File spoon-archives/anarchy-list.archive/anarchy-list_2001/anarchy-list.0109, message 17


Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 11:32:29 -0400
From: Paul Kneisel <tallpaul-AT-nyct.net>
Subject: The Internet Anti-Fascist: Tues, 28 Aug 2001 -- 5:68 1/2 (#591)


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             The Internet Anti-Fascist: Tuesday, 28 August 2001
                        Vol. 5, Number 68 1/2 (#591)
__________________________________________________________________________

Fascism In the News
    AA News, "Legislator Apologizes After Forwarding Christian Identity Hate
       Mail," 23 Aug 01
    Mickey Ciokajlo (Chicago Tribune), "Foes target white supremacist's
       visit: Schaumburg cops gear up for speech," 23 Aug 01
Book Review:
    Brenda Cossman and Ratna Kapur, "Secularism's Last Sigh? -- Hindutva and
       the [Mis] Rule of Law," Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001
Real Political Correctness:
    AA News, "Good God! Faith-Based Scams Proliferate, Raise Questions About
       Federal, Local Funding Initiatives: 'I've seen more money stolen in
       the name of God than in any other way,' says securities official," 11
       Aug 01

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FASCISM IN THE NEWS:

Legislator Apologizes After Forwarding Christian Identity Hate Mail
AA News
23 Aug 01

A North Carolina State legislator apologized to fellow lawmakers and the
public yesterday after distributing an e-mail post advocating white
supremacy and Christian Identity religious views.

Rep.  Don Davis denied that he was or at ever been a racist.  Earlier in
the week, however, Davis had used the state e-mail system to forward a
message from an individual associated with GOAL, or God's Order Affirmed in
Love, which declared: "Two things made this country great: White men &
Christianity ...  Every problem that has arisen can be directly traced back
to our departure from God's law and the disenfranchisement of White men."

When asked why he had distributed the message to all House and Senate
members late Monday night, Davis stated, "I think there is a lot of truth
in that.  The white men came from England and made this country great."

Davis added, "I thought that this is interesting information.  I don't know
whether I agree altogether, but it makes you think ...  there is a lot of
factual information ....  I don't see a thing in there that should offend
anybody."

The original e-mail was traced to a "Rick Savage," whose internet addressed
listed the GOAL web site.  The group states that it is for "Reconstructing
a National identity for Christians," and adds: "We seek to rebuild the
foundations and re-establish a new bold vision for the Christian ethic in
the world today...  We were called to take dominion and subdue the Earth
for God's glory."

Savage is listed as the author of a section titled "F.A.Q.  On Christian
Identity."  Other links include racist web sites, and pages associated with
the Christian Identity movement."

The e-mail also said that America was founded on the Christian Bible and
the Ten Commandments.  The News & Observer newspaper added: "Another
passage says that Catholicism and state churches enslaved Europe with what
it calls their compromise and perversion of the Bible."

By late yesterday, Davis was singing a different tune as both Democrats and
Republicans in the legislature reacted with dismay, even outrage.

Bill Peasless, an office with the North Carolina Republican party, called
Davis' move "regrettable."

"Needless to say, representative Davis does not speak for the North
Carolina Republican Party.

   State Sen. William Martin, a black Democrat asked: "Whose brand of
Christianity is this?  It's not mine."

Forsyth County Democrat Larry Womble was even more direct.  "Those kind of
statements border on the philosophy that the Ku Klux Klan used to espouse
and maybe still espouses today.  "

Rep.  Joanne Bowie, Greensboro Republican, said that Davis' apology was
insufficient, and that her fellow lawmaker should repudiate the contents of
the e-mail entirely.

"As a member of the Catholic faith in this body," said Bowie, "it did
offend Catholics.  We are at a very difficult time.  I think it's appalling
that this type of information is circulated...  Rep.  Davis, I am offended
and very hurt."

Davis is described in the N&O press accounts as "a retired military officer
and businessman aligned with the House's Christian conservatives" who is
"not new to controversy."

"He previously expressed concerns about funds earmarked for abstinence-
until-marriage programs going to comprehensive sex education, and he
defended tough questions about schools funding in 1998, saying he knew it
was upsetting 'the socialists and the liberals.'"

Christian Identity is an extreme racialist-Biblical theology linked to the
Aryan Nations movement.  Believers adhere to a bizarre "two seed" view of
the Old Testament, where the ancestors of Anglo Saxons are the chosen
people, and Jews the offspring of an illegitimate union between the devil
and Eve.  They also see themselves locked in a cosmic struggle against Jews
and non-White "mud people," and say that America will be the site of an
apocalyptic Armageddon or Racial Holy War (RAHOWA).  The movement was
founded in 1970 by Rev.  Richard Butler, who established a whites-only
redoubt in Idaho.

- - - - -

Foes target white supremacist's visit: Schaumburg cops gear up for speech
Mickey Ciokajlo (Chicago Tribune)
23 Aug 01

Schaumburg police aren't the only ones preparing for white supremacist Matt
Hale's appearance Saturday at the village library.

As officers plot ways to prevent outbreaks of violence that have plagued
Hale's appearances this year Downstate and in Connecticut, opponents are
gearing up for possible confrontation.

"We will have sufficient people there to do what needs to be done," said

Tzvi Ben Aaron, chairman of the Chicago chapter of the Jewish Defense
League. "I will do anything I can legally to prevent him from speaking.
Peacefully if we can, forcefully if we must."

Fearing damage to the three-year-old library, board members initially
rejected a Hoffman Estates woman's request for Hale to speak there. Hale
sued, and the Library Board relented this month after a federal judge
refused to dismiss Hale's claim.

Hale will be permitted to speak at 7:30 p.m., more than two hours after the
library closes, in a second-floor room that can be accessed from outdoors
by an emergency stairway.

Schaumburg police are saying little about how they intend to keep the
peace.

"We are taking the adequate measures necessary to ensure the public
safety," Lt. Dennis Carroll said. "Do we have preparations? Yes. But we're
not getting into it."

In March, three people were arrested in Peoria after a melee that included
stink bombs and pepper spray broke out between Hale's supporters and
counter-demonstrators in the public library's basement. Two weeks earlier,
police in riot gear broke up a clash at a Hale appearance in Wallingford,
Conn.

Hale, the leader of East Peoria-based World Church of the Creator, gained
notoriety two years ago when a self-proclaimed follower, Benjamin Smith,
went on a shooting spree across the Midwest that left two people dead,
including former Northwestern basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong, and injured
nine others.

Hale's last major Chicago-area appearance was in January 2000 on
Northwestern University's Evanston campus, where several hundred protesters
pelted him with snowballs.

Kathleen Robertazzo, who invited Hale to speak at the Schaumburg Township
District Library, said she fears becoming the target of violence. A group
called Anti-Racist Action, whose members clashed with Hale in Peoria,
mailed fliers to Robertazzo's neighborhood in the past week with her
address and telephone number in an attempt to intimidate her, she said.

"They have no right nor invitation to come out into my area and tell me
what to do or say," Robertazzo said. "If I want to bring in Matt Hale to
stir up things with our local politicians, it's none of their business."

Anti-Racist Action representatives could not be reached for comment.

Robertazzo has said she invited Hale because of concerns about the
increasingly diverse population in the northwest suburbs. Recent census
data show black, Hispanic and Asian populations are increasing in that
area.

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BOOK/MOVIE REVIEWS:

Brenda Cossman and Ratna Kapur, "Secularism's Last Sigh? -- Hindutva and
    the [Mis] Rule of Law," Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001

Reviewed by:
Yoginder Sikand (South Asia Citizens Wire)
20 Aug 01

As Hindutva worms its way into every sector of civil society, its logic
threatens to take on the form of accepted and incontestable truth. Not
content simply with capturing political power, Hindutva has now spread its
tentacles to establish a firm presence in the bureaucracy, the media,
education, the police and so on, through a variety of seemingly innocuous
frontal organisations. Hindutva ideologues have even targetted the legal
system, calling for replacing the present Constitution by what they see as
one true to Hindu principles and teachings as they understand them. The
growing challenge of Hindutva, and the extreme dangers that this poses for
prospects of genuine secularism in India, is what this timely, well-
researched and thought-provoking book is all about.

Cossman and Kapur take as their point of departure the decision by the
Supreme Court in a case in 1995 involving accusations against candidates of
the Shiv Sena/ Bharatiya Janata Party in the Maharashtra state elections in
1987. They were accused of inciting hatred against Muslims, advocating a
Hindu Rashtra, a state based on the ideology of Hindutva, and thereby
violating the law for appealing for votes in the name of religion. The
decision of the Supreme Court in the case came as a shock to secular
opinion. The accusation of misusing religion in the name of Hindutva
levelled against the Shiva Sena/ BJP candidates was dismissed.

Predictably, the Hindutva combine welcomed the decision with glee and
rejoicing.

The authors regard the decision of the Supreme Court as tragic for the
country, and as having only served to further embolden the advocates of a
fascist Hindutva state. They argue that the Court's opinion that appeal to
Hindutva did not constitute misuse of religion on the grounds that,
allegedly, Hindutva represents 'the way of life of the people of the
subcontinent" is wholly incorrect. The Court, they say, has failed in
actually ascertaining what exactly Hindutva means to its protagonists and
the relation it bears to what is known as Hinduism. Critically examining
the writings of the ioneers of the Hindutva movement, including such
figures as Savarkar, founder of the Hindu Mahasabha, and Golwalkar, chief
of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, they show that Hindutva is based on a
fascist agenda that is vehemently opposed to the rights and identity of
non-Hindu groups, particularly Muslims and Christians. In other words,
appeal to Hindutva in election campaigns does actually constitute a gross
violation of all secular principles, which the Supreme Court is actually
meant to uphold. That the Court, in its wisdom, decided otherwise the
authors regard as ominous for the future of India as a plural, democratic
and genuinely secular and democratic society.

While the Supreme Court decision forms the crux of the book, the authors
also reflect on an appropriate model of secularism for India today. They
dismiss Hindutva claims of standing for what it calls 'positive secularism'
as actually representing a thinly-veiled 'majoritarianism' They also
critique a passive understanding of secularism as mere tolerance of diverse
faiths, which again, they opine, reflects a 'majoritarian' ethos. They
appeal for a radical substantive equality of different
religious groups, which might require special safeguards for minorities to
offset in-built disadvantages and discrimination. They also point to the
need for inter-faith dialogue initiatives for promoting better
understanding between followers of different faiths, and to offset the
tendency of what they call the 'majority community' to impose its own
vision of equality and tolerance on the rest. The point is well taken in
principle, but in the Indian context, where the 'Hindu' identity,
consisting of numerous, often mutually opposed castes, is itself a flimsy
construction, the notion of a 'majority community' is misleading. Indeed,
one can argue that by going along with the understanding of 'Hindus' as a
monolithic 'majority community' the authors and other 'secularists' like
them only play into the hands of their Hindutva foes. The radical Dalit
critique of Hinduism and Hindutva as Brahminism is completely ignored, as
is the Ambedkarite understanding of the 'Hindu' 'majority community'
identity as an edifice constructed by the 'upper' caste minority to promote
its own interests using the logic of majoritarian rule. That fundamental
flaw aside, this book excels, a timely warning of the impending dangers of
sanctified terror that threatens to plunge India into irretrievable chaos.

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

REAL POLITICAL CORRECTNESS:
It's from the rightwing authoritarians and always has been

Good God! Faith-Based Scams Proliferate, Raise Questions About Federal,
    Local Funding Initiatives: 'I've seen more money stolen in the name of
    God than in any other way,' says securities official
AA News
11 Aug 01


With President Bush and lawmakers proposing multi-billion dollar funding
schemes to operate faith-based social services, others are warning of a
proliferation in scams involving congregations and religious groups
throughout the country.

In a statement released earlier this week, the North American Securities
Administrators Association said that religion-based investment fraud is
becoming more common and more sophisticated.

"Who could people trust more than someone who sits next to them in church
every week?"  asked Deborah Bortner, president of the Washington, D.C.-
based organization.  Bortner also serves as Securities Director for the
state of Washington.  "I've been a securities regulator for 20 years and
I've seen more money stolen in the name of God than in any other way."

For American Atheists President Ellen Johnson, the prospect of pouring
billions of dollars into the coffers of religious groups not only
jeopardizes the separation of church and state, but invites fraud and
abuse.

"Churches say they want taxpayer funding, but they don't want the type of
regulatory oversight and accountability that is designed to protect the
public," she said.  "Bush is proposing the biggest transfer of wealth in
the history of this country between churches and the U.S. Treasury, which
is going to create more fraud and theft than ever before."

Much of the scamming now going on inside houses of worship is described by
regulators as "affinity fraud," since it involves using religion as a tool
in gaining trust and money.  It was first recognized as a problem in 1989,
when the NASAA and the Council of Better Business Bureaus co-sponsored a
report examining how over $450 million was lost by 15,000 investors during
the previous five years.  Since then, the number of scams has skyrocketed.
Over the past three years alone, officials in 27 states have hauled
individuals or companies operating under the veil of religion into court in
actions involving more than 90,000 investors, some of whom lost their life
savings.  Among them:

* Washington state investigators shut down the Island Mortgage
   Company/Northwestern Investment Company which sold over $14 million in
   fraudulent promissory notes.  The combine also collected more than $26
   million in premiums from the Society of Friends (Quakers) for nonexistent
   health insurance policies.  According to the Seattle Times, the founder
   of the company and his son "led lavish lifestyles that included
   waterfront homes, car collections and condos in Hawaii." In 1997, the
   pair were sentenced to prison on multiple counts of fraud and tax
   evasion.

* One of the biggest scams involved the Baptist Foundation of Arizona,
   which used a maze of over 120 front corporations to bilk 13,000 investors
   out of $590 million.  BFA managed church building funds and retirement
   account savings, pouring the cash into an inflated real estate market and
   then using an elaborate web of shell companies and transactions to cover
   losses.  The Foundation began aggressively raising money from new
   investors, using some of it to pay off previous obligations.  Mark
   Sendrow, director of securities for the Arizona Corporations Commission
   said, "That the Foundation's senior management could solicit hundreds of
   millions of dollars from investors, knowing that what they were running
   was nothing but a huge Ponzi scheme, is unconscionable."

In May, 2001, officials of the BFA including treasurer Donald Deardoff,
pleaded guilty to charges of fraud.  Five others are awaiting trial on 32
counts each of theft and racketeering.

* Last week's warning from the securities group came within hours of the
   sentencing of Gerald Payne, a founder of the Greater Ministries
   International Church on charges of fraud and conspiracy.  Payne's church
   raised $580 million between 1993 and 1998 with lavish promises of huge
   returns for backers through "divinely inspired" investments in the
   volatile currency arbitrage and precious metals markets. Investors were
   also lured by ownership interest in foreign shipping lines, and were told
   by Greater Ministries that the program was "anointed."  Payne frequently
   cited Bible verses like Luke 6:38 -- "Give, and it shall be given unto
   you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over,
   shall men give into your bosom."

Joseph Borg of the Alabama Securities Commission charged, "Gerald Payne and
his associates made faith in God synonymous with faith in their investment
program.  Sadly, while Payne was telling people to put every penny they
could get their hands on -- equity, assets and loans -- into his scam, he
also told them they lacked faith if they tried to get even the most basic
information on their investment."

Evidence uncovered during the probe into Greater Ministries include video
showed Gerald Payne at a pulpit informing backers that his group had become
the "mineral bank" of a certain un-named foreign country with abundant
natural resources.  "Glory to God!"  Payne declares on the tape.

For their role in defrauding followers, the 65-year-old minister was
sentenced this week to 27 years in prison.  Wife Betty Payne received a 13
year prison term for her part in the scheme.  According to the Seattle
Times, "Investigators have yet to find the missing millions, which they
believe might be stashed in secret, offshore accounts."

* Another example of faith-based fraud was the IRM Corporation, which
   bilked investors in five states of approximately $400 million.  The
   company offered bogus promissory notes and participation in limited
   partnership schemes in the California real estate market.  Regulators in
   Michigan shut down the company's activities there in May, 1999 but not
   before over 2,400 investors had been recruited, many through church-based
   organizations or by ads airing on religious radio and television
   programs, including the "Back to God Hour."

Like the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, IRM used a network of over 100
fronts to operate what investigators say was a classic Ponzi scheme,
siphoning off money and paying previous investors with cash from new
partners.

* Capital Plus Worldwide Financial Services recruited over 100 investors
   through a network of African American houses of worship before regulators
   in Tennessee ended the scheme.  The firm promised clients that their
   money would be used in an extensive reconstruction effort throughout the
   African continent, and still return up to 120% annually from joint
   ventures and fraudulent "bank debentures" from European financial
   institutions.  Worshippers lost $3.9 million, while company founder
   Ricardo Gant used $2.3 million in Capital Plus Worldwide revenue to go on
   vacation, accumulate a collection of antiques, expensive clothing, horse
   farms and take casino junkets.

* In July, acting as the Washington state securities regulator, Ms.
   Bortner's department issued a cease-and-desist order against Tri-Ject
   International and its chairman, Peter Lemin.  Lemin had joined an
   Episcopal congregation, where he enticed parishioners to invest in the
   "ENSI Safety Syringe," a disposal syringe with a retractable needle that
   would supposedly reduce the risk of accident needle sticks. According to
   the Puyallup (Washington) Herald newspaper, 250 investors poured in over
   $500,000 in return for stock which Lemin said that been issued in
   accordance with federal Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.

In fact, the company had not registered with either the Washington State
Securities Division or the SEC.  The matter is still under investigation.

                  From Armageddon To The Prosperity Gospel

According the North American Securities Administrators Association, con
artists tailor their schemes to specifically exploit religious groups.

* One method involves warning congregations that doomsday, Armageddon and
   other disasters are immanent, and that investments will act as a hedge
   against times of crisis.  Gold, silver, platinum and other "precious
   metals" are often touted as "security" against volatile real estate and
   stock markets.  Others might offer parcels of land for speculative
   purposes or use "in times of crisis."

* Operators can claim that a portion of the profits will benefit a
   worthwhile cause, and even help religious institutions while still
   delivering handsome profits to investors.  One example was the New Era
   Philanthropy which in May, 1995 collapsed after conducting a huge Ponzi
   -style scheme which enticed more than 1,200 non-profit groups --many of
   them religious or religion-affiliated -- to invest.  (In a Ponzi or
   pyramid scheme, payments from late investors are used to pay large
   returns to earlier investors.)

In September, 1996, the U.S.  government filed an 82-count indictment
against New Era's President, John Bennet Jr., who was convicted of
diverting millions of dollars for his personal use over a six-year period.
Scores of religious organizations and leaders including the Lancaster Bible
College, Southfield Christian School, United Kingdom Charities Board, Young
River Ministries, Maranatha Bible & Missionary Conference, and even Sir
John Templeton of the Templeton Prize were enticed with promises of huge
profits from their investment.  New Era declared that for every dollar put
into the fund, $2 would be earned in less than a year.  Bennet was
convicted, though many investors never saw their principle again.

Why are faith-based scams becoming so popular?  Is there an inherent
problem if religious groups suddenly enjoy an infusion of billions of
dollars from the public treasury in order to operate social programs? It
all raises questions of accountability and oversight.

"Cloaking an investment with religion can give it a false aura of safety,"
says Brad Skolnik, Indiana Securities Commissioner.  "It's one thing to
tithe or give an offering so that your money is used for good works, it's
another thing if you're led to believe you'll get a monetary return...."

Just as money can disappear in a Ponzi scheme cloaked under the mantle of
religious respectability, though, some worry that faith-based social
programs -- often unregulated and unmonitored -- are an invitation for
fraud and abuse.  There are already disturbing hints that this could be
taking place:

* Florida Gov.  Jeb Bush's "Front Porch" program is already experiencing
   trouble.  The outreach involved heavy emphasis on recruiting houses of
   worship to operate faith-based community initiatives.  In one case,
   though, money from a Department of Justice grant for a "revitalization"
   program ended up in the hands of a man with a 12-year history of drug and
   weapons convictions.  In another case, a Health Department program review
   uncovered thousands of dollars being used for "indirect" and "other"
   expenses.  And the Tampa Tribune newspaper raised questions about a
   "faith-based Trojan horse" bill in the legislature which would increase
   the number of religious groups receiving funding.

* In Philadelphia, the man hired by Mayor John Street to coordinate the
   city's aggressive faith-based partnership program has been indicted by a
   grand jury on charges of theft, but still continued to draw his $96,000
  -a-year salary even after being quietly dismissed 10 months earlier.

Philadelphia has been a bellwether city in using public money to subsidize
houses or worship conducting community service programs.  The former
manager, Rev.  Randall E.  McCaskill, had been tapped for the job "to
promote volunteer and religious efforts to foster youth mentoring, clean up
blighted neighborhoods, and welcome returning prisoners to their
community."  He was a founder of the influential Black Clergy of
Philadelphia and Vicinity in 1981, a religious group which supports
political candidates, including Mayor Street and former Mayor Ed Rendell.

The intersection between faith-based scams and the potential gold mine of
government funding of religious social programs has yet to emerge as an
issue in the media, or on Capitol Hill.  "It's difficult enough holding
religious organizations accountable now," warned Ms. Johnson. "Faith-based
groups are already receiving direct and indirect government assistance, and
it is next to impossible to keep track of it all."  She pointed to the
situation in Texas, where the director of a faith-based program, the
Community Enrichment Center, boasted that his organization would not hire
Atheists despite receiving much of its annual budget from taxpayers.

A state official was quoted in the Star-Telegram newspaper, noting: "No one
tracks all the religious groups that receive federal funds or how much
money is distributed through North Texas because the process is too
decentralized and the sources of financing too varied."

"No one's keeping track," said Ellen Johnson.  "We're just handing out the
money, and it's there for the taking."

                               * * * * *

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)

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