---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

!VIVA FIDEL! LONG LIVE FIDEL!

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

UPCOMING MAJOR ACTIONS:

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

FREE MUMIA-FRIDAY, 9/15-4P.M.
Alameda County Courthouse, 12th and Fallon Sts, south side

GENERAL AND UNCONDITIONAL AMNESTY FOR ALL!
SATURDAY, 9/16-1:00 P.M.
MISSION AND 24TH STREET, S.F.

STOP THE WAR! BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS NOT WAR!
SATURDAY, 10/28
(TIME AND LOCATION TBA)

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THIS JUST IN:

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September 16th, 2006 Amnesty for All Rally Permit Denied

A Report by Bonnie Weinstein

September 14, 2006 Report of Interdepartmental Staff Committee
on Traffic and Transportation (ISCOTT) Hearing denies a Permit for
Rally Saturday, September 16, 2006, on 24th Street between Mission
and Bartlett Streets between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. sponsored by
People United for General and Unconditional Amnesty for All!

I have just come from the ISCOTT hearing where, with the help and
assistance of the ACLU--who agreed with the S. F. Police department
that, although we had the right to free speech, the Police and this
committee had the right to determine where and when we can
exercise it--we were denied a permit to hold a rally in the Mission
on September 16th, in celebration and solidarity with Mexican and
Latin American Independence Day and for general and unconditional
amnesty for all immigrants.

Further, the permits were denied based on blatant and outright lies
told by the Mission Police Department representative to the ISCOTT
committee. First, that we lied to them about our estimation of the
number of people who would turn out for a demonstration we
sponsored on April 10th, 2006 in order to avoid the permit process
and, second, that we are lying now about our estimate of the number
that may turn out on September 16th. Of course, since this hearing
was part of this permit process they could not accuse us of trying
to avoid it this time.

To understand what is going on a little background information is
necessary.

Parents and teachers from the Compañeros Del Barrio Children's
Center in the heart of the Mission District organized themselves into
a group to fight for general amnesty for all immigrants. Our first action
was to be a procession, called by the 40 families who came together
to form this group-around 90 people all-together from the children's
center and other friends, such as myself who have committed themselves
to help immigrants in their struggle-to plan a procession April 10th
at 5:00 p.m. from 16th and Mission Street to 24th and Mission Street.
It was organized to be a procession of the 40 families with children
(90 or so people) up Mission Street for a small rally at 24th Street.
Having no resources or funding, we set our first goals very small.
A successful procession of families up Mission Street would be
a good beginning.

In-between the time our group called for the April 10th demonstration
several weeks earlier, and the day of the march, there occurred a giant
upsurge in the Immigrant Rights movement. Literally millions of people
spontaneously demonstrated in the streets across the country during
those weeks in April and May-a half-a-million in Chicago and over
a million in Los Angeles just to name two.

We had no way to estimate how many people would turn out April 10
to our little procession--even though we sent out announcements
and distributed flyers in the days before the action. On April 10th
the Children's center proceeded to 16th and Mission Street-children
and parents with candles and handmade signs and banners-to the
BART Plaza, with nothing more than bullhorns-obviously unprepared
for thousands of people. I was waiting at 24th and Mission Street with
our little portable speaker that I brought myself in expectation for
the procession to arrive up the sidewalk to our rallying point on 24th
and Mission. We didn't have a permit for this speaker so we were
prepared not to use it if the police told us not to.

To my wonder, I saw thousands stretched clear across Mission Street
from sidewalk to sidewalk. I was amazed when they finally came into
view, which took quite some time! The bullhorn we had would have
been useless and even our little speaker was ineffectual in reaching
the numbers of people who showed up. Obviously we had not planned
on this number of people turning out!

At the hearing today, the officer representing the Mission Police
Department stated that we "deceived them" about the numbers that
were expected April 10th. Further, as proof of his claim, he told the
committee hearing that we had a "60-foot flatbed truck with giant
speakers" that we had to have arranged for ahead of time and
therefore, we, indeed, did expect a large turnout April 10th and
we lied to him about it.

But, as a matter of fact, we had no flatbed truck April 10th. We only
had that half of a 100-watt, battery operated, portable speaker that
I brought--barely louder than a bullhorn--and an old wooden chair
to stand on. We had a priest and six parents scheduled to speak but
politicians miraculously appeared and asked to address the crowd
that turned out in the thousands.

The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition, active members of the community, seeing
that we were, in fact, totally unprepared for such a gathering dashed
off to their office a few blocks away and came back with around nine
or ten volunteer monitors and extra monitor-vests to help aid the
orderliness of the rally. We welcomed their help, as did the police
at the time.

We appointed monitors that cooperated with the police in all they
asked of us at the time. The police did not ask us not to use the
speaker. Two men held the speaker up for the length of the rally
by balancing it on a broomstick. It ran out of juice toward the end
of the rally and we ended the rally with the use of our bullhorn.

All of this evidence points to the truth of the matter-we were totally
unprepared for the turnout-very pleasantly surprised and inspired
as were with the turnout and the politicians that clambered to
speak-but certainly, we were totally unprepared because it was
unexpected. And that's the truth!

Inconsistent rights

We called another rally on May 1, 2006 at 5:00 p.m. and secured
a sound permit from the Entertainment Commission. We were
directed to cooperate with the Northern Police Station about the
street-closure and the specifics for the rally. We planned to and
did rent a flatbed truck that day and a 2000-watt speaker system
all of which was outlined in our sound permit application. The
Northern Police Station felt that it was our free-speech right to
have the street closure and did not require us to apply for the
ISCOTT permit through Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT).

The officers from Northern Police Station were waiting for our
truck May 1st when we arrived at McAllister and Golden Gate at
5:00 p.m. and quickly and efficiently closed the street off to traffic.
In fact, both the police of the Northern Police Station and our
volunteer monitors (again, the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition and
volunteers from those present at the rally recruited on the
spot) worked as a team in complete cooperation with each
other. The rally went off smoothly, within the time limits of
our permit and without incident.

After applying for a sound permit through the Entertainment
Commission for September 16th, we were directed to the Mission
Police Station to coordinate with them. When I called the station
for the first time we were immediately met with hostility. We were
told that since we had deceived them about the April 10th rally
that we had to go through the DPT permit procedure and, further,
that they would recommend to the ISCOTT hearing that our permit
for a street closure in the Mission be denied. When I asked Captain
Goldberg whether the commission ever went against the police
department recommendation he said, "No."

In preparation for September 16th, after a few weeks of negotiations
in which every configuration or street we requested was turned
down by Captain Goldberg, he sent us a letter. He put his
accusations in writing and threatened us with criminal charges
if we underestimated the number we expected to turn out
September 16th and insisted that we go through DPT.

We were in a predicament. We are not clairvoyant and have no
idea how many people may or may not turn out on Sept. 16th.
In my search for some location that the police department would
approve of, I called Sandy Lee of the Recreation and Parks Department
about a recommendation for a suitable park location in The Mission
for a crowd the police estimated, for April 10th, to be 7,000 people-
an estimate we were warned not to go under. Even Dolores Park has
a cap of 5,000 although many demonstrations in that park had many
more than that in attendance, technically, we were told we could not
apply for that park if our estimate was above 5,000 people.

And, we did not want to have a demonstration at Dolores Park anyway.
That park really is on the outskirts of the Mission. We wanted to have
a venue in the community most affected by immigration issues. Our
reasoning was that many undocumented workers do not feel secure
coming to a rally on the outskirts of their community-many believe
that it could expose them to persecution or deportation if they were
seen to consciously go to such a demonstration. Having a rally in
the community itself, where they already are, there is much less
of perceived risk of being singled out as an "agitator" or an "illegal
alien."

We decided to go through the DPT process after all, in the hopes
that we could come to some kind of compromise at the hearing itself.
We drastically scaled down our request for space. We secured toilet
facilities and tried to comply with all the requirements of the
ISCOTT 17-page application, in addition to paying all the permit
application fees totaling over $700.00. We also scaled back on our
speaker system deciding not to rent a truck or powerful speakers
such as we had May 1st and use the same small system we used
April 10th. (Part of the reason for this is that, as an immigrant
group, we have no more money.)

At the hearing this morning I stated that our estimation of the
number of people that would actually come out on Sept. 16th
was far fewer than the numbers that did turn out either April 10th
or May 1st. I stated to the committee that the numbers at that time
were spurred on by that huge outpouring "of the moment" and that
we are not in that same situation now. In fact, we went through
the process for May 1st because we did, indeed, expect larger
crowds that evening-especially since another immigrant rights
rally held during the day on May 1 just a block away would be
letting out at about the same time as our rally began and our
rally had been announced to those people in attendance at the
earlier event.

We repeated this identical process for the Sept. 16th rally
because we wanted to abide by all the requirements necessary
to have a legal and peaceful rally. This morning I stated that we
did not expect anywhere near those numbers-perhaps one or
two hundred people at the most--and we don't even know if
we will need a street closure for this rally.

Then the officer representing the Mission Police Station, again,
stated we were being deceitful, and that thousands could turn
out! Then, within the same breath, he stated that we could have
held the rally at Justin Herman Plaza or at Horace Mann Middle
School. I stated that Justin Herman Plaza, certainly, can't be
considered "The Mission" and that, by the Police Department's
own admonition, we couldn't have estimated our crowd small
enough to even get use of Horace Mann Middle School or Delores
Park or any park or plaza in the area, and, that in any case, the
school would have cost several hundred dollars more than the
$700.00 we have already paid and, would have taken even
longer to apply for.

Our permit was denied without a single dissenting voice or
vote from the ISCOTT committee.

I regret also to say that we had no legal support at the hearing
what so ever and that was extremely disappointing since the
police did blatantly lie to the committee and now there is only
me as a witness to it.

Our little group will be meeting this evening to determine what
we should do now. We do not know the ramifications of us
showing up but, of course, we have to at least show up on the
sidewalk Saturday, September 16th at 1:00 p.m. since we have
been advertising for this rally and have no way to call it off
at this short notice. We do intend on bringing a bullhorn,
which, I believe, is still legal.

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The Democratic Party's redevelopment plan is stopped by Petition
campaign until 2000! House Speaker Pelosi's, the Board of Supervisor's,
and the Mayor's plans to help the housing profiteers is stopped.

"The Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Area, passed on by the
Board of Supervisors 7-4 , and signed into law by the Mayor on
June 1, 2006, is now officially suspended pending an election at
which the voters will be given the opportunity to decide.  The election
will most likely take place during a normally scheduled general
election in 2007."

SEPTEMBER 12, 2006

Just before 5 pm today, Tuesday, September 12, 2006, John Arntz,
Director of Elections for the City and County of San Francisco officially
certified that the  REFERENDUM PETITION opposing the creation
of a Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Area as successful.

The Department of Elections found that more than the minimum
number of 21,615 valid signatures were submitted by Petition
sponsors.  Sponsors had submitted in excess of  33,000 signatures 
on August 30th, 2006 after a 90 day signature gathering drive. 
San Francisco has not seen a successful referendum petition drive
in decades.  A referendum allows San Francisco  voters to decide
on the merits of legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

The Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Area, passed on by the
Board of Supervisors 7-4 , and signed into law by the Mayor on
June 1, 2006, is now officially suspended pending an election
at which the voters will be given the opportunity to decide. 
The election will most likely take place during a normally
scheduled general election in 2007.

SUPPORTES HAIL VICTORY:

Petition supporters hailed the results as a victory for democracy
and echoed their campaign slogan "Let the Voters Decide!  
Petition supporter , Willie Ratcliff,publisher of the Bayview Newspaper
said "This special interest legislation was never about the benefiting
the community. Now ,finally,  the will of the voters can be expressed
democratically, at the ballot."

CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFO:   
Brian Murphy O'Flynn     415-867-4370

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URGENT: Messages of Solidarity with Mexican Activists Needed

***PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY***

Dear Friends,

As you know, there are revolutionary events developing in Mexico.
The national movement against the electoral fraud has shaken the
country from top to bottom. The formation of the Popular Assembly
of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), which has for all intents and purposes
replaced the "official" state government, is just a taste of what is to
come in the weeks and months ahead. The Mexican people have
had enough of poverty, misery, repression, fraud, and corruption.
This movement threatens not only the current government, but the
entire profit system on which it is based. The state and its media
have therefore launched an all-out camapaign to prepare public
opinion for repression.

On August 22, Oaxaca State Attorney Lizbeth Caña, described the
APPO as an "urban guerrilla" rather than a "social organization".
This was a clear sign that the state apparatus had decided to fight
against the APPO with the methods of counter-insurgency. In the
course of the struggle of the teachers and workers in Oaxaca,
a number of leading activists have already been assassinated,
and groups of masked, well armed men have been used against
the movement (in some cases, later to be found to be police officers).
These are therefore not empty threats.

The Marxist Tendency "Militante"
http://www.militante.org/
which has been involved in these struggles from the very beginning,
is now also being targeted for repression by the state.

On August 25th, in his regular column in El Universal (one of the
main Mexican newspapers), Raymundo Riva Palacio signed
an article called "Guerrillas", in which he backed the slanderous
allegations about the "guerrilla" character of the APPO, accusing
it of being infiltrated by the Revolutionary Army of the People (EPR).
He then added the Marxist Tendency "Militante" in his amalgam:

"Reality, however, backs up the accusation of the Oaxaca government
that the problem they are facing is one of urban guerrillaism.
The EPR has been joined by a number of tactical allies, like the
revolutionary Trotskyist current which, through its mouthpiece
El Militante, published on August 17th a text about 'The struggle
against fraud and the road of Oaxaca' where it denounces the 'electoral fraud'
allegedly commited by president Vicente Fox, and while supporting
the resistance started by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, raises the
need to increase the contradictions and the creation of 'one, two,
three Oaxacas'. This support for Lopez Obrador cannot be seen as
passengers on the same boat, but rather as a tactical device by the
guerrillas, taking advantage of the political conditions created
by the candidate of the coalition For the Wellbeing of All [Lopez Obrador]"
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/columnas/60018.html

The article then goes on to describe the alleged activities of the
EPR in Mexico City where Riva Palacio claims that it has infiltrated
the massive tent camp organised to fight electoral fraud. He also
makes the outlandish claim that the EPR "organized the failed road
blockades around the University City". This is a well-targeted attack
that should not be taken lightly. Only two organizations are mentioned
in the article as being infiltrated or linked to the EPR and "urban
guerrilla", the teachers' union in Oaxaca and Militante.

The reason for these accusations is very clear: to try to prepare
public opinion for state or paramilitary repression against known
leaders of these organizations, something with which the Mexican
state has a long history.

The comrades of Militante have argued within the movement against
electoral fraud, for the need to call a 24-hour general strike and
to make the National Democratic Convention called for September 16th
into a genuine body of workers' power, and for the need to spread the
insurrection in Oaxaca nationwide. All this work has been conducted
openly, in mass meetings, at the tent camps, in the Zocalo square,
in the neighbourhoods, in the schools and universities, in workplaces
and trade union branches. These slogans are getting a wide echo amongst
the hundreds of thousands and millions who are participating in the mass
mobilizations of the last couple of months. A small indication of this
is the massive increase in the circulation and regularity of "Militante",
their paper, of which tens of thousands of copies have been distributed.

This is the real reason why they have been singled out for attack. And
the attack does not come from one or two right wing journalists. El Universal
is a serious organ of the ruling class in Mexico, which is at present
extremely worried about the explosive revolutionary situation they
are facing. If they attack "Militante" in its pages, then they are either
doing so under instructions from the state or are giving the state
instructions on whom to target.

We appeal to all revolutionary activists and organizations around
the world to support the comrades of the Marxist Tendency Militante
by doing the following:

discussing the issue in their organizations and in the labor and trade
union movement, passing resolutions in support of the struggle
of thepeople of Oaxacaand the comrades of "Militante"
protesting to the Mexican embassies around the world,making
the Mexican government responsible for the well-being of the
members ofthe APPO and of Militante.

On September 15 and 16 a mass mobilization has been called
in Mexico to declare a National Democratic Convention that would
decide over the futureof the country's political life. To show support
we are appealing for the organisation of pickets of the Mexican
embassies worldwide on either of thesetwo days. Click here for
a list of MexicanEmbassies around the world:
http://directorio.gob.mx/www.php?categoria=417

We urgently need messages of solidarity and protest sent to the
following addresses:
Raymundo Riva Palacio, author of the El Universal article:
rriva@eluniversal.com.mx
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you
need Javascript enabled to view it.
The Marxist Tendency "Militante":
mailto:
redaccion@militante.org

Section 22 of theNational Education Workers' Union in Oaxaca:

CEPOS_22@hotmail.com

***PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY***


STATEMENT IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY IN MEXICO

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We send greetings of solidarity to your struggle for true
democracy--democratic decision-making by the people
and for the people. We say NO! to the tyranny of the U.S.
and its allies that have striped freedom from all people
and plunged the world further into poverty and war.

We say NO! to the "democracy" of "Big Business!" A
"democracy" that allows the profits of big business to
cross all borders freely while those driven from their
homeland by starvation and unemployment brought
about by these very business practices, are deemed
criminals.

Both war and poverty soar worldwide while the pockets
of the wealthy elite bulge with the stolen wealth from
oil, war and big-business, free-trade agreements.

The "War on Terror"--this war without end--goes hand
and hand with a general assault on the poor--it is
responsible for the deaths of tens-of-thousands of
Afghan, Iraqi, Palestinian and Lebanese innocents who,
by example, stand as a warning, from the powerful U.S.
wealthy elite, to the masses of the world, of what will
await us if we try to fight back.

We, the people throughout the world--subjugated under
this "democracy"--get to choose between one powerful,
wealthy, elite politician over another. In all countries
today, save Cuba and Venezuela, this is the extent of
the "democratic" norms of Capital.

The overwhelming majority of us have no say in decisions
that affect our lives and the good and welfare of our family
and friends. Not only have we no say on whether or not
to declare war on another country, it is we who are sent
to fight in the war.

The ruling, wealthy elite rarely earn their own keep or
fight their own battles. Their children are jet-setting
around the world and do not risk their lives in bloody
battle--that is what the ignorant masses are for--to be
mere drones, beasts of burden or cannon fodder--thus
saving the ruling elite from the trouble and expense!

This so-called "democracy" that the U.S. and its allies-
in-crime constantly claim to be "defending" with the use
of torture, terror and weapons of mass destruction certainly
does not allow democratic decision-making by the people
over such life-altering issues such as whether or not to
go to war, or to make any collective decisions affecting
the good and welfare of the majority.

The "democracy" they speak of represents only the interests
of these despotic rulers themselves who rule through the
threat of death and destruction of the entire planet. This
is how they maintain their control over the wealth and
resources they have stolen from toiling multitudes
across all borders!

This is not democracy! It is the simple tyranny of the
wealthy over the poor--a truly incomprehensible balance
of power of an infinitesimal, tiny minority over a vast
majority--a power that depends on our own alienation
from each other.

They have been able to convince us of our own inferiority;
of having fundamental differences that can never be
overcome; and in believing in the inevitability of a "dog-
eat-dog" world that will forever render us powerless
to act in the interests of the common good when, in
reality, together, we are the most powerful force on earth.
In fact, we are able to achieve whatever we put our minds to.

Their massive campaign of divide and conquer has temporarily
(albeit for quite a number of centuries now) blinded us to our
common interests and to our inherent power. Their goal
to turn brother against brother seems to be working still.

Only through our unity and solidarity across all borders in
this, the final conflict of humanity--a battle between true
human democracy and freedom versus the rule and tyranny
of private Capital and their weapons of mass destruction--
will the continued future of humanity be determined.

Together in unity and solidarity we do have the power to
disarm these thieves and murderers. They maintain
their power and wealth through their perceived ability
to destroy the world at the flick of a switch! But this is
but an illusion. They have no real power to act without
our cooperation. They are trained to push buttons and
give orders only--not how to actually carry out such acts
by themselves. On their own they are the greatest and
most inept cowards on Earth.

Our strength lies in our numbers and in our ability to
do, build, grow, raise, design, manufacture, service, install,
maintain, and operate all things human beings want,
need and desire. Contrary to the wealthy elite, we do have
the ability to act in the interests of the masses of humanity.
Together we can disconnect that button and free the world
from the threat of death and destruction that hangs over us.

The future of humanity and the planet depends on our
ability to take these weapons out of their hands, to disarm
them, and rid the world of this ultimate terrorist threat.
To intercept the button and the trigger. To do this, we
must gain control over our own, collective destiny.

Democracy is our most powerful tool

Our strength and power is in our ability to unify. To stand
in solidarity with one another and against the rule of the
wealthy elite. Our success or failure in this is wholly
dependent on whether we can create a free and open
decision-making process involving the overwhelming
majority of the masses of people on the planet--each
person having a voice and a vote. And, while insuring
that the rights of all minority voices are protected,
insuring that the majority will finally have the power
to democratically rule over all the decisions that will
affect all of our lives--including whether or not to go
to war.

I am confident that we, the people, will decide that war
is never the answer. We will put our collective resources,
instead, toward ending all hunger, poverty, homelessness,
illiteracy, ignorance, bigotry and hatred toward one another.

We will make the interests of the wealthy completely
subordinate to the basic human rights and interests
of the masses of people. We will let the interests of the
majority guide all of are actions. We will divert war
expenditures toward healing the sick and taking care
of the infirm. We will make the world an oyster for every
child, unconditionally and equally across all borders!
We will use all of our material, creative and intellectual
resources to build a world where equality, freedom,
justice and the right of all to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness is paramount.

Collectively and in democratic cooperation with one
another we can create a paradise on Earth for all who
inhabit it. Working together in this way--with the
interests of all in mind--there is no problem we
cannot solve.

We believe that masses of people who have
democratic control over their collective destiny
will make decisions in the best interests of all of
humanity. Together we have the power not only
to endure but to flourish!

Here are our plans in solidarity on Saturday,
September 16, 2006:

People United For a General and Unconditional Amnesty
Barrio Unido Por una Amnistia General e Incondicional
474 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Contact Persons:
Cristina Gutierrez: 415-431-9925
Bonnie Weinstein: 415-824-8730

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PEOPLE UNITED FOR AN UNCONDITIONAL AND GENERAL AMNESTY
Assembly: 24TH and Mission
When: Saturday, September 16th 2006
Time: 1 pm
For more information call 415-431-9925

We make a call to all the immigrant community to continue our
struggle and celebrate the independence of our countries demanding
a general and unconditional amnesty for all NOW!

All of our liberators, Simon Bolivar, Benito Juarez, San Martin, etc.,
struggled for a big, free American continent without borders. The rich
are the ones who have created borders so they can exploit and deny
us our right to education, health, housing, and jobs. Immigrant
Brothers and Sisters let us unite and celebrate our independence
demanding to be treated as human beings.

AMNESTY FOR ALL NOW!

Assembly: 24TH and Mission
When: Saturday, September 16th 2006
Time: 1 pm
For more information call 415-431-9925


..................................Spanish.................................

BARRIÓ UNIDO POR UNA
AMNISTIA GENERAL e INCONDICIONAL

¡AMNISTÍA PARA TODOS AHORA!
Asamblea: 24 y Misión
Dia: Sábado, 16 de Septiembre 2006
Hora: 1 PM
Para más información 415-431-9925

Hace un llamado a toda la población emigrante a continuar
nuestra lucha y celebrar la independencia de nuestros países
demandando una amnistía general e incondicional para
todos AHORA.

Todos nuestros libertadores, Simón Bolívar, Benito Juárez,
San Martín, etc. lucharon por una patria americana grande y sin
fronteras. Los ricos son los que han creado fronteras para así
poder explotarnos y negarnos el derecho a la educación salud,
vivienda, y trabajo.

Hermanos emigrantes unámonos y celebremos nuestra
independencia demandando ser tratados como seres humanos.

¡AMNISTÍA PARA TODOS AHORA!
Asamblea: 24 y Misión
Dia: Sábado, 16 de Septiembre 2006
Hora: 1 PM
Para más información 415-431-9925


In solidarity,

Bonnie Weinstein,
For People United for a General Amnesty
(415) 431-9925

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SCROLL DOWN TO READ:
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
ARTICLES IN FULL
LINKS ONLY

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EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Mumia Abu-Jamal Is In Danger
Rally In Oakland To FREE MUMIA!
4 PM Friday September 15th 2006,
Alameda County Courthouse, 12th and Fallon Sts, south side
Mumia Abu-Jamal Is Innocent!
For Labor Action To Free Mumia! End the Racist Death Penalty!
Rally initiated by the Labor Action Committee
To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (LAC),
PO Box 16222, Oakland CA 94610.
510 763-2347 or LACFreeMumia@aol.com.
www.mumia.org,
www.freemumia.org,
www.chicagofreemumia.org,
www.laboractionmumia.org.

- Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal

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PEOPLE UNITED FOR AN UNCONDITIONAL AND GENERAL AMNESTY
Assembly: 24TH and Mission
When: Saturday, September 16th 2006
Time: 1 pm
For more information call 415-431-9925

We make a call to all the immigrant community to continue our
struggle and celebrate the independence of our countries demanding
a general and unconditional amnesty for all NOW!

All of our liberators, Simon Bolivar, Benito Juarez, San Martin, etc.,
struggled for a big, free American continent without borders. The rich
are the ones who have created borders so they can exploit and deny
us our right to education, health, housing, and jobs. Immigrant
Brothers and Sisters let us unite and celebrate our independence
demanding to be treated as human beings.

AMNESTY FOR ALL NOW!

..................................Spanish.................................

BARRIÓ UNIDO POR UNA
AMNISTIA GENERAL e INCONDICIONAL
¡AMNISTÍA PARA TODOS AHORA!
Asamblea: 24 y Misión
Dia: Sábado, 16 de Septiembre 2006
Hora: 1 PM
Para más información 415-431-9925

Hace un llamado a toda la población emigrante a continuar
nuestra lucha y celebrar la independencia de nuestros países
demandando una amnistía general e incondicional para
todos AHORA.

Todos nuestros libertadores, Simón Bolívar, Benito Juárez,
San Martín, etc. lucharon por una patria americana grande y sin
fronteras. Los ricos son los que han creado fronteras para así
poder explotarnos y negarnos el derecho a la educación salud,
vivienda, y trabajo.

Hermanos emigrantes unámonos y celebremos nuestra
independencia demandando ser tratados como seres humanos.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Free the Cuban Five!
September 23, 2006
Washington, DC
Breaking News...
On Aug. 9, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its en banc
decision denying a new trial to the Cuban Five. On August 10,
the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, together with
the National Lawyers Guild, sponsored an emergency press
conference in Washington in response to the decision.
A partial transcript to that press conference, in English
and Spanish, is here.
A March on the White House will be held on September 23
to continue to press forward with efforts to free the Five.
We urge all supporters to make every effort to join us on
that march. A public demonstration of support for the Five,
and outrage at their continued imprisonment, has never
been more vital. Details of the march are found at the
website below.
Join us in Washington on Sept. 23! Free the Cuban Five!
http://www.freethefive.org/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

IRAN WAR PERIL — EX-CIA MAN’S SF TALK SEPT. 24

The "threat" from Iran: Are mushroom clouds ahead?
Ray McGovern, a CIA analyst for 27 years, addresses
that issue at 12:45 p.m. Sunday, September 24, in the
First Unitarian Universalist Church (Starr King Room),
Franklin and Geary Streets, San Francisco.

McGovern will touch on Iraq too: "How we got in and
how we get out." Last May in Atlanta, national TV
networks showed him accusing Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld of prewar lying about supposed Iraqi weapons
of mass destruction.

McGovern founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals
for Sanity. He served the Central Intelligence Agency
from the Kennedy Administration to that of George H.
W. Bush. Awarded an Intelligence Commendation Medal,
he returned it following the revelations of torture.

There will be a question period until about 2 p.m.
Optional lunch (bring it or buy it) precedes the
program at 12:15. Cosponsors are the church’s World
Community Advocates and the War and Law League (WALL).

Following the program, WALL conducts its biennial
meeting. It is a nonpartisan, all-volunteer, San
Francisco-based group that opposes presidential wars
and aims at the rule of law in U.S. foreign affairs.

Public transit to the Unitarian Church includes
Muni's 47 and 49 bus lines on Van Ness Avenue, one
block east of Franklin, and the 38-Geary bus(which
connects with BART at the Montgomery Street Station).

For further information: (415) 738-8298 or (415)
564-2083; warandlaw@yahoo.com; http://warandlaw.org.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Urgent call from October 22 Coalition against Police Brutality, SF
October 22 Coalition against Police Brutality, Repression
and Criinalization of a generation
National Day of Protest, March and Rally in SF, Planning
NO MORE STOLEN LIVES ! NO MAS VIDAS ROBADAS !
Contact:
mesha Monge-Irizarry
Idriss Stelley Foundation
(415) 595-8251 24HR Bilingual Spa. Crisis line
iolmisha@cs. com
How: Already involved are : October 22 Bay Area, Idriss
Stelley Foundation, SF CEDP (Campaign to End the Death
Penalty, ISO (International Socialist Organization, Bay Area),
Bay Area Families of Victims and Survivors of Police brutality,
Code Pink
http://www.october22.org/
GET INVOLVED: To join our mailing list, please write to:
sf1022-talk-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

U.S. Out of Iraq Now! We Are the Majority!
End Colonial Occupation from Iraq,
to Palestine, Haiti, and Everywhere!
October 28 National Day of Action
Locally Coordinated Anti-War Protests from Coast to Coast
Vote With Your Feet … and Your Voices, and Banners, and Signs!
Let Every Politician Feel the Power of the People!
http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=ANS_&page=NewsArticle&id=7836

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

October 28 National Day of Action
Locally Coordinated Anti-War Protests from Coast to Coast
Vote With Your Feet … and Your Voices, and Banners, and Signs!
Let Every Politician Feel the Power of the People!
http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=ANS_&page=NewsArticle&id=7836
http://www.actionsf.org/
http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=ANS_&page=NewsArticle&id=7869

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End Canada's Occupation of Afghanistan!
Call for action on October 28, 2006

This call for a pan-Canadian day of action, co-signed by the
Canadian Peace Alliance, the Canadian Islamic Congress, the
Canadian Labour Congress and the Montreal coalition Echec
a la Guerre, is being distributed and discussed at the World Peace
Forum now taking place in Vancouver. -SV The Collectif Échec
à la guerre, Canadian Peace Alliance, the Canadian Labour Congress,
and the Canadian Islamic Congress are jointly calling for a pan-
Canadian day of protest this October 28th, 2006, to bring Canadian
troops home from Afghanistan.

On that day, people all across the country will unite to tell
Stephen Harper that we are opposed to
his wholehearted support for Canadian and U.S. militarism.
This October marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion and
occupation of Afghanistan, and the people of that country are
still suffering from the ravages of war. Reconstruction in the
country is at a standstill and the needs of the Afghan people
are not being met. The rule of the new Afghan State, made
up largely of drug running warlords, will not realize the
democratic aspirations of the people there. In fact, according
to Human Rights Watch reports, the human rights record
of those warlords in recent years has not been better than
the Taliban.

We are told that the purpose of this war is to root out terrorism
and protect our societies, yet the heavy-handed approach of
a military occupation trying to impose a US-friendly
government on the Afghan people will force more Afghans
to become part of the resistance movement. It will also
make our societies more -- not less -- likely to see terrorist
attacks.

No discussion on military tactics in the House of Commons
will change that reality. Indeed, violence is increasing with
more attacks on both coalition troops and on Afghan civilians.
While individual Canadian soldiers may have gone to Afghanistan
with the best of intentions, they are operating under the
auspices of a US-led state building project that cares little
or the needs of the Afghan people. US and Canadian interests
rest with the massive $3.2 billion Trans Afghan Pipeline (TAP)
project, which will bring oil from the Caspian region through
southern Afghanistan (where Canada is stationed) and onto the
ports of Pakistan.

It has been no secret that the TAP has dominated US foreign
policy towards Afghanistan for the last decade. Now Canadian
oil and gas corporations have their own interests in the TAP.
Over the last decade, the role of the Canadian Armed Forces
abroad has changed, and Canadian foreign policy has become
a replica of the US empire-building rhetoric. The end result
of this process is now plain to see with the role of our troops
in Southern Afghanistan, with the enormous budget increases
for war expenditures and "security," with the Bush-style speeches
of Stephen Harper, and with the fear campaigns around
"homegrown terrorism" to foster support for those nefarious
changes.

It is this very course that will get young Canadian soldiers killed,
that will endanger our society and consume more and more
of its resources for destruction and death in Afghanistan.
We demand a freeze in defense and security budgets until
an in-depth public discussion is held on those issues across
Canada. The mission in Afghanistan has already cost Canadians
more than $4 billion. That money could have been used to fund
human needs in Canada or abroad. Instead it is being used
to kill civilians in Afghanistan and advance the interests
of corporations.

On October 28th, stand up and be counted.
Canadian Troops Out of Afghanistan Now!

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

San Francisco Board of Education Meeting
Tuesday, November 14th, 7PM
555 Franklin Street, 1st Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
415/241-6427
The Board will vote on a resolution to phase out JROTC.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Close the SOA and Change Oppressive U.S. Foreign Policy
Nov. 17-19, 2006 - Converge on Fort Benning, Georgia

People's Movements across the Americas are becoming increasingly more
powerful. Military "solutions" to social problems as supported by
institutions like the School of the Americas were unable to squash their
voices, and the call for justice and accountability is getting louder each
day.

Add your voice to the chorus, demand justice for all the people of the
Americas and engage in nonviolent direct action to close the SOA and
change oppressive U.S. foreign policy.

With former SOA graduates being unmasked in Chile, Argentina, Colombia,
Paraguay, Honduras, and Peru for their crimes against humanity, and with
the blatant similarities between the interrogation methods and torture
methods used at Abu Ghraib and those described in human rights abuse cases
in Latin America, the SOA/WHINSEC must be held accountable!

Visit http://www.soaw.org to learn more about the November Vigil, hotel
and travel information, the November Organizing Packet, and more.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

A CALL TO SUPPORT THE CASE OF ELVIRA ARELLANO
Stand in solidarity with all immigrants, documented and undocumented

The IAC urges you to support the case of Elvira Arellano. Elvira is
an undocumented worker who is taking a heroic stand against
deportations and fighting for her rights. She is a native of Michoacán,
Mexico who came to the U.S. like many of the other 12 million
undocumented in this country, in search of work and a better life.

In 2002, Elvira was detained by Homeland Security agents in an
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweep at O’Hare Airport
in Chicago under the guise of allegedly looking for “terrorists”. She
was detained by the Department of Homeland Security for using
a false social security number on her job at O’Hare.

On August 18, 2006 Elvira Arellano and her seven year old son,
Saul who is a US citizen, took sanctuary in Adalberto United Methodist
Church in Chicago instead of reporting for deportation, primarily
because Saul has health problems. She has pledged to live indefinitely
in the church until granted a reprieve.

Elvira is a well known activist, representing many families in
Congressional hearings and speaking on behalf of immigrant rights.
She worked to organize in July 2005 a march of 50,000 for immigrant
rights in Chicago, and went on a hunger strike to support workers who
were picked up by ICE prior to the historic May 1st boycott in 2006.
Arellano was a founder of both La Familia Latina Unida and the
Coalition of African Arab Asian European and Latino Immigrants
of Illinois (CAAAELII).

The case of Elvira Arellano is a just case

Elvira Arellano has become the symbol of resistance to the heartless
and callous deportations that are sweeping the country. Despite
a legislative standstill in Congress, not only are deportations
escalating, local officials around the nation are implementing
de facto immigration policy that amount to a witch-hunt against
immigrants. A case in point is the anti-immigrant ordinance that
passed in July in Hazelton, PA.

Due to her heroic stand, a group of Black ministers spoke last
week at Adalberto Methodist of the comparisons of Arellano
to Rosa Parks. Reverend Albert Tyson said he hopes “their
support would increase the bonds between Latinos and African-
Americans.” At the meeting Arellano said, “I don’t only speak
for me and my son, but for millions of families like mine.”
Supporters from the predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood
chanted, “Luchando mano y mano, Boriqua y Mexicano!”
(“Fighting hand in hand, Puerto Rican and Mexican!”)

Elvira Arellano is the perfect example that the anti-immigrant
hysteria sweeping the country is an inhumane situation that
has become intolerable. The human rights of immigrants are
being cruelly violated under the guise of fighting terrorism
or stopping “illegal” immigration. In fact, no human being
is illegal and whether in the U.S. documented or undocumented,
immigrants have a right to live in peace, without fear of evictions
from their homes or the country.

How you can help Elvira:

1. Write letters to Illinois Senators Richard Durbin and Barack
Obama as well as your own legislator urging them to prevent
her deportation.

For Senator Durbin visit: http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm#contact
For Senator Obama: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/index.php

2. Send Letters to the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune
asking them to stop demonizing Elvira as well as all immigrants.
Their emails are letters@suntimes.com and ctc-tribletter@tribune.com.

3. Send letters of support directly to Elvira at the organization she works
with and who has been spearheading her support, Sin Fronteras
at Centro Sin Fronteras 2300 S. Blue Island Ave., Chicago IL 60608
or visit the website: www.legalizationyes.com .
For Spanish speakers visit:
www.legalizacionsi.com

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

"The Ground Truth" opens Friday, September 15

Host a "Ground Truth Gathering"

From October 4th - 11th, join 1000's as we gather across America
in churches, universities, community centers, town halls, coffee
houses and living rooms to screen THE GROUND TRUTH, engage
in conversation, and listen to Iraq veterans.

THE GROUND TRUTH depicts with ferocious honesty the terrible
conflict in Iraq, a prelude to the even more challenging battles
fought by soldiers when they return home to personal demons,
an uncomprehending public, and an indifferent government.

Theatrical opening Friday, September 15, 2006
at Landmark Theaters in the following cities:
Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Austin,
Washington, D.C., San Francisco

*Additional screening nationwide -
For details, go to: www.thegroundtruth. net

Purchase a DVD through this link and VFP recieves
a portion of the proceeds. Price is $14.98
http://groundtruthstore.seenon.com/?pa=vfp

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Global Chalk4Peace
Sept 16/17th
OUR STREETS are OUR MEDIA
WE have TOTAL access
We CAN Make THE Difference
ON THE WEEKEND OF SEPTEMBER 16 & 17th Chalk4Peace!
On the pavements and sidewalks of our towns and cities
You are invited to Take Action!
To Participate in this GLOBAL outpouring of public art. Where we make
our personal statements for peace on the pavements and sidewalks of
our cities all over our world.
http://www.infinitepossibility.org/chalk2006/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

TWO AMICUS BRIEFS FILED FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL WITH
THE 3RD CIRCUIT FEDERAL APPEALS COURT IN JULY 2006

These pdf files can be found on Michael Schiffmann's web site at:

http://againstthecrimeofsilence.de/english/copy_of_mumia/legalarchive/

The first brief is from the National Lawyers Guild.
The second brief is from the NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund, Inc.

Howard Keylor
For the Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
www.laboractionmumia.org.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

My Only Son: United States Marine

American Service Men and Women Dead - 2,656*

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments
leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess
and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

George W. Bush
President of the United States
State of the Union Address
January 28, 2003

Six years old
I wait for sound of car motor,
for light beams splashing across my blue walls,
for footsteps thumping across front porch,
in a few moments for my bedroom lamp snapped on.
My Dad fills the diameter of my door.
"There's my good boy," he booms.
I prop myself up for his offering,
bowl heaped with strawberry ice cream

I turn my car into driveway,
see headlights splash across window
of my six-year-old son's bedroom,
wonder if he hears thumping of my footsteps.
In a few moments
I fill diameter of his door.
"There's my good boy," I laugh.
He props himself up,
his hands reach for my offering,
bowl heaped with strawberry ice cream

I can't sleep tonight,
flip on television for Jay Leno's wisdom,
flick dials for rest of Ted Kopell's "Night Line,"
find something engrossing on Public Broadcasting.
Irritable from multitudes of sound, I turn it off,
slip off, wake up, doze, sit up.
I hear car coming slowly up the road
I lie still. . .
"Keep going. . . . . . . Keep Going!" It does
I lie back. Toss, tangle myself in sheet, blankets

A little after three
I hear car coming slowly up the road.
"Keep going. . . . . . . Keep going!"
Car turns into driveway,
lights splash across my blue walls,
thumping of steps on front porch.
I run down downstairs.
In crisply pressed dress blues
they fill diameter of my door.
Three United States Marines

*September 5, 2006

Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr. ©
Permission Given to Use Poem with Author Credit
E-mail: Maxwell623@aol.com

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

When Your Soldier Comes Back Home
by Martha Ann Brooks, wife of an OIF Veteran with PTSD
Click here to listen
http://www.broadjam.com/player/playerhosting.asp?play_file=19161_164607

When your soldier comes back home
You will be happy
You want things to be like they were before
But your soldier has been forged through trial by fire
After all he lived through war
Be patient when you see he’s not the same
Your soldier’s changed
When your soldier comes back home
He will be different
He’ll think about those that gave their lives
He might be feelin guilty that he’s living
He will keep that guilt inside
It may show sometimes in things he’ll say and do
Please help him through
Chorus:
War is never over
For the ones who fought side by side
They are bruised and battered
The deepest wounds don’t show outside
You may think that time will heal
There is no healing
The days are like sandbags around him
But ghosts will not be held back by a wall
Bad memories always win
If you love him you must be the one who stays
You must be strong
When your soldier comes back home
Chorus:
War is never over
For the ones who fought side by side
They are bruised and battered
The deepest wounds don’t show outside

Story Behind the Song

Veterans often come home from war to family members
who expect them to pick up where they left off. For the
combat vet, that is not always possible. I wrote this song
in the hope that it will help families and friends of returning
veterans embrace them with understanding.
The song is currently #2 on Neil Young's website.
http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/index.html

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

SIR! NO SIR!
I urge everyone to get a copy of "Sir! No Sir!" at:
http://www.sirnosir.com/
It is an extremely informative and powerful film
of utmost importance today. I was a participant
in the anti-Vietnam war movement. What a
powerful thing it was to see troops in uniform
leading the march against the war! If you would
like to read more here are two very good
publications:

Out Now!: A Participant's Account of the Movement
in the United States Against the Vietnam War
by Fred Halstead (Hardcover - Jun 1978)

and:

GIs speak out against the war;: The case of the
Ft. Jackson 8; by Fred Halstead (Unknown Binding - 1970).

Both available at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/103-1123166-0136605?search-alias=books&rank=+availability,-proj-total-margin&field-author=Fred%20Halstead

In solidarity,

Bonnie Weinstein

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Endorse the following petition:
Don't Let Idaho Kill Endangered Wolves
Target: Fish and Wildlife Service
Sponsor: Defenders of Wildlife
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/664280276?z00m=99090&z00m=99090<l=1155834550

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

SUPPORT "TAKING AIM":
KPFA RADIO is considering airing the very informative program,
"Taking Aim," produced by Ralph Schoenman and Mya Shone. We
encourage everyone who has heard and appreciated this show
to contact KPFA's Tracy Rosenberg and let her know you want the
show to air:

tracyrose@gmail.com

Here's my letter:

In solidarity,
Bonnie Weinstein

Dear Tracy,

The program, "Taking Aim", with Ralph Schoenman and Mya Shone
is a one-of-a-kind, powerfully informative program. Schoenman
and Shone are leading experts in the history of the Middle East with
years of experience living in the region. They are both important
reporters for news that the mainstream media tries to hide or
distort. "Taking Aim" would be a very valuable addition to the fine
programing already on KPFA.

More importantly, the information disseminating from this program
and the serious work of Schoenman and Shone, provide invaluable facts
that KPFA listeners need to hear--truth that is told nowhere else.

The more in-depth information that is made available to the general
public--your listeners--from "Taking Aim" will help to further
educate your well-informed audience.

I strongly urge you to add this program to your broadcasts.

In my opinion, "Taking Aim" and the work of Schoenman and Shone
compares well with Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now." I wish it could
be on every day.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Weinstein, Bay Area United Against War
www.bauaw.org

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL!
Stop funding Israel's war against Palestine
Complete the form at the website listed below with your information.
Personalize the message text on the right with
your own words, if you wish.
Click the Next Step button to send your letter
to these decision makers:
President George W. Bush
Vice President Richard 'Dick' B. Cheney
Your Senators
Your Representative
Go here to register your outrage:
https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Advocacy?
JServSessionIdr003=cga2p2o6x1.app2a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=177

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Idriss Stelley Foundation is in critical financial crisis, please help !
ISF is in critical financial crisis, and might be forced to close
its doors in a couple of months due to lack of funds to cover
DSL, SBC and utilities, which is a disaster for our numerous
clients, since the are the only CBO providing direct services
to Victims (as well as extended failies) of police misconduct
for the whole city of SF. Any donation, big or small will help
us stay alive until we obtain our 501-c3 nonprofit Federal
Status! Checks can me made out to
ISF, ( 4921 3rd St , SF CA 94124 ). Please consider to volunteer
or apply for internship to help covering our 24HR Crisis line,
provide one on one couseling and co facilitate our support
groups, M.C a show on SF Village Voice, insure a 2hr block
of time at ISF, moderate one of our 26 websites for ISF clients !
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/isf23/
Report Police Brutality
24HR Bilingual hotline
(415) 595-8251
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Justice4Asa/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Update on the petition to save Bayview Hunters Point:
No more Fillmore!
Editorial by Willie Ratcliff,
http://www.sfbayview.com/060706/signthepetition060706.shtml

In a message dated 9/2/06 11:25:12 AM, editor@sfbayview.com writes:
Redevelopment referendum update: Claiming the victory: Mirroring
New Orleans’ protests against ethnic cleansing, a second line-style
funeral procession arrived at San Francisco City Hall Wednesday,
the band playing “St. James Infirmary,” the hearse containing
a coffin marked “Redevelopment RIP” to mark the death of the
Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Plan. During a rally and
press conference on the steps of City Hall, all the leading
candidates for District 10 Supervisor opposing incumbent
Sophie Maxwell – Marie Harrison, Espanola Jackson and Charlie
Walker – spoke out strongly against the Plan.

On Aug. 30, the deadline for the referendum petition drive
against the Plan to turn in the required 20,972 signatures
of San Francisco voters, petition drive supporters are turning
in 32,820 signatures, demonstrating the overwhelming
opposition to the Plan in Bayview Hunters Point and throughout
the City. Within 30 days, City Hall will validate the signatures,
then send the referendum to the Board of Supervisors
for reconsideration, where the Plan will either be killed
or placed on the ballot in November 2007. At that point,
the Chronicle wrote in its lead editorial Wednesday, “San
Francisco voters may well choose to side with them
(the referendum organizers).” The mood at the rally was
jubilant, with everyone dancing as the band played, “When
the Saints Go Marching In” to City Hall for a new era
of Black and Brown Power!

Website update: What's happening with SFBayView?
The Bay View’s website, www.sfbayview.com
http://www.sfbayview.com/
Give us a call at
(415) 671-0789 or an email at editor@sfbayview.com.
Now for what we’re up against: The Bay View newspaper
has been too broke to help finance the petition campaign,
very few contributions have come in and bills are overdue.
So the petition drive needs financial help … and so does
the Bay View newspaper, desperately.
The Bay View has faced many crises in the over 14 years
we’ve published it – eviction, death threats, never enough
money – yet readers have always come through, enabling
us to bounce back, tackle bigger issues and fight harder
than ever. We hate to beg, but WE NEED YOU NOW.
WITHOUT AN IMMEDIATE AND SUBSTANTIAL LOAN, THE
BAY VIEW CANNOT CONTINUE. To discuss a loan, which
we can amply collateralize, please call us at (415) 671-0789;
we’re here 24/7. Tax-deductible contributions to our
nonprofit arm, the Hurricane Relief Information Network,
are also a big help to save the hopes and the lives
of survivors who depend on the Bay View for news and resources.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Appeal for funds:
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
Visit the Dahr Jamail Iraq website http://dahrjamailiraq.com
Request for Support
Dahr Jamail will soon return to the Middle East to continue his
independent reporting. As usual, reporting independently is a costly
enterprise; for example, an average hotel room is $50, a fixer runs $50
per day, and phone/food average $25 per day. Dahr will report from the
Middle East for one month, and thus needs to raise $5,750 in order to
cover his plane ticket and daily operating expenses.
A rare opportunity has arisen for Dahr to cover several stories
regarding the occupation of Iraq, as well as U.S. policy in the region,
which have been entirely absent from mainstream media.
With the need for independent, unfiltered information greater than ever,
your financial support is deeply appreciated. Without donations from
readers, ongoing independent reports from Dahr are simply not possible.
All donations go directly towards covering Dahr's on the ground
operating expenses.
(c)2006 Dahr Jamail.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

New Flash Film
From Young Ava Over At 'Peace Takes Courage'
http://www.peacetakescourage.com/page-blog.htm
http://letter.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Save the Lebanese Civilians Petition
http://epetitions.net/julywar/index.php
http://donations.tayyar.org/
To The Concerned Citizen of The World:
http://epetitions.net/julywar/index.php

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Legal update on Mumia Abu-Jamal’s case
Excerpts from a letter written by Robert R. Bryan, the lead attorney
for death row political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal.
...On July 20, 2006, we filed the Brief of Appellee and Cross
Appellant, Mumia Abu-Jamal, in the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia.
http://www.workers.org/2006/us/mumia-0810/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Today in Palestine!
For up to date information on Israeli's brutal attack on
human rights and freedom in Palestine and Lebanon go to:
http://www.theheadlines.org

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

For a great car magnet--a black ribbon with the words, "Bring
the troops home now!" written in red, and it also comes in a
lapel pin!--go to:
(Put out by A.N.S.W.E.R.)
https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Ecommerce?store_id=1621

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THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ZIONISM
BY RALPH SCHOENMAN
Essential reading for understanding the development of Zionism
and Israel in the service of British and USA imperialism.
The full text of the book can be found for free at:
http://www.marxists.de/middleast/schoenman/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Note: Thanks to Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh for sharing this information.
qumsi001@hotmail.com writes:

"My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a
Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no
matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain -
especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own
ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a
Jewish state." Albert Einstein
http://globalwebpost.com/farooqm/writings/other/einstein.htm

"Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our time is the
emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the "Freedom Party"
(Tnuat Haherut, precursor to the Likud-MQ), a political party closely
akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social
appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the
membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi,
a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine.
The current visit of Menahem Begin, leader of
this party to the United States is obviously calculated to give the
impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli
elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements
in the United States." From a letter signed by prominent Jews including
Einstein published in the NY Times Dec. 2, 1948
(http://www.qumsiyeh.org/einsteinetalonbegin/)

When approached to sign a petition to condemn the Arab revolt
in Palestine and to support the settlement of Jews Sigmund
Freud wrote in response: "I cannot do as you wish. I am unable
to overcome my aversion to burdening the public with my name,
and even the present critical time does not seem to me to warrant
it. Whoever wants to influence the masses must give them
something rousing and inflammatory and my sober judgment
of Zionism does not permit this. I concede with sorrow that
the baseless fanaticism of our people is in part to be blamed
for the awakening of Arab distrust. I can raise no sympathy
at all for the misdirected piety which transforms a piece
of a Herodian wall into a national relic, thereby offending the feelings of
the natives. Now judge for yourself whether I, with such
a critical point of view, am the right person to come forward as the
solace of a people deluded by unjustified hope."
Freud's Letter to Dr. Chaim Koffler Keren HaYassod, Vienna: 26 February
1930; posted at the Freud Institute in UK website:
http://www.freud.org.uk./arab-israeli.html

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

JOIN THE LYNNE STEWAR DEFENSE
For those of you who don't know who Lynne Stewart is, go to
www.lynnestewart.org and get acquainted with Lynne and her
cause. Lynne is a criminal defense attorney who is being persecuted
for representing people charged with heinous crimes. It is a bedrock
of our legal system that every criminal defendant has a right to a
lawyer. Persecuting Lynne is an attempt to terrorize and intimidate
all criminal defense attorneys in this country so they will stop
representing unpopular people. If this happens, the fascist takeover
of this nation will be complete. We urge you all to go the website,
familiarize yourselves with Lynne and her battle for justice
www.lynnestewart.org

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO FREE THE CUBAN FIVE
Comité Nacional por la Libertad de los Cinco Cubanos
Who are the Cuban Five?
The Cuban Five are five Cuban men who are in U.S. prison, serving
four life sentences and 75 years collectively, after being wrongly
convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami, on June 8, 2001.
They are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero,
Fernando González and René González.
The Five were falsely accused by the U.S. government of committing
espionage conspiracy against the United States, and other related
charges.
But the Five pointed out vigorously in their defense that they were
involved in monitoring the actions of Miami-based terrorist groups,
in order to prevent terrorist attacks on their country of Cuba.
The Five’s actions were never directed at the U.S. government.
They never harmed anyone nor ever possessed nor used any
weapons while in the United States.
The Cuban Five’s mission was to stop terrorism
For more than 40 years, anti-Cuba terrorist organizations based
in Miami have engaged in countless terrorist activities against
Cuba, and against anyone who advocates a normalization
of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. More than 3,000 Cubans
have died as a result of these terrorists’ attacks.

Gerardo
Hernández
2 Life Sentences

Antonio
Guerrero
Life Sentence

Ramon
Labañino
Life Sentence

Fernando
González
19 Years

René
González
15 Years

Free The Cuban Five Held Unjustly In The U.S.!
http://www.freethefive.org/

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Eyewitness Account from Oaxaca
A website is now being circulated that has up-to-date info
and video that can be downloaded of the police action and
developments in Oaxaca. For those who have not seen it
elsewhere, the website is:
www.mexico.indymedia.org/oaxaca
http://www.mexico.indymedia.org/oaxaca

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

REMINDER TO ALL GROUPS: BE SURE AND POST ALL ACTIONS AND
EVENTS TO WWW.INDYBAY.ORG TO REACH THE MOST PEOPLE
AGAINST THE WAR IN THE BAY AREA!
http://www.indybay.org

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Iraq Body Count
For current totals, see our database page.
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/press/pr13.php

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

The Cost of War
[Over three-hundred-billion so far...bw]
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

"The Democrats always promise to help workers, and the don't!
The Republicans always promise to help business, and the do!"
- Mort Sahl

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
"It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."
- Emilano Zapata
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Join the Campaign to
Shut Down the Guantanamo Torture Center
Go to:
http://www.shutitdown.org/
to send a letter to Congress and the White House:
Shut Down Guantanamo and all torture centers and prisons.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org http://www.actionsf.org
sf@internationalanswer.org
2489 Mission St. Rm. 24
San Francisco: 415-821-6545

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Great Counter-Recruitment Website
http://notyoursoldier.org/article.php?list=type&type=14

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

DEFEND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS AND
CIVIL RIGHTS!

Last summer the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Shanti Sellz and
Daniel Strauss, both 23-year-old volunteers assisting immigrants
on the border, for medically evacuating 3 people in critical
condition from the Arizona desert.

Criminalization for aiding undocumented immigrants already
exists on the books in the state of Arizona. Daniel and Shanti
are targeted to be its first victims. Their arrest and subsequent
prosecution for providing humanitarian aid could result in
a 15-year prison sentence. Any Congressional compromise
with the Sensenbrenner bill (HR 4437) may include these
harmful criminalization provisions. Fight back NOW!

Help stop the criminalization of undocumented immigrants
and those who support them!

For more information call 415-821- 9683.
For information on the Daniel and Shanti Defense Campaign,
visit www.nomoredeaths.org.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

FYI
According to "Minimum Wage History" at
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html "

"Calculated in real 2005 dollars, the 1968 minimum wage was the
highest at $9.12. "The 8 dollar per hour Whole Foods employees
are being paid $1.12 less than the 1968 minimum wage.

"A federal minimum wage was first set in 1938. The graph shows
both nominal (red) and real (blue) minimum wage values. Nominal
values range from 25 cents per hour in 1938 to the current $5.15/hr.
The greatest percentage jump in the minimum wage was in 1950,
when it nearly doubled. The graph adjusts these wages to 2005
dollars (blue line) to show the real value of the minimum wage.
Calculated in real 2005 dollars, the 1968 minimum wage was the
highest at $9.12. Note how the real dollar minimum wage rises and
falls. This is because it gets periodically adjusted by Congress.
The period 1997-2006, is the longest period during which the
minimum wage has not been adjusted. States have departed from
the federal minimum wage. Washington has the highest minimum
wage in the country at $7.63 as of January 1, 2006. Oregon is next
at $7.50. Cities, too, have set minimum wages. Santa Fe, New
Mexico has a minimum wage of $9.50, which is more than double
the state minimum wage at $4.35."

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

NO BORDERS! NO WALLS! NO FENCES! GENERAL AMNESTY FOR ALL!
OUR HOMELAND IS WHERE WE LIVE!

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

REPEAL THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT IN 2007!
Check out: 10 EXCELLENT REASONS NOT TO JOIN THE MILITARY
http://www.10reasonsbook.com/
Public Law print of PL 107-110, the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 [1.8 MB]
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
Also, the law is up before Congress again in 2007.
See this article from USA Today:
Bipartisan panel to study No Child Left Behind
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
February 13, 2006
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-02-13-education-panel_x.htm

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html
http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/decind.html
http://www.usconstitution.net/declar.html
http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/02/1805195.php

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

Bill of Rights
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html
http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/02/1805182.php

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
ARTICLES IN FULL:
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

1) Many Entry-Level Workers Find a Rough Market
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
September 4, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/us/04labor.html?_r=2&ref=us&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

2) Fidel Castro Says He's Lost 41 Pounds
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:17 p.m. ET
September 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Cuba-Castro.html

3) A Lone Man’s Stunt Raises Broader Issues
By KATIE ZEZIMA
September 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/us/05maine.html?ref=us

4) Rallies Sound the Drumbeat on Immigration
By SHIA KAPOS and PAUL GIBLIN
September 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/washington/05rally.html

5) Rep. John Murtha
To Surge or Not To Surge [Murtha suggests the Draft...bw]
September 5, 2006
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/to-surge-or-not-to-surge_b_28742.html

6) Lawyers Warn Against Evidence Limits
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:27 p.m. ET
September 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Detainees-Legislation.html?hp&ex=1157688000&en=84f5cb98e3cfc807&ei=5094&partner=homepage

7) U.S. Losing Control Fast
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
Visit the Dahr Jamail Iraq website
http://dahrjamailiraq.com
Website by http://jeffpflueger.com

8) Immigration Overhaul Takes a Back Seat
as Campaign Season Begins
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/us/politics/08immig.html

9) Migrant Workers to Get Overtime for Storm Cleanup, Ending Suit
By LESLIE EATON
September 8, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/us/08settle.html

10) Wal-Mart Finds an Ally in Conservatives
By MICHAEL BARBARO and STEPHANIE STROM
September 8, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/business/08walmart.html?ref=business

11) U.A.W. Head Rules Out Concessions
By NICK BUNKLEY
September 8, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/business/08auto.html?ref=business

12) In the Defense of Basic Rights, an Official Led a City’s Defiance
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
September 8, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/us/08liberties.html?hp&ex=1157774400&en=64ff183179a513b9&ei=5094&partner=homepage

13) The Cuban revolution and formal logic
By Manuel Alberto Ramy
maprogre@gmail.com
http://www.progresoweekly.com/index.php?progreso=Ramy

14) U.S. Paid 10 Journalists for Anti-Castro Reports
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
September 9, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/09/washington/09cuba.html

15) Fallujah Under Threat Yet Again
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
Visit the Dahr Jamail Iraq website http://dahrjamailiraq.com

16) Chevron Could Avoid Huge Royalties on New Field
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
September 12, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/business/12oil.html?ref=business

17) The Stranger in the Mirror
By BOB HERBERT
September 14, 2006
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/opinion/14herbert.html?hp

18) Interior Official Assails Agency for Ethics Slide
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
September 14, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/business/14oil.html?hp&ex=1158292800&en=e037ab0d28e9ddb2&ei=5094&partner=homepage

19) Overhauls Proposed in Benefits for Jobless
By ERIK ECKHOLM
September 14, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/washington/14unemploy.html

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

1) Many Entry-Level Workers Find a Rough Market
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
September 4, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/us/04labor.html?_r=2&ref=us&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

This Labor Day, the 45 million young people in the nation’s work
force face a choppy job market in which entry-level wages have often
trailed inflation, making it hard for many to cope with high housing
costs and rising college debt loads.

Entry-level wages for college and high school graduates fell by more
than 4 percent from 2001 to 2005, after factoring in inflation,
according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Economic
Policy Institute. In addition, the percentage of college graduates
receiving health and pension benefits in their entry-level jobs has
dropped sharply.

Some labor experts say wage stagnation and the sharp increase
in housing costs over the past decade have delayed workers ages
20 to 35 from buying their first homes.

“People are getting married later, they’re having children later,
and they’re buying houses later,” said Cecilia E. Rouse, an economist
at Princeton University and a co-editor of a forthcoming book
on the economics of early adulthood. “There’s been a lengthening
of the transition to adulthood, and it is very possible that what
has happened in the economy is leading to some of these changes.”

Census Bureau data released last week underlined the difficulties
for young workers, showing that median income for families with
at least one parent age 25 to 34 fell $3,009 from 2000 to 2005,
sliding to $48,405, a 5.9 percent drop, after having jumped
12 percent in the late 1990’s.

Worsening the financial crunch, far more college graduates are
borrowing to pay for their education, and the amount borrowed
has jumped by more than 50 percent in recent years, largely
because of soaring tuition.

In 2004, 50 percent of graduating seniors borrowed some
money for college, with their debt load averaging $19,000,
Dr. Rouse said. That was a sharp increase from 1993, when
35 percent of seniors borrowed for college and their debt
averaged $12,500, in today’s dollars.

Even though the economy has grown strongly in recent years,
wages for young workers, especially college graduates, have
been depressed by several factors, including the end of the
high-tech boom and the trend of sending jobs overseas. From
2001 to 2005, entry-level wages for male college graduates
fell by 7.3 percent, to $19.72 an hour, while wages for female
graduates declined 3.5 percent, to $17.08, according to the
Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group.

“In a weak labor market, younger workers do the worst,” said
Lawrence Mishel, the institute’s president. “Young workers are
on the cutting edge of experiencing all the changes in the economy.”

Lawrence F. Katz, a labor economist at Harvard, said plenty of
slack remained in the job market for young workers.

The percentage of young adults who are working has dropped
since 2000 largely because many have grown discouraged and
stopped looking for work. This has happened even though the
unemployment rate, which counts only people looking for work,
has fallen to 4.4 percent for those ages 25 to 34. It is 8.2 percent
for workers ages 20 to 24.

“Any way you slice the data, the labor market has been pretty
weak the past five years,” Dr. Katz said. “But hotshot young
people coming out of top universities have done fine, just like
top-notch executives have.”

In a steep drop over a short time, 64 percent of college graduates
received health coverage in entry-level jobs in 2005, down from
71 percent five years earlier. As employers grapple with fast-rising
health costs, many companies have reduced health coverage,
with those cutbacks sharpest among young workers.

Partly because of the decline in manufacturing jobs that were
a ticket to middle-class life, just one-third of workers with high
school diplomas receive health coverage in entry-level jobs,
down from two-thirds in 1979.

After an extensive job search, Katey Rich, who graduated from
Wesleyan University in June, landed a part-time, $14-an-hour
job in Manhattan as an editorial assistant at Film Journal International.
With one-bedroom apartments often renting for $2,000 a month,
Ms. Rich is looking to share an apartment but is staying with
a friend’s parents for now. And while she is excited about her
new job, she said she was concerned that it did not come with
health insurance.

“I’ll have to fend for myself,” said Ms. Rich, who is from Aiken,
S.C. “I have parents who will back me up if things get really rough.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, said it was
surprising how deeply young workers were going into debt
to maintain the living standards they want.

The nation’s personal savings sank below zero last year for the
first time since the Depression, meaning Americans spent more
than they earned. But for households under 35, the saving rate
has plunged to minus 16 percent, which means they are spending
16 percent more than they are earning.

“The post-boomer generation feels very cavalier about saving,”
Mr. Zandi said. “They’ve been very aggressively dis-saving and
have borrowed significantly.”

John Arnold, 28, a materials-handling specialist at a Caterpillar
factory in Morton, Ill., said he was having a hard time making
ends meet. At his factory, Caterpillar has pressured the union
to accept a two-tier contract in which newer workers like him
will earn a maximum of $13.26 an hour — $27,000 a year for
a full-time worker — no matter how long they work. For longtime
Caterpillar workers in the upper tier, the wage ceiling is often
$20 or more an hour.

“A few people I work with are living at home with their parents;
some are even on food stamps,” said Mr. Arnold, a Caterpillar
worker for seven years. “I was hoping to buy a house this year,
but there’s just no way I can swing it.” With just a high school
diploma, he said it was hard to find jobs that paid more.

For men with high school diplomas, entry-level pay fell by
3.3 percent, to $10.93, from 2001 to 2005, according to the
Economic Policy Institute. For female high school graduates,
entry-level pay fell by 4.9 percent, to $9.08 an hour.

Labor Department officials voiced optimism for young workers,
noting that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had projected that
18.9 million net new jobs would be created by 2014.

“The future is bright for young people because the opportunities
are out there,” said Mason Bishop, deputy assistant labor secretary
for employment and training. “We want to help them get access
to the postsecondary education that enables them to take
advantage of the opportunities.”

The wage gap between college-educated and high-school-educated
workers has widened greatly, with college graduates earning
45 percent more than high school graduates, up from 23 percent
in 1979.

Professor Rouse of Princeton said a college degree added $402,000
to a graduate’s lifetime earnings.

Alex Shayevsky, who graduated from New York University last year,
said majoring in business had paid off. Mr. Shayevsky got a job in
the bond department of a major investment bank in New York. He
earns $65,000, not including a bonus that could be at least half his salary.

“Getting my degree was very valuable,” said Mr. Shayevsky, a 23-year-
old from Buffalo Grove, Ill.

Martin Regalia, chief economist for the United States Chamber of
Commerce, said young workers would be helped greatly if strong
economic growth continued and the labor market tightened further,
as happened in the late 1990’s.

Sheldon H. Danziger, a professor of public policy at the University
of Michigan, sees a bifurcated labor market for young workers.

“You’re much better off as a young worker today if you’re the child
of the well-to-do and you get a good education,” Professor Danziger
said, “and you’re much worse off if you’re a child of a blue-collar worker
and you don’t go to college. There’s increasing inequality among young
people just as there is increasing inequality among their parents.”

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

2) Fidel Castro Says He's Lost 41 Pounds
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:17 p.m. ET
September 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Cuba-Castro.html

HAVANA (AP) -- Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said in a statement
released Tuesday that he's lost more than 41 pounds in more than
a month since his intestinal surgery, but that the ''most critical
moment'' is already behind him.

''Today I am recovering at a satisfactory rhythm,'' said the statement
published in the Communist Party daily Granma, which was
accompanied by new photographs of a gaunt-looking Castro.

The 80-year-old Castro is easily over 6 feet tall and in recent
years has been on the thin side. He looked especially thin
at his last public appearance before he fell ill, at a July 26
speech in eastern Cuba marking the start of his revolution.

He said he just recently had the last stitches from his surgery
removed, following 34 days of convalescence. ''I can affirm
that the most critical moment has been left behind,'' his
statement said.

It was accompanied by seven different photographs of Castro
during his convalescence, several of them repeated on Granma
newspaper's Web site in larger versions. In all of them, Castro
is seated and wearing either short-sleeved navy blue
or light-blue pajamas. In several of the photos, he
is reading or writing.

Most of the pictures show him from the waist up, although
one shows his whole body as he sits in a rocking chair,
wearing slippers and reading.

In another, Castro holds up a broadsheet proof of a book
written from a series of interviews he gave to French journalist
Ignacio Ramonet, which he said he was reviewing during
his recovery.

''But because of that, I have not failed to strictly follow my
duties as a disciplined patient,'' he added.

''In the coming days, I will be receiving distinguished visitors,''
Castro said, apparently referring to some of the heads of state
and government who will be traveling to the summit
of nonaligned nations next week.

The government has not announced whether Castro,
or his younger brother Raul -- who is serving as Cuba's
provisional president during the elder sibling's recovery
-- will represent the country during the Sept. 11-16 gathering.

''This doesn't mean that every activity will be immediately
accompanied by video or photographic images, although
news will be provided of every one,'' the statement said.

''All of us must understand that it is not convenient to
systematically offer information, nor give out images
of my health situation,'' Castro added. ''All of us must
also understand realistically that the complete recovery
time, whether we like it or not, will be prolonged.

''At this moment I am not in a hurry, and no one should
be in a hurry. The country is marching and moving
ahead,'' he said.

Castro said July 31 that he had undergone an emergency
intestinal operation and was temporarily ceding his
powers as head of the government and the Communist
Party to his 75-year-old brother, Raul, the defense minister.

The nature of his surgery and his specific ailment have
been treated as a state secret. It is the first time
in 47 years of rule that Castro has stepped aside, even
temporarily.

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

3) A Lone Man’s Stunt Raises Broader Issues
By KATIE ZEZIMA
September 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/us/05maine.html?ref=us

LEWISTON, Me. — On a hot July night, a few dozen Somali men
were kneeling shoulder to shoulder in prayer at a storefront mosque
here when the door opened and the frozen head of a pig, an animal
considered unclean in Islam, rolled across the floor.

Men fled in fear. A child fainted. Some called the police and ran
after the person who had rolled the head in. A suspect, Brent
Matthews, was quickly apprehended and charged with desecrating
a place of worship. Mr. Matthews, 33, said that the incident was
a prank and that he did not know the significance of a pig’s head.

Now, weeks later, Somali leaders say the incident has left a scar
on their community of about 3,000 immigrants.

While they admit the act was the work of one man, it has
heightened simmering tensions in this overwhelmingly white,
working-class city of 35,000, where Somali refugees started
flocking about five years ago, after first settling in more urban
areas of the United States. Many said they came here because
housing was inexpensive and Lewiston seemed a safe place
to raise their families.

While much of Lewiston has been welcoming, some Somalis
here believe the head incident reveals an undercurrent of
suspicion and lack of understanding about their culture.
According to the Census Bureau, Maine is 96 percent white.

“We’re not saying all of Lewiston is part of this,” said Imam
Nuh Iman, leader of the mosque, the Lewiston-Auburn Islamic
Center. “But this is the biggest impact you can have on a mosque,
in the time of praying, to put in a pig’s head. It could have been
a goat’s head, or a cow’s head. But it was a pig’s head.”

Phil Nadeau, the assistant city administrator, believes the
incident was isolated but underscored the growing pains
this city — whose mills and shoe factories, now closed,
welcomed French-Canadian workers a century ago —
is now going through.

“I think it’s a reflection of where we are right now. There’s
a small group of people that will never accept this type of
change in their community, ever,” said Mr. Nadeau, whose
French-Canadian grandmother spoke only five words of English.
“The second wave of non-English speakers to Lewiston is now
the Somali population.”

Hussein Ahmed, 31, said the mosque incident came as Somalis
here felt that they had finally started to move on from a 2002
open letter written by Laurier Raymond, then the mayor,
which asked them to stop other Somalis from coming to
the city. Mr. Raymond contended in his letter that the city
was “maxed-out financially, physically and emotionally.”

Somali leaders quickly condemned Mr. Raymond after the
letter, saying he was “bent toward bigotry.” Mr. Raymond
met with Somali leaders but did not apologize. Three months
later, a white supremacist group held a rally in Lewiston but
was overshadowed by a counter-rally that drew 4,500 people.

The incident with the pig’s head brought a similar response.
About 150 people, including Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat,
and leaders of other faiths, gathered at a park shortly after
the incident to condemn it and to support the Somali community.

“After we heard about what happened at the mosque, many
of us in the local interfaith clergy group felt that an attack on
anybody’s house of worship is an attack on all houses of worship,”
said Rabbi Hillel Katzir of Temple Shalom Synagogue Center
in nearby Auburn. “This is not O.K. This is not approved of
by the majority of the community. He might think it’s funny,
but the rest of us don’t, and it’s not acceptable.”

Mr. Ahmed, who spoke at the rally, said it affirmed his trust
in residents of Lewiston. “The message was clear: they don’t
tolerate hate,” he said.

Mr. Nadeau said that Somalis continued to flock to Lewiston,
about 30 miles north of Portland, and that the city was struggling
to find jobs for them. The city is also trying to educate residents
about the Somali culture and Islam.

“There’s still a kind of unknown element relative to people’s
familiarity with their culture and religion that is still being felt,
even to this day,” Mr. Nadeau said.

Mr. Matthews’s lawyer, James Howaniec, said his client had
intended to play a prank. Mr. Howaniec said Mr. Matthews got
the head from a pig roast in June and had originally planned to
use it for target practice. Mr. Matthews then decided to plant
it outside the center, thinking it was simply a gathering place,
the lawyer said.

“He did not know it was a place of worship,” Mr. Howaniec said.
“There’s certainly nothing in the exterior of the dilapidated
storefront that would lead anyone to believe it was a place
of worship. He is insistent that he did not know the significance
of a pig’s head to the Muslim community.”

Mr. Howaniec said that Mr. Matthews was trying to create
a disruption at the center, but that it was not a crime.

“It’s our position that while it was an act of stupidity, it did
not rise to the level of any sort of crime, let alone a hate crime,”
Mr. Howaniec said. “It’s clearly not something he’s proud of, but
as an attorney looking at criminal statutes, I don’t think it rises
to the level of desecration of a place of worship.”

Judge Ellen Gorman of Androscoggin County Superior Court on
Aug. 31. granted the state’s request for a temporary injunction,
ordering Mr. Matthews to stay 150 feet from the mosque.

At the hearing Mr. Matthews said that he had planned to put the
head outside “where the dark people congregate” as a joke, and
that it had slipped from his hand and rolled inside. He said he
felt bad about the incident and wished he “could turn back time.”

Mr. Matthews will be indicted on criminal charges Sept. 6, and
Mr. Howaniec said he was expecting a jury trial. If convicted,
Mr. Matthews could face up to a year in jail on the desecration
charge and up to $5,000 in fines.

Imam Iman said he wanted his worshippers to feel comfortable
where they lived.

“Most people feel welcome,” the imam said, “but after these
incidents, not at all. Mainers have to understand that this
is the new Maine.”

---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

4) Rallies Sound the Drumbeat on Immigration
By SHIA KAPOS and PAUL GIBLIN
September 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/washington/05rally.html

BATAVIA, Ill., Sept. 4 — Spirited groups of immigrant rights
supporters rallied in Illinois and Arizona on Monday in marches
intended to keep the drumbeat going for changes in immigration law.

In both places, counterdemonstrators heckled from the sidelines
and called on the federal government to enforce its border laws.

Organizers of a rally in Phoenix, outside Arizona’s copper-domed
Capitol, estimated their numbers at 4,000, though the police
said the event drew about 1,000 people.

In Batavia, a flag-waving crowd, estimated by the police at about
2,500, chanted “Sí, se puede” — “Yes, we can” — and converged
on the district office of Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. In a counterrally
sponsored by the Chicago Minuteman Project, some 200 men,
women and a few children jeered the larger crowd.

Neither Mr. Hastert nor his staff was on hand, and he could not
be reached for comment.

Organizers hoped to pressure Mr. Hastert to push legislation
favorable to immigrants through Congress.

“We’re here because we need to keep this issue alive,” said
Jorge Mujica, 50, a Mexican immigrant who helped organize
the rally and who lives in Berwyn, Ill.

“We want to show that we didn’t disappear after May 1,” Mr. Mujica
said, referring to the hundreds of thousands who demonstrated
nationwide that day on the issue. “We’re still marching.
We’re not going away.”

Alfredo Gutierrez, at the rally in Phoenix, said that he was
disappointed it had not attracted more marchers but that he
thought the debate had changed in recent months. Immigrant
rights activists who were initially so optimistic have begun
to lose hope, he said.

“That feeling that something would be accomplished has
diminished almost daily with every report of every negative
thing that goes on with Congress,” Mr. Gutierrez said.

The Arizona chapter of the Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now set up three tents, at which
volunteers registered people to vote and distributed postcards
urging members of Arizona’s Congressional delegation
to support a path for citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Counterprotesters gathered behind the main stage and
shouted at the crowd, but security personnel and the police
generally kept the sides apart.

Fran Garrett, a volunteer with the anti-immigration group
United for a Sovereign America, based in Phoenix, said she
was fed up with the authorities who refused to arrest and
deport illegal immigrants.

“They try to get the message out that they’re here to do jobs
and all that,” Ms. Garrett said. “That’s not true. They are here
to take over eight states of the United States, and they are
going to do it by sheer numbers alone, when they get
enough people where they are the majority in a state.”

In Batavia, 30 Chinese-Americans joined the mostly Latino
crowd. One of them, Man Li Wu, said through an interpreter
that she had a daughter in China who had tried for eight
years to enter the United States.

“I’m 70 and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to wait,” she
said. “I want to see my grandchildren.” Members of the
Chicago Minutemen say that living in the United States
is a privilege and should not be an easy process.

“Immigration laws aren’t broken,” said Evert Evertsen, 61,
from Harvard, Ill. “The problem is they’re just not being enforced.”

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5) Rep. John Murtha
To Surge or Not To Surge [Murtha suggests the Draft...bw]
September 5, 2006
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/to-surge-or-not-to-surge_b_28742.html

The President, Vice President, Secretaries of Defense and State
have been blitzing the media lately in attempts to shore up
support for the War in Iraq. They assert that today's wars must
be fought with the same fervor and intensity as when we fought
Nazism during WWII and then Communism until its celebrated fall.

While an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that
terrorism is a significant threat worth fighting against, the
Bush Administration attempts to confuse the Iraq War with
the larger war on terrorism and continues to fight a war
of rhetoric and political slogans instead of one of action.

When several military experts called for the addition of
hundreds of thousands of troops early in the Iraq War, the
Bush Administration rejected the call, and instead chose
to fight with a minimal force. And now, when our troops have
been deployed over and over again; when almost all of our
combat units at our bases at home are at the lowest state
of combat readiness; and with this Administration' s continued
insistence to stay a failed course; it is now more obvious than
ever that we can not sustain this war on its current course
and we must change direction.

The burden of the Iraq War has fallen squarely on our
all-volunteer military and their families. They have performed
remarkably well, particularly in light of the unclear and ever-
changing mission dictated to them by Pentagon civilians
of the Bush Administration. But they are overstretched and
overextended. They deserve fresh reinforcements so that
they can return home to rebuild their units, their psyche
and their family and community relationships.

While the Administration stresses that we are a country
at war, they refuse to spread the burden proportionately.
Instead, they pursue tax incentives for the rich, run up our
federal deficit, and spend astronomical sums in Iraq with
little or no control over wasteful and fraudulent spending.
This is not the picture of a country at war. Consider the
following:

The current war in Iraq has lasted longer than the Korean
War, World War I and World War II in Europe. This war is the
first protracted conflict in modern times in which our nation
has not utilized a draft for additional support. If the President
is genuinely serious in his comparison with communism and
fascism, perhaps he should reconsider a call to reinstate the
draft.

The selective service provided:
2.8 million U.S. Servicemen in WWI,
10 million U.S. Servicemen in WWII,
1.5 million U.S. Servicemen in the Korean War, and
1.8 million U.S. Servicemen during the Vietnam Conflict

The facts are that in 1950, the United States had about 1.5
million active duty personnel under arms and by 1952 they
surged to 3.6 million. In Vietnam the U.S. had 2.7 million
in 1964 and by 1968 we had over 3.5 million.

In 2006, the overall active end-strength of our nation's
military was 1,367,500. The President's 2007 budget
request reduces that end-strength to 1,332,300. This
means that there is projected to be 35,200 fewer troops
on our nation's active duty rolls this year as compared
to last year.

We cannot sustain the President's open-ended, vague
and bankrupting war policies indefinitely. He should
try less rhetoric and more action.

If we are to fight this war with the same sense of dedication
and vigor as we did prior wars, we cannot do it without
a surge in force.

It is unlikely