THE HANDSTAND

STOPPRESS STOPPRESS STOPPRESS

Anarchist Playwright Fo takes on Milan voters
Dario Fo

By Mark Duff ,BBC News, Milan

Nobel Prize winning satirist Dario Fo is campaigning for election as mayor of Italy's financial capital, Milan. On Sunday he faces a run-off to become the candidate of the centre-left coalition in May's election.

It is a dramatic change of direction for a man known for his scathing attacks on the rich and powerful.

If elected, Mr Fo is promising to wage war against property speculators as well as the cars whose fumes make Milan one of Europe's most polluted cities.

Holding court at an abandoned farm in the suburbs of Milan that he wants to see turned into a community social and cultural centre, Mr Fo launched into a tirade against the current generation of politicians.

"The right doesn't give a damn. It is only interested in making money," Mr Fo says. "A city as ruined as Milan cannot be saved by half measures. That's why I say I'm no moderate."

Mr Fo is a fan of the congestion charge introduced by London's Mayor Ken Livingstone - who has himself visited Milan to support the satirist. But before Mr Fo can address any of this he faces a tough fight in a US-style primary for selection as the left's candidate. Polls show he is running a close second to his main rival on the left - a former prefect of Milan.

The irony of this is not lost on him. The prefect's duties include responsibility for the police - and Milan's police are the villains of Mr Fo's best-known work, Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Attention America!!
Homeland Security To Confiscate Bank Safe Deposit Box Contents

BANK OF AMERICA & COMPASS BANK MANAGERS WERE TOLD HOMELAND SECURITY WILL CONFISCATE SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES

While all the other points I mentioned in a previous post are fairly well documented and discussed elsewhere on the Internet, the bank information I reported is not. This information is from my own experience and research. I discovered the disturbing news quite by accident - and by virtue of its importance, I decided to post my findings here and on a few other forums.

A family member from Irvine, CA (who’s a branch manager at Bank of America) told us two weeks ago that her bank held a "workshop" where the last two days were dedicated to discussing their bank’s new security measures. During these last two days, the workshop included members from the Homeland Security Office who instructed them on how to field calls from customers and what they are to tell them in the event of a national disaster. She said they were told how only agents from Homeland Security (during such an event) would be in charge of opening safe deposit boxes and determining what items would be given to bank customers.

At this point they were told that no weapons, cash, gold, or silver will be allowed to leave the bank - only various paperwork will be given to its owners. After discussing the matter with them at length, she and the other employees were then told not to discuss the subject with anyone.

I found the news alarming and decided to find out more myself. On a trip to my bank here in Houston, I remarked to a young bank employee (who’s new there), "well I guess you’ve been told all that stuff by the manager and the Homeland Security about what to tell your customers" - and to my amazement, the young woman came right out and said yes she’d been through all that, then whispered to me across the counter, "but we’re not supposed to talk about - I could lose my job."

First of all, since maybe only banks’ upper management is privy to the new "rules", the information doesn’t trickle down so easily.

Also keep in mind that employees have been told NOT to say anything about this, that it’s a matter of National Security (with an allusion toward arrest if they do). They face possibly losing their job too. Another reason is that bank employees may not think it’s important, or they believe they’re a unique part of the effort towards curtailing "terrorism" and helping America’s internal defenses.

It is also important to realize that not everyone’s a writer, or Internet savvy - even if the employees moved beyond their banks’ warnings & constraints, most people don’t know how to get their experience published on the Web in the public domain - it’s a mystery they are not familiar with so you never hear their story.

Visit your bank, ask a few well-worded questions, being careful not to arouse suspicion - if that doesn’t work, talk to friends and other family members - maybe they’ve heard something - or as a last resort, just point blank call the bank manager in private and demand to know what’s all this business with the Homeland Security deciding what I can have from my safe deposit box - tell me now or I’ll close my account today.

I’m not trying to "scare" anyone - just providing some news I think is relevant to Americans. Each must find his way through this dark forest - you will do with this information what best suits you and your loved ones - me personally, I see this as another indicator of how the criminals in charge over our lives intend to fleece U.S. citizens completely then dispose of them as only refuse.

Police in Strasbourg have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse dock workers who marched to the European Parliament in a mass protest.

Protesters threw firecrackers, stones and metal missiles, smashing windows and causing "considerable damage".

The dockers, from across the EU, had converged on Strasbourg to protest at controversial proposals to open up port services to greater competition.

Elsewhere, strike action disrupted work at major ports from Greece to Sweden.

The dockers fear they could lose their jobs if port services are liberalised - as the proposals recommend - allowing private contractors or ships' crews to unload freight, for example, or to pilot ships into port.

18 Pakistan civilians killed in a US airstrike Afghanistan targeting Zawahiri who was not there.

Living For The City ("Innervisions" (1973))
By Stevie Wonder

A boy is born in hard time Mississippi
Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty
His parents give him love and affection
To keep him strong moving in the right direction
Living just enough, just enough for the city.

His father works some days for fourteen hours
And you can bet he barely makes a dollar
His mother goes to scrub the floor for many
And you'd best believe she hardly gets a penny
Living just enough, just enough for the city.

His sister's black but she is sho 'nuff pretty
Her skirt is short but Lord her legs are sturdy
To walk to school she's got to get up early
Her clothes are old but never are they dirty
Living just enough, just enough for the city.

Her brother's smart he's got more sense than many
His patience's long but soon he won't have any
To find a job is like a haystack needle
Cause where he lives they don't use colored people
Living just enough, just enough for the city...

His hair is long, his feet are hard and gritty
He spends his love walking the streets of New York City
He's almost dead from breathing on air pollution
He tried to vote but to him there's no solution
Living just enough, just enough for the city.

I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow
This place is cruel no where could be much colder
If we don't change the world will soon be over
Living just enough, just enough for the city!!!!
From Intuit's Vibe www.thedish.org

A Vain Zionist boasts of conquest now Sharon has gone....Meron Benevisti:The Palestinian Authority's crumbling is only a matter of time, and donor states' patience is running out, which will lead to the drying up of the PA's financial sources, and therefore, a catastrophic economic crisis. The anarchy in the territories will spin out of control, and the violence directed internally and at Israelis will raise pressure to "react appropriately."

Extremist groups in Israel will undermine the "treacherous government," a new attempt will be made to revive the "Jordan is Palestine" idea and export the problem to Jordan, since it has no solution in the territories, or whatever remains of them once the "settlement blocs" have been stolen from them. The U.S. will be called upon to restore order, maybe in the style of Bosnia or Kosovo.
A Letter from Palestine:

Yesterday a drunk young man entered a synagogue in Moscow and stabbed a number of people (Ha’aretz English electric edition reports 11 stabbed, 4 in serious condition, Hebrew edition reports 10).* From the moment that the Israeli media learned of the attack it made much of it for the remainder of the evening and through this morning, and particularly made much of its anti-Semitic implications. Israeli officials went so far as to warn Russia that it must take more stringent steps to stem anti-Semitism. True, it was an unpleasant incident, even tragic, if you will. But whether or not it was intentionally aimed at Jews, or was just an object that the bleary eyes of the drunk saw suitable for a kill, we won’t know, nor does it matter. The people stabbed quite naturally have the right to live without fearing that they will be knifed.

The Israeli media reported this afternoong that a special unit of the IOF conducted (and possibly is now still conducting) an incursion into Jenin. Today, mind you, is the 3^rd day (of 4) of the Muslim Eid (the Holiday of Sacrifice). Two Palestinians were killed, one while running away, meaning, most likely, that he was shot in the back. This incident, by contrast to the one in Moscow yesterday, the Israeli media reports in matter-of-fact tones, and the media, as also most Israelis who hear the news, takes it as matter of course that this is acceptable behavior. After all, the men were terrorists! And besides, it’s taken for granted that the IOF has the right to go into whatever Palestinian community it wishes on a holiday or regular day, in the middle of the night or the morning or the afternoon or evening to kill or maim or to hunt ‘wanted men.’ It has never occurred to anyone here that Palestinians, even wanted men/women, have families, that often the wanted persons have done nothing wrong more than belonging to a wrong organization, and that they have the right to a trial—I mean a real trial, not an orchestrated one. Israel outlaws capital punishment as a punitive measure. But it allows killing and murder of men/women in the street—so-called ‘terrorists’—the term that enables Israel to commit crimes and to get by with them! How, if a person is not tried, will we ever know what they are. And if Jews have the right to expect not to be knifed in a Synagogue, don’t Palestinians have the right not to be shot in the back, or, for that matter, in any other part of the body when on the street or in a home. DN.

Jan.6th2006 EU, first splendid performance of our military defense forces - any queries?

EU troops kill wife of Bosnian war crimes suspect

"This is EUfor’s most severe degradation and a complete destruction of confidence in its force," Mr Cavic said according to Reuters.

The wife of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Dragomir Abazovic was shot to death in a gun battle as EU troops stormed the couple’s house in Bosnia on Thursday (5 January).

Her husband, wanted for war crimes during the 1992-95 Balkan war, and his 12 year-old son were badly injured when the soldiers stormed the house - the raid was carried out by European Union peacekeeping troops (EUfor) in Mr Abazovic's home village Kozoci, some 60 km east of Sarajevo.

A spokesperson for the EUfor troops in the vicinity confirmed on Thursday that the shooting incident had taken place."EUfor troops fired upon them and they returned fire. During the exchange two people in the house were injured. The suspect, unable to escape, subsequently injured himself," EUfor spokesman Jem Thomas told newswires.

The wounded woman, Rada Abazovic, reportedly succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, due to severe loss of blood following internal injuries. The son is still in intensive care.
Bosnia wants investigation
The Bosnian Serb President Dragan Cavic condemned the EU operation immediately after receiving news of the deceased woman, and called upon EUfor to conduct an investigation to clarify the circumstances around the lethal shootout in Kozoci.

"This is EUfor’s most severe degradation and a complete destruction of confidence in its force," Mr Cavic said according to Reuters.

Mr Cavic argued that the EU operation had been a mere manifestation of force , and that the arrest could have been carried out by national law enforcement agencies. "No matter what mandate EUfor was given, "no one has the right to take an innocent human life by force", he added.

The 6,500-strong EUfor force took over from NATO peacekeeping troops in 2004, and is involved both in the search for fugitive war criminals and in combating organized crime throughout Bosnia.