The crisis in Vieques intensifies. Police have arrested over 100 demonstraters on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques -- including a sitting U.S. Congressman who was subsequently physically abused -- as opposition to U.S. military bombing on the island intensifies. Opponents of U.S. occupation of the island are rallying support across the hempisphere in response to the Navy's decision to push ahead with bombing. More info available at Vieques Libre.

This ruling could have serious implications as police officers have basically been given the okay to abuse their powers as they see fit. Individuals can now be arrested for such minor offenses as jaywalking, driving with an unbuckled seatbelt or a damaged taillight, and even public littering, among other minor infractions. This ruling makes it easier for citizens to be deprived of their liberty and thrown in jail. How scary is that?

7/11 - Atlanta - Hi-Fi Buys
7/13 - Washington, DC - Nissan Pavilion
7/14 - Philadelphia - Tweeter Center
7/15 - Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach
7/18 - Boston - Tweeter Center
7/19 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
7/20 - Montreal - Parc Des Iles
7/22 - Toronto - Docks
7/24 - Detroit - DTE Music Center
7/25 - Chicago - New World Amphitheater
7/26 - Minneapolis - Midway Stadium
7/28 - Denver - Mile High Stadium
7/31 - San Francisco - Shoreline Amphitheater
8/02 - Vancouver - Thunderbird
8/03 - George, WA - The Gorge
8/05 - Los Angeles - Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavillion

CNN held a poll regarding the Summit of the Americas and Anti-FTAA events held in Quebec over the weekend. According to results, 55% voted YES and 45% voted NO when polled whether Bush should expand NAFTA. And when asked "Do you approve of the polices' handling of protesters at the Americas' Summit?," 73% (9982 people) voted YES versus the 27% (3718 people) who voted NO.

These results don't surprise us considering corporate mainstream medias (lack of) proper coverage. Stations like CBS, NBC, and ABC devoted no more than 30 seconds of their news hour to covering it. And even if they did bother to cover the event, their reporting was so one-sided and biased that anyone watching would become brainwashed into believing that the excessive force employed by the police was justifiable.

In no instance did corporate mainstream media mention the abuse of power by police. They failed to mention how many non-violent protesters were shot pointblank with tear gas cannisters and rubber bullets. They failed to report on how one individual was sent to the hospital after being shot in the kidney. They failed to report on how medics were targeted by police throughout the protests, and when they tried to help those who were injured, the police would shoot tear gas and concussion grenades at them. Such irresponsible reporting can not and should not be tolerated.

At 1:00 p.m., activists and lawyers held a press conference in front of Prison d`Orsainville as hundreds remain incarcerated. Several cases of human rights abuses have been reported, which include: denial of access to bathrooms, 4 people crammed into single occupancy cells, indiscriminant strip searches, and constant use of intimidation tactics. 50 demonstrators maintain their solidarity vigil outside the jail.

3:00 a.m. PST
According to a medic, police have been targeting them throughout the protests. The medic said police have been shooting tear gas and concussion grenades at medics as they try to help people.

There are 124 confirmed arrests. Charges against protestors include being in a security perimeter, being suspect, criminal mischief and civil disobiedience; about 15% arrested are women. Men in jail are being treated harshly. They are being washed naked and hosed down with cold water in groups in a courtyard. They're also being deprived of food, water or access to the bathroom - a clear infringement of civil rights. A press conference will be held later today; no set time as of yet. There are also reports of unaccounted prisoners. No reports yet on how women prisoners are being treated.

QUEBEC CITY - It's late into the night and still a fog of tear gas and pepper spray linger throughout the nights air. The police have descended the stairs outside CMAQ (Centre for Media Alternatives of Quebec) and are arresting people standing outside the building. Reports are coming in that police are doing a sweep of the streets and randomly arresting people. They fire rubber bullets (see picture) as they advance forward.

The Quebec Medical Center, closed by police early in the night, still hasn't reopened. Injured protesters have no safe place to go for medical treatment. The Fight continues tomorrow.

QUEBEC CITY -- More fencing come down. Non-violent protesters and innocent children are being tear gassed and pelted with rubber bullets. Police are using such an enormous amount of tear gas (reports of up to 30 per minute) that it's flowing into residential areas. In retaliation against police firing tear gas canisters, protesters throw molotov cocktails and rocks.

In another part of the city, riot police are rushing crowds of people, beating people, and dragging them away. Quebecois citizens are shocked by the siege that their police are waging against their city and many are coming out to join the protesters.

Due to the lack of efficiency in dispersing crowds with tear gas cannisters, riot police use water-cannons and concussion grenades.

Police have shut down the Quebec Medical center nearby. Reports describe riot police forcing everyone out of the medical center at gunpoint, stripping the injured of their medical supplies. The building has been cut off from service.

The use of force by police is so ridiculously out of hand that they manage to push many other protesters onto the highway (see picture).

And surprisingly, several mainstream media outlets (CNN, CNBC, MSNBC) are actually covering the events. They're finally starting to see the relevance of such issues.

The protest was planned for Sat., April 21 at Border Field State Park on the US/Mexico Border. Organizers must now work at an agreeable resolution. Your help is greatly needed. You can help by contacting the following city agencies:

• The City of San Diego Department of Special Events
  (858) 642-0407
• Mayor Dick Murphy's office
  (619) 236-6330
• the City Council
  (619) 236-6330

For all the latest news surrounding the Anti-FTAA demonstrations in Quebec city, tune into the Centre for Media Alternatives of Quebec (since mainstream media refuses to cover, or covers inaccurately, such events).

KCET will be airing a Frontline special titled Harvest of Fear: A Frontline/Nova Special" on Tuesday, April 24, at 8:00 p.m. The program will present from both sides the benefits and risks of genetically altering agriculture.

The Cult are back! They're set to release a new album, titled Beyond Good and Evil, on June 5 on Atlantic Records. To support the new album, they'll be hitting the road this summer with Monster Magnet and Econoline Crush. You can catch them at the Universal Amphitheatre on August 3.

(p)RESIDENT Bush has managed to screw things up like no other. In less than 100 days, he has undermined efforts to lower the arsenic levels in our drinking water; he has destroyed our efforts at reaching a global warming treaty by withdrawing the U.S. from the international Kyoto Protocol which was aimed at combating global warming; he has promoted oil over our environment by pushing for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other wilderness areas around the U.S. while proposing cutbacks in the development of renewable energy and conservation; and he has broken his presidential campaign pledge, in which he promised to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of global warming.

Tuesday, April 17, 2001 will be a national day of action against Trader Joe's. Greenpeace, GE-Free LA and Northwest RAGE have launched a campaign against food retailer Trader Joe's because of their continued use of genetically engineered ingredients in their store brand products, and their refusal to address our concerns and those of their customers.

Last week, Trader Joe's began sending letters to their suppliers inquiring about the use of genetically engineered ingredients in the products they make for Trader Joe's. It is unclear what Trader Joe's plans to do with the information, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Let's keep up the pressure, Trader Joe's is listening!

Greenpeace have named Wednesday, April 18 as international "Take Back The Earth Day." Show your support in the series of activities targeted at President Bush and his administration. As you may be aware, Bush and his team have delivered some major blows to the environment, from relaxing standards for arsenic in our drinking water to withdrawing the U.S. from the global warming agreement called the Kyoto Protocol. The Administration plans to put a more positive spin on these atrocities by publicizing some pro-environment messages for Earth Day on April 22. The environmental community must band together and stop this greenwashing from covering up the environmental damage the President has already caused and more that is to come.

Greenpeace needs your help with the following:

• Take Action on-line by sending a letter to Bush and his top administrative officials demanding a change in their environmental policies and practices.
• Join Greenpeace on Take Back The Earth Day on April 18 as they call attention to Bush's efforts to protect polluting industries rather than the planet.

  WHEN: Wednesday, April 18 at 8:30 am
  WHERE: The Ellipse, Washington D.C. (South side of the White House)

Related Stories:

• Bush Betrays Campaign Pledge to Limit Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Nation's Power Plants - 06 April 2001
• World Faces Climate Disaster As Bush Turns On Kyoto Treaty - 30 March 2001

Microsoft appears to be leveraging it's monopolistic powers once again. The Redmond Beast has apparently decided to severely limit the recording and playback quality of MP3 audio files in its new Windows XP operating system, favoring its own Windows Media Audio (WMA) format instead.

Music recorded in the Windows Media Audio format "will sound clearer and require far less storage space on a computer." While their decision is intended to protect the rights of copyright holders, we believe it's just another attempt by them to use their monopolistic powers to squash another competitor. What will the Department of Justice have to say about this?

From April 20-22 the heads of government of every country in the Western Hemisphere except Cuba will come together at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canada. Representatives of 34 countries in North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean will be protected by metal fences and the largest police deployment in Canadian history. The goal of their meeting will be to put together the Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement (FTAA). The goal of this agreement will be to increase privatization and deregulation and make it even easier for imperialist exploitation throughout the hemisphere.
[Read More]

For those interested in learning more about the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the UCLA campus will be hosting a Stop The FTAA Teach-In on Thursday, April 12 at 6:30 pm. The Teach-In will be held on the 2nd floor lounge of the Ackerman Student Union.

In the days approaching Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s bankruptcy filing, the debt-ridden utility had more than $2.5 billion in cash on hand and was restarting services suspended earlier this year because of its shaky finances.

Then, the day before the filing, the utility awarded 6,000 managers and other employees more than $50 million in annual bonuses and announced that long-delayed merit increases had kicked in for the same workers.
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It's been confirmed that New Order will be a part of Moby's summer Area 1 festival. New Order have signed on to do the West Coast dates of the festival, which will run from July 11 thru August 5 (Los Angeles).

We're sure many of you have heard about President Bush's proposed tax cuts, but what many may not be aware of is the benefit(s), or lack thereof, it'll result in for average working people. As expected, his tax cuts will only benefit the wealthy, such as himself. Is it any wonder?

This is clearly unfair and we urge you to tell your Senator to vote against it by signing the petition.
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As we reported on 03.30.01, President Bush has decided to turn his back on his presidential campaign pledge to seek reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the main cause of global warming. Bush cites an increase in energy prices as the main determining factor in his decision for not going forward with the regulations. But the truth is that the lobbying efforts of energy and electric utility companies, the exact same which contributed millions to his presidential campaign, were the deciding factors. In essence, Bush is simply paying back his campaign contributors. Shame on Bush!
[Read More]

Related Stories:

• World Faces Climate Disaster As Bush Turns On Kyoto Treaty - 30 March 2001

Bush states that if the crew and plane are not immediately returned, such actions would severely damage U.S.-China relations. Well, I've got news for you... relations between the U.S. and China were never good to begin with. And to make matters worse, the U.S. had the audacity to send a spy plane to spy on China. If the U.S. is so concerned about its relations with China, then maybe they should have thought twice about spying on them.

Also, the U.S. plane is suppose to have "sovereign immune status" that bars China from boarding, searching, or detaining it without U.S. consent. Maybe the U.S. ought to practice what they preach because it surely wasn't the case when, in 1976, "a Soviet pilot defected and flew to Japan with his top-secret MiG 25 jet fighter. The pilot was given American citizenship and, despite protests from the Kremlin, the plane was shipped back two months later after being taken apart and examined by U.S. Air Force experts."

Here's some minor good news for those who are concerned about their privacy and personal information. Last month, the U.S. Senate along with the U.S. House approved a bill that would prevent bankrupt companies from selling their database of customers' personal data, if those companies promised not to. But the bad news is that the sale or lease of personal data would be justifiable if it is consistent with the company's pre-existing policy. As a result of this loophole, companies can simply re-write their privacy policies. Amazon.com made such an adjustment to their privacy policy last September. Now Ebay have done the same.