Fwd: [Anti-National-Anarchist] The Internet Anti-Fascist: Fri, 31 Aug 20

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Subject: [Anti-National-Anarchist] The Internet Anti-Fascist: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 -- 69 1/2 (#593)

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 13:58:11 -0400

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The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 31 August 2001

Vol. 5, Number 69 1/2 (#593)

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What's Worth Checking: 15 stories

More On Religious Discrimination Around the World

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WHAT'S WORTH CHECKING

stories via

Please note that the web address for the stories has changed. They are now

presented via our web site rather than via ftp.

2375. Philip Blenkinsop (Reuters), "US Lawyer Says Seeks Worldwide Case

Against Bayer," 17 Aug 01, "An American lawyer suing pharmaceutical giant

Bayer AG over its recalled drug Baycol said on Friday he would try to

expand the suit to embrace cases worldwide and had also included another

industry heavyweight, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, in the action. 'This is

probably going to be one of the largest litigation matters in

pharmaceutical history,' Ed Fagan told a news conference. He declined to

say how much compensation his client might be seeking."

2374. David Saperstein, Rabbi (The Religious Action Center of Reform

Judaism), "Reform Jewish Movement Urges Powell To Attend U.N. Conference

On Racism," 16 Aug 01, "'In a letter today to Secretary of State Colin

Powell, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of

Reform Judaism, encourages Powell to attend the United Nations World

Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, noting, "Essential

values will be under attack in Durban, and we continue to hope that you

will lead the American delegation and will personally participate in

efforts to eliminate any anti-Semitic language and to rebuff attacks

against Israel....and equally importantly (to) further the urgent

legitimate goals of the Conference in addressing the scourge of racism and

its lasting impact.' Saperstein commends Powell stating, 'Your steadfast

opposition to the equation of Zionism with racism, your work to ensure that

Israel is not singled out in the Conference documents, and your commitment

to resist attempts to minimize the evil of the Holocaust have all been

both widely noticed and deeply appreciated by our community'."

2373. Reuters, "U.S. Arrears to UN Caught in Court Dispute - Paper," 16 Aug

01, "House of Representatives Republican leaders are threatening to

withhold $582 million the U.S. owes the United Nations in a fight with the

Bush Administration over the crafting of a measure to exempt Americans

from the International Criminal Court, the Washington Post reported on

Thursday. The lawmakers have told the White House they will hold up the

payment of U.N. dues unless it is approved along with the American Service

Members' Protection Act, the Post reported, citing administration

officials."

2372. Dianne Lynch (ABCNEWS), "Afghan Women Reach Out Via Web," 15 Aug 01,

"The Taliban have taken control of their country and relegated women to a

life of deeply controlled servitude. But some Afghan women, writes our

columnist, are reaching out internationally via the Web. Imagine it: You

can't work. You can't go to school. You can't leave home without a male

guardian, and even then, you must be shrouded in a veil from head to toe.

You can't laugh or talk aloud in public, and even your shoes must make no

sound. Wearing cosmetics or showing your ankles is punishable by whipping;

women have had their fingers amputated for wearing nail polish. You paint

the windows of your house black so you cannot be seen from the outside.

You are forbidden from walking on your balcony or in your backyard. It has

been years since the sun shone on your face. And all public references to

you have disappeared. You are a woman in Afghanistantoday, living under

the regime of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban."

2371. Berger & Montague, P.C., "Class Action Race Discrimination Lawsuit

Filed Against ARAMARK Corporation: 152,000-Employee Corporation is

Nation's Largest Outsourcing Provider," 15 Aug 01, "A Class Action race

discrimination lawsuit was filed today against the nation's largest

provider of outsourcing services, ARAMARK Corporation, which posted

revenues in excess of $7 billion in 2000. The suit is being handled by a

team of lawyers at two Philadelphia firms: Joel I. Fishbein at Abrahams,

Loewenstein & Bushman, P.C. and Stephen A. Whinston, Jonathan Auerbach and

Shanon J. Carson at Berger & Montague, P.C. The suit alleges that ARAMARK

Corporation managers are guilty of ongoing, pervasive racial

discrimination against blacks employed by ARAMARK at Philadelphia's

Presbyterian Medical Center. Ten African-American workers filed suit for

themselves and on behalf of all black workers in the Patient Services,

Environmental Services and Distribution Departments. Workers in these

departments, who are almost all black, transport patients throughout the

Presbyterian Medical Center complex, clean the rooms and floors, and

distribute the linens. The complaint alleges that white managers harass

African-American workers through an oppressive pattern of unfair and

unjustified discipline. In response to repeated complaints by the black

workers, according to the complaint, white managers retaliate by raising

the level of discipline."

2370. Karen Iley (Reuters), "U.N. Committee Slams U.S. Racism Record," 14

Aug 01, " A U.N. body has slammed the United States' record on racism,

suggesting a halt to the death penalty and immediate moves to stamp out

police brutality. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination unveiled three pages of preliminary conclusions late

Monday, almost two weeks after the United States presented it with its

first-ever report on how it was combating discrimination. The body of 18

independent experts, who monitor how signatory countries comply with the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, noted

'a disturbing correlation between race, both of the victim and the

defendant, and the imposition of the death penalty'' in America. It called

on the United States to ensure that no death penalty was imposed as a

result of racial bias, 'perhaps by pronouncing a moratorium'."

2369. WJLA, "Intruders Rob, Vandalize Anne Arundel Church," 14 Aug 01,

"Vandals hit a southern Anne Arundel County church over the weekend,

trashing its interior with food from its pantry and leaving racial slurs

and satanic symbols."

2368. Reuters, "U.N. Racism Talks End Without Agreement," 10 Aug 01, "Talks

failed Friday to settle angry disputes over how the U.N. Conference on

Racism will deal with Israeli policies toward Palestinians and

compensation for African slavery. But U.N. human rights chief Mary

Robinson put on a brave face, voicing optimism that consensus could be

reached on final texts on both controversial issues at the conference

which opens in Durban, South Africa, in three weeks."

2367. Reuters, "Provocative German Holocaust Denial Poster Removed," 10 Aug

01, "A German Jewish fund-raising group Friday pulled down posters

apparently denying the Holocaust after they caused controversy across

Germany and split opinion in the Jewish community. The provocative posters

declaring 'The Holocaust never happened' against a serene lake and a

mountain backdrop had hung from billboards and appeared in newspapers for

three weeks. Only much smaller text revealed the true message of a

campaign designed to raise funds for a Berlin memorial to Jewish victims

of the Nazis and to stir awareness of the Holocaust."

2366. WCCO Channel4000, "Safety Officials Prepare For KKK Rally: Public

safety officials are preparing for a Ku Klux Klan rally scheduled for Aug.

25 at the State Capitol," 9 Aug 01, "The KKK plans to recruit new members.

'I don't think there are many police officers who imagined during their

career they'd be protecting the rights of the Ku Klux Klan,' Maj. Kevin

Kittridge of the Minnesota State Patrol said.' Kittridge is in charge of

Capitol security. He said that, regardless of what he or his officers

think, they must do their jobs."

2365. Evelyn Leopold (Reuters), "Indigenous Peoples Organize at United

Nations," 9 Aug 01, "Tribal chiefs from Canada to Peru and beyond on

Thursday sought to get the grievances of indigenous people heard at the

United Nations and said they were even shut out of a upcoming conference

on racism. Honoring the Seventh International Day of the World's

Indigenous People, more than 700 activists, many of them from the United

States, celebrated their cultures in spiritual rituals. They discussed

ways to protect themselves from discrimination, economic exploitation and

environmental degradation."

2364. Michael Carney (Reuters), "Israel Says U.N. Racism Draft Mocks

Holocaust," 9 Aug 01, "Israel accused Arab and Islamic countries Thursday

of mocking the Holocaust by trying to equate the Jewish state with the

Nazis at a United Nations (news - web sites) racism conference to be held

in South Africa this month."

2363. Ann Rostow (PlanetOut), "Program threatened over gay participation,"

9 Aug 01, "Bill Jankalow, the governor of South Dakota, is considering

ending his state's participation in the Adopt-A-Highway program rather

than face a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union over his

reluctance to allow a gay group to participate fully in the program."

2362. Ann Coulter, "The ACLU's Speech Exception ot the Pornography

Amendment," 9 Aug 01, "The ACLU is getting a lot of credit these days for

defending our precious First Amendment right to scribble sadistic child

pornography. Convicted child pornographer Brian Dalton recently pleaded

guilty in an Ohio court to a second pandering offense. He later claimed

his journal was intended to be used exclusively as his private

masturbatory aid, winning the undying devotion of self-proclaimed civil

libertarians. People seem to take enormous psychic satisfaction in

defending Brian Dalton's creepy journal. Oh sure, we get the dutiful

statements of personal revulsion at Dalton's fantasies. But, oddly, the

more repellent his writings are, the more they give Dalton's defenders the

self-satisfying sensation of rising above the angry mob calling for his

head."

2361. American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG), "Escaped Slave to Address

Thousands at San Francisco Music Festival," 9 Aug 01, "At CyberFest, 22-

year-old Sudan native Francis Bok recounts ten years in bondage, urges

Americans to become abolitionists once again in fight against modern day

slavery. Since escaping from slavery in Sudan at age 17, Bok has become an

icon of the neo-abolitionist movement. In the last year, he has testified

to the Senate live on C-Span, met privately with Madeleine Albright,

spoken alongside Coretta Scott King, appeared on stage in front of 40,000

people during a Jane's Addiction concert, and been featured in the Boston

Globe, the Village Voice, and NBC Nightly News."

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MORE ON RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AROUND THE WORLD

1) AA News, "Catholics Demand Removal of Oregon Billboard Branding Pope as

the Anti-Christ: A Public Debate Over 'Hate Speech,' Free Expression,"

29 Jul 01

2) Muddassir Rizvi (Asia Times), "A Slap In the Facr For Pakistani Women,"

23 Aug 01

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1) Catholics Demand Removal of Oregon Billboard Branding Pope as the Anti

-Christ: A Public Debate Over "Hate Speech," Free Expression

AA News

29 Jul 01

Larry Weathers, a barber in the town of Talent, Oregon has some pretty

strong feelings when it comes to religion and especially the Vatican.

Weathers is a member of the Rogue Valley Historical Seventh-day Adventists,

a congregation of about 40 which is considered a "renegade" by the larger

Adventist denomination. The church distributes a 94-page book, "The

National Sunday Law," that claims to reveal the identity of the Anti-

Christ, a shadowy figure and proxy for the devil who will walk the earth

during the last days prior to the Second Coming of Jesus. "The pope is the

antichrist," says Mr. Weathers, and he is so sure of this that he has

purchased space on a high-profile advertising billboard proclaiming the

same. The colorful sign sits along Interstate 5 outside of Medford,

Oregon.

Roman Catholics and the Archdiocese of Portland, are furious, and they are

demanding removal of the billboard which Weathers legally rented from

Outdoor Media Dimensions.

"It's a deliberately and gratuitously offensive statement that singles out

Catholics for contempt," Rev. Liam Cary of the Sacred Heart Catholic

Church in Medford declared. "It's not in someone's back yard. It's right

there, in your face, on a public road."

So are crosses and other religious iconography on church buildings,

though, along with outdoor ads promoting prayer and religious belief. The

Oregon billboard has ignited a spirited debate over free expression and

"hate speech," especially when it is directed against a religious

institution.

"What's to stop someone from putting an anti-Jewish billboard up or an

anti-black or anti-Hispanic billboard up?" Cary mused in an interview with

the Mail Tribune newspaper. "I'm sure there would be a great uproar in

Medford. But if it's anti-Catholic, why do we tolerate it?"

Weathers defends the billboard, and the tome which claims to unmask the

pesky Anti-Christ. "The book outlines who the anti-Christ is," he said.

"Anti means in the place of Christ. A lot of people think it means against

Christ. Any pope that holds that office becomes the person on Earth that

represents Christ."

Underneath the words "The POPE Is The ANTICHRIST" the billboard invites

people to visit http://www.anti-christ666.com, a amateurish web site which

asks, "Do you REALLY know the TRUTH about the Anti-Chris or the number 666?

With SOOOOOO many theories floating around, WHAT is the absolute info that

is un-refutable?" Surfers can then sign up for the free reading material

which presumably will reveal a potpourri of theological and eschatological

truths.

The sign has sparked a debate over free expression and "hate speech,"

especially since a powerful religious figure is being attacked. The

Portland-based Catholic Sentinel newspaper said that the billboard

"presages the start of a new West Coast campaign to discredit the Catholic

Church." It quoted one Sacred Heart Parish member, Kathy Morgan: "As a

Catholic, I do find the billboard offensive, but it also just makes us in

southern Oregon look like idiots. It makes us look like a bunch of

hicks..."

Dominican priest Gerald Buckley told the Sentinel that the billboard was "a

disgrace," and urged its removal. "We get e-mail and letters from people

traveling from California who see this sign just as they come into the

state. Can you imagine putting something up like that about the Jews or

Martin Luther King?" he asked.

Church Working Against Free Expression?

The Portland Archdiocese has called for removal of the sign, focusing its

wrath not only on Larry Weathers but the billboard rental company, Outdoor

Media Dimensions. Bud Brunch, director of communications for the

Archdiocese, told World Net Daily that, "This is not a First Amendment

issue; it's not a free-speech issue." He suggested, "It's a matter of what

kind of advertising that a media outlet will accept," and added that a

public billboard -- a device used to promote everything from brand name

products to organizations and even religious messages -- is "not a media

outlet you can turn off like a car radio."

A prepared statement from Outdoor Media read, "The content expressed on

billboards leased by Outdoor Media Dimensions does not in any way express

the opinion or beliefs of our company or staff."

An attorney for the firm, Alan Herson, told the Mail Tribune, "The person

who bought space from the billboard people has the right to free speech

like all Americans do. If the Archdiocese doesn't like it, rather than

censorship, they should print their own speech and buy a billboard. That's

the American way. Your newspaper (The Mail Tribune) quotes anti-Semitic

statements regularly, and nobody is calling for an end to your newspaper."

The church, though, seems willing to sacrifice the principle of free

expression in order to protect its own public image. The Diocesan

newspaper noted that "Three years ago, the local Catholic vicariate (sic)

even agreed to a conscious policy to remain mum (about the sign) not

wanting to hurt the cause of an unrelated lawsuit that would press

billboard companies to get state permits."

Added Jon Legg, identified as a committee member of the Archdiocese of

Portland group, "We don't want to get into a big flap on religion. We

don't want the billboard people to have freedom of speech and religion as a

defense." (Quoted in The Catholic Sentinel, July 27, 2001 "Spruced-up

billboard marks beginning of new 'pope-is-Antichrist' campaign.")

"I do not believe hate messages should fall under the aegis of freedom of

speech," declared Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the archdiocese. "Hate

messages are simply unacceptable no matter at whom they are directed."

A Theme Since The Protestant Reformation

Billboards, books and other materials suggesting a relationship between the

Roman Catholic Church and the Anti-Christ are not new. Indeed, the Church

of Rome was condemned during the Protestant Reformation by figures like

Thomas Muentzer and Martin Luther as a sinful institution debauched by

privilege, wealth and arbitrary rule. That theme has lived on in many

Protestant quarters, often incorporated into a wider narrative about the

Apocalypse and the coming of the Anti-Christ. Before the end of the world,

say some believers, Satan will establish a fraudulent church -- identified

by some as the Catholic religion -- to begin a campaign of persecution

against "true Christians."

According to the Sentinel, Mr. Weathers presumably is receiving "tens of

thousands of dollars" for his anti-pope billboard campaign from an

individual "out of state with deep pockets." He is also part of a "loose

association" of "renegade" Seventh-day Adventists which are linked to

businessman Danny Vierra. Vierra heads Modern Manna Ministries in Lodi,

California, and peddles a combination of health food products and Bible

prophecy materials. His radio show, "Healthline," airs on stations

throughout the country.

The Oregon fracas also represents a global "turf war" between established

denominations, including the Catholic Church, and energized Protestant

fundamentalist and evangelical ministries many of which are aggressively

proselytizing in the U.S. and elsewhere. For instance, the Rogue Valley

group of which Mr. Weathers is a member has connections to Printed Page

Ministries of Troy, Montana. run by a former Portland car salesman named

Les Balsiger. Balsiger is publisher of "The Protestant," and is planning

on opening a training school for Adventist activists in Eastern Europe.

Another figure in the anti-Catholic Adventist movement is Raphael Perez, a

Florida preacher who is working with Balsiger to expand their respective

ministries. Perez is even involved in a court fight with the Seventh-Day

Adventist church over his use of the word "Adventist."

As for the billboard outside of Medford, Oregon and other anti-Catholic

advertisements, the Seventh-day Adventist Church denies any responsibility.

A spokesperson told the Catholic Sentinel, "Billboards attacking the pope,

and by implication the Catholic Church, are not associated with any

ministry sponsored or approved by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The

group calling themselves SDA Remnant Ministries (Rogue Valley) ... chooses

its form of theology and ministry outside of that which is approved by the

Seventh-day Adventist organization."

A broader question has less to do with doctrinal minutiae, though, than

with free expression. The Portland Archdiocese is supporting efforts to

have the state essentially use its licensing power to censor billboards

that may deal with controversial themes -- in this case, statements

unfavorable to one of the state's most powerful religious groups. The

assertion that attacking religion in any form is a type of "hate speech"

has also become more prevalent in the debate over free expression. It

seems that along with commercial advocacy for products like liquor and

cigarettes, salacious musical lyrics, or anything having to do with the

risqu , opinions critical of religion may soon no longer find protection

under the mantle of the First Amendment.

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2) A Slap In the Facr For Pakistani Women

Muddassir Rizvi (Asia Times)

23 Aug 01

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's highest Islamic advisory body is the target of ire

from rights groups after issuing a pronouncement that seeks to ban women

from seeing male doctors and from having their clothes sewn by men.

The rule, published earlier this month in the Urdu-language press, has so

infuriated some people that they are questioning the wisdom of having such

an institution as the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). "We call upon the

government to ensure that the CII refrains from formulating moral

frameworks for women of Pakistan," reads a press statement signed by dozens

of rights groups in the country. "In fact," it continues, "we urge the

government to re-examine the rationale and raison d'etre of having the CII

at all, and its advisory role."

Others have called on the military government to do away with institutions

that they say are retarding development by propagating conservative views

that have nothing to do with Islam - but only reflect male chauvinism.

But some observers are advising activist groups to calm down, saying that

the CII's decree is not binding on the government. Says Hafiz Azizur

Rehman, who specializes in Islamic law, "The CII cannot issue a decree

fatwa. Whenever somebody approaches it with an issue, it gives its opinion.

The case in point is also an opinion and not decree fatwa."

Others argue, though, that since the CII is a constitutional body, whatever

it says has considerable weight. Many were also upset to note that the

publication of the "opinion" coincided with a meeting of the National

Commission on the Status of Women, convened by two rights groups, Aurat

(Women's) Foundation and Shirkat Gah, in Islamabad.

The commission was formed by the military government, headed by President

General Pervez Musharraf, to ensure that the voices of women are heard in

policy-making and their rights protected. Interestingly enough, among the

commission's members is CII chairman S M Zaman, who boycotted the meeting.

An official at the ministry of women's development says, "We have been

contacted by some rights groups asking for the removal of the chairperson

from the commission. This is a sensitive issue as it may bring the clergy

head-on with rights groups."

The CII declaration came as surprise to many people as it follows several

decisions by the government that were aimed at promoting women's role in

governance and emancipation in all spheres of life. The government has

already inducted women ministers in federal and provincial governments.

Local polls held on August 2 also yielded thousands of women councillors

and at least three women who were elected as district nazim (governors).

Now, many women see the CII declaration as a reminder to all elected women

of the odds they have to work against. "This is a typical way of thinking

of men to control women, sometimes in the name of traditions and morality

and others in the name of religion," says Rukhsana Faiz, who was elected

councillor of the Punjab town of Sargodha. "But the only objective is to

keep women subservient to their desires."

Seconds Kaneez Zehra, an Islamabad-based consumer rights activist, "The

decree is nothing but the reinforcement of the typical mindset of the

religious right and the reiteration of their position on the role they

perceive for women." Zehra believes the CII's issuance is a direct attack

on a woman's right to choose services and service providers. She argues,

"Women have the right to be treated by a male gynecologist, just as men

can go for treatment to female doctors. In this case the gender is not

important, but expertise and competence." The CII ruling has also irked the

medical community, which believes that it has put into question the sacred

patient-doctor relationship. Ahmed Sohail, who has a private clinic, says,

"When a doctor sees a patient all he cares about is the suffering of the

person, disregarding the caste, creed, sex or economic group."

He also says that in the first place the lack of female doctors in suburban

and rural areas could pose problems for those trying to comply with the

CII's pronouncement. "Not many female doctors go and work in rural areas,"

says Sohail. "Even in cities, a majority of female doctors do not opt for

night shifts because of cultural obligations. The other area is the

specialization," he adds. "Not many female doctors are specialists in

fields other than gynecology." Those, however, are not the only concerns

covered by the CII pronouncement. According to the council, women should

not work in the advertising industry and as airport protocol personnel.

While the CII allows women to work as flight attendants and in many other

professions, they have to do so wearing veils.

According to official figures, 29 percent of Pakistani women have no real

access to healthcare while an alarming 72 percent - as against 47 percent

of males - are deprived of educational opportunities.

Struggling for the repeal of discriminatory Islamic laws introduced by the

military dictator Zia ul Haq 20 years ago, rights groups maintain that

spirituality and morality cannot be enforced through legislation and

policing, in the manner of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban.

* * * * *

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is

distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior

interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and

educational purposes only.

__________________________________________________________________________

FASCISM:

We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget.

(No permission required for noncommercial reproduction)

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