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From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest)
To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com
Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #412
Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest
Sender: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com
Errors-To: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com
Precedence: bulk
abolition-usa-digest Tuesday, January 16 2001 Volume 01 : Number 412
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 02:01:49 -0000
From: "Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow" <caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Protest at NSA Menwith Hill - 10 January 2001
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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charset="iso-8859-1"
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Dear Ffriends
On the evening of Wednesday 10 January 2001 Lindis Percy and Anni =
Rainbow (Co-coordinators of the Campaign for the Accountability of =
American Bases(CAAB)) quietly obstructed traffic going in and out of NSA =
Menwith Hill for approximately two hours.
Lindis held an American Stars and Stripes flag bearing the words 'STOP =
STAR WARS' and walked backwards and forwards across the Main Entrance. =
She was warned that she would be arrested for Obstruction of the Highway =
under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 if she continued. She was not =
arrested.
=20
Anni spent some time trying to get past the MOD guards at the entrance =
barrier in an attempt to convey the message to the US military. She was =
warned that if she continued she would be arrested under Section 68, =
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 for the offence of Aggrevated =
Trespass (on instruction from 'higher up'). She was not arrested. =20
Anni also sat by the exit barrier holding a flag similar to the one =
Lindis was holding. While she was there the MOD guards would only let =
vehicles out of the base in batches of three.=20
On this occasion neither Lindis nor Anni were arrested although charges =
have been brought against them previously for similar actions. An MOD =
police officer agreed that Anni was in breach of the Military Land Act =
Byelaws but although the Byelaws were in force he refused to arrest her =
for the admitted breach.
The action was part of CAAB's continuing campaign of protest against the =
American National Missile Defense (NMD) system. A formal request from =
the US Government to the UK Government for the use of NSA Menwith Hill =
(and Fylingdales) for NMD is expected. The new Spaced Based Infra Red =
System (SBIRS) satellite dishes/radomes at NSA Menwith Hill will be =
crucial to NMD.
=20
On Saturday 20 January, the day George W Bush is to be inaugurated as =
US President, CAAB will be protesting peacefully again at NSA Menwith =
Hill from 10am - 2pm ... please come (fully self sufficient) and show =
your opposition to NMD.=20
Contact: Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow
CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB)=20
8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 1HQ, England, U.K.
Tel/fax no: +44 (0)1943 466405 0R +44 (0)1482 702033
email: caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net
Website: http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyorks/caab/
=20
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can =
change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever does." =20
=
Margaret Mead=20
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charset="iso-8859-1"
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D3>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Dear Ffriends</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>On the evening of Wednesday 10 =
January 2001=20
Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow (Co-coordinators of the Campaign for the=20
Accountability of American Bases(CAAB)) quietly obstructed traffic =
going in=20
and out of NSA Menwith Hill for approximately two =
hours.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3>Lindis held an American Stars and =
Stripes flag=20
bearing the words 'STOP STAR WARS' and walked backwards and forwards =
across the=20
Main Entrance. She was warned that she would be arrested for Obstruction =
of the=20
Highway under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 if she=20
continued. She was not arrested.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3>Anni spent some time trying to =
get past=20
the MOD guards at the entrance barrier in an attempt =
to convey=20
the message to the US military. </FONT><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D3>=20
She was warned that if she continued she would be =
arrested=20
under Section 68, Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 for the =
offence of=20
Aggrevated Trespass (on instruction from 'higher up'). She was not=20
arrested. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Anni also sat by the exit barrier holding a flag similar to =
the one=20
Lindis was holding. While she was there the MOD guards would =
only let=20
vehicles out of the base in batches of three. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>On this occasion neither Lindis nor Anni were=20
arrested although charges have been brought against them =
previously=20
for similar actions. An MOD police officer agreed =
that Anni was=20
in breach of the Military Land Act Byelaws but although the =
Byelaws=20
were in force he refused to arrest her for the admitted=20
breach.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>The action was part of CAAB's continuing =
campaign of=20
protest against the American National Missile Defense (NMD) =
system. A=20
formal request from the US Government to the UK Government for the =
use of=20
NSA Menwith Hill (and Fylingdales) for NMD is expected. =
The new Spaced=20
Based Infra Red System (SBIRS) satellite dishes/radomes at NSA =
Menwith Hill=20
will be crucial to NMD.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>On Saturday 20 January, the day George W Bush is =
to be=20
inaugurated as US President, CAAB will be =
protesting peacefully again=20
at NSA Menwith Hill from 10am - 2pm ... please come (fully self =
sufficient)=20
and show your opposition to NMD. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>Contact: Lindis Percy and Anni =
Rainbow</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF =
AMERICAN=20
BASES</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2> (CAAB) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 =
1HQ,=20
England, U.K.<BR>Tel/fax no: +44 (0)1943 466405 0R +44 (0)1482=20
702033</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>email: <A=20
href=3D"mailto:caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net">caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net</=
A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Website: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyorks/caab/">http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyo=
rks/caab/</A></FONT><FONT=20
face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG>"Never doubt that a small group =
of=20
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it's the =
only thing=20
that ever does." </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2><STRONG> &n=
bsp; &nb=
sp; &nbs=
p;  =
; =
&=
nbsp; &n=
bsp; =20
Margaret=20
Mead</STRONG> <BR><BR></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT>=
</DIV></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>
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To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com"
with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 12:59:43 -0000
From: "Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow" <caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Two extra charges for protest at NSA Menwith Hill
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
- ------=_NextPart_000_004A_01C07FBC.323E5960
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charset="iso-8859-1"
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Following on from a peaceful action at NSA Menwith Hill on 13 December =
2000 when Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow were arrested and charged with =
Obstructing the Highway under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980:=20
=20
Lindis has now been informed by the Crown Prosecutor (David Tucker) that =
he is adding two further charges.
=20
The charges are:
1. that you on 13th December 2000 at Menwith Hill in the County of =
North Yorkshire used abusive or insulting behaviour or disorderly =
behaviour, namely trailing a United States of America flag on the ground =
in front of cars driven by American citizens, with in the sight of =
persons likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress thereby, namely =
American citizens and the offence was motivated (wholly or partly) by =
hostility towards members of the United States of America based on their =
membership of that group
contary to section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
2. that you on 13th December 2000 at Menwith Hill in the County of =
North Yorkshire used abusive and insulting behaviour, namely trailing a =
United States of America flag on the ground in front of cars driven by =
American citizens with in the sight of persons likely to be caused =
harassment alarm or distress thereby
contary to section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 as amended
The new charges relate only to Lindis and the flag, not to Anni and the =
flag.
=20
CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB)
8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 1HQ, England, U.K.
Tel/fax no: +44 (0)1943 466405 0R +44 (0)1482 702033
email: caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net
Website: http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyorks/caab/
=20
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can =
change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever does." =
Margaret Mead=20
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charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Following on from a peaceful =
action at NSA=20
Menwith Hill on 13 December 2000 when Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow were =
arrested and charged with Obstructing the Highway under Section 137 of=20
the Highways Act 1980: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Lindis has now been informed by the =
Crown=20
Prosecutor (David Tucker) that he is adding two further =
charges.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3>The charges are:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>1. that you on 13th December 2000 at =
Menwith=20
Hill in the County of North Yorkshire used abusive or insulting =
behaviour or=20
disorderly behaviour, namely trailing a United States of America flag on =
the=20
ground in front of cars driven by American citizens, with in the =
sight of=20
persons likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress thereby, =
namely=20
American citizens and the offence was motivated (wholly or partly) by =
hostility=20
towards members of the United States of America based on their =
membership of=20
that group</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>contary to section 31 of the Crime and Disorder =
Act=20
1998</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>2. that you on 13th December 2000 at =
Menwith Hill in=20
the County of North Yorkshire used abusive and insulting behaviour, =
namely=20
trailing a United States of America flag on the ground in front of cars =
driven=20
by American citizens with in the sight of persons likely to be caused =
harassment=20
alarm or distress thereby</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>contary to section 5 of the Public Order Act =
1986 as=20
amended</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>The new charges relate only to Lindis and =
the flag,=20
not to Anni and the flag.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2> =20
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF =
AMERICAN BASES=20
(CAAB)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 =
1HQ,=20
England, U.K.<BR>Tel/fax no: +44 (0)1943 466405 0R +44 (0)1482=20
702033</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>email: <A=20
href=3D"mailto:caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net">caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net</=
A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Website: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyorks/caab/">http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyo=
rks/caab/</A></FONT><FONT=20
face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG>"Never doubt that a small group =
of=20
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it's the =
only thing=20
that ever does." Margaret=20
Mead</STRONG> <BR><BR></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com"
with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 08:47:02 -0500
From: ASlater <aslater@gracelinks.org>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Radiation & Health Conf
>Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 16:36:45 -0500
>Subject: Radiation & Health Conf
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: healthana@lists.speakeasy.org, triesq@aol.com, psutton2000@yahoo.com,
kensilver@aol.com
>From: "kroberts@psr.org" <kroberts@psr.org>
>
>Hi All,
>
>Just wanted to pass this along, but with the warning that registration fees
>are high ($ 500 per person for the whole event or $ 375 for one day). PSR
>will be attending if folks want to coordinate travel plans. Check out the
>ACPM website for more info.
>
>Kimberly
>
>
>
>
>>> The American College of Preventive Medicine is sponsoring a Case Study
>>in
>>> Environmental Medicine on the "Public Health Implications of Exposure to
>>> Radiation from Nuclear Weapons Production and Testing" at its upcoming
>>> annual meeting in Miami, FL (Feb. 22-25). Information on the session
>>and
>on
>>> ACPM's meeting, Preventive Medicine 2001: Science and Systems for
>>Health,
>>> can be accessed at www.PreventiveMedicine2001.org.
>>>
>>> The session will focus on Iodine-131 (I-131) as a hazardous substance
>>> resulting from nuclear testing and weapons production during the 1950s
>>and
>>> 60s and will target children as group that is particularly susceptible
>>to
>>> thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer as a consequence of I-131 exposure.
>>>
>>> Presenters will provide an overview of case-studies in environmental
>>> medicine, introduce the link between nuclear testing and thyroid cancer,
>>> discuss the clinical and psychological effects of exposure to radiation,
>and
>>> speak on patient/physician education efforts.
>>>
>>> Presenters at the session include Oscar Tarrago, MD, MPH, Robert
>>Spengler,
>>> Ph.D., and Pamela Tucker, MD with the Agency for Toxic Substances and
>>> Disease Registry. Peter Wald, MD, MPH, with Workcare, Inc., Clare
>Collins,
>>> MA, CHES, with the National Cancer Institute, and Michael Tuttle, MD,
>>with
>>> Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
>>>
>>> Please contact Jessica Cafarella, ACPM Health Policy Analyst, at
>>> jdc@acpm.org or 202-466-2044, ext. 107 with questions about the session
>>or
>>> for registration information. Additional information and a registration
>>> form also are available at www.PreventiveMedicine2001.org.
>>>
>
- -
To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com"
with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 09:00:52 -0500
From: David Culp <david@fcnl.org>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Heritage Foundation on Nuclear Weapons Policy
To: Interested Persons
Below are excerpts on nuclear weapons policy from The Heritage Foundation's
new policy briefing book for the Bush administration.
From: Jack Spencer, "Building and Maintaining the Strength of America's
Armed Forces," chap. 10, Priorities for the President, Washington, D.C.: The
Heritage Foundation, January 2001.
http://www.heritage.org/mandate/priorities/chap10.html
<http://www.heritage.org/mandate/priorities/chap10.html>
A post-Cold War nuclear deterrent policy. The U.S. nuclear arsenal and
nuclear policy were developed to deter the Soviet Union from using its
nuclear weapons. Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has taken control of
the Soviet warheads and China is engaged in a program of nuclear
modernization. Nations like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea are edging closer
and closer to becoming nuclear states. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall,
Pakistan and India have detonated nuclear devices. Today's world is far
different from the world of the Cold War, yet the United States still relies
on the same (albeit smaller) nuclear arsenal that it relied on then. This is
not right.The next Administration should reevaluate the purpose of nuclear
weapons in the post-Cold War world. It will likely find that the need for
thousands of high-yield strategic nuclear warheads is no longer valid,
especially when supplemented with strategic defenses. Instead of focusing on
quantity or the huge "city busters" whose sole purpose is deterrence, the
United States should concentrate on the quality and diversity of its
weapons. Future warfare scenarios may require low-yield nuclear options.
Arms-control agreements with the Russians will bring the number of deployed
U.S. strategic nuclear warheads down from over 10,000 to 3,500. The next
round of talks will attempt to bring them down even further, to 2,000 to
2,500, which could be followed by even deeper cuts. But arms control will
not eliminate nuclear weapons from the world at large; nor should America
give up its nuclear deterrent unless the circumstance arises that the United
States no longer depends on nuclear deterrence to ensure international
security and stability. Protecting U.S. security will require a minimum
level of nuclear forces into the foreseeable future, specifically:
1. To deter Russia if a political reversal in Moscow brings a hostile
communist or hard-line nationalist regime to power.
2. To deter lesser but growing nuclear powers like China as well as rogue
regimes like North Korea, Iran, and Iraq that are trying to acquire nuclear
weapons programs.
3. To deter other countries that may acquire other weapons of mass
destruction (chemical or biological). Some 15 developing nations have
biological or chemical weapons programs today.
The central mission of a tactical nuclear force is to counter any
battlefield advantage an adversary may gain from striking U.S. and allied
forces with weapons of mass destruction. Also, low-yield nuclear weapons are
the best way to target large biological weapons production facilities.
Unlike a conventional bomb, which would destroy the facility but spread the
biological agent, a nuclear device would incinerate the agent as well.
Adversaries of the United States understand that America would gain
unprecedented battlefield advantage by deploying an array of satellite
sensors that would give its armed forces the ability, with precision-guided
munitions, to target almost anything, anywhere, at any time. America's
enemies are beginning to adapt to this advantage by placing their troops,
weapons, command and control, and other combat elements underground. Until
adequate conventional forces can be developed to kill these underground
targets, the United States must maintain a low-yield tactical nuclear
option.
Furthermore, several nations retain very large standing armies. Given the
expeditionary nature of U.S. forces, the United States must prepare for the
possibility of being overwhelmed by sheer manpower in future combat
scenarios. To counter the most potent army fielded by any regional adversary
the United States could face, the tactical U.S. nuclear force structure
needs to include adequate numbers of low-yield weapons. The United States
also must reserve the right to develop new tactical nuclear weapons to
counter emerging threats as they arise. These weapons will be the
cornerstone of deterrence in a world where biological, chemical, and nuclear
weapons are proliferating at a dangerous pace.
. . .
Assumptions Underlying the Quadrennial Defense Review
Before the next QDR [Quadrennial Defense Review], the President should issue
a directive outlining that protecting the national interest requires:
. . .
* Tactical nuclear weapons to deter the use of nuclear, chemical, and
biological weapons against U.S. troops, regardless of where they are
located.
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To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com"
with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 09:38:20 -0500
From: ASlater <aslater@gracelinks.org>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: wilpf-news US Elections: Compromises of 1876 & 2000
>Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 08:05:28 -0500
>Subject: wilpf-news US Elections: Compromises of 1876 & 2000
>To: wilpf-news-us@igc.topica.com, wilpf-news@igc.topica.com
>From: "rbirchem@a1usa.net" <rbirchem@a1usa.net>
>
>THIS IS REPOSTED FROM [RWWATCH] 1/15/2001.
>_____________________________________
>
>
>[Along the Color Line column -- December 2000]
>
>Stealing the Election: The Compromises of 1876 and 2000
>
>By Prof. Manning Marable <mm247@columbia.edu>
>
> We have just witnessed, in the United States,
>the massive and wholesale theft of the presidency. Yet the
>fraudulent political dynamics that propelled loser George W.
>Bush into the White House have happened before. A political
>philosopher once observed that history always repeats itself
>twice -- the first time as tragedy, and the second time as
>farce. The seeds of the current electoral debacle are
>found in the past.
>
> Back in 1876, the Civil War had been over for only
>eleven years. Black men had finally won the right to vote,
>but Southern whites were vigorously attempting to regain
>their power over their state legislatures. Deep sectional
>antagonisms still divided the nation, with the industrial
>and commercial North mostly supporting Republicans, and
>the White South supporting the Democrats. The Republican
>presidential candidate in 1876 was Rutherford B. Hayes,
>the governor of Ohio. Hayes was widely viewed as being
>handicapped by the governmental scandals and corruption
>during the administration of two-term President Ulysses
>S. Grant.
>
> The Democratic challenger, Governor Samuel J.
>Tilden of New York, was widely favored to defeat Hayes. In
>the general election in November 1876, Tilden appeared to be
>the victor. He carried the national popular vote by 300,000.
>In the Electoral College, Tilden won 184 votes, to only 165
>votes for Hayes, with twenty disputed electoral votes hanging
>in the balance. If Tilden had received only one of the
>disputed electoral votes, he would have been declared
>the winner. Hayes needed to win all 20 disputed
>electoral votes to become president.
>
> Compounding the national crisis were widespread
>allegations of voter fraud, especially in Florida. There was
>evidence of ballot tampering, with hundreds of ballots being
>destroyed or never counted. The political stalemate over who
>would become president threatened to plunge the country into
>a second Civil War. Only several days prior to the date set
>for the presidential inauguration, a deal was reached
>between Republicans and Democrats.
>
> The "Compromise" of the election of 1876 actually
>represented a kind of electoral coup d'etat. The Republican
>candidate Hayes was selected to become president. The
>Federal government pulled thousands of Union troops out of
>the South, where they had been stationed since the fall of
>the Confederacy more than a decade earlier. The Compromise
>stated that the principle of states' rights would determine
>the future legal and political status of African Americans.
>In the language of that era, the so-called "Negro Question"
>was to become a "Southern Question." The white South was
>given a free hand to set the parameters of black freedom.
>
> The consequences of the Compromise of 1876-1877 were
>profound and long-lasting. A Civil Rights Act which had been
>passed by Congress in 1875 was repealed in 1883. Jim Crow
>segregation was soon institutionalized throughout the South.
>Hundreds of thousands of African American men were purged
>from voters rolls, or were denied the right to cast ballots
>by local police intimidation and literacy restrictions. White
>vigilante violence was widely employed to suppress the black
>community, as five thousand African Americans were lynched
>in the South over the next four decades. The Supreme Court
>confirmed the racist principle of "separate but equal" with
>its legal decision Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. It would take
>nearly a century for black America to recover.
>
> Now consider the political parallels between 1876
>and last year's presidential election. Once again, deep
>sectional and demographic divisions were reflected within
>the national electorate. The industrial Northeast and Midwest,
>and the Pacific states were heavily Democratic; the South,
>West, and rural America were overwhelmingly Republican. Al
>Gore, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2000, had
>served nearly his entire adult life as a public official
>-- first as Congressman and Senator from Tennessee, and
>subsequently as Vice President. He was, however, widely
>viewed as being handicapped by the scandals connected with
>the two-term president then in office, Bill Clinton. George
>W. Bush, the Governor of Texas, was chosen as the Republican
>presidential candidate, and was largely assumed to be the
>favorite to win.
>
> In the presidential election of 2000, most exit
>polls indicated that Gore had won. He carried the national
>popular vote by nearly one half million votes over Bush.
>Gore's lead in the Electoral College was 267 to 246
>votes, with Florida's 25 electoral votes in dispute.
>
> It was as if two distinctly separate nations had
>voted in America in November 2000. There was a "gender gap,"
>as Gore received 12 percentage points more from women that
>male voters. The "racial gap" was even more profound. Ninety
>percent of all African-American voters supported Gore, versus
>a meager eight percent endorsing Bush. About two-thirds of
>all Latinos and the majority of Asian Americans voted for
>Gore. By contrast, white America clearly saw Bush as its
>favorite son. Fifty-three percent of all whites supported
>Bush. More than seventy percent of all Southern whites
>voted for Bush and religious conservatives endorsed the
>Republicans by a four to one margin. Neither Gore nor
>President Clinton, a former Governor from Arkansas,
>were able to carry their own states.
>
> Just as in the election of 1876, there was evidence
>of massive voter fraud, especially in Florida. In Florida's
>Palm Beach County, 19,000 ballots were thrown out. In Duval
>County, 27,000 ballots were declared void. Over 12,000 of
>these discounted votes came from only four districts that
>have over 90 percent African-American voters. In some
>majority black precincts, over 30 percent of all votes were
>actually thrown out! Thousands of African Americans who had
>registered and were legally qualified to vote were not
>permitted to do so, because they were erroneously listed
>as having been convicted of a felony. There were dozens
>of documented cases of blacks going to the polls who
>were stopped or harassed by local cops.
>
> Over thirty percent of all African-American adult
>males in Florida are disenfranchised for life, because of
>the anti-democratic restrictions against ex-felons. Most
>Florida Republicans would like to restrict the voting
>rights of the other 70 percent as well. In fact, Florida
>State House Speaker Tom Feeney, who had insisted that the
>Republican-controlled legislature should select a Bush slate
>of Electors no matter who actually won the state's popular
>vote, also suggested the reinstatement of "literacy tests,"
>the legal tool of segregationists. Feeney stated to reporters:
>"Voter confusion is not a reason for whining or crying or
>having a revote. It may be a reason to require literacy
>tests."
>
> The election of 2000 was decided not by the popular
>will of voters, but in Washington, D.C., by a narrow
>five-four conservative majority of Supreme Court justices.
>Chief Justice William Rehnquist's refusal to acknowledge
>evidence of blatant voter fraud against African Americans
>was no surprise. Back in 1962, when Rehnquist was a young
>attorney in Arizona, he led a group of Republican lawyers
>who systematically challenged the right of minority voters
>to cast their ballots in that state. Called "Operation Eagle
>Eye," Rehnquist successfully disenfranchised hundreds of
>black and brown voters in Phoenix's poor and working
>class precincts. In 2000, Rehnquist supervised the
>disenfranchisement, in effect, of the majority of
>American voters.
>
> Under no conditions can George W. Bush be considered
>the legitimate president of the United States. The Supreme
>Court has certified an electoral robbery in Florida. Gore
>was elected by the plurality of America's voters, but Bush
>was selected by the courts. As columnist Julianne Malveaux
>has quipped, perhaps instead of saying "Hail to the Chief,"
>we should salute the faux President with "Hail to the Thief."
>History has repeated itself, and it is up to us to challenge
>this "Compromise of 2000," which threatens to usher in a new
>period of racial inequality.
>
>--
>
>Dr. Manning Marable is Professor of History and Political
>Science, and the Director of the Institute for Research in
>African-American Studies, Columbia University. He is also a
>National Co-Chair of the Black Radical Congress. The views
>and opinions expressed in this article are his own.
>
>"Along the Color Line" is distributed free of charge to over
>350 publications throughout the U.S. and internationally.
>
>Copyright (c) 2000-2001 Manning Marable. Redistribute Freely.
>
>
>[IMPORTANT NOTE: The views and opinions expressed on this
>list are solely those of the authors and/or publications,
>and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official
>political positions of the Black Radical Congress (BRC).
>Official BRC statements, position papers, press releases,
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>
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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 17:12:35 -0500
From: ASlater <aslater@gracelinks.org>
Subject: (abolition-usa) In the The Nation: "Star Wars Boosters"
Appearing in the current issue of
The Nation, January 29, 2001
Star Wars Boosters
As soon as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney take up the reins of
government,
they'll give a big boost to waging war in and from space. Under their
leadership, right-wing advocates of US global dominance and corporations
eager for contracts will join forces with a military eager to make space
the battleground of the twenty-first century.
Indeed, Star Wars--"missile defense" in the current Newspeak--is
emerging
as a central goal of the new Bush Administration. It is "an essential part
of our strategic system," declared Colin Powell immediately upon being
named as Bush's Secretary of State.
"I wrote the Republican Party's foreign policy platform," declared
Bruce
Jackson, vice president of corporate strategy and development at Lockheed
Martin, the world's largest weapons manufacturer [see William D. Hartung
and Michelle Ciarrocca, "Star Wars II," June 19, 2000], which is deeply
involved in space military programs. In a recent interview, Jackson said
that although he was "the overall chairman of the Foreign Policy Platform
Committee" at the Republican National Convention, he hasn't led the
advocacy for the full development of Star Wars because "that would be an
implicit conflict of interest with my day job" at Lockheed Martin.
Such advocacy, he said, has fallen to Stephen Hadley, George W.
Bush's
pick for deputy director of the National Security Council. Hadley, Bush
Senior's assistant secetary of defense for international security policy
and a member of his National Security Council, is a proud member of the
Vulcans, an eight-person foreign policy team formed during the Bush
campaign that includes future National Security Council director
Condoleezza Rice and Reagan administation superhawk Richard Perle. The
Vulcans named themselves after the Roman god of fire and metalwork and for
a statue in Rice's hometown, Birmingham, Alabama, commemorating its
steelmaking history.
Besides being a Vulcan, Hadley is a partner in Shea & Gardner, the
Washington law firm representing Lockheed Martin. Hadley has also worked
closely with Jackson on the Committee to Expand NATO--based in the offices
of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute--Jackson as president,
Hadley as secretary. The committee sought to enlist Eastern European
countries into NATO and, of course, build the client base for Lockheed
Martin weapons.
"Space is going to be important. It has a great future in the
military,"
Hadley told the Air Force Association Convention in a September 11 speech.
Introduced as "an advisor to Governor George W. Bush," Hadley said that
Bush's "concern has been that the [Clinton] Administration... doesn't
reflect a real commitment to missile defense. This is an Administration
that has delayed on that issue and is not moving as fast as he thinks we
could."
To remedy that, Bush has named as Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld--a
man
whom
the Washington Post calls the "leading proponent not only of national
missile defenses, but also of U.S. efforts to take control of outer space"
[see Michael T. Klare, page 14]. In 1998 Rumsfeld's commission reversed a
1995 finding by the nation's intelligence agencies that the country was not
in imminent danger from ballistic missiles acquired by new powers,
declaring that "rougue states" did pose such a threat. The answer? Missile
defense. Trusted adviser to and financial supporter of
the right-wing Center for Security Policy, Rumsfeld has been awarded its
Keeper of the Flame prize. The center's advisory board includes such Star
Wars promoters as Edward Teller--and, of course, Lockheed Martin
executives, including Bruce Jackson.
"This so-called election was a victory for putting weapons in space,
at
enormous cost to US taxpayers and to world stability," declares Bruce
Gagnon, coordinator of the Florida-based Global Network Against Weapons &
Nuclear Power in Space (www.space4peace.org). He points to Bush campaign
statements about deploying "quantum leap weapons" and about Los Alamos and
Sandia National Laboratories playing a major role in the development of
"weapons that will allow America to define how wars are fought." Both labs
have been deeply involved in space-based lasers, an integral part of Star
Wars. In 1998 the Defense Department signed a multimillion-dollar contract
for a "Space-Based Laser Readiness Demonstrator" and this past November
solicited final comments on development of the program, estimated to cost
between $20-$30 billion. Lockheed Martin, TRW and Boeing are the
contractors. (Lynne Cheney has just resigned from the board of Lockheed
Martin, Dick Cheney has been a member of the board of TRW.)
The military's would-be space warriors, meanwhile, are bullish. The
U.S.
Space Command's top general, Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, exhorts the Air Force to
"be the space warfighters our nation needs today...and will need even more
tomorrow." The Air Force command's "Almanac 2000" touts "defending America
through the control and exploitation of space." The Air Force in the 2lst
Century must be "globally dominant -- Tomorrow's Air Force will likely
dominate the air and space
around the world."
The Vulcans, Keepers of the Flame and Lockheed Martin et al. will be
cheering them on.
Karl Grossman and Judith Long
Karl Grossman is the author of the forthcoming Weapons in Space (Seven
Stories) and the new TV documentary Star Wars Returns (EnviroVideo
800-ECO-TV46). Judith Long is The Nation's copy editor.
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