__________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 31 August 2001 Vol. 5, Number 69 1/2 (#593) __________________________________________________________________________ What's Worth Checking: 15 stories More On Religious Discrimination Around the World -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S WORTH CHECKING stories via <http://www.anti-fascism.org/story/story-h1/story-h1.html> Please note that the web address for the stories has changed. They are now presented via our web site rather than via ftp. 2375. Philip Blenkinsop (Reuters), "US Lawyer Says Seeks Worldwide Case Against Bayer," 17 Aug 01, "An American lawyer suing pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG over its recalled drug Baycol said on Friday he would try to expand the suit to embrace cases worldwide and had also included another industry heavyweight, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, in the action. 'This is probably going to be one of the largest litigation matters in pharmaceutical history,' Ed Fagan told a news conference. He declined to say how much compensation his client might be seeking." 2374. David Saperstein, Rabbi (The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism), "Reform Jewish Movement Urges Powell To Attend U.N. Conference On Racism," 16 Aug 01, "'In a letter today to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, encourages Powell to attend the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, noting, "Essential values will be under attack in Durban, and we continue to hope that you will lead the American delegation and will personally participate in efforts to eliminate any anti-Semitic language and to rebuff attacks against Israel....and equally importantly (to) further the urgent legitimate goals of the Conference in addressing the scourge of racism and its lasting impact.' Saperstein commends Powell stating, 'Your steadfast opposition to the equation of Zionism with racism, your work to ensure that Israel is not singled out in the Conference documents, and your commitment to resist attempts to minimize the evil of the Holocaust have all been both widely noticed and deeply appreciated by our community'." 2373. Reuters, "U.S. Arrears to UN Caught in Court Dispute - Paper," 16 Aug 01, "House of Representatives Republican leaders are threatening to withhold $582 million the U.S. owes the United Nations in a fight with the Bush Administration over the crafting of a measure to exempt Americans from the International Criminal Court, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. The lawmakers have told the White House they will hold up the payment of U.N. dues unless it is approved along with the American Service Members' Protection Act, the Post reported, citing administration officials." 2372. Dianne Lynch (ABCNEWS), "Afghan Women Reach Out Via Web," 15 Aug 01, "The Taliban have taken control of their country and relegated women to a life of deeply controlled servitude. But some Afghan women, writes our columnist, are reaching out internationally via the Web. Imagine it: You can't work. You can't go to school. You can't leave home without a male guardian, and even then, you must be shrouded in a veil from head to toe. You can't laugh or talk aloud in public, and even your shoes must make no sound. Wearing cosmetics or showing your ankles is punishable by whipping; women have had their fingers amputated for wearing nail polish. You paint the windows of your house black so you cannot be seen from the outside. You are forbidden from walking on your balcony or in your backyard. It has been years since the sun shone on your face. And all public references to you have disappeared. You are a woman in Afghanistantoday, living under the regime of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban." 2371. Berger & Montague, P.C., "Class Action Race Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against ARAMARK Corporation: 152,000-Employee Corporation is Nation's Largest Outsourcing Provider," 15 Aug 01, "A Class Action race discrimination lawsuit was filed today against the nation's largest provider of outsourcing services, ARAMARK Corporation, which posted revenues in excess of $7 billion in 2000. The suit is being handled by a team of lawyers at two Philadelphia firms: Joel I. Fishbein at Abrahams, Loewenstein & Bushman, P.C. and Stephen A. Whinston, Jonathan Auerbach and Shanon J. Carson at Berger & Montague, P.C. The suit alleges that ARAMARK Corporation managers are guilty of ongoing, pervasive racial discrimination against blacks employed by ARAMARK at Philadelphia's Presbyterian Medical Center. Ten African-American workers filed suit for themselves and on behalf of all black workers in the Patient Services, Environmental Services and Distribution Departments. Workers in these departments, who are almost all black, transport patients throughout the Presbyterian Medical Center complex, clean the rooms and floors, and distribute the linens. The complaint alleges that white managers harass African-American workers through an oppressive pattern of unfair and unjustified discipline. In response to repeated complaints by the black workers, according to the complaint, white managers retaliate by raising the level of discipline." 2370. Karen Iley (Reuters), "U.N. Committee Slams U.S. Racism Record," 14 Aug 01, " A U.N. body has slammed the United States' record on racism, suggesting a halt to the death penalty and immediate moves to stamp out police brutality. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination unveiled three pages of preliminary conclusions late Monday, almost two weeks after the United States presented it with its first-ever report on how it was combating discrimination. The body of 18 independent experts, who monitor how signatory countries comply with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, noted 'a disturbing correlation between race, both of the victim and the defendant, and the imposition of the death penalty'' in America. It called on the United States to ensure that no death penalty was imposed as a result of racial bias, 'perhaps by pronouncing a moratorium'." 2369. WJLA, "Intruders Rob, Vandalize Anne Arundel Church," 14 Aug 01, "Vandals hit a southern Anne Arundel County church over the weekend, trashing its interior with food from its pantry and leaving racial slurs and satanic symbols." 2368. Reuters, "U.N. Racism Talks End Without Agreement," 10 Aug 01, "Talks failed Friday to settle angry disputes over how the U.N. Conference on Racism will deal with Israeli policies toward Palestinians and compensation for African slavery. But U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson put on a brave face, voicing optimism that consensus could be reached on final texts on both controversial issues at the conference which opens in Durban, South Africa, in three weeks." 2367. Reuters, "Provocative German Holocaust Denial Poster Removed," 10 Aug 01, "A German Jewish fund-raising group Friday pulled down posters apparently denying the Holocaust after they caused controversy across Germany and split opinion in the Jewish community. The provocative posters declaring 'The Holocaust never happened' against a serene lake and a mountain backdrop had hung from billboards and appeared in newspapers for three weeks. Only much smaller text revealed the true message of a campaign designed to raise funds for a Berlin memorial to Jewish victims of the Nazis and to stir awareness of the Holocaust." 2366. WCCO Channel4000, "Safety Officials Prepare For KKK Rally: Public safety officials are preparing for a Ku Klux Klan rally scheduled for Aug. 25 at the State Capitol," 9 Aug 01, "The KKK plans to recruit new members. 'I don't think there are many police officers who imagined during their career they'd be protecting the rights of the Ku Klux Klan,' Maj. Kevin Kittridge of the Minnesota State Patrol said.' Kittridge is in charge of Capitol security. He said that, regardless of what he or his officers think, they must do their jobs." 2365. Evelyn Leopold (Reuters), "Indigenous Peoples Organize at United Nations," 9 Aug 01, "Tribal chiefs from Canada to Peru and beyond on Thursday sought to get the grievances of indigenous people heard at the United Nations and said they were even shut out of a upcoming conference on racism. Honoring the Seventh International Day of the World's Indigenous People, more than 700 activists, many of them from the United States, celebrated their cultures in spiritual rituals. They discussed ways to protect themselves from discrimination, economic exploitation and environmental degradation." 2364. Michael Carney (Reuters), "Israel Says U.N. Racism Draft Mocks Holocaust," 9 Aug 01, "Israel accused Arab and Islamic countries Thursday of mocking the Holocaust by trying to equate the Jewish state with the Nazis at a United Nations (news - web sites) racism conference to be held in South Africa this month." 2363. Ann Rostow (PlanetOut), "Program threatened over gay participation," 9 Aug 01, "Bill Jankalow, the governor of South Dakota, is considering ending his state's participation in the Adopt-A-Highway program rather than face a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union over his reluctance to allow a gay group to participate fully in the program." 2362. Ann Coulter, "The ACLU's Speech Exception ot the Pornography Amendment," 9 Aug 01, "The ACLU is getting a lot of credit these days for defending our precious First Amendment right to scribble sadistic child pornography. Convicted child pornographer Brian Dalton recently pleaded guilty in an Ohio court to a second pandering offense. He later claimed his journal was intended to be used exclusively as his private masturbatory aid, winning the undying devotion of self-proclaimed civil libertarians. People seem to take enormous psychic satisfaction in defending Brian Dalton's creepy journal. Oh sure, we get the dutiful statements of personal revulsion at Dalton's fantasies. But, oddly, the more repellent his writings are, the more they give Dalton's defenders the self-satisfying sensation of rising above the angry mob calling for his head." 2361. American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG), "Escaped Slave to Address Thousands at San Francisco Music Festival," 9 Aug 01, "At CyberFest, 22- year-old Sudan native Francis Bok recounts ten years in bondage, urges Americans to become abolitionists once again in fight against modern day slavery. Since escaping from slavery in Sudan at age 17, Bok has become an icon of the neo-abolitionist movement. In the last year, he has testified to the Senate live on C-Span, met privately with Madeleine Albright, spoken alongside Coretta Scott King, appeared on stage in front of 40,000 people during a Jane's Addiction concert, and been featured in the Boston Globe, the Village Voice, and NBC Nightly News." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE ON RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AROUND THE WORLD 1) AA News, "Catholics Demand Removal of Oregon Billboard Branding Pope as the Anti-Christ: A Public Debate Over 'Hate Speech,' Free Expression," 29 Jul 01 2) Muddassir Rizvi (Asia Times), "A Slap In the Facr For Pakistani Women," 23 Aug 01 - - - - - 1) Catholics Demand Removal of Oregon Billboard Branding Pope as the Anti -Christ: A Public Debate Over "Hate Speech," Free Expression AA News 29 Jul 01 Larry Weathers, a barber in the town of Talent, Oregon has some pretty strong feelings when it comes to religion and especially the Vatican. Weathers is a member of the Rogue Valley Historical Seventh-day Adventists, a congregation of about 40 which is considered a "renegade" by the larger Adventist denomination. The church distributes a 94-page book, "The National Sunday Law," that claims to reveal the identity of the Anti- Christ, a shadowy figure and proxy for the devil who will walk the earth during the last days prior to the Second Coming of Jesus. "The pope is the antichrist," says Mr. Weathers, and he is so sure of this that he has purchased space on a high-profile advertising billboard proclaiming the same. The colorful sign sits along Interstate 5 outside of Medford, Oregon. Roman Catholics and the Archdiocese of Portland, are furious, and they are demanding removal of the billboard which Weathers legally rented from Outdoor Media Dimensions. "It's a deliberately and gratuitously offensive statement that singles out Catholics for contempt," Rev. Liam Cary of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Medford declared. "It's not in someone's back yard. It's right there, in your face, on a public road." So are crosses and other religious iconography on church buildings, though, along with outdoor ads promoting prayer and religious belief. The Oregon billboard has ignited a spirited debate over free expression and "hate speech," especially when it is directed against a religious institution. "What's to stop someone from putting an anti-Jewish billboard up or an anti-black or anti-Hispanic billboard up?" Cary mused in an interview with the Mail Tribune newspaper. "I'm sure there would be a great uproar in Medford. But if it's anti-Catholic, why do we tolerate it?" Weathers defends the billboard, and the tome which claims to unmask the pesky Anti-Christ. "The book outlines who the anti-Christ is," he said. "Anti means in the place of Christ. A lot of people think it means against Christ. Any pope that holds that office becomes the person on Earth that represents Christ." Underneath the words "The POPE Is The ANTICHRIST" the billboard invites people to visit http://www.anti-christ666.com, a amateurish web site which asks, "Do you REALLY know the TRUTH about the Anti-Chris or the number 666? With SOOOOOO many theories floating around, WHAT is the absolute info that is un-refutable?" Surfers can then sign up for the free reading material which presumably will reveal a potpourri of theological and eschatological truths. The sign has sparked a debate over free expression and "hate speech," especially since a powerful religious figure is being attacked. The Portland-based Catholic Sentinel newspaper said that the billboard "presages the start of a new West Coast campaign to discredit the Catholic Church." It quoted one Sacred Heart Parish member, Kathy Morgan: "As a Catholic, I do find the billboard offensive, but it also just makes us in southern Oregon look like idiots. It makes us look like a bunch of hicks..." Dominican priest Gerald Buckley told the Sentinel that the billboard was "a disgrace," and urged its removal. "We get e-mail and letters from people traveling from California who see this sign just as they come into the state. Can you imagine putting something up like that about the Jews or Martin Luther King?" he asked. Church Working Against Free Expression? The Portland Archdiocese has called for removal of the sign, focusing its wrath not only on Larry Weathers but the billboard rental company, Outdoor Media Dimensions. Bud Brunch, director of communications for the Archdiocese, told World Net Daily that, "This is not a First Amendment issue; it's not a free-speech issue." He suggested, "It's a matter of what kind of advertising that a media outlet will accept," and added that a public billboard -- a device used to promote everything from brand name products to organizations and even religious messages -- is "not a media outlet you can turn off like a car radio." A prepared statement from Outdoor Media read, "The content expressed on billboards leased by Outdoor Media Dimensions does not in any way express the opinion or beliefs of our company or staff." An attorney for the firm, Alan Herson, told the Mail Tribune, "The person who bought space from the billboard people has the right to free speech like all Americans do. If the Archdiocese doesn't like it, rather than censorship, they should print their own speech and buy a billboard. That's the American way. Your newspaper (The Mail Tribune) quotes anti-Semitic statements regularly, and nobody is calling for an end to your newspaper." The church, though, seems willing to sacrifice the principle of free expression in order to protect its own public image. The Diocesan newspaper noted that "Three years ago, the local Catholic vicariate (sic) even agreed to a conscious policy to remain mum (about the sign) not wanting to hurt the cause of an unrelated lawsuit that would press billboard companies to get state permits." Added Jon Legg, identified as a committee member of the Archdiocese of Portland group, "We don't want to get into a big flap on religion. We don't want the billboard people to have freedom of speech and religion as a defense." (Quoted in The Catholic Sentinel, July 27, 2001 "Spruced-up billboard marks beginning of new 'pope-is-Antichrist' campaign.") "I do not believe hate messages should fall under the aegis of freedom of speech," declared Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the archdiocese. "Hate messages are simply unacceptable no matter at whom they are directed." A Theme Since The Protestant Reformation Billboards, books and other materials suggesting a relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anti-Christ are not new. Indeed, the Church of Rome was condemned during the Protestant Reformation by figures like Thomas Muentzer and Martin Luther as a sinful institution debauched by privilege, wealth and arbitrary rule. That theme has lived on in many Protestant quarters, often incorporated into a wider narrative about the Apocalypse and the coming of the Anti-Christ. Before the end of the world, say some believers, Satan will establish a fraudulent church -- identified by some as the Catholic religion -- to begin a campaign of persecution against "true Christians." According to the Sentinel, Mr. Weathers presumably is receiving "tens of thousands of dollars" for his anti-pope billboard campaign from an individual "out of state with deep pockets." He is also part of a "loose association" of "renegade" Seventh-day Adventists which are linked to businessman Danny Vierra. Vierra heads Modern Manna Ministries in Lodi, California, and peddles a combination of health food products and Bible prophecy materials. His radio show, "Healthline," airs on stations throughout the country. The Oregon fracas also represents a global "turf war" between established denominations, including the Catholic Church, and energized Protestant fundamentalist and evangelical ministries many of which are aggressively proselytizing in the U.S. and elsewhere. For instance, the Rogue Valley group of which Mr. Weathers is a member has connections to Printed Page Ministries of Troy, Montana. run by a former Portland car salesman named Les Balsiger. Balsiger is publisher of "The Protestant," and is planning on opening a training school for Adventist activists in Eastern Europe. Another figure in the anti-Catholic Adventist movement is Raphael Perez, a Florida preacher who is working with Balsiger to expand their respective ministries. Perez is even involved in a court fight with the Seventh-Day Adventist church over his use of the word "Adventist." As for the billboard outside of Medford, Oregon and other anti-Catholic advertisements, the Seventh-day Adventist Church denies any responsibility. A spokesperson told the Catholic Sentinel, "Billboards attacking the pope, and by implication the Catholic Church, are not associated with any ministry sponsored or approved by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The group calling themselves SDA Remnant Ministries (Rogue Valley) ... chooses its form of theology and ministry outside of that which is approved by the Seventh-day Adventist organization." A broader question has less to do with doctrinal minutiae, though, than with free expression. The Portland Archdiocese is supporting efforts to have the state essentially use its licensing power to censor billboards that may deal with controversial themes -- in this case, statements unfavorable to one of the state's most powerful religious groups. The assertion that attacking religion in any form is a type of "hate speech" has also become more prevalent in the debate over free expression. It seems that along with commercial advocacy for products like liquor and cigarettes, salacious musical lyrics, or anything having to do with the risqu , opinions critical of religion may soon no longer find protection under the mantle of the First Amendment. - - - - - 2) A Slap In the Facr For Pakistani Women Muddassir Rizvi (Asia Times) 23 Aug 01 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's highest Islamic advisory body is the target of ire from rights groups after issuing a pronouncement that seeks to ban women from seeing male doctors and from having their clothes sewn by men. The rule, published earlier this month in the Urdu-language press, has so infuriated some people that they are questioning the wisdom of having such an institution as the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). "We call upon the government to ensure that the CII refrains from formulating moral frameworks for women of Pakistan," reads a press statement signed by dozens of rights groups in the country. "In fact," it continues, "we urge the government to re-examine the rationale and raison d'etre of having the CII at all, and its advisory role." Others have called on the military government to do away with institutions that they say are retarding development by propagating conservative views that have nothing to do with Islam - but only reflect male chauvinism. But some observers are advising activist groups to calm down, saying that the CII's decree is not binding on the government. Says Hafiz Azizur Rehman, who specializes in Islamic law, "The CII cannot issue a decree fatwa. Whenever somebody approaches it with an issue, it gives its opinion. The case in point is also an opinion and not decree fatwa." Others argue, though, that since the CII is a constitutional body, whatever it says has considerable weight. Many were also upset to note that the publication of the "opinion" coincided with a meeting of the National Commission on the Status of Women, convened by two rights groups, Aurat (Women's) Foundation and Shirkat Gah, in Islamabad. The commission was formed by the military government, headed by President General Pervez Musharraf, to ensure that the voices of women are heard in policy-making and their rights protected. Interestingly enough, among the commission's members is CII chairman S M Zaman, who boycotted the meeting. An official at the ministry of women's development says, "We have been contacted by some rights groups asking for the removal of the chairperson from the commission. This is a sensitive issue as it may bring the clergy head-on with rights groups." The CII declaration came as surprise to many people as it follows several decisions by the government that were aimed at promoting women's role in governance and emancipation in all spheres of life. The government has already inducted women ministers in federal and provincial governments. Local polls held on August 2 also yielded thousands of women councillors and at least three women who were elected as district nazim (governors). Now, many women see the CII declaration as a reminder to all elected women of the odds they have to work against. "This is a typical way of thinking of men to control women, sometimes in the name of traditions and morality and others in the name of religion," says Rukhsana Faiz, who was elected councillor of the Punjab town of Sargodha. "But the only objective is to keep women subservient to their desires." Seconds Kaneez Zehra, an Islamabad-based consumer rights activist, "The decree is nothing but the reinforcement of the typical mindset of the religious right and the reiteration of their position on the role they perceive for women." Zehra believes the CII's issuance is a direct attack on a woman's right to choose services and service providers. She argues, "Women have the right to be treated by a male gynecologist, just as men can go for treatment to female doctors. In this case the gender is not important, but expertise and competence." The CII ruling has also irked the medical community, which believes that it has put into question the sacred patient-doctor relationship. Ahmed Sohail, who has a private clinic, says, "When a doctor sees a patient all he cares about is the suffering of the person, disregarding the caste, creed, sex or economic group." He also says that in the first place the lack of female doctors in suburban and rural areas could pose problems for those trying to comply with the CII's pronouncement. "Not many female doctors go and work in rural areas," says Sohail. "Even in cities, a majority of female doctors do not opt for night shifts because of cultural obligations. The other area is the specialization," he adds. "Not many female doctors are specialists in fields other than gynecology." Those, however, are not the only concerns covered by the CII pronouncement. According to the council, women should not work in the advertising industry and as airport protocol personnel. While the CII allows women to work as flight attendants and in many other professions, they have to do so wearing veils. According to official figures, 29 percent of Pakistani women have no real access to healthcare while an alarming 72 percent - as against 47 percent of males - are deprived of educational opportunities. Struggling for the repeal of discriminatory Islamic laws introduced by the military dictator Zia ul Haq 20 years ago, rights groups maintain that spirituality and morality cannot be enforced through legislation and policing, in the manner of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban. * * * * * In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. __________________________________________________________________________ FASCISM: We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget. (No permission required for noncommercial reproduction) - - - - - back issues archived via: <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/> _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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