contributions

Here you are the long version!
First National Local Social Forums’ Meeting
Manchester 5-6 June 2004
Called by: Manchester Social Forum
For: People from other sf groups
Held at: MERCi (Manchester Environmental Resource Centre)
Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick St, Ancoats, Manchester
On: Sat 5th – Sun 6th June.
Present on Sat and/or Sun:
St. Denis SF, France: Julie
Madrid/Liverpool: Dian
Sheffield SF: Kevin
Leeds SF: Andy
London SF: Richard
Manchester SF:
Mariangela, (…)

WSF Bulletin
The launch of the World Social Forum (WSF) fifth edition, which will be held in Porto Alegre, between January 26 to 31, 2005, is taking place next June 14, 2004, at the auditorium of Sindicato dos Engenheiros, in São Paulo. The event will be marked by the debate "Porto Alegre 2005: new challenges for the WSF process facing up to neo-liberal domination and militarisation", with the participation of José Bové, a member of Via Campesina and an activist for the struggle against (…)

By G. Dunkel
Washington, D.C.
Haitian organizations enthusiastically joined the June 5 demonstrations to "End the Colonial Occupation in Iraq, Palestine, Haiti and Everywhere" called by the ANSWER coalition. These organizations came to express their opposition to the U.S. and French troops that are propping up the government of former Macoute death squads, ex-army officers and well-off U.S.-based businessmen now running their country.
But the groups showed a broader interest when (…)

By Leslie Feinberg
Rome
When George W. Bush, the emperor of today’s imperial empire, visited the capital of the old Roman Empire on June 4, some 200,000 anti-war activists pro tested in the streets.
The lead banner of the massive march read "No war, no Bush." This was the banner of the umbrella coalition that organized the demonstration: Comitato Fermi amo La Guerra (The Committee to End the War).
U.S. Citizens Against the War was the second contingent in the line of march. (…)

By Sako Sefiani
Los Angeles
Thousands joined a June 5 march and rally organized by the ANSWER coalition in Los Angeles. They marched through downtown to protest the occupations of Iraq, Palestine, Haiti and other countries.
The protest, one of several throughout the United States, was held at a time when the multimillionaires, billionaires and corporate owners who pushed for the war in Iraq hoping to profit from it are losing patience with the way the occupation has been (…)

By LeiLani Dowell and Brenda Sandburg
San Francisco
Some 8,000 to 10,000 people participated in a spirited march and rally in San Francisco June 5 to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq. Contingents of labor groups, veterans, Haitian activists and youths marched from United Nations Plaza in downtown San Francisco to the beginning of the docks at Embarcadero Plaza. The protest was sponsored by the ANSWER coalition.
A brass band played the "International" during the march. A (…)

By Greg Butterfield Washington, D.C.
The skies opened over Washington on June 5. Torrential downpours greeted protesters coming into the city by car, bus and train from the East Coast and as far west as Chicago. The weather mirrored the stormy mood in official Washington. The U.S. military occupation of Iraq is in crisis, thanks to the growing popular resistance there and wide exposure of Pentagon war crimes.
Thousands of anti-war activists, community activists, students and (…)

The first week of June was not a good time to be George W. Bush or Donald Rumsfeld.
Bush was in Europe, ostensibly for 60th anniversary celebrations of D- Day, but really to continue begging the European imperialist allies he dissed last year to send troops to aid the embattled U.S./British occupation of Iraq.
At least 200,000 people came out in Rome June 4 to call Bush by his right name: War Criminal #1.
The next day, tens of thousands in Paris did the same.
And Rumsfeld? The (…)

20,000+ join June 5 Coast to Coast People’s Speak Outs in DC, SF and LA
More than 20,000 people participated in June 5 Coast to Coast Speak Truth to Power rallies in Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The demonstrations were sponsored by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition. While the main demand of the demonstrations was to immediately withdraw all U.S. and foreign troops from Iraq, the demonstrations also supported the Palestinian people’s struggle against colonial occupation, including (…)

Use of Dogs to Scare Prisoners Was Authorized Military Intelligence Personnel Were Involved, Handlers Say
By Josh White and Scott Higham
Washington Post Staff Writers
U.S. intelligence personnel ordered military dog handlers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to use unmuzzled dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees during interrogations late last year, a plan approved by the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at the facility, according to sworn statements the handlers (…)