Greenpeace dubs Bush ‘Toxic Texan’ in hometown

By Deborah Charles

Crawford, Texas, Apr. 13— In a first for President Bush’s tiny hometown, protesters scaled Crawford’s 80-foot water tower on Friday to unfurl a banner declaring him “The Toxic Texan” for his environmental record.

The Greenpeace vigil unleashed a furor in the central Texas town of less than 700, blocking traffic and drawing a firetruck, sheriffs from surrounding McClennan County, the Secret Service, a knot of local residents and its chief politician.

Mayor Robert Campbell interrupted his lawn mowing to hurry to the tower and shout up to the three activists that they were trespassing.

“They don’t have any permit,” said Campbell, who has lived in Crawford for 21 years. “Nothing like this has ever happened to us before.”

Bush missed it all — his ranch is several miles away — as he spent the day with his family, taking a long walk and then clearing brush on the 1600-acre property, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

But national television networks caught the drama across the street from a media center set up at the Crawford Elementary School for reporters traveling with the president on his Easter break.

“Greenpeace is here to dub Bush the ‘Toxic President,”’ said Andrea Durbin, campaigns director for Greenpeace USA.

As she spoke, the three activists who had climbed the water tower unfurled a yellow-and-black banner that said, “Bush The Toxic Texan Don’t Mess With The Earth.”

“In less than 100 days, (Bush) has undermined the efforts to stop global warming, improve our drinking water and protect public lands from oil development,” Durbin said.

The Bush administration has been criticized for a series of decisions to suspend or ease environmental protection rules unpopular with the mining, oil, timber and other industries.

Environmentalists were most angry about Bush’s reversal of a campaign pledge to limit carbon dioxide emissions by electric power plants, and his abandonment of the 1997 Kyoto treaty aimed at fighting global warming.

After about two hours, the protesters surrendered, climbing down the tower to be arrested.

Durbin said the protest was the first of a series leading up to Earth Day on April 22. Some of the protesters have been following Bush around in Washington.

A group of Texas environmental groups joined Greenpeace in sending a letter to Bush protesting his record, especially his decision to pull out of the Kyoto agreement.

Late last month, Bush said the 1997 pact was not in the best interests of the United States. The treaty calls for major industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

In his fiscal 2002 budget proposal, Bush also cut federal funding for environmental programs by about $2.3 billion.

Source: Reuters

Agents raid ELF spokesperson’s home

Portland, Oregon, Apr. 5— Agents from the FBI, BATF, and Oregon State Police conducted a six-hour raid of the home, business, and vehicles of the spokespersons for the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF) Press Office today. In addition to seizing hundreds of items of property from the above locations, Craig Rosebraugh was served a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury on April 18, 2001 that has convened in Eugene, Oregon to investigate specifically the fire which destroyed over 30 new SUV’s at the Joe Romania dealership in Eugene recently. This is Rosebraugh’s seventh grand jury subpoena issued to him since 1997 in relation to the ELF and radical environmentalism.

At approximately 6am, Rosebraugh was pulled over in his vehicle by a Portland police officer claiming the stop was due to a broken taillight. After 30 minutes FBI agents approached the car and delivered copies of the search warrants to Rosebraugh. The warrants were specifically for the search of Craig Rosebraugh, Leslie James Pickering, and Elaine Close; the residence at which all three live; two vehicles belonging to Pickering and Close; and the Calendula Baking Company owned by Rosebraugh.

As Rosebraugh was pulled over, agents simulaneously began the raid on the personal residence in North Portland where both Pickering and Close were present. After Rosebraugh and the vehicle he was driving were searched, Rosebraugh was taken to the Calendula Baking Company where the FBI proceeded to break through a window to gain access. A four hour search and seizure was conducted at this site while at the same time a six hour search was occurring at the residence.

Upon leaving the bakery and the home, agents seized hundreds of items of property including computer equipment, phone books, videos, literature, and other items.

“This is nothing more than another attempt by the thugs of the state and federal government to stop the legal work of the North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office” stated Rosebraugh. He added that items such as computer monitors were taken which cannot constitute any evidence since they do not store data. “These random items which were seized have no connection to any crimes and this is quite obviously just another form of harassment dealt by the state.”

Pickering added, “This by no way will have any negative impact on the work we do at the ELF Press Office. In fact it has made us more determined than ever to promote and release information on the ideology of the Earth Liberation Front.”

Information: North American ELF Press Office: www.earthliberationfront.com

Source: A-Infos News Service: www.ainfos.ca

Protesters say jailing Indians illegal

Around 100 held a rally and march on April 13, 2001, in Rapid City, South Dakota, to protest injustice against American Indians in the US legal system.

By Jim Holland

Rapid City, South Dakota, April 13— Marie Lange says incarceration of American Indians in local jails is not only illegal but also an ineffective way to promote healing between victims and offenders.

Lange, of Rapid City, was one of about 100 marchers attending a rally Thursday in downtown Rapid City. The demonstrators spoke out against what they called continuing abuse and injustice against American Indians at the hands of the American legal system.

Lakota culture has better ways of dealing with those who commit offenses against society, Lange said.

“We never had to resort to jails and prisons,” she said. “Our system of restorative justice put families face-to-face with families.”

The European system of punishment and incarceration deprives individuals of their dignity, Lange said.

The intent of jail “is to take the Indian out of the Lakota instead of restoring the individual,” she said.

Lange and other marchers claim that jailing American Indians constitutes the taking of political prisoners, because tribes are independent sovereign nations. “Jail is no different than slavery,” she said. “The colonists here are on the wrong side of international law.”

Thursday’s march began at Roosevelt Park, then proceeded to the Pennington County Courthouse and jail complex.

About 50 marchers, carrying an inverted American flag, placards and a flag of the American Indian Movement circled the courthouse and adjacent jail complex several times, shouting encouragement to inmates inside.

Inmates could be heard yelling in reply and pounding on the narrow windows of their cells.

Marchers proceeded to the City School Administration Center, then concluded the march at Memorial Park.

Richard Grass from Rapid City said he was working to bring a United Nations War Crimes tribunal to Rapid City to investigate allegations of abuse of American Indians.

“This is a war of attrition,” he said. “The United States needs to rectify this situation.”

Pennington County Jail officials deny that inmates are denied rights based on their race.

Following recent claims of mistreatment by two Lakota inmates, officials contacted a Lakota spiritual leader to find ways to serve the needs of those who follow traditional Lakota spirituality during incarceration.

Charles Fast Horse of Rapid City also agreed to serve on the jail’s Religious Advisory Committee to review jail policies and procedures and train jail personnel to be aware of religious practices.

Grass admitted that progress had been made, but addition of more liaison officers to monitor treatment of Indian inmates was needed, he said.

Pennington County Chief Deputy Sheriff De Glassgow said the legality of jailing Indian inmates is a federal issue, not a local one.

Source: Rapid City Journal: www.rapidcityjournal.com

Amtrak helps DEA spy on passengers

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Apr. 11— The local Amtrak office provides federal drug agents with details about suspect passengers, and Amtrak police get 10 percent of any cash agents seize from arrested drug couriers, the Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday.

A computer linked to Amtrak’s ticketing terminal sits on a desk at the local branch of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in what officials describe as a one-of-a-kind arrangement, according to the newspaper.

Through it, federal agents can learn passenger names, points of origin, destinations and where, when and how the tickets were bought.

The information helps determine which passengers will be questioned — and whose luggage will be checked by a drug-sniffing dog — aboard trains stopping in Albuquerque. Tips are passed “all over the country,” DEA Agent Kevin Small said.

In a brief e-mail to the Journal, a company spokeswoman acknowledged that Amtrak “will, upon request, participate in and provide information for law enforcement investigations.”

The computer, she added, belongs to an Amtrak investigator who is a deputized member of the DEA task force.

Debbie Hare, a spokeswoman for Amtrak, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that under federal guidelines, any assets acquired by Amtrak are returned to law-enforcement efforts.

Steven Derr, assistant director of the local DEA office, did not know how many arrests had been made or how much money had been seized although both figures were substantial.

“And, our agreement is: anything we seize off the train, they get 10 percent,” Small said.

Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, called the deal “an insidious alliance” and said the group might challenge the practice in court.

Derr defended the arrangement.

“I don’t consider that to be an invasion of privacy,” he said. “The whole idea of why we do it this way is so we’re not randomly stopping people.”

But Albuquerque defense lawyer Randi McGinn called it a manipulation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure by the government.

McGinn added that it singles out the poor who rarely use credit cards.

Derr said searches weren’t limited to passengers who paid cash for last-minute one-way tickets, because credit card purchases made just before departure sometimes raised suspicions as well.

Source: Associated Press

Student protesters target Citigroup in 12 countries

New York City, New York, Apr. 12— Students in 12 countries protested at Citigroup Inc. branches yesterday, attacking the financial services firm’s alleged funding of environmentally destructive projects, organizers said. About 50 students carried a coffin containing a replica of Earth to Citigroup’s headquarters in New York, threw the company’s symbolic red umbrellas into the coffin and nailed it shut while New Orleans-style funeral music played, student organizer Beka Economopoulos told Reuters.

Other students organized similar protests in about 80 cities around the world, and launched an international boycott of Citigroup credit cards, Ilyse Hogue, a spokeswoman for nonprofit organizer Rainforest Action Network, said. The network’s purpose is to preserve rainforests and fight causes of its destruction.

“Citi is living richly off of environmental destruction,” Hogue said. “Students are outraged, and are standing up to say, ‘Not With My Money!’”

Alleged Citigroup-funded projects that students are protesting include an oil pipeline in Chad and Cameroon, China’s Three Gorges Dam, and the expansion of palm plantations in Indonesia that allegedly destroy rainforest habitat for endangered orangutans.

But Citigroup spokeswoman Leah Johnson said the company did not fund China’s controversial Three Gorges Dam.

“We agree with many of the causes the Rainforest Action Network supports but we object to the group’s strategy of spreading false information,” Johnson said.

Citigroup was one of the first companies to set up an environmental affairs office serveral years ago, Johnson said. The division’s work includes tracking environmental regulatory and legislative trends that might have an impact on industries of interest to Citigroup and its clients

Students also protested Citigroup’s lending record to poor people in urban areas, as well as the company’s sale of World Bank bonds that allegedly strap developing nations with debt.

Citigroup came under fire from community groups when it bought consumer lender Associates First Capital. Community groups said Associates unfairly targeted poor people and minorities with unaffordable, high interest rate loans.

Citigroup says it has taken steps to change practices at Associates, including beefing up compliance and controls, improving employee training and amending some loan terms.

Source: Reuters

American activist gagged

Apr. 9— Just days after the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF) Press Office was raided, and with the continuing repression of and attempts to silence people like Connor Cash and Frank Ambrose, the American authorities have acted yet again to try to silence another vocal supporter of direct action.

Former Animal Liberation Front (ALF) prisoner Rod Coronado has had his parole conditions changed. It appears the authorities aren’t too keen on some of the things that Rod has been writing for both No Compromise magazine and the EF! Journal, and have given him an ultimatum: shut up or go back to prison.

According to No Compromise magazine, Rod considered ignoring the conditions and continuing to write, thereby risking more jail time. However, after much research and consulting of lawyers, he found that he would go back to jail and serve time and then have the same conditions imposed upon his release anyway. In addition, he would have to endure those conditions even longer, since he’s already finished most of his parole time and has only 16 months left.

According to No Compromise magazine, Rod’s new conditions forbid him from writing articles — or otherwise volunteering — for activist publications. They also ban him from speaking out on, publicizing, or supporting illegal actions. He is also not allowed to associate with ALF or ELF members. This restriction includes speaking to activists about illegal direct actions.

ELF Support Network: AnimalEarthLiberation@bigfoot.com

Federal prison population shoots over 150,000

Washington, DC, Apr. 13— The population of the Federal Bureau of Prisons shot over 150,000 today, the highest number in history. “Federal imprisonment is growing faster than NASCAR racing. The growth of Federal imprisonment is out of control,” said Eric E. Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Sterling, a veteran Federal criminal justice analyst, was counsel to the House Subcommittee on Crime from 1981 to 1989.

When President Nixon left office in 1974 there were fewer than 24,000 Federal prisoners. There were fewer than 50,000 Federal prisoners when President Reagan left office in 1989. The 100,000 mark was reached only in 1997. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) population is posted on their website, (www.bop.gov) in the Weekly Population Report. On April 13, 2001, the total in all BOP facilities was 150,152.

Close to 60 percent of the Federal prison population is made up of drug offenders. According to the US Sentencing Commission, most new prisoners are low-level or medium level offenders. A Department of Justice study early in the Clinton Administration found that non-violent, low-level drug offenders with a minor or no prior criminal record constituted 21.2 percent of the entire prison population. After spending over $5 billion in the past decade to build new Federal prisons, overcrowding has increased from 22 percent to 32 percent over capacity.

The President’s FY 2002 budget, announced this week, for prisons is $4.7 billion, with another $1 billion for more construction. In 1986, when Federal mandatory minimum sentences were enacted, the BOP budget was $0.7 billion.

Source: November Coalition: www.november.org

Ads aimed at raising awareness of surveillance

By Margret Johnston

Apr. 12— Advertisements that will appear soon in the New Yorker and the New York Times will attempt to raise awareness about US government surveillance programs.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said it is sponsoring the ads because the surveillance programs known as Carnivore and Echelon threaten the privacy of U.S. citizens and violate the constitutional amendment designed to protect Americans from unwarranted government surveillance.

The ad will include the headline “Now equipped with 3-way calling. You, whoever you’re dialing, and the government.” It also urges readers to visit the ACLU Web site, which includes a link that can be used to send a fax to members of Congress.

Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the ACLU, said the ads are not in response to a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey published last week on public attitudes on governmental attempts to combat online crime. The survey showed 54 percent of Americans approve of the idea of the FBI monitoring suspects’ email, while 34 percent disapprove.

The ad campaign has been planned for a while, and the study makes it clear that people are suspicious of government surveillance, Steinhardt said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continues to develop its Carnivore e-mail sniffer, which attaches to an Internet service provider’s network, either to provide investigators with the names of people with whom a suspect is communicating, or to provide investigators with the ability to read the full content of a suspect’s email.

The FBI has said Carnivore, which the FBI now calls DCS1000, was designed to preserve the privacy of ordinary Internet users when law enforcement officials are investigating major crimes, such as terrorism, child pornography and fraud.

Echelon involves five nations in a network that the ACLU says aims to intercept virtually all forms of electronic communications.

Info: ACLU: www.aclu.org/privacyrights

Source: International Data Group News Service