The secretary of the Seattle/Cuba Friendship committee has been accused by the federal government of "organizing and promoting" a conference having to do with the sister city relationship between a province of Cuba and Seattle, says Tom Warner, head of the friendship group. Warner says he, the head of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and Dwight Pelz, King County Councilman, received letters about this at the same time. "Apparently what triggered it was a Bush attempt to prevent King County from becoming a sister region with Gran'ma Province in Cuba--which they were successful at." The vote was 7-6.

Warner says "I may have the dubious honor of being the first person who has been attacked by the Bush administration for using the internet to oppose the policies of the government. What I have been accused of is using the internet and the website of the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee to 'organize and promote' a trip to Cuba without a license. I regularly do publicize trips to Cuba, both licensed and unlicensed. I have had to engage attorneys on my behalf to represent me in this matter."

Warner continues, "I am concerned that this assault on the freedom of speech and expression--especially through the internet--be stanched before it chills people's free expression and their ability to respond to objectionable behavior by the government or other powers in authority. Failure on my part to respond in a timely manner to these accusations can result in a penalty of thousands of dollars. As a first step in fighting against this undemocratic act by the Treasury Department, I would like... concerned citizens to publicize this attack on free speech." Warner's lawyer responded to the Treasury Department saying, in part, "it is our position that people have the right in this country even to urge others to travel to Cuba without a Treasury Department license, notably, nothing on the Internet posting urges people to break the law in order to attend the conference.... There is no indication that someone posting information on an Internet website about a conference in Cuba would expect that people reading the website would not be eligible for a specific or general license, issued by the Treasury Department under one of these various sections."

Supporters can contact Warner and the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee at 8923 2nd Ave. NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, (206) 523-1720, [email protected], www.seattlecuba.org.

FCC Raids Berkeley Liberation Radio
On Dec. 11, 2002, agents of the Federal Communications Commision confiscated the broadcast equipment of Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM. Using a little known legal tactic, the FCC acquired an arrest warrant for the transmitting devices. "This is a free speech issue and the FCC is trying to prevent us from exercising our First Amendment right," said Bryan Smith (BPM Smith), a Berkeley Liberation Radio DJ. "If more people ran radio stations without their endorsement then the FCC would lose power. That makes them attack us but the FCC cannot govern us and they cannot extort money from us by way of fines." The station has been on the air since the summer of 1999 providing music and information to the San Francisco Bay Area. Operating without a license, BLR has defied the media monopoly and federal government by exceeding the one tenth of a watt power limit imposed by the FCC. By exercising our right to free speech guaranteed by the US Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, we challenge the FCC's authority and demand that they return our community property. Beyond the confiscation itself, we question the timing of this act of repression, as the US government prepares for war. It cannot be our music that the government fears, but our speech. The last thing a government bent on war wants is a vocal opposition, and the last thing we can afford to lose is that - our voice. The only barrier to endless war is endless reason. We, the volunteers of BLR, vow to return to the airwaves, with the support of free speech lovers everywhere. We refuse to surrender our rights to any bureaucrats. Berkeley Liberation Radio exists to provide a voice for the diverse community within the Berkeley/Oakland area and beyond. Further, it is a vehicle...to bring about social change. Consistent with a vision of creating an alternative diverse hybrid society free of sexism, homophobia, racism, and all other forms of oppression, programming on Berkeley Liberation Radio will be reflective of those goals and ideals. For more information write to [email protected]

Seattle's Radical Radio Voice
The radio waves are dominated by right-wing talk and news that isn't, but in Seattle you can tune in to Mike Webb, who broadcasts his "live and local" talk show M-F from around 10pm to 1am weeknights on AM 710 KIRO. Mike is against the war in Iraq, against the Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act and more. He brings experts on to talk about the issues, takes calls from listeners and is an expert in popular music. Go to mikewebb.org to get his exact schedule.

The Washington Free Press
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