Media, right-wing, police fan racial flames on Gates arrest

Who is fanning the flames on race and police in the wake of the arrest of esteemed historian and professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr.? To read all the headlines and hear all the bloviators -- its President Obama, its Gates himself or its Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. But it's never the media, never the Rush Limbaughs and never the police.

There was a lot of righteous outrage when Harvard's Gates was arrested -- and then relief when subsequently the charges were dropped. But even in the early hours of the news of Gates' arrest the media -- quoting the arresting officers report -- portrayed Mr. Gates as out of control and yelling.

Who wouldn't be just a wee bit upset after a long flight from China to come home and find your door unopenable. And then police showing up on your steps -- and perhaps -- rude themselves.

"Skip" Gates -- IMHO -- is a brilliant man who has dedicated his life to bringing to life the American experience as experienced by Black Americans. he is the WEB Du Bois of our times. A people's scholar and intellectual. Anyone who has seen his PBS shows tracking the geneaology of famous African Americans as a doorway for us all to walk through and understand history and its real time impact knows what an American treasure this person is.

Yet -- its anyone who agrees or raises their voice to the possibility of racial profiling and the link of this esteemed professor to the everyday occurance of thousands of African Americans -- and others -- in the hands of those who think they ARE the law, instead of just color-blindly enforcing the law who are stirring the racial pot. Not anyone who may be perpetrating racism. No.

Some police officer association spokesperson took offense not at President Obama's use of the word "stupidly" but at his linking the Gates outrageous arrest to the history of racial profiling! He demanded an apology for that! Come on. It's like the proverbial -- give em an inch they take a mile. Ok maybe stupidly wasn't the best word -- but you cannot fault the president for bringing up facts of life.

It's the opponents of the president -- and of equality and justice -- that have seized the moment to frame this discussion. It's past time to reframe it with truth.

On the rebellions in Greece

From the Greek Communist Party (KKE) on the riots over the police shooting a teenager.

As you probably already know riots have broken out in
Athens and in several Greek cities.

We thank all the comrades expressing already solidarity
with the struggle in our country against the police
provocations.

The unrest began on 7.12. in the centre of Athens soon
after the killing by police forces of a young man in
Exarchia district.

Riots then spread to Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest
city, to the northern cities of Komotini and Ioannina, and
to Crete.

Two police officers have been suspended, and an inquiry is
under way.

Interior minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said in a statement:
"The government expresses its profound regret over this
incident.

"An inquiry on the circumstances of the death has already
begun and, if the policemen are found to have been derelict
in their duty, the punishment will be exemplary."

In Athens police fired tear gas at hundreds of
stone-throwing youths, who went on a rampage as news of the
shooting spread.

After a lull of a couple of hours, rioting resumed shortly
after midnight local time (2200 GMT), with some protesters
marching through Athens city centre and others fighting
police outside the National Technical University of Athens.

In Thessaloniki dozens of youths attacked a police
precinct, while others blocked a road near the university
campus.

An Interior Ministry press officer told Reuters news agency
that Mr Pavlopoulos had offered his resignation to Prime
Minister Costas Karamanlis, but it had been rejected.

The riots continued also on Sunday 7th December.

The Communist Party of Greece and the Communist Youth KNE
are organizing on Monday 8th and on the following days
protest rallies in all big cities of the country.

The 4 biggest Universities of the country are closed and
more will follow on the next days.

Under the popular protest the government was forced to
close all the public schools for the 9th December.

KKE and KNE issued a statement [ see bellow] condemning
the police attacks and the growing police violence against
workers, immigrants and young people. Mass mobilizations
and protest demonstrations will follow since on 10.12.08 is
planned the next big general strike against the "anti
crises" measures by the government in favour of the big
capital an on the expenses of the working people.

=========

Statement by the Press Bureau of the CC of KNE on the
murder of the 15-year-old boy

We condemn the murder in cold blood of 15-year-old
Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos committed by a policeman
in the Exarchia area of Athens.

The leadership of the police forces and the government bear
outsized responsibility.
This incident is a result of the education and orientation
of the security forces which are directed against the
people, against the popular and working class movement,
against the struggle of the youth.

The repressive measures of the state are fully in line with
the attack against the life and the rights of the youth to
work, education and stable working time, through the
flexible working relations. Their target is to cause fear
to the workers and the youth.

The arsons and damages have nothing to do with the mass
popular movement. Such attacks legalise violence and
authoritarianism. On the other hand, they are used as an
alibi by the government of ND as well as by the previous
ones, in order to conceal the fact that the target of state
repression is the popular labour movement.

The only effective response to the provocations of the
government is the organised popular movement; the
combative, organised, self-protected mobilisation of the
youth. The real causes and the responsibility for this
incident should not be concealed as it has been in other
cases (e.g. torture of immigrants in police stations, the
beating of the student in Thessaloniki etc.).

We appeal to the youth to express its indignation, to
protest, to condemn and to make, through its organised
struggle, accountable politically and criminally the
responsibles for the police attacks.
Schools, universities, TEI (Technical Education Institutes), IEK (Vocational Training institutes) and evening schools should be closed down. The mass organisations should release statements condemning the police attacks and organise mass demonstrations and rallies. The youth along with the popular labor movement