A-Infos (en) The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 4 Dec 98 -- 2:53 (#188)

[Paul Kneisel <tallpaul@nyct.net>]

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           The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 4 December 98
                       Vol. 2, Number 53 (#188)
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             MUMIA AND DREYFUS: PARALLELS AND DIFFERENCES
                              by tallpaul

I just reread Hannah Arendt's history of the Dreyfus case and was
struck by the similarities to the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.[1]

   It happened in France at the end of the year 1894, Alfred Dreyfus,
   a Jewish officer of the French General Staff, was accused and
   convicted of espionage for Germany. The verdict, lifelong
   deportation to Devil's Island, was unanimously adopted. The trial
   took place behind closed doors. Out of an allegedly voluminous
   dossier of the prosection, only the so-called "bordereau" was
   shown. This was a letter, supposedly in Dreyfus' handwriting
   addressed to the German military attache, Schwartzkoppen. In July,
   1895, Colonel Picquart, became the head of the Information
   Division of the General Staff. In May, 1896, he told the chief of
   the General Staff, Boisdeffre, that he had convinced himself of
   Dreyfus' innocence and of the guilt of another officer, Major
   Walsin-Esterhazy. Six months later, Picquart was removed to a
   dangerous post in Tunisia.[2]

The Drefus Affair swept France, largely due to novelist Emile Zola's
famous "J'Accuse" and Picquart's willingness to break military
tradition and inform the Senate of Dreyfus's innocence. Throughout the
early stages of the affair, the French General Staff preferred anti-
Semitism to military efficiency. It preferred to let Esternazy's real
treason go unpunished in order to defend its reputation.

Mumia, like Dreyfus, did not commit the crime. The Mumia Affair is
replete with confessions by witnesses that they committed perjury under
police pressure and an ostensible murder weapon of the wrong caliber.

The Philadelphia Police, like the French before them, are willing to
let a real cop-killer go free rather than admit they made a mistake.
The Pennsylvania courts are willing to turn judicial somersaults to
avoid a new trial for Mumia.

There are of course differences between the two cases.

One is that the U.S. has produced no intellectual of Zola's tenacity to
push the case.

Another is that the Pennsylvania judicial system has not produced
anyone of Picquart's honesty.

- - - - -

[1] H. Arendt, "The Origins of Totalitarianism," New edition with added
prefaces, (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, N.Y.: 1973). For material on
Mumia see the two ftp supplements listed below.

[2] Arendt, p. 89.

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

                         WHAT'S WORTH CHECKING
  stories via <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/story2/>

International Press Institute (no author), "Bulgaria: Media and Roma
Concerns -- President vetoes proposed radio and tv law; bill goes back
to parliament," 30 Sep 98 <story491.txt>

Karine Granier-Deferre (International Herald Tribune), "Radical
Politics Embrace the Internet," 28 Sep 98 <story492.txt>

Daniel S. Levine <http://www.disgruntled.com/ipa998.html>, "Think Tank
Warfare," 7 Oct 98 <story493.txt>

Bronwen Maddox (The Times [of London]), "FBI 'kept in dark on bomb
retaliation': Secrecy reinforces claims that aim was to distract from
Lewinsky affair," 6 Oct 98 <story494.txt>

Amnesty International (no author), "New Reports of Children and Women
Abused in Prison: USA," 7 Oct 98 <story495.txt>

Jim Yardley (New York Times), "Enclave in Queens Defends a Float, and a
Way of Life ," 14 Sep 98 <story496.txt>

Triangle Foundation (press release), "Triangle Foundation wins historic
defamation lawsuit against State Representative Deborah Whyman," 15 Sep
98 <story497.txt>

Associated Press (no author), "White Mob Attacks Nebraska Home," 18 Sep
98 <story498.txt>

Millennium March on Washington Under Fire -- Extraordinary List of
L/G/B/T Grass Roots Organizers Challenge Top Down Process!," via
Leslie Cagan, 17 Sep 98 <story499.txt>

Sharon Ayling (Workers World), "Operation Tailwind: CIA Made CNN
Retract Story," 18 Sep 98 <story500.txt>

AntiFascistisk Aktion-Stockholm, "Confrontation In Stockholm," 20 Sep
98 <story501.txt>

Mark Gladstone and Mark Arax (Los Angeles Times), "Judge Voids Prison
Officers' Brutality Penalties: Six Corcoran workers have jobs restored
with back pay.  State, saying reversal in mass beating case was based
on a technicality, may appeal," 19 Sep 98 <story502.txt>

Judith Havemann (Washington Post), "N.Y. Court Rejects Claim for More
Workfare Pay," 19 Sep 98 <story503.txt>

Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility (press release),
"Civil Liberties Organizations Condemn Talks Between Internet Providers
and Police," 18 Sep 98 <story504.txt>

Privacy International (release via Declan McCullagh), "The 1998 U.K.
Big Brother Awards: Call For Nominations," 22 Sep 98 <story505.txt>

Anonymous (via Direct Action Media Network), "Demonstration Against the
Sweden Democrats in Malmoe the 19th of September: a first-person
account," 23 Sep 98 <story506.txt>

Mark Bourrie (InterPress Service), "Probe into Police Action at APEC,"
15 Sep 98 <story507.txt>

Announcement, "19th Annual Holocaust Conference at Millersville
University," 23 Sep 98 <story508.txt>

Announcement, "Grants/Scholarships Holocaust Educational Foundation,"
25 Sep 98 <story509.txt>

Norman Solomon (Creators Syndicate), "Going Hungary: News That Really
Matters," 24 Sep 98 <story510.txt>

via Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, "Recent
developments in Internet censorship #1: Annoy.com Celebrates Federal
Court Ruling.," 27 Sep 98 <story511.txt>

via Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, "Recent
developments in Internet censorship #2: Censorware Project Criticizes
Blacklisting of Starr Report," 27 Sep 98 <story512.txt>

InterPress Service (no author), "U.N. Worried Over Alarming Rise in
Xenophobia By Thalif Deen," 20 Sep 98 <story513.txt>

Announcement, "Conference -- Building History: Legal Memory and
Contemporary Judgments," 29 Sep 98 <story514.txt>

Triangle Foundation (no author), "'Bag A Fag' Inquiry," 29 Sep 98
<story515.txt>

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

The Internet Anti-Fascist: Wednesday, 2 December 9
FTP Supplement #81 (#186): Articles On Mumia Abu-Jamal -- Part 2
0) Past TINAF supplements on Mumia
   The Internet Anti-Fascist: Monday, 29 June 98
   FTP Supplement #39 (#126): Mumia -- Recent Documents
   stories 1 - 17
18) via Chris Geovanis & Dick Reilly / HAMMERHARDmediaworks (internet
    posting), "15 Innocent Former Death-Row Inmates Issue Appeal In
    Support of Mumia Abu-Jamal," 20 Nov 98
19) Refuse and Resist (no author), "Report on the July 5 Action
    Conference & Planning Session," 16 Jul 98
20) David O'Reilly (Philadelphia Inquirer), "Gathering of the young
    rallies for Abu-Jamal: They came from various cities to back the
    death-row inmate with "Philly Freedom Summer."," 20 Jul 98
21) Fairness and Accuracy In Media (FAIR), "FAIR ACTION ALERT: ABC &
    possible Mumia Abu-Jamal report," 15 Aug 98
22) [N.Y.] Green Party (press release), "Kovel, N.Y. Green Party
    Candidate for Senate Condemns Court Decision on Mumia," 31 Oct 98
23) C. Clark Kissinger (Refuse & Resist!), "PA Supreme Court Denies
    Fair Trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal; Refuse & Resist! Urges
    International Protests," 30 Oct 98
24) Workers World News Service, (no author), "Mumia Abu-Jamal's New
    Trial Appeal Denied," 30 Oct 98
25) Prison Radio / Quixote Center (press release), "To the Streets for
    Mumia! Bay Area Emergency Protests," 30 Oct 98
26) Mumia Abu-Jamal (SCI-Greene, Waynesburg, PA), "Statement From Death
    Row," 31 Oct 98
27) Refuse & Resist! (no author), "Mumia's Attorneys File Application
    for Reargument," 4 Nov 98
28) C. Clark Kissinger (Refuse & Resist!), "Justice Denied: Analysis of
    the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision On Mumia Abu-Jamal," 5 Nov
    98
29) Vanguarda Operia / Liga Quarta-Internacionalista do Brasil,
    "Mobilize the Power of the Working Class to Free Mumia Now!," 5 Nov
    98
<ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/tinaf186.txt>

- - - - -

The Internet Anti-Fascist: Thursday, 3 December 98
FTP Supplement #82 (#187): Articles On Mumia Abu-Jamal -- Part 3
30) Abayomi Azikiwe Thabang (Pan-African News Wire), "Thousands Fill
    Streets of Downtown Philly Demanding Mumia's Release," 8 Nov 98
31) Abayomi Azikiwe Thabang, "Mumia's Case and the Plight of Political
    Prisoners / Prisoners of War," 9 Nov 98
32) Anti-Fascist Action -- Stockholm (no author), "Mumia Demonstration
    in Oslo," 10 Nov 98
33) Refuse & Resist! (no author), "20/20 segment on Mumia scheduled for
    November 20," 10 Nov 98
34) Zapatista Front of International Liberation (International
    Committee) , "Declaration Concerning Mumia Abu-Jamal's Sentence,"
    n.d. (rec'd 11 Nov 98)
35) N. Anarchist Network (no author), "Mumia occupation, Manchester
    14th Nov," 14 Nov 98
36) Jesse Long-Bey (The Michigan Citizen), "Detroiters Protest To Save
    The Life Of Mumia Abu-Jamal," 15-21 Nov 98
37) Paul Lefrak, "[U.S.] Labor Party Supports Mumia," 16 Nov 98
38) Teresa Gutierrez (Workers World), "Unite to Save Mumia: From
    Laramie to Jasper to Philly, Stop the Lynchings!," 19 Nov 98
39) Betsy Farley (The Militant / U.S.), "Protesters: `New Trial For
    Abu-Jamal!'," 23 Nov 98
40) The Nation (editorial), "Abu-Jamal's Last Hope," 7 Dec 98
<ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/tinaf187.txt>
                               * * * * *

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research
and educational purposes only.

___________________________________________________________________

                               FASCISM:
   We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget. 
       (No permission required for noncommercial reproduction)

                               - - - - -

                       back issues archived via:        
        <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/>


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