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It was a moment without historical precedent, American workers striking against a war that their government is waging. On Mayday this year, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) shut down every port on the west coast of the United Stated--all 26 of them--in opposition to the US war against the people of Iraq. A few weeks back we reported on the struggle of Iraqi labor unions in the Basra area, who are fighting against the privatization of Iraqi ports and oil fields. As US missiles rained down on their houses, and the puppet government tried to arrest union leaders, they called for international solidarity and support from organized labor. The ILWU answered that cry bigtime. Now, on "Indymedia Presents" ----we bring you a report of the Mayday strike that completely shut down every port on the west coast for at least 8 hours. Longshoremen stayed off the job and in major port cities they marched, proud, in their union jackets, banners unfurled. In response, dock workers in Iraq shut down the port there for two hours. It was like a blinking signal light on a distant shore at night, acknowledging that the message of solidarity had been received. The Seattle Times reported that "dozens" of dock workers protested in Seattle. In our report you can clearly see the demonstration is 5 lanes wide, stretching back past the focus of the camera. There were "dozens" just in the first row or two. PepperSpray was there to document this heroic moment. It was a bit of a cinematographer's dilemma: how do you show something like a stop work situation, where the story is "something's NOT happening." We arrived at the hall early and union members showed us where to get beautiful shots of the idle port. Later we captured the march, the music, the mood. We're proud of the ILWU, and it shows in this report. http://www.ilwu.org/longshore Be the Media! Public Access producers, community screeners, and IMCs (Independent Media Centers) are encouraged to screen or air "Indymedia Presents". To obtain the show on a regular basis, please contact us, Pepperspray Productions, at pepperspray@riseup.net. "Indymedia Presents" is a 28 minute weekly cable public access program produced on behalf of the Seattle Independent Media Center (IMC) by PepperSpray Productions. In addition to SCAN Channel 77 in Seattle, "Indymedia Presents" also airs on channels in greater King County (Channel 23), Bainbridge Island (Channel 12), Port Townsend, WA (Channel 97 & 98), Olympia, WA (Channel 22), Vancouver, WA (Channel 11), Portland, OR (Channel 22 and a few others), Tucson, AZ (Channel 73), St Paul, MN (Channel 15), Minneapolis, MN (Channel 17), Fort Wayne, IN (Channel 57), Philadelphia, PA (Channels 54 & 62), Brooklyn, NY (BCAT Channels 34, & 67) and on New York City's Manhattan Neighborhood Network, (Channel 34). Related Free Speech Websites: Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml Indymedia NewsReal http://www.newsreal.indymedia.org Free Speech TV: http://www.freespeech.org Link TV http://www.linktv.org Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org

The release of the new Grand Theft Auto video game is a big deal. Sort of what a new Beatles album or Star Wars movie meant for earlier generations. What's the impact of video games on our culture? Are you playing the new Grand Theft Auto IV game? What do you think? What's the impact of video games on you? On your family and friends? Also today, Longshormen up and down the West Coast are on a one day strike to protest the war. Do marches help end wars? Plus, terrorists are attacking Seattle. It's a simulation to help plan a defense. We'll hear what they're doing.

OK, we've finally done it. We made a propaganda video that supports the enemy. Somebody had to do it, because in Basra, the US government's "enemy" seems to be the people of that southern town and region of Iraq. And not just anybody, and not some dark-of-the-night terrorist militia, but rather the unions of Basra, particularly the oil workers and dock workers unions. It all boils down to this: big oil wants to be the sellers of Iraqi oil, not the buyers. The stakes in Basra are privatization of Iraqi oil and ports. No matter what other differences they might have, pretty much all Iraqis understand that the question with respect to these "birthrights" is who will own them, giant multinational corporations, or the Iraqi people. In the last few months there have been occasional articles telegraphing the attack on Basra. Articles complaining that the dock workers refuse to work more than 8 hours a day. Articles about how some British corporate executive has been appointed "Basra Development Commisioner" to head up corporate efforts to privatize the Iraqi ports and oil companies. Articles, like the one in the Guardian of London entitled "Oil giants are poised to move into Basra." (Feb 24, 2008) After the initial attack faltered, General Petraeus testified to congress that Maliki (US puppet ruler of the Iraqi government) had launched the attack on Basra without letting the US military know what the plan was. Too bad General Petraeus hadn't read the article in the NY Times from March 13, 2008 headlined "Iraqi Troops May Move to Reclaim Basra's Port." So in this week's "Indymedia Presents", we feature interviews with Iraqi labor leaders, who tell the story of some of the union battles that have occurred in Southern Iraq since the US/British occupation began, combined with some footage we got from our friends at "Labor Beat" in Chicago to bring you the story that corporate media is carefully avoiding, the on-going attack on the trade unions of Basra, and what is behind it. By the Way, American Longshoremen (ILWU) http://www.ilwu.org, who have been very supportive of their Iraqi union bretheren, have called for a one day strike up and down the west coast on Mayday in opposition to the war. We expect more information regarding Basra and the fight against privatization to emerge in the course of that job action. Join a Mayday action, and stay tuned for more from the independent media, who bring you the stories corporate media would rather you not notice. "The Dow's Down" We finish off this week with the duo Rebel Voices singing at the benefit concert for Utah Phillips. http://www.rebelvoices.com

OK, we've finally done it. We made a video that supports the enemy. Somebody had to do it, because in Basra, the US government's "enemy" seems to be the people of that southern town and region of Iraq. And not just anybody, and not some dark-of-the-night terrorist militia, but rather the unions of Basra, particularly the oil workers and dock workers unions. It all boils down to this: big oil wants to be the sellers of Iraqi oil, not the buyers. The stakes in Basra are privatization of Iraqi oil and ports. No matter what other differences they might have, pretty much all Iraqis understand that the question with respect to these "birthrights" is who will own them, giant multinational corporations, or the Iraqi people. In the last few months there have been occasional articles telegraphing the attack on Basra. Articles complaining that the dock workers refuse to work more than 8 hours a day. Articles about how some British corporate executive has been appointed "Basra Development Commisioner" to head up corporate efforts to privatize the Iraqi ports and oil companies. Articles, like the one in the Guardian of London entitled "Oil giants are poised to move into Basra." (Feb 24, 2008) After the initial attack faltered, General Petraeus testified to congress that Maliki (US puppet ruler of the Iraqi government) had launched the attack on Basra without letting the US military know what the plan was. Too bad General Petraeus hadn't read the article in the NY Times from March 13, 2008 headlined "Iraqi Troops May Move to Reclaim Basra's Port." So in this week's "Indymedia Presents", we feature interviews with Iraqi labor leaders, who tell the story of some of the union battles that have occurred in Southern Iraq since the US/British occupation began, combined with some footage we got from our friends at "Labor Beat" in Chicago to bring you the story that corporate media is carefully avoiding, the on-going attack on the trade unions of Basra, and what is behind it. By the Way, American Longshoremen (ILWU) http://www.ilwu.org, who have been very supportive of their Iraqi union bretheren, have called for a one day strike up and down the west coast on Mayday in opposition to the war. We expect more information regarding Basra and the fight against privatization to emerge in the course of that job action. Join a Mayday action, and stay tuned for more from the independent media, who bring you the stories corporate media would rather you not notice. "The Dow's Down" We finish off this week with the duo Rebel Voices singing at the benefit concert for Utah Phillips. http://www.rebelvoices.com

"No More 16 Tons In America" Longshoremen's Union Hall in Tacoma, WA Congressman Dennis Kucinich announced he is withdrawing from the 2008 presidential race. While it is true that neither the PepperSpray Collective or "Indymedia Presents" endorses ANY candidate for ANY office, we have always liked Kucinich for raising the issues so clearly, and for his consistency. On the occasion of him withdrawing from the race, we reached back into our archives and dug out a speech he made at the Longshoremen's Union hall in Tacoma, WA four years ago. It was a great speech, and if we didn't tell you it was that old, you'd probably think it was right up to the moment. This speech was given BEFORE Al Gore came out with "An Inconvenient Truth," This speech was given BEFORE the exposure of the broken health care system in "Sicko." This speech was given BEFORE 80% of the American people had turned against the war. Dennis Kucinich has been there all along. http://www.dennis4president.com International Longshore and Warehouse Union ILWU Longshore Division Homepage http://www.ilwu.org/longshore BE THE MEDIA! Pepperspray Productions formed shortly after the WTO protests in Seattle, in response to the Independent Media Center's call, "don't hate the media, be the media!". We believe that the Corporate Media is not telling us the whole story, and that the people must make our own media if we want our voices to be heard. Related Free Speech Websites: Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml Indymedia NewsReal http://www.newsreal.indymedia.org Free Speech TV: http://www.freespeech.org Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org

"No More 16 Tons In America" Longshoremen's Union Hall in Tacoma, WA Congressman Dennis Kucinich announced he is withdrawing from the 2008 presidential race. While it is true that neither the PepperSpray Collective or "Indymedia Presents" endorses ANY candidate for ANY office, we have always liked Kucinich for raising the issues so clearly, and for his consistency. On the occasion of him withdrawing from the race, we reached back into our archives and dug out a speech he made at the Longshoremen's Union hall in Tacoma, WA four years ago. It was a great speech, and if we didn't tell you it was that old, you'd probably think it was right up to the moment. This speech was given BEFORE Al Gore came out with "An Inconvenient Truth," This speech was given BEFORE the exposure of the broken health care system in "Sicko." This speech was given BEFORE 80% of the American people had turned against the war. Dennis Kucinich has been there all along. http://www.dennis4president.com International Longshore and Warehouse Union ILWU Longshore Division Homepage http://www.ilwu.org/longshore BE THE MEDIA! Pepperspray Productions formed shortly after the WTO protests in Seattle, in response to the Independent Media Center's call, "don't hate the media, be the media!". We believe that the Corporate Media is not telling us the whole story, and that the people must make our own media if we want our voices to be heard. Related Free Speech Websites: Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml Indymedia NewsReal http://www.newsreal.indymedia.org Free Speech TV: http://www.freespeech.org Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org

MAERSK picket line at Port of Tacoma This piece was done by our newest PepperSpray videographer, who is also in Students for Democratic Society (SDS) http://www.studentsforademocraticsociety.org Security guards at the Port of Tacoma have been fighting to bring in their preferred union, and get rid of the company union. This is like a throw-back to earlier days of labor struggles, created by a clause in the Homeland Security rules that mandate that the workers must be allowed to join a union. So MAERSK, biggest shipper in the world, with North American headquarters in Tacoma, created a union and mandated that the workers join. Not so fast said the workers, we'll choose our own union, thank you. In this piece the workers throw up a picket line supported by Jobs With Justice. Longshoremen from the ILWU, confronted with a militant picket line when they arrive to work, show what solidarity is all about. STOP WARS Olympia PMR http://www.omjp.org http://www.omjp.org/Port2007.html This piece was also done by our newest PepperSpray videographer. The Olympia Port & Military Resistance group featured in this piece is really doing great work to stop military shipments through Northwest ports. Day after day demonstrators protested at the Port of Olympia, trying to prevent war materials from moving through the Port, in this case strykers and other heavy equipment just back from Iraq, returning to be refurbished and made ready for the next time over. Sometimes the demonstrators shut the Port down, sometimes they were forced to retreat, but put up roadblocks through the city and freeway that are the route to Fort Lewis. This is great stuff, because the demonstrators are not politely begging for the war stop, but taking direct action, with resultant pepperspray and point-blank pepper bullets. This segment contains gripping footage of demonstrators locked down, facing police lines, taking hit after hit, point blank from police pepper bullets, and not backing down. One can only hope that this represents a new wave of heroism and determination in America. This is a great action piece by our newest PepperSpray videographer. Battle in Seattle November 1999 saw the huge protests in Seattle against the WTO. On this year's anniversary of that struggle, we replay a piece from back in the day by Collective Media, forerunner of the PepperSpray Collective, about those days of heroism and determination. It is called "Battle in Seattle." Steward Townsend is about to release a Hollywood movie by the same name which is set during that amazing moment in people's history. It stars Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Andre Benjamin. The PepperSpray Collective consulted on the script and helped organize extras for the scenes shot in Seattle, so we are looking forward to seeing the flick once it is released. But once it is out, nobody will remember our little slideshow with a sound track by the same name from so many years ago, so here it is, one last time, before it is eclipsed. Indymedia Presents is also available as an RSS feed at: Blip TV-- http://indymediapresents.blip.tv ... or download/subscribe to the Indymedia Presents podcast via the iTunes Store. BE THE MEDIA! Pepperspray Productions formed shortly after the WTO protests in Seattle, in response to the Independent Media Center's call, "don't hate the media, be the media!". We believe that the Corporate Media is not telling us the whole story, and that the people must make our own media if we want our voices to be heard. Related websites: Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml Indymedia NewsReal http://www.newsreal.indymedia.org Free Speech TV: http://freespeech.org Courage To Resist http://www.couragetoresist.org Thank You Lt. Watada http://www.thankyoult.org Iraq Veterans Against the War http://www.ivaw.org Veterans for Peace http://www.veteransforpeace.org Military Families Speak Out http://www.mfso.org Gold Star Families for Peace http://www.gsfp.org

ILWU Local 10 hosted an important springboard conferenceon Oct.20, 2007 at local 10's historic hiring hall in San Francisco.Speakers included, Cindy Sheehan, Betty Olson, Clarence Thomas, Jeremy Corbyn, Iraq war vets and many more. Pivotal movements have come from this epicenter of US labor organizing. Opening Talks.