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SAYING NO TO UNCLE SAM, P.5 • SURVIVING UGANDA, P.6 • IRAQ’S WHACK ELECTION, P.7Issue #65, Feb. 9 – March 1, 2005 •a FREE paper for free peopleMoving Beyond Bush & Dickpages 8-15indypendent.org

NYC’S LARGEST HOUSING RALLY IN A DECADE: Fermina Santiago (left) and Carmen Rodriguez (right)proudly represent All Saints’ Church of Brooklyn at City Hall, Feb. 2, 2005. PHOTO: ANTRIM CASKEYRAGE AGAINST RENTTBY STEVEN WISHNIAhe worst thing is when you have a joband can’t afford housing,” saysWilliam Medley. “Rent’s too much.For a studio they want $900 a month. For astudio!”Medley, 42, was crossing the BrooklynBridge to join the “Housing Here and Now”rally at City Hall on Feb. 2. A tall, lankyblack man with oval glasses and two crossesin his left ear, he’s currently unemployed –“I’m a jack of all trades, master of none, but mypassion is cooking,” he says – and lives in ahomeless shelter in East New York. He cameout to the rally after seeing flyers in the shelter.“I’m homeless. I need housing. I’m goingto put in my voice,” he explains.The rally, sponsored by a coalition of morethan 100 labor unions and housing, community,and AIDS-activist groups, drew severalthousand people. It was a diverse crowd: GrayPanthers and Queers for Economic Justice,Teamsters in satin baseball jackets advertisingtheir locals and teenagers putting a hiphopbeat on hoary leftist chants.The protest had five main demands: useBattery Park City money to build and preserveaffordable housing; guarantee housing for lowandmoderate-income people in neighborhoodsbeing rezoned; win back New YorkCity’s right to determine our own rent laws;provide permanent housing for homeless peopleliving with AIDS; and support legislationfor better inspections and tougher penalties forlandlords who don’t maintain buildings.Many people carried “Repeal the UrstadtLaw” signs, referring to the state law thatbans the city from enacting its own rent regulations.“Why has Mayor Bloomberg foughttooth and nail to gain control over ourschools, but not over our rent laws?” askedHilda Chavez, a speaker from the NorthwestBronx Community and Clergy Coalition.CHILDREN LEFT BEHINDA different housing-education connection wason the mind of Nether Carter, parent advisorychair at PS 42Q in Far Rockaway, Queens.Homeless children in the school, she says, aremissing the English Language Arts test,which is used to determine whether pupils getpromoted to the next grade, because they’rebeing bounced from shelter to shelter.“It’s not one or two. There’s thousands ofthese children,” she says angrily. “No childleft behind? These are the children being leftbehind!”The homeless are the most visible part ofthe city’s housing crisis, but the biggest partANTHONY MARTY, 14, of the Youth PowerProject of Make the Road By Walking, aBrooklyn-based community organization,marches across the Brooklyn Bridgetowards the rally at City Hall.is the squeeze it puts on working people.There was a strong labor presence at the rally,with many people wearing baseball caps inthe purple and yellow of the ServiceEmployees International Union or the darkgreen and gold of District Council 37. DC 37printed up scores of black-and-white signsreading “No More Luxury Construction,” and“Don’t Price Me Out of the Market.” Oneunion official spoke of construction workerscommuting from Pennsylvania because theycan’t afford to live here any more.“My rent goes up and my pay is lower.We’re playing tug-of-war here. Every timeyou catch up you’re a step behind,” saysWilson Lassus, 38, a Brooklyn hospitalworker and SEIU Local 1199 member. “Theonly way we can make a difference is if wesupport each other. Every community shouldunite and give each other strength.”“Housing is our main problem. Rent is sohigh. And most of the apartments haveroaches,” says Joyce Thompson, 73, aJamaican-born resident of Parkchester, in theBronx. She’s retired and pays more than $800in rent; others in the neighborhood paymore—”plus gas, electric, heat. It’s hard.”At the other end of the generational spectrumwas a high-spirited group of about 50students from the School for Social Justice, asmall high school in Bushwick, chanting “Si,se puede” (yes, we can) and “Where housingat?” to the beat of cowbells and plaster buckets.“People don’t have heat in their house,”says Veronica Calle, 15.“We’re the voice that doesn’t get heard,”says Diandra Atkinson, 16, a student at LouisD. Brandeis High School in Manhattan. She’swearing the red armband of Youth AgainstHomelessness, a project of the Coalition forthe Homeless that “allows youth who’ve experiencedhomelessness to speak out,” an organizerexplains. There are 15,000 homeless youthin New York City, says Ashana Balliram, 17.Another contingent wore “Queers forEconomic Justice” stickers. How is housing aqueer issue, other than that gay and lesbianNew Yorkers have to pay rent too? “A lot of it’sthe same, but transgender people and stonebutch lesbians have a hard time getting housing,”answers QEJ organizer Jay Toole, 56, ofBrooklyn. Almost half the city’s homeless youthidentify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender,adds Jessica Stern, 28, of Brooklyn, and many ofthem were thrown out of their homes by theirparents after they came out.NEEDED: NEW ZONING LAWSAnother demand was for “inclusionary zoning,”requiring permanent affordable housingto be part of any new development in the city.The Bloomberg administration has dramaticplans to rezone the waterfront in Williamsburgand Greenpoint for luxury high-rises, but hasnot committed to including a definite amountof affordable housing in the plan, says BarbaraSchliff of Los Sures, a housing group inSouthside Williamsburg.“Right now, they’re only talking aboutincentives [for developers],” she explains.“We want a plan that’s going to be good forthe whole neighborhood, not just pushingeverybody out.” Neighborhood activists wanta minimum of 40 percent affordable housingin the plan, she adds.SAVING PUBLIC HOUSINGPercentages are critical to any inclusionaryzoningscheme. Developers in Manhattan gettax breaks if they agree to include 20 percentaffordable housing, but “we’re trying to get abetter split. Twenty percent is not enough,”says Pat Boone, vice president of ACORN’sNew York State chapter.Saving public housing was a priority forHilda Wright, vice president of the tenantsassociation at the Beach 41st Street Houses inFar Rockaway. Otherwise, “the people don’thave a place to go. The rent outside’s as highas the sky. And now Bush is talking abouttaking Social Security.”“I’m protesting to help others,” says LorraineNunez, 45, who’s grateful that she’s finallyfound a place to live, in a building designed forthe formerly homeless. “I used to live in thestreets, live in abandoned buildings. I thankGod every day I have my housing.” Her advicefor Mayor Bloomberg? He should watchTrading Places, the 1983 movie in which EddieMurphy played a homeless man who switchessocial stations with a Wall Street broker.“We are not just a pressure group. We arean advance guard for a movement for affordablehousing,” declares Velma Murphy Hillof Afford Chelsea. “We have a message forMayor Bloomberg: We will not give up.”IN BRIEFBROOKLYN COPWATCHERSBUSTED ON FELONY CHARGESThree members of the Malcolm X GrassrootsMovement Copwatch Program werearrested on assault charges in theBedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklynshortly after midnight on Feb. 9.Lumumba Bandele, Desaw Floyd andDjbril Toure said they were arrested whilevideotaping the police beating a personon Greene Avenue. After police told themto leave the area, the Copwatch activistsinsisted they had a right to monitor policeactivity. The police then arrested all threeon charges of assault and obstruction ofgovernmental administration.“This arrest is outrageous,” said attorneyKamau Karl Franklin. "They wereinvolved in completely legal activities."MOMA FEATURES INDYMEDIAFILMS IN DOCUMENTARY SERIESAs part of MoMA’s DocumentaryFortnight film series, a collection of independentmedia films about the war in Iraqwill be shown on Feb. 12 at 5:15 p.m. Theselection, “Art and Politics: Indie MediaMakers Respond, features short films byfilmmakers from NYC Indymedia andDeep Dish TV on topics ranging from dailylife in occupied Iraq to how American soldierscope with fear by listening to rockmusic. More info: moma.org‘BROOKLYN 7’ DEFENDANTSPREPARE FOR MARCH TRIALOver 18 months after the brutal policeraid of a Brooklyn benefit party, supportersof APOC (Anarchist People of Color) arepreparing for the March 21 commencementof the trial. The Brooklyn 7, as the defendantshave come to be known, are chargedwith several offenses, including attemptedassault, inciting a riot and resisting arrest.Numerous witnesses claim that it was infact police who attacked them withoutprovocation. Dozens of police descendedon the party in a matter of moments,deploying chemical sprays and assaultingpartygoers on the pretext of an open containerviolation. Several party-goers wereinjured. For ongoing coverage, checknyc.indymedia.org and criticalresistance.org.TWO MILITARY RECRUITINGSTATIONS VANDALIZEDTwo Army recruiting stations, in the Bronxand Manhattan, were vandalized in unrelatedincidents on Jan. 31. Police arrested19-year-old suspect David Seigal after hewas seen loitering in the Bronx area.According to police, antiwar materials werefound in his possession. Fire marshals andthe Joint Terrorism Task Force are alsoinvestigating the incidents. CBS Newsreported. There are no suspects in theManhattan attack.BLOOMBERG’S $800 MILLIONGIVEAWAY$823 million. That’s the amount MayorBloomberg plans to essentially give up inpotential city revenue if he succeeds in hisplan to sell the New York Jets a 13-acre plotof land on the West Side of Manhattan.According to Juan Gonzalez of the DailyNews, the economics of the deal goes likethis: The Jets are offering to pay $100 millionfor 13 acres on the West Side. The footballteam claims the plot of land is worthjust $35 million as is, or $350 million if thestate builds a deck over the rail yards.However the Metropolitan TransportationAuthority has appraised the land value at$923 million on the open market.OSSIE DAVIS, 1917-2005Actor, playwright and civil rights activistOssie Davis has died at the age of 87. “Alion has fallen,” said death-row journalistMumia Abu Jamal upon Davis’ passing.Both on screen and off, Davis was a giantand not just because of his booming baritonevoice. In 1965 he eulogized Malcolm Xcalling him our “own black shiningprince.” For the past four decades he andhis wife Ruby Dee engaged in countlesshuman rights and peace campaigns.THE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 3

advertise withTHE INDYPENDENTcheap, easyeffective4 FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 THE INDYPENDENTBOOKS | COFFEEDEMOCRACYVOXPOPNET.NET | 718.940.20841022 Cortelyou Road, Brooklynbooks•coffee•democracy•wifi•espresso•cappuccino•acousticlivem u s i c • r a r emagazines•green-capitalist•anarchistmarxist•blacknationalist•feminism•kids’-books•9/11 books•paulwellstone books •guardianweekly •new york times•classic iMac rental•organicequal exchange coffee•specialbook ordering•book clubdiscounts•cool greetingcards•kids’ art-makingnook•custom blended teas•ham & cheese croissant•chai•bagels & egg nog•matte latte•(what’s that?)The NEWInstaBookTechnologyNOW IN NYC!yourVox Pop printspaperback BOOK,right herein our bookstoreBOOKS: kids | 9/11 | anarchistgreen-capitalist | marxist | feministblack nationalist212.684.8112indyads@indypendent.orgTHE FUNDING EXCHANGE celebratesSaturdayFebruary 19, 20057:30pm—midnightStrata nightclub915 Broadway at East 21st St.For ticket information,Call 212.529.5356 x315Or email lloyd.martinez@fex.orgwww.fex.orgFRANK REYNOSOINDYARTS.ORGYears of‘Change,Not Charity’Special GuestsHarry Belafonte& Suheir HammadAwards HonoringKatherine AceyCharles Hey-MaestreGeorge Pillsbury& the Center ForDemocratic RenewalMADELINE ARROYO WATCHES AS JASON LEWIS helps her prepare her taxes.Free and Easy:Community Groups Offer Tax Prep AlternativesMadeline Arroyo used to pay a private company $100 to have her taxesprepared. Now, Arroyo gets her taxes done free and quick at the LowerEast Side People’s Federal Credit Union thanks to an increasingly popularprogram across the city that enables low income wage earners to getfree assistance with their taxes as well as rapid refunds within a coupleof weeks of filing their forms.TBY KAT AARONhis is great for the community,” saysArroyo, 29, who will keep every dimeof her modest $300 tax refund.“When you’re low on cash, it’s great to beable to come to a place like this and knowthey’re doing it the right way.”This marks the third year that the creditunion and more than 100 other sites aroundthe city are preparing people’s taxes for free,on the spot. Many people who came to thecredit union last year for tax prep are returning,and bringing friends and relatives.“When their refund is calculated and theysee the amount, and they realize that everypenny of it is going in their pocket, you justsee so much joy in people’s faces,” saysMeagan van Harte, coordinator of free taxservices at the credit union. “These are workingpeople, and they need that money.”In addition to preparing basic tax returns,the volunteer sites can help low income NewYorkers to claim the Earned Income TaxCredit (EITC) – a major tax credit for workingpeople which can bring in up to $4,300 ayear. Since the EITC is available for up tothree years retroactively, families can reclaimupwards of $10,000 – a significant boost formany working families struggling with thepoor job market and rising prices.These free tax sites offer a sharp contrast tothe high-cost tax preparers that target lowincome neighborhoods of color. The storefrontspop up at the start of each year, with emptyoffices transformed into Jackson Hewitt or HRBlock outlets promising immediate cash. Butthe so-called “rapid refunds” these preparersoffer are in fact high-interest-rate loans, withannual percentage rates of 40-700 percent.Nationally, low-income consumers are theones stuck with most of these expensiveEDGAR MATArefund-anticipation loans. Almost 75 percentof Jackson Hewitt’s customers have incomesless than $30,000. And these high cost loansare siphoning off vital Earned Income TaxCredit dollars, one of the few anti-povertyprograms left unmolested by the Bushadministration. A new report by the NationalConsumer Law Center estimates that nationwidepeople receiving the EITC are spendinga total of $1.73 billion dollars to get theirrefunds.Margarita Lopez, City Councilmemberrepresenting the Lower East Side, has been asupporter of the free tax-prep sites since theyappeared in 2003. And with good reason –last year alone, the credit union sites in herdistrict processed almost 2,000 free taxreturns, bringing over $2.1 million inrefunds to the neighborhood. Other free sitesaround the city coordinated by theCommunity Food Resource Center preparedover 10,000 returns totaling $18.5 millionin refunds.But Lopez notes that there’s still a longway to go, with over 230,000 New Yorkersnot filing tax returns and claiming the benefitsfor which they qualify. “Those 230,000people are equivalent to $500 million thatwe are losing in the city of New York,” shesays. And while putting tax dollars in NewYorker’s pockets is important, Lopez mentionsanother critical reason to file a taxreturn. “This is money that belongs to us,that we…have worked for and put in the coffersof the federal government. And I’ll bedamned if that $500 million is going to beused to buy guns to kill people in Iraq.”For more information about free tax preparationsites in New York City, see nedap.org; or call theIRS at 800-829-1040. Sites may have incomerestrictions on their service; most offer free tax prepto filers with incomes under $36,000-$40,000.indypendent.org

antiwarActivists Target Military Recruiters, Recruiters Target StudentsNo Thanks, Uncle SamWBY JORGE MARISCALhen Boston College student JoePrevitera decided to protest thewar in Iraq, he headed to the oneplace that keeps the war machine wellstocked with fuel – his local recruiting office.Previtera put on a black hood and cape, stoodon a box, and attached stereo wires to hishands. The message was clear enough. Therecruiters say “money for college,” but thereality of war says “Abu Ghraib.”No one signed up that day, and Previterawas arrested by Bostonpolice and subsequentlycharged withtwo felonies having todo with “making falsebomb threats”(charges were laterdropped). In his act ofgrassroots pedagogy,Previtera joined a growing number ofactivists across the country that are focusingtheir attention on military recruiting as oneof the most important fronts in the struggleagainst militarism and war. While many peoplecontinue to generate fearful predictionsabout an impending draft, others have realizedthat the so-called volunteer army isalready a form of conscription for those youngpeople with limited economic and educationalopportunities.Over 50 people staged an act of civil disobedienceoutside a recruiting office near theUniversity of Wisconsin in Madison inNovember. Four students and a universityemployee entered the office and deliveredtheir press release, refusing to leave until therecruiting station was turned into a financialaid office. The four protesters were arrestedfor trespassing.In their press release, the Madison groupcalled recruitment “a predatory practice” andargued: “the war in Iraq has seen hundreds ofthousands of soldiers sent to fight in a needlessconflict. A large proportion of these soldierswere recruited from the most disempoweredsegments of American society – thepoor, people of color, high school students.Recruitment often takes the place of financialaid or a decent job, and it is grossly unfair.”For a two-week period following the protest,a Madison television station conducted a surveyon its website. Evidently counter-recruitmentactivists still have much work to do: 58 percentof the over 900 respondents answered “no” tothe question “Are Military RecruitingSOLDIER OF PEACEAmy Goodman (left) of Democracy Now!looks on as former Marine StaffSergeant Jimmy Massey (right) speaksFeb. 6 at Joe’s Pub in downtownManhattan. Massey described how hekilled unarmed demonstrators while inIraq and said he hopes to be triedsomeday for war crimes.“I’m not going to stop,” he added,“until I have my commanding officer incourt across from me.”“[Military] recruitmentoften takes the place offinancial aid or a decent joband it is grossly unfair.”Methods Unfair or ‘Predatory?” Protest organizerspromised they would revisit the recruitingstation in the near future.In Vermont, activists converged on a localNational Guard recruitment office. Among the50 states, Vermont has one of the highest percentagesof its population in the Guard, andmany have been deployed to Iraq and Kuwait.Organizer Leo Schiff called military recruiting“deceitful and deadly.” In a local newspaper inMontpelier, one letter writer observed that theU.S. Constitution may actually prohibit theuse of Guard troops in foreign conflicts, sinceArticle I, Section 8 grantsCongress the power “toprovide for calling forththe Militia to execute theLaws of the Union, suppressInsurrections andrepel Invasions” but notthe power to deploy theGuard overseas.One of the more dramatic protests targetinga recruitment station took place in lateNovember in Philadelphia. Increasingly frustratedby the lack of response from the Officeof Housing and Urban Development to theneeds of local homeless families, members ofthe Kensington Welfare Rights Union movedout of the “Bushville” tent city they had establishedand staged a sit-in at the city’s mainArmy recruiting station. Carrying signs thatread, “Bring the Money Home” and “Billionsfor War, Still Nothing for the Poor,” theybriefly took over the office and issued a list ofdemands, including affordable housing anddomestic-violence shelters. Several homelessfamilies stated that they had relatives fightingin Iraq. The sit-in ended peacefully when fireand police officials arrived, and the homelessfamilies returned to their encampment.“Operation Bring the Money Home” will continue,the KWRU says.On Jan. 20 in Seattle, hundreds of studentswalked out of schools to protest the war inIraq. At Seattle Central Community College,an ethnically diverse group of working-classstudents surrounded an Army recruiters’ tableand tore up enlistment literature, forcing therecruiters to leave the campus.Counter-recruitment actions at communitycolleges may be the wave of the future, giventhe Pentagon’s increased interest in recruitingthere. A 2003 study by the Rand Corporationsaid that “the greatest enlistment potentialexists among two-year [college] students andtwo-year dropouts.”In related actions, students and faculty atARI EDELKINDthe University of Puerto Rico (Mayagüez andRío Piedras campuses) have sustained a threeyearstruggle to demilitarize their institutionsof higher learning. Born out of the successfulstruggle by the community of Vieques,Puerto Rico to remove the U.S. Navy bombingrange, the University Front forDemilitarization and Education) has led thefight to oust ROTC programs. They haveused sit-ins and hunger strikes to block theconstruction of an Air Force ROTC building,and temporarily took over an Army ROTCoffice where they painted murals withcounter-recruitment themes on several walls.One of the faculty leaders is mathematicsprofessor Hector Rosario who, as an untenuredfaculty member, risked his career by participatingin a fast at the end of last summer. Hewas suspended from teaching and will notreceive any salary until university officials considerhis case this March.With at least 23 Puerto Ricans from theisland killed in Iraq so far and thousands morein the armed forces, the issues of recruitmentand war are controversial. But Rosario and hisstudents will not be deterred. As he wrote lastFebruary: “Students claim these buildings thatwere meant ... of a country not for the militarytraining of its citizens that will eventually participatein the massacre of children. Not in ourname. Not with our resources. Not anymore.”Jorge Mariscal teaches Chicano Studies at theUniversity of California, San Diego. Reprintedwith permission from www.counterpunch.org.EDUCATORSTOTHE WAREAST COASTREGIONALCONFERENCESATURDAYMARCH 5, 20059 AM TO 7 PMHUNTER COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL71 EAST 94TH ST. @ PARK AVE.NEW YORK CITYorganized by K-12, college,labor and social advocacyeducators from the northeastand mid-Atlantic states• assess the state of the war, empire, andour role as educators in the movement tofight it• explore pedagogy and intellectual andcultural materials to bring the war andthe anti-war movement into the classroom,K-12-graduate school• resist military recruitment in ourschools, colleges, and universities• resist any move to bring back the draftTO REGISTER:educatorstostopthewar.org/registration.htmIN BRIEFBUSH USES UNIVERSITIES TOSPREAD PROPAGANDAFirst it was the pundits propagandizingfor the administration, now it is theuniversities. The Palm Beach Postreports that the Bush administrationhas given Florida State University$600,000 since 2003 to put a positivespin on Bush’s education policies.The money goes to the School ChoiceCenter which works to expand the numberof charter and magnet schools inthe state and to help the schools “workthe media.”The Center also promotes the proschoolchoice movement by posting articlesbacking Bush’s policies from conservativegroups including the CatoInstitute, the Heritage Foundation, theCenter for Education Reform and theManhattan Institute for Policy Research.A spokesman for the FloridaEducation Association criticized the programsaying, “I think this is an attemptto present one side of the story andmake it appear as though it’s an objectivething.”The news comes just a month afterprominent pundit Armstrong Williamsadmitted he had received $240,000 fromthe government to promote Bush’s NoChild Left Behind Act.CAMPUS WITCHHUNTTARGETS WARD CHURCHILLUniversity of Colorado professor andlongtime American Indian Movementactivist Ward Churchill has come underintense attack by Fox News andRepublican politicians for writing anessay charging that the 9/11 attackwas a consequence of U.S. foreign policy.The controversy exploded after FoxNews host Bill O’Reilly called Churchillan “anti-American fanatic” on Jan. 28.O’Reilly continued to cover Churchillevery show until Feb. 3.A three-year-old essay suddenlybecame front-page news. Churchill’sspeech at Hamilton College in New Yorkwas canceled. Churchill resigned hispost as chair of University of Colorado’sethnic studies department. The governorof Colorado and New York called forthe tenured professor to be fired outright.Death threats have forced the cancelationof other Churchill speeches.Churchill has admitted he could haveexpressed himself better in the essay –in one part he compares the victimsinside the World Trade Center to “littleEichmanns” – but, he says, the overallmessage in the article has been ignored.“If U.S. foreign policy results in massivedeath and destruction abroad, wecannot feign innocence when some ofthat destruction is returned,” saysChurchill. “Such attacks are a naturaland unavoidable consequence of unlawfulU.S. policy.”BUSH BOOSTS PENTAGONBUDGET BY $19BPresident Bush’s $2.57 trillion 2006budget proposal slashes domestic programsto strengthen defense. Of the 15Cabinet-level departments, nine receivereductions in funding. Over 150 programsreceive funding cuts or are completelyeliminated. The $637 millionCommunity Services Block Grant whichassists low income people with housing,nutrition, education and other needs iseliminated, prescription drug co-paymentsfor veterans are more than doubled,drug education at the state level isdiscontinued and the EnvironmentalProtection Agency budget is decreasedby almost six percent.Not all programs are facing budgetcuts. Abstinence-only education programswill receive $38 million more. ThePentagon’s budget will increase by $19billion – not including the cost of the Iraqand Afghanistan wars.THE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 5

AfricaSurviving UgandaGULU, Uganda—At night fierce winds batter the graying tarp ofthe UNICEF tent at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Center in Gulu.Fifty teenage girls huddle in stiff wool blankets on the floor, undisturbedby the 6 a.m. call to prayer from a nearby mosque, and thepounding of soldiers’ boots from calisthenics. At seven, they slowlyroll from their makeshift beds, fold their blankets and trickle outside,joining hundreds of boys and girls pouring out from identicalshelters. Shivering in thin dresses and T-shirts, they begin the longjourneys back home to their villages.Child survivors of Uganda’s civil war. PHOTO: NEELA GHOSHALWBY NEELA GHOSHAL AND JEREMY KAMPSe always sleep with the light on,”explains Alice, a sturdy 16-yearoldwith close-cropped hair whoseparents were both killed by Lord’s ResistanceArmy (LRA) rebels. “The children get nightmaresin the dark.” This is no wonder, as childrenhave been the primary victims in the18-year-long civil war in northern Uganda.The LRA thrives upon raiding villages,abducting children and forcing them intocombat and service as porters and “wives” forcommanders. Alice walks four kilometersfrom her village every evening to sleep inGulu town, and treks back every morning.‘WE LOOK SO GOOD TO THEM’“They came so many times last year,” Alicesays, looking out at a full moon hanging inthe morning sky. “Girls our age, we look sogood to them. Even a girl of 12 years theymay take as their wife.”Alice is one of the lucky ones. An estimated20,000 children have been abductedfrom northern Uganda since the LRA beganbattling governmental Ugandan People’sDefense Forces (UPDF) in 1986 – over10,000 of those since 2002.Lucy Abalo, 18, recounts her story from aconcrete stoop outside the home where shenow works as a house girl. She was abducted in2000 and handed over to a commander as hiswife. “I totally refused,” she says vehemently.Her refusal prompted a beating, but the commanderwas given another girl in her stead.Her hardships didn’t end there. Lucy wasforced to steal food from villages and to participatein the abduction of 40 boys from a boardingschool. After two years in the bush, shefled and found her way to safety. “We were sixgirls who escaped. But two died on the way.”Ten minutes down the road, Johan Otim,14, sits on a broken bed frame at WorldVision Rehabilitation Center, recounting hisabduction last April. “I had gone to bathewith my friend. Suddenly I saw strange men,rebel men. They abducted the two of us.”Johan and his friend were forced to carry baggagefor a group of eight soldiers. “We wouldbe overworked and fall down and in returnwe would be beaten.” A scar on Johan’s backstill marks the 100 strokes he received forfalling asleep in a tree while on guard duty.The scars borne by former child soldiers areemotional as well. Brenda Achan, 13, wasabducted in July 2003 by a rebel group on itsway to the base of LRA leader Joseph Kony insouthern Sudan. “Many people died on theway,” she remembers, eyes downcast, twistingher hands compulsively. “Those thatcould not walk would just be left by the roadsideand die. Others died of thirst. You wouldhave to walk over your friend like they werenot even human.”World Vision, a California-based“Christian relief” group, is one of severalorganizations that aim to rehabilitate formerchild soldiers. At World Vision, childrenreceive individual and group counseling and“class therapy,” which eases their return toschool. World Vision also emphasizes arttherapy and aspects of traditional culture,such as dancing and drumming.‘NOT THE SAME CHILD ASBEFORE’Sometimes, counseling is provided to parentsas well. “They’re visiting a new child,” saysDennis Oruk, a slender, energetic administrator.“Their daughter may have been abductedat 12 or 14, and now she’s a mother of twokids.” As he speaks, screams erupt nearby.The screams, Oruk explains, are coming froma 15-year-old mother, who recently tried torun away and abandon her baby at the center.“She doesn’t want her baby,” he says – a commonfeeling among the child mothers whohave been raped.World Vision’s work extends into the villagesand internally displaced people’s camps.“We sensitize the community so that they>>Those that could not walk would just be leftby the roadside and die. Others died of thirst.You would have to walk over your friend likethey were not even human.>>really accept the children,” says BarbaraAchiro, a counselor. This can be a difficulttask, given that it’s not unusual for children tobe forced to kill or maim family or communitymembers as part of LRA initiation rites.Acholi culture in northern Uganda emphasizesforgiveness through traditional ceremonies.Justin Okot, a class therapy teacherat Gulu Support for Children Organization,describes one such ritual. “The chief gathersthe population nearby, and they perform acleansing ceremony so that the people canforgive the children for what they’ve done –killing, looting. The children step on eggs,they are smeared with oil, and they drinkMato Oput” – a bitter herb whose consumptionis said to remove the bitterness betweenformer adversaries.But Acholi cleansing ceremonies aren’talways enough. At Coopee InternallyDisplaced People’s Camp, 70-year-old CalitoKissa sits outside his thatched-roof hut, his17-year-old son, Michael, at his side. Kissa, aretired teacher, has seen the stigmatization offormer child soldiers in his classroom. “Theyare isolated and scorned,” he says.“Some things happen in the bush that are soterrible that they fear coming home,” reflectsMichael, who was abducted for six months.“They feel stupid and unaccepted, and thearmy is the only place they are accepted.”Such feelings make children easy targetsfor the UPDF, which recruits formerabductees with open arms. “So many go backto being soldiers,” Michael’s father laments.BREAKING THE CYCLEPrivate groups provide limited support forformer abductees’ school fees or vocationaltraining, but no uniform government policyexists to ensure them alternatives, leading toa cycle of violence.Dennis Olema is one who hopes to helpbreak the cycle. An Acholi who graduatedfrom Kampala’s Makerere University, hereturned to northern Uganda to play his partin rebuilding a badly broken community.With the support of Project NamuwongoZone B, a U.S.-based group of campusactivists advocating for peace in Uganda,Olema is developing a program aimed atbringing together youth who have beenabducted and those who have not. Throughsports leagues, drama and cooperative play, hebelieves stigmatization can be reduced and anelement of normality can be restored to thelives of former child soldiers.6 FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 THE INDYPENDENTBY DONALD PANETHUNITED NATIONS, N.Y.—Multiple worldwide crises arebeing addressed and administered at the United Nationsby men who very seldom either speak for or to the subjectsof their deliberations – people, the rag-tag people.These men are diplomats, foreign ministers, heads ofstate and the enormous numbers of functionaries they commandwho make it possible for them to carry out their questionablepolicies, who can think fast on their feet and havean answer for everything.There are all sorts of crises. There is the crisis in Iraq,on several levels, which refer to both past and present.There is the crisis of murder, rape and refugees in theDarfur region of Sudan; the U.N. Security Council hasadopted resolutions, dispatched missions, receivedreports on Darfur since spring 2004 – nothing has beenU.N. CRISES OF VIOLENCEremedied. There is the crisis of violence and foreign interventionand exploitation of resources which has existedsince 1960 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.There are the equally perennial crises of Palestine/Israel;of poverty, hunger and malnutrition; of disarmament, ofthe environment and climate.To the powers-that-be, it is a game, an exercise in controland manipulation, on which they spend an awful lot ofwords. “Let me be clear,” Mark Malloch Brown said repeatedlyat a 5 p.m. press conference here on Feb. 3. Brownwas standing in for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan,responding to the interim report of an inquiry committeeon the now defunct Iraq oil-for-food program. Wrong-doerswould be disciplined, Brown said, reforms implemented.Another functionary, Paul A. Volcker, released the interimreport to U.N. correspondents attending an earlier pressconference that day. The correspondents listened closely toVolcker’s words. He said that the report did not make for“pleasant reading,” that it found the program’s procurementprocess was tainted, that its audit process wasunderfunded and understaffed, that its director, BenanSevan, had “placed himself in an irreconcilable conflict ofinterest.”Questions about Annan, himself, and his son, and theirrelation to the program were put over to a further report tobe submitted this summer. It appears as if Annan will survivethe scandal, with the indulgence of the United States,and stay on to the end of his term in December 2006. Therecovery and functioning of the U.N. is another matter. Itwill continue to exist, but it seems in an ever-diminishingpolitical and international security capacity, more, ormostly, as the provider of humanitarian aid to the multitudesvictimized by the destructive characters who are runningthings.

OccupationsIRAQ: Reality Dims Election LusterIt took mere days for the democraticshine on Iraq’s nationalelections to lose its luster, revealinga festering mass of coercion,intimidation and irregularities. Itseems that less than half the eligiblevoters chose to cast ballots,leaving the victors with a fragilelegitimacy that may shatter ifthey can’t end the U.S. occupationand restore the economy.OBY A.K. GUPTAne of the most disturbing irregularitiesconcerned reports that Iraqis werebeing told that if they didn’t vote, theirfood rations would be cut off. A Washington Postreport from Jan. 30 stated that some officialscirculated rumors deliberately to “try to lurevoters” to the polls. Khalaf Muhammed, theelectoral commission official in charge of apolling station in Saddam Hussein’s hometownof Tikrit, told the Post: “Even though we spreada rumor in the city saying anyone who doesn'tvote will be deprived of their food ration, onlyten people voted.”That rumor was also rife in the Sunni neighborhoodsof Baghdad, the Post account added,“gaining credence because voter registrationrolls were taken from centralized records for theration of rice, flour, oil and other staples.”Freelance journalist Dahr Jamail interviewednumerous voters in Baghdad who saidtheir food-ration agents had to approve thembefore they could vote. “Two of the food dealersI know told me personally that our foodrations would be withheld if we did notvote,” one engineering student told Jamail.Even according to the Election InformationNetwork, an Iraqi poll-monitoring groupestablished in part by the CIA-linked NationalEndowment for Democracy, there was “intimidationat 15 percent of polling stations, rangingfrom assurances that a party had beenblessed to outright threats of violence.”An AFP reporter observed numerous irregularitiesin Mosul, such as election workerstelling voters for whom to vote. One voter,WHERE DID ALL THE BALLOTS GO?UZahra Ibrahim, 60, after being told to votefor the list headed by interim Prime MinisterAyad Allawi, said, “I really just did what theyasked me to do.”The Financial Times observed, “In the heavilyShia towns of Najaf and Karbala, governmentofficials barred voters whom theybelieved would support the opposition fromentering polling centers.” The allegationscame from Allawi party officials, who presumablywere referring to the Shiite religiousparties that control those municipalities.THE EVER-DECLININGTURNOUTHours before the polls had closed, one electionofficial stated that turnout was a whopping 72percent. Iraq’s electoral commission quicklyclarified the comment as “very rough, wordof-mouthestimates gathered informally fromthe field.” But it still maintained that“turnout has exceeded expectations throughoutthe country.” Very quickly, though,turnout was placed at 57 percent or 8 millionvoters, which is precisely the number thep and down Iraq, there were persistent reports of missing ballots. Interim PresidentGhazi al-Yawer alleged, “Tens of thousands were unable to cast their votes becauseof the lack of ballots in Basra, Baghdad and Najaf.” Agence France Presse reportedon Jan. 31 that riots broke in the town of Qaraqush, north of Mosul, after thousands ofvoters found that many polling stations lacked ballots. Professor Juan Cole adds that anIraqi newspaper, Az-Zaman, reported, “150,000 angry Iraqi Christians in NinevehProvince came out to protest on Monday [Jan. 31].”In Nineveh, the province that includes Mosul, election official Safwat Rashid told the AP thatU.S. and Iraqi forces at first allowed less than one-third of the 330 polling stations to open.Iraqi election officials initially reported that the turnout in Mosul was 30 percent or higher, butthe New York Times stated on Feb. 3 that the actual turnout “seems slightly more than 10percent, somewhat more than 50,000 of Mosul's 500,000 estimated eligible voters.” Mosulis a city of 2 million people, so it seems that most people didn’t bother to register.The charge of too few ballots is especially curious given that U.S. officials reportedly had60 million ballots printed up and delivered to Iraq – for 14.2 million registered voters.The chairman of the electoral commission, Abdul Hussein al-Hindawi, admitted that notenough ballots were distributed and many polls failed to open in Nineveh, Salaheddin andTamim provinces.Around Kirkuk, in Tamim, according to the Financial Times, one provincial official said that only50,000 ballots were sent to the district of Hawija “even though more than 100,000 voters wereon the rolls.” Only 19 of 38 polling centers opened in the area, and “almost all” Sunni Arabswho tried to vote found themselves out of luck, as Kurds were able to reach the centers first.BULLSHIT, BALLOTS AND RATIONS: USAID distributes food in Southern Iraq as part of “hearts & minds” campaign.commission estimated before the vote.On Feb. 4, the New York Times reportedthat one election official, “Safwat Rashid, a59-year-old lawyer from Sulaimaniya, in theKurdish region, was evasive about theturnout, implying it might end up significantlylower than the initial estimate.”Rashid told the Times, “Only God Almightyknows the final turnout now.”Howard Kurtz, the media critic of theWashington Post, was perhaps the only mainstreammedia commentator to raise the issueof eligible versus registered voters. After talkingto reporters in Iraq and Kenneth Pollackof the Brookings Institute, Kurtz surmisedthat the number of eligible voters was 17 to18 million. And this doesn't include themore than 1 million expatriate Iraqis whowere eligible to vote (barely 25 percent ofthem did). In the end, if 7 million or fewerIraqis voted overall, this would be a turnoutof less than 40 percent, which would makethe elections a stunning failure.SUNNI BOYCOTTOne revealing benchmark of the low Sunniturnout came from the largely Sunni Arabprovince of Salaheddin. The AP reported Feb.7 that with 80 percent of the polling stationsreporting, the United Iraqi Alliance, cobbledtogether by Shiite ayatollahs, was leading inthe province with a total of 27,000 votes. Insecond place was the Kurdish list.In Samarra, a city of 200,000, fewer than1,400 ballots were cast – including Shiite soldiersand police from the south who wereallowed to vote there. The turnout was evenmore dismal in ar-Ramadi, a city of 400,000.According to an unofficial tally, just 1,700ballots were cast, also including votes byimported police and soldiers. Vote totals in AlAnbar province, which includes Ramadi andFalluja, were put at 15,000.TO THE VICTOR GOES THEPROBLEMSBut a new government has even bigger problemsto confront. Millions of Sunni and ShiiteArabs boycotted the polls as illegitimate underoccupation, and apart from the Kurds, the vastmajority of Iraqis who voted indicated thattheir ballot was one against the U.S. occupation.In response, many of Iraq’s present andfuture leaders rushed to speak out against atimetable for American forces to withdraw,probably because they realize their politicalsurvival is dependent on U.S. firepower.Iraqis are also looking to the new governmentto restore basic services, tackle corruption andjumpstart the economy. However, the main partiesin the victorious United Iraqi Alliance(UIA) have a sketchy track record. They havegained control of numerous municipalities insouthern Iraq since the U.S. invasion, but manyIraqis say the religious parties’ rule, particularlyin Najaf and Basra, has been marked by incompetence,favoritism and corruption.Many Iraqis distrust the religious Shiiteparties that swept national and provincialelections in the south, seeing them as tied toIran, where many were based during the ruleof Saddam Hussein.The UIA and the Kurdish slate may joinforces, as they possess the two-thirds majorityneeded to form a new government. But the twoslates are split on basic issues. The UIA is callingfor a constitution of “Islamic character,” towhich the secular-minded Kurds are stronglyopposed. And such a move could further alienateSunni Arabs, who have fundamental theologicaldifferences with Shiism. The Kurds arealso demanding outright independence,whereas the Shiite ayatollahs who guide theUIA want a strong central government.Nonetheless, in these image-building exercises,perception is in the eye of the beholder.Anecdotal reports from Baghdad state that“the mood” among the public has changedsince the election, with many optimistic thatthe days of car-bombings and open firefightsmay be drawing to close.But for the resistance, who killed scores ofsecurity forces after the post-election lull,that depends on the withdrawal of U.S.forces. The deciding issue is whether theresistance will continue to draw popular support.There are legions of Sunnis and Shiiteswho still feel disenfranchised. If the victoriousparties revert to form, squabbling amongthemselves, rewarding supporters while lettingbasic services crumble, and leaving theU.S. occupation untouched, then it’s only amatter of time before Iraqis turn to those whoshunned the electoral system.The war hasn’t ended. It’s just entered anew stage.THOMAS HARTWELLTHE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 7

8 FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 THE INDYPENDENTreviewsHaving Your Cake& Eating Hers, TooTHE ETHICAL SLUTBy Dossie Easton and Catherine A. LisztGreenery Press, 1997The Ethical Slut is less a free-love manifesto thana guide to maintaining a sane and healthypolyamorous lifestyle within this society that ismore apt to condemn than endorse this behavior.Authors Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt speak tothe slut within – the part of you that wants to have allthe consensual sex you desire with as many people asyou desire, simply because “sex is nice and pleasure isgood for you.” It’s an important read for those engagingin multi-partnerships, as well as for serialmonogamists curious about expanding their sexualrepertoire to include not only Dick, but also Jane, Harry,Tom and Nancy.As one of those serial monogamists, I read this bookhoping to understand how to navigate open relationships.At the time I was reading it, I was having mindbendingsex with a man whom I have a meaningful andloving friendship with, though without any defined commitmentto each other.It was perfect; for the first time I had my cake andwas eating it, too. But as time went on, I found myselfwanting to default to monogamy -– a place where myreal relationship with this man just couldn’t fit.Rather than feeling that I had failed with that relationship,The Ethical Slut led me to understand I couldhave many people in my life whom I love and respect,and who could fulfill my sexual and emotional needs.Polyamory is not about indecision or the unwillingnessto commit; it is about working hard on the relationshipswe care about, while exploring sex and pleasure ina safe, expansive and honest atmosphere (withwhomever we damn well please).Although the book tends to speak to those whohave already gotten over monogamy, it is useful forthose who are coming to terms with the limits of singlepartnerships.—LAUREN GIAMBRONEKnot NiceSM 101: A REALISTIC INTRODUCTIONBy Jay WiesmanGreenery Press, 1996If you don’t know what you think of SM ethically, don’tlook at SM 101 for answers; this is a training manual.However, if you’ve come to terms with your torturefantasies, this book will help you pick up 20 feetof rope and a riding stirrup for confident experimentation.Much of the mystique is removed from practiceslike flogging and going to SM clubs, as the book livesup to its title, taking on the feel of a college 101course. Weisman writes from the position of a dominant,so I would second his suggestion that submissivespick up a copy of The New Bottoming Book byJanet W. Hardy and Dossie Easton to make up forWeisman’s inability to fairly portray that end of theexperience.Despite the author’s encouragement to stay in thecloset with your interests in SM, I made a point of readinghis book in public. He generally takes the overly cautiousstance with everything from placing personal adsto the risks involved in suspension, but for good reason.We don’t want to inflate the egos of any novices. This istricky territory. As a novice myself, I was a little put offto see suggestions like lengthy written agreementsbefore engaging in SM play. However, as I started to foolaround with a more experienced partner, I found someof the caution very useful in creating a sense of safetyand protecting myself.—CAITLIN BENEDETTOtheindytalks SEXSex at the BarricadesHOW DIRECT ACTION IN THE RAMBLE FOILED THE VICE SQUADI walked along the dirt paths of the Ramble, around its oaks, maples and glacial rocks, and stopped near a footbridge spanning abrook. A clear night here turns strangers into silhouettes. But on a cloudy night, the eternal lights of New York City are capturedand then refracted in an orange glow that peeks under tree tops and reveals glimpses: shiny Adidas pants with racer stripes huggingboy hips; a nipple ring glimmering in the light down of a defined chest; a knit cap above a square jaw.TBY QUERYwo guys stared each other down like gunslingers about to draw. I heard footstepsbehind me, felt a hand move under myspiked belt. I turned around, saw pursed lips,tousled hair. “Let’s play,” he said.I nodded and we ducked under branches thenmoved to higher ground.The Ramble is a micro-forest in the heart ofCentral Park. Paths grip cliffsides, double backand meander along slopes. The dense brush andtrees provide infinite alcoves. A cock-shapedpeninsula projects into Azalea Pond, a topographicaltotem to the men who have been coming herefor over a century. And still they come: uptownboys in do-rags, downtown artists wearing paintspatteredpants, even middle-aged men from theUpper East. Just trees and rocks and sky and us.And cops. They patrol in vehicles or wearplainclothes to try to surprise us. Queers scatterunder the beams of headlights or, after a big bust,line up in handcuffs.BBY A. WOLFPolitically minded people talk a lot about justice and changing the world, but sex continues to be a thorny subject. For example, TheIndypendent received numerous complaints from readers upset to see a graphic ad for a local sex-toy shop. Our collective discussed the situationover several weeks and decided that rather than pull the ad, we’d engage the readers on the topic of sex.You may be offended; you may be excited. But we hope that this collection of articles starts some interesting and necessary conversationsabout sex in all of its varied forms, bringing us a bit further toward a fuller understanding.One summer night, I walked down the gravelpath of the peninsula. At the proverbial head, acop shined a light in my face. “Did you lose yourdog?” he said.“I saw a poodle somewhere around here,”another cop said.I turned around to leave and they got into theirsouped-up golf carts and followed me, the headlightsblazing on my backside. My face burned,not with shame but rage. They finally swervedaway and the night draped around me.I remembered an old Earth First! techniquecalled “slash.” Slash referred to the fallen trees andother objects from the forest floor that activistsuse to blockade logging roads. The logging trucksbacked out and the forest lived another day.I began dragging rocks, branches and decayingtree trunks into the paths. Some queers looked overat me with raised eyebrows or walked a wide “U”around my mounting fortifications.“We have to bash back,” I said.A queen in a leather trenchcoat and a shavedhead stopped and smiled. “Girlfriend, you bangin’Come One, Come Alleing polyamorous, as opposed to being polysexual or a swinger, is being involvedin a sexual and loving relationship based on trust and respect with two or morepartners. It encompasses hot and sweaty threesome action – straddling a hungrymouth while your best gal gets some deep dickin’ a couple feet back – but it’s based onsomething, well, deeper. Gymnastics aside, the sex is the easy part. Contrary to someurban myths, multiple partners will not cancel each other out in net emotional toll. Infact, any non-traditional sexual practice requires amped-up communication skills. Iwouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have attempted a polyamorous relationship threetimes in my life. The following is the last installment of this trilogy.I convened a love triangle for about a month with my friends Randy and Lu Lu. Randywas a chiseled, soft-spoken boy, a groomsman at a friend’s wedding. Our relationship wasbased on poetic emails, a mutual interest in sustainable business practices and making outin the woods. Lu Lu is a gal that will be in my life forever as a friend, lover and artisticcollaborator. Neither of these relationships was about the sex, but with all three of usbeing pretty fuckin’ hot, the attraction was there. All three of us lived in different cities,so each relationship grew separately. I let Randy know right away of my semi-eroticon the wasps’ nest tonight, ain’t you,” she said.I erected three barricades along a path that wasseveral feet wider than a car. Unplanned, the barricadeswent from smallest to tallest. The tallest wasover eight feet (a fallen tree with an umbrella ofintact branches provided the base). Behind it wasthe gazebo, the place the cops most love to surpriseus – that’s where the group scenes happen.Five minutes passed. Some cops in an electric cardrove in to start another patrol of the area. Theypulled up to the lowest of the barricades and – acrash, a scraping of rock and wood on metal.Their lights started flashing and the vehicleremained stationary for a full minute before continuingforward. They were heading towards thenext barricade.Other queers stood in clumps, watching, waiting.Some of them snickered.The cop hit the next barricade without seeingit, the sound of damage much louder. This time,the car didn’t move. They hit their sirens andmust have radioed for back up, because an SUVspun down another path, headed towards thefriendship with Lu Lu and gave him a choice to enter in, which left him feeling privilegedrather than betrayed. When the stars aligned and enabled us to be in the in the sameplace, it didn’t take long for he and Lu Lu to become attracted to each other. It helps thatI have great taste. It took about 4 days – morning cuddling escalated to a puppy pile,which turned into bitches in heat.Having people love have sex with each other was quite possibly one of the bestthings that I’ve ever experienced? For one, having a three-way let me watch and bewatched as much as my heart desired. It also proved to be a good setup for us, becauseconflicts of interest turned into just subbing out when one of us, usually me, felt likegoing on a run or embracing the morning without hours of sex and naked layingabout. Because having a three-way love affair broke boundaries of normal behavior,it inspired us to bring that sense of adventure and abandonment into everything wedid. Even fieldtrips to get coffee felt new and amazingly satisfying.After a couple weeks, the puppy piles transitioned into mainly Randy and Lu Luhaving tons of sex. Even though Lu Lu would try to rope me in, I became the leastinterested in having sex, content with my role as voyeur and sex-yenta.My relationship with Randy became more intellectual and cerebral, and I wasnever that hard-core of a lesbian to begin with. The sex they were having seemedgazebo, lights flashing. The driver slammed thebrakes right before the third barricade.A lot has changed since Stonewall. But morethan ever, our elected officials, their corporatebackers and their minions in blue control ourpublic spaces. They tell us we can’t dance in barsor on the streets and say we need to ask permissionto have a picnic with more than 20 people in thepark. They beat us, corral us and pepper spray usat political rallies like the one on February 15,2003, when we took to the streets to try to stopthe bombing of Iraqi civilians in the name of nonexistent“weapons of mass destruction.”WHERE POLYAMORY MEETS REALITYLOUIS PETERSONA sea of red and blue lights pulsed along theperipherals of the Ramble as dozens of back-upunits arrived. I walked out, laughing, freer thanwhen I arrived.You’re supposed to fuck in the parks of NewYork City. And dance and sing and organize in thestreets. Whether you prefer the long-term commitmentof changing legislation or the quick thrill ofdirect action, do something to take the city back.Organize a street party, un-elect a mayor, monkeywrenchthe machines they use to suppress us. Butabove all, don’t ever forget those moments whenyou experienced what it means to be free in our city.EDGAR MATA AND DAVID GOCHFELDsuperior to anything I could have with either of them. It was more erotic for me towatch them have amazing sex than to have sex that for me felt forced. It endedwhen Randy left to go make some money in San Francisco, feeling sexed out, andin need of a career.Lu Lu was relieved to have me all to herself again; she felt her odds were better at gettingme into the sack without a boy around. Lu Lu and I fell back on the pillows andgiggled about our mutual lover: his tendency to cut the sleeves off of his shirts to showcasehis biceps, his dislike of most food with color and his passion for showering. Weknew that he would find a good job, as the world seemed to treat incredibly attractivepeople a bit kinder. We had been no exception.Soon afterward I left the love nest to go back east to a purple state and work to defeatGeorge Bush. Although polyamory didn’t feel wrong, too much hedonism, hot sex andbong hits did. And so I started working for the Democratic Party. That fixed it.I still have a long-distance love affair with Lu Lu. She calls me her “Bitch” andshe’s my “Bitch Master.” Randy fell back in love with his ex and is having a monogogoodtime.He and I are on good terms and settled on being “adventure buddies.”Pretty damn good adventure.Watch Outfor Bed BugsIn the U.S., more than 65 million people are currently livingwith an incurable sexually transmitted disease (STD). An additional15 million people become infected with one or moreSTDs each year, roughly half of whom contract lifelong infections.Here are some tips on not becoming one of them.123456789STDS ARE OFTEN DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES– viral and bacterial. Bacterial infections, like gonorrhea,syphilis and chlamydia are curable with antibiotics.STDs caused by viruses are not. These includehuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes and hepatitis B. Medical treatmentcan, however, alleviate the symptoms of viral STDs andin some cases help them from spreading. Some STDsare also caused by protozoa and other organisms(crabs/pubic lice and scabies). These STDs are curablewith antibiotics or topical creams.CHLAMYDIA IS THE MOST COMMON STD AMONGWOMEN. This is because it is very contagious anddifficult to detect. In fact, 75 percent of womenand 50 percent of men with chlamydia have nosymptoms. Luckily it can be cured with antibiotics.Ask to get tested with your Pap smear, becauseuntreated, chlamydia can cause infertility or pelvicinflammatory disease.LADIES – STD SCREENINGS ARE NOT NECESSAR-ILY PART OF YOUR ANNUAL GYNECOLOGICALEXAM and not all Pap smears screen for STDs otherthan HPV. So talk to your doc about getting testedwhile you’re there.LESS THAN HALF OF ADULTS 18 TO 44 YEARS OFAGE in the United States have been tested for anSTD other than HIV.GENITAL HERPES IS A VIRUS THAT CAN SPREADTO YOUR MOUTH. You are most at risk for infectionif your partner has sores (blistery, red ulcers), butthere is also a chance to contract without the sores.ABOUT ONE MILLION PEOPLE BECOME INFECTEDWITH HERPES EACH YEAR IN THE U.S., and an estimated45 million are currently infected (that’s morethan 1 in 5).AN ESTIMATED 75 PERCENT OF THE REPRODUC-TIVE-AGE POPULATION HAS BEEN INFECTED WITHSEXUALLY TRANSMITTED HPV. Genital warts arecaused by HPV, and can lead to cervical and bladdercancers. There’s no cure, but there is treatment.GENITAL WARTS DON’T LOOK LIKE OTHER WARTS.They are soft, moist, pink growths and can occur allaround your he/she parts. They might becomestalked like a cauliflower. Eat your vegetables, butnot these!HEPATITIS B IS THE ONLY STD OUT THERE THATYOU CAN GET A VACCINE FOR. See your doctor ifyou’re not sure if you’ve had it. It’s a nasty STD thatcan cause liver failure and death.RECEIVING ORAL SEX (EXPOSURE ONLY TO10 SALIVA) IS VERY LOW RISK FOR HIV. Yay! But givingoral sex (exposure to pre-cum, semen, vaginal secretionsand menstrual blood) is risky for HIV. Boo! Themore of these body fluids that a person gets into theirmouth, the greater the risk. So if you don’t use a condom,don’t spit or swallow, shoot it on the wall! Thenstick a picture up with it.—IMC STAFFTHE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 9

QUEERINGPOWERBDSM andRadical ConsentRBY REK KWAWERadicals like to dissociate themselvesfrom power. From socialistic modelsto consensus method, groups oftenclaim to be non-hierarchical, to have movedbeyond the need for leadership, that power isbad. But power is sexy. Queering the idea ofpower is even sexier. Why is it, then, thatdespite the presence of self-identified kinkypeople in progressive groups, we rarelyacknowledge that kinky sex exists, much lessthink about the ways in which it overlapswith and might influence the work we do?Radical activism is about dismantling unaccountablestructures of power and authority.BDSM – a triple acronym standing forbondage/discipline, domination/submissionand sadism/masochism – plays with thosestructures and places the ideas of power intoa consensual context.How can someone enjoy pain? Can a personreally want to be tied up? What about rapefantasy? These questions miss the point. Thereare many theories about what makes somethingsexually appealing, from brain chemistryto socialization to the influence of massmedia. What matters, though, is the way peopleact on those thoughts and fantasies.From “safewords” that signal the end ofplay to explicit written negotiations, consciouspractitioners of BDSM have createddefinitions of safety and promoted a cultureof consent. They examine and play withpower on an individual level, between twopeople and even on a societal level. Consent issomething that needs to be negotiated on anon-going basis and can be influenced by awide variety of things.In a scenario, how can you tell who is actuallythe person with the power? Is it the personholding the flogger, or is it the one tiedup and being beaten who can stop the scenewith a simple safeword? The power dynamicsin a scene can be very different than thepower dynamics of day-to-day life, and infact, often offer bold chances to see a differentside of the power spectrum. The stereotype ofthe powerful, heterosexual, white businessmanseeking a woman who will humiliateand tease him, force him into lingerie andmake him “do whatever she wants” (with asafeword, of course) is not just a myth.If we acknowledge that the problem withpower isn’t its existence, but its misuse, anew world of possibilities opens for radicalorganizing and radical sex. And, to our communitiesbecome more welcoming places tothe kinky in all of us.Unburning a WitchPORNOGRAPHY:MEN POSSESSING WOMENBy Andrea DworkinPlume, 1979ABY JED BRANDTnti-sex. Reactionary. A man-hatingshrew out to destroy sexual liberation.Andrea Dworkin is mythologized as thecaricature of a woman who gave feminism a badname in her fight to analyze, then criminalizeporn. Who wants to be a censor and a prude?Apparently Andrea Dworkin did. So she wasdenounced and ridiculed – told to shut up forthe sake of the pornographers’ free speech.But just about no one bothered to considerGUIDO CREPAX’S THE STORY OF Otheindytalks SEXwhat she was actually saying. To Dworkin,porn wasn’t merely a picture or story aboutsex. It is the act of “men possessing women,”something so ubiquitous that we don’t havemany words for it. Dworkin provided oneand reported on what porn does and how. Shesays the etymology of the term itself is the“graphic depiction of whores.” And whoresget used. Porn sexualizes degradation, fromthe soft-core gauze of Playboy’s ever-readyplaymates to the current industry standard of“gonzo,” where the pussy is ignored in favorof throat-fucking and hard anal.I first read the Marquis de Sade, patronsaint of pornographers, at the not-so-tenderage of 12. Each of his works seemed filledwith rebellion, a casting off of Puritanismand sexual repression. Raw sexuality.Concerned that all Sade’s torture and abusemight not be good, I consulted the philosophersand literary critics, who in turn explainedhow Sade was a trangressive hero. In fact, asDworkin catalogues, he was an aristocraticserial rapist who drugged, mutilated, andsodomized scores of prostitutes and servants,and then wrote about it with obsessive fury.Maybe not a hero, but certainly a truthteller,if the adoration he has received frommen is any measure. For Dworkin to proclaimhow uninterested de Sade was in sex itself, isfor her to be “anti-sex.” Because to imagine sexwithout unrestrained male power, as plainlyevident in even the most vanilla porn and theaverage marriage, is too fearful for some toconsider. To suppress oppression is, in propornlogic, repression.The brutality that Dworkin was subjectedto from both left and right is a testament tothe radical vision she trained on malesupremacy without apology. Here is onewoman who wouldn’t bow before the cock.For the full review, check burning.typepad.cominterviewGetting Paid to PlayMs. Sophia Bitters is a popular New York dominatrixwho enjoys her work. She spoke with ErinSiegal about her experiences.Iwanted to work as a professional domwhen I moved to New York a few yearsago. So I found an ad in the paper,answered it, and went in for an interview.They asked me if I could do wrestling sessions.I’d do anything, I didn’t really care,and so they started promoting me right awayas a star wrestler. I had no wrestling trainingwhatsoever. I’d had previous experience withself-defense and martial arts, but they’re a lotdifferent from actually wrestling someone. Iapplied what I knew about basic bodymechanics, and I ended up doing really well.At my dungeon, there was fantasywrestling, semi-competitive and competitivewrestling. Fantasy is just putting people inholds, and they don’t fight back at all. Theythink of some kind of fantasy, like I’m somejealous ex-girlfriend whose been cheated on,enacting my revenge, or I was a prisoner wholured a guard into my cell and assaulted himonce he was inside. The person is fetishizingyour muscles and your strength. Some of themrole play Superwoman fantasies – superheroes,Catwoman, roles like that. A lot of the men I“BOTTOM LINE, whether I’m dominatingthem, indulging one of their fetishes or givinga hand job, I’m doing it as a woman.”saw had the simple fantasy of me, a woman,just being indomitable, Amazonian almost. Ifelt really comfortable playing that role. Thiswas my entrance into life as a dominatrix. Ihad wanted to do work that was life-affirmingand fun, and where I made money. I was eithergoing to do dom work or peepshow work, andin post-Giuliani New York there weren’tmany peepshows still around.Much of the time it had nothing to do withrole-playing, it was more muscle worship, justme being this really strong, overpoweringwoman. They want to be punched, struck, andof course they want ball-busting, which is basicallygetting kneed in the groin, repeatedly.Then there’s semi-competitive wrestling,where they’re actually allowed to wrestle back,but they let you win. In competitive wrestling,you actually wrestle each other. That alwayshad a very different vibe to me – the wholeenergy was very masculine. It always remindedme of my older brothers, because it’s like you’retesting, tussling. It was kind of humiliating forme to do competitive wrestling sessions. Idon’t do them anymore. Most of the time Iwon, but when I didn’t, I didn’t like it at all.Most of the men I see are white, middleclass types – but not exclusively. Differentpeople tend to attract different kinds of customers.My big thing was being a femalesupremacist, a genuine article, like youcouldn’t get any more female supremacistthan me. If they wanted a genuinely dominantlady, that’s me. That was my angle. Iwent from being a lesbian separatist to doingsex work. It was all about gender and performance,it was just fascinating. BottomERIN SIEGALline, whether I’m dominating them,indulging one of their fetishes or giving ahand job, I’m doing it as a woman, andthey’re perceiving it as a man. There are allthese aspects of virility, power, and prestige,and no one else knows about it. In his psyche,that’s what’s going on for him. He’s payingyou to create this space for masculinitywithin his own self. It’s fascinating to me.What happened with working as a dom isthat it was all very underground until theInternet came along. Now, it’s much moresocially acceptable, and doms have to do morehands-on work and things they maybe aren’tas comfortable doing just to make the sameamount of money as before. The whole industryhas become a lot more competitive. All ofa sudden, people who thought they were theonly ones in the world with a bizarre fetishrealize that there are lots of other people outthere too, and plenty of people who will playwith you. Before, clients had the illusionthat they were the only sick bastards in theuniverse who had this fantasy and needed tofind the one woman who’d indulge them, andpay her lots of money. And now, there’s muchmore of a market with more girls who willindulge them for less money.For more about sex workers, see spreadmagazine.orgTHE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 11

theindytalks SEXreviewThe Back Door to BlissTHE SURRENDER: AN EROTIC MEMOIRBy Toni BentleyRegan Books, 2004Bentley, who says she has always looked good from behind, has written a radical,rollicking book about ass-fucking, The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir.ToniBentley’s credentials are interesting. She is beautiful. She was for ten years a dancerwith George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet. As a young dancer, she published WinterSeason: A Dancer’s Journal. Later, she co-authored Suzanne Farrell’s autobiography,Holding on to the Air, and wrote still other works.She relates that she lost her virginity when she was nearly 20. At the age of 23, shemarries. After several years of marriage, she divorces her husband.Her sex life flourishes. She becomes the Queen of Condoms and celebrates thecrotchless panty. She finds that the Pussy Hound – the “man who loves to dive” – canmend years of patriarchal ramming.Then, A-man shows up. He fucks her in the ass, gracefully, slowly, carefully and painfully.“It was here,” Bentley writes, “that I first tasted the experience of moving through painand fear to… Bliss.” With A-man in her ass, she becomes sweet. “So sweet.”This is psychologically significant, she explains. He shows her physically where herrage resides – in her ass, which contains yard upon yard of coiled past traumas, “theinternal gripping of the emotionally unbearable.” He helps her to release this.Ass-fucking, Bentley’s term, transcends all opposites, all conflicts. Bentley says it isabout cooperation, and the submission in bed of the woman to the man’s authority.A-man imaginatively experiences her submission with her. He is a kind, gentle man.They pussy-fucked, too, as a warm-up. But she concluded that the back door was theportal to love.Bentley’s book connects with D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Mellors, thegamekeeper, sodomizes Connie in an episode that Lawrence narrates poetically.Mellors exclaims: “What is cunt but machine-fucking!” He devotes himself to her ass.Connie says that in a short summer night she had learnt much. She would havethought a woman would have died of shame. Instead, the shame died.The same outcome is suggested by the Marquis de Sade (a great writer, a great psychologist,and a great humorist), in Philosophy in the Bedroom. Eugenie is initiated. “Gosoftly,” she says, “I beg of you.” Finally, “Woe unto girls who shy away from such an attack!… What tremendous pleasures they deny themselves at the cost of a little trouble!”Bentley echoes this sentiment, hailing the power of a still potent taboo in a work thatis as independent, rebellious and venturesome as her sexual experience.—DONALD PANETHFRANK REYNOSO:INDYARTSNYC.ORGFDA StymiesChoice12 FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 THE INDYPENDENTsexualityCONFERENCESFEB. 22–23A Symposium on Intersex Education,Advocacy, and the LawThe issues surrounding children whose genitals do not match their geneticsex chromosomes have come under scrutiny in the media, in medicineand by the general public. As intersex advocates and others urge a nonsurgicalapproach and seek more awareness of the issues, there are legaland core human rights implications being examined and studied.The Benjamin A. Cardozo School of Law, 55 5th Ave., NYwww.intersexsymposium.orgMAY 6–7Trans Politics, Social Change and JusticeThis conference will provide a venue to strengthen activist and researchnetworks, incite dialogues, share research and create resources centralto creating social change for trans people.CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Ave., NYweb.gc.cuny.edu/clags/transpolitics.htmJUNE 24–26Born In Flames: Sexual AssaultBorn In Flames is a 3-day conference addressing sexual assault from aradical perspective and addressing the unique needs our communitieshave. We will focus on education, support and accountability. We wouldlike people from all over to come and share their ideas and experiences.Portland State University, Portland, ORborninflamesconference@yahoo.comIBY CATRIONA STUARTn a lawsuit filed against the Food & DrugAdministration (FDA), women aredemanding that they be able to buy anemergency birth control pill without a prescription.Nine individuals and two advocacyorganizations are the plaintiffs in the suit,which was filed in federal District Court inBrooklyn. They argue that the FDA is stallingon making the emergency contraceptive,Plan B, available over the counter is restrictingwomen’s access to a safe form of emergencybirth control. The agency has been deliberatingon the matter for nearly two years.“It is clear that the FDA has been draggingits feet for a very long time on an issue that isreally very simple,” said the lead plaintiff in thecase, Annie Tummino, vice chairwoman of theNew York Reproductive Rights Task Force.FDA officials declined to comment on thesuit.Taken within 72 hours of unprotected sexualintercourse, Plan B can reduce the risk ofunwanted pregnancy by up to 89 percent,though the drug is most effective when takenwithin 24 hours after intercourse, accordingto the drug’s manufacturer, Barr Laboratories.Getting a doctor’s appointment and findingthe medication within the 24-hourwindow can be difficult and expensive,Tummino explained. Advocates of the drugcontend that making emergency contraceptivesavailable on drugstore shelves would bepreferable. Anti-abortion groups opposed tothe drug have said, however, that makingPlan B available without a prescription couldpose a threat to women’s health and increaserates of unprotected sex and sexually transmitteddiseases among teenagers.A study published in the Jan. 5 issue ofthe Journal of the American Medical Associationreported that women who have ready accessto emergency contraception are no morelikely to engage in unprotected sexual activitythan women who do not have access tothe pills. The study also found similar pregnancyrates among women whether or notthey had nonprescription access to an emergencycontraceptive.Last May, the FDA rejected BarrLaboratories’ petition to make Plan B availablewithout a prescription – against therecommendations of two of the agency’sadvisory committees. The FDA’s “nonapprovableletter” to the manufacturer citedinadequate data regarding the impact of thedrug on adolescents.The FDA was expected to issue a decision onBarr Laboratories’ amended application lastmonth, which would have made the drugavailable without a prescription only to women16 and older. Instead, the agency said it hadnot yet completed its review. The application isstill pending, an FDA spokeswoman said, andno target date for a decision has been set.“The FDA’s mandate is to approve drugswhen it is in the public interest to do so,and by delaying that, they are violating federallaw,”said Priscilla Smith, director of thedomestic legal program for the Center forReproductive Rights.Smith said the FDA’s foot-dragging on itsdecision is effectively infringing on a rightoutlined 40 years ago by the Supreme Courtin the case of Griswold v. Connecticut.More than 70 medical and advocacy organizationssent the FDA a letter in 2003 thatstated the rates of unintended pregnancy andabortion in America could be reduced by up toone-half should emergency contraceptives bewidely available.

theindytalks SEXGo Againstthe FlowHealthy and SustainableAlternative Menstrual ProductsALEANNE TORY-MURPHYwoman will use an estimated 10,000 disposable tamponsor pads in her lifetime. In addition to the environmentalconcerns raised by the waste, there are alsodisturbing health concerns to consider. All of the major brandscontain rayon, a pulp product made only through a chlorinebasedbleaching process. Fiber loss from rayon, which canoccur through the use of tampons, has been traced to ToxicShock Syndrome and can damage a woman’s vagina by causingulceration and peeling of the mucous membrane. So what aresome alternatives?SEA SPONGESVery comfortable and easy to take care of. Disinfect the spongesby boiling them before the first use as well as between cycles.During your period you should take them out every three hoursor so depending on your flow, rinse in water and reinsert. Useyour fingers, or add a piece of dental floss for easier removal. Seasponges can be used for up to two years. Available at healthfood stores and pharmacies.www.jadeandpearl.comBY ALIX SHEDDNIK:INDYARTSNYC.ORGThis is a perfect my-first-silicone-casting project for thosewho are incensed by the high price of dildos (on average $60-$100). Upon completion, you will have a high-quality siliconedildo that will put that scarf you knitted to shame. Lesser dildosare made of latex, which is more porous, and thereforemore likely to harbor germies. The silicone dildo is nonporous,so that means that cleaning is a cinch, and you caneven share it!1. Mold ItUse a soft clay to mold the toy of your dreams.The possibilities are endless.2. Paint It with LatexPush the base of the clay toy onto a piece of cardboardso it’s nice and steady.First cover the clay in Vaseline so you can slip the clayout later. Use liquid latex (the kind at art stores meantfor making casts, not the sex-shop body-painting kind) topaint layer after layer onto the clay, as well as about twoinches in radius onto the box around the toy. Latex takesa long time to dry, so it’s best to paint lots of thin layers.Use a hair dryer to speed up the process. Make sureeach layer is dry before applying the next. Use about fourTHE KEEPERThis rubber cup catches menstrual blood internally. Created inthe 1930s, it never gained popularity due to the tampon industry’sadvertising strategies, which suggested that reinsertingsomething into the vagina is unhealthy. The Keeper is saferthan tampons because it doesn’t absorb natural bodily fluids ordisrupt the vaginal ecosystem. It requires no special care. Yousimply rinse it out with water every few hours and reinsert. TheKeeper can last up to 10 years.www.thekeeperinc.comTHE DIVA CUPAn alternative to the Keeper for those allergic to rubber. It islatex-free and made of a soft medical grade silicone.www.divacup.comREUSABLE PADSPads made out of cloth. You can make them by sewing severallayers of soft fabric such as flannel together. An internet searchfor ‘menstrual pad pattern’ will yield plenty of instructions toguide you. If you’re not up to the challenge, you can always buyreusable pads.urban-armor.org, www.gladrags.com, www.lunapads.com100% COTTON TAMPONS(UNBLEACHED OR HYDROGEN PEROXIDE BLEACHED)If you find that tampons suit you best, 100 percent cottonunbleached or hydrogen peroxide bleached tampons are the way togo. They can be found at healthfood stores and some pharmacies.www.whyorganictampons.comHomemade Lovin’HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DILDOto seven layers. You might have to let it dryovernight in order to do the last few layers.3. WaitThe latex takes about a week before it isdry enough to use without breaking apart.(Borrow a toy from a friend if you’re gettinganxious! Just make sure to use a condomon it and/or boil it afterwards.) After it’sdone drying, squeeze the clay out slowly.4. Fill ‘er upNow it’s time for the silicone. The most easily availablesilicone is the kind found in tubes at hardware stores,used for caulking windows and such things. It’s veryimportant that you get 100 percent silicone with nochemical additives, so doublecheck the container. Manyhardware stores will only have white and clear silicone,but if you look around, you can find it in a wide varietyof colors.To apply the silicone you’ll need a caulking gun – ametal device that squeezes the silicone out of the tube.Every woman should have a caulking gun. Most hardwarestores should have these as well, and they’re nottoo expensive.Cut a hole in a cardboard box slightly bigger than thewidth of your toy, and tape the latex so that it hangs intothe inside of the box. This is where that extra two inchesof latex come in handy.Put in the silicone slowly, squeezing it down through thebottom of the latex to make sure there are no air bubbles.5. EnjoyYou’ll have to wait 24 hours for the silicone todry, and then you can peel off the latex and enjoy.You can use the latex mold over and over again. Nowthere’s a stocking stuffer!Hot OffThe RackBY LEANNE TORY-MURPHYIn recent years, young women have beenfilling the gaps in available informationconcerning their bodies by writing andreading zines. Through these, women arehelping people to lead healthier, happierlives. Here are some zines worth trackingdown.HOT PANTZ: DO IT YOURSELFGYNECOLOGYThe mother of all DIY gynecology zines, HotPantz is a comprehensive and compactguide to treating female (and some male)maladies with herbs. From various menstrualissues to sexually transmitted diseasesto urinary tract infections, yeastinfections and beyond, Hot Pantz is consistentlyaccessible and straightforward. Ineach entry there is a description of what’shappening in your body, resulting symptoms,and various ways to treat the problem.So, know thyself, and treat thyself –outside of the medical establishment!Distributed by Blood Sisters:www.bloodsisters.orgMINE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF WOMEN’SCHOICESAlways subtle and personal, and at timesinspiring, disturbing and thought-provoking,Mine is a moving first-person anthology ofabortion tales and issues. The storiesinclude clinical and herbal abortions, aswell as uterine extraction. Mine passionatelyand emphatically speaks to the overwhelmingneed for safe, accessible, lowcostabortions, and is critical of the oftencold and rushed abortion clinics and theiroverworked practitioners.Contact: merrydeath@hotmail.comRED ALERTAlthough Red Alert’s composition variesissue by issue, this infozine is a mixture ofpolitical essays, poems, feminist comics,photographs, stories, alternative menstrualhealth info, cloth-pad templates and otherofferings. Its excellent design, well-suppliedwith graphics, offers a sassy and informativeread. Red Alert puts the fun and biteback into menstrual politics.Distributed by Blood Sisters:www.bloodsisters.orgWIVE’S TALESWive’s Tales is also dedicated to womenreclaiming control over their bodies, healthand lives. It includes information rarely collectedelsewhere. In addition to herbal treatmentsfor common diseases (UTIs, yeastinfections, scabies, etc.) and alternativemenstrual health info, Wive’s Tales delvesinto less known methods of birth control,such as fertility awareness and homemadespermicides. The zine also discussesbreast self-exams, vaginal inspections witha speculum, homebirths, the morning afterpill and more.Contact:dateaspokeanarchist@hotmail.comTHE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 13

12 FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 THE INDYPENDENTLEFT-WING LOVE STORYI’d just gotten out of jail. Two days oozingthrough the bowels of the systemfor the crime of being one of the 30slowest people at a protest broken up bythe cops. I called the closest person Iknew to a radical lawyer. She was a fortyishcartoonist turned law student, callher Monica, who I’d met the summerbefore. She had long dyed-black hair,glasses and a black T-shirt that proclaimed“WEIRDO” in fiendish horrorcomiclettering. I was intensely attractedto her – but we were both married.Four months later my wife walked out. Afew months after that, I was dancing withMonica at a party and she whispered thatshe was leaving her husband because hewas abusive. When we finished talkingabout my case, about ACDs and fact patternsand causes of action, she paused.“Would you like to get together sometime?”The yes flew out of my mouth beforeshe finished.She slipped out of the house to meetme at a Lower East Side bar, where weplayed ‘70s soul oldies on the jukebox.The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose.It’s too late to turn back now, I believe Ibelieve I believe I’m falling in love.Luther Ingram. If loving you is wrong Idon’t want to be right.I tried to avoid sleeping with her. Shewas still living with her who-knows-howex.But we were spending hours a day onthe phone, talking about life and sex andlove, art and music and politics, our children.One night we got drunk and startedmaking out. We took a cab back to herbuilding in Brooklyn. She wanted me towatch her back until she got inside. Thebiggest danger’s not out here, I thoughtas she disappeared behind the door.The phone rang at 5 a.m. Her husbandhad attacked her. She came over andclimbed into my bed wearing a T-shirtand no panties.We didn’t live happily ever after, butwe’re still friends.—MICK GREENBERGSILHOUETTE SEXOtheindytalksSEXne of the sexiest things I ever sawoccurred just while walking downthe street. I was hanging out with afriend, ambling along a West Village sidestreet when we spied a couple having sex.They were inside their apartment, butvisible as silhouettes through a windowshade. The action was unmistakable. Afemale was on top, we couldn’t reallymake out whom she was sitting on, butassumed it was a man by the rhythmicgyrations.We stopped and watched. The grindinggrew in intensity. We could make out herform, small-breasted and lithe, her bodyspinning like a top on the axis of herpartner. I looked at my friend. He’s gay.And he was as turned on as me.We kept watching until the dam burstand she arched up and stiffened momentarily.The deed was surprisingly short, afew minutes at most. She hunched downfor some post-coital cuddling.The whole time people passed us by,oblivious to the watchers and watched. Wedidn’t say much as we went on our way.Muttering something about it being hotand cool, the linguistic peaks of dude aestheticism.But I can still see them, whoeverthey were, gyrating endlessly. —AKThese Boots are Made for Polishin’He prays with spit and fire. It canseem like simple shoe cleaning butevery Saturday night at the Eagle,the famous Chelsea leather bar,Bootblack Dave is blessing boots withthe rag in his hands. “I light the polishon fire and pass the flame underthe boot. It’s a cleaning ritual,” hesays. “I practice urban shamanism andtry and leave customers in a state ofbeing grounded. Some people get themagic, some don’t. But if nothing elsethey leave with a clean pair of boots.”BINTERVIEW AND PHOTO BY NICHOLAS POWERSootblack Dave is many things: an actor, a musician in the bandMonster Rally, a Tae Kwon Do student, an openly gay man, aMexican-American and a fetishist. Every identity is a forcethat pulls and pushes and at the center he exists by holding themtogether. What grounds him is his spirituality, channeled through hiscareful craft. He is well known in the New York artist circles forbeing a work of art, for being dedicated to the beauty of the boot.What’s the difference between fetish and fashion?When it’s real, instead of cruising porn sites, you are on-line biddingfor boots. I search for jackboots worn in World War II or boots wornby Vietnam soldiers, pairs that are charged with history, that have lifein them.Why boots?Boots equal power. They have an iconic status and a defined culturalhistory. When you see steelworkers, cowboys, hard hats at a constructionsite, they have boots on and so boots come to mean masculinity,authority and power.Is there a deeper reason?I grew up in Texas and we all wore them. Every Sunday I shinedeveryone’s boots. It allowed me to indulge in the sensuality of theshining: the smell of the leather and polish; the sound of the horsehairbrush against the boot; the touching and holding the boot andbrush; and the sight of the transformation of the boot from dull andscuffed to clean and brilliant. My reward was 50 cents which I usedto buy comic books. I wanted to be a superhero and ran around wearinga cap and boots like Batman and Superman.Like the superheroes you read about, do you change when you put your gear on?Immediately the first change is that I get taller. My footfall is heavier;it affects my stride and bearing. Then there is the mental change,like when I’m wearing my pole-climbers, which can put a dent in theside of a car. I have the confidence of walking on weapons.Is the boot fetish and its masculine vibe a signal that you’ll fight back violentlyagainst gay bashing?It’s more about not being seen as an easy target. If I walk with confidenceit says “I won’t let anyone hurt me.”Is there a prejudice against fetishists in the gay community?Being a gay fetishist is like coming out twice. The first is that I wasgay, the second that I was a fetishist. I wear boots all the time becauseI feel powerful, which is exactly why there is resistance. Gay peopleare tolerated as long as they blend in – funny, benign, wear Gap orPrada, cut hair and redecorate homes – but mainstream America isnot ready to see us express power.What do you say to the monopoly on the gay image by the “Will and Grace” crowd?I tried all of your stuff, I’ve been to musicals and it’s not as fun asgoing to a shooting range. The unsaid agreement is that if you’re gayyou must like Liza Minnelli and drink cocktails. A lot of men andwomen who come out of the closet embrace that image whether it’sthem or not because they want to be unambiguously gay. I believethere’s room for all types of gay identity.Where do you want to as the goal for gay politics?We are making strides with money. In this nation you have to buy yourway in. As an actor, I believe we’ve got to take control of the imagesprojected of us, so it isn’t just “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” butmore aggressive images. We need to stop asking and start demanding.Breaking Away in BarcelonaBBY BENNETT BAUMERarcelona has always been a city of love for me. The two other bigcities in my life have been Madrid, full of smoky bar lust andsex in the park, and New York, with its Viagra-poppinginvestors and an abundance of online dating. But Barcelona is aboutgetting caught in the night rain and staking out a secluded doorstepwith someone. It’s walking slowly in the Ramblas with your hands ineach other’s back pockets talking about politics.I met and last saw Gemma over a year ago. She attracted me becauseshe was so Euro: cute accent, leg warmers, anarcho-mullet and a curvaceousbody to boot. I was in Barcelona for only a couple of weeks.Both of us were in the wedding of mutual friends and during thereception we split to the grocery store to buy more booze for theguests (there was no shortage of liquor!). Our short time together waslike that – breaking away for small excursions returning with loot.One cold day on the beach I told her I was attracted to her, thoughshe had just come off a passionless relationship with a long-termBootblack Dave blesses boots every Saturday night at The Eagle bar.boyfriend and didn’t know what to say. Months before, Gemma hadreturned to the apartment they shared and a “Dear John” letter toldher he had found everything she wasn’t in another woman.Later that night we warmed up on her couch to wine and each other.I pushed her emotionally to come out of the shock of being left by herboyfriend. We had awkward sex, and she asked me if I was going toleave or spend the night. I stayed and we spent the next couple daystogether. Gemma challenged me to make love to her with passion andI explored her body like a one-man search and rescue team. As wewrithed and moaned under the duvet, one of us would pull away onlyto embrace again. Each night the sex grew more intimate and comfortable;Gemma reacquainted herself with desire and feeling, and Iwanted her more and more.After leaving to spend a few days in Madrid, I returned to Barcelonaand went straight to Gemma’s house for a quickie before dinner plans.We spent our last night together naked in bed and realized howintense our time had become. I got on a plane the next morning andGemma got over her boyfriend.

counseling and social servicesLGBTsupport groupsThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center208 West 13, Manhattan — 212.620.7310Center CARE Winter–Spring 2005 GroupsCenter CARE winter/spring 2005 groups begin in earlyFebruary and run for 10-weeks. Groups require an intakeinterview prior to participation and are offered on a sliding-scalebasis, unless otherwise noted. Groups andservices are confidential. To register or for more information,call Center CARE at 212.620.7310.BEREAVEMENTCo-ed Grief Support GroupPhase I LGBT-identified peopleof all genders navigate theirgrief and healing processesafter losing a loved one.Mondays, beginning Feb-ruary7, 6–7:30 p.m.Co-ed Grief Support GroupPhase II LGBT-identified peopleof all genders re-integratetheir lives into a communityafter the loss of a loved one.Must have previously attendedCo-ed Grief Support Group PhaseI. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 8,6–7:30 p.m.HIV+Positive CARE Group is anongoing group for newly diagnosed(within the last threeyears) HIV-positive gay andbisexual men and men of transexperience.Free Ongoing;Mondays, 6–7:30 p.m.SUBSTANCE ABUSECome As You Are – HarmReduction Group for MenOngoing group for gay andbisexual men and men oftrans-experience take a look atthe pros and cons of their substanceuse. Ongoing;Wednesdays, 6–7:30 p.m.Sexuality, Drugs & RecoveryGroup for Men For gay andbisexual men and men of transexperiencehealing from theeffects of alcohol or other drugs.Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 8,6–7:30 p.m.BELOW 14TH ST.BluestockingsBooks & Café172 Allen St.Shakespeare & Co.1 WhitehallTimes Up!49 E. Houston St.Lotus CaféClinton & Stanton Sts.Key FoodsAve. A & E. 4th St.May Day Booksat Theater for theNew City155 First Ave.(between 9th & 10th Sts.)Housing Works126 Crosby St.LGBT Center213 W. 13th St.14TH TO 96TH ST.Revolution Books9 W. 19th St.Chelsea Sq. Diner23rd St. & 9th Ave.Second WaveLaundrocenter55th St. & 9th Ave.ABOVE 96th ST.Labyrinth Books536 W. 112th St.Kim’s Books113th St. & BroadwayStrictly RootsRestaurant123rd & AdamClayton PowellCoogan’s Bar169th St. & BroadwayCafe Seven7 Henshaw St.Fort WashingtonBakery & Deli808 W. 181st St.Jumpin’ JalapenosW. 207th St.(between B’wy &Vermillya)Relationships, Sex & Recoveryfor Women is an early recoverygroup for lesbian and bisexualwomen and women of transexperiencehealing from theeffects of alcohol and/or otherdrugs. Mondays, beginning Feb.7, 6 – 7:30 p.m.MENTAL HEALTHLearning, Coping and HealingLGBT-identified people of allgenders dealing with anxiety,depression and other mentalhealth concerns. Mondays,beginning Feb.7, 6–7:30 p.m.GENDER IDENTITYPROJECTGender-Queer: Beyond theBinary for those assignedfemale at birth who are nowexploring or questioning thatbirth identity, including thosewho identify as boi, genderqueer,ag/aggressive, trans,non-gendered, bi-gender andandro/androgynous.(You donot have to be trans-identifiedto join this group.) Thursdays,beginning Feb. 10, 6–7:30 p.m.TransGENDER Exploration–Drop-In for those assignedmale at birth who are nowchallenging, exploring, questioningor reconfiguring thatbirth identity including thosewho identify as transgender,transsexual, gender questioning,cross-dresser, exploringand soul-searching. Drop-in;no registration required. $5suggested donation for eachWHERE DO I GET MY COPY OFTHE INDYPENDENT?BROOKLYNVox Pop1022 Cortelyou Rd.Spoonbill &Sugartown218 Bedford Ave.Tillie’s of Brooklyn248 Dekalb Ave.Green Apple Café110 Dekalb Ave.Marquet Patisserie680 Fulton St.Halcyon227 Smith St.Moda Cafe294 5th Ave.Freddy’s Bar andBackroomDean St. & 6th Ave.BAM30 Lafayette Ave.Community Book Store7th Ave. & Carroll Sts.Tea LoungeUnion St. @ 7th Ave.9th St. @ 7th Ave.group. Wednesdays, beginningFeb. 9, 7:30–9 p.m.Living as Trans-Men who wantto explore relationships, community,medical and emotionalwell-being and the strugglesand joys of being in theworld as men. Wednesdays,beginning Feb. 9, 7:30–9 p.m.Living as Trans-Women for transgenderwomen, who want toexplore relationships, community,medical and emotionalwell-being and the struggles andjoys of being in the world aswomen. Wednesdays, beginningFebruary 9, 7:30–9 p.m.Partners of Trans-IdentifiedIndividuals for people of allgenders who are, have been orare seeking to be in relationshipsor partnerships withtrans-identified individuals.Wednesdays, beginningFebruary 9, 7:30–9 p.m.Trans-Survivors of ChildhoodSexual Abuse for trans, gender-differentand genderquestioningpeople of allgenders who have survivedchildhood sexual abuse. Tuesdays,beginning February 8,6–7:30 p.m.Intersex Support Group ongoingmonthly all-gendered group forthose with intersex conditions,or identities, seeking to connect.Beginning February: Date andtime to be announcedTrans-Parent Support Groupmonthly gathering for trans,gender-different and genderquestioningpeople of all gendersto share with others whoare parents, or who are planningto be. For more information,contact the group’s facilitator,Diana Feliz Oliva, atCenter Kids, 212.620.7310,ext. 294.Atlantis SuperLaundry Center472 Atlantic Ave.Photoplay Video933 Manhattan Ave.Verb CafeBedford Ave.& N. 5th St.Jane Doe Books93 Montrose Ave.Make the Roadby Walking301 Grove St.QUEENSSunnyside Library43-06 Greenpoint Ave.East ElmhurstLibrary95-06 Astoria Blvd.Jackson HeightsLibrary35-51 81st St.Friend’s Tavern78-11 Roosevelt Ave.Langston HughesLibrary100-01 Northern Blvd.Café Aubergine49-22 Skillman Ave.Book ValueBroadway between33rd & 34th Sts.BRONXBronx Museum165th St. & GrandConcourseBarnes & Noble290 Baychester Ave.The Point940 Garrison Ave.Helpdistributethe Indy!call212.684.8112VDAYUNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPSbluestockingsradical bookstore | activist center | fair trade cafe172 Allen St. • 212.777.6028bluestockings.comTHU FEB 17@ 7pm - FreeZine Release: “Queer Zine Showdown”This extravaganza includes three featured bouts. Inround (1) Queens Cutter Sarinya In round (2),Tennessee “Tussler” Jones reads from the latest“Teenage Death Songs” . And in round (3), BrooklynBruiser Carolyn Connelly presents “Street CornerSass”, the second edition of “Brooklyn Diary.”SUN FEB 20@ 4pm to 6pm - FreeKnitting: Dyke Knitting Circle!Please bring yarn and knitting needles, and feel freeto contact the DKC at knittingcirclenyc@yahoo.comor (212)714-8375 with questions.MON FEB 21@ 7pm - $3 to $5 SuggestedScreening / Discussion:“A Huey P. Newton Story”Directed by Spike Lee, “A Huey P. Newton Story”is film about Newton’s thoughts and philosophiesand his history as the founder of the Black PantherParty. Following the film, Anarchist Panther AshantiAlston will lead a discussion for all those with thedesire to create revolution now.V-Day NYC in association withDouble Helix Company presentThe V-Day NYCBenefit Concert 2005Au Revoir Simone Northern StateMayteana Morales DJ set by: DJSynapseSpoken Word performances by the castof The Vagina Monologues2.12.05 The Delancey 168 Delancey btwn clinton and attorney$15 /10pm doors 1 hours open bar from 10:00-11:00pmfree gifts from our sponsors Miller High LIfe & touchbaseTHE INDYPENDENT FEBRUARY 9 – MARCH 1, 2005 15