Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Nov. 3 – Nov. 9, 2011

 

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours.

The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center.  Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com.  If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.  Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

 

Tune into the Maryland Progressive Blog at http://mdprogblog.org.

   

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLA  

5] Occupy Freedom Plaza – Oct. ??

6] Occupy Baltimore -- Oct. ??

7] March for a Financial Transaction Tax – Nov. 3

8] Protest Sheraton Hotel – Nov. 3

9] Transform Baltimore – Nov. 3

10] First Thursday vigil against war – Nov. 3

11] Congress: Hands off D.C. – Nov. 3

12] Offshore Wind Farm Town Hall – Nov. 3

13] Sustainable Jew -- Nov. 3

14] Making City Hall Work For You – Nov.  3

15] Peace Action Montgomery meeting – Nov. 3

16] Immanuel Wallerstein at 2640 – Nov. 3

17] Palestine Center Annual Conference – Nov. 4

18] March to Chamber of Commerce – Nov. 4

19] White House vigil – Nov. 4

20] WIB Inner Harbor vigil – Nov. 4

21] WIB Roland Park vigil – Nov. 4

22] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – Nov. 4

23] WIB Frederick vigil – Nov. 4

24] Silent vigil/Potluck Dinner at Homewood Friends – Nov. 4

25] See film THE VISITOR – Nov. 4

26] Protest Koch brothers – Nov. 4

27] Film MIRAL – Nov. 4

28] CPT fundraiser – Nov. 4

29] Resistance for the Long Haul – Nov. 4

30] Play ALTERNATIVE METHODS – Nov. 4

31] Ballroom dancing – Nov. 4

32] Farmer's Market – Nov. 5

33] Olney peace vigil – Nov. 5

34] West Chester, PA demo – Nov. 5

35] Canvas with Bill Barry – Nov. 5

36] Wells Fargo protest – Nov. 5

37] Silent vigil at Capitol – Nov. 5

38] Stop the Wars – Nov. 5

39] Silent Death March – Nov. 5

40] Play ALTERNATIVE METHODS – Nov. 5

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  "God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions" stickers are in stock. Donate your books to Max. Call him at 410-366-1637.

                           

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/.  Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].  It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed.  It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq.

 

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to donmuller@msn.com.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

 

THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe.  It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing.  To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed.  If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.

 

4] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA Café Quetzal. Bags of ground coffee or whole beans can be ordered by mailing in an order form. Also note organic cocoa and sugar are for sale.  For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/2010/02/hocofola-cafe-quetzal-order-form-2010.html. The coffee comes in one-pound bags.

 

Fill out the form and mail it with a check made out to HOCOFOLA on or before the second week of the month.  Be sure you indicate ground or beans for each type of coffee ordered.  Send it to Adela Hirsch, 5358 Eliots Oak Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.  Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up.  Contact Adela at 410-997-5662 or via e-mail at adela4peace@verizon.net.

 

5] – The occupation of Freedom Plaza, 14th & Pennsylvania Ave. NW, continues as U.S. troops, contractors and mercenaries remain in Afghanistan now for an 11th year.  The idea is to make the space a Tahrir Square, Cairo or Madison, Wisconsin.  NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine by occupying Freedom Plaza to demand that U.S. resources be invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation.  Stop the Machine! Create a New World! Go to http://october2011.org/.

 

6] – Occupy Baltimore continues at McKeldin Square, Pratt and Light Sts.  General assemblies take place at 8 PM each evening.  Sign up at http://groups.google.com/group/occupy-baltimore/.  Ask for the digest or you get hundreds of emails. 

 

7] – The occupation of Freedom Plaza is organizing events every day, including protest actions, lectures, workshops, and dance parties.  To join in, just show up. To follow along, just visit http://october2011.org.  Join a march leaving Freedom Plaza at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 3rd, and heading just a few blocks over to the White House and the Treasury.  At 3 PM, the nurses will lobby on Capitol Hill.

 

With the G20 about to meet in France, the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) will be up for consideration as a way to heal the world's economies broken by the economic crash of 2008. Demonstrations in support of people-friendly solutions to economic recovery are planned in France and in Washington, DC. Despite the broad international support, and the popular support in the U.S., the Obama Administration opposes the adoption of the FTT. The FTT could raise up to $350 billion per year to provide living wage jobs, guaranteed healthcare, a secure retirement for all and fund and protect public education.  Demand that Obama's Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner stop blocking international efforts to tax the big banks.  RSVP to bgallagher@nationalnursesunited.org.

 

8] – Stand with Hotel Workers on Thurs., Nov 3 at 4:15 PM at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, S. Eads St and 18th St. in Arlington, VA- near Crystal City Metro.

 

9] – Transform Baltimore on Thurs., Nov 3 from 4:30 to 7:30 PM at the War Memorial Building (across from City Hall).  This Speak Out will call on the government to Build Schools. Build Neighborhoods.  Over the recent weeks, we've heard about rain leaking into classrooms, a part of a ceiling falling in on a student and pipes bursting.  Baltimore City's crumbling school buildings are being neglected and students, teachers, and neighborhoods suffer as a result.  Last month, Transform Baltimore members talked to thousands of parents, teachers, and students at Back-to-School nights throughout the city.  Go to www.transformbaltimore.org.  

 

A team of Transform Baltimore members will be meeting with the Mayor earlier in the day on November 3rd. Call 410.889.8550 x 123 or email transform.bmore@gmail.com. 

 

10] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore will host an End the Wars vigil on Thurs., Nov. 3 from 5 to 6:30 PM in Mount Vernon at Centre & Charles Sts.  The Pledge gathers in Mount Vernon on the first Thursday of the month to protest U.S. wars.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

11] – There is a White House Candlelight Vigil on Thurs., Nov. 3 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.  Join DC Vote and Inter-Faith Clergy in a protest against Congress using the federal budget process to meddle in the District's local affairs. Join a candlelight vigil at the White House and pray for President Obama to stand with us and to stand up for DC Home Rule during the FY 2012 budget battle. Call 202.462.6000 or email info@dcvote.org.

 

12] – The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club informs us that there will be an Offshore Wind Townhall Meeting on Thurs., Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 PM at the Mid County Community Center, 2004 Queensguard Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20906. 

 

13] – Representatives of Kayam Farms, a local Jewish Organic farm, will lead a homemade applesauce demonstration and talk about sustainability, urban homesteading, and the Jewish connection. The Sustainable Jew: Making a Greener Religion takes place on Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 PM at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd St. Call 410-732-6400 or go to http://www.jewishmuseummd.org.

 

14] – On Thurs., Nov. 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, there will be a Community Law Center Workshop: Making City Hall Work For You at 3355 Keswick Road, Suite 200. Email info@cphabaltimore.org or call 410-366-0922.  Go to www.communitylaw.org.  There is a $25 charge.

 

15] – On Thurs., Nov. 3 at 7 PM, there will be a Peace Action Montgomery meeting at the home of a member. E-mail info@peaceactionmc.org for directions. Go to www.PeaceActionMC.org,

 

16] – "Upsurge in Movements Around the Globe: 1968 Redux?" is a talk to be given by Immanuel Wallerstein on Thurs., Nov. 3 at 7 PM at 2640, 27th & St. Paul Sts.  Wallerstein is a distinguished scholar and author of the essential "The Modern World System," a classic three volume study of the emergence of capitalism, which has recently been republished alongside a brand new fourth volume.  Dr. Wallerstein, currently Senior Research Scholar at Yale University, is not only one of the most respected sociologists of our times, but has been, for decades, a tireless ally of struggles in the global South, and a major theorist of the radical potential of anti systemic movements to challenge the global capitalist status quo.

 

Responding to his talk will be Beverly Silver, author of "Forces of Labor: Worker's Movements and Globalization Since 1870," herself a major contributor to the study of the world system and the implications for a radical politics, as well as William Connolly, author of "A World of Becoming," and a theorist of the politics of complexity. Go to http://www.iwallerstein.com and http://redemmas.org/2640.

 

17] – The 2011 Palestine Center Annual Conference is on Fri., Nov. 4 from 8 AM to 5 PM.  After welcoming remarks the panels will begin at 9:15 AM. The conference takes place at 2425 Virginia Ave., NW, WDC 20037.  Call 202.338.1290.

 

18] – On Fri., Nov. 4 at 11:30 AM at Freedom Plaza, 14th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, join a march to the Chamber of Commerce and AHIP against the health-industrial complex.

 

19] – A peace vigil takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at Lafayette Park facing the White House.  Join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and friends. Contact Art Laffin: artlaffin@hotmail.com.   

 

20] – Every Friday from noon to 1 PM, Women in Black, Baltimore, host a vigil at Pratt and Light Sts. in the Inner Harbor. Peace signs will be available. See http://www.peacepath911.com/ or write wibbaltimore@hotmail.com or call 410-467-9114.

 

21] – There is also a noon vigil on Nov. 4 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St.  Call 410-467-9114.

 

22] – A vigil for Justice in Palestine/Israel (now in its 8th year) takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at 19th & JFK Blvd., Philadelphia (across from Israeli Consulate.  It is sponsored by Bubbies & Zaydes (Grandparents) for Peace in the Middle East. Email cswartz@pil.net. Go to http://phillyjewishpeace.org/.

 

23] – WIB holds a silent vigil mourning all violence, the first Friday of the month.  The next vigil is Nov. 4 from noon to 12:30 PM, War Memorial Park, intersection of W. 2nd & N. Bentz Sts. in Frederick.  Please dress in black; no additional signs.  Call 301-834-7581 or email wibfrederick@mizmail.com.

 

24] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., Nov. 4 from 5 to 6 PM outside of Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., in opposition to war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by AFSC, Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings. Since it is First Friday, there will be a potluck dinner after the vigil, followed by a film.

 

25] –  The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility and Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings are hosting the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES.  The next film THE VISITOR [USA, 2008] will be shown on Fri., Nov. 4 at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218.  The Meeting hosts a potluck dinner from 6 to 7 PM on First Fridays after the vigil.  At 7 PM, the DVD will be shown with a discussion to follow.  There is no charge, and refreshments will be available.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

THE VISITOR [USA, 2008] tells the story of a widowed professor, played by character actor Richard Jenkins, who reconnects with some previously lost part of himself after he befriends two "illegal" immigrants living in New York City.  Written and directed by Tom McCarthy, who made his debut with the understated and beautifully shaped "The Station Agent" in 2003, it is pleasurable on so many levels.  Walter is called to New York to deliver a paper he co-wrote (we later learn that the paper held so little interest for him that he barely had a hand in its writing). He's kept an apartment there for years.  When he unlocks the door, he's startled to find that two people -- both of them undocumented immigrants -- have taken up residence there: A Syrian musician named Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his woman friend, Zainab (Danai Gurira), who is originally from Senegal and who makes jewelry, which she sells from a table on the street. Tarek is arrested, and not as the result of any wrongdoing. His mother, Mouna (played by the extraordinary actress Hiam Abbass, star of "The Syrian Bride" and "Satin Rouge"), treks from Detroit to New York to try to help him.  Watching the film, one must decide who the visitor is.

26] – March for the 99% on Fri, Nov. 4 from 6 to 9:30 PM starting from McPherson Square, 15 & K Sts. NW, WDC.  OccupyDC will undertake an action at the "Defending the American Dream Conference" taking place at the Washington Convention Center. Rally until 6:30 PM and then march from McPherson Square to the Convention Center.

 GOP extremist presidential candidate Herman Cain has teamed up with the nefarious Koch brothers to turn the American Dream into a real life nightmare for middle-class families. On Fri., Nov. 4, the Koch brothers' front group Americans for Prosperity is hosting a gala dinner as part of a conference in Washington, D.C., that has been cynically titled "Defend the American Dream." Join the 99% for Occupy the Kochs: Guerrilla Drive-In, a fun counter-event featuring edgy videos that expose the Koch brothers' plot to buy our government in the name of the 1%.  At 7 PM, be at 1025 7th St. NW, WDC. Go to http://healthcareforamericanow.org.

 

27] – On Fri., Nov. 4 at 7 PM, see the film MIRAL as part of the Peace Center of Delaware County First-Friday Large Screen Free Film Series, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, PA. MIRAL, 2010, USA, 112 mins., is directed by Julian Schnabel, screenplay by Rula Jebreal, based on her autobiographical novel.  It stars Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass and Vanessa Redgrave. The acclaimed film sweeps across decades of the Mideast conflict, telling the story of three generations of Palestinian women in a land under military occupation, torn apart by hatred and violence...told from the view of a young Palestinian girl named Miral. Go to www.delcopeacecenter.org.

 

The doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments. Call 610-544-1818.

 

28] – There is a Christian Peacemaker Teams Fundraiser and Folk Music Concert on Fri., Nov. 4 from 7 to 10 PM at Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd, NW, WDC. Enjoy dinner and dessert along with music by folk musicians Blair Pettyjohn and Jesse Palidofsky, while supporting the work of CPT. Along with the music, members of CPT will along be telling stories from their peacemaking work around the world.  Blair has a CD entitled "Conscientious Objector" which is centered around the themes of Christian nonviolence and unconditional love. Go to http://www.blairpettyjohn.com/about_blair and http://www.jessepal.net/bio.html.

 

29] –  On Fri., Nov. 4 at 7:30 PM, hear a talk "Resistance for the Long Haul"  by Sr. Carol Gilbert and Sr. Ardeth Platte - Dominican sisters and members of the Jonah House Community.  This is a Clarification of Thought session, and they will share their Y-12 resistance action, trial, imprisonment experiences and their hopes for the future. Their quest for nuclear disarmament and a banning of war forever spans decades of years and encompasses legal, political and direct action. They see these weapons of mass destruction as the taproot of all violence: poverty, homelessness, hunger, lack of basic human needs and rights, climate disasters, unemployment, etc. They see their lives to be given for justice and peace.  The event will be Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20010. Contact Art @ 202-360-6416 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

30] – There will be a staged reading of "Alternative Methods" by Patricia Davis, followed by a panel discussion on Fri., Nov. 4 at 7:30 PM in Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW, WDC 20036.  Directed by Marietta Hedges, the readings are part of Catholic Univ. Drama Department's Reading and Discussion Series. The play is about an Iraqi doctor who is detained, suspected of treating an Al-Qaeda leader. With the clock ticking, interrogators must quickly get the doctor to reveal where the safe house is. Susan, a young interrogation psychologist, witnesses severe acts of torture that still yield no intelligence. She takes matters into her own hands. The panel will include Juan Mendez, UN Rapporteur on Torture, Leonard S. Rubenstein, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, and Glenn Carle, former CIA black site interrogator.

31] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Nov. 4.  Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

32] – Go to the West Baltimore Farmer's Market for fresh fruits, vegetables, breads and other treats every Saturday from 8 to noon.  CPHA has worked with the West Baltimore Marc TOD and Transit Inc. (WBMTTI) to establish a Farmer's Market at the West Baltimore Marc Train stop at Smallwood Road at Franklin and Mulberry Sts.  Since opening in June, over 300 people buy fresh groceries there every Saturday morning. WBMTTI will continue to include the community in the transit-oriented developments on the west side and continue to improve the area around "the highway to nowhere" until it becomes the highway to somewhere. Go to www.cphabaltimore.org.

 

33] – Friends House, 17715 Meeting House Rd., Sandy Spring, MD 20860, hosts a peace vigil every Saturday, 10:30 to 11:30 AM, on the corner of Rt. 108 and Georgia Ave. in Olney, MD.  The next vigil is Nov. 5. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167. 

 

34] –  Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

 

35] – Contact Bill Barry at wbarrymd@hotmail.com if you help canvas on Sat., Nov. 5 at 11 AM for his campaign as a Green Party candidate for city council.  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bill-Barry-For-City-Council/288013304548751?sk=wall or go to www.citizensforbillbarry.org.

 

36] – Move your money from corporate Wall Street banks and put your money into credit unions and local financial institutions. On Sat., Nov. 5 at 11:15 AM, protest at the Wells Fargo Bank Branch, 725 S. Eden St., at Lancaster St., Baltimore, MD 21231.  Prior to the demonstration, gather at Occupy Baltimore, McKeldin Square -Inner Harbor, at 10 AM. The march to the Wells Fargo demonstration is about 1.2 miles.  MAKE WALL STREET PAY.  The big Wall Street banks have avoided accountability for what they've done to our economy and our communities—until now.

 

37] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Nov. 5. Look for the blue banner with the message, "Seek Peace and Pursue It.--Psalms 34:14." The vigil lasts one hour and is silent except when one responds to the occasional questions. Go to http://www.quaker.org/langleyhill/seekpeace.htm or email seekpeacevigil@yahoo.com.

 

38] – On Sat., Nov. 5 - Stop the Wars and Build the Resistance: Philadelphia in a noon rally at Broad & Susquehanna Sts. Go to http://www.blackisbackcoalition.org/nov5.shtml.  This is a Make Wall Street Pay action.

 

39] – FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH, Nov. 5, at the PHILADELPHIA CENTER CITY, there is a SILENT DEATH WALK from noon to 1 PM.  Gather at corner of 12th & Market Sts. Stop the Killing/End the Wars - Protest the U.S. Drone War in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Wear black clothes. White masks will be provided. People will walk with banners and signs, photo of a drone bomber, and hand out flyers to bring attention to the continuing wars and their victims, and what is being done in our names and with our money. RSVP Marge Van Cleef at 267-763-1644 or mvc@igc.org.

 

40] – There will be a staged reading of "Alternative Methods" by Patricia Davis, followed by a panel discussion on Sat., Nov. 5 at 7:30 PM in Catholic Univ.'s Callan Theater, (part of Hartke Theatre), 3801 Harewood Rd. NE, WDC.  Directed by Marietta Hedges, the readings are part of Catholic Univ. Drama Department's Reading and Discussion Series. The play is about an Iraqi doctor who is detained, suspected of treating an Al-Qaeda leader. With the clock ticking, interrogators must quickly get the doctor to reveal where the safe house is. Susan, a young interrogation psychologist, witnesses severe acts of torture that still yield no intelligence. She takes matters into her own hands. Go to http://drama.cua.edu. The panel will include Nancy Sherman, Georgetown ethics professor, Mary Harding, board member of TASSC International, and Carle.

 

To be continued.

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

TEPCO says melted nuke fuel may have reached criticality

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ2011110216361

UPDATE: TEPCO says melted nuke fuel may have reached criticality

Boric acid injected into Fukushima reactor due to fission concerns
November 02, 2011

Officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) pumped water mixed with boric
acid into the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant early
on Nov. 2 after finding traces of xenon, a radioactive gas that might
indicate nuclear fission has taken place.

Officials of the company said that some parts of the reactor may have
reached criticality, a state of self-sustaining nuclear fission. Fuel
believed to have melted in the accident triggered by the March 11 earthquake
may have caused the fission. The boric acid was pumped into the reactor to
suppress the reactions.

Radiation levels near the Fukushima plant have not shown any unusual surge,
but the latest development may hinder plans by the central government to
bring the Fukushima nuclear accident under control by the end of the year.

TEPCO workers began operating a gas control system at the No. 2 reactor from
Oct. 28 to purify gases within the containment vessel in an attempt to
reduce the leaking of radioactive material.

TEPCO officials said a test on Nov. 1 of the gases processed found traces of
what appeared to be radioactive xenon 133 and xenon 135.

The identification of the gas as xenon is now being checked by another
research institute. Radioactive xenon is produced when uranium in fuel in a
reactor core undergoes nuclear fission.

Xenon 133 has a half-life of about five days while xenon 135 has a half-life
of about nine hours.

If the gas found in the reactor was xenon, it would mean nuclear fission is
continuing in the reactor.

Because of such results, TEPCO officials mixed boric acid into water pumped
into the reactor for cooling purposes from 2:48 a.m. on Nov. 2.

However, no radioactive iodine, which is also produced during nuclear
fission with xenon, was detected in the gas checked at the No. 2 reactor.

Moreover, neutron rays, which are emitted during nuclear fission, were not
detected in the vicinity of the reactor building.

"We cannot deny the possibility of a temporary, small-scale state of
criticality," said TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto. "However, because there
was no sudden increase in the temperature or pressure of the reactor core,
we concluded there was no major state of criticality."

Large scale criticality will not usually occur unless, as is found in a
normal reactor core, nuclear fuel is carefully positioned and surrounded by
water to stimulate nuclear fission.

Through a constant pumping of water into the cores of the No. 1 to No. 3
reactors, temperatures at all three reactors had fallen under 100 degrees by
late September, six months after the nuclear accident, indicating stable
cooling of the reactors.

For that reason, central government and TEPCO officials had thought they
were on course to bring the situation at the Fukushima plant under control
by the end of the year.

The temperature at the bottom of the pressure vessel of the No. 2 reactor
was 76 degrees as of 5 a.m. on Nov. 2.

During the measurement of gases by the gas control system, the concentration
of hydrogen rose from 1 percent to 2.7 percent on Oct. 30. Hydrogen is
produced when water is broken down by radiation from the nuclear fuel, and
it is possible that the increase in hydrogen may have been related to
nuclear fission in the reactor.

Additional nitrogen was pumped into the reactor to prevent an explosion of
the sort triggered at the Fukushima plant in March.

TEPCO officials said it was the first time xenon had been detected. However,
that may be due to the failure to take appropriate measurements. It is
possible that nuclear fission has been producing xenon in the No. 2 reactor
since the accident and that similar reactions are occurring in the No. 1 and
No. 3 reactors, where nuclear fuel has also melted.

Officials of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) held a news
conference on the morning of Nov. 2.

"While we cannot deny that nuclear fission may have occurred in some places,
(the No. 2 reactor) is, overall, in a stable condition," said Yoshinori
Moriyama, NISA deputy director-general for nuclear accident measures.

##__

 

Susan Gordon

Alliance for Nuclear Accountability

903 W Alameda Street, #505

Santa Fe, NM 87501

505-473-1670

sgordon@ananuclear.org

http://www.ananuclear.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noam Chomsky Speaks to Occupy: If We Want a Chance at a Decent Future, the Movement Here and Around the World Must Grow

Noam Chomsky Speaks to Occupy: If We Want a Chance at a Decent Future, the Movement Here and Around the World Must Grow By Noam Chomsky, AlterNet Posted on November 1, 2011, Printed on November 2, 2011 http://www.alternet.org/story/152933/noam_chomsky_speaks_to_occupy%3A_if_we_want_a_chance_at_a_decent_future%2C_the_movement_here_and_around_the_world_must_grow It's a little hard to give a Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture at an Occupy meeting. There are mixed feelings that go along with it. First of all, regret that Howard is not here to take part and invigorate it in his particular way, something that would have been the dream of his life, and secondly, excitement that the dream is actually being fulfilled. It’s a dream for which he laid a lot of the groundwork. It would have been the fulfillment of a dream for him to be here with you. The Occupy movement really is an exciting development. In fact, it's spectacular. It's unprecedented; there's never been anything like it that I can think of. If the bonds and associations that are being established at these remarkable events can be sustained through a long, hard period ahead -- because victories don't come quickly-- this could turn out to be a very significant moment in American history. The fact that the demonstrations are unprecedented is quite appropriate. It is an unprecedented era -- not just this moment -- but actually since the 1970s. The 1970s began a major turning point in American history. For centuries, since the country began, it had been a developing society with ups and downs. But the general progress was toward wealth and industrialization and development -- even in dark and hope -- there was a pretty constant expectation that it's going to go on like this. That was true even in very dark times. I'm just old enough to remember the Great Depression. After the first few years, by the mid-1930s, although the situation was objectively much harsher than it is today, the spirit was quite different. There was a sense that we're going to get out of it, even among unemployed people. It'll get better. There was a militant labor movement organizing, CIO was organizing. It was getting to the point of sit-down strikes, which are very frightening to the business world. You could see it in the business press at the time. A sit-down strike was just a step before taking over the factory and running it yourself. Also, the New Deal legislations were beginning to come under popular pressure. There was just a sense that somehow we're going to get out of it. It’s quite different now. Now there’s kind of a pervasive sense of hopeless, or, I think, despair. I think it’s quite new in American history and it has an objective basis. In the 1930s unemployed “working people” could anticipate realistically that the jobs are going to come back. If you’re a worker in manufacturing today -- and the unemployment level in manufacturing today is approximately like the Depression -- if current tendencies persist, then those jobs aren’t going to come back. The change took place in the '70s. There are a lot of reasons for it. One of the underlying reasons, discussed mainly by economic historian Robert Bernard, who has done a lot of work on it, is a falling rate of profit. That, with other factors, led to major changes in the economy -- a reversal of the 700 years of progress towards industrialization and development. We turned to a process of deindustrialization and de-development. Of course, manufacturing production continued, but overseas (it’s very profitable, but no good for the workforce). Along with that came a significant shift of the economy from productive enterprise, producing things people need, to financial manipulation. Financialization of the economy really took off at that time. Before the '70s, banks were banks. They did what banks are supposed to do in a capitalist economy: take unused funds, like, say, your bank account, and transfer them to some potentially useful purpose, like buying a home or sending your kid to college. There were no financial crises. It was a period of enormous growth; the largest period of growth in American history, or maybe in economic history. It was sustained growth in the '50s and '60s and it was egalitarian. So the lowest percentile did as well as the highest percentile. A lot of people moved into reasonable lifestyles -- what’s called here “middle class” (working class is what it’s called in other countries). It was real. The '60s accelerated it. The activism of the '60s, after a pretty dismal decade, really civilized the country in lots of ways that are permanent. They’re not changing. The '70s came along and suddenly there’s sharp change to industrialization and the offshoring of production. The shifting to financial institutions, which grew enormously. Also in the '50s and '60s there was the development of what became several decades later the high-tech economy. Computers, Internet, the IT revolution was mostly developed in the '50 and the '60s, and substantially in the state sector. It took a couple of decades before it took off, but it was developed then. The 1970s set off a kind of a vicious cycle that led to a concentration of wealth increasingly in the hands of the financial sector, which doesn’t benefit the economy. Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power, which, in turn, arrives to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle. The physical policies such as tax changes, rules of corporate governance, deregulation were essentially bipartisan. Alongside of this began a very sharp rise in the costs of elections, which drives the political parties even deeper than before into the pockets of the corporate sector. A couple years later started a different process. The parties dissolved, essentially. It used to be if you were a person in Congress and hoped for a position of committee chair or a position of responsibility, you got it mainly through seniority and service. Within a couple of years, you started to have to put money into the party coffers in order to get ahead. That just drove the whole system even deeper into the pockets of the corporate sector and increasingly the financial sector--a tremendous concentration of wealth, mainly in the literally top 1/10th of 1 percent of the population. Meanwhile, for the general population it began an open period of pretty much stagnation, or decline for the majority. People got by through pretty artificial means -- like borrowing, so a lot of debt. Longer working hours for many. There was a period of stagnation and a higher concentration of wealth. The political system began to dissolve. There’s always been a gap between public policy and the public will, but it just grew kind of astronomically. You can see it right now, in fact. Take a look at what’s happening right now. The big topic in Washington that everyone concentrates on is the deficit. For the public, correctly, the deficit is not much of an issue. The issue is joblessness, not a deficit. Now there’s a deficit commission but no joblessness commission. As far as the deficit is concerned, if you want to pay attention to it, the public has opinions. Take a look at the polls and the public overwhelmingly supports higher taxes on the wealthy, which have declined sharply during this stagnation period, this period of decline. The public wants higher taxes on the wealthy and to preserve the limited social benefits. The outcome of the deficit commission is probably going to be the opposite. Either they’ll reach an agreement, which will be the opposite of what the public wants, or else it will go into kind of an automatic procedure which is going to have those effects. Actually that’s something that’s going to happen very quickly. The deficit commission is going to come up with its decision in a couple of weeks. The Occupy movements could provide a mass base for trying to avert what amounts to a dagger in the heart of the country, and having negative effects. Without going on with details, what’s being played out for the last 30 years is actually a kind of a nightmare that was anticipated by the classical economists. If you take an Adam Smith, and bother to read Wealth of Nations, you see that he considered the possibility that the merchants and manufacturers in England might decide to do their business abroad, invest abroad and import from abroad. He said they would profit but England would be harmed. He went on to say that the merchants and manufacturers would prefer to operate in their own country, what’s sometimes called a “home bias.” So, as if by an invisible hand, England would be saved the ravage of what’s called “neoliberal globalization.” That’s a pretty hard passage to miss. In his classic Wealth of Nations, that’s the only occurrence of the phrase “invisible hand.” Maybe England would be saved from neoliberal globalization by an invisible hand. The other great classical economist David Ricardo recognized the same thing and hoped it wouldn’t happen. Kind of a sentimental hope. It didn’t happen for a long time, but it’s happening now. Over the last 30 years that’s exactly what’s underway. For the general population -- the 99 percent in the imagery of the Occupy movement --it’s really harsh and it could get worse. This could be a period of irreversible decline. For the 1 percent, or furthermore 1/10th of 1 percent, it’s just fine. They’re at the top, richer and more powerful than ever in controlling the political system and disregarding the public, and if it can continue, then sure why not? This is just what Smith and Ricardo warned about. So pick Citigroup, for decades one of the most corrupt of the major investment banking corporations. It was repeatedly bailed out by the taxpayer over and over again starting in the early Reagan years and now once again. I won’t run through all the corruption. You probably know it, and it’s astonishing. A couple of years ago they came out with a brochure for investors. They urged investors to put their money in what they call the “plutonomy index.” The world is dividing into a plutonomy, the rich and so on. That’s where the action is. They said their plutonomy index is way outperforming the stock market, so put your money into it. And as for the rest? We set them adrift. We don’t really care about them and we don’t need them. They have to be around to provide a powerful state to protect us and bail us out when we get into trouble, but they essentially have no function. It’s sometimes called these days the “precariat,” people who live a precarious existence at the periphery of society. It’s not the periphery anymore; it’s becoming a very substantial part of the society in the United States and indeed elsewhere. This is considered a good thing. For example, when Alan Greenspan was still “St. Alan,” hailed by the economics profession as one of the greatest economists of all time (this is before the crash for which he is substantially responsible for), he was testifying to Congress in the Clinton years explaining the wonders of the great economy. He said much of this economy was based on what he called “growing worker insecurity.” If working people are insecure, if they’re “precariat” and living precarious existences, then they’re not going to make demands, they won’t make wages, they won’t get benefits and we can kick them out if we don’t like them, and that’s good for the health of the economy. That’s what’s called a healthy economy technically and he was highly praised for this. Well, now the world is indeed splitting into a plutonomy and a precariat, again in the imagery of the Occupy movement, the 1 percent and the 99 percent. The plutonomy is where the action is. It could continue like this, and if it does, then this historic reversal that began in the 1970s could become irreversible. That’s where we’re heading. The Occupy movements are the first major popular reaction which could avert this. It’s going to be necessary to face the fact that it’s a long hard struggle. You don’t win victories tomorrow. You have to go on and form structures that will be sustained through hard times and can win major victories. There are a lot of things that can be done. I mentioned before that in the 1930s one of the most effective actions was a sit-down strike. The reason was very simple: it’s just a step below a takeover of the industry. Through the '70s, as the decline was setting in, there were some very important events that took place. One was in the late '70s. In 1977, US Steel decided to close one of its major facilities, Youngstown, Ohio, and instead of just walking away, the workforce and the community decided to get together and buy it from US Steel and hand it over to the workforce to run and turn it into a worker-owned, worker-managed facility. They didn’t win, but with enough popular support they could have won. It was a partial victory because even though they lost it set off other efforts now throughout Ohio and other places. There’s a scattering of hundreds, maybe thousands, of not-so-small worker owned or partially worker-owned industries which could become worker-managed. That’s the basis for a real revolution. That’s how it takes place. It’s happening here, too. In one of the suburbs of Boston something similar happened. A multi-national decided to shut down a productive, functioning and profitable manufacturing company because it was not profitable enough for them. The workforce and union offered to buy it and take it over and run it themselves, but the multi-national decided to close it down instead probably for reasons of class consciousness. I think they want things like this to happen. If there had been enough popular support, if there had been something like this movement that could have gotten involved, they might have succeeded. There are other things going on like that. In fact, some of them were major. Not long ago, Obama took over the auto industry. It’s basically owned by the public. There were a number of things that could have been done. One was what was done. It could be reconstituted so it could be handed back to the ownership, or very similar ownership and continue on its traditional path. The other possibility was they could have handed it over to the workforce and turned it into worker-owned, worker-managed major industrial system that’s a major part of the economy and have it produce things that people need. And there’s a lot that we need. We all know or should know that the US is extremely backward globally in high-speed transportation. That’s very serious. It affects people’s lives and it affects the economy. It’s a very serious business. I have a personal story. I happened to be giving talks in France a couple months ago and ended up in southern France and had to take a train from Avignon in southern France to the airport in Paris and it took two hours. That’s the same distance as Washington to Boston. It’s a scandal. It could be done; we have the capacity to do it, like a skilled workforce. It would have taken a little popular support. That could have been a major change in the economy. Just to make it more surreal, while this option was being avoided, the Obama administration was sending its transportation secretary to Spain to get contracts for developing high-speed rails for the United States. This could have been done right in the Rust Belt, which is being closed down. There’s no economic reason this can’t happen. These are class reasons and the lack of political mobilization. There are very dangerous developments in the international arena, including two of them which are kind of a shadow that hangs over almost everything we discuss. There are, for the first time to human history, real threats to peace and survival of the species. One has been hanging around since 1945 and it’s kind of a miracle we’ve escaped it and that’s the threat of nuclear weapons. That’s a threat that’s being escalated by the administration and its allies. Something has to be done about that or we’re in real trouble. The other, of course, is environmental catastrophe. Every country in the world is taking at least halting steps toward trying to do something about it. The US is also taking steps, namely to accelerate the threat. The US is now the only country that’s not only not doing something constructive…it’s not climbing on the train. It’s pulling it backwards. Congress is right now reversing legislation instituted by the Nixon administration. (Nixon was really the last liberal president of the United States, and literally, this shows you what’s been going on!) They’re dismantling the limited measures the Nixon administration took to try to do something about what’s a growing and emerging catastrophe. This is connected with a huge propaganda system, perfectly openly declared by the business world, that it’s all just a liberal hoax. Why pay attention to these scientists? We’re really regressing back to the Medieval period. It’s not a joke. If that’s happening to the most powerful and richest country in history then this crisis is not going to be averted and all of this we’re talking about won’t matter in a generation or two. All of that’s going on right now and something has to be done about it very soon and in a dedicated and sustained way. It’s not going to be easy to succeed. There are going to be barriers, hardships and failures along the way. Unless the process that’s taking place here and around the world, unless that continues to grow and kind of becomes a major social force in the world, the chances for a decent future are not very high. Q&A Q: What about corporate personhood and getting the money out of that stream of politics? A: These are very good things to do, but you can’t do any of these things or anything else unless there’s a very large and active base. If the Occupy movement was the leading force in the country then you could move it forward. Most people don’t know that this is happening or they may know about it and not know what it is. Among those who do know, the polls show there’s a lot of support. But that assigns a task. It’s necessary to get out into the country and get people to understand what this is about and what they can do about and what the consequences are of not doing anything about it. Corporate personhood is a good point, but pay attention to what it is. We’re supposed to worship the Constitution these days, but the 5th Amendment of the Constitution says no person shall be deprived of rights without due process of law. The founding fathers didn’t mean “person” when they said “person.” For example there were a lot of creatures of flesh and blood who were not persons. The entire indigenous population was not considered persons. They didn’t have any rights. There was a category of creatures called 3/5 human -- they weren’t persons and didn’t have rights. Women were not entirely persons, so they didn’t have full rights. A lot of this was somewhat rectified over the years. During the Civil War, the 14th amendment raised the 3/5 to full humans at least in principle, but that was only in principle. Now over the following years the concept of person was changed by the courts in two ways. One way was to broaden it to include corporations, legal fictions established by the courts and the state. These “persons” later became the management of corporations; the management of corporations became “persons.” Of course, that’s not what the 14th amendment says. It’s also narrowed to undocumented workers. They had to be excluded from the category of persons. That’s happening right now. So legislation like this goes two ways. They defined persons to include corporate persons, which by now have rights beyond human beings, given by the trade agreements and others. They exclude people who flee from Central America where the US devastated their homelands, flee from Mexico because they can’t compete with the US’s highly subsidized agro-business. When NAFTA was passed in 1994, the Clinton administration understood pretty well that it was going to devastate the Mexican economy, so they started militarizing the border. So we’re seeing the consequences. So these people have to be excluded from the category of persons. So when you talk about personhood, that’s right, but there’s more than one aspect to it. It ought to be pushed forward and it ought to be understood, but that requires a mass base. It requires that the population understands this and is committed to it. It’s easy to think of a lot of things that should be done, but they all have a prerequisite – namely a mass popular base that’s there that’s committed to implementing them. Q: What about the ruling class in America? How likely is it that they’ll have an open fascist system here? A: I think it’s very unlikely frankly. They don’t have the force. About a century ago, in the freest countries in the world, Britain and the United Sates at the time, the dominant classes came to understand that they can’t control the population by force any longer. Too much freedom had been won by struggles like these, and they realized it. It’s discussed in their literature. They recognize that they’re going to have to shift their tactics to control of attitudes and beliefs instead of just the cudgel. It can’t do what it used to do. You have to control attitudes and beliefs. In fact that’s when the public relations industry began. It began in the United States and England. The free countries where you had to control beliefs and attitudes, to induce consumerism, to induce passivity, apathy and distraction. It’s a barrier, but it’s a lot easier to overcome than torture and the Gestapo. I don’t think the circumstances are any longer there to institute anything like what we call fascism. Q: You mentioned earlier that sit-down protests are just a precursor to a takeover of industry. Would you advocate a general strike as a tactic moving forward? Would you ever if asked allow for your voice to relay the democratically chosen will of our nation? A: You don’t want leaders; you want to do it yourself. We need representation and you should pick it yourselves. It should be recallable representation. The question of a general strike is like the others. You can think of it as a possible idea at a time when the population is ready for it. We can’t sit here and declare a general strike, obviously. There has to be approval and a willingness to take the risks on the part of a large mass of the population. That takes organization, education and activism. Education doesn’t just mean telling people what to believe. It means learning yourself. There’s a Karl Marx quote: “The task is not just to understand the world but to change it.” There’s a variant of that which should be kept in mind, “If you want to change the world in a certain direction you better try to understand it first.” Understanding it doesn’t mean listening to a talk or reading a book, though that is helpful. It comes through learning. Learning comes from participation. You learn from others. You learn from the people you’re trying to organize. You have to gain the experience and understanding which will make it possible to maybe implement ideas as a tactic. There’s a long way to go. This doesn’t happen by the flick of a wrist. It happens from a long, dedicated work. I think in many ways the most exciting aspect of the Occupy movements is just the construction of these associations and bonds that are taking place all over. Out of that if they can be sustained can come expansion to a large part of the population that doesn’t know what’s going on. If that can happen, then you can raise questions about tactics like this, which could very well at some point be appropriate. *This transcript has been edited slightly for clarity. To read the full address, click here. © 2011 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved. View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/152933/

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

 

Detained Bloggers and Journalists in Syria: The List Gets Longer

Detained Bloggers and Journalists in Syria: The List Gets Longer

Posted By Leila Nachawati On 28 October 2011 @ 8:51 pm In Advocacy,Arrest and Harassment,Feature,Syria | 2 Comments

Blogger Hussein Ghrer

Since the street protest movement began in March 2011 in Syria ^[1], threats and physical attacks against journalists have increased. The list of detained bloggers and journalists gets longer and includes foreign journalists arrested and deported. Among the latest, prominent blogger and programmer Hussein Ghrer ^[2], who disappeared on October 24.

On October 27 Reporters Without Borders published a list ^[3] that includes some of the journalists, bloggers and cyber-activists identified as currently detained in the country:

• Qais Abatili, a very active netizen who was arrested on 25 September.

• Nizar Al-Baba, an online activist who has been held since 21 September.

• Malak Al-Shanawany, a blogger and activist who contributes to many websites. She was arrested on a Damascus street on 22 September. She has been arrested twice before.

• Jehad Jamal, a blogger better known by the pseudonym of “Milan,” who has been held since 21 September.

• Nizar Adleh, a journalist who contributes to many websites. He has been held since 6 September.

• Miraal Brourda, a writer and poet who contributes to many websites.

• Ahmed Bilal, a producer for Falesteen TV who was arrested in the Damascus suburb of Mo’adamieh on 13 September.

• Amer Matar, a journalist with the daily Al-Hayat, who was arrested on 4 September. This was his second arrest.

• Alwan Zouaiter, a journalist who was writing for many Lebanese dailies. He was arrested by intelligence officials in the northern city of Raqqah after returning from Libya. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly contacting the Syrian opposition while abroad. The sentence was subsequently reduced to 13 months.

• Omar Abdel Salam

• Amer Al-As’ad, a first-year information technology student who also writes as a journalist for many Arabic-language dailies. He was arrested on 3 July and arrested again on 4 August. There has been no news of him since then.

• Hanadi Zahlout, a freelance journalist who has written many articles for online publications. He was arrested for the second time on 25 July, released four days later and re-arrested on 4 August. He is currently in Adra prison.

• Omar Al-As’ad, a journalist who writes for many Arabic-language dailies. He is also a final-year information technology student. He was arrested on 5 July and re-arrested on 4 August. There has been no news of him since then.

• Rudy Othman and Asim Hamsho, two bloggers who were arrested at the start of August.

• Abd Qabani, a netizen arrested on 8 August.

• Ammar Sa’ib, a netizen arrested on 1 August in Damascus.

• Mohamed Tahan Jamal, a member of the League of Arab Writers and Union of Journalists, who was arrested on 20 July after signing the “Aleppo Appeal for the Nation.”

• Abd Al-Majid Tamer and Mahmoud Asem Al-Mohamed, two journalists working for Kurdish news websites who were arrested on 31 May.

• Manaf Al Zeitoun, who was arrested on 25 March. There has been no news of him since his arrest.

Repression against freedom of speech is not unprecedented in Syria, whose authorities have prevented journalists from entering the country for decades. On March 24, Syrian political adviser Buthaina Shaaban announced on behalf of the Regional Command of the Baath Party a list of reforms that included a free press. On August 28, President Bashar al-Assad approved a new media law that purportedly upholds freedom of expression and bans the arrest of journalists. Yet, less than a week later, a Syrian journalist and contributor to the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat was arrested, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported ^[4], and dozens of others have followed. Also according to CPJ:

A close look to the legislation, Decree No. 108 ^[5], suggests the Assad regime is simply paying lip service to reform.

The announced reforms have had no effect on the ground, and the list of journalists and bloggers arrested and disappeared has never been longer.  Reporters Without Borders has also added President Bashar AlAssad to its list of Predators of Press Freedom, ^[6]that includes organizations and individuals “who cannot stand the press, treat it as an enemy and directly attack journalists.”

According to Syrian activist Rami Jarah (aka Alexander Page ^[7]), who was imprisoned twice in Damascus:

Over the past weeks the Syrian regime has performed a vicious crackdown against bloggers and social activists inside Syria. Those compromised and detained for such “acts of crime” are subjected to unbelievable hostility and usually tortured severely. It´s all part of Assad's lack of tolerance to freedom of speech. Online Activists use a number of different techniques to encrypt the data they are sending and receiving through Syria's one and only Internet Service provider: “Bashar Al Assad”.

On a blog ^[8] that activists have put together to demand the immediate disclosure of the fate of Hussein Ghrer and the release of all prisoners of conscience, they also refer to words as weapons in a context where freedom of speech is considered an enemy:

Fear of freedom and hatred against all liberties are responsible for Hussein´s detention. Words are Hussein´s weapons, and ours too. We want these weapons to break the silence. We command you to raise your voice for Hussein´s freedom and all prisoners of conscience in Syrian cells.

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URL to article: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/28/detained-bloggers-and-journalists-in-syria-the-list-gets-longer/

URLs in this post:

[1] in Syria: http://globalvoicesonline.org/-/world/middle-east-north-africa/syria/

[2] Hussein Ghrer: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/26/syria-prominent-blogger-disappears-in-damascus/

[3] a list: http://fr.rsf.org/syrie-alors-que-les-manifestations-pro-27-10-2011,41296.html

[4] reported: http://www.cpj.org/2011/09/syrian-journalist-arrested-held-without-charge.php

[5] Decree No. 108: http://syriamore.com/fullnews.php?news_id=17075

[6] Predators of Press Freedom, : http://en.rsf.org/predator-bashar-al-assad,37213.html

[7] Alexander Page: http://twitter.com/#!/alexanderpagesy

[8] blog: http://freehussein.blogspot.com/2011/10/syrian-bloggers-statement-on-detention.html

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs