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News &
Letters to the Editor
01-30-02
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Debs jailed too
A recent Pulse article on antiwar dissent and repression began with a trenchant statement
by Gene Debs, but the succeeding text failed to mention that Debs himself was jailed from
1918 through 1921 for violating the Espionage Act. Indeed, he ran for President in 1920 on
the Socialist Party ticket while imprisoned in Atlanta, garnering a million or more votes
without ever leaving the penitentiary!
Amanda Luker, in a report on Twin Cities Indymedia, correctly cites “Hundred
Flowers” as a precursor to today’s “Arise” and “Free Press.”
However, she overlooked another alternative tabloid, “Northern Sun News,” edited
for some time by Mordecai Specktor, now political columnist for the Native American
monthly, The Circle, and managing editor of the St. Louis Park-based American Jewish
World. Also worth noting on the current independent media scene is the weekly cable
channel 6 series, “Altera Vista,” produced by Lesley and Wilhelm Reindl.
Self-described as “a program to broaden the range of public discussion on issues of
environmental, economic and social justice,” it airs every Friday at midnight.
Sanford Berman
IMC: message board or news?
One wouldn’t know this from the chorus of praise heaped upon the IMCs. Frequenting
the sites leaves a different impression altogether. Often, after reading the rambling
manifestos that make up most of the “news” found on the site, one can feel like
they’re in a sort of virtual bathroom stall of the left. Additionally, the usually
well written center stories may be informative, but are commonly outdated summations from
more mainstream sources. After a week of this, I suspect that like me, most will go on to
one of the multitude of sites that feature professional left/progressive writers, and
never look back.
And why should they? The IMCers so far seem to refuse to admit one big fact that endangers
their whole project: there already exists a vibrant, accessible alternative media that
rivals the mainstream at every turn: news magazines (The Nation, Z mag, Counterpunch...),
Web sites (www.commondreams.org, www.alternet.org), national radio shows (Pacifica’s
Democracy Now). So one wonders, what then is the purpose of the IMCs?
If the goal is to set up a national ring of bulletin boards, they’re almost there.
The current collection of tech experts could refocus on building sites that facilitate
activist networking and discussion. A worthy goal, perhaps. But to reach it IMCers must
drop the fantasy of being a “news source.”
If the goal really is to start building a new philosophy of news collection/dissemination,
then tough questions will have to be asked: What can an IMC produce that an existing
alternative source cannot? How can nonprofessionals produce material that’s worth
reading? Moreover, what form of structure can allow the inexperienced to publish
worthwhile information and accounts, yet disallow unreadable ramblings that serve only the
writer? Where’s the “on the street” interviews? Where’s the thoughtful
articles that can touch people outside of the activist clique? Where are the inventive and
novel approaches to stories unthought of by the majors? Why aren’t gifted writers
outside that activist community being attracted to, and working on projects for IMCs? Why
aren’t those within that community rising up to the challenge of writing important,
valuable, interesting stories?
Formulating a concrete philosophy, structure, and vision is essential to the survival of
the Independent Media movement. But sadly, several years after its exciting inception
during the Seattle events, such a meaningful starting point has yet to be made.
Christian Hanson
scootskullfx@yahoo.com
Erratum
In last week’s Pulse, both Jennifer Liebenow (“TC-IMC: Revisioning local
media”) and Clyde Bellecourt’s (“Tribes and activists ask U of M to sever
relations with Mt. Graham telescope”)names were misspelled. |
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In what has been called “an end-run around
the Constitution,” corporations are using a little-known provision of the North
American Free Trade Agreement to challenge public laws, jury verdicts and regulation not
only in the United States, but also in Canada and Mexico, according to Bill Moyers. Moyers
and producer Sherry Jones will be presenting a new documentary on Tues., Feb. 5, at 10
p.m. on PBS, local channel 2, called “Trading Democracy.”
“Trading Democracy” is the latest in Jones and Moyers’ exposes on the
secret recesses of American democracy. Very few people, they find, know about how certain
multinational corporations have acquired the power to demand compensation if laws aimed at
protecting the environment or public health harm them financially.
“When the North American Free Trade Agreement became the law of the land almost a
decade ago, the debate we heard was about jobs,” said Moyers. “One provision was
too obscure to stir up controversy. It was called Chapter Eleven, and it was supposedly
written to protect investors from having their property seized by foreign governments. But
since NAFTA was ratified, corporations have used Chapter Eleven to challenge the powers of
government to protect its citizens, to undermine environmental and health laws, even
attack our system of justice.”
In one stark example, Methanex, a Canadian company that is the world’s largest
producer of the key ingredient in the gasoline additive MTBE, learned that MTBE was
carcinogenic. By 1999, MTBE had contaminated thirty public water systems in California and
the state ordered that the additive be phased out. Filing suit under NAFTA’s Chapter
Eleven, Methanex sought $970 million in compensation for loss of market share, and,
consequently, future profits.
The decision to grant Methanex the settlement will be decided privately by a NAFTA
tribunal, though it is taxpayers who will be footing the bill. “If Methanex wins its
billion dollar claim over California environmental law,” says journalist William
Greider, “there ain’t gonna be many states enacting that law are there?”
In another example, a Biloxi, Mississippi, funeral home was awarded punitive damages by a
jury in a civil lawsuit against a large Canadian corporation called the Loewen Group. They
accused Loewen of “fraudulent” and “predatory” trade practices. Three
years later, the Loewen Group filed a Chapter Eleven claim against American taxpayers
saying the jury was biased against Canadians, and in a preliminary ruling, the NAFTA
tribunal declared the Mississipi trial a legitimate target. Moyers says the Loewen suit
“could conceivably open the U.S. civil justice system to challenge—including
decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
With this in mind, and the realization that there is a significant corporate push to
expand NAFTA to 31 more countries in the Western Hemisphere, Moyers asks, “Are we
promoting democracy—as we claim—or trading it away?” pulse
“Trading Democracy” appears on Channel 2, Tues., Feb. 5, at 10 p.m.
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On Jan. 28, Chisago County District Court heard
testimony in the case of Rabbi Ariel Pedersen. Pedersen is facing a felony charge for
possession of marijuana. The case has potential implications for chronically ill people
around the state who use marijuana medicinally.
Rabbi Pedersen was pulled over in October of 2000 with four marijuana plants in her car.
The total amount of marijuana was reported to be more than a pound and 12 times the
minimum required for a felony charge.
The case attracted local media attention last year following the State Department of
Health’s forum on medical marijuana that was attended by Gov. Ventura. Pedersen,
sometimes referred to as the Radical Rabbi, has sought to make her case a venue for debate
about the medical marijuana issue. She lobbied the county attorney's office for months to
have her charge filed promptly.
“They didn’t want to charge me, they knew what I’d do,” Pedersen told
Pulse last June. “I told them that if they didn’t charge me, I was going to go
to the state Capitol steps with 40 of the largest cannabis trees I could find and smoke up
until someone arrested me.”
Pedersen has consistently contended that she uses marijuana medicinally and that it is the
only effective treatment she’s found for her condition. She suffers from
Raynaud’s Phenomenon, which is a circulatory problem, and Mixed Connective Tissue
Disorder, which has no known cause but has symptom’s similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis.
She takes strong pain medication that makes her nauseous and she has a hard time holding
down food. During her testimony she stated that when she doesn’t smoke marijuana she
may vomit seven or eight times a day. Prescription medications haven’t been as
effective as smoking marijuana in controlling her nausea. “Cannabis works better than
anything I’ve tried to this time.”
Dr. John Morgan, a Professor of Pharmacology at the City University of New York School of
Medicine and coauthor of the book “Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts,” gave
expert testimony about the medicinal value of marijuana. He cited studies conducted in the
seventies and eighties that proved smoking marijuana could control nausea, increase
appetite, reduce ocular pressure in Glaucoma patients and decrease spasticity in patients
with multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy. “The Government has invested millions of
dollars in scientific research to prove that marijuana is harmful,” Morgan said
during his testimony. “But most of those studies have shown the opposite to be
true.”
Under cross examination Dr. Morgan admitted that he had not personally examined Rabbi
Pedersen to determine whether marijuana was an appropriate treatment for her condition. He
stated that he’d read her medical record last year and written a prescription for
Merinol, a synthetic form of THC (the active compound in marijuana) that’s taken as a
pill. But he expressed reservations about the effectiveness of ingested THC, which
Pedersen later confirmed by saying that she’d been unable to keep the pills down.
The rest of the trial centered around Rabbi Pedersen’s religious beliefs and her
contention that prohibition of marijuana use is an impediment of her constitutional right
to religious freedom. Pedersen is a Messianic Jew. Reverend Karl Buchanon gave expert
testimony in support of this claim. He cited the etymology of the word cannabis, which
allegedly comes from the hebrew word kaneh bosm, meaning sweet-smelling reed. Kaneh bosm
is referred to several times in the Torah, although it was apparently mistranslated at
some point and from then on associated with a different plant. Buchanon argued that
although the Torah doesn’t require marijuana for ceremonial purposes, medicinal use
of the plant is referred to and condoned.
U.S. District Judge James Clifford said he would take time to make a considerate decision
in a case he felt was likely to be appealed whatever the verdict. Immediately following
the closing of proceedings Rabbi Pedersen collapsed. She complained of intense chest
pains. Paramedics arrived and took her out of the courtroom on a stretcher. She was rushed
to Chisago County Hospital in apparently stable condition. pulse |
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The propaganda war is noticeably overshadowing
the real “war on terror,” yet the casualties still mount in Afghanistan. On Mon.
Dec. 10, University of New Hampshire economics professor Marc W. Herold released findings
showing that 3,767 civilians had been killed in Afghanistan by U.S. bombs. Herold had been
collecting data since Oct. 7, using information from news agencies, major newspapers and
first-hand accounts. He has since raised the number to 4,000.
Herold’s data (available at pubpages.unh.edu~mwherold/) contains logs of number of
casualties, location, type of weapon used and the source of that information. For example,
on Oct.11, two U.S. jets bombed the mountain village of Karam, comprised of 60 mud houses,
during prayer time, killing 100-160 people. Sources: DAWN, (English language Pakistani
daily newspaper), the Guardian of London, the Independent, International Herald Tribune,
the Scotsman, the Observer, and the BBC News.)
Herald’s list is the high end on the current speculation of mortality in Afghanistan.
Doctors Without Borders made a conservative estimate in the hundreds. Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch have voiced strong concern over the loss of civilian
life and have called for a moratorium on the use of cluster bombs.
The discussion of these numbers ranges from little to none. ABC, CBS, NBC, suggests
Fairness in Accuracy in Reporting, never offer even rough tallies of the mounting deaths,
and rarely do they question the legality of those U.S. targeting decisions that led to
strikes on civilians. Time magazine challenges Herold’s numbers by saying he was
“drawing on world-press reports of questionable reliability” and reifies the
Pentagon’s insistence that “civilian casualties are the lowest in the history of
war.” Some commentary even suggests that Afghans don’t mind being killed by the
United States: Thomas Freidman writes in the New York Times, “It turns out many of
those Afghan ‘civilians’ were praying for another dose of B-52s to liberate them
from the Taliban, casualties or not.”
Although Herold’s list is heavily cited, the Pentagon has repeatedly denied reports
of civilian casualties. “People have to know that there is a human cost to war,”
says Herold “and that this is a war with thousands of casualties. These were poor
people to begin with, and, on top of that, they had absolutely nothing to do with the
events of Sept. 11.”
In a recent essay on Znet (www.zmag.org), Howard Zinn laments the deaths of innocent
Afghans, much in the same way the victims of Sept. 11 have been honored in the last six
months. He commits himself to giving a face to the death toll that Herold has compiled, to
show Americans that we are waging war on ordinary people. He writes that “these human
beings have died because they happened to live in Afghan villages in the vicinity of
vaguely defined ‘military targets,’ and that the bombing that has destroyed
their lives is in no way a war on terrorism because it has no chance of ending terrorism
and is itself a form of terrorism.”
Buried within the densely packed New York Times and Washington Post, Zinn began to uncover
stories of a ten-year-old who lost his hands and eyes when a bomb hit his house, men who
had lost their entire families and livestock, children orphaned and maimed. The stories
are there, he notes. “With no access to alternative information, it is not surprising
that a majority of Americans have approved of what they have been led to think is a
‘war on terrorism,’” writes Zinn. pulse |
Since the events of Sept. 11, the U.S. has
bombed and sent ground troops to Afghanistan and is looking at other targets around the
world.
Mayday Books is planning a series of forums called Next Target? Forum Series. The programs
will look at possible targets of U.S. military intervention in the name of the “war
on terror.”
The first forum will look at the Philippines. The program will be held on Sun., Feb. 3, at
2:00 p.m. at Mayday Books, 301 Cedar Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
Speakers will include Addi Batica, a member of the Philippines Study Group of Minnesota
and Marianne Hamilton, member of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) who has traveled to
the Philippines and met with peace, women's and other organizations.
The forum series is co-sponsored by WAMM and the Anti-War Committee.
In mid-January the United States announced that the first of 650 U.S. troops had arrived
in the Philippines to conduct “military exercises” with the Philippine military
against the Muslim rebel group Abu Sayyaf.
The Feb. 3 forum will look at the current political and economic situation in the
Philippines.
In an article on Jan. 24, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported, “The troubles in the
southern Philippines are not what the west terms terrorism, but the result of centuries of
land disputes, the denial of equal economic and political rights.”
Among the questions that will be addressed at the Feb. 3 program is whether U.S. plans for
military intervention around the world are really about fighting terrorism or about
bringing into being a new stage of U.S. economic and political domination around the
world.
Future forums will look at U.S. policy in Somalia, Iraq, Colombia and other countries.
For more information call 612-333-4719. pulse |
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In the inaugural edition of our new column
featuring the best on the net, I chose something that guarantees a good chuckle, and a
thoughtful pause. In the relative calm of a mid-size city, I love taking advantage of
computers to check in on what’s happening in others, browsing the online weeklies of
cities I once inhabited—the Chicago Reader, Atlanta’s Creative Loafing,
Philadelphia’s City Paper, but my all-time favorite has to be Manhattan’s own
community site, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood. If New York could really have a
neighborhood rag, with reports clever, warm and weird, this would be it.
Today you could log on and find the latest stories featuring commentary on race, fresh
reactions to Sept. 11, delicious fiction, restaurant reviews and, their crowning glory, an
anthropological stroll through the New York subways, featuring New York’s newest folk
art: a variety of defacements of Britney Spears posters. It’s a visual treat, but
also sneaks in a bit of social commentary—what do the naked, masturbating
stick-figures on her shoulder really mean?
Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood recently published an anthology of articles, called
“Before & After: Stories from New York.” The collection is separated into
two sections: stories before and after Sept. 11. pulse |
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