"Get on the bus" for the Million Worker March, Oct. 17, 2004, Washington, D.C.!

The struggle of working people and the struggle against the war are the same struggle! Bring the troops home now! End the occupation of Iraq! Organize a local “AntiWar 4 the Million Worker March" committee now!

Dear Activists and Organizers,

This fall in Washington, D.C., you will have a timely and historic opportunity to unite the anti-war movement with an unprecedented and vitally necessary mass march of working people speaking for themselves. This is a rare opportunity that serious anti-war activists can't afford to pass up.

Some of the strongest voices and most active groups in the labor movement, together with the active support and participation of organizations representing every progressive movement and cause, will be “getting on the bus to D.C. on Sunday, October 17, for the MILLION WORKER MARCH. A sea of workers from every industry, from every union and every place where workers want a union, from every part of the country, will be streaming into the capital to demand things like jobs, a living wage and workers' rights.

They will also express their anger over the senseless dying that is going on every day in Iraq and elsewhere, and their desire that it end now. Why? Because it is working families who bear the burden, it is their loved ones who are sent off to fight and die--and it is their, our, the workers' money that is stolen to pay for war and occupation.

What makes the Million Worker March unique is that the event?s principal organizers want to make the anti-war movement?s demand to “End the Occupation of Iraq, and Bring the Troops Home Now central to the march's message and the goals.

START A LOCAL “ANTI-WAR 4 THE MILLION WORKER MARCH" COMMITTEE RIGHT NOW!

We are asking anti-war activists to set up local “Anti-war 4 the Million Worker March committees. Start meeting, planning, and reserving buses to go to Washington on October 17. Anti-war coalitions and groups need to let us know ASAP if their group can be listed as an “Anti-war 4 Million Worker March committee in their locality or region.

We encourage activists to form committees in their unions, schools, work places, churches and communities. It is our hope that “Anti-war 4 MWM" committees will complement the labor union and community-based organizing that is going on across the country for Oct. 17.

We urge you to start now, before the Republican National Convention protests in NYC. Please get back to us so that we can send you information and resources that will be helpful to your organizing.

YOU CAN HELP

* Add your name, title and endorsement as a signer to this urgent call.

* Set up an Anti-War 4 the Million Worker March committee

* Send this email to your friends, co-workers, and neighbors.

* Commit to sending a bus from your city, town or region.

CONTACT US AT
AntiWar4theMillionWorkerMarch@action-mail.org
39 W. 14th Street #206
NYC, NY 10011
phone (212) 633.633.6646

The call for a Million Worker March came from one of the most well-known labor organizations in the country, famous for its long history of militancy, boldness and courage in defense of working people—Local 10 of the International Longshore Workers Union in San Francisco. Over the past few months this call has rolled across the country, picking up the support of scores of labor unions, labor activists and leaders including:

The Coalition Of Black Trade Unionists; Bill Lucy, Secretary-Treasurer, AFSCME; the National Education Association; Transportation Workers Union Local 100 (NY); AFSCME District Council 1707 (NY); South Carolina AFL-CIO; Farm Labor Organizing Committee; AFSCME District Council 92 (MD); D.C. Labor Against The War; International ANSWER; actor Danny Glover; American Indian Movement; ILWU Local 34; Troy and Albany Labor Council (NY); National Immigration Solidarity Network; New York City Labor Against the War; Global Women?s Strike; Teamsters Black Caucus; comedian Dick Gregory; Myra Shone and Ralph Schoenman, Taking Aim, Pacifica; National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 3825; Howard Wallace, co-founder, Pride at Work; Jim Houghton, Director, Harlem Fight Back; Justice 4 Homeless, SF; United Steel Workers of America Local 8751; International Action Center; former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark; Nellie Bailey, Harlem Tenants Council; Howard Zinn, historian; Noam Chomsky, linguist;AFSCME Local 95, Local 205, Local 215,Local 389,Loca167,Local 1881, Local 1930; ILWU Entire West Coast division; CUE Local 3; and many more.

Working people are coming to Washington, D.C. on Oct. 17 because whether their concern is about jobs, or decent wages, or layoffs, or union busting, or the battle to protect our pensions and Social Security and to make health care a universal right instead of a privilege for the wealthy--with all we face, we had better raise our own voices and act in our own interests instead of relying on the next president, whoever that will be.

And most important, the time for us to speak in our own voice is not after people vote in November, but before. The Million Worker March on Oct. 17 is about the people telling the president, the candidates, the politicians and the corporate elite who are the real power behind the election campaigns and the politicians to “Shut up! and listen to us for a change.

Let?s make sure that after many of us march in NYC against the Republican convention, Nov. 2 isn?t the only important date this fall. We urge all of you to work to make the Oct. 17 Million Worker March in D.C. the next major event for the entire anti-war movement. If we rise to this challenge, we will put the next president and Congress on notice that we will accept no excuses for prolonging the occupation of Iraq and wasting lives and precious resources that should go toward satisfying people?s needs like housing and schools. Moreover, we will have helped to forge a critical alliance between the grass roots of the labor movement and the anti-war movement that would represent a whole new level of unity, potential and power.

Does this sound like something worth working for? Does this sound like something you?ve been waiting for? You can help make it happen.

In solidarity,
Clarence Thomas, Co-Chair, Million Workers March Organizing Committee, ILWU Local 10
Brenda Stokely, President, District Council 1707 AFSCME, Co-chair, NYC Labor Against the War
Chris Silvera, Secretary-Treasurer, Local 808 IBT, President National Teamsters Black Caucus
Ralph Shoenman, Communications Coordinator, Million Worker March
Larry Holmes, International Action Center, Steering Committee ANSWER
Sharon Black, Washington/Baltimore Coordinator, Million Worker March
Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General

Get on the bus:

* To bring the troops home now!* For money & for jobs not war!* For a living wage!* Against layoffs, union busting, & for workers? rights!* For the rights of immigrant workers!* Because young people need jobs not jails!* To end the occupation of iraq!* To defend civil rights! * Because working people need to speak in their own voice!

Get On The Bus Oct. 17 For The Million Worker March

Die internationale Arbeitsorganisation ILO will die Rechte von Indianern und anderen Waldvölkern verbessern. In Deutschland verhindert Wirtschaftsminister Clement bisher eine Ratifizierung des internationalen Vertrags durch die Bundesregierung.

Bitte helfen Sie und protestieren Sie bei Minister Clement per E-Mail!

Die Shuar und Ashuar, die zu den ältesten Indianervölkern Ecuadors gehören, bitten die Welt um Hilfe. Ihr traditionelles Stammesgebiet, intakter Regenwald, wird vom texanischen Ölkonzern Burlington bedroht.

Bitte beteiligen Sie sich an unserer Protestmail-Aktion gegen Burlington!

Unter http://www.regenwald.org finden sie zu beiden Aktionen, weitere Infos und jeweils einen Musterbrief.

Bitte leiten sie diesen Aufruf auch an Freunde und Bekannte weiter.

Herzlichen Dank!

Reinhard Behrend
Rettet den Regenwald e. V.

National Cookout to End Destructive Investment!

It's summertime, and we're turning up the heat on banks that fund global warming and forest destruction! Help us "grill" the banks that cook the Earth by putting pressure on companies that refuse to adopt environmentally ethical standards for investment.

Join Rainforest Action Network on Saturday, August 21st for a National Day of Cookouts to help end destructive investment.

Click here to get involved!
http://www. http://action.ran.org/ctt.asp?u=2844473&l=50702

Your Help is Needed to Save Whales:

I want you to be the first to know that NRDC is launching an urgently needed campaign to protect the world's whales against the Navy's use of dangerous mid-frequency sonar.

New scientific evidence shows that intense blasts of mid-frequency sonar, at 235 decibels or more, can cause a whale's organs to fatally hemorrhage. And a growing number of whale strandings and die-offs -- from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas to Japan -- have coincided with the military's use of these high-intensity sonar systems.

Please help put a stop to this senseless killing by going to
http://www.savebiogems.org/watchlist/takeaction.asp?camp=31&step=2&item=52240
right now and sending the Secretary of the Navy a message urging him to take common-sense steps to protect whales.

Thanks to your strong support, we won a major victory for whales last year when a federal court blocked the Navy's global deployment of a different, long-range sonar system -- called LFA -- because its ear-splitting noise could threaten the very survival of endangered populations of whales.

Now we are taking aim at the Navy's mid-frequency sonar, which is a much more widely used class of systems for detecting submarines.

Believe me, we understand and appreciate that the Navy's mission is defending our nation. But there are very simple ways for the Navy to protect whales that will not interfere with military readiness. Right now, the Navy is needlessly injuring and killing some of the ocean's most majestic creatures -- and that is simply unacceptable.

The International Whaling Commission recently declared that the evidence now appears "overwhelming" that military sonar is causing mass strandings of whales. And the scientific journal "Nature" reports that mid-frequency sonar can cause gas bubbles to form in the blood vessels of panicked whales, tearing holes in their internal organs. Such injuries no doubt cause intense pain.

I want to stress again that such suffering is avoidable -- if the Navy would only take simple measures like avoiding areas where whales are known to migrate and raise their young. But the Navy is unlikely to take such steps unless it hears an outcry from millions of Americans.

Please go to
http://www.savebiogems.org/watchlist/takeaction.asp?camp=31&step=2&item=52240
right away and send a message telling the Navy to stop needlessly harming and killing whales. Then forward this message to as many of your friends and family as possible and ask them to speak out, too.

Let's make sure that no more whales have to suffer and die from mid-frequency sonar.

Sincerely,

John H. Adams
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

ACTION ALERT ACTION ALERT ACTION ALERT ACTION ALERT!!!

UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE!!!

MAYOR BLOOMBERG HAS REFUSED ACCESS TO CENTRAL PARK
FOR PEACE ACTIVISTS!!!

Local Los Angeles chapters of NION, Code Pink and others are co-sponsoring a bi-coastal, simultaneous press conference in support of a massive, global media campaign to force Bloomberg to grant central park permits (see generic letter to Bloomberg and address info below).

We need your help to draw media attention! Press conference to be held in Hollywood on the Sunset Blvd overpass to the Hollywood Freeway, Monday August 16th. Gather at 4:00pm, press conference at 4:30. Bring banners, signs and posters in support of protests in NYC. Huge turnout essential!!! Critical!!! If you cannot go to NY, this is your chance to help the cause!

More details:

Not In Our Name Los Angeles, in conjuction with Peace activist groups across the United States including United For Peace and Justice, International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the National Council of Arab Americans are struggling to pressure New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to grant activists permits for the use of the Great Lawn of Central Park during the Republican National Convention August 29th thru September 2nd.

Mayor Bloomberg's refusal to grant permits for Central Park protests is an utter outrage and affront to all Americans' constitutionally guaranteed right to assemble and speak freely without the fear of governmental intimidation! The protests in New York City during the Republican Convention promise to draw hundreds of thousands of people from all around the nation and world - including many thousand from California. This is not simply a local New York issue. This is national in scope and international in interest and will impact the future of political discourse in the United States for years to come.

Although Bloomberg has granted limited permits to various protests planned for the week of the convention, organizers in New York have unanimously agreed that the Westside Highway is a dismal and isolated location that would severely limit visibility of the largest protest planned for Sunday August 29th, the day before the official start of the Republican convention. The Westside Highway site would complicate logistical support for the protesters and serve overall to discourage dissent. The City is already planning to install 10 to 12 foot high, razor-wire topped fencing around the entire perimeter of the Westside location lined with battalions of police and military personnel. Essentially they have planned a prison camp environment.

We will not let Bloomberg and his G.O.P. bosses force protesters into a 'Guantanomo del norte' unchallenged! The Mayor's position is unacceptable, un-American and anti-constitutional - especially when considering the fact the Central Park is a far more reasonable solution from all points of view - including public safety and security.

Not In Our Name Los Angeles in conjunction with several other local chapters of national activist organizations will announce plans for the campaign in a bi-coastal, mulit-city press conference (New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles), Monday August 16th at 4:30 on the Sunset Blvd. (Sunset at Van Ness) overpass to the Hollywood Freeway.

WE ENCOURAGE ALL SUPPORTERS TO COPY THE FOLLOWING LETTER AND DISTRIBUTE WIDELY. TELL FRIENDS, FAMILY THAT IT'S VITAL FOR THE PARK TO BE OPENED AND PRESURING BLOOMBERG IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. WE MUST FLOOD HIS OFFICE WITH PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR THE PERMITS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN, PLEASE CALL 323-462-6263


BOILER-PLATE LETTER TO BLOOMBERG

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
FAX (212) 788-2460
E-MAIL: http://nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html


Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

My name is xxxxxxxxx and I am writing as a concerned citizen of the United States of America and world in support of the granting of permits for the use of Central Park for protests to be held during the Republican National Convention in New York City.

Recently it has come to my attention that permits applied for by groups such as United For Peace and Justice, Code Pink, Not In Our Name, the National Council of Arab Americans and International A.N.S.W.E.R., over one year ago, have been denied for extremely vague and seemingly arbitrary reasons (i.e. - large numbers of people would damage newly planted grass). The alternative route that the city of New York has imposed on the protests would severely impede and discourage the assembly of hundreds of thousands of peaceful and committed Americans who simply desire a place to assemble that best reflects the power of democracy in action. Unlike what happened in Boston during the Democratic convention, wherein the concentration-camp-like 'free speech zone' created for protesters only served to embarrass America in the eyes of the world, you Mr. Bloomberg have the historic opportunity to demonstrate to the world that United States of America is truly the beacon of freedom that so many of us desire it to be both in word and deed. Irrespective of one's political views or party affiliation, Americans are constitutionally guaranteed the right to assemble free from intimidation and in full public view.

As you know Mr. Bloomberg, vast numbers of Americans oppose the direction the current administration and federal government have taken America and the world. By denying permits for Central Park and forcing peaceful protesters to march through razor-wire cordons, surrounded by gauntlets of thousands of heavily armed riot police only serves to empower the enemies of America. Security is an important element of the protest, but doing so in a manner that is respectful of our constitutional right to dissent is the only option in a truly democratic society. To do otherwise, jeopardizes everything we as a nation have struggled to build. I implore you to grant the permits for Central Park. It's the only right and just thing to do.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Along Live Oak road in Trabuco Canyon, stand groves of ancient oaks believed to be over 400 years old. They are almost all that remain of the oak forests that once covered the entire southland. Back in the concrete nightmare of south Orange County live the individuals responsible for orchestrating the slaughter of these beautiful trees. Next weekend, OCEF! plans to take the struggle for the oaks to their doorsteps...

The sacred oak groves are referred to by developers as "Saddlecreek." Their plans call for cut-and-fill grading and the destruction of between 500 and 1000 of these trees, all in the name of luxury homes and fast food outlets. Saddlecreek has been approved and has cleared almost all legal hurdles. We are now all that stand between the wilderness and the bulldozers.

Lets put the "no compromise" back in defending the Earth!

Join us for a caravan to the home of a local Earth destroyer...

When: Saturday, August 22nd 7:30pm

Where: Meetup in Mother's Market, Costa Mesa parking lot.
225 E. 17th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Caravan leaves the parking lot @ 7:45pm sharp! If you arrive late, call (949) 370-9894 for directions.

*Dress in black & bring your chanting voice*

Followed by a campout and hike in the area surrounding the development...

When: Saturday night-Sunday, August 21st-22nd

Where: O'Neill Regional Park
30892 Trabuco Canyon Road
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678

Free food! Bring camping gear and hiking clothes.
(Look for signs to the camp site)


Informant: Italys Bad Boy

http://newswire.indymedia.org/de/newswire/2004/08/808096.shtml

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(The White Man) treats his mother, the earth, and his brother the sky, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert...."

Chief Seattle to Congress, 1854

From Eva Lyman

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How do you plan to help the "destroyers" of the oak groves understand the significance and consequences of their action? Standing there chanting will only create a temporary annoyance akin to mosquitoes. If you want to really hit home, you have to find some way to make them understand the trees are like ancestral family.

Marley

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100,000 signatures to say NO!

To the President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
To Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi
To the Minister for Agricultural and Forestry Policies, Giovanni Alemanno

In support of LIPU's appeal, I hereby declare my opposition proposals to change Law 157/1992 concerning the protection of wildlife and the pursuit of hunting that, if approved, would so distort the present law that a large part of current protection would be obliterated.

The proposals currently being debated in Parliament provide for: an increase in species on the hunting list, including some that are under threat, the lengthening of the hunting season into the migration and breeding seasons, hunting in protected areas, the depenalisation of hunting offences and others besides.

I request, therefore, that all such proposals be refused and that greater protection of nature be promoted, especially at this time when the balance of nature, and the fate of its wildlife, is in such a precarious state.

SIGN THIS PETITION
We need lots of supporters
http://www.lipu.it/tu_petition_100000signatures.htm

LIPU Campaign against the liberalisation of hunting

Law 157/92 "Protection of wildlife and the regulation of hunting" lays down basic principles for the protection of nature and wildlife in Italy. But at present this protection is at risk: numerous proposals have been put before Parliament aiming to modify Law 157 and, if approved, would put us back at least 30 years. Italy would no longer have a real law to protect wild creatures.

Here's what would happen if the proposals before Parliament were to be approved:

Wild animals would no longer be the common heritage of the State but would "belong to nobody", and as such would be at the mercy of anyone;

Hunting would be allowed in the Parks, where animals find refuge and where ordinary people, men, women and children can enjoy their natural surroundings;

Hunting would be open to Chaffinches, Sparrows, Bramblings, many species of geese, the splendid Hazel Grouse, gulls and other protected species;

The hunters would be able to pursue their activities in spring and summer, during the extremely delicate migration and breeding seasons;

It would once again be allowed to display wild creatures, alive, dead, or cut into pieces, in the open streets, in the piazzas, at country festivals;

Most offences linked to hunting, including more serious ones, would become depenalised and merely administrative infringements, with the result that poaching would become a semi-legal activity.

Do you need any more reasons to say NO?


Informant: Lotus

I want to level with you in a way that Bush administration officials have not, and likely never will: America can take steps right now to break our dependence on foreign oil, disentangle our future from the whims of Saudi princes, clean the air we all breathe, and create millions of good American jobs at the same time. Does this sound impossible? Well, it's not.

The Campaign for America's Future is bringing together the labor and environmental activists who are making energy independence a reality in America right now! Together with our "Apollo Alliance" coalition, we've already secured millions of dollars for clean energy investments in American cities and states. In addition, we've seen major elements of our 10-Point Plan for good jobs and energy independence echoed directly in John Kerry's energy strategy. And today, I'm proud to report that the 13-million member strong AFL-CIO officially endorsed the plan, adding more muscle to our growing movement for energy independence.

To keep this incredible momentum moving, we've developed what we think is a powerful 30-second video about the need to move beyond Big Oil now. Please take a look and help us get it in front of the eyes of voters in the battleground states:

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=50109

Despite what the Bush team might have you believe, there is a common thread connecting today's soaring gas prices, the reality of American troops in Iraq, the dismantling of US air quality standards, and the creation of lucrative clean energy jobs overseas instead of in America. The common thread here? On all fronts, the Bush team is tightening our dependence on Big Oil, regardless of the price we have to pay.

America needs an oil change! At the Campaign for America's Future, we know that energy independence is completely within reach. American innovators are poised to perfect new energy technologies and succeed in new lucrative global energy markets. American workers are ready to step into new, good-paying energy sector jobs. And American consumers are ready for a break at the gas pump.

Please take a moment to watch this 30-second video, and help us get it in front of more voters eyes -- especially in election battleground states:

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=50110

In the 1960s, a great American President and leader, John F. Kennedy responded to the growing challenges of the Cold War, and mustered the political will to land an American on the moon. At the Campaign for America's Future, we feel it is time for an equally ambitious Apollo project for energy independence. By challenging and inspiring the American public, and positioning our government to support (not obstruct!) American ingenuity, our next president can move America away from an out-moded era of Big Oil to a new era of energy independence. The solutions are here, and I personally look forward to working with you and the rest of tomorrow's leaders to usher in the brighter future they will offer.

For additional confirmation that, yes!, the time is now for a change in American energy policy, please enjoy this video and help us to spread the word:

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=50111


Sincerely,

Adam Luna, Policy Director
Campaign for America's Future

The Bush administration is finalizing a gas-drilling plan that would send roads and drill pads slicing through southern Colorado's HD Mountains, the only remaining stretch of the San Juan Basin untouched by energy development. Covering 40,000 acres, the old-growth ponderosa pine forests of the HD range provide habitat for elk, black bears, northern goshawks and mule deer. Rich archeological sites in the area date back 1,000 years.

The administration's coalbed methane plan calls for drilling 79 wells and constructing compressor plants and 36 miles of roads in this unspoiled lowland forest in violation of the "roadless rule," which is designed to protect the wildest areas of our national forests from development. For only a tiny amount of gas, the project would decimate nearly 90 percent of the HD Mountains' old-growth stands, leave mountain streams cloudy with sediment, disturb archeological sites and uproot wildlife.

» Tell the Forest Service to protect the most sensitive areas of the HD Mountains:
http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp