Library Juice 3:19

Library Juice 3:19 - May 17, 2000 Contents: 1. Sanford Berman Bibliography and Websites 2. James and Matthew's Library Underground 3. Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information 4. ALA Intellectual Freedom Policies and the First Amendment 5. Award for best LIBRI student paper 6. Academic Exchange Quarterly call for papers 7. Information for Social Change Call for papers 8. All That JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources 9. IFLA/FAIFE report of the Kosova Libraries Mission 10. Mark Rosenzweig on ALA's Investments 11. Baum, L. Frank 12. Oxford University Press (OUP) Reading Room 13. MagPortal 14. 1stHeadlines-News 15. Chamber's Book of Days 16. Taking Action for Peace 17. Fun Facts About US Human Rights Abuses Quote for the week: "We have a situation, therefore, where, in general terms, one third of the population is middle class and yet this class makes up two thirds of library users; conversely, two thirds of the population are working class, but this class makes up only one third of library users." John Pateman, in "Public libraries, social exclusion and social class," _Information for Social Change_ #10, Winter, 1999-2000 http://libr.org/ISC/articles/10-public.html Home page of the week: Laura Reiner http://web.simmons.edu/~reiner/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 1. Sanford Berman Bibliography and Websites http://www.uncg.edu/lis/students/student_organizations/lissa/sandysbib.html _____________________________________________________________________________top 2. James and Matthew's Library Underground http://www.LibraryUnderground.com/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 3. The May 1, 2000 edition of the "Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information" is available at: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUBJIN_A.HTM The page-specific "Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information" and the accompanying "Electronic Sources of Information: A Bibliography" (listing all indexed items) deal with all aspects of electronic publishing and include print and non-print materials, periodical articles, monographs and individual chapters in collected works. This edition includes 1,239 titles. Both the Index and the Bibliography are continuously updated. Introduction, which includes sample search and instructions how to use the Subject Index and the Bibliography, is located at: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUB_INT.HTM This message has been crossposted to several mailing lists. Please excuse any duplication. ************************************************* *Marian Dworaczek * *Head, Acquisitions Department * *and Head, Technical Services Division * *University of Saskatchewan Libraries * *E-mail: dworaczek[at]sklib.usask.ca * *Phone: (306) 966-6016 * *Fax: (306) 966-5919 * *Home Page: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze * ************************************************* _____________________________________________________________________________top 4. ALA Intellectual Freedom Policies and the First Amendment Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 15:10:01 -0500 From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org> Subject: [IFACTION:805] ALA Intellectual Freedom Policies and the First Amendment To: Intellectual Freedom Action News <ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org> ALA Intellectual Freedom Policies and the First Amendment http://www.ftrf.org/ennis.html >From time to time, the Freedom to Read Foundation receives questions regarding the relationship of the ALA intellectual freedom policies to the First Amendment. People often want to know whether or not ALA*s policies go beyond the First Amendment. This article, which answers these questions, first appeared in Volume 19, No. 1 / 1994, Freedom to Read Foundation News. It was written by by Bruce J. Ennis, General Counsel, Freedom to Read Foundation. _________________________ Don Wood American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 312-280-4225 800-545-2433, ext. 4225 Fax: 312-280-4227 http://www.ala.org/oif.html _____________________________________________________________________________top 5. Award for best LIBRI student paper K. G. Saur Verlag Munich, Germany announces the 2000 annual award for Best LIBRI Student Paper Since 1950, through 50 volumes, LIBRI International Journal of Libraries and Information Services has been a leader among scholarly journals in the international library world. As part of its strategy to remain one of the premier library journals, LIBRI is issuing a call for "Best Student Paper of 2000." This competition supports LIBRI's goal of publishing the best articles from the next generation of library and information science professionals. We are proud once again to recognize the very best article with this special award. Students at all levels* are invited to submit articles with clarity and authority. For 2000, there is no stated theme. Research papers should address one of the significant issues facing today's librarians and information professionals. Case studies, best practices, and pure research papers are all welcome. Length: approx. 5000 words Language: English Deadline: May 31, 2000 The best paper will be selected by a panel consisting of the members of the Editorial Board, the Advisory Board, and other international experts. The paper will be judged on the basis of * originality of thought and observation * depth of research and scholarship * topicality of problems addressed * the international readership of the journal The article will be published in the 2000:3 issue. The author of the winning article will be honoured with an award of 500.00 USD and with a complementary subscription to LIBRI for 2001. If the quality of competition warrants, some papers may be designated as honourable mention and the authors will receive complementary subscriptions to Libri for 2001. Manuscripts should be sent to the LIBRI Editorial Office, Statsbiblioteket, Universitetsparken, DK 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. * Exception: Senior information scholars returning to school for additional degrees outside the field of library and information science are not eligible for this award. 15 October 1999 _____________________________________________________________________________top 6. Academic Exchange Quarterly call for papers Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 10:13:24 -0400 From: librefed <librefed[at]kent.edu> Subject: Academic Exchange Quarterly MIME-Version: 1.0 >===== Original Message From "T. G. McFadden" <mcfaddet[at]union.edu> ===== Colleagues: I am editing an issue of AEQ on information literacy. I should like to have papers by librarians and/or other faculty members on this topic, according to the manuscript guidelines descibed on the AEQ website. If you have a (short) paper just burning to get out, take a look. If you have a friend who might want to contribute something, please let him/her know. Here's how to find out about the topic and the process: 1. Go to http://wwww.higher-ed.org/AEQ/ 2. Click on "Academic Exchange" 3. Click on "Invitation" 4. Click on "Call for Manuscripts" 5. Click on "Content and Publication Schedule" 6. Scroll down to the Fall, 2001, issue description T. McFadden T. G. McFadden, Director Schaffer Library Union College Schenectady, NY 12308 _____________________________________________________________________________top 7. Information for Social Change Call for papers Combating racism in library and information services The June 2000 issue of Information and Social Change will be devoted to articles, experiences and views on combating racism in library and information services. The need to address racism in libraries is highlighted by Roach and Morrison (1998) and recommendations of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. No forum exists to address the needs of Black1 communities and of Black LIS workers to document their experiences of racism or their thoughts on improving policies and practices . The serious nature of the problem is reflected in the fact that out of over 20,000 personal members of the Library Association, only 1.2% - i.e. 286 individual members - are of African, Caribbean or Asian background. Even more worrying, only 3 Black members earned over £27,000 p.a. (Khan, 2000). What is the solution to this serious social problem? Real workable solutions will emerge only from an open debate about the problems and possible resolutions. Black LIS workers, black or white policy makers and managers who implement policies all have a duty to engage in a debate to address this matter. It is for this reason that Information for Social Change is devoting its next issue to combating racism in library and information services. Contribution can be experiences of racism in work places, examples of good practice, ideas on possible policies and practices to eliminate racism. Research findings and recommendations by Roach and Morrison provide a useful starting point for a debate on this issue and are reproduced below to provide a framework for future action. Please submit articles to the address below. They can be hand-written, typed or on disc (Word). They can be e-mailed also. Closing date for submission is May 31, 2000. Address for submission is: Mr. Shiraz Durrani Information for Social Change London Borough of Merton Library & Heritage Services Merton Civic Centre London Road Morden, Surrey SM4 5DX e-mail shiraz.durrani[at]merton.gov.uk Tel. 020 8545 4061 Fax: 0181 545 3629 References Khan, Ayub (2000) "Stamping out institutional racism". Library Association Record 102(1) pp. 38-39. Roach, P. and Morrison, M. (1998), "Public Libraries, ethnic diversity and citizenship". Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick, Warwick. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry; report of an inquiry by Sir William Macpherson. Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department. 1999. London. The Stationary Office. CM 4262-I. 1 The term Black is used in its political sense to include all people from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean and all those who consider themselves Black. It includes those born in Britain but whose parents or grandparents came from Africa, Asia or the Caribbean. It is meant to highlight aspects that unite people on the basis of their common history of oppression. The term often used in the USA is "People of Color". The TUC, Unison and many other progressive organisations have Black sections today. The term 'ethnic minority ' is used less today because of its association with marginality. The debate about what name to use is not over yet and an appropriate term will evolve in the course of the struggle for equality. It is the people themselves who will ultimately decide what to call themselves. _____________________________________________________________________________top 8. All That JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources >===== Original Message From "Gerry Mckiernan" <GMCKIERN[at]gwgate.lib.iastate.edu> ===== _All That JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources_ I am pleased to announce the establishment of a new registry of Web sites that list or provide access to the full title of abbreviated journal titles. The registry is appropriately titled _All That JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources_ and is accessible at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/JAS.htm Sites have been categorized within broad subject groupings (e.g., General, Agriculture, Biosciences, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Medicine) In addition to separate listings or access for abbreviated journal title, selective OPACs that offer abbreviated title searching are also included. Some sites also provide access to the full title of other types of abbreviated publications (e.g., conference proceedings) I would most appreciate learning of other candidate sites that offer access to the full title of abbreviated publication titles for any subject for future incorporation within _All That JAS_ Thanks! /Gerry McKiernan Science and Technology Librarian and Bibliographer Iowa State University Ames IA 50011 gerrymck[at]iastate.edu "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It!" Alan Kay _____________________________________________________________________________top 9. IFLA/FAIFE report of the Kosova Libraries Mission The IFLA/FAIFE report of the joint Unesco, CoE and IFLA Kosova Library Mission is now available on the FAIFE website at: http://www.faife.dk/faife/kosova/kosorepo.htm. The report provides a general assessment and proposes a short and medium-term development plan. International support in terms of funding and professional assistance is now needed to reconstruct libraries and a functioning library network. One might rightfully ask, why bother about libraries, in a situation when people lack even houses, heating, electricity and other truly basic commodities? Library services can be an important, and fairly easily applicable, tool in the promotion of reading, education and culture in a region with few or no other offerings and a population with a large share of children and youth. Libraries can, not least in an area like Kosova, provide local gateways to knowledge, reflect the plurality and diversity of society and support the process of democratisation. The Kosova Library Mission proposes a three to four years action plan, Kosova Library Project 2000+, for the rehabilitation and enforcement of libraries in Kosova. The plan includes short-term projects and attempts to point out longer-term strategies. The plan suggests the formation of a time-limited body, a Kosova Library Consortium, which should include both local doers, major international donors and international organisations providing professional expertise and advise. A more elaborate and detailed action plan on Kosova libraries could be developed within this framework. The action plan includes a proposed range of 11 special programmes to be established, each covering different needs and aspects of library activities. The suggested programmes vary in nature and financial weight. An initial and very rough estimate of the funding needed for basic short-term measures amounts to around DM 14 millions. One programme lines out the structural basis on which the rehabilitation process can be founded. The five programmes requiring the most immediate initiative and a heavy part of external funding are a Mobile Library Programme,a Reconstruction Programme, a Professional Training and a Development Programme, a Books and Reading Programme, and an Information Technology Programme. There are important correlations between these programmes: The reconstruction of buildings is a longer-term task, which may take some years. Therefore mobile library services are suggested as a fairly immediate compensatory initiative. The buildings themselves have no value without books, technology or qualified library professionals. A Cultural Heritage Programme aims to provide practical solutions to urgent preservation and security needs. A Children and Youth programme and an Open Access Programme are of a more library political nature with the aim to reform and streghten certain important aspects of the societal role of libraries. The last two programmes are suggesting the establisment of specific tools to ensure and promote local involvement and participation. Carsten Frederiksen, IFLA/FAIFE Office, 10/05/00 _____________________________________________________________________________top 10. Mark Rosenzweig on ALA's Investments Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 01:05:56 -0400 To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net> Subject: [ALACOUN:4673] Fwd: ALA Endowment Information The following note has been posted to the Council list by ALA President Sarah Ann Long highlighting an aesthetically pleasing "reformatting"( but, unfortunately, not a reconsideration) of the ALA investment policy, affecting only how it appears on the web site. My compliments for the re-design. Disappointingly,, there is no answer in that lovely reconfiguration of the web page that I can see to my or Councilor Kagan's inquiries regarding the very serious matter of the criteria of investment with regards to social responsibility being met by the Endowment's portfolio or in the way that portfolio is managed to take that into consideration. Very specific violations of recognized norms of social responsibility in oinvestment have been pointed out at this point and there is morem and very disturbing data yet to be revealed. There are companies in our portfolio against which large-scale, international "corporate campaigns" of protest are being waged, companies which are arms dealers, companies which are involved in anti-labor activities and sweatshops, companies with an anticompetitive conflict of interest with library management and development, companies which are MAJOR polluters of the environment, companies with direct historic ties to fascist government, which employted slave labor in the Hitler era (e.g. Daimler-Benz ). I won't enumerate further here (that's only a hint of the problems), but I, and others, will do so shortly (and, if necessary, publicly). Is this the kind of economic activity we want to support, especial;ly when the returns have been significantly less over the same period compared to the best SRI funds? I should have expected a reconsideration, considering Council had previously been blithely told by Councilor Margolies on behalf of the Endowment Trustees that our funds were asssuredly ALREADY invested in a socially responsible manner. When Councilor Kagan presented the Council with a detailed analysis of a large portion of the portfolio by a recognized SRI fund, in which they found significant and widespread breaches of reasonable criteria of social responsibility in the disposition of our investments, that there would be some response. I hope Councilors concerned that our "money is where our mourth is" join together in insisting that the matter of socially responsible investment (which alone is completely consistent with the social and ethical commitments embedded in ALA policy ) be instituted in some sytematic and meaningful way, and that such a policy, especially given the lackluster performance of the present investment regimen, should be one of the basic criteria of the endowments actions . Do Councilor Margolies and the Trustees still maintain that they have not only optimized investments (which is highly questionable!) but maintained a commitment to social responsibility in doing so? Let's use our endowment to insure ALA's financiial future more effectively AND contribute to the social aims which ALA professes.. Mark Rosenzweig ALA Councilor at large >Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 18:04:24 -0500 >From: Sarah Long <slong[at]nslsilus.org> >To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> >Subject: [ALACOUN:4672] ALA Endowment Information > >Dear Councilors: > >Information on ALA's Endowment has been reorganized on the ALA >Treasurer's page at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/treasurer/ You'll find >the listing at the end of the first page. A new fact sheet is >included, FYI. > >Sarah >-- >Sarah Ann Long >President, American Library Association, and >System Director >North Suburban Library System >200 West Dundee Road >Wheeling, IL 60090-2799 >(847) 459-1300, ext. 7125 >(847) 459-0380 FAX slong[at]nslsilus.org >http://www.sarahlong.org _____________________________________________________________________________top 11. Baum, L. Frank -- 1856-1919 - http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/author01.htm This is the Oz Encyclopedia's chronological biography of the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which started a series of books and inspired the 1939 movie. Oz Books is a bibliography of all of his books, songs he wrote for his plays, and his short stories. It includes works under various pen names and works by others about Baum and Oz. By selecting "characters," "places," or "things" from the menu at the bottom of each page, one can access Critteria Ozlandus: A Who's Who; GeOz-graphy: The Oz Places; and Oz-jects: The Oz Things; each offering a selection of search options. - gs From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org _____________________________________________________________________________top 12. Oxford University Press (OUP) Reading Room [.pdf] http://www.oup.co.uk/readingroom/ Though of course created to sell OUP books, this site is a useful resource for university instructors, scholars, or anyone interested in the latest works from one of the foremost academic publishers. The site is currently divided into thirteen reading rooms (Politics, Anthropology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, History, Literature, Philosophy, etc.), each of which offers sample chapters (.pdf format), tables of contents, and other information on the latest offerings in that field from OUP. In addition, users can browse each reading room by their particular interest. For instance, the Literature reading room is subdivided into topics such as Shakespeare, Romantic Literature, Nineteenth Century Literature, Twentieth Century Literature, and Criticism and Theory, among others. An internal search engine is also available. [MD] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 13. MagPortal http://MagPortal.com Created and provided by Hot Neuron LLC, this current awareness resource helps users stay abreast of recent free magazine articles available online. Updated each business day, the site organizes the articles in twelve main categories, including Business, Internet, Family & Home, Sports, Health, and Science & Technology, among others. Each of these are further divided into varying numbers of subcategories. The articles are briefly described, and links are provided to the full text and the main site of the periodical. In addition, users can access a list of similar articles via an icon at the end of most article descriptions. A keyword search engine is provided at the main page, and registered users can mark and save articles for future reference. Although a master list of the periodicals indexed by the site would be a welcome addition, the site as it stands is quite helpful for users searching for current pieces on selected topics or simply tracking the latest writing in their areas of interest. [MD] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ Note: I think it would be worth lobbying MagPortal to include alternative titles. Business ventures like that are eager to please the consumer. -ed. _____________________________________________________________________________top 14. 1stHeadlines-News - http://1stheadlines.com/ Current headlines from over 300 newspaper, broadcast & online sources around the world are included in this site. Updated daily, headlines can be viewed by state or country, searched by keyword, or selected by subjects such as business, health, sports, and more. Top stories are categorized for easy selection. - ec From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org _____________________________________________________________________________top 15. Chamber's Book of Days http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/BookofDays/ Subtitled _A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in connection with the Calendar_, _Chamber's Book of Days_ is essentially a collection of "On this Day" trivia, short pieces, and other interesting tidbits, including history, literature, biography, and "oddities of human life and character." Digitized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, this electronic reprint may be browsed in page order or via a calendar navigator. The site offers a fun look into pop-history/ tabloid news of the late nineteenth century. For instance, I discovered that on the day of my birth in 1626 "a cod-fish was brought to Cambridge market, which upon being opened, was found to contain a book in its maw or stomach." An auspicious date to be born indeed. [MD] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 16. Taking Action for Peace Some recently updated Peace Movement Website - A short briefing Introduction A lot of individuals talk about doing something about world peace, but are not so clear about what might be done, or what type of Organisations could use their help, or those that might become activly involved within. There are a number of peace movemnt organistaions that could use volunteers, or which have an urgent need for funding. This is particualy true in the case of most of the organisations that I have included within this briefing. N.B. This webbriefing is not so much been put together to survey to the peace movemnt, but so that you might get an idea about what is the very best in terms of current issues. The Websites Peace Brigades International ( P.B.I. ). http://www.igc.org/pbi/ ' Peace Brigades International (PBI) is a grassroots non-governmental organization that explores and promotes nonviolent approaches to peacekeeping and support for human rights. When invited, we send teams of volunteers who go into areas of political repression and conflict. The volunteers accompany human rights defenders, their organisations, and others who have been threatened by political violence. In most countries, those responsible for human rights abuses don't want the world to witness their actions. The presence of PBI volunteers backed by an Emergency Response Network helps deter violence. Volunteers also conduct peace education workshops and spread information about the conflict situation. In this way, we help local activists to work for social justice and human rights.' This website gives details about the work of BPT, its various projects, & country groups. There are BPT volunteers in: Colombia | East Timor | Haiti | Mexico | North America There are also Joint projects with other organisations in Chiapas & the Balkans. The website also contains Archives of closed projects in Guatemala | Sri Lanka There is also a lot of other information about aspects of the work of BPT, & how people can get involved / support its various projects. The website also has link to various other International humanitarian & peace movement organisations, together with a very useful list of organisations within Guatemala, & links to related websites in Haiti, Sri Lanka, North America, etc. ...................... Balkan Peace Team ( B.P.T ). http://www.balkanpeaceteam.org/ This is perhaps one of the most interesting & worthwhile of the various peace initiatives that is currently happening within ex-Yugoslavia. 'Balkan Peace Team (BPT) is a project that provides day-to-day support for the work of peace and human rights advocates in the states of the former Yugoslavia.' 'At the invitation of local non-governmental organisations, BPT has placed international teams of volunteers in Kosovo/a, Croatia and Serbia where their daily presence has helped to enable local activists to carry out their work more effectively.' The website gives one both details of this work, and information about how to support the project. BPT is a joint project of the following organisations, for which some links can be found upon the website: Brethren Service, Geneva, Switzerland Bund f�r Soziale Verteidigung, Minden, Germany Dutch Mennonite s working group ex-Yugoslavia Eirene International, Neuwied , Germany International Fellowship of Reconciliation Mouvement pour une alternative nonviolente, Paris, France ÷sterreichische Friedensdienste, Vienna, Austria Peace Brigades International Quaker Peace and Service, London, England & War Resisters' International ................................. graswurzel http://www.comlink.de/graswurzel/links.html This is the webpage of the Radical German periodical, which I would highly recommend any German speaker to read. The website also contains come very useful links upon it' They are organised to include the following types of organisations: Anarchist. anti-nuke. Anti-militarist. Anti-racist. Anti-sexist. group projects. Arts & culture. Ecology. & Peace movement periodicals There are also links to Norbert's Bookmarks http://www.dfg-vk.de/links/bookmark.htm Which is a directory that all information workers should at least be aware about, as it gives information & links about many radical projects. What is particularly of note is that these links also include ones to those bodies that we are all opposed to - e.g. British Nukiller Fools, General Electric ( US ), IEAE, etc ..................................................................... SIPAZ Servicio Internacional para la Paz / International Service for Peace http://www.sipaz.org/frme.htm ' SIPAZ is a coalition of organizations dedicated to Peacebuilding and non-violent conflict transformation. SIPAZ has a team of volunteers in Chiapas and many dedicated friends working outside of Chiapas. The SIPAZ international coordinating office is based in Santa Cruz, California, USA. ' This website is available in English, Spanish, French & Italian. There are currently reports & information about the Chiapas. Links upon this website include, for example: The Mexican Academy of Human Rights AME la PAZ Office of the Americas - Web links Peace Brigades International Eastern Mennonite University & Social Justice Committee of Montreal ................................ Peace Movement Aotearoa / New Zealand http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/chechnya.htm 'The national networking organisation for those concerned about peace and related issues in Aotearoa/New Zealand.' A website for those who wish to really keep up to date with various peace movement/human rights concerns, not just within NZ, the Pacific, Asia, but from right across the globe. This is a really informative website, and one which I have always found to be of great value. ................. Womens International League for Peace & Freedom ( WILPF ) http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org This is a website that has a lot of good information about anti-nukiller weapon issues. Unfortunately, I have had some problems in downloading this website, which always seems to freeze my screen with just 4 more items to download upon the homepage. Thus I have note been able to look at this webpage or review it here. ...................... Global Connections http://members.home.net/globalconxion/index.htm This website describes itself as: 'An International Roster of Prominent Non-Government Organizations Advocating Abolition, Containment, or Clean up of Nuclear Weapons.' Here you will find a listing of organisations by Country, & in alphabetical order. While this website has some useful information upon it, there are a couple of points that should be made about it. Namely: a. That there are some inconstancies in presentation, e.g. of zip codes & phone numbers. b. That while there is background info on some organisations, for many there is only contact details. & c. That it is not a comprehensive listing, Unlike the Housmans Peace Directory. In other words, this is a useful website, but not one that should be used in isolation. .......................... Vietnam Veterans Against the War http://www.prairienet.org/vvaw/index.html To quote the website: 'Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc. (VVAW) is a national veterans' organisation that was founded in New York City in 1967 after six Vietnam vets marched together in a peace demonstration. It was organised to voice the growing opposition among returning servicemen and women to the still-raging war in Indochina, and grew rapidly to a membership of over 30,000 throughout the United States as well as active duty GIs stationed in Vietnam. Through ongoing actions and grassroots organisation, VVAW exposed the ugly truth about US involvement in Southeast Asia and our first-hand experiences helped many other Americans to see the unjust nature of that war.' 'We believe that service to our country and communities did not end when we were discharged. We remain committed to the struggle for peace and for social and economic justice for all people. We will continue to oppose senseless military adventures and to teach the real lessons of the Vietnam War. We will do all we can to prevent another generation from being put through a similar tragedy and we will continue to demand dignity and respect for veterans of all eras. ' The website has a lot of information about the organisation upon it, plus articles from its current & previous issues of its periodical 'The Veteran'. These go back to: "The 1st Casualty" - Volume 1, Number 1 - August 1971 The website also includes an account of how the 'Vietnam Veterans Against the War' Logo ( a nice anti-militarist design ), came to be designed. This is a website for those who want to get hold of material that is written from experience. ............. While on the subject - the Veterans for Peace website http://www.veteransforpeace.org/ is well worth taking a look at too. ....................... Afterthoughts It might also be noted that while the main peace movement organisations can become very stretched during a crisis ( e.g. Kosov[at], Iraq, East Timor, Chechnya, etc ), there is still the more day to day work that has to be carried on at all times. So support is still important during these other times - Especially right now, as some of these organisations are suffering from MAJOR financial problems ! In the meanwhile it might be noted that Monday May 15th is International Conscientious Objector's Day Martyn Lowe - May 2000 _____________________________________________________________________________top 17. Fun Facts About US Human Rights Abuses From: Common Courage Political Literacy Course <webmaster[at]commoncouragepress.com> "Every country on earth has ratified the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the death penalty for juvenile offenders, with two exceptions: Somalia, which effectively has no government, and the U.S.. Even China, one of the world's most enthusiastic criminal-killers, recently banned juvenile executions." --"Wasted Youth," The Mojo Wire, December 23, 1999 "(T)he U.S.A. is also one of only a handful of countries that have not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women." --Amnesty International "United States of America--Rights for All," October 1998 "The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, meeting in Geneva in April, called for a moratorium on all executions. The resolution was co-sponsored by 63 nations. The U.S. was one of the few countries to oppose it, along with such countries as Bangladesh, China, South Korea and Rwanda." --Death Penalty Information Center "The Death Penalty in 1998: Year End Report," December 1998 "And the United States was one of only seven states voting against the statute creating the ICC [International Criminal Court] at the Rome Diplomatic Conference in July; 120 states voted for the treaty." --Human Rights Watch "World Report 1999, United States," explaining how the U.S. opposed the creation of the legal entity which it then cynically proceeded to use to promote the war effort in Kosovo. "In the case of landmines, the United States refused to join the 133 nations, including nearly every major U.S. ally, that had already signed the treaty by October 1998." --Human Rights Watch "World Report 1999, United States" (This material is compiled in David McGowan's, "Derailing Democracy," now available from Common Courage Press at http://www.commoncouragepress.com/mcgowan_derailing.html ) More from the Common Courage Political Literacy Course - http://www.commoncouragepress.com "The U.S., which has 5% of the world population, will have a quarter of its prisoners in the year 2000." - Justice Policy Institute "The Punishing Decade," December 1999 "The United States now imprisons more people than any other country in the world - perhaps half a million more than Communist China." - Atlantic Monthly "The Prison-Industrial Complex," December 1998 "Our incarceration rate plays such a distorting role in the labor market, one study found that the U.S. unemployment rate would be 2% higher if prisoners and jail inmates were counted." - Justice Policy Institute "The Punishing Decade," December 1999 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Some background to the incarceration of the mentally ill in the US prison system By Debra Watson 6 March 2000 In February the United States reached a benchmark of 2 million individuals in its prisons and jails. The US incarcerates the greatest number of people of any country in the world, and has become a worldwide example of prison abuse, especially in the use of the death penalty. In state after state growing numbers of juveniles are being tried and sentenced as adults. The US Department of Justice has estimated that 283,800 mentally ill offenders were held in state and federal prisons and local jails at mid-year 1998. Additionally 547,800 mentally ill persons were on probation. Seven percent of federal inmates and 16 percent of those in state prisons or local jails or on probation said they either had a mental condition or stayed overnight in a mental hospital, unit or treatment program. A Michigan Community Health Department survey indicates the number of mentally ill suffering in prison may be even higher than the Justice Department figures. The Justice in Mental Health Organization refers to statistics in the 1999 Michigan survey of three state jail systems. They note that while the number of prisoners that screened positive for mental health concerns using standard survey methods was 12 percent, the number rose to 34 percent when a psychologist interviewed each inmate in depth. Stung by criticism that the indigent mentally ill were being denied care and forced instead into jails, Department of Community Health Director James K. Havemann, Jr. did not release the full results of the survey. excerpts papadop[at]peak.org From AgitProp News - http://www.igc.apc.org/laborart _____________________________________________________________________________top L I B R A R Y J U I C E | http://libr.org/Juice/ | | Library Juice is supported by a voluntary subscription | fee of $10 per year, variable based on ability and | desire to pay. You may send a check payable in US funds | to Rory Litwin, at PO Box 720511, San Jose, CA 95172 | | Original material and added value in Library Juice | is copyright-free; beyond that the publisher makes | no guarantees. Library Juice is a free weekly | publication edited and published by Rory Litwin. | Original senders are credited wherever possible; | opinions are theirs. If you are the author of some | email in Library Juice which you want removed from | the web, please write to me and I will remove it. | | Your comments and suggestions are welcome. | | Rory[at]libr.org This page was created by SimpleText2Html 1.0.3 on 16-May-100. ay-100.