In the Streets

read the rest at planetark.com

Belgian police detained more than 20 people ahead of
expected protests in Brussels by tens of thousands of trade
unionists and anti-capitalist activists during a European Union
summit on Friday and Saturday.

On the eve of the first demonstrations, Mayor Freddy Thielemans
told reporters 22 people had been arrested on the Dutch border
carrying outlawed objects including knives, gas masks and scanners
to eavesdrop on police frequencies.

They were later sent back to the Netherlands.

The summit at the Laeken royal palace, which caps Belgium's
six-month tenure of the rotating EU presidency, will launch the
next stage of constitutional reform in the 15-nation Union.

Brussels Activists Occupy Offices of European Chemical Lobby

December 12, 2001 - 3:14pm -- jim

Brussels, 12-12-2001 - In connection with the EU summit of Laeken, an
international coalition of activists promoting a
different globalisation have this morning occupied the
offices of CEFIC, the European lobby group of the
chemical industry. The group of activists with roots
in the radical environmental movement wants to
denounce the role of the chemical industry in blocking
any effective European environmental policy, in a
direct and nonviolent way. CEFIC constitutes a symbol
of the undemocratic character of the EU, where
corporations have a major influence on policy via
their lobbygroups. The activist wish to focus on the
informal power centres instead of the official one.

Planning Underway for WEF Protests, NYC, January, 2002

December 11, 2001 - 4:36pm -- jim

The World Economic Forum says about itself:

"The World Economic Forum, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an
independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the
contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum
acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to
further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and
society by creating partnerships between and among business, political,
intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance
key issues on the global agenda."

Four major coalitions are planning actions against the Annual Meeting of
the World Economic Forum (WEF) in New York City from January 31-February 5,
2002:

Swedish Cops Fake Video Evidence in Gothenburg Prosecutions & Face Copyright Infringement Claims

December 5, 2001 - 9:37pm -- nomadlab

hydrarchist writes: "According to yelah.net, Swedish Police have been accused of copyright infringement by two national television stations. The allegations arose subsequent to a documentary screened last week on the alteration of evidence in a trial against a demonstrator who was shot and seriously injured during the European Union Summit in Gothenburg this summer. The 19 year old youth, Hannes Westerburg, was prosecuted for rioting offenses and convicted last month.

The incident was captured by a number of video cameramen on the scene. Both prosecution and defense received the materials on tape. As the video footage documenting the shooting of Hannes Westerberg did not adequately support the police's version of events, they manipulated the evidence, creating a montage which made it appear that a sole rioter was in fact part of a mob. They also replaced the sound track with audio recorded elsewhere to once again give the impression that Westerberg was part of a large and threatening crowd. State justification for the shooting rests upon the claim that it was necessary in order to protect an injured policeman from further attack, a claim squarely refuted by the evidence.

Long Island Activist Going to Trial, Seeks Court Support

December 5, 2001 - 1:03pm -- jim

Anonymous Comrade writes: Please forward far and wide
to all activist lists and support groups. I need your help! Andy's court date had been moved because of expected attendance!

Activist Andy Stepanian is asking for court support for December 11-14th, 2001, at 8:30 am at Nassau Courthouse, Old Country Road, Mineola (Long Island) (directions below).

Update from Andy:

"I was informed at my last court appearence that the trial wich had originally been set to begin November 26th had now been pushed back to December 10th, for reasons not fully explained... Both my lawyer and I surmise that the mass attendance of supporters pushed the courts to move the date back in hopes less people would attend my trial. There also apears to be some light at the end of this tunnel, and I ask everybody to please help me reach some justice in this case. Please be sure to attend my court dates, December 11th-14th (do not attend the 10th, that day is jury selection and an overwhelming attendance will hinder and agrivate the judge in his selection process.) I love each and every one of you people, you activists are my brothers and sisters in struggle.

Love and Liberation

Andy Stepanian"

Kevin Coogan's Further Documents on the WWP

December 3, 2001 - 10:09pm -- hydrarchist

Analysis & Polemic

Anonymous Comrade writes:

------------

Appendix 1

THE IAC AND THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST SANCTIONS: HELPING THE IRAQI PEOPLE OR SADDAM HUSAYN?

One of the IAC's best-known campaigns is aimed at lifting all economic sanctions against Iraq. By raising this issue, the IAC is trying to appeal to many people who have no sympathy for Iraq but who are rightly concerned that the way sanctions are currently imposed only ends up punishing ordinary Iraqis, particularly children, who are deprived of food and medicine while the ruling elite remains unharmed. UN agencies involved with Iraq believe that as a result of the way the sanctions policy has been implemented, thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians are needlessly dying every month. The sanctions policy has also been seized upon by Saddam Husayn to generate sympathy for Iraq, both in the West and especially within the Muslim world. Husayn, of course, wants an end to all sanctions so that he can go about rebuilding his war machine. From his point of view, humanitarian concerns about sanctions serve as a perfect "wedge" issue to force an end to any UN-imposed restrictions on Iraq's sovereignty, restrictions that were heightened after he violated his promise to allow UN inspectors to freely examine potential nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare sites on Iraqi soil.

GroenFront! Announces European Summit Protests, December 13-15

December 3, 2001 - 2:49pm -- jim

A post from GroenFront!, the Dutch "EarthFirst" organization.

Hello comrades,

Following the many requests about the European Summit
in Brussels in December, we have set up the following webpage :

Eurostop!

29 Protesters Still Jailed Following SOA Protest

November 20, 2001 - 8:03pm -- Stenglander

Columbus, GA - Twenty-nine committed citizens from across the United States are currently in their third day of incarceration in the Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, GA. They are fasting and refuse to disclose their names since their arrest on Sunday, November 18. The group was part of last weekend's protest actions to call attention to the School of the Americas (SOA). A Global Village, made out of wood, paint and cardboard was erected on Sunday evening directly in front of the gates of the US Army base Fort Benning, GA - home of the SOA.

The SOA is a military training school for soldiers from Latin America and has been linked to hundreds of crimes and human rights atrocities throughout the Western Hemisphere. Graduates of the school have been involved in torture, massacres and military coups. (for more information check www.soaw.org)

The Global Village, which included a mosque, a shrine, a church and a school for peace and democracy stood in fundamental opposition to the SOA and everything it embodies.

After 5 hours of solidarity, community, friendship and peace, armed police squads in riot gear moved in, handcuffed, and dragged the villagers into a police bus. Fort Benning soldiers in fatigue uniforms moved in and destroyed the village as well as the memorial for victims of SOA violence in which the fence of the military base had been transformed throughout the day. (for more information and pictures check www.atlanta.indymedia.org)

The group of twenty-nine is engaging in Jail/Court Solidarity to challenge the injustice that nonviolent citizens are getting punished while those responsible for torture, rape and murder are going free. Jail/Court Solidarity is combining non-cooperation techniques and collective bargaining. (for more information check www.lawcollective.org)

While all of the women are together in one big group, two men have been singled out from the group of the male prisoners. The prisoners are asking supporters on the outside to call the jail to demand the return of the two males to the group. (Muscogee County Jail, Major Terry Ezell: 706-653-4258, Sheriff Ralf Johnson: 706-653-4225)

SHUT DOWN THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS!

FREEDOM FOR ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

NYC Buses to School of Americas Protest

November 13, 2001 - 4:47pm -- jim