Santa Barbara Indymedia

Montpelier, VT –The Executive Board of the Vermont AFL-CIO, representing thousands of workers in countless sectors across Vermont, have unanimously passed an historic resolution expressing their “unequivocal” support for the first US labor work stoppage  against the war in Iraq. The work stoppage, being organized by the Longshore Caucus of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU), will seek to shutdown all west coast ports during the day on May 1^st 2008. The Vermont AFL-CIO is the first state labor federation to publicly back the Longshoremen; other state federations are expected to follow. 

The resolution, among other things, calls the war in Iraq “immoral, unwanted, and unnecessary”, states that the vast majority of working Vermonters oppose the war, and contends that the war will only be brought to an end by “the direct actions of working people.” Many other Vermont labor unions and organizations, including the Vermont Workers’ Center, have also made official statements condemning the war. 

The resolution also calls on working Vermonters to “discuss the actions of the Longshoremen, to wear anti-war buttons, and to take various actions of their own design and choosing in their workplace on May 1^st, 2008.”

“Workers in Vermont and all across this nation are against this war. We have already demanded that the government end it, but they have consistently failed to heed our words. Therefore working people are beginning to take concrete steps to make our resistance known. If the war does not immediately end we, the unions and working people of Vermont, will also be compelled to take appropriate action,” said David Van Deusen, District Vice President of the AFL-CIO.

Traven Leyshon, President of the Washington-Orange-Lamoille Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, said, “Vermont labor has long called for an end to this war.  The untold billions being spent on the war could instead be used to address our domestic needs.  It is working people who pay the cost of the war - in some cases with our lives, but always with our sacrifices.”

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Vermont AFL-CIO Resolution

In Solidarity With Longshoremen’s

West Coast Strike Against War

April, 2008

Whereas the war in Iraq is immoral, unwanted, and unnecessary,

Whereas this unjust war is opposed by the great majority of Americans & Vermonters, the bulk of organized labor, and by thousands of enlisted military personal,

Whereas this unjust war has already resulted in over 4000 American dead (including a disproportionate number of brave Vermonters), and tens of thousands of service men & woman being wounded,

Whereas this unjust war has further resulted in untold number of Iraqi deaths,

Whereas the Federal Government has not made any constructive moves towards the ending of this war and the full removal of US troops, and instead has taken the course of escalation and indefinite occupation, 

Whereas the government of Vermont, and especially Governor Jim Douglas, have failed to find ways to bring Vermont National Guard troops home from Iraq,

Whereas this war will only be brought to an end by the direct actions of working people,

Therefore, Let It Be Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO continues to stand in firm opposition to this war, and unequivocally supports the decision of the Longshore Caucus of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) to shutdown the west coast ports for a period of 8 hours on May 1^st, 2008, as a means of resistance.

Let It Be Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO stands in full solidarity with the New York Metro National Association of Letter Carriers who have resolved to conduct two minute periods of silence on May 1^st, 2008, at 1PM, 5PM & 9PM in protest of the war and in support of the Longshoremen.

Let It Be Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO encourages all Vermont workers to stand in solidarity with the historic actions being taken by the Longshoremen & other labor unions to end this war. 

Let It Be Further Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO calls for all Vermont workers to discuss the actions of the Longshoremen, to wear anti-war buttons, and to take various actions of their own design and choosing in their workplace on May 1^st, 2008 as a means of resistance against this unjust war.

In the past several years there have been studies showing plants flowering as much as a month early, butterflies migrating weeks later than usual, changes in the timing and location of bird migrations, tropical frog extinctions, bears in Spain no longer hibernating because there is enough food to eat all winter, tree lines moving up mountainsides and up in latitude, the line of permafrost moving north, and others. But none of these are close enough or important enough to us, personally, to make us (Americans) concerned. These are all out on the fringe of our world and simply do not affect us.

But here is an example of how we actually are being affected and will continue to be affected by the changing climate. In 1949 the southeast had a rare weather event. An out-of-season tornado developed in early February, much earlier than normal.

Well, this year southern Wisconsin had a rare weather event. An F-3 tornado developed January 7th for the first time - that early in the year - in the record books that go back over 120 years.(1)

Add to that the devastating outbreak of tornadoes in the first week of February this year in the Southeast where a super-cell developed an F-4 which rolled along the ground for 123 miles wreaking havoc to many towns along the way.(2) That was one of four tornado outbreaks in the Southeast in January and February. Jan. 10 saw 5 tornadoes, Feb. 17 saw 12 tornadoes, and Feb. 26 saw three tornadoes and a wind storm called a 'Derecho'.(3)

This is a pure, shinning example of climate change straight out of the text books. The rare, early, out of season formation of a tornado has moved to the North by roughly 500 miles......... and the rare, early, out of season weather event in the Southeast has now grown to an extremely strong system that produces 4 tornadoes and extreme devastation over a 123 mile long path killing 57, which is only one of four major tornadic events in the first two months of the year.

Since the January '99 outbreak of over 100 tornadoes in a four day period, the number of Feb. and Jan. twisters in the Southeast has been on a sharp increase with the past nine years tripling in average tornadic days. Here are the decadal statistics from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center Storm Data:

Southeastern Region February and January tornadoes -

1950 to 1959 - 1 days of tornadoes............ Total - 2 tornadoes
1960 to 1969 - 1 days of tornadoes............ Total - 2 tornadoes
1970 to 1979 - 2 days of tornadoes............ Total - 59 tornadoes
1980 to 1989 - 0 days of tornadoes............ Total - 0 tornadoes
1990 to 1999 - 3 days of tornadoes............ Total - 111 + tornadoes
2000 to 2008 - 6 days of tornadoes............ Total - 121 tornadoes (adjusted down from 189 preliminary reports)

That's Not All

If that is not alarming enough, a recent study shows that Lake Mead will be dry in twelve years. What will LA, Las Vegas and Phoenix do for drinking water? Also the drought in the Southeast has brought several towns to water rationing.

"According to researchers at the Aspen Global Change Institute, "it" is already happening. Its studies show that Aspen has an average overall warming of 3 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 30 years and if the trend continues, it will have a ski country climate similar to that of say Amarillo, Texas, by the end of the century."(4)

A just released 2008 report from the National Recourses Defense Council declares "The planetary warming...........is already underway, and it is greater in the American West than across most of the globe." It goes on to say "Across the country, four of the five top years for crop loss claims due to drought have been since 2000."(5)

These things are hitting us right now......the effects of climate disruption are in our face, and are proving to be sooner than expected. This is how climate change is manifesting itself with just one degree F of warming. Won't 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 degrees be wonderful for our grandchildren?

It's no longer the polar bears or the coral reefs or a village of Eskimos in the Arctic that can easily be ignored.

Don't think of 'Global Warming' as the worry - higher temperatures all year round and warm winters - that is not what global warming or climate change means weather-wise. That is an uninformed and quite naive thought.

It's what the warming is CAUSING that you should be concerned about - climate change, climate SHIFT, or climate DISRUPTION which is the result of warming the oceans by nearly one degree F. Doesn't sound like much, does it? It is quite literally astronomical.

The oceans are simply unfathomably immense! Their volume is actually incomprehensible, being 71% of the earth's surface (310 million cubic miles). If you could stack water 100 cubic miles long and 100 cubic miles wide, that column would reach 31,000 miles into outer space. That is truly an astronomical amount of water! No pun intended.
 
Just try to imagine the amount of heat it would take to raise the ocean's temperature just 1 degree. And essentially, that heat or energy remains in the water, and is the power that fuels weather events for a very long time.

12 of the 13 warmest years in many centuries are in the past 13 years. That is not 'climate variability'. Climate variability would be ONE of the past 13 years being among the 13 warmest years. This is a distinction that is little understood by the general public.

Climate Warming Momentum

A 100 year-long (at the very least) 'program' has been installed into the world's climate system (the oceans) that does not have a 'delete' button. If it were possible to stop emitting CO2 into the atmosphere today entirely, what has already been emitted will continue to raise the temperature of the planet for over 100 years because it remains in the air for over a century. That continued warming cannot be stopped! That is "in the works", as they say. This is another very grim fact that the public is generally not aware of.

The climate is a very sinister, very slow moving, and very dangerous entity. It is little understood by the lay people of the world, which makes it an even more dangerous thing because ordinary people can be easily confused by skeptics spewing out disinformation and lies.

Don't Be Afraid - Be Informed

Dr. James Hansen, the chief US climatologist, tells us in a recent paper entitled Rampant Negativity - No Reason to be so Glum, "There is still time to phase off fossil fuels, but it requires sensible policies in the public interest. This will not be easy: the special interests are pouring huge amounts of funding into disinformation campaigns."(6)

He gives us three important things to do to prevent us from "producing a very different planet from the one to which humanity is adapted".

1) Fight for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants,
2) Oppose extraction of fossil fuels in public and environmentally sensitive regions,
3) Vote for politicians who take the 'Stewardship Pledge', -- do not vote for "well-oiled" politicians who accept funding from fossil fuel interests.

Slight movements of the climate have brought about enormous events such as drought and famine and pestilence. Now, mankind is able to cause these horrible situations with emissions of CO2 and whatever other natural factors may be at work. But with the will of the people and the right leaders, man can turn the escalating  situation around, reduce heat trapping gases in the atmosphere, and preserve a comfortable climate for our grandchildren and theirs.
 
Don Beck

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References:

1) January 7, 2008 Tornadoes in Far Southeast Wisconsin
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/?n=010708_tor\

2) A Tragic Event/A Record Event
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lzk/html/svr0208.htm

3) JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2008
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=FGF&issuedby=BMX&product=PNS&fo...

4) Global warming placing ski industry at risk
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7627696  - [this link is not functioning, search the title in the Post's search engine to retrieve the article]

5)Hotter and Drier, March 2008
http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/west/west.pdf

6) Rampant Negativity - No Reason to be so Glum, Mar. 2008
http://www.columbia.edu/%7Ejeh1/mailings/20080324_Rampant.pdf

by Luis Agüero Wagner Monday, Apr. 14, 2008 at 6:48 AM
lautaro_l@hotmail.com

Las crónicas del siglo XX nos informan que la popular expresión “prensa amarilla” nació relacionada con un tira comica publicada en el New York Journal con el nombre de "The Yellow Kid" . El New York Journal pertenecía desde 1897 a un notable personaje del mundo de los negocios que habría de ingresar a la historia universal de la infamia desde el ámbito de la comunicación.

Se trataba de William Randolph Hearst, el mismo magnate de la prensa cuya vida fue retratada por el entonces joven y prometedor cineasta Orson Welles en su famosa película “El ciudadano Kane”, estrenada en 1941 y considerada por la crítica como la mejor película de la historia. En el documental RKO 281 se describen todas las dificultades que atravesó Welles para caricaturizar en su film al empresario de los medios, cuyo poder se vio mermado por la gran depresión, hecho que posibilitó providencialmente una realización cinematográfica gloriosa que Hearst se empeñó con todas sus fuerzas por truncar.
Hearst fue el primero en demostrar que la prensa podía ser un terrible cuarto poder al que había que tener en cuenta en la política y en los negocios. Su estilo informativo se caracterizaba por un acusado sensacionalismo tanto en el tratamiento de los temas como en su elección (criminalidad, seudociencia), acompañado de un periodismo de investigación al total servicio de la ideología y las ambiciones políticas de Hearst. Consiguió aumentar espectacularmente la tirada mediante el aprovechamiento de recursos visuales como la fotografía o el gran titular, cuyo concepto moderno de «escaparate» de contenidos puede atribuirse a él.
El émulo paraguayo de Hearst, Aldo Zucolillo, se convirtió la semana pasada en centro de los ataques del presidente paraguayo Nicanor Duarte Frutos, quien disparó contra los empresarios de la prensa y en particular contra el propietario del diario ABC color de la capital paraguaya, afirmando que su odio al oficialismo y al partido gobernante fue capaz de llevarlo a aliarse a sus eternos enemigos, los neo marxistas partidarios del obispo Fernando Lugo. Sin ahorrar epítetos, el mandatario sorprendió a la concurrencia en un acto oficialista afirmando que los “ignorantes” empresarios de la comunicación han desarrollado una prensa al servicio de la evasión, el contrabando y el salario miserable a sus periodistas, que se enoja cuando el gobierno paga los salarios antes del fin de mes. También denunció que los periodistas al servicio de Aldo Zucolillo y Antonio J. Vierci, dueños de los diarios ABC color y Ultima Hora respectivamente, reciben como sueldo bonos de supermercardos o deteriorados automóviles usados e introducidos ilegalmente al país, provenientes del puerto chileno de Iquique.
La escalada verbal se agudizó esta semana cuando el diario ABC color publicó editoriales insultantes hacia el presidente, acusándolo de incapaz en unas líneas cargadas con el notorio resentimiento del empresario Aldo Zucolillo, quien precisamente fracasó cuando quiso incursionar en política, por medir mal los tiempos y escuchar a consejeros mediocres.
Uno de los pasatiempos favoritos de Zucolillo es pasarse criticando a los funcionarios del gobierno que se construyen viviendas confortables, publicando sus fotografías en primera plana. Curiosamente, nunca hizo lo propio con sus propias mansiones que no tienen nada que envidiar al castillo de San Simeón donde Hearst vivió, en medio de las cien mil hectáreas en la costa a medio camino entre Los Ángeles y San Francisco.
Zucolillo, al igual que Hearst -que fue amigo de Hitler y cedió espacios en sus periódicos a Goering-, tuvo amistad con tiranos criminales y dictadores. Defendió desde sus editoriales a Pinochet y Videla, hizo negocios con Stroessner, y proporcionó columnas de opinión a discípulos de Martínez de Hoz.
Ambos editores comparten un historial de xenofobia y odio contra las mayorías, el apoyo a gobiernos nazis y a las cazas de brujas contra los comunistas. Y así como Hearst recomendó el asesinato del presidente McKinley, Zucolillo defendió a los asesinos del vicepresidente Argaña.
“Volé a Berlín y tuve una larga conversación ayer con Hitler. Ciertamente Hitler es un hombre extraordinario. Lo tratamos con demasiada ligereza en Estados Unidos. Tiene un enorme entusiasmo, una maravillosa capacidad para la oratoria dramática y una gran capacidad organizativa” escribió Hearst en 1934.
Joseph Goebbels, el célebre ministro nazi de Propaganda, acordó con Hearst en una oportunidad un cambio de la política editorial de sus diecinueve periódicos a cambio del pago de 400.000 dólares . William Randolph Hearst ordenó a continuación a todos sus corresponsales de prensa en Alemania, incluyendo a los pertenecientes a INS (Servicio Internacional de Noticias de Hearst) que reportaran los hechos en la Alemania Nazi sólo de manera amistosa. Todos los corresponsales que reportaron noticias de Alemania de manera precisa y sin amistad, comprensión y favoritismo por las acciones del gobierno alemán, fueron trasladados a otro lugar, despedidos u obligados a renunciar.
Cuando el agente de la CIA Leonard Sussman, reclutó a Zucolillo para la National Endowment for Democracy, también obtuvo un cambio radical en la línea editorial de ABC color, que de cantar loas a su paternal protector Alfredo Stroessner, se dedicó a vilipendiarlo con fiereza de acuerdo con los objetivos de la embajada norteamericana, que ya deseaba reemplazar el Big Stick por la democracia tutelada en Paraguay. Corrían los primeros años de la década de 1980.
El ciudadano Kane es recordado por sus delirios de poder paralelo, y por la jactanciosa frase “Yo hago las noticias”. Tratando de imitar una vez más a Hearst, que desató una guerra en Cuba, Zucolillo pretendió hace un par de años envolver a Paraguay en una guerra con Bolivia, alarmado por el avance de la izquierda con la asunción de Evo Morales. En delirantes titulares sensacionalistas acusó desde su diario a Morales de planear una invasión al Paraguay financiada por Hugo Chávez.
Se relata que Hearst, devorado en una oportunidad por los celos al ver a su esposa Marion besándose con Charles Chaplin, disparó con su arma al famoso actor, quien esquivó las balas que terminaron matando al guionista Thomas Ince. Era el día del cumpleaños del escritor, y el episodio ocurrió mientras celebraban la fiesta en el yate Oneida, propiedad del magnate, que navegaba a corta distancia de las costas de San Diego un 19 de noviembre de 1924. El poderío económico permitió en esa ocasión al ciudadano Kane ocultar la noticia con tanta facilidad con que las fabricaba; las autoridades nunca se enteraron del episodio que quedó en la nebulosa de las leyendas negras.
Zucolillo también tiene sus propias historias ocultadas de crímenes pasionales. José Antonio Valiente, dueño del desaparecido bar "Felsina", fue ultimado en nebulosas circunstancias en Buenos Aires, Argentina, poco después del Golpe Militar con el que Videla y Massera derrocaron a Isabel Perón en marzo de 1976, y así Graciela Pappalardo no tuvo inconvenientes para contraer nupcias con el empresario periodístico Aldo Alberto Zucolillo Moscarda. Según documentos obrantes en el Archivo del Terror (Microfilm 00028F0474), el presunto asesino habría sido Juan Carlos Cabañas, ex secretario del Dr Edgar L. Ynsfrán, temible ministro del Interior del dictador Stroessner, en el período de mayor auge de la sangrienta represión. El extraño asesinato nunca fue investigado, obviamente, porque podría remover prontuarios honorables.
Otra faceta en común entre Aldo Zucolillo, que buscaba la presidencia con su malogrado plan Zeta, y Hearst (que llegó a la cámara de representantes) es haber fracasado en la política. Tras perder en sus intentos de resultar elegido gobernador del estado de Nueva York (1907) y alcalde de la ciudad homónima (1905 y 1909), el ciudadano Kane se retiró a una fantástica mansión construida por él mismo desde donde se dedicó a dirigir su imperio periodístico (en su momento de máximo apogeo, a mediados de los años treinta, llegó a ser propietario de 28 diarios y 18 revistas), amén de escribir guiones y producir películas para su amante, la actriz Marion Davis.
En su nota necrologica en 1951 la revista New Yorker, a propósito de Hearst, concluye que la mayor contribución del ciudadano Kane al periodismo fue "demostrar que un hombre sin experiencia previa en la edición de periódicos podía, empleando el dinero como si fuera una porra bien gruesa, hacer lo que deseara en el mundo del periodismo, excepto allí donde una riqueza comparable se enfrentara con él".
Tal vez un epitafio parecido podría dedicarse a su émulo igualmente modesto desde el punto de vista intelectual, Aldo Zucolillo, cuando acuda a rendir cuentas. Sería la similitud culminante entre dos vidas tan paralelas.

My name is Art Brown. I am currently on a Peace Walk up the west coast from the Mexican to the Canadian border. It is my firm belief that it is more important now than ever that everyone must come together, find common ground and work together for the common good of all. We are, at present, going through a critical period in the history of our world. With all the continued violence that is taking place throughout the world, all the future wars already being planned by the misguided  u.s. goverment and all of the other atrocities taking place in the world it is imperative that we band together through these times. We must be led by our conscious and what is right and moral and not by the money hungry supposed leaders of this country. The true power is with the people, it is only tragically unfortunate that enough are not aware of that, or worse yet choose not to do anything about it. My friends it really is up to you and I to make a difference in shaping the future of this planet. We don not want our legacy to be one of destruction and death. Please check out my website @ www.peacesteps.net

                                                                                               THANK YOU

On the evening of the Santa Barbara Really Really Free Market at Alice Keck Park, all were having fun. There were sections of free goods, such as free clothes, shoes, kids' toys, movies, and produce. Attendees were sprawled across the grass soaking up the sun after a night of rain, kids were running around and watching turtles in the pond, and a Reiki healer was demonstrating his techniques.

A park ranger walked up and said that everyone who was buying or selling anything needed to remove their items from the park. Organizers replied that nothing was for sale and that every item out was for free. He stumbled for a second and then said that everything for sale, trade, or free needed to be picked up. Organizers asked why. He responded by saying that groups needed a permit to give away free things. Attendees laughed at how rediculous this sounded and started grumbling and debating with the park ranger, who firmly held his ground. He claimed that it was using the park in a way that the city didn't intend and that our spead of people, music and items wasn't beautiful like we thought it was, but instead just a scattered bunch of trash. He said he would pick up everything and have it hauled away to the trash if we didn't pick up right away.

As some people started to box up the clothes and shoes to be given away, others engaged the ranger in an impromptu Q&A session about everything from why the permit laws exist to why authority can be bad, and why or why not to follow it. Anonymous indivduals wished to brighten up the scene and slipped flowers into his weapons-belt, with daffodils next to the tazer holster and jasmine next to the baton! More and more were added, and he failed to notice.

He was invited to join in on the festivities, and complied in watching a small impromptu band play a few favorites, including the great hit song "I hate my town that's full of facists". He later joined a few rounds of duck duck goose in which local anarchists chased him down (footage available by request), until he became bored and left the scene with 5 clumps of flowers stuck in his belt loop.

After his exist, attendees continued to socialize, sorted through boxes of clothes and participated in workshops such as brazillian jui jitzu. Although temporarily put on hold by the jolly park ranger, the free market was indeed a sucess once more.