Sacco and Vanzetti

Sacco and Vanzetti – song by Woody Guthrie & David Rovics

Sacco and Vanzetti were immigrants, workers, and anarchists, who were tried and convicted in 1921 for the armed robbery and murder of two payroll guards. After 7 years of legal appeals and international protest, the two men were finally executed on August 23, 1927 in Boston for a crime that many felt they did not commit and by a judicial system that was patently biased and unjust. In his lecture Howard Zinn will indicate the relevance of the Sacco and Vanzetti Case for America today.

 

 

The Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society

http://saccoandvanzetti.org/

Preface to Boston: A novel by Upton Sinclair.

 

The decision to write this novel was taken at nine-thirty p.m. (Pacific Coast time), August 22^nd, 1927: the occasion being receipt of a telephone message from a newspaper, to the effect that Sacco and Vanzetti were dead.  It seemed to the writer that the world would want to know the truth about this case; nd his judgement proved correct, because there began a flood of cablegrams and letters from five continents, asking him to do the very thing he had decided upon.
            A “contemporary historical novel” is an unusual art-form, and may call for explanation.  So far as concerns the two individuals, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, this book is not fiction, but an effort at history; everything they are represented as doing they actually did, and their words have been taken from their letters, or from the dictation of friends and enemies.  All others who played important parts in this drama likewise appear as they were, and under their own names.
            Paralleling the Sacco-Vanzetti case throughout the book is a story of business and high finance which will be recognised as a famous law case recently carried to the United States Supreme Court.  I have used the incidents of this case as material for my fiction; but the characters which I have invented to enact this story are wholly fictitious, and bear no relation to the real persons in this case, who are entirely unknown to me.  There is one simple rule for guidance in reading the novel: the characters who are real persons bear real names, while those who bear fictitious names are fictitious characters.

The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti by Joan Baez

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Legal Advise for Activists

For legal advise try the Free B.E.A.G.L.E.S site (last updated 2004):

 http://www.freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-contents.html

From the Intro: ‘This booklet is intended to provide advice to activists in dealing with some of the more common pieces of law, which you are likely to encounter during the course of protests. It does not deal with every possible law you might encounter but instead focuses mainly on police powers to control public order and how these can be challenged.

This is the fourth edition we have made of this guide and takes in to account the relevant changes to the law under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. These give substantially new powers to the police in relation to public order law and to police powers of arrest, detention and bail as well as new powers to take fingerprints and DNA.

This edition takes account of recent rulings in the High Court on the application of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and police powers to detain for breach of the peace. It now includes a briefing on police powers under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992, as this legislation is still used against activists. Also included are notes on new powers and laws now being used including civil injunctions, anti-social behaviour orders and penalty notices.

The advice contained in this booklet is correct to our knowledge as of August 2004. Nothing is this booklet is intended to encourage you to break the law. Please seek further legal advice before acting on the contents of this booklet. It is not guaranteed in any way, and is not a substitute for proper legal advice.’

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Interview with 80 Year Old IWW Member and Jesuit Fr. Bill Bischel

Fr. Bill Bischel SJ has dropped by Ireland to accompany both the Pitstop Ploughshares to court in Dublin and the Raytheon 9 to court in Derry. Bill was ordained in Berlin before the wall went up, carries some of Joe Hill’s ashes and has spent a number of years in jail for nonviolent resistance. One jail was in view of one of the seminaries he attended!

Reverend Bill Bichsel, or “Bix” as he’s known to friends and admirers, has lived an extraordinary life. Born in Tacoma in 1928, he has dedicated his life to education, and peace. An ordained Jesuit Priest, Bill was the dean of students at Gonzaga University from 1963 to 1966, he helped start the Martin Luther King Center of Tacoma for the homeless in 1969, he co-founded the Tacoma Catholic Worker, which houses and provides amenities for the homeless Tacoma. He has also been arrested over 45 times and spent nearly two years of his life in prison for protesting US military force on numerous occasions.

After reading a News Tribune article about Rev. Bichsel http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/457549.html , we at The Melon felt compelled to talk to such a brave and caring individual. After calling Bill, he invited us into his home where we talked about everything from his politics and personal accomplishments to the fall of the Soviet Union and his memories of the great depression.

We’ve turned the resulting discussion into a two-part interview with Bill that we’re very pleased to share with you.

Peacebringer: Interview with Rev. Bill Bichsel – Pt. 1
In part one, we discuss Bill’s influences, some of his protests, the fall of the Soviet Union, US interventionism, and more: Part 1: http://themelononline.com/2008/10/peace-bringer-intervi…rt-1/

Peacebringer: Interview with Rev. Bill Bichsel – Pt. 2
In part 2 of our conversation with Reverend Bill Bichsel continues where we left off. We discuss the upcoming election, the future of American warfare, abortion, activism and the Tacoma Catholic Worker Part 2: http://themelononline.com/2008/10/peacebringer-intervie…pt-2/

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Identity Cards – Who Profits?

Below is an extract from the Defy-ID ‘greasy palms’ list (available in full on www.defy-id.org.uk/greasypalms.htm), of companies either involved or actively seeking involvement in the UK identity scheme. This list is a work in progress and any information about companies, listed or not listed, will be gratefully received. Email: research@defy-id.org.uk

In late 2004, the Whitehall & Industry Group coordinated the recruitment of a ‘Head of Marketing’ for the UK National Identity Cards Scheme (see Corporate Watch August 24th 2004) through the Whitehall & Industry Group (WIG) website.[1] WIG is funded, by among others, Atos Origin, which has already supplied the Home Office with biometric technology for the ID card trials.

WIG also receives funding from Deloitte, Accenture, Capita, EDS, Fujitsu and Siemens. The team developing the scheme includes 39 civil servants, and 40 consultants from PA Consulting, the Government’s private sector ‘development partner’, and three on secondment from the Passport Service, the Metropolitan Police and a management consultant company.[2]

Around £9 million has been spent on the early stages of the project. The full ID scheme is expected to cost £5 billion or more to develop. PA Consulting Group was awarded a development contract said to be worth £10 million over 18 months in May 2004; this is the same company used by the Government in setting up the Criminal Records Bureau, whose chaotic beginnings led to serious criticism.

In 2004, there were two important corporate events for companies interested in the ID scheme. Many of the companies listed beow gave presentations at one of these conferences. The first event was ‘ID Cards: The Next Steps’, May 2004.[3] Organised by Intellect, the UK’s IT/electronics/telecoms trade body, sponsored by the Home Office, BT, EDS, Siemens Business Services and Sun Microsystems. The speakers at the conference included Raymond Wong from the Hong Kong immigration department and Brad Wing, Biometrics Coordinator, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The second event was ‘Digital Identity’, November 2004.[4] This was organised by IT firm Consult Hyperion, who brought together the public and private sectors to discuss ‘Moving Digital ID to Population Scale’. This conference was principally sponsored by military electronics contractor Thales and EDS.

---

DEFY-ID ‘GREASY PALMS’ LIST

Accenture
www.accenture.com

Global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company; 9700 UK employees. Ian Watmore, Accenture’s former UK Managing Director, left May 2004 to become Cabinet Office Head of E-Government, with responsiblity for implementing the ID card scheme.

ARM
www.arm.com

ARM develops processors and other components for biometric smart cards.

Astron Clinca
www.astronclinica.com

A Cambridge based company, established in 1998 to develop devices that imaged and analysed the skin using a technology called SIAscopy.

Atos Origin
www.atosorigin.co.uk

An international IT services company. Atos Origin are one of the companies arguing that the government should introduce an ‘ID Card-lite’ and shift towards a full biometric card and detailed population database when the card is already in use.[5]

Axalto (formerly known as Schlumberger Smart Cards & Terminals)
www.axalto.com

A leading provider of smart cards and point-of-sale terminals for over 20 years.

British Telecom
www.bt.com
www.btconsulting.com

BT may not bid for ID card contracts because of concern that its involvement would make it seem like a ‘Big Brother’ company in the eyes of the public. According to some media reports, BT has been talking to consultants and public bodies, including Liberty, in order to gauge how close involvement with the ID scheme would be perceived.[6] The area where BT’s skills would be likely to be most appropriate would be in providing the infrastructure that would be used in order to link the network of readers with the national identity register, and hence with multiple other government databases, which would put the company squarely at the Big Brother end of the deal.

Consult Hyperion
www.chyp.com

Independent IT management consultancy.

Detica
www.detica.co.uk

In April 2004, Detica commissioned MORI to conduct a survey into the British public’s attitude to the proposed ID card scheme.[7] Detica’s survey found ‘the British public gives a resounding ‘yes’ to the proposed ID card scheme — 80% of the adult population are in favour.’ Detica’s clients include HM Customs & Excise and the MoD plus major telecoms and defence companies such as Nortel and Lockheed Martin. Amongst other things, Detica develops systems for the ‘Lawful Intercept’ of data communications, — bugging to you or me.

Electronic Data Systems (EDS)
www.eds.com

EDS is the largest issuer of smart cards in the US. In November 2004 EDS sponsored some research in the US which showed that in the US 69% of people ‘are open to the idea of using biometric identification methods’.[8] Paul Martin, Executive Director for EDS, said: ‘The findings reinforce our belief that, implemented correctly, ID cards actually enhance citizens’ privacy.”

Experian
www.experian.com/

An international credit reference agency.

ID Data
www.id-data.co.uk

The UK’s leading independent ‘card and card solutions’ company, ID Data wants to be seriously considered as a supplier of choice for the UK’s National ID Card. Future talks are expected with the Home Office and their development partner, PA Consulting.

Identix
www.identix.com

Provided the fingerprint capture and facial matching technology in the UK Passport Office biometric trial, April-Decemeber 2004.

NEC
www.nec.co.uk

NEC supplied its Automated Fingerprint Identification System to the Passport Office’s six-month biometric trial which ran from April-December 2004.

PA Consulting Group
www.paconsultinggroup.com

Announced as the Home Office’s ‘Development Partner’ for the Identity Card Scheme on 24th May 2004. The contract is rumoured to be worth £10million over 18 months. It is reported that there are forty PA Consulting Group employees working as part of the Identity Card Programme Team.

Senselect
www.senselect.com

Senselect owns UK and USA biometric patents in the field of fingerprint technology. A core technology patent, GB2342749, was published by the UK Patent Office in November 2000 and a complementary USA patent was awarded to the company in November 2003. Senselect has been selected as a partner under the EDS UK Incubator Programme.

Siemens Business Services
www.sbs.siemens.co.uk

In the UK, Siemens Business Services received a contract from the Home Office in 2002 to build a back-office system for electronic passport applications. At the 2004 Labour Party conference, Siemens Business Services sponsored a panel discussion with the title ‘Who do we think we are? identity, diversity and citizenship’,[9] featuring then Home Secretary, David Blunkett. In April 2004, Siemens Business Services signed a contract with Sovereign Strategy Ltd., a policy and lobbying consultancy which has strong links with the Labour Party.[10]

SUN Microsystems
www.sun.com/

A multinational provider of computer hardware, software and services, Sun Microsystems is the creator and leading advocate for Java technology which is used in smart cards.

Thales
http://security.thalesgroup.com

Thales is a global electronics company serving aerospace, defence, and information technology markets worldwide. Since 2002, Thales Identification has been in charge of production of ID smartcards for the People’s Republic of China.

TraceTag
www.tracetag.com

From their website: ‘TraceTag provides various holographic materials with additional levels of security incorporated or overprinted.’

References
[1] http://www.careers.civil-service.gov.uk/index.asp
?txtNavID=167&txtOverRideDocID=10067&635132=&vacancysearchpage=true

[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/10/
nid10.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/10/ixhome.html

[3] www.intellectuk.org/press/pr/press_release_24_05_04.asp

[4] www.chyp.com/digid/index.htm

[5] www.atosorigin.co.uk/industries/publicsector/idcards/response/response09.htm

[6] www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/30/bt_wobbles_on_id/

[7] www.mori.com/pubinfo/rmw/a-question-of-identity.shtml

[8] www.itsecurity.com/tecsnews/nov2004/nov109.htm

[9] http://spinwatch.server101.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=165

[10] www.sovereignstrategy.com/news.asp#27

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Together We Win: The Fight to Organize Starbucks

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The day that Thatcher dies

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An anarchist-communist analysis of environmental destruction

This talk attempts to situate environmental damage along class struggle lines, within the capitalist system of production/consumption, and provides a vision of an anarchist-communist alternative.

 

In recent years, the anarchist movement has found itself breaking into two camps: traditional, class-struggle (red) anarchists, and more recently, environmentalist (green) anarchists. This talk is designed to provide an anarchist-communist perspective on issues of environmental devastation and the movements that have developed to combat them. Situates environmental damage within the capitalist system of production / consumption and provides a brief vision of an anarchist-communist alternative.

 

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/5245

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