New Left Review has posted an essay by Edward Said in which he calls for the departure of Yasser Arafat from the leadership of the Palestinian movement.

An excerpt: 'We have to say clearly that with Arafat and
company in command, there is no hope. What kind of a leader is this, who has spent the last year
grotesquely fetching up in the Vatican and Lagos and other miscellaneous places, pleading without dignity
or even intelligence for imaginary observers, Arab aid, international support, instead of staying with his
people, and trying to aid them with medical supplies, practical organization and real leadership? What the
Palestinians need are leaders who are really with and of their people, who are actually doing the resisting
on the ground, not fat cigar-chomping bureaucrats bent on preserving their business deals and renewing
their VIP passes, who have lost all trace of decency or credibility. '

TAZ writes: "As shocking as this must be to New Yorkers, in Toronto, the city where I'm from, the city I just visited, the quite city I grew up in.....there are plans to disrupt the business district that's been hit by the recession and impacted by 911, AND SHUT IT DOWN.....

Signs of the Times by Naomi Klein

As shocking as this must be to New Yorkers, in Toronto, the city where I live,
lampposts and mailboxes are plastered with posters advertising a plan by
antipoverty activists to "shut down" the business district on October 16. Some of the
posters (those put up before September 11) even have a picture of skyscrapers
outlined in red--the perimeters of the designated direct-action zone. Many have
argued that O16 should be canceled, as other protests and demonstrations have
been, in deference to the mood of mourning--and out of fear of stepped-up police
violence.

But the shutdown is going ahead. In the end, the events of September 11 don't change the fact
that the nights are getting colder and the recession is looming. They don't change the fact
that in a city that used to be described as "safe" and, well, "maybe a little boring," many will die on
the streets this winter, as they did last winter, and the one before that, unless more beds are
found immediately.

nomadlab writes: "Since the bombing started today, and there was an already scheduled demo/march planned, the crowd was large and the cops were being well behaved.

Estimates of the crowd range from 4,000 to 10,000, with a small handfull of counter demonstrators along the way (I encountered about 5 people who carried signs in favor of the war).

We will post some photos of the demo in the morning

add your stories or comments about the demo below."

Louis Lingg writes: "The following was sent to me by e-mail: This morning - Friday Oct. 5th, evil doer, Gregg Singer, sent 'Upscale
Design & Painting' over to whitewash the new murals on the front walls
of CHARAS. This is the second time Singer has destroyed CHARAS murals.

In November of 99' he destroyed murals depicting the history of CHARAS
and a memorial by Chico of slain Artistic Director and Community Leader
Armando Perez. The new murals were a collaborative project organized by
Seth Tobocman this past August.(Seth offered to continuously repaint
them, remember?, so hopefully, we will hold another mural painting day
soon).

Greedy Gregg has clearly violated a supreme court stipulation by coming
on a Friday, without notice and destroying property.(he's only allowed
in tues. wed. & thurs. 10am-4pm, with 24 hrs. notice)
Since Gregg's hatred is only fueled by calls and faxes, and he will
claim we are harassing him,
everyone is encouraged to call 'Upscale Design and Painting' and let
them know that they are being hired to come in the very early morning to
destroy community art because of his obsession to destroy our 21 year
old community center.. etc.

The President of Upscale Design and Painting is:

Vladimir Yuzhuk -718-646-0568

501 Brightwater Ct. atp. 104

Brooklyn NY 11235

A-Infos has a report on the most recent squat eviction in Montreal.

there is also an update on infoshop.org.

The German government has sent a proposal for the creation of "Special Units"
to the European Union (EU) "heads of central bodies for public order and security" to
counter protests at EU Council meetings and other international meetings.



In a report dated 20 September, the German government has proposed to other
EU states that, in response to "events in Gothenburg and Genoa", each
should form and make available "special units" to implement:

"joint and harmonised measures against travelling offenders committing
violent acts"

and proposes that:

"the preconditions must be established to enable one Member State to
request the support of special units from other Member States"



Tony Bunyan, editor of Statewatch, comments: "We are living in very dangerous times in many senses. The use of armed and
specially trained para-military police units to counter protests in the EU
will tend to escalate violence not diminish it. But, more importantly, it
is part of a strategy to treat protestors as the same kind of "threat" as
terrorists. This can only lead to a curtailment of the right of free
movement and the democratic right to demonstrate."



The full text of the report and Statewatch analysis is on:

Francisco Rojas frojas@genoaresistance.org writes:


"Yesterday morning (Tuesday, 18th September) there were about 100 raids all over Italy, and 60 people taking in for questioning by police.

hydrarchist writes: "For more information: info@abolishthebank.org

Anti-Capitalist Convergence Issues New Call to Action

The Anti-Capitalist Convergence is continuing our mobilization in Washington DC September 24 through October 1. We are calling for a march against the growing capitalist war on Saturday morning September 29th and invite all those interested in creating a world free from terror, hate, racism, poverty and war to demonstrate our unity and vision for a better world.

Anonymous Comrade writes: "The following article was written by members of the group Midnight Notes. Originally, it was published on A Infos a week ago, but as a result of its coincidence with the events in New York and Washington, it disappeared. Nonetheless it treats matters which should be of interest to many attracted by contemporary radicalism.Because of the length of the piece, it has been posted in two parts.

Genova and the Antiglobalization Movement

by George Caffentzis

A Citizens' Arrest

These are some reflections on the demonstrations in Genova during the G8 meetings and the post-Genova debate. We were not in Genova on July 19-21, 2001 and were not involved in the process of preparing the demos; thus, there are aspects of this debate we cannot comment upon. We are responding, however, to the widespread realization that the July Genova days were a turning point for the antiglobalization movement and there are important lessons we in the movement must draw from it.

Two things happened in Genova that signal the development of a new political reality. First, 300,000 people from every part of Europe came together to challenge the legitimacy of the G8 meeting and practically attempt a citizen's arrest of it. On the first day of the demonstrations, moreover, 70, 000 immigrants and supporters marched-an unprecedented feat in Italy where immigrants politically are still relatively invisible.

What also happened in Genova is that in response to this challenge the Italian government and (more hiddenly) its G8 partners declared war on the anti-globalization movement, first by brutally attacking hundreds of peaceful demonstrators, and then by staunchly defending these attacks as perfectly legitimate, thus de facto backing a strategy of terror, and the abolition of all legal, civic, and human rights.

Anonymous Comrade writes: "Part II: Caffentzis: Genoa and the Antiglobalization Movement

Genova and the limits of the Seattle experience

Even with the inevitable repression and the much grieved for death and maimings, the Genova demonstrations were in some respects an enormous success for the antiglobalization movement. Hundreds of thousands came from all over Europe to these demonstrations in the face of very open intimidation. Clearly the message of the movement is increasing in its range and power. Moreover, the mass immigrant march was an important first step in tying together the post-Seattle antiglobalization struggle in Europe with the much longer struggle against globalization in the Third World. After all, many immigrants were forced out their homes by globalization policies they struggled against in the streets of Africa, Asia and South America.

However, there is no doubt that at the end of the Genova demonstrations there was an wave of internal criticism and divisiveness within the movement which for some was much more demoralizing than Carlo's death and the hundreds of broken skulls and bones. It is important to voice some of this criticism in order to see that what is being criticized is not due of the personal failings of people of the GSF, the Tute Bianche or the "genuine" Black Block, but it arises from a change in the struggle against globalization when a number of the tactics that proved so successful in Seattle are reaching their limit.