Boston's Indymedia has ""Nationalization or death!" Uprising in Bolivia / "¡Nacionalización o muerte!" gritan los movimientos sociales:"
* After holding an emergency meeting, the FEJUVE (Federación de Juntas Vecinales de El Alto) has descended from the mountains to the Altiplano of Bolivia and the capital city of La Paz to "take over the National Congress." In addition, they ratified a citywide strike as it entered its third day with no end in sight.
* Meanwhile a group of Army officials disassociated themselves with Carlos Mesa and called to the military to be united with the mobilizations.
* It is uncertain what will happen next. It is clear however that the road blockades at Copacabana, Desaguadero, Achacachi and Oruro with strong concentrations in the localities of Pallcoco, Batallas, Huarina, Warisata y Escoma (towns around La Paz, the capital) will be lasting. The protestors manning the blockades are members of the inidigenous Aymara community that have once again left their towns and villages to make their presence felt and voice heard in front of a deaf state. They are confronting the state’s partiality to the transnational companies and the state’s forgetfulness of the national majorities.en espanol: http://bolivia.indymedia.org/es/2005/05/17382.shtml
Also from Boston IMC, Brenda e-mails to note h-fries' "'Zine Library Opens in Harvard Square:"
A new library has opened up right in Harvard Square. But they don't have any books. Instead, they have 'zines. 'Zines are self-published magazines that address universes of different topics. There are 'zines about being a substitute teacher, how to compost, growing up as an immigrant, animal rights and high school crushes. They're becoming increasingly popular as everyone starts to make their own 'zine. Now there are 'zine libraries all around the country. This radio piece documents the opening of Boston's new 'zine library.
See also:
http://baamboston.org/papercut
From Chicago Indymedia Zach e-mails to note Ted Forsyth's "Animal Rights Activist Could Face 82 Years in Jail and Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Fines:"
Chicago animal rights activists drove to Madison to lend solidarity to Peter Young, who was arraigned today on charges of violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and conspiracy to interrupt interstate commerce. The maximum penalty he faces is 82 years in jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
Young was arrested on March 21st in San Jose, CA. He has been "WANTED" since 1998 after being indicted on charges of violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act by freeing more than 7,000 mink from five Midwestern fur farms.Young’s lawyer, Mr. Chris Kelly, entered the plea of not guilty to the alleged crimes being prosecuted against his client by the United States government represented by Mr. Robert Anderson.
Young was not alone as about 40 people showed up to lend support from across the Midwest packing the courtroom.
The hearing was held to address three items: 1) to enter a plea, 2) to set up a date to have a telephonic scheduling conference with Judge Crocker, and 3) to determine if Young could be released from detention.
The presiding judge, Judge Theresa M. Owens, stated that Young could be a flight risk and would not grant release from detention. Young's lawyer, Kelly, stated that his client would preserve the right to have a subsequent hearing on the matter. The presiding judge agreed and the prosecution had no objections.
Young is currently being held in Dane County Jail with the possibility of being moved to Jefferson County Jail. For information on sending books or writing directly to Peter, or donating money to his legal defense fund please see: SupportPeter.com###
See also:http://supportpeter.comhttp://madison.indymedia.org/newswire/display/24399/index.php
From Tennessee IMC, Durham Gal e-mails to note Joanna's "Coping With the Personal and Family Costs of War:"
Since the soldiers began returning from the Iraq war at the turn of the year, my therapy practice has been inundated with a variety of problems that come from the soldiers' experiences in this war.
One result that all therapists expected was PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms may include nightmares, flashbacks (even reenactment), disturbed sleep and hyper vigilance. This can be caused by a variety of incidents, from life threatening experience for the soldier himself to the experience of a good friend or buddy being injured or killed.
Many soldiers I've seen have PTSD symptoms due to the inhuman things that they had to do in this war. One was forced by his superior to run over a woman and child trying to stop a convoy on a road where many convoys were attacked. Another shot into a crowd that contained women and children and saw children die. Another was attacked by a kid he had befriended and given food to; then he had to kill the boy to save his own life.
One NCO had nightmares of watching two of his soldiers being blown up when they picked up what turned out to be a live bomb, on the orders of an officer who was collecting booty for his "trophy room." This NCO, a career soldier, then lost faith in the military when he was forced to lie about the incident to protect the officer.
Even jobs that some thought were "safe" from direct fire or war were not safe from this type of experience. One soldier in communications was stringing lines when he and his partner ran into an Iraqi soldier in a bunker. They hollered at him to get out, but he didn't. Although he didn't actually raise his weapon to them, he continued holding it loosely, and the soldier shot him, again under orders. Then he was wracked by guilt that the soldier didn't understand, might have been saved if he had acted differently, that the Iraqi was someone's son, someone's brother.
PTSD caused by this type of thing seems to be more difficult to treat, more difficult to recover from than the usual war experience of fire fights because the soldiers feel that they have lost an important part of themselves and fear that they are damaged permanently by behaving against their core beliefs. The violence of war creates violence at home when soldiers return. They most noticeable evidence of this is the dramatic increase in domestic violence, even the killings of spouses, since the soldiers started returning.
Margot e-mailed Sheree Sunday's "DU Bill passes in LA!" from New Orleans Indymedia. We're printing it in full partly because it's a press release and partly because it's an important story:
On May 12th, Peter Kovacs, the Managing News Editor of the New Orleans Times- Picayune, the region's major daily newspaper, in a telephone conversation with veterans advocate Bob Smith, and a Times-Picayune political analyst stated that a story concerning a bill giving the right for service women and men from Louisiana to a best practices health-screening test for exposure to depleted uranium would not be published.
The reason Kovacs gave was because the bill was not costing the state any money. Kovacs went on to say that the Times Picayune criteria for newsworthiness was how much it would cost. The fact that the bill supports the troops’ health concerns is not the criteria.
Four other media outlets in the region have already covered the story expressing concerns for the troops.
On Tuesday, May 3 , The Louisiana State House of Representatives passed a bill to give the right to all Louisiana Servicemen and women returning from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom for testing for depleted uranium contamination.
Louisiana is the first state in the nation to have their House pass this type of bill. The vote was 101 to 0 in favor. The Louisiana Brigade, with approximately 4,500 National Guardsmen, is expected to return home from Iraq between October and December 2005.
DU is radioactive and can cause leukemia, DNA breakdown, various other cancers, and birth defects in offspring of soldiers who have come into contact with it. The VA and the DOD have been conducting testing that is not sensitive enough to detect whether a soldier has been contaminated.
This bill would have helped alleviate that by pressuring the State’s Adjutant General to insure that the test mandated by DOD orders and Army regulations would be executed.
The "money" criteria used by the New Orleans Times-Picayune is shocking in light of the fact that the country is at war and legislation supporting the troops health concerns is of utmost importance.
F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E
Bob Smith Chair
Depleted Uranium Awareness Committee
Louisiana Activist Network
www.newdemocracyrising.com/uranium.asp
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com
