A group of activists have initiated a lockdown on Olympic and Figueroa. The street remains blocked as Police swarm the area. The march against Occidental is in full swing and has diverted to Al Gore's Headquarters. The protestor's are marching to voice their opposition to Al Gore's personal $500,000 investment in Occidental Petroleum. Occidental is responsible for the forced removal of the U'WA people from their tribal land and subsequent deathys of hundred's in Colombia.

While Occidental deserves much criticism (and more) for their brutalization of the indigenous U'Wa
tribe, let us be accurate when we talk about Gore's connection to the evil corporation. Rather than
having a "personal investment" in Oxy, his only connection is in fact that his *mother* holds $500,000
worth of stock in the company, which she inherited from her late husband. Perhaps Gore should force
his mother to sell the stock and give the proceeds to the U'Wa tribe, and maybe that would be the
honorable thing to do. It wouldn't change anything, for half a million dollars is not going to influence Oxy from stealing the U'Wa land and exploiting it for profit, but perhaps forcing his mother to sell the stock and give away the money would be the right thing to do. So criticize him for not doing that, if you want to. But keep in mind that it is irresponsible and counter-productive to misconstrue his very flimsy connections to the company.

A half a million dollars of family money invested in one company is not a flimsy connection. Where do you think the profit from that blood-money investment is going when the old lady dies? Besides, the main point that Al Boar refuses to use his influence to put a stop to the decimation of U'WA land is irrefutable.

There is a point to be made against Gore for not using his influence and his general notoriety in stopping Oxy from what they are doing. And I do not mean to criticize activists for trying to bring light to his connections, but the connections are not as clear-cut as is commonly reported in the left media. My main point is simply that we do ourselves a disservice when we misrepresent his actual connections. His mother owning stock is not the same as Al Gore himself having a personal investment. It's not like he's on the Board of Directors. Perhaps I was a bit unnecessarily sarcastic in my original remarks, but I just don't think that any purpose is served by exaggeration and innuendo.

Moving quickly in the wake of US Senate approval of a military aid package, Colombian armed forces attacked two hundred non-violent U'wa Indians in late June. The U'wa had been blockading the road to a site where Occidental Petroleum plans to begin drilling for oil for months. The nonviolent blockades were the latest phase in a nine-year campaign by the U'wa to stop drilling on traditional lands which they hold sacred.

On Saturday, June 24 some 300 anti-riot police and soldiers made a surprise, early morning attack against 200 peaceful U'wa people blockading a road near the town of Cubara in northeastern Colombia. The police and soldiers removed the U'wa through the use of tear gas and physical blows. U'wa spokespeople reported that twenty-eight people were injured, with some requiring medical attention. One U'wa man received bullet wounds, according to the attending medical physician Dr. Quinones (a facsimile of the doctor's statement available upon request from RAN: 415/398-4404).

On that Sunday afternoon, some 60 soldiers and police made another surprise sweep against a group of U'wa peacefully assembled in the town of Cubara. Several were physically attacked, accused of being "subversives" and 30 were detained. Now reports are emerging today that another 40 U'wa have been detained in this systematic effort to break the blockade and allow Occidental to drill on U'wa land. This use of force against peaceful civilians comes on the heels of last week's US senate approval of a $1.3 billion aid package for Colombia, much of which is directed at the police and military. The U.S. is the number one buyer of Colombia's oil."

The truth on the ground in Colombia is that a US-backed police and military force is using violent tactics to serve a US company-Occidental Petroleum-against a peaceful community, all in the name of oil," said Carwil James from Project Underground, which has been working in support of the U'wa since 1997.

This was the third violent strike in recent months against the non-violent U'wa people in their effort to block Occidental's oil project on their traditional territory. The U'wa are adamantly opposed to the project and have repeatedly stated that they are willing to die to stop the project, which they see as a threat to the spiritual equilibrium of the world, the environment and their physical safety from Colombia's civil war.

Meanwhile, as detailed in today's Washington Times, Vice President Al Gore's family profits are up due to positive returns on his stock investments in Oxy valued at between $500,000 to $1 million. Despite repeated requests from environmental and human rights organizations, Gore has refused to divest his family from Occidental or to support the rights of the U'wa before his family's profits.

Mr. Gore cannot pretend to be any better than Bush when his hands have the blood of the U'wa on them, " said Shannon Wright, of the Rainforest Action Network. "So much for this environmental Vice-President - he would prefer to profit from an oil project in Colombia than to use his influence to protect the human rights and forest home of the U'wa."

The U'wa Defense Working Group is a coalition of human rights and environmental organization in the United States working with the U'wa.

Just for the record, the lockdown occurred at 6th and Flower, just across the street from one of Al Gore's campaign headquarters.