__________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 24 March 2000 Vol. 4, Number 25 (#406) __________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Latest Readings of Interest anti-fascist zines computer/net zines Protests Against Hate via Dr. Laura Steve Gorman (Reuters), "Hundreds rally against Paramount's 'Dr. Laura' show," 21 Mar 00 AP, "Schlessinger TV Show Draws Protest," 21 Mar 00 E! Online, "Protesters Picket Paramount, Dr. Laura -- Gay-rights activists turned out en masse outside Paramount's Hollywood studios yesterday with a message about the studio's upcoming Dr. Laura TV show: Shame on you! ," 22 Mar 00 Planet Out, "'Dr. Laura' Protested at Paramount," 22 Mar 00 What's Worth Checking: 10 stories -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LATEST READINGS OF INTEREST: Remember that we carry a large number of other journals of interest to anti-fascists via <http://www.anti-fascism.org> under "anti-fascist zines" we have: Antifa Info-Bulletin #242, 19 Mar 00 Tom Burghardt's weekly zine from the W. Coast Right Wing Watch Online 21 Mar 00 published by People For the American Way 21 Mar 00 Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 16 Mar 00 published by the Committee For the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) Jen Rosenberg's biweekly Holocaust Newsletter is no longer published. under "computer/net zines" we have: Computer underground Digest probably *the* hacker journal is now publishing again with 12:01, 12 Mar 00 CDT Policy Post 6:04, 16 Feb 00 A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology CyberWire Dispatch 5 Jan 00 EPIC Alert 7:02, 2 Mar 00 Newsletter of the Electronic Privacy Information Center Netaction Notes, #55, 21 Mar 00 Netfuture #104, 21 Mar 00 [A Journal On] Technology and Human Responsibility -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROTESTS AGAINST HATE VIA DR. LAURA Hundreds rally against Paramount's "Dr. Laura" show Steve Gorman (Reuters) 21 Mar 00 HOLLYWOOD -- Hundreds of gay activists staged a boisterous rally outside the Paramount Pictures lot Tuesday to protest the studio's plans for a TV talk show hosted by controversial radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger, whom they accuse of homophobia. The demonstration was the latest in a growing uproar over Paramount's deal with Schlessinger, who has denied being anti-gay or trying to foment intolerance toward gays and lesbians despite her on-air references to homosexuality as "deviant" and "a biological error." Dozens of protesters carried signs saying, "I Am Not a Biological Error" and "Hate is a Paramount Concern," and they chanted, "No Show, No Show," as passing motorists honked their horns. Across the street, about two dozen supporters of Schlessinger staged a counter-demonstration, accusing her opponents of trying to stifle free speech. Although the entertainment industry has increasingly come under fire for content deemed offensive by various groups, the outcry over Schlessinger is unique in pitting many of Paramount's own employees against the studio. Organizers said many of the estimated 400 supporters who attended Tuesday's rally work for Paramount, and one of the first to address the crowd was David Lee, co-creator of the Emmy-winning NBC comedy "Frasier," a Paramount production. "I'm here because something I've worked for during the past 15 years has betrayed me," Lee said, adding that Paramount executives were "behaving ... irresponsibly by giving a platform to a woman who is hurting the gay community, literally." Lee said he approached a number of Paramount executives privately, seeking to "talk them out of" the Schlessinger show, but joined the protest when his complaints fell on deaf ears. Many Paramount employees share his sentiments but have kept their views quiet for fear of losing their jobs, he said. Schlessinger, famed for pontificating on moral and ethical issues on a weekday call-in radio program heard by an estimated 18 million listeners, has drawn the ire of gay activists for her rhetoric on homosexuality, including her support for controversial therapies aimed at redirecting gays and lesbians toward a straight lifestyle. Last year, she signed a deal to host an hourlong syndicated daytime show produced and distributed by the Paramount Television Group. The TV show, which has been sold to about 160 stations reaching more than 90 percent of U.S. households, is due to premiere in September. If Paramount refuses to drop the show, leaders of Tuesday's demonstration said they would carry on their campaign against Schlessinger to television advertisers. Paramount has promised that Schlessinger's upcoming program will encompass a wide range of viewpoints. In a statement Tuesday, the studio said, "we are committed to presenting society's moral and ethical issues without creating or contributing to an environment of hurt, hate or intolerance." Schlessinger was not available to comment Tuesday, but in a March 10 statement she later described as a "clarification" of her views, the radio host said she never intended "to hurt anyone or contribute in any way to an atmosphere of hate of intolerance." - - - - - Schlessinger TV Show Draws Protest AP 21 Mar 00 LOS ANGELES -- Gay rights protesters shouting "shame, shame, shame" gathered outside Paramount Pictures Tuesday to demand the studio drop plans to bring controversial radio host Laura Schlessinger to television this fall. The tough-talking host known as "Dr. Laura," who dispenses relationship advice on her enormously popular radio show, has called homosexuality a "biological error" and "deviant." "When Paramount bought Laura Schlessinger's show, they bought a battle with the gay community," said Joan Garry, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. One of the signs carried by the more than 200 demonstrators read "No More Matthew Shepards," a reference to the gay student killed in Wyoming in 1998. Paramount, which has been slammed by other gay rights groups, has stood firm, and none of the stations signed on to air Schlessinger's show have backed out. In a statement, the studio said it was committed to presenting moral and ethical issues without "creating or contributing to an environment of hurt, hate or intolerance." Countering the demonstrators were about 75 Schlessinger supporters organized by Campaign for California Families, a conservative, nonprofit organization. - - - - - Protesters Picket Paramount, Dr. Laura -- Gay-rights activists turned out en masse outside Paramount's Hollywood studios yesterday with a message about the studio's upcoming Dr. Laura TV show: Shame on you! E! Online 22 Mar 00 It was the latest, but most public and most vocal, fallout from Dr. Laura Schlessinger's on-air remarks referring to homosexuality as "deviant" and "a biological error." Protesters feel that Paramount is giving the controversial radio shrink a bigger soapbox to shout her alleged anti-gay rhetoric from. Many of the 500 irate sign-toting, slogan-chanting picketers, including Frasier cocreator Davis Lee, were Paramount employees. "I'm here because something I've worked for during the past 15 years has betrayed me," Lee said, adding that Paramount execs were acting "irresponsibly by giving a platform to a woman who is hurting the gay community, literally." Lee said he joined the protestors, whose signs read "I am not a biological error" and "hate is a Paramount concern," when his talks with Paramount executives bombed. Meanwhile, across the street, about two dozen supporters of Schlessinger chanted: "Protect Dr. Laura, protect free speech." "It feels like we're in the 1950s again," says Bill Dobbs, a gay civil- rights attorney and member of the organization Queer Watch."I don't know how [giving Dr. Laura a show] can be progress." While Schlessinger has insisted she didn't mean to disparage homosexuals (she "clarified" her remarks in a March 10 statement, saying that she never intended "to hurt anyone or contribute in any way to an atmosphere of hate of intolerance") she still maintains that homosexuality is a curable condition. And she says the First Amendment protects her right to say it. As for Paramount, the studio issued a statement saying "We are committed to presenting society's moral and ethical issues without creating or contributing to an environment of hurt, hate or intolerance." Despite the studio's assurances for a balanced show, protesters say if Paramount doesn't drop the show, which is set to debut in most of the country in September, they will go for the jugular and turn their campaign to the show's advertisers. - - - - - "Dr. Laura" Protested at Paramount Planet Out 22 Mar 00 The movement protesting Paramount Television Group's plans for a syndicated television show by top-rated radio talk show host "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger demonstrated a physical presence -- beyond its myriad e-mails, faxes, phone calls, Web site, and print ads -- outside Paramount's Hollywood studios on March 21. Their numbers were variously reported at 200, 400 and 500, while counterdemonstrators across the street were said to number "about two dozen" by some sources and as many as 75 by others. Schlessinger believes homosexual acts are immoral and "deviant," that same-gender attractions are the result of a "biological error," that so-called "reparative therapies" are effective in changing homosexual orientation, and that many gay men are predatory pedophiles. Demonstrators chanted, "No show, no show" and carried placards including "I am not a biological error" and "Hate is a Paramount concern." The protest was organized by StopDrLaura.com, HateWatch.org and the Horizons Foundation. The StopDrLaura.com Web site has received more than seven million "hits" in its less than three weeks of existence, and its current offerings include a "virtual vigil" for those who would like to have been part of the Paramount Protest but were unable to attend. Paramount issued a statement essentially repeating its March 10 communique, that, "we are committed to presenting society's moral and ethical issues without creating or contributing to an environment of hurt, hate or intolerance." Some of the protesters were Paramount employees, including the demonstration's lead-off speaker David Lee, co-creator and executive producer of the NBC hit sitcom "Frasier." He said, "I'm here because something I've worked for during the past 15 years has betrayed me." He charged that Paramount executives were "behaving ... irresponsibly by giving a platform to a woman who is hurting the gay community, literally." Lee said that he had joined the protest movement only after his efforts to talk with Paramount executives failed. He declared that, "It is outrageous that Paramount chooses to be in business with a woman who is literally dangerous to the gay community. She may not have a club in her hand but she encourages an atmosphere where those who do wield weapons feel free to use them." Peter Teague, executive director of the San Francisco-based Horizons Foundation, said, "It is now up to Paramount to mitigate the damage Dr. Laura causes and refuses to acknowledge by shelving the ill-conceived concept of a 'Dr. Laura' TV program." West Hollywood City Councilmember Steve Martin read his Council's March 20 resolution saying, "Let it be resolved that the City of West Hollywood condemns Paramount Studios for its part in spreading Dr. Schlessinger's message of hate by giving her a wider forum from which she can shamelessly attack a minority community." Another speaker was high-profile attorney and Los Angeles radio talk show host Gloria Allred, who told CBS News, "If this minority can be humiliated and scapegoated and subjected to stereotypes and false statements about them, can any minority feel safe?" Similarly, lesbian event producer and StopDrLaura.com co-founder Robin Tyler told the crowd, "Paramount would never give a TV show to a host that called any other minority 'biological errors'." Noting that two years before the sitcom "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" had been cancelled in the face of protests of its portrayals of African-Americans, Tyler said, "We demand equal respect, not a double standard!" She said, "Although we believe in freedom of speech, we do not believe there is a constitutional right entitling people to a syndicated television show." Should Paramount proceed with its plans, she promised, "We intend to go after sponsors. We intend to go after local affiliates carrying this show." David Goldman, executive director of Boston-based Hatewatch.org, a civil rights group monitoring hate groups, said of Schlessinger, "We are in no way trying to prevent her from exercising her freedoms, but we believe that people should know what she is saying and respond accordingly." Even GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, left the suites for the streets on this one, with its executive director Joan Garry -- herself a former TV executive -- in the lineup of rally speakers. When Paramount's plans were announced last month, GLAAD entered into negotiations with studio executives, hoping to achieve some "balance" in the TV show, so that Schlessinger's opinions and the suspect right-wing research she's cited to buttress them would not be the only information offered about gays and lesbians. What turned GLAAD from this patient approach which has so often been successful for the group was Schlessinger's apparent recantation of her March 10 "clarification," which many described as an apology. A column by conservative Don Feder in the March 15 "Boston Herald" said, "On Friday, Schlessinger issued a statement regretting 'words I've used' that have 'hurt some people.' This is a clarification, she told me, not an apology. She will continue to recommend reparative therapy (for homosexuals who want to change), to oppose same-sex marriage and adoption, and champion Judeo- Christian sexual ethics." At that point, GLAAD executive director Joan Garry issued a statement that, "This disavowal of her own words demonstrates that Schlessinger cannot be held accountable for what she says publicly. Because she has breached the integrity of her own statement, GLAAD now has no assurance that Schlessinger will not publicly defame lesbians and gay men in her radio or upcoming tel! ! ! evision broadcasts. GLAAD now calls upon Paramount to... [abandon] its plans to produce and distribute any program featuring Laura Schlessinger." Other rally speakers included Rabbi Denise Eger of the gay-affirming Congregation Kol Ami; African-American sexologist Dr. Sylvia Rhue; Reverend Troy Perry, moderator of the Universial Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches; and representatives of the national Human Rights Campaign, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, the statewide lobby group California Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE), and the Los Angeles chapter of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S WORTH CHECKING stories via <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/story5/> Sue Lindsay (Denver Rocky Mountain News), "Guilty Plea In Homeless Death: 19-year-old will testify against co-defendant who threatened to harm him," 14 Mar 00, "A 'mall rat' charged in the slaying last fall of a sleeping homeless man pleaded guilty to reduced charges Monday and agreed to testify against a co-defendant who has threatened to harm him. Thomas Holden, 19, was charged with first-degree murder in the beating death of Melvin Washington, 47, who was attacked Sept. 8 as he slept on a steam grate. He died Sept. 15. Washington was one of seven homeless men found dead last fall in a series of attacks that terrorized street people in downtown Denver. No charges have been filed in the other deaths." <1476.txt> Steven C. Johnson (AP), "Latvian Waffen SS Honors Comrades," 16 Mar 00, "About 300 veterans of the Latvian Waffen SS walked slowly through Riga on Thursday to honor their fallen comrades in a ceremony bitterly criticized by Russian and Jewish groups. The former soldiers, most in their 70s and 80s, said they weren't making a political statement but remembering 50,000 comrades who died in battle." <1477.txt> AP, "Former Austrian Deputy Sentenced," 15 Mar 00, "A former member of Parliament representing Joerg Haider's far-right Freedom Party was found guilty Wednesday of fraud and embezzlement and sentenced to seven years in prison. Peter Rosenstingl had been charged in connection with the disappearance of $2 million of public and party funds. He dropped out of sight in May 1998, setting off an international manhunt that led to his arrest in Brazil a month later." <1478.txt> via Bifa (Anarchist Federation -- Krakow), "Protest at 'Banquet' and Defense of Adam Mucha," 12 Mar 00, "There was a lot of nazi provocateurs working for the police at the 'Banquet.' Some of them were coming right in front of the speakers, and shouting 'nazis ok'. They didn't get beaten, cause the police was waiting for us to do that. ... Adam Mucha 'Bzyk' has been accused of beating a cop, but no twith the axe. Still, he can face 10 years prison.A lawyer has been found for his case, and he will work for free." <1479.txt> Center for New Community (press release), "National Rifle Association Condemned for 'Crass Sensationalism'," 17 Mar 00, "The Center for New Community has condemned as 'utterly irresponsible' the remarks of National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre holding the President responsible for the shooting death of Ricky Byrdsong by white supremacist Ben Smith in July, 1999. 'This is one of the most offensive, shameless and self-promoting assertions ever made by an NRA leader,' said Rev. David Ostendorf, Executive Director of the Center. 'It is crass sensationalism of the worst kind, exploiting the pain and suffering of racist violence. No matter where one stands on the gun issue, these remarks are utterly offensive and irresponsible'." <1480.txt> Marilyn Miller (Akron Beacon Journal), "Symbols of hatred mar home: Cross burns in yard, slurs found on door in Wooster complex," 22 Mar 00, "A black family awoke Monday to find their front door spray-painted with racial slurs and learned a cross had been burned in the back yard of their apartment complex. Wooster Police Capt. Donald Edwards Jr. said the incident at Palm House Apartments in the 1100 block of Rebecca Street probably occurred about 2 or 3 a.m. <1481.txt> AFP, "98 US Senators Urge Putin To Wage War On Anti-Semitism," 11 Mar 00, "Russian interim leader Vladimir Putin must make fighting anti-Semitism a priority of his new administration, 98 of 100 US Senators said in a letter to ex-president Boris Yeltsin's chosen successor." <1482.txt> AP, "Member of white supremacist gang gets 2 years in classmate’s beating," 23 Mar 00, "A sometime leader of a suburban Gilbert high school white supremacist gang drew a two-year prison sentence for beating a classmate. Kevin Papa wept and his knees buckled Tuesday as he was sentenced by Judge James Keppel of Maricopa County Superior Court." <1483.txt> Amy Mayron (Saint Paul Pioneer Press), "Minneapolis coalition to aid hate- crime victims," 20 Mar 00, "A coalition of human rights groups, social outreach agencies and religious organizations in Minneapolis will announce today the launching of a network to support victims of hate crimes. The program has 33 agencies that have agreed to participate, including the Minneapolis Police Department, the mayor's office, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches and the Urban League of Minneapolis. It also includes groups that represent the gay community, Native Americans and schools. The goal of the group is to support victims of hate crimes, as well as educate the community about such violence and cultural diversity issues. The group will advocate reporting hate crimes to the police and monitor the success of hate-crime investigations and prosecutions." <1484.txt> Tribune-Review, "Man charged in attack on white supremacist leader," 23 Mar 00, "A South Side man was charged Wednesday for his role in the attack on the Mt. Washington home of a white supremacist leader that resulted in the shooting death of a companion. In another development yesterday, criminal homicide charges were withdrawn against the Mt. Washington man, Michael Stehle, 26, who has been described as a local leader in the National Alliance white supremacist organization. All of the charges stem from an incident in the early morning hours of Feb. 8 when three men entered Stehle's home on Southern Avenue. ... Police described Hartzell and Kopp as members of a second 'skinhead' organization who were upset with Reichel because of a previous confrontation." <1485.txt> * * * * * 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/> _________________________________________________________ Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15