Dan Welch writes:

"American Taliban"

Daniel Patrick Welch

Among recent media awareness of the burgeoning antiwar movement across the country, several items stick out. Moveon.org has released an antiwar ad to be shown on TV stations across the country, part of a grassroots campaign gone overboard. The group asked for enough money from supporters to launch a modest print ad, and wound up with enough for a nationwide TV campaign. Based on the 'Daisy' ad which has now become a classic in political advertising circles, the new ad warns against the inherent unpredictability of conflict, and the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons. It is an impressive grassroots achievement, and a compelling visual and emotional statement.

Antimilitarist Solidarity Network / Turkey

writes "Call for solidarity
by Antimilitarist Solidarity Network / Turkey

contact : reddet@savaskarsitlari.org

The common statement of our friends who will stand declare their anti-war

stance through 'conscience objection' and 'total objection' on Friday:

Institute for Social Ecology writes

"Courses in Social Ecology

The Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), located amid central
Vermont's rolling mountains, has been a center for education
and action working with the ideas of social ecology since the
1970s. The ISE and its programs also serve as a forum for
serious dialog among ecological, social justice, and
anti-capitalist activists, as a laboratory for new ecological
technologies, and as a resource for community groups around
the world. For the spring and summer of 2003, the ISE is
again offering its widely acclaimed programs.

Louis Lingg writes "The London Times published the following polemic by John le Carre:

"The United States of America has gone mad."

America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War.

Anonymous Comrade writes: TIME Europe magazine is conducting a poll on which country poses the greatest threat to world peace. The USA was included in the survey. Who is in the lead? As of now, it's the good old USA with -- 77%!

Vote: Who is the greatest threat?

http://www.time.com/time/europe/gdml/peace2003.html

hydrarchist writes:

"World Forum Movement: Abandon or Contaminate?"


Linden Farrer

November 2002 saw 60,000 activists from all over Europe converge on Florence for the European Social Forum (ESF) at the same time as the neoliberal elite met at the TABD in Chicago (1).

In opposition to neo-liberalism that sees increasing inequality of wealth, environmental destruction, rolling-back of
'civil liberties' and a perpetuation of wars of aggression as central to its
operation, the ESF promised to be a meeting space for 'in-depth reflection,
democratic debate, free exchange of experience and planning of effective
action among movements of civil society engaged in building a planetary
society centred on the human being'(2).

Anonymous Comrade writes "WHY NOT SHOW OFF ABOUT THE BEST THINGS? A Few Quick Notes on Social Conflict in Italy and the Metaphors Used to Describe It (*)

A match used to show off like this:

- I'm able to set a barn on fire! I can set fire to a petrol tank, the seat of a ministry, an Etruscan museum, whatever!

- Why not just say you're able to light the gas and boil the soup?

We always show off about the worst things.

Gianni Rodari, "Minimal Fables"

A tradition

Some people have called the Italian insurgence of 2000-02 "la Primavera dei movimenti", the Springtime of Movements. That is also the title of a video documentary that was sold in newsstands enclosed with L'Unità daily paper.

In 1969 the biggest struggles of factory workers were described as "Autunno caldo", the Hot Autumn. Recently, it is quite normal to hear such comments as: "It's like the Hot Autumn!" or "It's the Hot Autumn again!".

raven writes " CASCADIA SUMMER

:
Come to Cascadia to Protect Endangered Forests


June to August, Summer 2003

CALL TO ACTION:

In light of the ALL OUT WAR being
currently waged on our public forests and

environmental protections by George W. Bush and the
timber industry, forest defenders throughout
the mountains of Oregon, Northern California and
Southern Washington are organizing a campaign during
the upcoming summer of 2003. We are issuing a CALL TO
ACTION to all concerned individuals and organizations
to request their aid during the upcoming summer
months.

In the last year, eco-activists have seen a rapid
increase in the level of forest destruction on public
lands, the erosion of hard-fought legal protections
(As inadequate as they were, they were better than
nothing.), and the amount of government repression on
groups fighting for social and environmental justice.
Bush and his cronies are organizing to continue
profiting from injustice and exploiting the Earth. WE
ARE ORGANIZING TO PROMOTE SOCIAL JUSTICE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.

hydrarchist writes:

The True Story of Diaz school raid

by alessandro mantovani (trad by blicero, some further editing by hydrarchist)

The True Story of the Diaz School Raid

The responsibility of head police officers for the raid on the school emerge clearly from the latest investigations and interrogations of the attorneys in Genoa. The Roman riot police are responsible for 61 badly injured people, and leading officers are being hold responsible for perjury and providing false evidence - the fake molotov cocktails bottles "found" in the Diaz school: they all risk being kicked out of the police force. Two vicequestori brought them [the molotovs] to Caldarozzi and Luperi, vice-captains of the SCO [Servizio Centrale Operativo - Central Operative Service] and Gratteri from the anti-terrorism division. La Barbera and Murgolo were there but didn't notice anything. And behind the scenes of the "spy" and "Judas" we can see the shadow of the real head of the riot police, Valerio Donnini, father of the special antiriot unit.
by Alessandro Mantovani

Anonymous Comrade writes:

"America's Pathetic Liberals"

By John Chuckman, YellowTimes.org, Canada

You might think from the way the progressive press laments Al Gore's decision not to run for President again that there had been a genuine loss to liberalism in America.

But that's not quite the way I see it. Although few candidates ever came better groomed for high office than Mr. Gore, it is his performance in the 2000 presidential election that must be lamented.