Friday, August 10, 2007

BAUAW NEWSLETTER - FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2007

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STOP THE BLUE ANGELS
MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2007, 11:00 A.M.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
CITY HALL, SAN FRANCISCO
VAN NESS AND MCALLISTER ST.

HERE'S MY LETTER TO NEWSOM AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, FOLLOWED BY MAYOR NEWSOM'S RESPONSE TO ME:

BONNIE WEINSTEIN WRITES:

Dear Mayor Newsom,

The following is a letter I sent to the Board of Supervisors. And I have posted it to the Bay Area United Against War website (www.bauaw.org) so that others can express their feelings as well. I have encouraged everyone to write their objections to the "performance" of the Blue Angels over our city.

I think the letter is self-explanatory and please know that it is meant for you as well.

You have a say and should be mandated by the electorate of this City to conform with our wishes and ban the Blue Angels from our skies.

Sincerely,
Bonnie Weinstein

Here is the letter:

Dear Supervisors,

I am writing to all of you although I live in Bernal Heights. The Blue Angels fly and terrorize all of us in this city and in the Bay Area. Lethal weapons flying close to the ground right over our heads is neither celebratory nor fun. The noise is deafening--and no one can avoid it by choice--just as we can't avoid the war on Iraq and Afghanistan by choice--so much for our "democracy" that ignores the voice of its people!

We shouldn't have to plead with our supervisors nor our Mayor to carry out what is surely the will of the people of San Francisco who have already voted twice to end the war and the military recruitment in our city.

We, the people, have made our wishes clear already. We are against the war; against the military industrial complex that is the U.S. Military that is personified by the Blue Angels--the "Angels of Death."

That our warplanes are the fastest and that our pilots are the best trained to bring death and destruction does not comfort us or make us proud. It is an abomination and a condemnation of our government and its brutal, world war, domination plan!

And if this isn't enough, the Blue Angels' "performances" are wrought with danger already resulting in 26 fatalities. How can this threat to the wellbeing of the people of San Francisco be considered fun entertainment?

There is no excuse for their presence in our air! They should all be grounded permanently.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Weinstein
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-824-8730


LETTER FROM GAVIN NEWSOM IN RESPONSE:

Gavin Newsom
Gavin.Newsom@sfgov.org

Dear Ms. Weinstein,

Thank you for contacting my office regarding San Francisco's annual
Fleet Week.

As you likely know, Supervisor Chris Daly has recently introduced a
policy resolution at the Board of Supervisors calling for the ending of
Fleet Week in San Francisco. I continue to support Fleet Week as a
popular and long-standing community event enjoyed by the entire Bay
Area. Notwithstanding the Bush Administration's current shortcomings in
foreign policy, San Francisco government continues to support the men
and women of the United States Armed Forces and is proud to take part in
honoring our troops and their families during Fleet Week.

Recently, some safety concerns have been raised about the Blue Angels
air show, based on a recent accident elsewhere. Our City has ensured
that the Navy and the City of San Francisco have a comprehensive
emergency response plan to ensure the safety of the event. Additional
concerns have been raised regarding the noise caused by flyovers is
being addressed by the Federal Administration creation of a flight plan
that takes place mostly over the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

In addition to honoring our troops, Fleet Week provides the city with
significant economic benefits. Over one million people view the air
show in San Francisco and thousands of more visitors come to San
Francisco throughout Fleet Week. For all of these reasons, I am proud
to continue that San Francisco continues to host Fleet Week.

Again, thank you for contacting my office with you concerns. If you have
further questions, please contact my office at 415-554-7111 or visit
www.fleetweek.us for more information

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom
Mayor

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Help Save Kenneth Foster—An Innocent Man on Texas Death Row
http://www.freekenneth.com/index.htm
Number of Executions by State and Region Since 1976
(Texas tops the list with more than three times the executions than any other State in the U.S. at 398 out of 1,089 total executions. The next highest execution rate is Virginia, with 98; Oklahoma, 85; Missouri, 66; Florida, 64; California is sixteenth on the list at 13 executions since 1976—the most recent being Tookie Williams in 2006.) Get the full stats at:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=8&did=186

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September 15: A showdown march from the White House to Congress in Washington DC

North/Central California "End the War Now" March
Saturday, October 27, 2007, 11am, San Francisco Civic Center Plaza

Momentum is building for Oct. 27 and beyond.

I encourage anyone who can devote some time to contact the ANSWER office and sign up for one of the Oct.27 Coalition committees to build for a massive, united march and rally in San Francisco Oct. 27 to End the War NOW.

Meeting times and locations will be posted shortly.

This action is sponsored by a broad coalition of groups in the Bay Area. A list will be forthcoming.

Funds are urgently needed for all the material—posters, flyers, stickers and buttons, etc.—to get the word out! Make your tax-deductible donation to:

Progress Unity Fund/Oct. 27

and mail to:

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
2489 Mission St. Rm. 24
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-821-6545

Please sign up to pass out flyers and to volunteer your time and energy to making this one of the truest expressions of the sentiment of we, the people this October 27.

In solidarity,

Bonnie Weinstein

To get more information on meeting times or distribution dates call or drop into the ANSWER office at the above address.

Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org http://www.actionsf.org
sf@internationalanswer.org
415-821-6545
(Call to check meeting and event schedules.)

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ARTICLES IN FULL:

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1) Inequality has run amok. Do leaders care?
By DMITRI IGLITZIN & STEVEN HILL
Posted Wednesday, June 27th 2007, 4:00 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/06/27/2007-06-27_inequality_has_run_amok_do_leaders_care.html

2) National "Sick of War" Sick Day
- A Proposal by Workers Against War
WorkersAgainstWar@gmail.com
www.WorkersAgainstWar.org

3) Cuba formally protests US visa failures
By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 3 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070808/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_us_visa_flap_1

4) Very Scary Things
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Op-Ed Columnist
August 10, 2007
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/opinion/10krugman.html?hp

5) Getting the Rescue Right
NYT Editorial
August 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/opinion/10fri1.html?hp

6) Projecting La Memoria in Southwest Colombia
by Peter Bearder, an independent journalist currently based in Bogotá.
July 30, 2007
From: Greg McDonald
sabocat59@mac.com

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1) Inequality has run amok. Do leaders care?
By DMITRI IGLITZIN & STEVEN HILL
Posted Wednesday, June 27th 2007, 4:00 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/06/27/2007-06-27_inequality_has_run_amok_do_leaders_care.html

When pets are poisoned by imported pet food or U.S. attorneys are fired under suspicious circumstances, Congress gears up hearings and vows quick action. A far greater scandal, however, has hardly gained the interest of legislators or the presidential candidates. That is the increasing wealth gap between the rich, the middle class and the poor, which is reaching alarming proportions.

The top 10% of income earners in the United States now owns 70% of the wealth, and the wealthiest 1% owns more than the bottom 95%, according to the Federal Reserve. In 2005, the top 300,000 Americans enjoyed about the same share of the nation's income - 21.8% - as the bottom 150 million.

New York is an especially bleak case study. The top fifth of earners in Manhattan now makes 52 times what the lowest fifth makes - $365,826 annually compared with $7,047 - roughly comparable to income disparity in Namibia.

Meanwhile, the ratio of average CEO to worker pay in the U.S. shot up from 301-to-1 to 431-to-1 in 2004. The average CEO now earns substantially more in one day than the average worker earns all year. Adding insult to injury, taxpayers actually give tax breaks to corporations for those salaries, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

In a country founded on the principle that "all men are created equal," this stark and growing economic inequality has become a third rail. Almost no one in political leadership touches it for fear of being accused of inciting class warfare.

Government has more than a right to confront the problem. It has an obligation to do so.

A small first step would be passing the Income Equity Act, denying corporations a tax deduction for excessive CEO salaries (defined as pay greater than 25 times the company's lowest full-time worker). They could still pay CEOs whatever they wished, but taxpayers would no longer subsidize it. That would create downward pressure on executive income while saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

More substantive would be a fix to Social Security's dirty little secret of favoring the rich: Annual wage income above $94,200 is completely untaxed by Social Security. While an average worker pays 6.2% of her income to Social Security, a CEO earning $1 million pays only 1% of his salary. As is, only 83% of all wages are subject to Social Security taxes, so this would increase annual revenues by nearly 20%, or $100 billion a year.

Other worthy proposals include providing child care for working parents, expanding health care and lowering college costs. But the most direct way to address inequality is to reimpose higher income tax rates. Under President Dwight Eisenhower's Republican administration, the maximum marginal tax rate was 87%. The Reagan tax cut of 1981 dramatically lowered this to 50%, then again to 28% in 1986. Since then, no surprise, our nation has seen a steady rise in wealth disparity.

It is long past time for our political leaders toput aside the scandal du jour and take urgently needed action to slow if not reverse our nation's growing economic inequality.

Iglitzin is a labor law attorney. Hill is director of the political reform program of the New America Foundation and author of "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy."

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2) National "Sick of War" Sick Day
- A Proposal by Workers Against War
WorkersAgainstWar@gmail.com
www.WorkersAgainstWar.org

The working class has nothing to gain and everything to lose from the wars being waged by our ruling class.

We are expected to pay for every crime and bloody mistake made by the ruling class. It is our sisters and brothers, and our sons and daughters that are to die for rich peoples' schemes of world domination.

We are expected to spill the blood of other working people who have done us no harm.

We are expected to bear the mass lay-offs, shredding of our democratic rights and violations of our privacy and dignity.

We are expected to suffer in large numbers while an exploiting and oppressing minority of rich people gets richer.

We are expected to bear our share of "sacrifice" – which is usually the entire weight.

We are expected to sit down, shut up and be good little obedient slaves.

We are NOT expected to realize that the working class is the overwhelming majority and that we have the power to not only stop the war, but to also create a system that serves our needs instead of the greed of a few.

Workers Can End the War – By Refusing to Work

Working people are the real majority and we are in a position to end this war immediately. We run the machines, haul the cargo, load the planes and ships, drive the buses and trains and create all of the wealth that those who rule take as their own. Without us the ruling class would have nothing – not even the clothes on their backs.

As workers, we are used to the idea that we must sell our ability work in order to survive. Now it is time to consider the idea that we may have to withhold our ability to work in order to survive. If workers across the US decided to stop working until the war ended, it would only be a matter of days, if not hours, before the first soldiers were on the planes heading home.

In order to send the message that we are serious about stopping the war, and capable of doing it, working people must organize themselves for a national "Sick of War" sick day. Workers Against War has been formed with the purpose of bringing this plan forward to all anti-war, social justice and working class organizations and individuals with the hope that they will form their own "Sick of War Committees" to build and promote this event in whatever way they can.

Workers Against War is proposing the date of October 26th, 2007 for the "Sick of War" sick day. This will provide an opportunity for last minute promotion of and participation in the major regional anti-war demonstrations being organized by United for Peace & Justice on the following day.

The basis of unity for the "Sick of War" sick day should simply be that we are all sick of war. Workers Against War is proposing the slogan "Are you sick of war? Call in sick on October 26 th!" as the unifying theme of this event. All organizations and individuals are encouraged to incorporate additional demands and slogans that address the issues important to them.

In addition to this broad appeal for a national "Sick of War" sick day, Workers Against War aims to build a solidly working class formation within the anti-war movement. In order to do this we are calling on all working people who agree with the 3 demands listed below to organize their own local chapters of Workers Against War. Our main purpose between now and October 26 th will be to make the "Sick Day" a reality, but we must also look beyond any one particular action and begin preparations for a national convention to formulate more demands and to plan our next steps.

If you are a working person, and this idea appeals to you, please get in touch.

Workers Against War – 3 Demands

1. An immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all US troops and private mercenaries from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The continued military and corporate occupation of both of these countries has nothing to do with any humanitarian concerns or with "making us safe" but has everything to do with economic interests. If corporations want to steal other countries resources, let them send their boards of directors and stockholders to fight and die.

2. An immediate end to the phony "War on Terror".

The "War on Terror" is merely a cover for endless wars of aggression in pursuit of profits for the ruling class. In reality, this has been a "War of Terror" waged not only against the populations of Iraq and Afghanistan, but also against Lebanese civilians, Palestinians fighting for their homeland, Colombian trade union organizers, supporters of democracy in Haiti and the Philippines… the list goes on and on. The doctrines of "Regime Change" and "Preemptive War" are designed to remove threats to rich peoples' wallets, not to stop terrorists. In fact, the "War on Terror" is likely to create more terrorism. Who usually dies in terror attacks? - Working people.

The "War on Terror" is also a war on working people in the US. Strikes have been broken for "national security" reasons and the largest teachers' union was labeled a "terrorist organization" by Bush's Secretary of Education. Repressive laws such as the USA-PATRIOT Act, the Homeland Security Act, the Military Commissions Act and others have enabled the government to violate the privacy of all people and have stripped us of basic democratic rights. The immigrant community, especially Arabs, Muslims and South Asians has been terrorized by the "War on Terror". Many thousands have been arrested and held with little or no access to lawyers or their families. If it is true that "the terrorists hate us for our freedom", then we should stop worrying. Soon there will be no freedom left for them to hate.

3. A Thoroughgoing Democratic Renewal of Society

A workers' movement against war can not limit itself to ending only one of the many injustices that we face in our daily lives. Even if the war were to stop tomorrow, many working people would still be without health insurance, a living wage, educational opportunities, housing, etc. A movement capable of stopping the war would be able to achieve all of our demands and bring about a truly democratic society that serves the interests of the majority of the population – the working class.

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3) Cuba formally protests US visa failures
By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 3 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070808/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_us_visa_flap_1

Cuba's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it had formally protested the U.S. State Department's acknowledgment it will not meet this fiscal year's minimum quota of 20,000 visas for Cubans wanting to live in the U.S.

It accused Washington of violating accords aimed at ensuring safe and orderly migration, while U.S. officials blamed Cuban restrictions for the problem.

Dagoberto Rodriguez, chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, said in a statement distributed via e-mail that his office sent a diplomatic note to State Department officials.

"It now corresponds to the United States government to end with the manipulation of the migratory issue in its relations with Cuba," Rodriguez said.

The visa quota flap erupted in mid-July, when Havana warned that the U.S. Interests Section, the American mission here, was not on track to grant at least 20,000 emigration visas before the end of the U.S. government fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

U.S. officials confirmed that they would not fill the quota and blamed the Cuban government, saying it had blocked necessary materials and American personnel from entering the country.

"We categorically reject that accusation," Rodriguez said. "The United States authorities deliberately lie."

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey on Wednesday again blamed Havana for failure to reach the quota, saying if Cuba wanted to help it could "stop interfering with the work of the Interests Section."

"There have been any number of instances over the last few months where vital equipment and supplies, personnel needed to repair some of the things in our Interests Section, have been blocked or prevented from entry," Casey told a news briefing in Washington.

Havana has suggested that American officials denied visas were not involved with visa processing, and sought mostly for help in renovating mission facilities.

As for equipment and supplies, Rodriguez said the American mission had been allowed to import 80.3 metric tons of goods into Cuba in 2006 and suggested other goods still held up by Cuban customs were materials "used for the promotion of subversive activities against our country."

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4) Very Scary Things
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Op-Ed Columnist
August 10, 2007
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/opinion/10krugman.html?hp

In September 1998, the collapse of Long Term Capital Management, a giant hedge fund, led to a meltdown in the financial markets similar, in some ways, to what’s happening now. During the crisis in ’98, I attended a closed-door briefing given by a senior Federal Reserve official, who laid out the grim state of the markets. “What can we do about it?” asked one participant. “Pray,” replied the Fed official.

Our prayers were answered. The Fed coordinated a rescue for L.T.C.M., while Robert Rubin, the Treasury secretary at the time, and Alan Greenspan, who was the Fed chairman, assured investors that everything would be all right. And the panic subsided.

Yesterday, President Bush, showing off his M.B.A. vocabulary, similarly tried to reassure the markets. But Mr. Bush is, let’s say, a bit lacking in credibility. On the other hand, it’s not clear that anyone could do the trick: right now we’re suffering from a serious shortage of saviors. And that’s too bad, because we might need one.

What’s been happening in financial markets over the past few days is something that truly scares monetary economists: liquidity has dried up. That is, markets in stuff that is normally traded all the time — in particular, financial instruments backed by home mortgages — have shut down because there are no buyers.

This could turn out to be nothing more than a brief scare. At worst, however, it could cause a chain reaction of debt defaults.

The origins of the current crunch lie in the financial follies of the last few years, which in retrospect were as irrational as the dot-com mania. The housing bubble was only part of it; across the board, people began acting as if risk had disappeared.

Everyone knows now about the explosion in subprime loans, which allowed people without the usual financial qualifications to buy houses, and the eagerness with which investors bought securities backed by these loans. But investors also snapped up high-yield corporate debt, a k a junk bonds, driving the spread between junk bond yields and U.S. Treasuries down to record lows.

Then reality hit — not all at once, but in a series of blows. First, the housing bubble popped. Then subprime melted down. Then there was a surge in investor nervousness about junk bonds: two months ago the yield on corporate bonds rated B was only 2.45 percent higher than that on government bonds; now the spread is well over 4 percent.

Investors were rattled recently when the subprime meltdown caused the collapse of two hedge funds operated by Bear Stearns, the investment bank. Since then, markets have been manic-depressive, with triple-digit gains or losses in the Dow Jones industrial average — the rule rather than the exception for the past two weeks.

But yesterday’s announcement by BNP Paribas, a large French bank, that it was suspending the operations of three of its own funds was, if anything, the most ominous news yet. The suspension was necessary, the bank said, because of “the complete evaporation of liquidity in certain market segments” — that is, there are no buyers.

When liquidity dries up, as I said, it can produce a chain reaction of defaults. Financial institution A can’t sell its mortgage-backed securities, so it can’t raise enough cash to make the payment it owes to institution B, which then doesn’t have the cash to pay institution C — and those who do have cash sit on it, because they don’t trust anyone else to repay a loan, which makes things even worse.

And here’s the truly scary thing about liquidity crises: it’s very hard for policy makers to do anything about them.

The Fed normally responds to economic problems by cutting interest rates — and as of yesterday morning the futures markets put the probability of a rate cut by the Fed before the end of next month at almost 100 percent. It can also lend money to banks that are short of cash: yesterday the European Central Bank, the Fed’s trans-Atlantic counterpart, lent banks $130 billion, saying that it would provide unlimited cash if necessary, and the Fed pumped in $24 billion.

But when liquidity dries up, the normal tools of policy lose much of their effectiveness. Reducing the cost of money doesn’t do much for borrowers if nobody is willing to make loans. Ensuring that banks have plenty of cash doesn’t do much if the cash stays in the banks’ vaults.

There are other, more exotic things the Fed and, more important, the executive branch of the U.S. government could do to contain the crisis if the standard policies don’t work. But for a variety of reasons, not least the current administration’s record of incompetence, we’d really rather not go there.

Let’s hope, then, that this crisis blows over as quickly as that of 1998. But I wouldn’t count on it.

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5) Getting the Rescue Right
NYT Editorial
August 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/opinion/10fri1.html?hp

Help has been way too slow in coming for the estimated 1.7 million people who will lose their homes to foreclosure this year and next. A modest bill to bolster funds for state, local and nonprofit agencies that help hard-pressed homeowners renegotiate their mortgages and restructure their debts has been slogging through the Senate since April, and it won’t be passed until October at the earliest — if ever. On the presidential campaign trail, Senator Hillary Clinton recently promised to introduce a similar relief measure — next month.

There has been far less procrastinating, however, when it comes to offering help to investors, bankers and other lenders who are feeling squeezed as the mortgage mess restricts their access to easy money. Yesterday’s smackdown in the stock market — like others this year tied to mortgage woes — will likely only intensify lawmakers’ desire to ride to the rescue of Wall Steet constituents.

Earlier this week, Senator Christopher Dodd, another Democratic presidential hopeful, and Senator Charles Schumer, called on federal regulators to ease restrictions so that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the quasi-government mortgage agencies — can buy more mortgages and mortgage-related securities from lenders. That would grease the now creaky mortgage-lending process with fresh capital. The White House is considering their proposal.

What is absolutely crucial, however, is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be required to use that enhanced capacity to help homeowners who are in distress.

That means buying only from lenders who commit to using their newfound capital to refinance loans for borrowers now facing default and foreclosure. Otherwise, easing the restrictions could end up doing a lot for lenders and investors and very little for Americans who are in the direst straits.

Many strapped borrowers stuck in subprime loans, with adjustable rates that reset sharply upward, could have qualified for higher quality loans to begin with. Instead they were steered into the subprime variety by brokers who earned bigger fees by making dodgier mortgages. Now that the lenders are suddenly in trouble and credit standards have been tightened, those borrowers cannot refinance into higher quality, more affordable loans. They clearly deserve help to keep their homes.

In other instances, borrowers who had weak credit a few years ago and so had no choice but to take out subprime loans, now have track records of good payments. They, too, should be allowed to refinance into loans that would let them keep their homes.

Policy makers must also acknowledge that even if the limitations are eased on Fannie and Freddie — and the freed-up credit is used to help responsible borrowers trapped in irresponsible loans — there will still be many more struggling homeowners who need help.

As a quid pro quo for freeing up capital via Fannie and Freddie, policy makers and regulators must pressure lenders to do more to restructure needy borrowers’ loans. Lenders could extend the low teaser rates that got marginal buyers into their now unaffordable loans, or raise those loan rates gradually rather than in one explosive surge.

And when lawmakers return to Washington in September, they must complete legislation to help states and localities provide the ever-increasing numbers of at-risk borrowers with assistance in modifying their loans. American homeowners need a hand now.

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6) Projecting La Memoria in Southwest Colombia
by Peter Bearder, an independent journalist currently based in Bogotá.
July 30, 2007
From: Greg McDonald
sabocat59@mac.com

It is Friday in Trujillo, Valle de Cauca and a collection of youths
are finishing a week’s work of repairs to the sculptures of their
Memorial Garden. More than 350 residents of this small town have been
assassinated or forcefully disappeared in a plague of paramilitary
and State violence. Two more disappeared the night before I arrived
in Trujillo. There are believed to be many more victims that have not
been reported due to fear of reprisals. One relative described it as
the “law of silence.” But the victims of Trujillo refuse to let the
memory die. Their hillside memorial shouts loudly across the town
below. The psychology behind it is as audacious as it is ambitious.

Trujillo lies in a mountainous drug trafficking corridor linking the
east of the country to the Pacific port of Buenaventura. According to
those I spoke to, there exist a powerful local “mafia” of
paramilitaries, narco-traffickers, landowners, and local political
and armed functionaries. It is common knowledge that the State is
working hand in glove with more illicit actors and there are many
accounts of the army brigade, based in neighboring Buga, entering the
town by jeep at night and rounding up victims.

Following the massacre carried out by the Colombian Army in 1990,
Trujillo became the first Colombian case to be brought before the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It is becoming increasingly
necessary to seek transnational paths to justice while the State
maintains a de facto policy of impunity. The much-hated Justice and
Peace Law offers knock down sentences, releases and special prisons
for paramilitary leaders in exchange for the appearance of
“demobilization.” Countless national and international bodies,
including Amnesty International, have condemned the process for not
meeting international standards on truth, justice, and reparation.

In Trujillo’s Memorial Garden, concrete sculptures depict the lives
and work of the town’s victims below a plaque containing their names.
Most of the artists are children or relatives of the dead. Many of
the tombs are empty—except for personal artifacts and gifts—as the
victims have either been “disappeared” or mutilated beyond
recognition. Ágata visits the memorial with her granddaughter to
honor her 18-year-old son who disappeared one evening in 1989 and his
body has never been found. Every night she wonders where he is. Ágata
is by no means alone in Colombia, a country that has seen 40,000
political assassinations and over 7,000 forced disappearances since
1980.

The late parish priest, Father Tiberio Fernández Mafla, is a heroic
and well-remembered figure in Trujillo. In his final Sunday service
he declared, “If my blood helps Trujillo to dawn and flower in peace,
I will gladly spill it.” Two days later he was found dead, beheaded
and chopped into pieces. Chainsaws are a favorite weapon of the
“paras.” Another family member told how one victim was made to drink
bleach. Methods of torture are brutal and designed to act as social
deterrents.

Towards the back of the garden stands the Seven Countries Wall, which
is part of a circle and links up with six other walls worldwide to
complete the circle. Inside this monument are seven boxes that once
contained artifacts from the respective countries. Paramilitaries
have shot out the glass windows and stolen the items. The mourners
see this as evidence that the Memorial Garden represents a threat to
their reign of terror.

Memorial coordinator Sister Maritze possesses an inspiring energy and
warmth. “We are fighting to keep the memory alive and fighting
against the impunity,” she states. In Colombia, this constitutes a
political act. Perhaps this explains why this short, gray haired
nun’s email communications have been repeatedly intercepted and
blocked, forcing her to change accounts on numerous occasions.

Frederico coordinates youth arts projects in Trujillo. I met him at
the opening of La Galería de Memoria Padre Tiberio Fernández Mafla
(The Gallery of Memory—named after the martyred priest of Trujillo).
Frederico was one of two survivors of a group of 11 who were
kidnapped and tortured. His hands bear the scars of being fed into a
coffee-processing machine. “But I go on living, and with greater
purpose and inspiration,” he says with a smile.

The Gallery is a space for the historical memory of crimes against
humanity in southwest Colombia and is sustained by victims and human
rights groups. Using artistic expression, testimonies and photos it
aims to fight against impunity and for social justice. The
psychological and emotional benefit of this is obvious. During the
opening ceremony one of the victims, while standing next to a photo
of her murdered father, gave a tearful thank you: “Spaces like this
are incredibly important for us so that the memory lives on. We
simply cannot carry on in the absence of justice without your
solidarity.”

Trujillo’s Memorial Garden and Gallery of Memory reflect the type of
work being carried out by many Colombian human rights NGOs. These
organizations are not only recording such crimes for posterity, but
also in the hope of eventually achieving justice and ensuring that
they will not be repeated. This is the thinking behind the ambitious
multi-volume project Colombia Nunca Mas (Colombia Never Again). The
books chart the atrocities of the State and paramilitaries between
1965 and 2000 and frame them in their historical and social context.
Each 500 plus page volume covers a region that corresponds to a
brigade of the Colombian Army. The crimes of the insurgency are not
included because those compiling the data believe it is the job of
the State to investigate those, whereas the State isn’t always the
most effective institution for investigating State terror.

The aspirations of these brave individuals do not stop with la
memoria or even la justicia. They are also demanding integral
reparation: psychosocial, political, organizational, economic,
environmental and cultural. The National Movement of Victims of State
Crimes believes that reparation should reflect the completeness of
the harm suffered by the victim. One the one hand, it should
understand the need of individuals for indemnification and re-
adaptation. And on the other, it should assure more general measures
of reparation such as satisfactory guarantees that the atrocities
will not be repeated.

Symbolic and artistic edifications of memory like Trujillo’s Memorial
Garden and the Gallery of Memory amount to a potent dynamic of
resistance. Far from being negative and backward looking they are
essentially positive and based on concepts of solidarity and hope. By
refusing to forget, the victims of southwest Colombia are bravely
projecting their right to truth, justice and reparation, not just for
themselves, but for all those who have died and those who have still
to live.

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LINKS AND VERY SHORT STORIES

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Storm Victims Sue Over Trailers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 8 (AP) — More than 500 hurricane survivors living in government-issued trailers and mobile homes are taking the manufacturers of the structures to court.
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in New Orleans, the hurricane survivors accused the makers of using inferior materials in a profit-driven rush to build the temporary homes. The lawsuit asserts that thousands of Louisiana residents displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 were exposed to dangerous levels of formaldehyde by living in the government-issued trailers and mobile homes.
And, it accuses 14 manufacturers that supplied the Federal Emergency Management Agency with trailers of cutting corners in order to quickly fill the shortage after the storms.
Messages left with several of those companies were not immediately returned.
FEMA, which is not named as a defendant in this suit, has agreed to have the air quality tested in some of the trailers.
August 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/us/09trailers.html?ref=us

British Criticize U.S. Air Attacks in Afghan Region
By CARLOTTA GALL
August 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/world/asia/09casualties.html?hp

Army Expected to Meet Recruiting Goal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
After failing to meet its recruiting goal for two consecutive months, the Army is expected to announce that it met its target for July. Officials are offering a new $20,000 bonus to recruits who sign up by the end of September. A preliminary tally shows that the Army most likely met its goal of 9,750 recruits for last month, a military official said on the condition of anonymity because the numbers will not be announced for several more days. The Army expects to meet its recruiting goal of 80,000 for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the official said.
August 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/washington/08brfs-ARMYEXPECTED_BRF.html

Beach Closings and Advisories
By REUTERS
The number of United States beaches declared unsafe for swimming reached a record last year, with more than 25,000 cases where shorelines were closed or health advisories issued, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported, using data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The group said the likely culprit was sewage and contaminated runoff from water treatment systems. “Aging and poorly designed sewage and storm water systems hold much of the blame for beach water pollution,” it said. The number of no-swim days at 3,500 beaches along the oceans, bays and Great Lakes doubled from 2005. The report is online at www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/titinx.asp.
August 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/science/earth/08brfs-BEACHCLOSING_BRF.html

Finland: 780-Year-Old Pine Tree Found
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Scientists have discovered a 780-year-old Scots pine, the oldest living forest pine known in Finland, the Finnish Forest Research Institute said. The tree was found last year in Lapland during a study mission on forest fires, the institute said, and scientists analyzed a section of the trunk to determine its age. “The pine is living, but it is not in the best shape,” said Tuomo Wallenius, a researcher. “It’s quite difficult to say how long it will survive.” The tree is inside the strip of land on the eastern border with Russia where access is strictly prohibited.
August 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/world/europe/08briefs-tree.html

The Bloody Failure of ‘The Surge’: A Special Report
by Patrick Cockburn
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/07/3029/

Sean Penn applauds as Venezuela's Chavez rails against Bush
The Associated Press
August 2, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/03/arts/LA-A-E-CEL-Venezuela-Sean-Penn.php

California: Gore’s Son Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Al Gore III, son of the former vice president, pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana and other drugs, but a judge said the plea could be withdrawn and the charges dropped if Mr. Gore, left, completed a drug program. The authorities have said they found drugs in Mr. Gore’s car after he was pulled over on July 4 for driving 100 miles an hour. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of drug possession, two misdemeanor counts of drug possession without a prescription and one misdemeanor count of marijuana possession, the district attorney’s office said. Mr. Gore, 24, has been at a live-in treatment center since his arrest, said Allan Stokke, his lawyer.
July 31, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/us/31brfs-gore.html

United Parcel Service Agrees to Benefits in Civil Unions
By KAREEM FAHIM
July 31, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/nyregion/31civil.html?ref=nyregion

John Stewart demands the Bay View retract the truth, Editorial by Willie Ratcliff, http://www.sfbayview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=278&Itemid=14

Minister to Supervisors: Stop Lennar, assess the people’s health by Minister Christopher Muhammad, http://www.sfbayview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=306&Itemid=18

OPD shoots unarmed 15-year-old in the back in East Oakland by Minister of Information JR, http://www.sfbayview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=308&Itemid=18

California: Raids on Marijuana Clinics
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided 10 medical marijuana clinics in Los Angles County just as Los Angeles city leaders backed a measure calling for an end to the federal government’s crackdown on the dispensaries. Federal officials made five arrests and seized large quantities of marijuana and cash after serving clinics with search warrants, said a spokeswoman, Sarah Pullen. Ms. Pullen refused to disclose other details. The raid, the agency’s second largest on marijuana dispensaries, came the same day the Los Angeles City Council introduced an interim ordinance calling on federal authorities to stop singling out marijuana clinics allowed under state law.
July 26, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/us/26brfs-RAIDSONMARIJ_BRF.html

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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INFORMATION

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Stop the Termination or the Cherokee Nation
http://groups.msn.com/BayAreaIndianCalendar/activismissues.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=5580

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USLAW Endorses September 15 Antiwar Demonstration in Washington, DC
USLAW Leadership Urges Labor Turnout
to Demand End to Occupation in Iraq, Hands Off Iraqi Oil

By a referendum ballot of members of the Steering Committee of U.S. Labor Against the War, USLAW is now officially on record endorsing and encouraging participation in the antiwar demonstration called by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition in Washington, DC on September 15. The demonstration is timed to coincide with a Congressional vote scheduled in late September on a new Defense Department appropriation that will fund the Iraq War through the end of Bush's term in office.

U.S. Labor Against the War
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/

Stop the Iraq Oil Law
http://www.petitiononline.com/iraqoil/petition.html

2007 Iraq Labor Solidarity Tour
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?list=type&type=103

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FREE THE JENA SIX
http://www.mmmhouston.net/loc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=66

This is a modern day lynching"--Marcus Jones, father of Mychal Bell

WRITE LETTERS TO:

JUDGE J.P. MAUFFRAY
P.O. BOX 1890
JENA, LOUISIANA 71342
FAX: (318) 992-8701

WE NEED 400 LETTERS SENT BEFORE MYCHAL BELL'S SENTENCING DATE ON JULY 31ST. THEY ARE ALL INNOCENT!

Sign the NAACP's Online Petition to the Governor of Louisiana and Attorney General

http://www.naacp.org/get-involved/activism/petitions/jena-6/index.php

JOIN THE MASS PROTEST IN SUPPORT OF
MYCHAL BELL & THE JENA 6
WHERE: JENA COURTHOUSE in Louisiana
WHEN: TUESDAY, JULY 31ST
TIME: 9:00AM
THE HOUSTON MMM MINISTRY OF JUSTICE IS ORGANIZING A CARAVAN TO JOIN FORCES WITH THE JENA 6 FAMILIES, THE COLOR OF CHANGE, LOCs, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ON THE STEPS OF THE COURTHOUSE THAT DAY TO DEMAND JUSTICE!
ALL INTERESTED IN GOING TO THE RALLY CALL:
HOUSTON RESIDENTS: 832.258.2480
ministryofjustice@mmmhouston.net
BATON ROUGE RESIDENTS: 225.806.3326
MONROE RESIDENTS: 318.801.0513
JENA RESIDENTS: 318.419.6441
Send Donations to the Jena 6 Defense Fund:
Jena 6 Defense Committee
P.O. Box 2798
Jena, Louisiana 71342

BACKGROUND TO THE JENA SIX:

Young Black males the target of small-town racism
By Jesse Muhammad
Staff Writer
"JENA, La. (FinalCall.com) - Marcus Jones, the father of 16-year-old Jena High School football star Mychal Bell, pulls out a box full of letters from countless major colleges and universities in America who are trying to recruit his son. Mr. Jones, with hurt in his voice, says, “He had so much going for him. My son is innocent and they have done him wrong.”

An all-White jury convicted Mr. Bell of two felonies—aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery—and faces up to 22 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 31. Five other young Black males are also awaiting their day in court for alleged attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder charges evolving from a school fight: Robert Bailey, 17; Theo Shaw, 17; Carwin Jones, 18; Bryant Purvis, 17; and Jesse Beard, 15. Together, this group has come to be known as the “Jena 6.”
Updated Jul 22, 2007
FOR FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_3753.shtml

My Letter to Judge Mauffray:

JUDGE J.P. MAUFFRAY
P.O. BOX 1890
JENA, LOUISIANA 71342

RE: THE JENA SIX

Dear Judge Mauffray,

I am appalled to learn of the conviction of 16-year-old Jena High School football star Mychal Bell and the arrest of five other young Black men who are awaiting their day in court for alleged attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder charges evolving from a school fight. These young men, Mychal Bell, 16; Robert Bailey, 17; Theo Shaw, 17; Carwin Jones, 18; Bryant Purvis, 17; and Jesse Beard, 15, who have come to be known as the “Jena 6” have the support of thousands of people around the country who want to see them free and back in school.

Clearly, two different standards are in place in Jena—one standard for white students who go free even though they did, indeed, make a death threat against Black students—the hanging of nooses from a tree that only white students are allowed to sit under—and another set of rules for those that defended themselves against these threats. The nooses were hung after Black students dared to sit in the shade of that “white only” tree!

If the court is sincerely interested in justice, it will drop the charges against all of these six students, reinstate them back into school and insist that the school teach the white students how wrong they were and still are for their racist attitudes and violent threats! It is the duty of the schools to uphold the constitution and the bill of rights. A hanging noose or burning cross is just like a punch in the face or worse so says the Supreme Court! Further, it is an act of vigilantism and has no place in a “democracy”.

The criminal here is white racism, not a few young men involved in a fistfight!
I am a 62-year-old white woman who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Fistfights among teenagers—as you certainly must know yourself—are a right of passage. Please don’t tell me you have never gotten into one. Even I picked a few fights with a few girls outside of school for no good reason. (We soon, in fact, became fast friends.) Children are not just smaller sized adults. They are children and go through this. The fistfight is normal and expected behavior that adults can use to educate children about the negative effect of the use of violence to solve disputes. That is what adults are supposed to do.

Hanging nooses in a tree because you hate Black people is not normal at all! It is a deep sickness that our schools and courts are responsible for unless they educate and act against it. This means you must overturn the conviction of Mychal Bell and drop the cases against Robert Bailey, Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, and Jesse Beard.

It also means you must take responsibility to educate white teachers, administrators, students and their families against racism and order them to refrain from their racist behavior from here on out—and make sure it is carried out!
You are supposed to defend the students who want to share the shade of a leafy green tree not persecute them—that is the real crime that has been committed here!

Sincerely,

Bonnie Weinstein, Bay Area United Against War
www.bauaw.org

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"They have a new gimmick every year. They're going to take one of their boys, black boys, and put him in the cabinet so he can walk around Washington with a cigar. Fire on one end and fool on the other end. And because his immediate personal problem will have been solved he will be the one to tell our people: 'Look how much progress we're making. I'm in Washington, D.C., I can have tea in the White House. I'm your spokesman, I'm your leader.' While our people are still living in Harlem in the slums. Still receiving the worst form of education.

"But how many sitting here right now feel that they could [laughs] truly identify with a struggle that was designed to eliminate the basic causes that create the conditions that exist? Not very many. They can jive, but when it comes to identifying yourself with a struggle that is not endorsed by the power structure, that is not acceptable, that the ground rules are not laid down by the society in which you live, in which you are struggling against, you can't identify with that, you step back.

"It's easy to become a satellite today without even realizing it. This country can seduce God. Yes, it has that seductive power of economic dollarism. You can cut out colonialism, imperialism and all other kind of ism, but it's hard for you to cut that dollarism. When they drop those dollars on you, you'll fold though."

—MALCOLM X, 1965
http://www.accuracy.org/newsrelease.php?articleId=987

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Youtube interview with the DuPage County Activists Who Were Arrested for Bannering
You can watch an interview with the two DuPage County antiwar activists
who arrested after bannering over the expressway online at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DuPageFight4Freedom

Please help spread the word about this interview, and if you haven't
already done so, please contact the DuPage County State's attorney, Joe
Birkett, to demand that the charges against Jeff Zurawski and Sarah
Heartfield be dropped. The contact information for Birkett is:

Joseph E. Birkett, State's Attorney
503 N. County Farm Road
Wheaton, IL 60187
Phone: (630) 407-8000
Fax: (630) 407-8151
Email: stsattn@dupageco.org
Please forward this information far and wide.

My Letter:

Joseph E. Birkett, State's Attorney
503 N. County Farm Road
Wheaton, IL 60187
Phone: (630) 407-8000
Fax: (630) 407-8151
Email: stsattn@dupageco.org

Dear State's Attorney Birkett,

The news of the arrest of Jeff Zurawski and Sarah Heartfield is getting out far and wide. Their arrest is outrageous! Not only should all charges be dropped against Jeff and Sarah, but a clear directive should be given to Police Departments everywhere that this kind of harassment of those who wish to practice free speech will not be tolerated.

The arrest of Jeff and Sarah was the crime. The display of their message was an act of heroism!

We demand you drop all charges against Jeff Zurawski and Sarah Heartfield NOW!

Sincerely,

Bonnie Weinstein, Bay Area United Against War, www.bauaw.org, San Francisco, California
415-824-8730

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A little gem:
Michael Moore Faces Off With Stephen Colbert [VIDEO]
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/57492/

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LAPD vs. Immigrants (Video)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/qws/ff/qr?term=lapd&Submit=S&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Search&st=s

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Dr. Julia Hare at the SOBA 2007
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/proudtobeblack2/

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"We are far from that stage today in our era of the absolute
lie; the complete and totalitarian lie, spread by the
monopolies of press and radio to imprison social
consciousness." December 1936, "In 'Socialist' Norway,"
by Leon Trotsky: “Leon Trotsky in Norway” was transcribed
for the Internet by Per I. Matheson [References from
original translation removed]
http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1936/12/nor.htm

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Wealth Inequality Charts
http://www.faireconomy.org/research/wealth_charts.html

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MALCOLM X: Oxford University Debate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmzaaf-9aHQ

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ADDICTED TO WAR
Animated Video Preview
Narrated by Peter Coyote
Is now on YouTube and Google Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZwyuHEN5h8

We are planning on making the ADDICTED To WAR movie.
Can you let me know what you think about this animated preview?
Do you think it would work as a full length film?
Please send your response to:
Fdorrel@sbcglobal. net or Fdorrel@Addictedtow ar.com

In Peace,

Frank Dorrel
Publisher
Addicted To War
P.O. Box 3261
Culver City, CA 90231-3261
310-838-8131
fdorrel@addictedtow ar.com
fdorrel@sbcglobal. net
www.addictedtowar. com

For copies of the book:

http://www.addictedtowar.com/book.html

OR SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:
Frank Dorrel
P.O. BOX 3261
CULVER CITY, CALIF. 90231-3261
fdorrel@addictedtowar.com
$10.00 per copy (Spanish or English); special bulk rates
can be found at: http://www.addictedtowar.com/bookbulk.html

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"There comes a times when silence is betrayal."
--Martin Luther King

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YouTube clip of Che before the UN in 1964
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtATT8GXkWg&mode=related&search

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The Wealthiest Americans Ever
NYT Interactive chart
JULY 15, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/20070715_GILDED_GRAPHIC.html

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New Orleans After the Flood -- A Photo Gallery
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=795
This email was sent to you as a service, by Roland Sheppard.
Visit my website at: http://web.mac.com/rolandgarret

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DEMAND THE RELEASE OF SAMI AL-ARIAN

The National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) demands the immediate
release of political prisoner, Dr. Sami Al-Arian. Although
Dr. Al-Arian is no longer on a hunger strike we must still demand
he be released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). After an earlier
plea agreement that absolved Dr. Al-Arian from any further questioning,
he was sentenced up to 18 months in jail for refusing to testify before
a grand jury in Virginia. He has long sense served his time yet
Dr. Al-Arian is still being held. Release him now!

See:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/16/1410255

ACTION:

We ask all people of conscience to demand the immediate
release and end to Dr. Al- Arian's suffering.

Call, Email and Write:

1- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Fax Number: (202) 307-6777
Email: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

2- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

3- Senator Patrick Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(202)224-4242
senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

4- Honorable Judge Gerald Lee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314
March 22, 2007
[No email given...bw]

National Council of Arab Americans (NCA)
http://www.arab-american.net/

Criminalizing Solidarity: Sami Al-Arian and the War of
Terror
By Charlotte Kates, The Electronic Intifada, 4 April 2007
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6767.shtml

Related:

Robert Fisk: The true story of free speech in America
This systematic censorship of Middle East reality
continues even in schools
Published: 07 April 2007
http://news. independent. co.uk/world/ fisk/article2430 125.ece

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[For some levity...Hans Groiner plays Monk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51bsCRv6kI0
...bw]

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Excerpt of interview between Barbara Walters and Hugo Chavez
http://www.borev.net/2007/03/what_you_had_something_better.html

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Which country should we invade next?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3g_zqz3VjY

My Favorite Mutiny, The Coup
http://www.myspace.com/thecoupmusic

Michael Moore- The Awful Truth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeOaTpYl8mE

Morse v. Frederick Supreme Court arguments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_LsGoDWC0o

Free Speech 4 Students Rally - Media Montage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCjfod8yuw

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'My son lived a worthwhile life'
In April 2003, 21-year old Tom Hurndall was shot in the head
in Gaza by an Israeli soldier as he tried to save the lives of three
small children. Nine months later, he died, having never
recovered consciousness. Emine Saner talks to his mother
Jocelyn about her grief, her fight to make the Israeli army
accountable for his death and the book she has written
in his memory.
Monday March 26, 2007
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2042968,00.html

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Introducing...................the Apple iRack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-KWYYIY4jQ

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"A War Budget Leaves Every Child Behind."
[A T-shirt worn by some teachers at Roosevelt High School
in L.A. as part of their campaign to rid the school of military
recruiters and JROTC--see Article in Full item number 4, below...bw]

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THIS IS AN EXCELLENT VIDEO DESTRIBUTED BY U.S. LABOR AGAINST
THE WAR (USLAW) FEATURING SPEAKERS AT THE JANUARY 27TH
MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOCUSING ON THE DEMAND - BRING
THE TROOPS HOME NOW.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6935451906479097836&hl=en

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Defend the Los Angeles Eight!
http://www.committee4justice.com/

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George Takai responds to Tim Hardaway's homophobic remarks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcJoJZIcQW4&eurl_

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Iran
http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html

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Another view of the war. A link from Amer Jubran
http://d3130.servadmin.com/~leeflash/

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Petition: Halt the Blue Angels
http://action.globalexchange.org/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=458
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/289327

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A Girl Like Me
7:08 min
Youth Documentary
Kiri Davis, Director, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, Producer
Winner of the Diversity Award
Sponsored by Third Millennium Foundation
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1091431409617440489

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Film/Song about Angola
http://www.prisonactivist.org/angola/

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"200 million children in the world sleep in the streets today.
Not one of them is Cuban."
(A sign in Havana)
Venceremos
View sign at bottom of page at:
http://www.cubasolidarity.net/index.html
[Thanks to Norma Harrison for sending this...bw]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"Cheyenne and Arapaho oral histories hammer history's account of the
Sand Creek Massacre"

CENTENNIAL, CO -- A new documentary film based on an award-winning
documentary short film, "The Sand Creek Massacre", and driven by
Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho people who tell their version about
what happened during the Sand Creek Massacre via their oral
histories, has been released by Olympus Films+, LLC, a Centennial,
Colorado film company.

"You have done an extraordinary job" said Margie Small, Tobient
Entertainment, " on the Colorado PBS episode, the library videos for
public schools and libraries, the trailer, etc...and getting the
story told and giving honor to those ancestors who had to witness
this tragic and brutal attack...film is one of the best ways."

"The images shown in the film were selected for native awareness
value" said Donald L. Vasicek, award-winning writer/filmmaker, "we
also focused on preserving American history on film because tribal
elders are dying and taking their oral histories with them. The film
shows a non-violent solution to problem-solving and 19th century
Colorado history, so it's multi-dimensional in that sense. "

Chief Eugene Blackbear, Sr., Cheyenne, who starred as Chief Black
Kettle in "The Last of the Dogmen" also starring Tom Berenger and
Barbara Hershey and "Dr. Colorado", Tom Noel, University of Colorado
history professor, are featured.

The trailer can be viewed and the film can be ordered for $24.95 plus
$4.95 for shipping and handling at http://www.fullduck.com/node/53.

Vasicek's web site, http://www.donvasicek.com, provides detailed
information about the Sand Creek Massacre including various still
images particularly on the Sand Creek Massacre home page and on the
proposal page.

Olympus Films+, LLC is dedicated to writing and producing quality
products that serve to educate others about the human condition.

Contact:

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
7078 South Fairfax Street
Centennial, CO 80122
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Vasicek,+Don
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net
303-903-2103

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A NEW LOOK AT U.S. RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS
Join us in a campaign to expose and stop the use
of these illegal weapons
http://poisondust.org/

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You may enjoy watching these.
In struggle
Che:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqcezl9dD2c
Leon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukkFVV5X0p4

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FIGHTBACK! A Collection of Socialist Essays
By Sylvia Weinstein
http://www.walterlippmann.com/sylvia-weinstein-fightback-intro.html

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[The Scab
"After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad,
and the vampire, he had some awful substance left with
which he made a scab."
"A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul,
a water brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue.
Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten
principles." "When a scab comes down the street,
men turn their backs and angels weep in heaven, and
the devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out."
"No man (or woman) has a right to scab so long as there
is a pool of water to drown his carcass in,
or a rope long enough to hang his body with.
Judas was a gentleman compared with a scab.
For betraying his master, he had character enough
to hang himself." A scab has not.
"Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.
Judas sold his Savior for thirty pieces of silver.
Benedict Arnold sold his country for a promise of
a commision in the british army."
The scab sells his birthright, country, his wife,
his children and his fellowmen for an unfulfilled
promise from his employer.
Esau was a traitor to himself; Judas was a traitor
to his God; Benedict Arnold was a traitor to his country;
a scab is a traitor to his God, his country,
his family and his class."
Author --- Jack London (1876-1916)...Roland Sheppard
http://web.mac.com/rolandgarret]

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END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL!
Stop funding Israel's war against Palestine
Complete the form at the website listed below with your information.
https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Advocacy?
JServSessionIdr003=cga2p2o6x1.app2a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=177

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Sand Creek Massacre
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FEATURED AT NATIVE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/local/16035305.htm
(scroll down when you get there])
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING
WRITER/FILMMAKER DONALD L. VASICEK REPORT:
http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/sandcreekmassacre.html
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FINALIST IN DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL COMPETITION (VIEW HERE):
http://www.docupyx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=41
VIEW "THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FILM MOVIE OF THE WEEK FOR FREE HERE:
http://twymancreative.com/twymanc.html

On November 29, 1864, 700 Colorado troops savagely slaughtered
over 450 Cheyenne children, disabled, elders, and women in the
southeastern Colorado Territory under its protection. This act
became known as the Sand Creek Massacre. This film project
("The Sand Creek Massacre" documentary film project) is an
examination of an open wound in the souls of the Cheyenne
people as told from their perspective. This project chronicles
that horrific 19th century event and its affect on the 21st century
struggle for respectful coexistence between white and native
plains cultures in the United States of America.

Listed below are links on which you can click to get the latest news,
products, and view, free, "THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" award-
winning documentary short. In order to create more native
awareness, particularly to save the roots of America's history,
please read the following:

Some people in America are trying to save the world. Bless
them. In the meantime, the roots of America are dying.
What happens to a plant when the roots die? The plant dies
according to my biology teacher in high school. American's
roots are its native people. Many of America's native people
are dying from drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, hunger,
and disease, which was introduced to them by the Caucasian
male. Tribal elders are dying. When they die, their oral
histories go with them. Our native's oral histories are the
essence of the roots of America, what took place before
our ancestors came over to America, what is taking place,
and what will be taking place. It is time we replenish
America's roots with native awareness, else America
continues its decaying, and ultimately, its death.

You can help. The 22-MINUTE SAND CREEK MASSACRE
DOCUMENTARY PRESENTATION/EDUCATIONAL DVD IS
READY FOR PURCHASE! (pass the word about this powerful
educational tool to friends, family, schools, parents, teachers,
and other related people and organizations to contact
me (dvasicek@earthlink.net, 303-903-2103) for information
about how they can purchase the DVD and have me come
to their children's school to show the film and to interact
in a questions and answers discussion about the Sand
Creek Massacre.

Happy Holidays!

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Vasicek,+Don
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net
303-903-2103

"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FEATURED AT NATIVE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/local/16035305.htm
(scroll down when you get there])
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING
WRITER/FILMMAKER DONALD L. VASICEK REPORT:
http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/sandcreekmassacre.html
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FINALIST IN DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL COMPETITION (VIEW HERE):
http://www.docupyx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=41
VIEW "THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FILM MOVIE OF THE WEEK FOR FREE HERE:
http://twymancreative.com/twymanc.html

SHOP:
http://www.manataka.org/page633.html
BuyIndies.com
donvasicek.com.

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