At the Big Lots Store: Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Jose Perez I want to bring to people's attention especially the New York Times article that NY Transfer posted, about the current state of the investigation into the 9-11 attacks. Basically, after a month and a half of the most intensive investigation ever, the cops have, apparently, zip. [See: "US Has 830 in Detention, but Few Suspects" in NY Transfer's Covert Actions newsfeed]. On the other hand, the extent of the mass repression against muslims in the U.S. is staggering. More than 800 have been arrested and jailed --although not one, not a single one, for the crimes allegedly being investigated. Thousands more have been rousted and given the third degree. They are being routinely accosted on the street, denied transportation on airplanes, refused jobs or laid off on any pretext, denied housing, harassed by the cops, the FBI, and the jack-booted army reserve thugs that are policing many airports (it should be noted that the "National Guard" is NOT the same as the regular army. It is a much more ideologically committed, consciously pro-imperialist selection of people than the regular grunts. Moreover, the units being sent to airports aren't even regular National Guard units. They're often the ones specialized in police and intelligence work, repression, not so much soldiers as cops.) Many hispanics have also been hit, apparenly to the cops we look arab and not only that, we speak funny, too. I myself was questioned by what appeared to be a plain clothes security guard as I was leaving Big Lots today with my 7-year-old son Lucas. "Are you from Afghanistan?" I was asked. "Cuba," I answered. "Is that near Iraq?" the man asked, apparently exhausting his knowledge of world geography. "No, it's near Florida," I answered, hoping against hope he would somehow know at least the name of the state that neighbors Georgia to the south. My son Lucas wanted to go on the police motorcycle ride in front of the store so I gave him a quarter, and this man and I chit chatted. Who was my president, the man wanted to know. This was a paunchy middle-aged black guy, pretty big but not at all threatening in his demeanor. But I was still wary, so I said, "Well, I live just down the street, so I assume it's the same as yours." "No I mean Cuba." "Fidel Castro," I answered. He gestured with his hands to indicate a beard. "Uh-huh," I said. "Good man," he said, and then repeated it, nodding his head for emphasis: "Good man." Lucas couldn't get the ride to work --no power, I think, but he wasn't upset. I showed him how to work the coin return and his little fingers came out clutching two quarters. "Look daddy, my quarter had a baby," and all three of us laughed. I assume he questioned me because he'd been given some sort of profile. Look out for arab-looking people, darker skinned than most white people, brown eyes, and get the ones from Iraq and Afghanistan. Or maybe that part was just from listening to CNN. He was just doing his job, but his demeanor suggested to me it hasn't changed his fundamental attitudes. He doesn't want some crazy blowing up this strip mall, but then again, neither do I, and that feeling hasn't changed my politics either. But for the "war" to succeed, that is precisely what Bush must do, win the hearts and minds, not of the Afghans, but of the American people. His main offensive isn't over there, it's over here. It may seem like he's made some progress, but I believe there's much less there than meets the eye. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-10.22.01-06:06:24-17767