Legal Activists of Color: Left Turn Magazine

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SPECIAL COLLECTION

Gaza and Lebanon Under Attack

added July 15, 2006

Web Links

ElectronicIntifada.net
MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "electronicintifada.net" claiming to be ElectronicLebanon.net
The Angry Arab News Service by Assad Abu Khalil
MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "english.aljazeera.net" claiming to be AlJazeera.net (English language)
AUDIO FILE: MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "www.kpfa.org" claiming to be Interview with Ali Abunimah of electronicintifada.net (mp3 format)
Good Morning Beirut
by Bilal El-Amine

As most of you know, Hizbullah carried out a bold operation a few days ago and managed to capture two Israeli soldiers. The resistance has been saying for quite some time now that it intends to free the remaining Lebanese prisoners in Israel, most prominently Samir Qantar. Dubbed the "dean of the prisoners," Qantar is the longest serving Arab prisoner in Israel. He was to be released along with other Lebanese prisoners in a swap between Hizbullah and Israel. The Israeli government voted not to release him and two others and stupidly kept the prisoner file open.
more

Final Battles?: Interview with Saseen Kawzally
by Jerome Klassen

In this interview from Beirut, Saseen Kawzally describes the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the background to the crisis, and its possible trajectories. Saseen Kawzally is active in left activism in Lebanon and has worked with Beirut Indymedia in the past. Jerome Klassen visited Lebanon in 2004 and is currently a student in Toronto. This interview occurred by phone over the past few days.
more

Lebanese Civillians Massacred - Take Action

[As'ad AbuKhalil] have just received these pictures from Hanady Salman, an editor at [Beirut newspaper] As-Safir, with this message:

"Dear friends and colleagues,
You will all have to excuse me for sending this. It's pictures of the bodies of babies killed by the israelis in South lebanon. They are all burnt. I need your help. I am almost certain these pictures won't be published in the West, although they are associated press pictures. I need your help exposing them if you can. The problem is these are people who were asked to leave their village, Ter Hafra, this morning, within two hours, or else. ... So those who were able to flee went to the closer UN base where they were asked to leave. I think that after the Qana massacres in 1996 when civilians were bombed after they took chelter in UN headquarters , the UN does not want to be responssible for the lives of civilians. A FEW MINUTES AGO, the Israeli asked the people of Al Bustan village in the south to evacuate their homes. I am afraid massacares will keep happening as long as Israeli actions are uncheked. Please help us if you can - Hanady Salman"
For the full set of photographs, click here

[For more information about this story see http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/84B207D4-8012-41CC-89A2-B0A8CE8C01FD.htm]

MEDIA ALERT: Stop Israel's Attacks on Gaza & Lebanon

BACKGROUND: Israel is using weapons supplied by the United States to target Palestinian & Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in violation of the US Arms Export Control Act and the Geneva Conventions.

On July 12th, Israel killed 23 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with missiles fired from aircraft and shells fired from tanks. Israel killed 9 members of one family in a missile strike on a house near Gaza City.

On July 12th, Israel launched a massive invasion of Lebanon. Israeli aircraft fired missiles targeting civilian infrastructure, including bridges, roads, a mosque, a community center, and the Beirut International Airport, and the Israeli navy is blockading Lebanon's ports. Israel has killed at least 50 Lebanese civilians and injured more than 100, including entire Lebanese families of 10 and 7 people killed in the villages of Dweir and Baflay.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST BIASED MEDIA:

Hold Israel to account for its killing of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Write a letter to the editor or op-ed for your local newspaper and call your local talk radio stations to protest Israel's atrocities in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and highlight US support for these actions. For contact information for your local media, click here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

For a letter template and tips to make your letter more effective,Click here

LEFT TURN EXCLUSIVE

Lebanon’s Shia: In the Eye of the Storm
by Bilal El-Amine

added July 14, 2006

God has always had little mercy to spare the poor Shia Muslims of Lebanon. They suffered centuries of seamless persecution often accompanied by extreme poverty, cast away far from the religious centers of Shi’ism in Iraq and Iran. With the exception of the 10th Century when sympathetic dynasties ruled the region, Lebanon’s Shia existed on the margins of history, making an appearance only as victims. So much so that Shi’ism itself became in practice a religion of the dispossessed and disinherited, of the denial and longing for justice. A small and vulnerable minority living in a sea of Sunnis, their religious leaders long advocated a politics of “quietism,” a state best described as either outright submission to authority however unjust or complete withdrawal from the political sphere. A politics of keep your head low, don’t rock the boat, and one day the long-awaited mahdi will return to make things right.

No doubt there were rare, short-lived periods of rebellion among the Shia throughout the region and their intrepid clergy—who gathered from all corners of the Muslim world in the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala—always seemed to be engaged in religious and philosophical debates that gave Shi’ism a level of dynamism that was in stark contrast to their political abstention. But it was not until the great upheavals of the 20th Century, as capitalist relations and Western imperialism swept across the Middle East, that the Shia—first in Iran, then in Iraq and Lebanon—began to wake up and assert themselves on the political stage. Their stirring has caused tremors disproportionate to their size—it is estimated that out of a billion or so Muslims today, only 150 million (15%) are Shia. Yet, Shia communities currently occupy center-stage in their countries and in the region as a whole, and their political resurgence is a source of anxiety for the world’s great powers. more

FEATURED ARTICLE

Words and Acts

by Guillermo Almeyra

added July 13, 2006

The events in San Salvador Atenco compel us to address the issues of what phase the country is in and what the left can and should do in order to be able, first, to defend the margins for democracy and, simultaneously, to prepare an anti-capitalist solution to the crisis which is assailing us. Inflammatory rhetoric is of no use for guidance or for changing anything, since insults and threats do not kill anyone.

Where are we, then? The social movements – which are few in number – are all defensive: like the miners, La Parota, the very combative indigenous campesinos of the Isthmus and the union front which is defending its autonomy. The widespread emigration - from Chiapas, including zapatista areas, to all the rest of the corners of the country - demonstrates, for its part, that the majority of Mexicans are "voting with their feet" in order to seek better integration into the capitalist system. They are even risking their lives for that, and they have no hope of obtaining a social change in the country from which they are fleeing. more

MORE DISCUSSION OF THE OTHER CAMPAIGN:

"Twenty Questions for Big Al, the Other Campaign, and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation"

NEW! "Time and Urgency: Reflections on the Politics of Listening in the Other Campaign, A Defense and a Critique" by John Gibler

FEATURED ARTICLE

Six Nations Does Not Stand Alone
by Justin Podur

added July 11, 2006

On Thursday April 20, Hazel Hill, one of the Six Nations Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) leaders on the blockade at the Douglas Creek Estates near Caledonia, told me about her beating at the hands of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) hours before. Early that morning, at 5am, the blockade – not a protest, as Hill emphasized, but a reclamation - of about 100 people from the Six Nations Reserve had been assaulted by heavily armed police. The police came out in force. Exact numbers are unknown, but eyewitnesses said there were over 100 police knocking people down and clearing them out, guns drawn. They arrested 15, including a 14-year old child. The police were acting on an injunction filed on March 10 by a real estate developer, Henco Industries Limited, to clear the native people - who had been holding the blockade since the beginning of March – and facilitate Henco's scheme to build a few more blocks of suburban houses on the site. When Provincial Court Judge David Marshall issued an order to the indigenous people to leave their land by March 22, he reportedly asked the Clan Mothers: “What's the matter with you people? Why don't you forget all about the past and listen to me?” more

Objection to Invasion of Kaianereh'ko:wa Territory: Statement of the Clan Mothers

Take Action! Support Six Nations in their fight for self-determination and sovereignty

More information: Documents Regarding the Struggle at Six Nations

FEATURED ARTICLE

The People United: Worker’s Rights Organizing in New Orleans
by Jordan Flaherty

added July 7, 2006

According to a powerful new report released today by the Advancement Project, the National Immigration Law Center and the New Orleans Workers Justice Coalition, Black and Latino workers in post-Katrina New Orleans have faced a shocking catalog of abuses, including wage theft, widespread and massive health and safety violations, racism and discrimination, law enforcement violence, and more.

Through firsthand accounts, the report paints a detailed and dramatic picture of declining workers' rights in the city. Despite a huge need for labor to restore the city and billions of dollars spent on rebuilding, workers have been pitted against each other in a race to the bottom, while well-placed businesses and contractors have gorged on huge profits. With housing still unavailable for many, profiteering and displacement has been the rule.

Pre-Katrina, Latinos made up 3 percent of New Orleans' population (although a larger percentage in New Orleans' suburbs). Most were long-term residents, and there was very little in the way of social services and infrastructure specifically for the recent immigrant community. When thousands of immigrant workers arrived for work in the city's reconstruction, they faced hostility and exploitation, with few allies and very little infrastructure of support. Simultaneously, African-American workers from New Orleans have faced personal loss and displacement, combined with a legacy of workplace exploitation that goes back to New Orleans' status as a center of the southern slave trade. more

LEFT TURN MAGAZINE

Issue #21: Estamos En La Lucha
Available Now

Editor's Note

We have indeed been in the struggle. The recent immigrant rights mobilizations across the country were a great inspiration. The breadth of organizing was astounding, and in many places the numbers on the streets were the largest ever, invigorating our movements with new life and energy. We are inspired not only by the huge Latino movement of families and youth that hit the streets, but also by the long-term organizing of many immigrant communities that have been doing base-building work for decades in increasingly hostile environs since 9/11.

Since the mobilizations, the Senate has passed a modified version of HR 4437 and it now goes to committee. While immigrant rights groups around the country have different visions of what would constitute a victory, it is certain that the current proposals - including those from Democrats - would make life worse for the majority of immigrants. The militarization of the border, continued exploitation of immigrant labor (whether as indentured servants disguised as "guest workers" or other undocumented workers forced into the underground economy), and criminalization of everyday life for immigrants, from schooling to health care to driving, is an assault against any real rights for immigrant communities. The fight continues and the next national day of action is set for July 8th. Meanwhile, a new generation of activists is making noise, organizing walk outs in their schools, unionizing their workplaces, marching in the streets, and starting their own initiatives.

In this issue we are also exicted to announce the first installment in a series on the Black left. This initial forum has raised many questions on what the concept of the Black left means today, and we look forward to exploring these questions further in future issues.

Also check out the special interview with Lt. Ehren Watada. As the highest-rnaking officer to refuse to participate in the Iraq war, his stand constitutes another victory in the fight against war and militarization.

LEFT TURN EXCLUSIVE

The Courage to Resist: A US Lieutenant Refuses Deployment to Iraq

interview of Ehren Watada by Sarah Olson

added June 8, 2006

Ehren Watada is a 27-year-old First Lieutenant in the United States Army. He joined the Army in 2003 during the run-up to the Iraq war. He turned in his resignation to protest the war in Iraq in January 2006. He expects to receive orders to deploy in late June and will become the first Lieutenant to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq, setting the stage for what could be the biggest movement of GI resistance since the Vietnam War. He faces a court-martial, up to two years in prison for missing movement by design, a dishonorable discharge, and other possible charges. He says speaking against an illegal and immoral war is worth all of this and more. Journalist SARAH OLSON spoke with Watada in May.

SARAH OLSON: When you joined the Army in 2003, what were your goals?

LT. EHREN WATADA: 2003 was a couple of years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I had the idea that my country needed me and that I needed to serve my country. I still strongly believe that. I strongly believe in service and duty. That’s one of the reasons I joined: because of patriotism. more

FEATURED ARTICLE

Canadian Union Takes Important Step Against Israeli Apartheid

by Adam Hanieh

added June 2, 2006

At the annual convention of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, held 24-27 May 2006 in Ottawa, the union passed a resolution of historic importance. Resolution 50 -- adopted unanimously by the 900 delegates at the largest convention in the union's history -- expressed support for the global campaign against Israeli apartheid. The union stated that it would educate its members on the apartheid nature of the Israeli state and Canadian political and economic support for these practices. It also declared that CUPE Ontario would participate in the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until the realization of Palestinian self-determination. Most importantly, the union highlighted the significance of the right of return of Palestinian refugees as a critical component of Palestinian self-determination.more

Send a Note of Support to CUPE Ontario:
There is a lot of pressure being waged, and certainly going to be waged, against the CUPE resolution from conservative forces in the media, in government, and even the labour movement. Please send of note of support to the Ontario head of CUPE, Sid Ryan, at sryan@cupe.on.ca . Alternatively send on support through the CUPE Ontario fax number at: (416) 299-3480 or through the website at http://www.cupe.on.ca/.

Click here for a list of recent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Initiatives from around the world

To lend your support and become active in the Boycott Israeli Apartheid campaign e-mail: endapartheid@riseup.net

FEATURED ARTICLE

5 Reasons Tomorrow's Election Doesn't Matter
by Jordan Flaherty

added May 20, 2006

Friday, May 19, 2006

Local and national media have proclaimed that tomorrow New Orleanians will participate in a historic election. Scores of media from around the world have descended on our city to cover the results, and two mayoral debates have been broadcast nationally. However, in a city where elections are always a major production, many organizers' opinions on the candidates begin with a resigned shrug. more

FEATURED ARTICLE

EU Hypocrisy and the Forgotten Palestine
by Nick Dearden

added May 19, 2006

The justifications put forward by European powers for their failure to reign in Israel’s defiance of international law usually centres around Israeli security or the corruption of the Palestinian leadership. A vote in the European Parliament, over a little known conflict in North Africa, shows these reasons up for the flimsy excuses they are.

Western Sahara has been occupied for 30 years by Morocco, after the latter signed a secret and illegal deal with the territory’s colonial master Spain, in the very final act of the Francoist government. Every year the UN reaffirms the right of Western Sahara to self-determination and they have had a Mission on the ground for nearly 15 years to organise a referendum. 165,000 Saharawi refugees have created a democratic and educated society in exile in the Algerian desert, laying down their arms, denouncing forever the use of terrorism, simply asking the international community to help them return to their homeland. Yet instead of championing this seemingly exemplary resistance movement, the European Union has continued to arm the Occupier while building ever closer economic and political ties. more

FEATURED ARTICLE

From Soldier to Resister: Jose Vasquez
interviewed by Francesca Fiorentini and Steve Theberge

added May 18, 2006

Born in the Bronx, Jose Vasquez grew up in San Bernadino, Calif. In 1991, a junior in high school, he enlisted in the Army’s Delayed Entry Program. During his four-and-a-half-year tour of duty, Vasquez was stationed in Hawaii, Louisiana, Thailand, Florida, and California. After completing his tour, Vasquez trained and began working as a medic and a nurse. In spring 2003 he received his bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York in Harlem, and by fall he began studying anthropology at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.

In January 2005, just days before his unit was to be mobilized for deployment to Iraq, Jose Vasquez turned in an application for conscientious objector status. In June 2005, he became a member of Iraq Vets Against the War (IVAW). He is currently the president of its New York City chapter and represents IVAW on the steering committee of United for Peace and Justice. more

LEFT TURN EXCLUSIVE

The Iraq War’s Oil Timeline
by Antonia Juhasz

added May 12, 2006

Amid all the talk of training Iraqi soldiers, heading off a civil war, and protecting Iraq’s fledging democracy, one overriding agenda has been ignored in the debate over the time-table for bringing US troops home: President Bush will not withdraw US forces until US oil companies have secure access to Iraq’s oil.

The process of securing this access involves four steps. The first, restructuring Iraq from a state to a market-controlled economy, was implemented and well underway within the first few months of the invasion. The second, put into motion with the December 15, 2005 election, is the formation of a legitimate Iraqi government with the authority to, among other things, sign contracts with foreign oil companies. The third step is the completion and passage of a new national Petroleum Law which is set to take place this year. The fourth, having enough security on the ground for US oil companies to get to work, is uncertain, and therefore the timeline for full US troop withdrawal remains unknown. more

FEATURED ARTICLE

Right to Torture: The Erosion of Legal Remedies
by Sean Sullivan

added May 11, 2006

It is hard to make habeas corpus sound sexy. Consequently, it is perhaps the most important legal tool that no one knows about, and the Bush Administration is busy ensuring that fewer and fewer people will be able to use it. more

FEATURED ARTICLE

Police Brutality in Mexico
by John Gibler

added May 10, 2006

At 7 AM this past Wednesday, May 3rd, state police blocked 60 flower vendors from setting up their stands at the Texcoco local market in the State of Mexico, about 20 miles east of Mexico City. The police beat and arrested those who resisted. The flower vendors called to the residents of neighboring San Salvador Atenco for help and the Atenco residents blocked the highway that borders their town and leads to Texcoco.

The police response was overwhelming: hundreds of state and federal police, most clad in riot gear, arrived to lift the blockade. Atenco resisted, with machetes, clubs, Molotov cocktails and bottle rockets. The police tried to lift the blockade five times throughout the day, and five times they were repelled. more

Donate to the Atenco prisoner solidarity fund

UPDATE: Police Terrorize San Salvador Atenco, At least 2 Dead, 50 Injured, More than 200 Jailed
by Mary Ann Tenuto Sanchez

FEATURED ARTICLE

Enemies, Heroes, and the Justification for War: A Review of "United 93"
by Colin Asher

added May 8, 2006

During war time you need: Enemies, heroes, and justification– more or less in that order. I was reminded of this triple imperative as I watched United 93, which supplies these ingredients, more or less in this same order.

United 93, the first of several major media releases to deal with the events of September 11th 2001, has been the cause of much debate, most centered over whether we as a nation are ready to be re-traumatized. Thus far the debate has not been over whether to, or why to, but when to mine the day’s events for the big screen. I would like to present some different questions about the intent and effect of this movie. more

CALL TO ACTION

Tell Chipotle & McDonald's: Farmworkers Want "Work With Dignity"
by Student/Farmworker Alliance

added May 2, 2006

Farm workers who pick tomatoes for McDonald's hamburgers and Chipotle's burritos earn about 45 cents for every 32-pound container of tomatoes they pick, working from dawn to dusk without the right to overtime pay. The 45-cent piece rate has not changed in nearly 30 years. Annual income for farm workers is extremely low--averaging $7,500 to $10,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The vast majority of farm workers receive no benefits—no health insurance, no sick leave and no vacation pay.

Last year, Taco Bell signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to pay an additional one cent per pound for tomatoes it purchases. But McDonald's and Chipotle, initially a subsidiary of McDonald's and now a publicly traded company in which McDonald's is the controlling shareholder, have refused to sign a similar agreement to raise wages in the fields. more

STORIES FROM THE OTHER CAMPAIGN

PART 2 OF 3:

Thoughts on Marcos and Leadership
by RJ Maccani

added April 23, 2006

On February 9th, my last night in Mexico, Marcos came to speak in the Zócalo (city center) of Oaxaca City. It was a moment for which organizers and activists throughout the state had been preparing for over a month. Oaxaca’s corrupt and repressive Governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, had, since assuming office amidst charges of electoral fraud the year prior, moved the seat of executive power out of Oaxaca City and outlawed demonstration or protest in the Zócalo. The organizers’ decision to hold Marcos’ public address there was bold…and up to that point, being the most popular leader in Mexico, government forces had been afraid to touch him. The Oaxacan movements were employing Marcos’ visibility to reclaim this most important and public space of resistance. more

MORE COVERAGE OF THE OTHER CAMPAIGN:

Narco News carries regularly updated coverage, as well as this background piece: "What is the Sixth Zapatista Declaration?".

Daily updates on the Other Campaign can also be found at the EZLN's own site Enlace Zapatista as well as Indymedia Chiapas.

Part 1 of RJ Maccani's Stories from the Other Campaign can be found here.

THE OTHER CAMPAIGN IN THE U.S.:

La Otra Campaña en el Otro Lado: L.A.-based collective of Chican@s and Mexican@s participating in La Sexta/La Otra

Encuentro Nueva York: A site dedicated to realizing the Sixth in New York City

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Highlights

Updated 7/07/06 LEFT TURN MAGAZINE:
New Subscription Prices and More Good News During Our 5th Anniversary! ZAPATISTA'S OTHER CAMPAIGN:
"Police Terrorize San Salvador Atenco"
by Mary Ann Tenuto Sanchez FEATURED ARTICLE:
"The Iraq War’s Oil Timeline"
by Antonia Juhasz SPECIAL ARTICLE COLLECTION:

"Eyewitness to Hurricane Katrina and its Aftermath"
by Jordan Flaherty
Updated 7/07/06 LEFT TURN EXCLUSIVE:
"The Courage to Resist: A US Lieutenant Refuses Deployment to Iraq"
by Sarah Olson AUDIO COLLECTION:
"The Revolution Will Not Be Funded" Left Turn forum 10/26/05