December 7, 2000
Subject: Miscellaneous Subjects #49: Turmoil and Violence in West Papua/Moluccas/Aceh + LIVE Webcast THIS SUNDAY - DAY OF COMPASSION + The 01/01/01 OM (Official Millennium) Quantum Global Meditation + Stepping Off the Toxic Treadmill + How just a few $ (or CENTS) means clean water & nutritious meals for the needy + Colombian police spray herbicide on coca and on US Senator Paul Wellstone + Chem- or Con- Trail Sighting - Seattle + Jesse Jackson in twin accusation over treatment of Florida black vote + The Atheist
Hello everyone
This compilation really has something for everyone - or almost!
Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000
P.S. My good friend ilyes brought this extremely peculiar phenomenon to my attention:
'HOLE-PUNCHED CLOUDS' OVER MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
http://www.floridatoday.com/news/columnists/larimer/111200larimer.htm
Give it a look. You'll be amazed!! This is definitely *NOT* natural...
PLEASE NOTE ALSO: We had been considering the possibility of recommending the situation in Indonesia as the next Meditation Focus but decided instead to suggest the promising prospects for Peace between India and Pakistan over Kashmir as you will see tomorrow. It is Nita Noor from Bali, Indonesia, who first brought to our attention the potential for great violence in West Papua/Irian Jaya (West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, which has been occupied since 1963 by Indonesia). There is also lots of ongoing violence - unfortunately! - in the Moluccas and in Aceh.
Here is the gist of the problem in West Papua - the following is excerpted from an article written by George Monbiot last November 30, 2000
"In 1961, the 800,000 Melanesian people of West Papua were promised
independence. Holland, the colonial power, began to transfer the
administration to local people. In 1962, Indonesia invaded. The attack
failed, but John Kennedy, with Britain's backing, coerced the Dutch into
surrendering West Papua to the United Nations, on the grounds that if the
Indonesian government were not appeased it might succumb to communism. The
UN, as planned, promptly gave West Papua to Indonesia, but on condition that
within five years its people would be granted "the right of self-determination".
In the event, 1,000 Papuan men were rounded up and forced to vote, on pain of
death, for Indonesian sovereignty.
Since then, tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of Papuans have been
tortured, mutilated and killed by Indonesian soldiers. The government
launched a eugenics programme whose purpose, according to the former
governor, was to give "birth to a new generation of people without curly
hair, sowing the seeds for greater beauty". The Papuans have been pushed out
of their lands and replaced by people from the central islands of Indonesia,
brought in by the government to pacify the province. Its forests have been
sold to logging companies, its mountains to western mining firms. When
villagers have sought to defend their lands, they have been bombed and
strafed. Now the whole place is about to explode.
To find out more, read "Jaya killings spark exodus" (Tuesday, 5 December, 2000) from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1056000/1056435.stm
See also http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001201/wl/indonesia_irian_jaya_6.html
where they have links to more on this situation
See also the Full Coverage at http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/World/Indonesia/
--
And then there is the crisis in the Moluccas. The BBC has this report:
"Hundreds flee Moluccas violence" Tuesday, 5 December, 2000 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1056000/1056001.stm
And there is also this most excellent "Analysis: Behind the Moluccan violence" from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_815000/815610.stm
Read also "A troubled History" from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_806000/806862.stm
And "Who are the Laskar Jihad?" from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_770000/770263.stm
--
And as for Aceh, read "Indonesia Vows To Fight Insurgency" from: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001205/wl/indonesia_aceh_3.html
Other recommended links:
Indonesia: Transition and regional conflicts - Reports and bulletins on the human rights situation in the country including Papua/Iryan Java (http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/indonesia/papua.htm) from: Human Rights Watch from http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/indonesia/index.htm
AND http://www.ploughshares.ca/content/ACR/ACR00/ACR00-IndonesiaIrianJaya.html
Check also "A nation living dangerously" from: http://www.scmp.com/special/asianhotspotindonesia/Article/Fulltext_asp_ArticleID-20000414100059532.asp
We will most probably come back to this issue for the next Meditation Focus in 2 weeks.
THIS WILL BE OF INTEREST TO MANY OF YOU...
Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000
From: Robert Hoffmann <robert.hoffmann@easynet.be>
Subject: LIVE Webcast THIS SUNDAY - DAY OF COMPASSION
Dear WorldPuja Members,
This is a Call to Action for two important back to back Earth Pulse webcasts:
CLIP
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2000 at 2:30PM (New York)
GLOBAL DAY OF COMPASSION
"Now the time has come. The world has become smaller and smaller. In
spite of different traditions, different beliefs, we all have a common
goal and common responsibility. That is to make a common effort to
achieve peace, world peace, peace through inner peace and a meaningful
life. This music will bring people around the world a deep feeling of
inner peace."
His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama (from the Compassion CD)
WorldPuja is honored to webcast an experience of Global Compassion as
part of the December 10th focused Day of Compassion
(http://www.DayofCompassion.com). The live webcast will begin with a musical
concert and moment of reflection from Saint Paul's Chapel in New York
City (beginning at 2:30pm EDT on Sunday December 10). The intent is to
call upon the compassion within all individuals around the world, to
create a strong and sustaining pulse as we join together LIVE online in
this special way.
At 3:00PM we will webcast Compassion, the world-premiere CD featuring a
Special Message from His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, in its entirety
on http://www.WorldPuja.org. This musical meditation, an Invocation for World
Peace, is performed by members of Millenia Music, authors of the
Compassion CD. The Compassion CD and this Global Day of Compassion are
inspired by the potency of the friendship between His Holiness the XIVth
Dalai Lama and monk and writer Thomas Merton, a friendship which is
symbolic of the intercultural and interreligious understandings possible
in today's turbulent world.
"The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the
another . . . The whole purpose of life is to live by love."
- Thomas Merton
How to Participate:
1) Log on to http://www.WorldPuja.org at 2:30PM (NY) to join us live
online. Go here (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock) to check the
time in your locale.
2) Join us offline at the synchronized time and say and feel Compassion
in your native language. Go to http://www.DayofCompassion.com for more
information.
3) FORWARD THIS EMAIL to your fellow PeaceMakers.
CLIP
---
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2000 at 7:30PM (New York)
Global Peace Prayer Vigil live from the Prophet’s Conference
Join us LIVE from the PROPHET’S CONFERENCE IN PALM SPRINGS on SUNDAY,
DECEMBER 17, 2000 at 7:30 PM EDT (NY) ON http://www.WorldPuja.org for a
Global Peace Prayer Vigil simulcast on WorldPuja.org!
Gregg Braden, Drunvalo Melchizedek, James Twyman & and Doreen Virtue will
lead a Global Peace Prayer Vigil live from the Prophet’s Conference in
Palm Springs, California. These Peace Visionaries have set great context
in past webcasts for us to gather this way on WorldPuja’s Global Peace
Wave. Once again, they will take us to the feeling mode of prayer in a
sacred vigil where Peace exists as a global experience. This is a great
opportunity to commune with these visionaries in prayer and their
audience participants in Palm Springs. Opening the vigil is special
guest, Hank Wesselman, with his tribal drum.
To participate, log on to http://www.WorldPuja.org at 7:30PM (NY) to join us live
online. Go here http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock to check the time
in your locale. Join us offline at the synchronized time and offer your prayers for
Peace with Freedom in our World.
CLIP
Shine On
Your WorldPuja Team
Bruce, Bernard and Joanne
HERE IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT GLOBAL SPIRITUAL EVENT TO PREPARE FOR - and to mark on your calendar!
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000
From: lightserver@lightshift.com
Subject: The 01/01/01 OM (Official Millennium) Quantum Global Meditation
This is Ken Kalb, LightShift 2000
http://www.lightshift.com
It is now just 2 months to the Official Millennium -- Time for all people of goodwill to unite from our inner light to ignite the divinity in all humanity.
We humbly invite you to join in meditation, prayer, song, drumbeat, dance, or whichever way you best connect with Spirit on 1/1/1 at Midnite.
Please see:
http://www.lightshift.com/Inspiration/millennium.html
I would appreciate it if you would activate your networks to empower this wonderful initiative vigorously. With the years of growth and promotion, I sincerely believe we can reach quantum numbers and a true critical mass.
Last January 1st, between 20 and 50 million people participated in the 29-hour global prayer wave -- very possibly a "critical mass" of radiant human catalysts empowering the smooth transition into the millennial year. You helped create the miracle of no terrorism, few incidents, accidents, Y2K problems, and an end to end-time negative millenial prophecy.
There are several new tools on the LightShift 2000 website to assist your networking:
A Network email button at the top of the site A New Printable Flyer (scroll to the "Print Flyer" button") and Several new articles, time zone resources, and more at:
http://www.lightshift.com
May Peace Prevail on Earth
Ken Kalb
LightShift 2000
Let's Turn on the Light of the world
POISONOUS STUFF THAT SHOULD BE BANNED RIGHT AWAY!
Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2000
From: David Creighton <dcr8on@sympatico.ca>
Subject: Stepping Off the Toxic Treadmill
Worldwatch Institute Report
18 November 2000
STEPPING OFF THE TOXIC TREADMILL
Synthetic chemical pollutants that are poisoning both people and
wildlife could be largely eliminated without disrupting the economy,
reports a new study by the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington DC-based
environmental research organization. Evidence from three sectors that
are major sources of these pollutants-paper manufacturing, pesticides,
and PVC plastics-shows that non-toxic options are available at
competitive prices in today's markets.
"Poisonous products are so embedded in our lives, it's easy to think
that we can't do without them," said Anne Platt McGinn, author of "Why
Poison Ourselves? A Precautionary Approach to Synthetic Chemicals."
[$5.00 USA] Not only are we harming ourselves, we're paying to do it.
We don't need to be exposed."
In the report, McGinn analyzes the available alternatives in each
sector:
* In the paper manufacturing industry, 94 percent of the world's
bleached paper is made using chlorine--a process that spews out
dioxin and hundreds of other dangerous organochlorines into
water, soil and the paper itself. Chlorine-free technology, which
is significantly cheaper in the long run, has been available for
ten years, but has been slow to be adopted.
* Polyvinylchoride (PVC) has become the second most common plastic
on the planet, with an estimated 250 million tons in use. The
entire cycle of manufacturing, consumption, and disposal of PVC
throws off enormous quantities of toxic byproducts, yet there is
a substitute for virtually every use to which PVC is put.
* Farmers will use 2.5 million tons of pesticides on this year's
crops, pesticides that are 10-100 times more potent than
formulations used just 25 years ago. A growing number of farmers,
however, are adopting integrated pest management (IPM)
techniques. These methods, which in many cases reduce costs and
increase crop yields, use a combination of natural pest control
methods, with limited use of pesticides as a last resort.
In December, 120 nations will convene in South Africa under the
auspices of the United Nations to conclude a treaty that will greatly
restrict a dozen of the most notorious chemical culprits known today,
including nine pesticides, two industrial byproducts (dioxins and
furans) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Collectively, these
chemicals fall into a class called POPs-persistent organic
pollutants-a group of highly toxic, long-lived, bioaccumulative
chemicals.
"The treaty is a significant milestone," said McGinn, "but we are
dealing with an industry that is innovative when it comes to producing
new chemicals. On the other hand, the industries that make or use
these chemicals are conservative when it comes to altering basic
industrial design. Manufacturers have already created tens of
thousands of chemical compounds and are introducing three new
chemicals a day. The treaty's 'end-of-pipe' solutions are necessary,
but we need to do far more."
The harmful effects of long-lasting compounds may not emerge for
years, sometimes generations after the initial exposure. And even
then, it is very difficult to find a 'smoking gun'. Scientists are
only now discovering that many of these chemicals cause irreversible
damage in people and animals at levels that were dismissed as
inconsequential by the experts less than a decade ago.
The catalog of the destructive effects of POPs is long and growing,
from cancer and reproductive health effects to learning disorders and
reduced immunity. People receive about 90 percent of their total
intake of these compounds from foods of animal origin. Something as
common as a McDonald's Big Mac carries 30 percent of the World Health
Organization's recommendation for daily dioxin intake.
New studies are shedding light on the potential health hazards from
PVC. Phthalates, a group of chemicals that are mixed into PVC to add
flexibility, continuously leak out of the material and into the
surrounding environment. Children absorb these compounds when they
suck on toys or crawl on vinyl flooring. Swedish researchers recently
reported that male workers in PVC plants have a risk of developing a
form of testicular cancer - seminoma - that is six times that of the
general population.
McGinn argues that cost-effective, workable substitutes exist for the
bulk of PVC's current uses. In construction, where 60 percent of PVC
is used, replacements in siding, pipes, cable insulation, flooring,
and window frames include non-chlorinated plastics and modified,
traditional materials like aluminum, wood, and ductile iron. Some
communities now prohibit PVC from transportation, building, and
infrastructure projects.
Paper production has long been recognized as a source of toxic
pollutants, but some innovative companies within the industry have set
a new industrial standard, designing toxics out of production
altogether. A growing share of manufacturers have switched their
bleaching processes to oxygen, hydrogen, and ozone-based methods,
which do not use chlorine, and therefore do not produce toxic
organochlorines like dioxin.
In agriculture, proven alternatives are available. Growing ranks of
farmers are going completely pesticide-free, profiting from consumers
who now spend $22 billion a year on organic products.
Simply requiring companies to pay attention to their toxic releases
can produce large reductions. In 1989, the state of Massachusetts
began requiring major chemical users to produce a detailed toxics use
reduction plan, with no legal obligation to implement any of the
identified steps. Nevertheless, some 80 percent of the 1,000 companies
with plans have carried them out. In the process, they have saved a
total of $15 million in operating costs, while increasing production
by one-third. On-site emissions at such facilities were down 80
percent between 1990 and 1997.
Under current regulations, high risk chemicals are treated as innocent
until proven guilty. McGinn calls for governments to change this
presumption and adopt the precautionary principle in its place. This
principle states that in the face of scientific uncertainty, the
prudent stance is to restrict or even prohibit an activity that may
cause long-term or irreversible harm.
"Adopting the precautionary principle is a way to take out an
insurance policy against our own ignorance," said McGinn. "We rarely
understand environmental risks until after the damage is done, as
we've seen over and over with POPs. The precautionary principle shifts
the burden of proof to the industry, requiring them to prove that the
risks are not unreasonable."
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Dick Bell, Vice President for Communications, dbell@worldwatch.org.
Source: http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/001118.html
From: Health9Net@aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000
Subject: How just a few $ (or CENTS) means clean water & nutritious meals for the needy
Dear Jean,
In the Spirit of holidays (and globalVision), I would like to share with you
some "Eye-Popping Numbers," with regard to global philanthropy, with an
excerpt from the most current newsletter of The MotleyFool:
"The Fool's fourth annual charity drive has launched! We're collecting money
for five truly unique and inspiring organizations. This year we've got a few
new bells and whistles for you, so permit me to show you around..."
Here is a glimpse of just 2 of the organizations:
"AMERICA'S SECOND HARVEST, not an enormous organization,
feeds 26 million hungry Americans annually, including eight million
children. Last year it distributed 1.5 billion pounds of food. It needs
our help to do more."
"Through its unique methods, ASHOKA has helped save seven million
acres of rainforest in Brazil, spending less than a penny an acre. It has
helped answer emergency calls from 20,000 of India's street children,
spending about $0.55 apiece. It's doing much more, and can use our
support."
Under separate cover, I am sending the entire web page (not extensively long)
so that you can get a comprehensive idea of the organizations to which
MotleyFool refers and just what they have accomplished globally to date...
It's wonderful to see what relatively minute contributions from many caring
individuals accomplishes!
Thank you for all you do, and Merry Merries to you, Dear Jean, and to your
caring readership.
With warm regards,
Gabriella Taylor
HERE IS MORE INFO ON A PROBLEM ALREADY REPORTED IN A PREVIOUS COMPILATION
From: "Dave Hartley" <ashevillecomputer@home.com>
Subject: Colombian police spray herbicide on coca, US Sen. Wellstone
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000
From: Sanho Tree <stree@igc.org>
Friends,
Last Friday I had the opportunity to debate the Colombian Ambassador and
Amb. James Mack (the State Department's interagency coordinator for Plan
Colombia) at Yale Law School. Ambassador Mack berated opponents of Plan
Colombia for distorting the facts about aerial fumigation. He claimed it
was totally safe and sprayed with "GPS guided precision." Ironically, the
following story broke that very morning. Senator Wellstone was observing a
demonstration flight when his delegation accidentally got doused with the
broad-spectrum herbicide called glyphosate. So much for precision. For
more information on the devastating health and environmental impact of
aerial fumigation in the drug war check out http://www.usfumigation.org.
-Sanho
Published Friday, December 1, 2000
Colombian police spray herbicide on coca, Wellstone
Rob Hotakainen / Star Tribune
TARASA, COLOMBIA -- Standing next to 10-foot coca bushes in a remote
mountain region near the Tarasa River on Thursday, Sen. Paul Wellstone was
ready to watch the Colombian National Police demonstrate its new approach
to fumigating coca, the raw product used to produce cocaine.
But then something odd happened: Wellstone got sprayed, along with
surprised members of his delegation, including his press secretary and
foreign policy adviser.
Police officials said it was a mistake, blaming the wind for blowing the
chemical -- known as glysophate -- from its intended path.
Moments earlier, Lt. Col. Marcos Pedreros, the police official in charge of
the spraying mission, had assured Wellstone that the spray posed no risk to
humans, animals or the environment. Officials said it's similar to Roundup,
a commonly used herbicide.
"I am Colombian," said Pedreros, who communicated through an interpreter
with Wellstone, D-Minn. "I love my motherland, and with my men I couldn't
destroy my own homeland. I know that what I'm doing is under the law, and
that's why I do it with love and devotion."
Ironically, the U.S. Embassy in Colombia had just circulated materials to
reporters, noting the "precise geographical coordinates" used to spray coca
fields. According to embassy officials, a computer program sets precise
flight lines with a 170-foot width, leaving little room for error.
But Wellstone was hit with a fine mist of the herbicide from a helicopter
flying less than 200 feet above him. He winced and rubbed his eyes later,
but he managed a joke, saying he could become a case study on possible
dangers linked to the chemical.
Asked whether he was stunned to get hit, Wellstone said: "Oh, yeah, and I'm
imagining that I'm itching a lot, too."
One of the members of Wellstone's delegation was particularly irked after
she was sprayed.
"I really resented it," said Pamela Costain, executive director of the
Minneapolis-based Resource Center of the Americas, who thinks the
fumigation of coca fields could result in long-term environmental damage.
"I'm fearful about what they're using, and I really didn't want to get it
on me."
Colombian officials sought to downplay the incident.
"We did not spray on the people or on the senator," said Gen. Gustavo
Socha, anti-narcotics director for the Colombian National Police, speaking
through an interpreter. But when told that a reporter witnessed the
incident, Socha said: "What hit him was because of the wind, not because
they had the intention."
Wellstone, one of the few senators to oppose a $1.3 billion U.S. aid plan
to help Colombia fight its drug war, drew much attention from the Colombian
press. The plan is a pet project for Colombian President Andres Pastrana,
but Wellstone said that peasant farmers will continue growing coca as long
as few jobs exist in a country where unemployment hovers at 20 percent.
Using an interpreter to speak to Colombian reporters, Wellstone said: "I
believe they are very honestly committed to this fight, but I have to
wonder whether or not we will be able to win this fight against this
narcotics trade as long as the people in Colombia and the countryside do
not have other alternatives to enable them to be able to make a living and
as long as in my country -- the United States of America -- there is such
demand. ... I will remain a critic, but with respect."
Colombian police used Wellstone's visit to announce plans to spray 17,290
acres of coca as part of its new Operation "Paramillo." Police said 300 men
will be involved in the effort, using Black Hawk helicopters sent by the
United States. Police are targeting a region where violence is high as
paramilitary groups clash with guerrilla groups over who will control the
nation's drug trade.
After receiving the U.S. aid, Colombian officials gave Wellstone a warm
welcome.
"Be certain that your visit raises the morale of our men," Pedreros told
Wellstone, shortly before he boarded a helicopter to witness the spraying
at a nearby coca field that had been discovered with aerial surveillance.
At the site, police found 35 raspachines, or coca workers, who were
arrested as they stuffed coca leaves into bags and then used donkeys to
transport the drugs through muddy red clay to a makeshift laboratory nearby.
At the laboratory next to the river, police stood in a foot-high blanket of
coca leaves as they gave an impromptu news conference. Then they ignited 50
pounds of dynamite, sending a gigantic fireball of black smoke into the
sweltering air.
Police took Wellstone to another site, where they wanted him to get off the
helicopter to watch another explosion destroy a runway used by drug
traffickers. Wellstone declined, saying he was running behind schedule, but
he caught a glimpse of the smoke from the helicopter.
Costain said that she was offended by the entire display.
"I felt like the senator's visit was used as a public-relations ploy for
the eradication program," she said. "And I think it's ironic because I'm
not at all confident that the senator supports the eradication program."
Later, Wellstone flew to Barrancabermeja, becoming the first member of
Congress to visit what embassy officials called the most dangerous city in
Colombia. Under heavy security, he met with human-rights groups who said
the Colombian government is doing nothing to protect civilians from the
drug war, which is resulting in large-scale massacres and record
kidnappings.
As Wellstone returns to the United States today, he said he will try to
insist that Colombia gets no more U.S. aid unless it improves its human
rights record.
"My father fled persecution from Russia," said Wellstone, a member of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I believe in human rights for people
more than anything."
Rob Hotakainen can be reached at rhotakainen@mcclatchydc.com
(c) Copyright 2000 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Sanho Tree 202/234-9382 ext. 266 (voice)
Director, Drug Policy Project 202/387-7915 (fax)
Institute for Policy Studies 202/494-8004 (mobile)
733 15th St., NW, #1020 email: stree@igc.org
Washington, DC 20005 http://www.ips-dc.org
Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000
From: rus-am_info_services@prodigy.net
Subject: Chem- or Con- Trail Sighting - Seattle
Dear Whitley,
I was sitting at my computer and looking out the window facing north, from
Edmonds to Everett (north of Seattle), and noticed a chem- or con-trail in
the sky. The jet was in the process of making this trail which has become
quite wide, now, and was flying from south to north, and over an area that
is between Lynnwood and Everett, WA, he suddenly turned east (made a sharp
turn). The trail disappears into the clouds on the horizon. My husband
says that he saw another one yesterday, at about the same time, 11:30 a.m.,
and another one that was being created at that time, too. He was working
outside then. Today, he says he feels very sick; weak, with chest pains
and nausea and muscle aches. We have both had some kind of sinusitis for
about one week, now, with mild face and head aches. We don't know if these
trails have been made prior to yesterday, since there have been a lot of
clouds in the sky during the past week.
We have had a NORTH wind (blowing to the south over Seattle) for several days!
Sandra Jeneaué
and
George Spruksts
Edmonds, WA
(P.S. - I will send a copy of this to Globalvision and William Thomas)
ISN'T IS AMAZING THAT SUCH A CRUCIAL INFORMATION HAS TO COME THROUGH A NEWS AGENCY BASED IN FRANCE! DESPITE ALMOST ROUND-THE-CLOCK OBSESSIVE ELECTION COVERAGE ON CNN, NO WORD YET ON THAT TRULY DISTURBING NEWS...
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2000
From: Mark Graffis <ab758@virgin.vip.vi>
Subject: Jesse Jackson in twin accusation over treatment of Florida black vote
Agence France Presse Thursday, December 7
TALLAHASSE, Florida, Dec 6 (AFP) -
Citing unfair treatment of black voters in Florida's presidential race,
civil rights leader Jesse Jackson launched twin accusations against the
state government Wednesday.
Jackson said he had filed a lawsuit in Duval county where, he claimed,
some 27,000 ballots were thrown out. And he charged that 8,000 mainly
black voters were illegitimately prevented from casting their ballot on
November 7.
"In Duval county, 27,000 ballots were thrown away," Jackson told a press
conference in the county, announcing that he had filed a civil rights
lawsuit there Tuesday seeking their inclusion, and calling for an
emergency hearing.
Some 16,000 of the ballots thrown out were cast in Jacksonville, he said.
Jackson said the vote count was intentionally kept secret by local
authorities, which prevented any challenge to the tally being made within
the 72-hour deadline.
In a later statement made outside Florida's Congress building in
Tallahassee, Jackson also accused authorities of crossing off 8,000 mainly
black voters from electoral lists, on grounds they had committed felonies.
The Florida law that bars felons from voting for life -- even when they
have served their sentence -- meant that 31 percent of black males in
Florida could not vote in the presidential election, he charged.
Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris engaged a Texas-based company
in a four-million dollar contract to draw up the lists, according to
Jackson.
"It turned out that none of these were guilty of felonies, only
misdemeanors," said Jackson, adding that though "the company acknowledged
the error," lists were not amended to include the erroneously excluded
names.
Taking up the Democratic refrain throughout the ballot dispute in Florida
between Vice President Al Gore and his Republican rival George W. Bush,
Jackson insisted that all votes be counted.
"Count the votes," he said. "Our case remains clear, we want to win by the
count, not by the clock."
Members of the black caucus of elected Florida representatives appeared at
the Tallahassee press call, saying tens of thousands of blacks may have
been prevented from voting due to alleged harassment and intimidation.
"There are allegations of intimidation, harassment, voters turned away at
the polls, irregular movement of polling places, absentee ballot
irregularities and failure to provide or allow assistance to people of
color at the polling places," said Frederica Wilson, a Miami
representative who is president of the Black Caucus.
"We're here today to make a strong stand for minority voters in Florida.
To say loud and clear, in the strongest terms possible, that our votes
must be counted and our voice will not be ignored."
The caucus made up of 22 elected representatives is to ask the Florida
legislature to carry out an investigation of the election and to pass
measures unifying voting methods in all counties throughout the state.
NOTE FROM JEAN: I also received this through Russ Michael:
"My sister in Ohio said the local paper... a very highly regarded one (Knight Ritter) The Akron Beacon Journal, had an article that people have admitted they were flown to Florida, put up and fed at the expense of the Bush campaign, to create small riots around rural voting places to frighten voters, and many places closed down when this happened. Interesting eh?"
The Atheist
An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that the
"accident of evolution" had created. "What majestic trees!
What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!", he said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes
behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzlycharge towards
him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder
and saw that the bear was closing.
He ran even faster, so scared that tears were coming to his eyes.
He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer.
His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster.
He tripped and fell on the ground.
He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear; right on top of him;
reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.
At that instant the Atheist cried out "Oh my God!...."
Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
Even the river stopped moving.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky,
"You deny my existence for all of these years; teach others I don't
exist;and even credit creation to a cosmic accident.
Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament?
Am I to count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light "it would be hypocritical to
ask to be a Christian after all these years, but
perhaps could you make the bear a Christian?"
"Very well," said the voice.
The light went out.
The river ran again.
And the sounds of the forest resumed.
And then the bear dropped his right paw ..... brought both paws
together...bowed his head and spoke:
"Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful.
Amen!"
