Death of the Jailhouse Press

Censorship in the Big House

It was a melee, a riot, a simmering dispute. Despite the nomenclature, coverage of the August 9 prisoner "incident" at San Quentin prison was hardly diversified. 39 prisoners were injured in one of the largest riots since 1982 at California's oldest prison, with newspapers citing tensions between Latino and white prisoners as the root cause.

There were a few differences, though, between this riot and the last demonstrating the changing nature of America's prison system. In 1982, guards fired shotguns in the air to quell the disturbance; in 2005, tear gas was the agent of choice. In the 80s, the prisoner newspaper, the San Quentin News would've covered the riots; in 2005, this newspaper no longer exists.

One of the most dramatic changes within American prisons is the near extinction of the penal press. Award-winning prison newspapers that once reached thousands- even outside of prison walls-no longer exist, and their underground counterparts are few and far between. The situation has become so dire that, according to the author of Jailhouse Journalism James McGrath Morris, "If you talked to a prisoner today, they wouldn't even know these things existed."

The death of the prison press can't be attributed to one law or one warden; instead, it can be traced through shifting attitudes on prisons and their function in society. "There was a period in American history when we really thought we could send somebody to [prison] and make a new person out of them," Morris said. "That's gone." In a country that imprisons over 2 million people-despite a decade-long drop in crime-rehabilitation is an outmoded concept.

The prison newspaper was once seen as a practical tool for rehabilitation. It was viewed as a way for prisoners to occupy themselves on the inside, but more importantly, to gain marketable skills for use on the outside. This led to prison newspaper booms in the 30s and 50s, when over 250 prisoner-run publications flourished.

The prison press also thrived in the 70s when, according to Jim Danky, Librarian of the Wisconsin Historical Society, which is home to the nation's largest collection of prison newspapers, highly politicized prisoners brought "the ethos of the 60s inside with them" and cranked out enough radical rags to fill a library. Among these were The Iced Pig edited by Weatherman and Attica prisoner Sam Melville and the San Quentin News, known for its censored report on bird excrement in the prison cafeteria.

The most notable paper of this decade, and perhaps the entire history of the prison press, was The Angolite. Under Wilbert Rideau's editorship, the paper won a Polk award for its intensive coverage of prison rape. Unlike other papers, The Angolite skirted official censorship by obtaining the support of the warden, who hoped that the presence of an independent prison newspaper would bring prestige and stability to the Louisiana prison.

But this hands-off approach was unique to Angola. As The Angolite was publishing groundbreaking pieces, prisoner-journalists throughout the country were encountering the "Son of Sam" laws which were designed to keep them from publishing their work in outside publications. A central provision states that, "The inmate may not act as reporter or publish under a byline." Though the law did not directly affect prison newspapers, it sent a message to officials that contrarian prisoner opinions needed to be heavily censored.

H. Bruce Franklin, Rutgers professor and author of Prison Writings in 20th-Century America, believes this sudden crackdown on prison journalism was a reaction to the success of newspapers in unifying prisoners and engaging outsiders. Ultimately, the goal was (and still is) information control, according to Franklin: "The worse the conditions in prison, the more necessary it is to keep people from knowing how bad the conditions are." Franklin believes that prison officials take measures to prevent prison newspapers from covering routine abuses and, in some cases, torture. "They will do everything in their power to make sure people are unaware of this," he says.

For the most part, efforts to silence prisoners have been successful. Yet, some prisoners would rather face continuous torment than have their voices muffled. Through hand-written newsletters and freelance articles, prisoners continue to act as journalists even though their writings make them targets for harassment by prison staff.

Until his 1997 execution, Bobby West published news briefs from his death row cell in Huntsville, Texas, sometimes delaying print dates because guards destroyed his research material. Dannie Martin's article on the prison AIDS epidemic in the late 80s for the San Francisco Chronicle led to numerous legal battles and time in solitary confinement. But this retaliation against Martin only further demonstrated the relevance of his Chronicle pieces, eventually leading to the publication of his articles in the book Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog

Paul Wright faced numerous censorship attempts when his then-fledgling monthly Prison Legal News (PLN) spoke bluntly on labor exploitation in American prisons, among other issues, detailing the usage of low-paid prisoners to bolster the profits of private corporations like Starbucks and Victoria's Secret. Wright completed his sentence and now edits the paper from the outside, making it easier to challenge the frequent bans of PLN. With 15 years and 18 issues behind it, PLN is the longest running, independent prison newspaper in the country.

Even as prisoners find ways to report, their resources are slim and, in stark contrast to the past, they don't have a large outsider audience; the demand to know what happens inside American prisons is scarce.

This lack of communication might be welcome to some, but it creates further tension between communities that must eventually reunite in the free world. "If you deprive some people of the right to speak freely, who are the real victims of this? Who are the real losers?" Franklin asked. "Not so much the people that don't have the right to speak. The real losers are the people who could potentially hear what these people have to say."

By LEAH CALDWELL posted 25 November 05

Leah Caldwell lives in Austin, Texas.
She can be reached at: leahmcaldwell@yahoo.com

COUNTERPUNCH

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US: Before becoming an Ohio State Penitentiary physician, Dr. Ayham Haddad experienced a different side of incarceration as a political prisoner in Syria. After being arrested, tortured, and released, Haddad immigrated to the United States to begin a new life.

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Harmful, Undeserved Punishment
US: Nearly five million American citizens are denied the right to vote - one of every 50 citizens. That includes 13 percent of all African-American men nationwide, up to almost twice that percentage in particular states and the majority of adults - black and white -- in some inner city neighborhoods.

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Association for the Prevention of Torture
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The ABOLITIONIST
From the first issue's open letter: "When a prisoner suggested we entitle this quarterly newspaper The Abolitionist, we couldn't help but revel in the titleâs historical significance. The original Abolitionist was a monthly journal of the New England Antislavery Society that agitated for the immediate abolition of slavery back in 1835.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

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Unlock the Box:
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State of the Prison System
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US incarceration rate climbs
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Three-Strikes law mandatory sentencing
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THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK:
US: The American media reports that thousands of Iranians cheered, whistled and clapped as a serial killer was publicly executed in Iran last week.US death row numbers don't change policy?
The number of prisoners on death row in the United States appears to be falling, mostly credited to a single Governor who commuted the sentences of all the death row prisoners in his state.

Despite Drop in Crime, an Increase in Inmates
US: The number of inmates in state and federal prisons rose 2.1 percent last year, even as violent crime and property crime fell, according to a study by the Justice Department released yesterday.

DNA Evidence of Bipartisanship
Last week the U.S. Congress passed the Justice for All Act, which includes provisions of the Innocence Protection Act. As of this posting, the legislation has not yet been signed by President Bush. Attached is an analysis of the legislation prepared by the Justice Project.

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US: The 8th National CURE Convention last June lobbied on Capitol Hill the Innocence Protection Act in the Senate and the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 in the House. On Sunday, October 10th, Congress passed both bills and sent them to the President to be signed.

THE LAW IS AN ASS:
US: A Californian man who beheaded a german shepherd dog he had named after his girlfriend, has been sentenced to 25 years to life under California's three-strikes law.

How Denying the Vote to Ex-Offenders Undermines Democracy
For starters, hundreds of thousands of people who are still eligible to vote will not do so this year because they will be locked up in local jails, awaiting processing or trials for minor offenses.

BIRTHDAY PROTEST BACKS INNOCENT MAN ON DEATH ROW:
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Abu Ghraib, USA
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On Solitary Confinement
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Maoist Internationalist Movement
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High court keeps alive case of inmates held in solitary
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Notebook of a Prison Abolitionist
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Workers exploit NSW prisons: Daily Terror?

A WARNING that 'workers' [and in this case a Muslim 'preacher'] allegedly disguised as sleepers may have been 'planted' inside NSW jails as 'workers' with 'access to prisoners' was ignored by the State Government for more than four years says, the daily terror.

Ring a bell?

Former chaplain paints grim picture of Guantanamo Bay

Shame on them authorities hey!!!

They even opened up the gate and let them in and then let them out again without locking them up? And they simply just let them go after the visits without checking to see if in some time in their life those workers may have committed a crime.

Committing a crime and working for the government? The very reason why millions of other people can't get a government job?

And my, oh, my, those nasty authorities that agree that access to prisoners should not be banned and that communication is a Universal right?

The daily terror would have you believe that if any foreigner is found to have a criminal record in the system they can now be freely exploited by them as the likely followers of Osama BIN LADEN!

This is scary stuff folks, our prisons are now full of infiltrators ready to take over our jails and use them as command posts to attack the State government?

Actually not a bad idea? Laugh...

They have even allowed the daily terror to exploit the idea and suggest that now these nasty authorities - that hold all the power - should not let prisoners see any foreign worker unless it has been cleared by Interpol based on the alleged finding that one person working in the system was found to have had a criminal record dating back 10 years ago and nothing has been done since the report was completed four years ago.

But surely the authorities have known the known's about all the prisoners' who have access to the jail and all the workers and visitors who communicate?

This report makes it to daylight only because those same authorities published the material and fed the PR necessary to exploit this man for a very good reason. john hoWARd the coWARd's new Anti-Terrorism Bill.

[Interpretation: Scapegoat bill to bolster support and quell dissent for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East.]

One campaign which the daily terror is very well aware of in their pro-government exploitation of the fear factor in the 'war on terror' (which is terror). State-Terror.

Seems we just simply cannot have workers infiltrating the government because they might tell on them? Especially when the authorities are in complete control?

Here we go now!

A 'confidential' government-commissioned report warned that the lack of security checks through Interpol or NSW authorities on non-custodial staff could pose a risk to jail security.

But I notice that it wasn't confidential to the daily terror?

The Terror: "The report, signed by Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham, was based on an investigation into ethnic clustering and gang behaviour inside the state's prisons."

"Potential terrorist activity was not included in the study, despite its release two months after the events [USA false flag terrorist attack] of September 11, 2001."

Mmmmmm and which also did not include - The illegal and degrading war on Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bali bombings on the disco in 2002, on the train in Madrid in 2004, the Australian embassy in Jakarta in 2004, on the train and the bus in London in 2005, and in the cafe's in Bali in 2005. And to be honest all State Sanctioned Terror. It does sound like they had to dig up the report buried amongst all those reports that might be found to exploit the war on terror?

So for some other silly reason the Daily Terror say it 'can now be revealed' that non-custodial staff helped inmates maintain a communications network inside NSW jails, as recently as last year [Welfare, Education, Programs Religion] but the government never gave them this report to exploit, right?

And it could not be revealed before because they never thought of it?

So how do they communicate at the daily terror anyway? And what has that got to do with State prisons and the authorities that have always had complete control of those they employ and incarcerate?

This is what you call exploiting the prison population

The Terror: "Government inaction over the warnings was highlighted last week when it was revealed Iraqi-born Islamic cleric Anwar Hisam Al Barq - who had been extradited to the US in 1995 and served a jail term for drug offences - had slipped through security checks and gained employment in Corrective Services with access to inmates in 2001.

Al Barq was later discovered to have had links to [Keyword: More Terror Bullshit] Sydney man Saleh Jamal who is facing [alleged] terrorism charges in Lebanon."

Notice how he slipped though? There was no failure to check his history to see if it was above the level required to join the public service?

Also Saleh Jamal is facing a military commission not a court.

But the strangest thing about these links is that it cannot be verified what the link is? - You don't hear about the validity or the substance of the link even if one person may have 'farted in the foyer of a hotel' the authorities would describe it as a link. But what link was discovered that was so alarming?

You're not going to find that out here

The terror: The report, by special project adviser Lawrence Goodstone to the Department of Corrective Services, recommended in 2001 that an overhaul of staff screening be implemented immediately with fingerprint checks and Interpol clearances.

"... concern has been expressed of late, that there is a potential for such [criminal] groups with powerful criminal connections and resources to plant sleepers on the payroll of the department who can be activated on an opportunistic basis to assist inmates when required," the report said.

"... non-custodial staff working inside jails are not subject to fingerprint checks nor are checks made with Interpol..."

[Nor are they criminals!]

"A second document, from a Corrective Service intelligence report, has recently raised concern that workers in the chaplaincy service had been passing messages between inmates from different prisons. Why the recommendations had not been acted upon remains unclear."

Of course communicating should be illegal just ask the terror? They see isolation and warehousing as the best option because that's the government's position and this propaganda aids that position and was pushed towards the terror for that conclusion and that no workers who have ever had a criminal record should ever work in the area of mentoring prisoners nor should they be allowed to communicate? I'm sure that suits the government just fine!

Once more the daily terror thinks that all prisoners should be locked up in an airtight box with no fresh air or sunlight if they suspect that mick guilty suspects they might be a terrorist threat because that is what your government wants?

NSW Prisoners' linked to Osama Bin Laden: Ten News

NSW prisoners held in a "box within a box" with "no fresh air or sunlight" at the countries terrorist jail (HRMU) or High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre, (a super-max prison in NSW), are said to have followed Osama Bin Laden from their isolated cells.

Murdoch's war on truth in war reporting

People who remain to be convinced that cross-media laws are important to maintaining the fabric of our democracy need look no further than today's page one of The Daily Telegraph.

Daily Telegraph: Mercy for murderers

AUSTRALIA: THESE are the faces of the injured children in the illegal and degrading war on Iraq and Afghanistan - faces that the Australian government chose to forget.

By Job Seeker 23 November 05

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Custody as the challenge to corrections
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Adler punished for being in prison
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Department of Corrective Services fails to rehabilitate offenders
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NSW: The Law Society is aware that two former long standing police officers Mr Robert Inkster, an Mr Peter Walsh, were appointed to the Parole Board as Community Members for a period of three years from 17 January 2005 until 16 January 2008.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

Tasmanian prison support visit
Prisoners from Risdon Prison and Prison Action & Reform (PAR) in Tasmania have requested support from the Australian Prisoners Union and Justice Action following the siege in the prison ending on May 9.

Prison Action & Reform challenge the Attorney General
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Tasmania PAR banned from Risdon
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Chronology of a Tasmanian Prison System: A Documented Report
We believe that the people of Tasmania - both victims of crime and the general public - have the right to know that the Tasmania Prison Service is delivering a humane and just system of containment that is conducive to the reintegration of inmates back into Tasmanian society.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

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TASMANIA: Prison Action & Reform was formed in response to the five deaths in custody that occurred between August 1999 and January 2000. Chris Wever, Vickie Douglas, Rose Macaulay, Judith Santos and others came to together to fight for reform in an outdated, increasingly cash-strapped and uncaring system. Of the original members, three lost loved ones to the Tasmanian prison system.

MISTREATED IN CUSTODY - NO ACCOUNTABILTY
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Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
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Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Risdon prisoners' seize prison to protest mistreatment
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No Safe Place
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Tough line on crime fills jails
The tough law-and-order policies of governments around the nation are behind an explosion in the prison population by almost 80 per cent in the past two decades.

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LEGAL VISITS AT PARKLEA PRISON
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Prison boom will prove a social bust
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The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Where the Norm is Not the Norm: HARM-U
In the absence of public policy, this paper is an attempt to shine a light through the rhetoric and test for coherency in the policy and function of NSW’s only supermax prison, the High Risk Management Unit. Its present use will be compared with the ‘vision’ flogged by the Premier and the Department of Corrective Services (the Department) at its inception in 2001.

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs.


Lithgow prisoners speak out about rations
Some new issues have arisen today. A senior officer called me to the office, as they usually do to inform me of all new local orders etc concerning prisoners. The deputy governor has cut back funds for stores. Officers have been told they will issue only the following: One Toilet roll per week per prisoner One Toothbrush per month One plastic disposable spoon, fork, knife per day prisoner exchange only.

Australia: Private Prisons, Junee NSW
When I got to Junee I was given nothing except bed linen. That's it! No clothing. I had to put my name down for clothing, which they said I could get on Saturday. When I went down to get my clothing on Saturday I was told they had nothing but I was told that I could buy what I wanted on their monthly buy-up. In the mean time I got rashes between my legs from the dirty clothes I had on.

Justice Action meets with new Minister for Justice
John Hatzistergos Minister for Justice is meeting with Brett Collins and Justice Action today at 11:30 a.m.

ARUNTA PHONE SYSTEM: IDC Lithgow Prison
The prisoners of Lithgow Correctional Centre have requested that the Lithgow Inmate Development Committee write to you on their behalf and ask that the phone systems heavy burden upon the prisoners at this institution and their families be reviewed. I will outline the problems.

Health problems denied in prison
Lithgow Correctional Centre (IDC) Inmate Development Committee "Currently there are 72 inmates on the doctors waiting list with only one doctor coming fortnightly and usually on a weekend".

'Old guard dog' dig in heels on NSW Govt front bench - The rolling of the filthy heads... The New South Wales Premier is yet to convince at least one of his long-standing ministers to stand aside to make way for new blood on the front bench.

NSW Prisons Inmate Development Committee speaks out
I am writing on behalf of the IDC Inmate Development Committee in area 3, MSPC at Long Bay. Area 3 is where, the Department is congregating minimum-security offenders within maximum-security walls whilst awaiting mandatory programs at Cubit (Sex Offenders Program).

THE GULAG TREATMENT - The Trauma Of Court Appearances When Incarcerated Prisoner transport vehicle 10th January 2003 It's about 4.40am, very darkoutside and although I'm expecting it, it is still intrusive when my dreams are interrupted by the sound of my name, it is the officer checking that I'm awake ready to face the long day ahead.

Sir David Longland Correctional Centre
If it were possible to characterize the term B Block attitude in a modern dictionary, it would read something like "demeanor of inhabitance" or "state of mind or behaviour of occupants".

SIR DAVID LONGLAND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE QLD - CELLS IN B BLOCK The cells in B Block are like no other in any Queensland prison. After Mr. Cooper was severally embarrassed by the Abbott and Co escape on 4th November 1997, he visited B Block and the surrounding grounds. It was that visit, by Cooper, that set in motion a plan (up the ante) to make sure security in B Block would never embarrass him again. It was like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

Inspector General Ignored On Womens Prison
Four months after a report from the Inspector General on Mulawa Correctional Centre, key recommendations involving safety and welfare of prisoners and staff have been ignored. Kathryn Armstrong (former chair of Inmate Development Committee) and Annabel Walsh, released from Mulawa Womens Prison in February, have produced an independent report confirming the findings of the Inspector General.

Distribution of: 'How to Votes in prisons'?
Justice Action have received information from Andrew Burke of the NSW Greens that they have enquired with the Department of Corrective Services as to the procedure for distributing their How To Votes in prisons in the period before the election.

Getting Justice Wrong DPP make full admissions
Back in May 2001 Nicholas Cowdery QC made an error at law by giving a speech called Getting Justice Wrong at the University of New England, Armidale Thursday, 31 May 2001. Sir Frank Kitto, Lecture now published at the DPP website. At page six, paragraph 3 under the heading:

NSW ELECTION 2003: VOTE 1 GREENS
Inspector-General: The Greens believe that the role of the Inspector-General is crucial to the proper functioning of the prison system. It has never been more important to have a powerful watchdog role than today. Section 3.11 of our Criminal Justice Policy commits the Greens to "strengthening the role of the Inspector-General of Prisons."

Long Bay Prison: The latest inside story
Private food purchases called Buy-Ups that normally take care of the prisoners additional food nutrition in Jail has been changed.

Doing time even harder: 146 prisoners far from home
The United States, however, has detained without trial about 650 men from 43 countries. They include Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, who are held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base as part of the sweep against global terrorism [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's, pre-emptive strikes, occupation and genocide for resources in the Middle East.]

Human Rights 'Framed'
Here is a quick report on our Human Rights Commission approach on Framed (the quarterly magazine of Justice Action) being banned from all NSW prisons. After 42 issues went in.

Prison Privatisation: Death camps looming in NSW
I asked for the identification of the person I was speaking to and was told that I was not entitled to that information. I needed to verify the call and asked for a name or number to register my call because I was asked to get those details by my coordinator.The person refused to identify themselves either by name or number. I asked to be transferred to a senior person and was refused. The person I spoke to then hung up the phone.

Justice Action criticises Govt's victim voice policy
Victims are not being properly considered in compensation and no expression is given to them, of community goodwill. A spokesperson for Justice Action Mr Brett Collins said, "No community expression or concern is given to the victims of crime. They feel their pain is not acknowledged by the government which tries to balance pain against pain. Never! The community is being misled."

NSW education professor warns further commitment needed
The author of a report on the New South Wales education system has urged the major political parties to do more for education in the election campaign.

Coalition proposes to exploit children
The Coalition says it would reform juvenile justice in New South Wales to require the courts to "get tough" on juvenile crime.

Corrections Victoria and criminal acts: SCS-4\320 UPDATE
You have stated "Section 30 of the Corrections Act 1986 and the Information Privacy Act 2000, restricts the release of confidential information regarding prisoners, I therefore am unable to provide any information regarding this matter."

Death camps looming in Victoria
A letter was received on 15 January 03 from SCS-4\320 a remand prisoner in Victoria's Barwon Prison I later found out that the prisoner was in the Acacia High Security Unit.

Jail search finds knives, syringes
Mr Brett Collins a spokesperson for Justice Action said, "It shows there is a lot of desperation in the prison system at the moment and has been for some time."

Take crime talk beyond the bars:'lobby group'
A coalition of academics, crime experts, welfare and church groups is preparing to launch an intensive pre-election campaign aimed at refocusing the attention of NSW politicians from harsh sentencing reforms to crime prevention strategies.

Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start More than 15,500 people are released from NSW prisons each year, twice the number of 20 years ago. But new research shows many ex-prisoners find it impossible to reintegrate into society and, months after release, are worse off than before they went to jail.

Fiona Stanley, the children's crusader
It is all about prevention. As Fiona Stanley sees it, with one in five Australian teenagers experiencing significant mental health problems, there are just not enough treatment services to cope with the demand.

Attempted thong theft costs $560
A man has been fined $500 after appearing in a northern New South Wales court charged with stealing a pair of thongs.

NSW A-G moves to stop criminals and ex-criminals selling stories
From next month criminals or ex-criminals who try to profit (earn a living for paid work, like writing a book etc..) from their crimes in New South Wales will have the proceeds confiscated.

NSW Govt criticised over criminal justice record
Key criminal justice groups have described the New South Wales Government's record on justice issues as a "disappointing performance".

APPOINTMENT OF KLOK IS: 'DECLARATION OF WAR'
The decision of the Carr government to appoint John Jacob Klok as the new Assistant Commissioner for Corrective Services in charge of security represents a statement of contempt to all those concerned about law and justice in NSW.

How NSW Dept of Corrective Services spent $800,000 dollars to rehabilitate a Sydney man sentenced to life for second murder! A spokesperson for Justice Action Mr Pro Grams said, "Well it's your money, how would you like it spent? And what do you think about rehabilitation on behalf of the Department of Corruptive Services?

Prisoners Representatives Excommunicated
Ron Woodham, Commissioner Corrective Services stated "[this Department] does not recognise Justice Action as an advocate on correctional centre issues." He has ordered a ban on all Justice Action material inside the NSW prison system. This resulted from a request for the approval of the latest edition of Framed (the Magazine of Justice Action) to be distributed throughout NSW prisons as has occurred for the past ten years.

Academic devises scheme for low income earners to pay back fines:
A professor at the Australian National University [another one of John Howard's hand picked losers like Peter Saunders the social services head-kicker has come up with a scheme which could see low income earners pay back criminal fines over a period of time.

Dept of Corrective Services: Rotten Ron Woodham on the ropes
This is The Freeedom Of Speech and The Press in a goldfish-bowl! Herr Goebells has spoken. Zieg Heil! (Which means, actually: "aim-for health!" incidentally)Apologies for not making meetings ... my first experiences with Woodham (then a -screw-gestapo-minor-with-a-friendly-dog - AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN EVEN HIS DOG DOESN`T LIKE HIM?)

At the Minister's Pleasure The case of Michael Kelly
Michael is caught up in a particularly cruel version of the game of Cat and Mouse. Because he is classified as a forensic patient under the Mental Heath Act of NSW, the Minister for Health is his master, not the Minister for Corrective Services. And the Minister for health will not let him go.

EX-PRISONER UNEMPLOYMENT: SENTENCED FOR LIFE
Name removed by request served time in prison decades ago. Shes still being punished today. According to commonwealth and state legislation, ex-prisoners applying for jobs must declare any conviction that fits into the following categories: less than 10 years old, more than 10 years old but served more than 30 months in prison.

ARE YOU INNOCENT?
The Australian Law Reform Commission had recommended that the Innocence Panel be independent and have the power to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice.

RESTORING TRUE JUSTICE:
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.

NSW Department of Corrective Services attack right to privacy
Corrective Services Minister Richard Amery has a problem attacking prisoners right to privacy.It seems to us that a civil society is best served when social justice laws are applied to all people regardless of their circumstances. Once government starts making exceptions which disadvantage certain groups and individuals, such laws are meaningless.

Litigants are drowning: in the High Court
There were so many self represented litigants appearing in the High Court that more than half of its registry staff's time was taken up in dealing with them. The "go it alone" litigants have to take on tasks well above their qualified league causing them stress. This growing problem cannot be left unchecked.

Everyone wants to get out of 'jail' but 'Framed' wants life: Rotten Ron on the ropes On 2 May 2002, Justice Action received a faxed letter from Manager of DCS Operations Support Branch saying that, in his view, articles in Framed edition #42 'lack balance and integrity' and he is therefore 'not prepared to recommend this issue of Framed for placement in to correctional centre libraries.' Prisoners and those concerned about prisoner issues have very few sources of information.

Methadone addicts formed within: 'NSW Prisons'
The New South Wales Opposition has accused the State Government of turning jailed heroin users into Methadone addicts.

Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder Mass DNA testing of prisoners has [allegedly] led to the first NSW case of a person being charged with a previously unsolved murder as a result of a controversial gene-matching data bank.

Medical Records: Alex Mitchell's lost world
Perhaps we can get your medical report and spew it around publicly so you can see how it feels. But surely we do not have to go that far. And of course we are law-abiding citizens and I should think it would be enough to remind you of your ethics to report at all.

Prisoners can prove innocence for $20?
Les Kennedy Daily Telegraph reported today that" Prisoners who believe that DNA will prove they were wrongly convicted will have the chance to prove their innocence for a mere $20 administration fee. The move comes 20 months after NSW inmates were asked to provide DNA for comparison with a databank of DNA from unsolved crime scenes for possible convictions.

NSW opposition pledges review of detention laws
A spokesperson for Justice Action Ms Anal Advice said " NSW Prisons are a sex offence if you have been raped, bashed and squatted down to be strip searched. People should be diverted from going there at all material times".

Civil libertarians condemn planned changes to prisoners' privacy rights The New South Wales Government is using a recent case involving [framed] serial killer Ivan Milat to justify its decision to remove the privacy rights of prisoners. But really just another attack on Ivan Milat from Parliament House.

The punishment: Is the 'crime'
The punishment is the crime according to retired chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Justice Alistair Nicholson. "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault".

Mr. & Mrs. Mandatory Sentencing
Well congratulations to the bride and groom. Could you please be upstanding and raise your glasses for Mr. And Mrs. Mandatory.

Just wipe your arse on Ivan again Minister?
Mr Amery Minister for Corrective services has a problem with finding a toilet roll to wipe his bottom. Justice Action is appalled at the attacks by Amery and others in parliament on Ivan Milat's right to privacy and their attacks on the Privacy Commissioner and his office.

NSW Parliament Bitter Pills To Swallow?
One delusion pill: So people who investigate their own mistakes make sure there was no mistake or someone else made the mistake. Perhaps you're not biased and you will be honest about it.

NSW prisons - primary industry bailed up!
In many quiet regional centres around NSW there is a new primary industry shaping up. It has something to do with Bail but not with bales. The minister for Agriculture Richard Amery who also has the prisons portfolio is now committed to farming prisoners.

Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.

Prison Mind Games-Do they exist?
Directives are given inside the prison system that are not consistent with the law in NSW. And not in the good interests of the health and well being of the prisoners.

The Government is likely to abolish the Inspector General of Corrective Services position The Mulawa inspection report recommendations below strictly illustrate how important he is.

Chronology - A History of Australian Prisons
[Allegedly:] The events that have shaped NSW prisons - from convict days through royal commissions, to the Supermax of today. [I say allegedly because no one should trust Four Corners [Walls], why? Because they spill out the propaganda of the day for the Government, whether it be wrong or right. A government that lies and has no remorse about it.]

Where in China Are Your Dolls and Toys Made?

With 1.3billion people, China has an abundance of 'cheap labour' - the foundation upon which the Capitalist Class worldwide rests. As in the U$ and other 'advanced', 'civilised', 'christian democracies', prisoners of the Chinese state are an important source of 'cheap labour' exploited by the so-called 'communist' leaders of the Chinese peoples.

Those who threaten or offend the ruling elites, their dominant ideology and system are forced to labour until they drop in the regime's laogai system - akin to Nazi concentration camps, Soviet gulags and the ever-popular private prison system ( 2 million dis-enfranchised 'consumers/customers') in the good ol' U$ofA.

The African slave trade, Hitler's concentration camps, and the Soviet gulags, all added together, are not enough to describe the sinister nature of the Chinese communist regime's laogai system - the system of "education and rectification through forced labor."

This evil system is by far the most-employed apparatus in the PRC government's persecution of Falun Gong.

What Falun Gong practitioners have further revealed is the absolute cruelty in the Chinese laogai system that had previously evaded academic description. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been incarcerated in labor camps and detention centers since the start of the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong.

At great risk to their lives, these practitioners continue to send firsthand information on the torture, killing, and slave exploitation of prisoners throughout China. Their tear and blood-stained reports add "texture" and "content" to what we know about the Chinese laogai system, a most cruel system against humanity.

The laogai system is a machine of genocide. The majority of the thousands of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners have occurred in labor camps.

The laogai system is a machine of torture. The guards of the Masanjia Labor Camp, for example, openly shout at Falun Gong practitioners: "This is a living hell!" With the instruction from the central government that, "No measure is too excessive against Falun Gong," the types of tortures used in the labor camps and detention centers are limited only by the imaginations of demonic minds, and the amount of pain inflicted is limited only by the death of the victim.

The laogai system is a machine of corporate fascism. With no concern about the source and availability of slaves, prisoners are driven to the limit, treated as objects from which the maximum amount of labor is extracted, unloaded when dead, or half-dead, and replaced with fresh ones. The living conditions in the laogai system are absolutely horrific, as any improvement in conditions will subtract from profit.

Unfortunately, the laogai system is in part fueled by western businesses and corporations. On paper, they cannot legally import products made by forced labor. In practice, however, there is nothing to compel their Chinese connections to reveal which goods are made by forced labor. In a few cases when the origins of forced labor products were exposed, the western corporations involved were interested only in protecting their own images and did their best to conceal their participation.

In this newsletter, we reveal a few of the products that are made in the Chinese labor camps by Falun Gong practitioners. The courage of Falun Gong practitioners has undisputedly revealed the existence of a large-scale modern slavery system in China. It took the American Civil War to put a moral end to U.S. slavery, WWII to end Hitler's concentration camps, and the Cold War to end the Soviet gulags. No one knows what it will cost humanity to eradicate the laogai system; however, the foreign money flowing into the Chinese labor camps will only drive the price higher.

Toy Rabbits from a Labor Camp

Micky Toys Co LTD

Signboard on the front gate of Beijing Mickey Toys Co., Ltd. Toy rabbits produced by Beijing Mickey Toys Co., Ltd. for Nestle Location: Xin'an Women's Labor Camp in Beijing.

These toy rabbits are products of the Beijing Mickey Toys Co., Ltd., but were made at Xin'an Forced Labor Camp in Beijing. In February 2001, nearly 1,000 detained Falun Gong practitioners were forced to make 100,000 toy rabbits, with no pay, for Beijing Mickey Toys Co., Ltd., subcontracted by Nestle. These products were exported to many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Brazil, Hungary, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Products labeled as "Made in China" can be seen in every corner of the world. However, how many people know that many of the gifts they buy for their children and grandchildren are actually made with slave labor?

Tainting the Olympic Spirit Location: Changle Labor Camp, Weifang City, Shandong Province

From March 30 to April 5, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners detained at Changle Labor Camp were forced to plant trees and dig ditches along the highway from Jinan to Qingdao as part of infrastructure improvements underway to prepare for Qingdao's participation in the 2008 Olympics.

Practitioners who were forced to work included those over 60 years old. Due to long-term malnutrition, poor living conditions, and heavy labor, many practitioners became very weak. Police shouted at them to work quickly, telling them that the hard work would help them "transform" (i.e., give up their belief). They were all exhausted from being overworked. Many of them had never done such hard physical labor in their lives.

The Olympic spirit is to embody courage and nobility, calling the Olympic flame a "sacred fire" passed on to humans by the gods. The PRC's communist regime has tainted this spirit by torturing Falun Gong practitioners to do hard labor for the Olympic Games.

How Vessels Are Made 1

How Vessels Are Made 2

Product sample diagrams Location: Wangcun Forced Labor Camp, Shandong Province

In July 2002, Falun Gong practitioners detained at Wangcun Forced Labor Camp in Shandong Province were forced to do slave labor, producing various glass products for Zibo Jiaye Company. It was said that these products would be exported to the USA, South Korea, and other countries.

First, let's introduce the production process involved in this slave labor. First, tinted glass is cut into 1-centimeter-square pieces, then glued onto vessels with 1-2 mm between each piece of glass. Next, the vessels are transferred to the grout workshop, and the gaps are filled with grout, leaving only the upper and bottom edges (about 2 mm) bare. The grout is mixed and smeared into the gaps. Then, a layer of dry cement powder is added and wiped with a dry cloth. Sometimes the grout is white and sometimes it is black. Finally the vessel is cleaned with muriatic acid, which emits toxic fumes.

During the production process, the vessel is put on an emplacement (bracket). With one hand holding the glue, and the other hand holding a piece of glass, one must work continuously to paste the glass onto the vessel. The glue contains large quantities of benzene and other harmful chemicals. Some of the glues emit very strong odors that are toxic. Some people have gotten headaches from it, and had symptoms, such as their eyes turning red, nausea, etc. Due to long-term labor under high pressure, one's eyesight deteriorates. After the glue dries, cement will be added. The cement workshop is filled with dust. There is a large quantity of cement dust in the air. The cement dust is inhaled into the lungs, however there are no labor safeguard measures in place to protect the workers.

The manufacturing cost is no more than one Yuan and the sales price is more than five US dollars. The tag price is usually about US$4.99 or US$5.99. Some larger and detailed products will have a tag of US$14.99, etc.

In 2003, the practitioners had to work from 5:00 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. the next morning. They would begin working without even washing up or brushing their teeth. They had only 15-20 minutes for meals. The meals consisted of radish strips pickled in soy sauce and two pieces of steamed bread. In the wintertime, their hands were frozen to the point of becoming swollen and bleeding.

The workload kept increasing. If one could not accomplish the task, he had to work overtime. Many people became mentally disoriented due to exhaustion. The labor camp would not allow anyone to take a break even if one felt unwell; even those who were in their sixties would not be excused. Their fingers have been worn down from the labor. After repeating one action over and over for a very long time, some people became so weary that they developed heart trouble. Some practitioners became ill, and thus could not work. The police decided that this was affecting the company's profits too much. As a result, most of the practitioners had to go through a new round of persecution. Some of them were beaten and some were forced to stay awake until late into the night.

In October 2003, Mr. Zhao Youqiang from Taian (detained from November 2001 to July 15, 2004) would be awakened at 4 a.m. to work. He had the symptoms of a heart attack because of the hard working conditions. Although he was in severe pain, they still forced him to work. He was tortured in this way until his term expired in July 2004. Practitioners had to pay for anything that was broken during the forced labor.

Mr. Yang Shaofan said that the kind of glue the workers had to use is harmful. What he said was reported to policeman Jing Jisheng. In front of everyone, this policeman ferociously berated Mr. Yang and said, "Jiaye Company has been using this kind of glue for several years. You are spreading rumors if you say it is harmful. I will report this to the leaders and extend your term." He threatened other practitioners so that they would be afraid to speak out. Each day, they forced the practitioners to glue 5,000, 6,000, or even 7,000 pieces.

Shanghai's Toys Location: Shanghai Women's Forced Labor Camp, Shanghai City

Ms. Li Ying ,Ms. Li Ying was imprisoned in the Shanghai Women's Forced Labor Camp from December 2001 to October 2003 because she practices Falun Gong. In late November 2003, she was released from the labor camp and went to Australia with help from the people in Australia. Below is Ms. Li Ying's forced labor experience.

All of these pictures were downloaded from My Doll it Dolls exactly like those in the pictures were made, in part, in Division Three of the Shanghai Women's Forced Labor Camp between June 2002 and May 2003. Some were packaged and shipped directly to Italy, and others were sent to other locations for further processing or assembly.

Dolls were laid out on the ground after they arrived. Some were moldy from the summer humidity. Detainees would install clothes on them, so the buyers could not see how filthy the dolls really were underneath.

There were time deadlines for the products that were about to be exported. Labor camp detainees, including Falun Gong practitioners, were forced to work from at least 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Most people had to work until around 11:00 p.m.

Picture 1
In picture 1, the doll on the left wears overalls. The butterfly pattern on the bottom end of the right pant leg is completely handmade. First, we put the agglutinated lining on the backs of three pieces of cloth altogether, and used an electric iron to iron the cloth onto a yellow base cloth, and then used a pencil to draw the two antennae of the butterfly, and used three different-colored threads, sewing the three pieces of cloth to the yellow base cloth according to the following requirements.

The stitch and the distance between two stitches could be no longer than 0.5 centimeters; the stitches had to be symmetrical and the stitch lengths had to be the same. The antennae were embroidered with a coffee-colored piece of thread clipped to a pin. The bottom end of the left pant leg also followed the same requirements. It had to be in the shape of a curve and could not look rigid. We also embroidered a line around the collar of the overalls with 0.5 centimeters between stitches. The doll on the right had its collar embroidered in the same way.

The pants and the flower pattern on the right pant-leg of the toy bear sitting on the chair (Picture 2) were also partially made in the labor camp. The flower on the doll's cap was also made in the labor camp.

Picture 2 , Picture 3
The sunflower on the dress of the doll on the rear left in picture 3 was embroidered on. A line was sewn onto the bottom of the apron and the collar. It was required that the stitches be even and that no more than a 0.5-centimeter gap existed between stitches. The connecting stitches and threads should be invisible.

The packaging process was as follows: we put the pants on the doll. We positioned the pants so the doll's legs were not exposed; we put shoes with white socks on the doll's feet, folded the socks twice down and put the dress on the doll, affixed the head flower on the doll and wrapped it around its head two times. We cut the thread ends and combed the hair. We put the hat on the doll and put it in a white cloth sack, put drying agent under the doll's buttocks, then wrapped it in a transparent plastic bag, folded the paper box and put the fully packaged doll in the paper box. Each person was assigned to package 120 dolls per day.

Picture 4
The rubber band used to fix the head flower onto the doll's head was very tight and we had to wrap it around twice. After one day's work, our thumbs and index fingers were red and swollen. Nevertheless, we had to continue our work the next day, until the skin on our fingers broke open and bled.

In picture 4, the flower patterns on the doll dresses in this picture were all embroidered at the labor camp. One line was embroidered smoothly on the collar and the bottom of the apron, with a space of 0.5 centimeters between stitches. The packaging process and amount of work are the same as in picture 3.

In pictures 5 and 6, the butterflies and their wake [the trails by which the butterfly flew] on the dolls' clothes were done at the labor camp. It was required that the line along which the butterflies were stapled be invisible and the butterflies' traces must be even and smooth, with no rigid corner or lines.

Picture 5 ,Picture 6
The photos published on this website show only some of the products we were forced to make at the labor camp. Falun Gong practitioners were also assigned to work on the single-packed clothing, backpacks, and other accessories that went along with the dolls.

By Shizhong Chen posted 7 November 05

To sign the online petition:

Background information

What is Falun Gong?

Why the persecution in China?

Related:

Sedition in China report a strike get locked up
The workers were demanding that the company, which used to be one of China's top 500 industrial companies but was recently declared bankrupt, should pay them 2,000 yuan each in severance payment for their loss of employment.

The beauty products from the skin of executed Chinese prisoners
UK: A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe. A number of plastic surgeons have said that they have been hearing rumours about the use of tissue harvested from executed prisoners for several years.

FREE CHINA: NATIONAL RALLY
On the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre we invite you to, 16 years after the tragic events of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to carry out campaign after campaign of brutal suppression of innocent people. From the persecution of Falun Gong, to Christians, to political dissidents, the Tiananmen Square Massacre was just one incident in a continuum of violence and suppression that is characteristic of the CCP's history. Since 1949, more than 80 million people have died as a direct result of the CCP's tyranny.

Galloway: Cry for social change

"The only way to make poverty history is to make the G8 history.(snip) Some of the most dangerous men in the world are in Gleneagles Hotel this week. They are responsible not only for the renewed and terrifying drive to war that characterises the start of the 21st century. They also preside over a system that is itself the biggest killer in the world.(snip)

You can't make poverty history by writing off some of the debt of some of the countries in Africa and pretending you have made up for centuries of exploitation and injustice."

To: intellectually curious

Subject: George Galloway - Battle cry for radical change

What do sweatshop workers in Bangladesh have in common with the people who work in your local supermarket? More than you might think, writes George Galloway, Respect MP The only way to make poverty history is to make the G8 history. I don't mean simply the annual jamboree for the leaders of the world's richest and most powerful states. I mean the whole nexus of exploitation and privilege that the G8 and its attendant institutions represent.

They are a gigantic siphon sucking up vast quantities of wealth from the poor - whether they live in the poorest countries or in the G8 states themselves. The G8 is not the solution - it is the problem.

Some of the most dangerous men in the world are in Gleneagles Hotel this week. They are responsible not only for the renewed and terrifying drive to war that characterises the start of the 21st century. They also preside over a system that is itself the biggest killer in the world.

Why does a child in Africa die every three seconds of preventable causes? Why did the tsunami last Christmas devastate so much of south and south east Asia? Because the people there are poor. There is no other reason. And why are they poor? It's because a tiny number of people standing at the head of the multinational corporations that bestraddle the globe are obscenely rich.

Not enough

We assembled in Edinburgh, London and many other places at the weekend to make poverty history. But it's not enough.

You can't get slim by eating low fat chocolate - it has to be part of a calorie controlled diet. You can't make poverty history by writing off some of the debt of some of the countries in Africa and pretending you have made up for centuries of exploitation and injustice.

Most countries in Africa are not included in even the limited debt reduction plan. Those that are included are being told they will have to privatise, deregulate and turn further towards the neo- liberal policies that are impoverishing them if they are to qualify.

Most of the world's poor don't live in Africa. They've been scandalously disregarded this week.

More than half the world lives on less than $2 a day. Cows in western Europe are subsidised by $2.40 a day. Add to that the cost of feeding the cow, and it comes to $6.40 a day. It's a similar picture in the US.

Tony Blair and George Bush are pushing for free trade because they know that it favours the already wealthy. Forcing people in the poorest countries to open up to the world market means accelerating the conveyor belt that transfers wealth into the hands of the multinational corporations.

What does this mean in real human terms? I went to Bangladesh this year and visited a sweatshop. There were hundreds of workers, mainly girls of 15 and 16, sleeping in quadruple bunk beds in the sweatshop compound.

They work from 6am to 7pm, six days a week, for 60p a day. Most of them do not leave the compound. Tesco jeans What were they making? Tesco jeans. They made hundreds of pairs every day for Tesco, which made £2,000 million profit last year selling things that other people make.

How are their profits that huge? Through the exploitation of workers in Britain, the exploitation of suppliers at the lowest margin and the exploitation of workers abroad, like in the sweatshops in Bangladesh.

Poverty at home and poverty abroad are connected - there is no separation. The hard pressed worker in a Tesco supermarket or depot, deprived of the basic right to sick pay, may not be on the edge of starvation - but they share a common bond with the girl in the sweatshop in Bangladesh.

Did Tesco behave illegally? No. What they are doing is their duty - to maximise profits for shareholders. They are behaving like upstanding capitalists.

In fact, shoring up their power means turning to far more direct methods of killing people. War and capitalism are interlinked. We are unlucky to live under two of the worst leaders in the world - the messianic, fundamentalist Tony Blair... and George Bush. But that isn't the reason for war. War comes from capitalism.

There are five Arabian Gulf countries containing vast amounts of oil, which is very important to the US. It has 4 percent of the world's population but consumes 25 percent of its energy.

Puppet presidents

That oil is too valuable to be left to Johnny Foreigner. Puppet presidents and corrupt kings might fall to leaders who would kick the US out, oppose Israel and use their money to develop their own countries.

They might also stop buying the West's arms. In September the arms dealers will be coming to an arms fair in east London.

They'll sell weapons to dictators who in future our government might oppose, and send British soldiers to fight and die against weapons sold by British arms companies and paid for by the British taxpayer under the export credit guarantee department.

In the old days you had plain, naked imperialism. We went in and took everything we could carry. In Africa we took people too, in holds of ships to become slaves.

Then there came a time when the colonies said, "We want to become independent and free." Now we are returning to the colonies we were driven out of. The most significant of these is Iraq.

We cannot go on like this. We have to change course, not only abroad, but also at home. For the same disastrous policies are being inflicted on people here in Britain.

It is possible

Take something as fundamental as housing. Constituents are coming to my surgery in Tower Hamlets every week with appalling problems of overcrowding, unfit conditions and endless waiting lists.

The neo-liberal answer from the government and local council is to privatise what is left of the council housing stock. The ineluctable result will be tenants made more insecure and more exploited as they are put at the mercy of private companies.

That will make it easier for millionaires in the City and Canary Wharf to get their hands on the land and housing, completing a process of social cleansing of the East End. What's modern about that? What's Labour about that? This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Within a few years this country built a vast number of council houses to make good the destruction of the Blitz and end the slum conditions of the 1930s.

Now, with the country much richer, why isn't it possible to have just such a building programme today? Of course it's possible. Just as it's possible to have a minimum wage set at the European decency threshold.

To accomplish any of this we need two things. The very fact that the issue of world poverty has been put on the agenda of the G8 summit meeting at all is testimony to the tremendous movement to oppose corporate globalisation and war we have built over the last six years.

Unaccountable figures

There are those who want to derail this movement, to blunt its radical edge, take it off the streets and transform it into a handful of unaccountable figures seeking crumbs from the rich and powerful on behalf of the mass of suffering people in the world.

That way lies disaster. No good has ever come of supplicating the likes of Bush and Blair. Progress has only ever come through the mass of people struggling for it.

Confronted with just such pressures to demobilise at the critical moment of the black civil rights movement in the 1960s, MartinLuther King said the key thing was "to keep the movement moving". We should heed those words today.

The second thing people are crying out for in Britain is political representatives who are of the movement and who seek to crack the neo-liberal consensus of the main parties.

I've just been part of an immensely successful speaking tour organised by the Respect party. We held some of the biggest political meetings for many years in towns, cities and at union conferences.

At each there was tremendous enthusiasm for what Respect has to say. The rallies helped breathe life into dozens of local campaigns and the G8 mobilisation.

They were also a significant step forward towards our goal of mounting a major challenge at next May's council elections. In shaking up the cosy political consensus at the general election, Respect has added to the sense of revolt in Britain.

We have drawn together pensioner activists, students, immigrant communities, trade unionists, anti-debt campaigners, anti-war activists -people who have been shut out of official politics.

We are a work in progress and we are a vehicle for radical change. The most pressing problem we have is that we are not big enough.

You can do something about that.

Respect website

By G. Galloway posted 9 July 05

Related:

The Secret Rulers of the World - New Link

• 1. The Secret Rulers of the World - Present/Past
• 2. The Secret Rulers of the World - Only the Start
• 3. Secret Rulers of the World - Profiting from 9/11
• 4. Secret Rulers of the World - Hidden Empire
• 5. The Secret Rulers of the World - Vatican Hoarding
• 6. The Secret Rulers of the World - Amen Pharaohs
• 7. Secret Rulers of the World - Forbidden Link
• 8. Secret Rulers of the World - Oceans of Blood
• 9. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Queen
• 10. The Secret Rulers of the World - King of Kings
• 11. Secret Rulers of the World - The Empire
• 12.The Secret Rulers of the World - The Cult of Amen
• 13. The Secret Rulers of the World - Committee of 300
• 14. The Secret Rulers of the World - Rothschild
• 15. The Secret Rulers of the World - New World Order
• 16. The Secret Rulers of the World - Freemasonry
• 17. The Secret Rulers of the World - Money Control
• 18. Secret Rulers of the World - Credit Monopoly
• 19. The Secret Rulers of the World - Bush Nazis
• 20. The Secret Rulers of the World - Palestine Israel
• 21. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Butchers
• 22. Secret Rulers of the World - The Asses of Evil
• 23. Secret Rulers of the World - Drug Running
• 24. The Secret Rulers of the World - War on Terror
• 25. The Secret Rulers of the World - Iraqi Dates
• 26. The Secret Rulers of the World - The AntiChrist
• 27. The Secret Rulers of the World - Enslavement
• 28. The Secret Rulers of the World - Tax Enslavement
• 29. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Power
• The Fabian Society, the Freemasonry and the Beehive
• The Fabian Society: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
• The Round Table: World Overview & Control
• Tavistock Institute: Global Mind Control
• Zeitgeist, The Movie - Remastered

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