Fw: [ANSWER]: update on FEB. 2 PERMITTED DEMO vs. WEF

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

From: "A.N.S.W.E.R." <answer.general at action-mail.org>
To: <answer.general at action-mail.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 8:04 PM
Subject: [ANSWER]: update on FEB. 2 PERMITTED DEMO vs. WEF


 PERMITTED  DEMONSTRATION  AGAINST THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2:

 9 am: "Meet 'em and Greet 'em" (let the exploiters hear
 your voice)
 11 am: Mass Rally
 IN FRONT OF WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL
 (50th St. and Park Ave., NYC)

 ** U P D A T E **

 In response to permit applications placed by organizers at
 International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End
 Racism), the New York Police Department have told us they
 *WILL NOT* be creating a Quebec-type exclusion zone
 surrounding the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the site of the
 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). To
 repeat, protests at the Waldorf will not be banned.
 A.N.S.W.E.R. is calling for a permitted mass demonstration
 at 50th St. and Park Ave. On Saturday, February 2, "Meet
 'em and greet 'em" at 9 am and mass rally at 11 am.

 CALL ISSUED BY THE INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to
 Stop War & End Racism) coalition. Steering committee:
 Nicaragua Network; Mexico Solidarity Network; IFCO/Pastors
 for Peace; International Action Center; Partnership for
 Civil Justice; Kensington Welfare Rights Union; Middle
 East Children's Alliance; Elias Rashmawi; Korea Truth
 Commission.ENDORSERS INCLUDE:
 Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general;
 Black Voices for Peace;
 Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister, Plymouth
 Congregational Church;
 American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice;
 Bishop Thomas Gumbelton, Auxilliary Bishop, Catholic
 Archdiocese of Detroit;
 San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO);
 Rev. Curtis Gatewood, Durham, NC;
 Students for International Peace and Justice;
 Edward Asner; NYU Peace Coalition;
 Comite for a New Colombia;
 Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines;
 Filipino Workers Center, NY;
 Green Party USA;
 Muslim Student Association, U of Toledo;
 Bay Area Iranians for Peace and Social Justice;
 Ben Dupuy, former Ambassador-at-Large, Haiti;
 School of the Americas Watch;
 Ray LaForest, District Council 1707 AFSCME;
 Queers For Racial & Economic Justice;
 NYU Peace Coalition; U.S.A.
 Cuba InfoMed;
 I.L.W.U. Loc. 400, Vancouver B.C.;
 Western Mass. Mobilization for Mumia; & many more!

 For full list of endorsers, go to:

http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/anti-wef/antiwef-endorsers.html

 ** C A L L - T O - A C T I O N **

 THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE -VS- THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
 Mobilize - Demonstrate - Educate - Build Alternatives

 THE INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION - ACT NOW TO STOP
 WAR & END RACISM - CALLS FOR MOBILIZATIONS ON FEBRUARY 1
 AND 2 IN NEW YORK CITY OUTSIDE OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

 *Declare war on unemployment, poverty, racism and mass
 layoffs-not the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine,
 Somalia, Sudan, Philippines, Colombia or elsewhere!
 *Defend civil liberties!
 *Money for jobs, education and healthcare - not war!
>
  From January 31 to February 4, corporate bosses from the
 world's largest transnationals and political leaders will
 meet in New York City for their annual World Economic
 Forum. In past years they met in Davos, Switzerland, but
 massive demonstrations forced a change in venue.

 This year they'll be meeting at the Waldorf Astoria hotel
 in mid-town Manhattan. The World Economic Forum will
 celebrate war in Afghanistan and the Middle East, attacks
 on civil liberties, and corporate tax cuts.

 The International ANSWER coalition calls for alternatives
 - jobs, health care, education, civil rights, and peace
 with justice - that reflect the needs of the vast majority
 of people. The corporate agenda wasn't welcome in Davos,
 and it's not welcome in New York City.

 JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION ON FEBRUARY
 1 AND 2 TO SAY:
 -NO to war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia,
 Sudan, Philippines, Colombia or elsewhere!
 -NO to corporate-centered globalization!
 -YES to jobs, education, health care, and civil liberties!

 ** A C T I O N - P L A N **

 FEBRUARY 1
 Teach-in at Community Church, 35th between Park and
 Madison Avenues starting at 9:00am
 Featuring workshops on:
 -War in the Middle East
 -Civil liberties
 -Immigrant rights
 -Corporate-centered globalization
 -Domestic economic policies
 -Alternative visions from the progressive community

 FEBRUARY 2
 *Mass rally at the World Economic Forum*
 9 am: "Meet 'em and greet 'em" (let the exploiters hear
 your voice)
 11 am: mass rally
 At the Waldorf Astoria: Park Ave. and 50th St.
 Bring signs, puppets, street theater, noise-makers, and
 your creativity

 Since September 11, hundreds of thousands of workers from
 the travel industry, hotels, restaurants, and others have
 lost their jobs. Unemployment and mass layoffs are
 sweeping through all sectors of the world economy.
 Politicians, working for the interests of corporate
 elites, are providing billions of dollars in bailouts for
 investors and transnational corporations, but not a penny
 for increased unemployment insurance. The Congressional
 "economic stimulus" plan offers huge corporate tax cuts,
 but only pennies for working people. The lowest paid
 workers, especially immigrants and service sector workers,
 are suffering the repercussions of 9-11, while the rich
 get richer.

 Immigrants and those who are struggling against the
 corporate agenda are in for a double whammy, as Attorney
 General Ashcroft curtails basic civil liberties and
 constitutional rights. Today the attacks are against
 immigrants - incarceration without charges and racial
 profiling. Tomorrow the target will be U.S. citizens as
 Ashcroft pushes to legalize surveillance of religious and
 political groups.

 Internationally, the Bush administration wages war in
 Afghanistan and encourages expanded war in Palestinian
 territories. Now Bush is preparing the public for
 prolonged war in Iraq and perhaps other nations. The
 deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, both
 from direct military action and the resulting refugee
 crisis, is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism.
 This is not the way to find justice for 3,000 civilians
 who died on September 11. And this is not the way to build
 a more secure and stable world.

 We must respond to increasing attacks on our well-being by
 corporate-dominated politicians that bring us war, layoffs
 and increased poverty. At the same time as the
 A.N.S.W.E.R. events in New York City, the World Social
 Forum will gather tens of thousands of representatives
 from every corner of the world in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to
 discuss alternative visions.

 The events in New York and Porto Alegre will mark a new
 plateau in the people's capacity to organize, to reject
 old classist models, and to build a better world.
 Join the International ANSWER Coalition on February 1 and
 2 so say:

 *NO to war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia,
 Sudan, Philippines, Colombia or elsewhere!
 *NO to corporate-centered globalization!
 *YES to jobs, education, health care, and civil liberties!

 **TO ENDORSE THESE EVENTS**
 fill out our easy-to-use on-line form:
 http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/anti-wef/antiwef-endorse.html

 **TO BECOME AN ORGANIZING CENTER**
 fill out our easy-to-use on-line form:
 http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/anti-wef/contacts.html#Center

 **FOR MORE INFORMATION**
 Email  - ANSWER at afgj.org
 Call -  New York 212-633-6646, Washington 202-543-2777,
San Francisco 415-821-6545, Chicago 773-583-7728.
> On the Web - http://www.internationalanswer.org