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Detainees’ situation is unacceptable
Editors, Asheville Global Report,
According to the Asheville Global Report, witnesses
in the WTC bombing are being detained without charges, incommunicado,
in solitary, cold, 8 by 10 cells without adequate blankets or
sweaters, in federal prisons in New York. I request a high-level
investigation into the conditions under which uncharged witnesses
are being detained. I can accept that the severity of the times
necessitates the holding of witnesses without charges, if and
only if conditions are excellent. You can’t punish people until
they have been convicted, so holding people under prison conditions,
without so much as a charge, is unnecessary and unacceptable.
I finally realized why the feds have such an aversion to charging
potential Al Qaeda suspects. Once charged, you can take the
5th. Still, witnesses deserve better conditions and innocent
detainees deserve compensation for their time.
Alan D. Ditmore
Leicester, NC
Activist demands right to
protest fur sales
Editors, Asheville Global Report,
On October 29, activists carried signs and distributed
literature in front of Kriegsman Furriers, which is located
in the basement of Kostas Menswear. We sought to educate consumers
who were considering purchasing dead animals at Kriegsman’s
“Trunk Sale.” Owner David Kriegsman is a board member of the
Fur Information Council, an industry group that ridiculously
claims that the animals they kill are treated humanely. The
steel-jaw leghold trap has been banned in 63 countries and several
US states. Animals raised in captivity for their skins are driven
insane from the confinement. To learn more about the horrific
brutality of this industry go to www.FurIsDead.com
or see The Witness, an award-winning documentary, available
at Broadway Video and Segrof Video.
Kostas Rantzos told me not to speak to his customers.
I suggested he call the police if he had problems with my actions,
but instead he made repeated physical threats. Kriegsman, who
on a previous occasion shoved me and tried to trip my spouse,
Terri, took our pictures. Kriegsman, Rantzos, and Rantzos’ two
sons later came out of the store and stole our “Fur is Dead”
sign. Terri tried to grab the sign, and in the scuffle, Kriegsman
ripped her watch off of her wrist, breaking the watchband. The
police came and retrieved the watch, but Kriegsman refused to
return the sign. Terri went to the magistrate to file charges
and the magistrate decided to mediate. She called Kriegsman,
who finally agreed to return the sign and pay for the watchband.
At the magistrate’s office, Kriegsman asked if I wanted to “step
outside.” A deputy told him to control himself.
If you want to let these folks know that the fur
business stinks and that free speech still exists, both stores
are located at 35 Battery Park Avenue, Asheville, NC, 28801.
The phone number of Kostas Menswear is 828-252-3220; Kriegsman
Furriers number is 828-253-2524. David Kriegsman spends most
of his time at his Greensboro store, 502-M East Cornwallis Drive,
Greensboro, NC 27405, 336-272-1322, furs@kriegsman.com
. Kostas Rantzos can also be reached at his home, 126 Stuyvesant
Rd., Biltmore Forest, NC 28803, 828-274-3700.
Stewart David
Asheville, NC
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