year, the consultants said, but the hospital did not take "concrete actions to address this."
April 8, 2007: The Observer reported that the Joint Commission, a national accreditation organization, granted the Salisbury VA "accreditation with full standards compliance" in 2003, and renewed the accreditation in 2005, although it had no knowledge of the 2005 OMI report or that of the outside consultants.
April 15, 2007: The Observer reported that Dr. Paul Karmin, a former Salisbury VA radiologist, warned five years ago that pneumonia patients were at increased risk of dying because many weren't getting medicine promptly. VA officials said they have improved its pneumonia treatment times.
April 19, 2007: House Committee on Veterans' Affairs holding hearings on Salisbury VA care.
Racist hiring practices exposed
By David Dixon
Published Jun 24, 2005 9:23 PM
Sociology Professor Devah Pager has been studying the problems ex-convicts face looking for a job. As a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin in the 1990s, she made a disturbing discovery: It is easier for a white person with a felony conviction to get a job than for an African-American person with no criminal record.
Pager, now at Princeton University, recently conducted a study in New York City along with Professor Bruce Western. The study, titled “Discrimination in Low Wage Labor Markets,” was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.
Pager and Western found strong evidence of hiring discrimination by New York employers against male job-seekers who were African American or of another oppressed nationality as compared to white men.
The study used teams of young men who posed as job applicants, listing identical work and educational experience. They sought work as drivers, couriers, cleaners, fast-food servers, deli clerks, sales representatives, stockers, busers, waiters, cashiers and telemarketers. Some members of the study reported a felony drug conviction and 18 months of served prison time.
The results? According to the June 17 New York Times, “Black men who had never been in trouble with the law were about half as likely as whites with similar backgrounds to get a job offer or a callback.”
Black men who stated they had done time in prison on their applications were only about one-third as likely to get a positive response as compared to whites who had been in prison.
The study also concluded that those with a criminal record had a 30 to 60 percent less chance of getting a positive response from employers. African Amer icans who had been imprisoned were at a double disadvantage because of racism.
Two-thirds of those serving time in prison come from oppressed communities of color. On any given day, one in eight black males is in prison or jail. African American men have a one in three chance of going to prison in their lifetimes, compared to one in 17 for whites. Three-fourths of all those arrested on drug charges are people of color, a number hugely out of proportion to their incidence of drug use. (sentencingproject.org)
In New York City, it is illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of criminal record as well as race. Faced with the study, Patricia L. Gatling, Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, had to admit, “The results of this landmark study are deeply disturbing and highlight the need for strong enforcement of the city’s Human Rights Law.” (John Jay College)
In his 2004 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush proposed a $300-million “prison re-entry initiative” for people released from prison each year. He touted this as typical of the United States as “the land of the second chance.”
But Jeff Manza of Northwestern University said Pager’s study on racist discrimination in job hiring “demonstrates in a new and convincing way the extent to which the ‘second chance’ that Bush talks about runs headlong into the realities of race.” (racematters.org)
By 2003 there were more than 123,000 prisoners in local, state and federal for-profit prisons. The profits made from prison construction and from prison contracts for food, telephone systems and other services is in the billions of dollars, far exceeding Bush’s paltry sum.
Indeed, in a for-profit prison system, repeated and discriminatory arrests equal profit. Racist hiring practices become an additional method to drive people of oppressed nationalities into desperation. The solution is obvious: The racist prison system and hiring practices will only cease to exist when the people organize a mighty movement to wipe out racism and all injustice.
Published Jun 24, 2005 9:23 PM
Sociology Professor Devah Pager has been studying the problems ex-convicts face looking for a job. As a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin in the 1990s, she made a disturbing discovery: It is easier for a white person with a felony conviction to get a job than for an African-American person with no criminal record.
Pager, now at Princeton University, recently conducted a study in New York City along with Professor Bruce Western. The study, titled “Discrimination in Low Wage Labor Markets,” was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.
Pager and Western found strong evidence of hiring discrimination by New York employers against male job-seekers who were African American or of another oppressed nationality as compared to white men.
The study used teams of young men who posed as job applicants, listing identical work and educational experience. They sought work as drivers, couriers, cleaners, fast-food servers, deli clerks, sales representatives, stockers, busers, waiters, cashiers and telemarketers. Some members of the study reported a felony drug conviction and 18 months of served prison time.
The results? According to the June 17 New York Times, “Black men who had never been in trouble with the law were about half as likely as whites with similar backgrounds to get a job offer or a callback.”
Black men who stated they had done time in prison on their applications were only about one-third as likely to get a positive response as compared to whites who had been in prison.
The study also concluded that those with a criminal record had a 30 to 60 percent less chance of getting a positive response from employers. African Amer icans who had been imprisoned were at a double disadvantage because of racism.
Two-thirds of those serving time in prison come from oppressed communities of color. On any given day, one in eight black males is in prison or jail. African American men have a one in three chance of going to prison in their lifetimes, compared to one in 17 for whites. Three-fourths of all those arrested on drug charges are people of color, a number hugely out of proportion to their incidence of drug use. (sentencingproject.org)
In New York City, it is illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of criminal record as well as race. Faced with the study, Patricia L. Gatling, Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, had to admit, “The results of this landmark study are deeply disturbing and highlight the need for strong enforcement of the city’s Human Rights Law.” (John Jay College)
In his 2004 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush proposed a $300-million “prison re-entry initiative” for people released from prison each year. He touted this as typical of the United States as “the land of the second chance.”
But Jeff Manza of Northwestern University said Pager’s study on racist discrimination in job hiring “demonstrates in a new and convincing way the extent to which the ‘second chance’ that Bush talks about runs headlong into the realities of race.” (racematters.org)
By 2003 there were more than 123,000 prisoners in local, state and federal for-profit prisons. The profits made from prison construction and from prison contracts for food, telephone systems and other services is in the billions of dollars, far exceeding Bush’s paltry sum.
Indeed, in a for-profit prison system, repeated and discriminatory arrests equal profit. Racist hiring practices become an additional method to drive people of oppressed nationalities into desperation. The solution is obvious: The racist prison system and hiring practices will only cease to exist when the people organize a mighty movement to wipe out racism and all injustice.
Why Virginia Tech shootings happened - Statement from IAC
A Statement from the International Action Center
Why Virginia Tech shootings happened
April 18, 2007--Yet another rampage has occurred at a school, this time leaving 33 people dead at Virginia Tech—the worst such incident ever at a U.S. college campus.
The news media seem stunned and surprised, yet their coverage sounds so similar to the stories about Columbine eight years ago. They dwell on the personality of the young man the police say did the shooting, before killing himself. They talk about him being a “loner,” depressed, perhaps angry at women.
But aren’t there lonely and depressed people all over the world? Many countries have high suicide rates. Why is it that here some become mass murderers?
The U.S. is the world leader in seemingly random acts of violence by individuals. Why?
President George W. Bush rushed to Virginia to speak at a large convocation the day after the killings and tried to set the tone for what could be said about them. “It’s impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering,” he said.
Don’t ask why, don’t try to understand. It makes no sense. “Have faith” instead, was Bush’s message.
But there ARE reasons these things happen here, and they are pretty clear to the rest of the world. It’s just in the United States that no one is supposed to talk about the reasons.
What distinguishes this country from the rest of the world? It is neither the most affluent nor the poorest. It is neither the most secular nor the most religious. It is not the most culturally homogeneous nor is it the most diverse.
But in one area, it stands virtually alone. It has the biggest arsenal of high-tech weaponry in the world, way surpassing every other country. It has military bases spread all over; most countries have no troops outside their borders.
It is conducting two hot wars at the moment, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has sent hundreds of thousands of troops abroad over the last few years. Every day, the public here is supposed to identify with soldiers who burst into homes in Baghdad, round up the people and take them away for “interrogation”—which everyone knows now can mean torture and indefinite detainment.
It also sends heavily armed “special ops” on secret missions to countless other countries, like the ones who just facilitated the invasion and bombing of Somalia, or the ones who have been trying to stir up opposition in Iran. This is documented in the news media.
The immense brutality of these colonial wars, as well as earlier ones, is praised from the White House on down as the best, the ONLY way to achieve what the political leaders and their influential, rich backers decide is necessary to protect their world empire. Do lots of people get killed? “Stuff happens,” said former war secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “Collateral damage,” says the Pentagon.
At home, the U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Over 2 million people are locked up in the prison system each year, most of them people of color. When commercial armed security guards are also taken into consideration, the U.S. has millions of employees who use guns and other coercive paraphernalia in their jobs.
In the final analysis, the military and the police exist to perpetuate and protect this present unjust system of capitalist inequality, where a few can claim personal ownership over a vast economy built by the sweat and blood of hundreds of millions of workers.
And the more divided, the more polarized the society becomes, the higher the level of coercion and violence. Assault weapons are now everywhere in this society, as are Tasers, handcuffs, clubs and tear gas. They most often start out in the hands of the police, the military and other agents of the state, and can then turn up anywhere.
Violence is a big money maker in the mass culture. Television, films, pulp novels, Internet sites, video games—all dwell on “sociopaths” while glorifying the state’s use of violence, often supplemented by a lone vigilante. By the time children reach their teens, they have already seen thousands of murders and killings on television. And these days even more suspense is added in countless programs that involve stalking and terror against women—and increasingly children.
As the Duke rape case and so many “escort service” ads show, women of color are particularly subject to exploitation and have little recourse to any justice. And as the murders along the border show, immigrants of color are fair game for racist killers.
The social soil of capitalism can alienate and enrage an unstable and miserable person who should be getting help but can’t find it. If, as reports are saying, the young man accused of these killings was on anti-depressant medication, it is all the more evidence that, at a time when hospitals are closing and health care is unavailable for tens of millions, treating mental health problems requires more from society than just prescribing dubious chemicals.
Many liberal commentators are taking this occasion to renew the demand for tougher gun laws.
Yes, assault weapons are horrible, but so are bunker buster bombs, helicopters that fire thousands of rounds a minute, and the ultimate—nuclear weapons. Disarming the people is not the answer, especially when the government is armed to the teeth and uses brutality and coercion daily.
The best antidote to these tragedies is to build a movement for profound social change, a movement directed at solving the great problems depressing so much of humanity today, whether they be wars or global climate change or the loneliness of the dog-eat-dog society.
International Action Center
www.IACenter.org
Action Center For Justice is affiliated with the International Action Center
www.CharlotteAction.org
Why Virginia Tech shootings happened
April 18, 2007--Yet another rampage has occurred at a school, this time leaving 33 people dead at Virginia Tech—the worst such incident ever at a U.S. college campus.
The news media seem stunned and surprised, yet their coverage sounds so similar to the stories about Columbine eight years ago. They dwell on the personality of the young man the police say did the shooting, before killing himself. They talk about him being a “loner,” depressed, perhaps angry at women.
But aren’t there lonely and depressed people all over the world? Many countries have high suicide rates. Why is it that here some become mass murderers?
The U.S. is the world leader in seemingly random acts of violence by individuals. Why?
President George W. Bush rushed to Virginia to speak at a large convocation the day after the killings and tried to set the tone for what could be said about them. “It’s impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering,” he said.
Don’t ask why, don’t try to understand. It makes no sense. “Have faith” instead, was Bush’s message.
But there ARE reasons these things happen here, and they are pretty clear to the rest of the world. It’s just in the United States that no one is supposed to talk about the reasons.
What distinguishes this country from the rest of the world? It is neither the most affluent nor the poorest. It is neither the most secular nor the most religious. It is not the most culturally homogeneous nor is it the most diverse.
But in one area, it stands virtually alone. It has the biggest arsenal of high-tech weaponry in the world, way surpassing every other country. It has military bases spread all over; most countries have no troops outside their borders.
It is conducting two hot wars at the moment, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has sent hundreds of thousands of troops abroad over the last few years. Every day, the public here is supposed to identify with soldiers who burst into homes in Baghdad, round up the people and take them away for “interrogation”—which everyone knows now can mean torture and indefinite detainment.
It also sends heavily armed “special ops” on secret missions to countless other countries, like the ones who just facilitated the invasion and bombing of Somalia, or the ones who have been trying to stir up opposition in Iran. This is documented in the news media.
The immense brutality of these colonial wars, as well as earlier ones, is praised from the White House on down as the best, the ONLY way to achieve what the political leaders and their influential, rich backers decide is necessary to protect their world empire. Do lots of people get killed? “Stuff happens,” said former war secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “Collateral damage,” says the Pentagon.
At home, the U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Over 2 million people are locked up in the prison system each year, most of them people of color. When commercial armed security guards are also taken into consideration, the U.S. has millions of employees who use guns and other coercive paraphernalia in their jobs.
In the final analysis, the military and the police exist to perpetuate and protect this present unjust system of capitalist inequality, where a few can claim personal ownership over a vast economy built by the sweat and blood of hundreds of millions of workers.
And the more divided, the more polarized the society becomes, the higher the level of coercion and violence. Assault weapons are now everywhere in this society, as are Tasers, handcuffs, clubs and tear gas. They most often start out in the hands of the police, the military and other agents of the state, and can then turn up anywhere.
Violence is a big money maker in the mass culture. Television, films, pulp novels, Internet sites, video games—all dwell on “sociopaths” while glorifying the state’s use of violence, often supplemented by a lone vigilante. By the time children reach their teens, they have already seen thousands of murders and killings on television. And these days even more suspense is added in countless programs that involve stalking and terror against women—and increasingly children.
As the Duke rape case and so many “escort service” ads show, women of color are particularly subject to exploitation and have little recourse to any justice. And as the murders along the border show, immigrants of color are fair game for racist killers.
The social soil of capitalism can alienate and enrage an unstable and miserable person who should be getting help but can’t find it. If, as reports are saying, the young man accused of these killings was on anti-depressant medication, it is all the more evidence that, at a time when hospitals are closing and health care is unavailable for tens of millions, treating mental health problems requires more from society than just prescribing dubious chemicals.
Many liberal commentators are taking this occasion to renew the demand for tougher gun laws.
Yes, assault weapons are horrible, but so are bunker buster bombs, helicopters that fire thousands of rounds a minute, and the ultimate—nuclear weapons. Disarming the people is not the answer, especially when the government is armed to the teeth and uses brutality and coercion daily.
The best antidote to these tragedies is to build a movement for profound social change, a movement directed at solving the great problems depressing so much of humanity today, whether they be wars or global climate change or the loneliness of the dog-eat-dog society.
International Action Center
www.IACenter.org
Action Center For Justice is affiliated with the International Action Center
www.CharlotteAction.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)