Critical Art Ensemble's Steve Kurtz is Cleared of Mail and Wire Fraud Charges Artist and University of Buffalo Professor Steve Kurtz was cleared of charges for mail and wire fraud today in federal court. U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara ruled that criminal charges brought against him by federal prosecutors were “insufficient on[their] face.”

New York Governor Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring Danny Hakim and William K. Rashbaum, NY Times ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning. Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides inside his Fifth Avenue apartment early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He scheduled an announcement for 2:15 after inquiries from the Times.

South American Anarchists and Anti-Militarists Say NO to War * The threat of armed conflict involving the governments of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela has mobilized anarchists and anti-militarists across the continent, in words and in action, to repudiate what would be a monstrous aggression by state powers against our peoples. Below there are two documents that call for struggle against this evil. __Declaration of Latin American antimilitarists: We don’t need another war__

US Parents Seek Answers in Mexico Death Jessica Bernstein-Wax MEXICO CITY (AP) — The parents of an American journalist slain in southern Mexico said Wednesday they were unsatisfied with the progress authorities have made in the case and will have outside investigators review video footage and forensic evidence.

http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2008/ing/f180208i.html Message from the Commander in Chief Dear compatriots: Last Friday, February 15, I promised you that in my next reflection I would deal with an issue of interest to many compatriots. Thus, this now is rather a message. The moment has come to nominate and elect the State Council, its President, its Vice-Presidents and Secretary.

Chiapas Media Project, Fall Tour 2007

Chiapas Media Project (CMP)/Promedios seeks university, cultural and
community-based sponsors to host screenings on our Fall Tour 2007.

The tour will
feature videos produced by indigenous video makers from the states of Chiapas
and Guerrero, Mexico. Dates are scheduled on a first come, first-served basis
and fill up fast, so please contact us as soon as possible.

CMP/Promedios is an award winning, bi-national partnership that provides
video equipment, computers and training enabling marginalized indigenous and
campesino communities in Southern Mexico to create their own media.

New York Marxist School's Annette Rubinstein, 1912-2007

Liz Mestres, Brecht Forum

Our dear friend and teacher Annette T. Rubinstein died in her sleep last night at the age of 97.
Annette began working with The Brecht Forum/New York Marxist School when we first opened
our doors in the Fall of 1975 and continued to teach wonderful classes on literature, drama and
politics until her last class on Brecht’s Galileo this Spring. She was a constant inspiration and
we will miss her terribly.
A mermorial will be held and we will let you know when the date is set.

A tribute to Annette Rubinstein is found below:

Bush and Rumsfeld 'Knew About Abu Ghraib'

David Usborne, The Independent

The two-star Army General who led the first military investigation into human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has bluntly questioned the integrity of former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, suggesting he misled the US Congress by downplaying his own prior knowledge of what had happened.

Major General Antonio Taguba also claimed in an interview with The New Yorker magazine published yesterday that President George Bush also "had to be aware" of the atrocities despite saying at the time of the scandal that he had been out of the loop until he saw images in the US media.

The White House issued a response denying the claim, however. "The President said over three years ago that he first saw the pictures of the abuse on the television," Scott Stanzel, a spokesman, said.

Terror-Victim Advocates Sue Banana Giant

Paul Wolf

(Washington, D.C.) Advocates for the families of 173 people murdered in
the banana-growing regions of Colombia filed suit today against Chiquita
Brands International, in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. The
families allege that Chiquita paid millions of dollars, and tried to
ship
thousands of machine guns to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or
AUC.
The AUC is a violent, right-wing paramilitary organization supported by
the Colombian army. In 2001, the Bush Administration classified the AUC
as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization." Its units are often described as
"death squads."

According to family representatives, the AUC was used to assassinate
their
husbands, wives and children, who were apparently interfering with
Chiquita's financial interests. In the last ten years, more than ten
thousand people have been murdered by the AUC, many of them in the
banana
zones where Chiquita financed the AUC's operations.

"This is a landmark case, maybe the biggest terrorism case in history,"
said Terry Collingsworth, who directs the litigation. "In terms of
casualties, it's the size of three World Trade Center attacks."
Collingsworth is already known in Colombia for his lawsuits against Coca
Cola, Drummond, and Nestle for the targeted killings of union leaders by
the AUC.

Chavez Dismisses International Disapproval of Venezuela's Media Policy

Hundreds of Thousands March in Support of Chavez

Gregory Wilpert

As several hundred thousand Chavez supporters rallied in Venezuela's
largest avenue on Saturday, President Chavez rejected all international
interference with his decision not to renew a television station's
broadcast license. Referring to the Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci,
Chavez also spoke at length about how private media maintains a cultural
hegemony that must be broken.

"Go to hell, representatives of the global oligarchy, we are a free
country!" said Chavez to wild applause, once marchers reached the
Avenida Bolivar in the center of Caracas. The demonstration converged on
the avenue from two starting points, one in the east of the city and the
other towards the city's south. Unofficial estimates of the number of
demonstrators ranged from 300,000 to 500,000.