First paragraph (Teaser):

Though American leaders remain wedded to the idea of the US
ruling the world, lucrative business deals are much tastier than
a new Cold War with China.

Rest of the text:

ADB in Asia : Creating Poverty through Corporate Colonization
************************************************

MOBILIZE HONOLULU MAY 4- 11 2001!!!

In May 2001, a little-known institution called the Asian Development Bank will hold its Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. As it has done for the last 35 years, Bank staff and directors will meet behind closed doors to make decisions that will affect people living throughout Asia and the Pacific-decisions that have impoverished the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and wreaked environmental destruction.

Like other international financial institutions, the ADB has come under increasing fire in recent years. At the ADB’s last Annual Meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, thousands of Thai villagers demonstrated for three days outside the Bank’s meeting place demanding that the Bank stop several projects. The ADB is hoping to avoid controversy by holding its upcoming meeting in Honolulu.

What is the ADB?

The Manila-based Asian Development Bank was created in 1966 to provide loans and technical assistance to so-called "developing" countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Bank has lent billions of dollars to governments and private companies, mainly for large-scale resource exploitation and infrastructure development projects, such as roads, dams and coal-fired power stations. Together with the World Bank and the Japanese government, the ADB has also played a major role in promoting deregulation, economic liberalization and privatization in the region over the last 34 years.

What is the US role in the ADB?

Japan and the US are the two largest funders of the ADB. Our tax dollars go toward supporting this little known and unaccountable institution. A board of 12 Executive Directors governs the operations of the ADB and its 2000-person staff. Japan and the US are the two largest shareholders in the ADB, together controlling more than 32% of the voting power within the Bank.

The ADB-poverty reduction or poverty creation?

Poverty is a vivid reality for millions living in Asia. While the ADB declares ‘poverty reduction" to be its most important mission, its project often lead to further impoverishment of the poor. The ADB promotes and imposes a development model based on rapid economic growth and free market reforms. These policies fail to recognize the value of subsistence livelihoods and their contributions to national economies. ADB-supported infrastructure projects, such as roads and dams, have destroyed the natural resource base upon which communities depend and have damaged the social fabric of the region. At the same time, these projects serve to transfer money and resources into the hands of local elite and foreign corporations. The ADB’s plans for privatizing basic government services in the region have largely backfired as prices have skyrocketed and the poor can no longer afford energy and water services.

The ADB fails to recognize the impacts of its own policies. Instead, the Bank continues to promote more loans to developing countries and encourages them to restructure their economies toward the export of goods and services. For developing countries, this strategy has resulted in increased debt, impoverishment and environmental destruction, and has increased their vulnerability to the ups-and-downs of foreign markets. Meanwhile, developed countries have benefited from a flurry of contracts for Western corporations. Today, the poor are sending more money to the rich than the other way around, and all in the name of poverty reduction.

Unaccountable and Undemocratic

The ADB operates in a secretive and undemocratic manner and is unaccountable to those whose lives and livelihoods it affects. Decisions on large projects with significant social and environmental impacts are made in remote offices at the central government or international level with little input from members of civil society or the local communities who are the intended "beneficiaries" of development projects. The ADB is not accountable to the people affected by its projects and programs, nor to the taxpayers in donor countries whose money supports the Bank, its staff and operations.

By its own analysis, more than 40% of ADB projects fail to achieve their stated objectives. Neither the ADB as an institution-nor its highly paid staff-accept legal, financial or moral responsibility for these failures. Project development studies and environmental and social impact assessments of ADB-funded projects and programs are not subject to public hearings and independent peer review and are often undertaken by consultants who have a vested interest in the implementation of these projects. In several donor countries, the income received by private companies through project contracts with the ADB is equal to, or greater than, the amount contributed to the ADB by these countries. The ADB is simply a mechanism for donor governments to subsidize their own domestic private sector.

http://hawaii.indymedia.org/

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

Asian Development Bank WATCH

Asian Development Bank Watch (ADB-Watch) is a network of environmental, indegenous rights, social and economic justice, human rights, religious, and development groups and concerned citizens. Our work involves

Raising awareness about the ill effects of the ADB

Creating dialogue around environmental and social justice issues surrounding the ADB

Building solidarity with local communities in Asia and the Pacific

Articulating and exploring alternatives to the destructive policies and projects of the ADB

A GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION FROM ADBWATCH HAWAI'I

Join the campaign against the Asian Development Bank
ADB Annual Meeting * Honolulu May 9-11

Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Events May 5-11 2001

No Aloha for the ADB !

Join the Global Movement for Justice!

Expose the Destructive Policies and Projects of the ADB!

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a multilateral sister of the World Bank that funds projects which create poverty and undermine local control and cultural rights throughout Asia and the Pacific. The ADB is holding its Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawai'i from May 9-11.

Parallel NGO event opportunities May 5th to May 11th

ADBwatch Hawai'i invites you to join in and create non-violent activities and events challenging globalization and the ADB's record of imposing destructive and oppressive policies, projects and programs on communities throughout Asia and the Pacific.

ADBwatch is a broad network of people working for economic justice in Hawai'i, and includes youth, students, economic and environmental justice and human rights activists, Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) cultural rights activists, clergy, academia, and unions.

The ADB Annual Meeting was originally scheduled for Seattle but after massive WTO protests in Nov/December of 1999, the venue changed to Honolulu with the expectation of avoiding resistance and scrutiny. At last year's ADB Annual Meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 5,000 Thai villagers and farmers protested for 3 days against water usage fees being imposed by the ADB. Keep the pressure on! Help to expose ADB's destructive policies and show the world there is no aloha for the ADB.

Show the World that There is NO ALOHA FOR THE ADB!!

ADBwatch challenges financial institutions that perpetuate economic terrorism. Our goals:

Educate the public on specific ways that ADB (and globalization) increases the gulf between rich and poor

Identify ways that globalization impacts people and resources in Hawai'i

Identify the impacts of globalization on cultural and economic rights of indigenous peoples

Help to unravel the corporate myth of Hawai'i as paradise. Hawai'i is occupied by the US military, colonized politically and economically and we face serious pollution problems. The rights of the Kanaka Maoli are under serious increasing attack by the US and state governments and now by organized right and Campaign for a Colorblind America, a conservative racist, anti-affirmative action organization.

For more information, contact us:

ADBwatch-UH-Hawai'i
2465 Campus Road
RIO Box # A-4
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822
adbw...@lava.net

http://www.crosswinds.net/~hexis/ADB-Watch.html

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE GREEN LEFT WEEKLY.AUSTRALIA NEWS

HAWAII: No Aoha for Asian Development Bank

BY NORM DIXON

The Pacific tourist Mecca of Honolulu is to be the next focus of
demonstrations against the international capitalist financial
institutions — in this case the Asian Development Bank. The ADB's
board of governors is to meet at the Honolulu Convention Center,
May 7-11.

Protest organisers — and the Honolulu Police Department — expect
that thousands, many from the Asia and Pacific Ocean region, will
demonstrate on May 9 against the ADB's anti-Third World policies
and projects.

The May 9 protest, and other activities beginning May 5, is being
organised by ADB Watch, a broad coalition of groups — students,
environmentalists, trade unions, indigenous Hawaiians and human
rights activists — working for social and economic justice in
Hawaii and around the world.

ADB Watch issued a call to progressive movements across the world
to come to Hawaii “to create non-violent activities and events
challenging globalisation and the ADB's record of imposing
destructive and oppressive policies and projects on communities
throughout Asia and the Pacific”.

The Honolulu Police Department (HPD), the city council and the
state government have moved to institute a range of repressive
measures to deal with the protests.

The HPD's 1900 officers, as well as firefighters, sheriff's
department officers and the Hawaii National Guard have received
special training for “handling civil disturbances, dealing with
crowds and other situations”, reported Honolulu Advertiser last
December. All police leave has been cancelled during the ADB
gathering and officers who normally do desk work will be put on
the streets.

The HPD is demanding an extra US$6-7 million to provide security
for up to 3000 ADB and government officials, as well as media
workers, expected to attend the meeting. Among those attending
will be many finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific region. US
president George W. Bush may also attend.

In early April, some 5500 members of the paramilitary Hawaii
National Guard donned flak jackets, face shields and helmets and
“trained for riot control” before TV cameras and press reporters.

Police have been harassing activists as they hand out leaflets in
Waikiki and, in one case, a driver with a “Shut Down ADB” bumper
sticker was stopped and questioned. The HPD has announced that to
“monitor” protesters, police will be checking airlines' lists of
arriving passengers and surfing the internet.

The Honolulu City Council has introduced laws to make it easier
for police to arrest people “camping” in the city's parks and to
outlaw the wearing of “masks” or “disguises”. The aim of the
anti-camping measure is to ban protesters' camps and remove
homeless people from the city during the ADB meeting. The laws
will remain in place after the ADB meeting has ended.

In another move designed to prevent protesters gathering, the HPD
and the city council will close several public parks nearest the
ADB meeting site, claiming they will be needed as “staging areas”
for police and security forces. Not only will demonstrators be
banned but also paddling clubs, little league baseballers and
soccer teams.

Around 4000 protesters greeted the ADB at the bank's last meeting
in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last May. The ADB meeting was originally
planned for Seattle but following the 1999 mass anti-corporate
protests, ADB officials looked for another venue. After heavy
lobbying by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the meeting was shifted
to Honolulu.

This has resulted in the unusual situation in which the
“independent” Hawaii Tourism Authority has become the official
spokesperson for the authorities. The authority has even diverted
$500,000 to help the police buy riot gear, in the name of
“promoting tourism”!

Hawaii Tourism Authority executive director Bob Fishman told the
February 7 Honolulu Weekly: “We are training and developing a
police force for a higher level of proficiency that makes Hawaii
a more attractive place... We will not tolerate excessive
inconvenience.”

http://hawaii.indymedia.org/

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

ADB in Asia : Creating Poverty & Corporate Colonization
********************************************

http://hawaii.indymedia.org/adbinasia.pdf

Another World is Possible, Alternative Events on Globalization and the ADB
Honolulu, Hawaii, May 4-11, 2001
*****************************

http://hawaii.indymedia.org/schedule.pdf

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

Honolulu Star Bulletin
Thursday, April 19, 2001

[ASIAN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ARVIND PANAGARIYA
Economic slowdown across Asia will be short-lived

THE ASIAN Development Bank, which will hold its annual meeting in Honolulu
in May, believes that the economies of East and Southeast Asia will
experience a considerable slowdown during 2001. The good news, however, is
that the slowdown will be short-lived, with the region returning to its
growth trend in 2002, which may affect the economy of Hawaii.

The ADB, in its annual forecast, predicts that growth in the newly
industrial economics will decline to 4.3 per cent in 2001 before rebounding
to 5.6 in 2002. The corresponding forecasts for Southeast Asia are 4 and 4.6
per cent, respectively. The growth rate for all of ADB's developing member
countries, which stood at 7.1 per cent in 2000, will decline to 5.3 per cent
in 2001 before it rebounds to 6.1 per cent in 2002.

The most important factor underlying Asia's temporary slowdown is the
slowdown in the United States that began in the second half of 2000. The
forecast assumes that the U.S. economy will grow a shade below 2 per cent in
2001, while Japan and Europe will grow in the range of between 1 to 2 per
cent and 2.5 to 3 per cent, respectively.

The ADB also predicts that India and the People's Republic of China will
maintain their current momentum, growing at 6.2 and 7.3 per cent,
respectively, in 2001. Due to structural reforms under way in these
economies, and because their ratios of trade to the overall economy are much
lower than those of most East and Southeast Asian economies, they are
expected to stay on course.

The main risks related to the weakening of the U.S. economy are based on
strong fundamentals, flexible product markets and the possibility that
recent investments in high technology have permanently boosted the trend in
growth rates.

The bank expects that growth in Europe, and especially in the euro monetary
area, has become sufficiently self-sustaining to withstand a U.S. slowdown.
Although data from Japan suggest that recovery is faltering, it is premature
to conclude that Japan will slip back into recession.

The ADB believes that outward-oriented trade policies help to lower poverty.
Since developing Asia is labor abundant, it has a comparative advantage in
labor-intensive goods. Increased trade increases the demand for labor,
helping the poor directly. In addition, there is compelling evidence that
outward-oriented policies promote growth, which, in turn, provides jobs and
governments with the fiscal resources to fund anti-poverty programs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arvind Panagariya is chief economist
of the Asian Development Bank.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

NO COLD WAR FOR THIS CHINA
Mark Weisbrot, AlterNet

Though American leaders remain wedded to the idea of the US
ruling the world, lucrative business deals are much tastier than
a new Cold War with China.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

NOT ONE OR TWO, BUT HUNDREDS OF PROTESTS
Naomi Klein, Globe and Mail

There weren't two protests that took place in Quebec City --
one a "peaceful" labor march, the other "violent" anarchist riot.
There were hundreds of protests, all resisting the passive vision
of democracy pushed by the FTAA.

** See AlterNet's full FTAA coverage:

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Important stories and photos of arrests, gassing, assaults and bravery in the face of massive police oppression. This zine shows the power and beauty in what demonstrators did last weekend, as well as the horror.

We hope you print off a few copies of this and distribute it in your community as a fundraiser for those arrested and illegally detained in Quebec.

Thank you.

"After the clouds clear and the fence comes down,
here stands a generation radicalized, which is
part of a population outraged by what they
experienced in Quebec or shocked by what
they heard from those who came here.

We are the first generation in this country that knows the taste of teargas.
They have attacked us with the worst they have
and it has only strengthened our resolve…."

-- From the FTAA Diary (download it at www.geocities.com/ftaadiary)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Globalization and the ADB -- Alternative Events planned in Hawai'i
*****************************************************

Another World is Possible !

Alternative Events on Globalization and the ADB

Honolulu, Hawai'i May 4 - 11, 2001

KAHEA presents an Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Cultural Rights.

KAHEA is an alliance of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) cultural practitioners, environmental activists and others concerned about protecting cultural rights and our fragile environment, Center for Hawaiian Studies University of Hawai'i Manoa

***** May 4 - 6, 2001 *****

Friday, May 4th

5:30 - 6:30 pm Pupu Hour/Registration
Pule and welcome: Vicky Holt Takamine, President, Kahea Board of Directors
6:30 - 7:00 Opening remarks: Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, Director Center for Hawaiian Studies Kanaka Maoli inherent right to sovereignty in Hawai'i.
7:00 - 8:00 Viewing of award winning documentary Act of War by Na Maka o ka 'Aina a Productions, two local videographer-activists. Act of War chronicles the illegal takeover of the Hawaiian Nation and depicts the current struggle to reclaim it.

Saturday, May 5th

8:30 - 9:00 am Registration and Breakfast
9:00 - 9:30 Opening ceremony/ Oli Aloha: 'Llio'ulaokalani Coalition
Welcome, Kumu Hula Vicky Holt Takamine
9:30 -10:30 Co-keynote speeches: Kumu Hula Pualani Kanahele, Halau O Kekuhi
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Kankanaey, Cordillera region, Philippines
10:30 - 12:00 Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioners -Living the Culture, Creating a Future
*Fishponds, Bill Kekahuna *Oceans, Isaac Harp * Dry Stack Rock Work, Billy Fields *Language/Education, to be confirme * Chant/Hula, to be confirmed
12:00 - 12:30 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands - Slide Show Presentation: Aulani Wilhelm
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch - Provided on site
1:30 - 3:30 Asserting Cultural Rights "Ola na Iwi - Mele 'Ai Pohaku"
"Bones of Life - Song in Stone" Facilitator: K. Angel Pilago, Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i "Kohanaiki and
Kaupulehu Supreme Court Cases-Cultural Impact Statement"
Panel: Kia Fronda, Waipio, Hawai'i Taro Cultural "Haloa, Waipio, Kalo"
Edward Halealoha Ayau, Honolulu, Oahu Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei
"The Kuleana to Care for Iwi Kupuna" Keolalani Hanoa, Punalu'u, Hawai'i
Hawai'i Island Burial Council "Wahine Toa" 5th panelist to be confirmed

Sunday, May 6th

8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast
9:00-11:00 6 Case Studies on Effects of the Global Economy:
* Wai'ahole, Kaipo Faris * Makua, William Aila *Moloka'i Ranch, Walter & Loretta Ritte * Agricultural Project, Philippines, Beverly Longid, Corderilla Highland, Ms. Phoy Bun Nyok * Yaki Falls Dam, Forest Project, Ratanakiri, N. Cambodia, Mr. Mon Mon *Jarai people, agribusiness, industrial forestry, Yadao Dist. Cambodia
11:00-12:30 Overview on the Impacts of Economic Globalization and open discussion. Impacts on local economies,
governments and culture. With Question and Answers
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Indigenous Peoples' Network, Philippines), Shalmali Guttal (Focus on the Global South, Thailand), Walden Bello (Focus on the Global South, Thailand),

Living the Culture, Creating a Future

This conference will bring together cultural practitioners and Indigenous activists struggling against economic and political systems that threaten our existence, lands and culture. Living the culture is a key way to protect the land. By protecting and enhancing cultural practices, the entire community benefits. We empower our youth, protect and rehabilitate natural resources, and provide economic security and locally-based meaningful work.

We are coming together because we are committed to the idea that another world is possible. We are fortunate to have activists joining us from Asia and the Pacific Islands to share their stories and experiences and offer their thoughts about how we can work together to protect our homelands and people, and our future on this planet. We are grateful for this tremendous opportunity to come together with a common vision in order to increase our knowledge and strengthen our effectiveness. Please join us!

KAHEA is an island-wide network that brings together taro/grassroots groups working to protect Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) traditional cultural practices and the environment. Kahea involves traditional practitioners including kumu hula (teachers of dance, language, chant, culture, history, and healing), environmental activists and others concerned about Hawai'i's future.

Contact: P.O. Box 714 Honolulu, Hawai'i 96808 Tel/fax: (808) 841-2176
email: kahe...@hawaii.rr.com

Website: http://www.kahea.org

* Monday, May 7,

7 p.m. The International Forum on Globalization

Teach-In on Globalization and the Asian Development Bank
Featuring: Walden Bello, Anuradha Mittal, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Victor Menotti and Maude Barlow. The IFG is a speakers' bureau of world renowned experts on the effects of globalization.

Sponsored by ADBwatch United First Methodist Church, Beretania at Victoria St.

* Tuesday, May 8,

8 a.m.- Noon Panel Discussion with NGO's and the ADB
Panel discussions in a debate format convening globalization experts, members of affected communities and ADB staff.
Sponsored by UH Manoa Center for Globalization Research, Ethnic Studies and Political Science.
Where? UH Campus Center Room 30

* Tuesday, May 8,

7:30 p.m. Voices from the People

Testimonies from people who are being impacted by ADB projects and economic globalization.
Sponsored by several International advocacy & research organizations and ADBwatch.
Where UH Campus Center Ballroom

* Wednesday, May 9

Noon to Nine MARCH & RALLY
11:00 a.m. March for Global Justice .
Non-Violent March for Global Justice & Native Hawaiian Rights
Gather at Magic Island, Ala Moana for March to Convention Center and Kapiolani Park
3 to 9 p.m. Speakers & Music at Kapiolani Park Local & International guest speakers!

* Thursday, May 10,

8 a.m. - Noon Panel Discussion with NGO's and the ADB
Panel discussions in a debate format convening globalization experts, members of affected communities and ADB staff.
Sponsored by UH Manoa Center for Globalization Research, Ethnic Studies and Political Science.
Where? UH Campus Center Room 306

* Thursday, May 10,

7:30 p.m. Voices from the People: Testimonies of people who are being impacted by ADB projects and economic globalization.
Sponsored by several International advocacy & research organizations and ADBwatch.
Where? UH Art Auditorium

* Friday, May 11,

7:30 p.m. The Role of the Military in Globalization
A seminar with expert speakers and activists.
Sponsored by Revolution Books, AFSC and ADBwatch.
Where? UH Art Auditorium

For more info: ADB watch Hawaii: Ph. 955-6161 .
Call for info on ohana groups gathering for march . Sign up for event information details. Non-violence trainings . Lots of volunteer opportunities!!

Check our website: http://hawaii.indymedia.org/

Email: adbw...@lava.net

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

AND DON'T MISS...

"Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands,"
a documentary that will leave you far from thirsty, airing Sunday
on PBS.

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

SEATTLE ASIA PACIFIC CITIES SUMMIT 2001
***************************************

May 5-12, 2001.

Corporate Sponsors:

Weyerhauser, Microsoft, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Immunex, Boeing, Preston/Gates/Ellis

Participants:

Business leaders representing Chambers of Commerce, business associations and corporations and public officials representing sectors related to urban public services; educators, scholars, business representatives and citizens who have a stake in the future of the
Asia Pacific Region.

Focus:

Explore methods to improve coordination between business, local government and educational institutions to help create and maintain a high tech economy.

From the Asia Pacific Summit 2001 website

"Networking and Business Connections"
(Cities As Corporations):

"The importance of cities and businesses working together to find solutions for urban problems has never been greater. Given their significant budgets and broad areas of responsibility, cities are increasingly recognized as major purchasers and/or facilitators of a wide variety of goods and services."

According to the Asia Pacific Summit 2001 Host Committee, corporate leaders are encouraged to,
"Gain access to key decision makers from both government and business sectors. Mayors and senior government officials – especially at municipal and state levels; public officials responsible for sustainable economic development, information technology and public services."

2001 ASIA PACIFIC CITIES SUMMIT
EVENT DETAILS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Seattle, Washington . .....

May 5-12, 2001.
......
(The APC Summit Will Be Held At The Following Locations:)
Westin Hotel, University of Washington, Microsoft Campus,
Boeing Facilities In Everett

Local Government's Links To Corporate Globalization
To Receive International Attention In Seattle
Over 600 delegates from 70 cities
1000 Attendees Expected To Participate,

For More Information Contact:
Mark Taylor-Canfield
(206)329-7413/mtc2000_usa@yahoo.com

(Included below is the APC Summit Agenda and Schedule of Events)

But first, here is a quick background sketch on the nature of the summit and the issues that are sure to be raised.

At first glance, the Asia Pacific Cities Summit 2001 seems innocent enough but pry a little deeper and you will uncover the fact that during the plenary session on May 8th, the topic of conversation will be how local governments can create "partnerships" with organizations like the World Bank and "other international organizations"!
(Many activists suspect the APC Summit Host Committee is referring to the IMF and WTO, since the three groups are so closely linked.)

Since these international organizations are often blamed by environmental, faith and labor groups for the destruction of the environment, the lowering of health and safety standards, policies which challenge the labor movement and the privatization of public services, many community activists are upset - especially since many of them see the recent energy crisis as having been a result of the privatization (deregulation) of publicly owned energy providers.

They dread the thought of their local communities working in joint partnerships with institutions that overrule local sovereignty and bring about undemocratic institutions like the World Bank or the WTO, which rules on trade issues through an elite tribunal and secret meetings.

Please join us at
theWestin Hotel, 1900 5th Ave
May 8th at 10 AM

to protest the forming of partnerships between our local municipalities and undemocratic institutiontions like the World Bank, IMF and WTO
and the privatization of public services and education!

The Plenary Session on Partnerships With the World Bank Begins at
10:20 AM, Tuesday May 8th
(Be There Early!)

Other sessions on sustainability and indigenous peoples, web democratization, public services, labor issues, etc. will include representatives of the World Bank, APEC and other corporate, academic and
government institutions.

The Plenary Session Entitled,
"Biotechnology: Past, Present and Future"
will be held at Noon on May 7th,
Also At The Westin Hotel

Check the schedule included below or the APC Summit website:

www.apsummit.org

NOTE:
Activists have asked me to request that individuals organize your groups for peaceful demonstrations.

Other agenda items which may draw attention from various interests, from animal rights activists and pro-democracy organizations to public interest groups fighting genetically modified food:

1) genetic engineering
2) pollution and global warming
3) workers rights
4) democratization of the world wide web
5) privatization of public services
6) mass transit
7) alternative energy projects
8) poverty
9) commercialization of education
10) militarization of police
11) laboratory testing on animals
12) HIV/AIDS research
13) APEC
14) health and safety standards
15) sweatshops
16) affordable housing
17) privatization of large public works projects

***********************************************************************

CONDEMNATION GREETS RETURN OF JAPANESE WHALERS

TOKYO, Japan, April 12, 2001 (ENS) - In the face of international
condemnation, Japanese whalers aboard a factory ship returned home
Wednesday with 2,000 tons of whale meat caught in an Antarctic whale
sanctuary, 9,700 kilometers (6,000 miles) away.

For full text and graphics, visit:

***********************************************************************

Wealth heaped on wealth,
nor truth nor safety buys,
The dangers gather
as the treasures rise.
Samuel Johnson

Power, like a desolating pestilence,
Pollutes whate'er it touches; and obedience,
Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,
Makes slaves of men, and, of the human frame,
A mechanized automaton.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

TeleKinetic Challenge 2000
http://wildfire.gen-next.com

HumanKind Survival Earth
http://survival.wildspices.com

@>@>@>@>@

IMC in Free Speech Battle Following FBI/Secret Service Visit

On Saturday, April 21, as tens of thousands demonstrated against the FTAA in the streets of Quebec City, the IMC in Seattle was served with a sealed court order by two FBI agents and an agent of the US Secret Service. The terms of the sealed order prevented IMC volunteers from publicizing its terms. This morning, the gag order was lifted, enabling the IMC to finally break its silence about these events, which Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation characterized as "a threat to free speech, free association, and privacy."

http://www.indymedia.org/

The Seattle Independent Media Center was launched in Fall 1999 to provide
immediate, authentic, grassroots coverage of protests against the WTO.
Just a year and a half later, the IMC network has reached around the
world, with dozens of sites scattered across six continents. IMCs are
autonomously organized and administered, but share collective
organizational principles and certain technological resources. Each IMC's
news coverage centers upon its open-publishing newswire, an innovative and
democratizing system allowing anyone with access to an Internet connection
to become a journalist, reporting on events from his or her own
perspective rather than being forced to rely on the narrow range of views
presented by corporate-owned mainstream media sources.

During last weekend's widespread protests against a proposed Free Trade
Area of the Americas, many IMC sites collaborated to produce comprehensive
coverage of demonstrations taking place in Quebec City and Sao Paulo, as
well as solidarity protests in cities across the U.S. and along the
Mexican and Canadian borders. The breadth and depth of coverage produced
by the IMC's global network eclipsed that of many corporate media outlets.

The Seattle IMC remains committed to its mission: "The Independent Media
Center is a grassroots organization committed to using media production
and distribution as a tool for promoting social and economic justice. It
is our goal to further the self-determination of people under- represented
in media production and content, and to illuminate and analyze local and
global issues that impact ecosystems, communities and individuals. We seek
to generate alternatives to the biases inherent in the corporate media
controlled by profit, and to identify and create positive models for a
sustainable and equitable society."

CONTACT:

Seattle Independent Media Center
1415 3rd Ave.
Seattle, WA, 98101
206.262.0721
206.262.9905 fax

********************************************************

THE GLOBAL OWNERSHIP CHART

Thanks to the merger boom, media power is more concentrated than ever.
A new online chart presents the global media overlords in vivid color.

********************************************************

"I want to be as public with this kind of work as I can be," the founder of Ruckus says. "I want to say, 'My name is John Sellers, I grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, I have a mom and dad who love me. And I'm in jail because I'm a person of conscience.' I want to make the guards, and the police, and everyone else think, 'What is this good person doing on the wrong side of the law? Isn't it strange that someone like this should be spending so much time in prison? That's not right.'"

"I just want to say, it's been an honor. I'm humbled by you people. You've strengthened my resolve to fight. Thank you all very, very much for coming." A silent moment passes. "And now," he says, uncorking the eve-of-battle voice of Henry the Fifth, if Henry the Fifth were a bald American hippie:

"Let's party like gnats on an open wound!"

http://www.ruckus.org/

HÿÞêr