Archive for August 11th, 2006


Raytheon missile plant occupied

Protestors occupied a Raytheon plant in northern Ireland that manufactures parts for missiles being used by Israel against Lebanon.

Raytheon’s computer system was “completely disabled”, according to the protesters, and thousands of documents were thrown from windows. A banner was unfurled from inside the building, reading “Raytheon has been decommissioned”.

Nine were arrested including socialist activist Eamonn McCann, and may be tried in Diplock Court, a special court without juries.

HT Lenin’s Tomb

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August 12. Stop the war on Lebanon and Palestine

Israeli warplanes strike Beirut

This Saturday, National march on Washington D.C.. Also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and elsewhere.

Initiated by ANSWER, National Council of Arab Americans, and Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation.

Hundreds of organizations have endorsed August 12, including virtually every Arab and Muslim group. Caravans of buses are coming, with D.C. being the primary march.

Here in L.A., the phones in the ANSWER office have been ringing non-stop with press inquiries and people wanting information. Generally, we allow 3-4 months to build for a demo. This was organized in about three weeks. Even still, it’s looking like the protests will be sizable. While Democrats and Republicans in Congress remain silent and complicit on the war crimes being committed by Israel in Lebanon, tens of thousands will be protesting on Saturday. Be there.

Aug. 12 - National Council of Arab Americans

Aug. 12 - Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation

Aug. 12 - ANSWER Coalition

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Lamont is not anti-war

An examination of Lamont’s positions and statements reveal a clear support for U.S. imperialism in the Middle East and around the world. His positions are similar to those of Rep. John Murtha—supporting U.S. interventions but disagreeing on tactics to carry out those policies.

Lamont semi-opposes the Iraq war because the US is losing, not because it never should have happened. Nor does Lamont question the US policy of invading countries whenever it deems it fit to do so. Dead Iraqi and Lebanese civilians are barely mentioned, if at all.

In the coming months, liberal anti-war groups and media outlets will call for support of ruling-class politicians like Ned Lamont who supposedly promote “peace” and “a speedy end to the war in Iraq.” No progressive person should be fooled. These self-interested appeals keep the progressive movement tied to the capitalist class and its interests. They divert crucial efforts away from building an independent, anti-imperialist anti-war movement and deepening class consciousness.

The public now clearly opposes the Iraq war. The Lamont victory has made the war as the central issue in November, and that’s a good thing indeed, even as his opposition to the war is tepid at best. The people are way ahead of the politicians on this. Building a strong people’s movement is the way to end the war(s).

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Fair use and blogging, types of media

Many blogs and websites encourage you to copy and link to their material. However, mainstream media may specifically rule out posting their content elsewhere. The L.A. Times says personal use does not include posting to a website and the Houston Chronicle says “no reproduction except for limited personal use.” So while fair use might mean you can quote from them (and lots of blogs do just that) be aware they could consider doing so to be copyright infringement and they have lots of lawyers and you probably don’t. Also both newspapers are owned by large media companies so it’s probably safe to say these are company-wide policies. However, their company policy of no quoting is just that, policy, while fair use is law.

EFF has an informative Bloggers’ FAQ on Intellectual Property. Highlights include the following. Facts and ideas are ok to copy, the way they are expressed is what is copyrighted. Anything from a government document can be copied. Parody is a type of fair use. Satire, which uses the quoted material to mock something else is not as protected.

Blogs in general, want you to copy their text and link to them. That’s what blogging is about. Just don’t quote huge blocks of text, and always link back to the source. But this isn’t a given, as is nothing in Fair Use.

If you aren’t sure, you can always ask for permission or paraphrase what you want to quote.

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